David Both

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a computer expo several years ago (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, “If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.”

In response to Bill’s comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive – but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single “This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation” warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask “Are you sure?” before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door  handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You’d have to press the “Start” button to turn the engine off.

The last one has already come to pass.

I have not commented on the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico since it started, but I feel it is now time to do so. What a freakin’ mess!! BP — What were you thinking? What are you thinking?

One cannot call this a spill because an overturned glass is a spill; a wrecked railroad car with its contents leaking on the ground or into a stream is a spill, a tanker run aground is a spill. Each of these is inherently limited and thus contains within itself the limits of its potential damage.

The hole in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is an unchecked tap into a (according to BP) huge reservoir of oil and natural gas with the potential to poison a huge portion of the planet. This is the largest human-caused disaster in all of history.

As oil keeps gushing into the Gulf and the scope of this human and environmental disaster increases exponentially, I watch the people of the Gulf Coast attempting to cope with it and realize that there is no way that this is going to be stopped any time soon. Nor will a complete cleanup even be possible. The oil is not only present on the surface of the water, in fact the vast majority of it is hidden, unseen beneath the surface, like the iceberg that sank the Titanic.

We have run the ship of our oil dependency upon the iceberg of huge multinational corporations whose greed has run amok and caused them to “drill, baby, drill” without regard for safety, the ecology or the welfare of the inhabitants world’s coasts. Neither land-dwelling nor marine nor human nor plant nor animal is safe. All is at risk.

So-called “Experts” are saying that the effects of this disaster could spread as far as the Arctic. How can anyone believe that this is the limit? Is there any reason not to believe that there is no limit; that all of the world’s oceans and coastlines are at risk? If the oceans are poisoned and the food chain collapses, where will that leave us?

Please see my Facebook group, Boycott BP and join for updates and to participate in planning or taking non-violent, non-destructive, peaceful action.

http://www.facebook.com/david.both?v=info#!/group.php?gid=117870021588108

Unfortunately we will always require petroleum products, if not for fuel then for plastics, shampoo, lubricants, pharmaceuticals and many other products we use each day. Our civilization is built upon the foundation of fossil fuels. While we move our home to another foundation we must take drastic steps to ensure that events like the Gulf Disaster or the Exxon Valdeze can never, ever happen again.

Regulate the Oil Companies

We need to ensure that oil is located, drilled for and produced in a manner that is safe for the workers and the environment. In order to achieve this we need greater regulation of the oil industry and more inspectors who must be given the unalterable authority to shut down any operation on the spot and without any requirement to obtain permission from anyone. This person must be the ultimate authority on site or otherwise.

We also need to ensure that the pipelines and ships that carry oil from well to refinery to distribution centers and on to the gas stations and other outlets are also regulated and made safe.

No oil or chemical-related company or industry should be exempt.

Reducing Our Dependency on Oil

Clearly we must reduce our dependency on oil as we transition to renewable energy. There is no other way. There are many things each of us can do. Here are just a few with which we can start.

• Use CFLs.
• Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle. A REALLY efficient vehicle. To me that number starts at 35MPG and goes up. My Gen1 Prius gets 48MPG on average.
• Walk or ride a bike to the store when possible.
• Turn off lights that are not in use.
• Don’t waste water.
• Don’t leave vehicles running just to keep the air-conditioner of heater running.
• Keep tires properly inflated.
• Keep vehicles properly maintained.
• Replace old hot water heater with on-demand heaters.
• Replace old appliances with new, energy efficient ones.
• Get an energy audit from your energy company (electric or gas) and perform the actions they tell you can save energy.

There are many more but you can start with a few of these.

But remember, I am not laying all of the blame for this at the feet of the consumers. We must regulate the energy companies in order to make whatever energy source we use safe, dependable and clean.

Call your elected representatives and let them know we want clean dependable, and safe energy now and that regulation is the only way to get there. Don’t wait. Do it now! Would the BP Disaster have occurred if we had taken action after the Exxon Valdeze? We can prevent the next one.

Due to a significant increase in bogus registrations by spammers, I have ended the capability for open registration. If you wish to register for this web site send an email to dboth {at} millennium-technology {dot} com.

You must have a registration on this site to contribute comments, but all content is always open and free and you need not be registered just to view content.

I apologize for the inconvenience but it seems the only way to control the spam problem at this time.

Along with two others, David Both, President of Millennium Technology Consulting LLC, has been added to the board of Ten Thousand Villages located in the Cameron Village shopping center in Raleigh, NC.

Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit, fair trade retail store that provides vital and fair income to people in developing countries by selling their handicrafts and telling their stories in North America. Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.

For more information on Ten Thousand Villages.

Article in the News and Observer.

The goal of Organizing for America yesterday, October 20th, was for 100,000 calls to congress to support President Obama’s health care plan including a strong public option.

