Got the Dell
So, The UPS guy shows up and drops off the boxes. I tear into one of the boxes. I pull the computer out. I realize, it has a modem. I didn't order a modem. I then realize, there is a flat panel in the same box with the computer. I ordered a 17 inch, not a 15 inch.  What the heck is going on here? Then my eyes slowly pan over to the other box. There are two full computers here. A quick glance at the label shows the box I just opened is for Clara in an apartment a couple of buildings over. I walked over there, but she wasn't home. I left a phone number. It didn't even dawn on me that the two boxes were wrong. Even though they were exactly the same size. I'm still used to the CRT engine blocks that we had to ship in the past.
I also noticed the monitor is not digital. I sold it to a buddy and ordered another. It should be in next week. I also ordered some speakers. This box has 5.1 surround sound. I at least want some speakers that put out the correct channels. Dell wanted $100 or more. I picked some up for $50. We shall hear how well they work. Argh, this thing has serial ATA connections for the hard drives and one ATA 133 connector (pins kind of thing) for the CD/DVD. That means I'll have to find some rails for the drive to sit next to the DVD, and I'll have to replace the current CD/DVD instead of just adding another drive. The extra 160 Gig drive is ATA 100 (133) only. Oh, well. No big deal.
The trouble is, after dealing with these minor difficulties, I'm out of gas. Now all I want to do is read a few blogs and hit the sack. With all the talk about get sleep or get fat lately, it is probably a good thing.

Speaking of Technology
Vehicles mounted lasers are finally making their way to real life battlefields.

Two of the heavyweights of the defense industry are teaming up to develop "a laser armed combat vehicle," Baltimore Business Journal says. Northrop Grumman, which is building the Army's Tactical High Energy Laser, will put together the ray gun. United Defense, maker of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, "will develop a hybrid [gas/electric] combat vehicle that would carry the laser weapon," according to the Journal. ... More importantly, electric-powered lasers are finally starting to build up the power they need to work as weapons. In a few months, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore national lab and elsewhere plan to test a 25 kilowatt solid-state laser. If those trials work out as expected, the Defense Department will then start handing out grants for a laser with a hundred kilowatts of power -- that's widely-considered the threshold for ray gun action to begin. DefenseTech

Enemy Propaganda TV
I read this article on Little Green Footballs and I just couldn't believe it was true. It is. Read the article and gasp in horror.

At the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a look at the Islamic hate speech of Hizballah’s propaganda organ: Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hizballah’s al-Manar Television. LGF