Howdy, friends.
I surely appreciate your attention to this blog, and hope you will update your links to point to my new place - Popgun’s World. Come see me!
-Pop
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Please Think About It...
Who are you going to vote for?
Decisions on such things should be determined purely by how well the candidate meets the criteria you hold to be critical to success on the job. The nice thing about the USA is that we can each have our own set of criteria that we feel this person should meet. Not only that, but the right to vote guarantees that we can apply our choices in a fair contest to choose our leaders. The body of opinion of the nation ultimately selects it’s leaders.
Note that in most of the world, this is not the case. We must be constantly vigilant against the temptation to vote without due consideration; failure to do so will eventually result in the loss of this basic right, and then it will take another revolution to regain it. Witness the current situation in Venezuela. Don’t think it can’t happen here. All it takes is enough voters guessing wrong.
If you examine the belief system of the candidate (insofar as you can determine what it is), and find distasteful, or dangerous, or misguided, or destructive, or poor morality, or foolish things; if you see evidence of lying, or concealing elements of the personal history; well, it is probably an intelligent exercise of your franchise to vote against that person.
If your examination of the belief system of that candidate finds instead that there is honesty, strength of character, wisdom, knowledge, and evidence of good decision making, perhaps that person is the one that deserves your vote.
It is your decision. Be careful, be wise. You can give away things very dear to you (and me) by an incorrect evaluation of the candidates. You should make sure that you are going to be willing to live with anything the candidate you select may decide to do. This is not a decision to be made lightly. And it may be that no candidate meets your criteria completely. So choose the best you can. If there’s nobody you want to vote for, there are surely those you want to vote against!
-Pop
Decisions on such things should be determined purely by how well the candidate meets the criteria you hold to be critical to success on the job. The nice thing about the USA is that we can each have our own set of criteria that we feel this person should meet. Not only that, but the right to vote guarantees that we can apply our choices in a fair contest to choose our leaders. The body of opinion of the nation ultimately selects it’s leaders.
Note that in most of the world, this is not the case. We must be constantly vigilant against the temptation to vote without due consideration; failure to do so will eventually result in the loss of this basic right, and then it will take another revolution to regain it. Witness the current situation in Venezuela. Don’t think it can’t happen here. All it takes is enough voters guessing wrong.
If you examine the belief system of the candidate (insofar as you can determine what it is), and find distasteful, or dangerous, or misguided, or destructive, or poor morality, or foolish things; if you see evidence of lying, or concealing elements of the personal history; well, it is probably an intelligent exercise of your franchise to vote against that person.
If your examination of the belief system of that candidate finds instead that there is honesty, strength of character, wisdom, knowledge, and evidence of good decision making, perhaps that person is the one that deserves your vote.
It is your decision. Be careful, be wise. You can give away things very dear to you (and me) by an incorrect evaluation of the candidates. You should make sure that you are going to be willing to live with anything the candidate you select may decide to do. This is not a decision to be made lightly. And it may be that no candidate meets your criteria completely. So choose the best you can. If there’s nobody you want to vote for, there are surely those you want to vote against!
-Pop
Friday, April 25, 2008
Are You Prejudiced?
Definition:
prejudice |ˈprejədəs|
noun
1 preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
My thoughts on the matter:
If you decide not to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is black, you are prejudiced.
If you decide instead to vote for a candidate, specifically because that candidate is black, you are just as prejudiced as the previous case.
If you decide not to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is a woman, you are prejudiced.
If you decide instead to vote for a candidate, specifically because that candidate is a woman, you are just as prejudiced as the previous case.
If you decide not to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is a <insert religion here>, you are prejudiced.
If you decide instead to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is a <insert religion here>, you are just as prejudiced as the previous case.
Are you prejudiced?
-Pop
prejudice |ˈprejədəs|
noun
1 preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
My thoughts on the matter:
If you decide not to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is black, you are prejudiced.
If you decide instead to vote for a candidate, specifically because that candidate is black, you are just as prejudiced as the previous case.
If you decide not to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is a woman, you are prejudiced.
If you decide instead to vote for a candidate, specifically because that candidate is a woman, you are just as prejudiced as the previous case.
If you decide not to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is a <insert religion here>, you are prejudiced.
If you decide instead to vote for a candidate, just because that candidate is a <insert religion here>, you are just as prejudiced as the previous case.
Are you prejudiced?
-Pop
One More Mac Program
Goodness, I forgot to mention Quicken 2007 for the Mac.
Quicken is probably the most capable accounting program for an individual that is available for the Mac. I rely on it constantly to keep a handle on my personal finances. That doesn’t mean that I’m happy with it; it’s just the best available in my opinion.
Transitioning from the Windows version, the Mac version (I’ll call them QW and QM for the duration) does not seem to be as polished as the QW. QM, plain and simple, has a non-standard interface on the Mac which makes it more difficult to figure out where to go to get things done. One feature in particular that I miss is the ability to sort the columns by amount, when you are balancing your checking account. On QW, I always did this and it made it much quicker to locate whichever line item I was reconciling at the time. Check numbers don’t get it for me because I do most of my bill paying electronically. So I hope they bring that feature back. The interface sucks, as is.
Having said that, I understand that they are about to come out with a new version, which is supposed to clean up the interface. When it arrives, I will gladly adopt it on the off chance that they did improve on it.
For all its warts, I have to state that I have lost no data and had no problems with the actual functioning of the program. Which is why I still use it. But it could be vastly better than it is.
Three Stars for the crappy interface. Add a half a star because it does, after all, work. http://www.quicken.com/ for about $70.
-Pop
Quicken is probably the most capable accounting program for an individual that is available for the Mac. I rely on it constantly to keep a handle on my personal finances. That doesn’t mean that I’m happy with it; it’s just the best available in my opinion.
Transitioning from the Windows version, the Mac version (I’ll call them QW and QM for the duration) does not seem to be as polished as the QW. QM, plain and simple, has a non-standard interface on the Mac which makes it more difficult to figure out where to go to get things done. One feature in particular that I miss is the ability to sort the columns by amount, when you are balancing your checking account. On QW, I always did this and it made it much quicker to locate whichever line item I was reconciling at the time. Check numbers don’t get it for me because I do most of my bill paying electronically. So I hope they bring that feature back. The interface sucks, as is.
Having said that, I understand that they are about to come out with a new version, which is supposed to clean up the interface. When it arrives, I will gladly adopt it on the off chance that they did improve on it.
For all its warts, I have to state that I have lost no data and had no problems with the actual functioning of the program. Which is why I still use it. But it could be vastly better than it is.
Three Stars for the crappy interface. Add a half a star because it does, after all, work. http://www.quicken.com/ for about $70.
-Pop
My Other Eye...
Howdy.
My right eye was operated on day before yesterday, and things seem to be pretty nominal. Same lens replacement as my left eye. This one is a bit more problematic than my left eye was, mainly because the doctor made an extra incision to change the shape of parts of the eye, to help control astigmatism. This made it feel like it was full of sandpaper the last two days, but today it is much better on that score. Vision in that eye is improving, as near as I can judge, on about the same curve of progress the left eye did.
Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I drove a car without wearing glasses. Didn’t kill anybody, either.
Very cool.
-Pop
My right eye was operated on day before yesterday, and things seem to be pretty nominal. Same lens replacement as my left eye. This one is a bit more problematic than my left eye was, mainly because the doctor made an extra incision to change the shape of parts of the eye, to help control astigmatism. This made it feel like it was full of sandpaper the last two days, but today it is much better on that score. Vision in that eye is improving, as near as I can judge, on about the same curve of progress the left eye did.
Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I drove a car without wearing glasses. Didn’t kill anybody, either.
Very cool.
-Pop
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Mac Software Roundup
At this writing, I’ve been using a MacBook Pro for about 15 months. Being the type of person I am, I constantly search for more efficient ways to do anything, and in the world of computers, I try a lot of software. Whiz-bang doesn’t do it for me, unless the whiz-bang in question increases my efficiency in some way. This document is a list of the software I have purchased and tried on the Mac, along with a short review of each program. I have purchased a license for each non-free program in this review. This is not an in-depth review. Rather, it is my subjective take on each program, along with a bit of background. Have fun!
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1Password: One of the first programs I bought after acquiring my Mac was 1Password. 1Password is a utility for keeping up with all your passwords and logins, and can be used to fill in forms on websites, including your credit card and personal information if you wish. I knew that I would need such a utility, and 1Password fills the bill wonderfully. It works unobtrusively, and you only need to remember one password. It is possible to set up web links in your browser to automatically find and log in to a website. You enter your master password once in a session, and it does the rest. 1Password is available from http://agilewebsolutions.com/ and costs $34.95 for a single-user license. Updates are fairly frequent, and the developers are quick to update it when OS X changes in a way that would affect it. I still rely on it daily. Five stars.
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AppZapper: an uninstall utility for the Mac (OS X). When you uninstall a program by dragging it’s icon to the trash, sometimes settings and other files are left on your disk. When you run AppZapper, it opens a small window and invites you to drag any program icon to it’s drop zone; then it finds the extraneous files, and shows you what it is going to delete if desired. It works as advertised. Not a big deal, but nice to have for $12.95. You can find it at www.appzapper.com. Five stars.
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Bento: Bento is a simple database program for people who don’t need the power of FileMaker. It works as advertised, is easy to use and learn, and I use it frequently in my work to keep up with most anything that needs a list. You can get it at www.filemaker.com for $49 for a single user license. I’ve suffered no failures of any sort. Printing support is pretty much a screen print, so it’s not great at generating reports; and export capabilities are pretty limited. It is a flat file database within which you can create collections, so if you need relational capabilities, go elsewhere. I give it 4 stars, deducting one due to the lack of report generating capability.
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DevonThink Pro: a personal information manager or database program. It is very capable; and I still use it for random data storage of information I might need on an infrequent basis. For instance, I frequently create a data item to hold the text of confirmation emails when I purchase something online. I like the way search displays results, and it is capable of searching inside PDF files. I have suffered no failures or problems. Having said all that, I don’t much care for the user interface, which I found confusing, and it has a bit of a learning curve; I don’t use this program frequently. You can get it at www.devon-technologies.com for about $79. I bought the Pro Office version for about $150.
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Ecto: Ecto is used to manage and upload blog postings. You can get it at http://infinite-sushi.com/software/ecto/ and it costs $17.95. I am not currently using this program (see MacJournal) but it does a good job and works as advertised. It makes it easy to post entries or revisions. One thing it doesn’t do is allow you to assign categories or topics to posts that show up on Blogspot, so if you want to do that you have to go in and add them later. I used Ecto for many months, before switching to MacJournal because I could combine my blogging and personal journal in that program. Ecto deserves 4 stars. It does everything it says it will do but needs to be able to handle categories.
