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Opinari - Latin term for Opinion. Opinari.net is just what it seems: a cornucopia of rants, raves and poignant soliloquy.

Thursday, November 27, 2003

I'm waiting on the Bush-haters on the left to start trashing Dubya for being an opportunist for visiting the troops overseas today. If anything will boost morale in Iraq, it is a visit from the commander-in-chief, and a nice helping of turkey and dressing.

Alas, if the aircraft carrier incident from months ago is any indication, Bush will be lambasted in the leftist media for doing something unprecedented, and genuinely good. You may not like Bush. You may not like his policies. But you have to admire him as a person.

UPDATE: This just in for those who think the administration is not doing enough to reinforce troop presence in Iraq. The Pentagon is sending 3000 more troops to bolster the coalition presence there. Hopefully, we'll see more of these deployments until the stench that is Islamic terrorism is removed from society.

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.: posted by Dave 2:16 PM


What kind of son-of-a-bitch would even think this?

I'm definitely torn, because I obviously don't want any more of our soldiers getting killed, but I also wouldn't mind the quagmire going on just long enough to ruin Bush's re-election chances.

If you are more concerned with a president's re-election failure than the well-being of our troops abroad, you are a sick bastard. Excuse my anger on this day of Thanksgiving, but whatever troglodyte surfaced to write such a screed should be lambasted by all within earshot. It figures these are the types of opinions emanating from the Left Coast, but it still sickens me.

Anyone who feels that way should abdicate their citizenship, move to a more totalitarian state, where their opinions can REALLY be appreciated.

< end of rant >

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.: posted by Dave 1:10 AM


Yayy! Tuesday Morning Quarterback is back! Thanks NFL.COM

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.: posted by Dave 1:01 AM


My last post was about the things for which I am most thankful. This post, to which SayUncle linked, got me thinking about people I meet in passing... people who I will only see once, and likely will see only for a few minutes. It's people like the one in this post for whom I am thankful. Read this, and if you don't get a tear in your eye, you must be having a really bad day.

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.: posted by Dave 12:47 AM


Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Today is Thanksgiving. Much like today, times were pretty turbulent during the first Thanksgiving. American natives and European settlers were still trying to cope with each other. But even through the angst, the God-fearing settlers found time to thank the Lord for everything He had given to them.

Today, I am thankful, too.

  • I am thankful for my beautiful wife, with whom I am spending my first Thanksgiving.
  • I am thankful for my beautiful son, with whom I am also spending my first Thanksgiving.
  • I am thankful for my supportive family, on both sides of the marital divide, and for their help in establishing this household. They have been invaluable to us.
  • I am thankful for this nation, where we can live in relative freedom, to love, to learn, to worship, and to be individuals.
  • I am thankful for the men and women who are fighting for the just cause of freedom, and in defense of American ideals abroad, who defend us each day against the tyranny of Islamic terrorism.
  • I am thankful for the teachers, and mentors throughout my life, who influenced me, and led me in the right direction, through constant correction, and discipline. I owe them a great deal.
  • I am thankful for my pets. My dog, Buddy, and my cat, Calin, are a constant joy to us. God knew what He was doing when He made pets.
  • I am thankful for the health of my family, and may they continue to be prosperous and well.
  • I am thankful for my job, which is as fulfilling as anything for which I could have ever hoped.
  • I am thankful for technologies such as the Internet, which enable me to communicate with all of my friends, and family. Without it, I would be isolated in a faraway place, with no outlet for communicating my ideas, and thoughts.
  • I am thankful for the hundreds of friends I have, in the numerous places in America, Europe, and elsewhere. You all mean more to me than I can ever express.
  • I am thankful most of all for my Saviour, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for my sins. He has blessed me in ways I never imagined. And without Him, I would be no one.


    • If your list of thankfulness is as robust as mine, you are lucky indeed.

    God bless everyone this Thanksgiving day.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:49 PM


    Saturday, November 22, 2003



    Today is, among other things, the day of the week that I reserve for watching college football. It's difficult to watch the Vols from the Northeast, as I refuse to pay hundeds of dollars for a satellite system, or add-on packages for cable TV. I do, though, make extensive use of the internet. Fortunately, if the Vols are not televised by CBS, they are being shown on ESPN, or Jefferson Pilot (on the internet, which comes in rather nicely).

