A traveler from the world of work

Linux is still not ready for the show

1. When I tried to set up a printer on the Linux operating system that I'd recently installed on my laptop, the print service (CUPS) would display the message "Starting Printing" and then die silently.
   A bit of Google research showed that, somehow, I'd installed a stackless version of the Python language and it had become the default version. The print service, which relies on Python, tried to use the stackless version and failed. The solution is, of course, to rename the stackless version of Python so that the regular version is the default version and all is happiness in the kingdom. It just needed the following command:
   
   sudo mv  /usr/local/bin/python  /usr/local/bin/spython
   
   
After fiddling with Windows Printing via SAMBA, the service needed to connect to a printer that's connected to a Windows system, I learned that there are no supported Linux print drivers for our printer. One forum writer called the printer a 'paperweight'. I might be able to get the printer to work in an emulator, but I've had enough fun for this morning.

I must also note that printer vendors, including Dell, Canon, and Epson, don't provide Linux print drivers, at least for the home office printers that I've checked. There's a circular problem here - few Linux systems in the home office, so no printer offerings, meaning that there will be few Linux systems in the home office.

Well, maybe a bit more experience might be helpful

Periodically, I check various open-source project sites to see if any of the projects need documentation help. I found this one this morning:

Layoffs at IBM?

I saw this rumor on the Screwdd site earlier today. Apparently, IBM is readying itself for substantial layoffs in a few weeks - IBM Singing the Big Blues? | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD. Good luck to my friends and former co-workers at IBM.

One (anonymous) manager is quoted as saying, “All divisions in IBM will be affected. Get all your ducks in a row. Time is running out.”

What does it mean to get your ducks in a row if you may lose your job?

Anyway, good luck to my friends and former co-workers at IBM.

Fwd: Winter Storm Watch for Holden, MA

"Ice accretion" is one of those phrases that's ugly and ominous for good reason.

Then, again, we ought to think about those poor folks in Palin-land who had to postpone their celebrations of their 50th anniversary of statehood; they wouldn't be able to see the fireworks because of ice fog. High temperatures are forecast to be -30-50F° in the valleys.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Weather Underground Email Service <emailer@email.wunderground.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 3:35 PM
Subject: Winter Storm Watch for Holden, MA


Winter Storm Watch
Statement as of 3:33 PM EST on January 05, 2009
...Winter Storm Watch in effect from late Tuesday night through
late Wednesday night...
The National Weather Service in Taunton has issued a Winter Storm
Watch...which is in effect from late Tuesday night through late
Wednesday night.
This watch includes southern New Hampshire...as well as interior
northern and central Massachusetts.
Snow is expected to develop across the region very late Tuesday night.
The snow may become heavy at times Wednesday morning and accumulate
several inches. However...warm air is expected to move in aloft
changing the precipitation over to sleet and freezing rain across
most locations by late morning or early afternoon.
Most locations should see the temperatures remain below freezing for
the entire event. Therefore...once the change over occurs sleet and
freezing rain will continue through the afternoon. The potential
exists for between one quarter and one half inch of ice accretion...
with the higher amounts more likely closer to the Massachusetts
Turnpike where freezing rain may become the main precipitation type.
It remains uncertain what the predominant precipitation type will be
from this storm. If the low pressure system tracks closer to the
coast...more of an ice event can be expected with just some snow at
the onset. If the low tracks further south...we will be dealing with
several inches of snow with not as much ice. Regardless...the Wednesday
morning rush hour may be quite messy so plan accordingly.
A Winter Storm Watch is issued for the potential of accumulating
snow of 6 or more inches in a 12 hour period...or 8 or more
inches in a 24 hour period. Anyone traveling in the next 24 to
36 hours should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to modify
travel plans should winter weather develop.


--
Drink from the well and yield your place to another. - Jose Ortega y Gasset

Love thy neighbour: Why have we become so suspicious of kindness?

As a follow-on to my note about the sign in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, this Guardian article discusses the evolution (or, as some might argue, devolution) of our attitudes toward kindness.

