Monday, June 30, 2003
Whew! What a freakin hassle! I'm not in the palatial Wasted Electrons world headquarters and ski equipment closet, I'm out in the family room! And using AOHell... Simple and easy to use, so easy even your half-wit neighbor could use it... It took me more than an hour, 2 phone calls, extreme aggravation, using my regular computer and internet connection to find the new drivers for the modem and finally we had a connection!
So I'm computer set I guess and just need to put it away and finish packing for tomorrow's travel. I've not been on an airplane with the BSU in many years, so that might be interesting but overall I'm expecting a pleasant trip.
So blogging might be sporadic over the next few days but it should be fun too. There should be plenty of good material in Michigan!
Nate 9:47 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Hey! My comments are back in business! Good! I really wasn't anxious to go messing about with my templates to get some new comment provider working on my page before leaving. So fill them up. Don't be shy. And come back often.
Nate 8:41 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Happy Independence Day to all of you! Click this link and then move your mouse above the the buildings and click. Turn up your speakers too. (Stolen from Dave Barry's blog)
Nate 7:51 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Sunday, June 29, 2003
Get your registration fees paid early and be sure to attend the 3rd Annual Nigerian Email Conference!
I am Mr. Laurent Mpeti Kabila, a senior assistant leader of the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone.
I present to you an urgent and confidential request: I request your attendance at The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to meet your distinguished colleagues, learn new marketing techniques, and spend your hard-earned money. Attending this conference demands the highest trust, security and confidentiality between us.
Dates: November 7 - 9, 2003
Location: Abuja Sheraton Hotel & Casino
Registration Fee: $995 per person
Preliminary* List of Events
- Breakfast Kickoff Session:
Your choice: A hard boiled egg, or two slices of white bread and a cricket.
- Keynote Address:
Dr. Hamza Kalu's adds some historical perspective in his keynote address: "From Postal Scams To Email Scams: We Have Come a Long Way Infant Child."
- Debate:
Attend a lively debate between Lady Mariam Abacha and Mr. Godwin Oyathelem. Topic: "The effectiveness of using all UPPERCASE characters."
- Practical Discussion:
Mallam Mahmud Abacah answers the question, "Are 10 million emails a day too many?"
- Competition:
Other countries are now adapting our business. Is this a threat or an opportunity?
- Tech Session:
Mrs. M Sese-Seko reveals valuable secrets in her session titled, "Those Pesky Email Headers"
- Commerce:
Find out how banking systems throughout the world operate -- with special emphasis on money transfers.
- Linguistics:
Damn, spam, scam, sham. And more rhymes in the "sticks and stones" category.
- Telecommunications:
Soliciting via cell phone text messaging: Can it work?
- Accounting:
The taxman he's a comin': Keeping good and accurate records.
- Open Discussion:
We will resume last year's high-spirited discussion of unionization, including health benefits.
- Workshop:
Grammatical errors: What's the optimal number?
- For Newcomers:
View an entertaining PowerPoint presentation that describes how to get started in this lucrative business, with no initial investment!
- Hand-on Session:
Experts critique your emails, and offer valuable tips.
I'm making my travel plans now and hope to see you there! And I found the link here at MadKane.com
Nate 5:58 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Well then, its Sunday morning and I should already be outside doing yardwork and getting ready for next week's trip to Michigan. Instead I'm still here in the basement closet home of Wasted Electrons catching up on the blogs I normally read and following links to other that folks recommend. And my comments are closed for maintenance with a note to send money to help get them back on the airwaves again. Hmmph. Haloscan is back open for business of putting comments on blogs and it seemed to get picked up by most of the regular members of the AoW just last week, so I guess I could switch. If I just worked at it for a few minutes, which I probably won't do...
Let's see. Before leaving for my vacation there is software to load on a borrowed laptop, find out the screensaver password for said laptop, yardwork and a fence panel to fasten to keep Sandy in the yard. And I really want the Baja back on its wheels.
Raising the ride height on that silly thing turned into a real project. The brakes were gone through and new springs installed, the tube style bumper had new mounts fabricated, we replaced the stripped bolt that wasn't holding the motor in as designed and a couple significant rust holes were cleaned up and bondoed closed.
So today it is back on its wheels and all the tools put away until after vacation. I probably should order the new headlight buckets now and let them ship while we're gone.
I have company here in the palatial Wasted Electrons world headquarters and ski gear closet this morning, my cat Uintah. Its good duty if you can get it!
No further news on Noah's enttrance into the Coast Guard. He played phone tag with the recruiter all last week but only halfheartedly so he never got an answer either way. Now its a call on Monday, hopefully.
I just used my new digital cam to add that cat picture to this post and it was so remarkably easy that I still can't believe it. I snapped the picture on a whim, plugged the camera into the USB cable already attached to my PC, went to the web page where the pictures on this site reside, browsed to the camera's location on the PC as a removeable drive and uploaded it right to the web from the camera! No trips to Wal-Mart for processing, no moving the sleeping cat to access the scanner, no saving the picture to the hard drive, just click, upload and finish writing the post. Very cool.
So I'm off to do manual labor and get all sweaty and dirty for the remainder of the day. Later when I get back inside I'll get to work on the laptop customizations for my trip.
One last thing this morning. I am not a big computer game fan. Most of them require just too much time and brain power for me to bother with. I do like to play MahJong on computer and just this week I found what I think is the finest version I've ever played. Its called Moraff's More Jong and you can get the trial version of it here. I'll probably even pony up for a registered version of this game to keep me entertained.
Nate 11:12 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Friday, June 27, 2003
I'm going digital! I'm such a geek really, just financially challenged with keeping up with all the latest gadgets, so I just today bought my first digital camera. Its an Olympus D-380. Two megapixels, 5X digital zoom, no optical zoom and heavily discounted at the BX at lunch time.
The camera I fell in love with was this one, the Casio Exilim 2.0. It is almost exactly the size and shape of a playing card deck. Polished metal, sleek but intuitive tiny buttons and a recharge/usb dock that stays with the computer. It was however, twice as much as my self-inflicted budget would allow.
We have been using single use throwaway cameras for a couple years now, ever since the 35mm camera I bought for the BSU got soaked during a rafting adventure on the Green River. I hate them really and especially the trip to Wal-Mart (or 2) to get them processed. They seemed to lay about the house for very long times and the significance of the picture in the first place was usually long lost. And of course I always had to fire up the scanner to convert snapshots into something you, my dedicated reader could enjoy.
Now its just snap, plug-in and download and there it is for your viewing pleasure. Yeah... Anyway, I'll be experimenting and you will be my hapless victims as I post the up on the world wide web!
