Barnson.org

I applaud you, unknown man interviewed on television regarding a fire:

Write up here regarding this legend of Internet infamy.

So I’ve been using KDE4 on Ubuntu Linux, and recently came across an irritating error. It refused to start with an error that it could not run “kdeinit4”. Once I burrowed into the error logs, I found KDE4 was reporting a “symbol lookup error” in “libkdeui.so.5”.

A quick “dpkg -S /usr/lib/kde4/libkdeui.so.5.0.0” reported that the package “kdelibs5” supplied this package. Assuming some other package erroneously overwrote it, I issued the following command:

“sudo apt-get install –reinstall kdelibs5”.

That sorted the problem out.

I’m archiving this in case there are other users of Ubuntu or Kubuntu that have encountered this problem. It’s a simple fix, but difficult to figure out.

This is an automated email sent from Dell Chat. The following information is a log of your session. Please save the log for your records.

Your session ID for this incident is imaluzer.

Time Details

09/11/2008 10:24:06AM Session Started with Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789)

09/11/2008 10:24:16AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Warranty Support, my name is Durka. How can I help you?”

09/11/2008 10:24:22AM Matthew Barnson: “Good morning, SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789.”

09/11/2008 10:25:01AM Matthew Barnson: “I have been hearing grinding noises from my hard drive for some time, and today ran the Dell Pre-boot System Assessment; it failed with error code 1000-0146 and 1000-0141”

09/11/2008 10:26:34AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Ok. Let me look up that error.”

09/11/2008 10:32:04AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Looks like one error is due to there being nothing to read in the optical drive.”

09/11/2008 10:32:24AM Matthew Barnson: “Right, that’s the 1000-0141.”

09/11/2008 10:32:34AM Matthew Barnson: “The 1000-0146 is the important one 🙂 IDE unit 0 failed.”

09/11/2008 10:33:07AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “let me check to see if we can get this replaced on the basis of noise alone.”

09/11/2008 10:36:00AM Matthew Barnson: “Cool. I am reminded of the sound when they set the phaser on “overload” on the old Star Trek series. “Get out of there, Scotty!” “But captain, I need more TIME!””

09/11/2008 10:37:12AM Matthew Barnson: “<turns on iTunes, does the Macarena in cubicle>”

09/11/2008 10:37:55AM Matthew Barnson: “<starts the “How YOU feelin’?” “Hot, Hot, Hot” chant with co-workers>”

09/11/2008 10:39:00AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol. Ok. I’m starting the documentation to replace the part now. To what address would you like this sent? If we need to contact you for some reason, what phone number would be best? Is there an alternate contact you’d like to include?”

09/11/2008 10:39:22AM Matthew Barnson: “Superb! Thanks, Tony. One sec while I type it up…”

09/11/2008 10:40:32AM Matthew Barnson: “Matthew P. Barnson | 27676 North 2087000 West | Salt Lake City, UT 84000”

09/11/2008 10:40:42AM Matthew Barnson: “Phone: XXX.XXX.XXXX”

09/11/2008 10:40:59AM Matthew Barnson: “No alternate contact, that phone goes with me everywhere :)”

09/11/2008 10:43:50AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “FYI 2009-06-29 is the system warranty expiration date on this LAT D620.”

09/11/2008 10:44:06AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Do you want a factory image on this drive?”

09/11/2008 10:44:50AM Matthew Barnson: “Sure, Anthony, that would be great! I enjoy deleting Windows XP prior to installing Linux almost as much as I enjoy skeet shooting!”

09/11/2008 10:45:18AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol”

09/11/2008 10:46:07AM Matthew Barnson: “I work in a data center with 10,000 machines, mostly Dell. You’re the first tech support rep that’s ever responded to my sorry attempts at humor :)”

09/11/2008 10:46:37AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol”

09/11/2008 10:46:47AM Matthew Barnson: “<applauds>”

09/11/2008 10:47:33AM Matthew Barnson: “So you work out of the call center down near Point of the Mountain, right? We’re up in Salt Lake City.”

09/11/2008 10:48:01AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol. No. We are in Lindon.”

09/11/2008 10:50:28AM Matthew Barnson: “Right, I know Utah County about like I know, say, North Dakota. I’m from Washington DC originally; I’ve lived here a decade, but my knowledge of Utah geography is pretty much limited to how I get to work and back.”

09/11/2008 10:51:05AM Matthew Barnson: “So what’s next? Do I get to turn my head and cough, or are we just waiting for the computer to cough up an RMA number?”