The great paradox of modern capitalism, the ex-Thatcherite John Gray has pointed out (False Dawn, 1998), is that it undermines the very social institutions on which it once relied - family, career, community. For increasing numbers of Britons and Americans, the "enterprise culture" means a life of overwork, anxiety and isolation.

Nevertheless, in spite of our relentlessly resilient selfish genes, we manage to stumble back to kindness and generosity.

Yet still kindness is an experience that, so far at least, we have been unable to give up on. Everything in our contemporary ethos makes kindness sound sometimes useful (that is, effective), but potentially redundant: a vestige from another time, or just part of a religious vocabulary. Yet still we desire it, in some way knowing that kindness - the unromantic kindness, which encourages a feeling of aliveness as compatible with, indeed integral to, a feeling of vulnerability - creates the kind of intimacy, the kind of involvement with other people, that we both fear and crave. That it is kindness, fundamentally, that makes life seem worth living; and that everything that is against kindness is an assault on our hope.

via MeFi

Crime in suburbia

Editor's note: the region was hit by a severe (once-in-a-lifetime-so-far) ice storm starting on the night of December 12, 2008. As a result, most of the calls to the police and fire department for the past few weeks relate to outages of power, phone, and cable, as well as reports of downed trees and obstructed roadways.

From The Landmark (subscription required):

Holden

Monday, December 22

8:48 a.m. Well-being check requested due to pitbulls on premises on Doyle Rd.; no power, no heat, but all set
2:27 p.m. Report of contractor going door to door for tree work; should have HPD permit on Elmwood Ave.
5:46 p.m. Solicitors in station for permit
5:51 p.m. Party asked to remove dog from high school
10:19 p.m. Report of suspicious pickup truck, male parties with flashlights at residence on Doyle Rd.; OK, plumber doing repairs

Tuesday, December 23

9:59 a.m. Delivery from Trappist monks
10:40 a.m. Caller wanting to know how to get credit report without going online
11:04 a.m. Two calls from store wanting to reach town resident about package left behind
12:36 p.m. Report of resident avoiding paying for tree services

Wednesday, December 24

8:30 p.m. Report of a "glow" in neighbor's garage where no one is home

Thursday, December 25

8:00 a.m. Caller reports possible bobcat left tracks in his yard and roaming the area
9:10 a.m. Visitation exchange; mother advised to consider restraining order due to behavior of ex-husband in front of child
11:44 a.m. Caller apologizing for his behavior during custody exchange

Friday, December 26

10:18 a.m. Three boys attempting to have someone purchase cigarettes for them on Main St.; parents advised
6:51 p.m. Pharmacy reports resident given the wrong prescription; requests that police go to make sure she doesn't
take the pills

Saturday, December 27

3:45 p.m. Two golden retrievers found
9:25 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle on Industrial Dr.; individual looking for kindling
9:44 p.m. Owner of lost golden retrievers called; given number
of the nice people holding them

Sunday, December 28

12:07 p.m. German Shepherd on Flagler Dr.
1:18 p.m. Brown dog loose in area of Elmwood
6:23 p.m. 911 Seven calls reporting gun shots or fireworks behind residence on Windsor Circle
8:51 p.m. 911 Report of two black dogs escaped from garage on Bullard St.; dogs back home

Paxton

Tuesday, December 23

2:37 p.m. Domestic, Marshall St.
2:41 p.m. Male party driving an older black Chevy Silverado, NY tags, asking people for money, Paxton Center Marketplace
6:20 p.m. Parties into station to complain about earlier Marshall St. call.

Wednesday, December 24

8:00 a.m. Motor vehicle off road, Marshall St.

Thursday, December 25

5:09 p.m. Domestic, husband videotaping argument, Camp St.
8:47 p.m. AMC security calling with possible person in tunnel between Campus Center and Trinity Hall.
11:40 p.m. Worcester Police advising dead moose at Pleasant St. at Asnebumskit Rd. Negative contact made.

