(but that's my problem...)
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Give Me Stem Cells!
Very interesting article from WorldNetDaily.com
MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Adult stem cells restore
feeling in paraplegic
Apparent major breakthrough
with patient paralyzed 19 years
Posted: September 28, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
In an apparent major breakthrough, scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient.
The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cythotherapy, centered on a woman had been a paraplegic 19 years due to an accident.
After an infusion of umbilical cord blood stem cells, stunning results were recorded:
"The patient could move her hips and feel her hip skin on day 15 after transplantation. On day 25 after transplantation her feet responded to stimulation."
Umbilical cord cells are considered "adult stem cells," in contrast to embryonic stem cells, which have raised ethical concerns because a human embryo must be destroyed in order to harvest them.
The report said motor activity was noticed on day 7, and she was able to maintain an upright position on day 13. Fifteen days after surgery, she began to elevate both lower legs about one centimeter.
The study's abstract says not only did the patient regain feeling, but 41 days after stem cell transplantation, testing "also showed regeneration of the spinal cord at the injured cite" and below it.
The scientists conclude the transplantation "could be a good treatment method" for paraplegic patients.
Bioethics specialist Wesley J. Smith, writing in Lifesite.com, expressed enthusiasm about the apparent breakthrough, but also urged caution.
"We have to be cautious," said Smith, a senior fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute and a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture. "One patient does not a treatment make."
The authors of the study note, writes Smith, that the lamenectomy the patient received might have offered some benefit.
"But still, this is a wonderful story that offers tremendous hope for paralyzed patients," he said.
The fact that the patient has a very old injury, Smith added, makes the results even more dramatic.
Smith said he has known about the study for some time, "but because I didn't want to be guilty of the same hyping that is so often engaged in by some therapeutic cloning proponents, I waited until it was published in a peer reviewed journal."
Like most breakthroughs using adult stem cells, this one has been completely ignored by the U.S. mainstream media, Smith pointed out.
"Can you imagine the headlines if the cells used had been embryonic?" he asked.
Thinking about it gives me chills - B
MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Adult stem cells restore
feeling in paraplegic
Apparent major breakthrough
with patient paralyzed 19 years
Posted: September 28, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
In an apparent major breakthrough, scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient.
The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cythotherapy, centered on a woman had been a paraplegic 19 years due to an accident.
After an infusion of umbilical cord blood stem cells, stunning results were recorded:
"The patient could move her hips and feel her hip skin on day 15 after transplantation. On day 25 after transplantation her feet responded to stimulation."
Umbilical cord cells are considered "adult stem cells," in contrast to embryonic stem cells, which have raised ethical concerns because a human embryo must be destroyed in order to harvest them.
The report said motor activity was noticed on day 7, and she was able to maintain an upright position on day 13. Fifteen days after surgery, she began to elevate both lower legs about one centimeter.
The study's abstract says not only did the patient regain feeling, but 41 days after stem cell transplantation, testing "also showed regeneration of the spinal cord at the injured cite" and below it.
The scientists conclude the transplantation "could be a good treatment method" for paraplegic patients.
Bioethics specialist Wesley J. Smith, writing in Lifesite.com, expressed enthusiasm about the apparent breakthrough, but also urged caution.
"We have to be cautious," said Smith, a senior fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute and a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture. "One patient does not a treatment make."
The authors of the study note, writes Smith, that the lamenectomy the patient received might have offered some benefit.
"But still, this is a wonderful story that offers tremendous hope for paralyzed patients," he said.
The fact that the patient has a very old injury, Smith added, makes the results even more dramatic.
Smith said he has known about the study for some time, "but because I didn't want to be guilty of the same hyping that is so often engaged in by some therapeutic cloning proponents, I waited until it was published in a peer reviewed journal."
Like most breakthroughs using adult stem cells, this one has been completely ignored by the U.S. mainstream media, Smith pointed out.
"Can you imagine the headlines if the cells used had been embryonic?" he asked.
Thinking about it gives me chills - B
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Yeah! What He Says! (A Katrina Article)
Assigning blame
Charles Krauthammer
September 9, 2005 From Town Hall.com
WASHINGTON -- In less enlightened times, there was no catastrophe independent of human agency. When the plague or some other natural disaster struck, witches were burned, Jews were massacred and all felt better (except the witches and Jews).
A few centuries later, our progressive thinkers have progressed not an inch. No fall of a sparrow on this planet is not attributed to sin and human perfidy. The three current favorites are: (1) global warming, (2) the war in Iraq and (3) tax cuts. Katrina hits and the unholy trinity is immediately invoked to damn sinner-in-chief George W. Bush.
This kind of stupidity merits no attention whatsoever, but I'll give it a paragraph. There is no relationship between global warming and the frequency and intensity of Atlantic hurricanes. Period. The problem with the evacuation of New Orleans is not that National Guardsmen in Iraq could not get to New Orleans, but that National Guardsmen in Louisiana did not get to New Orleans. As for the Bush tax cuts, administration budget requests for New Orleans flood control during the five Bush years exceed that of the five preceding Clinton years. The notion that the allegedly missing revenues would have been spent wisely by Congress, targeted precisely to the levees of New Orleans, and reconstruction would have been completed in time, is a threefold fallacy. The argument ends when you realize that, as The Washington Post notes, ``the levees that failed were already completed projects."
Let's be clear. The author of this calamity was, first and foremost, Nature (or if you prefer, Nature's God). The suffering was augmented, aided and abetted in descending order of culpability by the following:
1. The mayor of New Orleans. He knows the city. He knows the danger. He knows that during Hurricane Georges in 1998, the use of the Superdome was a disaster and fully two-thirds of the residents never got out of the city. Nothing was done. He declared a mandatory evacuation only 24 hours before Hurricane Katrina hit. He did not even declare a voluntary evacuation until the day before that, at 5 p.m. At that time, he explained that he needed to study his legal authority to call a mandatory evacuation and was hesitating to do so lest the city be sued by hotels and other businesses.
2. The Louisiana governor. It's her job to call up the National Guard and get it to where it has to go. Where the Guard was in the first few days is a mystery. Indeed, she issued an authorization for the National Guard to commandeer school buses to evacuate people on Wednesday afternoon -- more than two days after the hurricane hit and after much of the fleet had already drowned in its parking lots.
3. The head of FEMA. Late, slow and in way over his head. On Thursday he says on national television that he didn't even know there were people in the Convention Center, when anybody watching television could see them there destitute and desperate. Maybe in his vast bureaucracy he can assign three 20-year-olds to watch cable news and give him updates every hour on what in hell is going on.
4. The president. Late, slow and simply out of tune with the urgency and magnitude of the disaster. The second he heard that the levees had been breached in New Orleans, he should have canceled his schedule and addressed the country on national television to mobilize it both emotionally and physically to assist in the disaster. His flyover on the way to Washington was the worst possible symbolism. And his Friday visit was so tone-deaf and politically disastrous that he had to fly back three days later.
5. Congress. Now as always playing holier-than-thou. Perhaps it might ask itself who created the Department of Homeland Security in the first place. The congressional response to all crises is the same -- rearrange the bureaucratic boxes, but be sure to add one extra layer. The last four years of DHS have been spent principally on bureaucratic reorganization (and real estate) instead of, say, a workable plan for as predictable a disaster as a Gulf Coast hurricane.
6. The American people. They have made it impossible for any politician to make any responsible energy policy over the last 30 years -- but that is a column for another day. Now is not the time for constructive suggestions. Now is the time for blame, recriminations and sheer astonishment. Mayor Nagin has announced that, as bodies are still being found and as a public health catastrophe descends upon the city, he is sending 60 percent of his cops on city funds for a little R&R, mostly to Vegas hotels. Asked if it was appropriate to party in these circumstances, he responded: ``New Orleans is a party town. Get over it.''
