cluebringer

I've made reference to it a couple of times on facebook, but realized I hadn't told everyone.

First, this fall we got a new puppy, Tess, who has FINALLY mastered the stairs in the house. I just wish she'd done so a day or so earlier...

On Sunday the 28th, after a very good Christmas weekend, Michelle and I and our friend Steve were going to go out, do a little people-watching, and maybe catch an after-Christmas sale or two. So I was herding the dogs down the stairs to the basement, and watching Tess a little too closely for my own good.

As is typical in a townhouse, our basement steps turn right at the bottom. Our landing is not the greatest; instead of being a single 3' x 3' (or so) platform, it's divided diagonally into two steps. I had one foot  on each of these, when Tess decided to turn around and RUN back up the stairs! So I reached down, turned her around so that she was running down again, and then lost my footing. My right foot slipped off of the top stair on the landing, and my left foot stayed where it was on the bottom stair. I fell down the stairs, right leg out in front, and landed sitting on my left leg, with my left foot stuck on the bottom step.

It's not good when you both hear and FEEL the crunch of three bones breaking in your ankle. But I'll spare all of you an in-depth description of the chaos that ensued, and tell you this: Howard County General ROCKS!!  I was in & out of there in 4 hours, including triage, exam room, x-ray, splint, and follow-up. They recommended a great surgeon, and I had the 6" titanium plate and 7 or 8 screws put in on Tuesday - again a 4-hour start-to-finish procedure.

Percocet sucks, Did nothing for me.
Vicodin has proven ineffective in the past, so naaah.
Dilaudid? That works!

I'm just now being allowed out of the house, and next week I can start putting a LITTLE weight on it. So for all that I complain that Honda doesn't put a stickshift in the Ridgeline, I'm really glad for that automatic now.

And Tess? She's still a little cutie. Even if she does steal my socks, lick my toes, and otherwise won't leave the ankle alone.

Many of you know that for the past 5 years, I've been involved with Big Brothers / Big Sisters. Although I don't normally mention him by name in any public postings due to his age, the nature of this particular brag tends to require it:

Brandon, who has always been heavily interested in both PCs and Audio equipment, has for the past three years been running the sound board at his school's productions. As of July, he's taken this interest to a whole new level, and started his own Mobile DJ business, specializing in parties, dances, and public address / event recording services.

You can find his web site at www.meiklejohnsound.com, and he's already having to juggle his calendar around to handle various gigs.

Why am I bragging? He's only 14!

He put together the business plan himself, spec'd out all of his own equipment, devised his own plan to pay back his Mom for the equipment, and is already getting repeat business from one of his customers. I ran his hardware specs past an experienced DJ and professional musician, who validated his choices and commented that he'd obviously done his homework and was paying attention to more than just brand names.

He's taking advice from various people in and out of the business, and so far, he's made some very good decisions about what to do, how & when to do it, and even about how to get it all paid for. At his current rate, I would not be surprised to see him operating at a profit by this time next year.

Right now, if I were designing my own bluetooth keyboard, it would have the following items:

1. An integrated 10-key pad (This is a requirement, NOT an option).
2. Native Bluetooth support for the Mac (and Windows) without the use of an external USB/radio.
3. Rechargeable batteries, or a charging base for both the board and a mouse.
4. A removable USB cable, that can be used to connect the board to the Mac or PC to charge the batteries while you use it (for those days (weeks) when you forget to charge it and only realize it when you have a report due).

Of course, if the primary keys looked and felt like those of my Mac Book Pro, I'd be happy. If they looked like that, and had the typing action of an older IBM Selectric typewriter? I'd be thrilled.

But apparently this particular combination does not exist. So I need your help:

Obviously, I'm looking for a bluetooth keyboard with an integrated 10-key pad, that does NOT use an external USB radio to interface properly with OS-X Leopard. It should have a good, precise keyboard action, and functional 10-key support without the use of custom drivers. I suppose it would be cool if it had the OS-X eject key. Although, it's not like I'm ever going to be so far away from my MBP that I can't reach out and touch it.

If you use such a device, please - PLEASE - tell me what it is! How do you like it? Would you buy another one? Or would you stomp on it til the keys went 90 different directions? What sucks about it? Is it worth the money at all?

The only way I can effectively use my current keyboard for data entry (a Logitech MX-5000) is to use the external bluetooth radio. And that's great, except that I don't know where it is right now. Also, it's a matter of principle: Why should I be forced to use an external interface when there is an internal radio that supports a standards-based connection? After all, if I have to use USB, I've got a stack of USB-cabled keyboards to choose from!

