In Honour of Reformation Day

There's a holiday for everything apparently.....

A Very Scary Idea

I admit Linux is very customizable. But this crosses the line. Some things are not meant to be.

This is just cute- and informative!

Foody goodness from a local celebrity.

Cap And Trade Bedtime Story

I love these guys...

Home Remedy

We were at a wedding this past weekend down in Charleston SC. A grand time was had by all, but I came home with my own wedding present, a cold. I know it's a cold because I had a scheduled doctor's appointment this morning and the doctor told me in a voice redolent with medical authority that I had a cold.

I've already had quite a few wasabi peas. Chicken soup is incoming.

The True Story of a Linux Virus

Well, sort of. It is true, and it was a virus.

Core of Personal Theology

Currently there are two forms of theology loose in the world.

The first is what I call personal relativism. This is most popular in the US. It can be summed up as "I define who God is, and therefore what the world is like." A lot of the self-help, empowerment crowd seem to believe this.

The second, and this is popular in the modern Episcopal Church, is corporate relativism. "We define who and what God is, and therefore the nature of the world."

My view: "God defines me. What I know about the world is what He has told me."

I'm not humble. But I do know pride is a sin.

Political Quote For the Year

Sen. Everett Dirksen: "When I feel the heat, I see the light."

We need more like him.

Our Tax Dollars At Work

The ATF has announced a new task force. Is it to find thieves? no. Put a stop to illegal gun sales? no. Keep explosives out of the hands of terrorists? no.

The job of the new task force is to find out which ATF employee is vandalising the headquarters bathrooms.

You really can't make this stuff up.

An Interesting Sermon

I think this sermon by the Rev. Dr George Regas says a great deal about not only the state of the Episcopal Church, but also of the United States. It's an interesting view of who we are, who God is and what God expects from us. Of course, he's wrong on every point, but it's interesting to see how such a denial of reality can even temporarily triumph.

The Rev. Dr Regas is the former long time rector of All Saints, Pasadena, home of Ed Bacon and Susan Russell.

There Have Been Complaints

About the music featured on this blog.

Just this once, I'm yielding to the mob. Here's a nice video featuring three lovely ladies (all clad), two violins and one set of drums. Enjoy!

Goverment Insanity (XVII)

Depending upon where you live, you may be able to buy a golf cart for free. That is, the tax credits you get for buying an electric vehicle could be equal to or greater than the cost of the cart.

This is what you get when you ram through giant money bills through Congress without any sort of review. It's great news for golf cart manufacturers, not so great news for those of us who are paying for it all.

A Good Grudge

As my friends and relations know, I yield to no one when it comes to harbouring resentment and nursing grudges.

Which is why this post by the Anchoress hit one out of the park today. Loving your enemies is truly where the rubber hits the road for us Christians. It is also the hardest thing for me to do, by a long shot.

The problem is that you can not just say, once, "I forgive" and move on. The loser who unjustly vilified my wife still causes flashes of extreme anger in me, and she has been retired now for three years. Letting go the blind fury, not giving into it, is easily the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Even though it is the right thing to do.

Song for a Gray Friday

October Computer Building

One of my hobbies is building computers, so from time to time I like to build concept machines. This being October, a young man's fancy turns to computer gaming. I generally price things out at Newegg. Their prices are generally competitive and the reviews are top notch.

Much like the divide between Windows and Macs, computer builders are divided between those who like Intel processors and those who like AMD processors. Because I am a CPU agnostic, I have described a build for each denomination.

The Intel Build
I7-860 Lynnfield 2.8 GHz CPU $289.99
Asus P7P55D LGA motherboard $149.99
EVGA Geforce 260 GTX video $189.99
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HD $79.99
NZXT Alpha case $59.99
Corsair 750w power supply $119.99
Sony DVD player $31.99
OCZ memory (4 gigs) $71.99

Total: $993.92

The AMD Build
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb CPU $169.99
Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 motherboard $74.99
EVGA Geforce 260 GTX video $189.99
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HD $79.99
NZXT Alpha case $59.99
Corsair 750w power supply $119.99
Sony DVD player $31.99
OCZ memory (4 gigs) $71.99

Total: $798.92

I recommend Ubuntu as an OS, but if you must have Windows, you can find Windows Vista Home Premium for around $109. This includes the free upgrade to Win 7 when it ships (later this month).

There is also a divide between NVidia and ATI for video cards. I do not like ATI, for a variety of reasons, right now. So I did not include their cards in my consideration. That will likely change in the near future.

Right now, the AMD build is more affordable, but IMHO the Intel build offers better upgrade potential for the future. Both builds have some nice rebates hidden away. I never include mail-in rebates as part of the cost as there is no certainty that you will ever get the money.

Health Insurance Tax

Am I the only one who has a problem with fining/taxing people who have no insurance or insurance deemed inadequate?

While there may very well be a small number of contrary minded scofflaws, the vast majority of people who will be liable for the tax will be the working poor. That is, the hard-working people who just miss the cut-off for government assistance.

Just who exactly does such a tax help?

Bonnie Anderson's Vision of Standing Firm

From here.

New Fave

Sam Nielsen is my new favourite artist. Here's why. And he is apparently coming out with a book. I've already started saving my shekels....

Unkind Theory

I was reading the Anglican Curmudgeon's blog the other day when this thought struck me. One of the catch phrases of the modern Episcopal Church is that you do not need to 'check your brain at the door'. However, very few of the leadership actually seem to be employing their brains for thought. Common sense and logic are typically not welcome

What sort of person wants others to bring their brains but not use them?

The only answer that fits is of course zombies.

Captain!

The monitor canna take any more cuteness, the pixels they're going ta overload!