Year: 2009
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Budget Deficit
I don’t really have lots of time to do my own research but I’ve briefly read/seen stuff about our budget deficits and the government’s obligations to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid that gives me pause. The basic message is that our current course is completely unsustainable and we’re headed towards economic disaster/collapse. The U.S government’s liabilities greatly exceed its assets and that gap continues to grow at a rapid rate. Very scary stuff. Stuff like this:
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Realtek’s Crappy Network Card Drivers
The other day, I decided to update my network interface card (NIC) drivers. I have Realtek NIC’s that are integrated into my motherboard (Abit IP-35 Pro) and they use Realtek’s RTL8110SC(L) drivers. Well, that update cost me half the damn day because they thoroughly messed up my network cards. I’d keep randomly getting notices saying the “network cable is unplugged” even though it was. Eventually the network card would shut down completely and I would lose Internet access.
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AO 2009
I pulled an all-nighter watching the AO final live. Sigh… Fed lost to Nadal again. So sad. He gave that 5th set away, don’t want know what was going on there. It was clearly another painful loss for him. I don’t know what he has to do, but he needs to find a way beat Nadal. I was a little shocked seeing him break down like that during the ceremony. But who can blame him? He obviously really really wanted it. All the pundits are bringing up the same questions and doubts now. I hope there are good things in store for the rest of Federer’s season.
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Del Potro Massacre
I already checked the score this morning but I caught a good portion of the taped broadcast of the Federer v. Del Potro match and it was just brutal. I mean absolutely brutal. I even saw some people in the audience shaking their heads when they did one of those camera pans. I thought Del Potro would put up a good fight. Double bagel? Wow. I feel kind of bad for Del Potro. At one point, Fed even struck the ball over the net with a header (after the play was over) as if to say he might as well be playing without a racket.
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FiOS Installed
Well, I got FiOS Internet and TV service installed today. The installation took most of the day and then I spent the rest of the day cleaning and throwing out junk because I had to move a bunch of furniture and a whole lot of crap out of my closet for the installation.
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President Barack Obama
Today, Barack Obama officially became the 44th President of the United States. Former President Bush is finally done. I don’t envy Barack Obama. He’s got a his work cut out for him, considering what he’s being handed.
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Fighting in Gaza
They’re never going to stop fighting until one side loses the will to fight or one side’s all dead. I don’t claim to know a lot about Middle East. But here’s what I do know. Israel ain’t going anywhere. They will always be backed by the United States. Its military and technological advantages mean they can wage war way better than any Arab countries/factions in the region. Organizations like Hamas or countries like Iran have publicly stated that they don’t want Israel to exist. And they will NEVER lose the will to fight, given their propensity for things like suicide bombing. There’s the conundrum: an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. How many Presidents have tried to establish peace in the region? It never ends.