I'll buy based on the recommendations of this thread. And, I'll post a review to help others, too.



Thank you,
Perry

I just found out that I've been signed up to walk in this coming Saturday's (May 3rd 2008) NAMI Walk.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is an organization that has been successful on many levels for raising our awareness levels and providing support and knowledge for those that need it.

One of their critical services is to lobby at both the state and federal level for changes in public and private-sector policies to facilitate research, end discrimination, reduce barriers to successful life in the community and promote timely, comprehensive and effective mental health services and support. The major issue of the moment is Parity - their effort to legally require that health insurance benefits for mental illnesses be equal to health insurance benefits for all other illnesses.

I know many people that suffer from mental illness in one form or another. My ADHD requires psychiatric monitoring and drugs which are not cheap. If my benefit plan had caps, as many do, I'd be paying for probably 1/3 of my meds, and 1/2 of my psychiatry visits out of pocket. I've got friends & relatives with depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive issues, and more. Some of us have severe restrictions on how we can seek treatment, and we may be limited in either the scope of covered medications or the pharmacies that we can use.

In short, this is important to me. And supporting NAMI may be important to you as well. And as much as I hate to spam anyone with appeals for cash, no matter the reason, today I'm breaking my own rules. If you'd like to help me support NAMI, please check out their site at http://www.nami.org, then go to http://www.nami.org/namiwalks08/MAR/PerryLynch and donate whatever you see fit. My own goal has been set at $100 due to my late entry into the walk, but I know that with your help, I can beat this.

Thank you!

I realized this morning that I hadn't posted in far too long. Somebody nudge me next time, OK?

My Dad has an old cliche that he's used over the years to describe being busy: "Busier than a one-legged man in an asskicking contest."

I'm here to tell you that this year, I've already passed that guy up. I can't complain - most things are getting accomplished, but some things still aren't. I'm behind on work for a customer. I've not sent out billing this year, and I've got no less than 4 PCs stacked by my desk awaiting rebuild & deployment. Plus a to-do-list at home, the office, the church, and the school that just keeps piled high.

Did they ever perfect that cloning process? I think I've got a candidate for them... ;-)

Still, I'm 90% complete with a major customer. I'm 2 college credits away from an Associates Degree in Internetworking Technologies, and then another 6 or 8 credits away from a BS in Information Systems, minoring in Information Security.

I've managed to become conversant with OS-X, to the point where I've got it joined to my home domain, and it's working beautifully. I've got some new focus and support on some of the church-related projects, and it will be a great year for gaining hands-on experience in physical security, including lock systems. Thanks to a customer issue, I learned first-hand about the effects of a buffer overflow and a previously unknown vulnerability in a popular mail application, and the developer managed to get it fixed quickly.

And in the first four months of this year, I've been to Newport News VA, Tallahassee FL, Pittsburgh PA (twice!), San Francisco CA, Atlanta GA and Manheim PA. And coming up, I've got trips lined up to go back to Manheim, a camping trip/geek fest in the mountains of WV with my Little Brother, and a week-long security conference in South Carolina.

Two very cool things that are happening soon: My cousin Alice and her husband Rich are coming to visit next month, and our friends Gregg & Sharon are coming home from Lithuania for a month or so to handle the administrative tasks of being missionaries, as well as to introduce their family to the two boys they've adopted! David & Erik are rapidly learning English, and have helped their Mama and Tete (Daddy) become even more bilingual than they already are. We're looking forward to seeing them, and especially being able to witness some of their first reactions to the U.S.

You're reminded that, should you be insane enough to date someone half your age, you'll be able to buy them a drink in a bar, as they would be 21.

You get complimented on the 'Reed Richards' patterning of your gray hair.

The spa attendant keeps bringing you water, so you don't dehydrate yourself in the sauna.

You look at the half-your-age crowd and wonder if you were ever that empty-headed? Fortunately, the answer is "No."

And yes, I should have posted this on Monday. But I was driving back from a relaxing weekend. From the spa. Where the teen-aged kid kept checking to make sure I had water.

This started out as a comment on dpassmor's commentary from yesterday. But it ended up being too much to post as a comment, so here it is.

I don't know where I originally heard the following comment, but it holds somewhat true for me: "I'd be a Democrat, but I'd like to keep my money. I'd be a Republican, but I like to spend my money on drugs & whores..."

Now, that's not entirely true on either count, but to me it does summarize a few things about both parties. That being said, I registered Republican many years ago. I haven't always voted that way, however, and I'm more likely to pick candidates from both parties, depending on their skill.

