Kathleen King, the CFO of Southern Company Services, provided lunch for all the Corporate Services employees at Farley today. The food was disappointing, but the CFO made amends by sitting with me. I was told to expect a Jennifer Aniston look, but I was a little disappointed here as well. Kathleen shared some information about the forseeable impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on the business at Southern. I’ve heard the name popping up a lot recently, but I assumed it was an NRC initiative directed at the nuclear side. From what I gather now, SOX is ultimately a reaction to the question of corporate accounting in the wake of Enron. Every publicly-traded company should be affected.
I tackled a problem with a workstation dropping audio during DVD playback today. The problem was perplexing in that it was limited to a specific part of a specific DVD; other DVDs played fine. That left the DVD itself in question, but it played without event on a nearby system. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling software, rebooting, etc. Nothing worked. I eventually noted a dull hum coming from the speakers even at minimum volume. I checked the audio jack and discovered a loose connection. With the audio jack firmly in place, all playback issues disappeared. I expected an all-or-none relationship, but I was proved wrong here. Lesson learned: check your cables.
The Dell 2001FP. In a word: awesome. I must have gaped at it for a good two minutes after I booted up. This is what my last monitor upgrade should have been. Last summer, I had high hopes that a high-end CRT monitor would breathe new life into my computing experience in a way that no other upgrade could. My Sony CPD-G520P is a nice monitor; probably one of the best CRTs available. It was bigger, sharper, and flatter than anything I had before but it ultimately failed to bring about the kind of change I had such lofty hopes for. But this new display is different. My 2001FP is sharp and vibrant; 1600×1200 now helps more than it hinders. Staring at this new 2001FP is like seeing GLQuake again for the first time; something just clicks. If this is the current state of LCD display technology, then I think those who have been sitting on the fence can finally start shopping. The gaming test remains, but I don’t think this display will disappoint.
A relaxed morning with sausage biscuits for breakfast; Kingdom Hearts and Cribbage for mid-morning activities. It was another short, but enjoyable stay at the Roberts’ house.
Scattered thunderstorms didn’t greatly hinder my travel plans. I made my grandparents’ house my first stop after I got back to Dothan. Their water line, air conditioner, garage door opener, television, VCR, telephone, and porch light were all destroyed by one lightning strike to a nearby tree last Thursday. A house on Lucy Lane less than 100 yards away from our own got it $140,000 worse.
I, Robot proved to be a fast-paced sci-fi thriller with a few good twists to keep you on your toes. I haven’t read any of Asimov’s works so I can’t comment on the film’s translation. Vance apparently wasn’t impressed because he fell asleep again during the movie. Aunt Kathy and I split a couple games of two-hand Cribbage to round out an enjoyable evening.
