July 2010 Archives

I'm sure there's probably been a lot written about this, but here's what I went through today:

We have a new server running Windows 2003 Server, and I needed to install SQL Server 2008 on it via our MSDN subscription.

I first tried to do this via IE7 and was getting nothing but javascript errors every which way I turned (I couldn't even login to the site), so I decided to install IE8.

After installing IE8 and rebooting, I went to MSDN and after clicking about 20 security pop-ups, adding site exceptions (all for microsoft's own sites, I might add), and lowering my security settings as far as I could, I get to the download page. Keep in mind I've spent the better part of an hour, just to get to the download page first with IE7, and then the install of IE8 and all that.

MSDN uses a file transfer add-on to handle the downloading of files which never gave me any problems before, but the enhanced security blocks the add-on. The download page says to click the information bar and allow the add-on, but when I do all I get is the information bar help.

Well, after some Googling I never did find a specific fix to that problem, there may be a setting you can twiddle somewhere I don't know, but I did find out how to disable the enhanced security (remove it via the Add/Remove Windows Features app). So, with enhanced security banished from the system the information bar finally allowed me to allow the add-on. Worked great after that.

I don't know, it may be more secure out of the box, but it sure isn't very usable.

Some California residents tell their local leaders to GTFO.

Perhaps there is hope.

Buy a used kegerator off Craigslist for $200.

Looking back on it, I should have just bought a new one. I can't even count the number of hours I've spent futzing with it, but here is what I have done.

I replaced the beer line, faucet, and gas line.

I added freon to it.

I patched the evaporator housing which had rusted through.

I made a fan shroud for the evaporator fan (which is not OEM) since the fan was just blowing air around the interior and not over the evaporator coils.



I made a tower cuzi.



And last not but, not least, we can't have analog thermostats in this day and age. I added a Love temperature controller.

I shot in ALSPPC's USPSA match yesterday.

I shot like crap for the most part. It probably wasn't a good idea to stay up till 2 AM the night before drinking beer. Oh well.

There were some positives though.

I crushed my previous El Presidente time/points. Unfortunately, it wasn't the qualifier the club is sending to USPSA.

I finally shot a Texas Star clean with a pistol! Karl Rehn has given me some tips on this blog and in email that helped a bunch. I had a perfect sight picture on every shot, I can still remember it actually, and a nice smooth trigger press, and the plates just fell one after the other.

Generally when I wasn't doing dumb shit the shots and hits were there.

One scary thing at the match, was when an older gentleman had a heat episode. He fell out of his chair and hit the concrete slab. Hard. I thought he was dead right there. His eyes were wide open staring straight up, didn't appear to be breathing. I've seen people fall out from heat exhaustion before and usually they are like, "I don't feel so good", and then they kind of crumple. This was like someone hit the off switch. Scary. He came around after a little bit, and sat in my car with the AC on until the EMS arrived and looked after him. Hope he's ok. This heat is not something to be taken lightly.

Update: Scores

On Fluffy's Revenge I shot a "C" level performance, according to classifier calc.

On El President I shot a "B" level performance says the calc, but that was not the classifier that day. Damn.

I came in 15th out 31 overall, I was the only one shooting in Single Stack.

"When I became the NASA administrator -- or before I became the NASA administrator -- [President Obama] charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering."

When I read that, I immediately thought of Kennedy's speech where he challenged us to go to the moon by the end of the decade, and then I laughed out loud at the sheer silliness of the new goals.

Why should we borrow even $1 (we will have to borrow it after all, we're running huge deficits) to make the Muslim nations feel good about their own contributions. If they don't feel good about their contributions, that's their problem. (If it is a problem.)

I'd be curious to see how NASA accomplishes this mission, but my head would probably explode if I found out. Maybe we'll send up a rocket named after some Muslim scholar loaded up with a bunch of school children from all over the world who excel in science and math? That would at least be something somewhat related to NASA's raison d'?tre.

Reason's article on the subject.

"Yes! Several."

I love Futurama, and am so glad someone brought it back.