REALITY CHECK: Apple Event?

Well, the Apple Event just finished, and according to MacRumor's up-to-the-minute feed of the event, several new devices were announced.

So, what've we talked about today? Some really cool products, a new Mac mini that runs 5x faster... Front Row with Bonjour, update will go out later this week... iPod cases, they're really, really nice. And, of course, the new iPod Hi-Fi.

Apple introduced two new Mac Minis running Intel processors, one running Core Solo (single core) and one running Core Duo (dual core), with built-in TV integration as well as FrontRow + remote. New iPod leather cases from Apple. And a new iPod Boombox/Stereo thingy with built-in integration for the iPod and Apple remote. Not bad. But I was hoping for "Just one more thing."

Ever wonder where blank text messages go?

I have several times - usually when feeling sick - sent a text message intended for CRChair or Shadowmom without a TO field. I was always surprised that nothing came back. Now I know why. Apparently, some guy who chose null@VText.Com is recieving them all!!!

Grizzly Man: Whodunit?

I e-mailed this to my family this morning, and then realized it might be interesting as a blog post. Essentially, I have my own theory on what happened to Timothy Treadwell, who is featured on the Discovery Channel special "Grizzly Man"... Oh, it is apparently also available on its own on DVD.

From the e-mail, "Discovery Channel has had on a program a few times now called GRIZZLY MAN. It is the story of an enviromental activist who tried to live with the Alaskan grizzly bears the way that Jane Goodall did with the apes. Of course, he was not there so much to study as to chase off hunters, report poachers, and generally "protect" the group that he found. The reason it makes an interesting movie is that (1) the guy did all the filming himself, and (2) after 13 years of filming the bears, he wound up being killed by one of them. It is a controversial film, primarily because it seems to glorify what the guy did (which broke Federal wildlife protection laws, and violated the traditions of the local Eskimos as well) and because it turns out that another innocent died there, too, his girlfriend who had warned him about the bears. I recorded it on Sunday on EyeTV, and watched it yesterday. It was interesting to me for two reasons: (1) he essentially tamed the local foxes (they treated him like the master to dogs) and (2) the filmmaker and the friends who reacted to the film afterward missed a major piece of their puzzle, in my opinion. The film talks a lot about how the eco-guy appeared to almost have a death-wish with the bears - that he knew how dangerous living with them was, and how if he had to choose how he'd die that he'd choose to die out there with them. They had a round-table with the friends afterward, where they criticized the filmmaker and also criticized the girlfriend who died with him. Essentially, their theory of it all was that he died as he lived, one of the bears just snapped, and the girl should have known what she was getting into. What they all miss is that it is likely the relationship with the girl is indirectly what killed him. They read a bit from his diary from the last year, and it turns out that he was very in love with this girl, but she wanted to marry him and go back to civilization. Which would mean leaving his bears... at least for more of the year than he was used to. The last year of film has many of his rants about "I would never leave my bears!" But to my ear, it is not a proclamation of defiance to the girl. It is him having an argument with himself. The "last gasp of freedom" that we men do, before we finally decide to commit to a relationship. I think he was preparing to marry this girl, and give it all up for her. And that changed how he acted towards the bears, likely making him more likely to be defiant in protecting her. And he says many times in the years before he died that you have to walk a fine line with bears - strong enough to deter aggression, but meek enough to not invite challenges. I suspect he could not find the meekness, and this lead to a confrontation where a 120 lb man had little chance against a 2-ton bear. I find it interesting that no one even mentions this possibility. But maybe I am wrong and just don't know the guy. But it was pretty obvious to me."

I don't know if any other Mod-Bloggers have seen the program. But I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

CNN Predicts "iTunes MOVIE Store"

Cnn is predicting that today's Apple "special event" will be nothing less than Apple's formal entrance into the online Movie business. With Steve Jobs's recent sale of Pixar to Disney - and thus his elevation to the Mouse House's #1 stockholder - speculation is that Apple is going to announce movies available for download thru the iTunes Music Store, and onto our iPods. If so, the announcement may be paired with a new Intel Mac Mini and/or a "wide-screen" iPod video.

The other possibility that no one has talked about is a new Airport Express or Extreme that uses the new 802.11n specification. This would provide AMPLE bandwidth for streaming video from your Mac Mini or iMac to your television. Since the 802.11n spec was just finalized, it is certainly a possibility.

NYT Sues Pentagon

I knew the New York Times was a liberal propaganda machine, but this just takes the cake. First in December they "broke" the story on the NSA eavesdropping program - this in itself should have been seen as a breach of national security but it wasn't and that's understandable. Now, they're suing the pentagon to get all the documentation on the program. Now I'm all for freedom of information when it's harmless and doesn't affect national security, but this is like saying hand over the blueprints to the B2 Stealth Bomber so we can publish them for foreign governments to see and exploit. This is a very important program for national security - heck even Democrats on the Hill will admit that - so why would this documentation be open to the public and more importantly why should the NYT be privy to such information? Do they have no concept of national security or is the importance of this program just slipping there attention at the moment. Either way, they have finally shown without a doubt that all they are is a liberal propaganda machine not worth of my time and especially my money.

What if Microsoft redesigned the iPod Packaging

This is too funny. The video graphically illustrates the difference between the Apple and the Microsoft philosophy of packaging, industrial design, and... well... committee design philosophy.

Society just doesn't "get" virginity

Okay, normally Mod-Blog posts are entirely family-friendly with not even a hint of something you'd want to have junior not read. But I feel compelled to post something that some parents might not want their kids thinking about. It is not dirty, but it does relate to the reproductive sciences. If this is an issue for you, please stop reading now and skip to the next post.

...Pause...

Still there? OK. this story has my head spinning, and I think it - more than anything else I have read recently - shows how schizophrenic and illogical human nature is. Here is the deal: women are going to plastic surgeons to have their hymens restored to how they were prior to the loss of virginity... so that they can lose their virginity again. Hunh?!

My readers mostly know I am still a virgin at over 30, so maybe I am not qualified to talk about this. But there seems to be something inherently WEIRD about a society that allows their teenagers to lose their virginity at virtually the earliest possible moment (some parents even rent the hotel rooms for after a big dance or buy the alcohol to help) - sending the message that virginity is of little to no value - and then spend thousands of dollars to have it "restored" in their middle age, so that older adults can reexperience deflowering. I can see it sending only two possible (and deeply disturbing) messages: (1) Virginity is not valueable but the process of deflowering is very valuable, or (2) Virginity is too special to be wasted on the young.

Am I reading too much into this? Maybe my married friends can help explain. But all I can think is this is the biggest distortion of the gift of sex/love that the Evil One has tried to pawn off on us yet.

Google Publishes Dashboard Widgets

Google has published three widgets for Dashboard on Mac OS X. One for checking GMail, one for publishing on blogger (which I happen to be using for this post) and one that shows your search history so that you can find past websites. All this is done in an effort to make Google's software more than Windows only. Perhaps yet another sign that Google intends to move away from the Windows platform.

The only downside to the blogger widget that I have seen so far is that it doesn't let you put in links. You have to save your post as a draft and add the link via the blogger WYSIWYG interface. We shall see how well they are received.

Choices...

Couldn't make it to BJs today...

Couldn't make it to BJs today...
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

...But they are up several cents too. At least to 2.229.

Technology Making Work Harder Not Easier

Going along with today's foul mood, here is an article that argues the current trend in technology is actually making our jobs harder by adding more distractions, and making focussed, dedicated work almost impossible. I must admit that while I enjoy Chat at work for the instant access it provided during crises, it can be quite annoying to have to carry on three concurrent conversations on different topics when everyone decides to "Chat" at once.

Can I borrow a feeling?

I am in a foul mood today, so this comic speaks to me in ways I don't want to talk about with anyone but a licensed psychiatrist or ordained pastor. Somewhere, someone will be thinking "What about your wife/significant other?" Problem is, one of the reasons for the mood is the lack thereof. Such is life.

Wait... Wait... Pass.

I must admit this has happened to me more than a once... well, twice... well, more than a hundred times, it feels like. The other times I can't help wondering if I am the other side of the equation.

The Bombing of the "Golden Mosque"

Having not been able to post yesterday, I had not chance to write about the bombing of the so-called "Golden Mosque" in Iraq and its repercussions. But it appears that we have a long journey ahead of us in dealing with the aftermath of the event.

For those who might have missed the news, the mosque was bombed on Tuesday by militants believed to be foreign fighters - probably Al-Qaeda. The "golden mosque" is of deep significance to Muslims, and to especially Shi'ite muslims who took the attack as a direct attack on their faith by Sunni extemists. In retaliation, Shi'ite extremists attacked several Sunni mosques and prayer gatherings on Wednesday, killing several clerics and guards. Now, sectarian violence is growing, and there are fears of a real Shi'ite vs. Sunni civil war within Iraq.

