For Dedicated Gamers, a PC With an Unearthly Look
I would love one of these.
The Alienware Area-51 7500 is the kind of computer that kicks sand in the face of wimpier PC’s. Based on Intel’s latest processor and motherboard — code-named Conroe for those who are keeping track — the 7500 has a processor speed of about 3 gigahertz, which means you’ll be able to play blindingly fast games of Solitaire.
I would NOT play solitaire on such a wonderful machine. There are so many other more useful things you could do with one of these sweet little rocket machines.
I’ll likely end up building my own custom again when replacement time rolls around. It’s just fun.
Kofi Annan accuses Isreal of murder
From Boortz:
An Israeli air strike yesterday in Southern Lebanon killed 4 U.N. observers at a post. Immediately, and without hearing Israel’s side of the story, Kofi Annan issued the following statement: “I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a U.N. Observer post in southern Lebanon.” The accusation is clear: Israel killed the U.N. observers on purpose.
Israel responded by saying they were shocked by Annan’s statement and that the air strike was an accident. Why wouldn’t it be? What possible motivation would the Israeli Defense Forces have for killing innocent U.N. observers? War is a messy business. Missiles go awry…coordinates get punched in by mistake…miscommunications happen. Remember when the United States blew up China’s embassy in Belgrade? It happens. Southern Lebanon is a war zone. It is a risky place.
Give your customer service rep a break today
I’ve complained before about how hard it is to understand some Indian customer service people. However, I’ve recently been privileged to work with an extremely competent Indian programmer. Instapundit relates his recent tech support experience involving a rep from the subcontinent:
ANOTHER NON-HELLISH CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE: Installed a new wireless router, and had some trouble getting it to talk to the modem. BellSouth customer service was nice, but told me it was a Linksys issue. Talked to the Linksys guy — he said his name was “Joe” but he was somewhere in India, I think — and though it took a while we figured it out. He seemed pathetically relieved that I just went through the steps politely and didn’t yell at him.
I don’t like the outsourced tech support firms that force their employees to pretend they are in the U.S. However, I do think some patience is in order. If you’re having a hard time understanding your rep be patient. You might find out the person you’re dealing with is competent, even if they are somewhat hard to understand.
Patience is something I have had to practice a lot in the last year of my life. It can pay off sometimes.
Wall Street Journal on MilBloggers
Blackfive reports that the Wall Street journal is talking about milbloggers. Article here.
If you don’t know who JP Borda is you should. Visit milblogging.com right now. A great resource if you’re interested in the view from the ground in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Rare counting ability induced by temporarily switching off brain region
Just place a pulsing magnet over the correct area of your brain and become a math genius a la Rain Man. OK, it’s not quite that simple, but it is certainly interesting research. My dad has the ability to do a lot of math in his head, and I’ve often envied him that. Maybe I need the right kind of magnetic helmet so I can show him up at the next family meeting.