Archive for December, 2004

Here’s a screenshot of the google for “us cellular customer service“:

(Click for better look)

Spoons post is currently number 5. It seems to a simpleton like me that US Cellular would not be pleased with this. Especially as it’s likely to climb farther over the next couple of days.

Previously discussed on MO here.

UPDATE: Paul at Wizbang solved the problem for Spoons. No details yet.

UPDATE 3: Okay. False alarm. Paul at Wizbang points out I must have just hit a different Google server that hadn’t updated yet. It looks right now.

The armor tempest in a teapot

We all know and love Spc. Wilson of the Tennessee National Guard’s 278 RCT. He’s the one who asked Rummy about Humvee armor.

One day after he asked the question that launched a thousand news reports, EVERY SINGLE HUMVEE IN THE UNIT WAS ARMORED.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?

Wrong.

In fact, when Spc. Wilson asked his question, 810 of the 830 vehicles in the unit had already received armor, and the last 20 had already been scheduled to received theirs the next day.

While this doesn’t excuse what MO sees as a overly-slow reaction to armor needs by the military, I’m waiting to see this breathlessly reported by all of those who jumped all over Rummy and the DoD and George Bush and anyone who foolishly supports the quagmire in Iraq.

Maybe, despite the fact that things could have maybe been better and/or quicker, there IS a plan and that plan is being implemented. Maybe.

Go read One Hand Clapping (at the link above) for a lot more good stuff on this subject.

I can’t wait to see the sensationalist stories covering the fact that Wilson’s unit was already getting exactly what he asked for long before he asked for it (at a reporter’s suggestion).

[crickets chirping]

New Microsoft Patch Blocks Firefox Downloads

I’ve installed all of the major browsers on several of my machines in order to make sure that MO works correctly regardless of what flavor you browse with. (For instance, Firefox apparently cares whether I close my [small] tags at the end of an update…)

I probably do about a third of my browsing with Firefox. I also use Opera from time to time. I rarely use Netscape, which is built on Mozilla technology, though I do like their little “New Tab” button.

In response to the buzz that Firefox has been generating of late, maybe MS should hire the former Iraqi Information Minister to deal with the PR aspect of the issue. Something along the lines of “The Firefox infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Redmond. Be assured, Internet Explorer is safe, protected.”

FWIW, I still do most of my browsing with IE and will probably continue to do so.

Well, MO raised a cool $100 in this friendly little competition. My own donation at the end got us into triple digits, and though I had hoped to bring in more than that, I’m proud of the MO readers that donated.

Overall, the Blogger Challenge raised over $92,000.

Read that again.

$92,000.

The blogosphere rocks.

Need your help/opinion re: commercial dispute

Spoons is having trouble with an early termination fee at US Cellular. Though it sounds from his telling that he’s certainly fulfilled the spirit of the contract, I’m not so sure about the letter. In any event, a $150 fee for transferring a phone number 17 days before the end of a term that has been fully paid for seems excessive. Doubly so if the behavior of the customer service rep was anything like Spoons reported.

So although I don’t have the knowledge of the specific contract or any expertise in the interpretation of such things, I’m cautiously endorsing Spoons’ efforts.

I know that my little site won’t really help bring any additional pressure to bear if that’s what it comes to. And I don’t think threats of negative exposure if Spoons is, in fact, wrong are called for at all. But if I’m going to try and generate some buzz about 767 tankers, F-22 fighters, and body armor, I’m sure as Hades going to try and generate a hit or two and some Google rank for a blogosphere comrade.

If you’ve got advice for Spoons about his U.S. Cellular problem, go give him some. I don’t have advice, but I’ve got a link. (As well as a link or two for Paul at Wizbang who’s helping raise the Google rank himself.)

UPDATE: Plus, I guess it won’t hurt to link to those linking to Spoons or Wizbang since it will help raise the Google rank of that post, which in turn will aid the the rank of the post that it links to.

I’ll probably add more to this later as they come in. If Spoons turns out to be totally wrong about all of this, I’ll drop the links.

The Beholder and You

I hope you’re all preparing for the next Tet Offensive in Iraq. We’ve had about fifteen or twenty so far, and I’m expecting the next one will occur over the three weeks (or so) leading up to the Iraqi elections at the end of January.

And, as many have already pointed out, it was sixty years ago that the Germans launched their Ardennes counter-offensive, which history usually refers to as the Battle of the Bulge. (Link via Intel Dump.)

In 1944, the German army, portrayed by many to be on it’s last legs, struck unexpectedly and quite successfully, knocking a huge salient into our lines.

In 1968 something similar (big-picture thinking, here, folks…don’t comment or email me to point out that the VC didn’t use Tiger tanks or some such…) happened in Vietnam.

In both cases the Allies were surprised and knocked for a loop. In both cases our forces (and/or the forces of our allies) suffered severe casualties. In both cases if we had been more prepared, if we had had more troops in the right place at the right time, if we had equipped the troops involved more fully, if our intelligence had been better, maybe things would have been different.

But, again in both cases, at the conclusion of the battle the enemy forces were shattered and our armies firmly in control of what the enemy sought to take from us.

Yet one battle was a storied victory and the other a crushing defeat.