In my opinion, here is where the Republican party has missed the point or otherwise gone wrong (feel free to use the term "Religious Right" instead if you prefer):

1. Not everyone is a conservative Christian. Take a more moderate stance, and you'll pick up more votes than you lose.

2. Abortion is legal. Get over it. And think of how much more effective the pro-life movement would be if they focused on adoption. The money spent campaigning against it would be far better used on promoting OTHER choices.

3. Legalize marijuana and other 'light' recreational drugs. Better yet, legalize it, tax it, and distribute it via controlled channels. The infrastructure is mostly in place - just look at the ATF. Use the tax revenues to finance more effective border control.

4. Gay? Bi? Lesbian? Closeted Senator? I just don't care. Most other people don't either. And from the sexual scandals that get reported, you're ignoring a voting demographic. Shut up, get over it, and solicit the vote. Understand the fact that gay or not, you probably know someone who is. Are you afraid it rubs off? It doesn't. Get over it.

5. Oh yeah: Why is divorce such an issue for conservative political candidates? We're all human, we all make mistakes, and sometimes we repeat them (Proof of this is that Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy are still in office).


I have problems with the Democratic party, too:

1. Do you HAVE to separate everyone into groups? Why does everyone have to be a hyphenated-American? By continually sorting us into groups, you are reinforcing our differences, not our similarities. This does NOT promote the idea of a UNITED STATES of America.

2. No, I don't need you to hold my hand at every turn. I don't need you to create laws to protect me from my own stupidity. And I really don't think it's fair for you to take money from everyone I know to bail me out of a situation that I created for myself.

3. Whatever happened to Personal Responsibility? The whole "It's not my fault" thing has gone too far. Once you are over the age of consent, once you are legally capable of signing a contract, then guess what? IT IS YOUR FAULT. Learn from your mistakes, don't repeat them.


Advice for both parties:

On health care: Like our system of government, it's not the greatest. But it's better than the others that we see. Although we are not guaranteed health care as a right, we've got the next best thing: It's illegal for a hospital to refuse treatment based on your ability to pay. The Canadian system makes it illegal for you to pay for your own care!

Canadians and the UK get free health care. I've got a friend in the UK who lost her mother to an easily-operable heart condition because she couldn't get on a schedule fast enough. Good Morning America just did a feature on a guy in Canada with brain tumors who would have died if he hadn't come to the US and paid cash for his surgery. And although he's legally entitled to reimbursement for his treatments, his claims got denied because he wasn't authorized to seek treatment in the US.

And don't think the Canadians don't pay for things: The Honda pickup truck I bought for just under $30k sells for $43k up there. And that's at a 1:1 exchange rate.

On Social Security: Somebody hire Warren Buffet to take over the administration of this fiasco. Seriously. What we need are competent money managers, and absolute separation between SS and the rest of the government money. Treat it like the Postal Service: Totally self-supporting, with no intervention from Congress.

On Immigration: Which type of hyphenated-American do you want to be? Give every illegal immigrant that is already here a five-year pass. If, at the end of that three years, they meet the following conditions, make them citizens:

- they are speaking English well enough to conduct business in this country,
- they are not relying on Federal assistance programs (welfare, medicaid).
- they are paying taxes on their income and filing the appropriate IRS paperwork
- they have managed to not be arrested or convicted.


I'm not sure, but I think that the last President to leave office with a smaller government than what he started with was either Thomas Jefferson or John Adams. I'd like to see that streak broken. I'd like to see the following political reforms within my lifetime:

1. Term limits: No more than three consecutive 4-year terms or 2 consecutive 6-year terms for any US Senator or Congressman. This does not mean you can't run again after a 4 or 6-year hiatus; but it does mean we'll have a better chance at limiting internal political empires within both houses.

2. You must finish the term of whatever elected position you currently have before running for higher office. It's all about commitment, people!

3. I'd like to see political contributions taxed. Even at a nominal rate. Earmark those funds for paying for the trials related to the scandals that will come later. At the very least, defray the costs of the voting machine audits.

Oh yeah: "Freedom of religion" doesn't equal "Freedom FROM religion." I have the right to believe as I choose. I have the responsibility to honor your choice as well. I have the right to reflect my beliefs in my clothing, attire, and decor choices. I have the responsibility to honor the choices of those that held office before me. If the building is decorated with scripture, then shut up and deal with it. It will be here longer than you will.

Just bought a MacBook Pro and VMWare Fusion.

My wallet is still stinging, so somebody show me some good links for mac knowledge, OK?