How many calls did we make? 100,000 calls? Actually, we had made 100,000 calls by 3:15PM yesterday.

200,000? 300,000?

No! As of 6:45 this morning we have made over 315,500 calls to congress! And they are still being tallied.

You rock!

You are so fantastic to more than triple our original goal. Thanks for all your hard work yesterday, today, and every day!

Jenny U. from Missouri did what any parent would: When her son needed a kidney, she donated one of hers. But she didn’t realize insurance companies would use her kindness as an excuse to never cover her again, calling her donation a “pre-existing condition.”

My name is David Both and I am currently trying to get healthcare. My job at Cisco Systems went to India and I am currently trying to get coverage under my wife’s healthcare insurance. They tell me I have a “pre-existing condition” but have not specified what it is. They have asked for “proof of continuous coverage” from my ex-employer.

• Why should “continuous coverage” make a difference?
• Why should a “pre-existing condition” make a difference?

These are the abuses that we are fighting to change.

Now, insurance companies are spending millions on a campaign of lies to kill health reform that would help folks like Jenny and me. So, today, with crucial negotiations taking place in Congress, we’re raising our voices and making it clear: It’s time to deliver on reform.

We’ve set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress made or committed to in a single day. To hit it, we’ll need your help — will you take 3 minutes to call Congress now?

Call Congress Now

Call your representatives and tell them: It’s Time to Deliver on health reform. If you live in North Carolina’s 13th congressional district with me. Please call:

Sen. Richard Burr’s Rocky Mt office at (252) 977-9522
Sen. Kay Hagan’s Raleigh office at (919) 856-4630, or her Washington, DC office at 202-224-6342
Rep. Brad Miller’s Raleigh office at (919) 836-1313

(Not your representatives? Click here to look yours up.)

Health insurance reform is finally ready for consideration by the full Congress, and hundreds of insurance company lobbyists on Capitol Hill are working overtime to kill it. Calling is quick and easy, but effective — and your voice has tremendous power at this critical moment.

After you make your call, tell the staffer who picks up where you live and that you’re counting on Congress to deliver on health reform. Let them know that Americans like you support the President’s plan — and that if your representatives are working to pass it, they have your thanks.

If we hit 100,000 calls made or committed to, we’ll send an unmistakable signal that this time, families must come before insurance companies. We’ll be tracking progress toward our goal publicly — make sure to report your call back to us so we can count it:

http://my.barackobama.com/TTDCall

Today is Election Day in Wake County. There are some very important races being decided today. If you have not yet vote please do so before the polls close at 7:30 PM.

It is really pathetic that I was voter 38 at my precinct this morning at 9AM.

Alice and I were interviewed by the N&O for one in a series of articles about healthcare in America. Here is a link to the article which appeared this morning.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2995/story/1694714.html

Here are the unequivocal reasons why we don’t really need Health Care Reform in the US:

1. Although efforts have been made and failed to reform the healthcare industry since 1912, we should not be too hasty and rush into enacting change.
2. The federal government has no business interfering in people’s healthcare decisions, unless a woman is trying to terminate a pregnancy, go on contraception or the patient’s last name is Schiavo.
3. The government is incapable of running anything efficiently, and if allowed to offer a healthcare option, will run healthcare so efficiently that it will put private insurers out of business.
4. We are a Christian nation, and we don’t believe in helping the least among us. Some people just don’t deserve healthcare. Getting sick is God’s punishment for doing something wrong.
5. The current system, with 47,000,000 uninsured, a million medical bankruptcies annually, and 18,000 deaths annually due to lack of insurance, is working just fine. In fact, we have the best health care system in the world!
6. Even though many older couples are forced to divorce in order to avoid catastrophic financial losses due to medical expenses, it’s the homosexuals who are destroying families.
7. A conversation with your doctor about end-of-life issues is an opportunity for your doctor to convince you to kill yourself.
8. We can afford to spend more on our military than all other nations combined, but we can’t afford universal health care.
9. Single-payer, government-run healthcare is good enough for our men and women in uniform, for whom nothing is too good, but single-payer, government-run healthcare will offer substandard care to the rest of us. Besides, to offer the same healthcare to the general public that our armed forces, govt workers and their families already get would be socialism.
10. Pooling our resources to provide roads, schools, clean water, military, police, and fire protection for each other is not socialism. Pooling our resources to provide each other health care is socialism.
11. Socialism is bad. Very bad. Bad! Did we mention it’s bad?
12. Health care is an issue best handled by individual states; like slavery.
13. We can afford to subsidize Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan, all of whom have universal healthcare, but we can’t afford it ourselves.
14. Money and corporate profits are more important than people’s health. Sure, reforming the insurance companies would save thousands of lives, but shareholders’ portfolios might be damaged.
15. Freeing people from holding on to their dead-end jobs for the insurance and allowing them to become entrepreneurs would bankrupt our country and devastate our markets, which depend upon entrepreneurial innovation.
16. Someone like physicist Stephen Hawking would have been allowed to die under the British healthcare system. Oh, he’s British? And he’s alive? — Never mind.
17. We already have universal health care: it’s called the Emergency Room. Uninsured people can go there for all their health needs (checkups, cancer pre-screening, chemotherapy, etc.), and it only costs the taxpayers a few thousand dollars per visit.
18. The Obama healthcare initiative is part of the liberal-communist-Nazi- socialist-Islamofascist-gay-atheist-zombie-transsexual-cannibal-feminist- sociopath-evolutionist agenda to take away your freedom! If this plan is passed, abortions will be mandatory, schoolchildren will be raped by their teachers, and Negroes (many of them born in some other country and only posing as citizens) will murder your Grandma with her pillow!

