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

Monday, December 27, 2004

The Minister of Defense:

Reggie White, dead at the young age of 43... I am still today having trouble comprehending them. I met Reggie White briefly twice (and then only to shake his hand), both times in association with church events in Knoxville. I will never forget seeing him preach at Southside Baptist Church. He spoke directly to the young people in the room, imploring them to trust God, and not to sell themselves out to the temptations of the world. Three of my friends from school that day went to the altar to become Christians, tears in their eyes all. This was the effect the words of Reggie White had on people, and when he spoke, you knew he meant it.

Losing a man like Reggie White is a tragedy. He leaves behind a legacy of football success in both the collegiate ranks and professionally that may never again be approached. But this is not what I will remember most. I will remember anecdotes, such as one from a friend of mine named Mike, who played football at UT. Mike said that Reggie used to come into the locker room on all fours wearing nothing but a towel, barking like a dog and howling. Reggie would be the life of the party in those days, Mike would tell me, but not in the ways that many prima donna athletes are today. I will remember seeing him in the orange and white during my childhood, and the green and gold during my adult life. But most of all, I will remember him holding aloft his Bible, coaching young people to embrace God, and trust in their Saviour. Yes... Reggie White went too soon, and even after writing this, I still can't digest it.

More stories about Reggie White:

Tom Silverstein - "He loved God, green and gold."

Alan Borsuk - "Outside quests sometimes took wrong path."

Greg Garber - "The world just lost a great football player, but I think he should be remembered for being a greater man."

UPDATE: ABC News is reporting that Reggie White probably died of sarcoidosis exacerbated by sleep apnea.

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.: posted by Dave 2:08 PM


Thursday, December 16, 2004

MetroPulse, Knoxville's weekly newspaper, congratulates Knox Metro area schools Maryville, Alcoa, and Fulton for winning state football championships. I concur with the sentiment, but one statement struck me as odd:

The whole Knoxville area should revel in the victories; they are so unusual when they come to a single community. The schools are barely 20 miles apart, and they are strong academic as well as athletic institutions.

Now, I've been away from Knoxville for a few years, and I know things change, but... since when is Fulton considered a strong academic institution?

Disclaimer: I have several good friends who graduated from Fulton, so I take some license in disparaging them... in jest, of course.

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.: posted by Dave 7:18 PM


Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Amazon.com Customer Support Phone Number:

Tonight, my wife mistakenly ordered me a Christmas gift that someone else had already bought. This gift came from none other than the Internet monolith, Amazon.com. Have you ever tried to cancel an order from Amazon.com? Have you ever searched their website for a phone number? Well, if it's there, it's very well hidden.

Well, I found the number (luckily) and she and her mother managed to cancel the order. I'm sure though that many other people have become frustrated trying to find a contact number for Amazon. A company that size should have more support personnel (especially during the holidays), and should PUBLICIZE THEIR NUMBER!

So, as a public service, I am posting the number so that anyone out there who needs to cancel an order, or simply desires to speak to a live representative, can do so. The number is:

(800) 201-7575

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.: posted by Dave 8:47 PM


Tuesday, December 14, 2004

"Technology is neutral."

I believe this axiom came from the 1984 Sony Betamax case. I believe that it applies now, as with P2P clients such as Blubster, Limewire, and KaZaA. How they are used is another story to be written at another time. But the fact remains - producers of music, movies and television are trying their best to portray the developers of P2P technology as purveyors of piracy who should be held accountable for their activities (even though they have done nothing wrong).

If this contention is true, then shouldn't also the developer of PGP be held accountable for complicity to terrorism (since terrorists are known to transmit communiques using the popular encryption software)? Certainly no one could blame PGP for facilitating violence against the Western world, could they? Hopefully, common sense prevails in these cases against P2P developers.

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.: posted by Dave 1:03 PM


Saith my wife: "Money doesn't buy the most important things in life. It can often make things bad." Certainly, this story illustrates that point.

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.: posted by Dave 12:58 PM


Monday, December 13, 2004

Lottery Hijinks:

If anyone has seen a number seven ping pong ball just laying around, please contact the Connecticut Lottery Corporation. It seems someone stole the 7 ball from their mixing chamber. Oh, and if you won the lottery this past Wednesday, the CLC would like to say "Sorry!"

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.: posted by Dave 12:20 AM


Here's the scenario... a candidate for President in Romania is accused by a local newspaper of being gay. He grows tired of the journalist's claims, and offers to "prove" his heterosexual virility:

The Romanian Prime Minister is offering to sleep with the wives and girlfriends of journalists on a Romanian newspaper to stop them claiming he is gay.

Adrian Nastase, who is also a candidate in this weekend's presidential run off elections, made the offer after being asked by reporters about rumours a local newspaper was to out him as gay.

Nastase said: "I am not afraid of the threat of any sexual scandal created by a certain newspaper that criticises me every day anyway.

"If people from Evenimentul Zilei newspaper want me to prove to them that I have no homosexual inclinations, I will test all their wives and girlfriends to show them where my preferences really are."

Ah, the beauty of issue-oriented political campaigns.

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.: posted by Dave 12:11 AM


The Brits, as we gun-totin' Americans know, are obsessed with gun control. Can the next step be knife control? Well... yeah.

Under-18s are to be banned from buying knives under new plans announced by the Government.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, wants to raise the age at which youngsters can buy knives from 16 to 18, the same age at which they can buy alcohol and fireworks.

Mr Blunkett said he would do everything in his power to get knives off Britain's streets and will unveil his plans at talks with police chiefs on Wednesday.

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.: posted by Dave 12:02 AM


Sunday, December 12, 2004

My son is obsessed with the household vacuum cleaner... to the point that he won't eat his lunch because he wants to look at it. Just now, my wife decided she had seen enough. She moved it from the dining room to the kitchen, and closed the door. My son, ever the dramatic one, began to wail in agony. Much laughter ensued. (It was hilarious... sue me. :-) ) Ahhh, the idiosyncracies of the infant. Ain't fatherhood a blast?

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.: posted by Dave 9:55 AM


There hasn't been much blogging activity in the Opinari compound lately, mainly because of preparing first for a work stoppage, then, after finding out there wouldn't be one, changing plans for the holidays to accommodate travel to see our families. (Note: It really sucks to not be able to start your holiday planning until 6 DEC. I don't recommend it.)

In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of nighttime reading, first the Romanov Prophecy (ironic given the attention that the region there has been getting lately), and now State of Fear, by Michael Crichton. (Here's an interview with ABC's John Stossel with Crichton that explains the premise of the book.) If I can keep my 13 month old son from walking off with my Palm handheld (which contains my e-books), I plan to finish it this week.

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.: posted by Dave 9:47 AM


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