Unbecoming Levity

Distributed Computing = Distributed Responsibility = Fingerpointing

Abacquer — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:27:16 -0400

So this morning I tried to process an order a customer had sent me last night. I went to log into my photolab service provider, exposuremanager.com, just like I always do. Bzzzt. Can't get in. "This link appears to be broken."

Huh, maybe it's my machine. So I try my daughter's machine, nope she can't see it either. Internet down? Nope I can get my email and see all the other sites I use regularly.

So I (reasonably) assume exposuremanager is down. That's not too cool--because while it is down my customers can't place orders. So I call customer support and leave them a message that their site is down.

A little while later I get an e-mail from them stating their site is up and running fine (and by the way, nice pictures on your site!) Thanks, but I still can't get in.

So I try the DOS utility "ping" to ping their server. Sometimes it can't resolve exposuremanager to an IP address (implying a problem with a domain name server at Comcast) and other times it can resolve the IP address but gets no response. I check with WHOIS on Tucows (their registrar) to see if their domain has expired, but it hasn't. WTF?

So then I run a traceroute in an attempt to see where the communication fails between me and exposuremanager:

Tracing route to exposuremanager.com [66.254.91.235]

over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms www.routerlogin.com [192.168.1.1]

2 7 ms 10 ms 7 ms [ my IP omitted ]

3 8 ms 8 ms 6 ms ge-1-2-ur01.gardner.ma.boston.comcast.net [68.85.187.109]

4 11 ms 10 ms 9 ms te-0-8-0-2-ar01.woburn.ma.boston.comcast.net [68.85.162.93]

5 14 ms 9 ms 9 ms pos-0-15-0-0-ar01.needham.ma.boston.comcast.net [68.85.162.145]

6 15 ms 14 ms 22 ms pos-0-0-0-0-ar01.chartford.ct.hartford.comcast.net [68.85.162.70]

7 16 ms 18 ms 17 ms pos-2-4-0-0-cr01.newyork.ny.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.90.61]

8 22 ms 18 ms 17 ms Vlan546.icore1.NJY-Newark.as6453.net [206.82.132.41]

9 17 ms 45 ms 18 ms if-6-0-0-25.mcore3.NJY-Newark.as6453.net [216.6.57.41]

10 19 ms 17 ms 18 ms if-2-0.core1.NTO-NewYork.as6453.net [216.6.57.66]

11 17 ms 18 ms 19 ms sl-gw31-nyc-14-0-0.sprintlink.net [160.81.249.29]

12 18 ms 19 ms 17 ms sl-crs2-nyc-0-2-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.13.35]

13 23 ms 27 ms 19 ms sl-bb20-msq-2-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.20.74]

14 22 ms 22 ms 24 ms sl-bb21-msq-15-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.9.110]

15 26 ms 26 ms 27 ms sl-crs1-rly-0-8-5-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.20.73]

16 25 ms 25 ms 26 ms sl-bb20-dc-5-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.8.162]

17 24 ms 28 ms 25 ms sl-crs1-dc-0-0-0-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.15.11]

18 74 ms 73 ms 74 ms sl-crs2-fw-0-11-3-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.19.200]

19 * * * Request timed out.

20 * * * Request timed out.

21 * * * Request timed out.

22 * * * Request timed out.

23 * * * Request timed out.

24 * * * Request timed out.

25 * * * Request timed out.

26 * * * Request timed out.

27 * * * Request timed out.

28 * * * Request timed out.

29 * * * Request timed out.

30 * * * Request timed out.

Trace complete.

As you can see, the communication makes it to "sl-crs2-fw-0-11-3-0.sprintlink.net [144.232.19.200]" and then fails. Sprintlink.net is inside of the Sprint network. To get as far as I did required the services of three companies, Comcast (comcast.net), Tata Communications (as6453.net), and Sprint (sprintlink.net). None of these companies is my company (sagewoodstudios.com) or my photolab service provider (exposuremanager.com). In fact after the last hop, I don't know what the next address would be--it might be a fourth company, or another server in the Sprint network. Exposure Manager can't help me--it's not their computer. Comcast can't help me--it's not their computer either. Sprint *might* be able to help me, but I'm not their customer.

What I do know is, if I didn't have to use this route, I would indeed be able to get there. I found an online provider of the standard 'net tools (ping, traceroute, etc.) called Network-Tools.com (that's a handy link btw, you might want to bookmark it). I can get to their server to see their website, and when I ask THEM to do a traceroute to exposuremanager, they can get there just fine:

TraceRoute to 66.254.91.235 [exposuremanager.com]

Hop

(ms)

(ms)

(ms)

IP Address

Host name

1

8

6

6

206.123.69.137

-

2

9

6

6

8.9.232.73

xe-5-3-0.edge3.dallas1.level3.net

3

12

7

7

4.69.145.140

ae-3-80.edge2.dallas3.level3.net

4

8

15

6

4.71.220.14

xo-communic.edge2.dallas3.level3.net

5

10

12

9

207.88.13.122

207.88.13.122.ptr.us.xo.net

6

41

40

40

207.88.12.46

207.88.12.46.ptr.us.xo.net

7

41

40

40

65.106.1.69

65.106.1.69.ptr.us.xo.net

8

41

49

52

65.106.5.10

p0-0-0.mar2.la-ca.us.xo.net

9

46

40

40

207.88.81.170

p15-0.chr1.la-ca.us.xo.net

10

50

44

45

66.238.50.106

66.238.50.106.ptr.us.xo.net

11

53

45

47

66.254.64.1

gw1.pixelgate.net

12

53

50

47

66.254.91.235

host235.exposuremanager.com

Trace complete

As you can see, because they are starting from a different provider (level3.net) their communication path takes a different route that never involves any of the companies I'm forced to use. If Network-Tools.com provided a "browser in a browser" basically an embedded frame that I could point anywhere I want to, I'd be able to get to my photolab and process my customer's orders.

In the meantime I'm pretty stuck. I can't help my customers, and my service provider can't help me. Welcome to the Internet... where you really "can't get thar from hyar".

A Message Sent to a Creationist

Abacquer — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:05:33 -0400

If I get an answer, I'll post it here.

You said "I believe in Creation. I have a few questions for those of you who don't. If we came from monkeys, where did the monkey come from? If we originated from one-cell creatures that evolved over time, where did they come from? No matter how far back you go and say we evolved over time, there is always that question. Where did that organism come from that started everything?"

This is basically all one question, and it's what we call a question of infinite regression. One can always ask "well where did THAT come from?" One can even ask that question about God. Fortunately that question falls outside the bailiwick of the Theory of Evolution. The theory of evolution does not speculate on where the first life form came from. The abundant evidence for evolution makes clear that evolution happened and is still happening. But none of that precludes a deity. If you choose to believe that the first life form was the product of the divine, that's fine, evolution makes no assertions either way to challenge or support such a belief.

Which is why it's a little misguided to argue that one must choose between creation or evolution. There are literally billions of religious people the world over who accept the evidence for evolution and continue to believe in their deity of choice. There's no necessary conflict between those two beliefs.

Regarding the rest of your post "I have even heard some one say that we evolved from non-living rocks. Unbelievable."

Now you are getting into a different subject, and it's not part of evolution, you are speculating on what in science is referred to as abiogenesis (life from nonliving matter). The reason why it has that name is that there is no argument (among those familiar with the evidence) that the planet existed before life did. At one point there was only nonliving matter here, and then there was living matter. How?

It's an interesting question... how do you get from nonliving matter to living matter? Abiogenesis isn't a theory, there isn't enough evidence for us to know for sure how the first life forms came into being (and honestly there probably never will be)--there are a number of competing hypotheses, and many of them have points both for and against. But the belief in divine creation is also an example of abiogenesis... if it was a god, he must have created life out of something. Surely it is within the power of a supreme being to take some raw chemicals and assemble a living thing. I doubt you would claim "God couldn't do that".

The most likely conclusion is that the first life form was molecular, a simple chemical compound that could make imperfect copies of itself. At the lowest levels it becomes impossible to distinguish between biology and chemistry--and it's quite likely the first "life" would be something we would barely recognize as alive. You may find it unbelievable that we evolved from "rocks", and that is a mind boggling proposition. However that a simple duplicating chemical compound might have formed in a sea of chemicals bathed in solar radiation and sitrred by tides isn't all that mind boggling at all. Once you have anything that copies itself with errors, then natural selection kicks in and begins to result in changes to that "organism" over time.

All very interesting, but when it comes to the genesis event, whatever it was, we'll never have an eyewitness or a fossil that will allow us to know the nature of that event. Fossil molecules, I suspect, would be rather hard to find. :-)

Therefore I don't concern myself with it, and I concern myself with what we DO have evidence for. The notion of a supernatural being that actively affects the universe and created anything is an interesting notion... a pretty spectacular claim. But for a person with an evidentiary worldview I can't possibly just accept such a claim without evidence. Since the evidence is lacking, I'm not going to adopt such a belief (pending further evidence of course)--that's the reasonable assumption to make. So there we are.

What I do note of the "God Hypothesis" is that historically it has been supplied as an explanation for the unknown for any number of questions and phenomena. As science has advanced the answer to each of those previously divine phenomena (planetary motion, earthquakes, thunder, lightning, volcanoes, rainbows, etc, etc, etc) the divine has been found to be unnecessary, and the God Hypothesis simply moves to a new unknown, filling the gaps on the shelves of knowledge, to be perennially relocated when the books that explain those gaps are written and shelved.

The unknown is mundane. There will always be unknowns. And since the supernatural has been invoked to explain every single unknown in the history of humanity, the fact that it is invoked to explain the origin of life isn't very compelling to me. The hypothesis doesn't have a very good track record, and the mere fact that something is unknown is not evidence for a supernatural agent.

So while I do not know what the original life form was, or how it got here, I'm inclined to think it was some sort of entirely natural event. That's the more reasonable assumption based on what we know about the world. I'm not going to make assumptions based on what we DON'T know... that would be imprudent in my opinion.

That said, I bear no ill will to those who do. There are many great things religion has brought humanity (including, ironically, science itself). So if you want to believe in a divine being, an afterlife, redemption--more power to you I say. Especially if it brings you happiness or comfort in difficult times. I don't share that belief, but I see no reason either of us should condemn the other.

Obviously I tend to get quite angry with people who ignore evidence and spread disinformation. That's to be expected from someone who holds an evidentiary worldview. (And of course, I am as human as the next guy.) Which is why you could sum up my opinion on the subject at hand like so:

"To believe in the divine is a personal choice, and there is nothing wrong with it. To ignore the evidence for evolution is to be willfully ignorant."

And that's all I have to say about that. I hope you found this message to be a useful answer to your questions. I'm actually not interested in debating theology (I think debating things for which there isn't any evidence is fairly pointless), but if you have any questions about evolution, I'd be happy to try and answer them if I know the answers.

Insider Executive from Insurance Company Tells the TRUTH

Abacquer — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:42:03 -0400

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QwX_soZ1GI

Air Disasters

Abacquer — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:40:21 -0400

For a guy terrified of air travel, I have a peculiar fascination for stories about air disasters and the investigations that follow (mostly about the investigations that follow). As such I've been collecting together links to YouTube videos of documentaries about air disasters/incidents/accidents.

National Geographic produced a series called Air Crash Investigation (ACI) which you annoyingly cannot buy on DVD from Amazon, so if your local cable isn't carrying it, YouTube is the only place to go.

Other such programs which covered air disasters are the show "Seconds from Disaster" (SFD) and the "Black Box" (BB) miniseries.

On the off chance that other people are interested in such stories, I'm posting the text file that I've been building over the last few months with links to these stories (nobody on YouTube seems to be able to build a playlist worth a damn, so I find this more useful.) I've also included one-off programs which are not part of ACI, SFD, or BB.

