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September 13, 2016
You make me feel like a natural ...
In my never ending quest for the esoteric social statement I was drawn to an article in Sputnik International regarding the portends of individuals who have sex with various machines designed for that purpose.

In the vein of my UTTER disdain for Roxxxy the seven thousand dollar notebook computer connected foam rubber paramour from a consumer electronics trade show a few years back I reiterate those same thoughts now:

Roxxxy and creator

Just what does this say about the user's social skills?

Now I'm certainly as liberal as the next guy when it comes to freedoms pursued behind closed doors ... and if a person want's to blow seven thousand bucks on a reusable respondent type love doll I suppose that it's all swell but really.

As the title to the Sputnik article intimates:

'In Love' with a Robot? Why Sex with Machines May 'Cause Psychopathic Disorders' ... it's because your interactions are total fantasy with no foundation in those realities which consist of the court and spark behaviors indigenous to real interpersonal relationships where you get in there and talk to another human being pursuant to real human intimacy — or sex and/or love if that's what you're pursuing.

Flipping a switch and having some program spout REAL sweet nothings while sensors tell you how much they enjoy your sensuous touch and what a big manly stud you are simply could never do it for me.

I suppose, to each their own however vast that deep dark chasm between "personality" and "technology" truly is.

Tags: technology
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September 12, 2016
5G Wireless ... perhaps not !
Cell Phone Tower
I was reading a thought provoking tidbit in CIO from IDG saying that the upcoming 5G wireless networks were touting a 10x increase in capacity over the present 4G networks at the cost of "millions of new cell phone towers".

This next generation mobile monstrosity is likely to require much more tower infrastructure to handle the traffic according to the FCC.

This tower density would support various cells in the network ... and the requirement would be for a lot more of them dotting the landscape.

A number of communities have already blocked the construction of cell phone towers in their neighborhood ... many touting concerns regarding the health problems associated with the proximity to ionizing radiation.

Others simply hate this monster which is verizon and therein the proliferation which is likely from the 5G implementation some decade or so away.

So. The robust connectivity of 5G may be a pipe dream for most depending on how tower friendly your area happens to be. Me, I don't require much from a cell phone as I don't live and breathe wireless internet like so many of the others in my midst.

Call me old fashioned, but give me a full sized small form factor desktop, a server cluster (or two ... or four) and high bandwidth fiber/copper hybrid wiring topology any old day.

Tags: technology
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September 11, 2016
September 11, 2001
The other day I had a young lady engage me in conversation regarding the 9/11 attack on the United States in 2001.

Apparently the topic came up in a history discussion and she wanted some background information to shore up her understanding.

Her innocence regarding the facts of the matter was at once disarming and disturbing ...

but her sincerity and sweet disposition gave me pause and provided the impetus for a brief discussion regarding the facts.

I decided to go with the mainstream set of facts leaving any conspiracy theories off the table as inappropriate in this particular handling of what might be a delicate subject for a younger person who was not around at that time.

World Trade Center Attack
Two hijacked aircraft crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City.


Pentagon Attack
A third impacted The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia.


Shanksville, Pennsylvania Crash
A fourth which was recaptured by passengers crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.


These acts of aggression were perpetrated by 19 members of al-Qaeda in a series of coordinated suicide attacks.

In total 2,996 people were killed.

Tags: people, places, endings, beginnings
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September 11, 2016
Remembering Martha McGougan
The Martha McGougan I knew    
I'm here to lament the passing of Martha McGougan. I did not have the opportunity to know her later iteration as Reverend Martha McGougan Horn; for I was a fleeting memory from her past as an x-ray tech in that time she referred to as 'fleshy' much later in her life (and rightfully so with all the risque talk and joking around).

I missed my opportunity to reconnect with her at the Office Despot in Dutch Square Mall when I failed to realize who she was until well after departing the premesis that day.

Those times when we were familiar having long gone I recognized her all too late by the tatoo she sported on her ankle after a lot of thought afterward.

We both went on our separate ways early as so many people do. When I knew her she was quite religious and we had discussions of religion on occasion and I fear that my relevancy with the topic was very late in it's arrival ... but I digress.

    Rev Martha McGougan Horn
Martha became a mother and a priest having been ordained shortly before her passing from the sequela of metastaic breast cancer. Though we had grown far apart I still realize all that the world lost on Monday, December 28, 2015 which was likewise an abundance of Heaven's gain.

As is the case with regrets if I could go back to that day and realize in who's presence I was in at the computer rack of Office Despot I would have surely taken the time to reconnect because she provided me with a gracious plenty of opportunity which I promptly missed in my preoccupation with the moment and those comparatively petty pursuits of machines in my midst.

I now feel as though I missed a little heavenly glory that day. Rest in peace, Martha McGougan. I have never forgotten nor will I ever forget you as someone who was always a special part of my life.

Rev Martha McGougan Horn
Reverend Martha McGougan Horn, 63, of Ridgeland, South Carolina, wife of Reverend J. Robert Horn IV finished the days that God had given her and entered into his heavenly kingdom Monday, December 28, 2015. Her Funeral Service will be held Saturday, January 2, 2016 in Saint James Church, 1872 Camp Road at 2:00 p.m. Interment, Churchyard. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel.

