Nightmare Weekend
It wasn't the worst weekend possible, but let's just say it wasn't the best either. It all started Friday when I found out my mother's Windows ME based PC was no longer able to boot (“Windows Protection Fault” yada yada yada). It appeared that a virus had exploited the IE security holes and attacked her system. Considering that this was the second Windows ME reinstall the computer appeared to need in as many months, I suggested that we switch her system over to GNU/Linux.
So, I set about working on the system, first trying to repair Windows and then installing Fedora. I got done about 2:00 a.m. Yesterday morning, I was tired, but mostly refreshed.
Here's the catch: she likes to use MSN Groups and enjoys the Internet Explorer-only features that MSN makes available. She also likes JASC Paint Shop Pro. So, I do the logical thing: I get Win4Lin 5.1 for the system. Only problem is, Win4Lin doesn't support the distribution I had picked out for her system, Fedora Core 2. So I start playing around with generic kernel patches from NeTraverse (Win4Lin's developer) to see if I can get it to work. Finally I do, by switching to an entirely generic kernel without any of Red Hat's optimizations, but unfortunately that made it so that I couldn't get the nVidia drivers to install.
While I wanted her to have GNOME 2.6, I decided it wasn't worth fighting that. So I pulled out Mandrakelinux PowerPack+, which has Win4Lin enabled kernels and automatically installs support for the latest nVidia and ATI graphics cards. It goes in smoothly and I set about updating the system, migrating data and so forth. I worked until about midnight and decided to call it a night. I had hoped to give Mom's system back to her today (Sunday), but I was was a bit pooped from the late night the night before.
12:00 a.m.Before jumping into bed, I flipped on my laptop to check my e-mail. Only I couldn't connect to my e-mail. Asisaid and all of my other sites were crawling. I jumped over to serverforest.com only to see the server's load averages being reported at about 80 for each. That isn't good, if you're wondering. It is actually really, really bad unless there is some specific reason it should be that high. I tried logging into my administrative web interface or SSH but both were unavailable thanks to the high processor load.
12:15 a.m. I had no choice but to e-mail my data center and ask them to reboot the system. I can't do anything until the system is in a state other than a deadly resource tailspin. I start to panic, I'm suppose to be up within about seven hours to go on a short trip and a solution is nowhere in sight.
12:30 a.m. The data center technician starts trying different was of coaxing the system to reboot. Nothing works for a very long time and he eventually gives up on logging into the system. I begin to wonder if cPanel blasted apart my mail server again during a nightly update.
12:50 a.m. The server comes back on after being forced to reboot. The resource usage starts to climb again. Local bandwidth and load monitoring shows 100x increase over a two hour period — something is really wrong. It looks like it is going to be a long night. The amount of time I will have to sleep is shrinking.
1:15 a.m. I realize that SAFARI Count+Stat Remote, my referrer tracking tool is being hit hundreds of times a minute by one site, forcing dozens of copies of MySQL and Apache to load. I disable the script and place a message about it being temporarily out of order in its place.
1:40 a.m. Everything finally returns to normal. I go to bed. I can't sleep wondering if the onslaught might be a DoS rather than just CSR being used by a busy site. I get up a few hours later.
Today I'm pooped — two late nights and then getting up early this morning have really taken their toll. But, I did get my mother's computer almost ready to go back to her. I'm hoping to give it back to her tomorrow. The trip to see the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois that I went on with some family turned out very enjoyable, even despite lack of sleep.
Concerning CSR, I re-enabled it today and all seemed well, but it was starting to act up again, so its down for the moment. It is being used on a financial scam site in Australia that is, I think, spamming people and thus causing a massive amount of traffic every night (U.S. time, daytime down under). CSR doesn't presently have a way to block sites from using it, so I'm developing one to block this site that has caused so much trouble. sigh
So that is what I've been up to, how about all of you?
Keep'n on Truck'n
Another busy day — I'll hopefully be back tomorrow.
Peaches
I love peaches. Fresh peaches. Peaches in sugar. Peaches and cream. Peaches on short cake. Peaches eaten right out of the basket. I love peaches. And, I live in a great area for a peach lover. If one has two or three hours, one can take a ride over through Alton, Illinois, down the Great River Road, past the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and cross the free I-DOT Brussels Ferry to find oneself in Calhoun County, home of some of the best peaches around.
For whatever reason, this little county separated from Madison County, Illinois by the Illinois River and St. Charles County, Missouri by the Mississippi River is perfect for peach growing. It's beautiful, gently sloping hills display a patchwork of crops and orchards that is very much unlike the flatlands of most of Illinois (and Northern Missouri) or the steep, rugged Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri.
