Mandrake 10 has it, SUSE’s rolling it out in 9.1, Gentoo has had a “test” version with it since last year, and now we’ll probably see almost every commercial distribution move to 2.6.x within the next month or two because of competitive pressure. This is not in line with the basic “it’s ready when it’s ready” dictum that is given as the reason open source software is often technically superior to proprietary competitors. (NewsForge story)

The greatest lesson the U.S. Republican Party learned from this country’s old enemy, the Soviet Union, was how Russia’s Communist Party kept control of Russia and its vassal states. Republican leaders are now applying those lessons to U.S. politics. This is very bad for America.

My wife came back from the weekly women’s craft gathering today, amused that one of the other women had forgotten her name and called her a “little girl.” Debbie is the same age I am (51) although she doesn’t look it. She was bent out of shape for a minute from having the “girl” diminutive applied to her, but realized after a moment’s reflection that to most Casa Loma residents, she is a “little girl.” Many of them have children older than we are, and we’re usually the youngest people in the room when we participate in community activities, which are a popular part of trailer park life in this part of Florida.