Hieronymus Blogsch

Bush/Nero Picks/Fiddles While Nola/Rome Floods/Burns

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-31T23:58-07:00

Quoth Bob Harris: But this was the U.S. president, this morning, during what is likely the GREATEST NATURAL DISASTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY ... Was this a moment unfairly captured? No. Experts had forecast an imminent possible disaster days ago. And from the start, other elected officials – Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, for example – began urgently working to save American lives. Bush chose instead to continue making public speeches before hand-picked audiences pushing his political agenda...

Over at sistermachinegun.com, Chris Randall would like to know a few things:

Point: The first thing I don't understand is why there isn't a line of Chinooks and Sea Kings bringing food to that god-damned dome, and taking people away. The sky should be black with them. There should be a line of helicopters from Atlanta to New Orleans.

Point: Why is FEMA, the one Federal agency that was once beholden to no one, and able to tell everyone from the Army on down what to do, now under control of the Dept. Of Homeland Security? Now, instead of being able to order goverment agencies to comply under their logistical control, they have to ask. As a result, the Coast Guard and National Guard, which used to have to drop everything at their behest, are now kind of operating on their own with no logistical advice.

Point: Why are the national guards of, say, North Dakota and Utah still sitting in their houses watching CNN?

Valid points, if you ask me.

AmeriCares.org

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-31T23:40-07:00

Acting on a suggestion from a friend, I've made a donation for Hurricane Katrina relief by way of AmeriCares. According to him, this organization has a stellar record of getting aid to the places it is needed, has extremely low overhead (meaning a much higher percentage of monies donated go to aid vs. bureaucracy), and a long track record from events such as the tsunami last December and 9/11.

Do whatever you can to help the victims in New Orleans. You don't have to go through AmeriCares, but for the sake of humanity do something.

Looks Like Diamonds Aren't Forever, After All

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-31T01:37-07:00

Physicists in Germany have created a material that is harder than diamond.

(For my physics-fetishist readers.)

A Bit of Embarassment for Scotland Yard

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-18T04:03-07:00

Remember that Brazilian that London police shot and killed a few weeks ago? You know, the one who was running from the police? Who was wearing a padded coat in the warmth of summer, and had vaulted the barriers in the tube station in his effort to flee?

Turns out, none of the above. Seems the only part that was true, was that he got shot to death.

Mad Props to PDX, Yo

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-07T19:11-07:00

I noticed a WiFi signal when I started-up my laptop. I expected it to be the same, silly charge-per-day service they have at San Jose (SJC), San Francisco (SFO), Dallas (DFW), etc. Nope.

It seems that the managers of this airport have figured out that the cost of maintaining WiFi is so negligible as to be easily amortized over the other gouging services (food, drink, etc.), and thus it is free. And by free, I mean as in beer, not just as in speech.

I was prepared to be reduced to playing Solitaire for the next three hours. Now I can actually do something interesting.

(If there are any stories about weird happenings at Portland Airport in tomorrow's news, I promise it wasn't me. I mean, it won't be.)

(Note to U.S. Attorney General Gonzales: Just kidding.)

Recent Health Issues

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-04T22:21-07:00

For those who know about the tests I've had recently, they all came back negative. Of course, that's a pyrric victory, since it opens the door to surgery in the near future. But at least there are no surprises...

Open Source Convention != OS Usage By Venue

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-02T22:26-07:00

Though it isn't too clear (despite climbing up on a railing to get a closer shot), this is an ActiveX error dialog. It's showing up on the announcements screen for the venue of this year's Open Source Conference.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people here who can offer suggestions to the center's IT department.

Here in Portland

Randy J. Ray — 2005-08-01T19:20-07:00

OSCON 2005, and I'm already through one tutorial. About to grab lunch (after I finish some updates, don't want to turn off the net connection just yet), and go to another tutorial this afternoon. Since the convention proper doesn't start until Wednesday, not a lot of people are around, yet. I've run into a few already, though.

How much of Portland beyond the convention center I get to see, that remains to be seen.