    I feel like writing about the Vols today because today was the last home game for several UT seniors. The accolades will go out to many of them, but none will be more deserving than Casey Clausen. Casey did not bring the Vol nation a national championship (of course, neither did Peyton). But he did bring us two victories in Gainesville, and one in South Bend, and another in Miami. This kid has impressed me in his four years, not from his sheer ability, but from his unflappability, and his confidence both on the field, and off.

    I had no reason to write about Casey Clausen today, until I read his piece in the News Sentinel. I grew weary during the last four seasons, listening to the grumbling of all the wannabe coaches out there, telling us how worthless Clausen was. When things go awry, the quarterback usually takes the heat. This is one kid who has been taught how to weather the storms of fickle fans.

    Casey, you will be missed by this Vol fan. I hope you go on to the next level and excel, despite your critics. I hope coach Fulmer can find another player to do the job as successfully as you have. No, more than that, I hope coach Fulmer can sign many more kids to scholarships in the future just like you, Casey. Thanks for the memories.

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    .: posted by Dave 8:35 PM


    Thursday, November 20, 2003

    I haven't read much about the energy bill (there are only so many hours in the day). But, if Tom Daschle is supporting it, it must be a bad idea.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:24 PM


    The Two-Dozen Old Person March:

    Yesterday afternoon, about two dozen disgruntled AARP members from Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania gathered in the rain outside the organization’s downtown Washington headquarters to cut up their membership cards. The protest was organized by two liberal advocacy groups.

    So, reputedly, senior citizens across the fruited plain are angry about the Republican-backed prescription drug benefit. And they are angry that the AARP endorsed it. So they cut up their membership cards. All TWENTY-FOUR of them. Twelve senior citizen pairs is all they could get for this poor display of desperate symbolism? Pardon me if I don't see the groundswell of anger here.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:18 PM


    As if the world needed to be reminded WHY we are battling these terrorist thugs, we have a new set of attacks in Istanbul. 26 people are known dead. 450 or more injured.

    This cancer on the face of society will not stop on its own. It needs to be rooted out, and destroyed. Western journalists, and political opportunists who decry everything George Bush because... well, it's George Bush, so it has to be wrong... are not helping matters with their often vitriolic dissent. Once the Western world speaks as one, and seeks to destroy al-Qaeda and its sympathizers, REGARDLESS of cost, both financial, and human, these attacks will continue. They may be intermittent. They may be unsuccessful. They may be costly. They may be mild. But they will persist.

    Thankfully, we have leaders with the mettle of Tony Blair, and George Bush, who will not back down from these killers, despite the best efforts of the Islamic propagandists, and the leftist blatherers of the Western world.

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    .: posted by Dave 12:09 PM


    Cheeseburger fries. Boy, these sound yummy to me:

    Looking to emulate the success of Chicken McNuggets and fried mozzarella sticks, the group is hoping to inject some red meat into the American snack food diet with cheeseburger fries. The fries, which look like a squat version of standard french fries, are made of a meat and cheese compound that tastes - as the name suggests - like a cheeseburger.

    Breaded, deep fried, and served with ketchup or barbecue sauce, cheeseburger fries have found their way onto menus in several states, including Nebraska, Minnesota and Texas, since June. There is also a version being made available to public school cafeterias.

    The last sentence made my wife wonder aloud:

    They are marketing this product to public schools. I wonder if they will be able to market this to the schools in Arkansas? You know...the ones that are so concerned with student health they are measuring body fat? Wanna bet they start serving these deep-fried fat sticks for lunch soon?

    I'm not sure how this will play out with the "fitness nazis" of the world, but I know this much: as fit as I was in grade school, you can bet your bottom dollar that I would have been eating cheeseburger fries for lunch before I would have been eating corn, beans, and tossed salad.

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    .: posted by Dave 11:11 AM


    Fox News on how candidates are confused about the assault weapons gun ban:

    Tuesday, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean explained his support for extending the assault weapons ban next year because “deer hunters don't need to have assault weapons.” Gen. Wesley Clark says: “I like to hunt. I have grown up with guns all my life, but people who like assault weapons should join the United States Army, we have them.” Sen. John Kerry offered, “I never contemplated hunting deer or anything else with an AK-47.”

