Spartans and Athenians

I decided not to buy the lego mindstorm kit last weekend, after I realised I was just being a capricious kid. (- "..WHAT?" - "oh, shut it.")

Instead I ordered some technical litterature from Amazon, a lot of it actually. There is nothing like software design books to change one's mind and focus heavily on the important things.
Or, in other words, this is just a way to please my geek side for a change, as if it wasn't spoiled enough these days with work and all...

Oh, and I also ordered a new Simmons book, to read while I'm waiting for Olympos to be released in January. It's called A Winter Haunting, quite appropriate, no? If it's half as good as Song of Kali it should still be excellent.

Obviously I'm not american but like the rest of the world I was following in the corner of my eye the election results. Scary.
On one hand I'm worried about the next 4 years, on the other I'm joining the camp that believes that on his second mandate he will do a Nixon and cock up royally.

I really thought Kerry won yesterday morning when I woke up listening to the radio, but actually they were just discussing how easy it was for americans to adopt a new president, not that there WAS a new president...bummer. It took me an hour before I realised.
In my mistake, surprisingly I wasn't that happy that dubya could get away with all he's done like that and just step down to Kerry. There ought to be some justice for Guantanamo, the killings in Iraq, the state of fear, the violation of democracy, the lies and that stupid face.

So now, paradoxically, maybe there is a possibility that some will wake up and react to all this nonsense. And I'm looking at Europe when I say this, I believe this will become a matter of survival for European politics and way of life.
I just wish would pull ther fingers out of their arses, accept another reason to extend Europe to Turkey, and start stepping forward on the international scene, or we [Europe] will end up like yet another Athens against a stronger and more demagog Sparta.

Even though we are right(er), being weaker makes us wrong.