Internet Security and PC Optimization: New Update to an Old Friend

Many months ago, I introduced you to AvanQuest's System Suite 8 Professional, a great suite of internet security and PC optimization tools to keep your computer safe and running at peak performance. Now, the folks at AvanQuest have released version 9 of this great program, and with it comes some great new tools and a great new price. I just want to invite you all to check out an article a friend and I have written on Squidoo about the new product. Follow the links in the article, and you can save $15 off the standard purchase price of System Suite 9 Professional.

In these times of viruses, spyware, and internet scams, you owe it to yourself to keep your computer safe...And with three licenses included with your purchase, you can protect more than one computer in your home or office for one low price. So, check it out.

Colorado-Based Group Suggests Getting High before Flying High

I was watching the news tonight on our local Fox affiliate, in Seattle, and heard a story that gave me mixed feelings.

A group in the Denver area is proposing that airline passengers be able to smoke a joint before boarding flights. Tired of recent incidents of air rage that have caused some planes to divert to Denver's airport lately, this group seems to believe that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, and that if passengers light up before flying, they'll be more calm. This same group, according to the news report I saw, has also succeeded in getting an initiative on the ballot for this fall to make marijuana the lowest-priority item for law enforcement.

Passengers interviewed by a Fox reporter had mixed reactions. One former law enforcement officer stated that he's seen plenty of non-calm people stoned on pot when he's arrested them, and has said it's no safer than alcohol. Other passengers took the common sense approach of saying that drunk passengers need to be cut off at a certain point instead of encouraging them to use a different drug. One man, however, stated that marijuana should be decriminalized and taxed, and implied that keeping marijuana illegal was only helping to fund organized crime. Interesting viewpoint...

After seeing this story, and hearing the gentleman who spoke on behalf of the organization, I'm not so sure getting stoned before a flight is a good idea. Personally, I am a bit of a drinker, but am not a pot smoker. Like many people, I tried it in college and found it just gave me a headache and wasn't any fun. My belief is that things like alcohol or pot simply bring your personality more to the forefront. If you're in a good mood, chances are you'll be a bit happier after a couple drinks, and maybe the same is true after a joint; I don't know. If you're relaxed, a couple drinks, in my case, just causes you to become more relaxed. If you're agitated or angry, again, the liquor only causes that feeling to be magnified, causing you to act inappropriately. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of flying, but I find a beer or two once we're up in the air just settles me down and helps me relax through the flight...It's never made me go ballistic and want to cause bodily harm to my fellow passengers or the flight crews; the unnecessary fees for checked baggage are enough to cause those feelings.

In all seriousness, I don't think smoking a joint before a flight is the answer. I figure the people who are going to exhibit signs of air rage will do so whether they're drunk, stoned, and in many cases, even sober...That's just the kind of people they are. Most of us can hold our liquor on a plane and don't feel a need to break out of our handcuffs and punch flight attendants...Most of us don't get to the point where we END UP in cuffs to begin with.

God bless this Denver group for trying, but somehow, I don't think pot on the plane, or before boarding the plane, is going to fly...Though, Bongs Before Boarding does sound like a catchy campaign slogan.

Send Congress A Message About High Gas Prices

I know we're all tired about hearing about the economy and high gas prices. It's gotten so bad here in the Seattle area that it's actually now cheaper for my wife and I to take the bus. I hate doing it because I sacrifice the comfort of our car, the ability to listen to Opie and Anthony on XM on the way to and from work, and we're now tied to someone else's (the bus company's) schedule for our travel. On the other hand, it costs us $108 a month for bus fare instead of $300 a month for gas.

Even as a blind person who doesn't drive, I still have to help pay for gas in our family's car, so I know the pain of the pumps. What I've done, and would recommend for everyone reading this to do as well, is to sign the Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less petition. This petition is hosted by American Solutions, and has been signed by well over half a million Americans, both Republicans and Democrats.

I first heard about the petition during a Hannity and Colmes interview with former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, and signed it immediately. It's one of many ways we can let Congress and the oil companies know how we feel.

Do I think drilling is the long-term answer? No. I think we need to be working on alternative ways to power our vehicles...However, while we work on those, we need to increase the supply of oil to keep up with demand. In the process, hopefully we can lower the price of a gallon of gas as well, and in turn bring the prices back down on many other everyday products. I don't know about you, but my pay isn't going up as fast as my gas and grocery bill has lately.