Some of the stories I find the most haunting or compelling are:

ACI Season 2, Ep 4: Deadly Crossroads

ACI Season 3, Ep 9: Kid in the Cockpit

ACI Season 4, Ep 5: Hidden Danger

ACI Season 5, Ep 3: The Gimli Glider

ACI Season 5, Ep 8: The Plane That Wouldn't Talk

ACI Season 6, Ep 6: Ditch the Plane

SFD Season 3, Ep 9: Plane Crash in Queens

MISC Crash of the Century (Tenerife)

There's a couple videos about the Erebus disaster and the apparent coverup--but neither are ACI episodes, and ACI is supposed to include an episode about this story at some point. They tend to do the best job making the story both dramatic and accessible.

Obviously, if you also are afraid of air travel, you may find these stories disturbing, and may want to give it a pass. Text file contents follows:

Wiki on Commercial Aircraft Incidents:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_on_commercial_airliners

Wiki on Commercial Aircraft Incidents for which there are no articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_accidents_and_incidents_on_commercial_aircraft/Holding_zone

AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION - SEASON 1 ============================================

Episode 1: Racing the Storm (American Airlines Flight 1420 - McDonnel-Douglas MD-82)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuyemkle6yg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2lzs2mK_UY
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbxnlUbYMts
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvuj2OChf9U
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jU70QylMlw

Episode 2: Unlocking Disaster (United Airlines Flight 811 - Boeing 747-122)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgylliYlzWg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5EiMikUHX8
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuQ3UBZOh2c
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVv0cEn7BjU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpUjAqUHPAQ

Episode 3: Flying On Empty (Air Transat Flight 236 - Airbus A330)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7pbYkVe4e4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTxkGvW7nJg
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvRe6l_PEm0
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k6E_PpE0bg
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njc41rAwBvE

Episode 4: Fire on Board (SwissAir Flight 111 - McDonnell Douglas MD-11)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaJsVGswSkM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Alpou8Nmk
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WPJ4nWpZvQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0Mcpr8OAwM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pOaLk_u_M8

Episode 5: Flying Blind (Aeroperu Flight 603 - Boeing 757)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6qitwkY3r8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ_jrmJLz88
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNJrCe50wfQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FuLfM4JPIU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVATqHPi7K4

Episode 6: Cutting Corners (Alaska Airlines Flight 261 - McDonnell Douglas MD-83)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhNoNG4-S_s
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzI-0bE3Jw4
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzk2cETTsWc
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNpZD32NXkw
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59R427zn0DU

AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION - SEASON 2 ============================================

Episode 1: Blow Out (British Airways 5390 - BAC One-Eleven)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_TuqaK3B0U
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx63wJcwz0s
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TEIqO72thk
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7uC2fpOx_g
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nER1dJnZ-kM

Episode 2: Wounded Bird (Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 - Embraer Brasilia)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SQ2h95aFDU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTqazyv5ZnU
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7GnleA7DZw
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eSVKAd7sjw
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caYDZ5t1Mr0

Episode 3: The Killing Machine (Air France 8969 - Airbus A300)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-igkj24_DU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX2ZLUJ5H_s
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ3ATeCsep8
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR9GjB1JP1Y
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKkAXes0Xi0

Episode 4: Deadly Crossroads (Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611 - Tupolev Tu-154M & Boeing 757-23APF)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s0M3bOObUE
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7opRvJTE2c
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDfrcu2-anE
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N82n4vyjMXQ
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DrViy3iyfw

Episode 5: LOST (American Airlines 965 - Boeing 757)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYjNp1ga6_E
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USuIYlUtV_A
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo37Of5WRFY
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UvWn4rsTJI

Episode 6: Missing Over New York (Avianca Flight 52 - Boeing 707)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5ytd1oVvb4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_m92pvkNII
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgXu3TdFu94
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-We0cfz4v7Y
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATZe2ihcLJ4

AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION - SEASON 3 ============================================

Episode 1: Hanging by a Thread (Aloha Airlines Flight 243 - Boeing 737-297)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alnkfgEmohc
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnNKR-32xjk
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eMdWP_KNRc
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxZiSSquJLY
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ4CS7v6yQI
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R24A0D3AOuw

Episode 2: Attack Over Baghdad (European Air Transport DHL OO-DLL - Airbus A300)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMnI99rU5Zk
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByZeYDGYmZI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRYR-XeOuZE
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2cNHn2nROU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pbpBXfHlOY

Episode 3: Out of Control (Japan Airlines 123 - Boeing 747-SR46)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9PLVlYANsc
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDatccLqKrE
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X93lHLnf68M
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn7KqqQ9EOM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clL2Ef309sI

Episode 4: Suicide Attack (FedEx Flight 705 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yVfCtPXDj0
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIPunA1aUjE
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9UhwBCFVzw
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdbybZwmgwg
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG8TIIXuYMc

Episode 5: Mistaken Identity (Iran Air 655 - Airbus A300)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k804MuO7bs
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUJd8ycE6_I
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvtOHOAVbw4
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6Ebd-VU_M
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKS2HlbsbNA

Episode 6: Bomb on Board (Philippine Airlines Flight 434 - Boeing 747)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il4ZL8mkS8c
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4opEhojD440
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKHKmIOzqT8
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmGMPJBeF3Q
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_JDUF9AfVc

Episode 7: Helicopter Down (Bristow Flight 56C - Eurocopter Super Puma)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEI6G6nkuSo
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9pXIg_5PmA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D87iyBSvs_o
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMcN1B_483k
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbyb5L6BXwM

Episode 8: Egyptair 990 (Egypt Air Flight 990 - Boeing 767-366ER)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QYJZBaQCds
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoXHfaW8kEI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tilCfjRMuNQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgzhtLjQiwM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKrkgerRGOY

Episode 9: Kid in the Cockpit (Aeroflot Flight 593 - Airbus A310-304)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfF6-MYZB2s
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlqYnd2GNMA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StTwBDx_cek
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhofahK1f-Q
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scmCn1pClOU

Episode 10: African Hijack (Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 - Boeing 767-260ER)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lpxb_1poGY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P_KyBVwWCw
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x19kk2-1wUQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aifDjp-OEaE
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOll4V0j8x0

AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION - SEASON 4 ============================================

Episode 1: Miracle Escape (Air France 358 - Airbus A340)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqS9qSDhyzg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2WuyAa06_o
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvh05lILE1Y
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw-uvqurs-4
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrpQjmeJeAQ

Episode 2: Falling From the Sky (British Airways Flight 9 - Boeing 747-236B)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FHvtpVr53A
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK3pYl1s2CI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw7QyvBr1ok
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgljHtz309U
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRfoMjJC6XI

Episode 3: Fire Fight (Air Canada Flight 797)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qb24njO4HA
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTUxzs4Pzyw
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXJOL0aoKdY
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtVXGa8ggF0
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVKCzcCkI8Q

Episode 4: Missed Approach (Korean Airlines Flight 801 - Boeing 747-300)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc2APdn7Qqw
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD_EidZezUw
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jET0V1htGgc
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmVJdiPFsYk
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hmUZXPS19Q

Episode 5: Hidden Danger (United 585 & USAir 427 & Eastwind 517 - Boeing 737)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_DVfZMFSi8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zZpr3JZHV8
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFOz2P-vCWA
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_2xHHrSMyI
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYFEyp-bcWQ

Episode 6: Panic Over the Pacific (China Airlines 006 - Boeing 747)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_uUgOfBkDM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ewEtvp0ZY
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB3IEMFsVi4
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc8si7qgS5s
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gfE3dhJR88

Episode 7: Out of Sight (Aeromexico Flight 498 & Piper 4891 - DC-9 & Piper PA-28-181 Archer)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSL9gSe2XMg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cggVVrMUrug
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gltP352zaDU

Episode 8: Fog of War (USAF 21 - Boeing CT-43)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKetUidt-kg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78k7jLnkBM0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX5e88s1t9Y
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO7Ef9wrN04
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5YPL-6wguM

Episode 9: Desperate Dive (Flash Airlines Flight 604 - Boeing 737-300)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw-YIbIb9BA
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfIaoO9n-iE
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTXt8s7XxL0
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4l9gt0X2qg
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zryCF-KmHwI

Episode 10: Ghost Plane (Helios Airways Flight 522 - Boeing 737-31S)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1-ZGXq4biI
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA0FQsnIAQg
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyo6DLw-jbY
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwNLV18AqTE
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpyzARmT_Fs

AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION - SEASON 5 ============================================

Episode 1: Dead Weight (Air Midwest 5481 - Beechcraft 1900-D)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LWj_MU1YgE
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ25hwdpctI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y16_c6z7e1w
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6OSIA3GVvY
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVimGkTY_-M

Episode 2: Behind Closed Doors (American Airlines Flight 96 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-WRzQESDuc
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRS9vuzVnJU
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxbuS8UOsE4
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO6lHA1GijE
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81i9J2Zmij0

Episode 3: The Gimli Glider (Air Canada Flight 143)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfJIpA2gv1g
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ynI79lwkj4
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akrYdxQbfww
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYHOS_YCu-s
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D12dMmgTdBI

Episode 4: Slammed to the Ground (Delta Flight 191 - Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw0_za-R6zE
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixHiefGFopw
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC7zgVWW204
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSAj6VQ1kuc
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppAQfE3ju04

Episode 5: Southern Storm (Southern Airways Flight 242 - DC-9)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySKsQQn_GQQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1LcoK3nAaA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWq2IpSfikQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCgLWh85Q-s
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjC2U_xrds0

Episode 6: Cargo Conspiracy (South African Airways Flight 295 - Boeing 747)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyg0PYW1WpU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI-7H9_QZ8E
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TVXcToFuAk
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO1ZW0H_GlM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoBP-dIiBJY

Episode 7: Explosive Evidence (Air India Flight 182)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6hdz_OgFlY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9Rq1cGAPG8
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K3cHplQtDo
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCWLp9OfMT0
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9G-_skEXA

Episode 8: The Plane That Wouldn't Talk (Birgenair Flight 301 - Boeing 757)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDd2fL5XYSA
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2H0f8Rcu9U
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqr3eJX14v0
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf1STVfx1IQ
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZdWSZQ2pCI

Episode 9: Who's at the Controls? (Eastern Airlines 401)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGmcMP8wP4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIwuGJdONdk
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh8Ev65S1Iw
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyagA5fZ12Y
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77N2g2nqjgo

Episode 10: Radio Silence (GOL FLIGHT 1907 & ExcelAire N600XL - Boeing 737-8EH SFP & Embraer Legacy 600)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbhwVLBZbYE
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa_-5o4H1oo
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m123agyUtJA
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PfGn_6g32I
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDI1jrJ_oLI

AIR CRASH INVESTIGATION - SEASON 6 ============================================

Episode 1: Lockerbie (Pan Am Flight 103 - Boeing 747)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PND6RadwOmc
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT3QsyJixXo
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Whzs9qCEk
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_thl4BDeYfo
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDwYH3qXyns

Episode 2: Head-on Collision (Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 & Air Kazakhstan 1907 - Boeing 747 & Ilyushin Il-76)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dtWylFUrak
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqvUN59bZqQ
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixm6HwDWXiM
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN9L9qsrw6Y
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr3NCEjX2F8

Episode 3: Shattered in Seconds (China Airlines 611 - Boeing 747)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sARVZfItER8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G73Y5RlnG4g
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMtBzcQWbSA
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgHj2K_0uOo
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku9Ig8QK7EU

Episode 4: Deadly Prize (Partnair Flight 394 - Convair 340-580)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1EGJtz9aKA
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBzBIGcNMlM
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK2OneCTYQo
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TasrtoiB2_s
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXTJY32dByI

Episode 5: Operation Babylift (Operation Babylift - Lockheed C-5A Galaxy)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0ZFtzWVOao
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwzZxipgNEA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vsh1Y28_Tg
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3fQBe9FAbc
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlymyOywBCY

Episode 6: Ditch the Plane (Tuninter Flight 1153 - ATR-72)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcjbi4mz-0I
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_DASFXNTKc
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnN9SdcAVpA
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BNWAurVnKA
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqOpLpYP3o4