Nate 2:52 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
More fun with email -and mullet!
I asked Terry, (who is on hiatus, as we all know) this question this morning by email:
Subject: Are you an Access Mr. Know-it-all? Or just a PowerPoint droid? I've made some kind of error in my job security securing Access database that has created a circular reference that I can't find. And the help links aren't working!
And of course, Terry who is on hiatus writes me back in just a minute or two and replys:
Oooo--nope, I don't bother with Access. In fact, I
don't think I've ever even looked at it. Have you tried hitting it with a mullet?
Which is an obvious reference to his new improved Possumblog - now with comments!
And I had to write back:
Well, since hitting the pc with a mullet would require multiple hours hanging over a bridge railing holding a heavy, dripping net with the hope of catching a mullet, maybe the faster method would be to simply throw the 'puter over the rail and let the mullet work on it in their own environment...
And his final response on this subject:
Hmm, I see your point. And it is a more elegant solution.
Nate 9:38 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Thursday, June 26, 2003
I sent this link by email to a couple friends of mine this afternoon. The subject line of the email said: Subject: I did NOT send this to you!
Chris, who works at an Air Force office inside the Pentagon sends back this reply:
310 on the third try -- I can't believe I did this!!
Sorry, buddy, I SAVED the email -- you can't deny your reprobative influence
-- YOU WILL LOSE IN COURT - probably find yourself in jail with Chantay,
the windshield murderess....gotta go fling a cow!
I'm not SIGNING this so you can't implicate me!!!
Dooh! Actually Chris was a Reservist that was called back to active duty before Operation Kill Iraqi Bastards who has now been given a permanent active duty billet with the pay and retirement benefits of any active duty officer. Only bad thing is he's living alone in Viginia while the wifely person and children are still in the great midwest waiting for the house to sell.
Its your tax dollars at work folks!
Nate 3:09 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
The Salt Lake Tribune -- Teachers get preliminary OK to carry weapons
The Jordan School Board gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a policy outlining the conditions under which district employees may carry a concealed weapon on school property with a valid permit.
Employees must keep the weapon concealed and employees who legally use a concealed weapon on school grounds do so in their individual capacities, not their scope of employment.
The Jordan board will formally vote on the policy at its July 16 meeting.
How about that? A little bit of common sense from behind the Zion Curtain. I like it!
Nate 10:46 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
The Salt Lake Tribune -- Scanners reveal more than guns
To the eye, she is dressed in a skirt and blazer in dark, businesslike colors.
On the monitor, the director of the Transportation Security Administration's security laboratory is naked, except for a gun and a bomb that she hid under her outfit.The government is considering using the technology at airport security checkpoints because the magnetometers now in use cannot detect plastic weapons or substances used in explosives.
Hallowell is sacrificing her modesty to make a point: Air travelers are not going to like being technologically undressed by security screeners.
"It does basically make you look fat and naked -- but you see all this stuff," Hallowell said Wednesday during a demonstration of the technology.
Personally, since most of us are fat and naked under our clothes, I think that if we were required to travel naked with nothing more than a magazine or wallet we could save a lot of money on all this dang screening. Get to the airport, receive a clothing and personal effects bag with your boarding pass. Go into the (un)dressing room, get naked, put your stuff in the bag and give it to the baggage handler on the way out the door.
Everybody flies naked and that way there's no requirement for the metal detectors or other screening and nobody has a concealed weapon. Gather your bag of clothes getting off the plane, get dressed, gather your luggage from the carousel and your on your merry way.
Think it will work?
I would NOT want to be the guy who's job it would be to clean the airplanes between flights and overnight! Maybe slip-on paper seat covers would be a requirement...
Nate 10:02 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Mission Accomplished. I got through the briefing with no major stumbles, a little bit of instruction from the chairman and the approval I required.
Ok, I can breathe again. Now its a matter of getting the contracting people to do their part by generating the neccesary letters. And oh, by the way, the engineer just happened to have a technical issue related to getting possesion of the component drawings, receiving updates to drawings the AF doesn't own from a vendor that probably isn't either on contract or getting paid to provide; and the drawings are incorrect anyway!
At least he held his tongue until the briefing was over!
And the company is paying for lunch today... Whoopee. I haven't even received a coffee mug or ID neck string from the new company yet so I should be impressed with lunch at Lucky China? At least its their money paying for it!
Nate 9:10 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Stressed! As usual prior to giving the briefings on this current program I have been involved with for a year. I know my stuff and the audience and the goal so it shouldn't be so tough. But it is.
Leaving here in 10 minutes to go to the briefing room. The chairman of the meeting is in Ohio and I'm briefing via video teleconference technology. Its harder to get a feel for the tone or attitude of the audience when they are 2 times zones away and communicating over a scratchy phone connection...
So. More when I'm done and can relax.
Nate 7:45 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Gephardt Issues Order Making Himself President
2003-06-23) -- Just a day after announcing that he would use executive orders to overturn Supreme Court decisions, Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-MO, announced today that he has appointed himself President of the United States, effective immediately.
"I have duly sworn myself in as president," he said. "Instead of having the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court administer the oath of office, I just issued an executive order effective retroactively in advance."
President Gephardt has already issued an executive order making it illegal to "challenge the constitutionality of my reign as president."
Guess he's willing to declare himself just President instead of King... Its from Scrappleface, of course!
Nate 2:23 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Busy, busy, busy today. Charts, coordination of comments to the charts through 2 air force bases and an early briefing tomorrow. So the charts have got to be ready as do I.
I'm wearing the coolest shirt today, made just for me by BSU who is a wonderful seamstress when she gets fired up and going in her sewing room. This is a casual, hawaiian style shirt with colorful hot rod cars all over it. Its beautiful! And loud. But very handsome and stylish and I love it. There's also some green, tropical rainforest and toucans fabric waiting to be made into another shirt that will be equally as dashing.
So, why hawaiian shirts at work you might ask? Wearing wild shirts on Wednesday is a tradition in the hangars that the guys that fix the F16s have followed for years. Since many of the folks that I work with started their careers fixing jets before moving to program management, the tradition continues here, to show support for the guys in the hangar. And so, I get to wear bright shirts too.
So back to my charts for now. I'm interested in a digital camera for $150 or less that I can buy right now. I'm open to suggestions.
Nate 2:18 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
ANYWAY, and all that, by the great power vested in me by a small card I carry in my wallet, it is with great pride that I take leave of my hiatusness to bestow and endow Terry Matson of BamaBlog with all of the rights and benefits of membership within the Cotton State Cat Fanciers and Pistol Club, otherwise know throughout the universe as the Axis of Weevil.
