Okay, so the Net was brought to its virtual knees last week in a huge DoS (denial of service) attack on a half a dozen large websites, and everything slowed to a crawl, everywhere. I didn't even know what was happening, until the net slowed down, and almost stopped. Even my home-based, 500kbps cable modem was acting like a dial-up; the office 50.666kbps dial-ups were simulating 9600baud modems. Grim stuff. One of the bitter ironies of the Internet is that the same traits that make it a revolutionary tool are also it’s Achilles Heel: its accessibility and its size. The so-called authorities will probably never find the perps, most likely a group of 15 year old hacker punks on the Left Coast. Around The Garden Center. I had no idea the 10th year of operation would be so boring; uhhh, let me correct that: This Winter, "off-season" is what's boring. I'm going nuts. Nothing to do. As soon as the landscape estimates kick-in, all hell breaks loose. I love it. I'm busy 24x7. It's great. I thrive on activity, not in-activity. But during the "off-season", it's a different story. I just don't remember previous Winters being this boring. Closing early at 12noon instead of running the computers, lights, fans all day long etc makes sense. In previous years, it didn't and customers flocked-in all Winter long. This season, it's been sparse. The Co-Ray-Vac infared, radiant heat system in the Main Greenhouse is not working adequately. Hundreds of plants worth thousands of dollars had to be composted last week since they were damaged by the bitter cold we had 2-4 weeks ago. In the end, it's cheaper to re-propagate the cuttings from a "stock" plant, than to try to nurse the damaged plants back to health and saleability. When in doubt, throw it out. I'm already into supplemental heating systems and studying hard. Anyway, we're getting ready for the 8th York Garden & Flower Show, in just over 2 weeks. Been there since day one in '92. Won more than our fair-share of awards over the years. This year's Japanese Meditation Garden theme should turn some heads. Five hours of InterNet usage a week? That's all? Heck, I spend 40-50hrs online each week, with little loss of contact with "the real world". What shit. With junk like this on TV, who in their right mind would watch? Wow, am I glad I heat with LPG — at home and the Garden Center Complex — rather than home heating oil, as a lot of places do. Here in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, things are rough for millions of families: many having to choose between eating and heating. As I pixel this Journal copy, we're getting pounded by snow, freezing rain and major ice. Bummer. I can handle snow; I have a '94 AWDx4 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 LTD, maxed-out. Snow is not a problem; ice is. Politics 2000. The rats are fleeing the floundering, leaking GOP ship: Steve Forbes is now out, after Orrin Hatch (anti-Microsoft moron, pro-Novell, guess who paid the lowlife pol off?), Gary Bauer (go back to family planning, Gary, and stay there; we won't say you resemble a child molester, but you do.), and Keyes needs to find a paying job again, perhaps something with a speaking part, Lamar Alexander, Dan Quayle, Elizabeth Dole. AlGoreBore continues to self-destruct. Love it. And the corrupt, sleazy criminal Clinton is still in office, a year after impeachment. What a sad statement. I don't remember a Republican candidate being "this dirty" and still being a media darling, as McCain is. He's a fraud and a cheat. There's so much "garbage baggage" there, I don't see how he's escaped media crucifixion. Amazes the shit outta me. The evil Hitlery bitch continues to screw whomever she can; not very smart for a carpetbagging lowlife criminal to screw a diner waitress our of a tip. The most corrupt, ethically-challenged idiot-moron of all — Bubba Clintonista — still doesn't get it, and probably never will. He thinks the VRWC was out to get him, and that he didn't commit perjury and obstruct justice, as the courts have decreed. I hate ""open primaries", as opposed to "closed primaries". There are huge and important underlying difference. Go figure. The lib-dem shit-filth are f*cking-up the GOP. Bigtime. Crumpled Papers. It's part personal page, part graphic design resource and web exhibit — genuinely warm and homespun, never cloying or copycat. Download free backgrounds, assons, bars, and icons from the "Trash Can Graphics." Read about the meaning and moods of colors. Browse journals, musings, and quotes. Play with "click and drag" magnetic poetry online, or visit the Teen Grafitti Zone. If you're looking for "coffee break inspiration," Crumpled Papers is the place.