Cases of 'living dead' growing .... in India

"As far as the government is concerned, they're dead ... Calling themselves ``the Living Dead,' ... All say unscrupulous relatives fraudulently had them declared dead in order to steal their property ..." What a conundrum! hehe - doh!

ho Ho HO! Santa's Dead!

hehe - doh!

Points of View

As you may have already figured out, I'm still trying to figure out what to think on some subjects. I'll be the first to tell you I don't know everything, and my viewpoint may not be right (all the time - duh - besides people who say they're always right are either good liars, or they're trying to sell you something), but as people bring up different sides of an issue, I'll consider that along with what I already know. But I'm a hard sell. You need to have compelling arguments for me to change - arguments that have a substantial impact on my viewpoint in order for me to really change what I'm thinking. Some of my posts are just me working through my thinking process on the various subjects, but the rest are my solid viewpoint on the issue - or me joking. :) Anyway, I thought I'd bring that up.

Perfect Magic Cube of Order 5 Discovered

Wow. Neat. Well, I guess this is cool. I was never good at Algebra or the like.... Check out the Magic Cube. The Magic cube is expressed as:

President Bush Discusses Iraq Policy at Whitehall Palace in London

"Americans traveling to England always observe more similarities to our country than differences. I've been here only a short time, but I've noticed that the tradition of free speech -- exercised with enthusiasm -- (laughter) -- is alive and well here in London. We have that at home, too. They now have that right in Baghdad, as well. ... ... It's rightly said that Americans are a religious people. That's, in part, because the "Good News" was translated by Tyndale, preached by Wesley, lived out in the example of William Booth. At times, Americans are even said to have a puritan streak -- where might that have come from? ... Well, we can start with the Puritans. ... ... More than an alliance of security and commerce, the British and American peoples have an alliance of values. And, today, this old and tested alliance is very strong. ... ... The deepest beliefs of our nations set the direction of our foreign policy. We value our own civil rights, so we stand for the human rights of others. ... ... President Wilson had come to Europe with his 14 Points for Peace. Many complimented him on his vision; yet some were dubious. Take, for example, the Prime Minister of France. He complained that God, himself, had only 10 commandments. ... Sounds familiar. ... ... Through world war and cold war, we learned that idealism, if it is to do any good in this world, requires common purpose and national strength, moral courage and patience in difficult tasks. And now our generation has need of these qualities. ... ... On September the 11th, 2001, terrorists left their mark of murder on my country, and took the lives of 67 British citizens. With the passing of months and years, it is the natural human desire to resume a quiet life and to put that day behind us, as if waking from a dark dream. The hope that danger has passed is comforting, is understanding, and it is false. The attacks that followed -- on Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Bombay, Mombassa, Najaf, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Baghdad, and Istanbul -- were not dreams. They're part of the global campaign by terrorist networks to intimidate and demoralize all who oppose them. ... ... The peace and security of free nations now rests on three pillars: First, international organizations must be equal to the challenges facing our world, from lifting up failing states to opposing proliferation. ... ... The second pillar of peace and security in our world is the willingness of free nations, when the last resort arrives, to retain* {sic} aggression and evil by force. There are principled objections to the use of force in every generation, and I credit the good motives behind these views. ... ... The third pillar of security is our commitment to the global expansion of democracy, and the hope and progress it brings, as the alternative to instability and to hatred and terror. We cannot rely exclusively on military power to assure our long-term security. Lasting peace is gained as justice and democracy advance. ..." IMO this was a good speech. Even if you don't agree with the choice of 'correcting' what was wrong in Iraq, you still have a moral/ethical obligation to stand behind the 'complete process' we (and other nations) are partaking within Iraq. You may not have voted for GW Bush, and that's fine. But you also voted for (and those who were voted into other offices appointed) the people who did the recount and thereby ruled GW Bush as President. So, indirectly, you also voted for GW Bush. (That's just how the Democratic process works...). My point? You can express your opinion that you don't agree with the President's decisions. You can solicite the White House and your Congressman and make your position well known, but when the President makes a decision, back him. You have a moral, ethical, and national obligation to back him. If he did not make a decision you agree with this time, make your position/opinion even more well-known (within the confines of established legalities.... :)) to your Congressman/White House/Political Leaders. Let me bring up a previous point from an earlier post. If we withdrew our troops from Iraq (and other dangerous areas) and brought them back to the States, think about where the attacks will end up - in the States - on our soil. The military troops are more important than you realize or even choose to admit. The choice is either attacks on military troops (who are trained to handle the 'conflict') or allow our innocent people (in our own country) to be senselessly killed/murdered. The attacks in Iraq have been toward the US (and our allies), but the attacks have also been upon the attackers' own people (the Iraqis). What makes you think they will not attack us on our soil when they don't hold their own people's lives at high value? Two words: September 11. That should be proof enough. If you think they won't do something like 9/11 again, you are most mistaken and the wool has been self-pulled over your very own eyes. How many years do you think it took to set up 9/11? How many years has it been since 9/11? Do you get my point? The amount of time that has past so far (since 9/11) is about the time frame it took the enemy to prepare for 9/11. Having the troops in Iraq is keeping the attacks away from our soil. We need to keep them busy in their backyard so they don't move into ours. Regardless of what you think, the enemy has an agenda. You can not reason with this enemy. They believe their agenda so blindly, they sacrifice themselves for it. Whether you want to play along or not, you will be involved. They will hunt all Freedom-loving people, until we are all dead. We need our troops over there. Our very livelihood demands our troops to be over there. Your children depend upon our troops being over there. For if they were not there but over here, the attacks would be more fierce and more frequent. How do I know this? Common sense tells me. You dont' believe me? Then demand our troops to return.