Anyway, to make a short story long, I made my second trek over there for the year and got some “over ripes” (which are actually the perfect ripeness to eat and are a buck or two cheaper to boot). Last week they had Glow Haven peaches, this week it was Loraine peaches (which were my grandpa's favorite).
It was a great day for the ride. I'll have to post some pictures tomorrow.
Pie on a Wictory Wednesday
The Results Come In: Victory, Mostly
The Marriage Amendment seems to have passed enthusiastically (based on 3700 of just under 4000 precincts reporting). It seems it passed with a small margin even in Kansas City and St. Louis counties, failing most notably in St. Louis City (no, I'm not contradicting myself here, St. Louis city isn't in any county, St. Louis County boarders the city limits). Anyway outside of KC and St. Louis county, it seemed to win counties by an average of a 60 point advantage. St. Charles county voted for it with a 40 point advantage (which is, incidentally, the state wide margin of the win 70 to 29).
The casino amendment failed (more good news — it would have been a shame to ruin the Branson Tri-Lakes area with a casino) by a 12 point margin 44 to 56. This passed, not unexpectedly, in both St. Louis City and Kansas City, but failed in St. Louis county and seemingly most every place else).
Now, about the bigot comment above. Martin Lindstedt was running as, in his own words, a “racist candidate” for governor with a platform of eliminating benefits to all but Caucasians. He said he wanted to return the state to “1875 when that white man was superior.” This guy even had a militia that he bragged about on his candidate information page on the Post-Dispatch web site. Scary. But here's the thing: many would probably say he'd do better in, say Stone and Taney counties (in the Ozarks) than in St. Louis City. But throw away those notions of country conservatives. State wide, this scary fellow won 1.1% of the Republican primary vote for governor. That's about what he got in Stone and Taney counties (and most other counties — in St. Charles County he got .9%), but in urban, liberal St. Louis City, he earned nearly 2%!
And finally about “Guv Bob.” I feel sorry for him. Yeah, I don't agree with him on most issues. I think he did a bad job on a lot of things. But I don't think he was a terrible governor. As a person, he seemed just fine, free from any scandals or corruption as far as I know (I can be politically across the aisle and still like politicians — brace yourself — I admit on occasion to liking President Clinton). It just seems like a cruel political fate to lose your reelection bid to an overzealous person of your own party during the primary. Claire McCaskill seems to have almost the same views as Holden, but is a new face, which I think voters thought would be more “electable.”
While I admit I thought this too, and was hoping for that reason he'd win the primary instead… I also kinda hoped so just because I thought he deserved the chance to win or lose because people either agreed or didn't agree with him as compared to Republican challenger Matt Blunt, not because democratic voters apparently thought his mediocre term might be a liability necessitating a new face on the same policies. Ending one's political career in the primaries after several decades working one's way up to governor seems to be the worst possible way for a politician to go.
So, yes, I sort of hoped he would keep “holden on”… until November, of course.
Who I Voted For
Michael had the good idea to post who/what he was going to vote for today. I thought I'd do the same — if nothing else for something interesting to look back on in a few years.
Federal Offices
U.S. Senator: Christopher “Kit” Bond (Incumbent)
U.S. Representative - District 2: Todd Akin (Incumbent who replaced then Governor hopeful and now U.S. Senator Jim Talent, who retired from congress in 2000) [Unopposed.]
State-wide Offices
Governor: Matt Blunt (Secretary of State, going against Incumbent Bob Holden or possibly new Democrat Claire McCaskil). [Winning as of 8:00 PM with 3% of precincts reporting.]
Lieutenant Governor: Peter Kinder (State Senator [side note: the only politician I have ever heard Rush Limbaugh endorse through an ad on the radio]). [Winning as of 8:00 PM with 3% of precincts reporting.]
Secretary Of State: Catherine Hanaway (Speaker of State House) [Unopposed]
State Treasurer: Sarah Steelman (State Senator) [Winning as of 8:00 PM with 3% of precincts reporting.]
Attorney General: Chris Byrd [Winning as of 8:00 PM with 3% of precincts reporting.]
Local Offices
Circuit judge Circuit 11 Division 1: Jeff Morrison (Fmr. St. Peters City Alderman. In the general election, I'll probably vote for Democrat Ted House, who I usually vote for — whatever office it is he may be running for — he's a good guy.) [Winning by 4 votes (less than 1%) as of 8:10 PM with 13% of precincts reporting.]
