September 2010

There were 42 posts published in September 2010 (this is page 4 of 5).

So-called Illegals

Speaking of illegal immigrants, I have a hard time understanding the uproar over illegal immigration. You know what I call anyone who could dare to leave their dirt-poor families behind; travel hundreds of miles away; hurdle barbed-wire fences; wade across raging, shit-filled rivers; pay off any number of shady smugglers; and cross unforgiving deserts while dodging capture and deportation? I call them supremely motivated. Insanely motivated, even.

I can see why so many companies and individuals want to hire these people because they make such damn good workers. These are some tough, motivated hombres. Few native-born Americans are that willing to better themselves.

On the other hand, you’ve got a large majority of native-born citizens who are so lazy they can’t even be bothered to vote. Which ones are the lazy ones again?

No more divisions

There was a shooting last night not too far from my neighborhood. Three kids and one 18-year-old got shot, the 18-year-old fatally. Police are still working the case and haven’t released many details but they did let the neighbors know it wasn’t a random shooting and that the shooting had nothing to do with the neighborhood. The fact is, this could have happened anywhere. I followed the story as it unfolded on the local media websites, trying to assure folks that my area of town isn’t a bad one. Later this afternoon police arrested a suspect: a 24-year-old man, apparently Hispanic.

Because the shooting happened in East Raleigh, some forum commenters somehow assumed the victims and suspect were black. Out came the ridiculous comments deriding African Americans. Then when the suspect was Hispanic, even more heated comments appeared leaping to the conclusion the suspect was an illegal immigrant. Some went so far to say that if he’s illegal he should just be lynched!
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Loving the new gig

I haven’t posted much lately because I’ve been knee-deep in my new job and other projects.

My week in St. Charles went very well. I’m loving my new gig: the job, the coworkers. Everything. What a relief it is to wake up in the morning and look forward to a day of work! This job has everything I’ve been looking for and I know how lucky I am to have it.

In addition to the new job I started, Kelly and I have hired a contractor to finish off our unfinished attic bedroom. The idea is to use it as a home office and also have it double as a guest bedroom when needed. Today contractors came in to rewire it and put in the HVAC ductwork. Rather than the sound become annoying, the hammering I heard today put a smile on my face! It will be wonderful to have this done.

Yesterday I took some time out from installing CAT 5e network cable in the new room for a trip with the family to the Fiesta Del Pueblo at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. We particularly enjoyed the performance of the African American Dance Ensemble.

All this is on top of the usual duties I have, such as the East CAC and Parks Board, both of which are coming up this week. Then on Saturday I will attend the Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange, where I’ll be speaking on connecting communities. Throw in a few soccer games and birthday parties and there isn’t much time for reflection (and/or blogging).

Now I’m going to sneak in a few pages of a book before retiring to bed.

Hurricane season is like Russian roulette

Not long after North Carolinians stopped worrying about Hurricane Earl we’ve got more fun lining up in the Atlantic. Hurricane Igor has grown to a strong storm with 140 MPH winds at the moment. Igor is bearing down on North Carolina as of now, though it will be a week or so before it reaches its closest approach. Most likely it will be pushed aside the way Earl was by the high pressure sitting over us.

Following Igor is “Tropical Depression Twelve,” which is expected to become a tropical storm very soon. Life near the Atlantic is always full of excitement!

Microsoft helps Russian police quell dissent

The New York Times reports that Russia has been raiding offices of dissenters and using the pretext of searching for pirated Microsoft software. The Redmond-based company apparently fully supports these raids against environmental groups and others.

Compare Microsoft’s actions in Russia to Google’s in China. Though from a Chinese business perspective Google really screwed the pooch with its public embarrassment of the Chinese government, Google at least tried to do the right thing. Microsoft appears blind to the moral repercussions of its cooperation with an increasingly authoritarian Russian government.

More and more I am glad I use free software like Linux.

Political musical chairs in Southeast Raleigh

Political goings-on in my area of town just got more interesting. Long-time Southeast Raleigh activist and Wake County Commissioner Harold Webb has tendered his resignation, citing his health. Raleigh’s District C City Council representative James West is being considered to replace him. Should West get appointed, this will leave a vacancy on the City Council that the Council will fill by making its own appointment. The leading candidate for that is Eugene Weeks, a Democratic Party activist, co-chair of the South CAC, and my colleague on Raleigh’s Parks board.

I have worked with Eugene on parks issues for the last two years and fully support his nomination to the Council, should West be tapped for County Commissioner. Eugene has worked hard to improve Raleigh’s parks as well as his Southeast Raleigh neighborhood. I have no doubt he will work just as hard for the citizens of Southeast Raleigh.

Hurd not hurting

What is it with the board of HP? They hire Carly Fiorina who nearly single-handedly runs this legendary company into the ground before being shown the door. Now they run off former CEO Mark Hurd on the basis of allegations of improper expense reports.

I don’t know all the facts in the case, but I can say it would be highly unusual if, as the CEO of a major company, Hurd actually filed his own expense reports. No, it would be stupid if he did. No company in its right mind would let its CEO waste his time on stupid shit like that.
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The bunker in the neighborhood

Dranesville AT&T bunker

My friend Craig forwarded me a link to a wonderful collection of information on AT&T’s old “long lines” infrastructure. It made me realize I’ve never told this story.

I’d seen this particular website before. I think a Slashdot story on AT&T putting up the old microwave towers for sale prompted me to do some Google searches, after which I spent a lot of time looking through this stuff.

I’ve found this map particularly interesting. I used to live in Northern Virginia near to the non-incorporated area known as Dranesville. You can see many of these routes converging at Dranesville. At the time I was intimately familiar with the phone phreaking technologies, possibly the only thing that Apple-cofounder Steve Wozniak and I have in common. Figuring out how the phone system worked was a fun challenge.
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Fall-like fun

After yet another few high-90s days earlier this week we’ve had two days of absolutely gorgeous weather. Hurricane Earl was rebuffed by a dry cold front that moved through. The temperature Friday was 98 degrees at one point but the relative humidity was a scandalously-low 19%! The weekend temperatures were about 8-10 degrees cooler with the same low humidity, which is a tantalizing taste of fall (though falls are cooler yet).

We spent most of Saturday just getting some yardwork done. Mowing, weeding, trimming, and leaf blowing were all carried out under sunny skies. Then there was music practice and other fun tasks until dinner. After dinner, we joined our neighbors on the driveway for beer and roasted marshmallows. One of our neighbors across the street got married yesterday and they held their reception in their backyard. We enjoyed people-watching and listening to the 80s-era wedding dance tunes.
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On the road again

Tomorrow evening I board a plane for my first business trip in over two years. It will be a week full of heavy-duty training to get me up to speed on my new employer’s product. While I’m looking forward to the training I’m also looking back to the time I’ve spent not on the road. True, it has been nice not having to travel, but I really didn’t like my job. So at least now I have a job I love, and if there’s some travel (and it’s not to Portsmouth, Virginia again) then that’s a bonus.