I was reading about Iraq, and I saw that Baghdad is hinged on the border of chaos. After 5 years of U.S. intervention, that area is still unstable.

I wondered what things would be like if we’d left that area alone and focused on catching bin Laden.

Did you see the movie “Mr. Destiny?” Jim Belushi was living what seemed like an OK life, but his front lawn and driveway were all mud. The slacker landscaping guy wouldn’t get on the ball, and kept asking for thousands of dollars more each time he and Jim met. Then Jim goes back in time, mentally, to a crucial moment in his past, changes it, and returns to the world he would have been living in all along had the past played out like he changed it. He goes to his house. His lawn is full of lush, green grass. His driveway looks terrific. But he doesn’t live there! A cop lives there instead, because Jim now lives in a mansion. When you think about it, something must have happened between the cop and the landscaper. If he hired the same guy, he probably gave him some kind of ultimatum, and saw concrete results. (ha ha)

Well, it all just makes me wonder how Iraq would be if some aggressive dictator showed up and used brutal force to instill peace. I know the U.S. wants to maintaining a certain level of civility, and I agree that we should. But in a tactical sense, I’m wondering if the fighters and Iraqi militia guys would ever allow that method to work.

It’s like a nice babysitter comes over to watch a bunch of rambunctious kids. They see she’s nice, so they know they can take advantage of her, and pelt her with Nerf darts all day. I figure that’s why we haven’t achieved peace yet, because the violence is desired too much by some, and they don’t respond as well to “soft” treatment. And sending a brutal babysitter runs contrary to our ideals.

Hmm, but maybe not even brutality would be enough to remove the urge to war… I guess if the problem is a fundamental part of someone’s ideals, then no matter what you do, if you can’t act in accordance with those ideals, lasting peace cannot be maintained. So when someone programs themselves with ideals so stringent that they don’t allow for their neighbors to be of a certain type, I guess that is like declaring war on the world. Because everybody is neighbors with everybody.

I think it's going to be pretty cool.

So in the beginning there was the basic web functionality. Then came design improvements. And then again, better web design. And upgraded functionality!

Now a lot of web pages look amazing.

But I think there's something relatively new (to the average Joe) that will eventually become standard.

I think that in the future, most or all web pages will be able to update most or all of their content without reloading the page.

Sure, we've got that technology. Sure, those capabilities exist. But they haven't become widespread yet. And once that happens, they will be refined, and built into simple user interfaces as part of content management systems.

So then you'd do a tiny amount of work behind the scenes on your blog or site using a free, open-source CMS, and Presto! Your web page becomes truly dynamic. I can't wait.

You may be aware that I’m still not over my incredibly painful addiction to money. Good thing I don’t suffer from the similarly debilitating sports addiction. Although sometimes I just want to kick back and watch the game! With chips and dip of all varieties… And then if I don’t like what’s happening I’ll yell at the TV! And if I really don’t like what’s going on… Well let’s just say I lose more TVs that way.

I guess it would be really bad if I was a gambling junkie on top of everything, and needed to constantly update my baseball betting picks.

Thankfully, I’m a bigger fan of betting on…the DSRL!

I guess in certain sectors. A top government official could probably do one thing and say another, and nobody would know. Or at least, the people who "shouldn't" know, wouldn't know. I know I don't.

For us little people living outside the security fence, our world is pretty heavily monitored. Actually, it's probably always been this way, we're just better equipped to communicate what we see and hear now.

I just found out that Hillary Clinton "screwed up" again in her telling of an unfortunate hospital experience one woman had. She didn't name that many specifics, but some people apparently had enough to go on, because eventually the full details of the case were published in the media. Then the hospital in question felt it necessary to defend itself, and said, "Knock it off, it's a lie!" So Hillary stopped. But it turns out that what she said really is somewhat accurate.

So, ok, she didn't get her info from hidden spy cameras. She got it from talking to a County Deputy Sheriff. And even he didn't have all the facts. The only reason there was so much scrutiny is because the final telling of the story (by Hillary to various groups and crowds) made a decent impression, and the hospital was losing rep points in the public eye.

"You jerk, you bad hospital. You're bad!"

And the hospital says, "Oh, that's just not right. Information! I demand information! Yes…ah ha…found it…Read this! Listen, look here everybody! Hillary was wrong again! We're in the clear!"

Hillary wasn't that wrong. My first impression reading that article was that, "Oh no, she can't be trusted. She's a liar, through and through." But that's not the case at all.

I wonder if the top dogs in the media (or at Yahoo) decided to milk this story for all it's worth, and tried to factor it in with the previous Bosnia debacle? Without seeming like that's what they were doing…

Anyway, the hospital problem happened at our level. Then the Sheriff learned of it. Reported the story to a Presidential candidate, who reported to all of us. And then we boycott hospitals nationwide! "Chin up folks, we can't get sick no more!"

My reason for writing this out is that twice in a row, it seems, a major political figure (the same both times) has been corrected by the media. I guess the media is like a selective bullhorn that certain sectors of the public gain access to from time to time.

I feel like a few years ago a candidate would say something, you'd think, "They must be right," and no one would come up and say anything otherwise.

But now we're all about the truth.

…Or are we? [Dunh dunh dunnnnnnnnnnn......]

I feel like things are becoming more and more accessible these days. Buffalo chicken used to be only available in restaurants; now we can buy the sauce and pre-made wings at the store! Certain extras only applied when wealthy groups bought in bulk; now the average can get those benefits no matter how small their order!

I just found out that a company is offering a service where they’ll customize Visa Gift Cards with the logo of your small or medium business. This company is called GiftCardLab.

