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Laptop Shopping

Posted Tue, 11/25/2008 - 11:18 by jeff

As fun as its been having a work-owned laptop to call my own, Im realizing now that its just more hassle than its worth. I can barely use the thing thanks to all of the rules about company-owned equipment (I cant install anything on it, I cant upgrade anything, I cant use wireless apparently, I cant plug in any kind of external media. Basically I cant use the laptop for the holiday at all).br /br /Its high time I bought myself a laptop. Any thoughts?br /br /I could go with any of these Categories, I guess:br /A) Netbook (tiny little thing, great battery life)br /B) Tablet PC (stylus screen?)br /C) Normal Laptop br /D) Powerhouse Desktop Replacement (Heavy, but powerful)br /br /Im leaning towards somewhere between C and D. I dont need processing speed, I just need features and memory. Id be looking for decent graphics, a lot of memory (4GB or more), wireless(G and bluetooth), gigabit ethernet, maybe even an integrated webcam. I want to get something with a high-resolution screen, too (at least 1280 width), though the actual size of the screen is less important (I need pixels not inches, my eyesight is good)br /br /I just priced out a Dell Latitude E6500 that looks pretty nice. It looks like itll come between 5 and 7 lbs. The E4200/4300 looks pretty amazing, too, but its a lot more money and a lot smaller.

Song Adventure

Posted Fri, 11/14/2008 - 11:32 by jeff

Went to see Warren Millers Children of Winter the other day. I really liked one of the songs in the movie, so I tried to commit some of the lyrics to memory This is the start of a journey is what I remember.br /br /So by the magic of google, I search for Children of winter music and find a href=http://skiutah.mail.inetz.com/link/oIKamp;ei=GZcdSazqFqLSesun1a8Gamp;sig2=Q1f86UZkkPBmFPFMOxA40gamp;usg=AFQjCNH0G47BHMCktIgyX1cVroPl9ha_eQThis PDF/a of all the music from the movie. Gnarls Barkley - Going On ended up being the song that I wanted. A google lyrics search and youtube video helped me with that.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Posted Fri, 11/07/2008 - 13:03 by jeff

Is a pretty weird group. I assumed that they were just some church group. I used to hear ads on TV, usually in conjunction with helping out kids or something. Brought to you by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.br /br /I just found out that this Church was one of the major players in the yes on 8 campaign to ban gay marriage in CA. So I looked into them a bit.br /br /I find out: They are MORMON. They were founded on Mormon beliefs, and were polygamists. They continued in that practice for many years, but eventually outlawed polygamy. Not that I find anything wrong with polygamy. I just have a problem with hypocrisy.br /br /It seems ironic to me that a group founded with the principles of non-traditional marriage that a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Warfought for years/a and eventually gave up that freedom should end up being the ones to attack another group with a very similar goal.br /br /Maybe it was a childish attack of, If we cant have a non-traditional marriage, nobody can!

Is Democracy Broken?

Posted Wed, 11/05/2008 - 12:34 by jeff

Heres an interesting point of debate. Does the process we use to elect need change?br /br /bPoints to Consider/bbr /- Some states were projected to be red or blue with very few precincts reporting. Sometimes 0-3%.br /- Once states were projected, and the required number of electoral votes assigned, the election results were projected.br /- Acceptance and Conceding speeches were given after projections stated a winner.br /- Polls were STILL OPEN in some states. People hadnt finished VOTING yet, let alone finished counting votes.br /- Absentee Ballots? Probably unopened.br /br /bOpposite Points to Consider/bbr /- Election projections are accurate. They dont call it and then change their minds.br /- Order of vote counting does not affect the outcome. Just because Alaska is counted last doesnt mean that it counts less than Vermont, even though the election is projected before Alaska is even counted.br /br /This is separate from the age-old debate of whether the electoral college makes sense anymore. I could go for days on the various alternatives to the electoral college and what effects it might have on voting, campaigning, polling, news coverage, and the election itself.br /br /I guess my point of contention isnt with the end results of elections, but with the perception of the process. I cant imagine I am the only one with that perception, and I wonder if a change in perception would affect voter turnout, voter interest in the candidates, and even the results, indirectly.br /br /Anybody have any comments about the system?

Thoughts from Election 08

Posted Wed, 11/05/2008 - 10:55 by jeff

Right up until McCain conceded, I had my doubts about the eventual results. Sure, it was predicted MONTHS ago. Sure the exit polls were showing highly in favor of Obama. Really everything pointed to Obama, and yet I still had some doubt that our country was ready for a black president.br /br /Im not saying he doesnt deserve to be president - quite the contrary - I voted for him! But Im not convinced that the people voting used the same criteria I did. I originally expected that race would be a big issue - the white man not being ready for a black president. Now I wonder if it wasnt the opposite - people voting for him BECAUSE hes black. I really hope that at least some people were able to look past race and elect a president that they thought was going to be best for the country.br /br /When McCain was giving his I concede speech, he mentioned Obama (obviously). The people BOOED LOUDLY. McCain had to ask them to be nice. Again. I realized that the McCain crowd is more of a mob than a political support rally. In fact, I dont think many of them are even McCain supporters - I think they are Obama-Anti-Supporters. Also Sarah Palin supporters. He was barely in control of the crowds at his SUPPORT rallies. I think even he was embarrassed about the kind of people that came to support him. Of course, theres no way to know what would have happened had the opposite outcome occurred, but we can stake our bets.br /br /When Obama gave his acceptance speech, he really SOUNDED like a president. When he said something, I felt like people would listen.