February 2007

There were 36 posts published in February 2007 (this is page 4 of 4).

Cheap Thoughts: Global Warming

I think I may have found the solution today for the problem of global warming.

It’s cats. Yep, cats.

You see, cats are all too happy to soak up solar radiation. In fact, they seem built for the purpose. If you’ve got a sunbeam anywhere around, a cat is likely to be headed for it, if one’s not in it already. By deploying one snoozing cat per sunbeam, solar radiation reaching the earth would plummet, resulting in cooler temperatures. One could say purrfect weather, even.

The bottom line is that we need more cats if we’re ever going to save the earth. Is it any wonder that temperatures have risen in step with efforts to control the cat population?

The Year of Greatness

I’ve decided that this year I’m going to do something great. I’ve decided to do at least one of the following things:

  • Become Cisco certified, either in IOS or security (IDS)
  • Become a certified DBA, probably in PostgreSQL, but maybe MySQL too.
  • Write a book on Asterisk

I should be able to accomplish at least one by the end of the year. Right now I’m leaning towards the DBA training as I have the most experience with databases. Also DBA skills are in high demand, both from employers as well as for my own personal, web-based projects I occasionally come up with. And working with SQL is just plain fun!

I’ll let you know how this progresses.

UnitedHealthcare Drops WakeMed

Apparently UnitedHealthcare thinks WakeMed‘s costs are too high. WakeMed refused to buckle, so now UnitedHealthcare is ending coverage for WakeMed hospitals.

I think this is quite unfortunate, so I decided to let UHC know. After navigating through the worst voicemail gauntlet I’ve ever encountered, I got a live representative on the phone. After telling her I wanted to register a complaint about this decision, she began to correct me to say that UHC didn’t drop Wakemed, they’re just ending their contract.

“Okay,” I responded, cutting her off. “I don’t care what caused it, I want you to know I don’t like it.”

This we agreed to do. She even helpfully wrote it up in the dramatic way I presented it to her and sent it off to their complaint department.

Yeah, it takes two to tango. I don’t know what either side’s position was, but I don’t care. WakeMed took care of our family when we needed it most. No hospital in the Triangle can match WakeMed’s neonatal intensive care facility. I believe our daughter Hallie would not be with us if it wasn’t for WakeMed’s outstanding care. In my eyes WakeMed can do no wrong.

Now that I can’t go to the hospital just two miles away from my home I’ve got to consider other options. This royally sucks.

Hang Ups

Nothing says “loser” quite like having a piece of telephone gear hanging from your ear when you’re not on the phone! I see these people everywhere with their Bluetooth headsets and/or wired earphones (“tanglephones” as my son calls them) stuck in their ears for no reason whatsoever! The only thing worse than finding one of these poor souls seemingly talking to themselves is seeing them all Borg-like and not talking to anyone! I just want to tell them, “Uh, excuse me. You’ve got something hanging from your ear.”

Here’s a tip for all of you losers: when you’re done with your call, hang up the phone! That means remove the earpiece from your ear and put it away. It just makes you look like a dork. Honestly, its the techie equivalent of walking around with your fly open.

Take My Down To Chinatown

I found out yesterday that I’m going to China next month for a week to train our partners and staff there. I’ll spend two days in Beijing and perhaps two in Shanghai.

It will be my first trip to China proper. I’ve visited Hong Kong two times when the USS Elliot visited there. That was before Hong Kong’s return to China. During the last visit I had signed up to tour China but had overslept that morning and missed the bus, to my regret. Now I’ll get another chance to see this amazing culture, or at least catch a glimpse of it between training sessions!