"To infinity and beyond!"

Okay, maybe not quite infinity, but back to the moon and on to mars. At least that's what President Bush has proposed we do. And I have to say that I'm very much in favor of doing so. There's a lot to be learned for sure, but there would also be a lot of good technological spin-off that would come from the development program. Things that would benefit all of us. This will be a huge undertaking even if it's just to get back to the moon again. But the work required to get to Mars is nothing less than colossal. But an effort worth making.

And now for the sad economic reality. Even if the U.S. Congress were to find the extra $1 billion that President Bush is seeking, would they be willing to give it to NASA? I think the social "do gooders" would surely argue against it. Not that helping the less fortunate is a bad thing, but how much of that money would truely reach those in need? And then there simply would be demands for more without a doubt. And in all fairness, as there will be for the space program also. So my thought are to give it to the cause I find more appealing: space exploration. Maybe if we stopped marching around the world blowing apart and rebuilding countries we'd be able to help both causes. $87 billion for Iraq? How about $43.5 billion for social reforms and space exploration each? Likewise, we are surely spending billions of dollars on Homeland Defense and the War on Terror. Gee, you don't think any of that money is being misappropriated or simply wasted on something that's not going to do a damn bit of good, do you? Nah, me neither. Thus the bottom line is we are simply going in too many directions and spending too much money for this to likely become a reality. Pity.

The Jesus Tree

Well, that's what I call it!  I found this image today while researching profanity filters for a webmail system at work.  I can't remember exactly what the page was about that I found this on or even how it related to what I was searching for at the time.  But it's being used as an avatar by someone who calls themselves Fjori on a site called That Forum.



Now surely some will be offended by such an image.  Me, well…I actually laughed when I saw it.  Is that disrespectful?  Sure is.  Is it blasphemous?  I'd say so.  But what you really have to ask yourself is "Is there not some truth here?"  I mean, at least here in the United States one has to admit that Christmas has become largely an orgy of commercialism.  Sure it's still about family and friends, but it's also a whole lot about "What'd ya get?"  For how many people is it all about the man on the cross?  Think about it…

Otto Graham :: December 6, 1921 - December 17, 2003

I was sad to hear the news today that Cleveland Brown's great Otto Graham had died yesterday.

Graham played well before my time in 1946-1955, but I remember distinctly writing a book report on a book about his career when I was in about 4th or 5th grade. I don't remember much about that report, but I do remember I pick the book for two reasons. I was a big football fan, as I still am and flipping through the book I learned he was born in Waukegan, Illinois (December. 6, 1921 to be exact). And I remember thinking that was pretty neat because that was the small city near where I grew up, Gurnee, Illinois.

In that book I learned Otto was one of the greatest to every play the game. A man I knew little about until that time, I learned that somebody from a nowhere place like my backyard could achieve greatness.

What to do during a long Finnish winter?

Why overclock your PC! And anyone who knows anything about overclocking, knows that CPU and GPU overheating is your biggest enemy. Thus you need a cooling solution. And here's one that's certainly bigger and better than anything I've ever seen.

At the very least, make sure you checkout the picture on page 5 to see this thing fully assembled. Apparently the author thought it was worth it: "Overall this was one great project. It required a lot work and took couple weeks to get everything up and running but I feel that it was worth it."