home | archives

Opinari.net

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

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Phil Fulmer isn't one of the best coaches in the SEC for nothing... I have to hand it to him after leading to the Vols to two very close games that should have been blowouts. The natives are questioning everything... Vandy by 5? Kentucky by 6? Talk about backing into a 9-2 finish... but wait. Hold everything...

I think this is a brilliant ploy on the part of Fulmer. How so? Tennessee has played its best football in one specific situation - as a double digit underdog away from Neyland Stadium. What better way to assure that you will be a 10+ point 'dog than to keep the two worst teams in the SEC as close to you as possible? Can a battered Vols' team go into the Georgia Dome and beat the juggernaut Auburn Tigers and their vaunted running attack? Under normal circumstances, probably not.

But this isn't a normal circumstance. Perhaps Fulmer's plan all along was to take the Vols into Atlanta with no one, and I mean NO one, giving them a chance at winning the game. It's right out of the George W. Bush playbook... lower expectations, and then pounce. Can it happen? Probably not, but who knows? I will certainly be watching at 6 pm next Saturday. And no matter the outcome, a 9 win season, and an SEC East title was WAY more than I expected from this year's team.

Go Vols!

UPDATE: A note to Spencer Tillman of CBS - STFU, OK? Georgia isn't playing Auburn next week for ONE reason. They didn't win against the Vols. There is NOTHING more fair that that. OK? So quit whining, and prepare your crib notes for the game next weekend.

Labels:

.: posted by Dave 4:19 PM


Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Here's wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving. What am I thankful for this year?

These things are the most important:

  • My beautiful wife, without whom I would be lost, and life would be insignificant.
  • My wonderful son, who brightens each and every day with his laughter and unconditional love.
  • The Lord Jesus Christ, who gives me strength each day, and has blessed me infinitely.
  • My family, and my in-laws... may God bless them more each day.
  • My friends, both far and near, who are in my prayers daily.
  • My house in the Connecticut suburbs.
  • My job, which challenges me, gratifies me, and helps me provide for my family.
  • Good Health. Especially these days.
  • The US of A, the best country in the world.


    • And these things are just icing on the cake:

    Satellite radio, NFL football, the Tennessee Vols, WiFi, blogs, shoe inserts, Russo's Pastry Shop (tiramisu!), downloadable music, the Sunday paper and its plethora of coupons, Southern cuisine, the Wall Street Journal, spanakopita from Fanueil Hall, beef jerky, spicy chili, antacid(!), e-books, discount retailers who sell online, eBay, Escher, Heinlein, lower taxes, freedom, liberty, a good cigar, and an even better glass of whiskey!

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:37 PM


    Tuesday, November 23, 2004

    It seems that the "guy in the white hat" who started the Pistons-Pacers riot by tossing a beer at Ron Artest has an... er, extensive criminal past.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 1:57 PM


    Dan Rather: lame-duck anchorman.

    I'm sure Memogate had a lot to do with his departure, although one has to wonder how much pressure was put on ol' Dan to step down. Alas, we will have to do without such zingers as "Bush has run through Dixie like a big wheel through a cotton field" and "This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex." And what will become of Ratherbiased.com? Maybe CBS can keep Rather on in a Rooneyesque capacity, ending the evening news with some honest opinion, where he doesn't have to pretend to be non-partisan. Remember John Chancellor and NBC News in the 70s? That would be a good podium for ol' Dan. At least then, he would stay in the public eye, and we could keep laughing at his antics.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:34 PM


    Monday, November 22, 2004

    News-Sentinel sports reporter Gary Lundy passes away of a heart attack at the young age of 49. I have been reading Lundy's columns in the KNS for years, especially those pertaining to the Vols. Sadly, Lundy's final article was about the riotous behavior that sporting events can sometimes spawn, as was evident so much this past weekend.

