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- September 15, 2021
- Norm Macdonald passed on September 14th
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It was sad to note the passing of Norm Macdonald, comedian and Saturday Night Live alum who also did various cameos and comedy roles over the years.
I was always amused by his matter of fact presentation and some of his material was risque and hilarious.
Norman Gene Macdonald was born in Canada on October 17, 1959 and became a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for his deadpan style.
He wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made guest appearances on shows such as The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio.
He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for five years. He anchored the Weekend Update segment for three seasons.
After leaving SNL, he starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and in his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001.
In 2013 he began a video podcast called Norm Macdonald Live which was primarily an interview show featuring comedians and other celebrities.
He also appeared in numerous movies and was a guest on talk shows such as Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show. He also did voice acting work for animated television.
Norm Macdonald died from cancer in Los Angeles on September 14, 2021, at age 61.
He had been diagnosed with the disease nine years prior but did not diclose his condition publicly.
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- September 15, 2021
- close, but no ip geolocation cigar
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So google has made my ip geolocation much more accurate these days.
Instead of being some 230 miles of inaccuracy the ip geolocation is now just 7.61 miles off ...
BUT it's still not near the level of accuracy to which I hold myself in calculations, particularly when they involve clients of mine.
Such is the lackadaisical attention to detail and accuracy when it's not YOUR data being displayed and you could give a rip about the client being represented incorrectly.
A vendor providing unsatisfactory information should be held accountable. This is not happening either.
My issue with all this revolves around so many absolutely correct ip geolocation queries viz a viz the gd search engines and gd walmart among stupid others.
I will never stop whining about this. They don't even use the whois database for static subnets.
All I can really do is make those I hold responsible take hits in the public sector. So every time I see your logo on the screen of a machine someone is begging me to fix I'm going to walk out and leave the machine broken and tell them to call google to fix it.
Spectrum likewise is going to take hits over this because I don't value them either due to this scenario.
They say it's YOU google. I know it's not, but ...
Boo anyway. You could order the problem to be fixed by your vendor. You could access the whois database yourself. But you don't.
The situation remains improved however. It also remains infuriating.
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- September 14, 2021
- Joey Heatherton of my youth
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Joey Heatherton was a young, taut sex symbol of the 1960s and 1970s who piqued my interest with her risque presence in commercial spots and various other appearances during that time when less was known to me and I was intrigued by much.
Davenie Johanna "Joey" Heatherton was born September 14, 1944 and worked as an actress, dancer, and singer. Those television programs which caught my eye were part and parcel of the variety show formats and serials of the time. She appeared on shows that I likely wouldn't watch these days like Route 66, The Virginian, Mr Novak, Bob Hope specials, I Spy, the Jerry Lewis and Jackie Gleason shows, and a smattering of other musical and dramatic venues from my past.
I was always enamored with her during that time because she was lively and attractive and that was what my television viewing habits were all about. She did many USO tours and that garnered respect from me being the patriotic navy brat that I was in my youth. Her work in feature films was less known to me due to my personal viewing habits of that era. I mostly engaged brief offerings on the tube ... superheroes, horror movies, and cartoons primarily.
She had a troubled marriage which left her emotionally scarred and I am sorry for her difficulties. When you live your life in the public eye it seems like you exist on a microscope slide. Everyone has to know your business. I never pursued a career in the public eye for problematic aspects such as these.
Today is her birthday. She is now 76 while I am 66. This would make her 10 years my senior. Happy birthday and I hope her life became everything for which she had hoped after the turmoil ended.
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- September 13, 2021
- Day of the Programmer 2021
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I identify as a "computer person". I typically work with hardware, software, and media in any combination to achieve the ends of that enterprise in which I find myself assuming a support role. More often than not, these duties involve a heavy amount of programming because coding is an integral part of the computing environment.
My working background consists of heavy LAN, WAN, client-server, AI, 4GLs, and expert systems. I presently work in coldfusion, lucee, javascript, perl, and prefer command line interfaces over GUIs. My technical beginnings are rooted in PL/1 and the various xBase dialects until microsoft ruined all of those by buying and suppressing Foxpro in favor of their lamer dotnet mess.
