joke of the day

irc post by "opie" at work:

Why did the multithreaded chicken cross the road?

to To other side. get the

He's a 4 digit badge

I was at DCU (Digital Credit Union) today. I started at DCU when I worked for Digital, and because its an excellent credit union, I'm still there today. Digital is gone - but its credit union lives on. I was talking to one of the bank employees and she was asking what I did at verizon. In the midst of this conversation she asked me my badge number and I gave it to her.

This reminding me of one of the small parts of the Digital culture. I had a fairly low 6 digit bad number. DEC did not pre-assign some format to their badge numbers, like starting at say 100000 because they knew they'd have over 100,000 employees at some point in time. So they had some pretty small badge numbers around. I don't know if they started at 1 or not, but I know they had 4 digit badge numbers. If you had a 4 digit badge number, then you started when there were less than 10,000 employees.

Because DEC was such a great place to work, "back in the day", families would end up working there. It wasn't uncommon when I worked back in MA to talk to someone who said, "My dad works for DEC too", or "My uncle works for DEC", etc. And usually when they said that some previous generation person worked for DEC, they would add in "He's a 4 digit badge" - this was the DEC way of saying "He's an old-timer. Been with the company forever."

Its a small thing... but it was just one of the cool things at DEC. At least I thought it was cool :) - It was kind of a sign of loyalty, etc. You could always pretty much tell when you were hired in relation to someone, even if you had a 6 digit badge. You were in the 200K range perhaps, and they were in the 300K range. Because I thought I'd work for DEC forever (why not - everyone I knew at the time was kind of planning on that - because they had family who had done it), I thought it would be cool some day when someone said about me, "He's a 6 digit badge".

DEC has since gone the way of many no-longer-present computer companies - but memories of them live on. Its not uncommon for me to talk about DEC at least once a month. Tell a story, talk about VMS, etc. It was a great company to work for, with a great culture. I worked at DEC for 8 years. 2 back east and 6 out here. I've worked for MCI, MCI-WorldCom, WorldCom, MCI and now Verizon for 11 years. I've never seen the same kind of culture, loyalty to company, etc. that I did there.

I hadn't thought about the concept of being a 4 digit badge for a long time. It made me smile...

IraqTheModel

An Iraqi blogger. I only read the post from yesterday, but I'm going to try and follow it when I can. Its always good to read some blogs from locals.

Tis the season

Peace on earth? Not in our subdivision!

A homeowners' association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.

Do people not have anything better to do?

WreathsAcrossAmerica and ArlingtonCemetery

Got this in email - so googled it to make sure it was true. A wreath manufacturer in Maine had donated 5000 wreathes to Arlington Cemetery for the last 14 years, and this year they are donating wreaths across america. The Patriot Gurad will escort the wreaths from Maine to Arlington. Pretty cool.

Honey Baked Hams - served at room temp

Because I didn't know... figured I'd post this. :)

Erika called to ask me how long to cook a Honey Baked Ham. She said there were no instructions on the ham. I figured a few hours them - just to warm it up... But then I looked around on the internet.

According to their serving instructions (which took a little bit to find):

The HoneyBaked Ham and Turkey Breast are fully cooked and ready to enjoy. For the very best flavor, take the Ham or Turkey Breast out of the refrigerator and allow it to stand at room temperature a half-hour before serving. Refrigerate unused portions immediately.

Heating May cause the Ham or Turkey to dry out and lose flavor.

Happy Thanksgiving - WKRP Turkey Drop

I remember when this first aired. Still makes my laugh till I cry. :) If you've got the band-width, check it out. Its a classic.

another consolidation of news headlines

the news right now lists up-to-date news headlines from various news sources and counties.

Beirut: Lebanese minister assassinated

yonitheblogger posted an entry about the assassination. In part:

Lebanese politicians on Tuesday accused Syria of standing behind the assassination of Pierre Gemayel, an anti-Syrian minister and scion of Lebanon's most prominent Christian family.

I heard about the assissination several times on the news. Never once did I hear that he was from a Christian family...

Its good to get our news from other sources than just the American Main Stream Media.