    I never knew Lundy, other than through his work. His writing was his own, never caring about political correctness regarding the Vol Nation. Lundy wasn't reviled like, for example, Alabama's Paul Finebaum, but he had his detractors. I, for one, am going to miss Lundy's writing. I am in shock that someone so young, in the prime of his career, is gone now. God bless the Lundy family, and may He bring them comfort in this time of tragedy.

    UPDATE: Michael Silence blogs about his colleague.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 3:55 PM




    I received my copy of Madden 2005 last week, and I spent some time this weekend playing it on my Tungsten T. For those who like handheld gaming, I thought I would offer this assessment.

    First, some criticisms:

  • Playbook. I have only played with 3 different teams, but I noticed that they shared the same playbook. I am glad that at least plays can be flipped, but it would be nice to see plays specific to each team (i.e. the stretch play for the Colts).
  • Awkward passing mechanism. When I try to throw to the #3 receiver, many times I end up throwing the ball out of bounds (which is tied to button #3). The feel for the passing game is not as good as it is with the PS/XBox game. Given the fact that a PDA is not designed for gaming, I expected some limitations, but I think the selection of pass receivers is an issue that can be fixed.
  • Running plays. Running is very difficult between the tackles, but sometimes too easy on the edge. In a 10 minute game, I rushed for 330 yards with Priest Holmes by running nothing more than toss sweeps.
  • In the console version, you can control the lead blocker, and let the RB follow you. If this is possible on the handheld version, I haven't figured out how to accomplish it.
  • Multiplayer via Bluetooth would have been a nice addition. Rumors are that this functionality will be available as a patch later in the year.
  • Repetitive commentary becomes annoying. So does the constant bleat of airhorns. There is no mechanism for turning off commentary and background sounds separate from turning off all game noise. In other words, I would like to keep the crowd and game noise, without having the annoyances of Michaels/Madden, and airhorns.
  • The AI engine needs some major work - I traded a fourth string RB on the Colts for Priest Holmes (an absurdity that even salary cap issues wouldn’t allow). There should be some AI mechanism for refusing such trades, or at least the option for it. Also, I got an offensive pass interference call on a run play. When playing KC, and leading 14-7, I faced a fake punt by the Chiefs... TWICE, on the same drive. And, I noticed a definite repetition of play calls. In fact, KC only called four different plays the ENTIRE game.

    • Despite the negatives, I recommend this game for the Palm, as it is a quality first-pass product, especially for a handheld. Graphics are amazingly decent in comparison to the console versions of Madden 2005. I am hopeful that some of the issues above will be addressed in the second version.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:57 AM


    Sunday, November 14, 2004

    Not all Frenchmen are anti-American. Some, like Fred Gion, even want to shed the haughtiness that is "being French":

    In the end, I want to move to Red America because I know I'll belong. I don't know what happened to the French joie de vivre, and I'm tired of looking for it. But I cast my gaze across the Atlantic, and the values I see in the American character are a beacon calling me ... home.

    So, if I'm lucky enough to win a visa in the lottery, I have everything planned. I won't fly to America – too fast, too modern. I'll take the boat, like my great-great uncles did at the beginning of the 20th century. I want to see the Statue of Liberty from the deck, my beautiful French cousin welcoming me at the threshold of my new life. Then, I'll drive all the way from New York City to Texas, to slowly shake off the alien in me.

    Yes, this is only a dream, but it's my American dream, and I hope it comes true. To Americans dreaming about leaving your country, good luck and bon voyage. Don't forget to leave the light on. I wasn't born in Texas, but I'm getting there as fast as I can.

    We need more immigrants like Mr. Gion.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 4:03 PM


    Saturday, November 13, 2004

    Cheney Hospitalized:

    Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart trouble, was being taken to a hospital on Saturday for tests after experiencing some shortness of breath, a White House spokesman said.

    "On the recommendation of his doctors, the vice president is going to George Washington University Hospital for some tests," spokesman Ken Lisaius said. "He experienced some shortness of breath Saturday morning and has had a bad cold, which could be the cause for the shortness of breath."