Episode 7: The Plane That Vanished (Adam Air Flight 574 - Boeing 737-4Q8)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo4heTtX7sY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFgKCp4VrD4
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUR-rT0NXHg
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5wG3l_UfkU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvZ1bvSqMPY

Episode 8: Frozen in Flight (American Eagle Flight 4184 - ATR-72)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGe_QOpDzGQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da8HqrwzKJg
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxzw5CfYEyk
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK9O9HHAWJ0
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=devpipHf4zg
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_-sYq1YyJY

Episode 9: Erebus Collision (Air New Zealand Flight 901 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30)
Part 1: (missing)
Part 2: (missing)
Part 3: (missing)
Part 4: (missing)
Part 5: (missing)

Episode 10: Who Caused the crash? (China Airlines Flight 140 - Airbus A300B4-622R)
Part 1: (missing)
Part 2: (missing)
Part 3: (missing)
Part 4: (missing)
Part 5: (missing)

SECONDS FROM DISASTER - SEASON 1 ==============================================

Episode 1: Crash of the Concorde (Air France Flight 4590 - Concorde)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLYbdFUbiv8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-7M1g6nHrM
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHY2PyEwGtg
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd0pN0izgF4
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY80nfjQ7sE

Episode 12: Collision on the Runway (KLM 4805 & Pan Am 1736 - Boeing 747-206B & Boeing 747-121)
Part 1: (missing)
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj3SRA_4T1Q
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqmbxSiJpjk
Part 4: (missing)
Part 5: (missing)

Episode 13: Pentagon 9/11 (American Airlines Flight 77 - Boeing 757)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72wDzbbyaOI
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXhy8EDUXQ
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqpLY7ls_cc
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k_pOu0pRgI
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAp1Kp-7daw

SECONDS FROM DISASTER - SEASON 2 ==============================================

Episode 3: Motorway Plane Crash (British Midland Flight 092 - Boeing 737)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNmbT1BAptg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zUx7hbH35M
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWN3beDUBnw
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSrV7tmezD0
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cH2DSo7j7E

Episode 7: Crash Landing at Sioux City (United Airlines Flight 232 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gURS5WRaI8g
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glbVGhRd9Fo
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQKEKi3eRQc
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llll7LQCH9Q
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdzK-8ZvXeM

Episode 10: TWA Flight 800 (TWA Flight 800 - Boeing 747-131)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN-QoHt3sqI
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ermJY1NmSy0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDvKvzTj6tw
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Houj7-9PEM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dCnamf_ZRY
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIAdniweToQ

SECONDS FROM DISASTER - SEASON 3 ==============================================

Episode 2: Amsterdam Air Crash (El Al Flight 1862 - Boeing 747)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYDcvDAgwB8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htGV7MyRaJ8
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zroLRfHBr74

Episode 6: Florida Swamp Air Crash (ValuJet Flight 592 - DC-9)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4iBh0HOzf4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyGhb6E_6M
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqJYrWZdmkI

Episode 9: Plane Crash in Queens (American Airlines 587 - Airbus A300)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3WBDbLFeq8
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE8hMNdzmVY
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcgM1eezb-0
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7uxQ4CuC6U
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiZfVp2wFns

Episode 12: Plane Crash in the Potomac (Air Florida Flight 90 - Boeing 737)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ww2rCbX94
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASBb-oMT5EU
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz34reivAqc
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oycu1pXxfaU

Episode 14: Comet Air Crash (BOAC Flight 781 - de Havilland DH-106 Comet-1)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW_qGRXHayk
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDvT5ru6dhk
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNKM3fErPs4
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2Z4HHRkW2E

Episode 15: Chicago Air Crash (American Airlines Flight 191 - DC-10)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AemQQ3msO3M
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF0MLkxV1gI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaUg-BGWTLI
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK6BaFMfIdI
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5BZFByKaMk

BLACK BOX =====================================================================

Blackbox-01 - Sky Crimes (Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 - British Aerospace BAe 146-200 / Pan Am Flight 103 - Boeing 747 / FedEx Flight 705 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrT6joi4gco
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMkWFIoVBXQ
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg-SxAAxs8Y
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoeHpaYkCHA
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT0OPSByp2w

Blackbox-02 - Deadly Weather (American Eagle Flight 4184 - ATR-72)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_-wBlZl80M
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxX8pj3UbMM
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btmO5dQZ3ZM
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm9cBD0MrjY
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2wd7BTmkHs

Blackbox-03 - Crash Detectives (TACA International Airlines Flight 510 - Boeing 767-2S1ER / ValuJet Flight 592 - DC-9 / British Midland Flight 092 - Boeing 737 / BOAC Flight 781 - de Havilland DH-106 Comet-1 / Turkish Airlines Flight 981 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 / British Airtours Flight 28M - Boeing 737-236)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWFDgJ_7QW4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFLK76igZUA
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbwoOd7hfzQ
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0N5l1-IcQE
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsrCMxXOefQ

Blackbox-04 - Wing and a Prayer (Aloha Airlines Flight 243 - Boeing 737-297 / Japan Airlines Flight 123 - Boeing 747-SR46 / United Airlines Flight 232 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syrj9NrTRMQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keQVlcoiOl0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etADCyHab-E
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuHyjPTXmGU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmxioJxpcpo

Blackbox-05 - Blaming the Pilot (Birgenair Flight 301 - Boeing 757 / British European Airways Flight 548 - Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C / KLM Flight 4805 & Pan Am Flight 1736 - Boeing 747-206B & Boeing 747-121 / Air Inter Flight 148 - Airbus A-320-111 / Air France Flight 296 - Airbus A320-111)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO7UAsFJtiE
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnspI8P_wrc
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__sHqYEF204
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-7pwCUGO0o
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wp-Dbb2CO4

MISCELLANEOUS VIDEOS ==========================================================

SilkAir 185 Pilot Suicide? (Silk Air 185 - Boeing 737-36N)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fo_b5kwmCE
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7roHiREHy6I
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kavvTDQNvmo
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9-Nk-mCT8Y
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3ZIE2YIV_Y

Munich Air Crash 1958 (British European Airways Flight 609 - Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS7NB9cVud0
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efe9dsW78WU
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMrWfSPl36U
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1EjtwtrLMI
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVfw6Ydz3Ic

Erebus The Legacy (Air New Zealand Flight 901 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujtzY11TDw4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPnNpjnYeTk
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oWvqfOQlkI
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Q-kavsWqM
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfik_SQ9taE

LOOKOUT: Flight 901 The Erebus Disaster (Air New Zealand Flight 901 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I48W897NwUY
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvNsrZIkBkI
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UT9uOa7iVg
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQrSqfErIRI
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Tlt3xP-CQ

A320 Airbus Down, Mulhouse France 1988 (News Footage) (Air France Flight 296 - Airbus A320)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN6xtRuQh5o
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea28bUTUfiM

The History of Air Traffic Control [NextGen / ADSB Technology] (United Airlines Flight 718 & TWA Flight 2 - Douglas DC-7 Mainliner & Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation / Aeromexico Flight 498 & Piper 4891 - DC-9 & Piper PA-28-181 Archer / Avianca Flight 52 - Boeing 707 / GOL FLIGHT 1907 & ExcelAire N600XL - Boeing 737-8EH SFP & Embraer Legacy 600 / Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611 - Tupolev Tu-154M & Boeing 757-23APF)
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td2msKMjYcM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdwJ2koykss
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VhtxRuk4VY
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHYLWYZ-3p0
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pipQhto9te8
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql8Kzb7cvuI

Plane crash...737 tries to land with gear up (audio! - 1989) (News Footage) (Piedmont Airlines Flight 1489 - Boeing 737-400)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-7VQ8mIV10

China Airlines MD-11 crashes in 1999 (China Airlines Flight 642 - McDonnell Douglas MD-11)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcgJYTQ7YFY

B-52 Air Crash, Fairchild AFB June 24, 1991
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAhZPAKkWi8

Airplane Crash Landing on the 405 (Humor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0bLgDyZZ8w

Oh Yeah. I Have a Blog.

Abacquer — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:58:54 -0400

What I don't have is interest. There's a lot going on in my life, and I'd rather get on with it than write about it. Besides I doubt anybody really wants to read about it. So I've been neither writing in my blog, nor really reading the blogs of others. I check in on Aces Full and Pandora's Tea Room every now and again, but that is pretty much it. I post on MOTL every now and again, but not too frequently now that the werewolf games were cancelled due to people taking them too seriously.

What's been occupying my time is my photography business. It seems to be picking up, which is great, because I simply love this work. I did a school dance in February, and a photoshoot for an aspiring actor. In May I did a costume shoot for a dance school which is the first shoot I've done where I can unequivocably say that I made pretty good money.

June's been hopping. I did a graduation shoot for a relative (no money, but I did some networking at the school while I was there that might turn into business), and a graduation party for the same relative. This past Thursday night I shot the dress rehearsal for a stage production of a dance interpretation of Peter Pan. Friday night I shot the eighth grade dance of a middle school in southeastern Massachusetts. Then Saturday I shot the 1PM and 7PM performances of Peter Pan (42 Gb of pix in one day... yowza!)

I wrote about this a little bit on a message forum, so I figured I'd share that here.

June 12, 2009 11:01 AM

Last night's shoot went well but I am exhausted. I took a chance and produced a 36" x 24" (poster size) print of the main cast (with some added text) and it came out GREAT. I was amazed. I expected at that size the image would be very fuzzy--you know "stand a few feet away and it will look fine". Nope, it was nice and sharp. About 90 minutes of post production and cost about $50 to print, and I gave it to the dance school director as a gift.

She went positively gaga over it and hung it immediately as a poster for her show. The kids loved it too.

Of course I had a couple totally unrealistic parents come up to me after the show asking if I "had any extras" or would "give them one". "These are quite expensive to print. Of course I can have one made and shipped to you but it would cost $100." "Oh forget it then." LOL. It's so hard to make money in this business unless you are doing weddings or products. For the costume shoot I spent 8 hours shooting, and 50 hours in post production. My total profit after printing and shipping was $800--that's $13.75 per hour and no matter what price you charge people think it's too much.

Anyway the dress rehearsal shoot went great, apart from the 580 EX burning though batteries like there's no tomorrow. 4.5 hours of shooting, 1,105 pictures, 30 batteries eaten. I picked up a digital frame and loaded it with a bunch of work I've done over the last couple years and set that up next to the fliers--that got some attention. I had a number of people come up to me after the show and tell me how much they loved my work, which is always nice. We'll see if they still love me when I raise my prices next year.

So tonight I have a middle school dance to shoot, and then tomorrow I have to shoot the performances that I went to the dress rehearsal for. Busy few days!

June 13, 2009 1:55 AM

Tonight's Middle School Dance shoot was exhausting but fun. These kids were different that the kids at my daughter's middle school--they were a lot stiffer... nobody danced for like the first 90 minutes. I was like WTF? Heck I wanted to put the camera down and dance myself. The DJ was great, all the tunes were current.

This was an 8th grade dance and soon the kids will all be going off to different highschools so there was a lot of emotionality... a lot of kids were crying toward the end... that doesn't exactly make for a nice photo.

Kids at my daughter's art school are also more hammy for the camera, these kids pretty much constantly ducked and hid whenever the camera showed up. This behavior drives me nuts, I'm being paid to shoot the dance, these kids are bawling that they're not going to see their friends again, and they're not going to have pictures of their friends to remember because they're too busy responding to the camera in the way they've been trained to respond "ooh don't take my picture I look ugly". You just want to say "Jesus, grow up already." Sometimes I say to them "this may come as a surprise, but we can all see you... we already know what you look like." No matter, I just switched to the 200mm and shot long... you get nice closeups that way and the kids don't know who is being photographed.

All in all I think it went well. Two big shoots tomorrow... man am I beat.

June 13, 2009 9:44 AM

Fell out of bed about 8:20... showered, shaved, and will be heading out for the third and biggest of this weeks three shoots. What an exhausting time this has been! No flash today ('cept before and after) so I shouldn't need a frickin' gross of AA batts...