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Google Earth: Google Earth is just about the coolest program you can download for free, and there are Windows and Mac versions available. It is a wonderful program that allows you to zoom around looking at the world in satellite photos with optional map information superimposed. Nifty zoom effects take you from one place to another, and you can search for an address or location and go directly to it. You can ‘tilt’ the display or look straight down at it. This is lots of fun - you will find geographical features right around your own home that you didn’t know were there. It can be useful, too; at work we sometimes use it to identify a field location for an employee who needs to find a job site. Recommended. Five Stars. Go to http://earth.google.com/
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IWork 08 is Apple’s office suite. For what you get, it’s a real bargain. I use Pages and Numbers fairly frequently, but have not needed Keynote. Pages is a pretty decent word processor, but I haven’t really stretched it’s legs. I use it for an occasional letter or fax, but so far nothing very lengthy. Also, it can open Microsoft Word’s DOC files, so far without fail. It works well for what I have done with it, and within those limits, there’s not much of a learning curve. Numbers is the spreadsheet program. It can load the majority of Excel spreadsheets except when they are protected, but there are some interesting side effects sometimes. In general, results are good, but don’t expect a perfect translation. One feature that I really like about Numbers is its ability to have multiple spreadsheets on the same page. This makes laying out complex forms a snap. In this one thing it is really great; in most other areas, Excel gets the edge in terms of ease of use. Having said that, it’s worth it to me to use Numbers just to keep from buying a Microsoft product. Especially when you compare prices. IWork 08 - $79 - directly from Apple. Four stars.
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Yojimbo: Yojimbo is a simple flat-file database that can accommodate many different kinds of information. If you don’t need much complexity, Yojimbo is a good program. You can create folders to put data in, but only one level deep - no nested folders. This limits its utility. In my day job, I track several projects at a time, and as one is completed new projects are started. The inability of Yojimbo to create sub-folders means that everything is in one long list of folders. Other than this, Yojimbo is a great program and may be just what you need. I still use it to capture PDF files which I create anytime I’m printing a receipt or something - Yojimbo has a good unobtrusive capture facility. Four stars. You can get it at http://www.bbedit.com/products/yojimbo/index.shtml and it costs $39. I wound up using SOHO Notes to do the job I bought Yojimbo to do; it does support nested folders.
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Journier: a pretty nice personal journal program. One of the things I like about it is the ability to put pictures in your journal. If you’re creating a journal that your kids will someday read, this is a pretty good program to use. However, I migrated my journal to MacJournal and no longer use Journier. This is not the fault of the program; it does a good job. Five stars. You can get it for $34.95 at http://journler.com/.
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LaunchBar: This is the handiest program launcher I’ve found. Besides launching programs, it can find files and contacts on your computer; you can drill down to your boss’s phone number, for instance. Hitting enter on an email launches an email to that contact; hitting enter on a phone number shows it in large type; absolutely excellent for quick access to this type of info, or to launch a program. You can get it at http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html and it costs $39. Highly recommended - five stars.
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MacJournal: This is my current favorite journal keeper and blog maintenance software. I’ve been using it a couple of months, and so far haven’t had any problems. It makes it easy to post to blogspot, and keep my personal journal in the same program. It has a nifty full-screen mode, as well. Five stars. http://www.marinersoftware.com/ for $34.95 download.
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MailSteward: a utility to archive all your email in a separate database. It works well with Mail, and can archive everything, or just the mailboxes or accounts you want. It has excellent search capability. If you worry about mail losing things over a long period of time, this is a good way to archive email. I’ve only been using it about a week, but so far it’s worked perfectly. Five stars. You can get it at http://mailsteward.com/ for $49.95.
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Notebook, from Circus Ponies, is one of the first personal information programs I bought for the Mac. It’s a great idea, but I don’t use it much anymore because I find the interface a bit clumsy for the type of information I mostly work with. It would be great for anything you’d keep in a notebook, but for keeping up with project data I find a more free-form method of storage works better for me. Four stars. You can get it at http://www.circusponies.com/ for $49.95.
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Omnifocus is an excellent program for task management. It is built around the Getting Things Done method, and it actually does work well if you use that methodology. I bought a copy and used it for a while, and I may go back to it in the future. My problem is not with the program - it’s just that I’ve not head great success adapting to the methodology, being set in my ways. If you use the Getting Things Done method, this is recommended. Four stars. You can get it at http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/ for $79.95.
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Parallels Desktop - virtual machine software for the Mac. I’m staying away from Windows as much as I can, but sometimes my work requires me to use specific software that isn’t available (directly) on the Mac. Parallels Desktop does an amazing job of allowing me to use my Mac instead of shifting to a Windows machine. I have Vista Business installed in a virtual machine in Parallels. Inside of that, I have certain engineering software installed, including my CAD software, Solid Edge; and I presently do all my CAD work in the virtual machine. I also do Windows program development using Delphi in that environment, for company projects which I maintain. It is amazing that Parallels is efficient enough to allow the use of this type of software. A major benefit is the ability to back up the entire virtual machine to offline storage- if Windows gets a virus, I just replace the virtual machine with the latest backup. Cool stuff. Five Stars. http://www.parallels.com/ for $79. This program made it practical for me to move to the Mac.
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Personal Brain is a personal information manager that is unique in its interface. Basically, you create thoughts which can hold text, or files. You create links to these thoughts. The thoughts float in space on the screen, with lines drawn between them representing the links. The relations you create are the real power of the program. For instance, I have a thought that is titled ‘where to get’ with many categories of purchased items linked below it. Click on one of them, for instance ‘flanges’ and see links to all the vendors from which I might purchase ‘flanges’. This works really well, and this is my primary management tool for my work. This is a very powerful program, and there are versions for the Mac and for Windows. Additionally, you can export your ‘brain’ to your network server and share it with your colleagues. Five Stars, highly recommended. You can get it at http://www.thebrain.com/ for FREE. THe paid version that I bought is $249.95 and I have found it well worth it.
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Quicksilver is similar to LaunchBar in terms of what it can do, but it can do more. Besides being a launcher and information finder, it is possible to process information in interesting ways using QuickSilver. I tried it, but went back to LaunchBar because I just find it more comfortable to use. Quicksilver has a steep learning curve. There probably is a real payoff there, but I didn’t use the advanced features often enough to set them in my memory; so I went back to LanchBar. QuickSilver is free, and you can get it at http://www.blacktree.com/ . If you can get past the learning curve, there’s something powerful there.
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Scrivener. Well, I’m composing this in Scrivener; what can I say? I haven’t tried every word processing program out there, but Scrivener has a unique (in my experience) way of allowing you to compose a complex document and put it all together. You don’t actually work with the formatting; instead, you create the parts of your document, pulling them in to the final document in any order you want. For instance, in this document, I have a sub-document for each program in the review. You don’t have to worry about formatting at all. When you’re done, you export your document to whatever other word processor you want to use for final formatting. This isn’t for jotting down notes or lists; this is for creating complex documents or screenplays, etc. I really like the approach, and it works well for me, for a posting such as the one you are reading. Recommended. Five Stars. You can get it at http://www.literatureandlatte.com/ for $39.95. I like it.
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SOHO Notes: SOHO Notes is a great note-taking application, and you can also store many types of files in it.. If you need a good, quick note taker, this will do the job. Very similar to Yojimbo, except it does support nested folders, a feature I find invaluable in my daily work. Recommended, I use it frequently. Five Stars. You can get it for $39.99 at http://www.chronosnet.com/ .
I don’t particularly recommend the related Organizer package - although it does have features to like, I find it clumsy and it doesn’t add that much to iCal and Address Book.
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TypeIt4Me is a nice little utility that allows you to create boilerplate, basically any text that you find yourself typing over and over. It works as advertised, but I’m about to remove it from my system because I really don’t use it much. I type so fast that by the time I remember that I have an entry in TypeIt4Me, I’ve already typed whatever it was. Since I only actually use it once or twice a week, I don’t see the need for it on my system. However, I do recommend it for you if you do a lot of repetitive typing, or if you think it would speed up your effective typing. It does work well as it is intended to work. Four stars. http://ettoresoftware.com/ for $27.
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VoodooPad is a program I purchased because I got interested in Wicki systems, or hypertext personal information systems. It’s an interesting program, and I occasionally go back to fool around with it. It could be used to set up a linked database of pretty much everything you know, if you take the time to create it. I am still interested in this way of getting at information, but I’m not actively using VoodooPad at this time. It exports to HTML, too, which might be useful. It is capable of doing the sort of thing I’m using Personal Brain for, but without the global view of the linkages that program gives you. It works well, so it gets four stars. You can get it at http://flyingmeat.com/voodoopad/ for about $30.
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In conclusion, there is a lot of really good software out there for the Mac. I tend to specialize in the sort of programs that will help me do my job better, and many of them are represented here. One thing I have noticed; generally speaking, Windows software is way more expensive than equivalent Mac software.
-Pop
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1Password: One of the first programs I bought after acquiring my Mac was 1Password. 1Password is a utility for keeping up with all your passwords and logins, and can be used to fill in forms on websites, including your credit card and personal information if you wish. I knew that I would need such a utility, and 1Password fills the bill wonderfully. It works unobtrusively, and you only need to remember one password. It is possible to set up web links in your browser to automatically find and log in to a website. You enter your master password once in a session, and it does the rest. 1Password is available from http://agilewebsolutions.com/ and costs $34.95 for a single-user license. Updates are fairly frequent, and the developers are quick to update it when OS X changes in a way that would affect it. I still rely on it daily. Five stars.
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AppZapper: an uninstall utility for the Mac (OS X). When you uninstall a program by dragging it’s icon to the trash, sometimes settings and other files are left on your disk. When you run AppZapper, it opens a small window and invites you to drag any program icon to it’s drop zone; then it finds the extraneous files, and shows you what it is going to delete if desired. It works as advertised. Not a big deal, but nice to have for $12.95. You can find it at www.appzapper.com. Five stars.
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Bento: Bento is a simple database program for people who don’t need the power of FileMaker. It works as advertised, is easy to use and learn, and I use it frequently in my work to keep up with most anything that needs a list. You can get it at www.filemaker.com for $49 for a single user license. I’ve suffered no failures of any sort. Printing support is pretty much a screen print, so it’s not great at generating reports; and export capabilities are pretty limited. It is a flat file database within which you can create collections, so if you need relational capabilities, go elsewhere. I give it 4 stars, deducting one due to the lack of report generating capability.
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DevonThink Pro: a personal information manager or database program. It is very capable; and I still use it for random data storage of information I might need on an infrequent basis. For instance, I frequently create a data item to hold the text of confirmation emails when I purchase something online. I like the way search displays results, and it is capable of searching inside PDF files. I have suffered no failures or problems. Having said all that, I don’t much care for the user interface, which I found confusing, and it has a bit of a learning curve; I don’t use this program frequently. You can get it at www.devon-technologies.com for about $79. I bought the Pro Office version for about $150.