Friday, December 26

11:49 a.m. Owner of out-of-town tree company advising that another tree company keeps removing his signs

Rutland

Monday, December 22

11:15 a.m. Walk-in to report high snow banks that you cannot see around, Barre Paxton Rd.
3:01 p.m. Snow bank blocking the road, Pleasantdale Rd.
6:51 p.m. Report of snowballs being thrown in area, Main St. at Maple Ave.
8:05 p.m. Traffic safety, something is hitting caller's car, Main St. at Watson

Tuesday, December 23

7:10 p.m. Huge snow drifts blocking traffic, Kalloch Dr.

Wednesday, December 24

9:23 p.m. Party is locked out of car with child inside, Brintnal Dr.
11:40 p.m. Transformer sparking, Irish Ln.

Thursday, December 25

2:17 p.m. Suspicious person, Irish Ln.
5:05 p.m. Motor vehicle accident, Barre Paxton Rd at Irish Ln.

Friday, December 26

2:55 p.m. Caller locked out of car with keys inside and car running, Pommogussett Rd.

Sterling

Monday, December 22

7:50 a.m. Two medium-sized poodles by MDC gate, appears they have been there awhile, Justice Hill Rd.
9:06 a.m. Request to close Upper North Row Rd. between Heywood and Justice Hill due to heavy vehicular traffic and speeding
10:19 a.m. Report of dog howling for long time in area of John Dee Rd.
4:37 p.m. Report of two poodles in yard on Lucas Rd.

Wednesday, December 24

6:48 a.m. Report of dog stuck in a drain, leg twisted, owner retrieved dog, Clinton Rd.
10:18 a.m. Group of dogs running through yard, caller thinks they ate a dead rabbit that was in the woodpile, Chace Hill
Rd.
2:06 p.m. Report of annoying phone calls from a correctional facility, Bean Rd.
11:37 p.m. Transporting one male to town line, Flanagan Hill Rd./Pratts Jct. Rd.

Saturday, December 27

1:56 a.m. Caller reports kids "bowling" with their car against trashcans on Osgood Rd.

Sunday, December 28

2:25 a.m. Suspicious vehicle "checking out" a farm stand on
Chace Hill Rd.
12:38 p.m. Report of golden retriever, possibly lost on Campground Rd.
12:46 p.m. Caller reports finding a silky terrier, Chace Hill Rd.
9:32 p.m. Caller reports finding small dog, Chace Hill Rd.

First Day

After a cold, but fun tour of First Night Worcester, we had a sleepover, with Tess, Lily, and Cassie joining our normally sedate household.
The morning began with an exhibit of hats made last night at the Worcester Art Museum:

 Breakfast of blueberry pancakes, the last of Summer 2008's blueberries, followed. The morning concluded with the ladies of the house having a late morning tea party:


And so begins a new year.

Be kinder than necessary

We pass this sign, at the corner of Holden and Brattle streets, nearly every day. Many a day, the message on that sign has made a big difference, improving my attitude toward those around me.

This morning's Telegram reports that St. John's church is closing on February 1, a result of declining revenues. The parish has known for some time that they didn't have enough money to continue and chose to close the church, rather than relocating or merging with another congregation.

What Google thinks about Amazon's music offer

So, I get an email from Amazon, offering a $3 credit toward music downloads. Meanwhile, GMail, which has a feature that offers web links that are related to the email that I'm reading, offers a free trial of Topamax, a medication to treat migraines.

And, to all, a good night

We're still finding our way around the house with this new-fangled thing called electricity in the walls and ceiling.
Tonight, we'll go to Mike and Lynn's to celebrate the Eve. Tomorrow, we go over the river and through the woods (literally) to Adam and Jennie's.
We took Cassie for the day, visiting a mall and buying a few things, then lunch, and then  The Tale of Despereaux. (Hint: it's a pretty good flick, but the plot is a bit tricky for the young and those not paying close attention. The animation is delightful.) It takes a special kind of, well, bravery, I guess you'd call it, to go to a Disney store with a four-year-old on Christmas Eve. It's a bit like pouring a dozen Pixie Stix into the kid. She just about hit her resonance frequency when we found a Jasmine doll that she absolutely loved. She dozed off in the car on the ride home, a sweet smile on her face.
And, my friends, it doesn't get any better than that.
Merry Christmas.

