And the second.

And the third.

And the fourth.

n++;

(As I said, and Powell just confirmed, they lost Powell when they picked Sarah Palin.)

After all the talk of geography and electability, will my dream ticket really come to pass?

Cue the rejoicing!

Andrea Mitchell?

Russert was a successful professional at the very pinnacle of his profession, respected more than probably any other individual in television news broadcasting, definitely so in the political world. He was also successful in his personal life. Russert teaches us that being FAIR does not mean presenting two opposing viewpoints, but rather comes from LISTENING, and a willingness to engage in CONVERSATION. Fairness comes not from having no opinions or preconceptions, but rather in a respect for an open forum and dialogue. Politics does not have two sides, and while some would like “fairness” to mean “one representative from each of the two main parties,” the reality is that politics has as many sides as there are people paying attention. Of course, as is human wont, these can be classified and categorized, but just the existence of the discussion of “wings” of parties falls as evidence of the inadequacy of the FCC’s, and Congress’s, analysis.

As Sam Donaldson said on This Week, Russert understood better than anybody that “the reason political reporters are there is not to speak truth to power - today’s truth is tomorrow’s falsity - but to make those who say we have the truth explain it, defend it.” And, while those of less who are lesser beings might forget it, and we might not LIKE it, this is entirely true. Ultimately, it is the AMERICAN PEOPLE who are the judge of truth and those who must speak truth to power.

But, very importantly, this communication, forums, and discussion was important in another part of Russert’s life. It is a dark twist of fate that Russert was taken two days before Father’s Day. Russert was widely regarded as the perrenial family man, and he very actively showed and communicated his love to his son, Luke. He also showed how to balance his work and his family, and to be fully dedicated to both.

Being someone whose father had difficulty expressing these things to us growing up, I really do value it. I’m always a sucker for stories of missed opportunities between fathers and sons for the expression of their feelings for each other and the reinforcement and safety that it brings. Men for centuries have clung to an emotionally dishonest stoicism, but this is not something fundamental to masculinity or fatherhood.

It takes quite a bit of work to be able to reflect upon yourself and genuinely, in naked honesty and lack of pretension, and LIKE yourself. I am thankful every day that I’ve come to a point in my life of acceptance of most of the things around me, and a genuine liking of myself. I’m by no means perfect or even great, and like every bruised and damaged person, my self-esteem lacks. But, overall, I try my hardest to be my best, and Tim Russert is a good model for hints as to what the best might look like. I know that if I ever do have children of my own, I could only wish to be as good professionally, to myself, and to my family as Tim Russert was.

John McCain: “I will use the veto as needed - I will veto EVERY SINGLE BEER.”

Remember, in November, save beer and arugula! Vote Obama!

Dear Donna Robinson,

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you are eligible for this special offer.

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On Wednesday, April 9th you received an email with the subject line “Get $25 From Citibank”. We recently discovered that the email we sent to you incorrectly contained the salutation “Dear Donna Robinson” rather than “Dear ######## BARENDT”. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused and want to assure you that the email is a legitimate ######## card email.

If you have any questions, please call the Customer Service number on the back of your card.

Again we apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for being a valued ######### cardmember.

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I hope Donna Robinson is an employee, and not some poor customer!

Working on memory timings, I got into the situation once again where the machine would not boot for over a day. Some people refer to the “DET DRAM” problem, or the “CPU INIT” issues with ASUS boards. Needless to say, there are serious problems with the way these boards handle RAM module. But, I tried clearing the CMOS manually with the switch on the rear panel of the motherboard.

Result: 2 types, when the “clr_cmos” DIP switch on the motherbard was set to off, the computer would power on and stay on, with the LCD display starting on “CPU INIT,” cycling to “DET DRAM,” and sticking at that point until power was removed from the power supply and the system drained its reserve charge (i.e. - the LCD diagnostic display did not ever cycle back to “CPU INIT” until power was drained from the motherboard). Secondy, if the clr_cmos DIP switch was set to on, the computer would boot, power sysem components, and then cycle off within about 3 seconds. Neither way would successfully boot.

What worked for me after two days this time was to reduce the system down to 1 single DIMM, and the system finally booted without issue. So, the first thing to do was to flash the BIOS, to version 0907. After the BIOS was flashed, the LCD poster cycled a few times - “CPU INIT, DET DRAM, CPU INIT, DET DRAM, CPU INIT, DET DRAM, VGA INIT,” and the damned thing finally posted properly again.

I have a *very* educated guess as to what the problem with all of these ASUS boards is: “ASUS Crash-Free BIOS.” The ASUS boot sequence is supposed to automatically detect when settings are messed up - memory timings, unstable CPU voltages and frequencies, etc. This is what also causes the machine, upon first boot or when BIOS settings are changed, to power system components, shut off power, and then power components again a second time for the real boot sequence. Well, sometimes, these ASUS boards get stuck, and either a.) never shut off during that sequence, or b.) get stuck in the first-boot mode, whereby they keep resetting, and resetting, and resetting, and resetting… all the while, your LCD poster indicates, “DET DRAM,” “DET DRAM, …”

This stuff really needs to get fixed, and soon. I really hope it can be with a BIOS update, as opposed to all of these problems that we’re having with these boards dooming them forever. I want this board to still work in 5 years, after all. I’ve got some media serving to do, and it’d be fantastic as a file server for a 10TB Raid array. But, probably not with Intel’s ICH9r, either… going to have to get a decent piece of equipment for job that important, I guess.

This has got to stop.

The following is an NIU Official Message:

Campus Vigil Tonight

Details: A Campus Vigil for the NIU and DeKalb/Sycamore communities will be held tonight, Feb. 15, in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center at 9 p.m.

There’s a reason it takes a lot of time to answer questions. I’m absolutely certain that Joe Scarborough will blame violent video games before anything else, just like he did during the Virginia Tech tragedy. Because it’s always violent video games at fault. Not the guns. But, it’s not the video games. It turns out a much more common trend is the writing of violence in poetic or prose form.

I had school authorities attempt to confiscate my senior thesis in High School, “On the Viability of Anarchy as a Form of Government.” Reactionaries who jump to conclusions borne out of ill judgement and poor ideas do more damage than good. If this is your reaction to tragedy, and you are in a position of authority, RESIGN. At least do a little reading.

The problem is VIOLENCE.

This time, it seems, all of your preconceptions are inadequate.