Zombie Proof - Storm Proof?

They claim the house is zombie proof. (It is worth the click to see the other images.) After the recent storms, I think I want one as it looks to be weather proof.

Fortunately, my house did not suffer any damage during the storm. My car wasn't so lucky. I had to go to Nashville for meeting. A couple of guys rode with me for the one day trip. We made it through heavy rain and wind on the way out in the morning. On the way back, it wasn't as bad - until we got off the interstate and on to Mourfield Road - a quick look and map below. Try the Street View for a better sense of the road if you aren't familiar with it.

View Larger Map

Mourfield has crazy curves, is steep, and is cave-like due to the surrounding trees. Driving it at night, in the rain, with heavy fog, and a blanket of green debris was challenging to say the least. I was going about five miles an hour and had to stop multiple times to figure out where the road was. It felt like something out of a Swamp Thing movie. And that wasn't the worst of it. Minutes later, the car took a beating from a hail storm. We made it to Dano's house, but he was stuck in the car during the hail. It was deafening when the hail hit the car. I am very surprised that the windshield didn't shatter.

After the hail passed, the remainder of the trip was fairly uneventful. (Although, we did have to turn around as a tree had fallen on Bluegrass between the time we dropped Dano off and began to back track.)

I'm really lucky it wasn't worse. God protects fools and children.

Native Google Docs for Android

I was excited to see that a native app for Google Docs was released for my Android phone. I use Google Docs for a few things and really like having access from any machine - I thought this would just add to the utility of the service. Unfortunately, it isn't as useful as I had hoped.

My anal retentive nature requires that I log every tank of gas that goes in my wife's car. I have a Google spreadsheet to track the fill-ups, mileage, MPG, etc. The app was a lot slower than I thought it would be. Also, it isn't very robust. I needed to add a row below my last entry, but above my formulas. The only option I saw was to add a row at the bottom.

I still have hope for it - assuming Google will develop it like they do Google Docs services.

Via Business Insider

Out of Pocket

I had a wedding to attend. Here is some video from the event.

They chose...

...poorly. Unlucky teen thieves crack open a van full of SAS.

Via Fate of Legions

Stream of Consciousness Art Discovery

I saw the Mario images below on ENDO and that lead me to Fro Design Co. Fro has a lot of great stuff on his site - especially some Lost themes and the fake business cards from TV, movies, etc.

That reminded me of the Samurai Pac-Man that I had seen in the past. (I may have found that on ENDO, too.) A quick google search lead me to the Pop Monkey blog where I found the Pac-Man image. Turns out that Pop Monkey has become Beast Pop.

Ultimately, that led to this gem... ZOBAMA!

When I win the lottery and build my ultimate man cave, I will plaster the walls with these sorts of prints.

Cheese & Onion

Speaking of the UK, I love Walkers Cheese and Onion Potato Crisps. When I was in London, I'd often enjoy a pint or two of Carling accompanied by these crisps/chips. The only time I can get them now is when we go to Atlanta and stop by Harry's. Since Walker's is owned by Frito-Lay, I'd like to see them sell some of the UK flavors here.

Slippery Slope

I hope my iPad won't be a gateway drug to liberalism. Slim was warning me of the dangers of the Mac Cult this morning. And now I see this neat chart. The key: 58% of self-described Mac users are liberal. Hopefully, managing hundreds of Windows boxes will offset my experimentation.

Via Slashdot.org

Jobs.gov

"Government doesn't exist to be an employment agency."

Exactly.

Via No Silence Here.

Shootout in the Lake District

How's that for a sensational headline? Second runner-up, was "size matters."

The story in question is actually about a comparison of various antennas for the 2 meter band. The author lives in Cumbria, the Lake District in the UK. (My in-laws lived there and I managed to visit once. It is a very beautiful place.)

