10 - 2001 | ***Dave Does the Blog

Security? We don’ need no steenkin’ security!

The formal conclusion of my travelogue to the Disneyverse. Up way too early. Frantic scrambling to do the final packing, and take care of Cranky Lass, and still get that…

The formal conclusion of my travelogue to the Disneyverse.

Up way too early. Frantic scrambling to do the final packing, and take care of Cranky Lass, and still get that horrific “Leaving on a Jet Plane” thing below posted. (Attempts the previous night had been cancelled by the Girl not wanting to sleep until we did.)

Bell cap was there right on time, manhandled our TARDIS luggage (courtesy of Margie’s Magic) onto a dolly, and then drove us all off to the main hotel lobby, where our TranStar van was already waiting.

(Gratuitous aside: if you are going to be staying at WDW, the Port Orleans Riverside complex is one of the nicest I saw on the trip. The ambience is great, the pricing is reasonable, and the food facilities are fine. And there’s a shuttle boat down the river to Downtown Disney. The only drawback is that it always seems to be the furthest bus pickup at each of the parks. But that’s trivial.)

Off to the airport, where we arrived about 6 a.m. for our 8:20 flight. Huge line out front where skycaps were checking luggage (but not providing boarding passes). Huger line inside. We go for outside, get checked (showing our photo ID), and head off for the gate.

Initial checkpoint confirms we have tickets for the plane.

After that is the real security checkpoint. Very short lines here. We duck to the side, since we have the stroller with us this time (much more convenient way of doing things). Margie beeps as she walks through with Katherine. Between wheelchairs and wanding the stroller and my endless carry-on (since I had to run my laptop, Palm, and cell phone through the X-ray separately), Margie managed to walk through without being re-wanded.

We’re at the gate around 7 a.m.

Around 7:30, the gate attendants arrive, and a huge line magically appears. Margie gets up there to get our seats assigned, and to see if there’s any “unused” middle seats. Dagnabbit, not. Plane is full. As will be the plane from Atlanta to Denver. Mercifully, this first leg is short (about an hour), and the second leg Kitten slept through most of the way. Still, having that extra seat is really handy.

At both Orlando and Atlanta, Delta makes heavy use of the huge “landscape” flat panel displays (like the Phillips $15K TVs). Works really nicely, and provides lots of nice info at the gate, including when different rows should be boarding, who on stand-by has gotten a seat assigned, etc.

Atlanta was non-descript, except that we were off in Concourse T and had to get to A. Grumpiness ensued.

The only other noteworthy thing about the trip was that we saw, for the third time, the same episode of Frazier. We are not watchers of that particular show, but by the third go-through, we were so curious, we had to listen. We took turns, since Squiggy was still awake at that point.

On the security front in Denver, it appears they are walling off the gaps to the left and right of the security checkpoints, so that you have to come through the narrow gap where the ATMs and payphones are. We’re in this for the duration, folks.

Aside from that — it’s grand to be home.

We are at war

And we have no idea what that means. Desert Storm wasn’t a war. Because it didn’t strike home. There were few (American) casualties, and no privations. There was broad natinoal…

And we have no idea what that means.

Desert Storm wasn’t a war. Because it didn’t strike home. There were few (American) casualties, and no privations. There was broad natinoal debate as to whether we ought to be doing anything (answer: of course we should have, idiots, though it was a shame that the Kuwaiti royal family is so unsatisfactory a group to “fight for”).

The last war before that — ignoring silly excursions to Grenada and Panama — was Viet Nam. And that was a war — we lost people — but it was also lacking any sort of national determination. It was also lacking any privations. Aside from those who lost friends, family, or loved ones, you’d never know back here in the states that we were fighting a war. It destroyed the Johnson Administration (and the budget) to try to provide both Guns and Butter, but we did it. Sorta.

But this. America’s “New War.” The “War on Terrorism.” It’s in our faces, America. It’s not just lobbing missiles and bombs at targets unable to defend themselves. There’s enough serious talk of ground war that I’m pretty sure it’s coming. But it’s not just troops, but here at home. Security restrictions. A major change in what’s worth debating up on Capitol Hill. Job losses. Industrial dislocation.

People are talking differently. They’re talking about war.

That’s scary, folks.

C’mon baby, light my fire

We left a Colorado with temps in the high 70s into the high 80s. We lived the last week in a Florida in the high 80s (with humidity to boot)….

We left a Colorado with temps in the high 70s into the high 80s.

We lived the last week in a Florida in the high 80s (with humidity to boot).

