Good Day So Far
Well, it's been a good 24 hours, I would say. Last night I introduced a new library catalog system, using the KOHA Free Software library program, to our newly formed librarian staff and the Educational Resource Center committee. Things went very well — KOHA has allowed us to do virtually everything (and in some ways more than) a $1,000 library program for gratis. The system is now running a Mandrake Linux desktop customized to make exactly two programs accessible: KOHA and BibleTime.
I still have a few “battles” before everything is right. For instance, we still need label printing and I somehow need to link a label printing program with KOHA's MySQL backend. I'm hoping to accomplish this with KBarcode, but if that doesn't work, I bookmarked the site of another alternative.
Oh, for the first time in months, Open for Business also got Slashdotted… well, sorta. My current article about Lindows' announcement concerning the SCO-IBM case hasn't been picked up by Slashdot, but some Slashdot reader that liked it posted a comment on the latest Slashdot story on SCO and it has drawn roughly the same number of people as a “real” Slashdotting normally would. Fortunately, my PHP caching system, which dep was kind enough to help me with, is keeping everything running much more efficiently than during my previous encounters with Slashdot.
Well, that's all for now, except that I would like to give a great big “THANK-YOU” to Josiah and Christopher for both promoting my run for the BlogShares BSEC. I never expected anyone to actually do so, so it was a nice surprise. Thanks guys!
Don't forget to VOTE!
The first monthly BlogShares Player Securities Board vote has begun and will go for one week. PLEASE vote and let your voice be heard. I'd appreciate your vote in my “campaign” for a Free and Fair Market (just vote Timothy Butler on the ballot), but even if you choose to vote for someone else, it's good if you do exercise your cyber voting privilege.
Click the button to be taken to the BlogShares Voting Page
What a day
At approximately 10:00 A.M. Central Time this morning, Network Access
Corporation's (NAC) Site B datacenter in New Jersey, where Universal
Networks' name servers are located, had its fire suppression system activated
after what appears to have been the explosion of a [capacitor for a] uninterpretable power
supply located in the building. This resulted in the loss of power and
consequently the loss of access to Universal Networks' internet properties.At 11:00 A.M. Central Time the fire department allowed NAC personnel back
into Site B, however due to various circumstances, the section of the
datacenter housing Universal Networks' nameservers, and those of our hosting
affiliate, were left without power until after 6:00 P.M. Central Time.Everything now appears operational again.
Thank-you for your understanding.
-Tim
Then, to make things more interesting, the Linksys ethernet router I installed for my church was on the brink today (I think I have “collisions” going on with DHCP assignment). Between the two events I had to squeeze in some actual work.
And speaking of work, the most interesting piece of it was writing on the on going SCO-IBM conflict. That conflict now envelopes Novell and Linus Torvalds too. I was going crazy today not being able to put anything about it on OfB.biz (not to mention going crazy because no one could access the article I put on OfB.biz last night).
At any rate, hopefully things will calm down now. I haven't forgotten about finishing my trip summary (complete with traveling tips for those going to the Ozarks), but I didn't want to rush putting together the second entry. It'll be on soon, however.
Sunday/Monday Fives
1. What drinking water do you prefer — tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?
I like bottled water, in particular Aquafina, but Coca-Cola's brand (name escapes me at midnight) is good too. Tap is alright, although I never realized how “bad” it was until I got a water purifier on my sink. Now I only drink that from the tap.
2. What are your favorite flavor of chips? Probably “Original,” although I like BBQ as well. I consistently prefer just a good old salted chip though, and a freshly cooked chip is even better.
3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most? Probably my barbecued burgers.
4. How do you have your eggs? As I see it, there are two ways to eat eggs: fried or as an omelet. I prefer an omelet, especially one with ham, cheese, green pepper, onion, and possibly jalapeno.
5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out? Well, being a holiday, my mother made a very good meal I enjoyed today. Nothing fancy, but she always makes a nice dinner on Memorial Day Sunday that I enjoyed. BBQ'ed sausage, cheese and broccoli rice, stir fried vegetables, apple sauce and brownies with Eddy's vanilla bean ice cream.
Ozark Trip 2k3
The weather was absolutely beautiful this week, making the trip even better than I expected. I went with mom and a close family friend who had gone down to the Ozarks with us last year. This year we stayed for five nights/six days at two different resorts — the old tried-and-true Rock Lane Resort (of which I am suppose to build a new website for soon) and Big Cedar.
Rock Lane is a forty something year old place that was first discovered by my grandparents in the 60's. We have been there enough to know everyone at the front desk (and stay in contact with them when at home) and the owner, all of whom couldn't be nicer. While much of the resort, including our favorite cove side rooms, have been or are now on the chopping block to make way for timeshares, 40 or so rooms remain and it's still the very best view of the lake I've seen. Rock Lane is on a peninsula, actually they own it, so it's very easy to get to the lake and walk the shore line. It also features a very nice, expanding marina and lots of Canadian geese, ducks, and other wildlife that wait for feedings.
As an added plus, Rock Lane is only minutes away from Silver Dollar City, both of which are on Indian Point, and only about thirty minutes away from Branson and just a few more from Kimberling City. At any rate, we stayed there for three days and enjoyed it immensely as usual.
Silver Dollar City was great, just like always, as well. Up until last year, we would actually buy seasons passes to the 'City, unfortunately, time restraints have prevented visiting it as much recently.Spring is a pretty good time to go there, although as a little tip from a wanna-be-local, I'd recommend the Fall for the smallest crowds. Christmas at Silver Dollar City (November 1 - December 31) is also not to be missed and everyone should go and see their six story Christmas tree with synchronized light and music show and their multimillion light bulb decoration job which takes two months to prepare (notably, SDC — like much of the Ozarks — remembers the REAL reason for the Christmas season).
