It looks like...

...Microsoft forgot how to label directories and so called them all the first word it could think of: Desktop. I guess, since "Desktop" is such a vital place to store everything, why not just call everything "Desktop?" No, we can't be logical and just have a '/home/[username]' directory; we have to be hard and say 'C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Desktop'. Oh, and if you're lucky like I am at work, your username has a freaking space in it! Spaces are for delimiting arguments on the command line, not for use in filenames. Gaaaaa! That's what dashes (-) and underscore characters (_) are for.

Anyhow, I digress...

If you can't tell, I'm not a Microsoft fan and I don't particularly like using Windows. It's not that Windows itself is bad, it's that it engenders bad habits of computer users such as spaces in filenames and such things. And it uses big long words as directory names such as "Documents and Settings." Instead, all user accounts should be held in either the "/usr" directory or the "/home" directory. Settings can be stored in "/etc." That's the way the inspired operating system called Linux works.

So yeah, anyone pipe up if this has happened to you. The other day, I was driving northbound on I-15 through Salt Lake City. I got to about the 4th South offramp (you know, the HOV-only offramp) and was travelling about 72 MPH. I was keeping up with the traffic very nicely, not passing anyone and not being passed. The lanes to either side were occupied as was the space in front of me. I was trying to keep my distance from the person in front of me like any good driver should, when suddenly I looked in my rearview mirror to see a Dodge Ram Gigacab pickemup truck come cruising up behind me at what must've been about 90 MPH. When I saw that, I didn't think he was going to slow down. I thought he was just going to hit me and keep on going. It really scared me. But, since I couldn't safely change lanes, I just stood my ground. He decided that wasn't good enough and so tailgated me at a very close distance, say maybe a foot if I could count myself lucky. He held that position for probably twenty or thirty seconds before quickly changing [multiple] lanes and exiting the freeway. Now, I don't drive a large car, and sometimes I drive a motorcycle, so when something like that happens, it has the potential to really get me going. I was pissed off at that dude. How dare he treat other motorists who have just as much (if not more) right to use the road as he does. Just because I don't have a 360HP V8 engine that cranks out 25tons of CFCs a year doesn't mean that I can be bullied around by people who do. I think I want to side with Rob Hilton in joining or creating a Tailgate Law Enforcement Task Force.

Basically, the idea is this: you get an old car, like a 1972 Chrysler Newport (against the rules to use in Utah demolition derbies) and drive it down the road as you normally would. However, if some jerk decides to tailgate you, you can simply climb all over the brakes and cause a collision. Of course, since it's a rear-end collision, it's the other guy's fault for following too closely. You could probably make a lot of money doing this. Now, do keep in mind that proper safety equipment must be built into or supplied with said Newport. I think it might be a fun thing to do. Anyone want to design a logo?

Anyway, on to better subjects. I had a great Christmas! It was awesome because I got to be with my family and Kristin's family and I got some super cool gifts, too. For instance, Kris got me a really cool watch and a Slinky, Jr. I also got a bunch of movies, like War of the Worlds, Madagascar, and Moulin Rouge. Plus, I got the soundtracks to Memoirs of a Geisha (absolutely beautiful score) and Far and Away (a much better score than the movie itself.) So far, I have not seen Geisha yet, but I will be seeing it soon. Kristin, on the other hand, got a really cool pen tablet for her computer as well as a DVD writer. Both of us got Christmas socks, which are undoubtedly the single most desirable gift one can receive at Christmas.

Finally, my web server received a relatively minor upgrade. Persephone, as it is called in the Schill home, went from being a Pentium/233MHz computer with 128MB of RAM (very old and limited) to an AMD Athlon/1.3GHz machine with 512MB of RAM (very quick and responsive.) This was accomplished at no charge because of the parts I just had laying around.

Tootles!

ps: I appologize for the long post, but it's been a while! :)

"...you'll be able to find out whether the car you're planning on buying is good or French." --Jeremy Clarkson