Seasonal Soda

Jones' Soda has come up with a new flavor for the holiday season: Turkey & Gravy flavored beverage. Ugh... That doesn't sound good. Could this be a hoax???

BRAIN TEASERS! Answers...

Below are the answers to these questions 1. Lions - They would be dead after not eating for 3 years 2. The lady shoots her husband with a camera, develops the film, and hangs the picture to dry... 3. Add color dye to the water and freeze the water. Take the ice out and put it in the barrel. (Ice is still water). 4. charcoal 5. yesterday, today, tomorrow. 6. There is no letter 'e' at all in the sentence.

Animosity in the WorkPlace

< rant > One of the big discussions in my department at work has really been brewing for the past couple weeks. You see, we are split up into multiple departments (duh) like Sales (duh), Marketing (duh), Customer Service (duh), Technical Support and MIS (huh??). Here's the difference between MIS & TS. TS focusses on the core technologies we sell. MIS focusses on the internal IT equipment (PC's, servers, software, etc...) the company uses. This brings me to the current discussion. Everyone in TS feels as if MIS has an axe to grind against TS. There's a rivalry there - whether you want to admit it or not. Here's some background: When TS finally got w2k on our machines we were told 'you will have admin rights for 2 weeks, then we'll set you as normal users'. Well, we still have admin rights (b/c MIS forgot to change the rights), except 2 people. One of these people has been trying to get admin rights back on his machine. MIS won't give the admin rights to either of them. For some weird reason - probably stemming from K.C. (a person who used to work in MIS) reign of terror (even the initials were changed to protect the writer :)). Instead MIS is trying to set up VMWare (or similar product) on our machines. ok. This doesn't make sense. Why spend $300+ for each PC for the VMWare software AND most likely have to spend even more $$ to boost processor speed, amount of RAM, multiple OS'es, etc..., when they could do two clicks and give those two people admin rights and be done with it? If there's not a rivalry or any animosity between the two departments, please explain how that could be when asking for something simple is blown out of proportion? Why can't MIS look at TS as an equal? In many ways TS & MIS are equals. If they don't trust us with admin rights, then what's the reason? Those of us who do have admin rights haven't blown up anything, taken anything down, nor disrupted anything, etc... (and we're not going to). The funny thing is when people say the TS people think they know computer stuff don't know what we TS people do. We have to deal with networking including cabled & wireless networks, terminals, handhelds, printers, software (stand alone, network packages, along with internet software), etc.... (Sounds like normal MIS support, eh?) Who says we don't know what we're doing? MIS should not put the same stigma they put on Merchandising or Sales onto TS. We know what we're doing. I can understand giving regular user rights on Merchandising machines, but not giving admin rights for TS? bah! If TS doesn't know what we're doing, then why was I a big contender for a job position IN MIS? gak. (btw - they hired externally instead of picking me - it was either me or an external person)... We in TS are not saying MIS can't do their jobs. We're saying MIS is not letting us do our jobs. We in TS are not saying we're better than MIS and can do the job better than they. On the contrary, we are saying we can't do ours the way it needs to be done b/c MIS won't give us the rights to do so. ok - Why not give us our own 'domain' where we can set up the servers as we need them and let us control our area. The reason we need admin rights is the software we use requires it for installation. Now whether the software actually needs admin rights is a different story. It's just that the software 'requires' it. We are installing and uninstalling software all the time b/c our job requires it. At any rate, I'll tell you this, if they take our admin rights away, the MIS Help Desk call volume will explode. :) < /rant >

Handheld Nintendo 64 Debut!