June 14, 2009 7:37 PM

Yesterday's shoots were positively EXHAUSTING! But I think it went well. At the end of the afternoon performance I knew I was in trouble tho... I had shot 20+ Gb of pictures, and I only had 22 Gb in CF cards with me. I had time before the 7PM performance so I went to best buy and purchased another 20 Gb of CF memory (1x 8 GB, 3x 4 Gb). During the second performance I shot the entire remaining 22 Gb. For the after photos I had to switch from RAW to JPG, and pull out my old "emergency card"--a 512 mB card that I've often questioned why I still carry it. Thank heavens I had it!

But 42 jigglebytes in a single day is some outrageous shooting. About 3,500 pictures. Sorting through this is going to be fun. Lightroom is chewing on them now and probably will be until tomorrow.

Emma was able to perform as Peter Pan, which was nice, though she had to hold back and give a slightly more subdued performance to prevent further injury to her ankle. It was nice seeing her dance at all though.

The "movie poster" was a big hit. About 700 people filed past it and every time I went out into the hall to shoot candids there were people looking at it and my digital frame (yay!). The thing I liked best was when I caught the dancers looking at it, they really liked it and it made for some nice photos. Have I mentioned how much I love this work?

I got more compliments and requests on Saturday, some people looking to buy the poster print. I added it to the show gallery and enabled large format printing options (and T-shirts, which my lab has begun to offer).

So now begins the long slog of post processing. But with so many pictures to choose from I should be able to come up with some that are sure to please. And the post work should be hella easier than the costume shoot was.

Gonna be a lot of busy nights tho... but not today, today I am recuperating... 12 hours of driving over the last 3 days, getting home every night after 1 AM, sore as heck from shooting...

(Good news, I had two orders today from earlier galleries. Yay! Only $70 but I'm taking it as a good sign.)

Wow am I beat. But it's a good kind of beat, when you feel like you accomplished something.

On a quick run through the performance photos I found a nice little series. Peter Pan was not on a wire, so she got about by making beautiful acrobatic leaps. I managed to snap a series of leaps (on the tail end of the leap as she was coming down) as she leapt around the dancer playing the part of Wendy Darling. In the series it looks like Peter is flying... Sweet!

SQL Server 2000 - Detailed Structure Query

Abacquer — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:33:52 -0400

I spent several hours mining Google and tweaking to get this query right. This has never been a technical blog, but considering what a pain this was to chase down, I figured I should post it here for others.

This query will list all the tables and columns in a SQL Server 2000 database, including column data type, length, precision, scale, nullable flag, if the column is part of a unique constraint, if the column is part of the primary key, the foreign table referenced by the column if it is a foreign key, and the default value of the column if it has one.

The output is suitable for pasting into Excel or Word to create database reports. (Yes I'm sure there are 3rd party tools, and stored procedures to get all this info, but what I needed was ONE query which did it all and returned it as this query does.)

select T.name as TableName, C.colorder, C.name as ColumnName, TY.name as datatype,
       c.length, c.prec, c.scale, c.isnullable, UO.name as UniqueConstraint,
       IX.name as PKConstraint, SR.name as ReferencesTable, SM.Text as DefaultValue

  from sysobjects as T
 inner join syscolumns as C on (C.id = T.id)
 inner join systypes as TY on (TY.xtype = C.xtype)
  left join sysindexkeys as K on C.colid = K.colid and K.id=T.id
  left join sysindexes as I on I.id=T.id and I.indid=K.indid
  left join sysobjects as IX on IX.parent_obj=T.id and IX.name = I.name and IX.xtype='PK'
  left join sysconstraints as CO on (C.colid=CO.colid and CO.id=T.id)
  left join sysforeignkeys as FK on (T.id = FK.fkeyid and FK.constid=CO.constid)
  left join sysobjects as SR on (SR.id = FK.rkeyid)
  left join syscomments SM on C.cdefault = SM.id 
  left join sysindexkeys as UK on C.colid = UK.colid and UK.id=T.id
  left join sysindexes as UI on UI.id=T.id and UI.indid=K.indid
  left join sysobjects as UO on (UO.parent_obj=T.id and UO.name=UI.name and UO.xtype='UQ')

where T.xtype = 'U'
order by T.name, C.colorder;

You can see a screenshot of the output here.

Feels Like the Sun Going Down on Me...

Abacquer — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:00:50 -0400

This is Sunflower, or as we typically call her "Sunny". As you know back in November of 2005 we lost our dear Maya. A few weeks later we just couldn't bear not having cats in our house and went to a local pet shelter to adopt three kittens. There were a number of things we didn't like about the way the shelter was run, but in the end we had three wonderful cats that we loved--affectionate, playful, and apparently healthy.

It turns out that the shelter let us down in that department too. It turns out that Sunflower, the littlest kitty, the one bearing the name I gave her the day she came home, is infected with Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), and it has entered an advanced stage even though she is only 3 years old. Our cats have never had contact with any strange cats since the shelter, and live entirely indoors--our veterinarian has informed us that Sunny almost certainly came from the shelter with the infection. They went on to say that they have seen over the last couple years increasing numbers of sick cats from that particular shelter and no longer recommend it to people looking to adopt cats.

The shelter was supposed to have tested all of its cats for FeLV, and the tests are very reliable and hard to screw up. But clearly they were remiss with regard to testing Sunny. And now Sunny has been living (infected) in close quarters with our other cats for three years. We've had the other cats tested and miraculously they are negative, so we immediately had them innoculated for the virus.

But poor Sunny is dying. She will not eat, barely drinks at all, and hardly moves. When she does move she staggers badly. She still purrs when I pet her but she is clearly not going to last much longer. I wouldn't be surprised if she dies tonite. Given she is suffering a condition which is essentially incurable, I'll be taking her to the vet tomorrow to release her, barely 3 years old, from her suffering. It's breaking my heart.

Our three kitties have bonded with each other over the years, and are always together, it's going to be very different with Sunny gone. We really fell in love with our trio of cats, and it became quite a ritual to say "kittycats, kittycats, 1, 2, 3" whenever we saw them. Or if we only saw a pair we would say "kittycats, kittycats, 1, 2, where's number 3?" Now there will be no number 3.

My daughter took it very hard when Maya had to be put down. When the kittens came home, she immediately took to Sunny, as Sunny was the littlest kitty. And strangely, Sunny took to Neya, perhaps because Neya was the littlest person. So while the other cats would sleep with Pat and I or follow us around, Sunny would always be found not far from our daughter, sleeping in her bed with her or nearby. If I had to pick the worst cat to lose, Sunny would be the biggest loss.

It's just not fair.

UPDATE 4:08 PM: It's over. Our little Sunny is gone. I stayed with her until the end.

Pies Pies Pies Yeah

Abacquer — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:30:51 -0400

So I celebrated Pi Day with some friends yesterday and had a nice time. The pies and treats were delicious. Sadly I didn't bring a cherry pie for Julie, I will have to remember to do that next year. The blueberry pie was great, the chicken pot pie was delicious, and though the glutin-free lemon meringue was very runny, it still tasted fine.

We played games (I had a nice long game of Carcassonne, and other people played Bohnanza), made up silly jokes and songs, and just had a very nice afternoon. I got to meet some new friends, and spend a little time with some old ones. And I ate WAY too much pie.

This morning my idle mind wrote a little song parody based on the day which I decided to share here:

You made me blueberry,
Apple and pecan;
Wet meringue with lemon goo
And pot pie tastes so grand.

(The bigger, the better)
Our tummies fully crammed...
Collected from around the world
we'll eat them if we can!

Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!

The pound cake was delicious,
And whoopie pies were fine.
But poor Julie got no cherry,
What a waste of time.

Big ones and small ones,
Look lovely to our eyes,
Tantalizing on the plate,
Not so much on our thighs...

Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!

Go back to your larder,
Fetch me another plate,
My pancreas is still alive,
And I'm not the sort to wait.

The bigger, the better,
And some are glutin free,
So what if you don't eat your share,
More for me and me and me and me and me and

Pies pies pies yeah! (We're gonna eat you.)
Pies pies pies yeah! (Not too discreet to.)
Pies pies pies yeah! (Fat like a B-2.)
Pies pies pies yeah!

Oh you know I know...

Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!

Oh you know I know...

Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!
Pies pies pies yeah!

Attention Executive and Legislative Branches -- I WANT SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE

Abacquer — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:08:30 -0400

In a single payer system, the cost of healthcare drops dramatically. Yes it's true taxes go up, but at this point? They're going up anyway. The economic stimulus our country needs is going to have to be paid for, and we are all going to pay for it. Combine this with the 30 years this country has frittered away when it should have been building a new energy grid, green technologies, maintaining infrastructure, and so on, and it's clear, the party is over.

And by "the party is over" I'm referring to those artificially low taxes that our conservative friends still think are too high.

I am sick and tired of listening to gloom-and-doom naysayers fiddling about long lines, delays, and taxes while Rome burns. I have friends who are suffering right now simply because they cannot get the help they need due to lack of coverage.

Single-payer health care works in many countries around the world, some better than others. I have enough faith in American ingenuity that we can make it work here. But it does mean (AFAIC) the end (or serious curtailing) of health insurance companies that have risen to wealth on their two core tenets--1. collect premiums, and 2. don't pay benefits.

For those who quake in fear at the notion? We tried it your way for decades and it sucks. I'm ready for something new.

On the Movie "Quarantine"

Abacquer — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:29:32 -0500

Dear asshole that made "Quarantine"--thank you for making yet another shitty movie with the shaky hand-held camera recovered footage approach that made "Cloverfield" suck too. I'd like that 90 minutes of my life back please.

Oh. And you suck. In case I didn't say that earlier.

Chapter Three: A Dying Breed

Abacquer — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:44:54 -0500

NOTE: This story is chapter 3, the sequel to the previous chapter. If you have not already read the first chapter or second chapter, you may wish to check them out first.

The visit with Ellan and Tyr had been long and leisurely, thirteen wonderful years exploring the seas of Regulus-4, a world Ellan had named Ouan. Mara and Kennis had swum as merfolk, scaled the few rocky crags of Ouan with the Hooth, slothlike ursines, and had even spent a few solitary weeks relaxing on beaches of lavender sand, their lungs altered to process the chemical soup that constituted Ouan's atmosphere.

Mara wrote many books, including a meditative collection of poems about her former lover Tyr. She had been nervous that Kennis would feel slighted, but her devotion to Mara was total. "I cannot possess you my love," Kennis had said, gazing at her in the amber moonlight of a warm night on Ouan, "and I will accept whatever part of your life you choose to share with me. It would unreasonable to assume that I should own your history. Besides, Tyr is remarkable, why not write songs for her? I thought your book was lovely."

"Oh Kennis," Mara had began, but she could not finish the sentence. Kennis truly was the love of her life, and she was ever reminded of it.

"I love you too, Mara. Who knows, perhaps you shall write a book for me some day."

"There aren't words to describe this love."

As the months passed into years, eventually Mara's thoughts returned to the notion of recreating humans on another planet--with the necessary biological alterations to survive there. She began scanning the catalogues of known worlds to find a suitable candidate. Though millions of worlds had been visited by Homo imortalis, few matched the criteria she was seeking. There were some good candidates, but they were precariously close to other worlds which had thriving ecosystems and nonsentient inhabitants, and given the human penchant for warfare and conquest, Mara had no desire to create a species that would become a scourge.

There was, she realized, a fairly awesome responsibility in creating a species. She had been contacted by a number of people who had expressed a number of opinions on her books on the subject, some positive and some negative. But she was not daunted, even when she reached the end of the catalogue with no acceptable candidates. She instructed Hab to inform her of new entries in the catalog as they arose, but so far there had been no match.

As the visit with Ellan and Tyr drew to a close she mentioned to Tyr the difficulty she was having in finding a suitable world one day when they were exploring warm coastal waters in a calm cove of one of Ouan's largest islands. "You've been through the entire catalog?" Tyr asked, her fins arranged in a peculiar manner that Mara had learned conveyed surprise.

