According to the latest CBS News poll, President-select Bush's approval ratings are at an all-time low of 34%, while his part-time vice president, part-time friend shooter, Dick Cheney scored even worse, with an 18% approval rating. Think about that for a second... when the old commercials used to say "Four out of Five dentists prefer you brush with toothpaste every day", there was always the one rogue dentist who didn't see eye to eye with reality. That one out of five nut job just happens to be the head case who also thinks the administration is doing well. Time to take the guy's car keys away, cancel any licenses he may have, and bar them from voting in any election ever.

If after mishandling Hurricane Katrina, leading us into an unjust, unending war in Iraq with falsified evidence, and spying on innocent American citizens wasn't enough to deter them from approving of the administration's activities, then maybe the Valerie Plame affair or the latest Dubai ports conflict will push them further toward sanity. After all, according to the same poll, seven in ten Americans is opposed to the agreement, including 58 percent of Republicans, and two out of three think our work in Iraq is destabilizing the region.

Meanwile, instead of enacting policy, Bush has been giving interviews to a book author chronicling his presidency, for a piece called "Strategery". I feel safer already.

Download the full survey in PDF

In the late 1990's, when Apple was "beleaguered" and people were more concerned with how many layoffs they would have or how much money they were set to lose each quarter, there was a small contingent of "Mac faithful" who lived and died with every MacWorld Expo keynote, Apple earnings call, and in the old days, Seybold conference, where Apple leveraged its strong roots in publishing to launch the latest in Mac hardware or OS tools. But we (yes, I was one of them) were considered the lunatic fringe, the exception to the rule.

Now, with Apple having been rebirthed through a string of successes, started with the original Bondi Blue iMac in 1998, the introduction of Mac OS X in 2001, the overwhelming domination of the iPod and iTunes Music Store, and Apple's adoption of Intel chips, the number following Apple's announcements has grown dramatically. Mainstream tech sites openly speculate on what Steve Jobs and crew will uncover, and technology blogs are holding contests to mock up images in great anticipation of tomorrow's planned unveilings. Apple hasn't said anything publicly, but invited select media to attend a special event Tuesday morning for "some new fun products". Speculation has run rampant, from an iTunes Video Store, offering full-length feature films, to a new iPod HiFi Boombox, and new hardware - from a consumer MacBook (replacing the iBook) and a Mac Media Center, based on today's Mac Mini.

This speculation comes on the heels of the weekend rumor that Apple was considering a purchase of Disney, with Steve Jobs already owning 7% of the company, following their acquisition of Pixar. In fact, my post on this from Saturday was mentioned on one of Apple's more consistent rumor sites - "The Unofficial Apple Weblog" or TUAW, for short. In their short article, they said, "Blogger Louis Gray thinks it can only happen in  "a business reporter's dream." He argues that the financials don't add up and worries that taking over Disney would quash the possibility of Apple offering shows from competitors like NBC or Viacom/MTV on iTunes."

Funny, and I thought nobody was paying attention - given the lack of comments on the site.

Last year, on a lazy Saturday, I read a product review on Plasq's Comic Life, which was one Mac OS X application, unavailable for Windows, that took advantage of the Mac's inherent tilt toward design, and mimicked the ease of use and layout of Apple's iLife applications, enabling users to create their own comics from photos on their computer - using iPhoto. Bored, and amused by the idea, I downloaded the product, and quickly whipped up my first comic - featuring our 16-year-old beagle. Comic Life was easy to use, letting me add captions and word art, even though I don't have any kind of creative skills.

While that was fun, I felt I had to stretch to find another use for the inherently enjoyable product. I needed something that would be interesting, and where photos were readily available... which led me to the Oakland A's. Every A's game and practice yields dozens of AP or media photographs, and innumerable amateur photos. Within hours, I had downloaded enough photos to have my first attempt - a caricature of then-A's outfielder Eric Byrnes, cast as "Eric Byrnes - Superhero!". Eric was a perfect candidate, a player who gave his all into every play with sometimes hilarious outcomes - whether that meant body-crushing dives at missed balls into the outfield, taking the extra base, or tackling unruly, inebriated fans.

I took the new comic and posted it to Athletics Nation, hoping someone would find it amusing. Some did, demanding more. By the end of the day, I posted a follow-up, but there was no way to keep up the pace, with focus on a single player. Even worse, Byrnes was traded later in the week. I was foiled, but did a third and final comic as an epilogue. But by now, AN and I were hooked. I had the Comic Life bug, and launched from my experience covering Byrnes to what eventually become the ANtics - posted weekly, and set to continue through the A's 2006 season.

I don't consider myself a comic. I just happened to be the first to leverage some outstanding software and focus it on the A's. If I can do it, you can do it. Just download Comic Life yourself and get started. You'll be a pro in minutes.

Related Links: Plasq Comic Life | Flickr Gallery of Comic Life Art

It's a secret pleasure - but Fox's War at Home, which debuted after the Simpsons this season, featuring lead actor Michael Rapaport and an atypical dysfunctional family with two sons and a teenage daughter, has been much better than I ever could have expected. Though we haven't had a chance to catch every single show, due to conflicts with NBC's The West Wing, in its final season, I have yet to see an episode that didn't keep me laughing all the way through. Irreverent, surprisingly insightful and absurd all at once, War At Home quickly made its way onto our TiVo's season pass list, and we've even caught ourselves watching the reruns - for the jokes are still funny.

While the show's two main characters, Rapaport and wife Vicky, played by Anita Barone, have a sordid past, and checkered present, the show tries to mean well - they want their kids to get good grades, stay out of trouble, and generally avoid being too ridiculous, whether for their own good or to avoid parental embarrassment. In early episodes, War At Home has discussed teen drinking, first relationships, the potential of having a gay son, and revisiting old flings with former partners. While it's not likely to be critically acclaimed or be confused with 60 Minutes or Law and Order, War At Home is a raw look at conversations likely going on in homes around the country, if parents are taking the time to talk to their kids at all.

It can be caught on Sundays at 8:30 p.m., immediately following the Simpsons. Set your DVRs.