i could have come up with ten, but i was too exhausted.

1. don't assume i would like to be asked if a software update should be downloaded. instead, assume that i will, at some future point in time, download the software myself.
2. don't allow a program to force itself into the foreground. this is incredibly irritating.
3. make it possible to type into a window that isn't in the foreground. this "innovation" was available on other systems years ago.
4. whereever possible, use a separate thread for user-interface tasks vs. 'work' tasks. i would be willing to bet that over the past decade i have spent days doing nothing while that damned wait cursor was sitting there.
5. don't ask me, ever, if i want to delete a file. ever!
6. similarly, give me the ability to kill a process. i mean, really kill it. don't tell me that "Terminating a process can cause undired results...". just do what i'm asking!
7. don't remind me, when i start a program, that it is not the default mail reader, default browser, default graphical editor, etc. yes, i installed (god forbid) another program to perform that task. i know you have a hard time believing this but some people write better software than you.
8. allow me to run a program on machine A and display it on machine B. this "innovation" has been available on various flavors of X windows for quite some time.
9. rebooting after installing software? c'mon, this is the year 2003.

so...i'm watching the Tampa Bay dismantle Oakland but i'm worried about the halftime show. Sting is going to perform and i'm thinking "cripes, not again...not another lukewarm middle of the road tune (i actually like Sting, and loved the Police but c'mon, he hasn't taken a chance in years)...so after Shania Twain's country dominatrix explosion out comes No Doubt to play "Just A Girl"...which segues into Sting doing "Message In A Bottle" with No Doubt as backup band.

it freakin' rocked. pretty decent chemistry between Gwen and Sting too.

The Cars - The Cars

sounded great in 1978...and still does.

Statesmen will invent cheap lies,putting blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them: and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.
-Mark Twain

a man discover's that his old college professor (whom he hasn't seen in over fifteen years) has contracted Lou Gehrig's Disease.

what happens next is simultaneously inspiring and heartbreaking.

mitch albom's account of his weekly meetings with morrie schwartz poses many questions about how we chose to spend our time here on earth.

morrie certainly didn't provide all the answers: but his positive attitude while facing his body's disintegration was truly amazing.

gees, the right has really been spewin' the bile recently....accusing the outspoken left of "hating America".

since when did dissent become illegal?

Pat Metheny Trio - Trio Live

apparently, microsoft has just 'invented' the wireless watch.

cool!, just like dick tracy!!

this morning, while driving through a typical suburb filled with huge monopoly houses, three deer crossed the road in front of me.

even sprawl can't ruin some things.

Cuong Vu - Come Play With Me

kinda ambient,kinda spooky,kinda great.

wow, talk about a guilty pleasure. last night i happened upon an E! True Hollywood Story on The Gong Show. way back when i was in high school only Saturday Night Live could surpass The Gong Show for "annoy the teachers fodder". the teacher's done with a presentation? everybody holds up numbered signs: "4.5!", "7!", "2!". better yet, "gong her" right in the middle of a particularly boring segment.

ah, those were the days.

Sampson and Delilah: i love the Reverend Gary Davis version. the Dead's cover on Dead Set is pretty good too.

but you haven't lived until you've heard the David Murray Octet just blow it up on Dark Star (The Music Of The Grateful Dead). just imagine the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on steroids (or a few too many beers).

Live Rust - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

a great moment during the early minutes of the new year on mtv: The Foo Fighters performing a cover of "Back In Black" with Jack Black as guest singer. very funny.

by the way, is it just me or does almost all of the tv coverage of new years eve suck?