The Watani Grasslands was officially previewed to the public (NC Zoo Society Members) today – the official grand opening is April 5th. I didn’t go, but the parts I’ve seen in the past are absolutely spectacular. Hopefully, they managed to get these strange creatures out of the exhibits before letting in the elephants.
If you haven’t gone to the NC Zoo yet in Asheboro, go. It is well worth the time and money.
This past weekend, I took photos of the Smokey Mountain National Park along the “Roaring Forks Motor Trail”. This is an interesting 6 mile, one-way road just outside of Gatlinburg. Right before the start of the formal trail, is the Ogle Farm.
Got out the tripod and “thought” I had a pretty good shot of the old barn.
Unfortunately, someone doesn’t know how to throw away trash. Never-mind the fact that my eye didn’t catch it either until I started processing the photos at home.
Two stories published today caused me to start questioning the role of government in society again:
Yes, the Virginia Tech Massacre is a terrible tragedy. No amount of money can ever replace the human lives lost. It is appropriate to give some amount, but it is not appropriate for this to become a windfall/lottery for those families. Unfortunately, this has turned into yet another way for lawyers to make some money. Of which, they will have a hard time getting due to Virginia state law limiting liability because of “sovereign immunity” and a cap for tort claims of $100,000.
McCain did provide some relief to overburdened homeowners in his plan, but the Democrats are missing his point - don’t bail out the greedy.
At the end of the day, taxpayers must bear the burden of these costs. Quite frankly, I pay enough taxes already.
Here’s another one of my favorite quotes:
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
(Paris Sorbonne,1910)
from a CNN headline.
What happened to “Mission Accomplished”?
Although I’m a big proponent of Java, you do need to watch how it is deployed in your company. It’s not just something you can release software in your company and forget about it. You have to manage which Java run time environments (JREs) are installed and manage those throughout their lifecycle. In many cases, you may be able to let legacy environments persist, but sooner or later it will catch up to you.
Of course, further complicating this issue is how IBM and other vendors make application server version available plus how software vendors test/certify their applications on different environments.
Be proactive and stay ahed of the curve…
does not mean all of their advice is correct.
Generally speaking, I enjoy Rick Sammon’s work and his advice. However, you have to read and choose for yourself. He has an excellent article here on how to double-process RAW files to extend dynamic range. However, when combining the photos, he chooses to use erasing as method to combine the photos rather than a layer mask. The advantage of the layer mask is the improved ability to alter the image without destroying the original images.
JP Morgan just purchased Bear Stearns for $2 per share this evening. Bear Stearns closing price on Friday was $30 and that was after dropping 47% in a day. On April 25, 2007, it closed at $159 per share.
Who’s next? Where will this end? When will see some leadership?
Just as importantly, what should my family and I be doing?
One of my biggest fears with the current environment in the United States is this underlying sense of entitlement. This “privilege” triggers much of the ugly behavior and situations seen today. Jobs are being outsourced not only because of cost, but laziness at work. People spend more money than have because “they deserve”. People sue each other for the flimsiest reasons. Companies change rules and weaken controls to earn additional profits.
At times, it is even laughable. Watching TV, I saw a woman scream about how she wanted a complete refund of her trip (travel, hotel, meals, tickets, etc.) because of how she and other SEC fans were unable to see the basketball tournament games at the Georgia Dome because of the damaged received to the building during a freak storm yesterday. Does she think officials closed the facility and moved the games just to inconvenience her?
Life happens. Stand up and deal with it. No one owes you anything.
Yes, the lady is owed a ticket refund, but that’s it. Shes’s made the choice now on how she wants to live her life. Lemons or lemonade?
