Meanderings

The Fifth Stanza

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is NOT a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

I will stand in public and recite this stanza, Mr. President.

Will you?

MSFT CES Swan Song

What message is being sent by Microsoft's final act at the Consumer Electronics Show? Does it mean that they've given up on innovation? Will they be satisfied from here on out with incremental updates and tweaks to their software and services rather than continuing to push for world changing innovation? I guess time will tell.

The Fall of Life

People I know are dying. Like the first leaves that catch a late summer breeze and float away, they are departing this life for whatever follows. It began in late 2009 when my mom passed away. Her death was timely. She had been sick for a long time and her body finally gave in to her many maladies. Last year marked the deaths of two guys who should have lived forever, Vince Lopez and Mark Jansen. This fall we lost two amazing women, Carrie Budd Naas and Suzanne Pierson Dunbar, both in their 40's, both to cancer, and both with two pre-high school aged children.

As I've tried to reconcile these deaths, I've grasped for a metaphor that would help me to understand the question, why now? This evening it came to me. I've reached the fall of my life. By fall, I mean autumn, not fall as in "The Fall of Rome".

In the fall, some of the things that were once vibrant with color begin to dim. Other things reach their full potential in the fall and only then are they able to share the full measure of their gifts with the world. And, unfortunately, some things die in the fall - especially some of the flowers that bloomed most brightly in the spring and summer their lives. This is the natural order of things and it helps me to understand, why now.

Confargus Apple!

The other night I updated my Ipad OS to 4.02. I haven't accessed all of the new functionalities yet, but was confounded by one of the unannounced, or underannounced, changes. The task of the switch above the volume control toggle was changed from orientation lock to mute. I checked the Settings to see if there was an on/off button or a switch that I could move to deselect this change but there was none. I looked in the iTunes preferences, the Safari preferences, just about everyplace that I could think of that such a switch could be found.

Finally, I gave in and went to the Apple website and began browsing the Support area. I typed "orientation lock" into the Search box and found the solution fairly quickly. Now the orientation lock is a software function and can be accessed by double clicking the Home Button and scrolling the tool bar at the bottom of the page left until the orientation lock icon appears.

While this is an easy solution, finding it falls far from the intuitive Apple user experience that I am accustomed to. Thumbs sideways on the change, a big thumbs down on announcing the quality of the announcement to Ipad users.

Provocative Words on the Eve of Ash Wednesday

Stephen Fry presents a scathing indictment of the Catholic Church in this 20 minute video. A thought provoking way to begin the Lenten season.

The Intelligence² Debate - Stephen Fry (Unedited)
Uploaded by Xrunner17. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Defeating Somali Pirates

Today's Seattle Times reports that a group of Somali pirates has been paid $4 million to release a Chinese container ship. Including this incident, Somali piracy has cost shipping companies and their insurers $100 million in ransom over the past two years. Payment to these thugs is unacceptable. Each success demonstrates to other would be pirates that this is a growth industry with plenty of inventory to go around. While the naval forces of several countries patrol the area, there is too much ocean for this disunified contingent of ships to protect effectively.

So what should be done about Somali piracy? I suggest the use of "bait ships". Much like bait cars that police agencies use to discourage car theft, container ships manned by military personnel would cruise through the pirate infested waters with the intention of luring the pirates into a hijacking attempt. Once the hijacking was attempted the pirates would be greeted by heavily armed naval commandos rather than unarmed merchant seamen. I don't think it would take many encounters such as these before piracy in the area began to decline.

Right now, container ships are fairly easy pickings for the pirates. We need to put a few surprises out in the water so that the pirates think twice before they attack.

More Inconvenience, No More Security

After Friday's botched terrorist attack, the TSA and Homeland Security are imposing additional security measures on flights and at airports in an effort to stop future attacks. Based upon what I've read thus far, these new measures add little or no new security and simply make flying a less convenient mode of travel. Let's take them one at a time:

1. Clearing one's lap and remaining seated for an hour before landing. If I'm Ahmed the Evil and my plan is to destroy an airplane, why wouldn't I go and assemble my nefarious device an our and ten minutes out? This doesn't solve anything. And what if I'm just a dad traveling with my small kids and one of them needs to pee? Are they going to make the kids wait until we land? If I were in that situation I'd be tempted to have my kids pee right on the floor in protest.

