Pros and Cons: I have made a commitment to living with a certain attitude, and it has become fairly simple. It is the "half full" mentality. Some may call this optimism, others Pollyanna, but I just consider it as a way of looking at the best in everything. I know that the world isn't perfect, but I will not become a slave to those whose bitterness causes them to look at the worst in everything. I don't want you to vote for a candidate because you are angry with the opposition, vote for the person who is best qualified. If there isn't one, then write in your own name (or mine, and I am seeking the presidency for 2008 in case you are interested).

This kind of sick negative thinking just permeates the minds of some. Why by an Zune? It isn't an iPod. Why vote for X, he isn't Y. Why root for the Colts, because you hate the Bears. Look around and you will find people who live their lives like this. It is exasperating!

I am not blind to the faults of things and people around me, but in place of something better I chose to try and enjoy it. If your "thing" is better than mine, tell me of the wonderful reasons why and maybe I will change my mind. But don't tell me why I have to choose your "thing" because you hate mine. That is no reason at all. Don't tell me all the reasons that you hate my thing, you are screaming at the wind. I like my thing, that is why I have elected to use it. But, occasionally I find another thing with better features and I make a change.

I have been purposely obtuse so as not to offend anyone. I use an iPod because I researched it and then had enough PriorityClub points to get one for free! I like the Colts because they are fun to watch and I have a son who shares that love. I don't know who I will vote for because right now I don't like anyone...except myself.

Common Sense Law: I am a big fan of our legal system most of the time. Of course that is because I am usually on the right side of the law. But, I know that it is not a perfect system. I also believe that is is often biased against some, favoring others. There have been times when terrible crimes were overlooked at others that were so minor, yet received a lot of publicity...and jail time.

Today a couple of cases made the news that just made me scratch my head. In Georgia a 15 year old girl seduced a 17 year old boy and guess who goes to jail? Yup, the boy for 10 years. The Georgia law stipulates that a 15 year old girl cannot be held responsible and therefore she can't consent. Because she is under 15 she is considered a child. So the boy is charged with child molestation and his life is changed forever. Was it wrong? Abosolutely. The boy should have had the sense to know better. But a ten year stretch is harsh. At the same time a female teacher in Georgia was found guilty of having sex with a student, she served 90 days. It seems to me that a teacher is in a position of trust and authority and should serve the ten years. Its unjust.

The second story is of some girls who make a list of the things that they don't like. Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey, the Energizer Bunny, etc. The list includes some students at their school, and the phrase "We should kill them all." I am sure that the Energizer Bunny is just quaking in his fuzzy boots. The solution to me might have been to take the girls to a counselor and talk about it, but in our new heightened state of school fear they arrested the girls and charged them with criminal conspiracy to commit murder. There were no weapons, no plans, just a list. But these 6 girls are now branded as potential killers. How sad is that! I suspect that a lot of MySpace sites have similar lists.

Now let me take you back a few years to a popular trial, and show you how bad things have become. A prominent citizen is accused of murdering his ex-wife and a friend of hers. Police go to his house and he isn't there, but his truck is missing. Police spot the truck and a chase begins. They can see the suspect as the passenger pointed at the head of the driver, a close friend of his. The chase goes on for hours (the first and most famous "slow speed chase"), with the suspect holding a gun to his friends house. When they finally arrest the suspect he has his passport and $8000 on his person (he was about 2 hours from the Mexican border when this happened).

If I were to have done this I would have at the least been charged with terroristic threatening, probably armed kidnapping. As there were hundreds of policy chasing, a logical claim might be made that he was failing to yield to the police, certainly evading arrest. No charges were filed in that. Let's forget the murder charge, they had enough here to lock him up for a long time. Kidnapping, felonious flight, etc. But, he beat the murder charge, and is playing golf every day now.

There are injustices everywhere. Rodney King probably shouldn't have been beaten so brutally, but he also shouldn't have been on crack trying to escape arrest. OJ shouldn't have been set free, although he was obviously guilty of some crimes. These school girls should be arrested, probably shouldn't even be suspended. And Genarlow Wilson will probably have to spend the next 8 years of his 10 year sentence regretting allowing a girl a year and a half younger than him to seduce him.

La Dolce Vita: I spent a few hours today going through some of my photo archives (about 17 gigs worth). I love my life. It isn't for everyone, but I am glad that it is for me. I don't have as much money as many, but enough. I have a few "things" but I am satisfied with that. But, I have an incredible family, better than any other I know.

As a footnote: The meaning of "La Dolche Vita" is an Italian Phrase meaning either the sweet life, or the good life, depending on who you are talking to. FreeTranslation.com says "The Sweet Life". Want a laugh? Take a look at how InterTran.com, a company that sells its translation software, translates this simple phrase. I don't know what you get, but I get "how much is the admission to the dessert waist".

