I had a test tonight in my discrete math course. For those of you who have never had the joy of discrete math, it is everything you never wanted to know about counting, logic, predicate calculus, discrete probability, and graphing. Stuff like, how to translate logical statements into algebraic symbols, and then manipulate them. There's the fun of combinations and permutations, like how many different ways can can you pick 3 out of four numbers right in lotter.
This class is rough. I feel like I am failing, but compared to about 99% of the class, I'm doing better than ok. I dreaded the test tonight. I knew I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. All in all, I think I did well.
I talked a problem over with some folks from my class after the test, and now I have a burning issue to settle. One of the questions sounded VERY much like a pigeon-hole principal question. That is the math of common sense that says something like "Since there is only 12 months in a year, if you put 13 people in a room, you are guaranteed that at least 2 have the same birth month"
This same principle is used to determine that two people in New York City have the same number of hairs on their head. Anyway, the question dealt with unmated socks in a drawer. There was a dozen socks of each of these three colors brown, black, and blue. Since it is dark in the room, how many socks must a set of twins pull out to ensure two matching pairs of socks? I think that I messed up
Friday, March 31, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Redeem the Time
Have you ever felt as though you were being torn in pieces by the pressures of life? I remember hearing about a means of execution that involved tying ones legs and arms to four different horses (one per limb), and then they would swat the horses, and you'd be ripped apart.
That's my life. Right now, I've got pressures on top of pressures. I am a student at the local university, I am a full-time employee with the State of WV, I'm a husband, a dad, a Sunday School teacher, a children's church teacher, I manage my church's web page , I do the audio ministry at church (recording the sermons, making duplicates, etc), sometimes run the sound-board, and sometimes play bass at church.
Each one of these activities, alone, is ok. Even a few of them at the same time is alright. But right now, I feel as though I'm drowning and I can't get my breath. Much of the pressure is of my own creation. I picture myself as an A student, a good teacher, and a good husband and father. To fulfill these rolls, I have to dedicate time.
At church Last Night (editing this on 3/30/2006), the pastor talked about redeeming the time, a reference to Ephesians 5:16. He said that we should make the most of every moment, taking into account that we are not super-human and we need rest.
That is exactly what I feel. I feel like I have time for everything (and more), but waste so much time goofing off that I get nothing done. This blog, however, doesn't count. I do it to keep sane. I doubt anyone reads it anyway.
Oh, did you hear about the Catholic church pushing the amnesty program for illegal aliens (folks who do not legally enter the country do not deserve to be call immigrants. That defames the term earned by those who play by the rules and do it right. By the way, it's not being a bigot to say that if a person want to immigrate to this country, then do it according to our laws.) I heard a radio talk show host say that this was an attempt to "interject a religion's doctrine into the state". He went on to say that it was forbidden in the Constitution and that it was an attempt at an theocracy.
Bull snot. It is a means by which the American Roman Catholic church can bolster its numbers, increase its influence, and increase its revenue. It may not pass the stink-test of morally purity...but that is another matter. Strongly held beliefs affect the way a man (or woman, but English doesn't offer a gender-neutral pronoun. I am not going to be politically correct or grammatically incorrect, so I'll use the masculine, thank you very much) sees the world. It affects how he works, how he plays, how he votes, and how he lives. To say that religion doesn't belong in politics is like saying thinking doesn't belong in politics (well, maybe if your a Democrat...Just kidding)
Our Constitution guarantees freedom of Religion, not the freedom from Religion. In order to make sure everyone can worship as he sees fit, Government may not establish a state religion (like the Brits had...Church of England...Henry the Eighth). It is a protection of the freedom to worship by preventing the dominance of one viewpoint over all others.
Freedom means just that. I do not check my faith at the door of the poling place before I vote. Neither should the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Hindu, or the Baal Worshipers, nor anyone else.
That's my life. Right now, I've got pressures on top of pressures. I am a student at the local university, I am a full-time employee with the State of WV, I'm a husband, a dad, a Sunday School teacher, a children's church teacher, I manage my church's web page , I do the audio ministry at church (recording the sermons, making duplicates, etc), sometimes run the sound-board, and sometimes play bass at church.
