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Saturday, July 24, 2004
 
Out of pocket

As if my blogging hasn't been light enough in recent weeks, it'll probably be even lighter next week. I'm heading down to Texas to visit my father, so I probably won't be online much.

In the meantime, peace and health to all my readers. Both of you.



Friday, July 23, 2004
 
A new blog (sorta)

I neglected to mention in last night's post about one of the things that's been occupying some of my time lately. As I mentioned last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet with some old (and I do mean old!) shipmates last week, and that inspired me to set up a site for folks who were stationed at Naval Security Group Activity Athens, Greece (better known as NSGA Athens). Nothing special, really, and we'll have to see where it goes, but I wanted to put something on the web to collect thoughts, photos, etc., on our "former lives."

We also had been having problems keeping everybody in the email loop. Addresses would get dropped off of some emails or otherwise left out, so some folks wouldn't get the word. To try to fix that problem, I set up a Yahoo Group, which works well for some other groups I'm a member of. I think some folks are a little leery of it, though, because I've only gotten 15 people to sign up so far — actually, it's only 13, since a couple of guys signed up twice.

I'll keep banging that drum, though. It's for their own good. Right?


 
Low volume blogging

I've slowed down my blogging considerably lately, as both of you who read my blog may have noticed. Several things have come together to wipe out much of my available time for blogging, plus the fact that I haven't been sufficiently inspired during those brief moments to write about something. And if I don't believe I have something that's worth saying, I'm not going to bog folks down by blathering on (unlike some other bloggers around these parts).

Oh c'mon, guys, don't get all in a huff. I'm just kidding! Those links go to some of my favorite blogs to read. And in many cases, to comment on.

Anyway, I just thought I'd give folks an idea about what's going on (or not going on) around the Texas Native neighborhood.



Saturday, July 17, 2004
 
EA-3B dedication

On Tuesday, I attended the dedication of an EA-3B Skywarrior at the National Security Agency's National Vigilance Park. The park already had static displays of an Air Force C-130 and an Army RU-8D, which were used by those services for aerial reconnaissance to collect signals intelligence.

I flew in the A-3, which we called the Whale, throughout the first half of my naval career, racking up several hundred hours and over forty "cats and traps," or launches and recoveries aboard aircraft carriers. By 1987, while I was still flying (as a crewmember, I'm not a pilot), I didn't fly in the A-3 any more.

In January 1987, one of my sailors at Naval Security Group Activity Athens, Greece, Craig Rudolf, who was deployed to the USS Nimitz, was aboard Ranger 12 when it crashed trying to recover aboard the carrier. Of course, this must have been devastating for the crew's families, but since we were in Athens, we never got a chance to meet them, to grieve with them. But the shipmates of the lost crewmembers were shocked, stunned and greatly saddened at their loss.

This event has stuck with me through the years. At my retirement ceremony almost eight years later, many memories of my twenty years in the Navy flooded through my mind, but foremost among them was the loss of Ranger 12. In fact, I could barely speak through the sobs when the time came for my farewell speech.

I was again overcome by emotion on Tuesday. Fortunately, I was just one of many among those assembled for the ceremony. But it's important for us to remember those who have lost their lives in the service of our country, even though it may be painful.



Friday, July 16, 2004
 
[Tech - Programming] Why I hate Oracle DBAs

This is a technical rant, so if you're not familiar with software development and database programming, skip this post. You'll just get bored. Who knows, maybe even developers will get bored.   My current project uses C# and an Oracle 9i database. As is frequently the case, the database is under the iron control of the DBAs. I've done a good bit of development in this sort of situation, so I've gotten used to their arcane naming rules and so forth. They also like to use a single table to store name-value pairs where I would prefer to use discrete tables for each different type of lookup data. This is probably more a matter of style than substance, so I just go with the flow. Even when the table schema ended up including a total of almost twenty columns, most of them extraneous, I recommended that the extra columns be eliminated from the table, but didn't complain when they decided they wanted to keep them.   But I needed another column to indicate whether each row is in use. All of my other tables that need this column has it. Of course, since Oracle doesn't have a Boolean datatype, we had to make it a Number column with a width of 1, where we store a 1 for True and a 0 for False. We even built a standard conversion function into the framework to convert "automatically" between C#'s Boolean and Oracle's Number(1).   But they balked at my request, especially since there are seven columns already in the table that I'm not using and they won't get rid of. Unfortunately, none of those columns are a Number datatype. They're well-thought-out suggestion was that I use one of the Date columns and store one date for False and a different date for True.   Yes, that's right. Their recommendation is that we convert from Boolean to Number(1) in our C# code, then from Number(1) to a particular date in the stored procedures going to the database, then reverse the process coming back out. I'll refrain from the ad hominem dancing on my lips and say that I found a simpler way. In case you're interested, I decided to use one of the string (VARCHAR2) columns to store a '1' or a '0', retrieve it into a private String variable in the object, and then convert that into a True or a False when exposing it through a public property.   Well, that's my rant for the day. Thanks for indulging me.


