In his speech on October 6th, 2009, Obama did little but bless our Intelligence Community for their diligence and integrity.

The record of your service is written in the attacks that never occur because you thwarted them, and in the countless Americans who are alive today because you saved them. For that, America is in your debt.

Few Americans know about the work that you do, and this is how it should be. Your assignments require it, and obviously, you didn’t go into this line of work for the fame and glory or the glare of the spotlight. You’re in it to serve and protect.

So I say to every American, “You see the headlines, but here are some of the people who help write them, who keep you safe.” And I say to all of you, “You are setting the standard. You’re showing us what focused and integrated counter-terrorism really looks like.”

To think about the profound impact that all of you are having on the day-to-day life of this nation I think is extraordinary. Your professionalism is essential to protecting this country.

We’re facing determined adversaries who are resourceful, who are resilient, and who are still plotting. And no one can ever promise that there won’t be another attack on American soil.

But I can promise you this: I pledge to do everything in my power as president to keep America safe. And I pledge to give all of you the tools and support you need to get the job done around the world and here at home. And I pledge to stay focused on that mission, just as you stay focused on your mission.

Because of you and all the organizations you represent, we’re making real progress in our core mission: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida and other extremist networks around the world.

We must never lose sight of that goal. That’s the principal threat to the American people. That is the threat that led to the creation of this center. And that must be the focus of our efforts to defend the homeland and our allies, and defeat extremists abroad.

Obama made a similar speech earlier this year at the CIA, only weeks before loosing the Attorney General to stifle investigations of terrorists, and even prosecute some of the very people he made the speech to.

One has to wonder whether it’s coincidence or doublespeak.

But I’m banking that I’m not the only one who thought, “Look out, boys! Holder’s going on the warpath again!”

     When you hear that phrase, ummm … Run.

     Is it any wonder I voted for Mickey Mouse?

     Southern California never gets much in the way of rain.  At least, not in the way that the rest of the country gets it.  For the most part, “rain” to SoCal is pretty much considered “heavy fog,” or “drizzle” in an extreme case.  But over the last few days, they’ve experienced a normal, every-day, East Coast sort of rain which has caused numerous traffic accidents, evacuation planning and mass hysteria.

     I remember a particular rain back in the early 90’s which would have been considered a “light shower” to Knoxville.  However, the occurrence in SoCal was so foreign that it prompted numerous news reports.
     A local radio show — the station and location escapes me at the present — did a spoof news report about the incident.
     “Sir, can you tell me what happened here?” asked the fake reported.
     “Yeah, man, like… There was all this water in the air?”
     “Yes?”
     “Then it landed…”

     The specific storm included up to an inch of accumulation, thunder, lightning, and winds in excess of five miles per hour.  A woman on Rodeo Drive experienced water so deep that it reached nearly half way up her stiletto heel.  The State of California was immediately contacted to compensate her for the trauma.

     But the devastation of nearly twenty years ago was not restricted simply to California.  Thousand of activists flooded then-President George H.W. Bush’s office with demands that he take control of the disaster, which left Southern California’s homeless population demoralized and wet.
     Much like Hurricane Katrina, which left nearly one million homeless without homes, nearby Nevada was subsequently inundated with an influx of storm survivors trying to find their beloved boxes.

     I only hope that the events of past are not repeated during this crippling catastrophe, and that FEMA will respond accordingly in their attempts to offer shelter to the millions affected by this light rain.

I overheard a convenience store employee say that “now that President Obama is in office, he was going to finally get an “opportunity”. So I asked how long he has worked at the store and it turns out he was one of the assistant managers and has been for like 5 years.

In any event, I have to just ask this very simple question. Why would an individual waste 5 years of their life waiting for someone to give them something? (Especially a president of a country) I would have thought that after 2 or maybe 3 days would have been long enough to figure out that nobody is going to give us things in our result orientated economy and society. At what point did we just start sitting around with a fucking hand out waiting for shit to drop in our laps? What ever happened to personal responsibility and accountability?

Yea, the bastard was clueless when I uttered the famous quote “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thank you Thomas Edison!

I think Nintendo, X-box and Pong has fried our youths brains and made them lazy slack asses. If they are waiting for me to give them a handout, I have a backyard that needs mowing. Feel free to swing by. No, you only get paid when the job is done well. I won’t pay you just because you showed the fuck up.

God I am tired of supporting underachievers of our society. I really, really am.

     At the beginning of last year, Matt Mullenweg of WordPress stated that the takeover of MySQL by Sun Microsystems was, “a good thing.”  Being that MySQL is the world’s most popular “free” Database solution, I immediately registered my concern, based on the twenty years of experience working with Sun’s products, vendors and support staff, and the general malaise that has existed at the company since 2002.

     A software developer, working on a for-profit website, contacted me today, more than a little worried over something Sun had told them…

     “Since you’re running your application on top of MySQL, you are required to purchase an enterprise license for MySQL.”

     So it seems that Sun wants to change the terms of the Free, Open Source version of the MySQL product such that any software developer who allows the use of their Free, Open Source backend has to pay Sun a small fortune for an Enterprise MySQL License.  Not only is it complete and utter bullshit, this is typical of Sun’s usual strong-arm tactics which nearly every commenter on Matt’s article warned about.

     In nearly all instances of PHP software development, MySQL is merely being used a storage backend.  No part of MySQL is being reproduced or packaged with any PHP software that I can think of, whether said software is Open Source, GPL, Freeware, or a Commercial Product.

     And if they are willing to lie and attempt to cheat software developers out of their meager savings, then how well does this bode for future software development using MySQL as a backend? 
     Will Sun attempt to go after for-profit Internet Service Providers who provide users with the ability to devlop their own Database applications, or use MySQL as a backend to other web-based applications?  Will Sun attempt to go after Hosting providers who do the same?

     You can expect as much from a company who was a proven track-record of being one of the most greedy corporations on the planet.  If it weren’t for their benefactors in the US Government, who heavily utilized their overpriced hardware and ridiculously priced “Platinum” support packages, Sun would have gone bust a long time ago.  But, with your tax dollars footing their equity, Sun even managed to send their multi-million dollar Platinum Support customers to deal with ill-trained, rural support staff based in India… So much for Platinum, eh?

     PostGreSQL is looking better and better…