The cable is out. This happens just too often. The one problem I think I'm going to have with going to a cable modem is going to be when there are outages like this. With the phone system, I have never had it go out on me (although Sprynet has had problems in the past.). Using a dialup as a backup is going to suck big time once I get used to the speed of a cable modem.
My kid has a cold (and now a fever). Kids can be so miserable when they are sick. The poor guy wants to go outside and play but now that he has a fever, he's been put on restriction. With half of the cable channels gone, I'm really in a pinch, because he's still an extremely active kid and that means I have to be too. Gotta run.

It looks like the problems between BLOGGER and TRIPOD have cleared up. I'm glad for that. It was starting to stress me out having to do manual updates to my website. I picked up a new book: The Code Book. Nope, I still haven't finished those other books I'm reading, but this book caught my eye because it explained many different encryption schemes, and the history of them. Some of the European history in the book was very interesting, such as the story about Mary Queen of Scots, and how bad encryption was her downfall. I'm about halfway through the book now, and it still has my attention. The reviews at Amazon give it 5/5 stars, and I tend to agree with that rating. If you are interested in either history or cryptography, it's a good read.

My son began playing in the Pokemon League today. I sat with him and tried to help him play. Sometimes he took my advice, and sometimes he didn't. Kids are like that. They tend to think that they know everything and ignore their parents when they want to. I tried to just bite my tongue and let him make his own mistakes, and praised him when he made good choices by himself. Being a parent can be tough. As for the Pokemon League, it looked like fun. I might join myself :-)

One reason that I still pay for Internet access has been my web space. Recently, I've established this space here on Tripod and I've been slowly weaning off my ISP's email address and using a reflector adresss instead (found here). I'm going to be giving up my account at Sprynet when I move, since I'll be getting a cable modem.
The one difference between my Sprynet webspace and Tripod is support. We have had a problem blogging to Tripod recently, and there's no one I can call for support. I've left several emails for the support team without response. So, with cheap [or free] services, you get a lack of support services. This is important to remember as you utilize services in the new economy. It's not so new a concept, you know, getting what you pay for.

For those of you who want to help others, here's a web site that will make it easier. Helping.Org will help you find just the right volunteer opportunity to meet your (and their) needs. By checking for volunteer requirements in a ZIP code near you, you'll be able to find a way to volunteer for anywhere from an hour of your time up to full time. What's really nice about this is that even those of us with a full schedule can still find a way to help others, easily! What a great use of the Internet!

ALERT!!
Here is a VERY cool article about: Coating Isolates Nuclear Waste. This article talks about a new coating called EKOR that will possibly enable us to stop nuclear radiation from contaminating the environment. For those of you who may not have learned in high school, radiation emissions from radioactive materials only diminishes with time. There is no known way to neutralize their radioactivity. Storing and transporting highly radioactive items is dangerous because the radioactive material breaks up as it diminishes. Flakes and dust that break off from the items are hazardous just as the original material is. These flakes and dust particles enter the surrounding environment (such as the water table) and pose severe bio-hazards. Shielding of radioactive materials is very difficult because the materials used to shield it are affected by the radiation itself and either become radioactive or break down completely. This new coating has stood up to a several month test where it is showing no such effects from its application to the most poisonous place on the planet - the Chernobyl nuclear reactor #4!
This has VAST importance! If this stuff works, it could allow us to possibly encapsulate nuclear waste, and maybe even eventually make it fairly safe to be handled, transported and stored with little or no effect on the surrounding biology.

Wow, you know what I just read? An Oklahoma State University student had his computer seized by the police for distributing illegal copies of music. Apparently, the student was ftping the files and lots of them from what the article said. The source is quoted as the 'Chronicle of Higher Education Online, September 18 2000'. I'm reading from an abstract service called Edupage by Educause.
The interesting thing about this is that it's touted as being 'news' that someone can be held liable for an illegal act. "Hello?!" This shouldn't be news. If you do something illegal, like copying music or programs, and you don't have at least an inkling that you COULD indeed be prosecuted for it, then your parents didn't do their job.
Ugh! I am so upset that this is such a big deal for everyone.

Does your organization run Microsoft Exchange? If so, do you have virus scanning that interfaces with it? If not, take a moment out of your busy day and visit HouseCall for Microsoft Exchange Server. They offer a free virus scan of your Exchange Server, to see if any viruses are still sitting in someone's mail box. They also offer a free house call scan of your local machine at this page if you're silly enough to run around without virus protection on your own machine.

Why do we weblog? It's a very strange thing we do, logging parts of our lives or our thoughts for the prosperity of it, for review by anyone who might happen across it. A weblog can never truly be a diary or journal, because it must be edited by human nature. There are pieces of my life I do not wish to share, and certainly pieces that you would never want to read about. There was a man who kept a journal of his life. I listened to an account of his life on the Don and Mike Show one day driving home from work. His case was very interesting, as he would log every detail of his life, from when he went to the john, what and when he ate, and minute by minute accounts of his day. It must certainly have taken him a good few hours each day to write this chronicle, and he filled up a room with his journal.
I don't think we who weblog do it for the same reasons that struck him, although some might. Myself, I began this only as an exercise of the mind. Not only the weblog but the creation of the surrounding web page is what excited me and interested me for the first few months (of which I am approaching rapidly). Maybe even some of my readership is no longer there. I can certainly see by my hitcount that I am not a universally subscribed to web log. And my repeat visitors is few and far between. So, this diary amounts to talking to myself. I wonder, does this equate me with the man walking down the street in animated conversation. Am I one of the first crazy men of cyberspace?
Isn't it interesting how when we begin to wax philosophically we end up just throwing out supposition and question, and never really get anywhere? Our train of thought is quickly lost in a rambling line of ideas that just streams nonsencially from our mind. As I was saying, I began this web log as an exercise for my mind. I wished to extend my abilities back into the realm of written ideas to better prepare me for exercises in the real world where I would need these skills. I don't know whether or not I've grown as a writer from my first weblogs, but I've learned a great deal about HTML in the meantime, and have enjoyed discussing my life with, well, myself.
If you happen to be a reader of my web log, please know that I appreciate your taking the time out to share a little part of my life with me. As I can only offer you a virtual cup of tea, I would like to do so. One lump, or two?