As you can see he is pretty content, and the leg in the forefront is the broken one, as such, he is pretty well mended. While the leg still has more rehab in terms of buildlng muscle and flexibility, he is a happy cat.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Microsoft to replace Live OneCare with 'no-cost' anti-malware
Microsoft to replace Live OneCare with 'no-cost' anti-malware
"Exactly one year after it re-announced the commercial subscription edition of its anti-malware service for individual Windows users, Microsoft announced it will discontinue Windows Live OneCare, replacing it with a free alternative."http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_to_replace_Live_OneCare_with_nocost_antimalware/1227049072
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Zone Alarm Pro -- Free -- Just For Today
CHECK POINT CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY WITH FREE DOWNLOAD OF ZONEALARM® PRO
Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced that in celebration of the company's 15th anniversary and the anniversary of the ZoneAlarm firewall, it will offer Check Point ZoneAlarm® Pro 2009 free for 24 hours to consumers. The promotion begins on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 at 6 a.m. PST and lasts until 6 a.m. PST on Wednesday, Nov. 19. To participate in or learn more about the promotion, please visit www.zonealarm.com/only24hours.
Read the full press release here:
http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/pressReleases/2008/pr_9.html
DSLReports Commentary Here:
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Zone-Alarm-Pro-Free-Just-For-Today-99156
NOTE: Due to overwhelming demand, you will receive a confirming email within 48 hours that includes a download link for your free copy of ZoneAlarm Pro and a unique license key to activate the software.
Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced that in celebration of the company's 15th anniversary and the anniversary of the ZoneAlarm firewall, it will offer Check Point ZoneAlarm® Pro 2009 free for 24 hours to consumers. The promotion begins on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 at 6 a.m. PST and lasts until 6 a.m. PST on Wednesday, Nov. 19. To participate in or learn more about the promotion, please visit www.zonealarm.com/only24hours.
Read the full press release here:
http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/pressReleases/2008/pr_9.html
DSLReports Commentary Here:
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Zone-Alarm-Pro-Free-Just-For-Today-99156
NOTE: Due to overwhelming demand, you will receive a confirming email within 48 hours that includes a download link for your free copy of ZoneAlarm Pro and a unique license key to activate the software.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Joey - Update
Quick update on Joey. He had his splint replaced twice. This weekend he wore it out again, and it needed to be replaced again. However, rather than spend that money on a new wrap for about a week, we had the vetrinarian run x-rays and based upon the clean look of the mend, he is now operating under his own power.
Since he has not used his leg for so long, he is now much less mobile as he slowly recoups his leg muscles. Once the fur grows back from the rubbing/tape, we will take some photos of him and his recovery.
Since he has not used his leg for so long, he is now much less mobile as he slowly recoups his leg muscles. Once the fur grows back from the rubbing/tape, we will take some photos of him and his recovery.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Meet Joey!
Well it is not a new cat, named just changed again. This one should be the final one. (Hey, don't ask me, ask her!)... Anyhow, we brought him to the vet again to have his dressing changed. They went with yellow this time... he is a kitten and mobile, and seems to not even thing he is injured.
He is scampering around the house without regard, attacking Mary's, Jeri's and My legs, Boyd and him have stayed apart for the most part (partial quarantine, as with any new cat); but as rambunctious as Joey is, they will be testing the waters soon enough.
Monday, September 08, 2008
The Rise and Fall of Invasive ISP Surveillance
The Rise and Fall of Invasive ISP Surveillance
Paul OhmUniversity of Colorado Law School
The author's homepage: paulohm.com/
Paul OhmUniversity of Colorado Law School
Abstract:Nothing in society poses as grave a threat to privacy as the Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISPs carry their users' conversations, secrets, relationships, acts, and omissions. Until the very recent past, they had left most of these alone because they had lacked the tools to spy invasively, but with recent advances in eavesdropping technology, they can now spy on people in unprecedented ways. Meanwhile, advertisers and copyright owners have been tempting them to put their users' secrets up for sale, and judging from a recent flurry of reports, ISPs are giving in to the temptation and experimenting with new forms of spying. This is only the leading edge of a coming storm of unprecedented and invasive ISP surveillance.
This Article proposes an innovative new theory of communications privacy to help policymakers strike the proper balance between user privacy and ISP need. We cannot simply ban aggressive monitoring, because ISPs have legitimate reasons for scrutinizing communications on an Internet teeming with threats. Using this new theory, policymakers will be able to distinguish between an ISP's legitimate needs and mere desires.
