There is a reason for that - government corruption - look up the 'Battle of Athens' in Athens, Tennessee around 1947 for reference.
Posts by 404
1381 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Jul 2011
How to get 10Gbit/s home broadband in the US: Step 1. Move to Chattanooga, TN
Saturday 17th October 2015 14:28 GMT
Re: EPB rocks hard
At the house I have satellite 'broadband' with a 15GB monthly limited data plan... FYI the area surrounding the world's second largest supercomputer sucks ass for connectivity... have some acquaintances bitching about it since college started, 'everything slowed down'.
I suspect the connectivity in the state of Tennessee looks like North Korea's Verizon coverage map.
Saturday 17th October 2015 00:30 GMT
EPB rocks hard
Disclaimer: I'm about east/northish of Chattanooga, about an hour away, don't come here where I am, fair warning, I'm moving lol.
EPB is as fast and stable as I've ever seen in my 27 year career. One of my clients has a VPN running from Athens (AT&T fiber) to both Knoxville (Charter) and Chattanooga (EPB) - AT&T is flaky, Charter unspeakable, and EPB? That link has never, ever, been down. Inside the building is a wet dream of speed on the gigabit ethernet network. Windows 7/8 updates easily take 1/2 the time (since I bill hourly, it hurts me, but I don't mind, I update/grab stuff myself when down there), the bottleneck is the rest of the internet. Back in 97 in Arizona, we were proud and had pretty big Quake lan parties over four day weekends on the ISP's dual-homed DS3s, this beats it by a couple of miles. I'm impressed.
Now, in reference to the 'Bible Belt', Chattanooga is different from the surrounding counties, pretty cosmopolitan really. Somebody is shooting somebody else every weekend. Chattanooga has a biggish aquarium, good bars downtown, good music-whatever the flavor, developed waterfront by the Tennessee River (which you can go from Knoxville to the Gulf of Mexico on - I've thought about it lol), and Senator Bob Corker was the mayor of, before he increased his pay grade. Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis are the same, but bigger, all good college towns too.
I will accept the term 'Bible Belt' for any/all of the surrounding counties of these cities - I live in one of them and it's a great place to visit/drive through, speed traps still exist, and they *use* them. Don't speed unless you know their habits and in some places, don't even do that, they'll pull my butt over just the same. If you don't have good-to-excellent cash reserves to buy in, or have a founding-family line name, it's about 50/50 you'll be able to deal with their bullshit and live here. Think of the movie 'Porky's', but with full internet capability.Some are more civilized than others. You have to experience it before you'll believe it - new definitions of WTF will leave you with a very Steven Fry (no, not that one, the Futurama one) look on your face forever...
And yes, they'll be in church every Wednesday night and Sundays.
'Blood on the carpet' ahead for outsourcers, says analyst research
Self-driving vehicles might be autonomous but insurance pay-outs probably won't be
Saturday 17th October 2015 15:31 GMT
Things to help those cars along
While I like driving for the most part, after living in the damn desert for 25+ years in Arizona with the damn sun beating down on you, I enjoy driving in bad weather. Increases the difficulty level you might say and I glory in it. I just turned 180k miles on my 2008 mid-size truck with a 2.9l 4cyl, bought her new from the stealership 7 years ago. I know every damn inch of that truck, tweaking her engine, transmission, electronics, and suspension to my satisfaction. She's predictable. My problem is other drivers, they are not predictable and do stupid shit all_the_time. I would resent autodriving cars but can see the benefit of getting that extra sleep in between appointments. Never enough time in the day to get everything done being self-employed so sleep suffers.
Anyway.
Possible solutions for the autdriving car: Reference cable embedded in the roadways, cars always knows where it's at and can cross-reference with GPS when off grid secondary roads until every_single_secondary_road 50 years from now gets one. If ambitious, inductive power charging cables embedded for vehicle use. Or mix a material in the paint that is reflective to radar so the vehicle knows it's physical location in relation to spacing within the lane and GPS world location for directions.
Afterthought: Having seen some extraordinary traffic line painting skills displayed by some public service agencies/contractors, the possibility of spilling your beer is quite likely.
