I'm going to write about things that have been bugging me lately. The first of which is the lack of interest I'm getting from all you folks. Where are you guys? I never hear from anyone! Every now and then I'll hear from an AOL member that's not getting their jokes (damn AOL), or no longer wants to get jokes, which brings up something. Don't send me an e-mail that says "unsubscribe" or "stop sending me jokes." If you'll notice at the bottom of EVERY SINGLE JOKE, it says to go to http://www.brentbutler.com/jokes/join.html to remove yourself from the list. Now, that may seem like a joke for you to go to a page called join.html to "un-join" but I'm serious. It'll take you two seconds, less time than it would to send a message to me. But anyway, I'm going to go through a lot of stuff. These are, of course, only my opinions. I am only sharing them for entertainment purposes. Try to keep up and enjoy the ride.

-----

One thing I've noticed out of us Americans lately that really needs to stop. The Russia of today and the Soviet Union of yesterday are two VERY different countries. They are as similar as the United States of today and the United States during slavery. I personally don't know any Russians, but I imagine they look back on the Soviet Union in the same light we look back on our days of slavery -- not exactly the best of times. Learn the difference. Russia has come a very long way from their Communist days.

----

Speaking of Communists, Des Moines' CBS affiliate KCCI-TV has always been low on the totem pole with me. I've never really understood why. I think it's because they all seem to take their jobs WAY too seriously. For example, back when everyone and their brother in the government and in the news business was freaking out over anthrax, a reporter at KCCI made a joke about anthrax using something like powdered sugar or something. The guy had worked there for like 20 years and they just went off a fired him over it. If he did it on the air, I could understand him being fired, but he did it in a place as formal as an employee break room. That's just too cruel.

Now this. WHO-TV is Des Moines' NBC affiliate. According to a broadcast of their's last Sunday night, a KCCI manager of some sort reported WHO to CBS, the NCAA, or both for using the phrase "March Madness" illegally. Apparently, if you use the term without referring to the NCAA Tournament or -- get this -- the "Illinois State Boys Basketball Tournament," you are using it illegally. So, thanks to this tight ass at KCCI, WHO might have to pay fines to CBS, the NCAA, or both for using "March Madness". Maybe I'll get sued, too. Personally, I think KCCI is just a bit jealous. They have been traditionally the top TV station locally as far as ratings go, and I think they have the persona of being the station with the most money to throw around. WHO got Des Moines' first TV news helicopter in July of 2000 (they've been advertising it to death ever since), then became the first commercial station in Iowa to broadcast in HDTV with the Salt Lake Olympics. KCCI has neither a news helicopter nor have they broadcast anything in HDTV, the poor babies.

-----

Another thing that's been bugging me lately is the government's settlement with Microsoft. They claim Microsoft has had an illegal monopoly on the market of web browsers. To me, that would mean they have done something to make it very difficult and/or impossible for users to use other web browsers, such as Netscape. Frankly, that's crap. The average computer user, who I'll refer to as "Joe" for conversational purposes, has only really heard of Windows, so when Joe goes to get a computer, that's about the only thing he knows to look for. Windows comes bundled with Internet Explorer, thus a whole lot of copies of IE. Why wouldn't they bundle their own software within their own software? Now, I'll grant you that all Windows operating systems since Windows 98 have required Internet Explorer for navigating your local file system. But, not as a web browser; there's nothing to stop you from going to Netscape's site, downloading it, and using it.

Also, Joe has only heard of AOL, MSN, the debunked @Home, and (if he figures out that DSL is a form of internet access) Qwest (if he's in their service area). AOL is by far the most recognizable name for all the Joes out there, so they jump on it. AOL comes bundled with Microsoft Internet Explorer, as does MSN (abbreviation for the Microsoft Network). Joe probably doesn't even realize what web browser he's using. He just uses what he's provided, which more times than not is Internet Explorer. Microsoft has just done a very good job of getting their free product out on the market. I think the government is sending a message of, "don't get too good or we'll make you take it in a place where we made it illegal for you to take it."

-----

The conspiracy theorists about Microsoft annoy me, as well. They have theories about MS recording and tracking your every move on their operating systems, web browsers, and other software. I realize there is no arguing with conspiracy theorists because they're imaginative enough to come up with excuses for every last argument. With that in mind, what would Microsoft's motivation be to track every move of every user of their software? The amount of data and man power that would take is just not worth any benefit they MAY reap from that Big Brother school of thinking. I'll admit, there's a way for even little ole me to track what people do on my web site. I can take a look and see what each person looks at and when. Frankly, every web site has that ability. But, I really only use that kind of tracking system to see what is getting hit the most, which I think is really all most companies use web site stats for. Similarly, I'm sure Microsoft likes to know how often individual features are used in its software, but why wouldn't they just get that information from beta testing? That's what testing is. So, give it up, conspiracy theorists. Get a life.

Now, I'm not a Microsoft fan, but they have done a better job of getting their stuff out there than any company could ever hope to do. It would be like every show on a TV network (ABC, CBS, or NBC -- FOX barely counts as a network) beating its nearest competition 3:1 in ratings, then the government going after that network for monopolizing TV. It's not that company's fault that the competition sucks.

-----

This has been my commentary. Please, fire back. Argue with me. Put me in my place. Challenge me. You can agree with me, too. Just write me back for once!