But First, this Message. Thank you to fellow Daynoter Phil Hough for catching an error in one of my posts last week [What? Dan making an error? Hold the presses! What next? Cats living with dogs? - Ed.]. From what I can gather, the Intel 815EEA at one time had the ATA-66 IDE interface. However, at some point, Intel switched to the faster ATA-100 but did not update all of their on-line documentation. So, this is one less reason to wait for the updated D815EEA2 motherboards. Thanks again to Phil for pointing out my error.
Botzai! Botzai! Botzai!. Congratulations to rural O'ahu Waipahu and Waialua High Schools. They, in an alliance with Unity Care and Bellarmine College Prep and Caufield and Byers and Willow Glen HS (of California), won the the Silicon Valley Regional of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Foundation (FIRST) Robotics Competition last month.
The FIRST Robotics Competition is a national engineering contest which immerses high school students in the exciting world of engineering. Teaming up with engineers from businesses and universities, students get a hands-on, inside look at the engineering profession. In six intense weeks, students and engineers work together to brainstorm, design, construct and test their "champion robot". With only six weeks, all jobs are critical path. The teams then compete in a spirited, no-holds-barred tournament complete with referees, cheerleaders and time clocks.
Welcome! Aloha to our newest addition to the Daynotes Gang - Mat Lemmings. He describes himself as of "earthy humour and stunning wit and repartee" and "excellent personality and fantastic good looks." Well, one out of four ain't bad <ducking and running>. I hope he has thick skin because he'll need it with this band of rogues he has so unwittingly joined.
I'm still working on the 20-minute
presentation for this evening's class. Our group of three met
over the weekend to go over what we have so far. If the
faculty strike doesn't get over soon, tonight may well be the
last class of the semester. Which means we will have to
retake the last module of the semester (Ethics in Government)
next year or the year after. Right now, things do not look
good for a settlement as the Democratic Governor and his
henchmen negotiators are refusing to meet with the
unions.
Aloha!
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Tuesday - 10 April 2001
Running on Empty. Not all is lightness and peace in the world. So I guess I should not be surprised when some of the dirt is tracked in with the shoes, as it were. What do I mean? One of the important benefits of the Daynotes Gang is our own private mailing list. The list, up to recently, was a fount of fun and information. I've lost count of the number of times when I would read an email and have to almost strangle myself to keep from laughing out loud (which is not a Good Thing when you are at work in a court house)!
Not only has it been fun, but its been informative. The breadth of knowledge of literally all of the Gang are truly impressive. Now that doesn't mean I agree with everything that is said on the list (and I'm not pointing fingers at anyone <G>). But as far as I'm concerned, that's okay.
By common definition, an opinion is a belief or assessment based on grounds short of proof [emphasis added]. So, by definition you don't need to have footnoted facts to back your view. But you do need, if you are going to express that view, to be able to debate it using logic, reason, and rationality. If you do so, with civility, then rock on. Likewise, if you disagree with someone's opinion, you must also debate it using logic, reason, and rationality. But, if you instead attack the person, as opposed to their views, then you are generating much heat, but no light. And a little lightness is what I need right now.
Designing a Better Mouse Trap. So the 20-minute presentation last night for class went very well, if not a little long ("a little long" he says. You call an hour a little long? - That's like saying Tiger Woods hits a golf ball a little long. Or Michael Schumacher drivers his Formula 1 car a little fast. Ed.]. I think our professor felt everything regarding the research design was well thought out and in detail. There are a few things I need to clarify but otherwise, that module is done.
Shameless Non-Commercial Promotion. If you are using Caldera's Openlinux eDesktop 2.4 (someone, anyone, please get Caldera to change the name of their distribution before they hurt someone! - Ed.), you should take a look at the on-line version of Brian Bilbrey and Tom Syroid's new book on Openlinux (see it here). As for me, I've already sent my PayPal tip in. Recommended.
