DOWNTIME…

So it took me a while to get around to troubleshooting why this web server wouldn’t boot. It was a video card issue. I just swapped cards. I really have just been too busy to give a damn about fixing it for the last couple of days but it was constantly nagging in the back of my mind. So tonight after I got Connor in bed I bit the bullet and got out a screwdriver.

Keeping servers and more importantly information services available is my job. I get paid to do it. Forgive me if I didn’t feel like living my job while out of the office for a couple of evenings. It’s not like I’m making any money writing this stuff. If I were, this server would have been up and running within minutes of going down. In reality, if money were involved there would have been enough redundancy built in that it could have never gone down in the first place. So sue me. Blood..stone…you know…

Gotta have it…

dl650-thumb.jpgI’m really trying to talk myself out of this but I can’t.  I test drove a new 2008 Suzuki V-Strom 650 during lunch yesterday (don’t tell Amy).  As badly as I should buy a car, more specifically a truck, I really want this crazy cool dual sport.  First I’ll list the reasons why I probably shouldn’t pursue this:

  1. I’m in my mid to late 30’s.
  2. I have small children.
  3. I commute 40 miles one way to work.
  4. The last time I owned a motorcycle I almost lost the use of my right leg in a violent fiery crash (not at fault).
  5. People will tell me it’s irresponsible.

Now I will try to justify my desire against the intelligent, rational logic above:

  1. I’m in my mid to late 30’s (30 is the new 20 ya know).
  2. Connor and Logan will think I’m the coolest dad alive.
  3. This thing gets 51 mpg.
  4. I rode a motorcycle exclusively without owning a car for 2 1/2 years before the accident plus I’m about 15 years older now.
  5. When was the last time I cared what anyone else thought?  Besides, soon I can pay cash for this and I despise consumer financing.

The real reason I may buy a bike is because I want one.  For some reason I cannot bring myself to get excited about the prospect of car shopping or a new car or truck.  I don’t even have the motivation to go look at them.  The idea of this dual sport commuter gets me pumped.  I can’t remember being this enthusiatic about anything in a while.  So should I do the responsible, conservative thing and insure my safety for the sake of my family at the sacrifice of my own enthusiasm and happiness?  Or do I get my ass back in gear again and live?  Decisions…

Future uncertain for the children of auto workers?

Yes, it’s the saddest story I read today. Apparently CNN thought it necessary to reprint a Uwire sob story about the plight of auto industry children. They may have to find a way to actually pay for school. I couldn’t stop the tears. To think that retired auto workers may have to forgo lifetime salaries and free health care for themselves and their children… Well, I don’t know if I have the strength to hear any more of this tragic burden.

Oh wait, yes I do. Welcome to the world the rest of us live in. The world without pensions, free health care and other guaranteed retirement benefits thanks to a Union. Tell your sob story to my 62 year old mother who doesn’t plan to quit working any time soon. Your poor tear jerking article claims a school girls parents “logged more than 30 years for the auto giant”, GM. This school girl is 29 years old. Now that just makes me damned mad. My mothers been working for over 39 years non-stop often on night shifts for years at a time. Where’s her free health care? Where’s her lifetime salary at retirement? How come I didn’t get to go to college for free?

We’re a one car family now.

The F-150 is dead and gone, smoking transmission and all. Short sale to the rescue. Good riddance. Here’s something important to know: Gap insurance is useless unless you wreck your car. It doesn’t cover mechanical failures.

I’m not sorry to see the truck go. And I’m not certain we’re going to buy another car any time soon. We do live out in the middle of nowhere but so far it hasn’t been that much of an inconvenience. My sister is right down the street so if Amy is in a desperate situation she has transportation while I’m at work.

Part of this is a test. I got into a forum debate with some people on Digg last week regarding this very topic. I swore that some families need two cars and cited mine as an example. If we can do this anyone can. I’ll either save the money to pay cash for a car or we won’t buy another one. Since I’ve sworn off financing this my idea of practicing what I’m preaching. I won’t get a loan from a bank even though a dealer has pre-qualified me. At this very moment, in this economy I am one of the Treasury and banking systems enemy consumers. And I will not give in. It’s like my own little mini protest. The candle light vigil will be held at midnight.

Since I’m back on the subject of debt again, I now owe the movie gallery in Wendell and the one in Zebulon $35 each. Thanks to a lost copy of Spiderman 3 for Playstation and a Wall-E DVD that never made it home with Amy tonight I will pay them the equivalent of renting movies for 3 months. Add to this the $158 water bill I received for Oct. 22 to Nov. 22nd and you don’t need to think hard to understand why I’m not going to finance anything for a long time, if ever again.

When I opened this comically sinister water bill tonight I went under the house to see if we had a leak. No leaks but I did find the hose on the right side of the house watering the neighbors lawn for the last month. 498 gallons a day thanks to Connor and Jacob playing with the spicket. I think I set a Wake County consumption record.

You want to know the real irony of the DVD that Amy lost on the way home from the movie store. She went to get it with a free rental voucher.

