Computer Follow Up

It turns out that my computer ran the checkdisk utility after I restarted it. It was able to repair everything that went wrong with F: and I don't have anything that's lost. This made the horrible feeling in my stomach go away, but I don't think it changes the fact that I don't want to purchase any more Microsoft products.

I think I might write a program on my Ubuntu computer that automatically backs up all the important stuff once a week. I should be more vigilant in doing this on my Windows machine, but having to do it manually and waiting forever for it to work is not what I'd call making it easy.

MicroShaft

HBF...my computer was getting slow and I decided to reformat. I have 2 hard drives, call them C: and F:. I reformatted C: and now my F: has a couple corrupted folders that I have found already. One is my "CD Audio" folder that has rips of (almost) every CD that I own. Luckily, I have a backup copy of that folder. Another corrupted folder is "Install Files" which contains the .exe files to install just about everything that I want to put on my computer now that it's formatted. E.g. OpenOffice, Firefox, AVG, Desktop Weather, other stuff that I probably forgot about.

I know that I should have been safe and unplugged F: before formatting C: but I thought that the Windows XP PRO-FUCKING-FESSIONAL CD could handle a simple task. This incident made me vow to never purchase Microsoft products again. I'm learning that there's a lot of open-source stuff out there that's just as good and I just need to learn how to use it.

FUCK YOU, MICROSOFT.

Old BMWs vs. Old Mercedes

Have you ever noticed that old Mercedes always look classy while old BMWs kind of look crappy? They both look good when brand new, but somehow the years aren't as kind to Beamers.

Energy Audit

Yesterday, I had an energy audit from the city of Tallahassee. I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I requested the audit. Just call 891-4YOU and you can schedule one for yourself. They came out and checked on some stuff then told me some things I already know. They also told me a few I didn't. I had them check the level of insulation in my attic because they have a program where you can add insulation to your attic and they will pay 80% of the cost! You should be able to make your money back in under 6 months from energy savings. I'm going to schedule an appointment with a local contractor to come and spray in more insulation in my attic and it will cost me $77 while the city pays the rest.

The city also gave me a sweet goodie bag. It had a couple 20W (75W equivalent) CFLs, 2 thermometer stickers...yeah, stickers that tell you the temperature, some literature, and a low-flow showerhead manufactured by AM Conservation Group. I installed the new showerhead and it has a ton of pressure.

Anyway, my point is that it's worthwhile to schedule an energy audit, especially if your insulation isn't up to par.

Anti-Life v. Anti-Choice

I've been getting a couple emails from moveon.org. Too many. I unsubscribed. Anyway, one thing that really bothered me is that they call pro-lifers "anti-choice." Ok, I guess they're pro-choice, so the other side is anti-choice. That's only fair if pro-life can use the same logic and call the pro-choice crowd "anti-life."

I don't think that either of the anti- labels sound very good. I think that anti-life probably sounds worse than anti-choice, but I'm not sure. In either case, I think it just makes you sound like an asshole to call someone anti-choice.

If you don't already know where I stand on the abortion issue, I guess now's a good time to find out. I think that it's important to have legalized abortion. If abortion becomes illegal, then there will still be a demand for abortion. Pregnant women will go to dark alleys to get coat-hanger abortions and that's not good for anyone. It shouldn't matter how you personally feel about abortion...if you don't like them, then don't get one (much like gay marriage). What's it matter to you if someone else has an abortion?

Further, it has been shown that the presence of legal abortion lowers the crime rate. For a simplified version of this demonstration, read the chapter in Freakonomics. It doesn't make sense to force someone to bear a child.

I believe that contraception is much more acceptable and practical than abortion. Abortion should only be used as a last resort. I believe that this is the case. What kind of woman would rather go through the humiliation of such a procedure instead of taking some much cheaper and more discrete Plan B?

Losing Touch Is Easy

...maybe even easier than losing hope. Anyway, I haven't been very good recently at keeping in contact with people whom I care about. Sorry about that. When I'm busy, I sometimes have to cut our conversations short when you call or I might not call you back. It seems that other things in my life have been taking the front burner positions. If you care enough to religiously read my blog, then you probably know about some of the excitement in my life. If you want to find out more, call me and hopefully I'll need a break or I'll have the opportunity to multitask.

Effects of Underage Drinking

One time, Mani got caught underage drinking in the dorms. He got in a little bit of trouble and one of his punishments was to write an essay on the effects of underage drinking. He told me about this and I had a great suggestion for his paper topic: how underage drinking stimulates the economy. The premise was simple...imagine how much consumption goes on (it has to be $30,000 per week in Tallahassee alone) and how that money then moves through the economy (the Keynesian idea of a multiplier effect). He said that probably isn't what they're looking for and that he might not get out of trouble with an essay like that. He wrote it about some bad stuff that happens when underage kids drink (like hooking up with ugly chicks or something).

I guess this suggestion stems from an interest I have in giving an answer that's correct, but not what the authority figure is looking for. In class, I love to give an answer that is correct, but isn't the one the teacher's looking for. Same thing with interviews...don't go with the obvious choice. Fun times.