Another favorite stop we hit was Scoops, the great ice cream shop across from the Route 165 scenic overlook. Scoops, which has won blue ribbons at the State Fair five years in a row (three blue ribbons for the majority of those years), makes all of their own ice cream and make one amazing chocolate ice cream ice cream soda. Like Rock Lane, we know all of the people at Scoops, and they too couldn't be nicer. I just wish I could bring some of their great ice cream home with me.
Speaking of food, a trip to the Wooden Nickle, located by Branson West (that's on the other side of Indian Point from Branson) should not be missed on ANY trip to the area. Their salad “tree” (named such since it is a round salad bar build around an old tree) is exquisite and their fried chicken is the best I've had anywhere. The salad bar can easily be a meal by itself for just $8.99 (this is a serious salad bar), but you can add three pieces of great chicken and an excellent baked potato for just $4 more. The salad bar has tons of goodies beyond the normal fare, including fresh baked breads, cut-your-own cheddar and pepper cheese, stew, and good pudding.
Well, before I move on, I might as well continue my food review with one more notable mention. Billy Gayle's Uniquables and Cafe on Route 265 looks rather unassuming. It's an old cabin with a few gas pumps out side and flea market fare in in the first few rooms, but the last brightly decorated room is home to (IMO) the world's best omelet. Yum! You get a large plate that is half filled by a square omelet, half filled by hash browns, and then topped by four pieces of Texas toast perfectly toasted. “Gayle's Famous Omelet” (without mushrooms) is my personal favorite and is one of the food highlights of the trip.
Moving away from food, after a stop at Country Mart for some bread (okay not away from food) for the geese and ducks, we headed back to Rock Lane and enjoyed the quiet beauty of the place. This is really a great place to accomplish my mission on the trip — to relax and enjoy. If you're looking to get away and the Ozarks are an option, consider Rock Lane. I've probably been there 20-something times and it's never been disappointing.
Well before I put everyone to sleep, I will stop for the night, and pick up tomorrow with the details of Big Cedar and another place that is quite possibly one of the Ozark's most beautiful areas. Stay tuned.
I just did that???
Call me a glutton for punishment, but I just decided to run for office. Not a real office, but the BlogShares Player Securities Board. To get in the real election, all I need is someone to second me as a candidate, and then of course during the polling days, I need votes. If anyone is interested in reading my platform and/or seconding or thirding me, please take a look here. If you really want to get into the fun, feel free to take a copy of my campaign sign too:
This should be kinda fun. Being an avid political observer, it's fun running for a virtual office. I'm not use to trying to sell myself in such a manor, so who knows how this will go, but it should be fun no matter what…
Gone For a Few Days
Well, I'm off for a few days of R-n-R on Table Rock Lake. Woo hoo! Have a great week everyone…. as Arnold Schwarzenegger says, “I'll Be Back.”
Note for blogs4God
It seems that the good people that bring us blogs4God are doing some list updating. Jen Kibler-McCabe is asking blogs that should be included in the “20somethings” cache to say something to indicate this. So, I am saying something… hopefully not too late, I had meant to do this a few days ago. There, now, back to work. sigh
More Blogroll, More Blogshares
Well, I conducted a reverse stock split this morning in hopes of increasing my share price so that I could issue some more shares. That worked, and there's 940 shares available for the taking if you so desire. The only bad news is issuing more shares caused my P/E to rise precipitously, and I lost $2,000 in worth in my personal portfolio as the price dropped. It seems a bit odd that buying sixty shares should cause such a large drop, but oh well. It should be stable now though, as the P/E is close to perfect and at a much better price than it would have been a day or two ago… remember buy when it's low (but, because you like asisaid, don't sell high)!
In other news, I have made some Blogroll additions. First, I've added “Sisters' Weblog: It Bloggles the Mind,” which I've been following for a little while now. Also, just this morning while following my Blogshares, I noticed Josiah Richie's blog was linking to me, and I've returned the link. I know Josiah from ChristianSource Free Software and Linux Users Group and I knew he had a blog, but I was thinking it was mostly discussion of Gentoo news. Anyway, it is now blogrolled as well.
The Mark of the Beast?
The problem is that the Appeals Court has ruled that probable cause was not necessary to attach the device onto the murderer's car. That means, theoretically, that a law enforcement agency could stick a GPS unit on most people's car without any particular reason for doing so. Imagine the new found intelligence abilities the state would have — this combined with the USA PATRIOT Act and the up-and-coming Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA) would allow for dramatically improved anti-terror and, more generally, anti-crime measures.
However, in doing so, they continue to soften a number of the rights in the constitution. This is all necessary for the next step, to which the article gives short consideration:Following the Spokane court's reasoning, [Lisa Daugaard] said, “There is no constitutional barrier to the police secretly inserting a tracking device into a suspect's clothes or even his body, because for the most part, people move around from place to place in 'plain view.' “ (emphasis mine)Does this ring of familiarity to anyone yet? I think it does. Before I go on however, consider another recent bit of technology that has been developing:
“Reuters is carrying this story about Applied Digital's VeriChip — a subcutaneous microchip (like the ones they use to tag pets, livestock and wildlife) used as ID for humans. […]They will be also used as tracking beacons and personal ID according to a company exec”
Now do you see where I am going? Yes, yes, the Mark of the Beast. Technologies like the above implant and the softening of laws that prevent things like GPS units being implanted (once the technology is small enough to do so), means that we are potentially seeing the technology coming together for a real, live New World Order to form within years not centuries. Maybe not, I realize people for millennia have tried to speculate how their time was the end time, but I still can't help but consider it.
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, {17} and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. —Revelation 13:16-17