Now I need to call the Governor's office and express my displeasure at how he is handling the faculty strike. And start on our strategic plan for work. And call my wife, who is home sick today to see how she is doing. And find a way of cramming 25 hours of work in eight. So I gotta go - Maluhia! (Peace)
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Hump Day Wednesday - 11 April 2001
I Tawht I Saw A Wabbit. Or, All I need to know I learned from the Easter Bunny
feichang baoqian. Talk about splitting hares. I'm happy I'm not in the diplomatic corps because you have to come up with complex, nonsense documents like the one that may lead to the release of the EP-3 crew being held in China (see the story here). Someone at the State Department must have a Chinese version of a thesaurus to come up with every synonym there is for saying you are sorry, without actually saying you are sorry.
And while I am thankful that the crew may be coming home soon, I respectfully disagree with anyone that says they are heroes. If they had ditched their aircraft into the ocean, and then blown it to bits, maybe they could be called heroes. But saving their okoles, while putting at risk uncounted US citizens and military personnel by allowing top secret equipment be captured by a hostile foreign power is not heroic behavior in my book. In either case, I would not consider this to be in the best traditions of the US Navy.
Size Matters. You know we live in the land of Babylon when Yahoo turns to selling adult oriented material (see the story here from the Los Angeles Times). But at least why they are doing it is clear. Money. They aren't making any. So they've apparently switched to a proven model. Selling Sex. It's up to you to decide whether this is a Good Thing or not. If you don't, don't go there. If you do, be my guest.
Revolving Doors. What can not be considered to be a Good Thing, at least for consumers, is the continuing close ties between Big Business and former government regulators. This time, it's Intel and the former head of the Federal Communications Commission Chairman (see the article here from the New York Times) Reed Hundt. Hundt is set to replace industry giant, and Intel co-founder, Gordon Moore on Intel's board of directors.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything is necessarily illegal. But I am saying the old boy network of regulators and those they are supposed to regulate does not forward the aims of open government or the populace-at-large. YMMV.
Much to do in this short work week (Friday is a state holiday) so I gotta go - Aloha!
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Thursday - 12 April 2001
6:35am HST. Welcome home to the crew of the EP-3.
Oil Upon the Waters. Matt Beland has a very good posting on what is it to be part of the Daynotes community (see it here). I agree with much of what he says.
When you come down to it, being part of a group, or "affiliation" as they say in the psychological literature, is an almost universal human need. We seek out others so that we can become associates/friends/husbands/wives/etc. And for the most part, this is a Good Thing because, to use economic terms, the benefits outweight the costs.
But sometimes, as Jerry Pournelle wrote about in his book "Burning City", people can also band together and do horrible, irrational things. While I appreciate that we have to take the good with the bad (thanks for that JHR), I think there is a line, across which we should not trod. That line was crossed several times by several people. People who I have great respect for. Which made an already sad situation even sadder.
So I am left wondering if the benefits no longer outweigh the costs. In the terms that Matt used, he no longer reads all of the Daynoters. I think several others have said the same. Not to put words in their mouths, but what they seem to be saying is the cost (in time expended) is now higher than the benefit.
So, what do we do? I don't know, but I'm not sure I want to be part of whatever the Gang has become. I hope this was a one-time learning experience for all involved. But if not?...
As an aside. The person who broke the camel's back, figuratively speaking, issued something that, I assume, was supposed to be an apology to Dr. Keyboard. Unfortunately, given the wording used in the email, I must conclude that the email is not an apology per se as it seems to be contingent upon Dr. Keyboard also apologizing, or at least withdrawing his statements, to the sender. At least, that's what it looks like to me.
But an apology so contingent, is null and void. It may be a lot of other things, but an apology it is not. I am so, so, saddened by this whole mess.
This last bit is an open letter to Chris:
Chris, even though I did not have anything to do with the whole sordid affair, I did nothing to try to stop it either. For that I offer my unconditional apology and ask your forgiveness.
Tomorrow is a state holiday and given the level of burn-out I'm feeling right now I won't be doing a post. Have a Great Weekend Everyone - Aloha!
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Aloha Friday the 13th - April 2001
No post for today. See you Monday. Now where's those little umbrellas to put in the drinks? And my beach mat. And a good book to read...
© 2001 Daniel K. Seto. All rights reserved.