Ninendo has debuted its new iQue which 'is effectively a Nintendo 64 contained in a single control pad-sized unit.' Pretty cool. 'Bout time. View: The Full Story

XML & RSS

ok - folks. I've never dealt much with XML or RSS feeds. I want to pull some into my blog, but I am missing something. I am not sure how to pull it in. For some reason I can't find info on it that helps. I guess the first question is 'Can Blogger handle RSS/XML feeds?' If not, then that's my answer. But if so, what am I missing to implement it? Please help!

Cheaper by the Dozen

Ah yes. One of my fav books. Very hilarious. A book that became a movie many years ago and now a remake. Cheaper By The Dozen is the story of a family of 14 (The parents Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt) with 12 children: Tom Welling, Piper Perabo, Hilary Duff, Jacob Smith, Ashton Kutcher, Alyson Stoner, Kevin Schmidt, Morgan York, Forrest Landia, Liliana Mumy, Blake Woodruff, and Blake & Shane Kinsman.

I'm looking forward to this one.

Racism & The New Perspective

I was doing some browsing for different blogs. Blogs are a great resource for all kinds of information. Although not every blog is a good resource, there are some that seem to be gems. Christ and the Nations seems to be a gem. At least they had a good post when I read it. :) The specific article I was looking at was entitled Racism & The New Perspective. The big question this post addresses is: "Are we collectively self-righteous, even though we condemn individual self-righteousness?" Wow. Good question. I hadn't thought about it in those terms even though I have thought about that concept. I suggest you read the article. It's very good.

Google DeskBar!

Search using Google without opening your browser. Download it here Very cool. Works great!

Need $$ for college?

U-Promise: "The Way To Save For College". No catch. Very cool. "We believe that every child should have the chance to go to college. Upromise was established to give families an easy way to save - every day - and encourage them to start early by investing their own money for college on a regular basis. Our Rewards service offers money for college from America's leading companies such as General Motors, AT&T, Citi®, McDonald's and hundreds of others. And our relationships with top investment companies, including The Vanguard Group®, Strong Capital Management®, and Citigroup Asset Management, make it easy to get started and adopt a long-term savings strategy with great tax advantages." Check out their Informational FLASH video. Props to Allen for da link!

You can't believe your eyes

Just this week I have seen this exact picture multiple times.

The issue here is the sign itself is the same, but each version of the sign says something different. Another example:

Then I found out why there was a multitude of these signs. It's called a Sign Generator. Here's the one I've seen before (and recreated it for this post) Funny stuff.

Why don't people think???

Don't get me wrong. I understand that people need to express their ideas, thoughts, and opinions. That's a given. I don't dispute that. My beef is why don't people think a little deeper than they do? One of the big issues is our occupation in Iraq. People say, "We shouldn't be there! We should transport our troops back to the states and let Iraq deal with itself!" Wow. People who say things like that don't think about what they are saying. On the surface I would have to agree that I would love for our troops to come back to the States and be back with their families. That would be wonderful! What is not wonderful is the uncontrollable affect that would manifest upon our own soil. Think about this: Our (combat-trained) troops are taking the brunt of these attacks. If we brought our troops back to the States, where do you think the attacks will end up??? Do you realize that their presence in Iraq protects us in the US from these attacks? I would also like to project that if this scenario was acted upon, the death toll would rise dramatically (on our soil). At the present time, the US military contends with a dozen terrorist attacks a day. Just think if the troops were back home I believe the number of terrorist attacks would go up (along with the death toll) and it would be in our own country. The only reason why we don't have any attacks now is the enemy is too busy fighting 'their war' in the backyard and can't deploy their 'fighting frenzies' anywhere else. With that in mind, I am very thankful they are where they are. I don't want any of them to lose their life, but they have placed themselves in that position, and for that I am thankful. Their presence in Iraq detours the attacks on us! On our soil. Yesterday was Veterans Day. Who celebrated it? I did in my own small way. I wore a blue shirt with American flags and white stars all over it. I will celebrate when our troops can finally come home again! They are keeping and protecting us from terrorist attacks. If you don't agree with our troops occupying Iraq, then you won't have any objection in giving your life in the multitude of attacks on our own soil. I'll even give the enemy your address..... Remember peace is not just the absence of war or conflict.