We returned to a Colorado with temps in the low 60s, dropping down to the 30s at night. (And our furnace doesn’t get fixed until Tuesday.)

(We also returned to a flat tire, but that was not, sadly, a surprise.)

I just lit the first fireplace fire of the season. I plan on a great deal of snuggling tonight with Margie.

Indeed, given that this will be the first evening without a hypersensitive almost-not-sleeping toddler mere feet from our bed, there may be more than just snuggling.

Unless we fall to sleep first.

Good guys, bad guys

They’re not all bad guys, guys A very prestigious group of Muslim clerics issue a fatwa condemning the 9-11 attacks, and allowing Muslims in the US to serve in the…

They’re not all bad guys, guys

A very prestigious group of Muslim clerics issue a fatwa condemning the 9-11 attacks, and allowing Muslims in the US to serve in the US military effort against their perpetrators.

(Link via Instapundit)

WDW – 2001

A compendium of posts for our trip to Walt Disney World in October 2001. A Vacationer’s Progress Deep in the Heart And the Morning and the Evening … There’s something…

A compendium of posts for our trip to Walt Disney World in October 2001.

UPDATE: I’ve created an honest-to-gosh subcategory for all the posts related to this trip. It should be visible at the bottom (or, if I redesign, the top) of this post, something like “Travel – WDW 01.” Now you can see it all at once. Oh, boy!

Leia, hear me!

I am Princess Leia. Fear me. Fear my hair. I am also home. (Link via Doyce)…

I am Princess Leia.

Fear me. Fear my hair.

I am also home.

(Link via Doyce)

With apologies to P, P & M, and JD

All our bags are packed, We’re ready to go, Bellboy at 5:20 Is due at our door, When we wake the baby up, I’m sure she’ll cry. But the shuttle’s…

All our bags are packed,
We’re ready to go,
Bellboy at 5:20
Is due at our door,
When we wake the baby up,
I’m sure she’ll cry.

But the shuttle’s waiting,
It’s break of day,
Security checkpoints
Along our way
Orlando, Atlanta, Denver
Through the sky.

   ‘Cause we’re leavin’ on a jet plane,
   Don’t know when we’ll be back again,
   Good times, but good to go.

There’s so many times
We woke ere dawn,
Bags are full,
Our credit gone,
I bitched a lot,
But it don’t mean a thing

Went to Epcot
Magic Kingdom, too,
Animal Kingdom (not a zoo),
And retail stores,
Registers went ch-ching

(Chorus)

Now the time has
Come to leave here,
Gartner’s over,
No need to be here,
No more dinner
On a plastic tray

Check for binkies
‘Neath the bed
Thoughts of home
Dance through my head
Disconnect,
Put PC away.

(Chorus)

I haven’t posted something today

Today I had some fun. There was only one of the three Gartner sessions this afternoon that had any interest for me, so I said, “Screw it,” and went back…

Today I had some fun.

There was only one of the three Gartner sessions this afternoon that had any interest for me, so I said, “Screw it,” and went back to the hotel to play afternoon hooky with Margie.

We took the Squig down the river (well, by bus, but we used the shuttle boat on the way back) to “Downtown Disney,” which is basically a big retail center at the edge of the WDW parkland. Restaurants, night clubs (on “Pleasure Island” — on which my company also did engineering work), places of amusement (a mini-Legoland), entertainment locales (a blues club, an AMC theater, and a Cirque de Soleil arena), and several Disney-themed stores. That includes “Disney Home” (Disney meets Eddie Bauer — with some surprisingly tasteful stuff mixed in with “What would anyone be thinking in order to actually put this in their house?”), Disney Christmas (ditto), and the world’s largest Disney store (which basically has nearly everything that all the smaller stores at the various parks).

Which took care of some birthday, Christmas, and thank-you gifts for a variety of people.

It’s vaguely insidious how easy they make it for you to spend money here. Your room key can be programmed to function as a credit card (basically charging to your room). And stuff you buy anywhere can be sent back to your home resort. Danger, Will Robinson! Doctor Smith, put down that room key!

Anyway, Kitten had fun at Legoland. But she had even more fun at a fountain on the outskirts of the complex. This fountain was made up of various terra cotta pots at various angles, spilling water all over the place. This was the most fun place at all of Walt Disney World, if you gauge it by the screams and giggles of delight from a 16 month old. By the time she was done splashing about, she was soaking wet and utterly enjoying herself.

Being around Margie is also fun. I should do it even more often.

But now it’s time to sleep. Not fun, but around Margie, which does make it, then, fun. Even if all we do is sleep, and even if it is a double bed.

