dallas tommorow; always a good time. the weather is supposed to be beautiful (pre-super summer), so boating on the lake will be in order. i should be able to update while i'm there, so stay tuned. if not, i'll be back tuesday.

here's something fun to do when you're bored: check out the news from north korea at www.kcna.co.jp (i haven't done any links here yet; bear with me). it's amazing that an entire country can belong to one big cult. how weird is it that a country exists which is mono-ethnic, cult-like in its worship of the 'dear leader' and sells missles and other goodies to anyone with cash? it's like something out of a james bond movie.

i'm worried about india/pakistan. the pentagon says that a nuclear exchange between the two could kill 12 million people. it's too large a number to even comprehend. these two countries have fought three wars since 1947, so i know they're not afraid to throw down. the funny thing about nuclear weapons is that when you have 25,000 of them, you can't imagine even using one. but when you have 12 or so, and you're enemy has roughly the same number, using them suddenly becomes a viable option. it makes me miss the cold war. there are 66,000 americans in india and we have troops in pakistan. what a mess.


on another potential (but much more insignificant) war front, a.m. (as he will be known) has started up again with the politics on our mailing list. some of you know this story; for the rest of you, here's the highlight: i am on a radio show about computers every sunday. the people on the show all subscribe to a mailing list which is supposed to pertain to computer-related questions. a.m., the most overbearing of our number, is an avowed socialist (mainly because of his apparent failures in life and entitlement mentality) and foists his opinions on everyone. the last time this happened, i got so tired of it i unsubscribed from the list. now, he will have to be smote down in front of his peers. game on.

i picked this backgroud because it reminds me of brady howell. brady and i were classmates in nuclear power school and he characterized himself as a 'reformed mormon', meaning that he drank a lot. he was highly educated with an emphasis on art and literature. he used to write my future wife letters in which he drew a famous painting, substituting me for one of the characters. my favorite was the painting by hopper (nighthawks, i think) in which he made me the soda jerk. anyway, he used to talk about rothko alot, and this background reminds me of his work, which reminds me of brady.

so here we go. let me say thanks to dp (who i feel like i know well because of the louisville connection), whose blog inspired me to give this a whirl. also, thanks to ss, who pointed me to dp and who always challenges my better self. you make me proud, my friend.

hello to those of you from 'this day in history' and thanks for the positive comments. stay tuned; you'll get your fix tommorrow.

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