Drive Time: I got into my beautiful gas sucking SUV tonight and looked at my in-dash MP3/CD player and realized that I hadn't even turned it on since getting my iPod. I slip on my ear buds and continue with the great audio book that I am listening too. As I make my way onto the main boulevard I notice a cop coming from the other direction with two cops in the car. Funny, I haven't ever noticed two in a car before. I look into the rearview to watch him pass and notice another one behind me, with two officers. Instinctively I make sure I have my seatbelt on (I did) and wonder if I am doing anything wrong. I look to the parking lot next to the light where I am stopped and there is another cop car, two cops. Across the street another car, two cops. Something is going on, I am glad I live in the country.

I hit the interstate and my daughter pops up an IM window to ask where I am. About 30 minutes out and they know EXACTLY where I am. I can pop up my mobile web cam so that they can see me, or turn it so that they can see where I am. But I pass on the camera, too slow on the mobile net. Another daughter now pops up and asks when I am coming home. I tell her to ask her sister and wonder if she will also IM her, or if she will turn around in her chair and ask.

Playing on the Computer: In 1985 Mary and I got our first PC. It was awesome. It had two floppy drives so that I could load the OS in on drive and the programs in the second. I will never forget the many hours of late night term papers sitting in the glow of the green phosphorus monitor.

When friends came over and saw that I had a computer they would always ask "What games to you have on it?" I proudly would tell them that I didn't have any games, it wasn't a toy, it was something to help me in school.

Tonight that thought came to me eerily as I sit here in the glow of my 16 million colors. I am blogging (of course), playing bridge, listening to Norah Jones at 196kpbs, and watching Colts and Patriots on ESPN Gamecast.

I also can't imagine laying in bed 20 years ago with my wife laying next to me and me typing away on the computer. Funny what a difference 20 years can make.

Jacked In 24/7: I have finally taken the next step to total Internet immersion. This week I got a (free) Aircard for my laptop. I read that my newest laptop has this built in, but you know, a digital gadget guy just can't wait 6 months! It is really amazing. I am driving down the interstate and my mail notification sound chimes and I look over to see some important document. That was so cool! I hooked up my webcam and pointed it out the front window so that the family could see where I was. No one has to ask how long until I get home.

The speed varies greatly as I drive in and out of EVDO coverage. In Louisville the speed was blinding, better than the house or the office. But in my office the coverage wasn't so good. Not too surprising, I can't take a cellular call well in the office. At home I get a great download speed (2.6Mps) and then it drops off to nearly nothing, then back up again. I did find a neat feature. If I get into a Wi-Fi situation where that signal is better the computer automatically shifts to the better signal.

To some, being online 24/7 may not be necessarily a good thing. But I would ask those same people if they dont' answer their cell phones when driving down the road. This is no different for me. It is all about being connected to the people that are important to me.

Welcome Mr. Beckham!: I played soccer (football to those of you outside the USA) most of my youth, even into college. I am not good, could barely hold my own at times, but I loved the sport. It is the perfect sport for the Northwest where bad weather can stop a lot of sports. Unlike American Rules Football, you really don't have to have a big budget to play soccer, just some cleats, shorts, and a ball.

Professional soccer has never really taken off in America, and I really don't know why. I love to watch it, but it just doesn't have the same excitement as football. I have been to several games of the Seattle Sounders (now in an independent league) but nothing since then. That is about to change.

Today it was announced that the famed footballer David Beckham (formerly from Manchester United and Real Madrid) is making a switch to the USA to play in the MLS. While he will play for LA Galaxy, in my opinion every team should be paying him. This is probably a bigger play than getting Pele in his day. It is similar to getting Jeff Gordon to give up his job driving a taxi in New York to drive for NASCAR, or finding Tiger Woods playing in a municipal park and letting him play in the PGA. This is huge for the sport of soccer in America. Sure, he isn't as good as he was with Manchester United, but he is the biggest star in the world in sport and it is equally huge that he has chosen to play in the USA. As for me, I welcome Mr. Beckham (and Victoria) and I am looking forward to seeing him on TV (closest MLS team for me is a flight somewhere).

PhotoFriday, The Best of 2006: I have entered this week's PhotoFriday contest, with what I considered my best picture of the year. As I looked through my complete collection for 2006, this was the one that I liked best. Mary disagreed, I am sure that others might as well, but I liked it.

As I write there are nearly 600 entries this week. I am really amazed at what I have seen (have looked through about half so far). There are truly some spectacular photographs, and there is a lot of junk. I am not even sure why some of these people have submitted photos, they are tripe. But I guess that the rest make up for it. The really great thing about looking at stuff like this is that I get some great ideas for photos that I want to do. Theft is indeed the finest form of flatery.

Another Year Gone: Well on the digital ranch we are glad to see the end of 2006. A tough year financially as I started a new business, but a good year on a lot of other fronts. I didn't keep to doing a new picture each day, but I did do a bunch! I just did some hard drive maintenance and deleted 16,000 e-mails for the year, that doesn't include the garbage my SPAM filter got.