Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Maybe it's time to recycle Congress

We started out, as I recall, with a representative form of government which has gradually morphed into an elite group of lawmakers who are no longer accountable to the people who elect them.

For example, our Congress critters vote themselves raises even as the economy tanks because of their inept leadership. These same public servants have a health care system that is not affected by the health care legislation that was voted on today.

In case after case, we find the leadership of the House and Senate buying votes through special deals, funneling money to relatives through contract awards and special tax breaks, and holding closed-door sessions to circumvent established procedures.

I think the problem began with us voters assuming that our representatives would represent our interests and not realizing that once in Washington, DC. our representatives play to a different audience.

Too many Congressmen and Senators have turned a deaf ear to constituent's complaints. Some have even utilized union goons to intimidate voters who asked embarrassing questions. We are seeing a climate of corruption that is getting worse every month.

Even 30 year veterans like Rick Boucher seem indifferent to constituent's questions. Send him an email on a specific measure and you will get a canned response in a month or two with a few platitudes and no specifics.

The dark side of modern technology

Technology allows us to do more in less time than ever before, but there is a price to pay, especially when we try to upgrade a working system to another level of capability. That's when we have to look under the hood and our complacency is often shattered.

I spent the last two days installing a secure wireless network in my home and my workplace. This was not bleeding edge technology because I deliberately chose a two year old model in hopes that the product would be properly sorted out.

I Googled for evidence of problems and found plenty, but most of the complaints were several years old. Recent installations seemed to have gone well, so I chose a TRENDnet wireless router and hoped for the best.

I knew I was in trouble when the Network Wizard software that was shipped with the router failed to recognize the router. This "Network Wizard" was supposed to handle all of the messy details of the installation and couldn't even start. The installation went downhill from there.

I have had root canal procedures that were easier to experience...

I would have much preferred to follow the example of this cat and spend the time snoozing.

Instead, I subjected myself to another "learning experience" which resulted in me working furiously to get a system working instead of having a pleasant weekend with friends and family.

Those of you who are considering adding wireless capability to your home computer network might be interested in what happened. Continue reading after the jump.