Got invited to participate in the alpha test for Astra.

Not. Bad. At. All.

It seems to perform as you would expect, with a good interface. The stock skin is definitely geared towards eye-candy, and the overall experience so far (<24 hours) is good.

Now if I could only remember the passwords to all of my accounts ;-)

P

Over the past few days, some of you may have seen an increased # of commercials for Big Brothers Big Sisters, with Laura Bush as their spokesperson.

I've been a Big Brother now for just over three years. I've got to tell you that it's one of the more rewarding things that I'm involved with. BBBS carefully screens each volunteer, and does an excellent job of matching you to a child that has needs you can fulfill. As a result, my Lil Bro and I are so in tune with one another that we may as well be related.

It's rewarding to feel the trust being built, and to see a boy start taking the steps to become a confident young man. My discussions with other Bigs in support groups all come up with the same thing: We value these relationships as if they were our own kids.

If you have the time in your life, you can really make a difference for a child that needs a mentor and a stable influence. The ratio of Bigs to Littles right now is such that there are always kids waiting for the right match. And you may be that match. So give it a try - http://www.bbbs.org.

PS: Even if you don't have time, they can always use a little help in other areas. So check 'em out, OK?

After 138,000 miles, I've traded my sturdy & faithful Durango in on a Honda Ridgeline. Why? Several reasons:

1 - The Gen2 Durango looks like crap and you can't get me to buy Chevy or Ford.
2 - I'm tired of 14 mpg.
3 - No other truck or SUV in the size/price range offers so many standard features.
NAV, Leather, Moonroof, AWD
4 - It's the first Honda I've ever fit in comfortably.
Knees don't hit the dash
Shoulders don't hit the window
Head doesn't hit the roof (even wearing hats!)
5 - OMG, it's cool!

Although they'd said it would take another 6 weeks, I got home last night and found a note on my door that FiOS is available NOW. Of course, I immediately rushed downstairs and ordered the full package.

I will be partially offline on Feb 8th as the Verizon Techs come and hook me up the fast innanet.

We now return you to your previous entertainment...

I got way too busy, had many things happening, and that hasn't changed.

But I'm psyched beyond belief about something that started yesterday:
Verizon painted the neighborhood in preparation for digging trenches for FIOS.

FIOS! WooHoo!!!!

FINALLY!

My Uncle Wayne died last night. He was 76 years old, and today would have been his & Aunt Erma's 55th Wedding Anniversary.

Wayne was the third-oldest of eight kids, and the middle brother. If there was trouble to be made, he made it. And if there was fun to be had, he was right in the middle of it. He always had a fast car, and a good tractor, and until yesterday worked every day on his farm in Putnam County, WV. Although, at 76, a fast car can be described as a Crown Victoria with 'the big engine' and not some of the screaming overpowered sedans he had in the 60's and 70's.

Growing up, Wayne was a favorite of all the kids (and there were a lot of us). He taught us neat tricks, would let us play almost anywhere on his farm, and when I was 8 or 9, gave me my first driving lesson, using his big tractor out in the hay fields.

In January 2005, I posted the following about Uncle Wayne:

-- I learned that Uncle Wayne was QUITE the character when he was much younger. When he was about 18 or so, he came home one day in absolute misery. Claimed that he got kicked by one of the cows. A couple of days later, as he didn't improve, Grandpa took him to the Dr, where they found out that he had 3 broken ribs and a snapped collar bone.

He came home in a cast, with his arm propped way above his head for most of the summer (Not a good thing, on a working farm). It turns out, however, that he did NOT get kicked by a cow. Seems that he jumped out the 2nd floor window of the farmhouse over the hill, as her husband was coming in the front door and wouldn't have liked to find him in bed with his wife! I've laughed myself silly on that one.

Like I said - if there was trouble, he more than likely knew about it.

Wayne, I'll miss you, and I know I'm not the only one.

P

At first I was going to blame work, but then it's been more work, and then extra work, and side jobs.

Yesterday was an IT work day at CCF, and I was there 13 hours. Today, rather than participating in the service, I'm building out Exchange.

Oye

Today I:


1. Ripped apart an incompetent security consultant's report. He will most likely cry when he reads it.
2. Got an incredible recommendation on my LinkedIn account from my last boss, and...
3. Earned a contract for some sidework that will keep some of my skills up where they need to be.

Yeah, you gotta love that.

Because I can.

Yes, I realize that while the outage didn't last the entire weekend, I got a few other important things accomplished, and then I got addicted to something evil.