Personally, I doubt true civil war is likely to break out, so long as the Iraqi government and American forces get the word out that the attack was by foreign elements seeking to incite violence. It is critical that the average Iraqi understands that this is their own personal 9/11 - that their enemy is Al-Qaeda and not each other. But it will take time for the pure pain of the event to fade, and for a deeper, reasoned anger to take its place.

In the meantime, we Christians should be praying that God quells the violence and brings some sanity, and that civil war is not allowed to blossom.

Apple Special Event Feb 28

You may or may not have heard that Apple has announced a media "Special Event" for Feb 28. AppleInsider thinks it will be to announce the Intel iBook and Intel Mac Mini, along with a possible new feature to the iTunes Music Store to download full-length movies. My own guesses? Probably an enhanced iPod Video (possible the new full-screen one rumored, or maybe just a version with better battery life and surround sound output), an enhanced Airport Extreme which allows video streaming to your television, and possible a new option for the iTMS to allow high-quality or HD-quality video content for the future.

Then again, I have no inside information, and am merely speculating based on where I see Apple going in the near-term.

Bush bites back on Ports issue

President Bush has responded to critics of the port deal, and has an interesting perspective on it. His view is that it is CRITICAL to allow this deal to go thru to prove to the world that a non-terrorist Middle Eastern country can get a fair shake. His view is that failing to allow this to go through is telling allies in the Middle East that Americans view all Arabs the same way. Essentially, he is saying failure to let this go thru is racism.

"It sends a terrible signal to friends around the world that it's OK for a company from one country to manage the port, but not a country that plays by the rules and has got a good track record from another part of the world," Bush said...Bush, who has never vetoed a bill as president, said on the White House South Lawn: "This is a company that has played by the rules, has been cooperative with the United States, from a country that's an ally on the war on terror, and it would send a terrible signal to friends and allies not to let this transaction go through."

I am not yet convinced, but I have to admit he has a strong point. There are two sides to winning the war for the hearts and minds of the Arab world: (1) crush the centers of terrorism, and (2) prove that there is a place for Muslims in a Westernized world.

ALERT: New MacOS X Vulnerability!

This could be a serious vulnerability for MacOS X users (like most of the Mod-Blog staffers).

The vulnerability is caused due to an error in the processing of file association meta data (stored in the "__MACOSX" folder) in ZIP archives. This can be exploited to trick users into executing a malicious shell script renamed to a safe file extension stored in a ZIP archive.
This can also be exploited automatically via the Safari browser when visiting a malicious web site.

In other words, simply surfing to a website with a bad ZIP file on it, could cause a trojan horse program to be run against your computer.

The solution for now is (1) Make sure the "Open safe files after downloading" is NOT set in Safari and do not say "Yes" top open ZIP files from unknown sites, or (2) Use FireFox or Camino until this vulnerability is patched.

Nomad is iQue-ing up

Readers of Mod-Blog know that I am an on-again, off-again fan of the Palm platform for PDAs. While my first PDA was a Phillops Nino (running Windows CE), every PDA since then has been a Palm: Palm IIIc, Palm VIIx, Kyocera 6025, Palm Tungsten C, Kyocera 7135, etc. But when I got my T-Mobile SideKick II (integrated non-Palm PDA and phone), I decided to let go of the Palm history and go whole-hog on the new platform. It has been working wonderfully, and the only thing I miss is Laridian's MyBible which kept the Bible at my digital fingertips at all times.

Well, I have taken the plunge back into Palm-dom again. This time with the Garmin iQue 3600. "Why?" You ask. Because the Garmin provides one function that the Sidekick can not - GPS location and routing. With all of the weddings we have to attend this year in strange places, it is becoming obvious that having GPS and mapping software along at all times is EXTREMELY useful. Especially to a person like me who has so little sense of direction, I sometimes yet lost between my bedroom and the bathroom. It was available on Woot for about $250 (normally $500+), so I took a chance.

So far, the experience has been great. I will plan to post an article later in the week detailing: my general review, some cool bits of software I have found, and how I am keeping my Palm and Sidekick II in sync without losing data on either side.

Any port in a storm? No!

This article is a good summary of the "ports controversy" currently embroiling Washington DC. Work has been a bit intense of late - and I did not bother reading the news over the weekend - so I had missed much of the debate. Not sure how I feel about it, but am tending to err on the side of caution.

Here is the "netshell" version:
1. Currently, many of the major ports in the USA are run by a British company.
2. Ports are known to be the weakest current link in the War on Terror, as the huge number of containers coming in each day make it virtually impossible to check every one for NBC materials.
3. The British company that runs the ports is being bought out by a company based in the United Arab Emirites, from which some of the financing of 9/11 came. (Though not from official sources - from moneyed individuals.)
4. Therefore, many governors (and others) feel it is bad policy to turn over control of the ports and want the President to either block the sale, or cancel their contracts if the sale goes thru.

Childhood As We Knew it - gone.

I used to love recess when I was a kid - between kickball, dodgeball, baseball and about two dozen types of tag - not to mention trading cards and a bunch of other games - it was the best time of the day. Well, as some of you have heard dodgeball has been banned at many schools. I can understand that somewhat - I got hit in the head more than once and it never tickled - but still it was a fun game and not many people got hurt. Now they've banned tag! [FoxNews Video] The reasons - bullying. I never once felt like I was bullied into a game of tag and I don't know that I could think of one person that I've ever seen bullied into a game of tag. Generally the game is only played by those who want to play it - playing tag with someone that doesn't want to play is really no fun. I understand that bullies are terrible and we should do our best to prevent them, but at some level we need to let the politics of the playground play out. Bullies almost always get beat at something - if not beat themselves - and then a new politic is enacted on that playground. It's part of life, learning how to deal with unreasonable people that don't want to play by the rules. If we take this away from our kids then we're surely not doing them any favors.

Cheshire High Marching Band wins role in Spider-Man 3!

Some of you know that in High School I played in the Marching Band (Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band). One of the better bands we played against in competition was the one from Cheshire, CT. Well, Ain't It Cool News is reporting (apologies for the profanity on their site) and the Cheshire Marching Band website seems to confirm that they are going to have a part in the next Spider-Man movie!!! How cool is that?! The best we ever got when I was in band was playing the town-wise Memorial Day parade... which was more of a grueling test of endurance than something I'll be telling my kids about.

The truth had to come out sometime...

Approaching reasonable levels

Approaching reasonable levels
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Heh... He said "Fungible"

Personally, I want to buy a hybrid for two reasons: (1) it would save me personally money on gas, and (2) the technology is REALLY cool.

Why Geeks are Good Fathers

Having just bought a new Palm (first time I have had a Palm in 2 years, since buying a Sidekick), I was just reentering all of the holidays for 2006 and thus was just thinking about Fathers Day. Well, it turns out that there is a fun list of the top 10 reasons why Geeks make great fathers. Not sure all of them apply to me - one of them mentions how "handy" the geek is, and I am almost literally all thumbs - but I suspect they apply to more of the Mod-Bloggers than we might care to admit!

Proof 4-Wheel-Drive is useful in the suburbs

Proof 4-Wheel-Drive is useful in the suburbs
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Men are from Radio Shack, Women are from Venus

Not sure about the female side of the equation, but I think this captures the MALE side perfectly.

Llamas Join the Israeli Special Forces

This is the kind of story I would have written in jest during college when I wrote for a humor newspaper at my dorm. Proof again that truth is stranger than fiction.

Military sources said the Israel Army plans to use llamas for reconnaissance and combat missions in enemy territory, Middle East Newsline reported. They described the llama as ideal for special operations missions in Lebanon against the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah.
"The llama is a quiet and disciplined animal that can carry huge loads," a military source said. "Vehicles make noise and need roads and fuel. We've tried donkeys and they are not suitable for such missions."

One can't help wondering how long until the Iranians are crowing over their development of "Llamas of Mass Destruction" to show they are as tough as the Israelis. Hey, anything that keeps llamas employed, and off the streets, works for me.

The Makings of a Conspiracy

Well, things are off the scale over at DU with the Cheney shooting. We've got all the makings of a perfect cover-up from the top. The proof of a truly nafarious plot on the part of the White House and Cheney? Well, none. BUT there are some really tough and penetrating questions that need to be asked in order to disprove Cheney's guilt. For example:

Why were Cheney and Whittington in a "hunting outing" with two other women, not their wives? If these women are married, where were their husbands?

Why is Lynne Cheney so silent? Where is she?

Booze. The ranch owner mentioned there were "one or two beers involved." Cheney himself has vaguely confessed he may have had "a beer for lunch" prior to the shooting.

Even more puzzling is the fact that when the police finally accessed the scene of the shooting, they immediately exonerated Cheney of any wrongdoing, declared no crime had been committed, and that the case would not be further pursued.

Are we to HONESTLY believe that a very wealthy 78 year old man hunting with the Vice President (a Vice President who for the past few weeks prior to his trip was walking around aided by a cane and is known to have a recent medical history of knee problems) are really going to walk fetch their OWN game? REALLY???

