Happy Easter! (And, Boy I'm Stuffed.)

Happy Easter Everyone!

I actually don't celebrate the holiday--but my wife does--but it sure is a nice time to get together with family and to have fun and eat LOTS of food.

You can pretty much sign me up anytime eating lots of food is on the agenda.

And, since we have a wonderful little girl, she was given tons of stuffed bunnies. Colorful, historical, whimsical. You name it, it's hopping around in her toy chest right about now.

We had a nice weekend weather-wise in Massachusetts, although it's still a little chilly. I think warm and wet Spring weather are right around the corner. Can't wait.

New Pocket PC Article Being Written

I'm in the process of writing a new Pocket PC article. I won't say what I'm writing about, but I will say that I enjoy doing it. Hopefully, people will benefit from it (and enjoy reading it) as much as before.

Here's a link to my last article.

I really do like to write. But, I'm so out of practice that even this blog helps me to get back into the swing of things.

My Wife's New iPod. Really Small and Pretty Cool! 

Digital Music Confusion

I've been getting into digital music lately.

I have many CDs that I hadn't listened to for some time, and I decided to convert a bunch for listening on my Dell Axim X50v. (It's a sweet piece of technology and it has a good included .mp3 (etc.) playback capability.

So, where to begin? I have Nero's wonderful suite of apps which came with my Sony DVD burner. It allows me to convert my CD's to .mp4s. (Nero Digital Music Format.)

I've done that to a bunch of CDs, and put a whole lot on a compact flash card I had. Sounds good.

In addition, I've bought a couple of songs from MusicMatch, just to experiment with buying music online.

But, I just bought my wife an iPod Shuffle. So, she's been experimenting with iTunes.

And, between the music players on my computer: Windows Media, Neros, Music Match, etc., I've created a monster. What I'm trying to figure out it how to buy a song once, and be able to load it on my Axim, and my wife's iPod.

That's one of my weekend projects.

Been a While...

OK. I haven't left. I've just been pretty busy.

The Schiavo story still dominates the news. But, she's almost gone now. A week, plus, of starvation will do that to you.

After a week or so of further thought, I haven't changed my opinion. I'm still troubled by the way that the politicians involved themselves in this case.

What do you expect? They're politicians.

I hope to write about a few other things this weekend. Maybe a few shorter notes on some less serious issues, too.

Posting from my Dell Axim X50v.

Title says it all! Awesome.

Terry Schiavo. What a Mess for that Poor Girl.

This Terry Schiavo story is such a sad mess. Up front I must admit that I am not especially well-versed in the important medical details of the case, but like millions of others that wont keep me from commenting and posting thoughts. However worthless and uninformed they may be.

The thing that often seems forgotten in the media and political circus, is that crippled human being is lying in her hospice bed, either already like-dead or it's functional equivalent, or alive but trapped in a broken body that won't allow her to let others know.

Obviously her family (parents) love her dearly and hold out hope for any possibility of recovery (however imperfect) or miracle. Her "estranged" husband is fighting desperately to have her starve to death.

It really is a tug-of-war about life or death.

I'm not implying that her husband is wicked. Or, that he has alterior motives. Or, that Terry's wishes weren't conveyed to him in the fashion that he's described. His story may be true.

I doubt it, but of course, I don't know. Only he and Terry know.

What should happen with her medical care? Again, I don't know. If she truly wanted to die if she wound up in this sort of situation, then perhaps it's alright. If she didn't want that, but if she is already "gone" and is never going to reappear in some sensient form, then perhaps it's alright. Even if her parents (understandably) can't let her go.

But, if she is already there, and if she wanted others to try everything they could to keep her alive until she might be blessed by a miracle, then it's horribly wrong.

There really is not "right" answer here, since we don't know all and can't see the future.

My gut would prefer that she live, if her loved one's could and would continue to care for her--if there is ANY possible chance. Because I think there might be, I'd hope for that outcome.

But, this story is more than this story.

Because once the political folks smell/sense opportunity, they plunge like pelican's over the bay.

This is the part of the story that's so unseemly to me.

If the Court in Florida did a poor job making it's decision, then a tragedy has occurred. But, when the finger-in-the-wind crowd gets involved for their own motives, it can't be good for the rest of us.

Prepare for the next case. If the result we fear has happened, prevent it from happening again. Write "Terry's Law" so that the next "Terry" can't be starved if she can and will be cared for and if some legitimate medical experts think there's a chance of some recovery. But for now, "Terry's Law" is just a dream.

So, to the pols, let the poor girl be. If the court system has rendered it's final verdict and all appeals have been taken and lost, then we must accept fate and have faith that Terry will be helped to a better place. Even if that's not the "right" end, the future will be far worse, complicated and probably more painful for many others if this is taken up by other branches of government.

Lots of Work To Do This Weekend

Well, it's a Saturday morning. Just had my coffee, walked the dog, read the paper, checked my favorite web sites and blogs. So far so good.

Now I need to figure out what I have to accomplish this weekend.

Between household tasks/chores, job billing, hobby writing, and various other things I'd like to accomplish, I feel like it'll be Monday morning before I know it.

Oh well, I guess you just need to start at the beginning and take it one task at a time.

But first, I've gotta check a few more sites...

Freedom IS on the March!

For all of those who can't stand George W. Bush, please stop talking for a minute and look at what's happening in the Middle East.