Worcestershire Journal - What we have here … : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

Worcestershire Journal - What we have here … : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

Worcestershire Journal - Storm Notes : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

Worcestershire Journal - Storm Notes : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):

Holden

Monday, December 1

12:07 a.m. Lights on in building on Adams Rd. that are usually off
3:53 a.m. Caller trying to find out how to get his plates back after they were taken earlier
6:53 a.m. Lockout of motor vehicle, which is running, on High St.
9:35 a.m. Large refrigerator dumped on Harris St. in November
1:18 p.m. Person left school and needs to return
3:14 p.m. Caller reports hunters coming out of the woods on his property with deer with them on Reservoir St.
4:15 p.m. Caller on Mixter Rd. reported there is a dog menacing a deer he has hanging in the tree
9:10 p.m. Sheriffs office reports repossessed motor vehicle

Tuesday, December 2

11:15 p.m. Unattended vehicle in lot on Main St., no one around

Wednesday, December 3

4:05 a.m. Vehicle running unattended on Brattle St.
6:54 a.m. Residence on Autumn Circle missing Christmas decorations
10:39 a.m. Disabled motor vehicle on Reservoir St. reported; just truck doing work, will move out of roadway
3:50 p.m. Female reportedly throwing rocks at passing traffic on Sunnyside Ave.
9:55 p.m. Back window smashed on Salisbury St., possibly by something falling from tree

Thursday, December 4

4:25 p.m. Caller reporting solicitor on phone reporting lottery winnings, asking to send $675; caller told not to send funds, probably a scam
9:34 p.m. Caller reporting large slender object with red lights floating around in the area of his back yard on North St.

Friday, December 5

12:03 a.m. Vehicles being repossessed
7:09 a.m. Counterfeit bill used at high school cafeteria
9:56 a.m. Suspicious male talking on radio at Unionville Pond
11:15 a.m. Male party left high school
7:00 p.m. Suspicious incident reported on Pinecroft Ave.
10:19 p.m. Driver all over the road near Big Y; driver tired

Saturday, December 6

11:04 a.m. Reindeer stolen from front lawn on Brentwood Dr.
12:45 p.m. Caller asking why doors locked at church
1:48 p.m. 911 abandoned call from Canterbury Lane; teaching granddaughter how to dial 911

Sunday, December 7

12:39 a.m. Two males out on foot; ok, workers at restaurant
2:56 a.m. Caller reports ex-girlfriend driving up and down street beeping horn disturbing neighbors on Hawthorne Rd.
4:16 a.m. Ex-girlfriend again on way back to talk to boyfriend
11:55 a.m. Parents locked keys in car on Bullard St.
2:44 p.m. Fox in yard on Putnam Lane all day

Paxton

Monday, December 1

2:33 p.m. Coyote acting strangely, Nanigian Rd.
8:53 p.m. Walk-in to station reporting calls three times a day from someone who doesn't speak English

Tuesday, December 2

7:09 p.m. Caller wants police to check malfunctioning garage door, Maple St.

Wednesday, December 3

3:29 p.m. Caller advising prescriptions missing from her car that was in accident today, left phone number
3:44 p.m. Officer cannot reach caller re: prescriptions, number disconnected/unavailable

Thursday, December 4

2:30 p.m. Caller heard gunshot and cries of help, vicinity Bel Arbor Rd.; nothing found.

Friday, December 5

12:46 a.m. Complaint of loud music coming from public safety bldg, also saw truck there; officer turned off radio and most of the lights at the station

Princeton

Monday, December 1

10:55 a.m. Open door/window, Rocky Pond Rd.

