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Monday, September 11, 2017

Post #3358 M

Quote of the Day

The only sense that is common in the long run, is 
the sense of change-and we all instinctively avoid it.
E. B. White  

Tweet of the Day





























Where Were You 16 Years Ago?


I was working feverishly on an ERP upgrade project at a Milwaukee suburb county courthouse. (I came in 2 to 3 months into a fixed-bid 6-month project. The project DBA had left the project weeks earlier; the project was probably 6 weeks behind schedule when I took over, and we were heading down the home stretch on schedule, in all honesty mostly on my efforts.) The company had wanted me to move to WI, but this was their only client there, so I compromised and moved to the northwest suburbs of Chicago. It was still an 83 mile commute one way, and basically my company forced me to be on site at 7:30 AM because the county DBAs, in charge of backups. couldn't be trusted with restarting application background processes. Even worse, I wasn't allowed to start any patching until 7 PM. This meant I often didn't eat dinner or get home until 11 PM or even midnight. (No bonus or extra pay.) The clients were sometimes jerks; for instance, I was required to walk both of the DBA's through the upgrade process. We had scheduled a time to meet, and she no-showed. It turns out that she had decided to go get her dog's nails clipped. The end result was I had to work late that evening. Never mind I was working on site at least 11 hours a day, allowing for a lunch break, plus another 3 on the road.

So I was doing my 101 things in the morning, when my Indian developer colleague, who lived locally, came in, babbling about some aircraft crashing into a World Trade Tower. I didn't know what to make of this: was it some Cessna where some pilot lost control of the aircraft? I thought it was curious, but I like to mind my own business, and I hate drivers slowing down to rubberneck an accident. I got back to work; there was a lot of buzz, especially among the county workers. And then at least one county worker in a nearby cubicle brought in a portable TV, and it was like everyone converged around his cube. And my honest first impression was "Damn! I'm like the only guy working here; how are we going to get anything done today?"

I eventually became aware of what had happened at the Towers, but I found the Pentagon attack astounding. How is it, with the world's greatest air force, some rogue aircraft made a direct hit on the Pentagon? I knew by now, these were no coincidences and I recall listening along to reports about Flight 93 in process.

Of course, when I got home that evening. I surfed the Internet for the latest news. I could only dread possible follow-up attacks, like packed Union Station during morning or evening rush.

There are a few things that stand out, like members of the Congress standing defiantly together on the steps of the Capitol. Coming into work at the courthouse I found an assembly of people praying for the victims and survivors, and I joined in.

No, I will never forget.



Behavioral Economics




Ron Paul On the Minimum Wage and Government





Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Henry Payne via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


Michael Bolton, "Love Is a Wonderful Thing". This is another of a number of #1's from 1989 through the 90's on the A/C chart.

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