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January 31, 2005

Government Software Debacle

"A train wreck in slow motion."

The FBI said earlier this month it might shelve its custom-built, $170 million Virtual Case File project because it is inadequate and outdated.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sought $388 million last year for its $1.7 billion Business System Modernization program, which congressional investigators said continues to be over budget and 15 months late.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has doubled its cost estimates to $1.69 billion for its Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System since 1996, according to the Transportation Department's inspector general. The new system would replace the outdated computers that control air traffic within five to 50 miles of airports. - Wired News

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My Wackiness is Underrated

40 out of 100 for wackiness? Nah uh.

Wackiness: 40/100
Rationality: 40/100
Constructiveness: 80/100
Leadership: 80/100

You are a SECL--Sober Emotional Constructive Leader. This makes you a Politician.

You cut deals, you change minds, you make things happen. You would prefer to be liked than respected, but generally people react to you with both. You are very sensitive to criticism, since your entire business is making people happy. [hmm... somewhat true.]

At times your commitment to the happiness of other people can cut into the happiness of you and your loved ones. This is very demanding on those close to you, who may feel neglected. Slowly, you will learn to set your own agenda--including time to yourself. [perhaps.]

You are gregarious, friendly, charming and charismatic. Most definitely. You like animals, sports, [yes, yes] and beautiful cars. [er, who cares?] You wear understated gold jewelry and have secret bad habits, like chewing your fingers and fidgeting. [Not true at all.]

You are very difficult to dislike. [This is so true!]

- found @ Rocket Jones
Go here for the test.

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A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line...

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?

- Via Ted @ Rocket Jones (go to his blog for more.)

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Today's Quote

"Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives."
- William Dement

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A Dad's Point of View

Pogo tells us what it was like for him to become a father. Begin here: On Having Kids.

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Frightening

Click here.

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January 28, 2005

i, icicle

While headed to the store for some milk yesterday it was so cold out that I said out loud, "the hell with this, it's time to move to Hawaii." Yes indeedy, it was THAT cold. I have no idea how folks in much colder temperatures (it was 5 degrees plus wind chill here) manage to do it. I think perhaps they're a bit out of their minds or simply used to it. Me? I honestly don't mind the cold up until a point and that point was reached yesterday. I'm no warmer today.

Outside of my icicle-like existence lately, I had a lovely chat with the affable and amusing Kat who was not freezing in Texas but suffering from a ghastly bout of the flu. We never seem to be at a loss for words when we chat. We'd be dangerous in person, that's for sure. And speaking of in person...

... Kat told me she had a vision recently where she found herself on my doorstep. I've suggested she ring my cell phone prior to depositing herself here; there's always a good chance that I'm out of town and I'd hate to miss her visit. However, I warned her that she doesn't want to visit NYC right now and perhaps wait until it warms up a bit. Of course this warning morphed into me going to visit her in Houston. Nothing's impossible, so we'll see what happens.

Other than that, I know at some point later in the year I'll be headed to the west coast (California) and will see how many birds I can kill with one visit. There are a few other places I'd like to visit this year, and I'm overdue for another trip to Europe. Maybe I can pop into Houston on my way home from the other coast, or maybe I'll just head to Hawaii and never return. Hawaii... yeah!

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January 26, 2005

New Photo Gallery

Thanks to the mystery man who helps me with all sorts of technical hoo-ha (and hates it when I blow sunshine his way,) I have a brand spanking new photo gallery. Though I'm moving some things around on the page, I'm really thrilled with it! Go check it out and let me know what you think.

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January 24, 2005

Psst...

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January 23, 2005

Wallop

Whatever.

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Blizzard 2005 wasn't ALL THAT here in my neck o' the woods. Out the door with the camera I went, but the streets and sidewalks had been cleared, so photos I'd envisioned just didn't happen. Oh well. Next blizzard.

There's a blizzard/gizzard/lizard tune in here somewhere. ;-)

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January 16, 2005

FBI Virtual Case File Down the Virtual Toilet?