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Ecto: Ecto is used to manage and upload blog postings. You can get it at http://infinite-sushi.com/software/ecto/ and it costs $17.95. I am not currently using this program (see MacJournal) but it does a good job and works as advertised. It makes it easy to post entries or revisions. One thing it doesn’t do is allow you to assign categories or topics to posts that show up on Blogspot, so if you want to do that you have to go in and add them later. I used Ecto for many months, before switching to MacJournal because I could combine my blogging and personal journal in that program. Ecto deserves 4 stars. It does everything it says it will do but needs to be able to handle categories.
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Google Earth: Google Earth is just about the coolest program you can download for free, and there are Windows and Mac versions available. It is a wonderful program that allows you to zoom around looking at the world in satellite photos with optional map information superimposed. Nifty zoom effects take you from one place to another, and you can search for an address or location and go directly to it. You can ‘tilt’ the display or look straight down at it. This is lots of fun - you will find geographical features right around your own home that you didn’t know were there. It can be useful, too; at work we sometimes use it to identify a field location for an employee who needs to find a job site. Recommended. Five Stars. Go to http://earth.google.com/
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IWork 08 is Apple’s office suite. For what you get, it’s a real bargain. I use Pages and Numbers fairly frequently, but have not needed Keynote. Pages is a pretty decent word processor, but I haven’t really stretched it’s legs. I use it for an occasional letter or fax, but so far nothing very lengthy. Also, it can open Microsoft Word’s DOC files, so far without fail. It works well for what I have done with it, and within those limits, there’s not much of a learning curve. Numbers is the spreadsheet program. It can load the majority of Excel spreadsheets except when they are protected, but there are some interesting side effects sometimes. In general, results are good, but don’t expect a perfect translation. One feature that I really like about Numbers is its ability to have multiple spreadsheets on the same page. This makes laying out complex forms a snap. In this one thing it is really great; in most other areas, Excel gets the edge in terms of ease of use. Having said that, it’s worth it to me to use Numbers just to keep from buying a Microsoft product. Especially when you compare prices. IWork 08 - $79 - directly from Apple. Four stars.
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Yojimbo: Yojimbo is a simple flat-file database that can accommodate many different kinds of information. If you don’t need much complexity, Yojimbo is a good program. You can create folders to put data in, but only one level deep - no nested folders. This limits its utility. In my day job, I track several projects at a time, and as one is completed new projects are started. The inability of Yojimbo to create sub-folders means that everything is in one long list of folders. Other than this, Yojimbo is a great program and may be just what you need. I still use it to capture PDF files which I create anytime I’m printing a receipt or something - Yojimbo has a good unobtrusive capture facility. Four stars. You can get it at http://www.bbedit.com/products/yojimbo/index.shtml and it costs $39. I wound up using SOHO Notes to do the job I bought Yojimbo to do; it does support nested folders.
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Journier: a pretty nice personal journal program. One of the things I like about it is the ability to put pictures in your journal. If you’re creating a journal that your kids will someday read, this is a pretty good program to use. However, I migrated my journal to MacJournal and no longer use Journier. This is not the fault of the program; it does a good job. Five stars. You can get it for $34.95 at http://journler.com/.
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LaunchBar: This is the handiest program launcher I’ve found. Besides launching programs, it can find files and contacts on your computer; you can drill down to your boss’s phone number, for instance. Hitting enter on an email launches an email to that contact; hitting enter on a phone number shows it in large type; absolutely excellent for quick access to this type of info, or to launch a program. You can get it at http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html and it costs $39. Highly recommended - five stars.
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MacJournal: This is my current favorite journal keeper and blog maintenance software. I’ve been using it a couple of months, and so far haven’t had any problems. It makes it easy to post to blogspot, and keep my personal journal in the same program. It has a nifty full-screen mode, as well. Five stars. http://www.marinersoftware.com/ for $34.95 download.
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MailSteward: a utility to archive all your email in a separate database. It works well with Mail, and can archive everything, or just the mailboxes or accounts you want. It has excellent search capability. If you worry about mail losing things over a long period of time, this is a good way to archive email. I’ve only been using it about a week, but so far it’s worked perfectly. Five stars. You can get it at http://mailsteward.com/ for $49.95.
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Notebook, from Circus Ponies, is one of the first personal information programs I bought for the Mac. It’s a great idea, but I don’t use it much anymore because I find the interface a bit clumsy for the type of information I mostly work with. It would be great for anything you’d keep in a notebook, but for keeping up with project data I find a more free-form method of storage works better for me. Four stars. You can get it at http://www.circusponies.com/ for $49.95.
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Omnifocus is an excellent program for task management. It is built around the Getting Things Done method, and it actually does work well if you use that methodology. I bought a copy and used it for a while, and I may go back to it in the future. My problem is not with the program - it’s just that I’ve not head great success adapting to the methodology, being set in my ways. If you use the Getting Things Done method, this is recommended. Four stars. You can get it at http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/ for $79.95.
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Parallels Desktop - virtual machine software for the Mac. I’m staying away from Windows as much as I can, but sometimes my work requires me to use specific software that isn’t available (directly) on the Mac. Parallels Desktop does an amazing job of allowing me to use my Mac instead of shifting to a Windows machine. I have Vista Business installed in a virtual machine in Parallels. Inside of that, I have certain engineering software installed, including my CAD software, Solid Edge; and I presently do all my CAD work in the virtual machine. I also do Windows program development using Delphi in that environment, for company projects which I maintain. It is amazing that Parallels is efficient enough to allow the use of this type of software. A major benefit is the ability to back up the entire virtual machine to offline storage- if Windows gets a virus, I just replace the virtual machine with the latest backup. Cool stuff. Five Stars. http://www.parallels.com/ for $79. This program made it practical for me to move to the Mac.
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Personal Brain is a personal information manager that is unique in its interface. Basically, you create thoughts which can hold text, or files. You create links to these thoughts. The thoughts float in space on the screen, with lines drawn between them representing the links. The relations you create are the real power of the program. For instance, I have a thought that is titled ‘where to get’ with many categories of purchased items linked below it. Click on one of them, for instance ‘flanges’ and see links to all the vendors from which I might purchase ‘flanges’. This works really well, and this is my primary management tool for my work. This is a very powerful program, and there are versions for the Mac and for Windows. Additionally, you can export your ‘brain’ to your network server and share it with your colleagues. Five Stars, highly recommended. You can get it at http://www.thebrain.com/ for FREE. THe paid version that I bought is $249.95 and I have found it well worth it.
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Quicksilver is similar to LaunchBar in terms of what it can do, but it can do more. Besides being a launcher and information finder, it is possible to process information in interesting ways using QuickSilver. I tried it, but went back to LaunchBar because I just find it more comfortable to use. Quicksilver has a steep learning curve. There probably is a real payoff there, but I didn’t use the advanced features often enough to set them in my memory; so I went back to LanchBar. QuickSilver is free, and you can get it at http://www.blacktree.com/ . If you can get past the learning curve, there’s something powerful there.
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Scrivener. Well, I’m composing this in Scrivener; what can I say? I haven’t tried every word processing program out there, but Scrivener has a unique (in my experience) way of allowing you to compose a complex document and put it all together. You don’t actually work with the formatting; instead, you create the parts of your document, pulling them in to the final document in any order you want. For instance, in this document, I have a sub-document for each program in the review. You don’t have to worry about formatting at all. When you’re done, you export your document to whatever other word processor you want to use for final formatting. This isn’t for jotting down notes or lists; this is for creating complex documents or screenplays, etc. I really like the approach, and it works well for me, for a posting such as the one you are reading. Recommended. Five Stars. You can get it at http://www.literatureandlatte.com/ for $39.95. I like it.
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SOHO Notes: SOHO Notes is a great note-taking application, and you can also store many types of files in it.. If you need a good, quick note taker, this will do the job. Very similar to Yojimbo, except it does support nested folders, a feature I find invaluable in my daily work. Recommended, I use it frequently. Five Stars. You can get it for $39.99 at http://www.chronosnet.com/ .
I don’t particularly recommend the related Organizer package - although it does have features to like, I find it clumsy and it doesn’t add that much to iCal and Address Book.
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TypeIt4Me is a nice little utility that allows you to create boilerplate, basically any text that you find yourself typing over and over. It works as advertised, but I’m about to remove it from my system because I really don’t use it much. I type so fast that by the time I remember that I have an entry in TypeIt4Me, I’ve already typed whatever it was. Since I only actually use it once or twice a week, I don’t see the need for it on my system. However, I do recommend it for you if you do a lot of repetitive typing, or if you think it would speed up your effective typing. It does work well as it is intended to work. Four stars. http://ettoresoftware.com/ for $27.
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VoodooPad is a program I purchased because I got interested in Wicki systems, or hypertext personal information systems. It’s an interesting program, and I occasionally go back to fool around with it. It could be used to set up a linked database of pretty much everything you know, if you take the time to create it. I am still interested in this way of getting at information, but I’m not actively using VoodooPad at this time. It exports to HTML, too, which might be useful. It is capable of doing the sort of thing I’m using Personal Brain for, but without the global view of the linkages that program gives you. It works well, so it gets four stars. You can get it at http://flyingmeat.com/voodoopad/ for about $30.
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In conclusion, there is a lot of really good software out there for the Mac. I tend to specialize in the sort of programs that will help me do my job better, and many of them are represented here. One thing I have noticed; generally speaking, Windows software is way more expensive than equivalent Mac software.
-Pop
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Presidential Candidates
Disclaimer: As you probably already know, I lean a bit right of center in my core beliefs.
This is actually pretty fascinating to watch, if you pay attention.
First, the Democrats got control of both the Senate and the House in the last election. They were euphoric with this victory for a while, and did get some bills passed. But then they turned out to be massively, ludicrously ineffective in producing the most significant results they had promised their backers. In particular, they announced failure in Iraq a wee bit prematurely. And they had promised to force President Bush to pull the troops out, at which they totally failed. They have achieved little but vitriol in this term. They nearly caused major problems for our military in a theater of war, by balking at the financing. So the Democratic Party has not shown much competence or effectiveness while in office so far.
Now, the Democrats have Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama vying for the candidacy for President of the United States. They hope to put one of these two people into that office.
Hillary Clinton, it has become apparent, lies so glibly and frequently that it may be pathological. And so does her husband, who perjured himself under oath while a sitting president. They both have a sort of reality distortion field around them. Hillary’s flat-out pack of lies turns into ‘misspoke’. And Bill “depends on what you mean by ‘is’“. Hillary wants you to think that her experience as first lady translates into real diplomatic experience, when that participation did not include any real negotiating.
Barack Obama, it has become apparent, does not have any real understanding of the core beliefs of the rest of us. He simply doesn’t have the background. He displays a certain arrogance, as does his wife; they are both elitist, just as Hillary says. Additionally, he apparently stands by the beliefs of his former pastor, who is racist and anti-American, and preached hate from the pulpit. Obama has run on a platform of rhetoric, without supplying much in the way of details. He has no experience with foreign diplomacy, and no military experience at all. He’s a college kid with no real-world experience.