Bummer. I just wandered over to Possum dad's lair to prowl his links as is my usual route over to Janis Gore's place and Sugarmomma's and Kudzu Acres when I discovered that there's a new member of the Axil of Weevil this afternoon.
Now its not the new member that's a bummer, its her den's location over at Angelfire. Our computer networks here at the Site of Renumeration Source blocks all attempts to access Angelfire. Heck I'm surprised they even tolerate my typing into this browser window...
So those of you NOT on a seriously watched network go on over to say hi to Terry at BamaBlog. (Obviously no link until I get home!)
Nate 2:13 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Possumblog off the air for two weeks? How the heck are we supposed to keep the Axis of Weevil (Axle of Weevil?) rotating smoothly without the Chairman and Chief Executing Officer out of the office? Who will Chet the email boy deliver the mail to? Think of the Post-It notes pile that will be stuck to the Head Possum's den entrance waiting for his return? Think of the overflowing inbox of strange and wonderful referrals from people around the world Googling the most perverse of requests.
How can he do this to us? Two weeks? Doesn't he own a laptop? Or couldn't he borrow one from the company's IT department to keep us all up to date on the wonders of Possumness?
The last email I received from Possum dad yesterday mentioned putting aside "That Which Is Nonremunerative" to accomplish those things that are presumably renumerative.
So its cold turkey for us possum fanciers for an extended time. Bummer. But I should mention to my two regular readers that this blog scribe will also be paroled from my cubicle next Monday for an entire week of leisure time, to be spent in the great state of Michigan.
Its family reunion time and there are a great number of nieces and nephews and cousins that this humble scribe has either never met or not seen in a number of years that might best be described as a decade or more... It should be fun and provide lots of blog fodder for your annoyance.
To that end, I think I'm going to try to borrow a laptop to take with me. And I'm going to buy a digital camera. And maybe, just maybe I'll be able to do a little live-blogging from Michigan, surrounded by family. To justify the trouble I think I'm going to try to produce photo CDs on scene as pictures come out of the camera to distribute without resorting to mailers after the fact...
Now to arrange the laptop!
Nate 1:56 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Utah-Colorado land swap?
Mon, June 23, 2003
SALT LAKE CITY - A Tennessee congressman is pushing a federal land swap in Utah and Colorado that would enable one of his constituents to consolidate his holdings.
The deal would trade 3,400 acres of public land in eastern Utah near the man"s new log cabin for his private land in Colorado.
Bureau of Land Management officials oppose the proposal, but Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., is sponsoring the trade legislation in behalf of Bill Rodgers, a sports motivational consultant and owner of a Knoxville car dealership, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Rodgers would trade 2,800 acres of ranch land he owns in Moffat County, Colo., for 3,400 acres of land on Diamond Mountain in Utah"s Daggett and Uintah counties near Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery, about 25 miles northeast of Vernal.
A similar bill died in the House Resources Committee last year after BLM officials opposed it.
Rodgers contends his Colorado property would appraise for higher value than the Utah land and has agreed to pay any difference if the Utah acreage is worth more than the Colorado property.
BLM officials do not want to lose the Utah public land, which is popular with off-roaders and hunters, and they do not want the Colorado land.
Hmm, I wonder why this seems like such a bad idea... Rich easterner buys land out west, then discovers he's unhappy with the property, so he asks his congressman to help him with his special personal hunting preserve...
Personal opinion... maybe you should have bought what you really wanted in the first place. Or you could just shut the hell up and be happy that you've made enough money to claim an oversized part of the planet to your own greedy self!
Nate 10:59 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
75 years of concept cars
from cnn.com
More than 125 concept cars and trucks, with examples from all three U.S. automakers, were brought together on Sunday for the 16th annual Eyes on Design Automotive Exhibit at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Mich.
This would have been a really neat show to go see. There's a fine picture show at the link if you want to see the cars.
Nate 9:25 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Who said?
"When I'm president, we'll do executive orders to overcome any wrong thing the Supreme Court does tomorrow or any other day "
P.S. He's a Democrat...
Find out here and Kim has a little bit to say about this Dumbocrat's statement and his friends over at his Daily Rant.
Geez, he sounds just like I do when I get on my "When I get appointed king" soapbox...
Nate 8:37 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Monday, June 23, 2003
What I saw over my weekend
Lots of details later about a very fun weekend but for now I'll just point you to pictures of the burrowing owl family that Noah & I observed while driving out north of the Great Salt Lake. We saw one adult and 4 juveniles, the adult was on top of the burrow, the young ones stood in a group near the edge.
At first, Noah, looking through the binoculars couldn't identify the brown lump next to the burrow but when I go my chance to see close up, there was 8 big yellow eyes looking at me from that clump! We watched them beside the road from just about 40 feet for a number of minutes. Very good fun!
On another subject entirely but related to fun and son Noah, on my way home I get to jerk a knot in the tail of a Coast Guard recruiter that has been jacking him around for a couple weeks. I've been practicing my "irate Master Sergeant" demeanor for an hour or so now and its almost quitting time!
I can be very cranky with people that don't or won't do their job and then lie about it...
Nate 12:54 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
2005 Ford GT
MMMM! I want one! But since the donations to my tip jar have been so weak, I think I will be reduced to saving the pictures and making them my desktop images. You could too, so check it out if there's high octane in your blood.
Nate 11:37 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Friday, June 20, 2003
Administrative Note: All of January's archives have been moved to Blog Studio. And May through June. More to follow when I get time.
Nate 3:17 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
A great post from Sparkey over at Sgt Stryker's Daily Briefing. Its called The Burglary.
It comes with a liquid refreshment/keyboard monitor alert...
Nate 11:32 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
This is cool. Sleek jet shoots for land-speed record from CNN.com
A team of more than a dozen men have been spending their weekends on a 39,000-horsepower dream: to shatter the world land-speed record of 763 miles per hour with a former jet plane on wheels.
Members of North American Eagle get together every Saturday or Sunday morning with tools, doughnuts and an ice-chest full of beer to work on the project. Team members include an ejection specialist who worked on NASA space missions, a jet engine mechanic, a computer technician, a former B-52 mechanic, an auto body specialist, a machinist and an engineer. All are volunteers. I wish I could go play with them!
The group says it still needs $500,000 to finish the vehicle and another $500,000 to hold the record-breaking session, which would require a camp for a 30-member crew for a month.
