29 March 2004

Micro$vengali

The hyperHypocrite is at it again. A post to /. on Saturday, instant, enlightens the masses to a new initiative by M$ to spread FUD with respect to the adoption of OpenOffice. An IT consultant in Trinidad has published a point-by-point rebuttal that pretty well sums up the lack of logic and legitimacy to Billy's claims.

Rumors have also surfaced recently that M$ has dumped over nine figures worth of greenbacks into SCO's suit against IBM regarding the supposed unlawful release of UNIX code to the Linux community.

Will the spin machine never end?

23 March 2004

Genforum reply

During a routine survey of select surnames at the GenForum message boards, a recent posting by Debra Lowe regarding James F. Trotti was discovered. Submitted 21 January of this year, she sought information about James' second marriage to Nancy R. Head. Though research to date has not revealed much new information about this family, a limited response was posted.

22 March 2004

New research news ...

While undertaking the unpleasant task of updating the May/Jeter branch, it was discovered that a census lookup for Robert Jeter (maternal grandfather of the recently deceased Bennie Harold May) was missing for the 1930 decennial count. A quick search revealed his presence in Waller County (Texas) as expected. However, what was not expected was with whom he was living.

Robert D. Jeter is enumerated as head of household in dwelling 183, family 203 on page 206 of enumeration district 237-1 (Precinct No. 1, Hempstead, Waller County, Texas). This household was counted on 14 April 1930 by William P. Herms (sp?).

In 1930, Robert is found to have remarried to the widow Steibing (Louise ?????) sometime between 1920 and the current year. Residing under the same roof are Louise's children: Pessaro(sp? — aged 18, employed as an engineer's helper at the ice plant), Willma (aged 17), Karl (aged 15, working on the family farm as a laborer), and Rudolph (aged 13). Robert is identified as a farmer.

Information previously obtained from Robert's grave marker in the Hempstead Municipal Cemetery indicates that he will be dead within four years of this enumeration. The fact that he had remarried is new information as no such fact has been gleaned from family interviews to date.

10 March 2004

T226 arrival(s)

We received our replacement T226 handsets, today. I did not even give mine a second look as it is being sent back. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was curious to survey the form factor, display , and features. So, out came the knife ...

The device spots much the same form factor as the T68i. It is about the same width and thickness, being slightly taller (only a few millimeters) and, of course, rectangular. Following a charge period of an hour or so, Elizabeth transferred her SIM card and booted it.

She was initially greeted with a polyphonic chime. The display appears to default to a non-backlit state. However, that is quickly remedied by pressing the backlight key. The graphics are much sharper and the icons more aesthetically pleasing. From what I have seem, the navigation hierarchy is otherwise very similar to the T68i. Nevertheless, most of the functionality upon which I have come to appreciate is missing!

Apparently though, Elizabeth was somewhat smitten as she has now, following three hours of playing with it, decided to participate in the exchange opportunity. I, OTOH, remain unmoved and will be sending mine back.

07 March 2004

Building a better jukeBox

One of the great features of the original 4.x release of iTunes was its ability to broadcast the contents of one's music library. Within thirty days of the initial release, a decimal revision crippled this feature by restricting it to the local subnet. I have compiled my experience with finding a replacement in the hope that it will assist others.

02 March 2004

Hollow offer

I have a bone to pick with AT&T Wireless and Sony Ericsson.

In an effort to appease the whiners that dislike the reception of their T68i, they have implemented a replacement program. Customers are given the opportunity to swap their T68i for a T226. Touted as an "upgrade" with "no strings attached" the average, unsuspecting customer is in for a surprise.

01 March 2004

Rosy fingered Dawn ...

Like tendrils of crimson colored light stretching across the morning sky, #kempiWeb and its subordinate sites and projects are being redesigned from the ground up. Gone are the obsolete formatting tricks and protocols of the last Century. In their place are now the modern tools of the web publisher; primarily CSS and PHP.

This, my official residence on the 'Net, comes second only to node.Zero. Following an unconscionable two year period of dormancy, the site is reincarnated in what is hoped will be a much more dynamic and relevant entity.

Initially, the content and utility will leave something to be desired. Trying to juggle three site redesigns, implement two enhancement projects, and create for publication at least two other nodes requires a certain degree of ambidexterity. So, changes will come slowly.

Please bear with me ...