Both of these people have a huge lack of experience. Neither has any military experience; neither has any real diplomatic experience. Both have made huge promises that neither can deliver, particularly promising jobs and wealth in states that are presently economically depressed - promises made to get votes. Both are running on a platform of change, but without laying out details. Both want universal health care, a wonderful idea on the face of it - but somebody has to pay for that. Ultimately, the individual tax-payer will bear this cost, and it won’t be cheap.
The Democrats are in trouble. The party has chosen it’s candidates poorly, and their Democratic Congress hasn’t done so well either.
Compare them to Republican John McCain, who does have real military and diplomatic experience; is a bona-fide war hero; suffered real torture as a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years, refusing to leave ahead of others who had been there longer. He went into politics in the early 80’s, gaining more experience both Democrats lack. So far as I am aware, the press hasn’t caught him in a lie, although he has made a gaffe or two. He is willing to admit if he doesn’t know all about a subject (the economy), which I find refreshing. He is against pork-barrel spending, and has demonstrated this by his actions, not just words.
John McCain appears to be an honorable man, and capable as well.
This is how it looks from where I’m sitting. Even though I lean a bit right, I’ve tried to describe here exactly what I see, insofar as it is possible to be unbiased. It looks to me like, ignoring which party they belong to, a rational person would pick McCain.
So how many people will choose the next president based on gender, or color, or political party, rather than character and experience?
-Pop
This is actually pretty fascinating to watch, if you pay attention.
First, the Democrats got control of both the Senate and the House in the last election. They were euphoric with this victory for a while, and did get some bills passed. But then they turned out to be massively, ludicrously ineffective in producing the most significant results they had promised their backers. In particular, they announced failure in Iraq a wee bit prematurely. And they had promised to force President Bush to pull the troops out, at which they totally failed. They have achieved little but vitriol in this term. They nearly caused major problems for our military in a theater of war, by balking at the financing. So the Democratic Party has not shown much competence or effectiveness while in office so far.
Now, the Democrats have Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama vying for the candidacy for President of the United States. They hope to put one of these two people into that office.
Hillary Clinton, it has become apparent, lies so glibly and frequently that it may be pathological. And so does her husband, who perjured himself under oath while a sitting president. They both have a sort of reality distortion field around them. Hillary’s flat-out pack of lies turns into ‘misspoke’. And Bill “depends on what you mean by ‘is’“. Hillary wants you to think that her experience as first lady translates into real diplomatic experience, when that participation did not include any real negotiating.
Barack Obama, it has become apparent, does not have any real understanding of the core beliefs of the rest of us. He simply doesn’t have the background. He displays a certain arrogance, as does his wife; they are both elitist, just as Hillary says. Additionally, he apparently stands by the beliefs of his former pastor, who is racist and anti-American, and preached hate from the pulpit. Obama has run on a platform of rhetoric, without supplying much in the way of details. He has no experience with foreign diplomacy, and no military experience at all. He’s a college kid with no real-world experience.
Both of these people have a huge lack of experience. Neither has any military experience; neither has any real diplomatic experience. Both have made huge promises that neither can deliver, particularly promising jobs and wealth in states that are presently economically depressed - promises made to get votes. Both are running on a platform of change, but without laying out details. Both want universal health care, a wonderful idea on the face of it - but somebody has to pay for that. Ultimately, the individual tax-payer will bear this cost, and it won’t be cheap.
The Democrats are in trouble. The party has chosen it’s candidates poorly, and their Democratic Congress hasn’t done so well either.
Compare them to Republican John McCain, who does have real military and diplomatic experience; is a bona-fide war hero; suffered real torture as a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years, refusing to leave ahead of others who had been there longer. He went into politics in the early 80’s, gaining more experience both Democrats lack. So far as I am aware, the press hasn’t caught him in a lie, although he has made a gaffe or two. He is willing to admit if he doesn’t know all about a subject (the economy), which I find refreshing. He is against pork-barrel spending, and has demonstrated this by his actions, not just words.
John McCain appears to be an honorable man, and capable as well.
This is how it looks from where I’m sitting. Even though I lean a bit right, I’ve tried to describe here exactly what I see, insofar as it is possible to be unbiased. It looks to me like, ignoring which party they belong to, a rational person would pick McCain.
So how many people will choose the next president based on gender, or color, or political party, rather than character and experience?
-Pop
Monday, April 7, 2008
On Hold for Customer "Service"...
I called a certain credit card company to discuss a discrepancy in a bill this morning. After listening to a seemingly endless series of ‘press 4 for this thing’ or ‘press 5 for that thing’ I finally got to the fourth level down, I got to the ‘press 6 to talk to a customer service representative’ which I did. That was the very last option in the menu tree.
Then I waited. And waited. Etcetera. I began to need to go to the bathroom. Pressure was building up. And I waited. And - finally - after about half an hour - a real live human got on the phone!
I discussed my business with her, and she was very helpful. Thank you, Ma’am.
This is “Customer Service” in the United States, today.
Their phone system is specifically designed to discourage you from actually talking to a human. Their goal is for you (the customer) to get frustrated and give up. That’s because they have to pay someone to provide ‘customer service’, and they don’t want to pay any more ‘customer service representatives’ than they have to. They don’t actually care if they have happy customers. I have never called customer service (since the advent of telephone answering computer systems) and had the option of talking to a real live human on the first level of menus.
This says something about our society. I’m not sure just exactly what, but I am sure it isn’t good.
This is right up there with the check-out lanes at Walmart and other similar retailers. When they put in a new Walmart in our town, I looked at the seemingly endless row of check-out stands and thought happily that we would never have to wait in line again!
To my disappointment (but not surprise), Walmart is careful to schedule just enough check-out personnel so that your average wait is 20 minutes. I would lay odds that they have done time studies and found that to be the optimum cost / benefit ratio to maximize profit vs number of cashiers they have to pay vs the level of aggravation customers will withstand and still keep coming back.
I’d rather go somewhere else, and pay more, to avoid the lines. Except - Walmart is the only place you can go and buy groceries, toilet paper, a chain saw, and DVD’s with only one stop. So what do you do? Practically speaking, I have to put up with it, but I don’t have to like it - and I don’t.
-Pop, curmudgeon in training...
Then I waited. And waited. Etcetera. I began to need to go to the bathroom. Pressure was building up. And I waited. And - finally - after about half an hour - a real live human got on the phone!
I discussed my business with her, and she was very helpful. Thank you, Ma’am.
This is “Customer Service” in the United States, today.
Their phone system is specifically designed to discourage you from actually talking to a human. Their goal is for you (the customer) to get frustrated and give up. That’s because they have to pay someone to provide ‘customer service’, and they don’t want to pay any more ‘customer service representatives’ than they have to. They don’t actually care if they have happy customers. I have never called customer service (since the advent of telephone answering computer systems) and had the option of talking to a real live human on the first level of menus.
This says something about our society. I’m not sure just exactly what, but I am sure it isn’t good.
This is right up there with the check-out lanes at Walmart and other similar retailers. When they put in a new Walmart in our town, I looked at the seemingly endless row of check-out stands and thought happily that we would never have to wait in line again!
To my disappointment (but not surprise), Walmart is careful to schedule just enough check-out personnel so that your average wait is 20 minutes. I would lay odds that they have done time studies and found that to be the optimum cost / benefit ratio to maximize profit vs number of cashiers they have to pay vs the level of aggravation customers will withstand and still keep coming back.
I’d rather go somewhere else, and pay more, to avoid the lines. Except - Walmart is the only place you can go and buy groceries, toilet paper, a chain saw, and DVD’s with only one stop. So what do you do? Practically speaking, I have to put up with it, but I don’t have to like it - and I don’t.
-Pop, curmudgeon in training...
Sunday, April 6, 2008
A Beautiful Day
Today is my youngest son’s birthday. We wish he was here, but life is how it is, not always how you wish it.
Today I saw the season’s first hummingbird and bumblebee, too.
I also restarted my exercise regimen - recumbent exercise bicycle.
This morning, I used a weed-burner (flame thrower) to try to burn an old oak log on my property. I’ve been trying to burn this log for years. No joy, I left the burner applied to the same spot of the trunk for half an hour, and still couldn’t get it to ignite.
Not much else going on today. But it was a pretty one. Spent a fair amount of time sitting on the front porch with my feet propped up, reading a book, and watching the cars go by on the highway. Just like my Pop used to do. I remember him fondly.
God is good.
-Pop
Today I saw the season’s first hummingbird and bumblebee, too.
I also restarted my exercise regimen - recumbent exercise bicycle.
This morning, I used a weed-burner (flame thrower) to try to burn an old oak log on my property. I’ve been trying to burn this log for years. No joy, I left the burner applied to the same spot of the trunk for half an hour, and still couldn’t get it to ignite.
Not much else going on today. But it was a pretty one. Spent a fair amount of time sitting on the front porch with my feet propped up, reading a book, and watching the cars go by on the highway. Just like my Pop used to do. I remember him fondly.
God is good.
-Pop
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Cataract update
The ReZoom lens in my left eye is working splendidly. I have excellent distance and middle distance vision (as near as I can tell with the other eye closed), but I still can’t reliably read a book in my hand. It is improving some every day, though. A few days ago, I couldn’t read with it at all. So I’m happy. It is possible I’ll end of needing reading glasses, but maybe not.
One of the really cool things about this is the color shift. For the first time, I realize the walls in my office are not shaded a dingy yellow - they’re white! It’s not a big huge difference, but I had not realized that the cataracts were already affecting my vision.
I am eager to get the other eye done.
-Pop
One of the really cool things about this is the color shift. For the first time, I realize the walls in my office are not shaded a dingy yellow - they’re white! It’s not a big huge difference, but I had not realized that the cataracts were already affecting my vision.
I am eager to get the other eye done.
-Pop
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Cataract Surgery
Today was the day! I had my left eye cataract surgery today. Scary as it is, I’d take this over going to the dentist.
After the paperwork was done, I sat down in a comfortable chair and a nurse administered something like nine different eye drops while she asked me some questions. This nurse also set up an IV type insert on my left hand, and gave me a shot to relax me. Then, I was put on a gurney, where I was hooked up to three of those heart monitor leads, a blood-oxygen clip-on monitor, and a blood pressure cuff. And I got some more drops in my eye. And another shot into the IV insert.
The doctor was supervising, and he did some sort of marks around my eye which he explained was due to the effect astigmatism has on the insertion point. Normally they would make the incision in the eye, directly to the side. In my case, that point was about 45 degrees toward the top of my head.
Then they wheeled me into another room, which was the operating room. I never saw any of this room except the ceiling and a complex piece of equipment hanging therefrom. They got everything situated the way they wanted it, the machine was brought into place over my eye, and the work began.