What I found most interesting is how poorly some of the antennas performed. You never want an "upgrade" that moves you in the wrong direction. G4ILO says the telescoping antennas are inexpensive. Sounds like they'd be worth having around for a doubling of effective power and their convenient form factor. It is amazing how the last three antennas can really make a huge difference in your performance. Hams always talk about investing in antennas over everything else and this really drives that lesson home.

Here is a summary... measurements are relative to the stock antenna and I've done some rounding.

- 2in. 144MHz stubby ................................................................. -5dB
- A-137 dual band stubby ............................................................ -5dB
- 2m Stubby Duck from Smiley Antenna ................................... -2dB
- 6in. 2m helical antenna (from a TH-205E HT) ......................... -1dB
- Nagoya NA-701 dual band BNC antenna ................................... +0dB
- 8in. 2m helical antenna ............................................................ +0dB
- Standard Yaesu VX-8GR antenna ............................................. +0dB
- Yaesu FT-817ND standard antenna ........................................ +1dB
- A quarter wave telescopic BNC whip (19in) .............................. +3dB
- Nagoya NA-767 (38in) ............................................................ +9dB
- Sharman RH-770 dual band antenna (Diamond RH-770 clone) ..... +10dB
- 45.5inch Black Whip (5/8 wave single band) .............................. +11dB

Public Service Announcement

We take a break from our normally scheduled programming for this PSA.

Dealing with Protected Protesters at a Serviceman's Funeral

As I said before, I understand the First Amendment cuts both ways and I am okay with that.

Sounds like some folks took matters in to their own hands to prevent the protesters from showing up to a Marine's funeral.

Most of the morons never made it out of their hotel parking lot. It seems that certain Rankin county pickup trucks were parked directly behind any car that had Kansas plates in the hotel parking lot and the drivers mysteriously disappeared until after the funeral was over.

Via Blackfive

Zebra Barcodes

Yawn. Scientists figure out Zebra barcodes.

They could have asked us. We've been doing it for years.

Via Slashdot.org

Christ’s Commando Raid on Hell

What are you doing this holiday week-end between Good Friday and Easter Day? I'm sure it cannot compare to what Christ did. I had not really thought about the time between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, but I saw this interesting article from the UMC.

There are several guesses about what may have happened - including Jesus going to hell as part of His whole earthly experience. If you believe He went to hell, then you might wonder what He did there... which leads us to Christ’s commando raid on hell:

"A whole mythology arose about Jesus rescuing people from the netherworld after the crucifixion. The Gospel of Nicodemus, which dates to the third century and did not make the Bible cut, offers a narrative of Jesus retrieving Adam and other Old Testament figures from Satan’s clutches."

One more mystery of faith. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Happy Easter!

Medicare/Medicaid

Is Medicare/Medicaid welfare? That was the debate on the 940 Breakfast Club this morning. Actually, it wasn't much of a debate as a single person was arguing that it wasn't welfare. I don't have the data, but one guy was saying that the lifetime contributions of a typical person would not even cover one procedure.

Since the dollars don't seem to balance, I'm glad people don't take advantage of the system.

Link: Guess what kind of medical coverage he had?

"He wanted an ambulance to take him seven blocks to the hospital. And that's with an able-bodied girlfriend and a functional minivan parked 10 feet from his front door. He actually had to walk around his ride to get to his ride."

Oops. Nevermind.

Brick Tablet

While I am thinking about becoming one of the cool kids, I am not following Uncle's lead on getting a tablet.

I was not tempted at all by the slightly cheaper, ad supported Kindle. I never thought $135 sounded like a lot in the first place - even for a single purpose device.

And despite some who believe it is killing America*, I ordered an iPad this week.

The wife wanted one for our daughter to play with on the way to the beach. I want to play with the Ham Radio apps. I'll be curious to see how much it replaces the laptop. I cannot imagine doing blog posts from it. I do see reading books, watching videos, and reviewing my ever growing RSS feed list. I will probably carry it to church - lots of people are already using their Blackberry and Android to read the Bible.

