Speaking of Black folk...
I was talking to a couple of black guys about politics and racial issues, and one of them wanted to know the answer to this question.
Why do black people in America need leaders?
Jews don't have leaders, Mexicans don't have leaders, the list goes on. He wondered why people think that black people are so ignorant, that they need to follow someone--that they can't make up their own minds.
I told him that it's not that black people *need* leaders, but rather that the Jessie Jackson's of the world need black people to make a name for themselves, because *they* (the so-called leaders) can't do it on their own.

Now that he's gone, we can get down to some serious business...
Clay was robbed of his American Idol title, come on, Ruben? Give me a break. Ruben, the guy who hasn't grown at all vocally on the show, and can't go two consecutive shows without throwing up an "EASTSIDE!" gang sign! I was a Ruben fan until the first time he tossed out that sign. Clay, the dork with the voice, should have won this hands down. I think they tampered with the votes so that there wouldn't be any racial arguments like there were last time.

Later on this evening, I'll be taking I75 south to the coast, for some much needed R&R. I can't give you the exact whereabouts of this top-secret safe-haven, but I can tell you this much; for the next 216 hours, I will do little else but eat, sleep and make merry. All in the bright beach sun, if the Lord is willing. See you on the fripp, er... flip side.

Haven't done a code post in a while, but this voodoo creeping CSS bug (IE only) had me baffled for a couple of hours. Wouldn't want you to have to endure the same torment.

Every day that goes by, the advertisers/marketers who want to reach consumers are losing small battles in the bigger war. As prescribed by Ries & Trout, the positioning battle takes place in the mind of every consumer. So what is the current status of our grey matter? People hate ads on the Internet more and more powerfully. Sean Carton seems to have grasped this concept and is calling for Applications, Not Ads. Trying to fit the square peg (traditional media) into the round hole (interactive media) just isn't working.

For kids today, getting "in the game" requires a cell phone. Popularity can be measured like search results on Google—how many of your peers have your number listed in their phonebook? Sad really, but predictable. It's a more recent plot point in the trendline for teenage girls, but for guys? More communication might actually be a step in the right direction for our disengaged youth.

From Broadband Adoption at Home (.pdf) by the Pew Research Center:

Nearly three in five (57%) of dial-up users say they have no interest in having a faster connection at home, while 38% say they would like to upgrade to broadband.

Now I know America's school system isn't cutting the mustard.

Next to Apple, Macromedia is consistently coming out with the most slick, easy-to-use products. Their newest offering—Breeze—is centered around training. Make sure to watch the demo. Streaming is a great invention.

Here is the best review of Matrix: Reloaded that I've read thus far. Mr. Mondschein's knowledge of religion and philosophy shed some light on several Wachowski choices. Excellent read for those interested in the topic.

Matrix pleases hacking population. Nmap author gives movie 2 thumbs up.

I don't know where I was browsing, but this pop-up scared the bahootie out of me. Devious marketers. ;^)

Now here's a cool idea that would be very useful if Nokia can make the technology easy-to-use.

This is how the media moguls do damage control. Now that the world knows that Jayson Blair is a liar, the Times is distancing themselves from the toxic reporter. Will we believe than anything has changed among the self-perceived elite?

The Middle East is the most dangerous region on earth. It is also the birthplace of Islam. You draw the conclusion. Notice how it's usually: Palestine strikes, Isreal retaliates?

I saw Matrix: Reloaded last night. And I don't know what all the naysayers (49,800) are talking about. The latest installment built on the originals ground-breaking special effects with jaw dropping cinematics. And the storyline grew in scope, while building on initial premise. Except for a few overzealous Hollywood tendancies, I thought the movie was easily as good as the first Matrix. In fact, it rocked (149,000)! The best part? We don't have to wait a year, for Matrix: Revolutions.

Remember when they announced that you could use your homes electrical system as a computer network? Well, now HomePlug makes it easy. There are down-sides to pay attention.

Traffic Is Four Times as Lethal as War. Maybe more cars should be built like tanks?

Is it just me, or is Mazda's new RX-8 incredibly hot?!? The new Maxima isn't too shabby either. But it is still the Lexus IS300 that sings to me.

What do you use your Xbox for? Do we honestly need yet another device to transfer music files? Oh yeah, the Music Mixer also does photos. Go figure.

Jayson Blair of the New York Times has been found out. On Sunday the Times allowed him to resign. slang timeline. Slate, sharing the Time's worldview dumbed it down by basically saying, "How many prevaricators lurk out there?" Others think the Times didn't go far enough.