Welcome to America

Welcome to America A story everyone should read. A good story. A story of what it’s all about, brothers and sisters. (And a pretty good site, too. Wow — two…

Welcome to America

A story everyone should read. A good story. A story of what it’s all about, brothers and sisters.

(And a pretty good site, too. Wow — two adds in one day.)

And on a related note, Ulro, Jr., on the jihad — the other one that folks aren’t expecting. I don’t know if it makes me feel as good — but it rings just as true.

If I were a terrorist …

… I can think of a lot more effective, terror-inducing, fatality-causing places to spread anthrax than in an office in Florida. This has got to turn out to be some…

… I can think of a lot more effective, terror-inducing, fatality-causing places to spread anthrax than in an office in Florida. This has got to turn out to be some weird coincidence.

Church of Yoda

“Reverend Toop, meet Jedi Master Dag Winru” Based on an e-mail campaign, enough folks in the UK census listed “Jedi Knight” as the religion to get it listed on the…

“Reverend Toop, meet Jedi Master Dag Winru”

Based on an e-mail campaign, enough folks in the UK census listed “Jedi Knight” as the religion to get it listed on the Official List of Religions for the census.

On the one hand, I think that’s pretty funny. And cool.

On the other hand, the curmudgeonly history guy in me frowns. (“Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn!”) And what will the genealogists do a century hence …?

(Link via Doyce)

Allow me to bitch a moment

“I’m really not having fun.” I made that comment to Margie Sunday. And, with provisos, that’s actually true. And it’s all Katherine’s fault. Or the fault of her presence, since…

“I’m really not having fun.”

I made that comment to Margie Sunday. And, with provisos, that’s actually true.

And it’s all Katherine’s fault. Or the fault of her presence, since she’s fairly innocent in all of this.

That’s the problem, of course. She doesn’t understand. The good times are no more meaningful for her here than they would be at home. Look, an interesting plant! Look, a bunny on the grass!

In the meantime, all she knows is that she’s either confined to a little hotel room, or else stuck in a stroller or a high chair. Unhappy-making. Her schedule is disrupted.

Meanwhile, Margie has to deal with her all day. And we both have to deal with her in the evening (which largely means trying to get her to sleep, and then tiptoeing around the room the rest of the night).

Margie is getting night duty with her, first because I have to go to “work” in the a.m., second because Kitten has taken to screaming more loudly when I pick her up out of the crib (whic does have its advantages to me, but also its guilt). Margie’s duty is only slightly offset by the hilarity of Dave stumbling around by nightlight to get shaved, bathed and dressed without Waking The Baby Three Feet Away.

In other words, every moment in Katherine’s presence is dominated by her interests. Is she hungry? Thirsty? Poopy? Ready for bed? Into somwthing she ought not to be? Stir-crazy? Is the bathroom door shut? The bottle put away? Everything out of reach (everything that hasn’t been pulled onto the floor)? Why is she howling again, and are you sure the neighbors can’t hear?

And when you’re out with her (like at a theme park), things get even more interesting.

Not fun.

And the bitch is, she won’t remember this trip. We’ll talk about it. She’ll see pictures. But the fun parts of this trip — what could be good memories — are no more part of her than the thrills of the Haunted Mansion were (she
fell asleep).

This is a good conference. I’m glad I don’t have to miss Margie and Katherine. And there have been some fun times. And someday I’d like to come back, both when Katherine’s old enough to appreciate the place (and for us to appreciate her appreciation), and when Katherine’s out of the nest and it can Just Be the Two of Us. The Disney Resort thang can be a very enjoyable time.

But I’m looking forward to being back home.

Okay, enough self-pity! On with more blogging!

The name’s the thing

On Saturday we went to Epcot. That’s its official name these days, btw. The whole “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” thing has largely vanished. Time marches on. As we rode…

On Saturday we went to Epcot. That’s its official name these days, btw. The whole “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” thing has largely vanished. Time marches on.

As we rode in the bus past the manacured lawns amidst the trees, the occasional colorful building half-glimpsed, the pools of water, the sense of wonder, the stirring music wafting through the underbrush on the breeze, it occured to me that Walt Disney World is like Lothlorien. Only less subtle, and they charge for admission.

We spent the vast majority of the time at the International Showcase. That was fun, though the weather was blisteringly, swelteringly hot. There’s a reason this all used to be unoccupied swampland.

We bought some wine in France and Germany. Got some gifts in Japan. Took a cute pic of Squiggy in Morocco (with Princess Jasmine). Fun day. Long day. Hot day.