I am what is known as "old school". I was trained in the late 1970s through the early 1980s to believe that if you do not code, you are not a "real" computer person. Nowadays, there are many working in the field of information technology who cannot code. Old school proponents of technology such as myself are likely to scoff at them and view them as "unskilled" interlopers into the field.
Today is the Day of the Programmer. It is a professional recognition day held annually on the 256th or the 28th day of each year. This equates to September 13 during common years and September 12 during leap years.
It is officially recognized in Russia. Not so much here in the United States.
The date chosen is a function of numerology utilized in coding. The number 256 (28) was chosen because it is the number of distinct values that can be represented with a byte, a value well known to programmers. 256 is also the highest power of two that is less than 365, the number of days in a common year.
This particular day was proposed by software company employees Valentin Balt and Michael Cherviakov. They tried to gather signatures for a petition to the government of Russia to recognize the day as the official Day of the Programmer from around 2002.
The Russian Ministry of Communications and Mass Media issued a draft of an executive order on a new professional holiday, Day of the Programmer on July 24, 2009. The President of Russia, one Dmitry Medvedev, signed the decree the following September 11th.
In China, programmer's day is October 24. This has been established for many years. The date was chosen because it can also be written as 1024, which is equal to 210. In the real life, 1024 usually considered a thousand. It is also consistent regardless of leap years. Unfortunately the chinese computer people by and large are unscrupulous and immoral and will steal any and all intellectual property of which they may come into contact. This is why they should not be allowed into the United States.
Regardless of your technical status in the field of information technology, performing operations in the absence of coding makes you a lesser entity in the field from the standpoint of we old school practitioners and workers therein. Though the evolution of the IT department is leaning toward acceptance of the non coding worker, they will always be viewed as technically deficient to many ... until we all die off.
Happy Day of the Programmer to you too.
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- September 12, 2021
- National Day of Encouragement 2021
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In these days of democrats gone insane with their power hungry attempts to control every aspect of our existence it's difficult to feel encouraged regarding any aspect of existence in the United States anymore.
The president of the United States is a bribe taking imbecile needing impeachment for his inept handling of everything with which he has been involved. He has a son who is equally lacking in character — and his wife is a typical self aggrandizing educator touting a meaningless credential as though it were some gold crown atop her feeble conceited head.
en·cour·age·ment
/inˈkərijmənt,enˈkərijmənt/
noun
the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope
persuasion to do or to continue something
the act of trying to stimulate the development of an activity, state, or belief
September 12 brings us another National Day of Encouragement in the United States. The observance was first announced in 2007.
First proclaimed as Day of Encouragement by Mayor Belinda LaForce of Searcy, Arkansas on August 22, 2007 it was made a state day for Arkansas by Governor Mike Beebe.
President Bush also signed a message making September 12 the official National Day of Encouragement.
There is an Encouragement Foundation making plans to get more states involved in the National Day of Encouragement in the future.
So until such time as we get these so-called progressive morons out of the picture — which is now arriving much sooner with the now widely evident incompetence of the administration and democratic party and other woke oafs in general.
Try to be encouraged that better days are coming.
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- September 11, 2021
- September 11 2001 World Trade Center Attack
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On this day in 2001 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States.
Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, DC, and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Almost 3,000 people were killed during the terrorist attacks, which triggered major US initiatives to combat terrorism.
While these events were transpiring I was teaching a Unix class at the local technical college. I will always know what I was doing when the World Trade Center was hit. I had a Pakistani national in the class who was an amiable fellow and had been complaining about his inability to pass through airports without excessive delays because of his skin color.
We didn't get much done that day due to the impromptu television set up by the assistant director and everyone following the events very closely. One of the instructors was very angry. A number of the participants exhibited fear. There was an older Jewish lady railing against muslims saying how "they're all animals" in their typical grating New York style demeanor.
I did not feel it was my place to address her regarding these comments so I remained silent and attempted to comfort my student by softly saying a salaam alaikum to which he smiled. I feel this enabled him to sit back and calmly finish the class without worrying about others in the building.
I left the day thinking that we should not blame anyone because of their skin color or religious persuasion ... because this guy in my class was an innocent — and I was sure he could not engage in terrorist activity.
Fitting a profile does not make you a terrorist.
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- September 10, 2021
- Worthlessness thy name is brick and mortar retail
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I just returned from 4 local stores looking one in particular of a few items unsuccessfully.