The St. Valentine's Massacre, otherwise known as the Valentine's weekend hunting trip involved Pamela Willeford, as your post mentions. She was apparently there without her husband and Big Dick was there without his wife. Pamela apparently was the "third shooter" in the St. Valentine's Massacre. I haven't seen one talking head mention her. She has apparently disappeared from the face of the earth. Where's Rita Cosby? Did Pamela board a midnight flight and escape the scene of the crime like the current media obsession Neil Entwhistle? Here, we have the perfect juicy missing blonde white woman story that the media loves to obsess over. Well? Where are the talking heads?

A .28 gauge shotgun is often called a "girl's gun." It has a lot less kick than say a .12 gauge or .16 gauge shotgun. Maybe Cheney's "hunting partner" actually shot Whittington, and Cheney is taking the "fall" to keep her out of the limelight---keep press from asking questions: "Why was she here? What is the nature of VP's relationship....if she was an "eyewitness" why haven't we heard from her?

I have been having some discussions with my Sicilians friends over this. They are surprised we even know as much as we do. Furthermore they think what we do know is a bunch of hooey. The NY times says Mr Swiss Miss was there.....any proof? The papers report this took place in a field...any proof? For all we know this shooting could have happened in the Swiss Miss' bedroom. All we really know is Whittington got shot. That is it.

This thing is being managed and over managed and under managed, but trust me baby it is being managed. Oh and did you know Whittington is married to the sister of James Baker III...yeah him. THE FIXER. THE WORLDS BEST JANITOR.

Yes, as you can see there is a mountain of evidence pointing to the obvious fact that this is all a cover-up for the VRWC to continue on. To give credit where it is due, there was one poor fellow on the thread trying to be reasonable but he was mostly ignored, and argued against. Once again, welcome to the world of the reality-based community.

Extremism is Extremism

I hate to have to say it, but Ann really did go overboard with her most recent comments about Muslims, and her recent entry at her site doesn't help matters. John Hawkins has an open letter to Ann deploring her recent statements. She's far too sharp to be carrying on this way, and it's beyond disappointing to see the road she is taking.

Love is hard to come by when you're talking about homocidal maniacs. But if Christ is to be our example, then I see little choice left in how we deal with those who hate us. Her recent antics do nothing positive for conservatives or for the situation.

Fighting Hate With Humor

You know, there's a simple truth that most people don't realize, but would agree with if they thought about it. Theologians tend to know this if they've studied Jewish history at all. That simple truth is that Jews are funny people. They make some of the best comedians and satirical writers in the world. Many argue that this is because of their story, their history. Indeed, it seems fair to say that you would need to learn to laugh, even if in a cynical sardonic way, if you had the background the the Jewish people have had. Certainly there are sour Jews out there without a funny bone in their body, but these are the minority.

Consider this contest being run by an Israeli publishing company. The quote that captures perfectly well why the Jews are such a sharp group,

“We’ll show the world we can do the best, sharpest, most offensive Jew hating cartoons ever published!” said Sandy “No Iranian will beat us on our home turf!”

It's just that sort of willingness to be self-depricating that lets them survive the horrors that their people have had to suffer.

The problem with Mod-Blog is I am pretty sure *I* am pig in this cartoon

That's the problem with so many Masters degrees and Doctorates on one blog. ;-)

Is this the Sidekick III?

Long-time Mod-Blog readers know that CRChair and I are big fans of the T-Mobile SideKick and SideKick II. These cell phones serve as phone, PDA, web browser, e-mail checker, on-the-go instant messenger, and more, and have largely caused us to abandon our Palms. This site has up what they claim to be the first pictures of the Sidekick III. It does not look overly impressive as an upgrade, but here is hoping they offer high speed internet, a better camera, and perhaps the ability to act as a modem for your laptop!

The Music Note - Stavesacre "Collective"

I've decided to start up a new semi-regular segment that will focus on suggesting music that might otherwise slip under the radar for our readers. While I don't expect everyone to like all of my suggestions, I hope that this will at least serve to direct eyes to a few bands that I believe are worthy of attention.

My first review will be of Stavesacre's compilation album "Collective." This one is definitely not for everyone. Stavesacre is an often loud band. There isn't a lot of yelling, but the vocals are certainly passionate and loud in several songs. But they also don't shy away from slower, ballad style rock either. This album has the best of their first three albums (four of them re-recorded with a more mature sound,) plus a cover song.

One of Stavesacres strengths is their ability to mix uncompromising content with quality rock. You won't find them quite as straightforward as say, the Supertones, when it comes to their lyrics. But this is more a function of their love of metaphor, rather than any desire to shy away from discussing their faith and struggles. Much of Stavesacre's music follows a pattern of: sorrow or defeat giving way to hope and faith and finally finding comfort (although not always human happiness) in God's grace. This makes much of their music come across darker if you don't listen through to the end. This band has obviously been influenced by Ecclesiastes.

The song that begins this album, "At the Moment" captures this pattern:

with a sigh i greet the day
i feel the morning on my face
weary at the moment i awake
even as i lie
the thought returns to mind
"welcome to the rest of your life".
somewhere i've lost my way
from saved to stray and failing
in silence my spirit pleads,
"is the vision lost
or has it been passed on?
is there any use continuing?"

my soul will wait
my soul-wait silently
for God, my God(God my refuge)
and i will live
and i know some destiny
still waits for me

his faithfulness, my hope
it brings comfort to my soul
with a still small voice whispering,
"call upon my name and i
will set you up on high
be still and know that i am God

creation speaks to me
i'm stricken to my knees
in reverence and fear
forever my Almighty
the heavens in your hand
surpass the grains of sand
who am i before you
elieonai eli adullam [God my father, God my refuge; Hebrew]

Stavesacre also isn't afraid to take on social norms. In the un-official two parter "Colt.45" and "Zzyzx Scarecrow", they take on atheism and abortion:

I though about what you said
something occurred to me
you wouldn't ask me to turn my back on anything
if you believed that I believe
truth is I would love to show you
take "faith & works" to another higher stage
so there is little time for words you've heard
life and death are only steps, I'm not afraid of what comes next
what is enough in your opinion
perhaps my death would bring some substance to my claims

vanity of vanities this
life, love, art & sex
each breath you breathe is
grasping at the wind

He is my everything

we cannot both be right
about right and wrong
and God and man
right and wrong and God and man

i want what you ask of me this time
please step up to the line
He's my everything
action begs reaction

And

near the gateway to mojave
i saw a place
both beautiful and blistering
and cruel and cold the same
the sun was like a lion
bearing down upon its prey
death valley stained in crimson
for the moon to wash away
and i envisioned rows of gallows
for the world to look upon
one step too bringing order
to a planet tempting chaos

can you feel it coming down
the righteous wrath of God
revealed from out of heaven
for the innocent blood
crying from the ground

while the wicked seem to prosper
and glory in these days
as if their ways were hidden
as if they had escaped
we have lost our sense of justice
smearing lines of right and wrong
despising any standards
we blindly stumble on
bleeding hearts may scream compassion
what of those that cannot cry
a life is worth a life
justice...merciful and blind

innocent blood
is crying from the ground

it's coming down

One of the most powerful songs on the album is "Rivers Underneath," an exploration of conversion with undertones that foreshadow the death that we must all face. The writer considers the futile nature off all that has come before his moment in which he meets God

Somehow stumbled my way home, stood inside the doorway
Staring blind through rooms I knew were missing more than the paintings on the walls
It's hard to call this home, I'm more that just alone
Have I been passed by and left behind again

I feel it pulling me
It's heavy

No desire to wonder why the answers have so long escaped me
But the arms are open wide to rivers underneath the surface
Follow with the tide ease into the cooler water
Farewell and all goodbyes to the shoreline

Remember when we
Did you see them
Don't forget this moment ever
We belong this is home
I've missed you so
For now and always
I cannot recall
My life before this

But easily the most beautiful song on "Collective" is "Gold and Silver," written by someone who clearly sees that their own understanding will get them nowhere, especially in the most trying moments of life.

You slipped from my arms, I knew you had to go
Such a heavy heart, who could hope to hold
And I know where you're going, and that's the hardest part
No matter where tonight ends, you won't escape your broken heart

Stay a while

Helpless for the words, and it tightens up the air
It's not what you deserve, it's not for lack of care
Inside of me is screaming out, I'm praying for my prayers
Distracting and unworthy of each and every burning tear

Seems insincere

Do I see God in all of this, maybe all along
It's just that we're so small, and simply not as strong
Strong like wings of silver, and feathers made of gold
To carry heavy hearts, to cover all our helpless souls

To cover all of us

Under wings of Gold and Silver sometimes we have to hide
For shelter from this bitter winter at least tonight

If it were mine to give I'd give you your own time
Turn it back or forward whatever you decide

Stay a while

As stated earlier, this is not the album for everyone. However, Stavesacre melds powerful imagery with powerful music that takes us on a journey into the darker parts of our souls and yet refuses to linger there. And that is what ultimately separates this band from so many other rock acts. They are filled with the hope of Christ, even as they feel the burdens of this world. And that is the power that lifts them above the darkness all around them.

