Melissa and I are proud to announce the creation of the Intersanity Foundation, a not-for-profit public service organization. The Foundation operates independent public service projects, contributes to charities and foundations (both religious and secular), and contributes to open-source software projects. Initial projects of the foundation include the Ziggy Project (our computer refurb/at-cost sale project) and web consulting for young non-profits. We have other projects in the works that aren’t quite ready yet, so stay tuned!
State of the President: Ineffective; Repetitious
Lots of media attention has been paid to President George W. Bush’s (R) plans for a troop ‘surge’ in Iraq (which I naively thought, after years of listening to Democrats’ claim that we needed a troop increase to stabilize Iraq, would receive a warmer reception from the new Congressional majority). But rather than argue against this new stance of the Democratic Party with the very arguments it made six months ago, I’d like to focus on a more underreported element of Bush’s 1/23 State of the Union address.
State of the Union Address Tonight
President George W. Bush (R) is scheduled to give the annual State of the Union address tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST before a joint session of Congress, followed by a Democratic Response to be delivered by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). As always, I recommend watching C-SPAN for unfettered coverage of both. The Constitution requires that the president report to Congress annually on the state of the union, but does not specify the method or form of this report. The in-person State of the Union address has been a tradition since 1913 (transcripts 1945-2006 available from C-SPAN).
Website 18.3 Revision
Today I lunched a minor revision to Off on a Tangent, bringing the version to 18.3. This is primarily a ‘backport’ of several design elements that I had originally planned for Website 19. Version 19 is taking so long in development because I’m waiting on the eventual release of the Joomla 1.5 Content Management System (currently in a very, very long beta testing process). Of note, because of Joomla’s delays, this is the first time Off on a Tangent has ever had a third minor revision.
Another Bad ‘Best Buy’ Experience; Network Infrastructure Upgrades
I got a Best Buy gift card from my parents for Christmas and needed to buy some network and systems equipment, so I went online and got an order together last Friday. They have a nifty feature where you can place an order online (and pay online), then go pick it up same-day from a store. Best of both worlds: online convenience; same-day delivery.
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.