    Hopefully, this is nothing serious. Others disagree.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:49 AM


    No Wonder They Haven't Caught Him:

    U.S. and Iraqi forces launched their mass ground assault against Fallujah late Monday after the city's hard-line clerical leadership refused to hand over extremists, including Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has a $25 bounty on his head from the Americans.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:47 AM


    Friday, November 12, 2004

    Peterson Guilty:

    Scott Peterson was convicted of double murder Friday in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The verdict could bring the death penalty.

    Death penalty, in California? Come on. If Manson is still alive, I doubt this guy will be fried either.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 3:13 PM


    Thursday, November 11, 2004

    Dear Veterans,

    Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


    From the Revolution to the war in Iraq, and everything in between, without your sacrifices, only God knows where this country would be.

    Sincerely,
    Me

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:52 AM


    Wednesday, November 10, 2004

    Several weeks ago, I ordered Madden 2005 for the Palm OS. After several notes saying that it was still stuck in pre-production, apparently, it is being shipped within the next few days. Once it arrives, I will post a review here on the website.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:00 PM


    Dave Winer:

    Ever wonder if MS's priorities are somewhat misplaced? Last night I booted up a new server running their 2003 server platform. Up till now I was totally happy with the 2000 version, but this time there was no choice offered. Anyway, their answer to security is to make you click in a dialog on every different website you access in the browser. Hmmm. That ain't gonna work. If they were paying attention there would be a war on spyware to equal the war on terror. With Microsoft's cash reserves, one can't help but think they could do a lot better than they are doing.

    I'm a fan of many things Microsoft, but browsers ain't one of 'em. I, too, have to winder when Microsoft will finally put themselves totally behind eradicating spyware instead of addressing the matter with piecemeal solutions, such as the dialog box Winer mentions. My guess... when and if their bottom line is affected, and that's probably not happening anytime soon.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:52 AM


    Monday, November 08, 2004

    Grace Marzioli posts some interesting numbers from Gallup:

    -Voters with high school or less
    Percentage of vote-32%
    Voted for Bush-46%
    Voted for Kerry-54%

    But I thought the unwashed, less-educated masses were the Bush voters. No? How about the more educated voters?

    -Voters with post-graduate education
    Percentage of vote-20%
    Voted for Bush-47%
    Voted for Kerry-53%

    -Voters with college education (no post-grad)
    Percentage of vote-15%
    Voted for Bush-58%
    Voted for Kerry-42%

    -Voters with some college
    Percentage of vote-33%
    Voted for Bush-56%
    Voted for Kerry-44%

    So Kerry wins the extremes of the educational spectrum. I think that sounds about right.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:43 PM


    I'm just sayin'...

    A lot of people have made statements similar to this one:

    More people voted against Bush and the GOP agenda than have ever voted against any other presidential candidate in history.

    But a closer look shows that this isn't actually the case. Recall the 1992 election, where Ross Perot garnered 19% of the popular vote.

    Clinton 44,909,326
    Bush 39,103,882
    Perot 19,741,657

    Now the total vote against the winner, Bill Clinton, in the '92 election was 58,845,539.

    For the 2004 election, the vote went this way:

    Bush 59,459,765
    Kerry 55,949,407

    So, it can be argued that in a two man race, Kerry did in fact get more votes than any defeated candidate in U.S. history, but the prevailing wisdom that "more people voted against Bush..." is simply not correct.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:57 AM


    Sunday, November 07, 2004

    Now that the Senate has 55 Republican seats, the Northeastern Republicans Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Lincoln Chafee, who always seemed to stand in the way of the GOP agenda, have been rendered much less useful to the majority. Even if liberal-in-conservative's clothing Arlen Specter, and maverick John McCain have a fit of party disloyalty, that will leave 50 votes, with Vice President Dick Cheney present to break any ties. This could mean wonders for the advancement of Republican initiatives.

