I got through to their (NATN) customer service department and spoke with Justin Barnett. Mr. Barnett assured me that he would contact all of their offices to make sure that I was placed on their do not call lists (he stated that there may be newer offices that do not have me on their list). He stated he did not know why I was receiving these calls. At the same time, I also warned Justin that I was considering seeking legal counsel to stop the telephone calls and made him aware that the last time this happened, who I spoke with and how many times they had called me (I believe I estimated 10 in 7 days to him) and also that they had in the past called me after hours. I expressed my displeasure (pleasantly) and disgust with having to deal with the issue, and he assured me he would take care of it.

In other news, I finished up my two classes for Term 6 and signed up for two more classes for Term 1 of 2003. It was tough completing the coursework on time, but I did most of it (probably got a C or B in Psychology because I backlogged myself...but if I get a C, I'll be surprised - I know I did well on the non-subjective aspects of the midterm and final exams).

They're Baaaaa-aaaack - Received another call from North American Telephone Networks - offering me their deal of the day - if you recall, these were the people who would not stop calling me back in July (7-15th, I believe...). I called their CEO and spoke with their customer service department at length, and was assured (I PROMISE) that I would never, ever, hear from these people again. Well, they just called me again (or one of their representatives did...) - So, do I sue? I asked for a supervisor, and spoke with one, a Mr. Donald Patterson. He assured me that he would put me on their do-not-call list. Then he spoke with a supervisor about getting the change into their computer, immediately. I told Mr. Patterson that I may be considering legal action in the matter, since it seems that the company will not stop soliciting me. I told him about the previous incident, and he was doing his best to be very helpful. All I want them to do is to STOP calling us, and to go out of their way to do so, if necessary. Is that too much to ask?

Is anyone out there paying attention to our decaying privacy? It seems that recent events are allowing the McCarthyists out from under the rocks that they crawled under years ago. Look at this Wired News article and more to the point, this one: Wired News: Total Info System Totally Touchy. I don't know about the rest of you, but this latter system seems to me a crock of crap. Way back when the Social Security Number was created, the government promised us that it would only be used for social security, and would never, ever (we swear!) become a national ID number.

I'd like to see you get anything done from a governmental perspective without handing over your social security number. You can't - don't even waste your time. Regardless of the fact that it is basically illegal to use the SSN of an individual to personally identify them for anything except their social security benefits, every computerized system that needs to personally identify you uses this little number. Sure, there are people in Congress who will want safeguards for this new 'purchase tracking' system that they want to build. But you know what, the law sure didn't help with the SSN.

Our privacy and our personal rights are stripped away daily by well-meaning folks, and while we try to do something, there is almost nothing we can do about it. It's just going to continue to get worse. I don't have an answer...I just felt the need to rant about it.

Can we please speak out about automated bathrooms? They've just refinished the bathrooms here at work. The whole place is automated....automated flushers, automatic lighting, automated sinks, and even an automated door (big handicap button). You walk into the bathroom, and the door swings itself open all the way, and doesn't close immediately, exposing the hallway to a view of the men's room. Then you walk up to a stall, or what-have-you and relieve yourself. Sometime during this process, the automated flusher decides you're finished, even if you're not, and attempts to suck you down the pipes. As you turn around to leave the stall, one of the automated sinks turns on. Not the one you were going to use, but the far one at the end. You put soap on your hands, and wave your hands under the faucet. A sprinkle of ice cold water ensues, and you desperately try to bubble up and then get all the soap off before the sink decides that you are finished. Now, your hands are cold as ice AND still covered with a layer of soapy film.

What's worse? I think someone paid big bucks to have our bathrooms upgraded...and the stall doors don't even stay shut.....I'll bet if you don't move around enough while sitiing, the automatic lights would turn off on you....and then you think to yourself...how do I know it's just a motion detector circuit and not a camera....you feel like you're being watched...

Too much automation is a bad thing. This is an example.

I was having a problem publishing here for a while - kept getting 503 errors on my template file at BLOGGER. But I finally figured it out! It had to do with my Archive template instead of the main template. Saved the archive template and Blogger is working just fine now. Perhaps now I'll write more often?