I will be teaching a 4.5 day Linux+ training class in Charleston, SC, the week of September 21.

CompTIA Linux+ is a vendor-neutral certification, generic across distributions, targeted to individuals with a minimum of six to 12 months of practical Linux experience. The CompTIA Linux+ exam covers fundamental management of Linux systems from the command line, user administration, file permissions, software configuration and management of Linux-based clients.

This class is preparation for that exam using Fedora Linux. Even if you do not take the exam this is an excellent training class for relatively new Linux administrators.

The class will be held at DTC Charleston, a local training center.

1064 Gardner Road
Suite 212
Charleston, SC 29407

Sales: 843-402-0983
Main: 843-225-3494
Toll-free: 866-705-4522
Fax: 775-370-0477

Email: martha_nye@dtccharleston.com

If you are interested in attending this class, please contact DTC.

Check my business web page, Millennium Technology Consulting LLC for more information about me and my company.

I just received this Letter from David Axelrod, Senior Adviser to the President. It has a great deal of information and the truth about Health are Reform in the United States. It details some very important information including:

1. 8 Ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage.
2. 8 Common myths about health insurance reform.
3. 8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now.

Links to supporting information are provided in the document so that folks can see the truth.

Read this Letter from David Axelrod, Senior Adviser to the President. Then send a copy of it to everyone you know. Use it as a basis for discussion with your neighbors and co-workers.

And here is another link I found on CNN today. Wendell Potter, whistle-blower and a former Cigna executive says that insurance companies are playing dirty tricks to manipulate public opinion. Read about it here.

Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!
The truth: These accusations—of “death panels” and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: “No ‘death panel’ in health care bill.”4 What’s the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.5

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!
The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama’s reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.6 Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.7
If you’re happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.8 But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can’t afford health care now.

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!
The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.

Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.9 And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens’ Medicare benefits!!!
The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.10 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.11
Lie #5: Obama’s health care plan will bankrupt America!!!
The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy.

Right now, we spend more than $2 trillion dollars a year on health care.12 The average family premium is projected to rise to over $22,000 in the next decade13—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses.14 Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama’s reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.15
We’re closer to real health care reform than we’ve ever been—and the next few weeks will decide whether it happens. We need to make sure the truth about health care reform is spread far and wide to combat right wing lies.

And on Twitter, by retweeting: @MoveOn Check out the Top 5 Health Care Lies—and How to Fight Back. http://bit.ly/Bncs5
Thanks for all you do.
–Nita, Kat, Ilya, Michael and the rest of the team
P.S. Want more? Check out this great new White House “Reality Check” website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/ or this excellent piece from Health Care for America Now on some of the most outrageous lies:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51729&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=1

Sources:
1. “More ‘Town Halls Gone Wild’: Angry Far Right Protesters Disrupt Events With ‘Incomprehensible’ Yelling,” Think Progress, August 4, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51733&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=2
2. “Fight the smears,” Health Care for America NOW, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51729&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=3
3. “Palin Paints Picture of ‘Obama Death Panel’ Giving Thumbs Down to Trig,” ABC News, August 7, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51728&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=4
4. “No ‘death panel’ in health care bill,” The Associated Press, August 10, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51747&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=5
5. “Stop Distorting the Truth about End of Life Care,” The Huffington Post, July 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51730&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=6
6. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 11, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#i1
7. “Why We Need a Public Health-Care Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51737&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=7
8. “Obama: ‘If You Like Your Doctor, You Can Keep Your Doctor,’” The Wall Street Journal, 15, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51736&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=8
9. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#r1
10. “Obama: No reduced Medicare benefits in health care reform,” CNN, July 28, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51748&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=9
11. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#s1
12. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#c1
13. “Premiums Run Amok,” Center for American Progress, July 24, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51667&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=10
14. “Medical bills prompt more than 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies,” CNN, June 5, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51735&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=11
15. “Reality Check FAQs,” WhiteHouse.gov, accessed August 10, 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#c1

Sources for the Five Lies:
#1: “A euthanasia mandate,” The Washington Times, July 29, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51732&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=12
#2: “It’s Not An Option,” Investor’s Business Daily, July 15, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51743&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=13
#3: “Rationing Health Care,” The Washington Times, April 21, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51742&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=14
#4: “60 Plus Ad Is Chock Full Of Misinformation,” Media Matters for America, August 8, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51734&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=15
#5: “Obama’s ‘Public’ Health Plan Will Bankrupt the Nation,” The National Review, May 13, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51744&id=16778-1798074-fwhYRNx&t=16

I feel very fortunate to have been on stage with President Obama today at his health care town hall meeting here in Raleigh. Way kool!