Something was placed over my eye-socket that pretty much fit all around it. I saw random colors, mostly blue I think, and once I saw something that looked like a bit of oil floating in water. This whole process probably didn’t take ten minutes, but of course I don’t really know the exact time. The stuff they shot into me had me fairly groggy, but I was awake throughout.
When it was over, they unhooked me from everything, sat me in a chair, invited my wife in, and explained what we needed to know about follow-up care. I get to take three different eye-drops for a few days, and go see the doctor tomorrow morning for the follow-up visit. And we went home.
At first, vision in that eye was cloudy and blurry. As the day has proceeded, it gradually has improved, but it still isn’t clear. Also, ten hours after surgery, my eye is still dilated. The doctor tells me that these things are normal.
The lens which was inserted is a ReZoom lens. The published statements about this lens is that about 92% of patients never need to use glasses again. However, vision with these can take a couple of months to get to it’s best. Besides loosing the cataracts, that’s what I’m after. So far, I’m pleased.
They’ll do the other eye on April 23.
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
-Pop
After the paperwork was done, I sat down in a comfortable chair and a nurse administered something like nine different eye drops while she asked me some questions. This nurse also set up an IV type insert on my left hand, and gave me a shot to relax me. Then, I was put on a gurney, where I was hooked up to three of those heart monitor leads, a blood-oxygen clip-on monitor, and a blood pressure cuff. And I got some more drops in my eye. And another shot into the IV insert.
The doctor was supervising, and he did some sort of marks around my eye which he explained was due to the effect astigmatism has on the insertion point. Normally they would make the incision in the eye, directly to the side. In my case, that point was about 45 degrees toward the top of my head.
Then they wheeled me into another room, which was the operating room. I never saw any of this room except the ceiling and a complex piece of equipment hanging therefrom. They got everything situated the way they wanted it, the machine was brought into place over my eye, and the work began.
Something was placed over my eye-socket that pretty much fit all around it. I saw random colors, mostly blue I think, and once I saw something that looked like a bit of oil floating in water. This whole process probably didn’t take ten minutes, but of course I don’t really know the exact time. The stuff they shot into me had me fairly groggy, but I was awake throughout.
When it was over, they unhooked me from everything, sat me in a chair, invited my wife in, and explained what we needed to know about follow-up care. I get to take three different eye-drops for a few days, and go see the doctor tomorrow morning for the follow-up visit. And we went home.
At first, vision in that eye was cloudy and blurry. As the day has proceeded, it gradually has improved, but it still isn’t clear. Also, ten hours after surgery, my eye is still dilated. The doctor tells me that these things are normal.
The lens which was inserted is a ReZoom lens. The published statements about this lens is that about 92% of patients never need to use glasses again. However, vision with these can take a couple of months to get to it’s best. Besides loosing the cataracts, that’s what I’m after. So far, I’m pleased.
They’ll do the other eye on April 23.
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
-Pop
Monday, March 24, 2008
Clinton's Creative Expression
Hillary “misspoke” with the sniper fire remark.
“That depends on what you mean by ‘is’”. -President Clinton
Do you begin to see a trend, here?
-Pop
“That depends on what you mean by ‘is’”. -President Clinton
Do you begin to see a trend, here?
-Pop
Friday, March 21, 2008
Hate from the Pulpit
As a general comment on all this racist stuff with Obama’s preacher, and any other supposedly Christian preacher that preaches in that style, I have this to say:
Jesus never preached hate. Not once.
I strongly suggest that any preacher that does preach hate is not filled with the Holy Spirit, nor is he following the example of Jesus.
15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' - The Holy Bible - Matthew 7:15-23
Emphasis mine. That pretty much sums it up. Reverend Wright is walking down a dangerous path, as are many, many other pastors in this world.
-Pop
Jesus never preached hate. Not once.
I strongly suggest that any preacher that does preach hate is not filled with the Holy Spirit, nor is he following the example of Jesus.
15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' - The Holy Bible - Matthew 7:15-23
Emphasis mine. That pretty much sums it up. Reverend Wright is walking down a dangerous path, as are many, many other pastors in this world.
-Pop
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Spring!
Today, the oak trees here in East Texas are blooming. In just a couple of days, all the bare limbs will be gone and all the trees will have shiny new green leaves.
Beautiful.
Mowed the yard for the first time this year, this afternoon.
-Pop
Beautiful.
Mowed the yard for the first time this year, this afternoon.
-Pop
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Political Scandals
I’ve been seeing all this about the Spitzer / hooker incident, and it got me to wondering what the scorecard is for Democrats vs Republicans on scandal. There’s a good article on Wikipedia here. I added up the Democrats and the Republicans that got caught being involved in sexual scandals. I get Democrats 29, Republicans 27.
That’s so close that either party should be careful about flinging stones at the other side.
And now we know without any doubt whatever that Washington really is full of scoundrels!
-Pop
That’s so close that either party should be careful about flinging stones at the other side.
And now we know without any doubt whatever that Washington really is full of scoundrels!
-Pop
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Easter Eggs
I was in Wal-Mart the other day, and I came across something I’d never seen before: Easter egg color kits - in camo.
That’s right, friends, you can now make it nearly impossible for your young child to find their eggs!
What a concept!
-Pop
That’s right, friends, you can now make it nearly impossible for your young child to find their eggs!
What a concept!
-Pop
Friday, March 7, 2008
Everybody Look the Other Way!
“When good men stand by and do nothing, evil prevails.”
I’m sure this is a (mis)quote but I cannot find the source to give reference or to check it.
I have witnessed a very peculiar thing, and been a part of it. There are many documented cases of muggings, murder, rape, etc happening in the presence of bystanders, who did nothing to help. I don’t understand the psychology of this, but it is clear that it does happen, and frequently.
Over the past year, I have documented and observed a number of things at my church that disturb me. I won’t go into the details of that here; but most of it concerned the pastor, who has been there around two years now. These issues are to the extent that I began to wonder if the pastor was actually a Christian; and at that point, I quit supporting the church with money or attendance.
On several occasions I had wanted to confront the pastor about these things, but family and friends advised me not to do so.
About a week ago, this came to a head. Correspondence between myself and the pastor resulted in setting up a meeting to discuss the issues I had discovered (the details of which he remains ignorant). He and a deacon were to come to my home so we could go over these things and try to make peace.
In the days before the scheduled visit, I prepared detailed notes of the issues to be discussed. I sent early copies to certain individuals that I trust, including my wife.
All agree that the documentation is good, the issues are real, and every one of these people think I am in the right.
But almost all of them advised me to drop it and not have the meeting. < EDIT 3/27/08: two of my friends pointed out that they did not advise me to drop it.>
I don’t understand this culture of silence, that says ‘thou shall not confront the pastor’. I simply do not understand why, knowing someone in authority is misusing that authority, he should not be confronted. I mean, the man is an employee, and I pay his salary, and I have a problem with his job performance. I don’t get it. However, when that many people tell me not to do something, I do listen, not being an idiot. They’re bound to know something I don’t.
So I called off the meeting, told the preacher that I would have no further communication with him, and it’s over for good. I will now leave that church and not go back until that pastor has gone.
And the man is still in his position, and he will continue to do the things he’s been doing, and nobody will call him on it. And, in my opinion, he is going to eventually destroy that church.
Beats me. It feels like watching somebody getting mugged. I have felt for months that I should take action to try to stop this misbehavior, or at least make sure the pastor is actually aware of what he is doing. But universally, every person I’ve talked to about this tells me to let it go. And so I’m done with it.
On the advice of good people, I will stand by and do nothing.
But I just don’t get it. And I don’t like it.
-Pop
I’m sure this is a (mis)quote but I cannot find the source to give reference or to check it.
I have witnessed a very peculiar thing, and been a part of it. There are many documented cases of muggings, murder, rape, etc happening in the presence of bystanders, who did nothing to help. I don’t understand the psychology of this, but it is clear that it does happen, and frequently.
Over the past year, I have documented and observed a number of things at my church that disturb me. I won’t go into the details of that here; but most of it concerned the pastor, who has been there around two years now. These issues are to the extent that I began to wonder if the pastor was actually a Christian; and at that point, I quit supporting the church with money or attendance.
On several occasions I had wanted to confront the pastor about these things, but family and friends advised me not to do so.
About a week ago, this came to a head. Correspondence between myself and the pastor resulted in setting up a meeting to discuss the issues I had discovered (the details of which he remains ignorant). He and a deacon were to come to my home so we could go over these things and try to make peace.
In the days before the scheduled visit, I prepared detailed notes of the issues to be discussed. I sent early copies to certain individuals that I trust, including my wife.
All agree that the documentation is good, the issues are real, and every one of these people think I am in the right.
But almost all of them advised me to drop it and not have the meeting. < EDIT 3/27/08: two of my friends pointed out that they did not advise me to drop it.>
I don’t understand this culture of silence, that says ‘thou shall not confront the pastor’. I simply do not understand why, knowing someone in authority is misusing that authority, he should not be confronted. I mean, the man is an employee, and I pay his salary, and I have a problem with his job performance. I don’t get it. However, when that many people tell me not to do something, I do listen, not being an idiot. They’re bound to know something I don’t.
So I called off the meeting, told the preacher that I would have no further communication with him, and it’s over for good. I will now leave that church and not go back until that pastor has gone.
And the man is still in his position, and he will continue to do the things he’s been doing, and nobody will call him on it. And, in my opinion, he is going to eventually destroy that church.
Beats me. It feels like watching somebody getting mugged. I have felt for months that I should take action to try to stop this misbehavior, or at least make sure the pastor is actually aware of what he is doing. But universally, every person I’ve talked to about this tells me to let it go. And so I’m done with it.
On the advice of good people, I will stand by and do nothing.
But I just don’t get it. And I don’t like it.
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Democrats Have a Little Trouble
It’s fascinating to me that the Democratic party seems to be so incompetent that they cannot even run a smooth primary. I seriously fear for our country if this bunch actually gets in control.
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Thursday, March 6, 2008
When Good Men do Nothing
Evil flourishes when good men stand by and do nothing.
I’m seeing it happen at my church. What a tragedy.
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I’m seeing it happen at my church. What a tragedy.
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Sunday, March 2, 2008
The Most Artistic Way to Lie
From Time Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein - the two most artistic ways to tell a lie.
“It’s not enough to be able to lie with a straight face; anybody with enough gall to raise on a busted flush can do that. The first way to lie artistically is to tell the truth - but not all of it. The second way involves telling the truth, too, but is harder: Tell the exact truth and maybe all of it .. but tell it so unconvincingly that your listener is sure you are lying.”
Politicians, take note...
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“It’s not enough to be able to lie with a straight face; anybody with enough gall to raise on a busted flush can do that. The first way to lie artistically is to tell the truth - but not all of it. The second way involves telling the truth, too, but is harder: Tell the exact truth and maybe all of it .. but tell it so unconvincingly that your listener is sure you are lying.”
