Today, I received my invitation to WordPress.com. So, I’ve launched a new blog named Alternate OS. I’ll use that space to specifically discuss open source software and alternatives to MS Windows (i.e. Apple OSX and Linux). So, it will be geek specific. Enjoy!

The video games industry is huge. The market is so big that Hollywood has taken notice. Geeks like you and I know that games (as well as pr0n) have long driven the development and mass-market adoption of new technologies.

So, while you may not be a fan of computer role-playing games (CRPG), if you are a fan of Apple OSX or Linux, take a moment and drop by Atari’s Neverwinter Nights 2 (NWN2) Multi-Platform Support Petition. Let Obsidian, Bioware and Atari all know that you appreciate Apple OSX and Linux support for the first Neverwinter Nights and would appreciate it on all future games they develop.

And, if you are a blogger write a similar post on your site. Let’s spread the word grassroots style.

Bono, of U2 fame, took some time to answer reader questions in the New York Times. The read is interesting and thought-provoking regarding world hunger and AIDS. It also mentions one.org, which I encourage you to support. You’ll notice the white banner at the top of the site. Just click on it and find out more.

Well, LOST does not disappoint in the season opener. Creepy, interesting and well worth 40 minutes a week (with TIVO). If the pilot is any indication, My Name is Earl has a great promise. After all, it stars Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee, two View Askew alums. The jury is still out on Surface and Invasion, both of which seem to be trying to grab the creepy throne from LOST. Of the two, Surface looks like the best bet so far.

If you want to catch the best sci-fi show on TV, be sure to see Battlestar Galactica. It is currently wrapping up an excellent second season. Excellent writing and acting. Taut, intense and thought-provoking storylines. Feature film special effects. This is not your father’s Battlestar Galactica.

Last but not least, the heir-apparent to NYPD Blue is not a police procedural. Rather, it is Rescue Me, which is also wrapping up it’s second season. Dennis Leary is excellent as FDNY firefighter struggling with alcoholism, Catholic guilt and dysfunctional family members in post 9/11 New York. Equally hilarious, heroic and heart-wrenching, Rescue Me is the best straight up drama on TV, bar none.

Finally, you owe it to yourself to to check out Dies The Fire by S. M. Stirling. The first of a planned trilogy, Dies The Fire asks the interesting question … What would happen if electricity, gunpowder and combustion engines suddenly stopped working? I was first introduced to Stirling in the Niven/Pournelle Man-Kzin Wars series of books. His writing is very strong and I really enjoy seeing him working in a world of his own devising.

Since picking it up, I’ve had a terrible time putting it down. Others like Donald McQuinn (Warrior), Gordon R. Dickson (Wolf and Iron), Nevil Shute (On the Beach) and Walter M. Miller Jr. (A Canticle for Leibowitz) have written along very similar lines. I’ve read all of these books and think Dies The Fire may be the best of the lot.

Enjoy!

Though I now live in Las Vegas, I was raised, and spent most of my adult life, in Cincinnati, Ohio. If ever there was a Republican bastion, it is Cincinnati. Once, while seriously pursuing a career in law enforcement I was told, most earnestly, that to be hired by the Sherriff’s department I should first go register with the local Republican party. I never did, but had never seriously considered the Sherriff’s office as my career path anyway. Incidentally, I’ve had that unoffical prerequisite confirmed for me by several other sources since.

But, I digress. I bring up Cincinnati’s Republican leanings to set the stage for comment on old debate with a long time associate who is a fellow Cincinnatian and staunch Republican.

This fellow always found it grating that I refused to declare a party affiliation. To him, my position of voting for “the best candidate regardless of party” struck him as … and I quote … “fundamentally un-American.” Funny, I’ve always thought it most American to vet candidates independent of party politics and vote for the guy who most made sense for the country. Crazy notion eh?

Because I refused to declare a party, this fellow declared me a Democrat by default and was none to kind in the declaration. Moreover, he swore that, as I grew older, married and started my family I would become more politically active and, in the process, lean further and further towards the Republican party.

Well, as I write this I am 37 years old, recently married and planning to start my family in 2006. As I look at what the current administration continues to do to our country, I find myself increasingly disturbed. More and more, “Republican” seems to mean … “greedy, short-sighted, mean-spirited neo-Conservative who seeks to restrict personal freedoms, ignore the Constitution while shoving WASP-ish Christianity (in the guise of democracy) down the world’s throat.

Well, that certainly is not me. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

I am not a Democrat either. With a gun to my head, I might declare Libertarian, as they fall closest to my general political leanings. As there is no gun to my head (for the moment), I remain a resolute Independent.

One thing my Republican associate said was true. As a husband and soon a father, I do find myself increasingly politically aware and, for the first time, I am considering actively participating in a political campaign. Guess it is time to “Rock the Vote”.

Jessi recently introduced the world (or at least my world) to the glory that is “Leslie and the Lys”. I am not sure if she should be beaten or not.

Curious? Itching for a little retro-Devo freakishness? Check out the videos for ‘Beat Dazzler’ and ‘Gem Sweater’. Somehow, I suspect David might wet himself in glee.