In addition, this Article injects privacy into the network neutrality debate - a debate about who gets to control innovation on the Internet. Despite the thousands of pages that have already been written about the topic, nobody has recognized that we already enjoy mandatory network neutrality in the form of expansive wiretapping laws. The recognition of this idea will flip the status quo and reinvigorate a stagnant debate by introducing privacy and personal autonomy into a discussion that has only ever been about economics and innovation.
The author's homepage: paulohm.com/
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
"Oh lord, not another Vista article!"
"Oh lord, not another Vista article!" Like me, I'm sure many of you might be thinking something along those lines whenever you see an article with the word 'Vista' in the title these days. We've had what can only be described as a plethora of articles on Windows Vista, almost all of them repetitive, one-sided and of little practical use. Some of them have bordered on the absurd, such as Infoworld declaring Windows Vista to be the second biggest tech blunder in history, giving as its reason a one paragraph description that serves more to highlight the author's ignorance than provide any actual logic for their decision. We've been suffering under the weight of these nonsensical, sensationalist and opinion-laded pro- and anti-Vista articles for far too long."This is a very interesting article, and one which does offer some quick fixes to Vista annoyances.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Introducing... Traffic
Here is a picture of traffic. He is a little unkept, as he is still recovering. The splint, really, doesn't allow him much mobility. He is able to play a bit with the ball, in the crate. He will be confined for 2-3 weeks, maybe more depening upon the vetrinarian's recommendation on his leg mending.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Kitten Update
Well, the kitten has a couple of names at the moment,
Mike
Traffic
Will most likely end up being Mike "Traffic", the traffic, just fits since he was plucked out of the middle of it, and in Atlanta no less, which has such god awful traffic... anyhow, I digress.
Here are the scans of the x-rays.
Here is the first shot of the break
Here is the second shot of the break
Here is the view of the set.
Thus far, Traffic, is doing fine. He is eating, sleeping, and alert. Though one of his medications is morphine, which dopes him up some. When he is not under its affects he is a little kitten, who is alert and ready to play, just impeded by the split. Now, he just needs to bottle up that energy for 6-8 weeks from now when he will be recovered.
Mike
Traffic
Will most likely end up being Mike "Traffic", the traffic, just fits since he was plucked out of the middle of it, and in Atlanta no less, which has such god awful traffic... anyhow, I digress.
Here are the scans of the x-rays.
Here is the first shot of the break
Here is the second shot of the break
Here is the view of the set.
Thus far, Traffic, is doing fine. He is eating, sleeping, and alert. Though one of his medications is morphine, which dopes him up some. When he is not under its affects he is a little kitten, who is alert and ready to play, just impeded by the split. Now, he just needs to bottle up that energy for 6-8 weeks from now when he will be recovered.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Pets, People, and non-humans
Yesterday and today have been interesting days... I was off yesterday and ventured down to Dragon*Con with some friends. Jeri worked and had a very busy day on top of that. I returned home from Dragon*Con I needed to use the restroom, I ventured in and see a box with a towel over the top and a small scraggly tail hanging out from under the towel. I closed the door and headed upstairs to guest bathroom.
Afterwards, I talk with Jeri and it seems on her way into the office she saw a dead kitten on the road, and further up the road about a quarter of a mile another kitten (not yet dead), the car in front of her clipped the kitten. Understandably, she is a little freaked out and stops to to assess the kitten. It is alive but injured. She picks up the kitten and takes it into a vetrinarian her manager at work uses for his dogs. They briefly assess the kitten, saying it has a broken leg and it will need surgery to repair.
Jeri brought the kitten with her to work and tended it throughout the day and then brought it home, whereas I met it rather abruptly on my way to the restroom. The kitten eat, slept, and relieved itself. We had some worry as its urine contained some blood.
The following morning though it was much less than the night before. We brought the kitten to the emergency veterinary service and had them assess the kitten. After x-rays and a diagnosis, they assessed similarly to the first vetrinarian, but we had more rock solid paperwork to support (and if needed carry with us to other vetrinarians).
The leg was broken at the femur's growth plate. A clean break with no chips or shards.
The diagnosis from the veterinarian was one of two choices,
1.Euthanasia
2.Surgery (estimated at $1,500.00-$2,000.00)
After the sticker shock set in, we had to take a break, so we went out to get some food as we both were a hungry and it was affecting our ability to think clearly. During this time, they were doing the pelvic x-rays, as they neglected to do them the first time, as they just focused on the single leg incident, which in my opinion was a little short sighted as we had fully disclosed the kitten had been hit by a car.