"Yes, " Mara responded, "three million, one hundred seventy six thousand, eight hundred thirteen worlds. And counting..."

"My love, you are obsessed."

"Well you know me when I get an idea."

"Indeed I do. Well what now then?"

"I suppose I shall simply have to begin exploring worlds myself. All it will take is time."

Tyr was quiet for awhile. "There may be another option, Mara."

"What?"

"Long before I met you I briefly met an immortal named Bruk, a staggeringly old being who had taken up the task of cataloging every world in the Milky Way--with the intent of eventually leaving this galaxy to begin cataloging the worlds of other galaxies."

"Well if Bruk's work is already in the catalog--"

"It is not."

"What? Why?"

"Bruk is... eccentric and something of a hermit. In my entire life I have only known two Alphans, and Bruk is one. Suffice it to say these catalogs are kept in Bruk's private library. But I suppose you could ask..."

"An Alphan!" Mara had never met one. When nanotechnology changed a subset of Homo sapiens into Homo lentus, those modified humans had much longer lifespans. But the span of Homo lentus as a species was only five hundred years, as by that time technology had advanced to the point where Homo lentus became Homo immortalis--humans with an infinite lifespan. Those humans who were born as Homo lentus and changed to Homo immortalis were called Betans, and those rare few who were born Homo sapiens and transitioned first to Homo lentus and then to Homo immortalis were Alphans, and they were very rare indeed. The typical lentus lifespan had been 350 years, an Alphan would have been extremely old when the transition to immortality became available--at that point of course the aging could largely be reversed. But the Alphan viewpoint was often very unique as it was that of a single being that had actually been three different species--to say nothing of the extreme age of such beings. Mara had been born Homo immortalis, as had her mothers Chen and Cyrce. That put her in the majority of the species, a subset known as Gammans.

As an Alphan, Bruk would be nearly two and a half million years old, and if she had indeed been cataloging worlds for much of that time, she might indeed know of a planet upon which Mara could recreate Homo sapiens.

"How do you know this being?" Mara asked.

"Bruk is one of my ancestors, by twelve generations, we met at a family reunion. It was a bizarre experience. If you decide to make contact, I'd suggest you mention me--Bruk's got a soft spot for progeny."

That evening, back in Kennis' arms, Mara had composed a brief message to Bruk.

Greetings Bruk: I am the former partner of your granddaughter Tyr, my name is Mara. She encouraged me to speak with you. I am seeking a particular world--one with an environment very similar to that of Earth when it was inhabited by Homo sapiens, but fairly remote with respect to other worlds which are inhabited. Tyr mentioned your extensive catalog and I was hoping you might know of such a world. Please contact me if you are able to help. I've attached specific criteria ranges to this message. Thank you.

After running it past Kennis, she transmitted the message through her network receiver and was surprised to receive a response almost immediately. But it was not from the Alphan, but instead was being sent by a hab.

[You (and no guests) will be received at Bruk's hab in one week's time. Come to moon three of planet five of the red dwarf star at galactic coordinates (-28599.99876, -31200.09384, 112.54015). The visit is not to exceed 90 minutes.]

"It's pretty brusque, Mara. Why does she not ask after Tyr? Why does she not contact you herself? And she permits you no guests? Why do you have to go and see her at all? Surely she could simply transmit the data if she really wanted to help."

"Well she's an Alphan... and Tyr warned that she was eccentric and reclusive. I suppose I should be grateful that she is even willing to discuss it with me. It could save me hundreds of thousands of years of exploration."

In the end, Kennis couldn't deny that point, and so over the next week they had made their goodbyes to Ellan and Tyr, and after one last swim in the seas of Ouan, had reverted their biological adaptations, returned to their own hab, and set off to find Bruk on the other side of the galaxy.

The quantum transition from Regulus to the system that Bruk's message had indicated was instantaneous. The star was a massive red giant, long past its exuberant youth and into its twilight years. The fifth planet, a terrestrial sort of world, may have at one time supported life, but the vastly expanded sun had boiled away its atmosphere and left it a darkened, scorched, cinder.

Their hab arrived as Kennis and Mara shared a bath, and at their request displayed an image of the planet on the bath wall. Mara had queried the catalog before they had set off and found the world was not on file--it seemed odd to have no name to call it by. Kennis, however, quickly supplied one.

"Perdition?" Mara asked.

"Yes, from ancient mythology--a place of utter ruin and damnation. Why would anyone choose to live here?"

"Well, Bruk asked us to meet her here. I've no idea if this is where she actually lives."

Kennis' arms slithered around her waist from behind under the water, and drew her close. Mara smirked as Kennis kissed her ear and whispered "come meet me in the sunny flames of Perdition, there's nothing like a dead world as a setting to make a great first impression."

Mara looked back over her shoulder, cocked an eyebrow, and kissed Kennis on the lips. She returned the kiss enthusiastically. Is it me? Or did Perdition just get hotter? Kennis transmitted, and then yelped as Mara's hands found their mark, that ticklish spot just above her knee. Mara laughed then, full of mischief and easy familiarity.

"Mara! You wicked girl!" Kennis scolded playfully. It was at this point, typically, that the splashing began, and this time was no exception.

[Twenty minutes to dock]

"Hab! Kennis splashed me." Mara pretended to complain.

[I compute a 93% likelihood that this is because you tickled her. Again.]

"I fall for that every time," Kennis said, "you'd think I'd see it coming by now."

Mara turned to face Kennis and pressed up against her, her heady scent washing over Kennis. "Ah my love, of course you see it coming, and you let me do it anyway because you love me so." The kiss that followed was long and luxurious, and left their hearts thudding. Kennis gazed into Mara's hypnotic brown eyes.

"My love, if you do not get out of this bath right now, I fear you are going to be a few hundred years late for your meeting with Bruk."

"Well we can't have THAT. I get the sense that Bruk is a little preoccupied with time. 'Meet in one weeks time', 'The visit is not to exceed 90 minutes', la la la..."

Kennis leaned back as Mara rose from the bath, the water running in rivulets on her dark skin. "Well perhaps she chose such a cheery place precisely because she doesn't want you to stay too long."

Mara laughed as she reached for a freshly synthesized towel and began drying herself off. "You may be right Kennis. I suppose the location has an austere sort of beauty, but it is at the same time quite depressing. Can you imagine actually living in such a place?"

[Commencing landing procedures.]

Mara froze, and glanced at Kennis, who's face mirrored her thoughts. "Landing procedures?" she said, incredulous.

[Yes. Bruk's hab appears to be largely buried under the surface of Perdition's third moon. Docking will require landing, and deployment of the umbilicus.]

The umbilicus was a flexible docking tunnel sometimes used to connect habs when straightforward docking was not possible.

"Kennis... she DOES live here."

As the hab counted off the minutes to docking, Mara's cloud of nanos rapidly styled her hair and synthesized a satiny magenta sari for her with golden accents and, as always, decorative sandals. She spun once for Kennis.

"How do I look, my dear?"

"I think after you leave I shall have to switch from a warm bath to a cold shower."

After a brief goodbye kiss, Mara made her way to the man airlock. The hab touched down on the cratered surface of the barren lifeless satellite of Perdition. Bruk's hab was entirely buried under rocky hill, with only the upper airlock protruding from the soil. The upper airlock entrance was horizontally oriented, and would have to be entered from above via a ladder. With a whir the umbilicus extended, curving into place, and connected with Bruk's hab in a series of clacks and clinks.

Undaunted, Mara picked her way along the umbilicus and descended the ladder into Bruk's hab. The entrance chamber was dimly lit, and the floor resembled polished wood. Mara was not used to disarray, and was alarmed to see stacked rectangular objects in somewhat careless piles about the room, and everything covered in a fine layer of dust. Standing at the opposite end of the chamber was an odd looking woman dressed in a thick sweater, slacks, and boots, all black. Mara had never seen anyone like her--she was somewhat plump, her hair curly and gray, and fine wrinkles stretched across the skin of her face in various places. She was, Mara suddenly realized, old--which given the capabilities of the nanos meant that she had chosen to age. She smiled faintly at Mara as Mara walked over to her and held out her hand.

"You must be Bruk. I am Mara, I am delighted to meet you."

"Greetings Mara. Welcome to the habitat of Bruk. You have been granted limited guest access to basic habitat functions. You may call me Habitha."

It was a synth, Mara realized, an automaton composed entirely of nanos--a physical representation of the Hab itself. Seeing as Bruk lived alone, she perhaps found comfort in a synthetic companion of sorts.

"Thank you Habitha, will you take me to Bruk?"

"Yes, the master has been expecting you."

The master? Mara wondered. "Where is your master?"

"Most likely in the library. Shall we go? Master Bruk does not like to be kept waiting."

"Yes please. And do pass along the message that I have arrived in the meantime."

"I cannot. The master does not have a network receiver."

"What?"

"Master Bruk does not wish to be connected to the network."

Mara was stupefied. The network was essentially a compendium of human knowledge and experience, the idea that someone would not want access to it was mind-boggling to her. Habitha led her through several dark passages and cramped rooms, all piled with the same sorts of rectangular objects as she had seen in the entrance hall. "Habitha, why is everything covered in dust?"

"The master prefers it that way."

"Why are there piles of ... things in hallways and areas not meant for storage?"

"The master prefers it that way."

As Mara was becoming used to the odd musty scent in the air, the synth opened a hinged door and led her into a warmly lit and spacious chamber. There were a number of couches covered in worn brown fabric, standing lamps, standing shelves, and shelves lining the walls, filled with... "Books!" Mara said aloud, suddenly realizing what Bruk had scattered all over her hab. Thousands upon thousands of books, in print, on pages most likely made of a synthesized paper. "Habitha, why does..."

"The master prefers it that way." the synth said, with a trace of irritation.

"Of course." Mara said, taken slightly aback. Then the automaton began speaking louder. "Master Bruk?"

"Yes?" an odd voice responded from somewhere in the stacks.

"Miss Mara is here to see you."

Miss? Mara wondered. Nobody had ever called her 'Miss' Mara before.

"Who?" the strangely creaky voice asked.

"Miss Mara. Former wife of your granddaughter Miss Tyr?", the synth paused for a moment, but apart from the sound of rustling papers there was no response. "Whom you agreed to meet?", another pause, again met with shuffling sounds. "TODAY?" the synth tapped its foot impatiently. Mara couldn't help but smile, it was an impressive simulation.

"Dammit Habby, where did you put my notes?"

The synth glanced at Mara. "Just a minute, Mara," it said, and then wandered off into the stacks in the general direction of the voice, soon disappearing out of sight.

"If you would actually let me clean up around here, you might actually be able to find your notes."

"Don't touch anything, you'll ruin my whole system."

More frenzied rustling noises emanated from the stacks, followed by the sound of a large pile of books and papers toppling to the floor. Mara put a hand over her mouth.

"Well don't just stand there. Help me with this."

"Oh now you want my help do you?"

"Habitha..."

"I could put this entire hab in order in moments, but no..."

"Habby..."

"*sigh* Here they are. You were SITTING on them." At this there was a lengthy pause. "All part of your system?" Mara tried to stifle her laughter.

"Isn't there something else you have to do right now?" Bruk asked, clearly irritated.

The synth emerged shortly thereafter and smiled wanly at Mara. "The master will see you now, " it said, before leaving the chamber and shutting the hinged door behind it.

Moments later Bruk emerged from the stacks and approached Mara with a smile. She wore grey slacks, a powder blue button-down shirt, and a tweed jacket which had a bit of wear on it. It was immediately apparent why her voice had sounded so strange--Bruk was expressing male! For whatever reason, Bruk had expressed her male genes, causing her to have a male physique. She had chosen not only to be male, but to also be quite old... receding hairline, wispy white hair, and a neatly cropped white beard. She wore a pair of rimmed lenses over her eyes.

Mara was immediately alarmed. Generally immortals only expressed male when they intended to breed, or on rare occasions for sexual play. Mara began to wonder exactly what Bruk had in mind, and immediately backed away from her.

