It's not Christmas without a brawl, ehhh?

Christmas in Jerusalem. What could be more serene and festive, ehhh? How about priests fighting?

Brilliant! (or should I say "tnaillirB")

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Tibet is a thorn in Beijing's side. A noble cause celebre headed by a guy the world just loves. The Dalai Lama arm wrestles with the Communists. The Party wants to control HHDL's reincarnation. The whole world's watching.

This piece is a good overview. To know the man is to laugh about PRC's arrogance while crying over the distraction.

Om mani padme hum.

What I woke to this morning

Let's see: I'm buying a condo, my Mom is coming tomorrow, Lisa's leaving tomorrow, Azalea is an S Corp. and it's the end of the year, and I'm buying a condo.

And this is what greets me when I go out to my car today. Fortunately I spotted it before it became an all out flat. At the most inopportune time. On the way to signing the papers. In the rain. Late.

One Laptop Per Child now shipping!

I order not one but two One Laptop Per Child computers through the Give One Get One program.

Why two? Well, four actually. Because the XO computer has built-in mesh networking and what I call social computing tools. You need two to talk to each other. It's like Santa bringing you one walkie-talkie or even a pair if you're an only child in the middle of nowhere.

Rumor has it they're shipping today. I can't wait! And this is my birthday week too!