|
|
HomeGraffitiAboutSitemapVisualDevWork
Email BrianGPG Key |
GRAFFITI -- January 21, 2008 thru January 27, 2008>> Link to the Current Week <<Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable. About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message. |
 
|
MONDAY
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
January 21, 2008
Counter mockup |
1628 - Good woodworking ... err, afternoon. I've been busy. After a bit of a sleep-in this morning, we got out and picked up the cherry that I needed to finish and trim out the cabinet. Since then, I've been cutting and planing and sanding and staining. Two pieces are ready, heh.
Last night, I laid out the OSB counter underlay, and put the tiles out on it to make sure we were both happy with the way the project was going to go. Much better to decide now, then after I'd gotten the tile down, right? There's a bit of hand-shake, so it's slightly blurred, but I didn't want to flash all the color out of the snap.
I saw this Craiglist ad a couple of weeks ago, and was amused. Also amusing was ORBAT's Slashdot comment on the subject:
who && gawk && uname && talk && date && wine && touch && unzip && strip && touch && finger && mount && fsck && more && yes; yes; more; yes; umount && make clean && sleep
Thanks to a poster on DC-SAGE for bringing the latter to my attention.
Now. time to deal with the bills. Then back to wood working for a while. For the balance of this week, I'll be in Check Point certification training, back up near my old NFR stomping ground. Time will fly as it usually does: brick-like out the window. Ciao.
Mon
TUESDAY
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
January 22, 2008
0636 - Good morning. Heh. Four years before we (The State of Maryland) have finished paying off our investment in Diebold machines ("The election is yours to p0wn in 60 seconds or less"), we expect to be voting on paper ballots again, statewide. This Baltimore Sun article is instructive. In addition, a particular paragraph jumped out at me:
... The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday complaining that Cuyahoga County's optical scan ballots will be counted at a central location - not at the polls as Maryland intends. That means voters will not have a chance to correct errors on their ballots.
Why should people who can't vote properly be allowed to vote at all? Yeah, I know what I'm saying. But why on the Green Hills of Earth should everyone be allowed to vote? I'd limit it to four-year and up service members and veterans, and taxpayers. I'd even be generous and say that people who've paid taxes in three of the four (including the most recent) years preceding a Presidential election can vote in that election. For all other elections, the preceding year must have been a tax-paying year. Stay-at-home parenting spouse of a tax payer can vote, too. Those who manage to evade taxes... no vote. Those who don't earn anything (or don't earn enough to pay taxes) don't vote. And I'd like to see a simple five question multiple choice test, in English only, to be passed with an 80% or better mark. They should be questions that must be read and understood to be answered. Citizens of this country speak English. Well, American English, to be precise. We shall vote in English.
You say this disenfranchises people? Why should people who eat taxes have a say in how they're spent? I say it motivates people. And honestly, in your heart of hearts, do you want an election won by someone who was able to woo the electorate that lives on welfare? What's his agenda going to be? Do you want someone elected who can woo the electorate that can be told how to recognize the name on the ballot, but can't read or comprehend written English well enough to answer simple current events questions?
All I want is an educated, responsible voting public. Get a proper education, and get a job. Is that asking too much?
Recent listening: Dark Star, The Grateful Dead, recorded February 13, 1970, from Dick's Picks Vol. 4.
Mon
Tues
WEDNESDAY
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
January 23, 2008
2131 - Good evening. Busy days. Check Point NGX training continues. My one class this semester at UMUC starts today. The bathroom remodel proceeds, but at a snail's pace. Nothing much else to report.
Mon
Tues
Wed
THURSDAY
Fri
Sat
Sun
January 24, 2008
2216 - Good evening. Screen cleaner, courtesy of MikeM.
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
FRIDAY
Sat
Sun
January 25, 2008
No Post.....
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
SATURDAY
Sun
January 26, 2008
1604 - Good afternoon. A week full of brain strain. I learned a bunch of new Check Point tricks, and hung them up in the mental toolshed next to what I already knew from working with the gear on and off for years - it's a much neater place now, with fewer gaps. But tiring work. I'd finished the first week's work for my UMUC class the first night the class opened, but since a big part of the grade is participation in the WebTycho class conferences (much like web forums), I've been in there a lot in the evenings, keeping up with stuff.
Did I mention that Lucy was surgerized a week ago? We had her in for a dental cleaning, a tooth extraction, and we had two large moles that bothered her removed, too. There was a mole under her left ear that she'd scratch to bleeding fairly often. And though the one on her forehead was harder for her to get to, it usually got nicked when she was getting groomed. So off that came, too. She looks a bit like Frankenpuppy (as Marcia says). But I can also see her being marched off by apes with rifles, and Charlton Heston shouting about Landon's lobotomy.
I've been doing more woodwork today, building components and trim for the shelving that's going on the left side of the vanity under the counter. Progres is. Ciao!
Mon
Tues
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
SUNDAY
January 27, 2008
1536 - Good afternoon. House cleaning and wood staining have eaten the day so far. I'm going to re-read this week's assignment for class, then read next week's in advance. Then... we'll see. There's always more to do than minutes in the day. But I can do what I need to do because since the Revolutionary War, American soldiers have been protecting our way of life. There are Americans who object to our entanglements, and indeed, to our way of life. I hear y'all - that's part of what's being protected. But we should all respect our uniformed service members for the hard, dangerous work they do on our behalf.
My condolences to the families and units of our fallen heroes.
Last Week << Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun >> Next Week
Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.
All Content Copyright © 1999-2011 Brian P. Bilbrey.
Except where otherwise noted, this site is licensed under the
Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States
License.