Charles Krauthammer
September 9, 2005 From Town Hall.com
WASHINGTON -- In less enlightened times, there was no catastrophe independent of human agency. When the plague or some other natural disaster struck, witches were burned, Jews were massacred and all felt better (except the witches and Jews).
A few centuries later, our progressive thinkers have progressed not an inch. No fall of a sparrow on this planet is not attributed to sin and human perfidy. The three current favorites are: (1) global warming, (2) the war in Iraq and (3) tax cuts. Katrina hits and the unholy trinity is immediately invoked to damn sinner-in-chief George W. Bush.
This kind of stupidity merits no attention whatsoever, but I'll give it a paragraph. There is no relationship between global warming and the frequency and intensity of Atlantic hurricanes. Period. The problem with the evacuation of New Orleans is not that National Guardsmen in Iraq could not get to New Orleans, but that National Guardsmen in Louisiana did not get to New Orleans. As for the Bush tax cuts, administration budget requests for New Orleans flood control during the five Bush years exceed that of the five preceding Clinton years. The notion that the allegedly missing revenues would have been spent wisely by Congress, targeted precisely to the levees of New Orleans, and reconstruction would have been completed in time, is a threefold fallacy. The argument ends when you realize that, as The Washington Post notes, ``the levees that failed were already completed projects."
Let's be clear. The author of this calamity was, first and foremost, Nature (or if you prefer, Nature's God). The suffering was augmented, aided and abetted in descending order of culpability by the following:
1. The mayor of New Orleans. He knows the city. He knows the danger. He knows that during Hurricane Georges in 1998, the use of the Superdome was a disaster and fully two-thirds of the residents never got out of the city. Nothing was done. He declared a mandatory evacuation only 24 hours before Hurricane Katrina hit. He did not even declare a voluntary evacuation until the day before that, at 5 p.m. At that time, he explained that he needed to study his legal authority to call a mandatory evacuation and was hesitating to do so lest the city be sued by hotels and other businesses.
2. The Louisiana governor. It's her job to call up the National Guard and get it to where it has to go. Where the Guard was in the first few days is a mystery. Indeed, she issued an authorization for the National Guard to commandeer school buses to evacuate people on Wednesday afternoon -- more than two days after the hurricane hit and after much of the fleet had already drowned in its parking lots.
3. The head of FEMA. Late, slow and in way over his head. On Thursday he says on national television that he didn't even know there were people in the Convention Center, when anybody watching television could see them there destitute and desperate. Maybe in his vast bureaucracy he can assign three 20-year-olds to watch cable news and give him updates every hour on what in hell is going on.
4. The president. Late, slow and simply out of tune with the urgency and magnitude of the disaster. The second he heard that the levees had been breached in New Orleans, he should have canceled his schedule and addressed the country on national television to mobilize it both emotionally and physically to assist in the disaster. His flyover on the way to Washington was the worst possible symbolism. And his Friday visit was so tone-deaf and politically disastrous that he had to fly back three days later.
5. Congress. Now as always playing holier-than-thou. Perhaps it might ask itself who created the Department of Homeland Security in the first place. The congressional response to all crises is the same -- rearrange the bureaucratic boxes, but be sure to add one extra layer. The last four years of DHS have been spent principally on bureaucratic reorganization (and real estate) instead of, say, a workable plan for as predictable a disaster as a Gulf Coast hurricane.
6. The American people. They have made it impossible for any politician to make any responsible energy policy over the last 30 years -- but that is a column for another day. Now is not the time for constructive suggestions. Now is the time for blame, recriminations and sheer astonishment. Mayor Nagin has announced that, as bodies are still being found and as a public health catastrophe descends upon the city, he is sending 60 percent of his cops on city funds for a little R&R, mostly to Vegas hotels. Asked if it was appropriate to party in these circumstances, he responded: ``New Orleans is a party town. Get over it.''
Sunday, September 18, 2005
*sigh* There Goes My Faith In The Human Race Again or 'Why I Never Donate. Ever'
It's amazing how the people of this country can unite during times of great disaster. Of course 9/11 was a big one and that ended up being ruined by United Way because they 'had enough money donated from the 9/11 telethon' and they decide in their infinite wisdom to give some of that money to 'performing arts'. Anyway...
Now with Hurricane Katrina the $2000 debit cards being handed out by the Red Cross and FEMA are being used at Victoria's Secret and strip bars. How much of a scumbag do you have to be to rip off needy people? And if you are a legitament recipient of one of these cards, what the fuck are you thinking? Do you think you're going to spend it and then hold your hand out for another one? Oh yeah... that's how it will probably work. Some whiny Democrat will start maoning about how Bush is doing such a shitty job... well that's happened already. Anyway my gripe is Liberals like to throw money at a problem hoping it will go away. If it doesn't, raise taxes and throw some more at it.
I learned a very important lesson when I was a young man. My father took me to a Yankee's game and while we were on the outskirts of the ball park among a throng of people, dirty water dog vendors and the usual group of people selling their wares a young latino aproached my father. He was probably about 11 or 12 with these big puppy dog eyes and asked in a pleading voice 'Please sir, I am very hungry and I haven't eaten. May I please have some money for food'. Sometimes as kids you really can't appreciate what adults are about. That day I found out my father was no sucker. He looked at the kid and pointed to the hot dog vendor and said 'Let's go, I'll buy you a hotdog'. The look on this this little shit's face was classic, he looked stupified, stuttered for a second and half mumbled '...uh... no thanks' and walked away. Walked away to some couple who, you guessed, gave him money. Right around the time this kid was mumbling his reply to my father the light bulb went off in my head. This little fucker is full of shit! As I watched him walk away I started to get really pissed off and I wanted to go over there and kick his ass! My father calmed me down and I wondered how anyone can be such a conniving little douche bag (I thought that, I said something a little less vulgar). He just sighed, shrugged his shoulders and said 'There will always be people like him'. My father sensed something fishy and he reacted in the right way. If the kid was really hungry he would have taken the hot dog and I'm sure my father would have given him some cash after. I guess he was a sucker for certain kids, how do you think I ended up getting away with what I did? Rest easy Pops.
What I do to donate is volunteer my time. I'll do phone work or computer work for people for free or whatever else they need help with. Of course I've been burned too many times to give away my stuff or cash. Here's some of my favorites;
One time I was strapped for cash and a friend offered to buy my shotgun off of me for $100. He said it will be there waiting for me when I had the money. Well when I had the money a short time later I found out he sold it to someone else for $200. That pissed me off. Done.
Another time I was doing hours and hours of free computer work for this guys nit picky commie wife. Nothing I did to her computer was ever good enough or some minor little silly detail wasn't just right. He would tell me that I had to come over his house that night and work on his wife's computer until it was right. My response was 'no' and I am never going to work on your computer again'. And I haven't. Done.
Friends of mine went on vacation for two weeks and asked me to house sit for them so they didn't have to pay to put their dog and two cats in a kennel. They lived about 25 miles from where I lived and it added another 50 miles to my daily ride to and from work. I also had to leave work immediately so I could get back and let the poor dog out to go to the bathroom. I did this for two weeks so I brought my Mac, satellite radio and some laundry over. They came home while I was at work (and never called to tell me they were home), and when I got there my stuff was unplugged and in a pile on the dining room table. OK whatever. I wanted to spend some time with his kids but his wife said 'you can't stay'. Basically it was 'we have no more need of you get the fuck out'. Very rarely in my life do I genuinely get mad enough to do another person violence but I had to leave or I would have. Done, pay the money for a fucking kennel.
