The Big Link

The Big Link...

Jonathan rants...Rant number 3

Begin rant number 3 (you don’t have enough to do?)

Democrats...a couple of hints...

You're a lost puppy, everyone knows it, and you can't quite seem to figure out how to lose the funk of another lost election. PLEASE make sure your next candidate is a strong leader, and I'll go ahead and tell you, Hillary is NOT it. I have nothing against a female as president, however, I do have a problem with nominating someone specifically because they are female and you somehow think that makes you more "progressive".

Ideally, the candidate would have a strong lengthy military record (unlike a certain John Kerry). Why is this important you ask? Someone who chose the military life understands the importance of a strong military, but understands even more the cost of war. This person has sent people into war in Vietnam, Kuwait, or Iraq. He knows the lives he lost, and he knows the importance of accomplishing the task at the same time. We know that we can't turn a blind eye to the world and its problems, 9/11 taught us that all to well, but we can't keep slapping the world in the face either. OK, so why else military? The military, as screwed up as it seems right now, builds leaders. It brings out the worst, and the best in the person, and leaves them somewhere in the middle when it's all done. That kind of person is confident in their abilities, but humble enough to get help when their abilities fall short, and even more important, willing to get everyone to the table to make a decision (translate this as BI-PARTISANSHIP).

Oh yeah, one more thing…when they begin campaigning, stay out of their way…they’ve spent 20-30 years of their life motivating others, they don’t need the help of a lost puppy, in fact the lost puppy needs them.

Is this really to much to ask?

End rant number 3

Jonathan rants...Rant number 2

Begin rant number 2 (you mean you're still reading this?)
Why is it such a surprise that Billy Graham could be a democrat? Last time I checked, the Republican Party wasn't the "christian" party with the democrats being the “sinners." In fact, the democrats usually push strongly for the type of socio-economic relief programs that the christian church has always tried to support. With that said, I certainly didn't vote for John Kerry, but if the Democratic Party ever shows me a strong leader, with a level head, I'll vote for them in a heartbeat. Frankly, I'm sick of voting for the lesser of two evils, as I have ever since becoming old enough to vote.
End rant number 2

Jonathan rants...Rant number 1

OK, so I have to let a couple of things out...and let me warn you, if you are a "right wing nut job" or if you're "somewhere out in left field" you should probably stop reading now.

First, it does not go against my religious beliefs to say that Sue is absolutely right (wow, that's twice I've complimented her tonight.) I'm sick of these conservative freaks taking every action of the government as a direct attack on their religion. This country was founded on principles of religious and moral freedom. To say that the only book a person should be able to "swear to tell the truth" on is the Bible is bunk. (I can hear the hushed whispers already and smell the smoke as it rolls off the hot heads reading this.) But, I'm not going to argue the whole morality of what books is used, let's approach this from a more realistic (thus pragmatistic) standpoint.
If John Doe is a Muslim, and he is asked to swear in court on a Bible, that he will tell the whole truth, what difference does it really make to him if he lies? In his opinion, he might as well be swearing on the latest edition of Sports Illustrated. He has no respect for the Bible, and has no reason to respect his oath. By asking him to swear on the Quran, you're asking him to swear on the roots of his beliefs, something much deeper than the stack of paper his hand is resting on. It's not the paper the Bible or the Quran is printed on that makes it valuable; it's the belief of the "truth" that is contained in it.
End rant number 1

Another blogger meetup

Sue is talking about a meet-up with people from Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Greensboro sometime this summer. I think it's a great idea, but can't help but ask..."what about the Charlotte and Asheville bloggers?" I don't see any reason why we can't have it here in Greensboro, and get most of the state to come. It wouldn't be very fair for us to leave them out...

Seriously though, how cool would it be to get 50-75 bloggers together for an afternoon of lying telling stories. Go put your name down as attending…you know you want to.

So maybe it's not just the brits...

[LINK] Prophet Yahweh is currently in Nevada calling down UFO's, which he is in telepathic contact with, from space. He is also willing to travel to any city to "demonstate" his ability.

Got to love those brits

[LINK]
It seems the Brittish Potato council protested the term "couch potato" outside of Parliment yesterday. Apparently they want the term replaced by "couch slouch" in the Oxford English Dictionary.

This week's Big Link

THE BIG LINK

Apple "goes to the dark side"

So Apple has finally made the switch.

Engadget does a great job at blogging the announcement.

So, here's my take on this. No one in their right mind believes that OS-X will run on just any intel based PC, no matter how beautiful that would be. I would love the option to install OS-X on one of my PC's and would buy a copy tomorrow. Also, can you imagine the competition this could create for Microsoft, if people suddenly had a real option for a switch. However, Apple, unlike Microsoft makes money on hardware as well as software, so you can be sure there will be some type of DRM system in-place to make sure OS-X is running on a Mac, and not my spare Dell.

Over the next two years, Apple and all of the Mac developers have a huge task ahead of them, and I imagine it will most likely slow some development plans down, at least for awhile. However, my guess is that in two years, with a complete new arsenal (and lower prices), Apple will truly be ready to make a stong attack on the Microsoft empire.

Which brings up the question: Will Microsoft continue to develop products like Microsoft Office-Mac Edition for such a closely encamped enemy. Maybe it will be a good time for Apple to release a strong competitor to the Office suite.

I've said it for many years and I'll say it again. I'll be happy to switch from Microsoft, just as soon as you show me something better. Apple, may have finally answered my call. I will get all of the power of Linux (which I really do like) and the usability of Mac OS-X.

New to blogging...a challenge

While I have kept an online journal of sorts for years, I have just recently created a blog. I'm amazed at how connected the blogging community is, yet I seem to find it hard to get fully plugged in.

Questions fill my head like:
Which blogs should be daily reads, and which are just filler?
How do I become connected into the blogging community?
Why do they add salt to my Smuckers "Natural" peanut butter?

So here is my challenge, I know there are enough long-timers out there like BlogMomma (Sue's place), Ed Cone, and many others that we can get a decent "how to" posting going. Give us the information!

I will at least keep a running post with this same title that will map my progress as I enter the blogging world.

Web Developer Tool

[LINK]
Web developers, should take note. This tool plugs into Firefox, and provides some great tools. It even allows you to view the CSS that an object is inheriting, just by clicking on the object.

Serious about cheese

[LINK] Only in the UK...

Just sleep on it...

[Link] OK, here's a short review...A study finds that drinking a protein shake with dinner that includes high levels of tryptophan helped the study participants, who had trouble sleeping, to feel more alert and aware the next morning. The study indicates that tryptophan helped those people sleep better.

Here's a little secret...trytophan is the chemical in many protein sources, most notably milk (which is only activated by warming the milk) and turkey. So what they are saying is that when you eat alot of turkey, or drink warm milk that you will get sleepy and then sleep really well, waking refreshened in the morning.

I don't know about you, but I sure am glad they spent their time and research dollars to tell me that. I will certainly sleep better tonight.

Verizon Wireless and ALLTEL Merger?

[Link] It seems that Verizon may be looking to aquire ALLTEL to increase their market share and thier network. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the "My network is bigger than yours" battle they have been in with Cingular.
Let's not forget, this would be the third major merger in the wireless industry. I can't help but wonder how much this will harm the competitive nature which allows me to save a little money each time my contract expires.
At the same time, maybe some good will come of this. While I'm not currently with either of those carriers, a larger network coverage area is always something to consider next year when once again, I am free to roam.