Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Cats!

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So the cats are really starting to get along, which is good. Vincent is in his kitten equivalent of his ‘terrible twos’ though, and is being a little terror around the apartment. He’ll jump up on things that he shouldn’t and start knocking things over, and so on. He’s a fun little guy though. Mei Mei is just getting over a little cat cold that had here looking pretty miserable for a week or two (swollen eyes and everything), but is doing much better now.

Anyway, the two spend a lot of their time chasing each other around and play-fighting, which is pretty funny to watch. They both seem to be pretty happy and content with the arrangement now.

Want a Used Computer?

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I’ve just purchased a used computer from a friend to replace Robin, my secondary desktop computer I’ve been using for the last year or two. As a result, I’m giving away a computer totally free.

It’s a Dell Dimension 4100 desktop, Intel Pentium III 1ghz processor, 256mb RAM, and a couple of smaller hard drives by modern standards (I think it’s 20gb + 15gb). It has a 4-port USB 2 card installed, an Nvidia RIVA TNT2 video card, a CD burner, and a ZIP drive. It is in generally good working condition (no warranty though!) and I’ve used everything recently except the ZIP drive; I can’t vouch for the ZIP drive. I’ve pre-installed Ubuntu Linux, but it should take Windows XP too if you’re so-inclined.

I can throw in a keyboard if you need one, but I don’t have any mouses or monitors to spare (so you’ll have to provide your own). Let me know if you’re interested.

If I don’t get any takers within a week or two, I’ll be giving the machine away to one of the local charities I support.

Phoenix Lander: Rest in Peace

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Just a real brief entry tonight, and a nice little change of pace from my political ramblings. The Phoenix Lander, which landed on Mars in May and has yielded a wealth of scientific information about the Red Planet, has died due to prolonged lack of sunlight.

Phoenix gathered the first concrete evidence of water on Mars, but had been (intentionally) landed near the Martian poles where sunlight is scarce (but water is, apparently, abundant). After several months of successful operation, the probe finally fell victim to the Martian winter and has stopped communicating with earth.

Some of the scientific data gathered by Phoenix is still being processed, and there may be more groundbreaking discoveries yet to be announced, but the probe itself will likely never be heard from again.

Bailout Bonanza: Auto Edition

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It just never ends for the American automotive industry. Of course, I mean the former ‘big three’ U.S. auto manufacturers: Ford, General Motors (GM), and Chrysler. The lines are a bit blurred, since you can buy well-made, reliable, attractive, affordable, and well-featured cars made in the United States by foreign companies. For example, I consider our Honda Civic (made in Ohio) and Subaru Outback (made in Indiana) to be better examples of ‘Made in America’ products than anything from the ‘big three’ these days.

Regardless, watching the ‘big three’ flounder looks more and more like a soap opera every day. They dug themselves a giant hole primarily through their own mismanagement and the abuses of the powerful UAW union, then they quietly convinced the federal government to give them 25 billion dollars in free loan guarantees, then GM and Chrysler entered into idiotic merger talks, then GM and Chrysler begged the government to hand them another 10 billion dollars to seal the deal (an idea that the Bush administration rightly rejected).

As-if that wasn’t enough for patriotic car-lovers to chew on, we found out late last week that GM had abandoned the Chrysler merger and was chewing through its cash reserves so quickly that the company—among the largest companies in the world—may be bankrupt before the end of the year. In order to head-off this inevitable (and likely overdue) U.S. automotive bloodbath, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 8th) and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)—the majority leaders of both houses of Congress—are begging the Bush administration to please waste billions of our tax dollars on saving them.

Sooner or later, we have to learn that mommy government cannot save us from all our mistakes—nor should they. General Motors, like Ford and Chrysler, have made their bed. It’s time to let them lie in it. Guys like me who prefer to buy American now have plenty of other American-built cars to choose from—Hondas, Toyotas, Subarus, Nissans, and Mazdas—built by hard-working Americans in non-UAW plants. Nobody should miss Ford, GM, or Chrysler when they’re gone.

The Peaceful Transfer of Power

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Just a quick little entry today (I’m in the midst of a post-election creative hangover; more regular posting should pick back up next week).

One thing that Americans take for granted is the peaceful transfer of power between political leadership. What we don’t realize is that rarely happens in the world without bloodshed or, at least, a lot of drama. Before the U.S. Constitution took effect in 1789, power transfers usually happened in three ways: a violent coup d’état or civil war from internal opposition, an invasion by foreign enemies, or the death of the current leader.

When the Revolutionary War ended, General George Washington could have claimed a ‘crown’ as King of the United States. He did not do so, retiring instead to his home. King George III of England, upon hearing this, stated that, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” The very idea of a man passing up the opportunity to be king was foreign to most of the world, and indeed to many Americans.

George Washington, after the establishment of our current Constitution in 1789, was elected our first president with a unanamous electoral vote and then reelected unanimously in 1792. Again, to the amazement of many, at the conclusion of his second term he willingly stepped down.

No U.S. president has ever refused to step down at the conclusion of his term(s). One by one, more countries around the world are following in our footsteps and establishing civil governments capable of peacefully transferring power between parties and factions. In a historic context however, it is still noteworthy every time it happens. Don’t take it for granted.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.