Epcot is doing this “legacy” thing. For a small fee (smaller if paid by AmEx or if you’re AAA members), a digitized photo of you will be placed on one of a number of huge granite plinths at the front enrance. Yes, we did it. Blame my History Major.

WDW has a unifying color scheme in its signage, busses, etc. Red, purple, white and gold. I’ve seen each o these used as both background and foregrounf, and it makes for nice coloration. I may dabble in this page’s color scheme that way.

PC or not PC, that is the question

One of the most popular attractions at either Magic Kingdom in the States is Splash Mountain. (My company actually did engineering work on the one in Anaheim. Could I tell…

One of the most popular attractions at either Magic Kingdom in the States is Splash Mountain. (My company actually did engineering work on the one in Anaheim. Could I tell you some wild stories. But I digress.)

Anyway, while Splash Mountain is popular because it’s a fun flume ride, the window dressing on the ride is the tale of Br’er Rabbit (though somewhere in the translation to the Disneyverse the apostrophe was dropped).

The Disney connection there is with the Disney film you will never see on VHS, let alone on DVD. Song of the South was an early (1946) Disney foray into mixing live action and animation, based on the book by Joel Chandler Harris with the tales of Uncle Remus. It also has, so I am led to believe, some portrayals of blacks and race relations that are quite un-PC. Not in a mean way or a violent way — this is Disney, after all — but condescending, paternalistic, insulting to modern sensibilities.

I don’t know for sure, because I’ve never seen it. And likely never will in this country. Though evidently the tape is available in the UK and Germany.

So standing I line for the ride Sunday, I see one kid asking his mom what “brer” means. She doesn’t know. I also hear a couple discussing how it’s all based on, uh, the Oz books.

Disney has a valuable property here, and they can’t do anything with it. Heck, they couldn’t even re-edit and PCize the movie, because half the vocal populace would yell at them for knuckling under, the other half for not going far enough.

It is a puzzlement. It is a shame. And it is a fun (bowdlerized) ride, too.

Too good to be true?

Too good to be true? If somebody knows out there knows whether this actually works, I’d love to know. It sounds way too simple, way too blockable, way to dependent…

Too good to be true?

If somebody knows out there knows whether this actually works, I’d love to know. It sounds way too simple, way too blockable, way to dependent on certain technologies to be as universal as they indicate.

But I’m not a telephony guy by any means. Any thoughts?

A most impalpable hit!

My hit count has nosedived the past few days, hopefully because new material has been intermittent at best, and not because everyone despises my Tales from the Disneyverse. Interstingly, what…

My hit count has nosedived the past few days, hopefully because new material has been intermittent at best, and not because everyone despises my Tales from the Disneyverse.

Interstingly, what little blogbrowsing and list reading I’ve done the past few days, I’ve seen very little commentary on “America Strikes Back!” Is everyone burned out on this topic? Is the NSA stripping those e-mails from the Net? Is everyone waiting for something more to happen than the predictable rhetorical responses from bin Laden and the Taliban?

Don’t expect any brave insights here. All I’ve caught have been a few brief snatches on CNN and MSNBC, hardly enough to form an opinion, except that I hate the phrase “America Strikes Back!”

Apropos of nothing (a great book, by the way), Doyce has switched from Blogger to Movable Type, given the former’s irritating service level the past few days. If all the kinks are out by the time I get back, I expect to make the move myself.

Oh, and I’ll be adding rooba.net to the Links o’ Fame in a bit. Good stuff, and he had the kind graces to quote me the other day.

If it bleeds, it leads

When people think that they, or their guru, have The Truth — ‘This is It!’ — they are what Nietzsche calls ‘epileptics of the concept’: people who have gotten an…

When people think that they, or their guru, have The Truth — ‘This is It!’ — they are what Nietzsche calls ‘epileptics of the concept’: people who have gotten an idea that’s driven them crazy.
— Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)

Well, my interview bit led off the video montage. No laughter, but I wan’t struck by lightning, nor has my e-mail stopped working.

OTOH, the interviewers did refer to my question specifically a few times. The question of MS’ behavior came up repeatedly during Ballmer’s segment.

Ballmer is a big, jolly, balding, teddy bear of a man. He looked and sounded like someone whom it would be fun to have over to dinner, fun to work with, or even for. He reminded me of some of my friends.

And listening to him and his answers and resposes and statements, I had an epiphany.

Microsoft is not evil, any more than a shark or a bear or a scorpion is evil. Not evil, just very, very dangerous.