Are mother-in-laws okay or even cool now?

Barack Obama may be bringing his to the White House. Apparently he’s very fond of her and all the help she provides with his girls. Did you know there’s an official Mother-In-Law day which was started in 2002? It’s on the 4th Sunday of each October. I just found this out 2 weeks too late to make anything of it this year.

My mom and my brother-in-law have never really gotten along great, although thier relationship is starting to get a little better. I was talking with Amy, my parents and their neighbors last weekend and told them that as far as mother-in-laws go I’ve got one of the best anyone could hope for. She’s way into sports, Carolina to be specific, supports a large technology company for a living and always seems to try to have fun at everything she does. I’m sure I’ve offended her somehow at some point but I can’t really say that she’s ever done anything that I can remember having a major issue with. Hell, in some circumstances she’s been more understanding and supportive than my own parents but that could just be a matter of perspective based on their roles.

It could be that I’m making more out of this than actually exists. I suppose a handful of us have mother-in-laws we appreciate while there are probably a lot of people who still need to arm themselves with “Frequent-Fry-Her” jokes. It’s kind of a relief not to have to participate because I have enough going on without having to deal with an inherited, annoying family member.

I didn’t take the job. It’s hard to beleive I didn’t take the job.

Well it’s official now. I didn’t take the contract job at Steifel labs I was officially offered on Friday. I wrote my email declining the offer tonight. It was the second time I’ve written an email turning down this position.

I’ve declined lots of jobs and never said a word to anyone. This one was especially significant because for the first time the rate would have sent my annual salary above $110K a year. Sad but true. I decided to keep my position at Trimaco for reasons I won’t elaborate but for the first time in my IT career the decision had nothing to do with money.

Amy was supportive mostly because she understands the details why I didn’t take it. To sum it all up I can just say this: I didn’t get a good vibe. Add to it that I am really comfortable in my current position and I couldn’t jump. It’s almost that simple.

I’m having a hard time getting over that I didn’t take the money. This is not like me and certainly not something I would have done even three years ago. I must be getting old or something.  I suppose if there is any consolation it’s that I’m still employable in this economy.  Amazing.

McCain is ahead.

The conservatives have found their girl in Caribou Barbie. Obama may have lost the south and could ultimately lose the election as a result. Sorry Dems, you haven’t learned: GOP spells GOD and unless you can win the south you cannot win an election. Very sorry to see all the support for Obama amount to nothing. The country will remain divided. But like I’ve said before, the idea of unification in America is a pipe dream. We are divided on the issues and as long as people vote based upon single minded agendas like abortion views, the plight of the Alaskan salmon, or the rights of homosexuals their will never be common ground.

There is and always will be two Americas and it’s not rich and poor. It’s conservative and liberal. Obama could win the popular vote and will still lose the election. The conservative states carry too many electoral college votes for the Democratic mindset to prevail. As for myself I think both parties suck and neither truly represent the issues most important to the majority Americans which do not include abortion and gay rights.

Neither party wants to enforce the laws on the books and handle illegal immigration, or change them. Neither wants to attack the source of health care problems, the cost. And neither wants to be responsible for imposing government oversight on out of control corporations and the financial sector, an issue that many Americans feel is a key factor in our current social and economic status.

I will tell you this: Republican’s are way out of touch with what needs to be done to fix America’s economy. The continued idea that if you cut corporate taxes it will result in job creation is way off track. We’ve tried this for eight years. McCain says we’ve got the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. I say why shouldn’t we? We have the largest number of corporations in the world. Any further tax breaks will only result in more profits for these companies, not jobs. Automation and technology will replace the manual workforce. We don’t need to give additional breaks to already established, highly profitable corporations. We need to give tax incentives for corporate innovation and increase the wages in the service and labor sector for LEGAL workers in the US. This may increase the cost of domestically produced goods but it should be balanced out by an across the board wage increase.

We are living in an era when 1950’s Capitalism has come to collect on the note and the debt is enormous. The model of Capitalism as we know it today needs to be changed, not to socialism, but to whatever form necessary to level the playing field. No longer is a college education and a positive attitude enough to compete when the rules are regularly manipulated by corporate, legal think-tanks so those with money can continue to take more and more from those without such resources to defend themselves. Case in point: Bank Fees, consumer enemy #1.

Undecided…

I am personally undecided who I will vote for now. My personal opinion is irrelevant in my prediction. It should be John McCain who wins this election (provided that he lives that long). Why?

The American public could gradually lose it’s fascination with Obama. His “rock star” persona can fade. Not that it matters. What may ultimately lead Obama down the path to defeat is his position on oil. I’m a registered Democrat (in case you haven’t guessed) and I do believe big business and the banks are out of control and unchecked so I feel there needs to be more government oversight, I despise the situation in Iraq, and I don’t think the Republicans have a plan for a health care system that’s going to do anything but make the rich even richer. So why am I considering a vote for McCain?

