The Opinionator

Taps

In Memory Of Sergeant Lance Eakes.

Apex Says Goodbye To A Hero

Today our little town of Apex laid to rest our first fallen hero, Sgt. Lance Eakes of the NC National Guard. He was a Military Policeman who volunteered to go back for his second tour in Iraq (he volunteered for his first tour as well) and was killed by an IED a week ago. As you can see from the stories and especially the videos, Apex paid their respects. While we have grown to 28,000 people, Apex is at heart a small town and the effect of Sgt. Eakes passing have been felt by the many who knew him as well as those who did not. Perhaps when you have your next discussion with the Big Guy or attend services, you could say a few words for Sgt. Eakes and his family and friends. Thanks.

Stories and Video:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2785576/

http://www.nbc17.com/midatlantic/ncn/news.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-04-24-0018.html

The Weekend Is Here.....

.....And so is The Opinionator's Official Weekend Theme Song. Enjoy!

The Election In A Nutshell......

Via Neal Boortz, this quote was purportedly in a newspaper in Denmark. It pretty much sums up the election and I agree with the sentiments wholeheartedly!

'We in Denmark cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an election.
On one side, you have a lawyer who is married to a lawyer, and a lawyer who is married to a lawyer.
On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a blonde with a huge chest who owns a beer distributorship.
Is there a contest here?'

boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze

Windows Vista Update

Three months ago my alter-ego reviewed Windows Vista. My opinion was that with enough memory, it was stable and had very useful features like Indexing. That said, I was highly disappointed in how long it took for my system, a Lenovo X61 Tablet PC, to boot-up. The problem had gotten to the point that I was going to do another post, this one blasting Microsoft, about the poor performance.

Like many users, I get updates to Vista and MS Office automatically downloaded. In the last 10 days or so, one of these updates solved my problem. Whatever magic pixie dust was in the update or updates, my experience has changed dramatically for the better. I started noticing that my system began to boot much more quickly and decided to take a watch to it in order to confirm my observations. From pressing the Power button to reaching the login screen, it took 44.89 seconds. Once I swiped my finger to begin the rest of the boot-up process to completion was about a minute and a half, including loading Skype, Ding! and AIM. What an amazing turnaround! It used to take me 6-8 minutes to boot up. Now my system boots up on par with my iMac.

Excellent work Microsoft. If this is an indication of what I can look forward to with Vista SP1, bring it on!

Apex Guardsman Killed in Iraq

The War in Iraq has come home to Apex, NC, the small town outside of Raleigh that The Opinionator calls home. Spc. Lance Oliver Eakes of Apex, NC was killed by an IED explosion in Iraq. He was a member of the 1132nd MP Company of the North Carolina National Guard. It was Spc. Eakes second tour in Iraq. The thoughts, thanks and prayers of the entire Opinionator clan go out to the family, friends and loved ones of Spc. Eakes.

Apex Guardsman Killed in Iraq :: WRAL.com

The TSA Sucks

The Opinionator is traveling through Atlanta and as in Orlando I am encountering an incredibly slow and inept TSA operation.

The TSA, bringing government efficiency to air travel!

Lie Down With Dogs....

.......And wake up with fleas. The International Olympic Committee is learning that lesson the hard way the last few days as Olympic Torch Run has been marred by "Chinese Thugs" and protests in London, Paris and coming up in San Francisco. The IOC decided to give China a worldwide stage, now they are seeing why most of the world thought this was a bad idea. Now the Torch has been extinguished several times and the "Olympic Movement" has been disgraced along with China. So IOC, how is that Beijing decision treating you?

H/T: Drudge.