When we returned and spoke with the veterinarian a second time, we asked about a third option, which was just a local set-n-bandage scenario. The break was on the growth plate, one would assume that if they were realigned with the proper rest and treatment the leg would grow back together naturally. The veterinarian seemed to believe this was a possible scenario and worked up an estimate. The hope around this one is a with a clean set the leg would heal normally, and over time, the pelvic area would recover on its own. As the kitten (estimated at only 10 weeks of age) still has a lot of growing to do.
We choose this option, understanding that if not totally successful the kitten would possibly have issues mobility from the leg and/or pelvic trauma over the course of its life, however, that is better than the alternative of either another kitten lying dead on the road or euthanasia.
So how do humans and non-humans fit into my subject?
Well there are two classes of people, one I am calling non-humans. The kittens were found on the median of a six lane road in the middle of an urban area. They were almost no plausible way they could have or would have meandered out in to the middle of that road, as such, the simplest and most likely explanation is a human's (of the non-human variety) cat had a litter, rather than adopt them, sell them, or give them away to (qualified homes), they choose to drop them off one at a time in the middle of a busy road so that they would get hit by cars. This person is not a good person (remember cruelty to animals, more often than not is later translated to human beings as well by the individual).
Now, the flip side of this coin is the normal human being, which cares about life. While we were at the emergency clinic, there was another case. This time a dog was hit by a car. A couple either witnessed it or found the dog shortly thereafter.
They brought the animal into the clinic. They already had two dogs of their own the cost of veterinary care, much less emergency veterinary care is mind-bogglingly expensive... as such, a good samaritan is faced with the desire to help, but perhaps not the financial wherewithal to complete the job. That is a major emotional struggle. This couple filed the paperwork for the dog as a stray, which means they chose not to bear the financial responsibility for this dog, and thus could not dictate what care it was given.
They were clearly torn with this decision, as the couple left . Ten minutes or so later the woman came back in tears, stating that if the costs to save the dog could be kept below $1,000.00; they would take care of them. Sadly, the dog had major internal injuries and was put down later in the afternoon.
Back to the kitten. The third option is the one we choose, which is to have the leg set (which was successful), then splinted. We will be monitoring the kitten and the bandage changed every 2-3 days. This process will be going on for the next 6-8 weeks.
Hopefully the leg will have a clean mend and will the cat will have a chance at a normal life. All this to the tune of $837.33 (Money well spent thus far).
Afterwards, I talk with Jeri and it seems on her way into the office she saw a dead kitten on the road, and further up the road about a quarter of a mile another kitten (not yet dead), the car in front of her clipped the kitten. Understandably, she is a little freaked out and stops to to assess the kitten. It is alive but injured. She picks up the kitten and takes it into a vetrinarian her manager at work uses for his dogs. They briefly assess the kitten, saying it has a broken leg and it will need surgery to repair.
Jeri brought the kitten with her to work and tended it throughout the day and then brought it home, whereas I met it rather abruptly on my way to the restroom. The kitten eat, slept, and relieved itself. We had some worry as its urine contained some blood.
The following morning though it was much less than the night before. We brought the kitten to the emergency veterinary service and had them assess the kitten. After x-rays and a diagnosis, they assessed similarly to the first vetrinarian, but we had more rock solid paperwork to support (and if needed carry with us to other vetrinarians).
The leg was broken at the femur's growth plate. A clean break with no chips or shards.
The diagnosis from the veterinarian was one of two choices,
1.Euthanasia
2.Surgery (estimated at $1,500.00-$2,000.00)
After the sticker shock set in, we had to take a break, so we went out to get some food as we both were a hungry and it was affecting our ability to think clearly. During this time, they were doing the pelvic x-rays, as they neglected to do them the first time, as they just focused on the single leg incident, which in my opinion was a little short sighted as we had fully disclosed the kitten had been hit by a car.
When we returned and spoke with the veterinarian a second time, we asked about a third option, which was just a local set-n-bandage scenario. The break was on the growth plate, one would assume that if they were realigned with the proper rest and treatment the leg would grow back together naturally. The veterinarian seemed to believe this was a possible scenario and worked up an estimate. The hope around this one is a with a clean set the leg would heal normally, and over time, the pelvic area would recover on its own. As the kitten (estimated at only 10 weeks of age) still has a lot of growing to do.
We choose this option, understanding that if not totally successful the kitten would possibly have issues mobility from the leg and/or pelvic trauma over the course of its life, however, that is better than the alternative of either another kitten lying dead on the road or euthanasia.