Martha was born November 5, 1952 in Charleston, South Carolina, daughter of Lt. Col. Bruce A. McGougan, Jr. (USAF ret.) and Lillian Brockington McGougan. She received her Master's Degree from Trinity School of Ministry and was an assistant rector at St. Luke's Church in Hilton Head. Her lifelong passion was preaching and teaching in order to bring many to Christ. Prior to the priesthood, she excelled with her organization, 100 Fold Life Ministry leading missions nationally and internationally.

In addition to her husband and parents, she is survived by her daughter, Martha Legaré Horn of Bluffton, SC; granddaughter, Alexandra Legaré Horn; three brothers, Michael B. McGougan (Debbie) of Clarksburg, WV, Bruce A. McGougan, III (Tamara) of James Island, SC, and Markley Eugene McGougan (Tracey) of Johns Island, SC; and her aunt, Sandra Brockington of Saluda, NC.

She was preceded in death by her son Joseph Robert Horn V.

Memorials may be made to Victorious Ministry Through Christ, Attn: Rev. William Westlund, P.O. Box 1804, Winter Park, FL 32790.

J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel.


Tags: people, places, things
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September 10, 2016
Not Counting Trump Out
Not Counting Trump Out
    Trump still in the running
Yeah, the bung hole co founder of facebook has layed a bunch of cash on the democrats in an effort to defeat Trump.

The Clinton campaign has always maintained overflowing coffers due to questionable dealings which appear to be trading on their governmental influence.

Is it any wonder that Trump is underestimated to a point where the democrats can't even be optimistic or cocky in the presence of abundant cash because their candidate simply isn't wholesome or presenting of a forthright and honorable appearance.

That competitive race presented by Trump is representative of we who are fed up with the self serving politicans who quarry public office for every dollar they can exploit by any means necessary.

Add to that the mysterious disappearance of various operatives and the bitingly rapacious debauchery otherwise and guess what ...

the Trump braggadocio doesn't appear nearly so bad after all.

Character is who you are when you think no one is looking.

This is why Trump is still in the race ... and likely to win I might add. I'm still voting for him.

As for Clinton's claim that Trump constituency consists of a "basket of deplorables" ...

To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the 'basket of deplorables.' Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.

Hillary Clinton
LGBT gala fundraiser
That basket of deplorables is topped only by you and your immoral foundation donation hawking whore hopping husband.

Tags: politics, people
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September 9, 2016
Content Marketing ... the new SEO
Snake Oil    
I've been reading a lot about the marketing of content as it relates to the public domain and I must say it's a whole lot of hooey in the vein of search engine optimization — that throwback back to a time when search engines couldn't navigate DIVs and TABLEs and other content constructs as well as they do now.

The most amusing aspect of all this malarkey is how many people have distilled the methodology down to a set of "essential" steps as though they were a cheat cheat on some course in life in the technological mainstream.

Now we will have a bunch of "experts nouveaux" spring up all over the place with their various strategies available for a price, of course.

These consultants may even talk a good show but the underlying truism will remain missed:

Proper content with good control structures, security, and innovative containers will always sell itself without some corporate image consultant playing spin doctor at your expense.

I suppose it all falls back to how marketing people always want to make you think they have something of value to offer when in fact they're just another layer of overhead with outstretched palms looking to be paid.

In my domain the AI infused intranet and vpn subnet work I do sells itself.

A strong database with scripting having just the right amount of splash illustrates all of the "essentials" described and I didn't need any marketing assistance to sell it either.

The rest of you pigeons flock right on up to the bullcrap on sale.

Tags: technology
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September 8, 2016
iPhone 7
Apple's new line of personal cellular telephony (iPhone 7) no longer includes a specific jack for a set of ear buds ... headphones — whatever you want to call them anymore.

It leaves you with a standard port through which you may charge or make attachments in the plain old USB fashion ... but not with USB or a standard bus connection ... just bluetooth or their "lightning" iphone jack and I personally think that all the reactionary threads are somewhat misguided and boring.

bluetooth
Like Sheldon Cooper said "Everything is better with bluetooth" ... if you're of that persuasion for short range wireless. Me ... I don't even like smart phones so I think I'll defer to something a little more analog thank you.

Personal electronics are, after all, a personal matter with preferences and I'm afraid like the young millenials I simply cannot function with a cell phone alone. I need a full sized keyboard and variety of full-featured interfaces for my ssh stuff and development pursuits.

You guys who like to be a technological phone phanatic go right on down the road with your tiny screens and soft keyboards. I had a friend who could type with her thumbs at a speed which appeared to rival my 80 wpm ... I remember how amazed I felt to see her go.

Anyway ... I'm sure little miss Jessica continues to be right at home on her phone.

Oh give me a phone
Where the digital roam
And the droids and the iphones can play
Where seldom is heard
A clacking keyboard bound nerd
And the networks are wireless all day ...


Tags: technology
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September 7, 2016
Spammers Operating from Residential Nodes
Common domestic Spammer    

In my pursuit of spammers I have isolated quite a number of them utilizing various residential nodes.