2. Additional baggage screening devices at the gate: This says two things to me. They know that the TSA screeners are inept stooges and let dangerous devices through all of the time AND there are potentially lethal items sold at the stores inside of the security checkpoints. Adding an additional layer of stoogery at the gate doesn't make the plane any more safe, it simply inconveniences travelers and makes for a less enjoyable travel experience.

3. Allowing only one carry on item: If the screening stooges are going to miss my shank they're going to miss it whether I'm carrying one item or two on board the aircraft. Case in point: until my recent trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving, I had flown cross country at least a half dozen times with a metal multi-tool in the side pocket of my carry on backpack. I had forgotten that I had put it there and found it while I was rearranging the items that I was packing for that trip. This item had gone through the screener every time and was never even questioned. The item itself contains two knife blades, pliers, a screwdriver, a bottle opener, a corkscrew, and several other sharp or pointy utility tools. I would have had no problem if they had confiscated it but they never even acknowledged its presence.

4. Adding undercover TSA personnel at airports: If I'm going to assemble a bomb I'm going to do it in a restroom stall, are they going to follow me in there? Likewise, how many of the TSA personnel speak Arabic, Farsi, or Urdu? If I'm Ahmed the Evil, chances are I speak one or more of these languages.

5. How motivated is Justin the 19 year old, minimum wage earning TSA officer in the first place? Does he really connect his job to the dangers he is supposed to be preventing or is he there just to punch the clock?

Here's what I would do if I were in charge of airport/airline/flight security:

1. Reconsider the entire TSA operating philosophy. You hire no B.S. professionals run the security checkpoints and compensate them accordingly. A half-dozen well trained studs making 75K a year will keep passengers a lot safer than 20 screw offs making 25k a year each.

2. Forget about the civil libertarians and profile passengers. 88 year old Matilda Crabblewhite from West Lafayette, Indiana is much less likely to detonate a bomb on your plane than 23 year old Mahmoud Al-Jibri from Gaza City. This isn't about fairness or equity, it's about risk management. Manage the damn risk and tell the whiners to STFU.

3. Learn from the best. TSA needs to bring trainers in from El Al and from the Israeli army to teach the screeners and flight crews what to look for in passenger behavior. Which common things may indicate a hightened risk profile?

4. Bring in the dogs. Each checkpoint should have a K-9 on duty 24-7. Some people are more intimidated by dogs than they are other humans so a deterrent factor is built-in simply by having them there. They are also more effective at finding contraband than most humans are. Let's put our most effective resources to work.

5. Create meaningful career paths from the military to the civilian security sectors. By hiring personnel that are known to be trustworthy performers you enhance your workforce from the moment a person is hired.

With just a few changes, new efficiencies can be reached and security can be enhanced rather than simply added-to.

Ellis' Geek Report

I'm reading an article from this month's issue of Fast Company magazine that profiles Microsoft's newest OS, Windows 7. In the interest of full disclosure: I was a Windows user from 3.1 through XP and still use it from time to time on my awesomely cool Macbook Pro with Boot Camp. Boot Camp is software that partitions the hard drive and enables the the dual Intel processors in my Macbook to run XP and its related programs as a native OS. It's very slick and extremely handy. For the past several years, and especially since Anthony's emergence as Apostle of all things Apple, I have been a Mac devotee. I could cite the reasons here, but that's a separate comment. Today's commentary will dwell on the items that Microsoft chose to lead with when presenting their newest and shiniest technology to the writers at Fast Company.

1. The Boot Up Intro: Four multi-colored fireflies that coalesce into a glowing Windows icon. What? You're profiling your new OS and you're selling the boot up intro? Why would I care about that? What is less significant to a user over the age of 6 than the boot up intro? I can tell you because it is the second item in their profile.