So how do humans and non-humans fit into my subject?
Well there are two classes of people, one I am calling non-humans. The kittens were found on the median of a six lane road in the middle of an urban area. They were almost no plausible way they could have or would have meandered out in to the middle of that road, as such, the simplest and most likely explanation is a human's (of the non-human variety) cat had a litter, rather than adopt them, sell them, or give them away to (qualified homes), they choose to drop them off one at a time in the middle of a busy road so that they would get hit by cars. This person is not a good person (remember cruelty to animals, more often than not is later translated to human beings as well by the individual).
Now, the flip side of this coin is the normal human being, which cares about life. While we were at the emergency clinic, there was another case. This time a dog was hit by a car. A couple either witnessed it or found the dog shortly thereafter.
They brought the animal into the clinic. They already had two dogs of their own the cost of veterinary care, much less emergency veterinary care is mind-bogglingly expensive... as such, a good samaritan is faced with the desire to help, but perhaps not the financial wherewithal to complete the job. That is a major emotional struggle. This couple filed the paperwork for the dog as a stray, which means they chose not to bear the financial responsibility for this dog, and thus could not dictate what care it was given.
They were clearly torn with this decision, as the couple left . Ten minutes or so later the woman came back in tears, stating that if the costs to save the dog could be kept below $1,000.00; they would take care of them. Sadly, the dog had major internal injuries and was put down later in the afternoon.
Back to the kitten. The third option is the one we choose, which is to have the leg set (which was successful), then splinted. We will be monitoring the kitten and the bandage changed every 2-3 days. This process will be going on for the next 6-8 weeks.
Hopefully the leg will have a clean mend and will the cat will have a chance at a normal life. All this to the tune of $837.33 (Money well spent thus far).
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
New Coke-Cola Bottles and/or Caps
If you drink sodas you may have noticed, that Coke-Cola has a new bottle-cap for their twist off plastic bottles. I have purchased two bottles over the past two weeks of Diet Coke and I could not finish either, one because of the stench on the bottles (or the caps). I would smell the outside of the bottle and everything is fine, then when you put your nose over the bottle and sniff, you get a pretty rank smell. I only started to notice this on the bottles with the new caps. I have not checked just the cap, but today was the second occurrence and I thought I would Google it to see if others have noticed it as well. There is at least one person who has.
- "Nancy T> // May 19, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I mean they really smell bad. I don't know why but many cokes I have bought with this new cap have a terrible smell to it and it makes me not want to drink another diet coke. Please go back to the original cap!
http://www.sogoodblog.com/2008/03/10/what-do-you-think-of-the-new-coke-caps/
So, is this something that was not QA'd well enough? Did they change the Diet Coke recipe, did they change the bottles, or is it just the cap itself? I know, I will NOT be buying another diet coke (or any other drink with a cap like this, if that smell is present).
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Patch 'em if you have 'em (and you have 'em)
Nearly everyone has a version Flash on their machines... As such, this applies to everyone. If you are not sure what version you have, head on over and update anyhow. Better safe then sorry. This allies to nearly every program you run on your compluters nowadays... We have reached the period of "liquid code", updates are common and neccessary.
Malware Attack Exploiting Flash Zero Day Vulnerability on Dancho Danchev's Blog. Adobe Flash zero-day exploit in the wild on ZDNet.com
Make sure you update your appliations periodically and when you hear of exploits that is a good time to double-check. It only takes a few moments.
More about this vulnerability :Malware Attack Exploiting Flash Zero Day Vulnerability on Dancho Danchev's Blog. Adobe Flash zero-day exploit in the wild on ZDNet.com
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Hiking at Kennesaw Mountain
Today we went for a morning hike at Kennesaw mountain. It was a beautiful day, with a light breeze. Perfect for outdoor activities. The hike was nice, and we got to see a snake on the way back to the car. It was crossing the path and another hiker noticed it first.
We watched it cross the path. It was about 3.5-4 feet in length and looked similar to to the one pictured below, thus at this point I am going to state that it was a Black Rat Snake, primarily because it flicked its tail to simulate a rattle, and this is the closet looking picture I was able to find when we returned.
We watched it cross the path. It was about 3.5-4 feet in length and looked similar to to the one pictured below, thus at this point I am going to state that it was a Black Rat Snake, primarily because it flicked its tail to simulate a rattle, and this is the closet looking picture I was able to find when we returned.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Video of the F1 tornado in Woodstock, GA
Nesset740 posted a clip of the tornado from their viewpoint on YouTube. You should be able to see below, or click on the link to go to the YouTube page.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Storms Damaged 1,000 Cherokee Homes
Seems like it may have been a tornado. The above image from CBS46, while below is a story from ABC2
"A spokesman for the National Weather Service told WSB-TV Channel 2 reporter Ross Cavitt some of the damage was caused by a F1 tornado."
