Today is the northern solstice, the first official day of winter in the northern hemisphere. Now we start stealing the sun back from our Aussie mates.
I’ll celebrate by taking Stellarium outside and learning more about the stars.
The Story of Stuff
Matt sent this to me this morning. It’s a 20-minute-long Flash movie explaining how your stuff gets to you and why that process is not sustainable. Living near the North Wake Landfill as I do, I can’t help but wonder how much of that big pile of garbage could’ve been avoided.
Check out the Story of Stuff and begin thinking of ways we can be living a little more responsibly on our planet (hint: vote with your wallet).
The gift that keeps on giving
With mere days to go I’ve finally decided what I want for Christmas.
SR-71 Blackbird
Last night I was talking with someone familiar with our country’s premier spy plane, the legendary SR-71 Blackbird. He sent me a link to this exciting account of a mission over Libya in 1986.
Intelligence agencies hate to give up capabilities. The rule in intelligence is that no system is ever retired unless something has taken its place. There is no known aircraft that can match the Blackbird’s performance. The “sled,” as it was known to its pilots, has been retired. Just imagine what we must have now.
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Off the hook!
I called AT&T Small Business Services today to check on the status of my long-standing unpaid-bill dispute (as well as my short-standing new bill dispute). After dealing with an initially confused rep by the name of Daniel, I got confirmation that I’m no longer listed as the responsible party for these accounts. Hallelujah!
I called the NC Attorney General’s office to update my file with this information. The specialist working the case asked me if AT&T was going to contact her with an update, to which I laughed. Huge corporations have little time to trifle with such things as the law, you know (thank goodness the telecom immunity bill has been shelved, for now at least).
Two steps forward, one back?
Just when I thought I was out of the woods with AT&T, I returned the second call I got yesterday, the one from Barbara Blatt. Ms. Blatt works at AT&T’s collection agency. I half-way listened to her spiel until her mention of the amount due brought me back from my daydreaming.
“Whoa, there,” I said. “This one’s $161.23? Is this something new?”
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Filter changing time
If your home’s air filters are so clogged that they’re actually whistling when your heater runs, it may be time to change them.
Of course, mine weren’t that bad, you know. I’m talking theoretically.
Ahem. Hey, look at the ponies!
AT&T gives up?
Wow. My ongoing saga with AT&T/Bellsouth appears to be reaching its conclusion. What’s more, it is concluding in my favor! I had a message left for me yesterday from Ms. Fuller, a representative at AT&T Southeast (which I assume is AT&T’s new name for Bellsouth). She referenced the N.C. Attorney General Consumer Protection filing and apparently was empowered to make things right, because she put in an order to AT&T’s collection department to drop the matter and to remove it from my credit report (if it has been sent there, which I don’t believe it has). She said because it was a business line that AT&T Small Business Services needed to actually act on it, but said she would send her request straight to them.
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Stellarium
I was poking around my Mac tonight when I remembered I once downloaded Stellarium, the GPL star chart. “Awesome” is the only way to describe Stellarium. It draws the night sky as seen from anywhere in the world. You can instantly find any object in the sky. It can even point a motorized telescope. I hope to take it in the back yard at night and get better acquainted with the night sky.
Also check out Celestia, another GPL space viewer, only Celestia lets you fly through space to visit an object up close and personal.
Hard to believe software like this is freely available. It is, though, thanks to the GPL.
Back To Annapolis
I’m heading back Monday to Annapolis, that beautiful sailing capital of the U.S. I’ll be there to conduct a few days of training. Seems like only last week I was there. Oh yeah, it was only last week.
Overall, its a fun place to work and the travel isn’t bad. The drive up is usually a pretty smooth trip. I’ll go up, do what I need to do, and then return late Wednesday.