Because he supports drilling in the US for oil. While I care about the environment I really despise hyper-tree-huggers. These are the environmentalists who will sacrifice our nations welfare and economy to save another damn species of snail. I know a lot of other Democrats who fall into the category of Independent by default in this election. Hell, let’s face it I might as well change my registration to Independent because I don’t fully support either party’s position on a number of issues.

  1. I want immigration laws enforced – not reformed. Neither candidate is supporting this position to the upset of the Republican party because I’m certain most conservatives want a candidate with a stronger stance on this issue.
  2. I want to drill for oil in America. Obama and the Democrats have made it clear they care nothing about saving our future by attacking the energy problems on all fronts including drilling at home.
  3. I want NAFTA repealed. Again, nothing either party has proclaimed interest in.
  4. I support the withdraw of troops in Iraq using a responsible time table. More Dems support this than Republicans.
  5. I believe we need comprehensive health care reform. From the top down including an attack on the rising cost of health care services. John McCain wants to put the hospital corporations in check but he’s also running the risk of angering big business supporters who believe hospitals and drug manufacturers, as corporations, should be free to profit as much as they like even if the cost is the lives of patients. This is actually an easy fix: price caps. Universal insurance coverage, a Democratic idea, is nothing but a windfall for health insurance companies. Neither side has even mentioned government price caps which would limit hospital corporation profitability but naturally drive down the price of insurance.
  6. I want to pay fair taxes. This is more of a Republican idea but only really benefits the rich and corporations under their model of tax breaks. Democrats will give no one a break here.

Basically I don’t fully support either party and choosing one side or the other is like choosing which foot to be shot in. I don’t want to be shot in either foot.

The Triangle Town Center “Riot”

As many people know Amy and I once lived in a house off of Louisburg Rd. behind Triangle Town Center.   It’s where we lived when Connor was born.  We moved out of the area specifically because it was going down hill.  The location became full of dumb little thugs.  In fact a house on our street was converted to a rental and the equivalent of a gang moved in.  They called themselves a “riding club” as the sped in and out of the neighborhood on their crotch rockets all day and night.

Needless to say I got the hell outta Dodge.  It was only a matter of time before the thug culture proliferating in the area moved towards the mall.  Crapital Blvd. has always been notorious for these African American bike gangs striking fear into anyone wanting to stop for gas as they congregate by the dozens and enjoy the fact that they’ve staked their turf.  That’s right, I called them out as black bike gangs.  There is no use burying our head and imagining that this is anything less than a racial and cultural issue.

Some of the the dumb little thugs got outta control last Saturday night and 15 to 20 of them got in a fight in Triangle Town Center causing the mall to be closed an hour early.  According to reports approx. 200 little thug bumpers ran crazy in the mall.  The media labeled it a “riot”.  While it was far from a riot it was definitely a wake up call.  A call that may never be heeded.  You see the fact that this entire problem was caused by black kids flashing gang signs has been disputed by members of the black community.  They denounce the fact that there is any mention of race in the problem.

Let me be straight:  In the office next to me is one of the coolest women I know.  Her name is Jackie and she is in charge of accounts payable at our company.  And she’s a black woman from Durham.  She’s great.  And she agrees with me on many points I will make here including the fact that if the black community works harder at dispelling the notion that this was not a black on black thug issue verses trying to solve the root of the problem it will never go away.

Many people on WRAL’s GOLO forum are screaming about lack of parenting, supervision and anything they can find to displace the responsibility of this event away from the kids who did the fighting.  I can tell you first hand that only people with a completely unrealistic and idealistic view of the world believe that all parents can and should have control of their kids at all times.  Sorry Ozzy and Harriet, the world just doesn’t work that way.

The core of the problem is that these black kids have an unrealistic sense of entitlement.  And they now feel the only way to acquire what they’re entitled to is through their own.  What do I mean by this?  I mean through their peers and their attitude.  They drop out of school, realize their never going to be an NBA star so they figure what the hell, Tupac and 50 cent got famous, watch me.  And this is the lifestyle, and the culture, they make a conscious decision to live in.  And the black community at large shuns any criticism, internal or external, of this culture.

If a black man dares speak up about the trajedy of black youth today he will be labeled a traitor by everyone all the way up to the NAACP.  If a white person says “black kids today have a problem” they are an automatic racist.  Never mind the statistics: 50% of black students will drop out of high school verses approx. 22% of all other races combined. Less than 10% of “gang” members are white.  It’s probably below 5% in an area like Raleigh.  So when blacks deny that the problem primarily exists among blacks it is only adding fuel to the fire.  They are percieved to be accepted and supported by their own.

It’s time to end dumb thuggery regardless of skin color or socio-economic status.  If the problem just happens to be among black kids well then, they are the ones going to jail or boot camp.  Trying legitimize this gun toting, violent lifestyle by labeling it “Hip Hop” or any other name only gives it the merit required to draw future generations into it’s downward cycle.  Here’s a news flash: hating cops is not cool.  And if you or anyone you associate with share an anti-law enforcement attitude it’s because you’ve got something immoral or illegal to hide.  Making excuses for a dumb-ass thug is almost as bad as being one.