Advice on Picking Blackberries

Advice from my Dad last night, to Max and me as we started to pick blackberries (applicable to life in general):
The big, juicy ones tend to hide from you.

Almost Free

I just stopped using Microsoft Outlook in favor of an all-Google solution to email, calendar, contacts and tasks (since now Google calendar and contacts sync with my mobile phone). Outlook is such a bulky program, I'm thrilled to drop it.

This leaves only two non-free software components in my computer network: Windows Vista and Quicken. I've got my eye on Mint.com as a replacement for Quicken, but I'm not quite ready to make the jump to keeping all my financial data in the Cloud. Plus, Mint seems a little to 'automatic' for me. Here's the basic software run-down:
  • Browser: Chrome
  • Email/PIM: Gmail
  • Office: OpenOffice
  • Security: AVG Free, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, CCleaner
  • Imaging: GIMP and Paint.NET
  • Media: iTunes, WMP, VLC Media Player
Almost there. Previously.

I Love the Future

I am thankful to be living in a time when we have the privilege to debate over health care. I love the future; so much better than the past.