This has left me with quite an attitude toward the local brick and mortar retail establishments more concerned with you wearing a mask than providing you with commerce that is truly useful or even in your best interests.
Among a very few other items, I had a specific need for a set of USB digital speakers. I had decided earlier that a bluetooth speaker with power adapter would be an acceptable substitute.
First I visited Target. They had a suitable bluetooth speaker, but the rack in which the merchandise was displayed did not support the packaging and I couldn't remove one to purchase it.
I did not ask for help because the dullards in my midst did not appear capable of any level of assistance and were likely the workers who placed the merch in that infuriating inaccessible display anyway.
Then I went to Best Buy to seek the same item. They were closed. Talk about a leisurely work day. When you can't open til 10 am you simply aren't interested in doing much in the way of retail business.
Then I went to Office Max. They didn't have anything really suitable and I was surprised that they only had one model of computer speaker. It too had a 3 mm audio jack connection requirement for functionality rendering it totally unusable and thusly ... so much for them.
Finally I went to the Walmart Supercenter down the street. The preponderance of exceedingly dull employees working the electronics department was pretty disheartening.
I ended up simply leaving the cashiers station where I was waiting to get some help unlocking a speaker from the display case. I'm left feeling that the establishment, it's management, and business model are either totally stupid or disinterested. This is your Walmart in a nutshell.
Upon returning home I ordered a highly suitable set of digital USB speakers directly from Logitech.
I ended up spending less than I felt I would at any of the locally run by incompetent brick and mortar retail joints nearby.
In retrospect, I don't even know why I ever wanted to spend my dollars locally now that I've seen the absent minded warm body but that's IT populations playing at retail for these bastions of dullard humanity.
I actually wondered if they have those little keyboards with the pictures on them like the imbeciles who work for McDonalds use.
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- September 9, 2021
- California Admission Day 2021
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Today is California Admission Day.
This is a legal holiday in the state of California in the United States.
It is observed as a day of commemoration each year on September 9 as the anniversary of the 1850 admission of California into the Union as the thirty-first state.
A recall election aka recall referendum aka recall petition aka representative recall is a procedure by which certain jurisdictions allow voters to remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended.
Gavin Newsom has exhibited gross incompetence, bad judgement, wokeness, and libtard tendencies sufficient to provoke a recall election in California.
His ineptitude is the stuff of legend in conservative circles and I hope they succeed in throwing the scalawag out.
Boo !
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- September 8, 2021
- scis te ipsum
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Know thyself. In the original Latin, scis te ipsum.
Know thyself, and thou shalt know all the mysteries of the Gods and of the universe.
I have been pondering the sage wisdom which admonishes us to know ourselves. Always one to seek arenas of self improvement I have attempted to internalize various steps toward that end.
Inscription on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
I attempt to quiet that rage which dwells within as a result of the PTSD I acquired from my youth. It is a difficult matter to collect thoughts when they are bouncing about in a cranium full of the disquiet of quiet rage. However, I am quite known for that level of uneasiness I try to quell as a function of self awareness and introspection. I am an animal of constant suppression and self control which is often not evident to some unskilled incorporated municipality CIO female.
Though I would like to be one thing, I am in actuality something else. That outward appearance of intellectual prowess is simply a function of that complexity which confuses each moment. My career was one of networks, interactive programming, facets of artificial intelligence, and systems designed to replace domain experts in the field. Then I find myself in those intellectual quagmires that actually pay the bills.
This would likely make me a whore.
I am good at much. Likewise I do poorly in many areas as well. I pursue those aspects of my existence which enhance my life experience even in the absence of true value to the world proper. I write code segments and batch files to handle various things I want done regardless of the common good.
This indicates a level of selfishness.
Alas, I have no passion. I once was passionate about medicine and health care. This passed with the absence of the committment to attend those classes which leads down that path. When the registrar told me "only 16 more years of school to go" I had to admit to the fact that I was not even remotely interested in another 16 years of school for anything and I put it all down at that moment. This lead me to declare that I didn't have the interest or committment and I departed matriculation never to return.
Plan B was good enough for me.