State representative 16th District (Rep): Carl Bearden (Incumbent) [Unopposed]
State senator 23rd District: Chuck Gross (Incumbent) [Unopposed]
Local Propositions
Proposition R (Extend 0.5% Sales Tax for road work): No [Passing as of 8:00 PM with 13% of precincts reporting.]
Propositions and Amendments
Constitutional Amendment 1 (Riverboat Gambling on White River near Branson [Rockaway Beach): No [Failing by 10 point margin as of 8:00 PM with 3% of precincts reporting.]
Constitutional Amendment 2 (Codify marriage as between a man and a woman): Yes [Passing by over 60 point margin as of 8:00 PM with 3% of precincts reporting.]
QOTW #11: Dem's Da Questions
Assuming you watched some or all of the Democratic National Convention last week, did it leave you with a different perspective on Kerry? How about anyone else?
On Kerry, no. The only thing that provided a different perspective was the revealing information that Kerry's recorded “war scenes,” including those used in his introductory movie, were reenactments made by a young Kerry who was already planning to get in politics while in Viet Nam. Matt Drudge's quotes reveal that some soldiers joked, at the time, that Kerry left Viet Nam not because of his third injury but because he had collected enough film footage for his campaign. Does that count?
Barak Obama did leave me with a different (and, I'll admit, positive) impression of himself. I've already covered that in one of my posts from last week.
Don't Miss the Music Man Post
With the long Kerry post, I'm a bit worried some might miss the lighter hearted “Music Man” post if you weren't hear earlier this evening. Click here to read it, or scroll down to it below the Kerry entry to find it (read the Kerry piece too, of course
).
Can't Kerry On
How better to comment on John Kerry than by quoting his speech (and a few other choice quotes)? I think I will do that. And in doing so, let this serve as my official nomination of a presidential candidate (click the link for the nominating portion of this post — if you can't wait — otherwise, “kerry” on for just a bit longer).
John Kerry on Negative CampaigningPoint:
I want to address these next words directly to President George W. Bush: In the weeks ahead, let's be optimists, not just opponents. Let's build unity in the American family, not angry division. … My friends, the high road may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And that's why Republicans and Democrats must make this election a contest of big ideas, not small-minded attacksCounterpoint:
“I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war. I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a Secretary of Defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an Attorney General who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States.”“As president, I will not privatize Social Security. I will not cut benefits. And together, we will make sure that senior citizens never have to cut their pills in half because they can't afford life-saving medicine. … And that is the choice in this election.”
“For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. … You don't value families by kicking kids out of after school programs and taking cops off our streets, so that Enron can get another tax break.”
Tim Says: Did you notice how he mentions Enron? Not just the rich — after all, not all of us hate the rich.
“[T]hink of what Ron Reagan said of his father a few weeks ago, and I want to say this to you tonight: I don't wear my own faith on my sleeve. But faith has given me values and hope to live by, from Vietnam to this day, from Sunday to Sunday. I don't want to claim that God is on our side.”
Tim Says: If you didn't realize it already, Ron “Rampaging” Reagan was attacking President Bush with that quip. And, yes, despite Reagan Jr.'s delusions, President Reagan was quite religious — “Moral Majority,” anyone?
John Kerry and His Family on OutsourcingPoint:
“We value an America that exports products, not jobs — and we believe American workers should never have to subsidize the loss of their own job.”Counterpoint: The Times of India reports, courtesy of BlogsForBush:
“H J Heinz & Co, the family business of Kerry and his wife Teresa, has spread its ketchup operations across the world. Of the 79 factories that the food processor owns, 57 are overseas. Heinz makes ketchup, pizza crust, baby cereal and other edibles in such countries as Poland, Venezuela, Botswana, Thailand, and most of all, China and India.”John Kerry on Health care
“Our health care plan for a stronger America cracks down on the waste, greed and abuse in our health care system, and will save families up to $1,000 a year on their premiums. You'll get to pick your own doctor — and patients and doctors, not insurance company bureaucrats, will make medical decisions. Under our plan, Medicare will negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. And all Americans will be able to buy less expensive prescription drugs from countries like Canada.”Sounds like private health care still, right? Maybe not:
“And when I'm president, America will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected — it is a right for all Americans.”
A $1,000 tax deduction will not provide universal healthcare. So what is John Kerry talking about? The true meaning of this can mean one of several things. Most likely, he either means that the government will offer everyone “senator quality” health care, or he will expand Medicaid to provide health care to those who don't have it/can't afford it.