Another favorite was helping another friend put in a walk way. I spent a week of my vacation time digging, pulling up roots, and lugging bricks and bags of sand and stone around. I've wired his home network for him as well as 'given' him a 5 port switch that he never paid me for. I tried to get him to paint some little metal miniatures for me (and he's really good at it because he does it all the time) and I would buy them from his store. He refused to do it and I heard him saying (to someone else) how I'm lazy because I didn't want to paint them. He recently moved his computer to the other side of the room and it's expected that I rewire it. Sorry, I'm too lazy. Done, no more freebies.
And that is why I don't donate anymore.
Now with Hurricane Katrina the $2000 debit cards being handed out by the Red Cross and FEMA are being used at Victoria's Secret and strip bars. How much of a scumbag do you have to be to rip off needy people? And if you are a legitament recipient of one of these cards, what the fuck are you thinking? Do you think you're going to spend it and then hold your hand out for another one? Oh yeah... that's how it will probably work. Some whiny Democrat will start maoning about how Bush is doing such a shitty job... well that's happened already. Anyway my gripe is Liberals like to throw money at a problem hoping it will go away. If it doesn't, raise taxes and throw some more at it.
I learned a very important lesson when I was a young man. My father took me to a Yankee's game and while we were on the outskirts of the ball park among a throng of people, dirty water dog vendors and the usual group of people selling their wares a young latino aproached my father. He was probably about 11 or 12 with these big puppy dog eyes and asked in a pleading voice 'Please sir, I am very hungry and I haven't eaten. May I please have some money for food'. Sometimes as kids you really can't appreciate what adults are about. That day I found out my father was no sucker. He looked at the kid and pointed to the hot dog vendor and said 'Let's go, I'll buy you a hotdog'. The look on this this little shit's face was classic, he looked stupified, stuttered for a second and half mumbled '...uh... no thanks' and walked away. Walked away to some couple who, you guessed, gave him money. Right around the time this kid was mumbling his reply to my father the light bulb went off in my head. This little fucker is full of shit! As I watched him walk away I started to get really pissed off and I wanted to go over there and kick his ass! My father calmed me down and I wondered how anyone can be such a conniving little douche bag (I thought that, I said something a little less vulgar). He just sighed, shrugged his shoulders and said 'There will always be people like him'. My father sensed something fishy and he reacted in the right way. If the kid was really hungry he would have taken the hot dog and I'm sure my father would have given him some cash after. I guess he was a sucker for certain kids, how do you think I ended up getting away with what I did? Rest easy Pops.
What I do to donate is volunteer my time. I'll do phone work or computer work for people for free or whatever else they need help with. Of course I've been burned too many times to give away my stuff or cash. Here's some of my favorites;
One time I was strapped for cash and a friend offered to buy my shotgun off of me for $100. He said it will be there waiting for me when I had the money. Well when I had the money a short time later I found out he sold it to someone else for $200. That pissed me off. Done.
Another time I was doing hours and hours of free computer work for this guys nit picky commie wife. Nothing I did to her computer was ever good enough or some minor little silly detail wasn't just right. He would tell me that I had to come over his house that night and work on his wife's computer until it was right. My response was 'no' and I am never going to work on your computer again'. And I haven't. Done.
Friends of mine went on vacation for two weeks and asked me to house sit for them so they didn't have to pay to put their dog and two cats in a kennel. They lived about 25 miles from where I lived and it added another 50 miles to my daily ride to and from work. I also had to leave work immediately so I could get back and let the poor dog out to go to the bathroom. I did this for two weeks so I brought my Mac, satellite radio and some laundry over. They came home while I was at work (and never called to tell me they were home), and when I got there my stuff was unplugged and in a pile on the dining room table. OK whatever. I wanted to spend some time with his kids but his wife said 'you can't stay'. Basically it was 'we have no more need of you get the fuck out'. Very rarely in my life do I genuinely get mad enough to do another person violence but I had to leave or I would have. Done, pay the money for a fucking kennel.
Another favorite was helping another friend put in a walk way. I spent a week of my vacation time digging, pulling up roots, and lugging bricks and bags of sand and stone around. I've wired his home network for him as well as 'given' him a 5 port switch that he never paid me for. I tried to get him to paint some little metal miniatures for me (and he's really good at it because he does it all the time) and I would buy them from his store. He refused to do it and I heard him saying (to someone else) how I'm lazy because I didn't want to paint them. He recently moved his computer to the other side of the room and it's expected that I rewire it. Sorry, I'm too lazy. Done, no more freebies.
And that is why I don't donate anymore.
C#/.NET not cross platform? What A Shocker! (That's sarcasm folks)
This is an email that I sent out to a friend of mine who is an A #1 Microsoft Fanboy.
Before we continue I want to explain .NET and C#. C# is the programming language (like Java) created by Microsoft and .NET is the framework (like the Java Runtime Environment) used to run the code. You write something in C# and it should run on any .NET compatible framework. What MS does is use Windows specific code (ex. windows.forms) to write their apps so it's only available to Windows. The Mono project is trying to implement a .NET compatible framework for alternative OS' (Linux, Mac as well as Windows) so that code will work. Without any support from Microsoft to port the framework to other OS' how cross platform can it be? Exactly, they don't want it to be. They want to hide behind the fact that it's a 'standard' and 'everyone' can use it. This is typical MS FUD.
Here's the Email;
Microsoft has absolutely no intention what so ever to make '.NET' a standard. If they did they would allow the Mono Developers into their little conference. I said from the beginning that MS is only creating .NET so they could take out Java, which has a true cross platform framework. Microsoft releases the bare minimum needed to get a standard created and then uses proprietary code for Windows (can you say 'windows.forms'?). I'm sure you won't believe this email or make some excuse for why they did it, but come on for cryin' out loud open your eyes! No more C# for me. I'll copy and paste the article since you probably won't read this anyway..
Here's the article;
Microsoft 'bars' Mono from conference
Ingrid Marson in Los Angeles, 16 September 2005
uk.builder.com
But are Microsoft developers even interested in developing .NET applications for Linux?
Mono project founder Miguel de Icaza claims that Microsoft prevented the open source project from holding a meeting at the company's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
Microsoft states on its conference Web site that its 'Birds of a Feather' sessions are proposed and voted on by the community. But the Mono BOF was never listed for voting and therefore received no votes, despite the submission being confirmed, according to De Icaza's blog.
The Mono project develops software that allows .NET client applications to be run on various operating systems including Microsoft, Linux and Mac OS X. As Mono is a competitor to Microsoft's .NET implementation, de Icaza said it may make the software giant "nervous".
A Microsoft spokesperson said on Thursday: "Microsoft received hundreds of requests for Birds of a Feather sessions and unfortunately it was not able to accommodate all requests. Mono is just one example of the level of excitement within the developer community around .NET."
As the Mono team were not able to hold such a session, the developers arranged a meeting at hotel near the PDC conference centre on Tuesday and handed out flyers to conference attendees to inform them about the event.
Although various developers that Builder UK spoke to on Wednesday had heard of Mono, the majority were not interested in having .NET development tools available for alternative platforms, such as Linux.
PDC attendee Mike Roberts said Microsoft's customers are unlikely to switch from Visual Studio to the open source project. "There are two types of businesses — the ones that buy into Microsoft and those that don't. The people who bought into the Microsoft world probably won't switch to Mono. The other people — those using Java or LAMP might do, though," said Roberts.
Before we continue I want to explain .NET and C#. C# is the programming language (like Java) created by Microsoft and .NET is the framework (like the Java Runtime Environment) used to run the code. You write something in C# and it should run on any .NET compatible framework. What MS does is use Windows specific code (ex. windows.forms) to write their apps so it's only available to Windows. The Mono project is trying to implement a .NET compatible framework for alternative OS' (Linux, Mac as well as Windows) so that code will work. Without any support from Microsoft to port the framework to other OS' how cross platform can it be? Exactly, they don't want it to be. They want to hide behind the fact that it's a 'standard' and 'everyone' can use it. This is typical MS FUD.
