I went to see Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers last night. The movie was unquestionably a spectacle, but I found my enjoyment tarnished by the fact that it cost me so darn much money to see it.

I paid $8 each for two tickets. I paid $3.50 for a 24 ounce Coke, $3.50 for a small bag of popcorn, and $3.00 for a 20 ounce bottle of water with a net cost of essentially zero. Then, as thanks for my $35 investment, I am forced to sit through a soft drink advertisement, a car commercial, and an ad for a television show.

What kind of sheep have we turned into, that we allow ourselves to be gouged like this, and even wait in line for the privilege to do so? What gives theaters the right to charge three times the going rate for soda pop? The price of a movie has risen by 100% over the past 6 or 8 years. Why? Fixed costs haven't gone up. They haven't invested significantly in infrastructure. I cannot believe that their employees are getting paid 100% more than they were 6 years ago.

I want to be angry about this, darn it, but the fact is we keep going to the movies and handing these people our money. It would be silly to even talk about a boycott, because no one would do it. Is this an industry where price elasticity simply doesn't apply? If movies go to $15 each in March, and a soda and popcorn costs you $12 more, would you still go? I suspect you would.

We are becoming a nation overtly ruled by greed.

Well, after expending 14 hours of effort and starting over twice, I was finally able to complete the brain transplant on my laptop. I don't know why Microsoft wants to make this kind of thing so frickin' hard.

A simple drive image copy wouldn't work because of the rather large bad spot. I tried to use the Windows 2000 tools to search for and patch bad sectors, but as near as I can tell, that tool is entirely decorative, because it had no effect whatsoever.

That means I have to use xcopy to transfer the data. That's OK, I know how to script that. And, as it turns out, transferring the data was the easy part. The hard part was getting Windows 2000 to boot when I was done.

In the end, here was my successful recipe:

1. Install Windows 2000 from scratch on the new disk
2. Let it reformat the disk
3. Choose a system directory name OTHER than my original one
4. Boot this new, barebones Win2K
5. Mount the old hard disk (with a life-saving PCMCIA-to-2.5"-IDE adaptor)
6. Xcopy all of the old data (except for the bad directory)
7. Modify boot.ini to include both Win2K's

Here's where I start cursing Microsoft. At this point, it will boot the new (temporary) installation. It will boot the OLD (xcopied) installation up to the point where it asks for my user name. At that point, it tells me there is no swap file, and it can't create one, so it won't let me log in. However, if I have the bad hard disk attached, it boots just fine, but it uses Win2K and the swap file from the bad disk!

After a bit of hacking, I discovered there is a registry entry that maps disk serial numbers to drive letters (HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices). The temporary install had C: mapped to the new drive, and E: mapped to the bad drive. The xcopied install had those reversed, so when it went to find the pagefile on C:\pagefile.sys, it wanted to talk to the old, bad drive. I swapped those two registry entries, and now everyone is happy.

My primary computer at home is a circa 1997 Dell Inspiron 7000 laptop. It has been a real workhorse, doing everything I expected of it, but last night the hard disk started making the kind of noises you do not want to hear from a hard disk, eventually crashing Windows 2000 with a blue screen.

Now, being a technology geek, I know how to do a hard disk transplant, but the frustrating thing about this is it will be the FOURTH hard disk I've plopped in this beast. Even though it is a laptop, I very rarely take it anywhere. It just sits in my desk, plugged into A/C power. I don't understand why the disks should be so delicate. I've used nothing but IBM TravelStar 10GB disks, which have a very good reputation, but it makes you wonder.

I happen to have a spare 10GB on hand, since my wife recently filled the 10GB disk in HER laptop and I replaced it with a 30GB. I'm going to try to mirror my disk using Linux today and hope I can get most of the information from it. I've got all of my DATA burned to CD, but if I have to format and reinstall, the pain-in-the-butt factor will be very high.

What on earth is the Bush administration thinking?

North Korea is visibly and publicly threatening to restart its nuclear weapons program, and the Bush administration is downplaying the threat because it doesn't want to divert attention from the thus-far fictional "weapons of mass destruction" program in Iraq.