On its Web site, the team asks for potential sponsors to provide everything from on-board computers to portable toilets and toilet paper. Hey! I could afford to buy them some toilet paper!
Good luck guys!
Nate 10:52 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Orin Hatch uses unregistered software!
From the front page of today's Salt Lake Tribune paper and exposed by Simon over at Amish Tech Support...
Most everybody that's a blogger or blog reader saw this yesterday and today its front page news in the published press, so its another win for bloggers in the search for truth, justice and the American way... So good on ya Simon!
Simon also has a link to the Trib's page and a fisking of the comments from Senator Hatch's office that's worth reading here.
In an e-mail interview, Milonic's Andy Woolley said his $900 menu code is made available free for personal or nonprofit use -- the latter a category under which Hatch probably could qualify.
However, the senator's site clearly was "in breach of our terms and conditions" even in the latter case, he said.
Woolley said nonprofit use requires the Web site designers to include a link to his commercial Internet location (www.milonic.co.uk), and leave all imbedded copyright information unchanged. Finally, users are asked to inform Woolley of how they will use his menuing code.
None of those requirements was met before the site went up in August, he said, noting he had not had any contact with Hatch's office or his Web site developer, GSL Solutions of Tampa, Fla., over the matter until after Simon's revelation.
Hatch spokeswoman Margarita Tapia said the senator's office acted quickly to correct the problem.
"You have to put this into context," she said. "There was never a financial obligation.
"The company that programs our Web site used freeware to program the drop-down menus," she said. "We have relocated the copyright information in compliance with the licensing agreement."
By late Thursday, Hatch's Web site had been updated in answer to Milonic's copyright requirements. Further, Woolley confirmed he had been in contact with GSL regarding formal registration of his program.
Heh heh heh!
Nate 10:25 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Whew! FInally. I've completed yet another set of charts for another briefing that I have to deliver, probably next week- if the bosses-that-are-in charge are available to chair the meeting and hear what I have to say. And this briefing has everything to do with money, so its rather time critical and important that I get it right. Its mostly legalese and formalities really but since I've never done this particular briefing before getting the charts right has been a major headache.
But the charts are out for review right now, so essentially that's done. I also finally rewarded myself by printing out Bill Whittle's last essay Magic and reading it through, undisturbed, during my lunch. If you haven't already read it, I strongly recommend that you do. I copy & paste his essays into MS Word and print them as they are lengthy and its easier for my addled mind to keep track of dead tree printed pages. Plus I staple it together and float it around my cubicle and office for others to see that might never find it in the blogosphere.
If you're not already a regular reader of Bill Whittle's essays I strongly suggest that you spend some time over at his blog and read his past work. He is one smart and interesting guy and I really like exploring what he has to say. He's promised a published book of his essays in the near future. When its available I'm buying a copy for each of my kids. I think they are some very practical intelligent thoughts on the real world and I want my boys to read what he has to say.
Now its time to get back to work for a couple more hours.
Nate 1:05 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
[take the test] - [by krystaljungle.com]
Hmm, I've got a clock above desk inscribed with "grammar grinch" but "grammar whore?" That's kind of rude.
Nate 10:38 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
UPDATE: I talked to Dad last night. Carol got through her surgery with no complications and was feeling well enough to eat a bit in the evening. She should be home by Friday.
Just a note early today and a small request from those of you that believe in the power of prayer; my dad's new bride of 5 weeks Carol is having mastectomy surgery today to fight the breast cancer that was recently diagnosed. Its been a trying time already for both of them and typically there's a lot of emotion and pain involved in the recovery period.
So my thoughts are with Carol and dad today and I'm praying for her, the doctors and all the folks that will be caring for her. I hope you will too.
Nate 6:51 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Orin Hatch is a dumbass...
Sure this guy's been in politics forever, and sure, it was the same Senator that came out of a classified intelligence briefing to announce to the world that the US was very good at intercepting Osam bin Laden's satelite phone conversations.
And now he wants the opportunity to blow up our computers, in our homes, to teach us a "copyright lesson."
The link will take you to every blogger in the sphere that has remarked about this dumbass much more eloquently than I possibly could, so go check them out.
And remember that this dipstick is a revered figure with his constituents here behind the Zion Curtain...
Nate 3:36 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Business Travel Hints from Mrs. du Toit
All good hints and relevant for anyone that travels, except for #4:
Never forget to pack shampoo AND conditioner because you might find yourself in a slimy place that doesn't supply it and washing your hair twice, because the conditioner is actually hand lotion, is a major time delay.
since some of us have no need for conditioner...
And the money quote: Now that the airlines are scanning all bags and closing them with plastic ties after they've been scanned, how in the hell are you supposed to get the plastic tie off the suitcase, when everything sharp you might use to remove it IS INSIDE THE DAMN SUITCASE!??!
Yup.
Nate 10:29 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Its time for Ogden Raptors baseball! Last night was the opening game of the season down in Provo against the Angels. Ans while the web site doesn't reflect it yet this morning, the Raptors won the opener 9-4.
First home game next Monday night. Guess where I'll be... Sure beats summer tv reruns!
Nate 7:36 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Crazy Don's SUV World
You know that Hummer's not enough for a real man! And, somehow we have to pay for that silly little war we just fought over there in Iraq.
So go get yourself a real SUV and ditch that puny Hummer...
Nate 7:27 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Monday, June 16, 2003
Details and stories to go with the pictures to follow later. I just needed to get them published tonight from home.
UPDATE: There's a bit of story next to each of the photos today.
Nate 10:22 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Son Noah & Lily at Noah's graduation
I did write already about attending Noah's graduation. It was a wonderful evening if one ignored the squirming, wriggling children, the seats designed for 1930s sized butts and the lack of air conditioning. One of the speakers even mentioned that the school was built by the WPA and that the cost of construction was less than the current estimate to add air conditioning to the building.
It was a beautiful evening and I was really quite the proud dad.
Now if he would just go find a summer job and quit laying in bed all day...
Nate 10:18 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
BSU, her two boys, a daughter-in-law and a a girlfriend
And, yes we do live close to the mountains! That's my driveway.
Two weekends ago I was in the carport working on the Baja when the phone rang and surprisingly it was my oldest son Kye. This is the one that just recently got married. (My regular readers might remember our surprise of receiving a wedding announcement 5 weeks after the fact). But Son 1 was in town and wanted to know if he and the new bride could come visit...
"Get your butt and hers over here now!"
So they came over and we had a very nice visit. I didn't even have to buy them dinner as they had already eaten. Son 2 and his girlfriend showed up later and I grabbed the camera and the opportunity to get everybody squeezed into one picture. Of course the sun was getting low and I insisted they face into the blazing orb, hence the squinting but I got a picture and no permanent damage occurred.
