How much will Vista Cost?

The official release date is now Nov. 30th for business users and Jan. 30th 2007 for Home editions. The only pricing I’ve seen released by Microsoft is in AUD so let’s convert using x-rates.com:

  • Windows Vista Home Basic – AUD$385 = $298.029 USD
  • Windows Vista Home Premium – AUD$455 = $352.216 USD
  • Windows Vista Business – AUD$565 = $437.367 USD
  • Windows Vista Ultimate – AUD$751 = $581.350

I’ve been using Vista Beta for weeks and I don’t see myself needing anything in a $300 operating system that I can’t get out of a free or darn near free one. In fact, I unloaded my copy of Office 2000 last week and installed the latest version of OpenOffice never to look back. I might need to use Office 2007 in business at some point but I honestly feel that this may be the release of the first Microsoft OS/application group that will not become ingrained as a “standard” suite to which everyone must insure compatibility.

With so many open source options available now I can’t imagine that too many businesses will run straight to this OS or App suite simply because Microsoft says come and get it. There’s far less hype surrounding this release than any previous Microsoft product. It will probably enter with a whimper and go down with a bang. Note to self: move MS stock to Apple.

Rush did burn it.

I deleted an entry I created about Rush Limbaugh burning in hell. This was followed by a couple of emails asking why I deleted it. I simply had a moment of clarity. I realized that I did not want Rush to burn. After reading this article on mediamatters.org (http://mediamatters.org/items/200610250005) I realized he’s necessary to remind us all how crazy the far right, imbalanced Necon’s are. The ads favoring stem cell research by Micheal J. Fox would have probably gone completely unnoticed this year had it not been for Rush vomiting his opinion on us all to gain applause from a handful of delusional people who still think he’s worth listening to. His comments were a big push for the left.

“Mr. Limbaugh, Thank you so much for the brutal assault on Michael J. Fox. My wife heard it on your show and she is no longer undecided regarding the midterm elections due to your despicable attack on Mr. Fox. Thanks again for the boost to the Democrats. Keep up the good work.”

  • Tuesday October 24, 2006 09:42:45 PM EST

WRAL: Panelists To Discuss Future Of Dorothea Dix Property

“A panel studying what to do with one of the largest pieces of land in downtown Raleigh meets Tuesday. It is the same group that helped create plans to rebuild post-Katrina New Orleans and post-9/11 lower Manhattan.”

http://www.wral.com/news/10143925/detail.html

Is this headline meant to impress or discourage?  We all know how well the projects in Manhattan and New Orleans are going.  Sounds like another great choice by Raleigh city planners.

Republican or Democrat? Independants are the future.

Should I change my voter registration card?

  • I am pro-choice. = Democrat
  • I don’t believe in same sex marriages (at least not those sanctioned by government what you do in your house is your business). = Moderate Republican
  • I am obviously against “big business” and feel that corporate influence has no place in political legislation. = Green Party
  • I don’t think amnesty for illegal immigrants is an option. Anyone here illegally broke the law. Even if it’s a $1 fine then so be it. But, the real way to solve this problem is to make it unaffordable for American companies to hire illegal immigrants. No jobs = no incentive to hop the border. If the cost of common goods go up slightly – deal with it. = Independent
  • I also feel that religion has no place in politics or legislation (America was not founded as a theocracy or “Christian nation” and should never become one). If religion is to enter politics then all religions’ must be equally represented, not just the Southern Baptist Convention. = Libertarian
  • I am all about health care reform of any type. = Anybody?….anybody?… Spineless wusses… You’re all afraid of America’s largest employment industry that’s busy bankrupting the middle class.

My point is that no single political party affiliation is going to encompass all of my beliefs. I think the majority of Americans could make a list like this of their own and determine that they cannot vote straight ticket without sacrificing at least one social issue of personal importance. We are now a nation facing issues that cannot be addressed by partisan political positions. Democracy in its purest sense can only be recognized when each individual’s position on each issue is taken into account. Until we can trust the public at large with this responsibility we are dependant on our elected representatives.

Future representatives need to denounce “party lines” and tell us what they believe in. Not what their party believes in. To this end we need many more Independent candidates. We need candidates who do fear being labeled non-partisan which in turn sacrifices their party’s financial support. Independent candidacy will only be achieved when the nation’s voter base comes to recognize the idea that a candidate doesn’t have to choose sides.

Running our country is not a sporting event where there are two teams and you have to be fan of one or the other. By endorsing Independents’ we can in effect have representation that reflects the position of the majority instead of settling for the closest match under our current model of choosing one of two sides. The truest exercise of Democracy is supporting local Independent candidates.

Health Care Reform

Does NOT start with insurance reform. Every time I hear a discussion about the cost of health care the only thing I’m really hearing is people talking about the cost of health insurance and the cap on insurance benefits. These insurance problems are not the cause of exaggerated health care costs, they are the result.

Excessive health care costs start with the hospital corporations and pharmaceutical companies. Numerous Americans are unaware that their local hospital is a corporation first and a institution for medical care second. If they could generate a higher return for shareholders by selling donuts instead of bypasses they would not hesitate for one second to put a deep fryer in the ER. With a child on the way and limited child birth benefits I have examined the cost of child birth in depth. The average cost is over 10.5 thousand dollars. The hospital bed for one night is over $450. These absurd dollar figures are what I’m talking about when I debate about the cost of health care.