The FBI said it may have to scrap a new $170 million computer program designed to allow agents to share information instantly and fix a main problem identified after the Sept. 11 attacks. The software is already outdated and inadequate. Failure of the Virtual Case File software is the latest glitch in the bureau's effort to overhaul its computer system.

The FBI was trying to completely revamp a very antiquated system all at once. An anonymous official said in the future, changes should be done in stages, so software will not be outdated by the time it is launched. "I compare the FBI to changing wheels on a car that is going at 70 miles per hour," the official said at a briefing.

The Virtual Case File software was commissioned from Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego in 2001 but was delayed repeatedly before being delivered last month. An independent study should determine this month if any part of the Virtual Case File software can be salvaged. - Reuters

Hmm... I wonder what part of outdated and inadequate they don't understand. I can't help but wonder if the development of this software had been outsourced to somewhere outside the U.S.

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January 12, 2005

Women and Podcasting

How many times have you read an article that poses the question, "where are the women?" Though podcasting is still in its infancy, the number of podcasters, podcasts, groups, reviewers, press, etc. has grown exponentially since its introduction some months ago. Right now there are more male podcasters than there are female podcasters.

Amy Gahran, one of very few women in the podcasting world, has been keeping tabs on the number of women involved in podcasting. She's put together a list of them (yours truly included) that reflects a mere 25-30 female podcasters.

Amy recently posted her latest podcast where she talks about why more women should begin podcasting. I suggest you go have a listen. (It's 20 minutes and by the way, you can save it to your desktop and listen to it later if you don't have time now.)

*Women in Podcasting List
http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2004/12/22/women-in-podcasting-the-list

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January 11, 2005

Apple's iPod Shuffle

The latest toy in the pod family is the iPod Shuffle for $99. It's the size of a pack of gum... the "slimline" version. ;-) Pocket-size 512MB or 1G models. (specs)

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Engadget's Macworld Keynote Play-by-Play

Great job by the Engadget folks in reporting the details of Steve Jobs' keynote at MacWorld.

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Mac Memory

... lights the corner of my mind. :-)

In a couple of weeks my Apple G4 aluminum powerbook will be a year old. You may recall that I completely destroyed the Apple G4 titanium in December '03 I had with just a bit of iced tea, and that forced me to buy a new one in January '04.

I've got two 512 MB compliant memory chips that I took out of the dead titanium powerbook. I'm not sure if they can be used in the aluminum powerbook or if the chips were damaged at all after the tea spillage. Considering the amount of memory that is sitting there (and how I'm just itching to use it,) it would be a complete waste if it all works and I'm not doing anything with it. However, I'd prefer to eliminate the potential for stupidity here, given my recent history with laptops, so I need some good advice and guidance.

Anyone out there have any brilliant suggestions as to how this can be tested? Do I take the laptop + memory to the Apple Store and see if they can test the chips, or...?? I really don't want to open up the laptop and try it myself for fear of screwing up the innards of the machine. Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but... *shrug* Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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Never a Dull Moment

*Update*
Obviously there was a reason why I chose to write "never a dull moment 'round these parts," since I just learned that one of my two brothers broke his leg last night playing ice hockey. *sigh*

------

I've returned to the city after spending some time at my mom's - she had eye surgery on Friday and all went well. Never a dull moment 'round these parts.

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January 6, 2005

Houston is Fat and Seattle is Fit

The February issue of Men's Fitness magazine has proclaimed Seattle the fittest city. In its nonscientific Seventh Annual Fattest and Fittest Cities Report, the magazine compares 50 cities by weighing 14 factors, including fast food restaurants per capita, TV watching, air quality, and parks. In Seattle, for example, sporting goods stores and gyms outnumber fast food joints -- a key statistic. - CNN

Houston was named the fattest city for the fourth time in five years, followed by Philadelphia, Detroit, Memphis and Chicago. By the way, New York (number 8) was proclaimed a porky pig as well, even though the state isn't reflected in the "Top Five" list below.