Using Cell Phones as Undercover Video Phones

"...the BBC is using the technology for undercover reporting. ..." View: My Source/Summary View: The Full Story

Schools get ca$h!!

You read it right. Yes. Schools can get cas$h! Check out School Cash. The list of participating merchants is fairly long. Participating merchants include: JC Penny, e-Toys, 1800Flowers.com, Delta Airlines, Gamestop.com, IBM, Walmart, and many many more! Basically, you shop via School Cash and a certain percentage of your purchase goes to the school of your choice. The percentage can be 1-30% of purchase - no extra cost to you!!! Cool, eh?

For those of you in the Greenville, SC area...

I know some of you have never really thought about chiropractic care. My wife works at a chiropracter office where E. North St. meets Haywood - Auger Family Chiropractic. Check out the video about subluxations. 'The word "subluxation" comes from the Latin words meaning "to dislocate" (luxate) and "somewhat or slightly" (sub). A subluxation means a slight dislocation (misalignment) or biomechanical malfunctioning of the vertebrae (bones of the spine). These disturbances may irritate nerve roots and blood vessels which branch off from the spinal cord between each of the vertebrae. This irritation may cause pain and dysfunction in muscle, lymphatic and organ tissue as well as imbalance in the normal body processes.' At any rate, check out Dr Auger's website. It has a lot of good info. Also, during the week of November 17 thru 20, Auger Family Chiropractic is having their annual food drive for the needy donation centers throughout the Greenville area. We all know that this time of year, soup kitchens and shelters can get pretty sparce and we need to support them and help everyone have a good holiday. All is asked is that you bring a donation of non-perishable food by the office during this week so it canb e distributed in time for Thanksgiving! An incentive for new patients - bring a donation of 10 non-perishable items and receive your exam, consultation, and x-rays (including a digital posture check), at no charge!!

BRAIN TEASERS!

1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him? 2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be? 3. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How could you put all of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which water came from which jug? 4. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away? 5. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? 6. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it? It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it! In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out! Try to do so without any coaching! The answers? I'll post those in a few days. Put your answers in for comments.

New! StrongBad Email

Check out StrongBad's newest email: Couch Patch. Do you want a $1 million bill? Too funny.

The Dog Got pwn3d!!

hehe - doh!

Moscow considers kissing ban

"Moscovites caught kissing in public places could be fined if city authorities pass a new law currently under consideration, according to a Russian newspaper. The kissing ban could even extend to lawfully wedded spouses..." ooookaaaaaaay! What are they thinking? That's a little extreme IMO. I understand the reasons behind it, though, but there should be a better way to raise the bar of morality in the city. View: My Source View: The Original Source

Innovation: The Fine Print

A British company has stumbled on a way to print copper antennas with a digital inkjet printer. "Motorola ... wanted to see if the digital printing technique could apply a photo - and the company's logo - to one of its phones. ... There was only one small problem. 'Motorola's logo happens to be in a silver metallic ink...'" View: The Full Story View: The Original Source Very cool.

The "Do Not Call" list offender

Yes. That's right. The first offender to 'disobey' the "Do Not Call" list. The offender? ATT&T. Ouchy. That's a $780k hit to the pocket book - $10k per call.

US downloads beat CD sales

"Music fans in the US are buying almost twice as many singles in digital form over the internet as they are on CDs from stores..." Legal (purchased) downloads outweigh CD single buying (from the store) 2 to 1 since late June. The (legal) revolution has begun.... View: The Full Story View: The Original Source

Microsoft offers bounty on Crackers....

Just a side note before I move on to the point of the post - Hackers are good. Crackers are the bad people, mmm-k? gak. Microsoft has posted a $250k bounty for information that leads to the arrest of the people who released the MSBlast worm and the SoBig virus... View: The Full Story View: The Original Source

The Matrix: Revolutions - Review

Slashdot has an article about the 3rd Matrix movie. Wow. The negative feedback is strong. Basically, people say the movie was weak - regarding plot & action sequences. People also say the ending left you out to dry - in other words, it gave no satisfaction. I haven't seen the 3rd yet, but I will. My review will come shortly - I hope.