Fixing Windows 10: New build tweaks Edge, sucks in Skype
Drunk driver live-streams her slow journey home
Wednesday 14th October 2015 13:50 GMT
Impossible - for historic reasons
If you look at the US and it's development in a historic context, you'll see that the NorthEast portion is like Britain or Europe. Towns are closer together due to the transportation methods at the time, you walked or rode a horse. As the US expanded across the continent, transportation methods improved (Industrial Revolution etc), thus towns and cities grew further apart. So, without a massive 'Hero Project' building mass transportation (or teleportation lol) across the US, cars will be here for some time to come.
Hillary's sysadmin left VNC, RDP exposed to the internet - report
Wednesday 14th October 2015 13:18 GMT
Re: Bah!
It was the New York Times that broke the story fyi - which created the email firestorm. Everything else snowballed from there, from Hillary lying about it, being flippant, wiping the server, etc. She did it to herself and is not fit to be President if she's that stupid/arrogant.
Also curious about your 'I've seen no evidence' - why would anyone crow about it? That would lead to losing access to a prime target for information and possible retribution.
What's not up, Docs? Google Docs goes titsup in time for Friday beers
Saturday 10th October 2015 13:55 GMT
Re: Good excuses
Ya'll might be wrong too - much to my dismay, I recently found that my local school district does *everything* on Google Classrooms. Now we're supposed to be given express notification and are to give permission to use that Google service yet have never seen it ever mentioned. Only reason I know anything about it, is that we've recently had to pull our daughter out of middle school and are now homeschooling her. The girl is thriving again.
I haven't seen a textbook from public school in years.
PHONE me if you feel DIRTY: Yanks and 'Nadians wave bye-bye to magstripe
Top VW exec blames car pollution cheatware scandal on 'a couple of software engineers'
Furious LastPass fans fear password wrangler's fate amid LogMeIn's gobble
China cuffs hackers at US request to stave off sanctions
Google uses humans as Matrix-style ‘data batteries’ – Open Xchange CEO
Saturday 10th October 2015 00:44 GMT
I always thought country code
.uk .us .remotePacificIsland would be used like that, personal playground for citizens of that particular country. Only IP's originating(vetted no furreners allowed) from that .country could access it - otherwise, what was the point of country codes?
I don't blame them, I'm American, and I don't trust those bastards either.
Playmobil cops broadside for 'racist' pirate slave
Surface Book: Microsoft to turn unsuccessful tab into unsuccessful laptop
Weird garbled Windows 7 update baffles world – now Microsoft reveals the truth
iPhone 6s and 6s Plus: Harder, faster and they'll give you a buzz
Wednesday 30th September 2015 09:54 GMT
Re: Missed one
Are you raising the possibility of some, or more than a few, iPhone users perhaps may not wash their hands properly in response to some wild claim that the previous generational fingerprint sensor would not just work as designed by The Steve Jobs himself?
That's BLASPHEME, sir! Downvote!*
;)
*<thinking> Game of Thrones' Sparrows... they creep me out... fanatics of any stripe actually.
Overheating iPhone 6S+ BLINDED my cam, cries flashgate fanboy
VW’s case of NOxious emissions: a tale of SMOKE and MIRRORS?
'In making this Batmobile copyright ruling, we cite one sage Bruce Wayne'
Privacy, net neutrality, security, encryption ... Europe tells Obama, US Congress to back off
Things you should know about the hard work of home working
Michigan sues HP after 'botched' $49m upgrade leaves US state in 1960s mainframe hell
Tuesday 22nd September 2015 09:30 GMT
Yep yep - that little shop that almost killed my ass with the Nicotine Dell was flailing around, trying to survive and got some of that HP outsourcing - HP's outsourcing is outsourced, then outsourced from whoever those guys were, then came to us - where we didn't make enough for it to be worth it.
There are multiple levels of outsourcing in HP contracts, pie get's smaller each time until it's no longer worth it to the local IT company. That's why they fail.
Looks good enough on paper, but reality? Not so much.
