Apparently, KHQ is coming today at 11 to interview the President of our company. Someone, in their infiniate wisdom, thought it would be all spiffy and stuffs to do the interview in the control room of my NOC.

So… I’ve spent part of yesterday and all of this morning making it presentable (puting interesting looking screen up, attaching a couple of monitors to the KVM, etc).

Note: looking interesting and having actual value are two different things (I hope they don’t ask “what’s that screen for?”).

I’m going to attempt to stay out of the line of vision, but you will be able to watch it tomorrow night at 6 and 11 pm on channel 6 (if you live in the area). It might also be on the website… but I doubt it.

*EDIT* Yeah… they asked a lot of “what is that screen mean?” questions. They also got me to sit and look busy while they did the shoot. You can see the back of my fat head tomorrow at 6 and 11 (unless, of course, they edit me out… and I’m very cool with that).

We went shopping for a new dishwasher last weekend.

The old one had gotten pretty noisy over the past few years and it was time to retire it. I had priced them online and figured we’d get one in the $300 – $500 range. Man, was I ever wrong.

My wife looked at a few and settled on the Kenmore Elite TurboZone™ Dishwasher w/Premium Adjustable Rack.

It does everything, and should… because after paying for it and the 5 year service plan it cost us just over $1,000.

That doesn’t inclue instalation.

So… on wednesday… when it comes in, I’ll be getting grubby I guess.

Happy friday!

Tonight’s plan of action: Party at the Blue Dolphin!

It’s Pigman’s 54th annual birthday bash. We’re all meeting at the Blue Dolphin Tavern after work to drink, make fun of each other, and have a general good time. Pigman will post pictures on his site after the fact (I’ll be the goofy looking nerd in the tangerine shirt).

*EDIT* the pics from the party are here.

Other stuff:
We’re dropping the Durango off to get some more repairs done. The front end is pretty lose (damn ball joints) but our ’99 isn’t covered under the recall (only ’00 and newer were), so we have to pay for this ourselves. They’re also replacing the tie-rods (one of which we had done in January of ’04… but it’s already shot). Hopefully, this will fix it and stop the damn thing from eating the other parts.

And finally:
The survey results are in and it’s official: I’m one sexy bitch.

Modern vehicles are a delight to drive.

They come with all the conveniences, tons of safety features, and are far more comfortable than walking to the damn store in the rain.

One of the unique features a car comes with is something called a “turn signal”. This marvel of automotive design is often overlooked by the vast majority of drivers in the Spokane, Washington area, so I thought I’d jot down a few notes on it’s use for you.

There is a lever located on the left hand side of the steering wheel (photo A). Pressing this lever down will activate the turn signal on the left hand side of the car. Pressing the lever up will activate the signals on the right hand side of the car.

Photo A

You do this procedure when you would like to turn your car either right or left. It signals the other vehicles that you are about to change the direction of the 2 tons of metal you’re hurling down the road in. This gives them a chance to know your intentions and a chance to not attempt to fuse their vehicle into the side of yours.

A note: While using your turn signal is the appropriate way to show intent and a polite thing to do, using it excessively is not better. Driving down the road with your turn signal blinking for 4 miles doesn’t show intent, only your intelligence (which gets lower with each revolution of your tires). If you find that you have turned a corner and your turn signal is still blinking (as indicated by the dash lights), simply move the lever into the center position to cancel it.

I hope you’ve found this public service announcement helpful. Next time, we’ll talk about what those little footy things under the dash on the drivers side, what they’re for, and when to press them.

Michigan Congressman Fred Upton is trying to ammend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to change DST.

Another daylight saving time debate made its way to Washington.

Michigan Congressman Fred Upton introduced legislation to extend daylight saving time as part of the Energy Policy Act.

Currently, daylight saving time begins in the United States on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October.

Rep. Upton says extending daylight saving time “makes sense” especially with “skyrocketing energy costs”.

Under Upton’s amendment, it would begin in March and end in November.

Yeah… it would also fubar every computer, router, and firewall in my NOC.

Sure, given time, man hours, cash, and enough patches and firmware updates, everything would be spiffy again. That is, of course, only if the hardware and software mfgr’s write an update (we have some older equipment in use… most of it would have to be replaced).

Monumental bad idea, kids. Don’t do it.