OneNote

I realize this may seem out-of-the-blue, but...for those of you with laptops, I have come across a new favorite piece of software. This time, it's actually from Microsoft, and you actually have to pay for it. But Microsoft's OneNote 2007 will only run you $45 for an academic version (www.academicsuperstore.com or similar), and it is simply marvelous. I don't even use it half as much as it could be used, because I don't take my laptop to class. I'm almost tempted to, as handy as this application is.
As it is, I'm now using it for a task list, a shopping list, an exercise and healthy eating (my euphemism for dieting) plan, a list of all the books I want/need to read, and a store for most of the personal information that used to be littered across my hard drive in tiny text files that I could never find.
I'm not saying go out and buy it. But if you're interested....stop by my laptop someday, and I'll give you a tour. It's amazing.

wow...and the day continues....

Creep-ish: University of Delawareans will be interested to note that a prominent professor on campus isn't sold on global warming either...

Way, way, way creepier than creepy...and sadder than sad: Apparently, it is now acceptable to use children as pawns in the battle over global warming...probably by asking questions like "Are you scared that the earth might one day get very, very hot because of pollution?"

Wow. Just.........wow.

banner day for news

Creepy: Blogger sentenced to four years in jail for criticizing Islam

Hilarious: Global warming will cause children to have more fevers!

...I would be concerned about the fevers, but...don't worry, I'm sure we'll evolve out of the problem.

Law of Self-Contradiction

That's some sort of rule in logic, right? No? Apparently for the ACLU, it's everyday procedure.

You cannot tell me that their position in this article is not uproariously contradictory...you just can't.

Summary:

1. Teacher speaks his mind in *gasp* a public school.
2. Student secretly records teacher.
3. ACLU jumps in, saying that the First Amendment was violated.
4. Peter gets quote from First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
5. Peter wonders..."Hey, shouldn't that mean that the teacher was well within his rights to say what he said?"
6. ACLU answers: "No, it just gives us the right to sue the teacher and get him fired."
   

Sorry. This just really bugs me, from a logical standpoint as well as a Christian one. It's one thing to say that the Government can't legislate Christianity, or that public schools can't promote it. It's quite another to say that anyone who works in a position which is paid by the government must not voice any religious opinions while at work. If they don't want to hire the guy, or if they want to fire him because they feel he's being provocative, that's one thing. But the ACLU doesn't have the slightest business attempting to "get him fired". That's not up to anyone but the school.

Arrrrrgh. That just drives me nuts.

mileage

Suzanne: 32.6. And my favorite flavor is still Other.

And Kathryn - I didn't lie intentionally. =P

Oh, and...do I get extra credit for having driven a Lexus for all of those miles?

2008

I have a prediction to make.

Rudy Giuliani, if still alive by the time the Presidential elections come around in November of 2008, will become America's 44th President.

School was closed today, so I slept in. Then I played Capture the Flag, and that was plenty of fun. It's a little tough, running around in the snow, but I'm pretty sure it was good for me. Then I went and ruined it by eating a bunch of french fries.

Windows Vista is working out well for me. My computer still likes to die about 5 minutes after a cold start, but Windows XP and Ubuntu did the same thing - it's clearly a motherboard issue. Yes, I am a fan of Vista. Not wholeheartedly, but I do like it more than I like XP.

The Idiot

Manalive, by G.K. Chesterton, is not the same sort of book as The Idiot, by Dostoevsky. Neither do I really believe that it is about the same idea. I would go so far as to say that while both deal with the Innocent man, they are really talking about very different things. The Idiot is a much more realistic book, about a much more realistic-seeming person (at least in comparison to Innocent Smith). But Innocent Smith is actually much truer-to-life, because he is good in a REAL way, instead of in the way that Prince Myshkin is - a way that eventually leads to insanity. Innocent isn't truly innocent (naive), simply innocent of the crimes he has been alleged to commit. The Prince is too innocent (naive) to avoid his eventual crime.

I still like The Idiot more. There was...more to it? Something. =)

You can read both of them online for free, though I would recommend getting a real copy of The Idiot, because it's simply too long to read from a computer screen.

Global warming 2

If you don't believe in the greenhouse effect as the principal reason for global warming:
UK Times Online

If you enjoy reading articles written by people who apparently would like to strangle everyone that disagrees with them:
Boston Globe

If you want to be creeped out:
Washington Times Online

Really, now?

I have to admit, I wasn't a fan of Facebook's MiniFeed when it originally came out. But things like this are priceless, and worth the weirdness.

Heh heh.

OK, I realize that I'm bored today. But someone else is going to find this funny as well....

Homophonous phrases.

For those of you who have seen the commercials...

I'm actually a fairly big fan of Macs myself, and I've always thought the commercials were funny. But quite honestly, there's a lot of truth in the following cartoon: No One...Cares.

Colts 29, Bears 17

Not only am I happy that we won, but I'd like to mention that my prediction was Colts 32, Bears 21. Not only was I within one point of the spread, but if the Colts had kicked that field goal on fourth down instead of running it to be safe, I would've nailed the Colts' score. And it's not easy to score *exactly* 32 points in football. =) And for a few minutes there, when it was 22 to 14, if Chicago had just scored a touchdown instead of a field goal....it would have NAILED it. Eh. Can't win them all. Well, *I* can't. But the Colts sure did.

Mhmmmm.....

National Post, Canada

It's funny, 'cause I really was beginning to halfway believe in "global warming" as set forth by liberals. =P But the difference in tone between this article and your average "Global Warming Will Kill Us All!!!" rant is just too stark.

(no title)

I hate it when I get emails that have no subject line.

We (as in, "they" + "I") played Mao this evening. At the Boyces, and it was entertaining, for the most part. Nick Slater kept talking =), and the newer players kept getting frustrated when they didn't have a 7 to play. That's just the way it goes.

This past week was the first week of my 6th semester as a college kid. It was mostly OK, except that Databases is holed up in a corner of the Academic IV building which is so remote that they have SIGNS throughout the third floor saying "Room 320 is *this* way". When they have signs telling adults how to find a room....it can't be good. Oh, and SCI 100 is going to be half-miserable, because the instructor....well. It's hard to explain.

Today, my dad and I washed the Rebel, since the State of Maryland has decreed "that the ground shall be covered in a sublime shade of 'orange-yellow road salt' for the duration of Winter [even if it makes the road just as slippery to have 2 inches of salt as it would to have an inch of ice], to brighten the otherwise dreary vistas for the common Man/Woman/Child". It was *freezing* cold outside, and as such, the water was not about to fail in its duty to freeze almost immediately upon contact with the car. I can tell you that, no matter how dirty your car is, it's not necessary to use soap to clean the thin film of ice that has only moments before formed on your car. It's already clean - really it is. Just leave it alone.

Oh, and last night, we (they and I) went to Dunkin' Donuts, where we skipped the Dunkin' part, and mostly skipped the Donuts part (except for Kathryn), and got not-so-fancy fancy coffee milkshake things.

And today Kay went to a Mary Kay partay.

Eek. This is really scary, but it has to be done. My prediction for the game tomorrow (and if you don't know what game is on tomorrow.....that's probably just as well)..........

Colts 32

Bears 21

Ack.