Here's the Email;
Microsoft has absolutely no intention what so ever to make '.NET' a standard. If they did they would allow the Mono Developers into their little conference. I said from the beginning that MS is only creating .NET so they could take out Java, which has a true cross platform framework. Microsoft releases the bare minimum needed to get a standard created and then uses proprietary code for Windows (can you say 'windows.forms'?). I'm sure you won't believe this email or make some excuse for why they did it, but come on for cryin' out loud open your eyes! No more C# for me. I'll copy and paste the article since you probably won't read this anyway..
Here's the article;
Microsoft 'bars' Mono from conference
Ingrid Marson in Los Angeles, 16 September 2005
uk.builder.com
But are Microsoft developers even interested in developing .NET applications for Linux?
Mono project founder Miguel de Icaza claims that Microsoft prevented the open source project from holding a meeting at the company's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
Microsoft states on its conference Web site that its 'Birds of a Feather' sessions are proposed and voted on by the community. But the Mono BOF was never listed for voting and therefore received no votes, despite the submission being confirmed, according to De Icaza's blog.
The Mono project develops software that allows .NET client applications to be run on various operating systems including Microsoft, Linux and Mac OS X. As Mono is a competitor to Microsoft's .NET implementation, de Icaza said it may make the software giant "nervous".
A Microsoft spokesperson said on Thursday: "Microsoft received hundreds of requests for Birds of a Feather sessions and unfortunately it was not able to accommodate all requests. Mono is just one example of the level of excitement within the developer community around .NET."
As the Mono team were not able to hold such a session, the developers arranged a meeting at hotel near the PDC conference centre on Tuesday and handed out flyers to conference attendees to inform them about the event.
Although various developers that Builder UK spoke to on Wednesday had heard of Mono, the majority were not interested in having .NET development tools available for alternative platforms, such as Linux.
PDC attendee Mike Roberts said Microsoft's customers are unlikely to switch from Visual Studio to the open source project. "There are two types of businesses — the ones that buy into Microsoft and those that don't. The people who bought into the Microsoft world probably won't switch to Mono. The other people — those using Java or LAMP might do, though," said Roberts.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Windows Vista Beta 2 Videos
shows off Windows Vista's graphics engine. Notice how hovering over the minimized windows in the taskbar will bring up a thumbnail view of the window.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Sunday, September 11, 2005
I LOVE The Japanese
They are some funny little bastards! Here's a view from an elevator 'security camera'. Funny shit...
P.S. This is my first post from my Linux box and it's running better than I thought it ever would.
P.S. This is my first post from my Linux box and it's running better than I thought it ever would.
Microsoft Owns The 'Double Click'... No really...
It's amazing at what the US Patent Office will give out a patent for. Of course then again looking at how government handles anything these days (Katrina) it doesn't surprise me too much. Read the article.
I'm patenting the 'Twice Click', similiar to a 'Double Click' only you don't have to sell you soul to a crappy software making company who's idea of innovation is renaming 'index.html' to 'default.htm'.
I'm patenting the 'Twice Click', similiar to a 'Double Click' only you don't have to sell you soul to a crappy software making company who's idea of innovation is renaming 'index.html' to 'default.htm'.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Some More Jokes From The Inbox™
From Shabba Dabba Doo
CATHOLIC DOG
Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside with only a pet dog for company. One day the dog died, and Muldoon went to the parish priest and asked, "Father, me dog is dead. Could ya' be saying' a mass for the poor creature?"
Father Patrick replied, "I'm afraid not; we cannot have services for an animal in the church. But there are some Baptists down the lane, and there's no tellin' what they believe. Maybe they'll do something for the creature."
Muldoon said, "I'll go right away Father. Do ya' think $5,000 is enough to donate to them for the service?"
Father Patrick exclaimed, "Sweet Mary, Mother of Jesus! Why didn't ya tell me the dog was Catholic?
_______________________________
DONATION
Father O'Malley answers the phone "Hello, is this Father O'Malley?"
"It is" "This is the IRS. Can you help us?"
"I can"
"Do you know a Ted Houlihan?"
"I do"
"Is he a member of your congregation?"
"He is"
"Did he donate $10,000 to the church?"
"He will".
_______________________________
CONFESSION
An elderly man walks into a confessional. The following conversation ensues: "I am 92 years old, have a wonderful wife of 70 years, many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Yesterday, I picked up two college girls, hitchhiking. We went to a motel, where I had sex with each of them three times."
Priest: "Are you sorry for your sins?"
Man: "What sins?"
Priest: "What kind of a Catholic are you?"
Man: "I'm Jewish."
Priest: "Why are you telling me all this?"
Man: "I'm telling everybody."
_______________________________
BROTHEL TRIP
An elderly man goes into a brothel and tells the madam he would
like a young girl for the night. Surprised, she looks at the ancient
man and asks how old he is. "I'm 90 years old," he says.
"90!" replies the woman.
"Don't you realize you've had it?"
"Oh, sorry," says the old man. "How much do I owe you?"
_______________________________
SENILITY
An elderly man went to his doctor and said, "Doc, I think I'm getting senile. Several times lately, I have forgotten to zip up." "That's not senility," replied the doctor. "Senility is when you forget to zip down."
_______________________________
PESTCONTROL
A woman was having a passionate affair with an inspector from a pest-control company. One afternoon they were carrying on in the bedroom together when her husband arrived home unexpectedly.
"Quick," said the woman to her lover," into the closet!" and she pushed him in the closet, stark naked.
The husband, however, became suspicious and after a search of the bedroom discovered the man in the closet. "Who are you?" he asked him.
"I'm an inspector from Bugs-B-Gone," said the exterminator.
"What are you doing in there?" the husband asked.
"I'm investigating a complaint about an infestation of moths," the man replied.
"And where are your clothes?" asked the husband.
The man looked down at himself and said,... "Those little bastards!"
CATHOLIC DOG
Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside with only a pet dog for company. One day the dog died, and Muldoon went to the parish priest and asked, "Father, me dog is dead. Could ya' be saying' a mass for the poor creature?"
Father Patrick replied, "I'm afraid not; we cannot have services for an animal in the church. But there are some Baptists down the lane, and there's no tellin' what they believe. Maybe they'll do something for the creature."
Muldoon said, "I'll go right away Father. Do ya' think $5,000 is enough to donate to them for the service?"
Father Patrick exclaimed, "Sweet Mary, Mother of Jesus! Why didn't ya tell me the dog was Catholic?
_______________________________
DONATION
Father O'Malley answers the phone "Hello, is this Father O'Malley?"
"It is" "This is the IRS. Can you help us?"
"I can"
"Do you know a Ted Houlihan?"
"I do"
"Is he a member of your congregation?"
"He is"
"Did he donate $10,000 to the church?"
"He will".
_______________________________
CONFESSION
An elderly man walks into a confessional. The following conversation ensues: "I am 92 years old, have a wonderful wife of 70 years, many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Yesterday, I picked up two college girls, hitchhiking. We went to a motel, where I had sex with each of them three times."
Priest: "Are you sorry for your sins?"
Man: "What sins?"
Priest: "What kind of a Catholic are you?"
Man: "I'm Jewish."
Priest: "Why are you telling me all this?"
Man: "I'm telling everybody."
_______________________________
BROTHEL TRIP
An elderly man goes into a brothel and tells the madam he would
like a young girl for the night. Surprised, she looks at the ancient
man and asks how old he is. "I'm 90 years old," he says.
"90!" replies the woman.
"Don't you realize you've had it?"
"Oh, sorry," says the old man. "How much do I owe you?"
_______________________________
SENILITY
An elderly man went to his doctor and said, "Doc, I think I'm getting senile. Several times lately, I have forgotten to zip up." "That's not senility," replied the doctor. "Senility is when you forget to zip down."
