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Just how bad is Vista? Let us ask PC Magazine editor-in-chief Jim Louderback!
note: link is to Slashdot for credit’s sake, but you can go directly to the article here, which is mostly about Louderback moving on to Revision3, a most excellent internet TV company that hosts 3 of my favorite videocasts: Diggnation, thebroken, and Systm. All definately worth the watch!
Stephen King has written a great piece about Harry Potter, the series end, and how no reviewer has done it justice. It is a great article (DOES contain spoilers, which he explains) and I strongly recommend you read it!
Jo Rowling set out a sumptuous seven-course meal, carefully prepared, beautifully cooked, and lovingly served out. The kids and adults who fell in love with the series (I among them) savored every mouthful, from the appetizer (Sorcerer’s Stone) to the dessert (the gorgeous epilogue of Deathly Hallows). Most reviewers, on the other hand, bolted everything down, then obligingly puked it back up half-digested on the book pages of their respective newspapers.And because of that, very few mainstream writers, from Salon to The New York Times, have really stopped to consider what Ms. Rowling has wrought, where it came from, or what it may mean for the future. The blogs, by and large, haven’t been much better. They seem to care about who lives, who dies, and who’s tattling. Beyond that, it’s all pretty much duh.
As if the government didn’t try hard enough to keep us in a state of constant fear, THIS tops almost all (the rest of our civil rights that are currently being violated excluded).
A new law expanding the government’s spying powers gives the Bush Administration a six-month window to install possibly permanent back doors in the nation’s communication networks. The legislation was passed hurriedly by Congress over the weekend and signed into law Sunday by President Bush.The bill, known as the Protect America Act, removes the prohibition on warrantless spying on Americans abroad and gives the government wide powers to order communication service providers such as cell phone companies and ISPs to make their networks available to government eavesdroppers.Basically, all phone, internet and Voice over IP service providers (including Skype, Google Talk, and Gizmo Project) can now be ordered to put in back door spying measures for the government, all without warrant. I’ll stick to encrypting sensitive emails and using paper for other sensitive data.
Well, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was very well written and was a terrific read. The ending was great and she really tied everything up. That said, I am very sad that the series has ended, and hope that some day she/somebody will do more books about the wizarding world in general (especially Hogwarts!).
Time to listen to the audiobook!
I’m actually comparing Jim Dale vs. Stephen Fry on this by listening to the first chapter of both versions.
I prefer the UK version of the books because they have the UK phrases/words that are dumbed down for the US releases, so I tend to listen to the Stephen Fry (UK) version. Jo also says her children like Stephen Fry’s version.
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Just finished reading your blog Tom. It had been a while since I last visited your site. Interesting topics. Did your Deathly Hallows theories become reality?
love you
Dad
One or two of them did, but my big one didn’t. Oh well. It was an amazing book and perfect end to the series.
That is an awful lot of words Tom. Do you really expect me to take time out my busy day and read? I can’t even take the rime to read what I just wrote and checj foe errprs. For shame.
LOL very true Jesse
I just had to share these crash-test compilation videos by jospi69 with you all. My favorite is the dumptruck vs. barrier in the first video. I like to shout “DENIED!” at the POI.
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To summurize do not get involved in a crash with anything that flies especially space shuttles. Tanks and trains are the way to go.
Luke is discussing. 
Jesse, and 
Dad are discussing. 
JB is discussing.
Luke 2:20 pm on 9/8/2007 Permalink
i just wish that the iPOD touch had a micro SD slot. but other than that i will probably buy one.