Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

I downloaded and installed the new Kubuntu 8.04 release the other day--if the truth be told, I did it twice. Thank God for broadband. Being the adventurous sort, the first time I went with so-called Cutting Edge Kubuntu 8.04 KDE 4 Remix (don't you love hyperbole?). It loaded with no problems but alas, after a few days I reinstalled, using the old reliable Rock Solid Kubuntu 8.04 , with KDE 3.5.9 desktop. Why, you may ask? I confess, I'm basically a creature of habit. My work laptop uses Windows XP, which I use 8 to 10 hours a day. With KDE 3.5.9, I can set my desktop up to largely mimic the way I've got my XP desktop set up. You can argue whether this is good, bad or whatever, but it's what I'm used to. The KDE 4 desktop, while undeniably cool-looking, has changed a lot of how it organizes things. After a few days, I saw no real advantage in the new way of doing things. I may change my mind, but for now I'll stick with KDE 3.5.9. Starting with a fresh enviro...

Pancho and Lefty, the two wannabee kitties that have been hanging out with us for the past 6 months, have officially moved back home. Their owners (as if anyone "owns" a cat), our former neighbors, had a house built, which fell behind schedule, which meant they had to live in a trailer in the driveway for 6 months, which meant...well, you get the general idea. Long story short, while the neighbors sorted out their living situation, we (and the other neighbors) looked after the Ginger Duo. Since we are soft touches, they pretty much camped out at our house full-time. While I was fine with this arrangement, it was not one universally condoned. Spike, the alpha cat, was not all that sorry to see them go. We'll see if that means he pisses less in the living room. On the other hand, Hobbes, the big fat orange cat, seems to miss them and has been looking around, yeowing in a mournful tone of voice. I'm with you, Hobbes. During this, the statement was made that 4 cats is too...

While wasting time at work today, I ran across the following random factoid: Historians Rate the Bush Presidency Worst , to which I add a hearty, "Well, duh." Still, it's occasionally good to have your worst suspicions confirmed. One of my favorite judgments: "Glib, contemptuous, ignorant, incurious, a dupe of anyone who humors his deluded belief in his heroic self, he has bankrupted the country with his disastrous war and his tax breaks for the rich, trampled on the Bill of Rights, appointed foxes in every henhouse, compounded the terrorist threat, turned a blind eye to torture and corruption and a looming ecological disaster, and squandered the rest of the world's goodwill. In short, no other president's faults have had so deleterious an effect on not only the country but the world at large." Despite the eloquence of the above, nothing can match the succinct observation that He knows how to make the very rich very much richer, and he has an amazing tal...