    Of course, there is still a requirement of 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, the favorite tactic of the minority party... or, perhaps that option will not be around much longer. If S. Res 138 is ever agreed upon, that will pretty much eliminate any obstructionism the Democratic Party can muster. I'll be interested to see where this resolution goes.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:47 AM


    A friend of mine is high on Google (GOOG) stock. I have wondered just how valuable a stock can be for a company that essentially is a search engine which delivers ads based on search terms. Then I checked the P/E ratio - 203.3. Are you joking? This is NOT a stock I would touch in the near term, especially given the fluctuation in price.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:35 AM


    There has been lots of speculation about the role of "black box voting" in the 2004 election, albeit mostly on the more liberal blogs. Josh Levin tries to put some of that angst to rest:

    Joseph Cannon, who runs the blog CANNONFIRE, makes a similar argument: The states that "offered the best, safest opportunity for manipulation of the final count" were Ohio, Florida, and New Mexico. "In other states, the exit polling matched the final results rather well. In Nevada, Illinois, and New Hampshire, computer votes do have paper trails—and in those instances, the exit polls tracked the final totals. To recap: In three states with no paper trails, we have exit poll/final tally disagreement. In three states with paper trails, we have exit poll/final tally congruence."

    Cannon's analysis doesn't jibe with Slate's exit-poll numbers. A comparison to the latest vote tallies shows Slate's final exit numbers in the paper-trail states of New Hampshire (undervalued Bush by 5 percent) and Nevada (undervalued Bush by 3 percent) were less accurate than those in Ohio (2 percent off), Florida (3 percent), and New Mexico (2 percent). The other state Cannon lists, Illinois, won't require a paper trail until 2006.

    Like most people, I am not one to subscribe to the various Diebold conspiracy theories. However, I do agree with the left that there should be enormous concern about the integrity of a system that allows electronic logging of a vote without providing a paper trail for each individual ballot. The repercussions of such a system could be very dangerous, regardless of the party with which one associates.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:26 AM


    Slate's Paul Freedman agrees with me:

    Why did states with gay-marriage ballot measures vote so heavily for Bush? Because such measures don't appear on state ballots randomly. Opponents of gay marriage concentrate their efforts in states that are most hospitable to a ban and are most likely to vote for Bush even without such a ballot measure. A state's history of voting for Bush is more likely to lead to an anti-gay-marriage measure on that state's ballot than the other way around.

    {...}

    More to the point, the morality gap didn't decide the election. Voters who cited moral issues as most important did give their votes overwhelmingly to Bush (80 percent to 18 percent), and states where voters saw moral issues as important were more likely to be red ones. But these differences were no greater in 2004 than in 2000. If you're trying to explain why the president's vote share in 2004 is bigger than his vote share in 2000, values don't help.

    This election, more than anything, was about terrorism, and who is better equipped, and who will better defend the interests of America. President Bush demonstrated that he was more willing to do so than Senator Kerry. Indeed, this is why President Bush was re-elected.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:19 AM


    Note to those who are still having trouble coming to grips with the 2004 election: Don't kill yourself over it. It's really not worth it.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:03 AM


    Saturday, November 06, 2004

    The Star Wars: Episode III trailer is out. It's not exactly being distributed to everyone in the universe... well, unless you use BitTorrent. Heh.

    Download the trailer here    .

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:58 PM


    No Refactoring Support in VB 2005:

    I am very disappointed to find out that the VB 2005 design group has decided to leave refactoring out of their product, with the exception of the "rename symbol" functionality. C#, on the other hand, supports refactoring, which leads me to believe that the design groups at Microsoft are no longer taking VB seriously as an enterprise-level design language. The group claims that they could not meet the rollout deadline if they incorporated refactoring into the product. Being a VB developer since version 5, I am sorry to see them make this decision.

    One positive note - at least there will be third party tools available, but, of course, that will be an additional cost.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 8:18 PM


    I find it very insulting that the Democrats keep trying to figure out why they didn't convey their message better, when the fact is that people like you and me UNDERSTAND their message, and refute it wholeheartedly.