Why Bother With Stores?

This article about more people spending free time online is a great way to point out something I recently realized. Let me set the story up.

My wife would like to get me two books for my birthday, two books that I very much would like to read about WWII. She checks on Amazon for pricing and finds that she could order both for $30 plus shipping (unless it's eligible for free shipping which most things at Amazon now are.) Ok, fair enough. But we're going to be out that evening anyway so we decided to look at the stores around the area. The cheapest we could find the books were $25 a piece at the store. Borders and Barnes & Noble both charged full retail price for the books. We didn't bother looking elsewhere since those two are usually in line with the pricing of other book stores in the area. So we can order the books for $30 and never have to leave the house, or we can spend the gas money and go out and get them both for $50, plus tax. Now the price difference is bad enough.

But have you been to the Borders web site lately? Try typing in www.borders.com Go ahead...Hey! This looks like Amazon! Well, wait a minute...It is Amazon! So then...Hold on, I'm trying to get my mind around this. I can go out and spend extra money to buy the book from the store or I can order it online, from the same store working with Amazon, and get it for almost half price.

So then, this leads to the moment when Agent Smith is holding Neo down on the tracks and smugly says, "Do you hear that Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability." But this time, Neo doesn't toss Agent Smith off and avoid the train. It is, indeed, inevitable that stores will soon be utterly useless. And they have brought it on themselves with such ridiculous business practices. Sure, there will always be stores. But they'll be quaint little relics, and people will wander through to reminisce about the "old days" before the internet took care of all of our needs. And little Billy will look up and say, "Grandpa, what is this place?" Grandpa will say, "Well Billy, when I was a child this was how we did ALL of our shopping. And then the internet came along and you could get everything cheaper online so no one EVER bothered to go out anymore. Now, Billy, put your air filtering mask back on or else you'll catch some air-born disease because your young lungs have never breathed natural non-filtered air before and all these naturally occurring bacteria floating around could kill you."

First True MacOS X Virus? NOPE! (Updated)

Probably not. But MacRumors.Com is reporting on a new piece of code which is causing many users problems.

On the evening of the 13th, an unknown user posted an external link to a file on MacRumors Forums claiming to be the latest Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 screenshots. The file was named "latestpics.tgz"
The resultant file decompresses into what appears to be a standard JPEG icon in Mac OS X but is actually a compiled Unix executable in disguise. An initial disassembly (from original discussion thread) reveals evidence that the application is virus-like or was designed to give that impression.

This is a good time to remind folks about ClamXAV which is a FREE Virus Scanner for MacOS X. Download it now, and be sure to run it at least weekly.

UPDATE at 2 PM: This site confirms this is not a true virus but a trojan horse. The difference? A virus can spread on its own by simple exchange of files. A trojan horse requires the user to perform actions. In this case, unless you uncompress the file AND OPEN THE RESULT you are safe. Just receiving this in the mail is no threat.

The "No Smoking Section" is... most of Calabasas, CA

Calabassas, CA has now passed the most restrictive smoking ban in the country.

The new Calabasas secondhand smoke ordinance, which would prohibit smoking in all public areas of the city including parks, sidewalks and outdoor businesses, will take effect by the middle of March, city officials said...The city council agreed to allow smoking in the following areas:
-Private residential property, other than housing used as a childcare or health care facility when employees, children or patients are present
-Up to 20 percent of guest rooms in any hotel or motel
-Designated smoking “outposts” in shopping mall common areas that are at least five feet away from any doorway or opening that leads to an enclosed area.

I am not a smoker. I hate smoking. But I have to say that it is time for the American society to make a decision. This incremental approach is silly, and just makes smokers feel like second-class citizens. We need to either (1) decide Smoking is a clear and present danger to society and ban it, or (2) decide that Smoking is something adults can do and make up their own minds about, in which case, we should lay off these draconian measures. I know many states would fight a complete ban - tobacco is a historically important - but it seems like these half-steps are just too painful.

Australian timing stinks

So, the cartoon riots are finally starting to calm down... except in Pakistan where people are still dying. The Arab world is still profoundly disturbed, but beginning to gain a sense of perspective and the demonstrations are reduced. So what do we do next? Well, if you are the Australian news program, Dateline, you release new photos from Abu Graib showing alleged torture... that really tell us nothing new. That's right, the new photos/videos are not new. They do not document any additional alleged torture, abuse, or violations. These are just more of the same. And guaranteed to stir the Muslim world back to fiery outrage.

There are some stories that need to be told, and darn the consequences. There are other stories that have already been told, and the retelling of them may fill a deadline but can only hurt everyone else. They should have run with their second story: "Puppies are cute! News at 11".

Clueless Mac Commentator Strikes Again

Is everyone ready for their clueless inflammatory Apple rumor of the week? I thought so. Dvorak today tries to make the claim that Apple is preparing for the ultimate customer betrayal - switching all Macs to run Windoze. It's all about market-share, allegedly.

Apple has always said it was a hardware company, not a software company. Now with the cash cow iPod line, it can afford to drop expensive OS development and just make jazzy, high-margin Windows computers to finally get beyond that five-percent market share and compete directly with Dell, HP, and the stodgy Chinese makers.
To preserve the Mac's slick cachet, there is no reason an executive software layer couldn't be fitted onto Windows to keep the Mac look and feel. Various tweaks could even improve the OS itself. From the Mac to the iPod, it's the GUI that makes Apple software distinctive. Apple popularized the modern GUI. Why not specialize in it and leave the grunt work to Microsoft? It would help the bottom line and put Apple on the fast track to real growth.

Let me be the first to say that this is NOT going to happen. First, it completely goes against the Steve Jobs mantra of "controlling the whole widget." Second, if Apple wanted to mint a MacOS that ran on Windows, or ran Windows, it had its chance with MacOS X. Third, the only way to really compete in the Windows PC space is to keep margins low and prices low - this is why Dell beats out almost everyone else - and this is not how Apple's model works. Fourth, Apple knows that making yourself 100% dependent upon Windows is a recipe for disaster - this is why they released iWork as a Microsoft Office competitor.

Of course, if you asked me a year ago, I would also have said a switch to Intel was impossible.

Playstation 3 Launch Date: Sept 21?

This site claims that this is the official launch date for the new system, which will include Sony's own clone of XBox Live, called "HUB".

Early childhood Cheney photo

Whilst surfing online, I found an early childhood picture from the Cheney family collection. Okay. Really this is an 1850 oil painting from Minaly Kovacs, thank you to the Fine Arts in Hungary website, www.hung-art.hu

My Advice to the Cartoon Protesters

While things are beginning to calm down elsewhere, the cartoon protests continue in Pakistan and are claiming more lives. However, this time the lives taken appear to be thru carelessness, as the protesters fire guns into the air.

I have not been sympathetic to the protesters during this time, but have been annoyed by how many Westerners are more eager to poke and prod the Muslims by reprinting the cartoons over and over, rather than allowing a true dialogue to emerge. Some westerners are doing this out of principle, but it really seems like others are doing it out of spite. And it is not helping.

So, if the West will not behave, let me give some advice to the East. The forms of protest you are currently using are NOT speaking to the Western mind. We see you venting anger/passion in an uncontrolled way that costs YOU nothing, but punishes innocents. It tells us that you are like an angry child - lashing out blindly because of uncontrolled emotion, rather than having a philosophical/religious point to make. This is likely not how you see yourselves, but it is how the West sees you. It makes us LESS likely to accept or respect anything you have to say.

If you want the West to pay attention, learn from the successful protesters against the West: Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others. We respect and listen to those who protest by showing THEY are willing to pay the price for their beliefs. These men went on hunger strikes, staged peaceful sit-ins, calmly endured arrest, and would have died (did die) for their beliefs. All without hurting innocents. If you want to get our attention, have 10 or 20 of the most respected leaders go on a public hunger strike. Have them say that they will not again eat, until there is an acknowledgement of your grievances.

This will get MASSIVE play in the Western press, and sympathy from the Western peoples. It will put incredible political pressure on Western Leaders, from their own people. And it will show that your fight is not merely the public venting of general anger or frustration. This will speak to the West.

It is time for the Muslim world to take one step in trying to speak the language of the West. This is a small gesture, but one which will get our attention. If you can show that you understand us enough to protest non-violently, then it will encourage us to take the next step toward understanding you. It will also show that the ancient culture of the Middle East understands a way of fighting that is NOT Bin Ladenism. A movement of non-violence within the Muslim community would be the ultimate rejection of 9/11 in the eyes of the Western World. And that is what we have been waiting for.

Posted without further comment

Wal-Mart ordered to offer Abortion Pill in Mass.

According to FoxNews.Com, the state pharmacy board has ordered Wal-Mart to begin stocking RU-486, the so-called "morning after pill". Wal-Mart has refused to stock the pill, which causes the body to abort a fertilized egg, because of concerns about it being viewed as an abortion pill. Previously, the only state where they carried it was Illinois, where state law required it. The lawyer who won the case is threatening to sue in the other 48 states if Wal-Mart does not change its policy.