1 - I got a proposal written for some side business that should pan out nicely. I won't make a huge profit, but the cash flow will be nice.

2 - My evil cousin Alice found out about Good Morning America's deal with Ancestry.com, and got me hooked on it with her Sunday night. We've now got the family tree mapped back to the 1400's in Germany.

Best Male First Name Ever: Simplicious (15th c Germany). Why is this best? Because he named his kid that, too. However, he also married an Underhill - which spiked the Tolkien geek in me big-time.

Best Female name in the batch: Theodosia Charlotta (mid-1800s US).

I don't know why, but I read those names and I'm thinking "JK Rowling would make them be evil." I can see it now - the Evil Theodosia and her minion, Simplicious, are awaiting the call of Voldemort to begin the final attack.

That being said, my office is a mess beyond belief, and I have homework, so...

Wow. Creating an entire contract package for a security audit is a bigger pain than I thought.

In other news, when did BSG get boring enough to sleep through?

Today I spent the day evaluating the results of a security audit that wasn't worth saving to the network drives. So I printed it out and shredded it, just for the emotional satisfaction.

And I finally got around to wishing my cousin Alice a Happy Birthday - she is a Halloween baby. That's right, 10/31 - a witch by default! But she knows I'm kidding! I'm chattin with her now on IM, and she tells the funniest stories. Her ex-neighbor the UPS man is nearly as dumb as a darwin award, and twice as funny to hear about.

And today is Royce's birthday. Leading the way as always, he hits those evil milestones two months before me, so that I can then land on my feet a little easier.

But the highlight of the evening was hanging out with my Little Brother. Geeky as we both are, we spent the evening building out two servers at the church, and exploring the place a bit. It's always good to see the place through fresh eyes, and it's funny beyond belief when you bring in a 12-yr-old to play PC tech and he does a more competent job than the adults who are there every day. "Here's a new PC. Power it up, get rid of the garbage software, and install the apps on these CDs while I do this one." Without asking, he set it up for dual-head display at the proper resolutions, got rid of all the AOL and other garbage, installed office, and registered the OS and the apps properly. And yes, he added Norton AV and changed the default settings by himself, only asking about the times I preferred to get it right.

We stayed out too late, and so we'll have to watch the clock the next time we do anything, but that's OK. I would not trade my Brandon time for anything.

And yes, if you want something that adds to your life, try www.bbbs.org. Get your own Little Brother. I've got pics of mine at http://www.lbd.org/gallery/Brandon

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an appealing concept. However, it is so very far beyond the constraints of either my creative or time-management abilities, so I'm not going to try that.

But when I found out about NaNoWriMo, I also found out about National Blog Posting Month, which is shortened to the less poetic NaBloPoMo (and definitely sounds slightly pornographic).

What the hell - I can do this! I tend to get too focused on what I'm trying to accomplish, and forget to tell the rest of the world what is going on, so for the rest of November I'm going to try to post something every day. Even if it's mind-numbing dreck. After all, if Pat Sajack can fill the airwaves for 30 minutes every evening, I can certainly write 30 words for you to quickly scroll past.

That being said, it's been an interesting week so far. At work I've been dealing with an incompetent vendor, and at home I've been taking classes, writing powerpoint slides for my own curriculum, taking requirements for a friends IP-based home security system, repairing two SWEET older Falcon PCs, and writing a business proposal for a network audit for a local business.

Note to the incompetent vendor: If I'm paying you to do something I can do myself, only to provide compliance with regulations, you'd damn well do a better job than I can, and I shouldn't have to send every page back for correction.

Note to University Teacher: Would you PLEASE quit reading the book to us and actually lift your voice out of it's annoying drone and TEACH US SOMETHING? Maybe share an opinion about the subject matter instead of point out the pretty (boring) charts in the book?

Note to self: Get off your ASS and finish that curriculum, already!

Note to buddy: An IP-based DVR with 6 cams is gonna cost you. But if you can afford two Falcon PCs, I'm not going to stop you. Also, thank you!

Note to client: Thank you!

And it's only Wednesday. This evening Michelle and I had dinner out, and set up the fund transfers for this years IRA contributions. Such an exciting evening.

Tomorrow is Thursday. I'm taking LilBro out for a flat out geek session: We're going to build a video server and an exchange server while eating burgers, and hopefully have some good 'bonding time.' More on him, later.

Right now? looking for CHEAP domain-wide SSL certificates for an open source SSL/VPN for a church with no budget, so that I can get rid of the annoying "unsigned cert" errors that scare the (l)users.