Politicians, take note...
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Israel vs Palestine
In the news stories you see Palestinians being quoted as complaining about ‘Israel’s crimes’ and other similar statements. It amazes me that 1) they can say it with a straight face and 2) apparently, a large part of the world believes it.
From what I have read, Palestinians fired the first rocket of this exchange. Israel has just as much right to defend itself against an attack on its territory as any other country - or individual for that matter.
The Palestinians want to lob rockets at random over into Israel, at non-military areas, and then have the gall to act surprised and indignant at what happens next. If you are stupid enough to lob rocks at a hornet nest, you deserve what happens to you.
The terrible, awful thing about it is that innocents are killed. But the reason they are in the line of fire is that those civilians permit the terrorists to set up rocket-launching sites in their midst. If those cowardly terrorists cared about those civilians they would not use them as human shields and then act indignant when civilians get caught in the cross-fire.
The UN chief has urged Israel to show restraint. I wonder if he urged Palestine to show restraint?
If, for instance, Mexican militant organizations started lobbing missiles over into Texas, how long do you think it would take the US to remove the threat? Shucks, if the US government failed to correct the situation, Texas would on its own.
Every individual and every country has the right to self defense.
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From what I have read, Palestinians fired the first rocket of this exchange. Israel has just as much right to defend itself against an attack on its territory as any other country - or individual for that matter.
The Palestinians want to lob rockets at random over into Israel, at non-military areas, and then have the gall to act surprised and indignant at what happens next. If you are stupid enough to lob rocks at a hornet nest, you deserve what happens to you.
The terrible, awful thing about it is that innocents are killed. But the reason they are in the line of fire is that those civilians permit the terrorists to set up rocket-launching sites in their midst. If those cowardly terrorists cared about those civilians they would not use them as human shields and then act indignant when civilians get caught in the cross-fire.
The UN chief has urged Israel to show restraint. I wonder if he urged Palestine to show restraint?
If, for instance, Mexican militant organizations started lobbing missiles over into Texas, how long do you think it would take the US to remove the threat? Shucks, if the US government failed to correct the situation, Texas would on its own.
Every individual and every country has the right to self defense.
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Friday, February 29, 2008
The Eyes Have It part 2
I’m on for the lens replacement surgery. My left eye will be March 26; my right eye will be April 23. I wish it was closer together, but that’s the way it came out.
I’ll keep you posted on what it’s like.
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I’ll keep you posted on what it’s like.
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Monday, February 18, 2008
The Eyes Have It...
Today I went to my regular optometrist to get my regularly scheduled eye exam. He confirmed that I do have the early stages of cataracts which I mentioned earlier. He tells me that I probably have around ten years before it’s a serious problem. My eyes are otherwise very healthy, with no sign of any other problem. He feels that now’s the time, from a medical standpoint.
So now I have a choice: buy new glasses and wait on the lens replacement, or go ahead and do it now. I think It’s going to be sooner rather than later. For those of you who don’t know, they can now correct your vision in the course of doing the lens replacement. This is very attractive to me. On the other hand, it will cost about as much as my next motorcycle would.
But I really, really want to throw away my glasses. I’ve been wearing them for 44 years, and in my current state I have to swap from regular to computer glasses probably 20 times a day. Which I hate.
Decisions, decisions... What would YOU do?
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So now I have a choice: buy new glasses and wait on the lens replacement, or go ahead and do it now. I think It’s going to be sooner rather than later. For those of you who don’t know, they can now correct your vision in the course of doing the lens replacement. This is very attractive to me. On the other hand, it will cost about as much as my next motorcycle would.
But I really, really want to throw away my glasses. I’ve been wearing them for 44 years, and in my current state I have to swap from regular to computer glasses probably 20 times a day. Which I hate.
Decisions, decisions... What would YOU do?
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Saturday, February 16, 2008
And Yet Another Gun-Free Zone Rampage...
Howdy, everybody.
Gun free zones DON’T WORK. If ONE person in the auditorium in Illinois had been armed, it is very likely the death toll would have been much less. The Munchkin Wrangler says it very well.
How many more people will die because of this plain-stupid idea that a law declaring an area to be a gun-free zone will actually make it so?
God protect us from our law-makers! They disarm us, but they don’t protect us.
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Gun free zones DON’T WORK. If ONE person in the auditorium in Illinois had been armed, it is very likely the death toll would have been much less. The Munchkin Wrangler says it very well.
How many more people will die because of this plain-stupid idea that a law declaring an area to be a gun-free zone will actually make it so?
God protect us from our law-makers! They disarm us, but they don’t protect us.
-Pop
Monday, February 4, 2008
Hillary...
Apparently, Hillary has taught herself to cry at will...
How transparent!! And, come on - wimpy! Do you Democrats really want the President of the United States to be someone that either A) so transparently and obviously tries to manipulate you, or B) is so weak as to be reduced to tears on national TV? Twice??
I don’t believe for a moment that ANY foreign government would take Hillary seriously after this. Nor should they! What a joke!
If Hillary really is allowing the campaign pressure to get to her, than she most certainly is not presidential material. The pressure of being president has got to be among the most high-pressure jobs in the world!
Unbelievable!!
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How transparent!! And, come on - wimpy! Do you Democrats really want the President of the United States to be someone that either A) so transparently and obviously tries to manipulate you, or B) is so weak as to be reduced to tears on national TV? Twice??
I don’t believe for a moment that ANY foreign government would take Hillary seriously after this. Nor should they! What a joke!
If Hillary really is allowing the campaign pressure to get to her, than she most certainly is not presidential material. The pressure of being president has got to be among the most high-pressure jobs in the world!
Unbelievable!!
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Sunday, February 3, 2008
Alcoholism
Howdy;
This morning, I heard alcoholism referred to as a ‘disease’ on the radio. So I looked up the definition of ‘disease’, and I found, to my surprise, that alcoholism could possibly fall within the definition.
I always thought that a disease was a sickness you get from an infectious agent of some kind.
I want to be perfectly clear here: Alcoholism is something you do to yourself, voluntarily; and as such, it does NOT deserve the sympathy that should be reserved for the sick. I reserve my sympathy for the families and coworkers of the alcoholic; but I spare none for the alcoholic himself.
I’ve seen up close and personal the things that go on in the families of an alcoholic - and I have no sympathy at all for the alcoholic.
If you feel that you need to drink, for whatever reason, be aware that you are making a choice that can and will affect everyone around you, most especially those who love you. If you become an alcoholic as a result of your behavior, you WILL put all those you love through hell. So don’t.
This exact same sentiment applies to doing recreational drugs of any sort, as well.
Don’t go there!
-Pop
This morning, I heard alcoholism referred to as a ‘disease’ on the radio. So I looked up the definition of ‘disease’, and I found, to my surprise, that alcoholism could possibly fall within the definition.
I always thought that a disease was a sickness you get from an infectious agent of some kind.
I want to be perfectly clear here: Alcoholism is something you do to yourself, voluntarily; and as such, it does NOT deserve the sympathy that should be reserved for the sick. I reserve my sympathy for the families and coworkers of the alcoholic; but I spare none for the alcoholic himself.
I’ve seen up close and personal the things that go on in the families of an alcoholic - and I have no sympathy at all for the alcoholic.
If you feel that you need to drink, for whatever reason, be aware that you are making a choice that can and will affect everyone around you, most especially those who love you. If you become an alcoholic as a result of your behavior, you WILL put all those you love through hell. So don’t.
This exact same sentiment applies to doing recreational drugs of any sort, as well.
Don’t go there!
-Pop
Friday, February 1, 2008
Democrats vs Republicans
Frankly, I’m getting tired of thinking about it. But I do have some opinions, and I’m entitled to mine just as you are yours. Here’s what I think:
Democrats and the far left are anti-second amendment. It bothers me that they apparently do not believe that I can be trusted not to go on a shooting spree. At root, the Democrats do not believe that the common, law abiding person has the self discipline to handle owning and carrying guns. Well, frankly, I do have that self discipline, and I resent the implication that I can’t be trusted. Or maybe they’re afraid of us.
Republicans, on the other hand, are pro second amendment. Republicans trust me with a gun. They encourage me to defend my family, myself, and those needing protection around me. I like that.
I hear that the Democrats want ‘socialized medicine’.
Now, I know that our medical system is broken. Part of this is that it just isn’t as simple as it needs to be. A hundred years ago, you go to your doctor; you get treated; you pay the doc; minimum money spent. Today, though - you, or somebody, pays insurance premiums continuously. You get sick, you go to your doctor; you get treated; someone gets paid to fill out forms and insurance gets filed; you still pay the doctor a copay, usually; the insurance company pays some or most of your bill. But think about this - the insurance company is making money doing this. All the employees required to do all that paperwork, and all those lawyers, and lawsuits, and all those insurance executives, are living off of your insurance premiums, ultimately. In the end, the cost of medical care is inflated by the cost of the entire insurance industry. What the heck are we paying all those people for?
Back to HillaryCare and it’s variations from the Democrats. They want to require everyone to have insurance. A lot of people find that attractive, Shucks, I find it attractive, too. But, who is going to pay for it? If we pay for it in taxes or any scheme that evenly distributes the costs of the insurance, isn’t that unfairly penalizing healthy people? I guess maybe the justification is that we all benefit from a healthy society. Pretty hard to quantify the benefit of a healthy society to me, though. And, do you spend a million dollars to keep somebody alive another month? Who decides? Pretty soon these people will begin thinking that benefits should only be applied to the non-hopeless cases, to cut costs. Shortly after that, somebody will introduce the idea of euthanasia of old people. And so on. I think socialized medicine may be a very slippery slope, and the individual will no longer have any control over it. Mother Hillary will take care of You!
From the debates a couple of nights ago, most of the current plans involve requiring mandatory insurance. There seem to be different ways of paying for it, but no matter how you slice it, in the long run we the people will foot the bill. If we’re going to foot the bill anyway, why don’t we just axe the entire insurance industry and save all that overhead cost? But I can’t see this happening - the insurance industry spends a LOT of money in Washington. YOUR money. And both the leading Democratic candidates have already said they will raise taxes. Bend over, here it comes!
What do the Republicans say? Well, I don’t think anything much will change on that score. Listening to the debate, I think they want to improve the system, but they say that it won’t be mandatory; so at least we’ll have some choice, something the Democrats won’t give us. I think Republicans probably make better neighbors than Democrats; they don’t seem to get in your business quite as much.
I kind of like Robert A. Heinlein’s idea, mentioned in his novel “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, that if you need insurance, you find a bookie and place a bet - on the progression of your health, for instance. It’d be a heck of a lot simpler than what we do now.
in general, Democrats want more government control of individuals and individual rights. This is the same thing any dictator wants, and that comparison makes me nervous. Once you give them that control, it will take revolution to get it back.
