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Ahhh...moving is done, updating all computers in colllege is done...it's nice. The only bummer is that now we have to get caught up with the 30+ backlogged calls in the queue now, but that shouldn't be a big problem.
Dyanna is going to upgrade me to MT 2.6...I'm excited
We may get DSL on the 6th...I'm excited
It's Friday...but I'm broke...and have to pay rent tomorrow...that's a bummer...but I have a box of wine at home...that's good!
I just have to say it. Sad to say, but I know that if I sat down and started watching them I'd get hooked. But the whole concept just grates on my nerves. This is one fad I won't be sad to see fade away.
I take it back...I liked Frontier House 1886 that was on PBS...techincally that was reality TV.
We've been busy at work going to every computer in the school and applying all the critical updates for Windows. The unfortunate thing about the college computing enviornment is that ITS has very little to no power over what goes on people's computers. We have everything from Windows 95 and NT 4.0 up to Windows XP and that makes pushing updates from the server a near impossibility. It isn't all bad, there's a certain solace in knowing what your going to be doing all day, my job is usually so random I never know what to expect from one call to the next. Even if the user is descriptive in their request that is never a guarantee that you'll get what you expect.
The wife and I are moving this week, in two days actually. I feel quasi-prepared, but I know I'm not doing something that's going to bite me in the ass. Fortunately we have a week overlap before the lease runs out on our current residence. My lovely wife is so very happy, in fact she's been wanting to move all week...while I've been able to put up with this crappy apartment, she's had a really tough time putting up with it. I think/hope that this new place will help in our lives, getting out of the small cramped space should be good in and of itself, not to mention that it's stylistically cool.
As we were leaving the theatre this weekend, I couldn't help but reflect on the style of dress and the general behavior of people present. Evidently dressing as a thug or gang banger is the only way you can dress, whether your white, black or brown. And evidently you have to act outlandishly and cut up constantly while dressed in your ghetto chic clothes. This bothered me and I think the reason is that our young people (and older) don't seem to have an standard of conduct or dress while in public other than their own perception of what it should be (or what they can safely get away with). I'm not sure why this bother's me, but it seems an ill omen.
The thought just struck me, what are real thugs and gang bangers going to start wearing now that their custom has been hijacked by pop culture. I mean, how are we supposed to discern the real from the urban yuppie larva? I wonder if, like the Hippies before them, that their culture will just die after it's absorbed by the larger society.
I haven't gotten a chance to post since I've been busy at work
so I'm going to post about what I had originally intended to talk about a few days ago.
We had a movie weekend, we rented Austin Powers: Goldmember, Panic Room and an indie film called Sleepy Time Gal. Friday night we went to see Chicago and I thought it was absolutely amazing, I enjoyed it completely and while I haven't seen the original play I thought they did a splendid job of adapting it to the big screen. On a side note, I usually stereotype people in Dallas for being more about looks than brains. That was reinforced as we walked out of the theatre and my wife overhears a lady saying, "It wasn't what I expected, I didn't think it would be all about Jazz and dancing." Wow!
Goldmember was better than the second one, but still not as great as the first film. The jokes were better and there was less toilet humor, which is what kind of killed the second one for me. Panic Room was a solid flick, I enjoyed it; it wasn't a great movie, but it wasn't horrible either and the solid acting went a long way to keeping this one from getting tiresome. That said, the suspense was a bit over done at certain points and they could have done more with less I think. Sleepy Time Gal was an interesting movie, though it was a little boring and a bit hard to watch at times just because it was a little hard to follow. I enjoyed the acting and the interesting story line, which as hard as it was to follow at times, was a nice break from most of your standard Hollywood movies. I'm not sure if I completely understood it, but it was interesting and that's saying something to me.
There are a lot of people out there running around with a lot of ideas and opinions on the current situation with Iraq. I can't say that I've kept up with everything, but I have managed to read an article here and there, and I have a general notion of events. My own feelings about the Iraq situation are inconclusive. On the one hand I think that military force is needed, I'm not a No War In Iraq person, but at the same time I wish we wouldn't invade.
There seems to be a good argument that Saddam is not being truthful and forthcoming about his weapon stockpiles, nor is he making any obvious attempts to help the weapons inspectors, though I haven't heard that the weapons inspectors are complaining about non-cooperation. Is the Iraqi government telling the truth about their situation or are they lying to us? Is our U.S. Government telling the truth about wanting to disarm Iraq or are thy really using the disarmament of Iraq as a front to achieve other goals
control of oil fields, Imperialism, American arrogance asserting our dominance? Is Bush really an evil man hell bent on war, is he kowtowing to those that supported his campaign or is he simply trying to take care of a bad situation?
I know the similarities are not exact, but I can't help but think about the situation in the 1930's as Europe tried to appease Adolph Hitler. They tried every diplomatic avenue that they could, but in the largest war in history was started. Now that's not to say that had Britain and France reacted differently that history would have been any better, but you have to wonder. If the Allies had dealt with Germany in the mid 30's, there might never have been a World War II.
Do we face a similar threat now? If the UN or the U.S. doesn't make a preemptive strike and remove Saddam, do we face an even bigger threat with him staying in power? I'm struck by the catch-22 of the situation. We attack Iraq and presuming that the U.S. achieves victory ousting Saddam and we find no evidence of these weapons of mass destruction, well we run the very big chance of discrediting ourselves and bringing even more scorn on the U.S. On the other hand if the U.S. does nothing and the U.N. weapons inspectors never find any WMD and then sometime down the road Saddam unleashes some kind of attack
well there you have it.
I guess what it comes down to, is do we trust President Bush, the U.N., or Europe? Do we dare trust Saddam Hussein? Is the damage of war worth the potential damage of an unknown threat in the future?
I have nothing to say really, I'm just posting because I feel like it. Perhaps as I go on something will come up.
I accomplished a task this week that added to my self-esteem; I setup a message board using ikonboard. Dyanna helped me a little bit here and there, but by and large I did it myself...and while I'm proud of myself for doing it...even though all it really means is that I can follow instructions. Ikonboard really is a nice piece of software, it was easy to install and it's been relatively simple to get it setup the way I want it...above all...it was FREE!
My wife came up with the idea for the message board, and when I asked Dyanna about it she suggested Yahoo (which seemed lame) and ikonboard. The plan is for my friends/gaming group will want to use it in leu of the mass emailing that typically takes place. It hasn't gotten off to a rip roaring start, but then very little in my life ever gets off to a rip roaring start...I'll take slow steady progression any day.
This was sent to me via email from a 24 year military veteran. It's a letter that was printed in the Dallas Morning News on Monday 2-3-03.
Who are these 4?
Mark S. O'Steen, Thomas J. Gibbons, Daniel L. Kisling Jr., Gregory M. Frampton--who were these four men? I think if you asked most Americans that question, you would not get the correct answer. Two days before the shuttle crashed, these brave men were defending their country in Afghanistan. They were killed in a helicopter crash. Being members of the famed Night Stalkers, you know that they had to be highly trained. Yet their deaths received little publicity.
Yes, I grieve for the families involved in the Columbia crash. But I especially grieve for the families of our service people who sacrifice so much for us. Please pray that our service people will be safe and soon able to come home and join their loved ones. My thanks to all of them.
(signed) removed, Richardson TX