CHEAT! Volkswagen chief 'deeply sorry' over diesel emission test dodge
It's alive! Farmer hides neglected, dust-clogged server between walls
Monday 21st September 2015 12:14 GMT
About 8 years ago
Shop I was (temporarily - place went out of business) working at received a small footprint Dell running XP that had 'simply quit'. I'm looking at this thing, wondering what/where all this brown stuff was oozing out from, popped open the case that was seemingly glued together with the brown stuff. The entire inside was coated in the same brown stuff and here I am wondering WTF? Didn't realize what it was until my hands started shaking, then my arms, which brought out another WTF is going on here?
Turned out the customer was a heavy chain smoker and the brown stuff?
Nicotine.
Got cleaned up, put some gloves on, put it back together and placed the damn thing in a hazardous materials bag. Nope, Nope, NOPE!
Obama edges toward full support for encryption – but does he understand what that means?
Hollywood takes a beating in Oscar cybersquatting battle
Sunday 13th September 2015 14:48 GMT
5 years...
... FIVE years to figure this out - Academy lawyer smells blood in the water, talks decision makers(sic) into it - five years of sending paperwork back and forth, lawyers win. Both sides. They sit around, making shit up, then they go into politics, making more shit up to let the next generation of bloodsuckers argue more shit about in the courts.
Unless you're a little guy who gains the attention of some Kardassian-type (it's spelled correctly, actual Cardassians use less makeup) on a whim, those making under $100k/year ain't got a chance in hell against these people - not enough time & money to survive the encounter.
I fucking hate lawyers...
Cuffed Texan woman holsters loaded gun IN VAGINA
Thursday 10th September 2015 21:22 GMT
How corrosive
..is the natural healthy vagina*?
What finish holds up better in that environment? Regular bluing, nickel, painted, or fancy drug dealer gold plating? Off-hand guess would be stainless steel - surgical grade. DARPA would probably give you a grant.
* Long ago in the Before Time (pre-internet), in a state far, far away, this commentard worked for the Arizona DoC - never worked a female prison (I'm not insane, I'm a man. Why borrow trouble?) - anyway, seen some interesting things keistered in different security level male prisons. One I'll leave with you:
Remember when your mum told you to never put money in your mouth, because you don't know where it's been? Well, I was working visitation one weekend and the supervisors suspected this random inmate was bringing drugs through. So after his visit, we took him in over for dry cell watch. A Dry cell watch is where somebody is placed under observation over a period of days, given all the food & drinks they want, with nothing but a bucket to do their business in. Then, some lucky officer (guard, whatever), gets to stir through the results with a stick, looking for contraband. On this particular guy, he shat two $20's and a $10. So the next time you go sticking money in your mouth, remember the inmate ATM...
Have a great day!
US to stage F-35-versus-Warthog bake-off in 2018
Tuesday 1st September 2015 02:34 GMT
I have seen...
.... an A-10 literally bounce off the ground under some powerlines and fly back to Davis AFB for paint repair.
.... a pair of A-10's destroy (via lasertag gear) an entire company of 15 M1 Abrams tanks (yeah mine too) in two passes - I never even got a ping on one, scary as hell from a mobile foxhole, whereas I have 'killed' Apache gunships many times.
I mean really, that F35 POS couldn't even take out Bruce Willis in a tractor-trailer rig and destroyed itself trying.... sheesh ;)
Jeep Cherokee 2.2: Capable, comfortable ... but just not very Jeep
Saturday 29th August 2015 20:47 GMT
Re: Re:Hmmm
That thing isn't a Jeep - it's a cookie-cutter SUV.
For reference, the last of the original Cherokee XJ models was the 2001 model year with the 4.0 HO straight-six. 84-86 models had the anemic GM 2.8l v-6's, 87-90 was the regular 4.0, with the 91's-up taking the HO 4.0 straight 6. I've owned an 84, a 91, and a 99 XJ.
No personal data on the turbo diesels - never saw one in the wild here in the US. Biggest flaw was the monoque(sic?) chassis, unibody IMO - unless you reinforced the two 'tunnels' under it, they would start to crack. Most noticeably between the doors if 4 door, it would begin to sag. Loved XJ's, still do.