I had made a request for tickets through the normal channels, but never heard back. They only called those who had actually been selected via a lottery. So I thought I would be spending today working as usual. NOT!

Monday afternoon I got an email from the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. I joined early this year after getting laid off and starting up my own company, Millennium Technology Consulting LLC. Needless to say I called the Chamber as soon as I read the email. They needed to send my information to the White House and told me I could pick up my ticket on Tuesday if all went well. Tuesday morning I got a call letting me know I could pick up my tickets which I did almost immediately.

I went down early and parked at Cameron Village then walked to Broughton High School where the event was held. After waiting for a while outside, we went through security and hung out some more inside. There were about 60 other small business entrepreneurs there and we just hung out until they let us up onto the stage. Security checked our names off the list as we went up. Then we sat around for another hour or so until the program started.

It was so cool being up on stage with President.  I was very fortunate to be able to shake his hand twice; once at the beginning and again at the end.

Of course you can see or read about his health care message, but here is the gist of it in an email I received from the White House a little earlier today. If you care about health insurance and what it means to all of us, please read this message and take action as suggested at the end of his message. I have already visited in person with Brad Miller, our Congressperson, and have already and will continue to call our U.S. Senators, Hagan and Burr. This is important. Please take action now!

If you’re like most Americans, there’s nothing more important to you about health care than peace of mind.

Given the status quo, that’s understandable. The current system often denies insurance due to pre-existing conditions, charges steep out-of-pocket fees – and sometimes isn’t there at all if you become seriously ill.

It’s time to fix our unsustainable insurance system and create a new foundation for health care security. That means guaranteeing your health care security and stability with eight basic consumer protections:

• No discrimination for pre-existing conditions
• No exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays
• No cost-sharing for preventive care
• No dropping of coverage if you become seriously ill
• No gender discrimination
• No annual or lifetime caps on coverage
• Extended coverage for young adults
• Guaranteed insurance renewal so long as premiums are paid

Learn more about these consumer protections at Whitehouse.gov.
Over the next month there is going to be an avalanche of misinformation and scare tactics from those seeking to perpetuate the status quo. But we know the cost of doing nothing is too high. Health care costs will double over the next decade, millions more will become uninsured, and state and local governments will go bankrupt.

It’s time to act and reform health insurance, drive down costs and guarantee the health care security and stability of every American family. You can help by putting these core principles of reform in the hands of your friends, your family, and the rest of your social network.

Thank you,
Barack Obama

This makes me feel old. Today, July 20, 2009 is the 40th, yes, the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first landing on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins held down the fort in orbit around the moon.

What an amazing day that was. I was fascinated by the space program then and I still am today. I watched almost constantly during each flight leading up to the big one and I remember the excitement everyone felt as the Apollo 11 flight progressed towards the climax of the landing. It was all that many of us could talk about.

On the evening of the landing I was so excited that I woke my then 2 week old son, Christopher, and held him up in front of the TV with its grainy, black and white images from the surface of the moon and told him that one day he could tell people he saw men walk on the moon for the first time. I know he does not remember but that is not his fault.

I remember Walter Cronkite, who died this last Friday, just three days short of this anniversary, and his child-like wonder at this amazing feat; his speechlessness when the landing occurred. We loved Uncle Walter and trusted him. Rest in Peace.

Those were heady days for the U.S. space program and for many around the world. It was an exhilarating and promising time with new accomplishments and discoveries almost every day.

Most of the electronic devices we use today are based upon technologies developed, adapted or perfected for the space program. The impact of the space technology on our lives on earth is incalculable. Despite the cold war and the rising conflict in Vietnam it was the peacetime program that drove our technology and the economy forward as much or more than any wartime program but without the terrible human and economic disasters of war itself.

I hope that we earth people truly have the desire, the drive and the spirit to move back into space beyond the near-earth environment in which the International Space Station resides and go to the planets and back to the moon. “We came in peace for all mankind.”

The health care crisis is crippling the United States. We need affordable health care and universal access to single-payer health care.

Go to Change Crew 07 to see what we are doing about it in Raleigh, North Carolina and how you can help.