RoverPundit

Done

Well, that seemed to work. Let's see what happens when I post...

Wow. Almost entirely painless. If anybody sees a problem, let me know.

Upgrade time

Movable Type 2.6, here I come! If the site goes kersplat, you know what happened.

I'm telling you, Andy, life's good here in MT land.

Pilot humor

Got this in e-mail from a co-worker. Some of the codes and acronyms are a little cryptic, but it's still funny. Any private pilots want to help with the translations, I'd appreciate it.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE FLOWN OUT OF O'HARE, YOU KNOW THESE ARE TRUE QUIPS!

Chicago's O'Hare Airport. It's a busy place, and home to some of the finest air traffic controllers in the world. These top 40 real transmissions were collected by, and are reprinted with the permission of, John Carr of NATCA at the old O'Hare TRACON.

"Expect lower at the end of this transmission."

"Citation 123, if you quit calling me center, I'll quit calling you twin Cessna."

"About three miles ahead you've got traffic 12 o'clock, five miles."

"If you hear me, traffic no longer a factor."

"You got him on TCAS? Great. When you're seven in trail, resume normal speed and call Chicago Center on 120.12."

"I am way too busy for anybody to cancel on me."

"You got any more smart remarks, we can be doing this over South Bend ... go ahead."

"You're gonna have to key the mike. I can't see you when you nod your head."

"It's too late for Louisville. We're going back to O'Hare."

"Put your compass on 'E' and get out of my airspace."

"Don't anybody maintain anything."

"Caution wake turbulence you're following a heavy 12 o'clock, three ... no, let's make it five miles."

"Climb like you're life depends on it ... because it does."

"If you want more room Captain, push your seat back."

"For radar identification throw your jumpseat rider out the window."

"Air Force one, I told you to expedite."

"Listen up gentlemen, or something's gonna happen that none of us wants to see. Besides that, you're (tickin') me off!"

"Leave five on the glide, have a nice ride, tower inside, twenty-six nine ... see ya!"

"Japan Air Ten Heavy, how 'bout a radio check?"
(Response -"Rogah, switching!")

"Approach, how far from the airport are we in minutes?"
"N923, the faster you go, the quicker you'll get here."

"American Two-Twenty, Eneey, meeny, miney, moe, how do you hear my radio?"

"Air Wisconsin Three-Thirty-Five, caution wake turbulence, there is an Air Wisconsin Three-Forty-Five on the frequency."

"I don't mind altitude separation as long as they're not on top of each other."

"We were told Rwy 9...we'll take out the 14R approach plate."
"Captain you got sixty miles to take it out...have a ball."

"The traffic at nine o'clock's gonna do a little Linda Ronstadt on you."
"Linda Ronstadt? What's that?"
"Well, sir, they're gonna 'Blue Bayou'."

"I can see the country club down below...look's like a lot of controllers out there!"
"Yes, sir, there are...and they're caddying for DC-10 drivers like you."

"N07K you look like you're established on the localizer and I don't know the
names of any of the fixes, you're cleared for the ILS approach. Call the tower."

"MidEx 726, sorry about that, Center thought you were a Midway arrival. Just sit back, relax and pass out some more cookies...we'll get you to Milwaukee."

"Approach, what's our sequence?"
"Calling for the sequence I missed your callsign, but if I find out what it is, you're last."

"Sure you can have eight miles behind the heavy...there'll be a United tri-jet between you and him."

"Approach, SWA436, you want us to turn right to 090?"
"No, I want your brother to turn. Just do it and don't argue."

"Approach UAL525 what's this aircraft doing at my altitude?"
"UAL525, what makes you think it's YOUR altitude, Captain?"

"Delta 1176, say speed."
"Delta 176, we slowed it down to two-twenty."
"Delta 1176 pick it back up to two-fifty...this ain't Atlanta,
and them ain't grits on the ground."

