What a read! Proteus has done it. A great piece on the war can be found here. He not only talks about reasons we are there but thoroughly trounces any who would try to say we should not be there. Nice job, Proteus.

Sometimes I get so compulsive. I can’t seem to stop playing the Yahoo game Text Twist. I don’t know why; it’s not like it is such a great game or a challenge or anything. I guess I really like the mindless stuff after working so hard on things that take many steps and planning for contingencies. Or maybe it’s just fun!

Here it is, only an hour late, the Friday Five:

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?
Happened just tonight – my wife returned from a three day conference. I hate it when she isn’t around; throws off my whole equilibrium.

2. What one person touched your life this week?
A gal at work said just the right thing at the most needed time for me this week. Thanks, Barbie, for making me smile at a time when I wanted to pull out what little hair I have left.

3. How have you helped someone this week?
Helped a VP at work learn the basics of her iPaq; she isn’t too technical but she felt confident that she could really use the iPaq when I left.

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?
I have a project at work for distribution of a software package througout our enterprise, both on our LAN and our remotes, that needs to have an implementation plan done by next week. UGH!

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?
Get all of our taxes done (as well as my daughter’s) and get that stinking package plan done! Most importantly, though, I’ll pray for the safety of our troops in Iraq.

Advice taken from Robyn and her link to Christine and Scripty Goddess, I am now gziped — are you? Well, are ya, PUNK!

Got an email today from my friend Mark. While I enjoy the jokes he sends my way this is not one of them. This is a rather thought-provoking piece. It lists the accomplishments of those who are in political power and are shaping our war effort and those who are the most vocal in their criticism. Read it – then try to find a reason why ANYONE would listen to what someone like Michael Moore would have to say about the current administration. (or anything else for that matter)

Gnomedex 3.0 details are out! I have only read about the first two Gnomedex conferences (and saw all the pictures) but want to make it to this one. For those of you who don’t know, Gnomedex is a yearly conference put on by the Lockergnome, Chris Pirillo, and his staff; well, mainly put on by his staff, in particular Lori Lockwood. Chris went to UNI in Cedar Falls, IA and began his career of writing an entertaining yet informative e-newsletter while a student there working on his BA in English education. Lucky for us that he didn’t like his student teaching experience and threw himself head first into his e-newsletter. It is so popular now that he has even written books about how to write and profit from an e-newsletter. He lived in West Des Moines, IA for a while after graduation and the Lockergnome newsletter just got more and more popular as time went by; partly because he had reviews and recommendations of software and hardware he had used and partly because he gave you a glimpse into his personal life. He now works on Tech TV, a cable television station dedicated to computers, co-hosting the show Call for Help. Our local cable outlet does not carry Tech TV, but I keep sending in my requests. I am quite proud of the fact that I was mentioned in his Windows Daily newsletter of August 1, 2002. I hope this year is my breakout year to begin a yearly pilgrimage to attend Gnomedex!

Oscars were tonight. I agree with the Best Picture, Chicago, and the Best Actress, Nicole Kidman, but don’t know too much about Best Actor, Adrien Brody. I absolutely cannot agree with Roman Polanski as Best Director. How can they nominate and award a criminal? (He still hasn’t served a day for statutory rape – left the country as soon as he was found guilty.) They should have given it to someone else – ANYONE else!

Well, two days late, but here is the Friday Five:

1. If you had the chance to meet someone you’ve never met, from the past or present, who would it be?
Although I have met him spiritually, I’d really like to meet Jesus Christ face to face. Perhaps talk with him and get some of the parables figured out. I’d like to think I have more on the ball than his disciples. They didn’t figure him out until after he died.

2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?
I’d like to live in the mid-20th century, right after WW2. It was a time of great prosperity and opportunity here in America.

3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?
Pretty much anywhere where there is a beach, warmth, sunshine and no hostility. Some place like Baja maybe.

4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?
Bond….James Bond. Bad guys are always after him but never win, ALWAYS-ALWAYS-ALWAYS gets the girl.

5. If you had to live with having someone else’s face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?
I wish I could look like the original James Bond, Sean Connery. He STILL gets the girls and he is 72.

Nice to know that Iowa can still make the national news scene, even if it is for Grump of the Year! Hey, I’ve been to Readlyn. While it isn’t a mecca of the midwest, it isn’t a dump either.

Poor Angelina Jolie! She had her Oscar outfits stolen! I think she’d look great in a plain burlap bag. She looks good in just about anything. And, I have seen “Original Sin” and know she looks good in nothing! I don’t think this will set her back too much, but it may set her back a bit in the red carpet fashion sense of the Oscars.

Holy crap! Will FOX network stop at nothing. Monica gets her own show! I hate to say this, but I think it will get a lot of viewers. Kind of like a roadside accident and you are driving by – you just can’t help but look.

Oh my God! Gore is on the Board of Directors for Apple Computer!
<sarcasm on>
It’s really nice that the company that claims to be the most personal computer has employed the man who claims to have invented the internet.
<sarcasm off>
Really now, how can Apple computer expect to gain from this? They have hired a man who thinks that any time you need money all you do is raise taxes. Not likely in business, but very common in government. They have hired a man who, in his book “Earth in the Balance” has stated that the most dangerous thing in the world today is the internal combustion engine. Maybe they need a fall guy as their company is not doing well and the way the general tech money in the industry is being spent there is none for Apple products.

Don’t try to preach to me about Apple’s superior graphics. I guess that is why Pixar studios use Intel-bases computers with the Linux operating system, because Apple’s graphics capabilities are the best? Uhhhhhh, no. KDE, Gnome and Windows are all as easy to use as the Mac OS. Each one has a not-so-steep learning curve. In my experience, the only superior thing Apple has is it’s snobbiness. Here’s my experience:

In 1985 I was using an Apple IIe and AppleWorks to manage my paperwork and some other duties as a teacher. I had purchased both from the local Apple distributor (who is no longer in business – SURPRISE!!) and knew a couple of the people there through my purchases and discussions of product. Well, eventually, my master program disk of AppleWorks went bad (as all 5.25″ disks did) and my backup failed as well. I went to the local distributor and got nowhere. I was told that I needed to purchase a Macintosh. (At the time I believe it was a Mac SE.) I told them no thanks, I just wanted a replacement AppleWorks disk – here is my serial number and the original in not-working order. Again, I was told that I should buy a Mac for $2500. To make a long story short, I left frustrated. I called Apple’s tech support and got the same story – I need to buy a Mac; why would I want to use an Apple IIe when I can get a Mac for only $2500? I hung up even more frustrated, got a bootleg copy of AppleWorks and finished the school year with my Apple IIe. Over the summer I purchased my first PC, running DOS and Windows 3.0. I haven’t looked back.

Yes, Apple has superior technology and has always been ahead of the PC in many respects. But they have a huge stick up their ass and treat all of us in the unwashed masses as though we have no brains. I refuse to do business with them again.