*From the article, a quote: "But there is no protection for jobs here in America to ensure that the American people are being put to work.” I must have skipped that section in the Constitution. (And apparently everything I see right now is through "Ayn Rand" colored glasses, because this sounds like it could be a line from the book.)

Wealth Inequality in America

The article: Wealth Inequality in America

"What this tells me is that Americans don’t understand the extent of disparity in the US, and that they (we) desire a more equitable society."

I disagree with the second part of that statement. The question (how should wealth be divided up) came with a condition - that you did not know which group you will find yourself a part of. That condition, I think, would encourage a reasonable person to hedge their bets.

We don't live in a perfect world. We are born into sin. Until the Revelation, there will be pain, suffering, and inequality. As TNJeff has told me on numerous occasions, in a perfect world, we'd all be democrats. But, it isn't a perfect world. Looters, get over it and quit wishing your life away. Be a producer.

Publix

Rumor has it that we are getting a Publix where the K-Mart used to be (near West Towne) and the current home of Duck Duck Goose.

Publix has been a treat for us when we go to the beach. I hope it doesn't become mundane once it is easily accessible.

Knoxville Force

Knoxville has pro soccer. Who knew? Despite loving the sport, I don't keep up with MLS, UEFA, or the Premiership. I guess that's why I've been to a roller derby bout, but had no idea about the Knoxville Force.

Towel Boy

If you read this post, you agree to be my towel boy. I'm sure this is legally binding unlike the confidentiality notices that are appended to e-mails.

Where do you draw the line?

I don't actually know where the line is, but I would think you could decide if you wanted people with guns in your home. I'm all for allowing people to own and carry guns, but this seems to step directly on another person's rights.

It is 8:12pm on April 19, 2011

Good news if you are reading this. Skynet is not taking over the world.

Ayn Rand - Separation of Economy and State

If you can't find the time to read the relatively short 1,000 page opus that is Atlas Shrugged (or even two hours for the movie), here is short video summary of her philosophy.



Thanks to TNJeff for pointing me to the video.

Game of Thrones

They've already been picked up for Season 2. Thanks to NotTNJeff for the heads-up. Also, a great summary of the major characters, locations, etc. is here.

A Contrast

This was a big week-end for me. I got to go see Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 and I ordered HBO just so I could watch the new Game of Thrones series. You might have seen me post about these things once or twice before.

Stop reading now if you want to avoid any potential spoilers.

Below are my comments from each of the two shows.

Atlas Shrugged
I felt like they used the "Who is John Galt?" question as a catchphrase. Eat my shorts! To me it was as if the actors were looking at the audience and winking as they asked the question. My wife, who has not read the book, didn't feel that way. In the book, the question is an expression of hopelessness and frustration. As the world is crumbling, no one even thinks to find this John Galt person - if he even exists at all. It is just something everyone says.

Matthew Marsden plays James Taggart. I pictured Jim Taggart to be much older. I think we got a little too much "hollywood" in casting this character. However, the worse offense was making Jim too active in the political games. While he was a political creature in the book, you felt like he was being swept along with the other socialists. In the movie, he takes much more initiative and blurs the lines between producers and looters.

Hank Rearden is very socially awkward in the book. My wife described the movie version as smooth and suave. Fail.

People have criticized the physics of the train running on the new Rearden Metal track. That didn't bother me nearly as bad as the attempt to explain the magical motor.

I don't think the movie did a good job of showing the root cause of the problems. Maybe this is because Rand spent a bazillion pages pounding the message into my skull and the movie was trying to compress those philosophies. Likewise, Rands views on the role of sex and relationships between men and women are completely left out. There other plot points that are missing - like the relationship that was formed between Dagny and Francisco as children. The lack of detail on Francisco's background and prior achievements is a huge gap.

And is everyone sharing the same limo?

Now that I'm done beating it up, I will say I am glad I went and I'm sure I will see Part 2. (Also, a mini-plug for Regal Cinemas. My wife and I dug out a hundred year old gift certificate that was for $5. They couldn't find it in the system, so they just gave us a free ticket. Customer service isn't dead!)

Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes
The View from North Central Idaho - Joe Huffman
ExurbanLeague - sounds like he had people clapping at the end of the movie, too.
Walls of the City

Game of Thrones
I've been more excited about this than Atlas Shrugged. As I mentioned, I even added HBO specifically for this show - that's almost $18 per month, so I better like it.

In short (and in contrast to ASP1 above), the first episode was exactly as I pictured it in the book. It was fantastic!

I was worried about some of the actors as I did not think they would fit their characters, but everyone was fantastic. I really liked Lena Headey (from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as Cersei Lannister. I did not see her as a good match, but she was great. I predicted I would like Peter Dinklage (from The Station Agent) as Tyrion and he lived up to the expectation.

The opening scene was very well done - from the CGI, to the pacing, and tension it created. The first few minutes would compare well to any classic horror movie.

I also thought the opening credits were very smart. You get a bird's eye view of Westeros, but you don't see each of the Seven Kingdoms. It only shows the ones that are currently relevant. My guess is that they will change the opening as the action moves between kingdoms.

Definitely, money well spent. It makes me even more excited that the next book is coming out. When A Feast of Crows came out, the bookstore provided everyone with a cheat sheet to remind us of what was happening with all the characters at the end of the book. The series will be a nice refresher without having to re-read some of the books.

I can't wait for next Sunday!

Life Lesson: Never Mess with a Roofer

I recently got a new roof. There were a couple of extra packages of shingles, so I was going to store them in my crawl space. Based on my experience just moving the shingles around to the side of the house, I never, ever want to mess with one of those roofers that can climb up a ladder with shingles slung over his shoulder.

T-shirts

Wow - that was some quick shipping. Two shirts plus a bonus bookmark and sticker. The sizing guide was spot on. The quality of the shirts seems fine. We'll see how they hold up in the wash.

Atlas Shrugged Part 1

I just finished watching it. I won't give the story away, but the audience clapped at the end.

Thumbs up

Thumbs up for Tam on her thumbs down on Ebert's review of the Atlas Shrugged movie. As I posted in a comment at her blog, I'm going to see the movie tomorrow. I hope that it is good, but even if it isn't, I feel like I am voting for the ideals in the movie.

I believe in voting at the polls, but I also believe in voting with my dollars, time, etc. That's one of the reasons I got my carry permit. It is why I like the idea that April 15th is "buy a gun" day.

Who is John Galt?

Galt and Taggart in 2012

I may need to get a new t-shirt.

Glock Announces New Pistol

John G.* has forwarded an exciting announcement from GLOCK. Apparently, they've been working in secret on a new model in a facility in Colorado. You heard it here first!

15 April 2011, 11:00 CET

GLOCK Announces New RM Line of Pistols

****** DRAFT PRESS RELEASE ****
****** NOT FOR RELEASE *******
****** NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION ***

GLOCK Ges.m.b.H.
P.O. Box 9
A-2232 Deutsch Wagram
AUSTRIA

Today, Glock announces the next pistol in the evolution of its GLOCK “Safe Action” Pistols – the GLOCK RM. The top product among the small arms of the world is without doubt the GLOCK "Safe Action" pistol. It employs innovative safety features which makes the pistol easy to operate. No other pistol offers a better price-performance ratio. Its minimum weight and legendary GLOCK reliability are unsurpassed. With the new GLOCK RM, the weight is significantly reduced as is recoil through the use of a revolutionary alloy – Rearden Metal. These pistols are specifically designed to defend against looters and Project X.

It is exactly these characteristics that make the Glock RM perfect for individuals to take responsibility for their own security. Extremely tough tests by the top scientific minds prove time and time again that GLOCK "Safe Action" pistols function without compromise, even under the most extreme conditions.

