Island in the Storm …

Several weeks of dread over recent casualties over in the Iraq region were wiped out, at least temporarily, this last weekend as the baby brother Nick, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilot for the 101st Airborne, arrived in the States for his two weeks R&R.

The Meisters

This actually marks the first time our complete family has been together in one place in the last three years, and the above picture actually means far more to us than it might seem, as we were given a brief moment in a time free of uncertainty over the safety of family members scattered across the world, a time to reflect, celebrate and even just relax with our family which has been separated for such a long time.

The weekend was filled with the family members, myself included, making numerous connections by plane and car to come together for this last weekend in my brother’s place down in Kentucky. We celebrated an impromptu Christmas, as well as my brother’s birthday, which will pass as his last two have, in the middle of a combat zone.

I was sad to step onto the little jet that would speed me away from the family, just as the others who had to leave at the end of the weekend, but I was still happy for that bubble of time we got to spend together.

You NEED this book …

From Publishers Weekly:

In this outrageous parody of a survival guide, Saturday Night Live staff writer Brooks prepares humanity for its eventual battle with zombies. One would expect the son of Mel Brooks to have a genetic predisposition to humor, and indeed, he does, and he exhibits it relentlessly here: he outlines virtually every possible zombie-human encounter, drafts detailed plans for defense and attack and outlines past recorded attacks dating from 60,000 B.C. to 2002. In planning for that catastrophic day when “the dead rise,” Brooks urges readers to get to know themselves, their bodies, their weaponry, their surroundings and, just in case, their escape routes. Some of the book’s more amusing aspects are the laughable analyses Brooks proposes on all aspects of zombiehood, and the specificity with which he enumerates the necessary actions for survival-i.e., a member of an anti-zombie team must be sure to have with him at all times two emergency flares, a signaling mirror, daily rations, a personal mess kit and two pairs of socks. Comic, though unnecessarily exhaustive, this is a good bet for Halloween gag gifts and fans of Bored of the Rings-esque humor. 100 line drawings.

US Lawmaker wants to make Antivirus software LAW

From Yahoo News:

One lawmaker has a possible solution to the increasing problem of computer viruses: requiring all computer users in the United States to install antivirus software on their PCs.

“Is it time for the federal government to develop some kind of Internet security agency that would develop standards for all legitimate software, require automatic update and patching, and establish a base level for every single computer in the country?” Bass said during the hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

“Is there any reason why any computer in this country shouldn’t have some kind of antivirus software on it as a requirement?” Bass asked.

More fiero fun …

Had a fun electrical system problem develop the other day. First the CD player began to skip and restart, followed almost immediately by the radar detector shutting itself off and on again. I disconnected the latter and shut the former off as I was on the road to work and figured I’d look at it later.

Of course, upon starting the car up that night after work, I discovered that my headlights, parking lights, interior lights, radio and cigarette lighter were all non-functional. Not a good situation when the Ohio nights are coming ever so much earlier as winter approaches.

The eventual solution was to trace the wiring from the battery down to the starter, where the lighting fusible link diverges off. There I discovered the wiring wasn’t properly seated in the ring connector, due to the mechanic who replaced the fusible links in a previous post. A quick re-crimp and everything was all better.

This must be how non-computer geeks feel when they solve a computer question on their own without consulting a geek friend. 🙂