However, as in real life, things don’t go according to plan, and a tragic event takes place. It reminded me of Lord of the Flies, and it ended just about as badly. But, I think you’ll find it fascinating. And it’s free on Netflix.

The story is simple, but the acting is superb, and his explanations stand up to all the attempts to trip him up. Soon, he actually has his friends convinced that his story is true. However, one or two of them, are so shaken by the  realization, that he has to lie to them to get them to calm down.

There’s a real stunner in this story, but you’ll have to watch the movie to experience it. It will be worth it.

A couple of co-workers in the story add a touch of zaniness, along with a buffoon boss. It has some really funny scenes, with a terrific ending. And it’s free on Netflix. Treat yourself to this gem–I think you’ll like it.

I did some reading and got some wonderful reference material at a site called SlateDroid. Many people have hacked the Novel, so I took the gamble. All you have to do is download a zip file to an SD card, and boot the machine. Could it be that simple? Yes, indeed, it was. I now have a fully functional eReader, as well as a bona fide Android tablet. I have the Google Market available, and I downloaded my favorite apps tonight, just like I was able to do on my smartphone.

It has a few deficiencies, of course. Response to touching is not as sensitive–it has resistive  technology instead of capacitive, but once you get used to pressing a little harder, it’s not a big deal. You also can’t do the magnify thing with your fingers, but the screen is so large, there’s no real need. It only has wifi capability, but most tablets are that way anyway.

The display is gorgeous, and it’s really nice to see a web page spread over a relatively large area instead of the tiny screen on a smart phone.

All in all, I think it’s a heck of a good deal. I’m having lots of fun playing with it. And I’m glad I took the hacking gamble.

Addendum–as of 12/8, the prices has gone up to $89.95. I guess they realize they’ve got a winner.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/IBM-Brings-Windows-to-the-Mainframe-298629/?kc=EWKNLEAU11082011STR2

But, there is a way to make Cobol do it. It’s not quite as easy to implement, because you have to use several steps, but once you set up the template, it’s very straighforward.

You may have used the Cobol debug option to execute displays and special logic in your program, and displaying a list of all paragraphs executed is an extension of that option. Here are the steps.

003100 CONFIGURATION SECTION.
003300 SOURCE-COMPUTER. IBM-370 WITH DEBUGGING MODE.
003500 INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.                       

Line 3300 is necessary, the lines before and after are just to show where to place it in your program. Then, right after PROCEDURE DIVISION, place this code. Line 12400 is necessary, as it’s a stopper for the DEBUG section.

011700 PROCEDURE DIVISION.
011800 DECLARATIVES.
011900 DEBUG SECTION.
012000     USE FOR DEBUGGING ON ALL PROCEDURES.
012100 DEBUG-DECLARATIVES-PARAGRAPH.
012200     DISPLAY ‘—PARA: ‘ DEBUG-NAME.
012300 END DECLARATIVES.
012400 MAIN SECTION.                           

Use this parm in your execution JCL:

//PS001   EXEC PGM=UMCCALL,PARM=’/DEBUG’

If you need to pass parms to your program, temporarily hard code it as a literal in your program, as I don’t think there’s an easy way to add them to this required parm.

There are some special compiler options that your shop has to have implemented for the standard Cobol compile–if these code changes don’t work, make sure that you have TEST(NONE,SYM,SEPARATE) in your compiler options.

I’ve used this version of Ready Trace in several different programs at GEICO, so I’m confident it will work for you. You probably won’t use it every day, but for those situations where you’re pulling your hair out trying to solve a problem, this may shed some light on your program logic.

Brenden really liked the Bird House. He said it was the best thing he’s ever done. We also saw elephants, orangutans, giant tortoises, giant pandas, leopards, elks, and emus.

The museum, of course, had gigantic dinosaur skeletons, but I think Brenden was pretty much worn out by then. So, at least we got some pictures he can reflect on. And he bought a 4 foot plastic snake that he can scare mom with (mom, be sure to act scared).

We relaxed Sat. night with pizza and hot wings. And that turned out to be the perfect way to end the day, because we got the pizza from Giuseppie’s, and we both agreed it was the best pizza we’ve ever had. The crust was actually chewy–that added to the uniqeness. The wings were fried, and just a little bit tangy, but they really hit the spot, too.

And then, on the way to Union Station on Sunday, we happened across a really good famer’s market. In downtown Bethesda, of all places. KK just happened to see it on a side street as we were driving through downtown. They had some really unique stuff–in addition to all kinds of fruit and vegetables, they had home made bread (we bought a ginger garlic loaf), flavored pickles (we bought a sweet-hot jar), aged beef from a cattle ranch, organic fullafels, and even barbecue. We shared a huge brisket sandwich that was probably the best we’ve ever had.

It was so big, people had to park in designated parking lots and take a shuttle bus to the battleground. Everything went like clockwork, and we were in the lot at 8:30 am, and at the event by 9:15. We did have to take a short walk, about a 1/4 mile, but walking by soldiers on horses, getting ready to take the field added to the excitement.

The weather cooperated, to a point. There was no chance of rain, but the heat was incredible–101, I think. We were lucky though–there were tents set up for shade, and we managed to grab a couple of chairs inside one, and were able to sit there comfortably for the duration. People in the high priced seats, the grandstands, were sitting in direct sunlight, so I didn’t feel too bad about taking the cheap “standing room only, $25″ option.

The battle started around 9:30, but the skirmish was way off, in a treeline, and all we could see was clouds of smoke from the gunfire. But, as the battle went on, the soldiers moved closer and closer, and were eventually right under our noses, firing rifles and cannons at each other. It was very exciting, watching history unfold right in front of us (well, use your imagination a little), but the heat got to us eventually. Around 11:30, we gave it up.

Before we left, we had some lunch, and ended up sitting next to a reenactor. He was from Cincinnati, and had come with a friend that had participated in the 100th reenactment 50 years ago, and wanted to be in this one, too. He was 81 years old. I wanted to walk over and get a picture of him, but he was sitting somewhere else, and I just couldn’t force myself to take the walk.

We got a little surprise when we asked how to exit. They had set up ropes blocking the way we came in. When we asked how to get out, we were told we had to walk around the opposite side of the battleground, which was about 2 miles. Problem solved when we asked for medical aid. We got a cart ride out. Whew, close call.

The audience was especially connected–you could tell from their emotion when they asked questions. One lady even teared up when she compared the suffering of her grandmother to the ordeal that Precious and Abdul (The Kid) went through in the books. In fact, I’m now inspired to read both books–the description of Precious never appealed to me, but now that I see what the message is, I have to be part of the experience.

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