Time warp

Cell phone conversation

Me: Hey, I'm at Sam's and they have some good pies, should I get one?
Tina: What are you doing at Sam's? I thought you were at work?
M: I told you I was taking time off.
T: You said you were taking off Tues and Wed
M: It is Tue
...
T: Oh... yeah. I *thought* it was Monday!

Don't fix it if it aint broken

In the grocery store, waiting as the cashier checks me out.

C1: I hate where they put these new bar-codes
C2: Oh, the pepsi products. I know. I don't know why they don't put them on the end. I've been fighting it all weekend.
C1: Me too
C3: Are you guys talking about the pepsi products?
C2: Yeah
C3: I hate where they put the bar code. Why didn't they leave them where they were?

Almost another patent

While I do have 4 patents, the patent for Method and apparatus for testing air permeable waterproof gloves is not one of mine. Some marketing firm thought it was. I must already be on file with them, so when they saw James Wagner - they sent me stuff. This is a James Wagner in Glenwood Springs, CO.

Congradulations James... whoever you are. :)

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Although Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has been dogged in some christian press, I find it very entertaining and well written, and actually think that Harriet Hayes' character gives some balance to Christians that might not otherwise been seen in most shows today.

In any case, there was a rumor that it was being cancelled, which bummed out Jaime, Michael and I, because it is one of our favorite shows. The post on Wikipedia claims that this is untrue and that NBC has picked it up for the entire season (22 shows) even though its ratings are down. They are retaining it because:

Studio 60 has consistently delivered some of the highest audience concentrations among all primetime network series in such key upscale categories as adults 18-49 living in homes with $75,000-plus and $100,000-plus incomes and in homes where the head of household has four or more years of college.

Excellent :)

One thing the war is all about

There are many liberals who think we shouldn't be in the war in Iraq. That we should have never been there, that we should just pull out, and everything would be fine. For some reason they don't get that much killing had gone on before we got there, and that it is still going on.

Here is a great story on snopes that discusses Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt and how he was comforting a little girls whose entire family was killed by insurgents. They shot her in the head as well, but she survived. He was the only one that could get her to sleep at night, so for multiple nights he came by and slept with her in his arms. These are some of the stories of the war that really matter, and that probably won't show up much in main stream media.

If we don't protect these kids, who will?

Ohio St. Tops Michigan in Thriller 42-39

It was a great game. Would have been better if we won, but still very good and very close at times.

The Game, replayed for the national title in January?

Could be.

Would be cool. :)

Consumers to lose $2.8B to phishers in 2006

Consumers to lose $2.8B to phishers in 2006

The average loss per phishing attack was US$1,244 this year, Litan said, up from $256. Gartner estimates that the total financial losses attributable to phishing will total $2.8 billion this year.

Ex-Michigan coach Bo Schembechler dies

:(

I was at Michigan near the end of his coaching career. Great games.

The Nature of LISP

A great article on the powers of the LISP programming language. I'm going to have to read it multiple times and think on it. Last year I did a little bit of LISP programming during the holidays. I think I'm going to have to do some more...

U.S. intelligence unveils spy version of Wikipedia

The U.S. intelligence community on Tuesday unveiled its own secretive version of
Wikipedia, saying the popular online encyclopedia format known for its openness is key to the future of American espionage.

Perfect

Diet Mt Dew so cold that when you open the bottle it starts turning to ice.

Some times it pays to listen to the weather man

Forecast: 30% chance of percip, high 40s.

Bright sunny day.

Very tempted to ride the bike.

Now its snowing.

Toy Run

We participated last Sunday in the Toy Run for Christmas Unlimited. The Pikes Peak HOG group is one of their top three contributors. Last year CU donated $30 - $40 worth of toys to 13,000+ kids!

New Life let us use their youth center; which was nice of them. I didn't hear a final count - so don't know what was donated this year, but there were quite a few bikes there (400 or something?) and everyone donated at least one toy.

We lucked out. Went to Walmart and they had a ton of toys on sale. We were able to pick up about $200 worth of stuff for $50. Score! :)

coincidence

On Dilbert's blog today, Scott Adam's asked "Whats the strangest coincidence that ever happened to you?"