BSU of course doesn't like this picture, cause its got her in it, but I do like it, for the very same reason. It was really good to see her with her two "big" boys.
Nate 10:18 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
The newlyweds
Move-in Day
I mentioned that when Son 1 and his new bride Sara came to visit that we had a very wonderful visit. And its new to say "daughter-in-law" but its nice too and I guess I'll get used to it.
One of the things they were excited about was their impending purchase of a new townhouse! The closing was just the next day and they were quite anxious to get the keys in their hands and to get moved out of their apartment. The townhouse is brand new, they got to pick countertop colors and the type of fridge and range and carpet colors, so they were really excited about having a place to call their very own.
"And could we help move on Saturday? Just the big stuff, with my truck, and its just across the street from the apartment, (which is true) and some other friends are going to help with all the heavy lifting."
"Of course son, glad you would ask. We'll be there Saturday morning." And we were there Saturday morning as promised, but the other help was a no-show, there had been a communication mixup and it was just us, my two boys, the two wives and me.
Fortunately Son 1 and bride had boxed and moved most of the items that would fit into boxes and her car during the week before we arrived. Our job was the washer & dryer, the bed, 2 dressers and three big living room pieces, a chair, love seat and couch.
Now their new digs are really nice but its three levels and nothing we were moving went on the main level! The overstuffed seating all went into the downstairs den, with stairs and a right turn in the middle; the washer & dryer and the dressers and the bed all went upstairs with a left hand turn on the landing...
We ran out and rented a dolly for the appliances and it helped the job to be possible. But we still had to play Homeowners Geometry to figure out how to get the machines in the house, around the corner at the base of the stairs, (open the closet door and swing the washer's corner into the closet), up the first 8 steps, take the strap off the appliance, dead lift the appliance straight up to clear removing the dolly and then move the dolly 90 degrees and replace it back under the appliance. Then it could be restrapped and pulled and lifted the final 10 steps to the top floor!
Repeat process for dryer... Woohah. Tiring.
The rest of the move went pretty smoothly really and they had just cleaning supplies and cats to move over when we left them that evening.
And Sara's mom is driving out from Illinois with more furniture, did I mention that? She was to arrive by Monday, unload her booty and then the 3 of them were headed back to Illinois for several days and then the newly weds will finally get a chance to unpack, plug in and settle into their new digs sometime next week.
And they have a double garage! How unfair is that? I'm mighty jealous of the garage and the entire place is actually very nice. Bigger than I would have guessed. There's a gas fireplace in the main floor living area, a fancy round tub in the master bath and a dishwasher, all things that I don't have... Hummph!
Anyway, as parents we're quite proud of the two of them and wish them all the best. It really seems that they are on a good track and acting like real adults and citizens. They've got a great new place to call their own and I think it will be good for them.
And the best news? The second bedroom is NOT being set up as a nursery! Still no grandchildren in my forseeable future!
I think I'm going to buy them a Lowes gift card to assist in their window covering purchases.
Nate 10:14 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Two teens killed in I-80 crash From the Ogden Standard-Examiner
SALT LAKE CITY - Two 17-year-old boys were killed when a sports utility vehicle drove into a concrete pillar of an underpass on Interstate 80.
Donny Tuitavuki and Michael Crofoot, both of Salt Lake City, died instantly in the crash around 3 a.m. Saturday, said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Ted Tingey.
Tuitavuki was driving the Nissan Pathfinder westbound, Tingey said. For an unknown reason, the vehicle veered off the road to the right into gravel and traveled along the shoulder before striking the overpass pillar head-on.
This should have been titled "When good SUVs go Bad" if the story is to be believed. Its a damm shame that kids die in automobiles, its a pity that jounalists are so afraid of litigation that they are obligated by their editors to make the vehicle the evil killer.
That is the actual policy by the way; the article can not assign any possible blame to involved individuals due to possible liabilty lawsuits. So the vehicle becomes a killer and vehicles veer off the road for unknown reasons...
Geez, two 17 year olds, at 3 AM, on the interstate. You figure it out.
Nate 12:18 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Hill pilot's jet crashes in Iraq - F-16 airman ejects, rescued on ground
Fri, June 13, 2003
By LISA ROSKELLEY
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- An F-16 pilot from Hill Air Force Base"s 388th Fighter Wing ejected safely from his jet before it crashed in Iraq Thursday.
The pilot is a captain from the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron who had deployed to southwest Asia May 23 as part of a mission to support ground troops and protect the skies.
It is unclear what caused the airplane to crash, and the incident is under investigation.
"He was on a routine mission," said Lt. Col. Pete Davidson, commander of the 388th Operations Support Squadron. "We don"t want to speculate about what the cause was."
The pilot was rescued and taken to the Baghdad International Airport, where he was examined and declared in good condition. He was rescued by a combat search and rescue team about an hour after the 6:30 a.m. accident, which is equivalent to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday local time.
"Obviously, the good news is he was rescued quickly and safely," Davidson said.
The pilot"s wife has been notified, but his name is not being released by the wing. The crash will be thoroughly investigated over the next month, Davidson said. The status of the aircraft is unknown.
This is the first time during Operation Iraqi Freedom a pilot from Hill AFB has been involved in a crash with the $25 million F-16s, Davidson said.
He said an accident like this is not expected to have any sort of traumatizing effect on the rest of the 250 people from the 421st squadron stationed in southwest Asia.
"This is what we train for," he said.
Just glad for our local guy that he's ok. Last week was tough on the F-16 fleet, not only did the AF loose this one in Iraq, two additional aircraft were crashed from Luke AFB in Arizona during separate training missions. Both of those pilots also survived which is a tribute to the ACES II ejection seat capabilities and the guys that maintain that seat.
Nate 11:40 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Snoring Kids Do Worse in School, Says Study
Children who snore perform worse at school, according to a new study by German scientists.
"Our study clearly showed that snoring has a detrimental effect on children's performance in school," Christian Poets, head of a joint study by the University of Tuebingen and the Hanover Medical School, said on Friday.
Think how much the kid next to the snorers are affected! "Teacher, Hans is snoring again and I can't hear the Americans are destroying Europe lecture."
Nate 8:53 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Its late Father's Day evening, I'm tired, and I over ate at dinner at the new Golden Corral down the road. There's still laundry to dry and fold and I'm just really too tired to write.
But I haven't died, even if I haven't written since Thursday and even if you were counting on it. I've got pictures to scan and that too shall have to wait. So, tomorrow. I promise to write a little something tomorrow.
