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All commentary Copyright Stonestead.com, 2007. No part may be reproduced without permission. All statements within are the express view of the author and not necessarily those of his employeer, his clergy, his spouse, his friends or even himself.

$2,912 That's what every one of you little o voters owe me if Cap-N-Tax actually goes into effect. After all, he said he would tax every one of us -- before he said he wouldn't -- and in the name of the great farce of Global Summer it looks like ALL of our taxes/costs are going up. Even the 95% he SWORE would not be taxed further.

So it's up to you now. EVERY one of you who voted for this clown should feel obligated to send me at least $300 to make up for what you've inflicted on me and my family. And if it doesn't add up to the anticipated (scant) $3K, you'll have to pony up again. And again. And again until it all evens out.

I mean, that's what YOUR GUY is requiring of you. It's just a request on my part. Seems fair...

This country - MY country - is the Greatest GOD Ever Gave Man. I understand that there are plenty of people out there who believe otherwise. For them I have one question: would the world be better, or worse, off if the United States never existed?

I also recognize that some of my fellow countrymen would answer my question by saying, "better off." To which I then ask, "why the Hell are you still here, then?" And follow it up with some sage advice and a promise of light physical violence.

Neither has been followed through on, yet.

Our Founding Fathers had a vision which HAD to be divinely inspired, (and they repeatedly said so). That is, instead of allowing themselves to believe they were personally descendents of GOD, they made an honest effort to get out of the way and listen to the true heart of human nature. And they did a heck of a job.

Believing that all men were created with an inherent desire to be free, live free and worship free, they started an idea. A crazy, stupid idea. And it was a huge fight at the time because such ideas were considered foolishness in the age of unquestioned imperialism. The very thought that a "colony" would be free was crazy.

Which makes us all the more remarkable, frankly. And my admiration for Washington, Madison, Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson and all the rest grows every day. History will eventually forget all that they did - it's already well under way - but I refuse to. In fact, I'll do my best to teach my kids what was really at stake. Because their history teachers are less than likely to do so.

(And as an aside, the little o accidentally added to our own glorious history by overseeing the transition of security of Iraq from American Forces to local control earlier this week. Imagine how it will look if Iraqis celebrate their "Independence" mere days before we celebrate ours? Further, imagine who's going to get the credit and who will actually deserve the credit...)

Happy Independence DAY!!

Where to start, except with the obvious complaint? This afternoon I finished the last four nationwide sites from stem-to-stern: I deleted all the old backup jobs, disabled two tasks that I think I had a hand in creating, (it's been a long time), then created 10 new backup jobs for each of 3 sites, (except for Atlanta, which required 15 new jobs), shutdown this-or-that various service and passed it off as a job well done.

Only time will tell on that last count...

All this meant that I had to enter a rather ungainly password four times for each job. I'm sure Dood has already done the math, but it also meant that I had to enter it as the user on each server. Even before I fumbled the password, this means that I had to type it a minimum -- MINIMUM -- of 148 times today!

And as I say, the password is... inelegant at best. I'm not about to share it here, (OBVIOUSLY), but it's something like, "Run$theJobN0w" or something. Absolutely obnoxious. And I had to type it at least 148 times.

But the jobs are done and provided things all go well tonight, (in 3... 2... 1...), I will have accomplished quite a feat. Of course, just by saying that I've guaranteed absolute and utter failure, so I'll get a chance to try it all again tomorrow.

yay.

In other, work-related news, I'm going to be named as Acting Director Monday & Tuesday of next week. THAT should prove that we're going to be completely short-staffed come the 6th. Even better: I was approved for leave to take an hour to go to my doctor on Monday. So I'll be leading the team except for when I'm not there, and will start my day at 9:30 D.C. time. I smelled something and had to check it out.

I called the ACTUAL director and asked what would be expected of an ACTING director. I was told, "nothing." Well, heck -- even I can do that! And better than most others! Count me in!

Then the director told me that should anything serious come up I should just "think about them" and "do what they would do." I wanted to say that I wasn't sure I could use that kind of language" but I kept it to myself. After all, I KNOW the words, (I golf, remember?) but I simply choose NOT to use them if I can possibly control myself.

And in a related vein, I have to boast a little if you'll allow me: I was in on an email thread between the aforementioned director and the director of another - related - division of my peers today. I was trying to walk the latter through an install of a piece of hardware that I was responsible for making work properly and it would seem that all went well, (see above: 148 inputs of the same password can keep one busy).

"Their" director was talking to "My" director - including me, natch - when "Their" director said they were ready to start spouting obscenities. "My" director responded basically by saying, "what took you so long?" "Their" director responded by saying, "Well, Stone is on the message..."

A moment of pause here: I CAN swear. I know all the words and have probably used every one of them at one time or another. Some of you probably have first-hand stories to tell about how I actually know the words. I actually believe I was notorious for it because at one time I was chided by a guy, (I think I wrote about this), for swearing in front of "his woman."

(Any comment about how he cared so much for this gal but still refused to marry her will be cheerfully deleted)

So I know the words. I just try not to use them (any more).

And somehow the big bosses talk to each other, including me on the email, and one of them refuses to drop an "*-bomb" because I'm involved in the discussion.

Call me a wimp if you want, but I was flattered. And continue to be...

A great guy with a great deal of skill came by tonight to troubleshoot/fix our electrical problem and once he was done I felt like an idiot. After all, he did his high-tech things, checked all the things he's already told me to check and then ran a meter through our circuit box and found the problem.

He then flipped the switch and all was made well. Don't I look like a moron now...

But all is running and we now have a downdraft cooler again so maybe since it's finally getting hot 'round these parts we'll be able to live at an artificially lowered temperature given the heat of July and the fact that we've entered Global Summer. Err.., Global Monthly Change. Or whatever it is.

The more-than-able workman is a family friend who not only fixed the problem but set me on the right track to fix what's going on in my daughter's room. Namely, NO electricity.

He's a great guy, a hard worker, (every time I called his cell he was on the road to the next job; night, morning, evening - every time), and he knows his stuff. About an hour in our home and he had things going again. He's brilliant.

The best part is - for me anyway - is that he never once treated me like an idiot. I don't know if he remembers that I was always in electronics in high school, (because we shared a time in the same hallways), or if it's just how he treats everyone, (I hope it's the latter, frankly), but he's a really cool guy.

It's how I picked my doctor, to be honest: someone who knows their stuff but is still willing to listen. It's a perfect combination and I only wish more "professionals" would be open to following the example. But that's the perfect world and certainly not this one.

About that time in high school I can only say that this is only one of two guys that I was sure - CERTAIN - I couldn't beat in a fight and I was usually sure to bring the other one with me, just to clear the house if need be. But if tonight's electrician had been there and on the opposite side, (for some reason), it would have left me very busy because the two of them would still be fighting in the streets tonight. And I wouldn't have a repaired circuit.

He's the guy - that's for sure - and has been for some time. I'm sure he doesn't recognize it, would pass things off if it were pointed out to him and deny everything I've just written.

But I can prove what I've just said...

During a 'seminal moment' in my youngest brothers' life I foolishly shouted to the revelers, "NOBODY goes in there! Except "Don" if he wants to." I then grabbed a beer and a glass of Matilda Bay. As far as I know, "Don" didn't even approach the room........