Read the slight more expansive reporting here
Storms Damaged 1,000 Cherokee Homes
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/16347555/detail.html
It really was this dark too, however, I was not able to see any light, there was too much, wind, rain, and debris. Also saw a clip for tonights newscast on FOX (I believe), which looks to have video from people in a car.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Severe Storm in Woodstock, GA
I left work at 6:00PM on Tuesday. I did not get home until around 9:50PM... That was one long drive. The drive started off like normal, late rush our traffic. Perhaps a little bit lighter than normal.
Along the way, reports of possible severe storms on the news and on my drive some pretty intense lighting flares up. While this is going on the dark clouds begin to roll in. I check the radar on my Blackberry and see a pretty intense cell about to move through the area. I am driving right into it.
A little bit further down the road the rain starts to fall. Light at first, then some fat drops pecking away on the car. Rounding a curve then WHAM!...
The storm hit. A wall of wind and rain lashes the road. The cars in front of me are about 200 feet ahead and they slow down and come to a stop. I could only barely see them from their brake lights, the wind and rain is so intense. Slowing from 40 miles per hour to about 10, five, and then a complete stop. By this time the wind is lashing from multiple directions. (that was really freaky). I could see the swirling of the wind from the rain, then the debris picks up.
Sticks, small tree limbs, pine cones are all being blown about. Some rebounding off the car and windshield. The wind is still blowing from seemingly multiple directions. The line of cars in front of me picks up and slowly moves ahead a little bit. Not sure if out of general fear or just trying to position themselves better. During this point I tried to make sure I was not in the direct line of any trees in case they toppled... but the wind was still picking up at this point. Then the hail hits. Small pebbles at first, then marble sized, and then golf ball. I would say there was some lemon sized, that may just be a slight exaggeration as they sounded a hell of a lot bigger hitting the car.
I closed the interior panel for the sunroof, just in case. I was really expecting a hailstone or some piece of debris to come through a window. (either before or just after) the wind hit again by thus time the cars had come to a stop again, and I seriously thought about getting out of the car and looking for a ditch (I'm not sure if that is a still a recommended course of action for tornado's if you are stuck in a car).
A moment after that, the cell passed and the wind began to let up, the hail stopped and while the rain continued for a short while longer. The line of traffic began to move again, by this time though the road had disappeared. There were leaves everywhere, small limbs, sticks, and dirt. You literally could barely see the road. The slow moving line of traffic proceeded around downed trees, limbs and finally came to rest at a large tree in the road. Many folks turned around, including myself and we attempted to locate an alternate area around the blockage.
We backed tracked a short ways and turned on a road, which loops back into Arnold Mill further up. Shortly up this road though, there was a lady and her son standing on the road, with an umbrella telling folks to turn around due to downed trees and power lines. She also stated they had no power, no cell phone service, or telephone service and to call 911 (no reports of injuries). I was not familiar with the name of the road, so I slowly proceed back again looking for a road sign, however, my action was not needed as sheriff's car and a emergency vehicle came up the road about a minute later.
This time I am back to Arnold Mill road and can either head back east towards the office and try to track south (not looking forward to that), or heading back to the tree and see if the emergency services folks had moved/cleared the tree.
A bit more traffic has shown up by this time, so am a lot further back rather than in the front of the line. Visiblity is nil and the moving is very slow. Finally through attrition of folks turning around we reach the tree I was at before. I had the windows down and hear a loud hissing... first thought is gas leak. Right I was, though people kept turning around, soon we were able to move past the tree which was blocking the east bound lane, with the west bound lane having been slightly cleared.
There was a lot of people collecting here as all the other roads in this area had power lines down and thus no one was able to go any further... not only that it was a small box canyon of sorts as the gas leak and downed tree were preventing people from back tracking... Now we are stuck.
Fire department personnel show up and have people vacate the area of the leak, turn off cars, and take control of the area. More emergency services arrives and a pair of them manage to cap/plug the leak. Not sure what they initially used, but it was held on with duct tape... I know that much. By the time that leak was plugged the other crews had handled the other trees and power lines and people were beginning to slowly file out of the area.