    Nothing will ever convince me that I need to rely on the nanny-state to sustain me. Nothing will ever convince me that the federal government was intended to do nothing more than provide infrastructure, defense, and a guarantee for the rights of the individual. Nothing will ever convince me that the intervention of government into markets will ever increase their efficiency or their productivity.

    These are the mantras of the left, and I, along with almost 57 million other people in the US, reject them. The sooner the liberal wing of the liberal party comes to terms with this, the sooner they will demarginalize themselves.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 7:30 PM


    Bill Clinton consoles those who voted for John Kerry:

    This election presents a great opportunity for President Bush and a great opportunity for Democrats, and the two are not necessarily in conflict.

    I can think of a few who would disagree.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 7:28 PM


    There is growing speculation that Yassir Arafat is dying of AIDS:

    Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath Monday said that all types of cancer had been ruled out, and the latest news is that French doctors have ruled out poisoning.

    Medical observers note that a low blood platelet count is a sign of a weakened immune system, and indeed last week there were reports of a complete collapse of Arafat's immune system. Other than the ruled-out cancer, the low count could be attributed to bleeding ulcers, colitis, liver disease, lupus, or HIV. It is believed that ulcers and colitis have already been ruled out.

    Arafat has lost a considerable amount of body weight. Hopital d'Instruction des Armees de Percy, southwest of Paris, is known to have some of France's best HIV/AIDS doctors. Other medical experts note that Arafat's activities in recent weeks and months suggest the dementia that accompanies late-stage AIDS.

    Knowing how rabidly anti-homosexual the Islamic community is, this would explain why the condition of Arafat has been kept under wraps. It would also explain the PLO's desire to blame someone else, namely the Israelis for secretly poisoning Arafat, which incidentally has now been ruled out.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 7:05 PM


    Thursday, November 04, 2004

    In more important, non-political news, the "ol' ball coach" will not be coaching at Florida. Pity. I was looking forward to watching him throw that visor a few more times.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:02 PM


    I'm watching the president's press conference (via a terrible online connection, I might add), and a reporter just asked the president if he was aware that PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat had just passed away. I'm not seeing anything about this on the newswires yet though.

    UPDATE: Israeli television is reporting that Arafat is "brain dead"... but we knew that already, didn't we?

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:55 AM


    Wednesday, November 03, 2004

    Quoth Zogby:

    “We feel strongly that our pre-election polls were accurate on virtually every state. Our predictions on many of the key battleground states like Ohio and Florida were within the margin of error. I thought we captured a trend, but apparently that result didn’t materialize.

    “We always saw a close race, and a close race is what we’ve got. I’ve called this the Armageddon Election for some time—a closely-divided electorate with high partisan intensity on each side."

    Accurate? Have you seen the disparity in the poll numbers vs. the actual numbers? It's hard to be that inaccurate even if you are doing so intentionally.

    May we from this day forward discount any and all exit polls, especially those endorsed by Zogby.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 9:12 PM


    For my fellow Sabbatarians out there comes this:

    How do modern (Sabbathkeepers) survive after sun-down on Friday given they can’t use electricity? They buy Star-K-approved devices. These devices include a “sabbath mode” in which they won’t turn on as a direct result of human intervention. Flip a switch, the light doesn’t turn on. However, it may turn on randomly 10 second later, not as a direct result of the switch flipping. Open the fridge, the light doesn’t come on and the compressor doesn’t immediately compensate.

    Thanks to Engadget for this one.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 3:10 PM


    Cliff May:

    Democrats face a choice: Pray for a new Republican scandal (or try again to engineer one), or become credible on national security; follow the lead of Sen. Joe Lieberman and Rep. Jim Marshall rather than Howard Dean, Michael Moore and George Soros.

    I sincerely hope Democrats pursue the second alternative.

    So do I, as I would like to see the Democrats take defense issues seriously. If they continue to be seduced by the far left, they will be relegated to the status of minority party for a long time to come.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 3:02 PM


    More election reaction:

    Kos invokes Goldwater.

    Pandagon: "Mocking those we disagree with is a losing strategy, both in the hearts and minds category and from an electoral standpoint."

