Pangloss

Not really. The main thing for me was figuring out how to install programs and having to think back to the old days of command-prompt execution. That situation is much improved over the last couple of years in most distros, but I still think Linux needs more work in the area of tool placement in GUI menus, for example (though I find it easier to find things in KDE than I do in the ridiculous Office 2007 ribbon bar!).

The name of the program is "mstsc.exe", and it's found in the System32 folder of the Windows directory, if memory serves (might need to double-check that, I'm working on a Vista system at the moment which may be a little different).

I was thinking the same, but hey, maybe it's an honest guy just looking for a little honest feedback, so I left it in. (shrug)

Oh is THAT why there was a chocolate desert in the fridge. It was delicious, btw.

I can't tell if this is just pre-G8 political maneuvering or if there's real substance here. I'm not a huge fan of missile defense (marginal effectiveness + marginal need = high profit for the military-industrial complex). But on the other hand, Putin isn't exactly scoring points with me either. (Are we really supposed to believe that he's afraid that we're so upset about his humanitarian and freedom gaffs that we're going to... nuke Moscow?!) I suspect this is really about what "plays in Perm". (Sorry.) What do you all think?

Drive failure? Random error, delete and copy the data again? Those seem to me to be the two main possibilities. Good luck.

BTW, does this mean it's time to impeach Pelosi? ;-)

I'm kinda on the horns of a dilemma in a sense when that last subject comes up, because while I agree with the sentiment, I also enjoy following political matters, and as such I get a reward out of observing an obvious left-right bias in the country. But it's a bit like cheering at gladiatorial games -- kinda leaves you sick to your stomach afterwards. Anyway I agree with the point that the left is better organized than the right at the moment. But interestingly, an ABC News poll came out today that showed that supports for Democrats has fallen dramatically over the last month, mostly over the issue of the War in Iraq. The percentage of respondants who felt that the Democrats were stronger on Iraq fell below 50%, as did the percentage who felt they would be best suited to get us out. Overall leadership advantage has also fallen to a dead heat with Republicans. It's worth noting that Republicans haven't gained ground; Democrats have only lost it. In other words, public opinion about Washington in general has fallen since the election. This is not unusual in this post-election time frame, though (something the article about the poll that I linked below doesn't mention -- that's entirely my opinion). Anyway, one of reasons for this decline is viewed as the influence of the far left on mainstream opinion regarding the war in Iraq. The Obama and Clinton votes last week on funding was paraded around like it was some kind of major scandal, and because it "played in Peoria" it became one of those rare moments were lefty extremists were in complete accord with red-state cow-tippers. (Like I said, politics can be fun.) The point being that the left may not have its ducks in a row for long. And boy, this is just going to be an absolutely fascinating year for political observers and historians. (Here's a link to an article about the poll.)

Interesting point!

Wouldn't that be a nice world to live in? I'm gonna send you a flower to put in your hair, Phi. Love the NBA-center-in-a-kayak-image. Hillarious! Quite right, of course, or at least that's how I see it.

Interesting article about a tenure controversy allegedly over race at MIT. The black professor in question was apparently denied tenure two years ago, and his contract runs out on June 30th. Another black professor is resigning in protest. The professor in question has been asking for a tenure review. He went on a hunger strike earlier in protest. Sherley, the professor who was denied tenure, is an opponent of embryonic stem cell research (he conducts his own research on adult stem cells). Certainly not a very politically correct position in academia or research these days! But he insists that the reason for his denial of tenure was his race. Interesting. More info: Article on Sherley in the Wikipedia. MIT's profile of Sherley (has specifics on his research focus). Web site following the controversy (clear pro-Sherley bias, but includes some info on overall racial minority faculty tenure at MIT). I'd add my opinion to this but I can't see that I have enough information here to warrant forming one. I do think it's interesting that we can't seem to move beyond this stuff, and while I have an open mind about it I do find it hard to imagine an institution like MIT actually practicing institutional racism in this day and age. Don't they want the best people they can possibly get, regardless of race? Is it possible the guy just doesn't warrant tenure at that august institution?

Made? By whom?

<<giggle>>

I'm not quite sure I follow what you're trying to do. Have you developed an ASP.NET application? If so it should run in whatever web browser you attempt to execute it in when you load the web page by typing in the URL. If you mean those "web component" things that allow you to place Microsoft Office content on the web (like an Excel spreadsheet or PowerPoint slideshow), I've done that in Firefox before. Again, just run Firefox, go to the page in question, and when it prompts you to install the control just follow the instructions on-screen. If this doesn't help, see if you can describe the problem in more detail and I'll see what I can do. (Don't you hate the way the industry uses the same words to mean 8 or 10 different things?) (grin)

All well and good, John, but not relevent to this discussion.

