Friday, September 16, 2005

I had to post this...arr!  You are The Cap'n! Some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any man that stands between them and the mantle of power. You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate. Not that mindless violence is the only avenue open to you - but why take an avenue when you have complete freeway access? You are the definitive Man of Action. You are James Bond in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. Your swash was buckled long ago and you have never been so sure of anything in your life as in your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off their head if they show any sign of taking you on or backing down. You cannot be saddled with tedious underlings, but if one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not. What's Yer Inner Pirate? brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr! 9:10:46 PM    comment []

ARRL graphic designers win national award. A nationwide panel of judges has selected ARRL Headquarters graphic designers Sue Fagan (left in photo) and Diane Szlachetka as winners of the 2005 American Graphic Design Award. The award was a result of their design contributions to a special advertising section in May 2005 QST. The award sponsor, Graphic Design USA is entering its 43rd year, and this competition is considered among the most prestigious, as well as open and democratic. Fagan and Szlachetka were among the 10 percent of nominees honored this year. The award-winning piece will appear in the 300-page Graphic Design Annual, which will circulate in December to a national audience of influential creative decision makers, with thousands more distributed through the year at events, shows and conferences. "We're all proud of Sue and Diane," said ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. "Having such talent in-house is invaluable for producing quality material enjoyed by ARRL members." Earlier this year, Fagan and Szlachetka collaborated on the design elements depicted in the graphic themes for ARRL EXPO at the 2005 Dayton Hamvention. Inderbitzen says the exhibits earned high praise from convention attendees. [ARRL Amateur Radio News] Good for them - good news seems to come in waves! 3:21:58 PM    comment []

Treasury's Snow: Deficit to rise for about a year (Reuters). Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow on Friday said Hurricane Katrina clean-up costs will drive US deficits higher but said the country can afford it. [Yahoo! News: Top Stories] Why is this man the Treasury Secretary?  Has he been eating printing ink?  The bill for Katrina is only the latest upward pressure on the deficit and the nation cannot afford it anymore. 1:29:56 PM    comment []

Nation Hears Bush With Skepticism, Hope (AP). AP - Americans watched President Bush's speech from New Orleans on Thursday with mixed expectations. Some hoped for more contrition for the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina; others sought inspiration for a devastated Gulf Coast. [Yahoo! News: U.S. National] A better question is this: Was the speech really necessary?  Here is a President who has spent less time visibly doing his job and more time cleaning brush at his ranch.  Some have argued that the President does not get to take a vacation and I can appriciate the position, but this President has done presented the general perception that he does not care.  So why all of a sudden does he seem to?  Could it be because he is about to go into the history books with the lowest approval of any sitting President?  Or because he is finally realizing that he will not get his name on any buildings in DC unless he buys them himself. 1:26:54 PM    comment []

Columnist Fired for Misleading Sources (AP). AP - A student journalist accused of misleading those she interviewed for an inflammatory column about racial profiling of Arabs has been fired, the editor said. [Yahoo! News: U.S. National] If all she wanted to do was get people talking, she should not have twisted their quotes to her own ends.  She was rightly terminated.  There is no question, however, that her real topic is a hot one. 1:20:41 PM    comment []

Bush Vows Disaster Review for U.S. Cities (AP). AP - President Bush is urging Congress to approve a massive reconstruction program for the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast and promising that the federal government will review the disaster plans of every major American city. [Yahoo! News: U.S. National] Wonderful.  Now the federal governement is going to involve itself in local issues.  Smashing.  What are they going to do about traffic? Or urban blight?  11:32:51 AM    comment []

US does not deserve Katrina aid: Iran cleric (Reuters). Reuters - The United States does not deserve foreign aid in the wake of hurricane Katrina given the amount of money it spends on military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior Iranian cleric said on Friday. [Yahoo! News: Top Stories] While his rhetoric is clearly inflammatory, the key point he raises is valid.  What is the United States spending the money of its citizens on and why are the citizens letting their government spend their money without so much as a by your leave? Katrina was a big deal.  The problem is that there is no reason why the Federal Government should have to pay for rebuilding New Orleans.  I do not see any value in returning the city to the state it was in but the government is going to spend my tax dollars anyway.  The government has a crumbling infrastructure.  An education system in shambles and a deficit that is in excess of 5 trillion dollars. At some point I would hope that the government would realize that it cannot solve every problem simply by throwing money at it and some problems need to stop being solved. 11:31:01 AM    comment []

L.A. power outage blamed on wrong work order. An inaccurate work order led to the power outage that left 756,000 households and businesses with almost 2 million people in ... [USATODAY.com Nation - Top Stories] Hmm, so who got the work order incorrect?  And more importantly who is going to remedy the situation so it does not happen again. 10:50:04 AM    comment []

email in PL/SQL. Tom: 1. If you want to write something in PL/SQL application server that send email automatically to an administrator requesting approval after a user create a record, which oracle package would be using. Would you also use an after insert tri... [Ask Tom MOST RECENT ARTICLES] Geek post, but email is never an easy process...oddly. 9:09:07 AM    comment []

Car bomb kills 9 near Shi'ite mosque north of Baghdad (Reuters). Reuters - A suicide car bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite mosque in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, north of Baghdad, on Friday, killing nine people and wounding 21, Iraqi police said. [Yahoo! News: Top Stories] Now tell me again why we have United States soldiers in this line of fire?  There will be a complete decent into civil war before this is done.  As bad as war is, perhaps the United States should just get the heck out and let them blow each other up.  Besides, the President needs the money and the manpower to rebuild New Orleans. 9:06:42 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2005 David Lane.