This is lunacy. As far as I can tell, the only thing Iraq has provably done is to insult George Bush, Sr. If "W" is actually considering entering into a war with Iraq solely because the country dissed his dad, then he is at least as dangerous as the world leaders he rails against.

This is one of the most frightening developments in my lifetime. Making America an offensive power, instead of the defensive power we have usually been, is going to raise outrage throughout the world. An attack in Iraq at this point, with the flimsy evidence that has been presented thus far, is sure to bring down the wrath of fundamentalist Islam. The fundamentalists have already shown what they are capable of, and have proven their tenacity in their conflict with Israel. I don't mean to imply that we need to quiver in fear, but only a fool would ignore the potential danger.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but I know that World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Let us hope that we do not find this out before the end of the decade.

Christmas is a great time to be a piano player. Everyone wants to hear carols and noëls, and since almost everyone wants to sing along, it really doesn't matter how you play!

Piano players also tend to be the ones who know the "other" verses to carols. Most of the 4-part piano parts are pretty easy, so we have lots of time to look over the other words. Some of the carols have a lot of verses; We Three Kings and Good King Wenceslas have 7 each.

Of course, like most men, I can't hear the beginning of "We Three Kings Of Orient Are" without trying to finish it with "trying to smoke a rubber cigar.

I admit it, I am hopelessly naïve. The Christmas/holiday season brings that quality out in many people, but I tend to be naïve even during the rest of the year.

I'm naïve enough to believe that most people are basically good.

I'm naïve enough to believe that most people don't care about the color of their neighbor's skin.

I'm naïve enough to believe that the Israelis and the Palestinians really do want to find a lasting peace.

I'm naïve enough to believe that religion can be a way to bring people together, not tear them apart.

I'm naïve enough to believe that Jennifer Lopez really wants to make her marriage work.

I'm naïve enough to believe that my government wants to do the right thing. Most of the time.

I'm naïve enough to believe that you can accept my Merry Christmas wishes without taking it as an affront, even if you are Jew, Muslim, Mormon, Witness, Druid, Trekkie, or Wiccan, by translating it into whatever the equivalent phrase for good wishes are in your order.

Be careful, be good, be happy, be healthy, Merry Christmas.

I want to feel sorry for Trent Lott. Certainly at the beginning, it seemed like here was a guy who just stuck his foot in his mouth, trying to say something nice about some old geezer at his 100th birthday party. I thought the hullaballoo was a bit much.

Now, I'm not so sure. If you read some of what Mr. Lott has said in the past, it seems entirely likely that he actually BELIEVES what he said at Thurmond's party. If true, that makes him at least as much of a dinosaur as Thurmond: a relic from another era, best forgotten.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, no matter how stupid they are (even me), but when you are the third most powerful man in the country, you have to be held up to a higher standard. I don't believe he needs to step down as senator, but I certainly think his resignation as majority leader was warranted.

I'd like to think we can all accept this and move forward, but I suspect the to-do won't run its course for some time to come. I certainly hope that the government can get back to the business of running the country.

We braved the traffic and weather yesterday to hit the mall for some last-minute Christmas shopping. I knew this was a mistake; I usually make it a point to avoid anything within 3000 feet of the malls (and Costcos) after December 1, but it couldn't be helped this year.

As it turns out, we had little trouble finding a parking spot. There was a crowd, but it was nothing like the "Japanese subway" feel from years past.

So, what is the lesson? Could it be that the events of 9-11-01 have finally caused people to view the Christmas season as something more than a capitalist spree? Is it possible that we're actually starting to see this as a celebration of Christ's birth, instead of a celebration of Santa's trip? Or is it just that we're all nervous at the number of our acquaintances who are out of work?

I'm not sure it matters, and if the stock market hops up in 2003, I'm sure that Costco will be back to its usual cattle-car quality next December, but in the meantime, I'm going to pretend that we're celebrating "presence" rather than "presents".

Merry Christmas!

"Fountain" iced tea. The mere thought of it makes me gag. Iced tea is supposed to be made from tea leaves, seeped in hot water, cooled with ice. Who was it that decided iced tea should be served through a fountain after being reconstituted from syrup concentrate? I suppose it must have been the soft drink distributors, who realized they were losing revenue to those rogue fast food restauranteurs who actually dared to make a refreshing beverage in their own establishments, without the approval of Archer Daniels Midland and the agricultural-industrial complex.