All told this was a two hour process or so. Interesting, intense, and surreal. The area was heavily hit and there is a fair amount of property damage. I will take a closer look at my vehicle in the morning. From hail, road debris, to flying debris, if it has no damage that will be amazing.
Google Maps of the area just east of Woodstock, GA
View Larger Map
WSBTV Storm Damage Slideshow
http://www.wsbtv.com/slideshow/news/16344200/detail.html
FOX 5 Atlanta Storm Damage Pictures
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_gallery.jsp?contentId=6588222&version=1&locale=EN-US
Along the way, reports of possible severe storms on the news and on my drive some pretty intense lighting flares up. While this is going on the dark clouds begin to roll in. I check the radar on my Blackberry and see a pretty intense cell about to move through the area. I am driving right into it.
A little bit further down the road the rain starts to fall. Light at first, then some fat drops pecking away on the car. Rounding a curve then WHAM!...
The storm hit. A wall of wind and rain lashes the road. The cars in front of me are about 200 feet ahead and they slow down and come to a stop. I could only barely see them from their brake lights, the wind and rain is so intense. Slowing from 40 miles per hour to about 10, five, and then a complete stop. By this time the wind is lashing from multiple directions. (that was really freaky). I could see the swirling of the wind from the rain, then the debris picks up.
Sticks, small tree limbs, pine cones are all being blown about. Some rebounding off the car and windshield. The wind is still blowing from seemingly multiple directions. The line of cars in front of me picks up and slowly moves ahead a little bit. Not sure if out of general fear or just trying to position themselves better. During this point I tried to make sure I was not in the direct line of any trees in case they toppled... but the wind was still picking up at this point. Then the hail hits. Small pebbles at first, then marble sized, and then golf ball. I would say there was some lemon sized, that may just be a slight exaggeration as they sounded a hell of a lot bigger hitting the car.
I closed the interior panel for the sunroof, just in case. I was really expecting a hailstone or some piece of debris to come through a window. (either before or just after) the wind hit again by thus time the cars had come to a stop again, and I seriously thought about getting out of the car and looking for a ditch (I'm not sure if that is a still a recommended course of action for tornado's if you are stuck in a car).
A moment after that, the cell passed and the wind began to let up, the hail stopped and while the rain continued for a short while longer. The line of traffic began to move again, by this time though the road had disappeared. There were leaves everywhere, small limbs, sticks, and dirt. You literally could barely see the road. The slow moving line of traffic proceeded around downed trees, limbs and finally came to rest at a large tree in the road. Many folks turned around, including myself and we attempted to locate an alternate area around the blockage.
We backed tracked a short ways and turned on a road, which loops back into Arnold Mill further up. Shortly up this road though, there was a lady and her son standing on the road, with an umbrella telling folks to turn around due to downed trees and power lines. She also stated they had no power, no cell phone service, or telephone service and to call 911 (no reports of injuries). I was not familiar with the name of the road, so I slowly proceed back again looking for a road sign, however, my action was not needed as sheriff's car and a emergency vehicle came up the road about a minute later.
This time I am back to Arnold Mill road and can either head back east towards the office and try to track south (not looking forward to that), or heading back to the tree and see if the emergency services folks had moved/cleared the tree.
A bit more traffic has shown up by this time, so am a lot further back rather than in the front of the line. Visiblity is nil and the moving is very slow. Finally through attrition of folks turning around we reach the tree I was at before. I had the windows down and hear a loud hissing... first thought is gas leak. Right I was, though people kept turning around, soon we were able to move past the tree which was blocking the east bound lane, with the west bound lane having been slightly cleared.
There was a lot of people collecting here as all the other roads in this area had power lines down and thus no one was able to go any further... not only that it was a small box canyon of sorts as the gas leak and downed tree were preventing people from back tracking... Now we are stuck.
Fire department personnel show up and have people vacate the area of the leak, turn off cars, and take control of the area. More emergency services arrives and a pair of them manage to cap/plug the leak. Not sure what they initially used, but it was held on with duct tape... I know that much. By the time that leak was plugged the other crews had handled the other trees and power lines and people were beginning to slowly file out of the area.
All told this was a two hour process or so. Interesting, intense, and surreal. The area was heavily hit and there is a fair amount of property damage. I will take a closer look at my vehicle in the morning. From hail, road debris, to flying debris, if it has no damage that will be amazing.