Wednesday, December 3

6:05 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Hobbs Rd.
6:05 p.m. Assist animal control officer, Hobbs Rd.

Thursday, December 4

11:04 p.m. Assist animal control officer, Rte. 140 N

Rutland

Monday, December 1

12:01 p.m. Party with a complaint of a vehicle backing up onto their lawn, Davis St.
2:41 p.m. Rubbish dumping, Main St.
9:14 p.m. Dead baby pig in the road, East County Rd.

Tuesday, December 2

10:43 a.m. Officer to tell owner he needs a permit to sell cars, Elete Auto

Wednesday, December 3

10:29 a.m. Resident requesting information on flyer, Pommogussett Rd.

Thursday, December 4

1:51 a.m. Abandoned 911 call, Forest Hill Dr. On callback officer was told there was a small car driving up and down the road with a party yelling out the window.
6:43 p.m. Accidental 911 dial rather than 411

Friday, December 5

4:05 p.m. Walk-in reporting a youth inside Goodwill box to get his skateboard.
8:35 p.m. Two people acting strange just left gas station, Main St.

Saturday, December 6

6:04 a.m. Cars parked behind building for the day, Main St.
12:12 p.m. Trespassing incidents, hunters coming too close, Glenwood Rd.
3:52 p.m. 911 Car vs. parked car in the library parking lot

Sunday, December 7

12:25 a.m. Suspicious person, Main St.
10:00 a.m. Reverend called to say they will be lighting candles in the cemetery between 4 and 4:30 p.m.
11:15 a.m. Cat sitter refuses to return cat, Main St.
8:56 p.m. General disturbance, Memorial Dr.

Sterling

Monday, December 1

7:48 a.m. Unoccupied vehicle parked, Stephanie Anne Ln.
11:42 a.m. Officer wanted, gunshots heard, Kendall Hill Rd.
1:38 p.m. Concerned that hunters are too close to homes, Pine Woods Ln.
10:29 p.m. Large animal dead in roadway, appears to be a badger, Leominster Rd.

Tuesday, December 2

6:39 a.m. Officer assistance requested to help bus over railroad tracks where lights are flashing and no train is in sight, Newell Hill Rd.
7:49 a.m. Request for assistance crossing railroad tracks, lights flashing, Newell Hill Rd.
2:21 p.m. Assist citizen regarding bounced checks, Worcester Rd.
9:48 p.m. Badly injured deer caught in swing set, Chace Hill Rd.

Wednesday, December 3

7:22 a.m. Officer wanted, long standing problem with neighbor, signs posted in yard, Sherwood Dr.

Thursday, December 4

9:57 a.m. Large goat running around Princeton Rd. area

Friday, December 5

9:37 a.m. Repeat animal complaint, John Dee/Muddy Pond Rds.
10:33 a.m. Dead skunk in garage, Worcester Rd.

Sunday, December 7

11:25 a.m. Loose goat, Princeton Rd.
3:40 p.m. Domestic disturbance, Beaman Rd.

FedEx bailout program promoted by WorldNetDaily

Our good friends at WingNutsDaily are continuing the fight against the selection of Barack Obama as our next president. Having failed to convince the Supreme Court to review Obama's citizenship paperwork, WND has launched a new campaign to influence the Electoral College to ensure that our next president is a natural-born citizen by insisting that President-elect Obama produce a valid birth certificate.

The letters will be sent FedEx to all 538 members of the Electoral College. The program first targeted only 470 for whom addresses initially were available. But the remaining addresses have been traced, and the letters will be delivered Friday morning, giving each elector the weekend to consider the constitutional issues raised by Obama's presidency.

This is after an unsuccessful effort that sent more than 60,000 letters by overnight delivery to the U.S. Supreme Court when a case contesting Obama's eligibility for the Oval Office was pending.
The FedEx packages can be sent for $10.95, a nice little boost to the FedEx that I'm sure the company appreciates. Recent news reports, such as this CNN Money article, FedEx's Gloomy Outlook Underscores Pain For Parcel Shippers, show that FedEx and other carriers are struggling during this economic downturn. 