    Sullivan laments the "Christian revival" in this country.

    Lean Left: "After yet another election, it's abundantly clear that the nation remains as divided as ever. And I think I have the answer: secession. "

    Eric Alterman: "The problem is just this: Slightly more than half of the citizens of this country simply do not care about what those of us in the “reality-based community” say or believe about anything."

    John Kerry: "Earlier today, I spoke to President Bush, and I offered him and Laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation and we talked about the danger of division in our country and the need – the desperate need – for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together. Today, I hope that we can begin the healing. In America it is vital that every vote count, and that every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process."

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:06 PM


    MSNBC has some world reaction to the Bush victory.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 2:04 PM


    I Am Not Making This Up:

    A man leaped into a lion’s den at the Taipei Zoo on Wednesday to try to convert the king of beasts to Christianity, but was bitten in the leg for his efforts.

    “Jesus will save you!” shouted the 46-year-old man at two African lions lounging under a tree a few meters away.

    “Come bite me!” he said with both hands raised, television footage showed.

    One of the lions, a large male with a shaggy mane, bit the man in his right leg before zoo workers drove it off with water hoses and tranquilizer guns.

    Newspapers said that the lions had been fed earlier in the day, otherwise the man might have been more seriously hurt ... or worse.

    I don't really have anything to add to that.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 1:39 PM


    Election Day Wrapup:

    Well, the Kerry operation conceded to Bush via telephone this morning, which, given the hangover of 2000, initially surprised me. However, I have also been surprised during the election by Kerry in that he quite possibly isn't as pretentious as he seemed to be before. So, maybe... just maybe Kerry himself decided that it wasn't worth a protracted fight over "every last vote" in Ohio, New Mexico, etc. I am far from an inside observer, but something tells me Kerry knew the consequences, and did what was best for the country. For that, he should be commended.

    President Bush got more votes than any candidate in history, which tells me that the Republican GOTV efforts were far more productive than anyone gave them credit for. When there is a 59% voter turnout, that normally means a Democratic success story. Not this time.

    One has to seriously question the methodology being employed by the various polling agencies, especially Gallup (a 49-49 tie? Come on). Perhaps the networks will learn that polls are, in fact, not news. Then again, we are talking about the networks.

    Sticking to your base has its advantages. Bush polls well with evangelicals, and it is obvious they came out in droves. Why? Perhaps the plethora of same-sex marriage ban initiatives had something to do with that.

    Kerry's obvious weakness was that, by taking a position, he effectively fragmented his constituency. Bush's strength, conversely, was that by taking a position, he effectively unified his constituency.

    From this election, I would hope that the Democratic Party takes this. Stop using demagogery to try to draw votes. Scaring young voters with the "threat" of a draft, and seniors by crying foul over partial Social Security privatization does not work. Also, to Democratic candidates, it would be nice if you had a coherent plan of action where the day's major issues are concerned, instead of saying "I have a plan" without being specific. One more thing. Do NOT cater to your fringe element (i.e., the Democratic Underground). It doesn't help your cause.

    The happiest person on Earth today: Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will inevitably be the candidate for "change" in 2008.

    The saddest person on Earth today: Jacque Chirac, who will inevitably fade into obscurity along with his insignificant fief, France.

    To the elitists on the left: It is bothersome and trite to watch you continually label someone who votes for Bush with the following epithets: simpleton, idiot, ignoramus, dolt. And those are the ones that are clean in nature. Please understand that there are perfectly reasonable arguments for voting for President Bush. I can cite several blogs who posted items of that nature. Realize too that it is not the Bush administration that is dividing this country. It is your insistence in labeling people with such characterizations, and assaulting them verbally that turns off a great many potential voters. Your persistence in doing so divides. Fifty-one percent of America agreed with me yesterday, and your insults lend nothing to your cause. And, speaking as a libertarian-leaning voter, if you produce a better candidate than John Kerry, you might get a few more votes from voters like me.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 1:07 PM


    Tuesday, November 02, 2004

    At 7:30 pm, Bush has taken Georgia, Kentucky, and Indiana, and Vermont has garnered a win in Vermont. No surprises yet. The key really will be the margin of victory, as that will tell a lot about how energized each party is.