Nate 9:12 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Busy today but the archives are getting moved over to Blog Studio from Blogger. Almost all of May now resides here at Blog Studio. I still don't have the new Dano version of Blogger like Terry.
NOTE: I changed this post to reflect the complete name of my fine blogging host Blog Studio as it was pointed out to me that abbreviating to BS might just not work. Thanks Janis!
Nate 10:47 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
More weekend highlights!
How 'bout this, its Wednesday already and I still am trying to tell you about the weekend past. I'll try to keep it simple and just hit the highlights.
First, Number 1 son and his new bride came to visit! It was the first time we had heard from them in a number of weeks except for the wedding announcement we received in the mail a couple weeks ago. It was wonderful to see both of them and we had a very nice time. They even had already had their dinner so I got off the hook for feeding them!
The newlyweds are moving very soon into a brand new townhouse and they were quite excited about having their own place and getting out of their current digs. We were excited to hear that no nursery is planned for the foreseeable future!
Anyway, I did get some pictures of BSU with both sons and the women in their lives which I promise to post after they come back from the one hour counter at WalMart.
POSSIBLE MOVIE SPOILER ALERT- FINDING NEMO!
BSU and I did sneak off to see Finding Nemo and I was disappointed. There's no catchy tune to hum along with like Jungle Book , the story was way over the heads of the non-paying intended audience, (kids) and preachy in the "fish are friends, not food" mantra of the shark's Fish Eaters Anonymous group. I also thought the story line about Nemo's "small" fin being his "lucky" fin was lame (pun definitely not intended.) I suspect that even though the writers were trying to mainstream Nemo and show that characters with differences could overcome their physical disabilities, that no person with a deformed limb would care to call it their "lucky" limb.
Kids I suppose would find Nemo to be a pleasant diversion and story. I just saw it as a marketing opportunity to be exploited. Toy Story (both of them) were much more entertaining and I liked the characters much better.
We also saw The Italian Job last night and both of us really liked that one! But a review of that will have to wait until later.
Nate 3:52 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
More terrorism in Israel today. Read this and this from LGF and then ask yourself this: If President Bush said in September 2001 that the United States is at war against terrorism, why the hell is the president trying to restrain Israel from stopping the bragging terrorists known as Hamas?
There can be no peace in the Mideast, no discussions with the Palestinan Authority until the PA forces the myriad terrorist groups to put down their explosives and to stop killing civilians. If the PA can't make the terrorists stop, Israel can and must make them stop and the US needs to support their right to exist.
Dangitall, this situation gets me riled up! Here's my rule. Don't negotiate with terrorists. Hunt terrorists. With vigor. And no bag limits!
Nate 12:50 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
I found out this morning who it was that spent so much time here as I reported last night. Seems the person just got busy and forgot to turn off their browser... at work, and who's never had that problem before? So no stone throwing and anonymity was requested and so it shall be.
That same person was also looking at the references I had made to wanting an X10 camera for fun and excitement and home protection... So here's a link to the X10 homepage in case anybody's still interested.
And I still want one!
Nate 7:46 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Surfing through the referrer logs late tonight and I found this. Check out the amount of time somebody spent at my site today! Two hundred and two minutes? Wow! I sure hope they found what they were looking for...
I also noted that the site this person visits from is repeated quite often in this list... Do I have a stalker? Just a fan? Its fun to guess I suppose.
Write or leave a note in a comment somewhere whoever you are from ba-dsg.net!
Nate 10:44 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Weekend update, as promised.
Friday night was son Noah's graduation ceremony. So even though it was casual day with blue jeans and a golf shirt at work, it meant I had to put on slacks and a dress shirt and tie. On a Friday...sigh.
So off we went to Ogden High School, plenty early so there would be time for pictures and to get close-in parking and seats in the auditorium. While I can't find a picture of OHS right now, its enough for you to know that it was built by the WPA. Before air conditioning was a normal thing to install in a room that seats 3000.
And of course we got stuck in a row with squirming, obnoxious children in front and behind us. And obnoxious parents as well for not knowing when kids should be left with a babysitter. One of the adults directly in front of us looked like Meatloaf after too many weeks of touring... Ughh.
Anyway, graduates paraded, speeches were given and the school song sung and just 3 1/2 hours later we were again breathing fresh air. Noah had graduated!
He seemed to like the Craftsman toolbox, socket set and screwdriver set that was his graduation gift. If we're going to kick him out of the nest shortly its probably good to get him equipped with some real tools. I'll be continuing to add to the box contents throughout the summer so that he's reasonably able to perform most of the work he's likely to tackle.
Nate 11:09 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Look at this picture and answer this question:
Do you shoot the squirrel and save the bottle to recycle or do you shoot the bottle just to see if the bursting glass kills the squirrel?
Nate 9:15 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Monday, June 09, 2003
Well then. Another day of work completed and not much time for blogging. Adjust.
I received a tough email message from my dad today, seems his bride of just a few weeks has had 2 lumps diagnosed as malignant just last week. She's had additional tests and a visit to the surgeon already since last Wednesday. It sounds scary for both of them.
Tomorrow is also the 1st anniversary of BSU's attempt on her own life. She has asked me to be home in the afternoon with her and you know I will be. I very nearly lost her last year to depression and suicide and it was just by the most meager of human interactions and complete divine intervention that she survived. Which at the time really pissed her off. She was in the hospital 5 weeks and eventually received 8 electro-shock treatments and she continues each day with medications, visits to a Dr. and a therapist.
She is less angry about being alive these days, even happy about it most of the time. But she still gets depressed about "what's better now?" and "what have I accomplished this year?" We talk about this often. All I can do is assure her of my love and the love of her family and the benefit she brings to our lives by being in our world. She doesn't always own that very well. Because she didn't intend to be here this year, many things have been left undone, family holiday traditions, the sewing and quilting and embroidery she used to enjoy and any interest in her home's appearance, all left undone.
Sometimes she does a little reading in self help books but her short term memory isn't good because of the ECT and so reading and comprehending are tough. She's left her flower beds unattended this year and taken little interest even in the annuals that have sprung up in spite of her. She sleeps many hours every day and usually only arises about time for me to get home from work. Nothing seems to matter to her and there's just no reason to get out of bed according to her.
I can't tell you how hard this is on me to see her this way. This woman that I love was once the most motivated, capable and assertive woman I had ever met. And beautiful too. Independent and funny and sexy all wrapped in one package. But the bipolar disorder was there too, all along and sometimes life has been pretty easy and sometimes not so easy.