_______________________________
PESTCONTROL
A woman was having a passionate affair with an inspector from a pest-control company. One afternoon they were carrying on in the bedroom together when her husband arrived home unexpectedly.
"Quick," said the woman to her lover," into the closet!" and she pushed him in the closet, stark naked.
The husband, however, became suspicious and after a search of the bedroom discovered the man in the closet. "Who are you?" he asked him.
"I'm an inspector from Bugs-B-Gone," said the exterminator.
"What are you doing in there?" the husband asked.
"I'm investigating a complaint about an infestation of moths," the man replied.
"And where are your clothes?" asked the husband.
The man looked down at himself and said,... "Those little bastards!"
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Rag Heads
Another one From The Inbox™
Recently I received a warning about the use of this politically incorrect term, so please note, we all need to be more sensitive in our choice of words.
I have been informed the Islamic terrorists, who hate our guts and want to kill us, do not like to be called "Rag Heads", since the item they wear ontheir heads is not actually a rag, but in fact, a small folded sheet.
Therefore, from this point forward, please refer to them as "Little Sheet Heads."
Thank you for your support and compliance on this delicate matter.
From Psycho Don
Recently I received a warning about the use of this politically incorrect term, so please note, we all need to be more sensitive in our choice of words.
I have been informed the Islamic terrorists, who hate our guts and want to kill us, do not like to be called "Rag Heads", since the item they wear ontheir heads is not actually a rag, but in fact, a small folded sheet.
Therefore, from this point forward, please refer to them as "Little Sheet Heads."
Thank you for your support and compliance on this delicate matter.
From Psycho Don
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Why I'm choosing Linux (yes, it's Apple whining)
First I would like to say that I'm a 'Switcher'. I have been using a Mac for the past three years and I haven't looked back. I like the ease of use of the Mac interface yet I still have the ability to mangle the Unix (BSD) underpinnings.
I've owned my second Mac for only a short month or two before Steve Jobs dropped his bombshell at the World Wide Developers Conference announcing Apple's switch (pun) to Pentium processors. Jobs all but admitted that PowerPC processors are better and the main reason they were switching was because of power comsumption (Yeah, right). Meanwhile the Mac Zealots were upset about losing the (better) processors but will buy one because they hate Microsoft, and the Apple Lemmings could care less and as long as it had a chromed Apple logo on the case they are going to buy it anyway. The news obviously came as a surprise to me and the first thing I thought about was 'They better drop the fucking price of their PowerMac's by $1000'. My issue's are more of practicality than any sort of brand loyalty. If a computer company expects me to support them they have to support me too.
Now don't take this as a rip on Apple's OS X. I love OS X and it's the number one reason that I switched with hardware coming in at a distant second. So what's the problem you say? You're still getting the OS so what's the big deal? Again, Price. I don't have that big of a problem buying a $3000 Dual G5 übercomputer, but I do have a huge problem with buying a $3000 Pentium 4 computer of any make. It's just not worth it to me and I bet it's not worth it to a lot of other people too (unless you fall into the latter two categories).
Where do I go from this point? Right now I'm still going to wait and see Apple's pricing scheme. I hope they will drop the prices of their Mac's down to a comparable Dell (or even lower but that's not likely to happen). If not it's time to start looking for a new operating system with hardware that I want (like an Athlon 64 X2).
Windows is the first to come to mind. Do I switch back to Windows? No because I just don't want to. I don't care for it, there's too much spyware, virus', and crap software. I don't have a problem with running it because I know how to take care of my boxes (I have seen morons ruin(!) OS X because they don't have a damn clue as to what they're doing). I also choose not to use Windows because it's over priced, product activation is total BS, and frankly it's a little boring. If Microsoft released Vista for $120 for a full release (meaning upgrade or fresh install) without product activation I would buy it. It still wouldn't be my main OS, but I would still pay for it.
Darwin x86 - Darwin is OS X, or at least the kernel but no beautiful Aqua GUI... Something to play with, but no good hardware support, etc. Honestly, it just doesn't interest me.
FreeBSD - The next on my list was FreeBSD. FreeBSD as well as the Mach Kernel from Next is the base for OS X. Why not go to the next closest free and open operating system? Well FreeBSD is a great OS, solid and dependable but a little out of my learning curve and I'm just plain lazy. PC-BSD which is FreeBSD with a nice installer and the KDE Desktop built on is available for the beginner. It's nice, but the OS X GUI is why I want to stay with Apple to begin with. At this point I can go to any *nix and have the same desktop environment and common apps.
Linux (General) - Ah Linux! Linux has the ear of some big corporations like IBM, Novell, Sun Microsystems and even Microsoft (though not in a good way). With support from big companies and having a large developer community is why I've decided to go with it. Linux is also becoming more main stream, with native apps from Skype, AVG, Adobe, Real, and Macromedia it's not hard to have the bells and whistles of a Windows desktop. 90% of my unix experience comes from using Linux and I'm comfortable with it.
Gentoo Linux (Specifically) - Gentoo is a source based distribution that is structured much like FreeBSD. Gentoo's Portage is very simiiar to FreeBSD ports which allows a user to download software from a repository, compile and install it. Gentoo has no installer (but excellent documentation), and I learned a great deal about how a Linux system works from the initial install and configuration. A minor negative is the time it takes to install a complete desktop worthy system due to the long compile times. It took me a solid two days to get Gnome running (using 'emerge gnome' after first boot on an Athlon XP 1800+ w/768Mb RAM) and over 24 hours of compile time alone getting openoffice.org to run (on a PIII 866MHz w/128Mb RAM). After the wait time from the initial setup it's just like any other distro and having an OS natively compliled is a big boost in speed and stability.
Lastly, if I wasn't going to use a source based distribution I would use Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is a Debian based distro that is user friendly, doesn't load a lot of useless software on a default install and has an uncluttered Gnome desktop. I highly recommend this distro to new users.
This post was far larger than I ever expected it to be...
I've owned my second Mac for only a short month or two before Steve Jobs dropped his bombshell at the World Wide Developers Conference announcing Apple's switch (pun) to Pentium processors. Jobs all but admitted that PowerPC processors are better and the main reason they were switching was because of power comsumption (Yeah, right). Meanwhile the Mac Zealots were upset about losing the (better) processors but will buy one because they hate Microsoft, and the Apple Lemmings could care less and as long as it had a chromed Apple logo on the case they are going to buy it anyway. The news obviously came as a surprise to me and the first thing I thought about was 'They better drop the fucking price of their PowerMac's by $1000'. My issue's are more of practicality than any sort of brand loyalty. If a computer company expects me to support them they have to support me too.
Now don't take this as a rip on Apple's OS X. I love OS X and it's the number one reason that I switched with hardware coming in at a distant second. So what's the problem you say? You're still getting the OS so what's the big deal? Again, Price. I don't have that big of a problem buying a $3000 Dual G5 übercomputer, but I do have a huge problem with buying a $3000 Pentium 4 computer of any make. It's just not worth it to me and I bet it's not worth it to a lot of other people too (unless you fall into the latter two categories).
Where do I go from this point? Right now I'm still going to wait and see Apple's pricing scheme. I hope they will drop the prices of their Mac's down to a comparable Dell (or even lower but that's not likely to happen). If not it's time to start looking for a new operating system with hardware that I want (like an Athlon 64 X2).
Windows is the first to come to mind. Do I switch back to Windows? No because I just don't want to. I don't care for it, there's too much spyware, virus', and crap software. I don't have a problem with running it because I know how to take care of my boxes (I have seen morons ruin(!) OS X because they don't have a damn clue as to what they're doing). I also choose not to use Windows because it's over priced, product activation is total BS, and frankly it's a little boring. If Microsoft released Vista for $120 for a full release (meaning upgrade or fresh install) without product activation I would buy it. It still wouldn't be my main OS, but I would still pay for it.