Elections in the Palestinian Territory, Elections in Iraq, Libya giving up it's quest for WMD's, Egypt about to permit some opposition in their elections, and Lebanese people marching in the streets to tell the world that it doesn't want Syria occupying their country any longer. Frankly, these developments in a few short years is historic and unimaginable--to most except for the President and his advisors.

Have there been mistakes? Of course. Name a significant moment in history when there weren't. Is this guaranteed to "work" and to actually help to make the region more peaceful? Nothing is guaranteed. There are still major problems and hurdles ahead. There are many twists in the road as well, and there's no guarantee we'll choose the right one every time.

But, would this be possible without our President's vision, strength and drive? Not for another thousand years--if then.

On second thought, I am wrong above, when I said nothing is guaranteed. Because one thing is guaranteed: if we had not taken this path, there would be more and greater "September 11ths." No question.

And, to those critics and perpetual second-guessers, you had/have no ideas, except the status quo. Not one. Do you not understand that you are becoming irrelevant because of that?

You're welcome to sit with us at the table, just not until you grow up, get serious, and bring some original, constructive thinking with you. Until then, go back to your whining and griping and conspiracies and let the adults try to make the world better and safer for all who mean us not harm.

My Furry Best Friend: Emory. 

Nichols and Accompanying FBI Agent 

Mid-Storm--from INSIDE the house. 

Sunday Morning Coffee and Paper

I really love Sunday mornings. Another day off (well, sort of, since I'm self-employed and sometimes need to do a little work on this day of "rest"), and a good day to drink lots of coffee and read the newspapers.

We had a great big snow-storm yesterday! Lots of heavy, wet snow. The neighborhood is filled with the icy boulders left behind by the massive plows.

I have to admit, I love this stuff! My dog and I have been out and about a few times since the snow began, and the cool and quiet of the aftermath are really peaceful and calming.

Not too much in the news today since Mr. Nichols was captured/surrendered. Is there any doubt that the female FBI agent shown escorting him into the FBI building was "selected" to be the PC image of the day? I can't imagine that who would escort him was left to chance, and the beaurocrats in the agency likely thought it was a good "image" to have the female FBI agent escorting the female-deputy-overpowering-inmate led in by a woman.

To be clear, I think women can be superb officers. But, I think it's foolish to ignore reality and to act as though there is no difference between a female and male officer--when there are often and likely obvious and apparent differences. Could a strong, beefy and tough female officer do a better job than a weak, scrawny, and wimpy male officer? Of course.

But, the point is that we should look to the individual officer, and make sure the strong, beefy and tough ones are assigned where needed. The reality is that this will often mean a male officer should be assigned instead of a female officer when selecting within a particular group of individuals. And, that's the point. Choose the right PERSON for the task. Don't choose a person because they're "next in line" or "on the schedule" or "because it's his/her turn." A little meritocracy goes a long way.

Who knows, it might have saved three (or perhaps four) lives!

Well, the coffee is kicking in, and that means I gotta run! Later.

Mr. Nichols, Here's Your New Cell. Get Used To It.

Well, our Atlanta courthouse and Customs murderer has surrendered. Good thing for all.

I hope he gets a little "rough justice" along the way from surrender, arrest, detention, trial, conviction, and death penalty.

The only thing better would have been his taking matters into his own hands and doing the job faster, cheaper and more brutally.

God Bless the victims and their families.

OK. I May As Well Throw My Hat In The Ring, Too.

Well, as the title suggests, I'm going to see if anyone else cares what I'm blogging. I doubt it--at least for now, since I just started this last night and I really haven't done much, yet.

But, I figure it might be fun to have a place to jot down some thoughts and to see what others might think about them. (Am I asking for trouble? Do I really want to get into this? I have a feeling this isn't going to end well.)

So, I'll post this link over on Aximsite to start, and we'll see what happens.

Fingers crossed! Breath held! What a brave new world we live in!

Crazy Atlanta Courthouse Murders

What a sad and scary story from Atlanta, GA yesterday. A nasty lunatic about to be convicted of rape and kidnapping, grabs a gun from a petit, female, deputy sheriff and shoots and kills three people--including the judge--during his escape.

Of course, my comments on the incident are limited by the information that has been reported in the press. I know that it's quite possible that some of it is innacurate, and that more will be revealed, and that things may turn out to have been different than we now think. But...

Can we please abolish political correctness and speak honestly to one another? I have no doubt that men and women can both do most jobs. But, to deny that there are differences between men in women and between their capabilities in individual circumstances is to deny the reality of the world staring you in the face.

Size, strength and capacity to defend one's self are critical for a police officer, a soldier, a jail guard and a bailiff. Isn't it likely that the maniac in Atlanta had an easier time making his escape because of who was assigned to guard him?

I work in busy, urban criminal courts every day. I know how difficult, dangerous and unpredictable the job can be and the prisoners are. I also know that some of the most professional and effective court officers I work with are women. And, that some of the men are pretty incompetent. But, I would always choose the beefy-guys to guard the most likley dangerous prisoners (men or women), if I had my choice.

Call it what you want (or, me what you want), but I speak of what I know.

If we can't honestly question whether a petite female should have been escorting this GA defendant around the courthouse than we have some serious problems in our culture.

First Post!

Just testing out how this thing works. Nothing too profound to say tonight. (And, don't expect much profundity from me in the future.)