Broadstripe Tech Support Laughed At Me

WOW – I wish I would have recorded the call now – my internet has been s-l-o-w all week, making my vonage phone service sputter out and my page load times stretch into 30 seconds – I call my cable company, Broadstripe, whom I believe is a Comcast Affiliate or Associate. First the guy has me go to speedtest.net, something I’ve done already, and my speed is back up to 3688 download, 367 upload. Well, now it’s back up, so he has me hook my PC directly up to the cable modem and go to speedtest.net again, and it’s 4686 down and 388 upload – he then asks me if I run an antivirus on my PC, and I replied no, they bog my system down too much, and the guy laughed at me. I choose to protect my computer by behavior. My email is virus-scanned by Yahoo & GMail, and I don’t go to questionable websites. I repair and service computers for a living and I’m not the only techie that doesn’t run an antivirus. My hardware firewall protects me, and when I get a call about a virus infection, usually the infectee is also running an antivirus and it doesn’t stop it! It lets you know when you have one, and I can accomplish that with a free weekly Norton system scan. That laugh has just sent me to their competition, AT&T DSL, which I will be switching to. The strange thing was I had plenty of speed until I switched from Broadstripe’s Voip service back to Vonage because it was 50 bucks cheaper a month. They had me paying $200 a month for cable tv, internet and phone service. I switched back to Vonage for 30$ a month and my cable bill dropped to $124.00 – I think they’re interfering with my vonage – it worked fine before, now it doesn’t. Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me.

Microsoft unveils ‘cloud computing’ product Tech giant joins rivals in introduction of Web-based computing system

Microsoft Corp. is taking another step into the world of Web-based computing with a new system it’s calling Windows Azure.

Microsoft says it’s joining Amazon.com Inc. and other rivals in selling information storage space and computing power “in the cloud,” distributed across massive data centers worldwide. That will let companies build Web-based programs without having to manage their own data centers.

Microsoft’s chief software architect, Ray Ozzie, described Azure to software developers at a conference Monday in Los Angeles. Ozzie said that managing Microsoft’s own Web sites and Web-based programs has made the company adept at anticipating Web traffic spikes and knowing when to ramp up some computers and dial down others.

“It’s a transformation of our software. It’s a transformation of our strategy,” Ozzie said at the Professional Developer’s Conference, Microsoft’s annual gathering of third-party engineers to detail the company’s future plans.

Ozzie, who replaced Bill Gates as Microsoft’s top software guru in 2006, is spearheading the company’s push into “cloud computing,” a trend that taps into computing power in distant data centers and delivers applications over the Internet.

Traditionally, software has run on a single computer’s hard drive, but as Internet connections became faster and more reliable, companies started to deliver software as an online service by using the computing power of the “cloud,” a network of powerful computer servers accessed over the Web.

The success of Web-based companies such as Google Inc and Salesforce.com Inc in creating online applications competitive with Microsoft has forced the company to embrace a new way of delivering and supporting software.

‘Transformation’
“We are in the early days of a transformation to services across the industry,” said Ozzie at the conference.

Microsoft has worked to add online services elements to most of its traditional software, which required the company to invest billions in building massive data centers with thousands of computers servers and data storage systems.

Now, Microsoft wants to let other companies rent out its computing power so third-party developers can run applications over the Internet without the need for hefty investments in data centers. It also allows companies the flexibility to increase or decrease computing needs according to demand.

Similar to how its Windows operating system became the main platform for programs on personal computers, Microsoft aims to be the platform of choice for Web applications.

Amazon.com Inc and Salesforce is already in the market with computing services for Web developers, but Microsoft has a few advantages. It has deeper pockets, longer relationships with third-party developers and more expertise in building a software platform.

“I’d like to tip my hat to Jeff Bezos and Amazon,” said Ozzie, referring to Amazon’s chief executive. “All of us across the industry will stand on their shoulders.”

Developers can write applications on Windows Azure using the tools and programing languages necessary to write software to run on top of the current Windows operating system.

Unusual Anomoly On WordPress

Very Strange – I blog on a few computers – the one at my office tells me my wordpress account has been suspended and won’t allow me to log in, the one at home lets me log in and do everything – anyone got the same issue?

Amateur [Ham] Radio Operators At Their Worst

Ham Operators Devoting Power to Rudeness

I’ve been an Amateur Radio Operator since the mid-90s, and it’s true that I don’t devote much time to the hobby as of late. I’ve just too many things to do that I can do without being harassed by a snobbish ham operator. I entered into the ham radio ranks as a Technician in 96 and discovered that the older hams hate the younger hams. The Morse Code Requirement was abolished from the rules so the older hams who learned the code way back when believe that we younger hams that didn’t learn the code are not good enough to be on the air. I ran into this multiple times when talking on the worldwide bands, where the younger hams have been kept from unless they learn the code. So, I get it, they’re mad. BUT if they want Amateur Radio to survive, it needs new blood. If they don’t use it, they’re going to lose it.

Now I’m a Power Seller on Ebay and I’ve sold some radios over my career and just about every time I deal with a Ham Operator I get the impression that they hate everyone’s guts. Now of course there are hams that are not like this, it’s just a shame that I just happen to run into all the mad ones.