    Clearly what worries these senators is that people and not deer will be “hunted” with these guns. As Sen. Carl Levin noted early this year, allowing the ban to expire will “inevitably lead to a rise in gun crimes.” Ratcheting up the fear factor to an entirely new level, Sen. Chuck Schumer claims the ban is one of "the most effective measures against terrorism that we have."

    The most charitable interpretation is that the ban's proponents know nothing about guns. The “assault weapon ban” conjures up images of machine guns used by the military, which are surely not very useful in hunting deer. Yet, the 1994 federal assault weapons ban had nothing to do with machine guns, only semi-automatics, which fire one bullet per pull of the trigger. The firing mechanisms in semi-automatic and machine guns are completely different. The entire firing mechanism of a semi-automatic gun has to be gutted and replaced to turn it into a machine gun.

    Functionally, the banned semi-automatic guns are the same as other non-banned semi-automatic guns, firing the exact same bullets with the same rapidity and producing the exact same damage. The ban arbitrarily outlaws different guns based upon either their name or whether they have two or more cosmetic features, such as whether the gun could have a bayonet attached or whether the rifle might have a pistol grip. While there were no studies or scientific basis offered for making these distinctions, the different names or cosmetic features were claimed to make these guns more attractive to criminals.

    Idiotic bureaucrats have NO business making policy decisions about firearms. That is painfully obvious. If you don't know the difference in a Bushmaster and a Kaleshnikov, don't assume that you know best for the rest of us. Why these cretins insist on calling a semi-automatic firearm an "assault weapon" is beyond me. Well, on second thought, demagoguery is the likely motive. Can we come to a concensus somehow that keeping FULLY automatic firearms off the streets is, perhaps, not such a bad idea, but the current legislation is just wrongheaded and uninformed? At some point, common sense has to prevail over rhetoric.

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    .: posted by Dave 11:06 AM


    In Shreveport, LA, the voice recognition system used to route non-emergency calls doesn't seem to recognize Cajun and Creole dialect. Says the police communications captain:

    In Louisiana, we have a problem with Southern drawl and what I call lazy mouth. Because of that, the system often doesn't recognize what [callers] say.

    Well, heck, if you've spent any time in the Bayou, even the well-educated folks there are difficult to understand. Why would we think a computer system would be any different? And have you used any speech recognition software lately? It has a hard time with ANY dialect, let alone those with a pronounced drawl.

    But, alas, the VR system has been laid aside for a less-modern method. Touch tone. Sometimes, less technology is more.



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    .: posted by Dave 10:44 AM


    Good news. Microsoft has decided to implement a long-awaited feature to allow users to disable popup ads.

    Crucially, the question over whether the pop-up blocking will be turned on by default has remained unanswered by Microsoft, which said only that it plans to include the feature, and will gather user feedback before announcing further details. A default "on" setting would almost certainly kill pop-up advertising on the Web, since almost all pop-ups are un-requested by users.

    This is certainly going to be a topic of debate as the new IE is rolled out. Personally, I would think that, in order to avoid litigation, Microsoft would simply make the default setting "off". But, we'll see.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:40 AM


    Good news for all of you who are, well, butt ugly.

    Face transplants are technically possible and could arguably be less difficult than reattaching a severed finger, surgeons said Wednesday, but they called for more research into the risks involved before they are attempted.

    Talk about progress in society. Remember the movie Face-Off? Someone must have been inspired.

    Now, do I want a Robert Redford, or a young Sinatra? Hmmm.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:35 AM


    This from Rush Limbaugh:

    Now get this: 75% of black Protestants "think homosexual behavior is sinful." Ladies and gentlemen, I could have figured this out when I was still doing drugs.

    Rush. Ever the self-deprecator.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:32 AM


    Steven Waldman on the gay marriage issue:

    Privately, religious conservatives are appalled and grossed out by homosexuality but realize that the more common American view is modulated. So, they choose to focus on the idea that marriage in general is under threat. Read their public statements, and you'll see a surprising shortage of outrage about homosexuality itself.

    This is exactly the case. No one is arguing that homosexuality should be banned by the state, nor should gays be rendered second class citizens. However, when families in the U.S. begin to see the institution of family assaulted, they react rather sharply. The reactions of late are more of a defense of the traditional family, and less of an indictment of the homosexual lifestyle.