It used to be that only Fortune 500 companies could buy Visa Gift Cards that came customized. They’d order a ton, slap their logo on there, and the provide all their employees with a corporate incentive. But the small and medium business guys couldn’t do that. Well now you can!

Why would you want a customized gift card for your business? Because it’s a highly appropriate corporate gift. And it’s great for the holidays, employee anniversaries, contests, golf tournaments for charity, referrals, customer thank you’s, and for providing that extra push of motivation for your sales associates.

The best part about GiftCardLab? There’s no minimum that you have to buy! I wonder what the world has in store for us next…

Recently I updated my blog. I can't believe how different the administrative interface is. It's awesome. They must have worked forever, because it looks amazing. And seems faster!

I got to thinking… The more things change, the more we have to think in order to keep up.

But I think I'm getting used to it. Maybe too much. Sometimes I catch myself wishing a newly upgraded technology would hurry up and come on the market. Like a faster CPU! Come on, where are the 10 Gig-ers?

Or…where's the hydrogen fuel cell?

Or…where's the voice responsive AI in the glove compartment?

KITT, they drugged me…Get me outta here now!

[I'm on it, Michael.]

[Regains consciousness, sees test results for 2nd time]

Oh no, I’m not clean anymore! All those years of rehab… I gotta give my sponsor a call, quick! Hmm, but how much will it cost?

You too can find out if you have an addiction, like I did. Fun blog quizzes can provide you with the most shocking answers! I couldn’t believe it. But numbers don’t lie. Numbers… Just add a dollar sign and you’ve got money!

No! Must resist…the urge to…think…in…monetary…terms!

I've heard from McCain and others that our time in Iraq may be lengthy. Maybe 100 years. It's been 5 so far. The general consensus of a large portion of the public seems to be, "Let's get out of there now." In the news, you hear things about "major milestones" and "great strides," but none of it seems to be lasting.

I think all the "Mission Accomplished" talk is really motivated by spin doctors trying to shape the reality of the situation in such a way that it meets the demands of the "get out of there" crowd. If it really will take 100 years for things to work out the way we've "intended" in Iraq, then all the milestones will come much later. So why bother feeding us all the "we've turned a corner" rhetoric? Because it's a way to postpone the inevitable.

It's like a mother tells her kid to stop playing video games and go to bed. And he says, "Just a couple more minutes, Mom…"

Two minutes go by. She says, "I mean it, get to bed!"

And he says, "I'm almost to the end of the level!" Either that's what he thinks (and he's wrong), or he's lying.

Another 5 minutes go by. The Mom says, "All right, that's enough. Time for bed."

"But I just found the Sword Of A Thousand Truths!"

Seven minutes later, "Get to bed!"

The party for the war keeps telling the party against the war that "it won't be long now," even though the idea has already been put out there that it could take a lot longer.

But if we stay for 100 years, what kind of resolution could we achieve? I feel like the real major strides are dependent not on us being there (since 5 years hasn't really done the job), but on some unknown factor. Like maybe some agreement must be reached between a number of other countries, or some new technology needs to be invented that solves a major problem.

That could happen, and we're in Iraq in 2020. "War is over! Iraq is all better! Mission Accomplished."

Or we're not in Iraq in 2020, and those unrelated developments still take place. "Iraq is all better! Thanks to [insert solution here]."

I support America, I support the American people, and I support our troops. I believe blindly following the leadership without questioning the status quo is a quick route to an unregulated authority that inevitably weakens the public and the country. I think it makes logical sense that people who truly love their country are willing to judge what those in power are doing to ensure that the state of the nation remains strong.

I love convenient phone numbers. Dialing 777-7777 in the 212 area code (or 800-777-8888) will get you in touch with Dial 7, a NYC Car Service. It offers transportation to and from Brooklyn, Manhattan, New York City, and New Jersey.

What will you be riding in? Whatever you choose! You can get a Lincoln Town Car, a mini-van, a full-sized van, a luxury sedan, or even a limousine. The service is safe and reliable, and will completely erase your parking woes. How? Because you won’t be driving!

New York Magazine has called Dial 7 providers of “the best ride in town.” Clean, convenient, and willing to meet to your specific demands.

So, for limousine service Newark residents and all the rest should remember one thing: Dial 7!

About half an hour ago this comment was posted as a response to my post on Theoretical Dollars And Internet Wealth.

Name: oh minseok

Dear,

I'm a korean living in seoul.(name: Oh Minseok)
Korean special investigative team are investigating samsung
corporation.
But they do not work right.
I am suspicious to be bought off.
samsung corporation has many crimes.
And the team investigates samsung corporation.
It contains korean companies samsung,huyndai,sk CEOs' illegal issuing
stocks or bonds.
The quantity are plenty.
(Three company CEOs did(and are doing) many crimes to me.
Many koreans are knowing it.
But many koreans are bought off by illegal issuing stocks or bonds.)
The team are knowing it.
Korean special investigative team must investigate this.
But they are trying to conceal it.
I ask for asking for this criminal investigation to prosecutors in any
country.
And help the shareholders and me.

P.S)
Three companies are hacking me and trying to kill me.
And are suspicious to use my name and email illegally.
If you receive another message that I dictated above are not true,
it is not from me, but from three companies.
The things I dictated above are true.

[End Comment]

Seems a tad creepy to me… First impression: It's just like those YouTube chain letters. Second impression: Could it be real? Third impression: Why bother to comment on a post that has nothing to do with what you're talking about? It's not like you're being robbed in your own home and dial a random number in the hopes that someone will come help you because 911 doesn't work in your area and you've got nowhere else to turn…

Fourth impression: Maybe it's designed to keep people interested…