So Send Congress a Message!

R.I.P.: George Carlin

Yesterday morning, I got up for work like I would on any other Monday morning. The weekend had been good, but of course, not long enough. I turned on the news as I always do during breakfast, mainly to catch the traffic, weather, and to see what slant our newscasters will put on the stories of the day.

Of course, there was the usual political news, news about how bad the Mariners are playing, the Sonics/Key Arena court case, and gas prices. All of this was expected, and pretty much went by without much reaction on my part.

Then, the story of George Carlin's death Sunday night came on. I couldn't believe the news; it didn't seem possible. I'd heard him in an interview with Bob Costas a few months ago, and he seemed well, alive, and his usual self...Talking about the issues of the day, and about life, as only George Carlin could.

As all of you know by now, Carlin died of heart trouble at age 71. He'd heart problems for several years, and it all finally came to a head Sunday, June 22.

I'll never forget hearing George Carlin's stand-up for the first time as a sixth-grader, thanks to a good friend who played me several bits, including the infamous "7 words you can't say on TV". From that point, I was hooked, and have listened to every CD or HBO special I could get my hands on. His ideas from one special on what to do with prisoners were hilarious. Granted, if we acted on some of them, I suppose the government could be accused of inflicting "cruel and unusual" punishment, but fencing off certain states and turning them into prisons for specific types of offenders could be fun to watch.

My one regret is that I never had the chance to see Carlin perform live. The CDs and HBO specials are great, but I always wished I'd had the opportunity to attend one of his shows. Last time he was in my area, I think I was out of town, and I told myself "I'll go next time". Well, next time's not going to come.

Not only was Carlin a great comedian, but he inspired many of the stand-ups working today. Though there will never be another George Carlin, there's still plenty of great stand-up out there, and a lot of that, in my opinion, is thanks to the chances he took and the doors he opened. If you enjoy Carlin, you owe it to yourself to check out some of today's comedians...Everyone from Lewis Black, to Rodney Carrington, or Jim Norton, Doug Stanhope, and the list goes on. After hearing Carlin, I began to spin off into other comics at the time, such as the late Bill Hicks, a man who was almost as funny and as poignant as Carlin.

The point of these ramblings is to say that George Carlin will be greatly missed by the fans. He was a great comedian, and I feel, thanks to him, many other great comedians were spawned.

DRM-Free Audio Books: This Could Really Work

Recently, I received a post from an email list I'm on citing the coming availability of downloadable audio books without Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection. The post cited a March 3 New York Times article, in which top publishers, including Random House, announced plans to make their audio books available without the dreaded DRM.

Personally, I like this idea for many reasons.

More Choices

Without the restrictions of DRM, consumers will be able to place their audio books on any MP3/digital media player they own, burn them to CD, or listen to them on their computers without restriction. No more having to worry about whether your player is compatible with a site's downloads.

Greater Interest in audio books amongst the general population

I personally think, once people don't have to worry about the restrictions of DRM, and worry whether or not they have the right hardware or software player, more people will buy more audio books. Those of us who are blind have used audio books for years, and many sighted people are starting to use them in the car, on the bus, on planes, and just to listen to around the house. These numbers will only increase.

If the music industry can do it, why not the book industry?

I realize some people will be worried about piracy if the books become available in a DRM-free MP3 format. Personally, I think we'll see a decrease in piracy as more music and now books become available for consumers to purchase and do as they wish. DRM made legally buying audio cumbersome. You had to check the retailer's list of approved players. If you owned an iPod, you couldn't buy from stores other than iTunes if the store you wanted to buy from used the Windows Media format and DRM. If you were a blind person, many of the services didn't have accessible interfaces, and it was sometimes difficult to activate the license for your file once you had it downloaded...It was just easier to use a P2P client. Sadly, the P2P software is generally more accessible than iTunes or Napster or Yahoo Music.

Now, with MP3s, the downloads are more straightforward, and once downloaded, you access the file as you would any other MP3 that you'd ripped from your CD collection.

In the end, I think publishers will see a growth in audio book sales, and a decline in piracy. I think that once consumers know they can have their audio books on their terms, they'll be happy to purchase them as downloads.

Feel free to leave your comments on this subject. I'm interested to know what all of you think.