09/11/2008 10:51:17AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “LOL. I’m a California transplant myself. Love the grid system for streets though.”

09/11/2008 10:51:28AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “You are just waiting for me.”

09/11/2008 10:51:29AM Matthew Barnson: “Makes it easier, for sure!”

09/11/2008 10:51:38AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Here is a little reading for you though.”

09/11/2008 10:51:45AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “In accordance with your service contract, we have setup a “Parts Only” dispatch. The part(s) will be shipped by next business day carrier based on parts availability.”

09/11/2008 10:51:48AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “If the dispatch is setup after 5:00 p.m. local time it may be deferred to the next business day. You should receive the part(s) in 1-3 business days.”

09/11/2008 10:51:51AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “You will find a return airbill in the box with the replacement parts. Please replace all included parts (including cables) and pack the old parts back into the box. Affix the included airbill to the outside of the box and call DHL at 1-800-225-5345 to have them returned to Dell Inc.

09/11/2008 10:51:53AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Please return the parts within 5 days of receipt of the replacement part(s). If Dell does not receive the part(s) back within 10 business days, you will be invoiced for the cost of the replacements.”

09/11/2008 10:51:54AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “If you miss the initial return window and receive the invoice, please perform the replacement as soon as possible and complete the above steps to return the parts. Please include a note with the parts that you were invoiced. Be advised that it will take a”

pproximately 10 business days for Dell to process the returned parts.

09/11/2008 10:52:34AM Matthew Barnson: “Dude, thanks for your help. I know you have to deal with people who are mad at you all day long; I hope I injected something resembling levity into your day :)”

09/11/2008 10:53:15AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “yes. I’ve got a new guy with me too. We are both laughing.”

09/11/2008 10:54:41AM Matthew Barnson: “I’ve done tech support before. Some days it’s like every customer has a cheese grater and thinks your danglies are the cheese. Good luck today.”

09/11/2008 10:56:38AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Sorry about how long this is taking. My tools are slow today…”

09/11/2008 10:57:21AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Almost there. I’ll need a couple of minutes while I get finally approval to dispatch this part.”

09/11/2008 10:57:58AM Matthew Barnson: “It’s OK. At this point I know the replacement is coming, so I’m just goofing around with my iPhone and pretending to work.”

09/11/2008 10:58:24AM Matthew Barnson: “Really no different than how I spend any other day ;)”

09/11/2008 11:07:29AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “lol. Ok. here is the info you want. Case #123456789 Dispatch Reference #987654321”

09/11/2008 11:07:45AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “I’m sending an e-mail with the same info.”

09/11/2008 11:07:53AM Matthew Barnson: “Rock on!”

09/11/2008 11:07:56AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

09/11/2008 11:08:14AM Matthew Barnson: “Nope, that will do, thanks!”

09/11/2008 11:08:18AM Agent (SLCgl_DurkaDurka_210789): “It’s been good talking to you. If you have any further questions, you can go to support.dell.com. Thank you for using Dell Hardware Warranty Chat Support. Have a great day!”

09/11/2008 11:08:32AM Session Ended If you require further assistance, please visit us at support.dell.com

I came, I saw, I went shopping. Go Metallica!

What a scam. Appeal to people’s pride and ego, offering them a chance for inclusion in some directory, and then sell the directory back to them. Sorry, I fell for this once with my Model Aviation directory (and boy, it’s pretty, too, but not $140 pretty), and I’m not interested in falling for it again.

Who’s Who directories, other than Marquis, are for suckers. Period.

Dear matthew@barnson.org,

You were recently appointed as a biographical candidate to represent your industry in the Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals, and for inclusion into the upcoming 2008-2009 “Honors Edition” of the registry.

We are pleased to inform you that on August 9th, your candidacy was approved. Your confirmation for inclusion will be effective within five business days, pending our receipt of the enclosed application.

The Office of the Managing Director appoints individuals based on a candidate’s current position, and usually with information obtained from researched executive and professional listings. The director thinks you may make an interesting biographical subject, as individual achievement is what Who’s Who is all about. Upon final confirmation you will be listed among thousands of accomplished individuals in the Who’s Who Registry. There is no cost to be included.

We do require additional information to complete the selection process and kindly ask that you access this form on our website by Clicking Here

Sincerely,

Matthew Johnson Managing Director

Madison Who’s Who – 3001 Northern Blvd. 2nd fl. Long Island City, NY 11101 Madison Who’s Who is not associated or affiliated with Marquis Who’s Who or any other Who’s Who.