No fun in Holden tonight

Does this mean we can't watch TV tonight?

Note to Chilean cardinal - the Pope is still Catholic, too

You were expecting the other Madonna, maybe?

Chilean cardinal: Madonna rouses 'impure thoughts'

"This woman comes here and in an incredibly shameless manner, she provokes a crazy enthusiasm, an enthusiasm of lust, lustful thoughts, impure thoughts," said Cardinal Jorge Medina.

Um, er, uh, ...

Hey, roboblogger, you might want to empathize a bit and not think so much about your data entry requirements.

Tough time require tough eats

• From Time, by way of Andrew Sullivan, we learn that the Brits are buying and, we presume, consuming "more tongues, brains, chitterlings (intestines) and trotters (feet)."
• Of course, we must  forget the perennial champion of recycled animal parts: Haggis - Frugal Food for a Recession
  
• Vegetarians, meanwhile, have to resort to fighting over tomatoes at Spain's tomato festival.
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• Aussies are being asked to eat more camel, not so much because it's cheap eats, but because there are too many wild camels in the outback.
• Meanwhile, back in the good old U. S. of A., it's Spam for us.
• Except that some folks want to bring their own stuff to this country. This link, unlike the others, is not for the squeamish because we don't like thinking about eating animals that might be cute.

Worcestershire Journal - TV at us, but not for us : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

Worcestershire Journal - TV at us, but not for us : Real Worcester - Worcester News and Blogs

TV in the Great White North

The snow is deep, eh?

And be sure to remove this note before publishing the brochure

How's it look, Perry?
From the 2008 Colonial Williamsburg Vacation Planner:

A request from Joseph's Project

Friends -

Thank you for your continued support of Joseph's Project. We started the Project last year with the mission of bringing food to families in need. This year brings exciting news. Joseph's Project is now incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations to the Project are now tax-deductible. More importantly, with a board of directors that brings new ideas, talents, and energy, we are able to support more families.

In October, we held a Halloween party that raised $2250. With this money, we are able to buy food for weekly deliveries to a half dozen families. Each week, we learn of others who could be helped.

The season of need is just beginning. The holidays are near, as is winter. Many families will be making the hard choices between heat, clothing, food, and other necessities. We want to be there in support of people in our community. To do so, we need your help. If you are able to send us a gift, however modest, we will be able sustain our current food deliveries and to meet new needs as they arise.

You can send your donation to:

Wait, you mean that Santa didn't fly an airplane to bring gifts to the Baby Jesus?

The good folks at World Net Daily are on both sides of the war on Christmas. One on flank, they report that the Liberty Counsel has launched its campaign to protect Christmas from the grinches and other censors.

Meanwhile, WND is also promoting a book titled, Shocked by the Bible, which reports that

• "Christmas" is not mentioned in the Bible
• "Three Wise Men" appear nowhere in the Bible, and none are ever mentioned visiting baby Jesus in a Bethlehem manger.
• The practice of decking a tree with silver and gold is actually condemned by God.
• The Bible never specifically mentions the day, month, year or even season Jesus was born. 
  

Sheesh. Next, they'll be telling us that Santa Claus doesn't appear in the Bible at all.

I'll be right out. I just have to wait for the spin cycle to finish.

Using the wash water to flush the toilet at once seems like a great idea and full-tilt weird. From A Green And Ergonomic Toilet Combo: Washup.

Not quite ready for the show

I'd like to buy an Internet radio some day. In brief, an Internet radio lets you listen to stations from all around the world, broadcast over the Internet, and delivered to your radio by wi-fi or wired network. Using my computer, I can listen to lots of stations, but it would be nice to have just a radio.

iLuv has a product that, according to the reviews, looks promising. Their web site, however, is less so:


Then, I wondered what resources were available, so I clicked on the Resources tab,


An Internet-based product ought to have a first-class web site, dontcha think?