Darwin x86 - Darwin is OS X, or at least the kernel but no beautiful Aqua GUI... Something to play with, but no good hardware support, etc. Honestly, it just doesn't interest me.
FreeBSD - The next on my list was FreeBSD. FreeBSD as well as the Mach Kernel from Next is the base for OS X. Why not go to the next closest free and open operating system? Well FreeBSD is a great OS, solid and dependable but a little out of my learning curve and I'm just plain lazy. PC-BSD which is FreeBSD with a nice installer and the KDE Desktop built on is available for the beginner. It's nice, but the OS X GUI is why I want to stay with Apple to begin with. At this point I can go to any *nix and have the same desktop environment and common apps.
Linux (General) - Ah Linux! Linux has the ear of some big corporations like IBM, Novell, Sun Microsystems and even Microsoft (though not in a good way). With support from big companies and having a large developer community is why I've decided to go with it. Linux is also becoming more main stream, with native apps from Skype, AVG, Adobe, Real, and Macromedia it's not hard to have the bells and whistles of a Windows desktop. 90% of my unix experience comes from using Linux and I'm comfortable with it.
Gentoo Linux (Specifically) - Gentoo is a source based distribution that is structured much like FreeBSD. Gentoo's Portage is very simiiar to FreeBSD ports which allows a user to download software from a repository, compile and install it. Gentoo has no installer (but excellent documentation), and I learned a great deal about how a Linux system works from the initial install and configuration. A minor negative is the time it takes to install a complete desktop worthy system due to the long compile times. It took me a solid two days to get Gnome running (using 'emerge gnome' after first boot on an Athlon XP 1800+ w/768Mb RAM) and over 24 hours of compile time alone getting openoffice.org to run (on a PIII 866MHz w/128Mb RAM). After the wait time from the initial setup it's just like any other distro and having an OS natively compliled is a big boost in speed and stability.
Lastly, if I wasn't going to use a source based distribution I would use Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is a Debian based distro that is user friendly, doesn't load a lot of useless software on a default install and has an uncluttered Gnome desktop. I highly recommend this distro to new users.
This post was far larger than I ever expected it to be...
Friday, August 12, 2005
'Health Chips' Could Help Patients in US (Big Brother Alert!)
I'm not even going to make my usual comments through this article. If you can't see how incredibly bad this is going to be than you're a fucking idiot. Let's face it, if this is required by the gov't in the future, what's to stop them from putting anything else on the chip? So much for privacy...
Jul. 31--President Bush's former health secretary Tommy Thompson is putting the final touches to a plan that could result in US citizens having a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip inserted under their skin, The Business has learned.
The RFID capsules would be linked to a computerised database being created by the US Department of Health to store and manage the nation's health records. It could be the precursor to a similar scheme in the UK.
The president's budget for 2006 continues to support the use of health information technology by increasing funding to $125m (70m, E103m) for pilot schemes.
Thompson, now a director of Applied Digital Solutions, the company that makes the chips, intends to publish the proposal in the next 50 days, by which time he plans to have had a VeriChip inserted in his arm. Thompson believes the capsules could help save thousands of lives every year.
VeriChip spokesman John Procter says around 98,000 people die needlessly in the US every year after being given inappropriate treatment because their medical history was not available.
"There is a vast range of people who could benefit from having an RFID chip inserted under their skin as insurance against an accident. People with adverse reactions to certain medicines such as penicillin, people with pacemakers, people with allergies, people with weak hearts, would be made safer by a process that costs around $200 per person. In fact, virtually everyone could benefit from having a chip inserted."
The company intends to lobby the UK health authorities to inject the chips into British patients.
According to Procter, the chips can also be used for financial transactions. In Europe, the Baja Beach Club chain has introduced chipping in the Netherlands and Spain.
The VeriChip is inserted at the club and means club-goers will no longer have to wait in line to pay to get in and will be able to use the chip to pay their bar bill.
Civil liberties groups such as Caspian in the US fear that the need for increased security in the wake of terrorist attacks could act as a catalyst for a more widespread use of VeriChips.
-----
To see more of The Business, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thebusinessonline.com.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Business, London
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
Jul. 31--President Bush's former health secretary Tommy Thompson is putting the final touches to a plan that could result in US citizens having a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip inserted under their skin, The Business has learned.
The RFID capsules would be linked to a computerised database being created by the US Department of Health to store and manage the nation's health records. It could be the precursor to a similar scheme in the UK.
The president's budget for 2006 continues to support the use of health information technology by increasing funding to $125m (70m, E103m) for pilot schemes.
Thompson, now a director of Applied Digital Solutions, the company that makes the chips, intends to publish the proposal in the next 50 days, by which time he plans to have had a VeriChip inserted in his arm. Thompson believes the capsules could help save thousands of lives every year.
VeriChip spokesman John Procter says around 98,000 people die needlessly in the US every year after being given inappropriate treatment because their medical history was not available.
"There is a vast range of people who could benefit from having an RFID chip inserted under their skin as insurance against an accident. People with adverse reactions to certain medicines such as penicillin, people with pacemakers, people with allergies, people with weak hearts, would be made safer by a process that costs around $200 per person. In fact, virtually everyone could benefit from having a chip inserted."
The company intends to lobby the UK health authorities to inject the chips into British patients.
According to Procter, the chips can also be used for financial transactions. In Europe, the Baja Beach Club chain has introduced chipping in the Netherlands and Spain.
The VeriChip is inserted at the club and means club-goers will no longer have to wait in line to pay to get in and will be able to use the chip to pay their bar bill.
Civil liberties groups such as Caspian in the US fear that the need for increased security in the wake of terrorist attacks could act as a catalyst for a more widespread use of VeriChips.
-----
To see more of The Business, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thebusinessonline.com.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Business, London
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
(Racial) Profiling
Here's another one From The Inbox™ courtesy of Psycho Don.
HISTORY TEST
Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test. The events are actual events from history. They actually happened!
Do you remember?
1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17
and 40
2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were
kidnapped and massacred by:
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over
by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were
kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was
blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was
hijacked and a 70 year old
American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard
in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens,
and a US Navy diver trying
to rescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the
first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild
Bill's women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two
were used as missiles to
take out the World Trade Centers and of the
remaining two, one crashed into
the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and
crashed by the passengers.
Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer
Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in
Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and
murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?
Because Americans must never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honour winning and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone otherwise they be guilty of profiling.
Let's not forget London... - Ballistic
HISTORY TEST
Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test. The events are actual events from history. They actually happened!
Do you remember?
1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17
and 40
2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were
kidnapped and massacred by:
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over
by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were
kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was
blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was
hijacked and a 70 year old
American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard
in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens,
and a US Navy diver trying
to rescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the
first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild
Bill's women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two
were used as missiles to
take out the World Trade Centers and of the
remaining two, one crashed into
the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and
crashed by the passengers.
Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer
Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in
Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and
murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of
17 and 40
Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?
Because Americans must never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honour winning and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone otherwise they be guilty of profiling.
Let's not forget London... - Ballistic
Monday, July 25, 2005
Appropriateness
People that know me don't think that I'm some sort of prude (trust me on this) but I find the way that most people think... odd. Here's an example;
I want to bring the girls to see War of the Worlds and I asked someone if it was OK for younger kids. He said 'Oh yeah there's no nudity or anything in it'. I said 'hmm..., I read in an article that there was a scene where there where hundreds of dead bodies blocking up a river'. His response was 'Oh yeah that's there but there's no nudity'. It strikes me as odd that seeing a boobie is worse than seeing a bunch of mangled corpses in a river. I've always thought that if the child was able to handle it than it was OK, if they can't handle it than it wasn't OK. Seems simple to me, than I came across this little gem and everything made sense...