We even got divorced back in 92 after being married for 10 years. Its too sordid a tale to tell tonight but her mental health played some large part of it and a few months later when her circumstances in Alaska weren't turning out how she envisioned them she came back to Louisiana and later we got remarried.
So why spill all this anyway? Honestly, I don't know except that often I do carry these burdens nearly alone with just one close friend to share with and he's two time zones away. And I miss the woman that my BSU was when she was healthy. I also want her to continue to get better and to be my companion for a long time to come.
I guess for you folks that keep regular prayer lists I'm asking if you could add my beloved to your lists. And my dad Roger and Carol also. Good night.
Nate 9:06 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
In case you are wondering; this is what I want for Father's Day. I'm sick of trying to get cars jacked up far enough off the ground to do real work without using dangerous combinations of lumber chunks and a too small jack.
Just in case you were wondering. PayPal donations gladly accepted...
And I still need one of these!
Nate 10:43 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Well then, its Monday already dangitall and I'm back at work. Lots of interesting developments over the weekend and I'll try to detail those later today. Highlights include graduation night with no air conditioning, Son 1 and his bride drop in for a visit, wrench bending on the Baja and Searching for Nemo. And a nice email this AM from XSU about her trip to Ohio and sneaking up on the Reverend brother of mine.
So I'm going to do some real work for a bit and I'll get back here later today.
Nate 7:22 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Friday, June 06, 2003
So, today hasn't been a total loss after all, even if I still did not blog about everything I intended. I did get my template fixed, I have looked into a very low cost offer to get set up with Moveable Type, (more to follow) and I did purchase airplane tickets for my vacation trip in July. I've also cunningly wrapped a special present for HCLL (that's a secret for now) and have it prepped to go to the Post office on the way home.
Tonight is Noah's graduation ceremony. BSU says we've made it, we got him through school. Truth is, except that he would only work just hard enough and wouldn't struggle any to get good grades for the sake of a GPA, it hasn't been too difficult to get him through. Much easier than Son 1's trip through public education.
So tonight's Noah's night. We went to dinner at Red Robin last night and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. His graduation present is a 4 drawer Craftsman tool box and a starter set of tools. I will be adding some additional essentials through the summer so he's ably equipped to do his own maintenance later on.
Which reminds me. I've got to score an alternator for the Tracker today. Its dead. Noah's been driving on just the battery for a couple days now and charging it over night... So off to a see a friend that rebuilds Trackers to see what's in his cupboard.
Bye for now!
Nate 3:16 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
I'm adding a new member to my blogroll today. I found it initially over at Kevin's Smallest Minority and I liked what I read and so I'm adding a link. Its called Publicola and while I haven't had time to read it all, Publicola is of course about our rights as Americans to own and carry firearms. He has a lot of good links to most of the organizations that support our 2nd Amendment rights
I did find this link mil-dot simulator training and what fun it is!
So go have a look around, there's lots of good stuff.
Nate 2:56 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Judge rejects driver's license veil request
Good for him.
Sultaana Freeman had testified that a state order requesting that she remove her veil -- a niqab, which covers all of her face except her eyes -- infringed on her religious freedom.
"It's totally changed my life and I really feel like a prisoner in my home," said Freeman in testimony before the court last week.
I can't help but think that its the "Religion of Peace" that has made her the prisoner. And from other things I've read, it sounds like a good muslim woman should not even be expectiong to drive, she's supposed to be in the house or accompanied by a male relative. There's actually a chart at the link of the rules in the major Muslim countries.
Judge Thorpe ruled that although Freeman held a sincere religious belief that she should wear the niqab in front of all strangers, she did not prove that "the photo requirement itself substantially burdens her right to free exercise of religion," or that the momentarily lifting the veil in a private room for a photo taken by a female officer would be such a burden.
On the other hand, the judge said in the ruling, the state did show that "having access to photo image identification is essential to promote" the state's "compelling interest in protecting the public."
Anyway, she's asking to drive in Florida and Florida rightly said she's got to uncover to have a drivers license. Well done.
Nate 2:41 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
YES! YES! YES! Its Fixed!
With help from David over at Blogmatrix my template is corrected and you're no longer seeing weird stuff, (besides my writing I mean) on this page!
Thanks David and your PayPal account just got heavier as promised!
Nate 10:57 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Monitor/Keyboard/Liquids Interference Alert!
Well then. As is my usual, frequent habit, I did some emailing yesterday with Possum King and Senior Executive Officer for the Axis of Weevil, Terry. We had a pretty good chat and I thought I would share it with my regular readers today.
The following is the email, transcribed into a normal reading method instead of making you start at the bottom and work up.
I wrote:
Yup. Breezed through the briefing that had been hindering my thought process and blogging this morning in less than 10 minutes with the approval I required. Yeah!
Now, already deeply into my database trying to extract info for an automated report that somehow magically figures out how crew chiefs get money to pay for parts. But the reports are wrong and the people in charge don't understand and the system's broken...
Tomorrow dang it all, I have to be at work, but blogging will improve...
Did I send you this?
CEOAoW wrote:
Oh, man, that's GREAT--I just put a link up as an update to that last post. You know, the thing that separates great art from everything else is its veracity.
ME: You stole my link while I was slaving away and too swamped to do it myself??? Oh the treachery! Ya bum...
CEOAoW wrote:
::glowing red face:: Well, it's too funny to not share as quickly as possible! I was "jump starting the process" and "empowering you" through "proactive delegation". I hope I didn't "steal your thunder"
because this was obviously "your ball to run with".
ME:
Well at least I got credit for finding it...
CEOAoW wrote:
Oh no, I didn't mean to "kill the puppy"! We might need to "reevaluate priorities" if this is "creating conflicting synergies"!
ME:
You're killing me here! ROTCFLOL (the C is for Cubicle for you non-Dilbert, non-cubicle caged folks)
So check out the link and see what started all this silliness!
Nate 8:39 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Thursday, June 05, 2003
No blogging but this until after lunch today. My briefing for which I have been diligently building charts is this morning. Since some of the affected parties had an important luncheon to attend, the meeting has been moved up 2 hours, meaning that my preparation time has been cut but that also my stress will be relieved earlier than anticipated.
So, more later and even a picture from last weeknd's camping trip.
Nate 8:45 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
I know you have all heard about this idiot that hoped to delay the airplane he was booked on by calling in a bomb threat. Is this guy the biggest idiot you've ever read about? What a dumbass...
How egotistical and narcisistic does one have to be to think that this plan was ok? And that the airplane would be waitiing patiently for him when he arrived late?
