My cup runneth over. My idea file is full of topics that warrant more than one or two paragraphs, and I don’t have a whole lot of time to spend writing. I might have to start setting aside time for longer essays, as I still need to complete my series on the 9/11 Commission Report and why we’re fat. Note to self: don’t commit to multi-part posts unless you’re sure you have the time and energy to complete them.

• I thought the $8,562 “average” credit card debt number was big (see February 9). A local radio station’s morning show has a regular feature they call the Book of Records. They ask listeners to call in and tell them how many pairs of shoes they have, how many kids, etc. The person with the most goes into the show’s Book of Records. It’s all in good fun, and sometimes quite amusing. Today they were looking for the person with the most credit card debt. The winner? $112,000! I understand that some people have a higher tolerance for pain than others, but $112,000 in credit card debt is akin to eating until you weigh 500 lbs. Stop the madness!
• I’m configuring new servers for my latest project at work. One of the security configuration steps is to disable storage of hashed passwords in the Active Directory database. Now you would expect this feature to be called something like “Store LAN Manager hash of passwords,” and that you’d have enable and disable options. But that would be too simple. No, some genius at Microsoft decided that using negative logic would be better. The actual feature is “Do not store LAN Manager hash value on next password change.” Okay, quick, if you want to disable LAN Manager password hash storage, do you select enable or disable? “Enable do not store.” What idiot thought that up? No wonder people think that security configuration is so difficult.
• My friend Darrin Chandler pointed me to WordPress as a possible replacement for CityDesk to manage my Web site (see January 18). I looked around a bit and added ExpressionEngine to the list of candidates. The next step is to download and evaluate these two as well as MovableType. More after I’ve examined all three.
• Speaking of Darrin, he saw my post about abandoning TV and posted his thoughts about his own experience after giving up on TV several years ago. Let the revolution begin!
• Someone from Germany saw my note about Web server configuration headaches and sent me a note to say that it had saved him a lot of time. One of the reasons I post things like that is so that I can find the answer the next time I have problems. It’s also nice to know that I’m not the only one having trouble.