John F. Kennedy

President from 20 January, 1961 till his tragic assassination on 22 November, 1963, Kennedy defused the Cuban Missile Crisis, created the Peace Corps, created the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, was a legend in Ireland, brought back the economy, saw to that the first black student enroll at Ole’ Miss, he laid down the ground work for what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, started the Apollo project, and signed Executive Order No. 11110 (if the US Gov. were inclined to do so, they could eliminate the demand for Federal Reserve Notes by replacing it with silver certificates – a good thing). He did great things – he promised a lot and delivered on much of it. He did have his downfalls, his critics, and his failures, but he also had these great wins.

Happy Birthday Kennedy. May your memory continue to live on.

iPhone

Recently I upgraded my phone to the iPhone. And when I say upgrade, I mean it. This phone is worlds better than the Blackjack. The phone has all the features I need and have been wanting. Wifi is great, it still plays nice with Exchange servers, has a nice big screen, nearly full browser (can’t wait for Flash support), and is a great music player. Everything that turned me away a year and a half ago is no longer valid. Apple added 3G, third party apps, and the keyboard is not that bad after a bit of use (auto correct is great most of the time and the wider format of the keyboard really gets in he way more than the smaller). Apple will he soon sending more software improvements, so most of the drawbacks will also diappear. Jobs was acually right about the software keyboard. Adding vibrate on keypress might help with tactile feel, but the clicking is enough for me.

I can even post this on my phone while sitting at the mall without much difficulty!

Memorial Day

Take some time out today to remember those who have died for this country. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for a country they loved.

I love love some of the stories surrounding the origins of Memorial Day. I’m, of course, obliged to stick with the story about the origins starting in Columbus, MS. It’s a story I’ve heard a dozen times while at MSMS and a story that isn’t avoidable if you live anywhere near the area.

Twelve Gables, built in 1838, served as the primary military hospital in the area. On 25 April 1866, a group of women met at the home. Here, they decided to decorate the graves of the Confederate boys who died and were buried at Friendship Cemetery. They marched through the town with baskets full of colorful flowers on their way down to the cemetery.

Amongst the buried Confederate soldiers, Union soldiers were also buried. All of them died in the Battle of Shiloh. The women looked across the graves – Confederate and Union side-by-side. They decided that it would be best to decorate all of the graves, rather than the Confederate ones. Those fathers, brothers, and sons who died for the Union had mothers, sisters, and daughters who were grief stricken just as these ladies were grief stricken for their Confederate boys.

By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep on the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment Day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray.

Inspired by the kindness and empathy of these women, Frances Miles Finch wrote The Blue and the Gray. I’ve always considered this story to be one of the most beautiful and a shining light in a dark portion of our nation’s history. This story, and many others about the people who are buried in Friendship Cemetery, are very interesting, especially during the annual Tales From The Crypt presentation (which, mind you, is award winning – and presented by my Alma Mater). Truly something you must go see yourself.

Simple Fix = iTunes + G11

Searching the Internet brought me little to no solutions on how to get iTunes to work with my G11 when it isn’t in view. Found the solution to the problem.

You have to have the G11 software installed with the Game Panel manager. Now, this shouldn’t be hard to follow, but the way to have iTunes work with the G11 without the application highlighted… just start the Game Panel Manager. iTunes will now work. This seems to be software that was designed for the G15 but was included with the G11 software. Doesn’t matter – iTunes works.

Finally, Friday

Finally! It’s Friday again. Last day of school for PSD. Last day to deal with students. First day of real work. First day of a long, three-day weekend. I get paid next week. This will be a great end to a good month.

Yesterday was dog and pony. Ro showed around a guy from Gulf LNG, part of the El Paso pipeline group. They’re building a new LNG facility in Pascagoula and the regional director visited to see what they could do for us. He was a really nice man.

Right after showing him around, I headed over to the ATC to talk with the representatives from Northrop Grumman about the BEST videos. We talked about what they wanted and decided to show them our facilities. It was a lot less high-brow and a lot more “wow”. The ladies were impressed and left with more ideas than they came with.

All this was during lunch, so I didn’t have lunch until later that day.

Today was moving tons and tons of equipment out of the server room and into the hall. While it may not have been much, the tons and tons comes from the lead-acid batteries inside each UPS. 4 modules in the APC branded ones and 2 modules inside the TrippLite. Heavy. That and the AS/400 that recently retired.

In other news – I’ve added another photo to More Than The Camera. It is called “WASD”. In my job, and many other jobs, and many jobs in the future, the keyboard will become the main mode of productivity (other than the mouse). This device is so versatile, however, that it is not limited to just work. The keyboard is equally as important in play as it is in work. This simple device, once a mechanical set of buttons on a typewriter (which I have two – both mechanical and electromechanical), is now a well polished set of keys that send electrical impulses to a device.