    So far, we have:

    Indiana 61-38 Bush
    Kentucky 56-43 Bush

    Georgia and Vermont are not showing margins as of yet.

    UPDATE: West Virginia is also being called for Bush.

    Electoral Tally: Bush 39 - Kerry 3.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 6:32 PM


    How is voting going in your town? For a view of the rather docile scene in Enfield, CT, see my post over on the Command Post.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 5:16 PM


    Monday, November 01, 2004

    Adventures in Election Day Web Design:

    Well, since I am new in Enfield, I thought I would peruse the town website to see where my local voting precinct was located. Here's the link. Not surprisingly, the site renders fine in Internet Explorer, but not in the much more stable Firefox browser. Apparently, the XML stylesheet has a parsing issue, which says to me that the web designer isn't using standard XML... probably auto-generated by some Microsoft WYSIWYG editor.

    After checking the source, I found this...

    {meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0"}
    {meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document"}
    {meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"}

    It figures.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 7:56 PM


    Baseball Playoffs and the Electoral College:

    The American League Championship Series and the outcome has an interesting parallel to the 2000 Presidential election. Then-Governor Bush, of course, became President after a slew of lawsuits contesting the voting in Florida. Bush, after being declared the winner in Florida by 537 votes, won the Electoral College tally, and thus, the Presidency. Bitter Democrats like to cry that President Bush did not win the popular vote, therefore he should not be President.

    After watching the ALCS, I thought I would compare the series to the election so that people perhaps could learn to understand the electoral process in America. Let's look at the 2000 popular vote and the 2004 ALCS run totals in comparison:

    BUSH 50,456,002
    GORE 50,999,897

    YANKEES 45
    SOX 41

    Taken this way, the Yankees would have gone to the World Series, because... well, let's face it, they scored more runs. Right? Not so fast. A series is won when a team wins a number of games. Similarly, the Presidential election is won when a candidate wins a certain number of electoral votes. As such, the outcome changes a bit:

    BUSH 271
    GORE 266
    *Note: One DC elector abstained.

    YANKEES 3
    SOX 4

    As the rules of baseball dictate that a winner is determined by the games won in a series, the rules of electoral politics state that the winner is determined by the number of electoral votes given to that candidate. Best of 7. Best of 538.

    Simple, huh? Well, you would certainly think so, but 2000 proved this concept to be very difficult for some to understand. Let's hope tomorrow is different.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:43 PM


    Another Good Reason to Avoid the iPod:

    We interrupt the worldwide iPod love-fest to complain a bit. Hey Apple, WTF, the very useful app “iPod Download” made our iPod 10 times better, we were finally able to easily get music off our iPod, but since we’ve updated iTunes to version 4.7, now (of course) it doesn’t work at all. C’mon guys, this is our music, on our iPod.

    Now, I know there is shareware that allows this functionality anyway, so maybe it's not that big a deal. But, I have to agree with the sentiment... why shouldn't I be able to access music that I legitimately placed on the device? Copy protection? Of course, but don't throw out the baby with the bath water here. There are far more legal users of digital music devices than illegal ones. Quit treating them all like they are "pirates".

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:03 PM


    Another interesting endorsement by the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

    n a year of deep political divisions, this newspaper's opinion section is experienc ing deep divisions of its own.

    After nearly four years spent watching George W. Bush as president, and after a year of watching Sen. John Kerry campaign to oust him, we have decided not to add one more potentially polarizing voice to a poisoned debate. We make no endorsement for president this year.

    Ah, to live in a world of apolitical news media.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 12:01 PM


    AT&T... er, Cingular Wireless announced the availability of the Treo 650 and its compatibility with the high speed EDGE network. My next handheld device? Perhaps.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:59 AM


    Announcement:

    Opinari will be covering the election in northern Connecticut tomorrow night for the Command Post.

