Delete Before Update?
Perhaps many of you do as we do, and frequently download updates of our favorite software. (There are several easy ways to keep up with such updates, and our favorite is FileHippo's Update Checker.) We're wondering why some software companies issue updates that easily install, while other companies require a complete uninstall before updating. Seems such a waste.

How Did We Get Here?
We've heard a number of economic pundits declare that if the American car manufacturers go under, they will take a lot of associated companies with them. Probably true, but how did we construct such a reliance on outdated and old-fashioned industry? Is America stuck in the '50's? If GM, Ford, and Chrysler are truly the kings of our economic backbone, then perhaps we've set ourselves up for future failure.

More Ferrari International Assistance Nonsense
Once again the Ferrari International Assistance mucks up. There is absolutely no way that Seb Bourdain should have been awarded a twenty-five second penalty. Television clips clearly show that he was as far to the right as he could be without leaving the track when Felipe Massa ran into him. Are we to believe that the all-red cars are always to be given the right of way? Unfair bais rules again.

Mini Cooper CrossoverConcept
It seems to be a clear trend, albeit not a welcome one. Manufacturers start by building a small car, and then, gradually (hoping we won't notice?) the car gets bigger and bigger. Examples? The Bel Aire, the Falcon, the Civic, the Accord, the Altima, and yes, the Mini. Clearly, with diminishing oil and increasing petrol prices, WE DON'T WANT LARGER CARS! Why, then, is Mini showing us a concept for a yet another larger car?

It's N U C L E A R, Damn It!
When does folksy lapse into ignorant? Sarah Palin appears to be following Bush on this one.
(And she still can't answer a direct question.)

Ferrari International Assistance
Conspiracy theorists of the world, unite, you have nothing to lose.... So why did the FIA even hear the McLaren appeal if they were going to decide that it was a non-appealable issue? Perhaps because they couldn't think of an honest method to deny the appeal on it's merits? And why were Ferrari attorneys allowed to question Lewis Hamilton? It wasn't a Ferrari appeal. Makes no more sense than the original call.

"Worst Officiating Ever"
Speed's Leigh Diffey called it right, when talking about the race steward's decision to penalize Lewis Hamilton twenty-five seconds for cutting the chicane at Spa-Francorchamps today. True, Hamilton did cut the chicane, but only because he was forced off the track by Iceman Kimi Raikkonen. Playing it safe, Lewis gave up the track position to Kimi, only to overtake him at the next corner. Raikkonen went on to spin twice, ending in the barrier, while Hamilton won the race. Charlie Whiting agreed with McLaren that Hamilton had done the right thing. McLaren will appeal. Here's hoping the appeal wins, and right is restored. Whatever happened to the proposal to appoint professional race stewards?

Enough Already!
We don't know about you, but we're already tired of the US presidential race. It's a constant bombardment of the same ol' stuff, and there's a good long time yet to endure before the election. Surely the British must have the right idea to limit election campaigns to six weeks. It they can't present their case to the electorate in six weeks, perhaps the electorate isn't intelligent enough to warrant a vote?

Indy Ego
Having now watched the tapes of Danica Patrick's "mentoring" attempt with Milka Dumo and her inability to perceive team strategy in Edmunton, methinks she's suffering from an inflated ego problem. Michael should have a long talk with her and straighten her out.

Director's Commentaries
We've recently taken to watching the director's commentaries on some DVDs. A good movie can be made even better when the director takes the time to explain why scenes were shot in a certain way, or how a certain look was created. A good movie can be made more entertaining, while a not-so-good movie cannot be improved with a sloppy commentary. Perhaps the good movies bear rewatching.

Fair and Consistent Punishment
Obviously, we don't understand the subtleties of the FIA penalties. Giancarlo Fisichella received a five-place grid demotion for his rear-ending in an earlier race. Kimi Raikkonen wasn't penalized at all for slamming into Adrian Sutil in Monaco. And Lewis Hamilton will receive a TEN-place grid spot demotion for bumping Raikkonen. There must be some system in play for the FIA stewards, but we're just not seeing it. And it appears that Martin Whitmarsh agrees with us (autosport.com).

Gas Tax Holiday
Oh, this is just wrong. Do they think that American voters are that stupid? That guy is right when he labels the holiday as "political pandering". It's also a lot of hot air, much ado with no results for either the government, the motoring public, or the environment. Here's a chance for you to "just say no".

