The Politics of Hypocrisy

Well, the Democrats are beating the fluff out of every venue here in South Carolina that is available to them. If there is a TV spot, a radio ad, a newspaper column, a patch of dirt which can hold a sign, there is a political message plastered thereon.

The Big Two in the Democratic field, Hillary The Meek and Obama the Humble, have spent the last weeks trading punches and blows with each other. Sometimes they are downright nasty, but there was a stretch there when they were doing their best to pretend to be nice to each other. Just like two kids, hauled into the Principal's office for fighting in school, they have put on a false let's-be-friends facade... and then ignored it and went back to fighting.

When they are not saying what a horrible person the other is, they are telling everyone in the state how much better life would be for South Carolina is we would but wise up and install them in office. The term "patronizing" comes to mind...

The Other Guy in the Democrat field is good 'ol John Edwards. He is actually a nice guy, he's just being ignored by the Big Two and all the major media. It's a shame, too, as Edwards actually has some really good ideas and sound thoughts on how to actually lead the country. If I had to vote for a Democrat this year, I'd vote for Edwards. He's just getting ignored because he isn't as news-sexy as the Big Two. I mean, a white Southern guy? Boring... been done by Jimmy Carter already, so the media doesn't need or want him.

The hypocrisy comes in when you listen to the Big Two, about all they're gonna do for lil' 'ol South Carolina. They're going to bring us jobs and money and candy and free health care and no taxes and lower gas prices and everything! Where the heck were they when Marion County almost went bankrupt, losing thousands of jobs, factories, shops, and businesses? Or when the same thing happened in Dillon County? Or Andrews? Or Georgetown, when the steel mill shut down? Nowhere, because back then, this was an unimportant backwater, a place you fly over on your way to Florida.

At least Edwards knows how to pronounce the names of the places around here correctly, as he's the only one who has even been to any of them. Visiting Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach once or twice does not a Carolinian make.

When the primary is over, and the state's Democratic delegates have been committed to either Hillary or Obama (probably Obama, if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly), that's the last we'll hear of either of them again for four more years. They'll be busy making the same empty promises to people in other states, how they'll get everything for nothing and they are so very important. Then they will be forgotten too.

What we have all forgotten and continue to overlook, is the simple fact that selecting the nation's next CEO is not something you can do based on one or two attributes about the candidate. So Hillary is female, she was the First Lady. Big deal, what does that actually mean? What is she made of? Does she have the stuff it takes to be President? Please provide evidence if you think she does, as I don't see it.

What about Obama, what is he all about? Sure, he's a Senator and all. Big deal. He looks young, does not rant and rave like Ross Perot, and oh yeah, lest it not be mentioned every thirty seconds, he happens to be Black. So what? What is the nature of the person, who is he, what qualities does he exhibit that demonstrates supreme leadership capabilities? I don't see it there, either.

Voting requires thought, folks. It's not just making a statement, or joining a cause. What for too many people in the country are doing in the ballot booth is selecting someone who will do the thinking for them for the next four years. That's not inherently wrong, because in large part, it's true. But that does not relieve the voter of the responsibility and duty to THINK before pushing that button. Think hard. Study. Know what you are doing. This is not an issue that should be decided by the amount of melanin in a person's skin, or by which bathroom they prefer to use, nor by where they are from. These are the times that try men's souls, and it is into the soul and character of each candidate every voter must look, and look deeply. To do any less is to abdicate the stern duty and privilege which comes with being American, a privilege dearly purchased and hard-fought.

Go vote, but vote with your whole mind, and heart, and strength. Don't waste the sacrifice made for you which gave you that freedom.

Webcams are cool

I'm not talking about the little USB webcams you glue to your monitor or that peek at you from your laptop -- I'm talking real webcams, the ones installed somewhere cool, that have a great picture, and gives the viewer the ability to take control and steer the image.

I have installed three webcams of this description (and a number of others, but they're not so cool, so I'm not talking about them..), and they rock.

