Ron Kohl, the editor or Machine Design magazine, has written an excellent article on the presidential election that sums up many of my feelings quite eloquently (check the attached link for the full article). Yes, it is an excellent and eloquent article because I agree with him. In brief, Mr. Kohl points out that the major political parties are preying on the emotions of the average voters while avoiding the hard subjects such as medical care and medical costs. Both parties are guilty of...
In the article Is your project in trouble? The 8 warning signs by Matthew Osborn the author talks about 8 signs that a software project might be in trouble. Having recent experience on a software project from... you know where, I had to put my own spin on this. Hopefully it helps somebody else. The Eight Signs 1. No compelling business case. Wanting to be a " technology showcase" lead to the decision to implement a new software system (sorry, have to be vague here). Lesson: Don't ...
Its a sad day for Louisiana and the United States of America thanks to the voters of Louisiana yesterday, Sept. 18, 2004. A proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and civil unions was passed in a state-wide election. Louisiana already has a law stating that marriage can be only between a man and woman, but supporters of the amendment want to protect that law in the Constitution. The amendment also prohibits state officials and courts from recognizing out-of-sta...
According to news reports today, the Senate has approved a measure by a vote of 99-1 to raise the fines for "indecency" to $275,000.00 per indecent incident with a cap of $3,000,000.00 a day. This is up from the current $27,500.00 per incident for the FCC licensed broadcasters and $11,000.00 per incident fine for personalities. This measure was sponsored by Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (GOP) because "People are tired of this indecent material on over-the-air public broadcast, particularly dur...
President Bill Clinton's new book "My Life" will be available Tuesday. Various news outlets including the AP and the New York Times have acquired advanced copies and have begun releasing excerpts and reporting on the contents. The publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, reportedly payed a $10 million dollar advance to the former president for his 957 page book (for those of you that don't want to do the math - that is $10,449.32 a page). I have no doubt the book will be a best-seller due to the left's l...
Take this blog for what it's worth. I was listening to talk radio today (something I never do) and was surprised at just how stupid and banal the callers were on the day's hot topics: Bill Clinton's new book and the Iraq war. I just had to respond and the following are presented as my opinions only. First off, I am still amazed at how many people think Bill Clinton was a great president. He was impeached yet wears it as a badge of honor. The arguments against him are many, not the least of...
I came to JoeUser.com originally because I had discovered Brad Wardell's blog and enjoyed reading what he had to say. It wasn't required daily reading, but every few days or couple of weeks I'd stop in and catch up. It was a pleasure to read thoughts from an average guy that didn't mind sharing his opinions. I came back one day a few weeks ago after a long absence and discovered the JoeUser.com had changed. There were other people writing. I discovered NickyG first and enjoyed reading all o...
I had a nice little reminder of why I love what I do today. I got a comment on my deviantART.com account from a young woman that is studying Aerospace Engineering. She had a photograph that showed a small space shuttle pin and I had commented on her photograph. I noticed that she was wearing a space shuttle pin in the photograph and mentioned that as well. Being polite she was thanking me for the comment and explained the pin in the photograph. The words she used though are what brought me ...
One of the cries you hear a lot of today is that the US is outsourcing all of it's manufacturing and computer programming to foreign countries. The cry is loudest at the moment in the Information Technology field as more and more jobs are sent to places such as India and China. This is leading to a new wave of protectionism rhetoric and in some cases legislation to enforce protectionism. I would say that the idea of protectionism is dangerous and quite frankly stupid. The reason that Ameri...
I'll admit it, I'm totally confused and sickened by what has happened. What is the deal with Spain? Here is a brief recap of the last week. Terrorists mounted a cowardly attack on the good citizens of Madrid that has claimed over 200 lives so far and resulted in over 1500 injuries. The attack was timed for maximum impact striking as they did during the morning commute and right before the Spanish elections. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that it was in retaliati...
Yikes! At least it feels like I've joined a cult. I've been a diehard PC user since, well a long time (DOS 2.06 is where I became proficient ). I discovered UNIX in the early 90's and I'm a UNIX nut. I absolutely LOVE that operating system - it is everything I have ever wanted and more. So anyway, when a friend gave me a Mac G4 for free I accepted it - but with some trepidation. I don't like Macs. I've worked with Macs since forever also, starting with the first Macintosh. I always wa...
An urge to write has grabbed hold. I've been reading several blogs with great interest and decided that I might just try my own hand at blogging. It is my little experiment in changing from reader to author. I'm not sure that will be an entirely easy change to embrace, the burden to communicate coherently is on the author and that implies a certain responsibility that doesn't exist for the general reader. I guess time will tell if I can make the transition. I've never voiced my opinions ver...