Dear Candidate,

Your response is kindly requested. You were recently appointed as a biographical candidate to represent your industry in the Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals, and for inclusion into the upcoming 2008-2009 “Honors Edition” of the registry.

We are pleased to inform you that on July 9th, your candidacy was approved. Your confirmation for inclusion will be effective within five business days, pending our receipt of the enclosed application.

The Office of the Managing Director appoints individuals based on a candidate’s current position, and usually with information obtained from researched executive and professional listings. The director thinks you may make an interesting biographical subject, as individual achievement is what Who’s Who is all about. Upon final confirmation you will be listed among thousands of accomplished individuals in the Who’s Who Registry. There is no cost to be included.

We do require additional information to complete the selection process and kindly ask that you access this form on our website by Clicking Here

Sincerely,

Matthew Johnson Managing Director

Dear Candidate,

You were recently appointed as a biographical candidate to represent your industry in the Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals as well as for inclusion into the upcoming 2008-2009 “Honors Edition” of the registry.

We are pleased to inform you that on August 16th, your candidacy was approved. Your confirmation for inclusion will be effective within five business days, pending our receipt of the enclosed application.

The Office of the Managing Director appoints individuals based on a candidate’s current position, and usually with information obtained from thoroughly researched executive and professional listings. The director thinks you may make an interesting biographical subject, as individual achievement is what Who’s Who is all about. Upon final confirmation you will be listed among thousands of accomplished individuals in the Who’s Who Registry. There is no cost to be included.

We do require additional information to complete the selection process and kindly ask that you access this form on our website by Clicking Here

Sincerely,

Matthew Johnson Managing Director

Dear Candidate,

You were recently appointed as a biographical candidate to represent your industry in the Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals, and for inclusion into the upcoming 2008-2009 “Honors Edition” of the registry.

We are pleased to inform you that on August 9th, your candidacy was approved. Your confirmation for inclusion will be effective within five business days, pending our receipt of the enclosed application.

The Office of the Managing Director appoints individuals based on a candidate’s current position, and usually with information obtained from researched executive and professional listings. The director thinks you may make an interesting biographical subject, as individual achievement is what Who’s Who is all about. Upon final confirmation you will be listed among thousands of accomplished individuals in the Who’s Who Registry. There is no cost to be included.

We do require additional information to complete the selection process and kindly ask that you access this form on our website by Clicking Here

Sincerely,

Matthew Johnson Managing Director

At this point, I sent the following polite message:

“Please stop emailing me. I have absolutely no interest in being listed in your publication!”

Dear Candidate,

Congratulations! Because of the reference value of your outstanding achievements, on September the 8th, 2008, Who’s Who has selected your biography for inclusion in the forthcoming 2008-09 edition of Who’s Who in the World.

This exciting and unique edition will provide the biographical information of the world’s most accomplished men and women from across all fields of endeavor. It is a testament to your hard work and dedication to success that you have earned a place in the world’s premier biographical resource. You should be proud of your achievements… and you should also realize your inherent potential for growth.

By answering our call for the world’s elite you can be a member of, and have at your fingertips, information which can lead to valuable networking ties with the most accomplished and prestigious men and women on both the global and national levels.

Please click the link below to provide us with your contact information. As we are striving to create an active networking forum for our members, you will be enrolled (after an introductory interview) in our basic program with no cost or obligation to purchase at any time. Please Click Here

Sincerely,

Matthew Johnson Managing Director

Matthew Johnson, Managing Director, I have four words for you:

Screw You. Go Away.

I’m keeping my money, thank you very much.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsbrusco/2840362008/

The good ol’ starship Enterprise first took flight on network TV on September 8th 1966.

I can’t figure out how to imbed an image… so the link will just have to suffice.

EDIT by matthew: Linkfied and imagified.

In the news today, scientists discover the monogamy gene.

Scientists “found that variation in a section of the gene called RS3 334 was linked to how men bond with their partners. Men can have none, one or two copies of the RS3 334 section, and the higher the number of copies, the worse men scored on a measure of pair bonding.

“Not only that, men with two copies of RS3 334 were more likely to be unmarried than men with one or none, and if they were married, they were twice as likely to have a marital crisis.”

“…RS3 334’s social effects extend beyond bonding in couples. Earlier this year, the same gene section was shown to affect signalling in people’s amygdalas, linked to trust. Another study found that people with autism, which is characterised by unusual social behaviour, often have multiple copies of RS3 334.”