Google Maps of the area just east of Woodstock, GA
View Larger Map
WSBTV Storm Damage Slideshow
http://www.wsbtv.com/slideshow/news/16344200/detail.html
FOX 5 Atlanta Storm Damage Pictures
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_gallery.jsp?contentId=6588222&version=1&locale=EN-US
Monday, May 19, 2008
Alternative Rock Tracks
Looking for some alternative tracks? Just stopped by this site? Well check out the MP3 clips widget to the right for some alternative rock tracks... covering the whole genre from Ska, through punk, to american alternative.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Intel vPro Resources
A while back the new machines we ordered began coming with something called Intel AMT; we had not heard of it, nor did we have time to dig into it. We kept getting dialogs that AMT was disabled from our images (we had the drivers loaded), but since we had neither the time nor inclination to dig into the technology we just turned off or removed the drivers.
Well that all changed after this year's MMS. Intel was actively promoting vPro and with the information gleaned there I was able to see real uses that we would be able to begin to incorporate today. Thus, begins the long journey through documentation and is there loads of it (as is always the case nowadays).
I will say this, that AMT (or vPro) looks to be an awesome technology, Intel really needs to work on the sales/marketing folks as the information (as is pointed out in the links below) is not found as easily as it could be and the channels they were communicating through were not probably optimal… many a system admin is AMT? What's that… (The Word 2007 dictionary wants to correct vPro to vapor? I find humor in that.)
What do you really need to know to start?
What can it do?
Enterprise or Small Business, simply, if you have any security requirements go with enterprise implementation. Our machines are preconfigured for that (as I would assume most are).
What Infrastructure is needed?
Database Active Directory (w/schema update) SMS 2003 or SCCM 2007 Add-on for SMS 2003 SP1 for SCCM
Well that all changed after this year's MMS. Intel was actively promoting vPro and with the information gleaned there I was able to see real uses that we would be able to begin to incorporate today. Thus, begins the long journey through documentation and is there loads of it (as is always the case nowadays).
I will say this, that AMT (or vPro) looks to be an awesome technology, Intel really needs to work on the sales/marketing folks as the information (as is pointed out in the links below) is not found as easily as it could be and the channels they were communicating through were not probably optimal… many a system admin is AMT? What's that… (The Word 2007 dictionary wants to correct vPro to vapor? I find humor in that.)
What do you really need to know to start?
What can it do?
- Discover platform assets using data retained in non-volatile storage
- Heals systems remotely even when the operating system is down
- Protect against malicious software attacks by making it easier to keep software virus protection consistent and up to date across the enterprise
- Limit the effect of "malware" and platform misuse by containing outbreaks and software tampering on the managed client, isolating the infected network element from the rest of the network.
The above is just a partial listing.
Enterprise or Small Business, simply, if you have any security requirements go with enterprise implementation. Our machines are preconfigured for that (as I would assume most are).
What Infrastructure is needed?
- Server
As you can see from the partial listing the enterprise deployment is not something that is going to happen overnight, especially when most of the functions that this will address end up crossing multiple group and political lines in most medium-large organizations. First thing ensure you have an executive level champion who can get this moving if you plan on utilizing in your organization.
Core Links
- Intel AMT SCS (Setup and Configuration Service) Manual
- http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/isn/downloads/Manageability/Intel_AMT_SCS_Installation_and_UserManual.pdf
- Intel AMT SMS 2003 - Add on
- http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/articles/eng/1356.htm
- NOTE: SCCM 2007 SP1 has native support for Intel AMT.
- Intel AMT Console (Developer SDK)
- http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/articles/eng/1034.htm
- WikiPedia on vPro (See AMT link below)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_vPro
- WikiPedia on AMT
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Active_Management_Technology
- Tips on vPro
- http://softwareblogs.intel.com/2008/01/28/tips-tricks-for-setting-up-accessing-an-intel-amt-client/
- Toms Hardware Review of vPro Remote Control (Recommended Read
- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/command-conquer,1591.html
Monday, April 28, 2008
MMS 2008 – Las Vegas – The Venetian
The Microsoft Management Summit kicked off today in Las Vegas, NV. The event is being held at the Venetian, which boasts a large conference center amongst the posh environment. We came into Vegas on Sunday a day early. A large number of people fly in on Monday and start the event with afternoon classes, coming in early allows us time to relax (even have a night to ourselves) and schedule a Monday morning session or two.
This being my first trip to Vegas I am excited to see the sites and if time allows play a little black jack or craps. One thing I am pleased to see is (at least the Venetian) still has real cards, instead of the digital ones, most of the smaller casinos in the North Carolina area are using today. However, before we get to the gaming I will briefly talk about the accommodations.