I want to bring the girls to see War of the Worlds and I asked someone if it was OK for younger kids. He said 'Oh yeah there's no nudity or anything in it'. I said 'hmm..., I read in an article that there was a scene where there where hundreds of dead bodies blocking up a river'. His response was 'Oh yeah that's there but there's no nudity'. It strikes me as odd that seeing a boobie is worse than seeing a bunch of mangled corpses in a river. I've always thought that if the child was able to handle it than it was OK, if they can't handle it than it wasn't OK. Seems simple to me, than I came across this little gem and everything made sense...
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Dresden, Harry Dresden.
Has any of my faithful reader(s) read the Dresden Files series of books? It's a very fun series and I highly recommend. Here's the 'What Character are you'...
 I am Karrin Murphy. I head up one of the most thankless jobs in Law Enforcement. Half the department thinks I'm just crazy. The other's simply convinced I'm dangerous. They all think I'm due for an early retirement. And they've all been wrong longer than they'd like. It's my job to protect the people who can't protect themselves. I'm never one of them. Me and the boys in Special Investigations stand between the rest of Chicago and the darkness, armed only with our guns and our determination. If you threaten one of them, or anyone I am sworn to protect, I will end you, no matter how many limbs and fangs you have, no matter how many bullets bounce off your scaly hide. I will find a way. |
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Damn, I Hate When That Happens.
I have the Slashdot RSS feed and I saw an article posted 'How to Become A Real-World Superhero', which links to a Forbes.com article called 'Being Batman'. That was exactly what I was working on for this blog. Ah well, the Forbes article is OK, a little too short in info but check it out anyway...
The one think you should definately see is Batman Begins! This movie totally rocked in ways that I never expected (ex.: They actually make the Scarecrow cool). Spend your nine bucks to see it, it's worth it.
Later...
The one think you should definately see is Batman Begins! This movie totally rocked in ways that I never expected (ex.: They actually make the Scarecrow cool). Spend your nine bucks to see it, it's worth it.
Later...
Friday, June 17, 2005
Don't Mess With The US!
Holy Freakin' Crap! This is another one From The Inbox™ and I got it from my buddy Ian. This is absolutely some amazing shit!
These pictures were taken from an AC130 Specter gunship two and a half miles away. The guys in the picture are setting up a roadside bomb and an ambush for an American convoy that followed a short while after the pictures were taken.
They were setting up for the ambush and were pacing off the distance from the bomb to where the convoy was to pass
40 mm cannon on the gunship. Awesome technology now a days.
-------------------------------------------------------
Get the video here. Terrorist scumbags...
These pictures were taken from an AC130 Specter gunship two and a half miles away. The guys in the picture are setting up a roadside bomb and an ambush for an American convoy that followed a short while after the pictures were taken.
They were setting up for the ambush and were pacing off the distance from the bomb to where the convoy was to pass
40 mm cannon on the gunship. Awesome technology now a days.
-------------------------------------------------------
Get the video here. Terrorist scumbags...
Thursday, June 16, 2005
101 Uses For A Lightsaber, #62
Reheating coffee.
This is by far the best use for a lightsaber in daily living. Now I have a legitimate reason to own one..
(Mmmm... Sith Java™)
This is by far the best use for a lightsaber in daily living. Now I have a legitimate reason to own one..
(Mmmm... Sith Java™)
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
From The Inbox: Mexican Earthquake
I love it when I get stuff like this emailed to me :)
Mexican Earthquake
A big earthquake with the strength of 8.1 on the Richter scale has hit Mexico.
Two million Mexicans have died and over a million are injured.
The country is totally ruined and the government doesn't know where to start with providing help to rebuild. The rest of the world is in shock.
Canada is sending troops to help the Mexican army. Saudi Arabia is sending oil. Other Latin American countries are sending supplies.
The European community (except France) is sending food and money.
The United States, not to be outdone, is sending two million replacement Mexicans.
God Bless America
Mexican Earthquake
A big earthquake with the strength of 8.1 on the Richter scale has hit Mexico.
Two million Mexicans have died and over a million are injured.
The country is totally ruined and the government doesn't know where to start with providing help to rebuild. The rest of the world is in shock.
Canada is sending troops to help the Mexican army. Saudi Arabia is sending oil. Other Latin American countries are sending supplies.
The European community (except France) is sending food and money.
The United States, not to be outdone, is sending two million replacement Mexicans.
God Bless America
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Talk about a complete 180°
Some disturbing yet odd news coming in;
Gentoo Founder Joins Microsoft
The founder and chief architect of the popular Linux distribution Gentoo Daniel Robbins, has taken up a job at Microsoft. He describes his new job as "helping Microsoft to understand Open Source and community-based projects". While in the midst of hastily packing to move to Redmond, Robbins nonetheless managed to find the time to finalize the transfer of Gentoo's intellectual property (essentially copyrights on ebuilds and other software as well as soon-to-be trademarked Gentoo logos) to the not-for-profit Gentoo Foundation, Inc. From OSNews.
Here's a 'choice' comment;
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over Microsoft. Their idea of innovation is calling index.html -> default.htm
In other words they take what already exists, tweak it so that it's incompatible with the current standards, rename it and call it their great invention."
Gentoo Founder Joins Microsoft
The founder and chief architect of the popular Linux distribution Gentoo Daniel Robbins, has taken up a job at Microsoft. He describes his new job as "helping Microsoft to understand Open Source and community-based projects". While in the midst of hastily packing to move to Redmond, Robbins nonetheless managed to find the time to finalize the transfer of Gentoo's intellectual property (essentially copyrights on ebuilds and other software as well as soon-to-be trademarked Gentoo logos) to the not-for-profit Gentoo Foundation, Inc. From OSNews.
Here's a 'choice' comment;
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over Microsoft. Their idea of innovation is calling index.html -> default.htm
In other words they take what already exists, tweak it so that it's incompatible with the current standards, rename it and call it their great invention."
Friday, June 10, 2005
More Apple Whining (Or I Should Just STFU Already!)
Here's a slightly modified email exchange between me and another Mac user;
On Jun 8, 2005, at 8:23 PM, [Name Hidden For His Own Safety] wrote:
There are two kinds of computer users. Those that use computers because they love them, and those that use their computers because they make some task easier for them. The second one is the majority of people and where the real money is. They don't care what the case looks like or how the processor works. They just want the computer to do it's job. If your average PC user can run their favorite PC software EASILY on a bug free, virus free OS, they will probably choose that OS over Windows XP
I have to disagree. The majority of people know nothing about computers and buy them based on price. I have been asked many times what computer to but and I say 'Get a Mac'. The response 'But there's no software for it and it's so expensive'. I reply back; 'Ok, buy a Dell then'. I'm not one to argue with what people should do with their money...
Being a Mac guy, how many times have you heard 'Oh... A Mac... They're good for graphics'. We both know that's total bullshit but the average person believes it to be true (otherwise you wouldn't hear it so much). Plus their friend has some lame screen saver or a copy of Office that they will put on it once they get it.
Get someone a little shopper savvy who looks and compares a Mac with a Dell and they see;
Dell
P4 3.6Ghz
512MB RAM
250Gb HD
Windows Longhorn
$1200
PowerMac(Tel)
P4 3.6Ghz
512MB RAM
250Gb HD
OS X 10.5 Leopard
$3000
'Gee Mister Salesman why the big price difference?' 'Well Miss Customer, it has OS X on it'. Then they see a copy of OS X on the shelf for $130...
I know, I know, I need to get over this...