In general, the Republicans want to promote capitalism, a system that has it’s good side and it’s dark side, but it does seem to work pretty well. People that are willing to get out and work, and think about what they’re doing, will do well with the Republicans, People who want the government to spoon-feed them will lean towards the Democrats.
Personally, I don’t want or need the government in my business any more than necessary for the defense of the country as a whole. This causes me to lean towards the Republicans.
-Pop
Democrats and the far left are anti-second amendment. It bothers me that they apparently do not believe that I can be trusted not to go on a shooting spree. At root, the Democrats do not believe that the common, law abiding person has the self discipline to handle owning and carrying guns. Well, frankly, I do have that self discipline, and I resent the implication that I can’t be trusted. Or maybe they’re afraid of us.
Republicans, on the other hand, are pro second amendment. Republicans trust me with a gun. They encourage me to defend my family, myself, and those needing protection around me. I like that.
I hear that the Democrats want ‘socialized medicine’.
Now, I know that our medical system is broken. Part of this is that it just isn’t as simple as it needs to be. A hundred years ago, you go to your doctor; you get treated; you pay the doc; minimum money spent. Today, though - you, or somebody, pays insurance premiums continuously. You get sick, you go to your doctor; you get treated; someone gets paid to fill out forms and insurance gets filed; you still pay the doctor a copay, usually; the insurance company pays some or most of your bill. But think about this - the insurance company is making money doing this. All the employees required to do all that paperwork, and all those lawyers, and lawsuits, and all those insurance executives, are living off of your insurance premiums, ultimately. In the end, the cost of medical care is inflated by the cost of the entire insurance industry. What the heck are we paying all those people for?
Back to HillaryCare and it’s variations from the Democrats. They want to require everyone to have insurance. A lot of people find that attractive, Shucks, I find it attractive, too. But, who is going to pay for it? If we pay for it in taxes or any scheme that evenly distributes the costs of the insurance, isn’t that unfairly penalizing healthy people? I guess maybe the justification is that we all benefit from a healthy society. Pretty hard to quantify the benefit of a healthy society to me, though. And, do you spend a million dollars to keep somebody alive another month? Who decides? Pretty soon these people will begin thinking that benefits should only be applied to the non-hopeless cases, to cut costs. Shortly after that, somebody will introduce the idea of euthanasia of old people. And so on. I think socialized medicine may be a very slippery slope, and the individual will no longer have any control over it. Mother Hillary will take care of You!
From the debates a couple of nights ago, most of the current plans involve requiring mandatory insurance. There seem to be different ways of paying for it, but no matter how you slice it, in the long run we the people will foot the bill. If we’re going to foot the bill anyway, why don’t we just axe the entire insurance industry and save all that overhead cost? But I can’t see this happening - the insurance industry spends a LOT of money in Washington. YOUR money. And both the leading Democratic candidates have already said they will raise taxes. Bend over, here it comes!
What do the Republicans say? Well, I don’t think anything much will change on that score. Listening to the debate, I think they want to improve the system, but they say that it won’t be mandatory; so at least we’ll have some choice, something the Democrats won’t give us. I think Republicans probably make better neighbors than Democrats; they don’t seem to get in your business quite as much.
I kind of like Robert A. Heinlein’s idea, mentioned in his novel “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, that if you need insurance, you find a bookie and place a bet - on the progression of your health, for instance. It’d be a heck of a lot simpler than what we do now.
in general, Democrats want more government control of individuals and individual rights. This is the same thing any dictator wants, and that comparison makes me nervous. Once you give them that control, it will take revolution to get it back.
In general, the Republicans want to promote capitalism, a system that has it’s good side and it’s dark side, but it does seem to work pretty well. People that are willing to get out and work, and think about what they’re doing, will do well with the Republicans, People who want the government to spoon-feed them will lean towards the Democrats.
Personally, I don’t want or need the government in my business any more than necessary for the defense of the country as a whole. This causes me to lean towards the Republicans.
-Pop
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Wireless Internet Goodness for the Mac
Howdy, Everybody;
Yesterday, I bought the Alltel branded version of the UTStarcom UM150 wireless modem, and added that line to my cellular account. Unlimited access.
After some bobbles because the product was new to the sales staff, it is now working well; using www.internetfrog.com broadband test to check performance, I’ve seen download speeds as low as 400 kbps and as high as 950 kpps, which is respectable. These numbers are true both at my office and at my home.
The significance is that out where I live, up until this became available the ONLY option for broadband was satellite internet. Where I live there is no DSL, no Cable, no fiber-optic lines. Over the years, I have tried Starband, and Hughesnet (formerly Direcway), both satellite providers. Both are adequate but not great. Their main selling point is that they work, but frequently performance is not as advertised, and, frankly, service generally sucks. As of this morning, the download speed on the satellite was OK but the upload speed was about 1/4 the advertised speed.
Now I have a different option. It’s working well so far, and compatible with the Macbook Pro. I may replace the satellite system with one of these. A little gadget about the size of a pocket knife that can replace a satellite dish on a pole, about 120 feet of wire, and a modem/router about the size of a ring binder. With comparable performance. For about $10 a month less. And it’s portable. I’ve also noticed the lack of latency you get with satellite; with satellite you actually have to factor in the speed of light to the geostationary satellite, in both directions. The signal travels 50,000 miles minimum even if you’re only sending an email next door. So response on the cellular system is a bit snappier.
So far, I’m impressed. We’ll see how it goes.
-Pop
Yesterday, I bought the Alltel branded version of the UTStarcom UM150 wireless modem, and added that line to my cellular account. Unlimited access.
After some bobbles because the product was new to the sales staff, it is now working well; using www.internetfrog.com broadband test to check performance, I’ve seen download speeds as low as 400 kbps and as high as 950 kpps, which is respectable. These numbers are true both at my office and at my home.
The significance is that out where I live, up until this became available the ONLY option for broadband was satellite internet. Where I live there is no DSL, no Cable, no fiber-optic lines. Over the years, I have tried Starband, and Hughesnet (formerly Direcway), both satellite providers. Both are adequate but not great. Their main selling point is that they work, but frequently performance is not as advertised, and, frankly, service generally sucks. As of this morning, the download speed on the satellite was OK but the upload speed was about 1/4 the advertised speed.
Now I have a different option. It’s working well so far, and compatible with the Macbook Pro. I may replace the satellite system with one of these. A little gadget about the size of a pocket knife that can replace a satellite dish on a pole, about 120 feet of wire, and a modem/router about the size of a ring binder. With comparable performance. For about $10 a month less. And it’s portable. I’ve also noticed the lack of latency you get with satellite; with satellite you actually have to factor in the speed of light to the geostationary satellite, in both directions. The signal travels 50,000 miles minimum even if you’re only sending an email next door. So response on the cellular system is a bit snappier.
So far, I’m impressed. We’ll see how it goes.
-Pop
Friday, January 25, 2008
To My Church
You can fool all of the people some of the time;
and you can fool some of the people all the time;
But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
We know what you’re up to.
-Pop
and you can fool some of the people all the time;
But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
We know what you’re up to.
-Pop
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Nature of a Lie
Howdy, friends;
The Center for Public Integrity has published a supposedly unbiased report that George Bush and the Bush administration lied to the public hundreds of times about WMD's and related subjects in Iraq prior to the war.
The Center for Public Integrity is funded by George Soros and others. You can read about their funding at Captain's Quarters. They are hardly unbiased, as you will see in that article. If you haven't heard about George Soros, you need to look into it - he is anti-everything American, pretty much.
Who's lying, here? An organization that is deceptive from the word go (by not admitting their funding, and pretending to be unbiased) is trying to push it's own political agenda, and they are so far left that they're up to their neck in the Pacific.
I've always believed that to lie implies conscious intent to tell an untruth. In fact, looking it up in the dictionary, lie is defined as "an intentionally false statement" (emphasis mine). If you, in good faith, relay information you believe to be good, and it later turns out to be wrong, you didn't lie, although you did tell an untruth that you believed was truth at the time. There's no sin in that, because there was no intent.
The fact is, we know that President Bush relied on information provided by the U.S. intelligence services. Frankly, we don't know if he lied, because we don't know what he knew at the time. Accusing him of lying is a bit over the line; at most, we can say that we don't know whether he lied or not.
As far as we now know, President Bush is guilty at most of trusting the intelligence apparatus of the U.S. government; and that apparatus was in place long before Bush became president. We also don't know whether the intelligence group lied to Bush, or were simply wrong in their assessment of information. Bear in mind that these statements may need to be revised as new information becomes available.
Let's put a little thought into things, and try to separate fact from (politically motivated) opinion, before deciding what we believe - and what we repeat to those around us.
How about you? Would YOU want to be held to the standard that you are responsible for the absolute truth of every statement you made?
Think about it.
-Pop
The Center for Public Integrity has published a supposedly unbiased report that George Bush and the Bush administration lied to the public hundreds of times about WMD's and related subjects in Iraq prior to the war.
The Center for Public Integrity is funded by George Soros and others. You can read about their funding at Captain's Quarters. They are hardly unbiased, as you will see in that article. If you haven't heard about George Soros, you need to look into it - he is anti-everything American, pretty much.
Who's lying, here? An organization that is deceptive from the word go (by not admitting their funding, and pretending to be unbiased) is trying to push it's own political agenda, and they are so far left that they're up to their neck in the Pacific.
I've always believed that to lie implies conscious intent to tell an untruth. In fact, looking it up in the dictionary, lie is defined as "an intentionally false statement" (emphasis mine). If you, in good faith, relay information you believe to be good, and it later turns out to be wrong, you didn't lie, although you did tell an untruth that you believed was truth at the time. There's no sin in that, because there was no intent.
The fact is, we know that President Bush relied on information provided by the U.S. intelligence services. Frankly, we don't know if he lied, because we don't know what he knew at the time. Accusing him of lying is a bit over the line; at most, we can say that we don't know whether he lied or not.
As far as we now know, President Bush is guilty at most of trusting the intelligence apparatus of the U.S. government; and that apparatus was in place long before Bush became president. We also don't know whether the intelligence group lied to Bush, or were simply wrong in their assessment of information. Bear in mind that these statements may need to be revised as new information becomes available.
Let's put a little thought into things, and try to separate fact from (politically motivated) opinion, before deciding what we believe - and what we repeat to those around us.
How about you? Would YOU want to be held to the standard that you are responsible for the absolute truth of every statement you made?
Think about it.
-Pop
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
History Shock...
Howdy, everybody;
One of my coworkers was just showing me his duck pictures, from his most recent hunt. He's an avid duck hunter. I will never forget the day that he told me he had an electric duck. Yeah, right...
Not knowing anything myself about duck hunting, I had not known that they have decoys that have movable wings, and several other variations. Some of them will even paddle around out on the pond, the better to simulate a live duck. It was really funny at the time, and I gave him a hard time about his electric duck.
Then I had this thought: If you had told me when I was 16 years old that I would spend ten years or so of my career occasionally cleaning mouse balls, until the advent of the laser mouse, I would have said "No Way!". But that's the way it turned out.
