Ronalfy.com

A Mac Event Six Years in the Making

I last bought a computer for myself in January of 2001. Back then my Dell was the top of the line. Now it’s a sluggish piece of… computer parts.

As my contempt towards Dell grew, and with buggy Vista now released, I found myself in a dilemma over what my next computer would be. I vowed never to buy a Dell again. And all of the computers I saw at other stores has Vista on them. What to do?

Rather than upgrade my sinking ship to another sinking ship, I decided to jump to a completely different vessel. Two 1/2 weeks ago I ordered a 15″ MacBook Pro and today it finally arrived.

I admit it’ll be a challenge learning a completely different OS and finding the software that does what I’m used to, but I know I’ll eventually make it work.

The quality control kitty inspects the box for defects.

The MacBook Pro box is fully featured. It even comes with a tail.

I’ve never seen a laptop so well packaged.

Define irony: a cat taking refuge in a box shipped from China.

Did General Petraeus Betray Us?

This week, United States Army General Petraeus testified in front of Congress that the US is making gains in Iraq and that we can actually pull some troops out (about 30,000) by mid-2008.

MoveOn.org has called Petraeus’s testimony a betrayal to the country and that he has fabricated the figures to make the White House look good:

General Petraeus testified in front of Congress that we are making progress in Iraq. He won’t admit what everyone knows: Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war. He is just trying to cook the books for the White House. So we are running an ad in the New York Times.

You can see the ad for yourself (pdf). Petraeus states, however, that his views are his alone and not the Pentagon’s or the White House’s.

MoveOn is clearly biased and is basing most of its accusations on statistics gathered from multiple sources, none of which have direct on-the-ground intel. Petraeus had this to say on the MoveOn critique and stats:

Some of it was just flat, completely wrong. The rest was at least more than arguable.

To see for yourself what General Petraeus presented to Congress, please check out these two files:

• Petraeus’s Slides to Congress (pdf)
• Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq - Petraeus (pdf)

Although I can’t defend Petraeus’s stats, I have to at least have faith that a man on the ground in Iraq knows a hell of a lot more than a left-wing organization who’s hiding behind Washington Post and Associated Press reports. Furthermore, who is to argue that a General is betraying his country? Isn’t that defamation?

I agree with the views of one of my readers who has stated that accusing the General of betraying his country is treasonous conduct:

I cannot believe what moveon.org will be able to get away with. Impugning the integrity of any officer of the United States military without some proof of wrong doing should be punishable as treason, especially in time of war (or millitary action, as is the case in Iraq). To accuse a serving member of the military of betraying his country while he is serving said country on foreign soil is one of the worst, non-lethal actions I can think of we could condone.

I do not believe General Petraeus betrayed the United States. If anything, organizations such as MoveOn are the ones betraying the American public.

Thank you for reading.

September 11th, Six Years Later

I had the awesome privilege of attending a September 11th (Patriot Day) tribute today. It’s been six years, but it still seems like yesterday. And a lot has changed. I’d like to lay out some quick thoughts on September 11th.

My Thoughts on September 11th, Six Years Later

If you listen to the news enough, you would think that September 11th had never happened. You hear stories of corrupt lobbyists, celebrities without underwear, or the recent sex scandal involving a politician. You hear stories of Generals speaking against their own leadership and how senior public officials are deserting the Bush Administration.

It’s easy to be discouraged when reports come in of a few hundred Iraqi civilians targeted by yet another homicide bomber. And it’s equally discouraging to hear about more Soldiers’ deaths. Some are quick to cry, “Come home and stop the carnage”, or, “Come home and end this unjustified war.”

But for every politician taken down by scandal, and every Soldier and civilian killed, the cost of ending the war against terror increases. And for those who have died in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, ending the war would send a message: we’re willing to fight, but we’re on a timetable.

Will it take another attack to justify the war against terror? Or will that attack just persuade the politicians to force this country into an isolationist country (a plan that got us nowhere in the beginning of the 20th century)?

We need to continue to take the fight elsewhere, otherwise the fight will be on our cities, our neighborhoods, and on our doorsteps.

Conclusion

As an American citizen, I am proud of our fighting men and women who fight for our freedom in far-off places. I’m able to sleep in an air-conditioned home and eat a warm meal and not really have to worry about what might happen. But the freedom I experience has a high price, and I’m reminded everyday when I hear a news report that more Iraqi civilians have been killed by a homicide bomber, or more Soldiers will not return alive to their families.

September 11th is about remembering the victims of terrorism on that day. But it’s also about remembering those who continue to fight the terror that grips too many parts of the world.

Thank you for reading.

My Troubles With Time Management

The following is my response to a group project regarding time management.

There’s the alarm again. And there I go hitting the snooze. And before I know it, it’s about thirty minutes until I’m supposed to be at work. I scramble to get some clothes on, brush my teeth, and rush out the door. I’m elated that I’m only five minutes late.

After work, I rush to the gym, do my weight routine, and go for my three-mile jog.

By the time I’ve taken a shower and eaten my dinner, it’s about eight o’clock. It’s almost time for bed. But I have blog posts to write, WordPress plugin bugs to debug, comments to reply to, feeds to read, and people to e-mail back.

I keep telling myself I’ll write some more posts on the weekend. But when the weekend comes, there’s a new movie out, and a six-pack of beer waiting in the fridge. I promise myself I’ll wake up early on Saturday and get some chores done and write a few posts. But the six-pack of beer did me in and I sleep well past my deadline.

As I recover from my drinking mis-adventure, I decide to play a video game or watch yet another movie. I decide to trouble-shoot a plugin bug, rather than write a post I’ve been promising for weeks.

There’s a million things I could be doing rather than sitting on my couch watching a movie with the Spanish sub-titles on. But I’m spent. And I’d rather relax on my weekend. But I also have obligations to meet. Can’t I find a happy medium?

I could work during the day, and play at night. But I’d rather sleep during the day, and play at night. What gives?

By the time Sunday has come around, the posts I’ve promised myself to write, I haven’t written. So while doing laundry, chores, and a host of other activities, I finally crank out a few blog posts. But I’m ashamed. And I tell myself, “Next weekend will be better.”

So let’s hope it is. Thanks for reading.