I missed the State of the Union address last Tuesday, luckily it is available here.

Whoa! Sorry Netscape users, I was at a friends house the other day and I looked at my site with an old version of Netscape Navigator and found that what I was looking at in no way resembled my site as I am accustomed to viewing it (with ie 5.5 and up). That is in part due to my own laziness, as I long ago gave up checking to see my design was Netscape safe. It did make me think though that I should consider simplifying the design. Maybe when I get the time.

We had a pinewood derby last weekend and Chase's third birthday party yesterday. I took plenty of pictures and hope to get them up soon. Mom and Katie are here visiting from Germany, they're leaving tomorrow en route to the MTC.

"The trouble with communism is communism. The trouble with capitalism is capitalists." Willi Schlamm, as quoted by WFB.

"Most people have to deal with the reality that confronts them. They start with that reality and try to do the best they can within its limitations and within their own limitations..." Read Abstract People by Thomas Sowell.

"In recent months Americans have become much more interested in international affairs. Here's a way to keep the trend going. OnlineNewspapers.com is a no-nonsense site that connects you to newspapers around the world. Choose the place that interests you and get a list of edifying sources. As part of its informed mix, the site links to 11 papers from Saudi Arabia, six from Costa Rica, and 27 from Japan. U.S. papers are here, too. The site also accepts visitors' suggestions, adding new papers regularly." [YIL]

Happy MLK Day. Read Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and his Letter From Birmingham Jail. A (white) friend of mine reads Dr. King's speech to his family every MLK day; no doubt an uplifting activity, and more genuine an expression of solidarity with the principles of civil equality than is Kwanzaa.

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood." [MLK, Jr.]

"The letters are Hex, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Microsoft, which I shall not utter here..."

"After a few months of applause from terrified Manhattan liberals, firemen are no longer heroes. They are privileged white males again..." from The Color of Demagogy. Classic Ann Coulter, the conservative babe recently "fired" from National Review.

What happened on This Day in History?

The official Army is happy with the new film Black Hawk Down, a movie about the Army's 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia. A classmate of mine in medical school was a delta force medic involved in that incident--I'm anxious to see it.

Last night I ate at Does Eat Place, a Little Rock hole-in-the-wall famous largely because it was a favorite haunt of Bill Clinton. The smallest steak on the menu was 2 lbs (they went up to 6 lbs--they're served "family style," that is, cut into smaller pieces and typically shared). The art on the wall was a bit disturbing though--of course there was the predictable: a sticker declaring "I slept with Kenneth Starr" and a poster of Reagan with Bush (senior) in a dress captioned "the first couple." It was the obviously Marxist stuff that caught me off-guard (e.g. the huge portrait of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara--the Argentine Communist revolutionary and guerrilla leader). I was torn. I love a good steak, and I have to admit, the steak was good. On the other hand, I hate Marxism. A conundrum.

Hmmm...read Three White Guys and a Flag by Kathleen Parker.

"Healthfinder® is a free guide to reliable consumer health and human services information, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. healthfinder® can lead you to selected online publications, clearinghouses, databases, Web sites, and support and self-help groups, as well as government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable information for the public."

Yesterday I ran the Mississippi marathon. Rachel and I drove to Jackson Mississippi on Friday while Matt and Steph took their turn watching the kids. I've been wanting to run a marathon for some time now so it was great to finally get to do it.

Matt and Stephanie get back from Germany tonight!

Read The Reparations Fraud by Thomas Sowell, one of my favorite (and coincidentaly black) authors. "Self preservation is said to be the first law of nature, and this applies not only to human beings but also to organizations and movements. The March of Dimes was set up to fight polio but it did not disband when polio was wiped out by vaccines. Nor did civil rights organizations disband after civil rights laws were passed. The fatal mistake made by those who imagine that they can appease movements and organizations with concessions is that concessions are incidental trophies for those who receive them, but unmet grievances are fundamental to their continued viability..."

Help, someone changed my IP address! If you've had trouble reaching this site lately, it's because I recently moved it to a new server (and hence changed it's Internet Protocol number). Every computer that is on the Internet has a unique IP number; if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not really on the Internet. Many computers (especially servers) also have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember. You type in the domain name "westhoff.net," which gets looked up in a database called a domain name server (DNS) which translates it into "64.6.235.191" (machines apparently understand numbers much better than words). To understand this great mystery go check out How Domain Name Servers Work. This site was down for a while because it takes some time (usually days) for all the domain name servers all over the world to get the news that "westhoff.net" has a different IP. Those servers that have not yet gotten the word will continue to direct you to the old IP address (i.e. the old server from which I've deleted all my files), and you'll get the error "file not found" or "page not available." If you're reading this, it's because the word has spread to your neck of the internet that Westhoff.Net has a new home (a process called "propagation"). Neato eh?

My tax cut in 2001 will be $1,000 (after the plan is fully phased in, it will be $2,764, based on my current income). This is according to The Heritage Foundation's Tax Calculator. Thank you George W.!

"Free" is often more trouble than it's worth, but check out:#1 Free Stuff, a site purporting to connect you with "freebies, samples, software, and more that are always fresh and updated often."

I have opened the "Study" portion of my site with an excerpt from the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

Happy New Year! I went for the first run of the year this (very cold) morning. I was feeling great, but had to stop at mile four or so (I was planning on 6.5) because of shin splints in my left leg--dooogh! Must... keep... running, already... paid... twenty... bucks... for... Jan 12... marathon!. No problem, it's probably just time for some new shoes. I found a great deal on some Asics Kayano VIIs at efootwear.com. Some new shoes, some ice, a little ibuprofen and probably no more running until the 12th and I should be good to go.