So, readers - what temporal anomalies have you noticed in your lives? Feel free to post them here - maybe we'll start a collection.
-Pop
One of my coworkers was just showing me his duck pictures, from his most recent hunt. He's an avid duck hunter. I will never forget the day that he told me he had an electric duck. Yeah, right...
Not knowing anything myself about duck hunting, I had not known that they have decoys that have movable wings, and several other variations. Some of them will even paddle around out on the pond, the better to simulate a live duck. It was really funny at the time, and I gave him a hard time about his electric duck.
Then I had this thought: If you had told me when I was 16 years old that I would spend ten years or so of my career occasionally cleaning mouse balls, until the advent of the laser mouse, I would have said "No Way!". But that's the way it turned out.
So, readers - what temporal anomalies have you noticed in your lives? Feel free to post them here - maybe we'll start a collection.
-Pop
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I still love my Mac, part 2.
A few minutes ago I came across a one-page website put up by somebody who blasted Mac lovers for loving their Macs. Very rudely. Sad - for the author. I guess he got insulted because somebody was going on and on about it.
Folks, the Mac is not perfect, any more than anything else made by man is perfect. It will sometimes have failures, and the vagaries of computers apply to the Mac as well as the Windows PC. If you expect perfection, you won't find it here.
Having said that, simply put, the frustration level is way less on a Mac. Compared to any other system currently available for the personal computer market.
I've been there and I've done that, and I've examined both systems looking for the best solution available. I have also looked at Linux (several different distributions), OS/2, BeOS (which had great performance, but was sidelined due to insanely poor business practice), EVERY version of Windows since 3.0, DOS, and CP/M before that. I haven't just loaded them up and looked at them, I've used every one and became proficient on most. And yes, I have Vista installed in a VM on my Mac. It works, and I use it for certain tasks, but I don't linger when I'm done working there. I have been responsible for maintaining all the computers in every place I've worked in the last 20 years. So I know just about everything that can go wrong on a computer.
I'm using a Mac by choice. It is a net improvement to my life.
No, it's not perfect. But it is so much less painful than working with Windows that I've adopted it wholeheartedly. I no longer spend nearly so much time (and money) just maintaining my system. It makes many things fun to do. In fact, it is so much better than Windows that I find myself typing articles like this one; something I never felt motivated to do for Windows.
OS X is subtle in many ways. For instance, in Microsoft Word, you have spell check? On the Mac, everything has spell check - it's universal. On my PC at work, I have occasionally launched Word just so I could see how to spell something. On the Mac, not necessary. You might not even notice this for a long time, but it's a real blessing. It's even a great thing for developers - they don't have to figure out how to implement spell check in their programs. Many other things are similar, in that you one day realize how well it all works.
Is there a learning curve? Yes. I've been using it a bit over a year, now, and I still learn little things about making it do what I want. For instance, the Mac keyboard doesn't have a delete-to-the-right button; the delete key deletes the letter to the left. Just a day or two ago, I found out that the delete-to-the-right function is the delete key with the Fn button held down. It was there all along. I came across it in the excellent Missing Manual book, Mac OS X Leopard Edition, which I'm currently reading.
There is a class of people I have worked with who just can't handle change. If you are one of them, stick with what you've got. It's your loss, not mine. Don't complain because it doesn't act like Windows; you have to understand that it's NOT Windows. As for me, I will try new tools that become available to see if there is merit in them. In the Mac, I find lots of merit.
So you do have to be willing to learn new things - Mac OS X is NOT Windows, although they have many similarities. If you get frustrated because it isn't Windows, maybe it isn't for you. But if you want a system that doesn't aggravate you regularly, buy a Mac.
Have fun!
-Pop
Folks, the Mac is not perfect, any more than anything else made by man is perfect. It will sometimes have failures, and the vagaries of computers apply to the Mac as well as the Windows PC. If you expect perfection, you won't find it here.
Having said that, simply put, the frustration level is way less on a Mac. Compared to any other system currently available for the personal computer market.
I've been there and I've done that, and I've examined both systems looking for the best solution available. I have also looked at Linux (several different distributions), OS/2, BeOS (which had great performance, but was sidelined due to insanely poor business practice), EVERY version of Windows since 3.0, DOS, and CP/M before that. I haven't just loaded them up and looked at them, I've used every one and became proficient on most. And yes, I have Vista installed in a VM on my Mac. It works, and I use it for certain tasks, but I don't linger when I'm done working there. I have been responsible for maintaining all the computers in every place I've worked in the last 20 years. So I know just about everything that can go wrong on a computer.
I'm using a Mac by choice. It is a net improvement to my life.
No, it's not perfect. But it is so much less painful than working with Windows that I've adopted it wholeheartedly. I no longer spend nearly so much time (and money) just maintaining my system. It makes many things fun to do. In fact, it is so much better than Windows that I find myself typing articles like this one; something I never felt motivated to do for Windows.
OS X is subtle in many ways. For instance, in Microsoft Word, you have spell check? On the Mac, everything has spell check - it's universal. On my PC at work, I have occasionally launched Word just so I could see how to spell something. On the Mac, not necessary. You might not even notice this for a long time, but it's a real blessing. It's even a great thing for developers - they don't have to figure out how to implement spell check in their programs. Many other things are similar, in that you one day realize how well it all works.
Is there a learning curve? Yes. I've been using it a bit over a year, now, and I still learn little things about making it do what I want. For instance, the Mac keyboard doesn't have a delete-to-the-right button; the delete key deletes the letter to the left. Just a day or two ago, I found out that the delete-to-the-right function is the delete key with the Fn button held down. It was there all along. I came across it in the excellent Missing Manual book, Mac OS X Leopard Edition, which I'm currently reading.
There is a class of people I have worked with who just can't handle change. If you are one of them, stick with what you've got. It's your loss, not mine. Don't complain because it doesn't act like Windows; you have to understand that it's NOT Windows. As for me, I will try new tools that become available to see if there is merit in them. In the Mac, I find lots of merit.
So you do have to be willing to learn new things - Mac OS X is NOT Windows, although they have many similarities. If you get frustrated because it isn't Windows, maybe it isn't for you. But if you want a system that doesn't aggravate you regularly, buy a Mac.
Have fun!
-Pop
I still love my Mac
Howdy, Everybody;
A few days ago I bought a Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000. I was keeping an eye out for a bluetooth mouse, because theoretically I could do away with the USB plug-in 2.4 Mhz radio transmitter required with most wireless mice. This works, of course, because bluetooth is built into my MacBook Pro.
This bluetooth feature works really well with this mouse and my Mac. The only new thing is that I have to remember to switch off the mouse when I quit for the day, to save the batteries. The only complaint I have is that the wheel on the mouse is a bit notchy. I've gotten used to the Logitech's spin-wheel which is very smooth. But I can live with that for the benefit of A) freeing up a USB port and B) not having to mess with an adapter. There is no apparent lag, action is very smooth, clicking has no hesitation and registers every time.
Recommended.
-Pop
A few days ago I bought a Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000. I was keeping an eye out for a bluetooth mouse, because theoretically I could do away with the USB plug-in 2.4 Mhz radio transmitter required with most wireless mice. This works, of course, because bluetooth is built into my MacBook Pro.
This bluetooth feature works really well with this mouse and my Mac. The only new thing is that I have to remember to switch off the mouse when I quit for the day, to save the batteries. The only complaint I have is that the wheel on the mouse is a bit notchy. I've gotten used to the Logitech's spin-wheel which is very smooth. But I can live with that for the benefit of A) freeing up a USB port and B) not having to mess with an adapter. There is no apparent lag, action is very smooth, clicking has no hesitation and registers every time.
Recommended.
-Pop
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Nifty Gun a Friend Bought
Howdy, Everybody;
One of my co-workers recently bought a Taurus "The Judge". This is a pretty nifty revolver, that shoots .45 Colt ammo. It has the (mostly) unique capability of also accepting .410 shotgun shells. Capacity is five rounds. It fits the hand well. The front sight is a fixed red fiber optic site, very easy to get lined up with. The cylinder is really long, to handle the shotgun shells.
Now this should make a very effective self defense weapon. In demonstration videos I've seen, shooting what looks like a 12" square target, the shotgun shell makes a hole in the middle about 2" across, and scatters across the target to the edge of the target, from a range of about 10 feet. This makes an effective weapon without having to be dead-on in your aim. A great time-saver in a defensive situation. This would be an ideal weapon shooting down a hallway in a home invasion scenario. Or for defense against animal attack.
The owner was using it to shoot skeet last weekend. What a trip!
Fun!
-Pop
One of my co-workers recently bought a Taurus "The Judge". This is a pretty nifty revolver, that shoots .45 Colt ammo. It has the (mostly) unique capability of also accepting .410 shotgun shells. Capacity is five rounds. It fits the hand well. The front sight is a fixed red fiber optic site, very easy to get lined up with. The cylinder is really long, to handle the shotgun shells.
Now this should make a very effective self defense weapon. In demonstration videos I've seen, shooting what looks like a 12" square target, the shotgun shell makes a hole in the middle about 2" across, and scatters across the target to the edge of the target, from a range of about 10 feet. This makes an effective weapon without having to be dead-on in your aim. A great time-saver in a defensive situation. This would be an ideal weapon shooting down a hallway in a home invasion scenario. Or for defense against animal attack.
The owner was using it to shoot skeet last weekend. What a trip!
Fun!
-Pop
Colder than...
Howdy everybody;
It's colder than a well-digger's, uh, feet out there! I think I saw a cow with ear-muffs on the way to work this morning. It was 17.8 degrees at my house this morning at about 6:15 AM.
No busted pipes, so far, so I'm counting my blessings.
Work is back in full swing, that is to say, about 0.9 CM (Crisis Mode) on Pop's Panic Scale. I'm getting things to do faster than I can do them. So I keep plodding along...
I am continually surprised that so many people listen to me. Four Macintosh laptops were bought at Christmastime, at least somewhat due to my recommendations. I hope they all have as much fun with theirs as I do with mine. Which I still love, by the way.
It's nice being back in the saddle, I suppose.
Happy New Year to you all!
-Pop
It's colder than a well-digger's, uh, feet out there! I think I saw a cow with ear-muffs on the way to work this morning. It was 17.8 degrees at my house this morning at about 6:15 AM.
No busted pipes, so far, so I'm counting my blessings.
Work is back in full swing, that is to say, about 0.9 CM (Crisis Mode) on Pop's Panic Scale. I'm getting things to do faster than I can do them. So I keep plodding along...
I am continually surprised that so many people listen to me. Four Macintosh laptops were bought at Christmastime, at least somewhat due to my recommendations. I hope they all have as much fun with theirs as I do with mine. Which I still love, by the way.
It's nice being back in the saddle, I suppose.
Happy New Year to you all!
-Pop
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