I understand the need to ensure that a pharmacy does not selectively stock drugs in order to control profits (i.e. refusing to stock generics, because name brand is more profitable) or to guard against potential discrimination (i.e. refusing to stock sickle cell anemia treatments to discourage african-american customers). But this seems different to me. The abortion pill has only one potential use (that I am aware of) and if it is morally repugnant to the pharmacist, does the state have the right to force the issue?

Sony Brings Rootkits to DVDs, too

You may recall a month or two back when Sony was being attacked for using a Rootkit as part of their copy protection scheme on CDs. (A Rootkit is a program which takes over some of the administrative privileges on your computer, letting it do high-security things like deleting files, and hides itself to be invisible to the user. The Sony Rootkit was especially bad as viruses could piggyback on it, and themselves be hidden.) There was a HUGE public outcry. This software was installed without (and even contrary to) customer consent, and could be used to hack into the computer of anyone who played one of these CDs.

Well, now it appears Sony is trying the same thing with DVDs. It is only in the German edition of MR. AND MRS. SMITH, so far. But it proves Sony has learned nothing from the Rootkit fiasco. Expect legal action here and more calls for boycotting all of Sony's technology - including the PlayStation 3.

iMac Problem Explanation: Uninterruptable Power Supply

I posted something about this as a comment on the last story, but it seems worth mentioning here as well, as I am hearing from others with this same issue. To recap: I was having problems with my 2 GHz G5 iMac where it was inexplicably shutting down at random intervals (and one time starting up inexplicably). The issue was resolved when I (1) ran Virex which removed two "possibly infected" files and (2) I removed the USB cable from the Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) that had been hooked up to the iMac. Well, it turns out that the UPS was the problem.

For those who are not aware, MacOS X has a built in ability to communicate with most modern UPS systems, so that if the UPS is tripped (i.e. power is lost) the iMac can use the extra time provided to shut down gracefully. The connection is via USB cable.

It turns out that iMacs often have problems with UPS systems. A small problem with the UPS circuitry can trip complete failures in the iMac. In this case, the UPS itself was working fine as a battery - 100% charge and it did not kick on during the failures. But the circuitry SIGNALLING a failure appears to have problems. Simply removing the USB cable and deactivating the UPS software fixed the issue.

Sigh. And I thought I was being responsible making sure my iMac was on an Uniterruptable Power Supply - protecting my investment. Instead, I may have inadvertantly caused some damage.

In Memory of Phil Brown

Phil Brown is better known as Uncle Owen in the original Star Wars died Thursday. He had a scant few lines, but he will forever be remembered for being the responsible uncle that took Luke in and brought him together with C3PO and R2D2. Here's to you uncle Owen, a 21 thermal detonator salute just for you..

Happy Valentines Day

A quick happy Valentines Day to our readers. A special VERY Happy Valentines Day to QuizWedge (still on his honeymoon) and PureNard (preparing for his own wedding in April). May today be a special day of love and affection.

For our single readers (and writers, like me), hang in there. Maybe next year will be better. Take solace in the fact that you probably saved over $250 in chocolate, flowers, and dinner. Or if you are a lady, take solace in the fact that you probably saved yourself from the effort of figuring out how to dump him in a few days when you realize he completely forgot to get you anything for Valentines Day.

Free conversion to PDF online!

This is less important for MacOS X users who have PDF conversion built into the OS, but our Windoze or Linux-based friends may be interested in this site which will convert ANY Web Page, Word document, or Excel document into a PDF for Free! This may be useful if you want to send out something to your business or personal contacts, without fear of it being copies or (more ominously) modified along the way.

Lego Star Wars: Original Trilogy has been announced!

One of my favorite games of late for the PS2 (other than Star Wars: Battlefront II) was LEGO STAR WARS, where you play as a team of Jedi working your way thru the Prequel Trilogy and facing baddies. It is sort of Mario meets Star Wars, with a LOT of humor thrown in. (Where else can you disassemble an enemy craft and reassemble it as a fighter of your own?) Well, not they have announced LEGO STAR WARS II where you play thru the Original Trilogy. I can't wait to see what they do with this one!

Virus Issue on a Mac?

Not sure what to make of this. When I left for QuizWedge's wedding, I left on my G5 iMac (display off) with EyeTV installed to make sure that I did not miss the newest episodes of SMALLVILLE and MYTHBUSTERS. I thanked God yet again that EyeTV is so reliable and MacOS X is rock solid. When I got back, I was SHOCKED to see that the iMac was OFF. I suppressed the desire to hit something, and decided that I had probably accidentally turned off the iMac on the way out the door. I turned it back on, and was amazed when I saw it spontaneously shut down minutes later. I have been trying to diagnose the issue over the days since then, seeing the iMac stay up for hours at a time sometimes, minutes at other times, and finally restarting one time at 1 AM and waking me up. I checked out the UPS I had it hooked up to, the hard drive, the hardware, etc. and everything looked kosher. But it was unstable enough to actually shut down during an iTunes download of the newest Law & Order episode.

Finally, I realized it has been months since I had run Virex or ClamXAV (virus scanners). I figured, why not?, and went ahead and ran Virex. (After updating it to the newest defintions.) It did indeed find 2 "possibly infected" files, and deleted them. It would not tell me anything else. But after removing those files, the iMac remained up for more than 24 hours! I am still waiting - you never know - but it appears I may have been infected with something (virus, worm, or trojan horse).

Anyone else experiencing similar issues?

Follow-up on Bottled Water Crisis

You may wonder whether I am serious when I say that I was going to "do something" about my use of bottled water. Well, so far, so good. Over the weekend, I picked up a Thermos Beverage Bottle (No, Muse, not the pink one) for my hydration needs. It is stainless steel with very little plastic in its construction (so no problems recycling it and little oil used in building it) and it keeps cold stuff cold for up to 12 hours. So far, I have been filling it with just cold tap water (plenty cold, due to the near-zero temps surrounding the weekend blizzard) before bed (10 PM), and finding it is still cold when I get up at 6 AM. Not bad! I am adding a few ice cubes today for the work day to see how it does. But between this and my Brita pitcher, I should be able to get clean and clear and cold water without buying any more of the bottled stuff.

(I am now waiting for someone to come along and tell me how horrible Brita pitchers are for the environment.)

VP Shoots Hunting Buddy in Accident

I tried NOT to post this, but in all fairness how can I not? This past weekend VP Dick Cheney shot a hunting buddy while seeking out quail. No, there is not hint of foul play, the buddy is in stable condition, and everyone agrees it was an accident. But you have to wonder when you hear that no-spring-chicken-with-heart-problems Cheney has shot a 78-year-old friend, whether perhaps someone in the Secret Service (or the political advisors) should have advised him to stay home. After all, an ex-VP with a hunting accident is no news. A current VP is not only "news" but is likely to become a staple of political cartoonists, who can use the image for all kinds of humorous effect.

The only way this could have been worse would be if he had shot DAn Quayle. But then, I am not sure any jokes could be told without everyone groaning in pain.

This is amazing to see

Gotta love a high voltage arc of electricity!

Blizzard in Shelton, CT

Well, CRChair and I are snowed in today from the current blizzard hitting the Northeastern USA. So here is a quick pic of our neighbors to give you an idea of how much snow has fallen as of 9:00 AM (it is expected to last until late afternoon or early evening). Click on the picture to bring up a video of the snow falling.

I am sure our CA and WA readers are feeling a mix of envy (the part of them that misses snow) and relief (the part of them that DOES NOT miss shoveling snow). Personally, I am just thankful that it is Sunday (no work) and I have the ability to telecommute for tomorrow, if things do not clear up.

"This could be love..."

A jocular moment from QuizWedge's wedding that I thought Mod-Bloggers would enjoy sharing.

This is fun!

Upload a photo and morph it to see how you'd look as different kinds of people. Tip: Doesn't work quite as well if you have a beard, as I do.

Bottled Water Crisis?

If you are like me, you sneered at the health nuts who first began the bottled water craze. But nowadays, it is fashionable to drink the water and it is an easier to buy a water from the vending machine than to carry around a thermos bottle to refill from a public water fountain. So both the motivated (health nuts) and the lazy (the rest of us) are buying more and more bottled water, despite the fact that it costs hundreds of times more than drinking from the tap.

Well, it appears we have a good reason to go back to carrying around thermos bottles.

The study said that demand for bottled water soared in developing countries between 1999 and 2004 with consumption tripling in India and more than doubling in China during that period.
That has translated into massive costs in packaging the water, usually in plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is derived from crude oil, and then transporting it by boat, train or on land.
"Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year," according to the study. "Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year."

I wonder how long until the eco-nuts are debating whether fur, bottled water, or genetically modified foods are the worst threat to the planet. Methinks maybe this should be part of a Bush plan to reduce our dependence on foreign oil as well.

Catholic Website Challenge: Prove the Earth Revolves Around the Sun!

