Saturday, September 10, 2005

Start of a weeklong vacation

We're playing San Diego tourists this week. This whole trip started as a week in Boston. When Red Sox tickets weren't available we switched it to Las Vegas. We wanted to see Xumanity and have a few days of fun. Then we figured that there were too many temptations in Vegas so we changed it to Disneyland and ballgames in LA, Anaheim and San Diego. NOW it's become a week of hitting places in San Diego. Pt Loma Lighthouse, Maritime Museum, Birch Aquarium, Triple Espresso, Padres Game, Lou & Mickeys (maybe) and other stuff. We're spending Wednesday night at the Omni Hotel while Victoria sees Tori Amos in concert. Then next Saturday, we're seeing her again in Los Angeles and my sister is taking us out to Lowry's for dinner to celebrate our anniversary (a month late).

So I'll try to check in each day if I can. Most of our days will be spent loafing around the house. Ahhh I don't have to go to work until September 19th. Nice.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

FEMA locks Mac and linux users from hurricane relief

By Jonny Evans



Mac and Linux-using hurricane survivors are unable to use Federal disaster relief claim form services online.


This is because the much-criticized US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created a service that only works with Windows and Internet Explorer 6.


This acts to the frustration of survivors lucky enough to be able to access a Mac or Linux computer, and to the reported consternation of disaster relief teams on the ground.


However, some Mac users exploiting the Opera browser (which by default identifies itself as Internet Explorer 6) report being able to access the claims service.


FEMA and the US administration face strong criticism that it failed to act fast enough to help save thousands of hurricane survivors.


Some local Louisiana representatives complained that following last week's terrible natural disaster, FEMA agents actually stopped other forms of help getting through.


What happened in terms of US disaster relief last week will in future be assessed by a cross-party team led by current US president George Bush, who returned from holiday after the disaster happened but just in time to see Federal aid begin to reach affected areas, four days after the storm levelled the Gulf Coast region.


Ars Technica claims many relief workers are frustrated at being tied to Windows by FEMA's online services, as it means they need to spend precious aid money on Windows OS licenses as they set up terminals to help thousands of hurricane victims initiate the claims process.

"Workers on the ground have told Ars Technica that they would prefer to avoid setting up Windows XP workstations because they take longer to setup, and even longer to properly patch and configure for use," the report states.


"The issue isn't only security", the report continues. "Windows XP hardware requirements, while not impressive by today's standards, rule out using some donated hardware as well. Furthermore, legitimate copies of Windows also cost money, and relief workers are trying to stretch their dollars as far as they can go," it reports.



read more | digg story

Monday, September 05, 2005

Not again...


We've got another fire trying to snuff us out but it's still about a mile away and it's moving slow so I'm fairly confident we aren't in danger. It has to cross the canyon and go through a neighborhood to reach us. from maps.google.com look up 9500 Carmel Mountain Road, San Diego, CA. That's Mt. Carmel High School. The fire started just northeast of the football stadium and is headed NNE through the canyons there. I took this picture just outside my apartment. That's facing south. Those trees are on a hill and there's a community of homes just to the other side of the trees. Then the canyon and the fire coming at us. As of 4:45pm it seems they have it somewhat under control. Smoke is going straight up and the fire is moving REAL slow giving fire crews plenty of time to surround it and attack it from the air. We'll be fine. If I hear otherwise, I'll post once more before I leave. In that instance I'll be taking my computer, but I have my laptop so if there's an unsecured wifi connection somewhere I'll log on and check in. Again, we're fine for now but October 2003 is fresh in my mind.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

OK this has gotten old...

I get so few readers here that every comment gets me all happy and I dig in there waiting to see what someone has to say. That's right. Your comments are not only welcome, they're admired. LOL.

Anyways it's really upsetting when I see I have a comment only to find it's some idiot SPAM machine. I just want to find where they operate and at least cut the power lines to the building and back up their toilets. Instead I've simply required commenters to add proof that they're humans and not a robot SPAMMER. This should help eliminate SPAM and I'm hoping y'all won't mind too much. I love hearing from you.