"Request Runway 27 Right."
"Unable."
"Approach, do you know the wind at six thousand is 270 at fifty?"
"Yeah, I do, and if we could jack the airport up to fifty-five hundred you could have that runway. Expect 14 Right."

"Air Force Four-Five, it appears your engine has...oh, disregard...I see you've already ejected."

"The first officer says he's got you in sight."
"Roger, the first officer's cleared for a visual approach runway 27 Right...
you continue on that 180 heading and descend to three thousand."

"Hey, O'Hare, you see the 7600 code flashing five northwest of Gary?"
"Yeah, I do...you guys talkin' to him?"
(7600 code indicates radio out)

"Approach, what's the tower?"
"That's a big tall building with glass all around it, but that's not important right now."

"How far behind traffic are we?"
"Three miles."
"That doesn't look like three miles to us!"
"You're a mile and a half from him, he's a mile and a half from you...that's three miles

Posted by Dork at 02:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Random

First, this is for Andy. It's called "The Story About the Baby", and is a diary of the first year of the baby's life from the fathers perspective. Delightfully cynical, it has the added bonus of reinforcing my decision to never have children.

Excerpt:

Baby said her first recognizable, non-crylike sound the other day. It was "Goo."

That's right. She said quote-Goo-endquote. It's perfect. It's like if a dog said "Bark."

My wife was nearby to hear it, but she wasn't close enough to pick Cordelia up and positively reinforce this behavior. So, if my daughter can't talk until she's five, it's my wife's fucking fault.

A New Skill

Our daughter is now the Spit Up Princess. She is the real Vomit Comet.

I am amazed by the aplomb and dignity with which she can spit up milk. It's like nothing to her. She makes a little face, she squirts milk and digestive fluids on daddy, and, in a moment, she's back in business. When I vomit, it's this huge production with me bending over the bowl and gagging and brushing my teeth and everything. She doesn't even seem to notice she's done it. I think she's gifted.

Of course, maybe it's not just spitting up. Maybe she's three weeks old and already bulimic. I am a little worried about this, though, if this is the case, it's not all bad. At least she knows how important it is to be pretty.

The Poo Bomb

One of the fascinating things about new parenthood is the way I had in my mind certain basic assumptions about how the process would work, which were, in fact, to any actual parent, so totally and obviously wrong that there was no perceived need to point out that they are wrong. The things you don't know are so obvious that nobody bothers to tell you otherwise.

For example, I recently found out that I had one such assumption: that a diaper is capable of containing all the waste produced in any one "incident."

The other night, however, I experienced an incident I have christened The Poo Bomb.

I watched TV, peacefully, with Cordelia lying on the couch next to me. She made some mildly fussy noises, so I picked her up, took her into the nursery, and checked her diaper. I then found that she had shat out, conservatively, 70% of her body weight. The waste product flowed around the diaper like the wind passes by a stick. I had to cross myself. It was majestic.

It was like, well, imagine an anaconda swallowing a warthog. But in reverse. And the warthog is made of poo.

I am almost positive that she can unhinge her hip bones.

I am starting to develop calm, firm parenting instincts. So it was obvious what I had to do next. I got the camera and took some pictures. Someday, Cordelia will bring home a boyfriend I don't like.

Then I cleaned up everything. And I mean everything.

And the next morning, in direct violation of the Laws of Physics, she detonated another Poo Bomb. I swear to god she feels lighter.

Read it all.

Second, for the party people who are coming up this weekend, be sure to check this site before you leave. CDOT posts the latest road conditions and advisories here, and updates often. The applicable report is I-70 - Eisenhower Tunnel WB.

That is all.

Music to groove to

It's Friday, and we all know what that means. So, if you're looking for some deep trance to spin at your party, may I recommend PPK? They're a Russian trance group that's been around for about 4 years, and puts out a truly unique sound. Floaty, ethereal melodies, solid beats, and beautiful vocals (in Russian, natch.)