This leaves me speechless. Catholic Apologetics Internations (no I have no idea who these people are or their "official" relation to the Catholic Church - their website is less than enlightening on that point) is betting $1000 that no one can "prove" this, thus showing that the Bible is right when it allegedly states a geocentric theory of the universe. Their listing of verses which "prove" the Bible teaches this are highly dubious (I admit I did not read the ones from the apocrypha).

There are of course two problems with this challenge. (1) Relativity showed us that technically you can say any point in the universe is stationary, and the math works out for the motions of other bodies relative to it. Mathematically, it is equally valid to say you died because the car hit you at 200 MPH or you hit the car at 200 MPH. (2) The reason why scientists accepted the heliocentric theory of the universe was a well-known tool of logic called "Ockam's Razor", which can be paraphrased as "the simplest explanation is usually the right one." The geocentric theory only jives with the observed motions of the planets when you invent things like epicycles (i.e. planets backing up in their own orbits) or posit some kind of lensing which fools the eye (and satellites outside the atmosphere). There is no reason why epicycles or lensing could not exist, but it is much simpler to simply posit the sun as the center of the universe.

This is silly, but I have no doubt it will get a lot of play from anti-religious cycnics. I believe scripture is true and inerrant in its original writings. That does not mean that I do not think it uses some figurative language here and there ("He's as fat as a cow!" does not imply direct equivilence in weight between human and bovine), or that in some places plain speech is intended to imply celestial facts (I say "The sun rises in the east" even though I believe it is the Earth turning that causes the appearance of a rising sun). Sigh. Josh McDowell once said, "Never demand of scripture, anything you would not demand of yourself in everyday speech."

Now THIS is a cartoon people should be upset about

Why am I suddenly glad Google did not exist when I was in High School?

Cartooon Wars

Well, it looks like we know what will ultimately be responsible for WWIII, cartoons. Here's a rundown of the most recent entries.

New Tomb Found in Eqypt!

For the first time since 1922, a new tomb has been found in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings! The last discovery was King Tut's tomb, which ignited an international resurgence of interest in Egyptian history and culture.

Egypt's antiquities authority has said only that the single-chamber tomb contains five wooden sarcophagi, in human shapes with colored funerary masks, surrounded by 20 jars with their pharaonic seals intact -- and that the sarcophagi contain mummies, likely from the 18th Dynasty, some 3,500-3,300 years ago.
Further details were expected Friday, when antiquities chief Zahi Hawass was to unveil the tomb.

I have been listening to a course-on-cd this week about Near Eastern Mythology, so there seems to be a sense of kismet here. But I truly hope this does not bring back the "Walk Like an Egyptian" craze.

Apple Faces Anti-Trust Lawsuit

Having lost such a suit to Microsoft in the 90s, there is an inevitable irony that Apple itself appears to be facing an anti-trust lawsuit in the 2000s! The allegation is being made that Apple's iPod being tied to the Apple iTunes Music Store makes a defacto monopoly, despite the large market elsewhere for digital music and digital audio players. The complaintant has to prove that Apple's ITMS and iPod form their own unique market, and thus lock out all other competition.

I think this is an uphill battle, but it may not be entirely without merit. Of course, Apple can defuse this attack by simple licensing their FairPlay technology to either another MP3 player maker (allowing them to play ITMS music) OR to another music store (allowing them to sell music specifically made for the iPod). I suspect we'll see that happen within a few months, anyway.

Ever wonder if you have a brain parasite?

According to this article, it is about a 50/50 shot for most of us. I am wondering also - since this parasite most often lives in cats - if perhaps this explains some of the personality differences between cat and dog owners.

Observations from Recent Marriages

As I mentioned earlier today, these last few years have been the Age of Marriage for many of my friends (though not, unfortunately, for me). I thought I would share a few observations from these marriages (including others from several years back) that might be useful to our readers… or at least useful to me as I seek my own soulmate (if she exists).

• Seeking a mate among friends is often the best course. Of the 9 marriages I am thinking of, 6 were begun as friendships. This provided a strong foundation, and meant that much of the initial discovery that goes along with "dating" (in quotes because some used the "courting" system instead) was already done.
• Seeking a mate among other Christians is the best course. All of the 9 marriages I am thinking of were between Christians, most of them between Christians of similar background. (I suspect this is a general rule that marriage between people of the same religion is preferable.) This provides a basic common foundation for life, and removes a lot of the questions in raising children.
• Intimacy is great, but save the closest kinds for after marriage. I am not just talking about sex here (though that is included). I have several friends who bought cars, houses, or pets prior to marriage… some even prior to engagement. With one exception, this lead to disaster when stresses on the relationship were translated into stresses in joint ownership which further weakened the relationship, ultimately ending up in a split. Stresses in a relationship are inevitable, but waiting for "ours" to come until "we" are a unit keeps peripheral issues out of the equation.
• Parents need to decide early to be hands-off on a relationship and a marriage. There is no more powerful influence on a relationship and a marriage than the parents. Every word has an impact, for good or ill. Parents who resolve to not interfere early on will ensure that their words are light, and can reserve the "big guns" for major issues where their influence is most needed. If parents are unable to do this, a couple needs to decide early to use distance or clearly set boundaries to create these same conditions.
• The wedding is a ceremony and the reception is a party, don't make them more than they are. The weddings I have attended have ranged from short ceremonies with a snack afterward, up to a grand multi-hour ceremony with multiple receptions. Neither is wrong. But in planning a wedding there are enough stresses and strains to go around, not to mention expense. Keeping in mind the essentials ("I do") and the true scope ("Congratulations. Go and live together in joy.") can help momentary obsessions on what color the napkins should be from becoming pressures that blow apart the whole relationship.
• The job of the groomsmen is to keep the groom sane. That's it. If you are asked to be a best man or groomsman, your main concern should be helping the groom hold it together. Everything else is peripheral. A wedding is stressful in the details ("What if I forget which is the shrimp fork?!") and the high level ("Wow, I am now completely responsible for another human being's physical and emotional well-being.") and can easily cripple the mind of the strongest man. By making sure your every effort is dedicated to keeping him sane (and yes, this means doing stupid things like picking up the flowers for him, because he promised HER that HE would take care of it), you will do your best part toward making the wedding a positive experience.

I am sure there were other lessons that I have learned that I should put here, but that is much time as I can dedicate to this project for the moment. Feel free to chime in with your own comments below.

Warning! Cynicism Overload! Warning!

For the record, I have been to 4 weddings in the last 3 years and will be attending another in the next 2 months. All of these relationships are strong and loving, and have NO relation to the comic I am attaching below. But sometimes you read something so dense in cynical power, that you just have to share it with others.

And yes, I am still single. Maybe the fact that I find this funny is indicative of why. Or maybe I just really need the right woman... to hit me over the head with a baseball bat. ;-)

Is "Global Warming" an Evangelical Issue?

I mentioned global warming the last issue without further comment, because it seemed unimportant to the cuteness of the post. But now it appears that I have to comment. the New York Times is reporting that a group of 86 Evangelical leaders, including Rick Warren who is the author of the "Purpose Driven Life" used by many churches in the last year or so, has endorsed the "Evangelical Climate Initiative" to push legislators to reduce greenhouse emissions and battle global warming.

Global warming is a major issue on the political front, and personally I am not yet convinced that human activity has any role to play in the cyclical progress of warm climate to ice age to warm climate seen in the history of this planet. But it seems to me that either way this is not an issue that Evangelicals should be grouping together about. Not that Evangelical Christians can not have strong beliefs about this, or that they should not express those beliefs. But forming a uniquely religious organization to deal with global warming is wrong-headed. There are plenty of existing organizations to join which address this issue. Let's keep our Christian leaders focussed on Christ and Him crucified and risen again, and leading their people in that way.

Polar Bears an endangered species?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering whether Polar Bears should be classified an endangered species. Unlike the spotted owl, Polar Bears can probably take care of themselves against human hunters, but pressure from global warming is harming their habitats.

I think they just need to drink some more Coca Cola, personally.

A little WINE with your Apple, Sir?

WINE is an Open Source project began many years ago to allow UNIX users to run Windows applications natively on their own operating systems. It duplicates the Windows API without ever using any Windows code, actually offering better backwards compatibility than Windows XP! The problem for Mac users up until now is that it uses direct commands to the X86 (i.e. Intel) CPUS, so it was not useable under PowerPC. Well, now that Macs are running on Intel chips (don't know if I'll ever be able to write that without shuddering), WINE is running on MacOS X!

The link is an early alpha build, so this is not ready for the average user yet. But it shows immense promise. WINE runs Windows applications as though they were native applications (like the old dream of the Red Box), offering Mac-like experience on Windows apps. Very cool. The only concern is if it drives developers off the Mac platform because "Mac users can run my Windows apps, anyway".

The Man's Bathroom is Coming

Researchers at the University of New South Wales are working on a self-cleaning bathroom. By using a special type of titanium coating on surfaces it is suspected that the bathroom will clean itself.

