So I got a Dell Mini 10 not long ago. So far it’s been pretty cool, after some initial difficulties getting it to connect to the work and home wireless setups. I went back and forth between windows xp’s control and the dell utility. But after some initial bumps the dell utility seems to be working pretty seemlessly.

I got a usb dvd player for it and initially that didn’t look very promising. I tried to play the Robot Chicken Star Wars dvd and it was blocky and slow and just plain ugly. But the next time I tried it, on season 3 episodes of Entourage, it worked fine. I see hiccups every not and then but mostly it works okay.

I’ve got email setup on it (in a very basic format but at least I can read it) as well as having put all my iTunes library (I learned a whole lot about iTunes when I did that and it’s not a very impressive app) as well as all my images onto it.

I even got a vmware player installed along with a ubuntu VM so I can play around with it.

Amidst all the crap Dell (and other computer manufacturers) puts on this thing I just tried the “My Blog” icon today and it brought me here. I am prepared to be underwhelmed really but we’ll see.

I don't know why but I was just poking around in twitter today and looked at the people following me. It always surprises me when someone follows me (well not my friends and people I know). There seem to be some odd things in there. Some place which sells college party supplies ... Some people I don't know ... other strange things.

But it's kinda cool cause I've had great fun listening to some folks I follow. LeVar Burton is fun. As is Brent Spiner. Veronica Bellmont, Scott Johnson, Neil Gaimon (and two of his daughters), Al Yankovic, Nathan Fillion, John Cleese, assorted actresses whose work I enjoy. Funny people.

http://steamykitchen.com/4766-sparkling-sake-sake2me.html
Jaden is giving away a $100 amazon gift card (since she can't ship sake to the winner!) 

Maybe, maybe not.
Anyway, here is a contest for 10 pounds of Kobe beef burgers.



I got a sample pack of four of these awhile ago. They were the best burgers I've ever had. We grilled them and put them on my homemade english muffins (instead of buns) with some nice very sharp cheddar. mmmm

Enter yourself anyway and good luck. :) 

This is a widget which is supposed to let you see my spore creations within LJ. Let's see if it works ... (goes off to publish this)



Okay it took a bit of tweaking to figure out how to make it work but it wasn't too bad. Now I need to make more cool looking creatures to populate this with. :)

I knew there was a good reason (besides his cutting Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of poor people) why I didn't like Matt Blunt.

The Republican War on Voting

I'm glad he's decided he can't win if he runs again and won't run for a 2nd term.
And I think this is also why "republicans" always seem to be cutting the education budget. If people aren't educated then I think it's less likely they'll notice or know what to do about people disenfranchising them. Or taking away their other rights.

And combined with McCain's support of Bush's judicial appointees, this makes me fear the future.
http://docket.medill.northwestern.edu/archives/003741.php
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/05/mccain-criticiz.html

I was going to ask why people do this but I think I know, ruthless pursuit of power and money. What we need today I think is a statesman rather than a politician. :(

"To Our Friends Who Are Still In The Desert"

(I've used this title before it seems.)

This is an old, old French Foreign Legion toast. I tried to look it up on wikipedia with nothing and google it without result. I likely read it in a book on the foreign legion years ago but I can't recall which one now.

I think of this when I read reports of the numbers of soldiers we've lost in Iraq (and Afghanistan). Or recently when one of the bloggers I regularly read told us her sister's national guard unit has been mobilized and will deploy to Iraq. I would find her news ironic since she's a staunch conservative and was a Bush supporter. If it wasn't too serious for that. If I had absolutely no idea of the anguish she's going through now. But I can't. We've disagreed before but she's shown herself to be intelligent and articulate and the facts of an issue will sway her point of view. I used to think that my mother never worried about me while I was stationed in Germany (1982-1986). A few years after I came back she disabused me of this notion. And that tour wasn't nearly as dangerous as current tours in Iraq or Afghanistan (although we did have four deaths in our battalion - 500-600 men - during those four years). I think I can say nothing affects a soldier the same way as those boots with the helmet on top that are set before the podium in the chapel during a memorial service. Or the lone bugle playing Taps afterwards. Especially not an officer.

I can't really say I know how they (deploying soldiers) feel, it's been too long since I've been a soldier. But I can empathize with their desire to "get the job done". If they don't seem to accomplish anything over there then all those deaths (American and Iraqi) would be pointless. And that thought is simply abhorrent. So I can understand that from their point of view we can't leave until the job is done. The problem comes from politicians not defining what "the job" is before sending troops into combat. And the platoon and squad leader or even the grunt on the ground can't really influence this. But since it's an all volunteer Army now, they've chosen to be in the Army and thus have to take it all. Eventually the number of deployments a soldier goes on may wear even this commitment away. That will be a sad day.

But what does this quote mean? I've used it before but I don't really think anyone who heard it understands. It refers to the comrades that Legionnaires have left behind in the desert dead. It links to the Legion motto "March or Die" from their very earliest days in the North African desert. And their indomitable spirit. Get the mission done regardless of cost. If you won't march, you'll die. An American quote I've heard soldiers use is often "To Absent Friends". This is the same.

This I think, is the spirit of our soldiers, sailors and airmen deployed. In that same spirit I can only support our soldiers (but not the people who sent them there with no clear goal) and raise my glass to repeat the toast.

"To Our Friends Who Are Still In The Desert"

the president appointed the supreme court judges he did.

Supreme court won't review Bush domestic spying case

On the one hand they do have a point, proof of injury or involvement. On the other hand since all the information obtained illegally by the warrantless wiretapping is classified, the plaintiff won't have access to or knowledge of it, so it's impossible to prove involvement. Very clever tactic.

It used to be California, the land of "fruits, nuts and flakes". But I submit to you that the new granola state is the District of Columbia, Washington in fact.

EPA Chief Defends Shielding of Global Warming Papers

And Mister Johnson is right, California doesn't need it's own standard. There should be a Federal standard that everyone has to follow. But since "president" bush's government won't enact one, some states see the problem and the urgent need for action and decided to take it on their own. Perhaps hoping to shame the Federal government into action.

And then trying to claim that he needs to keep things secret for court action. Cheers for Representative Boxer for calling bullsh!t on him.

Taxi to the Dark Side

I heard about this on NPR this morning on the way to work. I want to see it, maybe even own it. It sounds truly disturbing and ties in directly with what I've been thinking about posting about for awhile now.

Congress is all up in arms about the CIA's destruction in 2005 of tapes of "harsh" interrogations of suspected terrorists in 2002.

House Panel Criticizes CIA Tape Destruction

I agree that it's deplorable that they've destroyed this sort of thing without getting anyone's permission or anything. However in all the hue and cry I think one serious issue has been overlooked. That these CIA interrogators TORTURED PEOPLE IN THE FIRST PLACE. All while our "president" was telling us (and the world) that "the US doesn't torture people (so we don't need any new rules or laws or anything)".

Just how far down are we going to allow our leaders to let America fall before we do something about it?