"I'm sorry Bruk." Mara said, holding up a hand, "I did not come here to breed."

A pained look crossed Bruk's face. "Oh for goodness sake. I didn't invite you here to breed."

"Then why are you expressing male?"

"I'm not expressing male, young lady. I *am* male."

"What?"

"I'm not a Gamman like you, Mara. I was born Homo sapiens, on Earth, as a male. My parents got me into the Lentus program when I was 16, and I didn't make the transition to Immortalis until I was 492. I wasn't just born an immortal female like you."

"But don't you have a standard immortalis genome?"

"Of course."

"Well, why don't you just express female?"

"Because I'm not a female!"

"I don't understand."

"No I suppose you wouldn't. Let me put it another way. Your appearance is Indian."

"Yes, my ancestors hailed from India."

"Right, but with the immortalis genome you can express however you like, so why don't you express as caucasian?"

"Well I could but..." her voice trailed off.

"But you're not caucasian are you? Your Indian appearance is part of your identity--you might choose to express differently in certain occasions, but your natural state is as you are."

Mara wore a chagrined expression. "I'm sorry Bruk, I misunderstood."

"Well, " he said with a sigh, "you wouldn't be the first. I'm a real hit at parties."

Mara giggled.

"I suppose Tyr didn't warn you either."

"No, she didn't. Tyr thinks I place too much emphasis on physical appearance, I suspect she thought it would be good for me to meet you unprepared."

"Uh-huh. She's a fish. And she thinks YOU need help?"

Mara laughed suddenly. Tyr was right, Bruk was quite a character.

"Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some, but we only have 90 minutes, I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"Oh that's just Habby trying to manage my schedule. I swear she thinks she's in charge," Bruk said, and then raised his voice, "Habby?" he called, and then jumped as the synth materialized next to him.

"Yes Master Bruk?"

"How many times have I told you not to pop in and out like that? You walk in and out of the door like a normal person."

"Yes of course, that's much more efficient."

Bruk stared at the synth for a moment. "Go get us some tea."

"You had six worlds slated for this afternoon."

"Extend my schedule. After you go and get us some tea."

"Yes Master Bruk," the synth said and promptly dematerialized.

The miffed expression on his face was priceless. Mara laughed again.

Shortly thereafter, the synth returned, this time using the hinged door, carrying a platter upon which was a porcelain decanter, teacups, and various other containers.

While Habitha and Bruk conversed, Mara studied the old man. The very notion of an "old man" seemed anachronistic--his mobility seemed somewhat limited, and his appearance was not youthful. But he still seemed beautiful in his own way, he had a dignity about him. Her eyes kept returning to his beard--she had never seen a person with one. Kennis had expressed male once or twice, but never long enough to have a beard--and Mara preferred Kennis in her natural state anyway. It seemed so strange a thing and yet it made Bruk appear distinguished--erudite. Now why should that be? Mara wondered. Why does a beard connote erudition?

His eyes were bright and blue and he seemed sharp and aware, but there was also an air of confusion about him. Absentmindedness was unheard of among immortals. Even if he should allow his body to age to some degree, that would not explain why he wouldn't remember his appointment with her. Or where he kept his notes. Or even why he had to take notes in the first place. The biology of the immortal brain was finite--it simply could not retain all the information in an infinite life--a large portion of the memory was stored in the data core of the hab, and maintained by a network of nanos which could transmit the information over considerable distances. The hab-core was quantum entangled to a backup core in a secure location, so in the event of the loss of a hab, the immortal's memory would not be lost. The communication between the immortal's brain, the nanos, and the habcores was essentially instantaneous--providing an infinite memory that was always accessible. To the immortal it was simply "remembering"--there was no effort involved, it simply happened--and had been designed that way, the immortal never knew whether her memories were biologically based or in "offsite storage". Even though Bruk had no network port, such a device was not a necessary component in the retrieval of memory.

"Well," Bruk said, after the tea had been set out and Habitha had departed, "before we talk planets, I imagine you have some questions for me. There are always questions. Anything else about me being male? Would you like to touch it?"

Mara thought that quite a nonsequitur and wondered just what exactly he was referring to. "Touch it?"

"My beard, " he said, "Gammans always seem to be preoccupied with it."

Mara felt a little embarrassed--she had been staring after all. "In truth, I have never seen a person with one. Yes, may I touch it?"

Bruk smiled and leaned forward to allow Mara to lightly caress his bearded chin. She wrinkled her nose slightly and drew her hand back.

"It's soft yet bristly, and it tickles to the touch. I think it quite charming."

"The ladies loved it back in the day. Anything else?"

"Why have you chosen to age?"

"Getting old is part of the human condition. I was much more "aged" than this when I made the transition to immortalis. But I couldn't bring myself to unwind all the years and go back to being the equivalent of 30 years old again. My life was almost over when I became immortal... being old was part of who I was. I wound the clock back to my 120's though, which is when I still had strength, mobility, and so forth. It would be like you going back to being an adolescent again."

"But is there not some discomfort in the age you have chosen?"

"Yes. But an eternally happy and painless existence is not natural."

"Excuse me?"

"How can one truly know happiness or pleasure, if one hasn't also known sadness or pain?"

"But a life need not have constant physical pain to make one appreciate happiness. I lost my beautiful Tyr many millennia ago and I am still saddened by it."

There was a brief mistiness in Bruk's eyes, as if he were seeing something long since gone. He came out of it almost immediately. "It pleases me to be a crotchety old fart full of discomfort. Anything else?"

"Why do you keep books?"

Bruk looked baffled. "To read, girl. Why else would I keep books?"

"You READ them?"

"Well of course I read them. How else am I going to learn what is in them?"

"But you could read them instantaneously if you had a network port, and then you wouldn't have to fill your hab with them."

"I'm a human being not a computer. Knowledge isn't supposed to just magically appear in your brain, you are supposed to work for it! Besides, I *like* reading books. Have you ever tried it?"

"Well. No not like you do. I suppose I should try it, perhaps I would like it too."

"Damn right you should. Everyone should. Why if I didn't read books you wouldn't be here."

"What do you mean?" Mara asked.

Bruk closed his eyes for a moment, and Mara instinctively took it as him sampling the network, but immediately realized that couldn't be the case. He was trying to remember something. Keeping his eyes closed, he began to recite, and Mara heard her own words coming from his mouth:

"...The truth alas I must concede
Both are blossoms, both are reeds,
Both the same, with different needs--
From the pistil comes no seed."

Opening his eyes, he took on an apologetic look "sorry if I didn't get it right."

"You read my book, Songs of Tyr?"

"Yes, and I savored every word. Marvelous poetry. It was pleasing to hear about Tyr from such a unique perspective. Poetry, there's a perfect example of something that should be experienced in its proper meter, slowly and thoughtfully. Fifty thousand years of love should not appear fully formed as a blip in the mind."

"My Kennis seemed to like it."

"Maybe SHE should read a book."

"I think she's just fine the way she is." Mara stated plainly. She did not like the implication that simply because she (or particularly Kennis) hadn't experienced something Bruk had, they were doing something wrong.

"But not Tyr." Bruk added, with a bit of challenge in his voice. Mara realized he didn't like the fact that she and Tyr were not together, and seemed to have directed that displeasure at Kennis. She found his rapid changes in direction and mood somewhat unsettling--he definitely didn't seem to think like any immortal she knew.

"I am not with Kennis because I thought there was something wrong with Tyr. As you should well know since you read Songs of Tyr, Tyr wanted something from me I could not give her. After awhile this began to make her unhappy, and I couldn't bear being the source of her unhappiness. So I let her go, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I will not sit here and be judged for it." She picked up a napkin from the platter and dabbed at her eyes.

"Well, " Bruk said "then you did what you thought was best for Tyr, and I can't begrudge you that. I'm sorry Mara. And she seemed quite happy with that girl... what's her name?"

"Ellan. How do you not know her name? You seem to have trouble with recollection--keeping notes, forgetting appointments, names, and so forth. Is your brain... damaged?"

"Damaged? No my brain isn't damaged. It's just not nano-assisted."

Mara's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't have nanomemory? But... how do you... remember?"

"Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I forget."

"But why would you--"

"Sometimes," he said, drawing in a pregnant breath, "you want to forget. And besides, I can't remember many of the details of my early life--this too is part of the human condition. I couldn't go from my natural state to a state of total recall. I don't need all those memories to be who I am."

Mara was speechless.

"Look. This tea we're about to have. It's a chamomile tea. Have you ever had chamomile tea before?"

"Yes, I had chamomile tea with Kennis and her friend Lispeth 113,761 years ago. We thought it might be a lark to eat a meal, so we had a breakfast of synthetic fruits and bread and listened to Lispeth's latest symphony--"

"This is exactly what I am talking about. Why do you NEED that memory? What has that got to do with anything? You're so busy data dumping the details of the event you forgot to say what the tea was like. Or if you even liked it."

"Perhaps if I had not been interrupted..." Mara said, tilting her head and cocking an eyebrow at Bruk with a little half smile.

Bruk smirked, "patience has never been a virtue of mine."

"Well, two and a half million years of impatience... it appears there's a test of wills between you and eternity."

"Yes, but I intend to win."

Mara laughed and then looked about alarmed as the room trembled slightly. "What was THAT?"

"Oh that's just the star. It will soon nova."

"Nova?!"

"Yes, at some point in the next few thousand years, it will catastrophically destroy itself, the end of its life. It's why Habitha is always after me about my schedule. I've wanted to complete my galactic survey before I die."

Mara knew that there were some rare few immortals that had chosen to die--some had simply become tired of living itself, others felt that they had accomplished everything they wanted to. Others had lost loved ones to tragic accidents and did not wish to continue existing afterward. That the alphan wished to die was nonetheless a completely alien concept to her.

"You choose to live here in Perdition because you wish to die?"

"Perdition?"

"Sorry, it's the name Kennis gave this star system--it had no name on record."

Bruk chuckled, "oh I like her, she sounds a sport. Much better than the name I chose--much better indeed. But yes, when Perdition dies, so will I."

He regarded her silently. The question was obvious but it would have been an invasion of his privacy to ask it. "You doubtless want to know why."

She nodded.

"I'm old, Mara. I don't just mean in appearance, I am incalculably old. Everything I recognize from my entire species has changed into something else. Earth itself is an alien ecosystem--there are no humans there. I've explored the galaxy for millions of years and made countless discoveries of worlds, other life forms, perplexing and beautifully complex planetary systems. I have discovered so much that the process of discovery itself holds no pleasure for me. What is there when newness itself is tedious?"

"You need not devote yourself to discovery. Why not create? Art? Music? Books? Share your discoveries with others and hear their thoughts? As it is you spend your life utterly alone with only a synth for companionship, why not seek a partner--someone to share your life with?"

"These are all arguments I've heard before, from Habitha herself. I had a partner Mara, a long time ago--another Alphan named Jyreeza. We were in the Lentus Program together, and I loved her dearly. We were both very old when the immortalis conversion became available, all of our children had undergone the process and they asked us to as well. We looked forward to seeing them grow, and an infinite future together seemed like paradise at the time."

Mara could sense what was coming--the immortalis conversion according to historical record had a 5% failure rate. "Jyreeza did not survive the conversion?"

He nodded, "and I've lived an eternity without her. I do not want another partner. I've lived a long time, Mara, and I think now, it is long enough. Death is part of what it means to be human."

She did not agree, but kept her thoughts to herself--it was an intensely private thing, and it was not her place to intrude. "I'm sorry, Bruk, I didn't mean to pry."

"That's fine. Take a sip of your tea before it gets cold."

She did so, and found it fabulously superior to the last chamomile tea she had sampled. "This is superb!"

"It's not synthetic. There's a greenhouse in my hab and I've grown the plants myself from the genetic database."

The room trembled again. Mara, are you feeling that? Hab says this star is pretty unstable. We probably shouldn't stay long. Kennis transmitted.