Each one of these activities, alone, is ok. Even a few of them at the same time is alright. But right now, I feel as though I'm drowning and I can't get my breath. Much of the pressure is of my own creation. I picture myself as an A student, a good teacher, and a good husband and father. To fulfill these rolls, I have to dedicate time.
At church Last Night (editing this on 3/30/2006), the pastor talked about redeeming the time, a reference to Ephesians 5:16. He said that we should make the most of every moment, taking into account that we are not super-human and we need rest.
That is exactly what I feel. I feel like I have time for everything (and more), but waste so much time goofing off that I get nothing done. This blog, however, doesn't count. I do it to keep sane. I doubt anyone reads it anyway.
Oh, did you hear about the Catholic church pushing the amnesty program for illegal aliens (folks who do not legally enter the country do not deserve to be call immigrants. That defames the term earned by those who play by the rules and do it right. By the way, it's not being a bigot to say that if a person want to immigrate to this country, then do it according to our laws.) I heard a radio talk show host say that this was an attempt to "interject a religion's doctrine into the state". He went on to say that it was forbidden in the Constitution and that it was an attempt at an theocracy.
Bull snot. It is a means by which the American Roman Catholic church can bolster its numbers, increase its influence, and increase its revenue. It may not pass the stink-test of morally purity...but that is another matter. Strongly held beliefs affect the way a man (or woman, but English doesn't offer a gender-neutral pronoun. I am not going to be politically correct or grammatically incorrect, so I'll use the masculine, thank you very much) sees the world. It affects how he works, how he plays, how he votes, and how he lives. To say that religion doesn't belong in politics is like saying thinking doesn't belong in politics (well, maybe if your a Democrat...Just kidding)
Our Constitution guarantees freedom of Religion, not the freedom from Religion. In order to make sure everyone can worship as he sees fit, Government may not establish a state religion (like the Brits had...Church of England...Henry the Eighth). It is a protection of the freedom to worship by preventing the dominance of one viewpoint over all others.
Freedom means just that. I do not check my faith at the door of the poling place before I vote. Neither should the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Hindu, or the Baal Worshipers, nor anyone else.
Medical IT, or the lack thereof
I took my daughter to the doctor on Monday. After we were done, we had to be checked out by one of the office people. As I stood there, in line, I noticed the hundreds of patient records stuffed in every conceivable corner. They even had a little cart in this small office to ferry around the razors.
The medical field seems high tech, but it really isn't. They still uses paper-based everything (execot for billing and scheduling. IT makes them money in these areas. Greed wins) I think about how busy this office was, and how many people it took to administer the office, and I understood why the cost of health care is increasing.
Take the pateint's chart. If I went to my family doctor for a condition, and then went to Urgent Care for additional emergency treatment, and then went to another doctor for the same condition, none of these entities would have a clue what tests have already been done, what steps in the diagnosis have been completed, and what should come next. Each provider is an island to himself. This is how a lot of drug abuser get their drugs. They "shop" at several doctor's offices.
The doctor doesn't have the information they need, especially as busy as they now are. All they have are pieces of paper that the doctor has to flip back through to pick up where they left off. God help them if they wanted to do a simple query like "What is the total number of patients we treated this week with step throat by zip-code" This is a trivial question to ask a database (the command would be something like "select zipcode, count(*) from Patients where diagnosis="strep Throat" group by zipcode") This would take weeks to prepare by hand on paper.
Think about how much effort is wasted in this system. The clerk at the doctor types your name onto the chart. Someone else types your name into their scheduling/billing software. Someone else types your name on a HICFA form to bill your insurance. The insurance company has to then reeks your information into their computers. You get a prescription. They give you a piece of paper with squiggly lines of doctor-writhing. You take this R'S to the pharmacy, and the clerk at the pharacy types in the drug and patient info into her computer.
The medical field is reluctant to change, because they don't see the benefit to them. Let's hope the federal government forces the providers to do something soon.
The medical field seems high tech, but it really isn't. They still uses paper-based everything (execot for billing and scheduling. IT makes them money in these areas. Greed wins) I think about how busy this office was, and how many people it took to administer the office, and I understood why the cost of health care is increasing.
