You can't make this stuff up.

During the day on Sunday, several drives on our ERP server failed.  (translation from geek: system is down, no orders, no jobs no shipping no invoicing.. no MONEY).  Thankfully we have a 4 hr response support agreement from Hp so we call Hp support to begin the process.  After doing the triage, it was discovered that there were 3 drives that failed, so Hp needs to locate compatible drives so we can replace them and get up and running again.

Of the 3 drives, only 1 was found in the Philly area, 1 was found in the NYC area and another somewhere else in the country.  We determined we can replace the one drive and limp along until the other drives are replaced.

I drive down to Philly with my dog because I have no idea how long this will take and it would be best if she was with me.  We arrive to work about midnight to meet the Hp Tech and UPS who is delivering the drive from Philly.  To get into the building, there are 2 doors.  The outer door is locked with a key (which I have) and the inner door is locked with a swipe card.  After struggling with the alarm system, I finally gained access to the building and brought the dog (and her blanket) to my office and settled in to wait for the UPS guy to show up.

As it turns out, my timing was near perfect.  I didnt have to wait long for the UPS guy.  So my dog and I met him in the vestibule.  I needed both hands to sign for the package, so I placed the box between the door with the swipe entry and it's door jam.  (now comes the fun part)  Right at that moment as I was signing the paper, Bella decided she needed to be inside, and being a clutzy dog, knocked over the box holding the door open.  Click.  The door is now shut with me in the vestibule and the dog inside the building.  I reach into my pocket to get the swipe card... its not there!   ya see, as I was struggling with the alarm, i just shoved the card into my jacket pocket.

I was stuck!!!!  I couldn't get in the building, I had no phone to call anyone, and the Hp tech was due to arrive very soon to fix the system that neither of us can get to!  This was like a scene is a silly movie where the dog is sitting on the other side of the glass door with a mischievous smirk on her face trying to figure out in what order should she cause the most destruction.  thankfully, Bella is a very good dog.  All she did was go back to my office and curl up for a nap (as far as I know).

I am sure glad there are no hidden cameras to see what happened next.  Needless to say there was a whole lot of yelling and screaming going on knowing full well how silly it was to carry on that way, but it felt real good to let it all out.  I then made some attempts at going all black-belt on the glass panel.  I executed some real nice reverse side kicks (my speciality from my tae kwon do days).  Not a scratch.  I then remembered that all the windows were replaced with bullet-stopping glass several years back because... well ... it IS Philly after all.

So I sat and waited for the Hp guy, who showed up at 1:15.  After explaining my stupidity, he used his cell phone to call my consultant who found an employee's name in the phone book who then called someone local to let us in.  We finally got into the building at 2am.

you just can't make this stuff up.

If you can't behave, we'll take your flying priveledges away!

There are some forms of punishment that are meant to get the peers of the guilty to inflict punishment, or at least to get the peers to pressure themselves to not behave badly again. The armed forces do it... 'if one of you fail, you all do push ups till your arms fall off!' (or something like that). Or, 'If you kids can't share the tv, no one gets to watch it'.

It is now time to do the same for these asshole terrorists: 'If you swarthy middle-eastern looking men attempt to bomb another plane, there will be NO swarthy, middle-eastern men able to fly again'. Oh the outrage we'll here! The righteous indignation, the blasphemy of it all! If these people who will be outraged would spend just 10% of this energy where it belongs -- in loudly denouncing terrorism in deed as well as words -- the world would be a much better place.

But you know what?  Some swarthy, middle-eastern men could start their own airline to shuttle other swarthy middle-eastern looking men around... and let them bomb themselves.

Northwest Bomb Plot Planned by al Qaeda in Yemen - ABC News

A Great Day!!!

I Payed my mortgage today, and I feel great!  Why you may ask?

After months of being unable to pay due to a jobless lifestyle... after months of working with the banks to stave off foreclosure (and it came real close)... after months of re-negotiating rates and terms and loan modifications.... notaries and certified checks....I payed the mortgage for the 1st time since April.

