« November 2004 | Main | May 2005 »
December 26, 2004
Review: Trillian Pro 3 (4.5 moose)
When it comes to instant messenging, do you prefer Yahoo? MSN? AIM? IRC?
No matter what you say you should be using Trillian to chat. Although they have a free version, this is the second year I've paid the $25 fee to get Pro. I won't pretend to know all the differences between Basic and Pro -- part of the reason I actually purchase it is to show support for shareware software that deserves to succeed.
Why should you get Trillian?
- You can chat with any of the protocols listed above (along with Jabber, Rendevous, and probably more).
- It has great skinning functionality.
- It has incredibly flexible options.
- Because I don't have time to list all it's great features :-)
Get it. Buy it. Download the Basic version for free at http://www.trillian.cc/.
Posted by alan at 4:29 PM | TrackBack
Review: "Constitutional Chaos" by Judge Adrew P. Napolitano (4 moose)
I am pretty much a law-and-order kind of American. The Patriot Act doesn't bother me, I think we worry too much about the rights of criminals, and I think too many judges impede enforcing the law.
I'm not going to pretend that Judge Napolitano has caused a radical change to my viewpoints on those issues, but I am definitely questioning the foundations of my beliefs.
I recommend everyone read "Constitutional Chaos." If you are more of an ACLU type, it'll confirm some of your concerns, but you'll get a more conservative perspective. If you are a conservative (like me), you'll learn that the government is ignoring laws they enforce on you and me, throwing away the key on untried suspects, and using the "War on Terror" as an excuse to ignore civil liberties.
I wish folks like the ACLU could argue as thoughtfully as Judge Napolitano...but perhaps they have been and I just wasn't willing to listen.
I felt there were a few shortcomings in his work:
- Sometimes he seems to think he has "proven" something when he hasn't.
- He writes as if everything his example defendents say is true (that is, he doesn't seem to show proper skepticism).
- He doesn't seem to show any flexibility -- civil rights trump everything else.
I still readily give "Constitutional Chaos" 5 moose...
Posted by alan at 4:13 PM | TrackBack
Review: "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis (5 moose)
A week or so ago I finished reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis and I couldn't recommend a book more highly. Warmth and logic seem to exist separately, but Mr. Lewis combines them in an incredible way...
The version I have also has "The Screwtape Letters" -- another good work (although I wouldn't give it 5 moose like I have "Mere Christianity").
I'll end my review here...but will be quoting more great part of C.S. Lewis' masterpiece in this blog...
Posted by alan at 4:07 PM | TrackBack
December 16, 2004
Speaking of cat haters...
I'm going to burn in hell for this one...I found the link on National Review Online's "The Corner":
(You need to go back and forth with the left and right arrows as you approach the line...and no, I don't think it's okay to hurt _____, but find it hilarious that someone would make something so un-politically correct.)
Posted by alan at 12:28 PM | TrackBack
December 15, 2004
Imus the Demagogue
Taking Jenn to school this morning I got frustrated enough to "have" to change the station.
Imus had a Republican congressman on, and started talking about how the standard death benefit for a soldier killed in Iraq is $12,000 (for $20 a month a he/she can up this to $250,000). Using the "Is that fair?" and "How much is a soldier worth" type arguments, he was berating the legistlator.
I was in the Navy. I joined knowing I could get killed. I can't say I knew whether there was any death benefit at all, but enlisted regardless.
Anybody who joins the military does so knowing they too could get killed. Whether they know what their death benefit would be, that is their choice to pursue and accept (or not). Nobody in an all volunteer army is forced to enlist.
Is $12,000 "too little?" Of course it is...but the government shouldn't change it. For those who think it is unacceptable -- don't join the armed forces, don't marry someone who is in the armed forces, or pay the $20 a month -- but don't complain after the fact.
Really, what is the life of one person worth? Could we really afford to have the government pay it every time someone dies in our service?
A nation cannot be successfully run by emotions.
Posted by alan at 8:26 AM | TrackBack
December 12, 2004
Review: "Blade Trinity" (4 moose)
Last night Jenn and I watched "Blade Trinity" in Keene. I hesitated going because I was afraid it would just be a lot of blood and gore, but I was pleasantly surprised to find, for a movie of it's genre, it wasn't so bad.
And, for it's genre, it's a very good movie. Wesley Snipes plays Blade as well as he ever has, but the best part of the movie for me was the addition of Ryan Reynolds as Hannibal King, a wise-cracking member of the "Night Stalkers." The last few years he has been one of my favorite comedic actors, and he doesn't disappoint as on of the vampire-killing good guys in "Blade Trinity."
I give it 4 moose out of 5...