It Isn't Easy Being Blue

This isn't about the blue stain on city hall fueling unlimited spending and it isn't about the blue hysteria around Biden reverting to the 2020 campaign tactic of hidin'. 

Nope. This is about the Blue Screen of Death.

Remember those? Thought that was cured didn't you? Well, you'd be wrong. Not much, maybe nothing, has changed with regards to the robustness and stability of the Windows platform, except maybe that the scope has expanded in breadth and severity. The story, accepted for god knows what reason, is that with adequate add-ons Windows can be made just as reliable as any other platform. Or so it was sold to enterprises, enterprises who also adopted remote management of software including updates. Once again we've proven: to err is human but to really foul things up requires a computer. A computer [system] was used for massive, rapid, unstaged, and apparently untested, rollouts of CrowdStrike FalCon updates. In the dead of the night. And sometimes, like this time, you wake up to dead systems. Millions of them. Maybe more.

And that is what just happened. And while some remote updates can be rolled back, when you get a Blue Screen of Death, you have a bricked computer, a doorstop. And keep in mind, this is a Windows platform, where all too many software updates require a reboot, and when that reboot hits the Blue wall, your computers are automagically Out Of Service. Return To Service requires organic intervention. That's right, manual recovery. One. Computer. At. A. Time. So while the rollback image may be available in short order, actually getting back to normal is going to take a long, long time, or an army of techs, or both. This is gonna make Y2K look like a joke (it kinda was). 

This will not only cost billions of dollars in lost revenue, it will actually cost lives. In the UK, doctors are triaging, taking only the most serious patients, leaving the others without care. Globally, hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries, prioritizing the most urgent. Care deferred is lives lost, and the corporate decision makers have blood on their hands. Think of that when you cannot buy that latte. 

But thinking locally, are we really impacted? After all, aren't our voting systems running atop Windows? Yes, yes they are. And here's where irony kicks in. The version of Windows in these devices is no longer supported, as in no updates, automatic or otherwise. Furthermore, they are not likely to run the CrowdStrike package, and it seems that while source code control is somewhat lacking, actual updates to the system are treated seriously, almost fearfully. Not that this happy circumstance is a result diligence or foresight, but this is Georgia and we'll take what we can get. 

So let's hope we've paid our dues.

What IS A Budget Anyway?

Council passed a budget touted as "holding the line" on spending and services and yet this budget includes salary increases. Hmmm...now just what line were they holding? It also has burgeoned to completely consume the revenue bump from the millage rate increase and even then requires draining $2M from reserves. Companies across America are managing financial hardship with pay freezes, layoffs and restructuring. But this is government run by bureaucrats who will do anything to up the headcount and increase pay. What line really concerns them?

King John rose to the challenge, at least verbally referring to what he saw as "an ugly baby" and suggesting "the toddler picture doesn’t look like it’s going to be much better." He also noted that it is a structural deficit that has him concerned. From this we can conclude that the structural deficiencies are intentional and the only option that we (or council) will ever be presented with to alleviate them will be larger tax increases. KJ also questioned the bureaucratic priorities. It is about time someone did. 

“I’m just concerned that we are funding things that the public doesn’t want and not funding things that they do want. I’m particularly concerned that we have sidewalk projects in this budget when we have heard from citizens that they want to slow down on them.”

There are likely many more opportunities to inject some sanity into the lunacy of city hall. But that's not going to happen. A high ranking bureaucrat told council that the budget can, and will, be modified throughout the year. “This is something that will be modified 20 or more times throughout the course of the year.” Again, is there really a line being held? Do they write this budget on toilet paper? They may as well. At least then it would be good for something.

Voter's Remorse?

Got it yet? No. No. This isn't about the disastrous vote for cityhood. Most of the disappointed Dunwoody-Yes-ers have moved on to warmer waters. No, this is about DeKalb County Schools.

For some mind-boggling reason folks in this county, without fail, vote in favor of every eSPLOST put before them. Even when it doesn't even include a single mention of what the money will be spent on. Now we find out that money from the first five may (or may not) have been spent but it sure as hell wasn't maintenance of our schools as they are sinking into a literal cesspool. Still think that "yay" vote for eSPLOST-VI was a good idea? 

Then there is the board, so bad it is an insult to every dysfunctional bureaucracy in the modern world. You DO know that YOU voted those fools in, right? And remember what Bush said after Trump was elected? "I'm not looking so bad right about now." The Jesters are probably thinking the same thing as the current District 1 either posts vapid puff pieces or worse yet goes before groups to discuss what is going on, only to continually say she's not going to talk about that right now. A spin on "trust me" which speaks to a level of trust that hasn't been earned. How 'bout that vote, eh?

Maybe next time there is a chance to vote the outcome won't be quite this stupid.

More Balls Than A Pool Hall

Sometimes you find yourself gobstopped by the sheer nerve coming out of city halls. A pandemic not only doesn't push the mute button it turns the volume all the way to eleven. The AJC deflects and defends with a headline indicating "DeKalb cities want cut of county's federal aid" when in fact the DeKalb Municipal Association wants to give the county 25 cents and spread the rest around to cities based on population. Mighty, well, gracious of them, isn't it? No mention of the common taxation principal of "means adjustment" that always seems to apply to individual taxpayers.

Nancy Jester raised the only voice of reason suggesting that these monies are not the CEO's personal slush fund and that county money should be spent on county priorities with the input and oversight of the county commissioners. That IS why we elect them. Isn't it funny how common sense seems so obvious when stated so clearly?

The mayors on the other hand...well let's just say there is more than enough hypocrisy in that group to last until the next pandemic. These are the folks that have taken properties off the tax rolls, starving the county and our schools, taking increasingly suspect PILOT payments all so they can cozy up to wealthy developers. Now they want to dip into our tax dollars, taking the lion's share, in order to help out their colleagues and bosses in the business community. None said it better than Dunwoody's own:

"The slower we react the fewer businesses are gonna be left for us to support, because once they close their doors it's gonna be really hard for them to come back."

A clear statement of policy. The role of Dunwoody is to support businesses, no matter what they do to your quality of life, no matter that they disrespect the community you built and disregard any ordinances or norms established in this city. Because the mayor is on their side, not yours.

Education Is Bankrupt

The AJC reports that Rudy Crew and 67 others applied for the job as Superintendent of DeKalb schools. And Crew was the clear winner. Really?

Let's review some key facts:

• Crew has not been a superintendent in over 12 years
• Crew left district leadership for a statewide public education position
• Crew left K-12 education for a leadership role at an urban college
• Crew has been accused of APS-calibre score manipulation
• Crew has been accused of financial mis-appropriation
• Crew has been accused of obstructing auditors and investigators

We are somehow to believe this is the track record best suited to lead DeKalb schools. It is now time for those who advocated for Crew to fully disclose in a quantifiable, score-able fashion, those qualities they saw in this candidate that not only overcame, in their judgment, these obvious handicaps but also made him superior to 67 other applicants. Otherwise we are left to conclude that the education system is fatally flawed, incapable of producing leaders of great capabilities and great integrity. Or perhaps it is not humanly possible to lead a system of this size and it is time break the problem, and the system, down into more manageable components.