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    .: posted by Dave 10:28 AM


    Wednesday, November 19, 2003

    Eminem rants about black people, in his "more angry" days. Now his racist rapping comes to light, and people are stunned? Come on. It's Marshall Mathers, blonde badmouth extraordinaire. Why people buy his crap anyway is beyond me.

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    .: posted by Dave 11:32 PM


    Keyshawn Johnson. #1 draft pick in 1996. #1 putz in 2003. So you don't want to be a Buccaneer, Shawn? Well, stay home then. Trust me, people. McCardell and Jurevicius are better wideouts than K.J. any day. That's why I cut him from my fantasy team! Pro sports needs less ego, and more humility. Maybe K.J. will see that. Then again, maybe Hades will see a cold front settling in soon.

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    .: posted by Dave 11:30 PM


    Let's get another thing straight. Michael Jackson is a very strange person. He has been since, well, since birth, I can only imagine. His affinity for children borders on ill, but to brand him a serial molester is, honestly, based on circumstantial evidence. That being said, any parent who would send their child alone for some "play time" at Mikey's Mansion is insane in their own right. I say MJ is innocent until the guilty verdict is rendered, but until then, how about using some parental common sense and keep the kids away from Neverland?

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    .: posted by Dave 11:27 PM


    Can someone tell me why a 16 team playoff is good for Division II College Football, but it's not good for Division I? This B(S)CS fiasco has to end sometime. Can you imagine the possibilities of Oklahoma having to play TCU, Washington State, and then USC to win the championship? Can you imagine the TV ratings? Is anyone in the B(S)CS caucus listening?

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    .: posted by Dave 11:24 PM


    Helpful Plumbing Hint #1:

    If you are trying to remove a 500 pound sink from your basement, make sure you turn off the hot and cold water feed pipes before you try to dislodge it from the wall.

    Excuse me while I empty the Shop Vac for the third time.

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    .: posted by Dave 11:19 PM


    Let's talk about the gay marriage issue in Massachusetts. First of all, let's differentiate between two issues: personal beliefs, and matters of law. I do not support homosexuality, so I also won't support homosexual marriage. My stance is one of Biblical beliefs, and of my understanding of the natural law of marriage as delineated by God. I also believe the general detachment of people in society from the basic tenets of the Bible have led us down this path to begin with.

    That being said, I am also a proponent of freedom. God gave us a free will, and, as such, it is our choice to do or not do certain things. God's moral code is not compulsory. It is not imposed upon us. He gave it to us, recommended that we adhere to it, and gave us consequences if we did not. It is my choice to do so to the best of my abilities. The state should not compel homosexual couples to adhere to that code, anymore than an Islamic state should compel others to abide by sharia (which they do anyway, but I digress). As a matter of law, the state would be wrong to mandate that homosexual couples have no rights. It does not harm me if they are given rights of property, and tax status, and benefits from employers. In my ideal world, a gay couple and my family can co-exist peacefully. Do no harm, and be not harmed. If they want civil unions, let them do so.

    It's the other idea of acceptance here that bothers me more. That is the idea that the criteria for having children should be "a home with love". While I agree that love is necessary, it is not the sole basis for a stable home for a child. A child needs a nurturing male and female. The absence of this stability is what has given us a generation of malcontent kids full of self-gratification, irresponsibility, and immaturity. You doubt we have such ills in society? Spend 15 minutes in the local mall. Then come back and tell me kids aren't missing something.

    Endorsing same-sex marriages as complete reflections of Biblical marriage is to say that the male-female parental paradigm is not needed for the nurturing of children, and to think that is just plain wrong. Men have something unique to contribute to children that women do not have. Women, on the other hand, contribute to the child in areas that men cannot understand.

    It can be said that, if same-sex couples were intended to have children, God would have given them the ability to procreate. Anyone with a cursory sense of anatomy can see this is not so. In vitro fertilization, and adoption, are not the same as creating a child, physically, as a product of the love and union of two distinctly different people. Children cannot be brought up optimally under such circumstances, despite the desire of the homosexual lobby to will it to be so.

    Suffice it to say that no one in this world who is homosexual has done me harm by being gay. It is doubtful that they ever will. It would be best, in my view, if we created civil unions for one purpose, and heterosexual marriages for another. And keep the kids out of the middle. What two consenting adults do betwixt themselves is their business, and their business only. When a child is involved, that is another story.

