An article on the use of 9/11 in oratory...

Especially by Pataki

( Read more... )

A set of links from alternet

Old news, but still good, on how far recruiters will go to recruit.
One about a documentary on the wall/fence in Israel
One on official Godwinization of people we're at war with
An interview with Moazzam Begg, after being released from Guantanamo
An article on Planned Parenthood
One on abusive relationships
An article on permanent bases in Iraq
And one on Iraq and Iran

And some links from other sources...

Today's WTF moment comes courtesy of Fox News. Man, and here I thought I was the queen of paranoid conspiracy theories, but this one just takes the cake.
At the same time, at least some Musim scholars are arguing against terrorism. I would daresay that they probably represent the majority of Muslims, just as the majority of Christians don't actually believe in bombing abortion clinics and beating up on gay kids. Unfortunately, the shouters always are the ones we remember....
And more proof that Walmart is evil. Like we needed it.

My new adapter works, it works!

Oh, but getting it was a pain. First, I have to trek all the way up to 57th. Then, I have to trek up to 58th. (After accidentally going down to 56th, no less!)

I go in the store: Well, we don't sell Dell products, but we probably have a universal adapter you can use.

I look at *all* the universal adapters. Many of them work for Dell products, even the same type of laptop - but only for later models than the one I have. I was expecting this, actually, seeing as how my laptop was actually out of date when I got it. That's the only way I could get a laptop at all, and isn't my mother a lucky one with a brother who lets money burn through is pocket?

Finally, the very last one I find can work on my laptop. Only problem? It's about $10 more than I have. And no, they won't hold it for me. I call my mom. She can come drop by with money in an hour. Luckily, a kind employee offered to hide it (it was the only one of its type), but he was going to be gone in an hour.

I run down - well, I take the train down to my mom's office. I chat with the guards. I take a train back up to the store. My adapter is still there, I purchase it, I realize that I'm sweating, not like a pig (pigs don't sweat), but like a human who has predictably forgotten to put on antiperspirant. Oops. No hugs for kind Lawrence, then....

Run home, open the box (with a knife, because these things are impossible, and I'm always scared I'll stab what's inside), work out how to put it together, hold my breath....

And it works! Plus, it's ligher than the old one, always a bonus.

Now, I have laundry to do. 'tis my penance.

Oh dear...

Apparently, Elise was here today, and very disappointed that she missed me.

For those of you who don't know, Elise is this 11 or 12 year old kid whom I've known since *I* was 11 or 12. She's a sweet kid, nice, a lot like me when I was her age. And that's why I like her, that and the fact that she's inexplicably adored me for nearly as long as she's known me. That's eased up a little as she's gotten older and gotten some friends.

However, as I said, she's a lot like me. And there's only so much of that I can take. But I don't like disappointing her, and I know it's my mom who planted the idea that she could go to the drums with us this week, so now I'm going to have to call her and ask her to come with us *next* week. I might ask her to go to the children's museum with us this weekend, as well. I like the children's museum, and as long as we don't entrust Ana to her (as we fairly much do with Rosa, another 11 or 12 year old we hang around with often and who doesn't seem to realize that she's not being paid for being our free babysitter) very much she'll be a big help in watching after her. That is, Elise will help in watching after Ana, not the other way around. So long as I don't *expect* her to.

I'll call in the morning.

External harddrives...

After my rant about computer obsolesence, many people, here and in real life, suggested an external hard drive.

Now, those aren't cheap, but they're not so expensive that they'd be impossible to cadge one as a joint christmas/birthday present. From my mom. Jenn's still paying off this laptop, I think. Or my uncle. Or begging $5 gift certificates off of all of you, though if I did that I'd rather get more user picture space, and anyway, most of youse guys don't have any money anyway, and I'm horrible at sending out christmas presents (I still have scarves from two years ago that I need to send out, and I think I'll have to get everybody's address again in order to do so), so it wouldn't be a fair exchange, so I wouldn't do that.

Anyway, that said, I wouldn't bother wanting one of this if all it offered is extra storage space. I want that, I can invest in some blank CDs and save everything to disk. Disc? Whatever. Point is, that's not worth the money. However, if it would actually speed up my computer, it *is* worth the money.

So now you know my question. Answer it, amabo te.