We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:07:19 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification [Non-OPSEC] Okay, I went into "Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow" mode about two days into the cross-border foray, so my guess is today's Friday. We just got back in Kuwait, presently waiting to catch a flight out that'll dump me into the ice/snow storm combo that blasted you guys a few days ago (no 'net access, but we've got CNN/AFN -- it figures). *NOT* impressed with the USAF "airline" they run in-country. So far, they dropped the ball on our flights twice (we found out ahead of time by sweet-talking the young airfemale running the counter -- otherwise, I would have been stranded in... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:48:19 -0600 But I guess that wasn't an option in your case... Wasn't an option for the USAF O-6 who went up-country with us, either. He booked on the Embassy Flight from Kirkuk to Balad and back -- 1. the Airperson at the booking end (in Kuwait) never entered the return leg of his trip on the flight request and 2. the Airperson at Kirkuk never checked the flight confirmation message from Kuwait. After two days twiddling his thumbs in Balad, he escaped this morning by chatting up a transient UH-60 crew. Told the PC he had a buddy (me) who'd been a Huey pilot in Vietnam and they dropped him off within rock-throwing distance of our future schoolhouse in Kirkuk... ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67538 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67538 Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:32:20 -0600 I withdraw my comment about Bill Gates being the Antichrist. According to the Apochrypha, the Antichrist will be a *charming* villain. BeeGee is Beelzebubba -- Lord of the Fragged Drives... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67537 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67537 Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:11:15 -0600 It is possible to “downgrade” to XP from Vista (or dual boot). The increased speed and ease of operation is a real plus. If you have a laptop make sure you know were to find All of the Drivers to reinstall after nuking Vista (and you may have to adjust the bios). Buy a copy of XP Pro Sp2 for about $140 then reformat and install XP. Or you could skip the $140 and get a copy from you local hacker. [Note to Feds and Microsnot snoops - the Official Position of Castle Argghhh! is "Genuine Products Only" and we officially distance ourselves from Ledger's Very Personal (As In His Opinion, Not Ours) views on the subject. This announcement brought to you by Castle Lawyering, Inc.] http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67536 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67536 Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:17:24 -0600 I can relate to the USAF "airline" comment...after 2 months in the Albanian mud watching TF HAWK, I show up at the MAC tent to check in for redeployment. The "airfemale" (they're everywhere, especially in ALCEs) said I was "in the Army" and had to go with my fellow soldiers and process with "my unit." Now, being called a soldier wasn't something I was ashamed of at all...kinda cool, actually, since I looked the part. But, because she did it as if she enjoyed telling a dirty, smelly grunt what to do (I probably read too much into it but there you go) AND she wasn't smart enough to check out who I was (USAF O-6 with a gun), I thought I'd have a little fun. Besides, telling her that my immediate boss was the NAF commander her boss's boss's boss was directly supporting at that very moment would have probably not registered. After I patiently explained to her that if she did not give me what I wanted I would pull out her eyeballs and eat them like cherry tomatoes (it was a LOOONG 60 days), she relented. But I guess that wasn't an option in your case... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67535 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67535 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:26:51 -0600 This could wind up being as big as the doomsday bug we never got on 01012000. There is a reliable report that one of MicroSquish's servers went bananas and adjudged 12,000 copies of Vista to be bogus before any human could intervene, and what's worse, there may be no records of who is bogus and who is not in a useable enough form for MicroSquish to restore anyone. Kim Komando, the "Digital Goddess", who gives out nuggets of wisdom in between many, many advertisements for her services and products, did an expose on this issue a few days ago. It seems that next month, MicroSquish is going to lock down the runaway servers next month with a Critical Update that will prevent this sort of disaster, or they say it will, anyway. BTW, I predicted that Genuine Advantage would cause a lot of collateral damage way back when it's development was announced two years ago, and I have few stars on my wizard hat. If a nogrok like me could see this coming, why couldn't the arrogant hoseheads in MicroSquish? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67531 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67531 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:48:39 -0600 Bill is a child of Abraham of course and thus as a chosen child of Jehovah recognizes Jesus as a profit (maybe) and Lucifer as a fallen Angel (Michael kicked his butt in the civil war). However, since the Children of Abraham have been persecuted for many years, maybe Bill thinks its payback time and created Vista to torment the gentiles. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67529 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/12/update_from_bil.html#comment-67529 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:26:27 -0600