Heavens to Murgatroid

Thanks to Snaglepuss for today's subject line which has no bearing on anything at all!

Two quick book reviews. First, Cruel Zinc Melodies by Glen Cook, another novel in the Garrett PI series. As all novels in this series, it was enjoyable. There has been less and less humour in each successive novel. That's not a bad or good thing, just an observation. If you're into this for the humour fantasy bit, this one isn't for you. It's also swinging more and more toward the detective side and further and further from the science-fantasy side. Still, I enjoyed it. Definitely a nice read.

Next up we have Steven Brust's latest novel, Jhegaala which is the new Vlad Taltos book. I was going to read the new Artemis Fowl book but Jose said this was good and so I changed my reading order. He's right it is good: very good. This one's a full Vlad book and not much else which, to me, is a great thing. Vlad spends the book in the East and I was thoroughly entertained. I read it all in (almost) one sitting except for the last 40 some-odd pages. It's very engaging and introduces a new character, Meehayi, who I hope makes a return appearance. This is certainly a return to the old Vlad Taltos, which I enjoyed because I did not enjoy the Sethra Lavode cycle nearly as much as the traditional books in this series -- I thought the Lavode cycle was a bit long winded and bordering on pretentious. My opinion, certainly. Highly recommended. One of the best yet. Long yet it seemed short, which is genereally a ringing endorsement.

I am looking at a new phone to replace my v330i. No iPhone for me because it's still AT&T only through 2010, asApple just extended the contract. So although I really want an HTC Diamond (their iPhone clone which is not technically available in the USA), I suspect I will end up with either a Blackberry Curve or Motorola Razr2 v8 -- and I'm leaning heavily towards the second unit. Advice and such from friends is welcome. I am sticking with T-Mobile, of course.

My neck is killing me but the spinal doctor is seeing me Monday, and sadly, I am looking forward to going even though I suspect all he'll do is order an MRI.

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to Adrian. I saw Timmy today for the first time in ages -- Wall*E was the last time I saw him and KungFu Panda before that. And I will never get used to this G4 keyboard because I keep making typos. I miss my other one :(

Also as the campaign from Hell wears on, I find myself growing more weary of Mr. Obama. He's starting to backtrack and do other things that make me realize despite all his fancy words, he's not going to bring change or be something new as he claims. He'll be more of the same old politics we've had for decades. Mind you, he's still going to be better than Mr. McCain who will be four more years of Bush: our country cannot survive that, so I will still vote for Mr. Obama. I can't imagine any sane, intelligent person voting for Mr. McCain. If your mind can reason and think, McCain cannot be your choice. Which is why all the religious nuts will vote for Mr. McCain.

Firefox and Politics

Virtually all Windows PCs ship with IE, giving it a 72% share of the browser market. Firefox, which is typically downloaded rather than factory installed, has a 17% market share, followed by Apple's Safari at 5%. This is a nice improvement over the old days when IE was well into the 90%. Firefox is slowly eating away at IE and that's a good thing.

Today Firefox are going to overthrow the world by trying to be the most downloaded software ever. You can get Firefox3 at http://www.getfirefox.com and installing it. I had many false starts and stops when the servers crashed under the load placed on them when it rolled out just past 10am PST -- the clock ending 24 hours later at 10am PST tomorrow.

I've installed at work on the PC without incident. Sadly, I'm going to have to hold out a few days on the Mac version at home. I've downloaded it as a show of support but due to banking issues with my bank, it will be a few weeks before I can use it. Firefox3's default skin/theme is horrible beyond measure and I recommend AeroFox which is very nice (it's what I've installed until Noia is upgraded soon to work with FF3. Both are by the same guy.) And don't forgot to install your dictionary if you want automatic spell checking.

I have an RGA from WD and am working with CBL on my drive issues still. I will issue a full report when I can, and will add a glowing recommendation of CBL but I'm holding back because there's still stuff going on (but nothing bad against CBL if you're in need of recovery services).

And, lastly, from Razzie this awesome video "Why I'm voting republican."




