- Casper Weinberger and Lyn Nofziger died today. Lyn was 81, Casper was 88. Lyn Nofziger, as one of the Ronald Reagan's closest advisors, was a big reason for Reagan's rise to national prominence during the 1960s and 70s. Casper Weinberger was Secretary of Defense during the Reagan administration. When I think of Casper Weinberger, I am reminded of a famous quote from the cartoonist Berke Breathed (whom I wrote about a few months ago on this website). Breathed wrote, "Ah Casper Weinberger...there's a man who knew the value of a billion."

Casper Weinberger is one of the many reasons why the carbon, nitrogen, potassium, iron and hydrogen which make up your body arent floating around in the upper atmosphere. You see, Casper had the big idea of dramatically increasing the cold-war arms race with the Soviets, thus forcing the Russians to ramp-up their own production of nuclear weapons. Not coincidentally, this ruined the Russian economy and ultimately destroyed Soviet communism. So, you can thank good ole' Cap for keeping you from getting vaporized during the 1980s. Thanks Cap! Here are articles about Casper Weinberger and Lyn Nofziger:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,189335,00.html
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3752008.html

- Changes to the earth's surface normally take tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of years to happen, but on the east coast of Africa, geologists are watching a large chunk of the African continent split into two, at an accelerated rate. It will still take several millions years to see the final outcome, but for scientists, this type of geological upheaval happening so rapidly is a unique boon:
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,405947,00.html

- The twenty greatest tools of all time, according to Forbes magazine, and one extra item that shouldnt have been omitted: duct tape!
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/03/14/technology-tools-history_cx_de_06toolsland.html
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/03/14/tools-duct-tape_cx_de_0315ducttape.html?partner=rss

- Since I know a good deal about computers, people often ask me, "Is it better to turn my computer off when I am not using it, or leave it on all the time?" Surprisingly, there is no easy answer to this question. Leaving your computer on obviously costs you more money (even if you leave it in power-saving mode) because the computer is constantly drawing electricity from your power outlet. Leaving it on also generates more wear and tear on the few moveable parts inside your machine, like your hard-drive and CPU fan, which both constantly spin even if you arent using your computer. On the other hand, turning off your computer isnt a great idea either. Every time you turn on your computer, you send a shock of electricity into every part of the computer that depends on electricity to function. The constant on/off status to any electrical device creates heat and friction, which will eventually cause a computer component to fail. Ever notice how light-bulbs usually fail when you turn them on? Same principle.

So, my answer to the question is this...when you go to bed at night, turn off your computer. If you plan on leaving your house for more than two hours, turn off your computer. If you dont plan on using your computer for several hours, turn it off. Here is an article which will give you further guidelines on when you should turn off your computer:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question328.htm