Take the pateint's chart. If I went to my family doctor for a condition, and then went to Urgent Care for additional emergency treatment, and then went to another doctor for the same condition, none of these entities would have a clue what tests have already been done, what steps in the diagnosis have been completed, and what should come next. Each provider is an island to himself. This is how a lot of drug abuser get their drugs. They "shop" at several doctor's offices.
The doctor doesn't have the information they need, especially as busy as they now are. All they have are pieces of paper that the doctor has to flip back through to pick up where they left off. God help them if they wanted to do a simple query like "What is the total number of patients we treated this week with step throat by zip-code" This is a trivial question to ask a database (the command would be something like "select zipcode, count(*) from Patients where diagnosis="strep Throat" group by zipcode") This would take weeks to prepare by hand on paper.
Think about how much effort is wasted in this system. The clerk at the doctor types your name onto the chart. Someone else types your name into their scheduling/billing software. Someone else types your name on a HICFA form to bill your insurance. The insurance company has to then reeks your information into their computers. You get a prescription. They give you a piece of paper with squiggly lines of doctor-writhing. You take this R'S to the pharmacy, and the clerk at the pharacy types in the drug and patient info into her computer.
The medical field is reluctant to change, because they don't see the benefit to them. Let's hope the federal government forces the providers to do something soon.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Sick Day
Ah, the joys of parenthood. My daughter has been feeling ill all weekend, and we decided to take her to the Doctor today. After the doctor told me that she suspected a viral infection (hence, no antibiotics), they did a strep test, and the test came back positive.
At work, we've been having some problems with the IT department's policies as it pertains to our imaging system. The discovered that our permissions were not severely restricted, as they are wont to do. This is on a server bought with our sections money, used only by our section's staff, hosting only our sections data, administered (as much as other IT policies allow) by our staff.
The heart of the problem is that we (our section) is using a file-based document management system. Its performance is more than adequate, and its support requirements are laughably small. The file-based system requires a greater flexibility in setting windows-based file-share permissions than our IT folks wish to dole out. They want to set permissions now lower than off of the root of a share (shraename-folder<== the first folder under a share)
What I am thinking about doing is setting up a client-server app where the "server" side is running on an account that has the necessary permissions. A request comes in for a certain image, and the server serves the image over TCP/IP. I'll have to play with that one for awhile to get it to work. It also can be broken by a simple policy update changing firewall settings....
You know, you can love Bush or hate him, but you have to give the guy credit. He is no shrinking daisy. He tackles sensitive political issues without the usual meaningless platitudes and empty catch-phrases trying to pander to each side. He just states what he believes in. Like this weeks issue of immigration reform.
I have no problem with folks coming to America to live. I do have problems with people who come here by breaking our laws. It puts everyone in a bad position. The illegal is in a position rife for oppression. If they are not paid minimum wage, what recourse do they have? If they are worked over 40 hours a week without overtime, who can they call? If they are stiffed their pay, to which governmental agency can they confide in?
This is in add cost of providing these folks with governmental services that they consume.
It is not the best solution. We need to control our borders. The problem will not be fixed by building a wall (which isn't a bad idea, but just understand that it makes it a little harder to come in), it will not be fixed by deporting all illegals you find (once again, not a bad idea.) The problem is that, as long as there is a demand for cheap, illegal (slave?) labor, there will be a supplier no matter how hard we make it for them to get in.
The solution is simple. Require EVERY employer to receive POSITIVE proof of residence or citizenship. This will require some form of Federal-level identification for every citizen and resident alien in the US. Some folks will gripe, but so what. Then, if a business employed illegals, the business is fined a huge, hefty, ugly, nasty fine ($100,000 a head for illegals). The fine would have to be big enough for business to say "the cheap labor isn't worth it". All of a sudden, the illegal labor market dries up, and the flood slows to a trickle.
A guest worker program could then be fashioned to provide these folks with a way to work here legally, once they are all registered and documented. This will also allow us to weed out the undesirable elements (read criminals) from migrating here.
It's doable, its simple, and it will never happen.
At work, we've been having some problems with the IT department's policies as it pertains to our imaging system. The discovered that our permissions were not severely restricted, as they are wont to do. This is on a server bought with our sections money, used only by our section's staff, hosting only our sections data, administered (as much as other IT policies allow) by our staff.