Halloween prank results in shooting of off-duty cop

An off-duty police officer dressed as an ax-wielding man in what he intended to be a Halloween prank was shot and wounded by a man who believed he posed a threat. doh! That's gonna leave a mark. View: The Full Story View: The Original Source

I'm an Uncle!

Yes. You read it right. I am to be another new uncle! Last night at 950p my brother gets a call about new baby boy who was born on 11/03/03. So as of right now, he is 1.5 days old! His name will be Manoah Daniel. Manoah means "God is my Rest". Dan & Melissa have to travel 3 hours away to pick him up. They should be back in town by tonight. We can't wait to see him!

I Applaud

Check out Allen's article on Net Accountability. This is great. What a great example of allowing (even technology) to be a Paul to yourself. Hmm... I don't think I've explained that concept, yet. I think that will be the next major post. I applaud these efforts. To go deeper into reasons as to why you should protect yourself, your family, and your peace of mind - Be careful everyone - 1 Corinthians 10:12 - "...let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." Accountability is important - sometimes life saving. What I mean by life saving is... If you have been struggling with pornography (for instance) then an accountability measure such as Net Accountability is a very good thing. Pornogaphy is a vice that can destroy lives, and I've talked to many people whose lives it has devastated and shaken down to their core being. If you can keep yourself from ever being tempted by such a horrible and terrifying vice, your life has been saved. Remember this: "Keep your heart with all diligence/vigilence; for out of it are the issues of life." When the Gospel is a part of our lives, it does not allow us to sin. And in the same right, it frees us to protect ourselves from sin. Protect yourself. Your life depends upon it.

Security. Why Don't We Get It? - A Summary

"I know this statement seems unbelievable to anyone who spent hours cleaning up after these worms. But the cold truth is that these worms barked more loudly than they bit. If their malicious payloads had been as effective as their propagation techniques, the computing infrastructure upon which we all rely could easily have been devastated. Devastation didn't happen. But a wake-up call sounded for those willing to hear it: Our defenses failed because our legacy security model is reactive. ..." Gregor Freund goes on to say that we need to become proactive more than reactive. He points out our focus is flawed to the core because we react to what already happened (or is happening) instead of preventing the situation altogether. "No single product protects against all threats. Today's multifaceted malware necessitates multiple layers of defense. And the most critical component for your first line of defense is proactive security." View: The Full Story View: The Original Source

RedHat Ditches Consumer Linux Distro

Red Hat has made a quick & dirty decision. They're pulling the plug on Linux Consumer Distro. Red Hat is all about the Enterprise. View: Extended Summary View: The Full Story View: The Original Source

MT Blacklist - Update!

Do you use Movable Type? You may need to black list some spammers... You need MT Black List. Check out the link if you want more info...

Here's the Data...

Salary Tool comparison results for:

Title: Help desk/technical support specialist Industry: IT/computer-related services/consulting Region: South Atlantic National Base: 615 Profile Base: 15 * In 2003, a typical person employed as a Help desk/technical support specialist in the IT/computer-related services/consulting industry in the South Atlantic Region could expect to earn an average compensation of $40,615. That compensation figure includes salary and bonus. Here are the highlights - Sorry it's not formatted, but you should've read it before I posted it... :) Middle Atlantic South Atlantic Director of IT/IS $114,021 $107,176 Help desk/technical support manager $68,051 $66,924 IT/IS manager $81,000 $78,328 Network manager $74,319 $75,374 Programming/application development manager $94,896 $93,117 Project manager $102,892 $97,528 Database administrator $84,057 $76,958 Help desk/technical support specialist $44,510 $50,047 IT/IS technology business systems analyst $76,047 $68,609 Network administrator $55,763 $51,621 Network engineer $71,439 $72,722 Programmer analyst $69,551 $68,087 Project leader $78,841 $82,592 Software engineer $79,309 $79,005 Systems administrator $65,060 $66,494 Systems architect $100,837 $98,452 Senior systems analyst $84,688 $85,209

Work Compensation - a Crisis

Southeast: Help desk/technical support specialist This isn't good. To be frank, my pay is below the average! Check out Computer World's Total Compensation by Region" I'll tell you this much, the person who 'blows the whistle' on this issue at my company is the person who most likely will lose their job b/c of it.... It's happened before and I'm sure it will happen again. It's a catch-22. gak.