How does it work? According to the scientists, ultraviolet light below a specific wavelength causes electrons to excite, and this gives the effects of oxidation. This oxidation disinfects better than commercial bleach. It makes it better for sanitation as it is continually cleans, instead of waiting for the janitor.

I for one cannot wait for this to happen, not because I ever have to clean the bathroom - my wife cleans it way before I even start to suspect the bathroom of being dirty - but this would save her from the job she most hates doing. But ultimately this would be great for those bachelors who just never think about cleaning their bathroom - which I've heard is a major turn off for some women. Here's hoping!

Internet Access Fight Heating Up

A couple weeks ago Nomad posted a story about AT&T contemplating charging major internet companies like Google, MSN and Yahoo fees for accessing the internet. The fight over whether this is acceptable is only getting hotter, with congress (that bastion of level headed thinking) getting involved. This is an interesting debate and I can understand both sides of the argument. The telecom companies have put out a lot of money to create the broadband network that we all use, but on the other hand they're charging intense amounts of money to their customers ($55/month for Comcast residential cable broadband access is a lot of money to pay for internet service and business access is 50%-100% more expensive -- yikes!). The internet companies, like Google and eBay make almost all their money on people being able to have free, unfettered access to the internet, so charging fees for access would severely hamper their bottom line which would in tern be passed on to the consumers. It's like the telecom companies want to tax internet companies for being successful, but then again this is the country where people are seriously discussing taxing the oil companies because they've been successful (I'm still expecting to see them have a really bad quarter soon).

With all this talk about what fees should be paid and by who for the internet it makes the concept of a federal internet network an interesting concept. I haven't done much reading on the current theories surrounding this concept, so I am by no means an expert. I tend to not like the idea of creating a newer/bigger bureaucracy which this would definitely do -- so that's definitely a con to the concept. I'm not sure if it would be the government providing internet service to the whole country or if they would simply control the backbone of the internet and private companies would charge for access -- the second seems to be the more "american" way of doing it. The latter is definitely the best way of supporting the free market and internet access isn't a right provided in the constitution -- unless you categorize it under the pursuit of happiness but that's a bit of a stretch. Yet, our free market economy is more and more dependent upon free trade over the internet, so the more people that can access the internet the more that part of our economy will grow. It could be argued though, that if you can't afford internet service you shouldn't be buying stuff on the internet in the first place. It seems that a federal backbone might be the best idea, but I'm sure there are other better ideas out there - like I said I haven't read up on this subject much.

Is this really news?

Growing up I had quite a few dogs. Almost every one of them died a horrific death by car. So, I understand the trauma that can be caused to a person/family when their dog dies in such a way. It's very sad and it's very personal. Yet for some reason the death of the Governor of Washington's dog (free registration required, use admin@cteens.org for the email address and password for the password) has become news worthy (it even has it's own video clip). I think that this is a horrible, horrible thing - it's even horrible that I'm mentioning it here. It seems that the press could lay off her and her family while they grieve over the death of their dog. But I suppose this is easier for the residents of Washington to deal with than thinking about how the Seahawks choked in the Superbowl.

The Chairman's Investing Tip #1

The Chairman’s Investing Tips

Tip #1  Never borrow money to invest

Every time the stock market goes up for a prolonged period of time, the question invariably comes up “should I borrow money at this low interest rate so that I can invest where I think I’m going to get a better rate of return?”  When people are making 10, 20 or 30% gains on their investments in the stock market or mutual funds, it seems only logical that you should borrow money at 7 or 8% interest and invest it.  The problem is, borrowing money always includes risk and if the stock market is stagnant like the past 2 years, then you are likely to not make any return and therefore lose money on the deal.  The other risk of course is that even in times of stock market growth, it is hard to guarantee that you’re going to pick a winner.  What if you picked Enron a few years ago? Or what if you picked Yahoo or Google a few weeks back before they lost significant value?  These companies seemed like good investments up until recently.  How would you like to be paying interest on stock that you bought for $5000 that is now worth only $4000.  Not only would you be losing what you’re paying in interest payments, but your net worth would also be going down.

There is one exception to this rule, a home.  For most people, the most costly investment they will ever make is buying a house.  It is almost impossible for most people to save up the necessary money to buy a house outright.  So borrowing money to buy it is the only logical way to accomplish the goal of home ownership.  Like any investment though, buying a house should be thought of as an investment process, not just buying something you like.  Some things that should be thought of when choosing a house include: Is this a desirable neighborhood in which to live?  Is this a town that is on its way up or down?  Are taxes likely to change significantly?  What are the chances or flood damage to this property?  The answers to these questions and more point to whether this house is a good investment or not.

So to sum up, when Uncle Charlie has a hot stock tip or some attractive swamp land in Florida to recommend, thank him for the advice start saving for when a real investment opportunity arises.

Review: Match Point

I love movies, even those arty indie movies that you have to go to special theaters to see. Yet, I have seen fairly few Woody Allen movies over the course of my life. Both of his movies that I have seen I enjoyed, but still I have some reticence to see his films. Nonetheless, this weekend my wife and I ventured to one of the local megaplexes to see Woody Allen's most recent effort Match Point. Going in to see this movie I knew a few things:

1. Scarlett Johansson is in the film so it'll either be really arty or terrible (or both)
2. The plot involved infidelity between a man and his future sister-in-law
   
3. Someone gets killed.

Okay, so this could be Fatal Attraction with a Woody Allen twist, which means there's a distinct possibility that this is a wretched movie. With all this in mind we headed off...

Match Point is a slow movie, which as I understand is a characteristic of all Allen movies. The first 3/4 of the movie is really slow, but still interesting. It seems that Allen manages to get a ton of stuff into each scene, so while the scene is really slow it's terribly interesting. The last half-hour of the movie goes really fast and it's intriguing. Allen puts in twists that don't make any sense until the very end of the movie - in fact he seems to have put in twists just to confuse the audience and then has to figure a way out of the twist -- all this makes the movie more interesting.

The basic synopsis of the film is that Chris Wilton, an Irish former tennis pro (played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) has just married Chloe Hewett (played by the amazing Emily Mortimer), the daughter of a rich British businessman. Chloe's brother is dating a down and out American actress named Nola (played by Johansson). While Chris loves Chloe - and the life provided by being a member of the Hewett family - he is obsessed with Nola. It is this obsession with Nola and the tension he feels about losing the life he has gained by being in the Hewett family - including Chloe - that leads to the action of the film.

The casting of this film is almost as important as the writing and directing of the film. All of the main actors do a terrific job. Johansson does a competent job, but as always I'm not totally sold on her performance -- it always seems like she is bored with her roles. Rhys-Meyers and Mortimer on the other hand do a terrific job. Rhys-Meyers is an up and coming Irish actor best known by me as the soccer coach in Bend it like Beckham. His performance is compelling - as my wife said he's so nice that it's hard to hate him over the course of the movie. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Emily Mortimer in this movie. She doesn't make many appearances in American movies which is why she is suffering from Jennifer Connelly syndrome - great actress in supporting parts that never gets mentioned at awards time. (Yes, I know Connelly has won an Oscar so she is no longer suffering from the syndrome). While Mortimer's role in this film is strictly supporting, she does a terrific job supporting the film.

With all this said, it should be obvious that I really liked this movie. In the end it is a kind of Fatal Attraction movie, but it is worth the time to find out why and how. It is an artistic movie - e.g. no explosions - so if you're in the mood for a pop-corn flick go see Underworld: Evolution. But if you're in the mood for a serious movie with great writing, directing and acting then this would be the movie to go see. Heck, I may even see more Woody Allen films because of this.......or maybe not.

Review: Underworld Evolution

Alright, in case you have no desire to actually read a lengthy review here's the simple review: If you liked the first movie then you'll like this one. If you hated the first movie, you'll hate this one. It's that simple. Now, for a more fleshed out review.

Firstly, having read the critics it is sadly apparent that several of them either didn't actually see the movie (And instead reviewed based on a description or other reviews) or did not pay attention at the showings they attended. The amount of information in the reviews I've read that is plain out wrong is astounding to me and I don't recall ever noticing it at this level for another movie. There are reviews that simply put, have even basic plot points completely wrong. I have no idea what's going on with this movie and the critics, but I had to mention that.

The film stays very true to the original in the feel, and it picks up quite literally only moments after the first leaves off. This was a nice touch and gave more of a sense of immediacy. The colors and the feel are similar to the first although there is much less of a claustrophobic feel to this one. Much of the action takes place in the country this time and the story features a much more sparse cast than the original did. But you're still in the Underworld...world.

The action is even more intense, and graphic, than the first film. Blood flows even more liberally in this sequel. In that sense, it reminded me more of Blade than Underworld. Blood splatters, flies, and drips while necks are broken, people are impaled dozens of times by Markus' wings, and Michael has a habit of finishing his opponents off in very violent hand-to-hand ways.