The heart of the problem is that we (our section) is using a file-based document management system. Its performance is more than adequate, and its support requirements are laughably small. The file-based system requires a greater flexibility in setting windows-based file-share permissions than our IT folks wish to dole out. They want to set permissions now lower than off of the root of a share (shraename-folder<== the first folder under a share)
What I am thinking about doing is setting up a client-server app where the "server" side is running on an account that has the necessary permissions. A request comes in for a certain image, and the server serves the image over TCP/IP. I'll have to play with that one for awhile to get it to work. It also can be broken by a simple policy update changing firewall settings....
You know, you can love Bush or hate him, but you have to give the guy credit. He is no shrinking daisy. He tackles sensitive political issues without the usual meaningless platitudes and empty catch-phrases trying to pander to each side. He just states what he believes in. Like this weeks issue of immigration reform.
I have no problem with folks coming to America to live. I do have problems with people who come here by breaking our laws. It puts everyone in a bad position. The illegal is in a position rife for oppression. If they are not paid minimum wage, what recourse do they have? If they are worked over 40 hours a week without overtime, who can they call? If they are stiffed their pay, to which governmental agency can they confide in?
This is in add cost of providing these folks with governmental services that they consume.
It is not the best solution. We need to control our borders. The problem will not be fixed by building a wall (which isn't a bad idea, but just understand that it makes it a little harder to come in), it will not be fixed by deporting all illegals you find (once again, not a bad idea.) The problem is that, as long as there is a demand for cheap, illegal (slave?) labor, there will be a supplier no matter how hard we make it for them to get in.
The solution is simple. Require EVERY employer to receive POSITIVE proof of residence or citizenship. This will require some form of Federal-level identification for every citizen and resident alien in the US. Some folks will gripe, but so what. Then, if a business employed illegals, the business is fined a huge, hefty, ugly, nasty fine ($100,000 a head for illegals). The fine would have to be big enough for business to say "the cheap labor isn't worth it". All of a sudden, the illegal labor market dries up, and the flood slows to a trickle.
A guest worker program could then be fashioned to provide these folks with a way to work here legally, once they are all registered and documented. This will also allow us to weed out the undesirable elements (read criminals) from migrating here.
It's doable, its simple, and it will never happen.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Start Blogging
I decided to start posting a blog. Why? Well, there are times that I feel the need to rant, and my lovely bride just rolls her eyes, and tunes me out.
Rant number 1...
I am stunned at passes as acceptable now. I'm not even talking about almost every sit-com that is drenched in sexual banter. No, I'm amazed at the commercials that are shown. It should be illegal to advertise certain products on television. We wised-up, and banned tobacco commercials (although, I am still confused as to why it is ok to advertise vodka, beer, or wiskey but not cigarettes. I am not aware of any man who, under the influence of a Camel, robbed a store, or beat his wife.)
There are just some things that I don't want to have to explain to my six-year-old daughter. That is the litmus test we must use. Condom commercials go first. There is no way to explain their functions without a long, drawn out talk that incudes birds and bees. Douche commercials are next. I do not want to hear "Daddy, what does she mean about a not-so-fresh feeling?"
Finally, all female hygene products should be banned. While it leads to questions about the difference between boys and girls, the main reason is that it is gross. As a man, I find it to be disgusting.
Ok, enough for now. I wonder if anyone will read this. If so, drop me a note.
Rant number 1...
I am stunned at passes as acceptable now. I'm not even talking about almost every sit-com that is drenched in sexual banter. No, I'm amazed at the commercials that are shown. It should be illegal to advertise certain products on television. We wised-up, and banned tobacco commercials (although, I am still confused as to why it is ok to advertise vodka, beer, or wiskey but not cigarettes. I am not aware of any man who, under the influence of a Camel, robbed a store, or beat his wife.)
There are just some things that I don't want to have to explain to my six-year-old daughter. That is the litmus test we must use. Condom commercials go first. There is no way to explain their functions without a long, drawn out talk that incudes birds and bees. Douche commercials are next. I do not want to hear "Daddy, what does she mean about a not-so-fresh feeling?"
Finally, all female hygene products should be banned. While it leads to questions about the difference between boys and girls, the main reason is that it is gross. As a man, I find it to be disgusting.
Ok, enough for now. I wonder if anyone will read this. If so, drop me a note.
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