Family Research

I know I'm not a poet, but I want to convey my frustration at family research:

Family research consumed my time
To point at dead people and say they're mine
I've spent two years pursuing this 'art'
And had different rhythms in my heart
I've had times of joy and times of sorrow
For people that I'll never know
And always had a lead to keep me on my feet
For people that I'll never meet.

'What is the point?' is what I'll try answering in my next post :)

Very Fast Life

My laptop has decided being slow is very 'uncool' (because it overheats!) and now is lightening fast. It seems I spend most of my time trying to make it faster by downloading new pieces of software, altering my settings and shouting at it. I recently bought a readyboost 4GB USB drive which is working wonders on my girlfriend's laptop, it didn't do much on mine so I bought Windows 7; now that I've settled into the new operating system I'm noticing some mind-blowing differences. Notably the difference in my wallet, although I bought the update with 57% off (offered by amazon.co.uk) it still stung the savings account. Why did Windows charge us for this upgrade, which is overdue and meant to fix Vista?

The amount of stress relating directly to my laptop is incredible; the best ideas I can suggest to speed up your life is a readyboost enabled stick, cleaning up your desktop and gadgets, configuring your start-up settings through (Windows Button + R) and typing MSCONFIG.EXE, find the start-up tab and untick things like Skype, MSN... (things you really don't need when your computer is just starting up.

At the moment I use my laptop for university work, blogging, checking the news and doing family research. What would be really useful right now is two extra large screens on either side of my laptop so I do much work at the same time, one thing at the time is just not good enough!

A Reason for Blogging

Hello to whomever reads this! As a second post I'd like to start with a current event, the earthquake in Haiti. So far it's the 7th most devastating earthquake on record. The UN has branded the country as 'decapitated' since most of the infrastructure needed to run a country has collapsed. Hopefully aid will rush in a fast as it did in 2005 in Sumatra (GB£4.3 billion/US$7 billion donated worldwide), I'll be watching the rebuilding closely.

I've just read a very good article on the BBC talking about the long history of relations between the US and Haiti, very rocky if you ask me! This history lesson seems to be another attempt by the US to expand power and influence without using the word 'colony'. Just look at Puerto Rico, they actually have a say in the US elections and seem stuck between independence and being a US state; if anyone argues it's a 'commonwealth', so are Virginia, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. At least they get a star on the flag!

The First Post

Finally! I am beginning to 'blog'.
The aim is to share my thoughts, to point out some issues I feel are important and are being ignored; for now however, I'm just beginning...
I'm willing to take suggested issues and thoughts and research them to advance discussion, I'm a history and politics student in the United Kingdom, so my time is spent faced with thought provoking material I think should be shared. So watch my blog and feel free to contribute!