I’ve always been proud of my callsign and proud just to be a ham. Hams do a lot of good in the world and this article is not anti-ham. I think the hams should be just a little friendly, especially now when kids don’t need a ham radio to talk all over the world. A computer will do all that. The world of ham radio is more than just that. It’s the only failsafe communications backup system if our mains go down.

Dirty Rotten Ads Do Strike Fear Into Reluctant Republicans

I just planted my Obama For President sign in my front yard, then I heard Daybreak by Barry Manilow and thought “That would be a great song to play on Nov 5th when Obama is President-Elect,” I was feeling quite optimistic about the election. Then I talked to my mother. My mother is a reluctant republican who considers McCain to be the lesser of two evils. She began by telling me about all the ads that say Obama isn’t half-black, he’s half Arabic – That Obama will raise everyone’s taxes, that allowing him to be elected will be handing the country over to the Arabs- you know, all the lies that the republicans are spewing out in desperation.  My mother’s no dummy. She’s a career woman and she’s in her 70s. She’s paying attention to it and she’d be scared to vote any other way.  Obama is great and I think he could make things a lot better for all of us, but the sad reality is that most of his supporters may not even bother to vote when the day comes.  I can guarantee you that the older folks will vote, rain or shine, snow or hail. If they’re like my mother, whom I love more than life itself, we just might lose this battle. As Democrats we’d like to think that all these dirty lies being spewed out won’t be believed by the uncertain, reluctant republicans out there, but the truth is, they are buying it, unfortunately. The proof is my mother’s warning to me about backing Obama. She’s a Baptist, I’m an Athiest, She’s voting for McCain, I’m voting for Barack Hussein Obama, and I’m not going to judge him for a name he had no say in receiving. I think even if he were Barry Obamason the same lies would be coming up to stop an African-American from making it. I’m a white man, and I say that we’ve let this President Club run amok with white men who have not done so well – time to let someone else try their hand – could he really make it any worse? I hope he gets the chance – SO – TALK TO YOUR GRANDPARENTS IN FLORIDA – CONVINCE THEM TO VOTE FOR OBAMA!!!!!!!

Using Music For Time Travel

It’s funny – When it comes to music, hearing a new tune can stimulate your synoptic pathways in a positive manner. But hearing a song from your past can transport you into the person you was long ago. In my case, I’m a 47 year old Computer Repairman and hearing a song from my past that I don’t think I’ve heard since 1978 triggered a flashback and I suddenly felt what it was like to be that person again. In my case, it was a song that was linked to a girl, Donna Romack, from Marshall Michigan. Anyway, Donna was my first real, serious relationship – she was gorgeous in every way and I don’t know what led us together but I ended up screwing it up, as many young men do in life. I was an impulsive loudmouth who needed time to evolve into the intellectual I consider myself to be. Anyway, the song, Falling by LeBlanc & Carr, 1978, instantly took me back as if it was yesterday…..but then it was gone.  I still remember her, but when I listened to that song, I remembered loving her. And that made me both sad that I let her slip away, but glad to have that experience I can look back on. All of us that have been here know that each time you love someone, it’s different, and you just get stronger and stronger until you can handle more in life. Does it get easier? Maybe we just get better at making it better – RAMBLING ALERT – Anyway, I suggest you grab some music from your youth era, listen to it, maybe you’ll go back in time like I did and remember who you used to be.

Jump in, Folks, the Vista is Fine

After waiting for SP1 came out for Vista I decided to replace XP with Vista again just to see if it would work. When it first came out it had some driver issues, just like every other OS before it. This had nothing to do with Jerry Seinfeld or Bill Gates and their commercials-about-nothing. It had more to do with the people I respect and look up to assuring me that the bugs were fixed. So far everything is going smooth and all of my programs and devices seem to work fine. Go buy a PC with Vista, Folks, it is safer than XP, it’s prettier to look at and all of your favorite programs and hardware should get along swimmingly. Even my gamer friends say Vista is better.

The Bat I captured and Released

Don’t You Just Love Windows?

I spend most of my days lately solving Windows (Both Vista & XP) problems – coaxing the Windows operating system into cooperating with me sometimes requires creative thinking – if all of my clients had Macs I’d probably have to find a new line of work because I’d only get one or two calls a year.  I’ve begun recommending Vista to my customers now that it has been around for long enough to get the bugs out. It’s a Windows World and I’m happy to live in it. Sure, my next computer will be a Mac but I’ve got 4 other PCs at my home that will brave the dangerous internets and all the anti-windows viruses and malware that zip by. This turned into a weird blog, didn’t it? Better luck next time! NOTE: Today my daughter gave birth to my sixth grandchild – Have a Cigar!

A letter from someone who has known Sarah Palin since 1992

Anne is from Wasilla, Alaska.

I found this on the Washington Post comment board and have posted it exactly as I found it.

Amazing Letter From a Local Wasillian Who Knows Sarah Palin Well.

From: http://www.washingtonindependent.com/3671/the-reform-candidate
Submitted by Michael Wrightson on Sept 1, 2008

A note to all by {the Author}

Dear friends,

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks.

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts
with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on
any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

[ This was already posted on Washington Independent comments area,
with a controllable hotmail account, and was obviously meant by the
author to be read. ]

Thanks,

Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babe”.

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.

She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She’s smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
•“Hockey mom”: true for a few years
•“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•“NRA supporter”: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen
when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out
of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s
attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The
day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

August 31, 2008