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Locked on 10/15/2005 7:21:57 AM PDT by Sidebar Moderator, reason:
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Posted on 08/24/2005 9:50:25 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
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Still round the corner there may wait |
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Home is behind, the world ahead, |
Speaking of "24"... it actually came up in a meeting I had yesterday. Had to make an agonizing decision to turn down a project opportunity with the City of NY, and the FDNY.
Was a cool deal. All they wanted was a 3rd party reality check evaluation and opinion for the design spec for their new command center. Up to now their "command center" has been a pretty meager outfit. What they want to build is a state of the art War Room, and they used "24" as an example for what they're after. They want to be able to multiplex and interconnect live audio/video from any source, be it TV, on-scene commanders, cell phones, PDA's, whatever. Then be able to cross-patch phones with radio, with TCP/IP, with cellular... whatever... connect everything to everything and push it all up onto massive display screens all around the room.
Simple enough. [cough].
They wanted us (me and my IT shop) to write up an opinion of the feasability and workability of the design they've already got done. A reality check, as it were. But then we'd also have to be available for ad-hoc meetings in NYC in the coming months as the build-out begins. We're on the "preferred vendor" list for NYC, which means we can easily get this work *without* any bid process.
I turned it down. It was agony to do that. I'd give just about *anything* to have a peek a such a glorious system plan, let alone have a hand in it.
But we're not the right shop to do this. They need the guy that built the SOCOM OPCENTER in Qatar. Not us. Lots of it is right up our alley, but so much more of it is just stuff we don't do, ever. We're just not qualified to do it, or hold ourselves out as defensible Subject Matter Experts on that particular topic. We do some pretty cutting edge stuff in our IT shop, but not *that* stuff.
[sigh] It's heartbreaking. I would *love* to have an inside look at that system. :-)
No T.V. at all?
OK, I'll remember to avoid typing any TAR or LOST spoilers in here. :-P
Are you sayin' we should torch our college kids with gasoline? ;-)
I just hope they remember to give the good guys Dells, and the moles Powerbooks.
Or was it the other way around?
Man, that does sound like a bummer to turn down.
But you know you did the right thing if you guys weren't the right outfit to do it.
It would be cool to be allowed to see how it all came together though, wouldn't it?
Ah man! That is too bad. That would have been pretty sweet.
HEY!
In answer to your question about tv, there's a set in the house. But no cable and there's just fuzz on the other channels. It's ok, I don't need it. Watching dvds now and then makes me happy.
I can tell you what you'd do without cable...
After about four weeks of the new ones please tell me any that are worth my time!
Yah... I'd give blood to have a peek at the plan.
But what they need is somebody that's done that before. We've done some nifty stuff... but not that nifty. We can probably evaluate about 80% of the design, but its that last 20% that is really going to make the difference.
Somewhere out there... is the Lt Col, or the Sgt, or the Specialist that put together the massive fiber and multiplexer network for the gizmos in Qatar. That's the guy they need to find. That Command Center they set up was world class. Even cooler than what they do in movies. :-)
Good evening,.... I haven't been around today, pretty busy here.... have I missed anything?
Not much. There was this flood somewhere in the south. I forget where. Beyond that, not much going on. :-)
OK... I'll tell you one that just finished that's worth picking up if you can find it, and that's The 4400. Both the first season (6 hours) and the second season (13 hours).
Hey lookee there... a NOC Monkey. :-)
Something weird is going on with my wireless connection.
It's taken me all this time plus a reboot to post this.
My little monitor icon in the system tray keeps turning red and then back to blue.
I checked all of my cables to be sure nothing came loose and everything was fine.
Could it problems with my DSL rather than the wireless itself?
It seems to be working now, but in case I vanish, please know it isn't personal. :-D
Could be!
Was that helpful?
BTW, that is an adorable orangutan baby!
Too bad such cute critters could tear your arms off and beat you to death with 'em. ;-)
Ask the guy with the monkey ;~D
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