Random observations...
Category: Kitchen Sink...
Posted Wednesday, March 05, 2003 at 07:36 AM [GMT-6]

...while listening to drying carpet...

• The local blood bank is sponsoring a fund-raising race/walk event later this month. The name of the event is "Bloodgusher 2003." Argh. I realize the name is intended to evoke the familiar scenes of the "awl bidness," (although good business...I mean "bidness"...practices, not to mention the EPA, did away with the gusher decades ago), but all I can think about when I hear "Bloodgusher 2003" is the latest pay-per-view extravaganza by the WWF (and I don't mean World Wildlife Fund).
  
  
• I'm a big fan of James Lileks' blog, as evidenced by his prominent placement in my woefully neglected blogrollette at right. However, I think he dropped the ball a wee bit yesterday as he responded to a publication aimed at helping parents talk to their children about war. He took the publication to task -- and rightly so -- for its omission of any reference to the role the US government plays in keeping the children of its citizens secure and safe. The publication instead chose to focus on the United Nations, World Court, parents and teachers as the source of security.
  
  Where Mr. Lileks came up short was in his omission of the importance of teaching children the importance of spiritual security. The publication couldn't have done this; it is, after all, a product of the public school system, from which the mention of God has been banned. But one of the biggest concerns I have about our society is the apparent abdication of parental responsibility in teaching children about spiritual realities. In the end, that's where the real and lasting peace comes from, at least if your spiritual reality is grounded in Jesus Christ (a choice freely offered to all).
  
  The ability to view world events in an eternal perspective is the key. Some claim this leads only to fatalism; I've found it leads to self-refreshing optimism.
  
  
• This is a rather disturbing report about a newly-discovered security flaw in the Sendmail program, which is arguably the most widely used Message Transfer Agent (MTA). According to Symantec, "Successful attackers may exploit this vulnerability to gain root privileges on affected servers remotely." Fortunately, a patch is available and apparently simple to install.
  
  
• Had an interesting exchange of emails yesterday with Dr. David Hill, founder and director of Hill Research Consultants. He was googling Mike Conaway ("doing research") and ran across my earlier post about Mike's and Carroll Thomas' common church affiliation (it's First Baptist of Midland, in case anyone else is wondering). David (whom I warned was likely to show up in The Gazette), being the good consultant he is, declined to identify who has retained him and for what purpose, but explicity rejected my assumption that he was working for an opposition candidate. Anyone care to take a stab at what he's up to?
  
  
• Oh...the drying carpet thing...? Seems we lost yet another water heater night before last. We caught it in time to avoid extensive damage (been there, done that), but still have 12 square feet or so of slightly damp carpet to dry, before the Dread Black Mold takes hold and Farmer's Insurance cancels me (again). It seems that our water heaters are coming with increasingly short life spans; this one lasted only 3 years (it was therefore still under warranty, which the plumbing company took as a good excuse to jack up the installation fee).
  
  Nothing like the constant roar of fans 36" from your ears, eight hours straight, to convince you to take refuge in the local Starbucks. Which would be an option if they only had an internet connection. Which they don't. And which they have no idea if they ever will, despite having the building wired for it. Another subject for another day.