So if you’re like me and content in a monogamous relationship, maybe you shouldn’t just chalk that up to good communication and compatibility.

You might just have your genes to thank.

Twitter is eating my blogging desire, and my new job (same company, new position) is causing me stress and eating it too.

Will be back soon.

I want to make something perfectly clear.

I have no opinion on abortion.

I’m never going to get an abortion for myself. There’s no need. I’m male. The whole argument has no power for me, because I really don’t care one way or the other which way the laws go. Since abortion is currently legal, if some member of my family ever needs or wants one and approaches me about it, I’ll discuss their ethical questions and then drive them to the clinic if need be. If their religion has particular proscriptions on the practice, I’ll encourage them to explore those prior to taking such an action, since I understand it may have profound impact on both family and ecumenical relationships.

If abortion were made illegal tomorrow, I’d regard that law with similar apathy, and help family members explore legal options if my opinion were ever given any weight on the issue.

But I really don’t care.

I don’t care if you get an abortion. I don’t care if you don’t get an abortion. I don’t care if your mother wants an abortion, or if you wish you were aborted. If you were supposed to be an abortion and it didn’t work out, I’ll chalk that up to serendipity and be grateful that we’re together to talk, while pointedly trying to steer the conversation to one of the myriad issues I really do care about. Like music, Joss Whedon’s latest projects, Brittany (sic) Spears’ latest hairstyle, who makes the best beer in the greater Salt Lake City area, or what I had for lunch today.

As for the last two, lunch was at MacCool’s Public House at The District in Riverton, UT. There I had an excellent — and enormous — chicken pot-pie, a few friend potatoes, and some fine Cherny Bock stout from the Bohemian Brewery, an excellent local brewery in Sandy, Utah. The Cherny Bock stout has a really rich flavor with just a hint of bitter and little aftertaste. On tap, it compares favorably to a nitro-tapped Guinness or perhaps the local Squatter’s Brewery “Captain Bastard’s Oatmeal Stout”, though the CBOS has quite a bit more hoppy finish while tasting smoother in the mouth. I really enjoy all three, depending on the situation, though if the Guinness is not on nitro tap I may choose something a little lighter.

I’m still a newbie at beer comparisons, but I like most of the darker porters and stouts. And if we ever go somewhere and I order a beer that’s new to me, you should come along because if I don’t like it, I won’t finish it and will give the rest to you. If it’s Corona (with or without lime), Coors Light, or Budweiser, you keep it. I’ll go for a soda or water instead. Enjoy.

See? There’s a discussion we can get into, have strong disagreements, and nobody leaves the discussion labeling the other person as anything except perhaps a neophyte or an uncultured, Hefeweizen-hating stout or porter beer snob.

That said, I have no opinion on abortion, and think the current situation is perfectly fine the way it is.

This makes me, according to apparently every right-wing talk radio host and local Republican in Utah, a “liberal”.

Why does that label bug me so much when it clearly doesn’t apply to my moderate, civil-rights-leaning independent-minded Registered Republican outlook?

The other night, I had a dream. In this dream, I was watching a TV show with a line of enormous dominoes made of dense foam, like the type you see in action game-shows where the contestant has to run across the top or else fall into some kind of disturbing substance that has the effect of breaking the fall of the contestant while simultaneously humiliating them.

These dominoes, though, were titanic. Hundreds of people perched on top of them, jumping from one to the next. Some few were several dominoes ahead of the pack, leaping and leaving an unstable but still standing domino behind them. The bulk of people hopped just one step ahead of the toppling dominoes, unstably wobbling atop their current perch, and many fell into the slime with each falling obelisk.

The dominoes each had labels. The fallen included “Deficit Spending”, “Investment Banking”, “Savings & Loans”, “Dot-Com stocks”, “Real-Estate investment”, and “Energy futures”. Yet to fall were many more, but I couldn’t distinguish the label of any given domino until it began to lean under the crushing weight of all the people piling onto it.

In that vein, I just found out some disturbing news regarding the so-called $7500 new-home-buyer “tax credit” as part of the recently-passed Housing Rescue Bill.

From: http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/7500-first-time-homebuyer-tax-credit.html

In addition to the well-known qualifications, such as not having owned a home in the past three years, here are some sobering details regarding this so-called “tax credit”:

• The tax credit is 10% of the home’s sale price with a maximum of $7500.
• You can claim the credit on taxes filed in 2008 or 2009.
• It’s a credit and not a deduction (difference between tax credit and tax deduction).
• “Tax credit” is a misnomer because it’s really a zero percent loan with some qualifications.