The type of webcam I'm talking about is a Canon VB-series -- they just keep getting better and better. The interface is pure IP, so all you need is Ethernet and power. I have my webcams mounted in weather-proof domes outside, so people can get views of the Atlantic Ocean and Myrtle Beach.

Check my webcams out to see the beach, the pools, the people:
Avista Resort webcam
Grande Shores webcam
Seaside Resort webcam

Or see all three at seasidewebcams.com

If you want to buy one of these jewels, let me know, I'll hook you up with where to get them.

Backup or die

Did you read about the slightly reality-deprived individual who went on a bit of a pre-emptive retaliation strike against her employer? The media is being rather hard on her, with good justification, but there is another side to the story.

It is alleged that a certain Miss Cooley, of Jacksonville Florida, was reading the newspaper one day, and came across a help-wanted ad. This ad leaped off the page at her, as it sounded like her current job, and it even gave her boss's phone number as a contact. This was all the evidence she needed to be convinced she was about to be fired and replaced. So she decided to strike first.

Ok, stop right there. The first part of the story that isn't being hit in the media, is the fact that they really need to talk more at that company, open the ol' lines of communication a bit.

Anyways, back to the drama. It seems that Miss Cooley wanted to get even with the rotten so-and-so for firing her, so she went into the office to do a little late-night work. And got on their servers, and started doing DEL *.* commands (ok, I doubt she knew to do it at a command prompt, she probably did a shift-delete on the folders in Windows, but anyways...). That, she thought, would serve him right.

She ended up deleting 7 years worth of architect drawings, blueprints, all the essential data that a company like that needs to survive. The value of the data destroyed is beyond the value of the company itself.

In the end, of course, she got caught. The owner of the business appearantly paid out the nose, to send his disks to a data-recovery outfit, who basically unset the deleted flag on all the files and folders. He lost some money and some time, and an employee. She was arrested and fired, as you would expect.

But here's the rest of the story. Why in the name of everything that isn't unholy did not this man have a backup? And a backup of the backup? And offsite storage of at least one of the copies of the backup? I mean, damn! In this day and age, when Life=Data, how can you sleep without knowing you have your data backed up? It blows my mind!

Burning to a CD or DVD is a pain in the butt, I agree. You cannot trust tape, really, and besides, that's the technology of the 70's. Disk-to-disk backup over the network is really the way to go, and if you don't, you are a dadgum fool. I use a disk-to-disk netowrk backup solution, covers all my servers and about 45 desktops to boot. Ask me, and I'll tell you which product I use.

So, I assign 90% of the blame to Miss Cooley, for (allegedly) doing the evil deed. But I assign 10% of the blame to her employer, for not keeping a decent backup!

Ubuntu is a better answer for most

That's right, folks. For about 90% of you out there, Ubuntu Linux is indeed the better answer. The question, in case you missed it, was "is there a viable alternative to Windows Vista, or am I doomed to continue contributing to the Bill Gates & Paul Allen Enrichment Fund?"

Ubuntu is your solution. All you need to download it is access to the internet. Ideally, you just download the ISO image, burn it to a CD, boot from that CD, and begin playing with Ubuntu. It's totally try before you commit. If you don't have access to a PC yet, or your copy of Vista is so unstable you can't stay online for 10 minutes, you can even order a pre-burned CD and have it mailed to you.

The cost of Ubuntu is exactly $0.00.

Right out of the, um, disc, Ubuntu comes with all the programs you need to be effective. Surf, email, play music, watch videos, burn CDs, without buying another thing.

Surf over to ubuntu.com and check it out.

You do not have to put with $500 operating systems that are incomplete, instable, insecure, and inane. You are worth more than that. You owe it to yourself.

Vista is a flop

Well, Microsoft has done it again. The ironic thing is, most people *still* don't get it...