I can imagine the promotional material: "Many of our customers prefer the taste of new Nestea Reconstituted Iced Tea Flavored Glop over crisp, fresh, boiled tea!" Sure, in the same sense that many customers prefer a cuppa 10-30W motor oil over freshly ground coffee beans.

McDonalds was one of the last holdouts, but now most of them have gone over to the dark side. Carl's Jr (Hardee's to those of you east of the Rockies) remains one of the few nationwide fast food joints to boil their tea. Burgerville (on the west coast) does, also.

Next thing you know, we'll be buying wine in a box. Oh, wait a minute...

The second part of the Lord of the Rings monolith opened last night. I haven't seen it yet, although I will do so sooner or later.

As a Christian, I find myself disturbed by the analyses coming out of the Christian "establishment" regarding the Lord of the Rings juggernaut and the Harry Potter juggernaut. Many seem to view Lord of the Rings as entirely acceptable fare for Christians of all ages, while denouncing Harry Potter as demonic and dangerous.

In fact, the two tales are much more alike than they are different. Both are fantasies. Both involve clearly drawn elements of good and evil, and battles between them in which good wins out. Both involve wizards and magic. Neither one mentions God or Satan specifically.

The Fellowship of the Ring is a dark and violent movie. It will be many years before my 9-year-old will be able to watch it. On the other hand, he has watched both Harry Potter movies (with us).

Some have even tried to draw a parallel between Frodo's temptation by the ring's power, and Jesus' temptation here on earth. Give me a break.

It seems to me that the "establishment" is basing its criticism on the fact that Tolkein was a Christian, whereas Rowland has kept her faith out of the public (although she is a member of the Church of England). That's a pretty poor basis for justifying/condemning a book or movie.

The State of Oregon is in a world of financial hurt right now. I believe one root cause of this is a silly feature of the income tax system affectionately called the "kicker".

In the Federal tax system, and in most states with income tax (I presume), your tax due is a fixed percentage of your income, or at least some graduated scale. When incomes go up, tax revenue goes up; when incomes go down, tax revenue goes down.

Not so in Oregon. When the legislature meets (once every TWO years, another tradition past its time), they establish their budget based on estimated tax revenue over the next two years. When times are good, incomes go up, and so do tax revenue. If the actual tax collections exceed the legislative estimate by 2% or more, the state is required to return the excess to us in the form of "kicker" checks. We got "kicker" checks regularly throughout the 90s.

However, when times are bad and incomes and tax revenues go down, the state is limited by those actual revenues. They can't ask us for a "kicker" payment. It's the worst of both worlds.

If the state had just kept that kicker money and put it in a rainy day fund, we wouldn't currently be 50th in the nation in length of the school year, and we wouldn't be laying off hundreds of police officers.

Many rational people think I'm nuts for advocating an end to the "kicker" checks, but it seems to me that if the tax rate is 9%, then my tax burden should be 9%, not 9% less a "good times bonus".

Several of the luxury car companys are running ads in which one spouse gives the other spouse a car as a Christmas gift.

Does anyone really give cars to their spouses for Christmas? In our house, buying a car is a multi-month process involving research, testing, discussion, debates, and more research. I cannot imagine presenting my wife with a car without talking to her about it first.

I suppose I just don't have enough money.

There's an awful lot of futzing around to do in order to get a web log rolling.

I plan on having three different kinds of entries in this 'blog:

• Diary entries: unfocused train-of-thought descriptions of what went on during the day;
• Observations: my commentary on the world around me, and
• Opinion: items that would be appropriate for a Letter to the Editor.

Right now, I'm planning on writing mostly the latter, but we'll have to see how this method of writing works out.

Well, here is the first entry in my web log.

I've discovered, as I grow older, that I have opinions on many, many, topics. Letters to the Editor provide an outlet for some of these, but the newspapers refuse to print everything I send in, darn them. A web log seems to me to be the perfect compromise. I get to say whatever I want to say, and folks can either read it or not.

We'll see how far this goes...