Right up until last week, I was still getting notices from the banks lawyers regarding foreclosure procedures, I was getting letters from local lawyers as recently as yesterday saying 'so.. your in foreclosure... use me!'.

My anxiety level was rising to a point of physical pain.  The knot in my chest had been growing so slowly that I didn't realize how bad it was until a very close friend noticed and helped to ease it.  She didn't say anything that I didn't already know, but the way she said it was a major kick in my ass, and sometimes a person needs a slap in the face to wake them up from the funk that the person has put himself in. 

I still didn't realize why it was happening, I thought it was job related.  I had some time yesterday driving for 3 hours to think more about it.  Although the job is stressful, the thought of losing my house represented a more powerful emotional reaction.  Emotions range from being a lousy parent who can't keep a roof over his children's heads, feelings of inadequacy from being unable to meet my obligations, feelings of guilt for making poor decisions in purchasing the house in the 1st place, feelings of shame for procrastinating for not taking care of things in the proper time frame, feelings of dread of what will happen when they take my home away.

I can now understand how all of these emotions can overwhelm and devastate a person to a point of unable to live with it.  A great quote from the movie Shawshank Redemption comes to mind.... 'Get busy living, or get busy dying'.  I have made a choice:  I will get busy living.

So, this morning, i FINALLY went online to gmac to attempt to pay the mortgage thinking that I wouldn't be able to due to the foreclosure notices.  I logged in, and it allowed me to pay!!! The knot in my chest eased considerably, and now.. .I just feel stupid for not doing this sooner, and incredibly grateful for having such great friends.  The sun is shining, and I think I'll take the kids shopping for some new living room furniture to improve my home.

UPDATE:  It figures... A disk drive on my company's production ERP system failed, so I have to go to work today to meet the Hp tech so he/she can fix it.  So.. bundle up the kids and drive to Philly.  However, the knot didn't get tighter... its still a beautiful day and I'm enjoying being with my kids...no matter where we are and what we are doing.

Lets deal in facts

ICECAP

Greenhouse gases and their effects are well-known. Here are some of things we know:

• The most effective greenhouse gas is water vapor, comprising approximately 95 percent of the total greenhouse effect.

• Carbon dioxide concentration has been continually rising for nearly 100 years. It continues to rise, but carbon dioxide concentrations at present are near the lowest in geologic history.

• Temperature change correlation with carbon dioxide levels is not statistically significant.

• There are no data that definitively relate carbon dioxide levels to temperature changes.

• The greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide logarithmically declines with increasing concentration. At present levels, any additional carbon dioxide can have very little effect.

We also know a lot about Earth temperature changes:

• Global temperature changes naturally all of the time, in both directions and at many scales of intensity.

• The warmest year in the U.S. in the last century was 1934, not 1998. The U.S. has the best and most extensive temperature records in the world.

• Global temperature peaked in 1998 on the current 60-80 year cycle, and has been episodically declining ever since. This cooling absolutely falsifies claims that human carbon dioxide emissions are a controlling factor in Earth temperature.

• Voluminous historic records demonstrate the Medieval Climate Optimum (MCO) was real and that the “hockey stick” graphic that attempted to deny that fact was at best bad science. The MCO was considerably warmer than the end of the 20th century.

• During the last 100 years, temperature has both risen and fallen, including the present cooling. All the changes in temperature of the last 100 years are in normal historic ranges, both in absolute value and, most importantly, rate of change.

Contrary to many public statements:

• Effects of temperature change are absolutely independent of the cause of the temperature change.

• Global hurricane, cyclonic and major storm activity is near 30-year lows. Any increase in cost of damages by storms is a product of increasing population density in vulnerable areas such as along the shores and property value inflation, not due to any increase in frequency or severity of storms.

• Polar bears have survived and thrived over periods of extreme cold and extreme warmth over hundreds of thousands of years - extremes far in excess of modern temperature changes.

• The 2009 minimum Arctic ice extent was significantly larger than the previous two years. The 2009 Antarctic maximum ice extent was significantly above the 30-year average. There are only 30 years of records.