Songs I'd recommend are:
Dance With Me
21 Century
Gold Sunrise
Reload

Have fun, party hard, and be safe.

Geek Time!

There's an article over on Ars-Technica entitled Understanding Moore's Law which gives an interesting look at the art and science of manufacturing processors, and what Moore really meant. Hint: Most mainstream media gets it wrong.

Well, how about that

I just passed my one year blogiversary, and didn't even notice. Maybe that's not so surprising.

To everyone that stopped by, thanks!

Customer Service (Or lack thereof)

Kelly just dropped by in the comments on the last post with a horror story I have heard far too often. Seems she tried out one of the FREE CREDIT REPORTING companies (freecreditreport.com, to be exact,) and is getting screwed over. Now there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth, which calls to me to hold forth. Listen carefully, for I am shifting into advice mode. My motto: I fuck up, so you don't have to!!!

Never, ever, under any circumstances get a credit report from anyone other than a banker or one of the Big Three; Experian (formerly TRW), Transunion LLC, and Equifax. Here is a page with all of the contact info in one place. Most of the sites offering "FREE CREDIT REPORTS" will resell your information, opening you up to a world of spam. I know this intimately. My mailbox groans under the weight of my spam.

Unless I am mistaken, under Colorado law you are entitled to one free credit report a year from each of the reporting companies. Check with the companies I listed above, and concentrate on Equifax and Experian, as they tend to be the most aggressive. I'm speaking from experience here. (Whaddaya mean, negative credit score!?)

In regards to Dell Customer Care being the worst support line in the history of the known universe, it pains me that I must agree. I run an entirely Dell office, and have for almost 8 years. Loved their service, loved the machines, and never had a problem. Then they laid off half their support staff. Because I have a corporate account there, I only have to wait 10-20 minutes (a little sarcasm there) for service that I paid a fair amount of money for. So, when the Dell I have at home started showing its age, I shopped around. Gateway won my business, and I couldn't be happier. Great case design, all reference components, support line answered in 3 rings everytime I call, I'm a happy guy. Best of all, they actually ship an OS CD!* Woot!

So, the moral of the story is, watch what I do and do something else follow my lead! No, that wasn't it... Oh, yeah. When your dealing with legal or financial information, go to the source. Don't deal with the middleman. Oh, and don't buy Dell!

*Some computer manufacturers who shall remain nameless have started shipping home computers with an image CD instead of source files. This makes it really hard to get a clean install without turning to a life of crime and 'borrowing' a copy from a friend.

[edited to remove stupidity - still far too much left.]

Oh, well

Alison finally got the letter. Unfortunately, the news was not what we had hoped it would be. Thanks to everyone who dropped by to offer encouragement. We'll do it again next year.

Though not admitted, she did put in a very strong showing. At Colorado State University, where she is studying, there were 1400+ applications for Vet school this year, and 123 (I think) open positions. 60 positions were filled immediately, and 120 applicants were chosen to be interviewed for the remaining 63. Ali made it into the final round, which is very impressive.

Thanks to all who wished her well.

Sick, again

Total body flu.

Bah.

Update: Oh, great. Andy's praying for me. Now I know I'm gonna die.

Update the second: Here's a trackback ping for War Liberal. Woohoo. Now I'm living dangerously.

Update the third: And a trackback ping for Matt Moore. He was feeling lonely.

I'm starting to feel like Santa, here. Anybody else want a ping?

Dude, you're getting a bong!

Dell Dude In Pot Bust

Come on, is anybody really surprised?

Update: Wow. I think Balloon Juice and I just posted at the exact same time.

Cross those fingers

She Who Must Be Adored is interviewing for Vet school today.

Morning star

Late as usual. You already know what happened. 7 brave men and women lost their lives. Nothing I can say will comfort the families of those who perished in that terrible accident. Others, more talented than I, have already expressed my feelings more beautifully than I ever could.

Godspeed, Columbia.