We heard from many people the Venetian was a very nice place and it thus far has lived up to its reputation. In many ways it is a stunning environment, with a lot of attention to detail. The rooms are spacious; contain 2 HD TVs, a business desk, printer/fax, huge bathroom with separate shower/tub and a host of other smaller niceties. See some of the pictures below for the room/view.
This being my first trip to Vegas I am excited to see the sites and if time allows play a little black jack or craps. One thing I am pleased to see is (at least the Venetian) still has real cards, instead of the digital ones, most of the smaller casinos in the North Carolina area are using today. However, before we get to the gaming I will briefly talk about the accommodations.
We heard from many people the Venetian was a very nice place and it thus far has lived up to its reputation. In many ways it is a stunning environment, with a lot of attention to detail. The rooms are spacious; contain 2 HD TVs, a business desk, printer/fax, huge bathroom with separate shower/tub and a host of other smaller niceties. See some of the pictures below for the room/view.
Each of the modern hotels basically has its own mall and themed attraction (Think Disney world for Adults). The Venetian has the Plazio, which is a Venice themed mall with a canal and gondoliers running through the middle. The ceiling is styled to look like the sky at the perfect time of dusk and actually provides ample illumination. It is a large and winding shopping area, which provides the guest room to wander.
Since this is a business trip and 90% of my time will be consumed with the expo, lectures, hands-on-labs, and networking there is not much chance we will be leaving the Venetian grounds. We may walk the strip on Friday (as we are staying an extra night to relax some), but largely a true visit of Las Vegas will be required on personal time to explore all the city and surrounding area have to offer.
Tomorrow the conference really begins with breakfast, the first of three keynote speeches, and the launching into the lecture, expo, and labs with full force.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Brief Instant Message Conversation - MMOGs
The following comes from an instant message conversation with a buddy about the current crop of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs – I removed the R for role-playing as role-playing is not often found in the games today as a norm).
HIM: Will someone dethrone blizzard? (Age of Conan or Warhammer)
ME: No, because most of Blizzard’s subscriber base is Asiatic subscribers, they are still playing StarCraft by the millions and are brand loyal. Warhammer/AoC, unless they have GLOBAL launches planned will end up like EQ2, and unless they are games that fit into the culture they will be in trouble.
HIM: Regarding the upcoming World of Warcraft Expansion Pack “I think I’m just dreading the level 80 grind”
ME: I have done soo much leveling, in WoW nowadays; it is more fun than BGs/Dungeons.
HIM: Coming from the man with 5 level 60's+
ME: Actually only four, and the primary reason for that is there is too much hassle with other people/groups/drama and more importantly wasted time waiting on people... 60-70 are easy. 70-80 should be just as easy.
HIM: See there is a fundamental difference in playstyles, if you are a PvP player that is fine but for raiders you need player interaction, and your progression is based on dungeons so I spend all the time in dungeons and now my progression will be for moot.
ME: I will tell you what, the day (any game maker) releases a game that streamlines the party building/premade building processes, is a game I will go to. That is blizzards weak point, No community management tools, no guild management tools, not easy to find groups, build raids, and hell not even easy to build premade PvP groups.
You solve those problems and have a fun game as well (with low system requirements); you topple WoW.
HIM: So true. Well we have two contenders up we will see.
HIM: Will someone dethrone blizzard? (Age of Conan or Warhammer)
ME: No, because most of Blizzard’s subscriber base is Asiatic subscribers, they are still playing StarCraft by the millions and are brand loyal. Warhammer/AoC, unless they have GLOBAL launches planned will end up like EQ2, and unless they are games that fit into the culture they will be in trouble.
HIM: Regarding the upcoming World of Warcraft Expansion Pack “I think I’m just dreading the level 80 grind”
ME: I have done soo much leveling, in WoW nowadays; it is more fun than BGs/Dungeons.
HIM: Coming from the man with 5 level 60's+
ME: Actually only four, and the primary reason for that is there is too much hassle with other people/groups/drama and more importantly wasted time waiting on people... 60-70 are easy. 70-80 should be just as easy.
HIM: See there is a fundamental difference in playstyles, if you are a PvP player that is fine but for raiders you need player interaction, and your progression is based on dungeons so I spend all the time in dungeons and now my progression will be for moot.
ME: I will tell you what, the day (any game maker) releases a game that streamlines the party building/premade building processes, is a game I will go to. That is blizzards weak point, No community management tools, no guild management tools, not easy to find groups, build raids, and hell not even easy to build premade PvP groups.
You solve those problems and have a fun game as well (with low system requirements); you topple WoW.
HIM: So true. Well we have two contenders up we will see.
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