An embarrassment for Victoria

Rather than going on at length about the protests last night that disrupted the Olympic torch relay, here’s some comments.

In my opinion, there are legitimate concerns about the cost of the Olympics, where money could be better spent, who really benefits (is it really the children as claimed?), etc.  But the disruptions last night only served to discredit the protesters and their issues, while impacting everyday folks who wanted a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

One poster commented on the cost of helicopters and security.  And why was that cost necessary, protesters?

Who was the audience for the protesters?  Who is going to be enlightened by this?

The intolerance in the protesters only mirrors the intolerance they perceive in corporations and government (which I agree often exists).  The protesters are no different, and they only serve to perpetuate division and fear. 

Sad.

Love these harmonies. . .

A great little program for home layout …

If your home space planning needs are simple, and you don’t need the complexity of the Punch line of home design software, Sweet Home 3D is a great free option, as I noted in my July 6 post.  Be sure to download the additional 3d model libraries, and even with them your choices will be limited, and very Euro-focused (check out the bizarre fireplace).  However, I still found the models quite usable as placeholders.  Includes plan view, as well as 3D walkthrough and the ability to print PDFs, if you don’t already have a PDF writer.  Here’s my layout.

And I have got some more furniture.  Had a very sorry experience with Sears catalog shopping (30 errors in the fulfillment process, dealing with 19 representatives, in the end they shortchanged me on the refund), eventually cancelled the order and got what I wanted from The Brick (zero failures, talked to 3 people in the order fulfillment process).