DV82XL over on Hackaday.com commented on this post:

" That is about a hackerly a hack as I have ever seen"

krs013 and myself think this should become a common phrase.

Just a quick note to say "Nollaig Shona" to all.

Quotable

I know, I know, I know, it's about time I posted something. Well, I just got this today, and wanted to share it with all of you.

This is a "Quotable quote" if there ever was one...

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over" - John Wooden

'Nuff said

Something sent to me in an email

The  Sack Lunches

    

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my

assigned seat..  It was  going to be a long flight.. 'I'm glad I have a good

book to read Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. 

   

 Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and 

filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me.  I decided to 

start a  conversation.  'Where are you headed?' I asked the

soldier seated nearest to me.

   

 'Petawawa.  We'll be there for two weeks for special training,

and then we're being deployed to  Afghanistan

   

 After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that

sack lunches were available for five dollars.  It would be several

hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would

help pass the time..

 As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if

he planned to buy lunch.  'No, that seems like a lot of money for

just a sack lunch. Probably  wouldn't be worth five bucks.  I'll wait

till we  get to base '     

His friend agreed.

  

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch.

I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a

fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.'  She grabbed

my arms and squeezed tightly.  Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked 

me. 'My son was a soldier in  Iraq  ; it's almost like you are doing it

for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the

soldiers were seated..  She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you

like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked.

She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute

later with a dinner plate from first class. This is your thanks.'

  

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane,

heading  for the rest room. A  man stopped me.  'I saw what you did. I

want to be part of it.  Here, take this.'  He handed me twenty-five

dollars..  

Soon after I returned to my  seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming

down the aisle, looking  at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he

was not looking  for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers

only on my side of the plane. and When he got to my row he stopped, smiled,

held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's

hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a

military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch.  It was an act of kindness

I never forgot.'  I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all

of the passengers.

  

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my

legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out

his hand, wanting to shake mine.  He left another twenty-five dollars

in my palm.

  

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane.

Waiting  just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put

something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word.

Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their

trip to the base.  I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five 

dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be

about time for a sandwich.  God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of

their fellow travelers.  As I walked briskly to my car, I

whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were

giving their all for our country.  I could only give  them a couple of meals. 

It seemed so little...

  

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank

check  made payable to 'The  United States of America  ' for an amount of

'up to and including my life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country

who no longer understand it.'  

More for the Troops

As a Veteran of our United States Military who served in the Naval Service (That's a fancy way of saying I am a Veteran of the U. S. Navy), I would like to take a moment and send out a great big "THANK YOU" to all active duty members of the Armed Forces. Both those who are at home and those who are stationed abroad. An extra-special "THANK YOU" goes out to those who are putting their lives on the line everyday serving our country in the current theaters of conflict.

Even though I may not personally agree with the politics of why they are there, I will still stand and support our troops.

And to all the naysayers out there, I offer this:
"If you can't stand behind our troops, then kindly stand IN FRONT OF THEM!!"

For the Troops

Wether you agree with the situation in Iraq or not, please support our troops

December 21, 2012

There are a lot of things being said all over the Internet and on cable television about this approaching "doomsday" date. Some say it will be the end of the world. Some say the end of the world "as we know it". But whatever it is that is coming, it is something that we can neither avoid, nor preempt. All of the hoopla surrounding this upcoming event date centers around the Mayan long-count calendar completing a 13th b'ak'tun (or cycle of days). The last time that the long-count calendar completed this cycle, the third creation of the world ended and the fourth creation began. From Wikipedia:

"According to the Popol Vuh, a book compiling details of creation accounts known to the K'iche' Maya of the Colonial-era highlands, we are living in the fourth world. The Popol Vuh describes the first three creations that the gods failed in making and the creation of the successful fourth world where men were placed. In the Maya Long Count, the previous creation ended at the start of a 14th b'ak'tun.

The previous creation ended on a long count of 12.19.19.17.19. Another 12.19.19.17.19 will occur on December 20, 2012, followed by the start of the fourteenth b'ak'tun, 13.0.0.0.0, on December 21, 2012. There is only one reference to the current creation's 13th b'ak'tun in the fragmentary Mayan corpus: Tortuguero Monument 6, part of a ruler's inscription."

So what we have approaching here is the end of a Mayan cycle of days. Also of note, there is rumored to be a solar planetary alignment and total eclipse of the moon on that date. Will it herald the beginning of the Apocalypse, and the end of the world? Will it be the end of the world as we know it, and usher in a new era of human knowledge?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see...