Courtesy of Rudolf Stricker
A friend recently posted this on Facebook:
Hey guys! Who has an SUV that they love – with a third row? Do you have a V6 or a V8 and how much does it cost to fill up the tank when you’re on E? Make and Model, please. đ
I know my friend is a parent, and I had a hunch about what this post means. I responded with this:
Hey, maybe you should check out a minivan!
To which my friend eventually came back with this:
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I finally got my hands on Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. Expect light blogging until I work my way through it!
Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic who helped steer that country through it’s Velvet Revolution, has died at the age of 75. I will always remember the historic revolutions that swept the world in 1989, including the one that created the Czech Republic.
I learned last week that Havel was a huge Frank Zappa fan, too, and appointed Zappa to be a cultural consultant in 1990.
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Czechs mourned the death of Vaclav Havel as world leaders lionized the former president and dissident who endured years of jail to become the first leader of post-Communist Czechoslovakia.
Black flags fluttered under gray skies at Pragueâs Hradcany Castle, the seat of the presidentâs offices overlooking the capital, as government officials began planning the countryâs biggest state funeral in decades.
via Czechs Mourn âSymbolâ Havel as Leaders Gather to Plan Funeral – Businessweek.
I saw this story and it reminded me of an opportunity I recently turned down to help sell Internet-monitoring gear to a friendly Arab country. The folks involved were nice and the deal was said to be brokered by the Department of State. Among other things, I had reservations about my work possibly preventing an “Arab Spring”-type event, preventing a people from obtaining their rights.
The Department of Commerce is placing restrictions on a person and a company in the United Arab Emirates for supplying Syria with Internet-filtering devices made by California-based Blue Coat Systems Inc.
On Thursday, Commerce said it put Waseem Jawad and the Ras Al Khaimah-based company Info Tech, also known as Infotec, on a list of people and institutions determined to “have engaged in activities contrary to U.S. national security and/or foreign policy interests.”
The measure restricts Mr. Jawad and Info Tech from receiving or transferring items that fall under U.S. export controls.
via U.S. Restricts Firm for Web Filter Sale to Syria – WSJ.com.
Orlando with his ambitious daughter, Leah
As division mates we went through a lot together, including a few questionable division officers and division chiefs. You get to know people really well when you’re around them almost constantly for three years. He and the other shipmates in our division are like brothers to me. Always will be.
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The House tried to pass the “Stop Online Internet Piracy” bill out of committee today, only to run out of time. It wasn’t due to the lack of trying on the part of Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC). Rep. Watt acknowledges that he doesn’t understand the ramifications of the bill he is sponsoring, yet feels the need to press on, regardless.
It’s quite embarrassing, especially as a North Carolinian. As one commenter put it, Congress trying to regulate the Internet is like trying to build a bridge without an engineer. This misguided attack on America’s First Amendment must be stopped.
Itâs of course perfectly standard for members of Congress to not be exceptionally proficient in technological matters. But for some committee members, the issue did not stop at mere ignorance. Rather, it seemed there was in many cases an outright refusal to understand what is undoubtedly a complex issue dealing with highly-sensitive technologies.
When the security issue was brought up, Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina seemed particularly comfortable about his own lack of understanding. Grinningly admitting âIâm not a nerdâ before the committee, he nevertheless went on to dismiss without facts or justification the very evidence he didnât understand and then downplay the need for a panel of experts. Rep. Maxine Waters of California followed up by saying that any discussion of security concerns is âwasting timeâ and that the bill should move forward without question, busted internets be damned.
via Dear Congress, It’s No Longer OK To Not Know How The Internet Works | Motherboard.
That looks familiar . . .
Out of all the unexpected places to see my photo, this one really cracked me up! I never expected to be handed my own photograph as a gift!
The mug has the North Carolina League of Municipalities’s name on it. I’m guessing the League asked cities to submit photographs of their city for their respective mugs, because the photo on the mug is apparently the one that Raleigh’s public affairs department has retouched to remove a street lamp and a crane.
It gave me a good laugh!
Jupiter the cat
For the past few months, I’d been seeing a streak of orange darting among the neighborhood flowerbeds. This mysterious creature kept well away from people, though. After chasing it out of our backyard one day, I became curious and decided to find out more about this kitten.
I sent a few emails to the neighbors, asking if anyone claimed it. When I got responses back, telling me my neighbors were also feeding this stray cat, I hatched a plan to get the cat neutered and vaccinated.
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I’ve been eyeing that Zeo sleep monitor for the past few months and enjoying the sleep tips they post on their blog and Facebook page. Recently Zeo shared a post from an ABC Action News story about how electronic gadgets are stealing sleep. Seems looking at a lighted screen right before bed delays the production of melatonin, the hormone that is produced when darkness falls to make us sleep. As a blogger who does quite a bit of his writing near bedtime, this was of interest to me.
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