Well, CheckFree has unfrozen my acocunt. Somehow the old Bank One account got reactivated. We'll see how long this lasts.

Oh, boy! Another faith-based educational program!

Here's a cute little picture of my neice, Katelynn Faith Burns.

I've always been a big believer in the Internet and online services, but after what I've been through this month with Microsoft Money, WingspanBank.com and CheckFree, I don't think I could seriously recommend online banking to anyone.

I've been using that combination of services since mid-1990s with no problems, even after my original bill-payment service, Visa ePay, got out of the business. Then last month, I get a letter from CheckFree saying there was a problem "locating" my account. Somehow, my software was trying to pay my bills through a checking account I closed more than a year ago. To make matters worse, about a month's worth of bills had gone unpaid, with no notification from CheckFree. After spending at least four hours on the phone with people from CheckFree and Microsoft, I managed to resolve the problem and secured promises from CheckFree that they'd send explainations to my creditors explaining the problem and requesting a reversal of any late fees.

Well, two weeks later, I've discovered that my service has been "frozen" by CheckFree. I called my bank: plenty of money in the account.

Will I ever resolve the issue? Will I have to yell at some poor front-line worker and cancel my account altogether? Stay tuned...

George Bush, explaining why he wants to fund religious groups with tax money: "Religious liberty is more than the right to believe in God's love. It is the right to be an instrument of God’s love. Such work is beyond the reach of government and beyond the role of government.”



Um, Mr. President, isn't that the agrument AGAINST your "faith-based" charity funding proposal?

Can you really call it a "space agency" if you've never been to space?

Well, it looks like another round of blackouts is imminent. Summer dreams, indeed.

Well, I got my wireless home network up and running. Thank you, George W. Bush, for helping me pay for it; I'll remember this day, even as I'm eating dog food in some free nursing home. The technology is kinda cool -- now I don't have to walk all the way to my bedroom to use the Internet (I'm updating this from my couch!) What's really cool is that I'll probably be able to use this at the forthcoming wireless-enabled Starbucks outlets. Of course, I'm assuming they'll be using the 802.11b standard, which would make sense considering it's the one actually available. I mean, there's no sense in advertising something most people can't use, is there? Is there?!

For some reason I watched "The Whole Nine Yards" on HBO tonight for the second time. I hate it when I can't help watching dumb movies.

So sleepy. So very sleepy.

I've had the apartment to myself for three days (the rommate's out of town until Tuesday) and it already looks like a pig sty. I guess it's true that, left to their own devices, most guys would wallow in their own filth. Man, she's going to kill me. I'd better clean this place up tomorrow.