Which will not help the deficit, it will cause it to skyrocket. There's a reason we are the only advanced nation with a relatively small 33% tax rate for most incomes. Many “advanced nations” with health care have over 50% taxes on income. Will you be better off with “free” health care but with nearly 50% more taxes?
If universal health care is provided, consider if it cost just $50 a month per person, far less than private health care does. While that is not likely, let's just consider it. What would that do to the Federal budget? It would add $175,800,000,000 to it ($175 billion dollars) per year. Now, consider that bypass surgery costs at least $30,000 per operation and consider this is a very frequently performed surgery. If we figure that each person's share of the health care costs was $50/month, it would take fifty years for the government to break even on that one person. Now if we assume that probably everyone will need at least $30,000 in health care services over their lifetime, and very likely many will need far more, you'll see how $50/month per person just isn't enough. And, what if we bumped it up to $100/month per person — still less than half of a private insurance plan — the Federal budget would then go up by a whopping $350 billion dollars a year.
That's without considering that usually when the government is involved the prices of stuff goes up. So, when hospitals cost more to use, drugs cost more and doctors cost more… will even $350 billion dollars a year be enough?
As an aside, the anti-Bush tax cut Tax Foundation site puts the Bush tax cuts for 2002 and 2003 at just $188 billion, less than what we've calculated above is needed just to provide universal health care. John Edwards, on Wednesday, told us the Kerry-Edwards plan would only roll back the tax cuts for the top 2% of income earners and would use it to pay for all kinds of things — where is the rest of the health care money going to come from?
Also, consider this: you might say, well, just provide socialized health care to those who don't have health care. Well guess what? As soon as businesses learn they don't need to provide health care to attract employees, do you think they will still foot the bill? Likely not. So, the amount of people that the government would need to give health care services to would vastly increase at an alarming rate.
John Kerry on Stem Cells“What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's and AIDS? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?”
Tim Says: This would easily fit into the Bush bashing quotes I listed at the beginning next to Kerry's quote about positive campaigning, but let's consider it here instead. Does President Bush believe in science? Yes, I think so. But believing in science doesn't require doing everything science can do when there are ethical issues involved.
Guess what? There are ethical issues involved. If you are like me and believe that even the tiniest embryo is a real human being, then you must be willing to advocate murder before you can advocate stem cell research. Maybe that isn't the case — but I'd rather assume that and be proven wrong some day (although how you prove this either way other than through philosophy is beyond me) than to assume embryos are just cells and find out I advocated murder. President Bush took the middle ground: he chose to allow continued federal usage of already created stem cell lines, but prohibited further stem cell line creation — that makes sense (note that the President hasn't and can't stop private funding of stem cell research by himself).
Secondly, what Kerry and Company want to do, essentially, is promoting cloning for research and as well as using the murdered babies that died through abortion for research. The former is done through a technique known as Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). SCNT is what was used to create Dolly the Sheep. SCNT is what Embryonic Stem Cell researchers want to use to create more stem cells to use. It is prohibited in Germany because the difference between the process to clone a human being for reproduction and for research is non-existant. The Germans don't want to come anywhere near the Nazi-era legacy of eugenics and such — and we would do wise to heed what they know by experience.
Thirdly, many scientists now think that using stem cells in the umbilical cord, after the birth of a baby, may be just as useful as the embryonic stem cells Kerry and Co. want to use. Finally, many (most?) scientists who are really willing to research the evidence admit that stem cells don't appear to be doing anything useful for Alzheimer's like they thought they would.
John Kerry Lies“You don't value families if you force them to take up a collection to buy body armor for a son or daughter in the service, if you deny veterans health care, or if you tell middle-class families to wait for a tax cut, so that the wealthiest among us can get even more.”
Tim Says: The body armor, from what I've read, was/is included in the $87 billion dollar budget John Kerry “voted for before [he] voted against it” (his words).
The President's tax cuts have applied across the board. It is silly to suggest the cuts have only been of benefit to the wealthy. It is also foolish to suggest that the wealthy should front the bill for all of us, in essence, to level the playing field. That kind of thinking goes under a name John Kerry doesn't want associated with himself: SOCIALIST.
Whereas the current president of the United States is the forty third president of this union.
Whereas the forty third president of the United States of America is George Walker Bush;
Whereas the present year is the two thousand and fourth year of our Lord;
Whereas the current election pits John Forbes Kerry, a senator with a dubious record, against George Walker Bush;
I hereby declare the forty-third president of the United States of America, George Walker Bush, the official candidate of asisaid in the upcoming presidential election.
Go! Go! Go! Four More Years! Go Dubya!
