**UPDATES – SCROLL DOWN**

Hey – get your mind out of the gutter. I am talking about the new computer I am building tonight. If you are not a computer geek, these specs won’t mean squat to you.

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Mobo
AMD Athlon64 X2 4400+ Dual Core (2MB L2 Cache)
4GB DDR400 PC3200 Dual Channel RAM
74.6GB 10,000 RPM Western Digital Raptor SATA HD (OS – Primary)
300 GB 7,200 RPM Seagate Barracuda SATA HD (Secondary)
ATI All-In-Wonder X600 PCIe 256MB DDR
Plexxtor DVD-+RW, CD-RW Combo Drive
Aspire X-Crusier Case w/420W PS

Slammin.

**UPDATE**

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!

Word to the wise – if the case LOOKS cool, something is likely wrong with it.

So I get the motherboard in and go to connect the power supply and, shocker, the power supply doesn’t have a 24-pin power connector. Seriously – for 100 bucks the freaking thing should have a 24-pin connector (yes, 100 is a lot for a case, but just look at it!). Not to worry, right? I have a spare power supply that has the right connector, BUT 20 less watts. So I give that a shot – no dice. 400 watts isn’t cutting it. The mobo standby light is on so I am guessing there ain’t enough power to fire it up. Fans (case & CPU) and fan lights come on, but no panel LEDs, no beeps – nuthin.

So tomorrow I have to buy a new power supply – I am going with 500 watts. That should do the trick, I hope.

**UPDATE**

I just got an email from someone saying this post is porn for computer geeks. I can’t argue with that.

**UPDATE** 10/11/05

Well, after 4 days of running this new monster, I have to say I am very happy with it. I ended up going with a 480 watt power supply. I also had to return the PIQ RAM I bought because at least one of the four sticks was bad – they didn’t have another pair to replace the one with the bad stick in it so I ended up going with 2 new pairs of CORSAIR DDR400 dual channnel – more expensive but better memory and it has been flawless since I installed it on Sunday.

I have had one minor issue with random lockups that I have traced to the drivers for the Linksys PCI Wireless-G card w/ SRX. I went with this option because it boosted my speed from 54Mbps to 108 but this is the first version so the drivers need some work. Other than that, this thing is smokin’ fast.

I played Sim City 4 (Deluxe Edition) last night on it and it didn’t miss a beat. No skips, no hangs – smooth as a baby’s ass 3D effects – REALLY nice. It also doesn’t hurt to have a video card with 256MB of DDR RAM.

The Malcontent has some very good commentary on Mike Rogers’ claiming vindication in his gay outing campaign because an online poll (of all things)! Nevermind the thing is likely stacked with the trolls from his comments section. The fact is, most straight Americans would likely find his actions reprehensible.

How about we balance the scales a bit.

I have to say I am heartened by the results of this survey regarding the upcoming special election here in California next month. To hear the local media tell it, Arnold is in a ditch and isn’t getting out and the negative ads being run by the teachers’ unions are getting down-right nasty. From GOPBloggers:

Prop. 73 (parental notification prior to abortion for minors): 59% Yes 39% No

Prop. 74 (extend teacher probationary period from 2 to 5 years): 55% Yes 44% No

Prop. 75 (“paycheck protection” – require written consent from union members to use dues for political activity): 60% Yes 37% No

Prop. 76 (limit state spending growth): 58% Yes 36% No

Prop. 77 (eliminate gerrymandering by having retired judges to draw districts instead of Legislature): 59% Yes 36% No

I am voting YES on all of these.

Arnold is doing exactly what I expected him to do when I cast my vote for him and I can tell it is working – the liberals are howling something fierce.

The company I work for has two locations in the New Orleans area and there are a lot of folks unaccounted for. I realize it is a long-shot, but if anyone out there has any info on any of these people, please call 1-866-222-4781 ASAP.

as September 12th

* Abrego,Karla
* Andrews,Jason S
* Bennett,Patricia A
* Brownlow,William C
* Byrne,Michael E
* Cesana,George R
* Dagradi,Dominic A
* Elphage,Sylvia M
* Hartley,Sharon D
* Hera,Denise L
* Hockman,Morris
* Howard,Ashley D
* Jimenez,Fancy M
* Jones,Jonathan B
* Jones,Linda V
* Mulvihill,Lisa J
* Pinkins,Clayton
* Puente,Marco T
* Sanders,Elton E
* Smith,Joan
* Smith,Kari M
* Smith,Mondia D
* Truehill,Jeremy C
* Vadell,Thomas
* Victorian,Courtlyn L
* Wadge,Gordon F
* Washington,Herman
* Weber,Kristofor G

I just started thanks to seeing the link in a few places. Michael Yon is an author spending a great deal of time in Iraq, visiting the parts of Iraq we never hear about in the MSM, hearing things from Iraqis we never hear in the MSM.

An Iraqi. A Kurd. A Yezidi. A village Headman. Whatever the label, more than forty years after his birth, this man came home. Only now, after the latest war, does Mr. Qatou finally have confidence in the peace, after more than a half century of life lived under orders or under sentence.

This seemed like the moment to ask the question, “What do you think of the United States?”

“We cry when America loses one soldier. We pray for the soldiers every night.”

Many Kurds had expressed the same sentiment. One had said poetically: “For every drop of American blood, we shed one thousand Kurdish tears.”

Make Michael’s blog a regular read. It will do your resolve good to hear some good news from someone that is actually there, walking among the people.

Gavin “to hell with the rule of law” Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco, is divorcing from his CourtTV commentator wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle, after only three years of marriage.

I won’t pretend to know anything about their marriage but it is interesting that the most visible advocate of gay marriage last year couldn’t seem to find a way to keep his own together.

This also means we will be drown with frenzied local media coverage of the “who Gavin is dating now” variety.

Yea.

Drudge is headlining that “sources” say the CBS Memogate Report is set to be released. I am not getting my hopes up – we went down this road once last month.

Last night Arnold gave the State of the State speech. Boy is he gonna piss off entrenched Democrats and special interestests. He’s calling a special session even.

Some highlights are here. I agree with most everything he is proposing, especially on budget reform, but I think he left one very critical money-saving action out: abolishing Cal-Trans (California’s version of the Texas Department of Transportation). Whereas TXDOT does very little actual road construction themeslves (most of it is bidded out), Cal-Trans, being the union infested impotent organization it is, does a considerable amount of construction ergo California has the crappiest roads in the country and very little money is there to fix them. Why? Because the money we fork over goes to building bike lanes and unrealistic public transportation projects (BUS hubs in downtoan San Francisco), NOT fixing roads and replacing bridges. You know, the Bay Bridge – the one that will crumble and fall and kill thousands of drivers on the next big quake. Cal-Trans is a parasite and it must be removed.

On the education front, here are some of the challenges facing California:

Thirty percent of students who enter 9th grade do not graduate. [Department of Finance]
Barely 40 percent of our students are proficient in Math. [Department of Education: “2004 Accountability Report”, 10.7.04]
Nearly half of all freshmen admitted to CSU need remediation in English. [CSU Analytical Studies Department, 1.28.04]
Thirty-five percent of California schools failed to meet the federal Adequate Yearly Progress criteria. [California Department of Education, “Progress Report 2004”]

Sad huh? California and Arnold have a lot of work to do.