Found another interesting site on the net. Who says the free lunch is gone? Yahoo is the KING of the free lunch - and they prove it with LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience. This site offers a heap of recent videos (and some not so recent) on demand, and a programmable music station. With the ratings system on the personalized music station, you can hear both the artists and genres you really love, while also hearing new artists that they recommend based on what you like. I've been happy with it so far, and with broadband at home it's fast and reliable.

Well, folks, I've decided to finally finish a degree program. I've started this semester at Limestone College. They have a distance degree program called Virtual Campus. I've signed up for CO201 (Introduction to Programming) and PS311 (Psychology: Cognition). One easy course and one hard course per semester. I should be able to handle that load. I estimate completion in Dec 2004, less if I can test out of some of these classes. If the load is light enough, I think I'll study on the side and CLEP out of the Calculus course, plus the college also offers credit by examination. I should be able to test out of the Networking courses, and possibly some of the others. Wish me luck! :-)

Mercury News | 09/09/2002 | Domain firm sets rules for children Internet zone - A news article points out an attempt to set up a kid-friendly zone on the Internet. Sounds like a great plan - set up a zone of the Internet that will be friendly to kids and be safe for parents to allow their kids to peruse. Unfortunately, I see such a zone becoming a prime target for hackers and other miscreants, and until the web becomes more technically mature and controllable, I don't see how such a policy will be enforceable. The FCC does a good job monitoring the airwaves (although I personally feel their 'family values' have slipped a great deal in the past 25 years), but how do you apply that same monitoring/censoring to a medium that is so easy to publish to? And what happens when trusting parents take the 'easy road' and put all their trust into the kids.us domain to babysit their children's Internet browsing? Just look at how many parents plop their children in front of the TV nowadays without monitoring what their kids are watching! What happens when they do the same with their kids on the 'net?

< >I really believe that setting up something like this will only lead to a false sense of security. If you care about what your kids are exposed to, there's only one way to enforce it - personal responsibility, and on the Internet, that means browsing WITH your children, because pornography and other 'not meant for Johny's eyes/ears'-material is likely only a click away.

Aren't computers the funniest things? We loaded up a new Xeon-MP multiprocessor computer with Windows 2000 Server. The Xeon MP processor has a special ability to emulate a second processor on each physical processor, giving up to 30-40% more performance in multi-threaded application performance. HOWEVER, because Windows 2000 Server kernel code works on up to 4 processors maximum, these virtual processors are not recognized in our new 4-way server. We would have to purchase Windows 2000 Advanced Server to make use of the additional capabilities afforded by our hardware. It doesn't seem quite fair, though, considering that when the second set of 4 processors come online - they'll only be 30% of the performers that the actual processors are.

What's interesting is that it's real hard to take sides on this. Microsoft can't very well just give away the Advanced Server kernel to anyone just because they have this virtual processor capability. On the other hand - if I licensed SQL Server by the processor, they wouldn't make me pay for an 8 processor license...so why is it not the same with the OS. As for Intel, they gladly informed me that Linux doesn't have any restriction on the amount of processors that the OS uses out of the box.

It's a very interesting topic. It's called hyperthreading, and Intel has some whitepapers about it (and Windows vs. Hyperthreading) right here.

Do you use the Internet at all? Of COURSE you do! Well, as a user concerned with the security of your machine, you should be aware that patches for your Operating System and your software are constantly being patched and upgraded. For example, the Flash plug-in in your Internet Explorer (or Netscape) has an update out this week due to the following bulletin: Macromedia: MPSB02-09 - Macromedia Flash Malformed Header Vulnerability Issue

You're going to want to click on that link and follow the instructions so that you don't get targeted by the next 2 or 3 worms/viruses that come out. You see, new viruses tend to utilize fairly recent vulnerabilities (weaknesses) in the software you use, but may not realize you use. In this example, the Flash player is the software that allows you to view my 'typing text' animation at the top of my page. So, if at the top of the screen, you see some text typing across, you're using Flash player software, whether you knew it or not.

I've changed the minimum version for Flash on this page. It will attempt to force download the new one. If you clicked on Yes when the install box popped up, you've already been upgraded to the new version of Flash. If you clicked no, you're still vulnerable.