Typically on DHCP segments their IP address are subject to variance based on the TTL (time to live) of their present address renewal presenting the issue of discrimination toward DHCP segments ... and STATIC segments as well.

I notice that a number of these are on my own network.

It makes me wonder if roadrunner is indeed the place for me. I would think that a proactive approach to the abuse of network resources would be the status quo. This does not appear to be the case.

As is my policy; I hit the logs every day and will block every subnet from which spammers attempt to exploit my server. This will ultimately result in a lot of others losing access ... but we must do what we must do.
 

Tags: technology
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September 6, 2016
First Week into September

Today I head back to work after a long weekend. It's one of those mixed blessings where I enjoy the down time ... but I also would just as soon be at work in pursuit of that feeling of usefulness and utility it provides.

It seems that I need somewhere to go.

I spent a little time with Mom at her place Sunday. This was after all the excitement of attempting to depart only to find a dead battery. Saturday evening all appeared well. I slapped on the battery charger, cranked it up to 75 amps and the truck started right up.

A half hour at Autozone and a hundred seventy five bucks later and everything is new and working again.

I suppose that I could have spent Labor Day with Mom as well, but opted to try and get a little cleaning done. I hit the living room and bed room. The kitchen could certainly use more work.
 

cat napping


Somehow lolling around the house napping the better part of the weekend is somewhat less productive than I'd like. Such is the life of a "non essential" worker. Good thing for the teevee, the robot, and the rack.
 

Tags: places
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September 5, 2016
The Overused Superlatives of Youtube
Mickey Mouse Youtube Users

I went looking around Youtube briefly until I became sickenly underwhelmed by the sheer numbers of superlatives embedded in the titles.

Things like "wonderful" and "best of" are stuck in the titles in an attempt to get someone to view mediocre content regurgitated with sophomoric movie maker piecing of snippets.

No wonder I don't care to frequent youtube. They want you to have an account and you can't filter the age range of the posters so you're stuck with the junior grade skill-less wannabes and the persons capturing footage straight from their televisions for lack of equipment or software.

Really, I don't have any professional posting expectations per se ... but if all you can do is post inferior material to which you ascribe the words "wonderful" or "best of" all I can say for your fantasy is

M-i-c-k-e-y   M-o-u-s-e

I don't mean to appear ungrateful for the sharing ... but those sameole tired techniques and labels just don't cut it for me personally. This is why I avoid youtube like the plague anymore — but I don't try to force my opinion on others.
 

Tags: technology, people
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September 5, 2016
Happy Labor Day
Happy Labor Day
Tags: holidays
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September 4, 2016
Holiday
Holiday

This weekend is set aside for the observance of Labor Day. Depending on your orientation it's a decidedly socialist observance ... but luckily for most of us it's simply just a day off to spend picnicing and making ready for the fall season.

As it turns out I'm okay with just working through it all. I don't see myself taking a lot of days off anymore because my desires are for distance where my work requires proximity.

A lot of those things I do cannot be done telecommuting because I've grown painfully addicted to the dual 24 inch monitors my notebook simply cannot accommodate.

However, I have a personal need to go see friends in Missouri and Kentucky and that weighs heavily on my life these days because those miles of promises to keep are important as well as those endeavors which pay the bills.

I just don't want to keep missing my friends from the old days just because they are hundreds of miles away but I need to maintain a set of duties which are required of me to have a life at all.

I wish that I had been this dedicated when I was in the military. I might have been able to retire.

Anyway I'm thinking of those far away as I pursue many other things near to me.

Tags: places, holidays, people
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September 3, 2016
Hurricane Hermine Waines
Well, we had to knock off from work at 1:00 pm yesterday to be sufficiently cautious during the commute home. Those "essential" employees of course had to hang out while we "nonessentials" had to go.

It was pretty drippy into the the evening and I enjoyed the precipitation as something we haven't had a lot of recently. Running the dehumidifier in the house made for a dry out time in a minute or two.

NOAA Tropical Wind Force Probabilities

As the storm scurries up the coast I look forward to a spate of sunshine today and hopefully knocking out a few chores. I noticed that my removal of the leaves from the eaves of the roof made for a tidy appearing set of shingles compared to a few weeks earlier.

Nothing to do but get a lottery ticket and wash up a couple of loads of duds for work next week.

Of course, the weekly bedding and various other domestic things likewise will require attending.

Just call me Suzy home maker.

Tags: places, weather
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September 2, 2016
Dorchester County Morons Kill Millions of Honeybees
honeybees killed in Dorchester County SC

As if colony collapse disorder weren't bad enough, idiots in Dorchester County, South Carolina killed millions of honeybees spraying for mosquitos in pursuit of the Zika virus.

Beekeepers are experiencing the full gamut of responses from rage to sadness.

As is usual in South Carolina there will likely be no consequences for this ecological disaster as the failings of government continue to mount daily.

Heads should roll, but they probably won't. Somebody's appointed crony probably made the decision and therefore likely will be immune from reaping what they've sewn.

The rest of us, however, won't be so lucky. Neither will the diminishing population of honeybees.

Tags: things, places
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