Yeah, I know it's been really, really quiet here today - even more so than the past couple of weeks. But there really is a good reason.
They are called "rootkits" and the kids got them onto almost the entire home network. I have completely stripped the drive on one computer so far, zeroed it (DOD standards) and reinstalled the operating system and all the other software. (And boy, does it run better). The second one is being nuked as I write this. Running a boot and nuke takes forever with big drives. Reinstalling everything and updateing all the drivers takes even more time. And worse yet, if this doesn't fix it, I may have to replace hard drives entirely. (Strict quarantine of the reborn computer from the network and I'll repeat this on each computer one by one.) Argh.
I hate computers right now. So posting is a chore.
Mark Steyn has a grand, old time eviscerating the eco-sainted Al Gore over his enormous energy usage at his Tennessee castle. As always, Steyn uses his prodigious wit to slam Gore's ecopocrisy and the lame and highly lucrative self-serving explanation Gore's spokesperson used to defend the gargantuan electric bill. After all, Gorezilla buys his "carbon offsets" from himself to allow his megawatt-intensive lifestyle to continue unabated.
Two hundred twenty-one thousand kilowatt-hours? What's he doing in there? Clamping Tipper to the electrodes and zapping her across the rec room every night? No, no, don't worry. Al's massive energy consumption is due entirely to his concern about the way we're depleting the Earth's resources. When I say "we," I don't mean Al, of course. I mean you — yes, you, Earl Schlub, in the basement apartment at 29 Elm St. You're irresponsibly depleting the Earth's resources by using that electric washer when you could be down by the river with the native women beating your loin cloth dry on the rock while singing traditional village work chants all morning long. But up at the Gore mansion — the Nashville Electric Service's own personal gold mine, the shining Cathedral of St. Al, Tennessee's very own Palace of Versal — the Reverend Al is being far more environmentally responsible. As his spokesperson attempted to argue, his high energy usage derives from his brave calls for low energy usage. He's burning up all that electricity by sending out faxes every couple of minutes urging you to use less electricity.
Also he buys — and if you're a practicing Ecopalyptic please prostrate yourself before the Recycling Bin and make the sign of the HDPE — Al buys "carbon offsets," or "carbon credits." Or, as his spokesperson Kalee Kreider put it (and, incidentally, speaking through a spokesperson is another way Al dramatically reduces his own emissions), the Gores "also do the carbon emissions offset."
They do the Carbon Emissions Offset? What is that — a '60s dance craze? No, it's way hotter. I mean, cooler. All the movie stars are doing it. In fact, this year's Oscar goodie-bag that all the nominees get included a year's worth of carbon offsets. Totally free. So even the stars' offsets are offset. No wonder that, when they're off the set, they all do the offset. Look at Leonardo DiCaprio: He's loaded with 'em, and the chicks think he's totally eco-cool. Tall and tan and young and lovely, the boy with carbon offsets goes walking and when he passes each one he passes goes aaaiiieeeeeeeee!
So the Gorezilla continues to lay waste to the energy resources of the planet while sternly lecturing the unwashed masses on how to trim their lifestyles to support his luxury. If he gets enough people to buy into his shtick, his pursuit of the gigawatt mansion will be able to continue.
The archaeologists who have been working diligently to explore the wreck of what they think is the flagship of the pirate Blackbeard believe they will have the entire shipwreck excavated in three years. Although there is still some disagreement as to whether the wreck actually is the Queen Anne's Revenge, evidence continues to grow that it belonged to the dread pirate.
RALEIGH, N.C. — A shipwreck off the North Carolina coast thought to be that of notorious pirate Blackbeard could be fully excavated in three years, officials working on the project said.
"That's really our target," Steve Claggett, the state archeologist, said Friday while discussing 10 years of research conducted since the shipwreck was found just off Atlantic Beach.
The ship ran aground in 1718, and some researchers think it was a French slave ship Blackbeard captured in 1717 and renamed Queen Anne's Revenge.
Officials said historical data and coral-covered artifacts recovered from the site – including 25 cannons, which experts said was an uncommonly large number to find on a ship in the region in the early 18th century ' remove doubt the wreckage belonged to Blackbeard.
Three university professors have challenged the findings. But officials working on the excavation said Friday that the more they find, the stronger their case becomes.
This is one of those academic disputes that will drag on for years. Unless they miraculously find the ship's pink slip or the archaeological equivalent, of course. (I noted an earlier story about the shipwreck here.) Here's the link to the museum that is sponsoring the exploration and a collection of links about the ship and the pirate. Another good source of links is here. Yo, ho, ho.
Geek Stuff | Gaius Sunday, 4 March , 2007 | 
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