Before Vista, Microsoft's biggest flop was Windows ME. People hated that OS with a passion holy, and for good reason -- It sucked beaver grease. Incompatibility, slowness, lockups, address violations, reboots, no drivers, and butt-ugly as well. As it turned out, Microsoft bailed on ME, as it was never intended to be a long-term real OS anyways. It was just a vehicle for a quick cash injection from the mindless masses, until MS could get Windows 2000 out the door. Even then, 2000 chewed chupracabra cheese until Service Pack 4 came along...

When they went with XP, at least XP was intended to be a real OS. And after SP1, it was half decent. After SP2, it is, I must admit, not horrible at all. Sure, you still have to apply 200-some-odd security fixes and plug a bunch of holes, but it's stable, for the most part. The kinks are worked out. It works with hardware. You can get your programs to run under it. Finally, 2 service packs and 200+ updates later, you finally are getting what you paid for in the first place.

So, why Vista? What is the neat nifty cool golly-whillikers thing Vista can do that no other OS can? The answer to that depends on your point of view... If you are a user of a computer, the answer is, nothing. Not a damn thing. Zilch. Nada. If, however, you are Microsoft, then the answer is -- plenty. As in, plenty of money. MS ain't going to make any more money from you if you stay with XP. Therefore, your value to them is zero. If you convert to Vista, however, they'll love you, because you're going to give them $200 to $600 bucks. They love you long time for that. Not enough to give you a working, stable, decent product. No. They'll love you for being milked of cash, to help them put together the *real* OS that'll be along next year.

It's time to say, screw you, hippie. Don't give MS money three times over (XP, Vista, next thing...), at least, to get nothing even close to what you deserve for the cash -- break free of Microsoft!

Go buy a Mac, if you just want it easy and simple. It don't get stupid-simpler than that.

If you want to save a few hundred bucks, and still want an OS that just works, and includes all the software you need to surf/email/document/play/everything, download Ubuntu. It's free, you can even play with it on your PC without damaging or changing a thing on your current PC.

Either way, you have absolutely zero reason to go with Vista. Unless you are comfortable being part of the mindless herd, that is.

Update on Delta Airlines situation

Well, Delta has at least made a token effort...  Kinda.

 

What they have done, is to offer Delta vouchers -- sky bucks -- in an amount not quite equal to what we lost during the trip.  They say it is a "goodwill gesture".

 

What it does not address, is the discourtesies offered to my wife.  Now, I know I sound parochial and overprotective, but when my wife is inconvenienced, I get

worried.  When she is disturbed, I get disturbed.  When she gets mistreated, I go slightly nuts.  In this case, I am pissed.

 

Delta has offered these expiring sky bucks, and a hollow apology.

 

I am of the opinion, however, there is a legal issue involved.  It's clear to me, when you request a wheelchair, and they tell you they'll do it, and they do not, that's a problem.  When you are forced to get off an airplane, because it's yet another unflyable airplane (due to shoddy maintenance), and you have no recourse but to physically pick up your wife and carry her down the isle, that's bad enough.  When you have a stew behind you, telling you to "hurry up" as their only method of aid or assistance, that's intolerable.

 

The Disabilities Act speaks to this kind of behavior...  I wonder if my lawyer friends would take a look into this...  hmm...

 

 

 

 

Delta Airlines -- how could you?!?

Delta, thanks for destroying my vacation. When you blew an engine on the very first leg of the flight, that was one thing. When you took 6 hours to fix it, that was another.

When you lied to me about the availability of other flights, it got worse.

When you put me up in a flea-bag motel, with urine on the carpet and blood stains on the pillow, I though we had hit rock-bottom.

When you managed to break 3 airplanes, out of the 4 needed to get to my destination, I thought I had seen it all.

But when you refused my wife a wheelchair, when you told me to "hurry up" when I was physically carrying her off one of the broken airplanes, and when you laughed when I tripped over a baggage cart, while I was pulling it with one hand while pushing a wheelchair with the other (I stole a wheelchair from USAir, they didn't mind), that was too far.

You insulted and endangered my wife. That is the huge problem.
As an added twist, you cost me $700.

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