But I think common sense tells us that since his work record revealed a long history of dishonesty, the only reason the Times kept him around, was to maintain their affirmative action stance. Instead of firing him, they relocated him. Instead of addressing the problem, the Times chose to be politically correct while producing a fraudulent product.

Found an interesting slang timeline. From the Flapper 20s, through the Beatniks in the 60s and onto the Rappers in our current day, slang is become more and more mainstream. The all-time award for longevity goes to, "cool."

Attack kills 10 Americans in Saudi Arabia; al Qaeda suspected. Are suicide bombers the face of Islam today?

You might like Denim if you're a sketch first, code later kind of Web Designer.

"More appeals court nominees have had to wait over a year for a hearing in my presidency than in the last 50 years combined. This is not just business as usual; this is an abdication of constitutional responsibility, and it is hurting our country." said President Bush.

Typical partisan politics from the left, who despite the rhetoric oppose most things Dubya without considering the outcome. Just wait until the Hispanic population has the chance to speak with their vote regarding blocked judicial nominee Miguel Estrada.

Word of advice, don't tell your kids that you'll buy them a new video game unless you like beings asked, "Are we getting NBA 2K3 today?" about 37 times a day.

The guy who built this PC case needs to be on the FBI's 24-hour wiretap routine. Oh my goodness.

What is it called when 8,000 people hide 52,000+ packages in over 170 countries and then go to look for them? Geocaching! And it's only just getting started.

It's one thing to have a difference of opinion about the abortion issue, but it's quite another for the pro-abortion lobby to expect every tax payer to fund their side of the issue. But that's just what this special interest group in doing today by adding an admendment to force US funding of UNFPA. If you feel your tax dollars shouldn't be spent promoting abortion overseas, contact the International Relations Committee and tell them to vote no on this amendment.

The original Sidekick got rave reviews, so now the new (color) Sidekick has taken the stage. With an Editor's Choice award, it looks to be a strong competitor.

Condoleezza Rice pulls no punches. France did do more to divide Europe than the US. BTW, both the UN and NATO have outlived their usefullness. Commonality is unhealthy. I thought the diversity crowd would agree, but again, their agenda gets in the way of their speech.

Here are some web experiments that are fun to tinker with. I especially liked the Europa.

Taking a trip to the john has a whole new meaning...

Men being men will gather and watch sports, drink beer and punch each other in a show of machismo. But that's not what it means to be a man. THIS is what is means to be a man and this is what he looks like. I haven't been this awestruck since the time my friend Eric drank 29 pints of milk and didn't blow up.

Retired General Jay Garner has been put in charge of rebuilding a new Iraq based on Democratic elections and citizen representation. Now, that the first election has been held, the picture will start to form as to what kind of nation Iraq will be.

The majority of Iraqis are Muslims that have historically persecuted the members of other religions. Hopefully, we can help steer them towards a society where no one is forced into any single religion, but that each soul can seek God honestly and government keeps its' hands off this extremely important aspect of human life.

Verizon cuts DSL monthly to $35. It wasn't that long ago that our stupid local cable company raised their rates $5 to $45. No need for me to describe my new found displeasure with the direction my cable company is heading.

A new study says that cell phones pose a real flight risk. Here's how I'd phrase the pre-flight message, "It is an FAA regulation to turn off all mobile phone devices during flights in the US. If we find you using your phone, you will be locked into the specially prepared bathroom-cabinet for the duration of the trip. Have a pleasant flight."

I got a 38, I probably could have scored higher if it weren't for the pr0n question. ;-0

Take this test to see if you're a Liberal or Conservative. Rest assured, it's not exactly scientific because I only scored a "30."

Political correctness is an insidious form of dishonesty that when taken seriously can do a great deal of damage. Let me give you a couple of examples.

• I heard on the radio today that a "concerned" group has decided that brainstorming is an offensive term to some people. Can you guess what group this term is attacking? Neither could I. Turns out, it is people with epilepsy. If you're a parent of a child with epilepsy and you think the term is unfairly belittling your child, could you let me know? Their solution, just say thought shower.


• Also on the radio (Jim Rome), I heard an interview with Billy Bean. Now, I do sympathize with Mr. Bean for the unfair and unloving treatment he's received from many a player and fan for him being an openly gay baseball player. But what I do think unjustified is whenever someone applies the term homophobe to someone who merely disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle. Several dictionaries have added to the word contempt to the definition, when phobia has meant fear since it's Latin root. So now they are changing the meaning of words, when it fits their cause. Even if the word did include the newly attached meaning, mere disagreement wouldn't fit that definition.

This tells me that the politically correct crowd has a political agenda to promote. When is free speech not free speech? When it's being used to combat the agenda of the PC illuminati.