No major family news to report. I did two major software upgrades/updates today. First I updated both the laptop's and the server's operating systems to Mac OS X 10.2.5. Second I updated the weblogging software that manages this site (MovableType) from 2.51 to 2.63 (see the bottom of the right sidebar...). Version 2.6 had been out for a while but working as a computer software and hardware maintenance and sustaining engineer, I always feel better when there's a 2.61 or 2.62 or... You get the picture. I've become wary of any "something dot zero" release. Suzy, if you see any anomalies in using the system, let me know.
The chief news executive at CNN now admits that they held back news of how evil the former Iraqi regime was for purposes of safety of their bureau.
"The secret police terrorized Iraqis working for international press services who were courageous enough to try to provide accurate reporting. Some vanished, never to be heard from again. Others disappeared and then surfaced later with whispered tales of being hauled off and tortured in unimaginable ways. Obviously, other news organizations were in the same bind we were when it came to reporting on their own workers. "
Being the photo buff that I am, I was intrigued by the work of David Faris at pencam.org. (Click on "archives" to navigate his photo galleries). The amazing thing is that these photos were all taken with the inexpensive Aiptek "pen camera" that sells for cheap. No flash, fixed point focus, not extremely high resolution. It goes to show that the photographer has more to do with the results than the camera.