But you never hear the media or public at large cast blame on the hospitals, doctors and rarely pharmaceutical companies (except the AARP). Most people are too blinded by the notion that the hospitals and doctors are our friends and saviors there to help in our time of need. And most of us would pay anything for medical attention when we’ve got a nail through our foot or a dislocated shoulder. Can you think of another service or purchase you would sign a contract to pay for in advance of that service being rendered and without a cost estimate provided up front? Every time you go to an ER in one of America’s private hospitals that’s exactly what you are required to do – or else. Or else what? Or else you suffer while you’re transferred to a public hospital, still for profit, to receive a reduced level of care. People have been known to die in ambulances during these transfers. If you make it you’ll receive care, get billed an excessive amount, and when you can’t pay in six months your credit will be destroyed.

As long as the majority of American hospitals are run by for profit, public corporations the cost of medical care must increase. The insurance companies will struggle to negotiate the best rates while those without insurance will face the highest bills and be forced into personal bankruptcy. The hospitals will never see the money from the bills insurance doesn’t cover and this in turn will add fuel to the fire. If a pandemic ever did actually hit this country it’s not the population that would die, it’s the economy.

So what do we do about it? The Neocon’s will love this answer: More government price regulation.

What dare say you!? Damn your words socialist pig! Regulate prices in a free market economy? Yep. Price caps. A single syringe that costs a hospital $2.75 should no longer be invoiced to patients as a line item for $52.00. We don’t want our government wasting money on $200 toilet plungers, why should consumers pay 500 to 1000 percent markup on hospital supplies and pharmaceuticals?

I’m certain no change will happen without a serious change in political leadership. The corporate lobbies in Washington are the only real interest of our legislators. The current Administration and Congress will fill the media with international conflict, self-made wars of convenience, and Congressional porn scandals long enough to distract you from their investments in corporations they pass laws in support of. Two of their favorites? Hospital Corporation of America and Glaxo Smith Kline. Just look and the recent Medicare “Reform” Act. “A big wet kiss for the Pharma Industry”. The rich get richer and the poor get sick and go bankrupt. And by the way you still owe them for the enema.

You may now comment again. I fixed it.

Comments are the most frustrating thing about WordPress.  I clicked on an option a while back labled “Block comments from unsecure proxies” and forgot about it.  So I sat around wondering why I haven’t received any comments since working with some new themes.  What?  Nobody likes the new look?  I hate not knowing if someone had something to say!

Logged in as the administrator to the site I could post comments just fine.  It was only when I logged out to try commenting as a normal user that I saw the problem first hand.  Simply cutting off the block unsecure proxy option fixed it.

Congradulations. We are officially a nation of Weenies.

Several school systems start banning “tag”, flag football and any other “contact activity” at recess. Yes, a few of the biggest weenie’s around have decided that your children’s independent social building activities should be limited to walking around. This, and the removal of jungle gyms not long ago, mean all your fat kids are going to have fewer and fewer reasons to move their lard asses. The heaviest family wins right?

I don’t blame the lawyers who go after schools as liable for kids getting hurt on the playground. I blame the parents that hire them. They’re scared weenies looking to get paid. Wait a minute. That’s 3/4 of America isn’t it? Don’t forget that lawyers don’t have cases without clients.

The terrorists and bullies are coming so you better hurry up and vote for Jesus. Oh ya, he’s not on the ballot is he? Well then, who can we count on to protect our kids from the bad guys with dodge balls? If we don’t find someone soon we’ll all just have to go inside and lock the door for good because the evil will reign down on us like solar flares and burn our skulls until we’re all dead.

Then again, you’re more likely to die in a fiery accident during your commute to work tomorrow. But you’ll put your kids in the car and trust your meager driving skill to risk that trip won’t you? Of course, because there’s a check in it for ya – weenie.

Looking through my old shoebox…

My shoebox is what I call my media collection on my PC. I ran across the old demo tracks from Lassiter Mill, the band I was in when Amy and I first started dating five years ago. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m for sure a daddy now and I love it. But listening to these tracks makes me want to go get half drunk at Hibernian Pub and play drums in front of about 150 people. I loved all the bands I was in and miss every one of the musicians I ever played with. Yes, even Justin. Hopefully he’s not in jail. I can’t wait to pass my sticks on to Connor one day.

Sam Hindmarsh may be the only one still performing from Lassiter Mill. Last I heard Sam was playing with both The New Me and Evenfall. Jay Rehm might still be playing bass somewhere but I’ve lost touch. There are two reasons I like the LM songs better than many of the others I’ve recorded. First, they were done at Osceola Studios by Dick Hodgins, the best studio in Raleigh and two, they had more potential and discipline than anything else I’ve ever worked on. I can actually listen to these and not think to myself, what in the hell were we doing?

I’m floored at the moment. I just saw something quite shocking when visiting Sam’s MySpace page to retrieve the link above. I wasn’t aware of this and should have been. Nathan Davis passed away on August 22nd. He was only 30. He has a two year old baby girl. That distresses me. Go immediately and buy some of his music to spread his talent – all the proceeds go to his little girl.

I’ll never forget Nathan as a hard core fan of The Boss. He was incredibly talented and played many of the same dives in Raleigh as I did while in several bands over the years. This is quite a shock. Did I say that already? Now I have to post the LM tracks I was listening to as I learned this news. Here’s to the love of music. Nothing else is more inspiring or motivational. Those who do it have only one goal: To make themselves and others happy.

Time To Change

Self Sufficient

Story Jamboree