And, for the record, as stated in an earlier post, barring a surprise entry by Colin Powell, I will be voting for Barack Obama. If you vote republican, you're buying for more years of hell for our country. It's time for a change.

In defence of Barack Obama

In defence of Barack Obama. There's been a lot of crap said about Mr. Obama. Like all politicians some of it true, some of it untrue. But some if it's just horrible. So, here's an interesting video that will appeal to all parties.



It visually debunks all those stupid-ass Obama myths: he's a Muslim, won't wear an American Flag pin, won't swear on the Bible, associates with terrorists, and all that stupid stuff. Here's proof it's all hooey with some help from our current incumbent no less. If you can't trust a random YouTube video, you can always read the facts for yourself at the extraordinarily unbiased and trustworthy Snopes.

You're free to hold your own opinions, but at least form them based on truth and not lies. That is the democratic and patriotic thing to do. Don't let small minds who are stupid, mornoic boors tell you how to think. Read the facts and make your own decision.

Where was I?

Before I go on to updating you on various things, congratulations to Mr. Obama for winning the primary. Yo, Hillary, just give it up. I will be honest and say my candidate of choice did not make it far in this election. He's long gone. Actually, my real candidate of choice didn't even run. So I have to either (A) vote for the lesser of two evils or (B) vote for a candidate that has no chance of winning. I suppose I could not vote, too, but I don't see that as an option. So, I officially declare that the candidate I will vote for in 2008 is Mr. Obama despite the fact I am not totally comfortable with him. I could give you many reasons to vote for either candidate, but it all comes down to the war. McCain will be four more years of Bush and he wants the war to go on, and he wants to expand the war to Iran. That alone proves he is unfit for office. That is not will of the American People. He's already said he's not going to listen to you, and yet people are still going to vote for him? Idiots, the lot.

I did more car shopping last weekend. I peeked at the Infinity (built not so well), and some other models. I also went to a different dealer and looked at the Rover again. I went and looked at the BMW X5 which I was predisposed to dislike as I've never liked the BMW line. Well, I must say, I really liked it. Not quite as much as the Rover, but damned close. It's now at number two on my list behind the Rover I still can't justify in price. Not done yet, but that is an update for those who care. I will need $600 in tires on my current vehicle soon, so trading it in is looking even more exciting.

I went to my GI doctor today. I got there early because traffic was surprisingly light. I was in the elevator and he walked in. I hadn't seen him since November but he recognized me right away and said 'hi' to me before I said 'hi' to him. Then I sat and waited nearly an hour before I was called in. I hate that. HATE HATE HATE.

The news is basically the same. I have tried to wean myself off and/or down on the dosage of Nexium, but if I take one Nexium per day, my symptoms return. If I take two per day, my symptoms are mostly at bay if I am careful what foods I eat. Nexium is clearly marked "not for use for more than six months" and I again asked the Doc about that. He said it's based on Prilosec (true) and he's had patients taking that for over 20 years with no side effects. The one side effect that I can count on is that due to the way these proton pump inhibitor drugs work, is that over time you will develop large polyps in your stomach as they work harder to produce more acid because they think you acid level is low. They are always benign. What I've read on-line (Google is great) tends to bear this out. The consequence of me not taking these drugs is an almost certain painful and possibly fatal case of esophageal cancer as the acid eats away at me. I prefer not to go that route. $385 a month for the damned things so thank god for my insurance.

Went to the Chiropractor again today. Nothing like good news to cheer me up. Too bad he didn't have any. I am much better than I was after the car accident (you will remember some stupid bitch rear-ended the car I was a passenger in), so that part is good. However, he thinks my neck will have some permanent damage he cannot fix. It's too soon to tell, but he thought he'd prepare me. Other than that, the visit was good as always. It's hard to find a Chiropractor who isn't a quack but I got lucky. He actually seems to know what he's doing and isn't some twit who tells you they can cure everything that ails you. (I went to one who claimed she could cure your cold, and other nonsense). He even has a licensed massage therapist on staff as well as a real nurse. He's got a real degree from a real school and not Jorge's School of Chiropracty and Transmission Repair.

I have to pee, so I'll post this and go :)