There are issues with the narrative, which sometimes seems to wander. But my biggest was that I really had the feeling that the original film either took place in America or England. Everyone spoke English and the extras all seemed very Western to me. And yet this film seems to cast doubt on that. The stars speak English still. But the natives, what we see of them, all speak an Eastern European language. This could be explained by suggesting that Selene and Michael had to go into hiding far away. But we're given the impression that the story hasn't actually moved. As a matter of fact, several lines tell us that they are no more than a couple of hours away from the scene of the first film. So this was confusing, but I soon lost my concern as the action heated up. Speaking of heating up...

Let's face it, we all know what Underworld is really about. Kate. She's a beautiful woman who plays Selene with a sort of strong as steel but still vulnerable mix that makes her a sexy character. And she's what this movie is all about. Just like in the original, the screen slows down so that we can linger on each sigh. Speedman is mostly unnecessary, although the fleshing out of their feelings was actually pretty well done. Sadly, he's used to set up an all-to-obvious plot device that felt cheap. Markus is not exactly the most inspiring bad guy of all time. Vicktor was much better, but I like Bill so that could just be me. And Markus was serviceable enough in makeup. It was mostly his performances in human form that seemed not all that terror inspiring.

This movie isn't Shakespeare. It's not even the best horror/action movie in recent years. But it does a decent job continuing the story that it's predecessor built. It doesn't expand as much, perhaps, on that mythology as I would have liked. But this is all about franchise and you have to hold some things back when you're thinking long term. The story was moved forward, mostly in a coherent manner, and sets up the continuation of the tale of Selene and Michael. There was action, romance, chases, etc. Basically, it's what I expect when I go to the movies to see a sci-fi/horror/action flick. And, aside from the name, no one said that Underworld: Evolution was going to be something new and unique. With a first one that was as enjoyable as it was, why should they change too much?

UPDATE

To answer Nomad's question in the comments, I will try to explain the plot but I must warn that it is VERY DIFFICULT to explain the plot without giving away spoilers. So, be prepared if you read further...

It is literally still the night of the events that happened in the first movie. We have had a flashback that shows us that Markus is the the first of the vampires but is lead by Viktor. William is Markus' twin brother, and is the one bitten by the wolf. He is a monster, to say the least. These earlier lycans were much more savage than modern ones and William is the worst of the bunch. Viktor manages to capture William and locks him away for an eternity, not letting Markus know where he is hidden. (Markus still loves his brother and believes he can help him.)

You'll remember that at the end of the first movie, the lycan blood spills down to Markus' sleeping chamber. He's now a hybrid with a bad attitude and as he learns of all that has happened, he's pretty ticked. So he sets out to find his imprisoned brother and free him.

Selene is important to this plot because it turns out that her family weren't quite the innocent bystandards that we were lead to believe in the first movie. Her father knew something very sensitive and was killed for it. So Markus wants Selene because he wants that secret. In addition, Markus and William's father is still alive and is also involved in the goings-on with lots of high-tech gadgets. That's the basic plot, with as few spoilers as I can give and yet still explain the plot to a sufficient level.

Mod-Blog Review: Sony DSC-N1

Mod-Blog readers know (if you have been paying attention) that QuizWedge got married this past weekend. What you may NOT know, is that obsessive Mod-Blogger Nomad is also an obsessive photographer at events like this. I have a Canon Digital Rebel (which I *highly* recommend!) which I use for the vast majority of my shutter-bugging. However, being a real SLR with long lenses, it is not ideal for bringing along when I need to fly. Putting it into the carry-on means there would be little to no room for anything else. Putting it into checked luggage means risking theft. Plus, of course, in this wedding I was a groomsman and the SLR would have stuck out badly during the ceremony, even if I tried to hide it under my tux.

Enter the world of the micro-mini-digicams. I have previously owned the U20 (a 2 megapixel the size of a pack of gum), the L1 (a 4 megapixel the size of a large pack of gum), and briefly owned the new T9 (6 megapixel and thinner than a deck of cards). The U20 was great but 2 megapixels is just not good enough. The L1 was fine but the tiny lens made it hard to do anything in low light. The T9 was better in low light, but... well... I learned too late that you can NOT update the japanese model to show English menus, and red eye was much worse than the L1.

So, I decided to try the the Sony DSC-N1. The N1 is a monster 8 megapixels (more than the Canon Digital Rebel) machine. It is slightly thicker and larger than the T9, but still tiny compared to vast majority of digital cameras. It has a 3x optical zoom, plus additional digital zoom (I never use digital zoom, since the crop function in iPhoto works at least as well). And it has one revolutionary change over other digicams - a 3 inch wide touchscreen LCD! This means all of the controls on this thing (aside from the zoom, shutter, and a "bring up menu" button) are on the screen itself. This means for easy and quick changes to settings, and even on-screen editing! Nice. The camea also does MPEG video, including zooms during recording. The battery can last for about 300 pictures, and can be easily and quickly swapped out for extended shooting. It uses Sony's proprietary memory stick format (up to 2 GB in a cost-effective form, up to 4 GB for a huge cost increase). Another nice feature of the N1 is the "album". Internal memory holds VGA versions of up to 500 pictures for replay later alone or with music as a slideshow on the beautiful LCD.

My own experience with the N1 was GREAT. Shooting speed was good enough to capture most of the shots I wanted, even in action. (Though it should be noted that I was shooting a WEDDING and not a sporting event.) Color was surprisingly true outdoors and indoors, artificial and natural lighting. With a 2 GB memory stick in the unit, I captured about 500 photos from the weekend and most were keepers. The camera itself was small enough to be easily hidden in the tuxedo breast pocket with no visible bulge, and was tough enough to survive the bachelor party night in my hip jeans pocket with no damage. The battery truly did survive almost 300 pictures, plus a few minutes of video. The problems? As with most minicams, red eye was a problem, though less than on the U20, L1, or T9. And I never did use red eye reduction (due to the need to be as inconspicuous as possible, and not mess up the shots of the professional protographer). And, I still got blur under some conditions without flash... but that was to be expected.

Overall, I am THRILLED with the results of the N1. It may be my favorite minicam so far (which is saying a LOT, I loved the U20). And the large LCD had an unexpected advantage - beautiful women were coming up to me all weekend to see pictures on the hug screen and to ooh and aah over the touchscreen. I didn't get any phone numbers or e-mail addresses from it, but I am pretty sure that is due to my shyness more than due to the lack of power on the part of the N1. :-)

Non-Violence

(Hat tip to Right Wing News for this one)

Finally

A reader at the Daily Dish finally gets through all the Sullivanites (Who can't imagine that anything Andrew says is wrong) and nails his absurd hyperbole.

Your continued equivalence of Christian fundamentalism and Islamic fundamentalism on anything more than the most abstract of levels is beyond the pale, absurd, ridiculous, etc. You may be right that both of these fundamentalisms at their core share common notions and beliefs. At that level, it's an intelligent discussion, but admittedly, not one I'm particularly interested in. However, FUNCTIONALLY, there is NO similarity. Islamacists MURDER innocent men, women, and children. "Christianists" oppose gay marriage. PLEASE stop this insane equivalence--it's offensive, irrational, and fevered."

Even more shocking is that Andrew actually seems to have realized the difference.

I couldn't agree more on the latter point. The difference between Islamists and Christianists is that the former are using violence to achieve their ideal society and Christianists are, almost entirely, using peaceful, democratic means. That's a huge deal. It's also worth comparing Christian fundamentalist response to the latest Rolling Stone cover, featuring Kanye West as Jesus. Complaints, sure. But are the editors of Rolling Stone now in hiding? The thought is preposterous. The habits of Islamists and Christianists are on different planets. Nevertheless, the fundamentalist mindset is similar in both: the sense that there can be no legal neutrality between faith and unfaith; the expectation of the Apocalypse; the submission of all reason to faith; the inerrancy of certain texts or authority figures; the shared notion of blasphemy; the subordination of women; the anathematization of gays; the extreme regulation of sex and gender. The difference in methods is one of kind. The difference in mindset is one of degree.

Finally, someone gets through to him. Now let's just hope that he hasn't forgotten it by the end of the week.

Apologizing for Freedom

One dissident Muslim has some excellent thoughts about the continuing fight for freedom.

The Great Peaceful Religion Attacks...Again

I'm really starting to hate the rhetoric that calls Islam a peaceful religion. First their were the riots that started last week...actually, first their were the french riots from a couple months ago - yeah, all muslims. Then there were the riots that started last week over a cartoon - a fricken cartoon that was published in September! Yesterday another riot broke out that resulted in the burning of the Danish consulate in Lebanon. Yeah, that's peaceful. Now, mourners from the ferry accident on Friday have attacked the offices of the company that ran the ferry. I know they're mourning and desperately want to know where their family members are, but is rioting and burning up the offices really the best solution?

It seems to me that there are only two reasons for these reactions. A) These are poor people that don't know any better, haven't been properly socialized to know rioting and arson are not a proper response when you're upset or B) something in their religion allows them to think that they have a right to destruction when they have their feelings hurt. At some point the civilized world has to stand up and say enough is enough. The real question is how do we do that? I'll think about that today and if I have an answer, I'll post it tonight.