A couple of days ago I chronicled my latest battle with a computer virus, but right now I’m battling one of my own. And I sort of had a feeling that it was coming…

On Thursday evening I dropped my granddaughter Olivia off at basketball practice, then returned 90 minutes later to pick her up. While I was standing beside the door waiting for practice to wrap up, one of her young teammates walked by, obviously ill and holding her stomach. Just as she walked by, she let go with a huge cough, and since she was so close to me I had a sinking feeling that I might soon be catching whatever she had. And so I did.

Last night I began feeling poorly, and before long I was experiencing all the “discomfort” that goes along with being sick (I’ll spare you the details). I guess that just goes to show how easy it is to pass along a virus to someone else. I’m not blaming the young gal who gave it to me. After all, she couldn’t help being sick and it was quite obvious that the cough surprised her just as much as it did me. I guess I should have went back to the doctor for that flu shot after all…

Anyway, I’m feeling a little better this morning - and my computer is too, so with any luck this weekend will still turn out ok.

How’s this for a scary thought? Several of Ford’s 2009 model vehicles will be running Sync, a communications and entertainment software platform based largely upon Microsoft Windows CE technology. Yep, the two companies have indeed joined forces to bring the world of computer crashes and endless security holes onto the world’s highways.

At least a couple of times a week my HP computer running Windows XP ”freezes up” and I have to do a hard reboot (AKA disconnect the power cord), losing any unsaved data in the process, and the problem is even worse on Cheria’s whiz-bang Gateway running Windows Vista (is that long-overdue ”Service Pack” ready yet guys?). It sends chills up my spine knowing that such an unstable technology is now going to be in use on millions of vehicles around the world!

Even though the the Ford/Microsoft Sync technology will initially be used only for non-critical functions such as making phone calls and listening to music, does anyone really believe that it won’t eventually make it into the cars’ more important functions. “Oops, I know you meant to turn right but the wheels turned left instead – must be a bug in the software. No problem, just try to get back in your own lane and then pull over and “reboot”. You might want to drop by the dealership and have the latest critical updates installed!”

Maybe I’m just being a little paranoid here, but the guys from Redmond haven’t exactly done a whole lot to instill confidence in their products over the years - and things don’t seem to be getting any better. Ford had better wade into these new waters carefully or foreign competition, high wages, and a weak dollar will be the least of their problems.

You know, sometimes things just don’t turn out as expected. If you don’t believe me, just ask Barack Obama.

All the polls taken right before last Tuesday’s Democratic Presidential Primary election in New Hampshire indicated that Mr. Obama would easily defeat top rival Hillary Clinton, perhaps even by a double-digit margin. What’s more, exit polls taken throughout the day right up until the polls closed seemed to confirm it. But then the actual results started coming in from the various precincts…

Clinton got off to an early lead, but the pundits and pollsters shrugged it off by saying that Obama’s stronghold precints in the western half of the state and the major college towns had yet to begin reporting their results. Cheria and I sat there in our den throughout the evening watching the coverage, expecting to eventually see Obama start to close the gap. It never happened.

When it was all said and done, Clinton had managed to maintain her steady lead until the very end, leaving her just as surprised at the win as everyone else. After all, in the days between Iowa and New Hampshire her campaign appeared to be floundering, and all day long there had been speculation that a major shakeup was in the works for the following day.

I think the accuracy of political polls really boils down to two questions:

1. Are the operators calling the right people?
2. Are they asking them the right questions?

It appears that in this case the answer to both questions was probably no. It’s actually pretty common for one or two pollsters to miss the mark on occasion with the rest of them “getting it right”, but on Tuesday everyone got it wrong, including the pollsters working for the campaigns themselves!

That’s why it is so important for voters to get out and cast their ballots even if the polls indicate a handy win or defeat for the candidate they are backing. You just never know when an expected blowout will turn out to be a squeaker, and just a vote or two really can make the difference.

Well, the 2008 Presidential race is now in full swing, and as usual the field is a bit crowded in both major political parties. A couple of also-rans dropped out of the running on the Democratic side immediately following last Thursday’s Iowa Caucuses, and I also expect to see a “thinning of the herd” after the dust settles in New Hampshire tomorrow evening.

This year we Americans will go to the polls in one of the most important elections our nation has ever held, and I must say that I still haven’t made up my mind about who to support at this point. During every election cycle we are treated to plenty of mudslinging, and I look for this one to be even nastier than usual. I absolutely deplore negative campaigning, but these days it is simply par for the course.

For me, there are several key issues that will ultimately determine who I end up voting for:

1 – Which candidate has the most experience, the “steeliest” determination, and the best overall plan for doing whatever it takes to defeat our nation’s enemies, both here and abroad?

2 – Which candidate will be most likely to do whatever it takes to seal our borders and stop illegal aliens (criminals, by definition) from coming here, um… illegally?

3 – Which candidate is most likely to nominate Supreme Court Justices who will interpret the U.S. Constitution instead of “legislating from the bench”?

4 – Which candidate will follow an accurate moral compass and make decisions that are based upon traditional American values and Biblical principles?

Of course there are other issues that are important to me as well, but those are the biggies. Our electorate will face a very important crossroads on November 4, and if we make the wrong collective decision we will most surely end up going down a road that we’ll eventually regret taking.

In an age when ruthless terrorist regimes either have nuclear weapons already or are well on their way to attaining them, it is my hope and prayer that God will grant a clear majority of us the wisdom to make the right choice for the future of our country and our beloved way of life.