Because they’re geeks. They’re in this business, most of them, because they like to see people using the neat stuff they’ve built. They’re convinced they have the right answers, and they are enthusiastic about spreading, not to mention enforcing those answers.

Enthusiasm is an interesting word. It literally means embued with the divine spirit. You’ve got God on your side, rooting you along.

MS isn’t really intrested in quashing the competition. They just want people to use their stuff. They don’t mind other peoples’ products or standards. It’s just no fun, no source of pride, unless they can improve on them.

(The only animus I heard from Ballmer was toward Sun. Real anger there over the Java litigation. Although, even there, Ballmer made it clear that it was not enough to simply license a Java VM — if they could not “improve” it, then they could not feel “pride of ownership.”)

MS realizes it is not liked. Ballmer seemed a bit confused as to why, but recognizes it. He said they were “humbled” by the lack of support from their friends during the anti-trust proceedings.

They just want to be liked. In a way they remind me very much of the United States. We want to be liked. We don’t understand why people don’t like us, why they reject the ideas and products we impose on them as the “best” way. We’re willing to cooperate with others — as long as we get our way.

Because we’ve got the right idea, and we want to “see people use our stuff,” right?

In the best light, Microsoft is the big, geeky friend who comes over to your house, takes over your keyboard, downloads a bunch of software, and reconfigures your PC to be “better.” As a “favor.” And then leaves, sure he’s done the right thing, while you try to figure out how the heck to connect back to the Internet again, and what happened to your old e-mail.

I’ve been there. I’ve had it done to me. Hell, I’ve done it myself.

In the worst light, they are holy warriors, out to spread the Word, and willing to sadly (but with some bewilderment) behead anyone who won’t convert.

Ballmer was quite clear on it. “Nobody wants to be the 800 lb. gorilla,” Ballmer said (in response to my question, hoo-hah). But … what motivates his people? “To see people use their stuff.”

Not to serve mankind. Nor to make lots of money. To see people use their stuff.

Thqt’s ego, sure. But it’s true. I’ve done application development. It’s 100% true. The worst thing a creator, an author, can face is being ignored, having yor work shelved. You live to have your “baby” used.

Sure, there are greedy people at MS. And there are power-seekers. But I’m willing to give the company as a whole the benefit of the doubt. They think they know the best answer to everything, and they want to give it to us. Hard.

If only we’d lie back and enjoy it.

Today’s Hint for Achieving Geeky Goodness

Trying to keep up with your blog while gallavanting about at a major tech symposium? Try this helpful methodology! Write down all your bloggable sentiments in your Palm. The easy…

Trying to keep up with your blog while gallavanting about at a major tech symposium? Try this helpful methodology!

Write down all your bloggable sentiments in your Palm. The easy interface makes chronicling your life a snap!

During slow moments of the day, type out your notes in more detail into your Blackberry/iPAQ. Its superlative mailing abilities lets you send it to your personal e-mail account with no trouble at all!

That night in your hotel room, start up your notebook and dial in. Download your mail, then cut and paste into your blog editor. Clean up your thumb-fingered typos, click post-and -publish, and you’re on your way to yet another blogging success!

My five seconds of fame … maybe

Each day at Gartner they start with a couple of keynote speakers. Today it was the CEO of Intel and the CEO of HP (soon of HP and Compaq both)….

Each day at Gartner they start with a couple of keynote speakers. Today it was the CEO of Intel and the CEO of HP (soon of HP and Compaq both). Hefty stuff.

So tomorrow they have the CEO of Compaq (soon to be the President of Something) and Steve Ballmer, the #2 Guy at Microsoft after the Billster.

Before each keynote, they flash a series of “questions from the attendees” on the screen. I volunteered.

“Steve, how can Microsoft move beyond its image as an 800-lb. Gorilla into a role as a leader who makes life better for everyone in the industry?”

Or something to that effect.

The cameraman and interviewer both made, “Wow, that was great” noises. Either it will end up on the virtual cutting room floor, or it should get the first laugh of the morning. I’ll let you know.

The Area Code of the Beast

The Area Code of the Beast Tijuana is unhappy over the Revelation of its new area code. Of course, there are some translators of the Bible who say the Area…

The Area Code of the Beast

Tijuana is unhappy over the Revelation of its new area code.

Of course, there are some translators of the Bible who say the Area Code of the Beast is really 616 (which would be Grand Rapids and the rest of Western Michigan). But those Tijuana folks have enough Bibles to know the truth, right?

(via Doyce)