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    .: posted by Dave 11:13 PM


    Even my fellow RTBers are noticing that I have been on, shall we say, paternal hiatus.

    Falling down on the job. It sure feels like it.

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    .: posted by Dave 8:47 PM


    Time management. Elusive, yet necessary. I have a hard time with time management. Before life took on a new sense of responsibility, I always knew I lacked time management skills. I figured it would be the biggest hurdle in realizing my ambitions and goals.

    Well, this year, I have added more responsibility in career, home (with all of the responsibilities of home ownership), and personal life (add a loving wife, and an adorable child into the mix). Throw in a dose of graduate school for good measure (something called Human Computer Interface Design, and Object Oriented Database Systems), and... well, you can see where this is going.

    Arrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!

    Thank you for allowing me to interject with such a voracious scream as to agitate my co-workers. Someone needs to give me some pointers on how to juggle all of this. (Is Glenn Reynolds listening? How can one man blog so much, without even a hint of adjourning from his PC? Try as I may, this is the first time I have been able to blog since my son came home. You time managers out there amaze me... but I digress.)

    Anyway, helpful hints are welcome. Blogging is my refuge, and, as you can tell, I haven't had much refuge lately. :)

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    .: posted by Dave 1:14 PM


    Saturday, November 08, 2003



    My Wonderful Son:

    Tuesday in Connecticut was Election Day. Anyone that knows me knows that I am very much into the world of politics. Wouldn't it be ironic, I asked not long ago, if my son was born on Election Day?

    Well, something funny happened on the way to bed on Monday night. Babies, as you know, are an unpredictable sort. To be sure, they follow no one's schedule but their own. Well, one minute I was watching the football game, the next I was waking up after dozing off, with my wife asking me if I knew where her contact lenses were. Well, no one looks for their contacts in the middle of the night, so I knew something was up. After quizzing her for a few moments on the matter, she asked of me, "Call the hospital. My water just broke." What did she say? Water? Broke? Oh boy. That time had arrived.

    We went upstairs and hurriedly put together her things for the hospital stay. We hurried down the barren interstate, knowing that when we returned, our lives would be forever changed. We were admitted to the hospital, and the doctors made plans after consulting with us to deliver the baby around noon the next day. Election day, of course.

    Ami and I spent the next few hours being simultaneously anxious, nervous, happy, and tense. Finally, when Ami went to the operating room, I realized the gravity of the events about to unfold. It was with joyous tears that I thanked God for all which He had given me. This has indeed been a fruitful year.

    Ami went into surgery, obviously nervous about the situation, but calm, knowing that I was there to love her, and to reassure her that everything would be fine. The doctors were impeccable, and I would not trade them for any others. Ami's mom was there after coming in from Michigan. She has, and will continue to be, an invaluable help to us both. As will my mom be, of course, as she was en route from Knoxville. She was going to be here on Thursday for the scheduled delivery. Well, Ethan didn't care. He wanted to come out now. Sorry, Mom.

    As I watched life come out of life, my son from out of my wife, I was absolutely fascinated. As we finally heard our baby, Ami and I both were tearing up as we glanced first at the doctors, then at each other, knowing that this was the product of our love, and it was infinitely better than we had ever imagined.

    The doctors cleaned little Ethan up, and I went to observe his every move. Then, they handed him to me. "Hello, little guy. I'm your daddy. It's good to see you finally." This, my friends, is what makes life invaluable. If you ever think otherwise, think of your kids. Your perspective will change in a hurry.

    So, now, Ami and I have a 6 lb, 13 oz, 19 1/2 inch child. He has a full head of blonde hair, blonde eyelashes, blonde eyebrows. He has everything for which we had hoped, and then some. Aside from his encounter with the circumsizion knife, he has been delightfully well-mannered, and quite docile, to our surprise.

    The mother is doing well. She will be quite sore for awhile, as the c-section surgery took about twice as long as normal ones. But, there were no complications. She looks as radiant as ever, and extremely proud to be a mother.

    God has been wonderful to us. Thanks go to Him, and thank you to all of you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers during this time.

    UPDATE: My wife and I are also keeping a blog to chronicle the events of Ethan's life, in first person. The blog is My First Year - A Blog by Ethan.

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    .: posted by Dave 8:10 PM


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