Friday, July 09, 2004
 
Free .iq Now

Pimm Fox writes in Computerworld about problems surrounding the .iq top level domain.
Because of a legal dispute, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has frozen the .iq address, making it impossible for Iraqi organizations, businesses and people to establish their unique identities online. This should be changed, now.
I agree wholeheartedly. But what's the problem?
It seems that InfoCom Corp., the Richardson, Texas-based company that runs the .iq domain name, was indicted in 2002 for allegedly exporting computer equipment to Libya and Syria. In addition, the company is charged with sending money to terrorist groups in the Middle East. Until the conclusion of the trial, which began in Dallas last month, .iq stays locked up. This doesn't make sense. The Iraqi people need and deserve the opportunity to have an electronic identity. They should be able to build Web pages, establish businesses and create electronic communities without having to borrow domain names from other countries in the region.
The last thing we should want to do is inhibit Iraq's progress because we're prosecuting someone who (allegedly) supports terrorism. But what can be done?
One way to facilitate the use of the .iq domain would be to put it in an escrow account until the trial is completed, so it could be made available now to Iraqis on a nonprofit basis.
If ICANN would allow this to happen, I feel certain there's at least one organization in the world who would be willing to undertake this effort. Fox's closing comments are right on the mark.
Getting Iraq on the Internet could give it a technological boost and perhaps even encourage a broadband build-out of the country's infrastructure. In the past, less-developed countries have been able to move from no phone service to mobile phone service, completely bypassing the time and costs of fixed-line development. But perhaps the most important reason to release the .iq domain is the one least likely to come with dollar signs. It has to do with this strange notion: It's intrinsically a good thing when people have a say about their lives and are able to communicate their feelings, opinions and ideas to others through e-mail, online postings, Web sites and blogs. It can build pride and respect. And, if you can for only a moment cut through the cynicism so prevalent in what we call a technologically advanced culture, it can give people a chance to dream. If ever there was a country that needs to dream, it's Iraq. Freeing the .iq domain address is a start.
Indeed.


Saturday, July 03, 2004
 
[Loudoun County] Loudoun is one of the top ten "Digital Counties" in the US

From the Loudoun County web site:
Loudoun County has been recognized as one of most technologically advanced county governments in the United States. The Center for Digital Government conducted a national survey of how county governments are evolving in their use of information technology to deliver services to their citizens. The 2004 Digital Counties Survey placed Loudoun among the top ten counties in its population category.
I've been paying my personal property tax to the Loudoun County through their web site for several years, and I've been receiving email alerts from the county for about a year. The County Clerk has been trying to make many public documents available online, but he's been hindered in his efforts due to privacy concerns. A good amount of information is made available through the county's web site. The survey was conducted by the Center for Digital Government in conjunction with the National Association of Counties. The Center's announcement says that three other Virginia counties were similarly recognized: Albemarle, Roanoke (first place in its population category) and our next-door neighbors, Prince William (tying for first in its category, which is the same as Loudoun's). Worthy of mention is that four Maryland counties are also "Top Tens:" Montgomery, Howard, Frederick and Charles.


Friday, July 02, 2004
 
[Amateur Radio] Progress in the shack

I almost forgot to mention that I successfully installed my 70cm antenna yesterday, and with the computer now connected to the transceiver, I can use my Supercontrol software to make my Yaesu FT-847 crossband repeat. So now I can either sit in the shack to operate, or I can wander the house and neighborhood with my HT as I've been doing, but without worrying about running down the battery in the truck. Très cool (well, if you're a Ham)!


Thursday, July 01, 2004
 
Slavery disclosures

From The Washington Times, Detroit now requires any company doing business with the city to declare any profits it made from slavery.
Detroit has followed the lead of two other large cities -- Los Angeles and Chicago -- in enacting legislation that requires companies seeking contracts with the city to disclose any profits they received from slavery.

The ordinance passed last week by the Detroit City Council came after one was approved in May 2003 by the Los Angeles City Council, and another in October 2002 in Chicago.

Under these measures, companies with ties to slavery would not be barred from receiving municipal contracts. But any firm found to have falsified its slave history would have its contracts voided.

"The purpose of this ordinance is to set the groundwork for [slavery] reparations. First, you have to get the information and show the companies that benefited from the slave trade," Detroit City Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins, a former Democratic congresswoman from Michigan and sponsor of the Detroit ordinance, said Tuesday.

The black lawmaker put it this way last week in an interview with the Detroit News: "It has been quite a long time since African Americans were promised 40 acres and a mule. This ordinance only provides for the beginning of the process by requiring full disclosure."
Apparently, this effort has been underway in various parts of the country for a while now, but I'd never heard about it before.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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In loving memory
Dr Edward N Garrett
1925 - 2004
 

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