Church, state, huh?

This is one of the most depressing stories I've seen come out of the war yet: Baptism pool lures grimy soldiers. The chaplain for this corps in Iraq will let soldiers bathe in his 500-gallon pool (there aren't any other facilities around) only after they attend a 2 1/2 hour service, including agreeing to be baptized. There's talk of putting in public showers for the soldiers, so he's also hoarding food, with the plan of using that next as motivation to get soldiers to attend his services.

Is this allowed? If so, why? If not, why hasn't he been court-martialed already? Whether you're a believer or not, this guy is wrong in so many ways that it makes me want to spit.

Steve Ivy on weblogs and computer books

Steve Ivy, whom I've met and respect, has a post today entitled Weblogs and Computer Books, in which he says:

I read a lot of technical books, most of which I get from the library. The next computer book I *buy* (they're expensive!) will have a blogger as the author. This is because I'm going to want to know first if the author is an authority on his topic. I'm going to want to know her voice and her opinions before spending my $$ and more, my time, letting her tell me how to write software or do my job better. It's possible that author is going to have a profound influence on my career. Do I trust them?

If I've been following their blog I will.

I've got to disagree with Steve on this one, and I'm speaking as both an author (since 1997) and a weblogger (since 1999). I like to think of this as my place to vent and have fun, not as a site that represents me professionally. I hate to think that I have to write authoritatively here about JavaScript and Java and Macs just to impress future possible book purchasers. Or that I have to start a whole different weblog that covers professional issues, just so that I'm comfortable keeping this place low-key and personal.

That kind of writing is pay copy. I don't have the time or energy or desire to rewrite entirely new versions of it just to post on a blog, which will then, theoretically, improve my credibility. If you want to know if I know my stuff, all the source for my books is online (here and here), available to anyone who wants it (whether or not they've bought the books). If you want more, both have sample chapters online at Amazon.com (here and here).

But skipping checking out all this publically available info in favor of someone else's book just because they blog about the topics and we don't? That's a poor way to make a choice, imo.

WTF's up with Oregon?

Okay, we have a bunch of friends in Oregon; maybe one of them can explain just what the hell is going on there. Examples:

• Free Mike Hawash. Okay, this one's federal, but it's taking place in OR.
• Oregon Law Would Jail War Protesters as Terrorists. Okay, I agree with Al that blocking traffic can endanger lives, and should be treated accordingly. But 25 years to life?
• Oregon considers Open Source software legislation. Depending on who's describing it, the bill either requires state gov't employees to treat open source as an equal to MS and other closed source products, or require state gov't employees to default to open source products, and only buy closed source if the purchase can be justified.

What's up with you folks? I doubt either of these bills will be passed, but I don't recall the last time I heard this much about Oregon in the news.

Control your Mac with your phone

Got a Bluetooth Mac? Got a Bluetooth cell phone? Then you need either Sony Ericsson Clicker or Romeo. This is why competition leads to better stuff for the end-user. The apps do similar stuff, and each leapfrogs the current version of the other with their latest versions. Check 'em out.

Write an essay, win the store

I've seen contests like this before, and always wondered how they worked:

Submit the winning essay and $250 and you win the following opportunities by becoming the new owner of Kajul, an exotic furniture, art and home accessories store in the beautiful Sonoma County Wine Country of Northern California.

This one's local to me, so I spent some time reading the fine print and figuring out the gotchas. In a nutshell:

• The store and its merchandise are worth $200,000 and the current owners want it off their hands.
• Consequently, the owners are running an essay contest, with the prize being the store itself.
• An entry is a 300-500 word essay and $250.
• They'll accept a maximum of 5000 entries, at which time the contest closes and the judging starts.
• If less than 5000 entries have been received by December 1, the judging will then close anyway.
• If there are over 4600 entries, entry fees from entrants 4601 and up will be donated to charity.

So, if you don't have a calculator handy, this means that the store (remember, it's worth $200K) could actually bring the owners over a million dollars. $1,150,000 to be exact. So long as they get 800 or more entries, they've at least broken even or come out ahead, depending on other expenses.

Speaking of other expenses, according to the rules, 3-5 judges will be empaneled and decide on the winner within a month after the contest closing. I'm guessing that those judges will have to be paid (would you want to read 1000 essays for free?), and there's also fees for the web design, hosting, escrow account, legal advice, etc.Figure they make about $1 million after all the bills are paid.

At the end, do I think it's a ripoff? Surprisingly, no. It really is a great location, and the merchandise, although not to my taste, is nice. If you're thinking about making a drastic life change (as are a number of people I know), there's worse ways to take a flyer than to pay $250 for a chance at this one.

And to answer the next question: am I entering? No way, although I am thinking about applying to be a judge. As a Healdsburg resident and writer, I qualify on two separate counts. I'm not proud; I can read slush for money. And judging is the one sure thing in this deal.

My new office

I was going to do this tomorrow, but I figured that if I published the news on April Fool's Day, no one would believe me. So I'm announcing today what I'll be doing tomorrow: moving into my new office. Come visit!

Dress Up Jesus

No one's told us that we're going to hell recently, so here's Dress Up Jesus (doesn't work in Safari, barely works in IE/Mac—sorry!). Also available as refrigerator magnets!

Feel better soon, Lynn

Our friend Lynn, the New Homemaker, spent the last few days in the hospital. It sounds like this time they got the diagnosis right (whew!), so Lynn, we hope that you feel better soon and the meds work as they ought.

Euphemism Watch

From The New Republic, a look at the mangling of the English language in the war coverage: Euphemism Watch, Special Edition.

It's all about us...

Because it's all about us: This war is bad for our business, at least; as soon as the war started, the Amazon sales rankings of all of our books dropped, and has stayed steady at a lower level. Can I get a bailout from the federal government? I already know that the "massive" tax cuts that Bush has enacted, and wants more of, won't make up the difference. Speaking of work, I'm hard at work on my Keynote book for Peachpit, so blogging from me will be light for the next week or so.