*RANTS*

I recently started my first job after college and I'm noticing a familiar trend: this job requires none of my powerful skills of insight and analysis -- just like my old job... What's up with this? Also, as before, I'm looking to my moonlight ventures to feed my creative urges. So! 50 hours at work and the rest of my time on making a PCcard to support Software Defined Radio... When do I join the Leisure Class?

One last thing: Palm (both of them) are pissing me off! They're milling out their product at a break-neck pace and not supporting their user base. OS 5.2.1 has a different freature set depending on which handheld you're looking at and none of these improvements are being made available to existing devices. They suck. PocketPC and Linux now have the techical and spiritual advantage.

I had a conversion with an OpenBSD fan recently. My head is still spinning. The thrust of OpenBSD is: Security Above All! As with any near fanatic proposal my head swims with counter point. Combine this with the fact that little is known about the dangers of computer insecurity and arguement ends up being a statement of personal preference.

When it works, it's great.  The address book can initiate a phone call and the caller ID is driven by address book entries, exactly as promised. Text entry for SMS is much better than phone pad entry. 

Just when I've given up on Java this comes by.  I guess it does have it purposes (albeit JavaScript).  I'm astounded.

Finally got my local web page (for what it's worth) up.

I went to MacWorld last week and admired the new iMac -- beautiful.  However they did a bit of a switch-o/change-o.  These Macs were dolled up to an outrageous degree to create a glow and response not likely available at the end-user's home or office:

1)  The Mac was on a lighted table which definitely gave it an ghostly, other-worldly appearance above and beyond it's amazing styling.

2)  The Mac all had internet access which was FAST.  Technically, I wouldn't doubt that they were all on a 100bT connection to a Cisco 12000 being fed by a DS-3.  The illusion is that fast web=fast general application.  This is obviously not the case.

3)  They had headphones and you could play mp3s off iTunes or over the internet and they sounded GREAT!  I come to find out that the headphones are these crazy 'noise cancellation' Bose devices that retail for $300!

So!  Wowed I was... just as they planned.  And to all you Linux and Windows drones which toe the "It's what it does, not how it looks" mantra, all I have to say to you is "PORSCHE". Or better yet, "PT CRUISER".

XP is out now and I haven't upgraded yet.  I say 'yet' because I fully expect to do so soon.  As much as I hate it, I have noticed that Linux (regardless of the Evangelists) is also quite troublesome (no goddam help).  Linux IS a sexy OS and I plan to experiment with it more in the future.  WHEN is the issue.  School and life have a tendency to fill the temporal container of my days.

P.S. I've recently been trying to legalize a 'beater' pickup I bought to carry loads from Home Depot and to the Dump -- more on this in the HOMOwner part -- only to be reminded that nothing is cheap, only shades of expensive.

Actually, I'll probably move this to Earthlink because the Microsoft "Publish" feature actually scares me a bit -- I've noticed that Microsoft lately has made their version of the Internet quite simple to put together -- Front Page for development, Server Extensions on a Win200 server, and IExplorer to view and you can do some pretty amazing things.  If I were to try to reproduce the same effect, I'd need to script in Java and use SQL and wrap it all up with  FTP to post it...  neither Java or SQL are trivial to use...  I'm lazy and I'm only making the problem worse...