Be nice if you could still get the farmer version of the CJ2->up, had PTO's from the factory, could use it to power farm machinery. Outfit a V8 CJ-7 with portal axles from a Unimog and you'll have something nice to putt around in muaaaahaaaahaaa!
<ahem.. 'scuse me ;)>
Baltimore lawyers vow to review 2,000 FBI Stingray snoop cases
The enterprise hardware market is growing. You read that right. Growing
Another chance to win a 6TB Western Digital Black hard drive
German spies sold out citizens to the NSA in exchange for super-snoop-ware XKeyscore
Thursday 27th August 2015 21:57 GMT
Besides, as my boss says, with all governments everywhere tightening down on everything wherever they can, with their computers and their Public Eyes and ninety-nine other sorts of electronic surveillance, there is a moral obligation on each free person to fight back wherever possible -- keep underground railways open, keep shades drawn, give misinformation to computers. Computers are literal-minded and stupid; electronic records aren't really records . . . so it is good to be alert to opportunities to foul up the system.
--Marjorie Friday Baldwin; Friday, pg 5
Robert A. Heinlein was an intelligent man,
Windows 10 blamed (partly) for stalled PC sales recovery
Thursday 27th August 2015 21:18 GMT
This was actually considered?
O.o
Tim: There he is!
King Arthur: Where?
Tim: There!
King Arthur: What? Behind the rabbit?
Tim: It *is* the rabbit!
King Arthur: You silly sod!
Tim: What?
King Arthur: You got us all worked up!
Tim: Well, that's no ordinary rabbit.
King Arthur: Ohh.
Tim: That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!
Sir Robin: You tit! I soiled my armor I was so scared!
Tim: Look, that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!
Sir Galahad: Get stuffed!
Tim: He'll do you up a treat, mate.
Sir Galahad: Oh, yeah?
Sir Robin: You manky Scots git!
Tim: I'm warning you!
Sir Robin: What's he do? Nibble your bum?
Tim: He's got huge, sharp... er... He can leap about. Look at the bones!
King Arthur: Go on, Bors. Chop his head off!
Sir Bors: Right! Silly little bleeder. One rabbit stew comin' right up!
[after Bors is killed by the killer rabbit]
Tim: I *warned* you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you *knew*, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little *bunny*, isn't it?
<Starring El Reg as Tim, The Enchanter and Microsoft Windows 10 as The Rabbit>
High-heeled hacker builds pen-test kit into her skyscraper shoes
Suffering a comms blackout in the loo? Now you don't have to
Microsoft will explain only 'significant' Windows 10 updates
Friday 21st August 2015 10:03 GMT
Windows10 is malware
Fsck Microsoft Windows10 - almost made it a week with it on my test Dell 5447 laptop before reverting back to 8.1 last night. I had enough of the stuttering WMP video replay, slow response to desktop interface, unexplained Office crashes, unexplained security(?) patches, etc.
My 5-6 year old HP 8440p Win 8.1, running side by side with the higher spec'ed Dell Win10 5447, outperformed the Dell in every detail.
Here is the kicker - Microsoft pulls the Java update trick - if you revert back to Win 8.1 Pro, upon 1st Windows Update, if you don't look at the 'optional' update tab - it will reinstall the Win10 malware by default. Microsoft 'helps' the inattentive user by placing a checkmark on the optional 'Upgrade to Windows 10', infecting their machines again.
What a bunch of bastards Microsoft has become - essentially will be selling fully spec'ed Chromebooks and trying to Googlize/monetize the unsuspecting buyer.
Now Ashley Madison hackers reveal 'CEO's emails and source code'
Antiques in spaaaaace! Retired space shuttles cannibalised for parts
Thursday 20th August 2015 16:03 GMT
Those shuttle air frames were certified for 100 missions - we never got close before the Feds junked the program - I'm still shocked how FAST they were decommissioned, as if to make sure they could never fly again.
Bunch of soulless bastards... destroying what was another step to getting the hell out of here before stupid human tricks kill us all.
Yeah, I'm still unhappy about it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
