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I remember watching the rallys and even when he was doing poorly he generally had a positive outlook and [...]]]>
There’s not much I can say that hasn’t been said about one of the greatest champions and persons in rally racing. An article with some nice quotes about Colin and his racing career has some nice thoughts.

I remember watching the rallys and even when he was doing poorly he generally had a positive outlook and at the least you knew he was not giving up. Many drivers have this tough spirit but Colin was rally racing to myself and many others when I first discovered the sport. As so many greats go before their time, so has Colin McRae. After a time, those of us who only knew him on television come to accept it and live with the memories we have. Those who had the pleasure of knowing him personally will no doubt have a more difficult time with this.

“He and [ his wife] Alison were good friends and I cannot imagine either without the other…”
-DAVID COULTHARD, Formula 1 driver

The quote above allows me to view this from another perspective and realize it’s not as personal for me. But it still seems like we have a connection to these people sometimes. I bought Colin McRae Rally 3 for my Playstation and then when I recently got an x-box, I bought a used copy of Colin McRae Rally 2005. He helped make these games what they are and that deepens the imagined connection as well. Seems silly but the bottom line is he is missed.

I found it quite interesting that I [...]]]> I am leaving for Jamaica tonight but there was a little doubt last week as I heard of Hurricane Dean’s approach to the island. Yes, Jamaica has been sparred for many years and many have become complacent but there will be another big one and you never know when.

I found it quite interesting that I could get very up-to-the-minute coverage of the events. I listened to Jamaicans calling in to report their area of the island on Jamaican radio station Power106 online, watched videos that were uploaded during the midst of the storm to youtube, as well as the weather channel on tv. A good variety of viewpoints.

One video I watched today shows just how insane these storms can be. Everything is fine for the first two thirds of the video and then the storm crashes violently.

I quickly discovered the downside to the amazing power of the Internet: I have [...]]]> Of course, it wouldn’t be funny if it was me. The tone of his conversations just had me laughing pretty hard. It really is disgusting how little help the customer service is and how little responsibility these companies take for their mistakes.

I quickly discovered the downside to the amazing power of the Internet: I have exactly the same information as customer service. You hope, when you call, that they have access to the magic Database of Redemption that holds the keys to your shipping dreams, but they do not. And what’s worse, they don’t seem to realize it.

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Oh, and I don’t care if it’s an urban legend or not — just the thought of it makes me happy.

There’s no point investing in [...]]]> Reason Magazine has an article titled Why Poor Countries Are Poor. I wasn’t sure what to expect when reading it but it does cover some things that anyone who’s tried to help development in a poor country will notice right away. I found this paragraph to sum up the major points:

There’s no point investing in a business because the government will not protect you against thieves. (So you might as well become a thief yourself.) There’s no point in paying your phone bill because no court can make you pay. (So there’s no point being a phone company.) There’s no point setting up an import business because the customs officers will be the ones to benefit. (So the customs office is underfunded and looks even harder for bribes.) There’s no point getting an education because jobs are not handed out on merit. (And in any case, you can’t borrow money for school fees because the bank can’t collect on the loan.)

Full article about the retarded claims of the MPAA industry. These people really don’t understand their customers at all….

Yea, [...]]]> This whole Idol Gives Back thing is gettin on my nerves. Sure the stuff they show is sad and supposed to be touching and it would be if I actually thought they cared. Call me cynical but I don’t really think one week of your show dedicated to people in need is really giving back.

Yea, they’re getting some donations for a couple days but what about the rest of the year? What are these quite-well-off individuals doing to help? If they are doing something let me know and I’ll eat my words but as far as they act the rest of the season I’m pretty sure this is just a clever marketing ploy to get more viewers… and the sad thing is it works.

That’s my rant.