• Rate and magnitude of sea level changes observed during the last 100 years are within normal historical ranges. Current sea level rise is tiny and, at most, justifies a prediction of perhaps ten centimeters rise in this century.

The present climate debate is a classic conflict between data and computer programs. The computer programs are the source of concern over climate change and global warming, not the data. Data are measurements. Computer programs are artificial constructs.

The Benefits of Global Warming

I'll bet for every doom and gloom prediction that the Global Warming alarmists think up, there is a beneficial prediction that will cancel it out. Case in point, The Chunnel was shut down with passengers inside the tunnel for 15 hours:

My Way News - Eurostar train services canceled indefinitely

Services have been suspended since late Friday, when a series of glitches stranded five trains inside the Channel Tunnel and trapped more than 2,000 passengers for hours in stuffy and claustrophobic conditions. More than 55,000 passengers overall have been affected.

Some panicked passengers stayed underground for more than 15 hours without food or water, or any clear idea of what was going on - prompting outrage from travelers and a promise from Eurostar that no passenger train would enter the tunnel until the issue had been identified and fixed.

So, if there was global warming, things like this wouldn't happen anymore.... right?

Dont rob my house

What's the best way to prevent getting your house robbed?  Put out a sign on your front yard saying "I will be on vacation starting July 2011".  How will this prevent your house being robbed (at least up until July 2011)?  Why rob a house when it is occupied when you can wait until it is empty.

Our President just put that sign out in Afghanistan's front yard.  Who cares if there is 30k more troops... it may as well be 80k or 1k, it wont make a difference.  The enemy, now knowing what we'll be doing, will make the proper adjustments in their strategy.  They will hunker down and melt into the countryside, while they recruit and train and prepare for their offensive starting August 2011. 

Meanwhile, Obama claims victory because no troops are being killed fighting the enemy because we cant find the enemy.  Our troops all come home with much fanfare.  In Afghanistan, the Taliban re-asserts itself because we have really accomplished anything. Of course, our press as well as Obama ignores this.

Its no wonder our allies don't like this strategy

Why I'll never visit San Fransisco again

SF Supervisor Considers Public Gay Sex Tents | Right Wing News

call for investigation on climate change?

Like that's going to happen.

Ms Chairman: 'Lets begin an investigation into the hoax of climate change. I know I supported it (and still do) and I know this investigation is going to make me and every democrat look stupid, but its in the best interest of the people to know the truth.'

like i said... it could happen.... NOT!

.: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works :: Minority Page :.

Lieberman Digs In on Public Option - WSJ.com

What do you call a Democrat with some common sense? There are none because the democrats boot them out of the party!

Lieberman Digs In on Public Option - WSJ.com

Ex-ACORN official gets probation for voter registration plan - Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 | 10:01 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

at what point will the national media start covering acorn? When will the national media start to ask tough questions of democrats who support acorn? When will the national media also begin covering all the thuggery and bad behavior of those groups who support democrats at any cost?

Oh yeah... they are all out covering their true enemy... Sarah Palin.

Ex-ACORN official gets probation for voter registration plan - Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 | 10:01 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

On Sarah Palin

What is it with Sarah Palin that makes the left hate her so much that not only do they oppose her, they must destroy her? Why is she (and anyone who the left opposes) treated like an enemy rather than an American that just has a differing viewpoint?

If the left had this kind of visceral hate for our true enemies, our troops would already be home from Iraq and Afghanistan-- the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Iranians would have seen a united America with a common cause to destroy these hateful, evil regimes-- but instead they see the left playing the useful idiots in opposing anything Bush did just because Bush was for it.

What is Religion?

What do you call it when you have a deep belief in something you cannot physically see, touch or prove its actual existence... yet you pay homage to it daily? Here is Wikipedia's definition of religion:

A religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth.^[1] Religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things, but more generally is interwoven with society and politics. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience.

Well, isn't this the same definition of those who believe in Global Warming? As we keep learning, the 'science' behind AGW is faulty and politically driven. So, what are the believers of AGW left with? What they are left with is the definition of religion above.

