Governor Sio Bibble: A communications disruption can mean only one thing: Invasion.

And so it was; yesterday I took my computer life in my hands (and lived to tell the tale), and survived an invasion of fourteen twelve-year-old girls.  Whew. 

First I upgraded to Office 2003, and while there were a few configuration glitches, on the whole everything worked great, and I am now happily computing with the latest version of Microsoft Office.  And significantly, I am happily computing with the latest version of Outlook, which seems to work quite well with the latest version of Exchange.  All's well that ends better.

And - my daughter Alexis invited thirteen friends over for "Valentine's tea".  To say there was a disturbance in the force would be an understatement.  However the house is still standing, a good time was had by all, and we are left only with stories to tell.  Truth be told I escaped and spent most of the day mountain bike riding; the perfect testosterone-laden antidote.

Then last night some friends came over and we had pizza and watched movies on our spiffy new TV.  Star Wars IV (if you hadn't guessed!), and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which is a cute "romantic comedy".  Excellent.

Powerline reports Glenn Reynolds on CNN: "Glenn Reynolds was on CNN yesterday, discussing the Mohammed cartoons.  Glenn delivered a ringing defense of free speech: 'You guys have blown it'...  My beliefs are offended when gangs of ignorant thugs burn embassies, and where is the respect for my beliefs?  Do I need to burn embassies to get respect for my beliefs?  Because that's the message CNN sends.  The message they send is, we will reward violence.  And you're going to get more of what you reward, that's how it works."  Fire on 'em, Instapundit!  Sio Bibble couldn't have said it better. 

The Cartoon Wars remind me strongly of the situation in New Orleans after Katrina.  Just because people are [supposedly] oppressed, they are not held accountable to the rule of law.  Apparently, being a victim entitles one to do whatever one wants.  This is The Excuse:  "'To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society,' said a certain Mike Franklin, glibly explaining the scene before the cameras to the Associated Press.  How wonderfully that sentence encapsulates the spirit of postmodern liberalism...  It is the idea of 'victimhood'; the idea that a man is not responsible for his acts; that he is instead a victim of the oppression of some abstraction called 'society'.  And everyone who isn't can be held guilty, regardless of how they have actually behaved."

Not good: New Scientist reports Uganda pulls the plug on Lake Victoria.  "East Africa's Lake Victoria, the world's second largest freshwater lake, is being secretly drained to keep the lights on in Uganda.  A report published this week says Uganda is flouting a 50-year-old international agreement designed to protect the lake's waters."  A tragedy of the commons if there ever was one. 

Check out these amazing photos of China.  Beautiful! 

Have you ever wondered how much your house is worth?  Or how much your neighbors' houses are worth?  Or anyone's at all?  Then check out Zillow.  I don't know how accurate this is, but it sure is cool...  and also, a bit scary! 

Spirit reaches 'home plate'.  "Home Plate has been a target for Spirit since shortly after the robot landed on the red planet in January 2004.  The feature stood out in overhead images taken by Mars Global Surveyor’s Mars Orbiter Camera.  It stood out as a bright, nearly circular spot in the Columbia Hills region.  'It has a shape when seen from above that is reminiscent of a playa or evaporite basin…so that has made it a point of possible interest in a mission seeking evidence for past water on Mars'."  It's gotten so these pictures from Mars are routine, but they are still amazing.