2. The Task Bar Icons: Here is a direct quote from the article, "The task bar is the face of Windows, but the icons are the stars of the show." Admittedly I get pretty excited about some nerdy things, but that the task bar icons are the stars of the new Operating System are like saying that the gas cap is the highlight of your new Ferrari.
PS: That quote is from one of the designers, not a writer critiquing the product.

3. Desktop Wallpapers: By now I was stupefied. Why are the wallpapers important in the rebuild of the operating system? According to the MSFT spokesperson, by creating anime turtles and using slick Seattle streetscapes, they wanted to, "provoke a strong emotional connection," with the users. Ummm... build an OS that boots quickly, isn't rife with security holes, and doesn't crash when I run a Microsoft product and that will build an emotional connection.

4. Aero Shake: With this new gizmo you "rub your mouse" (no kidding) over an open window and the other active windows fly closed. I'm calling this one Mouse-terbation. 'Nuff said here.

This is pathetic Microsoft. I can't wait for the new Mac commercials.

Legislating Waste...

Here is a brief email exchange that occurred between me and the MISD's Director of Food Service, Katie Watland, followed by my own commentary:

Hi Katie,

After going to Islandwood Environmental Learning Center for several years as a 5th grade teacher, I became much more aware of the amount of food waste that occurs during our lunches. This is particularly true during the primary lunch sessions where I see the smaller kids sometimes throwing away half of their meals. I was wondering if the food services team has recently discussed the notion of differentiating portion sizes for smaller kids so that they received enough food to be nutritious, but not so much that they would throw it away. For example, smaller pizza slices for smaller kids, fewer chicken nuggets, etc. Given our new online payment strategy, maybe they could be charged a bit less for their lunches - a real win for parents as well.

Thanks for the great job you guys do for the kids every day.

Best Regards,

Ellis Reyes

Katie's Response:

Hi-

Thank you for your concerns for potions with the primary lunch.  We are part of the National School Lunch Program and with that we are required to follow the guidelines setup by the USDA.  We are required to offer at least 2 oz of Meat/ Meat alternative, 3/4 cup of fruit/vegetable, 8 oz fluid milk, and a serving of bread.  We have to treat every student equally with portions and would not be able to charge two different prices for elementary.

While we can't change the portion sizes maybe somebody at  your school would like to take on composting like they do at Island Park Elementary. 

If I can be any further assitance, please let me know.

Thank  you,

Katie

++++++

 

That's right. One size fits all. A Kindergartner with a size 2 stomach gets the same amount of chow as the 5th grader with a size 12 stomach. So the size 2 dumps half of her food into the trash because she's full, and the size 12 goes back to class with a growling stomach. How is this a wise use of resources? Can we afford to be this wasteful? Wouldn't a little bit of flexibility be useful in this situation? Changing this ridiculous law is going to be my class' public service project for the year. We will begin by performing a statistical sampling of food waste over grade levels and lunch periods to gather data. We will then then use the Food Service's costs to calculate an average food waste cost per day and then extrapolate that number to a per year cost. Then we will compile a list of elected officials whose voices may be persuasive in changing the law and will start writing letters and sending emails.

We'll see where things go from there.

Obama 5:7-8

In the days that followed the hundred, the Messiah went here and there spreading the good news. In his travels he spake unto the multitudes and he did say, "I will bring down the high and uplift the low, I will mend the sick, give rest to the weary, and bring peace to the lands. I will give sustenance to those who toil for my sake and smite those who stand against me."

The crowd murmured, wondering how one man could bring such miracles. Sensing their disquiet, The Messiah spake unto them again, "My children, let not your hearts be troubled, for you shall not bear the burden of my great works. They who worshiped the false gods and reaped the harvests of your labor shall pay for their iniquity. The sum of their greed shall kindle my vengeance. Their edifices, monuments, and institutions shall be rebuilt in my image and any who resist shall be consumed as tinder in a wildfire. Yea my children, tell thy bretheren that I am the Light and any who turn away shall be set upon as locusts to a field."

Thus endeth today's reading.