Southwest Virginia Blogs

72-25 is the vote. Cloture is passed. Judge Alito will be the 110 Supreme Court Justice. Victory is ours tonight. Our freedom is alive.

The vote is at 11:00 tomorrow.

Your Social Dysfunction: Normal Being average in terms of how social you are, as well as the amount of self-esteem you have, you're pretty much normal. Good on you.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com Please note that we aren't, nor do we claim to be, psychologists. This quiz is for fun and entertainment only. Try not to freak out about your results.

What can I say? I'm just a regular guy.

A couple of interjections: One, "normal" people don't worry about what these stupid quizzes "indicate" about them, so I'm not really normal or I'd not have taken it. Two, I wish the people who put this quiz together could have come up with a "normal" html code for posting results, so that the table wouldn't look all screwy like that.

It is now 4:30 and Bill Frist is on the floor. The moment of truth has come.

More information as it comes in.

(4:38)Frist is still speaking looks like he will call the vote soon.
(4:39) Now Reid is speaking
(4:40) The Vote has been called. The order is being read.
(4:41) The vote has started.
(4:55) The vote is still on going. Things are looking good, but I still believe it will be close if not against. Should not be too much longer.
(5:05) Just a few Senators more to. Kerry’s foreign filibuster has failed.
(5:21) We have been salient the last few minutes.

We are just at four o’clock eastern time. The vote for cloture is just 30 minutes away. This vote is going to be much closer than anyone thought. Many of the Democrats have now turned their backs on the American people. Also Nevada Senator John Ensign was injured today in car accident, he is ok and out of the hospital. It is unclear whether or not he will make it to DC to vote. The Dems may just have 40 votes. We may have nuclear war by nightfall.

Your first reaction to the headline may be skepticism--iPods as a training tool? It may sound like a sly way to buy upper management a new toy, but it is nothing like that. A restaurant chain has thrown away its DVD-based training videos in favor of iPod playlists--short 30 to 60 second video clips that show an employee exactly how to do just one thing. According to the company, it allows the employees to train at their workstation, where they can watch how to do something and then do it immediately.

The old way was to sit passively in front of a TV in the break room, away from the workplace, where they may forget much of what they watched by the time they get back to their workstation.

If you are thinking, "That sounds far-fetched," you may need to think again. It is quick and easy to produce video clips for the iPod--less work than mastering a DVD. And you can update and change individual segments easily, without the bother of having to remaster an entire DVD. And of course, young people are familiar with the iPod and know how to use it.

Economic Developers: Are you offering a short course to your local businesses on how to use the iPod for business?

The whole Internet wireless system marketplace has become increasingly complex and confusing. This short article from the Register points to several other articles that discuss the new MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) wireless gear. MIMO systems, which use multiple antennas at each end, promise speeds as high as 100 megabits per second, so in theory they could replace fiber as a first mile option for services like IP television.

But physics, poor design, and market share strategies make it likely that these new wireless systems will never be a complete substitute for a fiber connection. I am technology neutral--I believe we will have and will want both fiber and wireless connections. Communities need to plan for both. But this article should give pause to anyone who thinks that you can just stick up a few wireless antennas and believe you have solved all your community's broadband problems.

The new systems created serious interference with older WiFi systems, rendering them almost useless. Certain kinds of encryption, when turned on, cut throughput of the systems by 30%. Vendors are also fighting over who is implementing "true MIMO," suggesting that a compatibiility nightmare is looming, where one vendor's "MIMO" equipment won't work with "MIMO" equipment made by another vendor.

It is also yet another example of why you cannot just take the word of a vendor when considering broadband options. Vendors want to sell you what they have, not what you may need. It is particularly risky to accept vendor offers to provide "free" broadband system design (Disclaimer: Design Nine provides broadband planning services).

Skype continues to expand its grip on the Internet voice telephony marketplace by providing technical specs that describe how to build a phone with Skype software built in. MSNBC has an article that describes a whole slew of new Skype phones. The new handsets untether Skype calls from a computer handset.

The new gadgets include a phone that works like a conventional cordless phone (so you can receive calls in other parts of the home or office, away from the computer), a phone that lets you switch between conventional POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) calls and Skype calls, and a completely self-contained Skype phone that works wherever WiFi service is available (no computer needed at all).

As our options expand, the complexity of our communications systems expands as well. But these phones are a step in the right direction.

Cafe del Sol is closed this week while owners Frank and Sally Walker refinish the floors and do some remodeling.

Which means I'm without my morning jolt of Java.

True, I guzzle several cups of caffeine before leaving home each morning but the ritual stop at the Cafe is an ingrained part of my daily schedule, often turning into a multiple-hour sojourn.

I will miss that for the next week.

Well after some three months of waiting for the confirmation of Judge Alito, the time has come. Today at 4:30 P.M. the Senate will vote to end debate on the nomination. As you know the good Senator John Kerry has now announced he will filibuster, done in Switzerland, the nomination. From all indications Kerry does not have the 41 votes to keep debate open. Even if he does expect the full force of Bill Frist to released on the Senate floor. He will have no choice but to go nuclear, the calls from the right will be so loud he will not be able to ignore them.