This Tent's for You, Welcome Home, -and- You Can Stop Now

This Tent's for You - Arizona posse to arrest illegal immigrants
Welcome Home - cat to be returned to owner after 10 years
You Can Stop Now - 4-year-old boy runs 40 miles

POSER: (Answer will appear on Monday.)
Q: What do you call a synthetic champion golfer?

A federal court has ordered a man who was at the center of the nation's first "spyware" case to be fined $4 million. Sanford Wallace was accused by the Federal Trade Commission of running an operation that infected computers with software that caused pop-up ads and then tried to sell consumers cures called "Spy Wiper" and "Spy Deleter" for $30.

In a related case Thursday, the government reached a settlement with Jared Lansky, an ad broker who disseminated ads containing Wallace's spyware. He is to give up $227,000 in ill-gotten gains.

A client brought a computer to me for an upgrade this morning. I believe the upgrade went very well indeed! Click to enlarge.

In the Name of the Father, Go Granny!, -and- Who Ya Gonna Call?

In the Name of the Father - Navy chaplain may face court-martial for praying
Go Granny! - world's oldest person celebrates 128th birthday
Who Ya Gonna Call? - riot slimer will bring mob to its knees

Moussaoui said as he was led from the courtroom, "America, you lost." He clapped his hands. The jury's decision on Moussaoui was not an act of compassion; it was a gross failure of nerve. He should have been sentenced to death.

This is what Moussaoui did: He was in jail on a visa violation in August, 2001. He knew of the upcoming attacks. He had taken flight lessons to take part in them. He told no one what was coming. He lied to the FBI so the attacks could go forward. He pled guilty last year to conspiring with al Qaeda. At his trial, he bragged to the court that he had intended to be on the fifth aircraft, intended to destroy the White House. He could have stopped it. He did nothing. 2,700 people died.

The jury did not doubt Moussaoui was guilty of conspiracy. They did not doubt his own testimony as to his guilt. They did not think he was incapable of telling right from wrong. They did not find him insane. They did believe, however, that he had had an unstable childhood, that his father had been abusive, and that as a child he suffered the trauma of being exposed to racial slurs.

Of course he had a bad childhood. Of course he was abused. One generally does not become a killer because one enjoyed a childhood filled with love and sweetness. He should have been sentenced to death.

My complaint is not with the jury, however; my complaint is with the sentencing system. I believe it should be the responsibility of the jury to determine the verdict in the guilt phase, and it should be the judge's responsibility to pass sentence. Additionally, I believe there should be mandatory sentences for particularly abhorrent crimes, and mandatory sentencing in Moussaoui's case should have been death. Treason, terrorism resulting in death, mass murder, and serial murder should all qualify for mandatory death sentencing, in my opinion. Child rape should have a mandatory sentence of 25 years, and a subsequent offence should qualify for a mandatory sentence of death.

Drugstore, Sticky Situation, -and- Generation Gap

Drugstore - Walgreens shut down after meth lab found in parking lot
Sticky Situation - man glued to toilet seat in Wal-Mart
Generation Gap - 33-year-old man marries 104-year-old woman

As I predicted, Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc., reported yesterday that its first-quarter loss more than doubled, due largely to expenses of $225 million in stock-based compensation to Howard Stern. Sirius reported a net loss of $458.5 million, or 33 cents a share, for the January-March period compared with a loss of $193.6 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago.

My friend, Frank, sent me two examples of how idiots entertain themselves. Take a look at these videos!

Redneck Surfing

Exploding Melon

Bird flu has struck in South Florida! Click to enlarge.

Bloodlust, The Bare Facts, -and- Free at Last

Bloodlust - teen vampiress attacks schoolgirls
The Bare Facts - dude ranch becomes nude ranch
Free at Last - man freed from life sentence by DNA evidence after serving 17 years

Great Scott! The wind is howling! The wind is so fierce that it is difficult to stand erect! What would otherwise be a perfect morning is severely marred by howling wind. At least it is warm and dry! Forecasts show the wind abating by late morning. Perhaps this will be one of those rare times when the forecasters are correct!

My friend, Chris, from Michigan, has an excellent photograph on his blog. Take a look at Kung Fu Kitty!

Laura and I met via email six years ago. She was living in Santa Cruz, CA, researching the olive industry. She happened upon several of my Web sites during her research and emailed me to express her appreciation of the sites. An email relationship developed, and soon we decided to meet. Soon, Laura was driving to Corning each weekend! The commute quickly became onerous, she moved here, and we were married.

We drove to Santa Cruz in a rented U-Haul truck and collected Laura's belongings. We stopped to dine at Pink Godzilla Sushi Bar before returning to Corning. While doing some spring cleaning here at the office, I found a napkin from Pink Godzilla. The food at Pink Godzilla is wonderful, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is visiting Santa Cruz!

Here is a scan of a napkin from Pink Godzilla Sushi Bar - Santa Cruz, CA.
Click to enlarge.

Good Sports, POW!, -and- Vroom!

Good Sports - homeschoolers create own teams
POW! - 14-year-old girl fights off attacker
Vroom! - man puts jet engine in VW Beetle

POSER: (Congratulations to Cindy for solving!)
Q: What European city is home to the largest number of rodents?
A: Hamsterdam!

The weather was beautiful all weekend, and this glorious weather continues today! I believe that spring has finally arrived!

Laura brought two 12-ounce containers of ceviche home from Sierra Nevada Friday. We enjoyed this wonderful treat with Mission tortilla chips and Cuervo margaritas while we played a Trivial Pursuit tournament on Saturday. I was victorious. Following the tournament, we watched "Billy Graham: God's Ambassador." It was a beautiful tribute to an awesome man of God. For dinner, we had pan-seared ahi steaks and oven fries.

Yesterday, following service at Harvest Christian Center, we did our weekly grocery shopping at Sav-Mor Foods. We relaxed and watched the first half of a documentary on Henry VIII. Laura had to leave to attend a meeting at Harvest Christian Center. I recorded the balance of the documentary. We shall watch it tonight.

While Laura grilled chicken breasts, I made a green bean dish: I poached fresh green beans for three minutes, plunged them into cold water, drained them, and set them aside. I sautéed large green onion, garlic, white mushroom, Jalapeño, and tomato in La Conda Ranch extra-virgin olive oil. When this mixture was cooked, I tossed in the green beans and removed the pan from the stove. The dinner was wonderful, and Laura will enjoy leftovers for her lunch today.

Here is a studio shot of me taken in the late 1960s for a newspaper advertisement for a music store at which I was manager and guitar instructor. Click to enlarge.