ACTION
Safe and ingeniously simple: Contrary to conventional, the trigger is the only operating element. All three pistol safeties are deactivated when the trigger is pulled -and automatically activated when it is released.

TENIFER
Unique GLOCK hi-tech surface refinement for barrel and slide. Apart from optimum corrosion protection and anti-reflective finish, a degree of hardness of 64 HRC - close to that of a diamond - is achieved.

REARDEN METAL
Corrosion resistant, tougher than polymer and still 53% lighter. GLOCK pistols were the first industrially manufactured handguns with high-tech polymer frames and now GLOCK makes the next leap forward with Rearden Metal. These pistols will be hand crafted in our new Colorado facility.

The first pistol released will be the GLOCK 19 (9x19mm) with model #: 10-289.

Your GLOCK Pistol Set will include:
1 x GLOCK "Safe Action" RM Pistol
1 x Speed loader
3 x Magazine
1 x Cleaning set
1 x Instruction's manual (1000+ Pages authored by A. Rand)
0 x Cable Lock (US only)

Pricing will be announced shortly, but please note that payment must be made in gold.

* Who is John G? I would tell you, but it would take 70 pages or a three hour speech.

The Dragon

Linoge posted about riding the Dragon. I've not done it in a long time, but it is loads of fun. Back in the day, I had a Z3 - as did several of my friends. We ran the Dragon and the Foothills Parkway. Mine is the steel gray in the foreground. Man, I loved that car. It was completely impractical then and would be even worse now with a two year old in tow.

Brilliant!

This is so simple, it is brilliant.



Via ENDO.

Cloud

So we are moving things to "the cloud." In other words, we are having a third party host services for us. My tech friends have asked if I'm worried about security. Yes, giving control to someone else does raise some concerns, but our biggest problem is resources. (Of course, the guys who were asking me about security work at a hospital and in Oak Ridge. I'm quite certain their security requirements are higher than mine.) I have a directive to make IT more flexible and these solutions move us in that direction. For example, Google, as part of its service, would spool e-mail for us if we are down while relocating our data center. Also, we no longer have to spend time managing the servers - updating the application to the latest version, patching the server, backing up the server, etc. We can spend our time on other projects that help grow the business or improve the bottom line.

Panda
We have started using Panda's Cloud Office Protection for anti-virus and endpoint security. From a financial perspective, it was a great move for us. We signed up for multiple years and got a steep discount. We also now have one contract to support the global organization. I spent a lot of time last year working with Symantec to consolidate the licensing and was never happy with the results.

On the technical side, I love that we will eventually eliminate all of our internal anti-virus update servers. Panda runs the back end and I just need a web browser to manage all our devices. Unlike our old system, updates are performed from anywhere - not just within our network. The clients are smart about how they update, too. You don't have to worry about 100 machines all trying to update over your internet pipe - they use P2P to get updates locally. The client is a lot lighter weight than the real time protection of Symantec. We've had good feedback from users who say their machines are running better since the switch. The reporting is fine, but I find myself exporting the data to Excel for better filtering and sorting.

We have deployed the solution fully at two sites and are about half-way done here in Knoxville.

Postini
We are also in the middle of implementing Google's Message Security (Postini) for our e-mail spam and virus filtering. We are also replacing a Symantec/Brightmail product with this solution. The pricing is pretty much a wash with what we were spending on Symantec. (If we only wanted inbound filtering, it would have been a lot less expensive.) With the service in the cloud, it will help reduce the usage on our internet connection as spam is stopped at Google before it is ever delivered to our network. Much like the Panda solution, it allows us to eliminate an old, problematic server.

We've deployed inbound filtering to about 90% of the e-mail users we manage from Knoxville.

Bonus
We've not implemented, but I think some of the guys at work are interest in this as our next cloud project. I wonder if they got the idea from Dilbert.



Cloud Girlfriend via Business Insider

Wouxun Mobile (KG-UV920R) - Vaporware?

