Lil' Sis

Is now, without a doubt, all growed up.

Why, Microsoft? Why?

While flipping through a new set of MSDN DVDs that arrived in the mail today, I came across one labeled Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server Workgroup. Having absolutely no idea what any of those words meant when used in conjunction with one another, I looked up the product. Here's what Microsoft has to say:

Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2008 is an integrated Application Life-cycle Management (ALM) solution comprising tools, processes, and guidance to help everyone on the team improve their skills and work more effectively together.

Wow, sounds nice, doesn't it? I want to improve my skills, and there's nothing wrong with working more effectively together. However, on a practical level, I STILL HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT THIS PRODUCT IS OR DOES.

What's In a Name - Part III

Jason and I were discussing one of my favorite books last weekend, and this article in the Times reminded me of it:

“My wife thinks I’m nuts,” said Jason Captain, 32, of Fort Worth who left the Navy last November, walking away from $75,000-a-year lieutenant’s pay for flying military brass in and out of Guantánamo Bay.

If only he'd waited until his next promotion to retire from the service! I bet I'm the first person to ever make that joke.

The Omnivore's News

I'm in the middle of The Omnivore's Dilemma. I know I'm a little behind in my reading, but I'm trying to catch up, so here we are. One of the things I find particularly interesting is how the material I read in the book one night tends to show up in the news the next day. Here are two pieces from the Times that I came across in the last few days.

As Prices Rise, Farmers Spurn Conservation
Grains Gone Wild

Here's another good one: Bring on the Right Biofuels

Should we stay or should we go?

The New York Times quotes John McCain:

“We have incurred a moral responsibility in Iraq. It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible and premature withdrawal.”

I think this touches on how I feel about Iraq right now. I can't choose a side in the "stay or go" debate, but I'm quite sure that it's nowhere as clear-cut as either side makes it out to be. McCain's usual win-at-all-costs rhetoric bothers me, but so do people who say that our time is done, and the Iraqis must choose for themselves whether they want war or peace. I would argue that we relieved them of that responsibility when we invaded their nation and systematically dismantled their government. Like it or not, we caused their current situation, and to blame them for not pulling themselves out of it seems two-faced.

Of course, I also don't support keeping 140,000 US soldiers in Iraq for 10,000 years, either. That's the problem: there is no simple answer, and maybe not even a very good complicated answer.

Happy Anniversary

It has now been 5 years since the day that I sat in my sad cubicle at Vignette and read, on the front page of Boston.com, "This will be the front page story if and when we go to war with Iraq. This will be the front page story if and when we go to war with Iraq." To commemorate the occasion, the Times has published an excellent set of reflections on the war. Be sure to read this one.

Can Someone Please Close the Retard Window?

Papelobon speaks about his current contract status:

At the same time, I feel a certain obligation to not only to myself and my family to make the money that I deserve, but for the game of baseball.

Man, if he doesn't get that big contract...it could spell doom for the 'ol national pastime.