Man Vs. Whatever

In the old days, there were three great stories, Man Vs. Nature, Man Vs. Man, and Man Vs. Himself. Since then, thanks to Hollywood, we must add Man Vs. THECORPORATION, and Man Vs. THE GOVERNMENT. I am so sick and tired of movies where the bad guys are a corporation, or the US government. Why is it that we must make demons of the entities that help our lives? Even the most hardened Bush detractor would not kill a Social Security employee. And is the Red Croos, a corporation, oh by the way, deserving of a typical Hollywood maltreatment? I guess I shouldn't be suprised that this is what we've come to, just was hoping for more intelligence on behalf of the American people.

Tooting My Own Horn....NOT!!!

I was just finishing up some software changes this afternoon to a product I'm working on. I did the schematic capture, PCB layout, component selection, software design and coding. You know, 20 years ago I was on a team of 8 engineers working on a smaller project. It's not me, it's the software that makes this possible. For $2000 I get a software development system with simulator that replaces 3 software guys. For $10,000 I get a cad system that does the schematic capture, BOM development, and PCB layout. Yes, I have to tweek a bit here and there, but once the schematic is done, and the physical size is set, the CAD program does the rest. Now the sad fact is, other than the concept, everything else can be done almost anywhere so long as the people have the same tools. You want the worst part? I email the files, and I get PCB's. I have no idea where they came from, nor do I care. There is another vendor who will even populate the boards for me. Where from? Who knows, and should I care? I guess the real bane of existance in the 21st century is that WHERE no longer matters, only WHAT. I think this is a good thing, do you?

New TSA rules exposes short term memory problems

Am I the only person who remembers that the box cutters of the 9/11 hijackers was NOT the reason the cabin doors were opened 4 times? It was the carefully wrapped box that they said was a bomb that opened the doors, destroyed the towers, damaged the Pentagon, and turned a crash site in PA into a memeorial to heroes.

What a Difference

Amazing how different the Galveston evacuation is from the New Orleans fiasco. In Texas, they had evacuation plans that took into account the fact that not everybody had cars. Mayor Nagin of New Orleans apparently thought everybody lived there for the Mardi Gras. Don't get me wrong, the traffic jams are horrid, and the shortage of gasoline is a tad scary, but I suspect that Texans have plans to deal with both, without Federal assistance!

What's Good for the Goose...

After reviewing all the information coming out about Hurricane Katrina, I think I see the biggist single reason why so many were left behind. If they had put a nuclear power plant in New Orleans, they would have had sirens, a 100% tested and effective evacuation plan, that would have covered 100% of the population. Instead, they let the Army Corps of Engineers spend billions of dollars on the waterways, levees, dikes and dams, without filing a single evacuation plan. If they had been forced to follow the same procedure that a private firm would have, the city would have been 100% evacuated, and we wouldn't be looking at all the finger pointing that is going on.

Help Us!!!!!

Let me toss a hypothetical your way. I warn you that if you don't evacuate, there will be nothing I can do for two weeks to help you. Better yet, let me make you the Governor of LA, or the Mayor of New Orleans. What would you do? What they did was say the right words, get on the record, and moved aside for the hurricane. Instead of mobilizing the LA National Guard and helping these people out of the area, they picked a couple of places in the heart of the expected disaster area, and moved people there.

They didn't have enough time to plan, is that what I heard you say? You're right, 40 years for politicians is nowhere near enough time. Why budget for that which may not happen, when we have Mardi Gras to plan for? To listen to these pompous asses cry about lack of support is nauseating. Damnit, you were warned, you did nothing, and now it's NOT your fault?

Listening to the mayor of New Orleans this morning explains the situation perfectly. When challenged about the FACT that LA has not requested Federal aid, He asked "did we wait for permission to relieve the tsunami victims?" Well, idiot, yes we did. For some reason, sending troops into an area without permission is called an invasion. Of couse, the resident genius of New Orleans had an answer for that too "how long did it take to invade Iraq?" Gee, I gues hizonner doesn't read papers, of couse, considering the mistakes made by the powers that be down there, maybe the jerk doesn't read at all. Iraq took months, even after the UN presentation.

So now, it's everybodys fault but his. But of couse, otherwise he couldn't live with himself, killing all those hundreds, maybe thousands of people. Let the good times roll may be a good slogan for the convention bureaus, but it sucks for you emergency response group. You had years to plan, two days to implement, and all you did was lead the lemmings to the cliff. What you did was unforgivable, your Honor. You may have killed more Americans in a day than have died in Iraq in two years, or on 9/11. If I tell someone I can' help you if you do X, and you do X, don't be suprised when X happens and I can't help you. And it's your fault, not mine, you ignorant ass.

Been Too Long, A note or two on Prophecy

I've been through a lot, and have much to say, but for now, just two quick thoughts.

PBS did an amazing series about the space program years ago called Spaceflight. Narrated by Martin Sheen, it gives the most intimate look at the people who made the space program work up till the space shuttle. There was an interview with Chris Kraft, the senior flight director, related to the Apollo 1 fire (oops, NASA calles it Apollo 204, just to mask the ptroblem). He said "we knew we were going to lose people, and we are going to lose them again," 'it's how we respond that matters'. This aired not too long before Challenger...always thought it was so appropriate...at least until the 'crats destroyed Columbia because of their continied ignorance.

Other quote I always loved was from Ricky Prohl, night of Superbowl 36: "Tonight a Dynasty is born"...how right he was, in such a wrong way. The Rams went on to lose, and ignomy...the Patriots...well, maybe Dynasty is too strong a word...but close. Be back soon folks, been through a lot, and got a lot to say.