Why Do They Do That?
There are a number of mistakes that would-be web designers make, but can there be one worse than including links that don't go anywhere? What's the point? And then there's always the seventy character URL. Can't they organized their folders any better than that?

The King is Dead, Long Live the King
Let's hope that the rumors of a replacement for Bernie Ecclestone are more than just idle rumors. It's high time the munchkin was ousted. And, please, take Mad Max along with him!

Sheriff's Office Does It Again
Although reports are fuzzy about the actions (or lack thereof) of the Sheriff's Office to the injury to a deputy on Highway 151 north of Sun Prairie, it sure looks like they don't know how to close a highway. Did they learn nothing from the shutdown of the Interstate earlier this year, and all of the resulting studies? Is there a school for dumb cops?

Foreign Policy Experience
So do you think Hilary screwed the pooch when she claimed that her "USO" feel-good tour of Bosnia qualified as foreign policy experience? Especially after she "embellished" it with sniper fire? Do you think?

Spamato? Too Aggressive
Several months ago, we switched our primary e-mail program from Outlook to Thunderbird (Outlook was getting a bit flaky, and we wanted to see how Thunderbird would work). We also decided to let Spamato handle the spam filtering. After some time, it was our observation that Spamato simply declared everything as spam, making us look through all the spam (we receive roughly 100 spams daily) to find the hidden nuggets of ham. Further, Spamato didn't seem to want to "learn", and repeatedly sauced up the ham even after we marked it as not spam. As a result, we disabled Spamato, and we're content to run the usual Thunderbird filtering.

Be the Pack Leader
Seems to us that, if you're really the pack leader, you don't need a tee-shirt telling everyone.

Idiots and "Fog Lights"
Perhaps the American auto industry should do a better job of educating people on how to use the "fog lights" that are so popular on vehicles. We have always used (real) fog lights, but only when they're needed - in rain, snow, fog, or heavy dust. And they've always been amber, the proper color for fog lights. We notice that there are far too many drivers who use the white "fog lights" (maybe they're driving lights?) all the time. And the most annoying ones seem to be SUV or pickup truck drivers. What, they need to compensate for their diminutive life with an over-sized vehicle AND improper use of lights? Turn the freakin' things off when they're not needed! Think about the other drivers on the road who don't need to be blinded! Or, if you really can't see, don't be driving at night!

McLaren's brief
It is difficult to get an exact reading on how the FIA has ruled on McLaren's complaint that BMW and Williams used improperly cooled fuel during the Sao Paulo race. The FIA seems to have skirted the real complaint (that is, how can two teams be clearly outside the regulations without sanction), and are now saying that the regulation fails to state exactly what temperatures are to be compared. This makes revorg wonder how many other FIA regulations are poorly written. We'll wait for more information.
Note: the full text of the FIA ruling can be found here, although (in our opinion) it is incomprehensible, being written in legalese. Shakespeare was right, you know. We also found an explanation of the ruling here.

What is the real word?
We've been reading a book lately that used the word "sneaked" frequently. As in, the thief sneaked quietly through the living room. We believe that the correct past-tense of sneak is snuck. The thief snuck past the guard. This reminds us of another pet mis-used word. Or, more accurately, series of words. Oust. To remove from position or office. We will oust the fake grammarians after the revolution. We believe that the past tense of oust is ousted. The person or persons doing the removal are ousters. The event itself is an ousting. We have heard many broadcasters using the word ouster in all of these meanings. Makes us grumble.

We posed the question to an editor friend of ours, and received this delightful answer:

We (the larger we, not you and I specifically) have fallen prey to what some writing resources are calling the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Syndrome or a related term. It sounds strange to our ears to say "sneaked," just as it sounds strange to say "shrank" -- or "sank" for that matter, in a transitive verb sense, as in shrink, shrank, have shrunk; sink, sank, have sunk -- but, that doesn't mean that it's not correct. The dictionary says that sneaked is preferred for the past tense, but it also (secondarily) allows snuck. It also prefers shrank and sank, but allows shrunk and sunk as secondary options.

As for the oust question, it seems to be a normally conjugated verb, which allows for oust, is ousting, ousted, have ousted, etc. Ouster seems to be only an event or action, not a person, but it's a rightful noun when you mean the action of ejecting someone.

And now we know.

Your Opinion?
If you want to express your opinion on these topics or any other subject, we'd be happy to set you up with your own web site.