I repeatedly solicit feedback into my existence. There are comments on this blog but the venue remains unattractive to various others. I get rather empty commentary and a lot of outside hate mail when I raise the hackles of various differences and exceptions to my positions. However, I do not let this faze me because I know who I am, where I've been, and most importantly where I'm going.
The path less traveled has indeed made all the difference.
Relationships come and go. If I connect with someone I typically find it's way too late for anything meaningful with the fairer sex. They have had children with another and are fed up with the relationship thing and this is fine. However, I choose to limit my involvement with most others outside the realm of "friend" and indeed, I am happier for it I think.
I am difficult to be close to for sure. Very few have what it takes. I know a few but they are the strong independent type like me. Opposites attract. Likes repel.
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- September 7, 2021
- Superhuman Day 2021
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Sometimes we sell the disabled short. Many of those characterized as 'disabled' are in fact very able.
I have seen feats and abilities of the so-called 'disabled' that surpass a lot of we who are not considered disabled at all.
Today we observe Superhuman Day.
Each September 7th we honor those amazing persons around the world who are faced with the challenges of disability and rise above them with apparent ease.
Superhuman Day also celebrates and brings recognition to the hundreds of athletes, artists, musicians, and normal people who have overcome what was once recognized as a limitation of disability and went on to prove that they can do anything required.
Celebrate Superhuman Day by interacting with disabled people. Bestow your support upon any and every disabled individual you encounter.
There are far worse things than being there for another human being.
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- September 6, 2021
- Labor Day 2021
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The federal holiday of Labor Day in the United States is celebrated on the first Monday in September. That is today. Labor Day honors and recognizes the American working person and their works and contributions to the development and achievements of the United States.
Happy Labor Day to you !
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- September 6, 2021
- The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
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The death of Diana was a rather shocking event for me personally. It's not that I was enamoured with her or any of the royals.
I just thought that those in charge of her conveyance were more responsible than they have been portrayed by history.
On this day in 1997 the funeral for Princess Diana was held in London.
I watched much of the proceedings between spates of teaching at the local technical college.
It is stated that a million people lined the streets while another 21 plus billion watched internationally on television.
The children were stoic but suffered greatly throughout the public proceedings and Diana's brother was a firebrand of criticism for the nationality and lineage of his sister.
I personally thought it was a tragic accident. There has been much subsequent innuendo revolving around conspiracy and notions of a royal 'hit' were proffered widely.
Me, I'm just sorry to see the woke snapperhead Prince Harry became over time. I think it's primarily a function of losing his mother entirely too soon.
I feel for him, but
Boo !
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- September 5, 2021
- International Day of No Prostitution 2021
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Prostitution is a controversial topic. Frowned upon and shunned by polite company, there are those of us who have found a place for the prostitute in our lives. Some of us such as myself had a 'whore heyday' as it were in their service hitches.
However, many times these proclivities diminish over time as mine did precipitiously with the advent of civilian life and the dissipation of a need for 'paid company' as it were.
Today is the International Day of No Prostitution.
This is a day of awareness observed primarily by antisex work feminists in opposition to practice of sex work.
It was originally held in 2002 in San Francisco Bay Area of California, and Melbourne, Victoria. and has become an annual event each October 5th.
There have been events held at the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights and the Asia-Pacific chapter of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women as well as a candlelight vigil in Phoenix, Arizona.
Canada has been a location of political upheaval with opposing political factions opposing their anti sex worker laws.
Trades her soul as skin and bones
(You better love loving and you better behave)
Sells the only thing she owns
(You better love loving and you better behave) ooh ooh
Woman in chains (the sun and the moon), woman in chains
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- September 4, 2021
- NASCAR Sucks
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NASCAR is one of those popular things I detest. There is something about watching a bunch of automobiles run around a track which I find abhorrent. Perhaps it is my avoidance of much which is circular — including logic, conversational elements, and other such moronic things people do.
Be all of this as it may, on this day in 1950 Darlington Raceway became the site of the first Southern 500 which was the first 500 mile NASCAR race.
This is only significant because of who and where I am. I come from a long line of NASCAR fans and though I wouldn't be caught dead attending any NASCAR function I am in a distinct minority among my peers.
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. I have traveled past it numerous times but never stopped there for any reason.
It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as A NASCAR Tradition.
Get a life.
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