I was thinking about getting an Amazon Kindle. Now I think I'll wait until it doesn't suck quite so badly.

Watch Scoble's how-do-I-hate-thee video review and/or read his write-up.

I've been having a really hard time getting into the presidential elections this go around, which is shameful being a proud resident of the First in the Nation state and all. Is it just me?

Anyhoo.... A couple of weeks ago I was chatting about this with a friend of mine and mused that, having watched some of the recent debates, I feared that the candidate whose views were most compatible with mine would either be Kucinich or that gentleman from Alaska (whose name always escapes me, but who never fails to make me laugh). Well, according to this survey, my fears were well-founded:

Kucinich: 78
(you have no disagreements with this candidate)

Gravel: 64
(you have no disagreements with this candidate)
Note to self: Gravel, his name is Gravel.

After that things go quickly downhill on the candidate-compatibility scale:

As for the rest of them...

I knew I didn't like Romney.

Question is.... Am I living in the wrong country??

Update: Check out the stats from that survey along with this quote from the page:

You would probably be interested to know that Kucinich has been the first choice of 105098 people (out of 192211). That wasn't my intention or expectation when making this site, but it is certainly interesting.

Indeed it is. So.... Is the survey (unintentionally) biased? Are the majority of people taking the survey democrats pondering whom they should vote for given that the candidate who shares their views doesn't stand a chance of winning? (Do the primaries have more in common with choosing the Homecoming King and Queen than we would care to admit?)

Michal Pryc has come up with a working GUI tool for Project Indiana's Image Packaging System (IPS): Imagine. Michal includes a 10-minute video demonstration on his blog, but to be honest it's not necessary as using his prototype is pretty self-explanatory.

We're getting closer and closer to a Solaris for "the rest of us." Awesome!

In the front matter of Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne:

"What does a woman want?"

--Sigmund Freud

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me."

--Aretha Franklin

Indeed.

I'm on vacation.... Sort of.... Basically I couldn't cope with the day job, and I NEVER take time off so I'm simply not working again until the 28th. Here's what I've learned so far:

• Migraines aren't nearly so bothersome when you can sleep in as late as you want.
• People are extremely and unforgivably rude to the folks who work at the DMV -- folks who are, in turn, amazingly nice and polite. I suppose I shouldn't complain about my day job: At least no one wanders into my office and screams at me. I hope karma proves true. Everyone should get what he or she deserves.
• Breakfast at 4:00 AM at the Red Arrow Diner is awesome: Good food, good folks, and no tripping over presidential hopefuls.
• An excellent time to go to LL Bean in Freeport is 7:30 AMish. Not too many shoppers, and lots of associates all of whom are eager to help. It's hard to say if they were inspired purely by good ol' fashioned Maine hospitality, or if that deer-in-the-headlights look I tend to get when confronted by the task of shopping had anything to do with it. Regardless, LL Bean is my new favorite store.
• Best dip ever: Azure Cafe's artichoke dip. Their tomato vodka soup is also quite good.
• An awful lot closes down in the fall in Maine. Tom Tom doesn't know about these things.
• Coolest metal sculpture suitable for inclusion in your home: September Tree. (The image on the site doesn't do it justice.) I was "good" and refrained from buying it. I do want it though. Perhaps as a holiday/New Year's treat....
• Apparently my literature appreciation skills are wanting. Everyone else just loves The Road.