Now lets take this one step further. As the left like to point out, there is a separation of Church and State. And since AGW has now joined the ranks of religion, should we now insist on this separation to prevent our government from promoting this religion?  Thus, it should now be unconstitutional for any government agency to promote AGW in anyway shape or form.

Obama Dithers... Troops Die!

Afghan, Pakistan carnage raises heat on Obama

Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet - Times Online

Are you kidding me? What is this moron's intention... to kill every pig and cow on the earth? Well, newsflash: thats what we are doing, and while we're at it, we are eating the killed pigs and cows. The problem is more Pigs and cows are being born. Its a vicious cycle.

Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet - Times Online

Americans’ Views on Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

from the 'Ya think?' department:

Americans’ Views on Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

Howdy

Hi. I haven't posted anything here for a while. I couldn't bring myself to a place that I can put myself out there for the public to view. Although I thought about blogging as a therapy to my condition.

I am suffering from depression. I have no idea for how long, but it became extreme when i was laid-off in January from a very good job that I had just landed 3 months earlier. Prior to that, I was unemployed for 8 months. In those 8 months, I woke up with a sense of optimism, and began each day anew looking for a job, or a consulting position or a bartender job.

I landed a nice job in NYC that paid very well. I upgraded my entire wardrobe with new suits, new shoes, new shirts, new ties. I really enjoyed the bus ride to/from the city, and it was a blast being in the most exiting, vibrant place in the world. I was downsized after 3 months (last in/first out).

This was devastating. I now had to start all over with the job search, but with one major difference: I found that my optimism reserves completely drained ... replaced with feelings of being worthless/helpless/hopeless. I couldn't even get out of bed. I ate because I had to, I bathed because I had to. I put on the best face I could in front of my children, but it was difficult at times to hide the tears.

During this period, my inner scream was deafening with terrible thoughts. I feared the kitchen and thankfully i had nothing more powerful than an aspirin in the house.

I had a girlfriend until April. But she too suffers from depression. She could not help me and it became a further downward spiral with her, so I probably did the best thing I could do: I broke up with her.

I read an article somewhere about a guy who was in a similar situation. He had made a decision to get a dog. As he described it, having something around that is an eternal optimist, always happy, and gives you unconditional love is a tremendous gift. So, after always having cats as pets, I shocked everyone (including my kids) and got a dog.


Bella saved me. She gave me a reason to get up in the morning, she got me off the couch. She jump started my attitude. I got her in May from Animal Rescue (this is another story), and she gave me the courage to reach out for help. I began seeing a therapist, but it was Bella who's therapy of her happiness and optimism that really worked.

I landed a job in September and it is going very well. I feel better about myself but I know that I still suffer from depression. Depression isn't something that can be turned on and off, it can be controlled, but it can't be eliminated. I am now way to busy to focus on that.

With all of that said, I hope to begin blogging again because my inner scream has finally quieted down do a dull roar, and there are lots of things to scream at.

French Military Engagement

Well the French finally had a military engagement where they DIDN'T surrender.

BRITISH and French nuclear submarines which collided deep under the Atlantic could have sunk or released deadly radioactivity, it emerged last night.

Amen, brother!

The silver lining for this 'Jimmy Carter II" administration is that there might be a 'Ronald Reagan II' administration in 4 years.

Even when the economy and the securities markets are sluggish, the Fed's financing of big federal deficits can be inflationary. We learned that in the late 1970s, when the Fed's deficit financing sent the CPI up to an annual rate of almost 15%. That confounded the Keynesian theorists who believed then, as now, that federal spending "stimulus" would restore economic health.

Inflation is the product of the demand for money as well as of the supply. And if the Fed finances federal deficits in a moribund economy, it can create more money than the economy can use. The result is "stagflation," a term coined to describe the 1970s experience. As the global economy slows and Congress relies more on the Fed to finance a huge deficit, there is a very real danger of a return of stagflation. I wonder why no one in Congress or the Obama administration has thought of that as a potential consequence of their stimulus package.