Every Tet Offensive so far in Iraq has ended in US victory, though some more storied than others. Why aren’t these spates of enemy activity called Ardennes Offensives?

Because it’s in the eye of the beholder.

No. Not you. You’re simply a viewer of a finished product.

The beholders whose eyes count are those that interpret events and pass them on to you for digestion. Dan Rather, CNN, and Murdoc Online are all beholders.

A few rebels among you insist on thinking for yourselves. Some of you agree with some of the beholders. Some of you don’t.

So when you hear about the next Tet Offensive, remember the previous Tet Offensives. The original wasn’t a loss because we were defeated on the field of battle. It was a loss because we were told by the beholders that we had been defeated. And we believed them.

And many of them are still trying to play that game. In fact, you can find message boards and blogs that very clearly express their deep-rooted HOPE that the Tet Offensive mentality catches on. And you don’t have to look very hard to find them.

In late December of 1944, if CNN and their ilk had had correspondents at the front or in surrounded Bastogne (sort of an accidental Khe Sahn), things would have looked grim, indeed. Do you think that Americans might have heard about the lack of cold-weather clothing or winter camouflage? Do you think that maybe Americans would have heard about our airpower advantage neutralized by something as mundane as foul weather? Do you think Americans would have heard all about the poor Belgian citizens who had it hard enough even before the clashing armies decided to battle in their fields and cities? Valid points, to be sure.

But the war was proceeding toward victory. Certainly full of blood and gore and misery and tragedy, as wars are wont to produce such things, but proceeding toward victory nonetheless.

If and when someone screams that the latest Tet Offensive has begun, remind them that maybe, just maybe, it’s the latest Ardennes Offensive instead.

AFGHANISTAN: The Winter Offensive (12/17/2004 entry)

The situation in Afghanistan is basically in the “mopping-up” phase, though popular misconceptions may think “mopping-up” means it’s over. It’s not. And it’s still a dangerous place at times. But we’re making headway rounding up many of the last hold-outs:

The week long American offensive has led to the arrest of about three dozen terrorist suspects, and the killing of at least ten who resisted. Weapons, documents and communications equipment has been seized as well. The offensive has gotten the attention of both the Taliban and al Qaeda networks in Afghanistan, sending many terrorists running for new hiding places. The offensive mainly consists of hundreds of raids against suspected terrorist hideouts. It’s Winter now, and men fleeing through mountain passes and valleys show up better to heat sensing vidcams. These devices are mounted on many UAVs that can constantly prowl the back country. Fugitives like to hide in the many caves found in Afghanistan’s hills. But in the Winter, starting a fire in a cave just makes it easier for the heat sensors to spot you and bring a chopper full of American troops your way.

I was going to mention the almost-total lack of coverage in the media that the offensive (or anything, for that matter) in Afghanistan has received. Do we have to put panties on someone’s head to get a little press over there?

But then I decided not to even bring it up, as coverage would probably consist of something along these lines: RUMSFELD QUESTIONED: If this winter offensive is so successful, why didn’t we start it in June?. Tell me I’m wrong.

No time to write, but Dino Rossi’s lead in the re-recount for the Washington state governor’s election isn’t where it needs to be to win. I’ve heard anecdotal evidence that Rossi’s doing better than expected in King county, but if he doesn’t, he’s going to lose according to the projections on my brother’s spreadsheet.

Here’s a screenshot:

Go get the spreadsheet for yourself.

Critics Choice Awards Snubs Passion, Too (12/16/04 entry)

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST isn’t getting the attention it probably deserves. I imagine a sort of uncomfortable uneasiness bogs down every conversation in Hollywood when it comes up.

I’m not terribly concerned, since I don’t really care what Hollywood thinks.

But 10,000 people have signed Passion For Fairness’ petition so far. That’s maybe not earth-shaking, but it should be worth some notice.

I imagine that many MO readers do care whether this film is given equal consideration when award nominations are given out. If you do, wander over to Passion For Fairness and sign their petition.

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

Defense Tech:

Missile Defense booster fails to rise to the occasion.

The Missile Defense Agency’s Integrated Flight Test (IFT)-13C was aborted “after the interceptor missile experienced an anomaly shortly before it was to be launched.” The target, perhaps representing a North Korean ICBM hurtling toward a U.S. city, performed flawlessly.

As I wrote over a year ago,

While we’re at it, why don’t we award [the test vehicle manufacturer] the contract for the next ICBM? We’ve proven over and over again that their test vehicles can’t be shot down. Let’s put that experience to use.

Those target vehicles are untouchable. Put a big bomb on one, and we’re in business.

Seriously, though, we should all be concerned about the National Missile Defense situation. I totally 100% believe in the concept, and I am very happy to continue to funnel money into the project.

Unlike the F/A-22 fighter or the Comanche helicopter, this system could provide immediate, real-world, important results that cannot be achieved with existing systems. I don’t care if 398 trillion dollars goes down that hole. If San Diego avoids the Hiroshima treatment because of it, it will be the money best spent. Ever.

It’s just getting to the point where the damn thing works that seems to be the problem. I mean, the interceptor didn’t even miss, like it usually does. It didn’t even launch.

More commentary and links at Defense Tech. Follow the link at the top of the post.