When I was at the University of Michigan, I was involved in the work study program. Basically making a small amount of money and getting some "real world" computer science experience. I had worked there for about a year when my boss left and we hired a new boss. She had gone to the UofM and was now living in Ann Arbor looking for a job. Her name was Melinda (I think - its been a long time) Goosey.

Me: Huh. I went to high school with a guy named Bret Goosey.
Her: He's my cousin!

Wow... Ann Arbor Michigan and I end up working with the cousin of somebody I went to high school with in a small town (Big Timber) in MT. What are the odds?

Its all relative

Working on some code the last few days. Was using one design that was really nice, but someone brought up that it might be a little slower than another approach. My design was nicer - but we need to worry about performance so I figured I'd better benchmark it.

It took an extra second to process 2500 records. Doesn't sound like much, but when you process 25 million records - it comes out to 2.77 hours in a day. So yeah, need to update the design.

And given we are processing 280 million records a day overall, in some cases you have to make it a bit more ugly if its going to save you some time.

Is something burning?

I'm riding home yesterday evening and its pretty warm out. I get a wiff of something burning. Not sure what it is. Maybe its the car in front of me... Nope. Ok, maybe the bike is somehow warmer than normal, because its been cold out lately? Doesn't make sense, but I'm just trying to figure it out.

Get home and I still smell something... Well we'll see how it is tomorrow.

Today I fire the bike up and within a few minutes I smell something burning. Almost like wood smoke - not oil or something like that. I start looking around. Ah...

An oak leaf stuck between your pipes and the frame - yeah, it will smolder and put off a smell.

Santa HOG

Driving down Woodmen Rd, and there in front of me is Santa Clause: red suit, black boots, white motorcycle helment; on a Road King.

Not ever day you see Santa driving thru the Springs on his Harley. :)

Kerry - more context

In case you don't know about the Kerry "joke" - here is a good article with the text of the joke, some of the apology, and why it was insulting.

Is the liberal media influencing the election?

Much talk on conservative radio, blogs, etc. about the fact that the main stream media is influencing the election by siting that polls prove its a Democrate landslide. The thought is that "since its already decided" - there is no point getting out and voting. Why vote, they've already won, your vote isn't going to matter.

For me, its done just the opposite. I'm not always great at voting in non-presedential elections. But this year, I'm definately voting. If the Democrats are forecasted to take over, I better get out there and get my vote in to help prevent it! One vote is only one vote - but its the least I can do.

Response to Kerry's "apology"

Mark Steyn discusses the Democrat philosophy of supporting our troops.

Having a son-in-law who is in the Air Force, went through the academy, and is a very bright kid - as well as a nephew who is at the Navel Academy... Yeah, I was insulted for them by his remarks, and I agree his apology is really just a cover up.

They just don't get the fact that some people feel strongly about defending their country and are willing to do whatever it takes to do that - and that they intelligently make that choice, that it isn't because they can't do anything better or are just too stupid to know better.

GIS DROP SMART BOMB ON KERRY

This NY Times article as well as this radio host blog discuss the following GI photo in response to Kerry's "joke".

awkward

I'm walking down the "hallway" between cubes, heading back to my desk from upstairs. There is this guy that I don't know but see around once in a while. He is always wearing this kind of hunters/ski cap with flaps pulled down. Odd... but who am I to say what is in fashion... I usually use the "avoid much eye-contact" or a quick "Hey" when passing people. As I get close we make eye contact and he locks on. As I get close he backs up against the cube hallway wall, continues looking at me, kind of giggles, and says, "I had to bring in my own chair from home" and giggles some more. "Oh", I reply, and quickly hurry on my way.

Cool

25 degrees, 70MPH - yeah, that's cool. :)

I need some warmer gloves and some thermal pants - other than that, I'm good. :)

Sweet...

Working this morning and all of a sudden I can't keep focus on any of my windows (I click it, it loses focus) - then all the windows disappear and then I get the "Windows is shutting down" msg.

Yeah... something that corporate is running on my machine (some push, some virus tool, something) decided to restart my machine without any warning.

Nice.