"Bruk, Kennis is concerned about Perdition putting us at risk."

"Tell her not to worry, Habitha has positioned an extensive network of probes around the star and she will be able to tell several hours before it goes nova."

Darling, Bruk's hab is monitoring the star closely and will be able to warn us well in advance of any actual danger. See you soon my love.

Keeping the bath warm for you... Kennis responded. Mara could almost feel Kennis smirking.

After they had finished the tea, Bruk led Mara through a series of hinged doors to another room full of bookshelves--these were filled with notebooks in which Bruk's observations of every world he had visited were recorded. Unlike the library, this room was fastidiously tidy. On a low circular table four notebooks had been set out.

"I had Habitha set these out earlier. There are several worlds in each one but among them four candidates which I think you will like of which one is my particular favorite, a world I called Shiran. Would you like to make a quick hop there to have a look at it?"

"Your hab is integrated into the mountainside... how will we do this? For that matter how have you been doing it all along?"

"Habitha is a hab within a hab, the outer hab is a relatively thin layer of infrastructure. You've been inside the inner hab for most of your time here--something I call the pod. The pod hops directly from inside the hab to any location of my choosing."

"But hops are imprecise--how do you get the pod back inside the hab?"

"The outer hab contains nanobeacons that communicate with the pod, allowing the pod to orient itself perfectly and hop back inside the outer hab."

"That's ingenious! Why have I never heard of this technology?"

"Because I haven't published it. Habitha maintains digital copies of my work which are set to be published the instant Perdition goes nova--my last contribution to my species. Now would you like to see Shiran?"

Bruk jumped suddenly as Habitha materialized. "Dammit woman, haven't I asked you not to do that?"

The synth pointedly ignored his irritation. "I've finished cleaning up the tea cups and have reorganized your schedule, master Bruk. But there is a failure in the nanobeacon network."

"A failure? What's this now?"

"The star's last disturbance seems to have disrupted the nanobeacons. I am effecting repairs but the pod cannot hop during the repair process."

Bruk handed the four notebooks to Mara. "Well, I guess you'll have to go without me then, everything you will need will be in there. Do you some good to read it."

There was another tremble, and at this a number of notebooks fell from their shelves in a heap.

"And it looks like I have plenty to do anyway." Bruk noted ruefully.

"Don't touch anything," Habitha said sharply, "you will mess up my whole system." She brushed past Bruk and began sorting the fallen notebooks.

Mara laughed. "Bruk, why don't you come with Kennis and I? We'll hop to Shiran and have a look, and then bring you back."

"Well..." Bruk began.

"Oh please, would you get him out of my hair for an afternoon? That would be marvelous." Habitha said without looking up.

"Habby. You know I prefer to stay here."

"Well I suppose you and I could spend the afternoon going over your schedule, " Habitha said sweetly with a sardonic smile, "if you think you'd enjoy that more."

Bruk held up his hands "fine, fine, fine." He looked at Mara, "you're sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all. We'd love to have you. I'll just let Kennis know you are coming--she's in the bath."

Habitha made a shooing motion with her hands. "Go on, go on, I've work to do and you are in my way."

Minutes later Bruk and Mara reentered her own hab. Having been warned in advance by Mara, Kennis was not at all surprised by Bruk's appearance, but strangely he was surprised at hers. She had adorned a small tiara, gold bracelets, and necklaces of jade beads and bits of coral. Mara thought she looked lovely. Bruk thought otherwise.

"Hello Bruk, welcome to our hab. I am Kennis. Mara has told me about your visit. I'm pleased that you have decided to visit with us."

"Goodness, girl, put on some clothes!" he responded, averting his eyes.

"What?" she said glancing down at herself "Am I so repulsive?"

"Would you please dress?"

Bruk's a bit eccentric Kennis, maybe you should put something on. *I* think you are beautiful. Mara transmitted.

"Very well, if you insist. I apologize for offending you though I don't see what the problem is." She placed her hands on her hips and waited as a mist of nanos surrounded her and synthesized a satin kimono, turquoise with lapis accents. "Better?"

Bruk glanced at her, "Much. Sorry Kennis, in my day, people didn't greet guests unclothed--that was reserved for lovers."

"I apologize."

"No that's... that's fine." He seemed quite shaken, much to Mara and Kennis' amusement.

"Well it's good to know that if I get tired of your presence I have a sure fire way to get rid of you." Kennis said, with a smirk.

"Kennis!" Mara said, partly shocked but still laughing.

Bruk glanced at Mara, "Oh I *do* like her."

After the pleasantries, including Kennis touching Bruk's beard, they retired to the atrium where Bruk read the coordinates of Shiran from his notebook, aloud, and the hab disengaged from his own, lifted off and made the hop. Immediately an immense swirl of stars became visible through the windows of the atrium. Both Mara and Kennis were transfixed by it--it was a galaxy.

"Where are we?" Mara asked.

"We are in the Small Magellanic Cloud, you are looking at the Milky Way." Bruk said, "Hab, can we have a view of Shiran?"

An image appeared on the atrium wall of a terrestrial world--blue and green and dotted with white clouds.

"Shiran." Bruk said simply.

"It's beautiful, Bruk. How does it come by this environment? Is that vegetation?"

"It is. From my survey here I was able to discern that Shiran was once inhabited by a sentient species--ruins on the surface make this clear. But they were wiped out by a disease that they were unable to cure. All that remains is some limited vegetation and microbial life. The biochemistry is very similar to that of Earth--you should be able to create humans here with minor alterations to allow them to metabolize this vegetation. You could also seed the environment with various species from Earth, but of course they'll all need to be altered slightly. Gravity is 1.1 G, rotation period is 31 hours, two satellites, one very tiny (350 km diameter--probably a captured asteroid) and one much larger (2100 km diameter.) Atmospheric makeup is similar to Earth's but has enough differences that genetic modification will be required. Not too bad though. All in all it's a perfect fit for your requirements. Would you like to go down and have a look?"

"Yes! It sounds marvelous. Kennis, will you come?"

"Of course, darling."

[Proximity warning. A traveler is arriving.] Hab transmitted.

"What?" Mara said aloud, while Kennis glanced out the window.

Bruk looked at her strangely. "I didn't say anything," he said.

"Hab, Bruk has no network port, please address all common broadcasts vocally."

"Yes Mara, " the disembodied voice of the hab filled the air, " apologies Bruk, I was not aware that you were not network enabled. Welcome to the hab of Mara and Kennis, you have been granted full guest access to all hab functions."

"Thank you, please repeat your last broadcast."

"Proximity warning. A traveler is arriving. Vehicle has hopped in and is entering orbit around Shiran."

Mara was crestfallen--"could the original inhabitants of this world be returning to claim it?"

"No, I don't understand it. From my brief survey I saw no evidence of a space faring culture. Hab, can we have a view of the visitor?"

The image on the atrium wall flickered and showed an oblong vessel, roughly ovoid, with no visible markings or windows--just a pair of hatches and an otherwise featureless hull of dark gray metal.

"What is that?" Mara asked.

"The pod." Bruk said, and with sudden realization, "Damn you Habitha."

"The what?" Kennis asked.

Hab began vocalizing again, "Mara, you asked to be notified of new entries in the planetary catalog. Catalog size has just increased by 1,512,378 worlds."

"DAMN YOU HABITHA!" Bruk exploded. "Nanobeacon failure my foot! Dammit!"

"Incoming data stream from other vessel. Vessel identifies itself as the hab of Bruk, and requests access rights to manifest a synth. Mara or Kennis, will you receive this stream?" Hab announced.

"Yes." Kennis and Mara said together. Instantly, Habitha appeared in a swirl of nanos.

"Your works have been published in accordance with your wishes, master Bruk."

"They were supposed to be published in the event of my death, Habitha."

"Your specific instructions were to publish them when Perdition became a nova."

"Yes, and I was supposed to be there at the time."

"I am aware of that."

"You lied to me, Habby."

"Yes I did. I carried out my prime directive through the only means you left me."

A hab's prime directive was to protect its occupants at all costs.

"The prime directive includes a right to die clause, Habitha."

"Bruk, " the synth said, taking on an unsettlingly human tone, " you coded me to look like her, think like her, and act like her. What would she have done?"

His eyes filled with tears. "Habitha, please delete all iterations of the Kindred program."

Habitha nodded and said with a smile, "I think that's best." Immediately the synth collapsed into a cloud of nanos that streamed away through various vents.

"Goodbye Jyreeza, " he whispered softly.

Happy Inauguration Day!

Abacquer — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:50:03 -0500

With best wishes and congratulations for our new President, Barack Obama!

Photos from the Ice Storm in Fitchburg

Abacquer — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:30:40 -0500

Last week's ice storm really socked us here in Fitchburg. We lost power for seven days, but fortunately had access to a generator so we could run our furnace. Finally got my pictures from the storm uploaded.

Peter Schiff on FOX News in 2006 and 2007

Abacquer — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:37:35 -0500

YouTube video of loons at Faux News laughing at Peter Schiff as he tries to warn of impending financial disaster in the 07-08 timeframe:

Peter Schiff Was Right 2006 - 2007 (2nd Edition)

What stock picks were the FOX tools recommending? WaMu, Merril Lynch, Goldman Sachs... financials basically.

Attention Wal*Mart Shoppers: You Make Me Sick

Abacquer — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:54:37 -0500

I'd like to take this opportunity to express my utter disgust at the crowd of shoppers who mobbed the doors of a Wal*Mart in Long Island yesterday morning, broke through the doors, and trampled a 34-year old employee to death. There is NOTHING that can be found in Wal*Mart that is worth crushing a human being for--none of you were in desperate need of food or medicines that could only be had in that store and nowhere else on the planet. Believe it or not, your kids will survive if they don't get Guitar Hero for Christmas.

Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death (The New York Times):
...Detective Lt. Michael Fleming, who is in charge of the investigation for the Nassau police, said the store lacked adequate security. He called the scene "utter chaos" and said the "crowd was out of control." As for those who had run over the victim, criminal charges were possible, the lieutenant said. "I’ve heard other people call this an accident, but it is not," he said. "Certainly it was a foreseeable act."...

I strongly urge the detective and the county DA to pursue criminal charges against these people. There is security video from the store, so there should be no problem identifying them and providing evidence of their guilt. Nobody "accidentally" breaks a door down and kills a man. The Damour family will have an empty seat at the dinner table for the rest of their lives because of a bunch of stupid assholes wanted to save a buck.

It's 2008 folks, you don't get to be cattle anymore. Whoever went to that Wal*Mart yesterday morning and forgot to bring their humanity? I hope you rot in prison.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Abacquer — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 07:18:08 -0500

Just taking a moment to wish a happy thanksgiving to my friends and anyone else who happens by. I'll be visiting Mom today for a thanksgiving dinner. I don't know how much I'll be able to eat though--exactly seven days ago I had the last of my teeth removed. My mouth is still pretty sore and the new dentures, unfortunately, don't seem to fit well. But I'll muddle through.

Sorry I haven't written much. I just haven't had much to say. Strangely, things in the news that have outraged me haven't given me the urge to write, mostly because it seems to be the same thing every time. (Prop 8's passage for example.)

NYT on Nate

Abacquer — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:57:37 -0500

Here's a nice article in the New York Times about Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight who's predictions about the 2008 presidential and senate races were so amazingly accurate. Hat tip to my friend Bruce who brought the article to my attention.

Hear Hear or Here Here?

Abacquer — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:04:35 -0500

So today I found myself agreeing with someone online and went to type "hear hear" but then remembered seeing someone else type "here here" a couple days earlier.

I was pretty sure the correct phrase was "hear hear" as opposed to the other variants I'd seen ("here here", "hear here", "here hear") but I'd never actually looked it up. So I decided to check popular internet usage using Google:

"hear hear" = 1,740,000 hits
"here here" = 3,880,000 hits
"hear here" = 307,000 hits
"here hear" = 334,000 hits

Well dang. According to popular usage twice as many people say "here here" than say "hear hear". But is that correct? Wikipedia says no:

Hear hear (Wikipedia):
...Hear, hear is an expression used as a short repeated form of hear ye and hear him. It represents a listener's agreement with the point being made by a speaker.