Fittest Cities

Fattest Cities

See the top 25 list for 2005 at Men's Fitness.

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Quote

Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.
- Will Rogers

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January 5, 2005

Fan Mail

I've been sifting through many boxes of floppy disks I have dating back to the early 90s. Old files that include some of my earliest Web pages, different versions of my resume, old images and a hefty file of fan mail about my Web site. Back then I was a well-known personal home page diva and I received quite a bit of fan mail. After writing and posting a tale about my luxurious lifestyle in a story titled Don't Cry for Me Orangina, I suddenly found myself receiving emails from guys who wanted to apply for the position of "official toe sucker."

Be that as it may, I thought I'd post some of that fan mail from back in the day just for fun. [Note: The fan mail is included in the extended entry, and all names/identifiable email addresses have been removed to protect the guilty.]

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 13:20:42 -0600
From: ------------ [Durango, Colorado]
Subject: Application for Toe Suck Position

Dearest:

Remember me? I'm the toe-sucker who sent a letter admiring your home page a few net-years (5 minutes) ago.

I'm going to assume you own a Mac and include a sound clip. Creative people do clips and you give the distinct impression of creativity. (Along with mild schizophrenia, which I'll ignore for the moment.) If you own a PC our romance is over with before you finish this sentence. A few exceptions can be made, (but only for love or $.)

Trying to "educate" a PC person about the glory of owning and using a Mac -- BEING a Mac person -- is like trying to explain advanced lovemaking to a 11-year-old male who is fixated on wacking off while peeking at Penthouse. He's convinced that's as good as it will ever get and there's no telling him otherwise. Land of the blind. If you are a PC person and this offends you, let me take you gently by the hand. It'll be ok. I can teach you.

So, darling, anyway, I've attached a sample of my more humorous writing to make you laugh, for I've found that if I can make an intelligent and sometimes-takes and makes-herself-too-serious lady such as yourself laugh, well, nevermind. So plunge right in! Read it!

The sound clip expresses (at least on Macintosh computers) how I feel about encountering an intelligent AND irreverant woman on the net, whom I am going to make giggle endlessley...... do you have a gif available? Sorry its so big. (The sound clip)

Tell me its true. You're a goddess of beauty too. I knew it. I just knew it.

Awaiting your reply,
Your soon-to-be chief of all toe-suckers and grape-boys
------------------------------ (gif not available, but I'm an Adonis, hold the grape leaf)

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January 2, 2005

Today is Sunday, Isn't It?

There's something really disturbing about waking up to Whitney Houston singing "I get so emotional baby, everytime I think of you..." playing on the radio alarm clock coupled with the hum and whir of garbage trucks outside my window. This combo platter of disruption (especially after my peaceful, nighttime cold medicine-induced sleep) should really take place any day but Sunday.

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January 1, 2005

My Tradition

I followed my annual tradition, though I was late by some nine minutes. That nap prior to "Great Performances" was mandatory; I'm trying to get over what ails me in order to be healthy enough to be around my mom next week as she's scheduled for surgery. In the meantime...

The Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Day Concert was enjoyable as always. The Chairman of the Philharmonic said a few words about the tsunami disaster and the Philharmonic's donation of $115,000 Euro. The Radentsky March was not played this year, but the Chairman stated it will be played again at the end of next year's concert. (To next year then!)

Meanwhile back at the Rose Bowl, which I watched on television simply to see the Stealth Bomber flyover, I soon found myself betting a friend as to which team would win. Hmm... do I take the Michigan Wolverines or the Texas Longhorns? I went with Michigan. I know more folks from Michigan than I do from Texas, and that's how I made that decision. I ended up watching the entire game, with Texas winning in the last 2 seconds of the game. Now THAT was a great football game!

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Happy New Year!

... to you and yours. :-)

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