I got busy last night and never got around to blogging. I was helping Nestina on an art project, then dinner, then watched Nestina's Dark Angel episodes until bedtime. Tonight, Nestina had another home soccer game (they won; that makes three in a row), and then youth group. Had a decent group and covered some interesting things. Nothing that I had prepared, mind you. Which isn't unusual.

I was cleaning out my e-mail and found some interesting stuff that I had never posted here. At least I don't think I have. Some of it may be a repeat.

Martha Stewart again. The message from this case is clear; never help the police in any way. Never give them any information. The key phrase to remember anytime a cop asks you anything is, "I invoke my right to counsel." Then clam up. I'm sure that isn't what the government intended in prosecuting this case, but it is the result.

Being a Christian is now sufficient reason to be committed to a mental institution. Something that was predictable and in fact was predicted when mental health became an industry. If Christians want to raise a stink about something, why not this rather than all the useless posturing about homosexuality?

The strength of any republic rests on informed and empowered citizens. Empires depend on experts. According to the 9/11 Commission, the attacks would not have happened in a republic. The fact that they did happen tells you what we are (or a least what we are becoming).

Paul Graham explains how to start a startup. And also, how to not start a startup. During my time in public accounting, I saw a lot of startups. I also saw a near-100% crash-and-burn rate.

Churches in Europe are mostly empty these days. The services are only attended by tourists who take pictures of the services like they were at a Civil War reenactment or something. The same thing will likely happen here, unless churches in North America make some drastic changes.

And finally, An article about the new pope. And another. And another.

I am playing with some new software called FreeMind. It is called "mind mapping software" and it is supposed to make you more organized and junk. We'll see. I have tried many times to make some sense out of the masses of junk that just pile up on my desk and my hard drive. I have never found anything that works for me. Maybe this will do it? The best part is that it is free, as in beer. What reviews I've read rank it as high or higher than the commercial packages that do the same thing. As I said, we'll see.

And that should just about do it.