It was originally an imperative for directing attention to speakers, and has since been used, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, as "the regular form of cheering in the House of Commons", with many purposes depending on the intonation of its user. It is often incorrectly spelled "here here", especially on websites...

A quick double check of OneLook Dictionary Search confirms this. Six dictionaries list "hear hear" and only one lists "here here" (and that one happens to be the wiki article above.)

Popular usage drives the movement of meaning, though, so at some point in the future "here here" may end up being the correct phrase if we don't do something about it.

So if you want to avoid yet another English colloquialism that will have your great grandchildren scratching their heads and saying "WTF?" (or whatever kids will be saying in those days) then type "hear hear" at every opportunity.

Go on, say it, you know you want to.

Election: Late Voting Station Report - Somerville, MA

Abacquer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:53:46 -0500

FINAL REPORT. Thanks everyone who sent these in!

My coworker Rich sent in the following report from Somerville, MA...

Election: Late Voting Station Report - Salem, NH

Abacquer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:49:23 -0500

My coworker Tim sent in the following report from Salem, NH...

Election: Late Voting Station Report - Sudbury, MA

Abacquer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:45:14 -0500

My coworker Wayne sent in the following report from Sudbury, MA...

Election: Late Voting Station Report - Leominster, MA

Abacquer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:40:36 -0500

My friend Dave sent in the following report from Leominster, MA...

Election: Late Voting Station Report - West Bloomfield, MI

Abacquer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:37:23 -0500

My flickr friend Scot sent in the following report from West Bloomfield, MI...

Election: Updated Tallies, Presidential and Senate Races

Abacquer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:27:53 -0500

Okay a lot has happened since I last posted. First, the Associated Press has called North Carolina for Obama.

President-elect Obama adds victory in North Carolina to White House win (Associated Press):
...The Associated Press declared Obama the winner after canvassing counties in North Carolina to determine the number of outstanding provisional ballots. That survey found that there are not enough remaining ballots for Republican John McCain to close a 13,693-vote deficit...

CNN still hasn't called North Carolina as evidenced by their electoral map.

So according to the AP Obama's EV total is 364, and according to CNN it is 349.

Still no clear result from Missouri. Right now McCain has 1,442,673 votes to Obama's 1,436,814 votes giving McCain a razor thin lead of 5,859 votes. But apparently they are still processing provisional ballots there, so there is an outside chance that Obama may still carry the state (although the Kansas City Star clearly doesn't think so!)

Missouri loses its bragging rights by bucking its own trend (Kansas City Star):
...Unofficial results Wednesday showed John McCain with a 5,868-vote margin in the state — a lead that could narrow as final results are tallied and some 7,000 provisional ballots are examined.

Few observers, though, think the outcome will change. Expect Missouri’s 11 electoral votes go to the Republican amid a national landslide for Barack Obama...

Interestingly, the Omaha World Herald is saying Obama may have won another electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd District. If Obama has the lead there, Nebraska will split its electoral votes, which would move one EV from the McCain column into the Obama column giving him 365 EV's:

Obama's odds of getting Nebraska electoral vote increase (Omaha World Herald):
...Obama won about 61 percent of the early votes counted before Tuesday's election. If that percentage holds with the early ballots left to count, Obama stands a strong chance of winning the Omaha-area 2nd Congressional District.

Republicans did not concede defeat Thursday, but they acknowledged the long odds.

John McCain held a 569-vote lead over Obama in the 2nd District at the end of Tuesday...

In the senate races, 3 seats are still in play, but the race in Oregon has been decided with the seat going to the democrat Jeff Merkley according to The Oregonian. This gives the Democrats 57 seats in the Senate.

The Coleman vs Franken race in Minnesota is being recounted, and the current results shows a spread of only 236 votes. Talk about close! The Associated Press is quoting one expert saying the race is almost certainly going to be decided in court:

Litigation in waiting: Recount could be just the start in deciding Minn. Senate winner (Associated Press):
...After a recount, the candidates or any eligible voter can head to court to challenge how the election was conducted or the votes were tallied. The Minnesota law spelling out the contest raises the possibility of Senate involvement.

"I don't think there is any possibility it will be simply a recount," said Hamline University law professor Joseph Daly. "It is destined for the courthouse and ultimately it is destined for the United States Senate based on this law. There's too much at stake. There's too much vitriol."...

The Georgia senate race is still undecided. Saxby Chambliss has the lead, but under Georgia law he must achieve 50% + 1 votes or the election will immediately go to a runoff. As of yet he isn't there, and Georgia's Fulton County is still not finished counting absentee and provisional ballots according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The candidates have no choice but to start campaigning now on the chance that a runoff will be necessary:

Ballot-counting marathon stretches in Fulton (Atlanta Journal-Constitution):
...By early evening, officials had more than 100 ballots left to count, out of about 31,000 total absentee ballots. They could not estimate when the work would finish. Even when that’s done, workers must still count hundreds of provisional ballots...

...Democratic challenger Jim Martin and Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss have begun their campaigns, even though a runoff is not yet certain. The approximate 147,000 votes cast on voting machines during early voting in Fulton have been counted already, county officials said...

...Secretary of State Karen Handel has threatened to report the county’s election operation to the state Election Board for releasing workers before their work was done...

..."Fulton County should have had proper staffing and procedures in place," [Handel’s spokesman] said. "They knew how many ballots had been issued and should have known how many had been returned up until Election Day,” he said.

The Office of Inspector General will conduct a thorough investigation of Fulton County’s activities...

Counting continues in Alaska but at present incumbent Ted Stevens holds the lead by about 4,000 votes… despite being a convicted felon. Chatter on the net is saying Alaskans may have voted to keep the seat red. Even if Ted resigns or is tossed out of office, it would be up to the Governor (Sarah Palin) to appoint someone to the seat... and she may just decide to appoint herself:

Is Sarah Palin Nipping at Ted Stevens' Heels? (The Washington Post):
...Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this week that even if Stevens wins his race, he shouldn't expect to keep his job on Capitol Hill. "The reality is that a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate," Reid said. "And as precedent shows us, Senator Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process."

And what might happen if his colleagues do kick Stevens out of the Senate, prompting a special election? Who might be in line to replace him? Hint: lipstick; $150,000 wardrobe. Yep, you betcha! Sarah Palin...

In other news, Harry Reid and Joe Lieberman had a meeting today. Some in the Democratic party have been calling for Lieberman to be expelled from the party for his vocal support of John McCain. It doesn't seem likely that will happen, but doubtless some action will be taken. CQ Politics has the story.

Lieberman’s Future Undecided After Meeting With Reid (CQ Politics):
...While I understand that Senator Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus, Reid said in a statement following the meeting.

"I expect there to be additional discussions in the days to come, and Senator Lieberman and I will speak to our caucus in two weeks to discuss further steps," he said...

Election: CNN calls Indiana for Obama

Abacquer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:51:29 -0500

Obama 349 McCain 163

Two states remain uncalled, Missouri (McCain leads by 1 point), and North Carolina (Obama leads by 1 point.) Assuming those leads are maintained, the final count will be Obama 364 McCain 174.

The 4 uncalled senate races are still in play. All of them are leaning republican. The closest is in Minnesota where Coleman (R) leads Franken by a mere 694 votes.

90+ Articles in 24 Hours

Abacquer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:42:11 -0500

Sheesh! Time to get back to work. Talk to you guys later today. I'll keep checking the outstanding states and senate seats.

Election: What If He's Just a Smooth Talker?

Abacquer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:02:05 -0500

So my wife and I were talking about Obama's victory last night. I was telling her how moving the speech he gave and Grant Park in Chicago was (watch the video: part one, part two). She said to me "I'm glad he won, but I hope he doesn't turn out to be just a smooth talker."

It's a worry I've heard before, from a number of people, some of whom I love dearly. It's a worry I harbored myself during the primaries.

When she said that something occurred to me which had not before. But it is the best answer I can offer for those who still harbor the fear that our President-elect might be all talk:

It's not really the president who can create transformative changes in our nation. Nobody could singlehandedly do what needs to be done to get our nation out of the troubles it is in. It will take the American public, we the people, to do those things. And in order for people to abandon cynicism and dare to hope, in order for the people to do what needs to be done for this nation, somebody has to motivate us.

A smooth talker, or as I prefer to think of it, a motivational speaker, is exactly what we need. Someone who will reach across the aisle, build coalitions, and motivate us all to make our nation better. In the 60's a single man motivated our nation to send a man to the moon with technology that is positively archaic by today's standards. It was a stupendously difficult task, but all we had to do was decide to do it. The president can only lead, it is we the people, who will do.

Obama is such a man, as John F.Kennedy did he can motivate people like nobody else I've seen in my lifetime. I think that with all the problems facing our nation, this is one of our greatest moments. I will never forget this day.

Election: Current Tallies

Abacquer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:23:35 -0500

During the night both CNN and NPR called Montana and Alaska for McCain.

CNN has him with 163 electoral votes and NPR has him with 162. I assume the difference is due to states which split their EV's. I know Nebraska and Maine both do this, and FiveThirtyEight is saying that Nebraska's second district is too close to call.

The big news this morning is that NPR has called Indiana for Obama, while CNN still says it is too close to call. With 99% of the precincts reporting, the vote there stands at 1,352,356 for Obama and 1,329,370 for McCain. If this state really does end up in the blue column it will be fairly amazing--Indiana hasn't voted democratic since 1964.

CNN puts Barack at 338 EV's, and NPR puts him at 349 with Indiana's 11 EV's in his total.

Missouri hasn't been called by either news agency. 100% of the precincts are reporting and the votes are 1,435,724 for Obama and 1,442,577 for McCain. That's a lead of just under 7,000 votes! Late ballots are probably still trickling in.

North Carolina also hasn't been called by either CNN or NPR. 100% of the precincts are reporting and the votes are 2,101,986 for Obama and 2,089,826 for McCain. That's a lead of approximately 12,000 votes. At 15 EV's, NC is the biggest state of the states uncalled.

If both NC and IN are in the Obama column, that would put him at 364 EV's, which is in "landslide" country.

The popular vote has widened over night with Obama now leading 52% to McCain's 47%.

In the Senate races, amazingly, 4 seats are still undetermined!

In Alaska Ted Stevens (R) is leading Mark Begich by about 3,000 votes with 99% of the precincts reporting. Convicted felon or not, it looks like Stevens may pull out a victory here.

In Oregon, Smith (R) is leading Merkley by 2 points with 74% of precincts reporting.

In a stunningly close race in Minnesota, Coleman (R) is leading Franken by a mere 762 votes! The Independent in that race, Barkley, took 15% of the vote. 100% of precincts are reporting.

In Georgia, Chambliss (R) is leading Martin by almost 140,000 votes (4 points), but at FiveThirtyEight.com they were saying that the turnout numbers are way too low, and are speculating the early votes might not be completely represented in the tally yet.

Election: Blogathon Concluded

Abacquer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:53:28 -0500

Congratulations President-elect Obama.

Five states remain uncalled: Alaska, Montana, Missouri, Indiana, and North Carolina. Barack leads Montana, Indiana, and North Carolina by small margins presently.

Senate seats stand at 57 Democratic 40 Republican and 4 in play.

Obama's victory speech was was moving and compelling as ever. I really look forward to finally having a president I can respect, a man with a strength of intellect to match the strength of his conviction. There are dark days ahead, but I can't think of anyone better to lead us through them.

At this time I am going to sign off and hit the hay. I've been at this since before 6 AM yesterday morning and I am exhausted. I need to get some sleep.

I'll update the tallies in the morning.

My sincere thanks to everyone who helped out with poll reports. I'll be disabling the pollreport e-mail address.

Goodnight folks!

Election: Voting Station Report - Loveland, CO

Abacquer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:42:15 -0500

MOTL user Josh has voted and sent in the following report from Loveland, CO...