I have retained the old galleries and will integrate them in time. I [...]]]> I’ve decided to revert back to WordPress for this site. The other framework installed here required continual reprogramming for the addition of features. That’s something I do all day at work, that I’d rather not have to do when I’m off.

I have retained the old galleries and will integrate them in time. I hope to be able to make image handling a little smoother. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.

User names and passwords have been reverted to what they were before I took down the WP installation in November of last year.

Some images do not appear as they should. Bear-with as I make corrections while reverting back to WP.

Can we play now?…

He’s my pal!

Politics and [...]]]> There was a time I would become emotional about politics in the USA. No – not brought to tears. More like – infuriated or disappointed. So much so, I had to take a break from the non-sense for a year or so for some introspection on the topic. I’ve reached a conclusion…

Politics and getting emotional about political stuff is just Too Stupid!

I still feel an obligation to vote and voice my opinions. I’ll vote at the polls and post my opinions here. I will not however, discuss those opinions with acquaintances, friends or family. Life’s too short to permit the insane-stupidity spewed by political “machines” to interfere with my personal relationships or day-to-day life.

Fortunately, as a result of learning the hardway, we as a [...]]]> Iceland’s volcanos are alive and well. If you haven’t read the news, just ask any number of stranded passengers in many major airports in Europe.Travelers from all over the world have been impacted by cancellations due to the volcanic cloud drifting over Europe.

Fortunately, as a result of learning the hardway, we as a species now know that flying through a volcanic cloud is a bad thing. It really screws-up airplanes. Doing so has nearly cost the lives of passengers and crew on several flights in recent history. Here’s hoping the lessons learned are not soon forgotten.

Vermomt Yankee, after drilling a monitoring well, found tritium in the soil and ground water. Tritium is a low-level radioactive by-product of nuclear plants. Fortunately, none [...]]]> Apparently, the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant has fixed it’s leak. [OMG! They leak?] There have been more than 20 leaks at nuclear power plants around the country.

Vermomt Yankee, after drilling a monitoring well, found tritium in the soil and ground water. Tritium is a low-level radioactive by-product of nuclear plants. Fortunately, none of the material was found in drinking water supplies or the nearby Connecticut River.

They say the leak has caused a credibility concern for Entergy, the company that owns the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. [Ya think?] Approximately 150 cubic feet of soil and material will be removed and contaminated gound water is being pump into above gound containers for use in the plant itself.

The leak began in two pipes inside a concrete tunnel. A clogged drain was also found in the tunnel, which allowed the water to seap through an unsealed joint in the tunnel wall.

This is a case where a failure to properly maintain the technology we’ve created nearly caused a disaster. It’s highly unlikely monitoring is something a large corporation would do without regulatory motivation. It appears the government may have done something right by requiring such monitoring. This would be a bite we collectively avoided. But, with 20 other leaks and surely more to follow, it’s only a matter of time before we have a “Three Mile Island” type incident.

Google, recently bitten by a zero-day exploit in China, has been very vocal about this exploit and is threatening to pull out of China. This, in turn, has the U.S. government requesting a response from China on cyber security. Can’t [...]]]> Technology has been chewing-on businesses and governments alike over the past month or so.

Google, recently bitten by a zero-day exploit in China, has been very vocal about this exploit and is threatening to pull out of China. This, in turn, has the U.S. government requesting a response from China on cyber security. Can’t blame the U.S. government for making a case, as IP’s from China have been traced as the source of several attacks over the past year or so. Needless-to-say, China is not happy about the bad press. In fact, they’ve been quite vocal in their denials and have basically told the U.S. “Don’t mess with our business”.

China is akin to a spoiled child. The country believes it’s right on most topics and seems to enjoy “flying in the face” of the world. So long as the world allows China to behave like a spoiled brat, it will continue to do so. If they were just a little less paranoid about information that might topple their power and concentrate on improving the lives of their citizens, they’d be better off. None-the-less, China does not seem happy about the technology bite it’s received.

Microsoft can’t be any happier these days. Internet Explore contained the flaw that, in the end, allowed the perpetrators to gain access to Google’s system. It’s also something Microsoft new about in September of 2009 and didn’t plan to release a fix until February 2010. A 5 month window, from the time they were advised of the flaw to a planned fix, seems a bit long to me. Perhaps to Microsoft now too. It certainly doesn’t look good for the company when something like this happens.

Will future Technology Bites come in triads? Microsoft/Google/China all bitten at once. Very cool! Unless you’ve one of the individuals China was trying to censor.