I have heard the following pitch on the radio several times: “So now is a great time to go buy a home, because with your $7500 tax credit, you can go get a loan for the $7500, buy the house, and pay off the loan once you get your credit in April.”

On the one hand, I say “great incentive!” because, really, who wouldn’t jump at an interest-free, tax-free, 15-year-term $7500 loan that you can defer for two years? On the other hand, I can’t help but think this is a really bad idea. Ultimately, we taxpayers are footing the bill for these interest-free loans to new home buyers. As a homeowner for the past ten years, that means that I am effectively subsidizing purchases for the first-timers right now.

So now I’m paying Social Security and medical insurance for all the octogenarian baby-boomers as well as subsidizing purchases of new homes by twenty-five-year-old newlyweds when I did it the hard way?

The other day, I decided to hop on my motorcycle and just drive around my new neighborhood to see what was there. I live on the border of two towns: Riverton and Herriman. Riverton is a fairly well-established city, while Herriman was an out-of-the-way town that was considered a small town until the housing boom.

I toured the south side of the city, following signs promoting a contest to win a free house in a new development. There the development stood, home after home, and row-house after row-house, on a beautiful weekday evening. The landscaping was finished throughout, but only one home in five showed signs of being lived in. The empty eyes of upstairs windows with no furnishings and no blinds peered out over the desolation of a housing development mostly finished yet unoccupied. The enormous streets ended in Jersey barriers, the lights unlit, with no traffic.

This is the future of the American housing market for some years to come. Empty bedrooms facing empty streets because of the development frenzy new-home-fever that gripped our nation. I steadfastly believed as early as 2003 that too-easy home ownership — principally zero-down and sub-prime lending, though I called it “loaning money to people who can’t pay it back” — was killing the U.S. real-estate market.

I was told that I was needlessly concerned, because real-estate is such a safe investment. I was told I was too negative, and that the real-estate boom was just a long correction to pent-up housing demand.

The reality is that the housing boom was driven by the domino labeled “low-interest home loans” placed by Alan Greenspan in response to the falling dominoes entitled “dot-com stocks” and “looming recession”. It’s easy to forget because 9-11 happened in the interim, with all of its accompanying dominoes, and took most of our attention for a while.

Some days, I hate being right when everybody thinks I’m wrong.

I have blogged before about the uselessness of Band-Aid solutions for gushing-artery problems. This new-home-buyer loan — fraudulently marketed as a “tax credit” — strikes me as yet another such “solution”. Taxpayer-subsidized bailouts of financial institutions, and now the real-estate industry, do little but forestall the inevitable as the industry topples behind the herd of game-show players who think it’s the next big thing.

Our representatives have elected to shove the bodies of over-burdened taxpayers underneath these falling dominoes to keep them from bottoming out. I do not believe this is a recipe for long-term financial health in our country.

I do believe, however, there are real solutions for some of the problems facing us today, but they may involve allowing the current domino-jumpers to fall with their precarious investments before the economy can recover.

I believe the energy crises can be permanently solved by developing renewable energy solutions — preferably cheap ones — and implementing strong conservation efforts.

I believe the financial-market crises can be permanently solved by implementing stricter oversight that isn’t self-managed (today’s NYSE is run by the same companies it is expected to police, leading to obvious and flagrant corruption with regular abuse of shareholders), and allowing companies with questionable portfolios to fail.

I believe our country’s enormous budget deficits can be overcome through prudent reductions of expenditures, mainly in the areas of overseas policing and entitlement programs.

That said, I do not believe the current real-estate crisis can be solved quickly. Developers over-built and speculators with deep pockets drove up prices by a phenomenal margin. This boom-bust cycle often happens even within a single city, driven by just a few industries, and I do not know an accurate way to gauge future housing demand on such a micro-economic scale. These things correct themselves in time, but that time — as evidenced by some city’s boom-bust cycles that have been in the “bust” phase for decades — may be much longer than a typical person is willing to wait.

Today we see the fruits of herd mentality in action, and barring a baby boom or opening US borders to wider-scale immigration, we’re stuck with a housing surplus for a number of years to come. Of course, loosening immigration restrictions or encouraging more childbirth among the upper-middle-class would bring with it its own set of problems.

The dominoes just keep falling. I wonder what’s next?

(My bet is on “wartime spending”, toppling the twin dominoes of “defense contracts” and “energy stocks”.)