version 2.0

U,U,D,D (R,L,etc.) version 2.0 is now working. Props go out to nix for his excellent design, which I cribbed. (Hooray Open Source Web Design!)

Blog Slacking

As if it weren’t self evident. I haven’t been utilizing the resources oh-so-generously “given” to me by Blogger.
And here’s why.
The wife and I just completed a move, from Outer Whitelandia (thanks, Ron and Curtis) to just outside of Philly. We’re in a house this time, having left apartment dwelling behind us.
Work on the house proceeds apace; paint is going up on the walls, we’ve got the DSL up and running (goodbye @Home, errrm, Comcast) and should have glorious DirecTV by Wednesday (really, truly goodbye to Comcast).

“Jihad of Peace”

Came across this story by way of Fark this afternoon. I honestly can’t tell whether Mr. Al-Atraqchi is serious or not. His (by now) cliched attempt to redefine jihad as a personal struggle with one’s inner demons suggests that he’s not. But with a punchline like this:

Peacemakers are brave. They are enlightened individuals who understand the common denominator in all mankind. Desmond Tutu, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Martin Scorsese, former South African President Nelson Mandela, Kathy Kelly, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, and Edward Said are just a small sample of those calling for peace and justice.

how could he not be?

Musings

A thought occurred to me the other night:
I don’t think I could ever be a Third World dictator.
The amount of discipline one must maintain in order to run a country with an iron fist is far too daunting. Plus, I’m not enough of a control freak, nor am I overly concerned with germs.
And the hair! Take Kim Jung Il, for instance. Has anyone informed Lyle Lovett that someone has stolen his signature coiff, let alone a megalomaniacal Third World dictator?

Al Gore: Upper Class Senator’s Son Twit of the Year

The man’s gall amazes me. Yesterday, Gore went so far as to state that the Bush administration ignored 9/11 warnings and chastised the FBI for spending more time on a New Orleans brothel than on tracking al Qaeda.
Wonder whose fault this is? Who had control of the Justice Dept. when the reforms were put in place? Who helped neuter our intelligence community?
I can’t believe the temerity, nay, even bald-faced insolence of this Washington-born flim-flammer. If anyone gets taken in again by him, I’ll eat my hat.
On the bright side, at least he’s doing his utmost to ensure that he won’t be the Dems candidate in ‘aught four.

Greek Gaming Idiocy Continues

Just when you thought sanity had regained its hold on the gov’t of Greece, a court of appeals overturned an earlier ruling that threw out charges against the operators of an internet cafe. They were on trial for letting patrons play Counterstrike and (heavens no!) online chess games.
This story gets increasingly bizzare, not to mention stupid, with each passing day/further ruling.