What is the deal with external drives?

I've had the worst luck with external drives...my Maxtor Central Axis is going south (literally, that's where the return depot is) and a number of other externals have taken a dump out of warranty.

Most of the problem drives I've had have been Western Digital 3.5" models of varying capacity--they tend to give the "click-o-death" far before their MTBF stat would indicate they should. Internal Western Digital drives seem to do just fine.

I wonder if the interfaces on the portable drives are the issue, or if they do not dissipate heat properly. In any case, I'll not be buying another MyBook.

Wish I had the kind of cred to say this....

oUR vIEW: discombobulation, government, spending, conservatives - Opinion - Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

Indeed, where were they last fall when a Republican president TARPed us....but nonetheless, I can't blame eight years of Dubya for the whole mess either. I certainly won't blame a president who has been in office for less than 100 days for it. Indeed, it's interesting to see The Gazette, a paper not known for it's left-leaning editorial stance, bashing it.

These tea parties DO send notice to Washington that angry mobs with pitchforks and torches are not inconceivable...it's all part of the American Right to Be Revolting. There could quite possibly be an Auto-da-Fe in the future, and that prospect should be feared by us all.

Indeed, not all of me is appalled by the prospect of a few investment bankers roasting over an open fire, and I like to consider myself a rational human being (if occasionally chemically-enhanced). This tendency in myself makes me worry about those that are not quite so introspective...we have a large reservoir of Righteous Anger in this country, and we have to really be careful in how we decide to direct it. Angry mobs are rarely constructive.

I am in no way saying the tea party folks are in any way related to the aforementioned angry mobs--my point is that they are a manifestation of an anger that needs to be acknowledged and dealt with--hopefully before some demagogue finds a way to harness it.

An immodest thought on campaign finance

"An honest politician is one that stays bought"--H. L. Mencken

Campaign finance laws do not work. Money continues to influence elections no matter how hard Mr. McCain and Mr. Feingold work to stop it. Libertarians rightly bring up first amendment concerns about telling people how to spend their money, and folks on the left decry the fact that influence is being bought and sold on Capitol Hill.

Campaigns have become expensive circuses, with attack ads, swift-boating and interest campaign groups becoming common as an unintended result of people trying to keep the interest groups out of political finance. It obviously is not working.

Here's a suggestion...

Repeal McCain-Feingold, for a start. Replace it with a simple scheme that has worked well for NASCAR--Corporate Sponsorship. Anyone tired of watching power suits on C-SPAN would get an immediate benefit, as elected representatives would be required to "proudly" display their sponsor's logo on colorful corporate livery. It would also be much easier to explain why a certain politician was speaking on behalf of a certain bill...for instance, if Senator Foo Bar from the great state of whatever was speaking for or against an appointment to the FCC, it would make a lot of sense for us to be able to see the fine "Comcast" logo displayed on his colorful outfit.

Replace that dignified library where elected officials make their pronouncements with a backdrop showing their fine sponsors, with the largest donors having their logo more prominent, and the lesser ones smaller.

Lining up campaign funds would be much easier as well--$5 million gets your logo on the congressman's door, as well as on the hood of his limo, $1 million gets the logo on the limo door, $500,000 buys the chairs in his office, etc.

Government could also save money on the franking privilege if mailing costs were defrayed by placing the rep's corporate sponsors prominently on his mass mailings--"And now, a word from your congressional representative Mud Face, proudly brought to you by the friendly folks at National Right to Life--remember, don't kill that baby!"

Wearing the logo of the contractor that benefited the most from government contracts at the ribbon cutting for a new bridge could give everyone that saw the photo op a new respect for the role of the building interests in politics, as well as a documented photo record of responsibility when the bridge collapses from shoddy construction. Wearing the Halliburton logo when at a signing ceremony for a bill awarding a no-bid contract would show dedication to their masters, as well as provide clarity to the public.

Money buys political influence, there is nothing new about that, and there is nothing that will ever change that.

Let's just make them display who their bitch ass belongs to.