    UPDATE: My first post, regarding the Hartford Courant's endorsement of Dubya, appears here.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:56 AM


    For Whom To Vote:

    I would like to preface this post by saying that I have never voted Republican in four previous elections for President. In the past, I found the Republican Party to be too intrusive into the personal lives of ordinary Americans. While I endorse most of the moral ideas of the party faithful, I do NOT endorse the government legislating them. Certainly, these are not ideas upon which to base ones re-election, especially in my household. However, the election of 2004 is not based on social policy. The election tomorrow rests on two main pillars: the economy, and foreign policy.

    President Bush has trumpeted policies that have been very influential in averting a protracted recession. After the dot-com busts, and issues with corporate governance, investors lost confidence in the capital markets. Consumer confidence was similarly eroded, and got no better after the events of September 11th. Here, Bush stepped in and did what good executives do. He led. He did not wait on a poll to tell him which way to lean. He consulted his advisors, and he went with policies that best fit his view of how the country should proceed. His tax cuts on dividends, and personal income, proved to be a boon to the economy. Consumer spending, housing purchases, and confidence in the economy were lifted. Today, leading indicators are about where they were in 1996, when President Clinton was re-elected. Yet the same people who smiled about how great things were in 1996 will tell you otherwise regarding 2004.

    Detractors claim that the president has not done enough to keep jobs from exiting to overseas firms, but this is not something a president can control, not should he. Instead, the president has encouraged capital formation through his fiscal policies to allow domestic companies to maintain profitability in a global economy. Manufacturing jobs have been lost to locations where similar jobs can be done more cheaply. But this is a dynamic of the American economy that has been around for decades. As a historical example, manufacturing techniques and machinery enabled companies to produce goods in a fraction of the time with a fraction of the labor cost. Had American government listened to those who said the economy was doomed back then, imagine where we would be today. Quite simply, this president is pro-business, and it is business that employs workers. Punish business, and you limit the workers they can sustain. In this light, President Bush is the best choice for the economy.

    Even so, the President cannot be considered for re-election unless he has a coherent foreign policy. I recall in 2000, then Governor Bush endorsed a foreign policy that was more akin to James Monroe than anyone else. However, 9/11 changed that. No longer can we continue to appease terrorists. No longer can we ignore the threat. Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush pere, and Clinton responded in different ways during their respective tenures, but none were effective. The Bush strategy of taking the fight to the terrorists, and of keeping the fight there instead of on American soil, is perhaps the single most action of this presidency with which I agree.

    Bush's policies are well defined, and on the record for all to see. His opponent, Senator Kerry, speaks of his many intentions in many "nuanced" ways, depending upon the audience. Earlier this week, VP Cheney joked that Kerry had to look at poll data before responding to the bin Laden tape. Unfortunately, the joke was not really a joke. This is the type of governance we have to look forward to in a Kerry administration, in stark contrast to President Bush.

    The Bush administration is not without its weaknesses. As I mentioned before, there have been many policies with which the President and I have had a differing point of view. These include the Federal Marriage Amendment, "No Child Left Behind", the farm bill, McCain-Feingold, steel tariffs, the tacit endorsement of the assault weapons ban, and Medicare prescription drugs. A major improvement would be a return to the conservative tradition of fiscal restraint. Additionally, I would like to see him learn to use the veto, which he has yet to do. Furthermore, I would like to see the President articulate his ideas better to the public (partial Social Security privatization comes immediately to mind). However, in aggregate, these things pale in comparison to the two main items on the American agenda. It is for this reason that President Bush is the best choice on Tuesday.

    Labels:

    .: posted by Dave 10:47 AM


    Need ASP.NET, VB, VB.NET, or Access development?

    Contact me through Guru.com.




    Opinari Archives


    Recommended Reading


    Blogroll Me!

    Proudly blogging on a Treo 650 using Vagablog 1.9.
    This page powered by Blogger, and yours should be, too!