One Way To Uninstall Software

I write code. I use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 for a large part of my work. I've been wrestling with a problem lately, and one recommendation I received was to look at some sample code which comes with Microsoft's Platform Builder. So I downloaded and installed that product, but then VS2005 started misbehaving: giving me errors like this when I would try to go back to my project: "The following error has occurred... Error message: Catastrophic failure"

Catastrophic Failure?! Yikes. So I tried to repair my installation. Boy did I try. I uninstalled Platform Builder, hoping it would set my VS2005 back to rights. No such luck. I tried uninstalling VS2005. I tried a particular tool which offers to remove any vestiges of a previous install. After way too much time, I continue geting messages asking me to "Please repair Visual Studio." You have no idea how much I want to repair.

I found the following advice at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/904732 , titled "How to troubleshoot the installation of Visual Studio 2005"

"The computer where you install Visual Studio 2005 should never have had any beta or release candidate Visual Studio product installed. If any one or more of these products were installed, you should rebuild the computer to verify that these products have been removed. To rebuild the computer, reformat the hard disk, and then install the operating system again."

That's one way to uninstall software. They should have simply recommended that to uninstall the software, shut the machine off, back slowly away, and go buy a new computer.

No Tea For Me

Tomorrow is April 15. Tax day. The day you turn your paperwork in to the IRS to prove that you have paid enough income taxes for the year and either request a refund, or pony up what you still owe. Various gatherings are planned for the day: groups protesting taxes, the growth of government, wasteful government spending, etc. Many of these protests are being called 'tea parties," a name inspired by Rick Santelli's wildly famous rant on CNBC a few months ago.

There was a tea party in my neck of the woods about two months ago. It was put together by the Upstate Young Republicans. There is a tea party planned at our State Capitol tomorrow, and at other cities across our state.

I have a very hard time getting worked up about these tea parties. "We'll teach 'em a lesson! We'll buy them a TEA BAG!" Don't hurt yourself making that bold statement, guys. The issue is that these people think that if only their party were in power right now, then "none of this would be happening." And they are precisely wrong. There is only one difference between today's Republican and today's Democrat parties, and that is a difference of degree. If the Democrat party says "the Government is great and we want to quadruple its size," the GOP says "the Government is great and we want to triple its size" and they think that this position, being the lesser of two evils, makes them deserving of the conservative vote. Of course, the GOP won't actually say this. Especially when they are in the minority.

Venting a frustration with a bunch of friends might be fun way to spend an hour or two, but it doesn't actually accomplish anything. So no tea for me, thank you very much.