Can you imagine him explaining to his wife, (if he has one), "Honey, I won't be coming home tonight, or maybe any night for the next ten years because I was STUPID..." "Boss, about that meeting in Phoenix and the Wiggeldy Widget account...I'm in jail, because I'm stupid!" No "Employee of the Month" award for this dumbass!
Dammitall where do people go to have their ability to reason removed like this STUPID individual did?
Nate 12:39 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Kevin over at Small Minority has been busy and he has this to say today.
From the ACLU on the 2nd amendment...
There's this:
"We believe that the constitutional right to bear arms is primarily a collective one, intended mainly to protect the right of the states to maintain militias to assure their own freedom and security against the central government. In today's world, that idea is somewhat anachronistic and in any case would require weapons much more powerful than handguns or hunting rifles. The ACLU therefore believes that the Second Amendment does not confer an unlimited right upon individuals to own guns or other weapons nor does it prohibit reasonable regulation of gun ownership, such as licensing and registration."
and this, also from the ACLU on the 1st amendment:
"The principle is as simple as it is central to true freedom of speech: those who do wrong are responsible for what they do; those who speak about it are not. It is easy to defend freedom of speech when the message is something many people find at least reasonable. But the defense of freedom of speech is most critical when the message is one most people find repulsive."
Go read it all!
Nate 10:07 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Inexperienced Drivers and Cell Phones
See if you can figure out what's wrong with the NTSB's reasoning in this article...
Federal board recommends a cell phone ban for inexperienced drivers.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- All states should prohibit inexperienced drivers from using cell phones behind the wheel, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
New Jersey and Maine have passed laws prohibiting those with learner's permits from using cell phones or other wireless devices while driving. The NTSB said it wants the 48 other states to adopt similar laws, although it can't mandate the change.
...The recommendations were made after the board reviewed a February 2002 accident in which a 20-year-old Virginia driver with little experience flipped over her new sport utility vehicle and landed on a minivan in Maryland. She and four others were killed.
A federal investigation showed that the driver was speeding and talking on her cell phone when a wind gust hit the SUV. Investigators said the cell phone contributed to her loss of control, in addition to her inexperience and lack of familiarity with the vehicle.
Did you find the dumb-ass in this bit of proposed nanny-statism? I certainly did. First, the government wants to impose more laws on the public. And which public? Why its the inexperienced driver, the one with the learner's permit in their pocket and dreams of driving freedom in their heads. Its the public that everyone agrees is an inexperienced driver and needs more experience.
But guess what? These drivers can't vote! They're only 15 or 16 or 17 years old! These drivers are not represented by any elected official. The NHTSA knows that they would never be able to impose this change on adult drivers so they want to add more laws to an unrepresented group.
Next, the NHTSA report admits their research was driven by an accident caused by a 20 year old! Someone that conceivably could have had 4 or 5 years of daily driving experience. So they have measured a part of the poulation, gotten some results and now they want to inflict their rules on a different part of the population... Sounds like imposing new rules on electricity use in your home because your water utility bill is too high for comfort...
So 2 things come to mind here. First the government wants to legislate more rules but only against a group with no voice in government. Second, their decisions, based upon an incident where cell phone useage caused death and injury was not apparently caused by the target group. Nannyism, plain and simple.
Don't get me wrong though. I am opposed to all people chatting away on the roads that I share, one hand steering and the other clutching a cell phone to their ear while they compare last night's date results or whatever other conversation that can't possibly be delayed until they're stationary. I do think that teenaged drivers require much stricter training before being turned loose on the highways. And I think hands-free operation of phones is a good idea, if phone calls are absolutely essential and of a immediate nature.
Here's my solution and no new laws are required. Let the insurance companies make non-phone use or hands-free use part of their requirement to be insured. Each insurance user or purchaser signs an agreement that if they are in an accident while using their cell phone that the insurance company will not be obligated for any damages or injuries to anyone involved. Use a phone and cause injury, its your fault and you pay, not your insurance company...
Nate 7:18 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
It is already too late to start in about the camping trip from the weekend. Sorry. But not really sorry. When summer time hits I spend a lot of my time out doors. Tonight it was overseeing son & heir replacing battery cables on the Tracker and we just finished about 9:15.
Replacing battery cables is really a pretty unremarkable job so he did the work, I supervised. He insisted that the replacement cables should be the OE type with the skinny steel battery clamp instead of the normal lead ended cables. He even offered to pay the difference, (which I knew was a lie) and shut right up when we wandered into the Autozone and discovered that the cables he wanted were more than 3 times the price of the normal cables. Fourteen dollars instead of 4+ dollars just didn't make sense to this old dad and we went home for less than a ten spot.
And now the tracker's happy again. And I'm tired and need to go see the news with my beloved spouse. I did hear from my brother Mark tonight, he really has become a licensed minister for the Church of God. Good for him. My mother will be very happy to finally have one of us in the ministry which was I'm certain one of her life's dreams.
Going to see them all in Michigan in July and the anticipation is getting strong. But my blogging for the night is finished.
G'night ya'll.
Nate 10:21 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Excessively busy this AM with charts that still require further coordination that was just discovered this AM... And I will be out of the office this afternoon.
I still want to tell you about the weekend camping trip, the moose and deer and hummingbirds and snow and all but that will sadly have to wait. Additionally, I still have not resolved the code error I inflicted upon myself, so you are seeing some extraneous junk at the front of each post. I will get it fixed soonest. In the mean time it won't bite you and its not contagious.
As for news, the Amber Alert declared for the little girl abducted in California on Monday has resulted in her being found, safe and her abductor arrested here in Utah. So well done for the Amber Alert and glad to hear a happy ending for the little girl. You'll have to go find a link for yourself for now though. Maybe I can get one posted this evening.
Nate 11:04 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Monday, June 02, 2003
Hmmm, it was working before I started playing with it and now something's wrong...
Workin it. Really.
Nate 9:41 PM - [Link] Say something...
...
Adding a new name to my blogroll today...
Kevin's all about the RKBA, misuse of authority by the government and other interesting stuff. And since you know I'm in favor of being able to hit the X-ring, its only right that I add him to the my list.
Check him out.
Nate 10:14 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
Good morning. Or hello, which ever's appropriate for your Monday state of mind. My mind is fine from a wonderful weekend of camping, thank you very much. But I do have lots of real, paying work to do today, so blogging will be delayed until later.
Its son & heir's last week of school and graduation is Friday night. It should be an interesting week.
Nate 7:33 AM - [Link] Say something...
...
