We're all gonna die!

Memory Card Readers

I'm in the market for a good memory card reader.  It needs to read Sony Duo Memory Sticks (for the PSP), Compact Flash and SD cards.  Not a big request but dang there are a TON of multi format memory card readers out there for insanely varying prices.

Mercy Rule

The High School Sports Monopoly recently enacted some mercy rules.  They don't just end games or force teams to alter play.   Basically if a team is up by an insane number of points (35 in football and basketball)  in the 4th quarter (for football) or with 9 min remaining (in basketball) the clock just keeps running until the game ends.  Play goes on but the clock keeps going even when it might otherwise have stopped for time outs our the usual game stoppages.  It seems like a good rule.  The games are played the same and they go on, but they get it over with already.

OMG

Is it my imagination or is that a planet eating monster?

St. Paul Bar Hours, RNC

So the stupid Republican Convention is going to be in St. Paul.  There was some debate about how much if any positive cash flow this brings to the host city.  Regardless I think it is stupid.  People who wanted the thing there talked about how much attention it brings to the city...  Nobody cares.   The convention have long since just become show pieces.  News doesn't happen there (well maybe not at the Republican convention this year), and nobody hears about the host city.  I'd say most people don't look at the conventions in a positive manner...  What is the point?

Anyway so the legislature this year was thinking of allowing St. Paul bars to stay open until 4am during the convention.  Are we that desperate for money?  The local police chief noted he's already got his hands full with this thing (granted some federal money is covering his budget for security) and he doesn't need to hork it up with bar goers stumbling around as late as 4 am.  Also this being St. Paul some of these bars are neighborhood bars, not downtown establishments catering to just those evil always tax targets "out of town" folks.  The city council agreed (so far) and asked the legislature to back off.  It all just strikes me as a little sad.

Security

We've been getting a lot of security questions lately.  How much if any of our data can you see? is the basic question.

The people asking really just want us to say none.  Why can't we just say no?  Often their other vendors lied and said so.... :P

We don't lie so we have a point man assigned.  Our policy is that nobody answers any questions, except one guy whose approach is basically to talk them to death about the details.  The real issue is that the people asking the questions DO NOT UNDERSTAND anything.  They think if you can see their data in anyway that means you can see their data in every way, and to an extent their right, but also wrong.  I'm glad I don't have to explain that stuff.

Great Stories From Work: The Other Group

I'm sure it is the same with every company or even groups in the company.  The other group are a bunch of idiots.  So is my other group.  Actually we have lots of groups.  The California group who I've worked with only rarely are ok guys it seems.  They listen, respond, and do stuff.  They're a little stonerish, but they're affable and response and they're in CA... it's all good.

The short of it is that I support some equipment.  That connects to some other equipment supported by "the other group" in the same company.  Even in cases where they own ONE of my equipment and a bazillion of the other equipment if there is an issue the customer calls us and we own the issue.  The reason is that the other group are a bunch of idiots.  Here is my latest encounter.

We see some stuff going down, it is bad.

I check out our equipment.  Clearly $@$% is $#%@ed up.

I call customer, yup they see it ask me to join the conf call.  Their stuff is down and nobody knows why.  Stuff is flying around the room because it hit the fan.

I call other group.  Wait on hold for a few min.  Dude tells me Hey I think someone was working on this earlier . . .let me see if I can find him and call you back.  Dude wants nothing to do with the situation.  I can tell.

I join conf call with some other interested parties in our company.  We chat . .  we wonder where the other guys are for quite a while.

I call other group.  They say Oh yeah we're looking at it we'll get on the conf call in a few minutes.

I join conf call.  Things are getting heated a few min later.  We chat . . . .we wonder where the other guys are for quite a while.

I call other group and talk to another dude.  I tell them we need someone on the conf call NOW.  Dude wanders over to talk to the people working on it and comes back.  Well they don't know what the issue is, they'll join in a little while...

There was a long pause and I said something to the effect of Dude, I don't know how you guys work but when #### is down on a customer we get ON the conference call.  I don't care what we know or don't know, you get on the call and if you have to tell them we don't know yet, that's fine, but you GET ON THE CALL.

Other group eventually joined.  My management did their cage rattling afterward as well.

Old Photographs

There's something about old photographs that is awesome.  I'm not thinking of the grain in those old B&W photos, although that is awesome too.  I received an invite to my Grandfather's 70... something ith birthday and it had a photograph if him as a three year old all dressed up just standing in front of the house.  It was awesome.  There's a "lifelikeness" to the photos that I can't put my finger on.   Anyway here's an example:

Example photo.

Baby at the Restaurant

The mother is in town so we went out to eat last night.  While waiting for them to arrive the kid (maybe three years old) at the table threw a big fit and was screaming up a storm.  The parents just looked at each other, looked tired, and did nothing.  NOTHING.  Kid kept screaming.

Where I grew up and when I was younger people just DIDN'T take kids out to eat.  That probably had as much to do with lack of menu options and cost as it did social traditions.  Personally I don't mind little ones at restaurants, people don't' want to cook, want to go out, take the kids.  Fine by me.  In fact I like'm.  A restaurant can be nice and all, but nothing brightens your day like a little 9 month old peaking over his mother's shoulder smiling at you and kicking and waving his arms when he gets a smile back.

There are some rules I think everyone should follow though.   Like if your kid is scramming I expect you do something about it. .  .   .

I don't give a damn if the kid is being unreasonable or needs to be disciplined or something.  There are other people around.  Make like Chamberlain and roll out the appeasement!

Thankfully these folks left before the mother and everyone else got there so dinner was fine, but dang it even if the kid kept scramming and the parents were trying I would have felt better.  Kid screamed for like nearly 10 minutes.