o, big news all over the world, and eyepulp.net is here to give you the latest scoop:

I put the new wheels on the miata, and I might get it washed today. Pictures to come... (and yes, the car officially can be described as "Sex on a stick")

I cancelled my Yahoo personals account a few weeks ago, but got contacted by an interesting girl in the last few days -- apparently my profile still stays up there, I just can't write to people directly. So I talked to this girl on the phone for 3 hours last night. Things were great until I actually "asked her out" and tried to determine what she'd like to do. She was a quite insistent that it was my responsibility to "plan the event." I don't mind doing that, but she didn't want to give me any idea of what she would like to do. Almost obstinate. It almost seemed like some sort of little hoop I was jumping through. Mind you the rest of the conversation was pretty decent, but my personality detectors were picking up some weird vibes near the end. I can't put my finger on it, and I'll probably go through with the date next weekend, but I'm gonna ratchet up my analytical tools... (like they're toned down now...) On a more light-hearted note, when I went to get coffee this morning, I came back with a little something on the side... Aw yeah, I gots me the Latte Lady's digits. Apparently its her cell phone, which seems awfully brave. She works until about 11:00 pm tonight, so I doubt we'll go out, but she asked me to give her a call tonight. I did clarify that I wanted to "do something" with her, not just get her phone number. She seemed comfortable with the idea. Shock and Awe indeed. Recommendations are welcome (I'm thinking maybe to do something on sunday afternoon?). Ah well, I'm feeling pretty good right now, regardless...

War? What war? Here are my thoughts: It's going pretty friggin' well, and I think everyone's a little taken aback by the restraint and finesse our military (and president) have shown. People who still dismiss this war out-of-hand as "Blood for Oil" or "American Imperialism" are inflexible and not really interested in the current nature of the situation. Yes, we have a lot of work ahead of us, and yes, we could certainly screw up the nation-building that will be needed after the war is over, but wake up people, none of these opportunities existed with Saddam in power. There was no hope for an improved life for these people. At the very least now there's hope. Can someone explain why the Iraqis don't deserve a chance like this?

What exactly are these people protesting? I respect the right to protest. I embrace it, and by extension, I want to know what they are protesting so I can make an informed decision about whether I agree or disagree with them. Of course "them" is too broad, they aren't all protesting the exact same thing, but you get my drift. So far I just see a lot of general anger towards the US and the US doing something militarily in Iraq. Anger towards the US I can grasp and accept. Its their opinion, and easily argued in both directions, and generally should be taken case by case.

What I tend to disagree strongly with is this out-and-out refusal to see any validity to military action against Saddam. Folks, I'm appalled that people across the world would support Saddam. And quite frankly, protesting our military action is a tacit show of support for Saddam. Saying no to the current battle is saying yes to Saddam. It's a very clear equation at the moment. I may be naive to narrow it down to those two views, but I think those are the two highest profile issues on the table.

I'm not a flag waving nationalist, I'm just a guy who's proud to live in a country that would rather do something than talk about reasons not to. I'd love to get a chance to go to Iraq and do what we did in Somalia.

U.S.A. all the way, baby. =)