I've been hoping for the release of Wouxun's KG-UV920R for some time now. Speculation was rampant that it would do for mobile radios what the KG-UVD1P did for HTs - a low price and lots of features.

Ed Griffin, from www.wouxun.us, recently posted this on a radio forum:

"No word on the mobile. But I will have a surprise at Dayton, and no it's not the mobile."

Ed Greany, another reseller who provides a lot of support to the Wouxun community, had this to say on the same forum:

"Personally, I'm REALLY tired of hearing about it. It's been over 6 months since it was leaked and there is absolutely NO word from China as to 1) IF it exists, 2) WHEN it will be released, 3) IF it will be Certified or 4) WHAT the price might be.

I stopped answering these inquiries. I suggested long ago that people STOP inquiring about it since that only drives the price up due to the spirited interest. High demand = High price. Some people just don't understand the evonomics of that principal.

Basically, all the U.S. dealers want it to come out and want to sell it. That's what we are in business for. None of us know any more information than you presently know right now. My most recent inquiry was "it is still in testing." Does that mean Wouxun's Test Lab or FCC Certification Lab or some highschool kid's chemistry lab. Nobody knows!

For now, pretend it was a dream and it really does not exist."

Makes me think I should start looking for alternatives for a dual band, dual receive, cross band repeating mobile rig.

Giveaway on Survival Mom

Survival Mom has teamed up with INeed2Prepare to give away 60 servings of their grab and go food. Follow the link here, decide what would be your favorite flavor, and post a comment on her site.

Who needs data?

An article from the Student Free Press on the bill to allow guns on campus... a pretty typical write-up, but this quote caught my eye:

“The safety and security of our students, faculty and staff is paramount among our priorities, said Hank Dye, Vice President for Public and Governmental Relations. “We agree with law enforcement professionals who say ‘guns on campus’ is a bad idea…Our campus security officers feel strongly that the introduction of firearms into that kind of mix hinders rather than helps in the safety equation.”

Oh wait, they feel strongly that guns would limit safety. As long as it is a strong feeling, I guess that is okay. It is a shame there isn't a method to test the validity of theories or some group that could help analyze data.

Coal Creek Armory - Annual Pass Deal

It used to be on Half-off Depot, but one of my friends found the half price deal here. Get a one-year membership to Coal Creek Amory's indoor shooting range for $99.50.

Atlas Shrugged

I was disappointed to learn that Knoxville wasn't on the list of theaters to get Atlas Shrugged. Even though I wasn't going to drive to Nashville to see it, I have been hustling to finish the book before the movie comes out on April 15th. (Nothing like having a goal to actually motive me.) I've got about 100 pages left as of this moment. Good thing that I continued to push as they've announced that they will be showing it in Knoxville!

It will be playing at the Regal Downtown West Cinema 8.

140 Character Resume

Inspired by this article, my Twitter-friendly resume follows:

Run global IT for auto manuf co. Built 2 new plants (data center, staff, implemented Oracle ERP). Survived financial crisis using cloud & VM

Extreme Coding

A firm is hiring programmers to work in the nude. After seeing the article, my first thought was "I wouldn't want to work there. They are still using CRTs!"

Via Slashdot.org

I Before E Except After C = You Lie!

I'm always amazed to see how our minds work. Apparently, context impacts our ability to think logically.

Ban on Bodies of Water

I think we should ban large bodies of water. Too many people drown because of large bodies of water.

What you say? Swimming lessons? That's just crazy talk. Next thing you know, you will want people to have basic firearm safety training, too.

Guess I need an AK

Slim has been after me to buy an AR-15 lower, but after reading this, I think I need an AK.

"The AK is ideal if you’ve got a lot of poorly motivated and led illiterate peasants without a lot of technical skill or supply depth.

The AR is more demanding to build, maintain, and train on, but is also more rewarding of that effort."

I'm not illiterate, but I'm not highly trained, have minimal technical skill, and no supporting supply options.

Also, not currently a peasant.