BTW, did you try to do a reinstallation of Windows already? Your description sounds similar to what happens if you do a reinstallation onto a computer, gave it the same user name, and then wonder why you can't access the files in My Documents. That's by design -- it doesn't know whose files those are. (You're supposed to do a "Repair Installation" off the menu in that situation.) You can access the files for the old user-with-the-same-name by logging in as Administrator and sifting carefully through the Documents and Settings folder.

Well you can do that if you want, but it's not due to a flaw in Windows, else everyone would be having the same problem. It's based on something that happened to your computer, either at your instigation or due to a malfunction of some kind. There isn't really enough information here to determine the real issue, but generally speaking issues like this are caused by problems with additional installed software (drivers, anti-virus programs, etc). You can boot Windows in safe mode and typically have access to the data then. If that's insufficient, see if you can describe the problem in greater detail and we'll see what we can do.

I hope so, although the post from John Cuthber above goes right to the heart of my next point, which is that there will be very vocal, strenuous opposition to that moderatization. The far left has spent the last several years activating, modernizing and mobilizing, and they're not about to toss that on the fire just for the sake of winning the office. They'll support, but they won't be happy about it. I think this country is about to discover that the far left can be just as stubborn and ornery as the far right. They stand every chance of undermining the Hillary Clinton campaign, for example, and could well do the same to Obama. I'd say that's a pretty good assessment. I still don't see a lot of movement towards a third party, especially one based on a more extreme position (so sorry Al Franken fans!). But there has definitely been a lot more interest in the Greens and the Libertarians of late. No question about it.

Since you said "as far as I recall" instead of "in my opinion", I feel compelled to respond that the generally-accepted view is that this country has an extremely active and organized "far left", which has been bolstered in recent years by the politics of the Bush administration. You may not feel that it's far enough left for your political views, but in terms of objective political observation that statement has to be viewed as a personal opinion (and you're welcome to continue to express it here). <<Boilerplate On>> "Far left" in mainstream discourse (which is what we have here) refers to the general sweep of organizations and individuals encompassed by Air America, Al Franken, MoveOn.org, George Soros, et al. Note that this is not a condemnation or attempt to marginalize these individuals, who play an important role in the national political landscape. <<Boilerplate off.>> (Boilerplate added to OP.)

Thank you.

That is not a news story. That is an opinion piece, and it was written by a man who worked under two Democratic presidents and who is an outspoken critic of the Bush administration and the Iraq War. But I will grant that you have successfully dug yourself out of Area 51-land and back into the realm of respectability. Respectability Morris has. Objectivity he does not. He provides no evidence or substantiation for his claim. He was not working in the White House during the time in question, coming to the game years later in time. So little was thought of his claim that it apparently didn't even make the news. I expect you to amend your statement accordingly. I have no problem with your opinion. What I have a problem with is people passing off opinions as facts. This is a science forum, not DemocraticUnderground.com. Please allow us to hold a higher standard here. Thanks.

Egad, what a brainwash. Your "Representative Press" is a 9/11 conspiracy theory site (along with hordes of other extremist nonsense)! I could barely find the article amidst all the flashing headlines about US imperialism. I feel unclean. Anybody got any sanitizer for my modem? Yeesh. Is that all you have to support your claim that the US put Saddam Hussein into power, MolotovCocktail?

It's interesting that the current situation with the candidates has produced a situation where the leading Democratic candidates are seen as moderates and the leading Republican candidates are seen as unable to win. You can put whatever spin on that you like (and I've read some darned interesting speculation), but one thing it suggests to me is that the extremes on the right will be more empowered over the next year than the extremes on the far left. But is this real influence, or just a temporary condition? Will far-right conservatives lose that influence once a clear front-runner emerges from the Republican pool (lake? ocean?) of candidates? And will the far left rally and find a way to exert influence during the run-up to the primaries (which are now only six months off)? Here's a quote from an article on MSNBC about Fred Thompson jumping into the race that underscore the situation: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18938109/ <<Boilerplate On>> "Far left" in mainstream discourse (which is what we have here) refers to the general sweep of organizations and individuals encompassed by Air America, Al Franken, MoveOn.org, George Soros, et al. Note that this is not a condemnation or attempt to marginalize these individuals, who play an important role in the national political landscape. <<Boilerplate off.>>

We supported Hussein. We did not put him in power. Molotov was firmly in Cindy Sheehan territory in saying that. I stand by that reply, and note that he didn't correct himself, which means I was on target. I share your assessment of Korea, but it's worth pointing out that what we supported in South Korea at that time was hardly a representative of a firm constitutional democracy. That didn't happen for a long time afterwards, and would seem to support the idea of bolstering questionable nations from time to time.

I don't know the answer, but it reminds me of the penny-off-a-tall-building problem. Turns out the penny can't really acquire enough velocity to really do any damage, and you could probably just catch it with your bare hands. Which suggests that the ant would be ok, but on the other hand biology could play a role here. I do know that I've seen ants and other small insects fall great distances and be fine afterwards.