On Jun 8, 2005, at 8:23 PM, [Name Hidden For His Own Safety] wrote:
There are two kinds of computer users. Those that use computers because they love them, and those that use their computers because they make some task easier for them. The second one is the majority of people and where the real money is. They don't care what the case looks like or how the processor works. They just want the computer to do it's job. If your average PC user can run their favorite PC software EASILY on a bug free, virus free OS, they will probably choose that OS over Windows XP
I have to disagree. The majority of people know nothing about computers and buy them based on price. I have been asked many times what computer to but and I say 'Get a Mac'. The response 'But there's no software for it and it's so expensive'. I reply back; 'Ok, buy a Dell then'. I'm not one to argue with what people should do with their money...
Being a Mac guy, how many times have you heard 'Oh... A Mac... They're good for graphics'. We both know that's total bullshit but the average person believes it to be true (otherwise you wouldn't hear it so much). Plus their friend has some lame screen saver or a copy of Office that they will put on it once they get it.
Get someone a little shopper savvy who looks and compares a Mac with a Dell and they see;
Dell
P4 3.6Ghz
512MB RAM
250Gb HD
Windows Longhorn
$1200
PowerMac(Tel)
P4 3.6Ghz
512MB RAM
250Gb HD
OS X 10.5 Leopard
$3000
'Gee Mister Salesman why the big price difference?' 'Well Miss Customer, it has OS X on it'. Then they see a copy of OS X on the shelf for $130...
I know, I know, I need to get over this...
And Another One Bites The Dust!
Crime Drops, Despite Expiration of Gun Ban
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
June 08, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - So much for "anti-gun hysterics" and predictions of "blood running in the streets," a Second Amendment group says.
- I'm not surprised! Are you surprised?
Nine months after the Clinton-era "assault weapons ban" expired, the FBI has released crime statistics showing a drop in homicides in 2004 -- the first such drop since 1999. The FBI report said all types of violent crime declined last year, and cities with more than a million people showed the largest drops in violent crime.
- Maybe it's because the citizens are a little better armed :)
When the Clinton ban on certain semiautomatic weapons expired last September, gun control groups warned that violent crime would escalate, including violence against children.
- YES! They invoked the Liberal Battlecry™; 'Let's do it for the children!' The only 'control' these people want is to NOT let you own any firearms. That is their goal plain and simple (just ask Cruz's wife).
But those "doom and gloom" forecasts have been exposed as "pure clap-trap," said Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) President Joe Tartaro.
"Where is the news media on this?" Tartaro wondered. He said if the number of homicides had gone up, reporters would be writing front-page stories linking the rise to the end of the semi-auto ban.
"But that's not the case, and the mainstream press, with the exception of an April 28 New York Times article, has been pretty quiet about it," Tartaro said.
- The 'mainstream' press is run by liberals. Why do you think they're so pissed off at Fox News?
The FBI crime report is more proof that the rhetoric from anti-gunners is bogus, Tartaro added. "The press should now question all the other outrageous claims and predictions from the gun control crowd."
- Never happen...
"The gun control movement is, and always has been, built on a foundation of hysteria and lies," SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb said.
- Yes, I've been on the receiving end of it a few times myself. My two favorite's are "You're not allowed into my house with a gun. Ever!' Then they had some 'vandal issues' and then I was TOLD to come over with one. I guess they think if you own a gun you're some kind of hitman or something...
The next one was because I brought a gun magazine over someone's house (the type you read, not load a semiauto with). Another person was also visiting the same residence and turned evil on me as soon as she saw what it was. Of course little comments were said and when I mentioned a few facts (kinda like this article) it went downhill 'You just have gun's to make up for a small penis!' Anti-Gunners are crazy... and I don't have a small penis... really.
"From their lawsuits against gun makers to their assaults on the firearm civil rights of law-abiding American citizens, these gun grabbers have been deliberately deceitful and consistently wrong."
- They have also admitted as much. Here's some good articles;
Weapons ban purely cosmetic - "The Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, who's pro-gun control, admitted that the ban's "only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation." The ban erodes respect for the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
This one really kills me, they keep 'assault weapons' over the border in Virginia because DC's gun laws are so restrictive... Isn't DC the murder capitol of the US? NPR Examines the Semi-automatic gun ban.
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
June 08, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - So much for "anti-gun hysterics" and predictions of "blood running in the streets," a Second Amendment group says.
- I'm not surprised! Are you surprised?
Nine months after the Clinton-era "assault weapons ban" expired, the FBI has released crime statistics showing a drop in homicides in 2004 -- the first such drop since 1999. The FBI report said all types of violent crime declined last year, and cities with more than a million people showed the largest drops in violent crime.
- Maybe it's because the citizens are a little better armed :)
When the Clinton ban on certain semiautomatic weapons expired last September, gun control groups warned that violent crime would escalate, including violence against children.
- YES! They invoked the Liberal Battlecry™; 'Let's do it for the children!' The only 'control' these people want is to NOT let you own any firearms. That is their goal plain and simple (just ask Cruz's wife).
But those "doom and gloom" forecasts have been exposed as "pure clap-trap," said Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) President Joe Tartaro.
"Where is the news media on this?" Tartaro wondered. He said if the number of homicides had gone up, reporters would be writing front-page stories linking the rise to the end of the semi-auto ban.
"But that's not the case, and the mainstream press, with the exception of an April 28 New York Times article, has been pretty quiet about it," Tartaro said.
- The 'mainstream' press is run by liberals. Why do you think they're so pissed off at Fox News?
The FBI crime report is more proof that the rhetoric from anti-gunners is bogus, Tartaro added. "The press should now question all the other outrageous claims and predictions from the gun control crowd."
- Never happen...
"The gun control movement is, and always has been, built on a foundation of hysteria and lies," SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb said.
- Yes, I've been on the receiving end of it a few times myself. My two favorite's are "You're not allowed into my house with a gun. Ever!' Then they had some 'vandal issues' and then I was TOLD to come over with one. I guess they think if you own a gun you're some kind of hitman or something...
The next one was because I brought a gun magazine over someone's house (the type you read, not load a semiauto with). Another person was also visiting the same residence and turned evil on me as soon as she saw what it was. Of course little comments were said and when I mentioned a few facts (kinda like this article) it went downhill 'You just have gun's to make up for a small penis!' Anti-Gunners are crazy... and I don't have a small penis... really.
"From their lawsuits against gun makers to their assaults on the firearm civil rights of law-abiding American citizens, these gun grabbers have been deliberately deceitful and consistently wrong."
- They have also admitted as much. Here's some good articles;
Weapons ban purely cosmetic - "The Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, who's pro-gun control, admitted that the ban's "only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation." The ban erodes respect for the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
This one really kills me, they keep 'assault weapons' over the border in Virginia because DC's gun laws are so restrictive... Isn't DC the murder capitol of the US? NPR Examines the Semi-automatic gun ban.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
I'm Officially Taking A Wait And See Attitude (Or More Apple Crap)
Here's another copy/paste from another email I sent whining about the 'MacTel' decision.
I watched the keynote and I admit it was very good (watch it here). My problem with them moving to Intel is cost. Intel based PC's are dirt cheap, and Mac's aren't. I've been hearing around that Apple will NOT allow OS X to run on anything other than a Mac. That's all good and fine, and Apple makes a gorgeous computer but the prices HAVE to be close to what Dell sell's the same PC for. With the Power PC processors (which still are superior to the x86), Mac OS X and the hardware design I feel you are getting a good package deal. Change out the Power PC's to Intel Pentium's and you're getting a FreeBSD based operating system on a Pentium box with a pretty case. It's just not that special to me anymore. Give me OS X, I'll build my own PC (which I've been doing forever) and I'll be satisfied. We'll have to wait until the end of 2006 to see if I'm willing to buy one...
I watched the keynote and I admit it was very good (watch it here). My problem with them moving to Intel is cost. Intel based PC's are dirt cheap, and Mac's aren't. I've been hearing around that Apple will NOT allow OS X to run on anything other than a Mac. That's all good and fine, and Apple makes a gorgeous computer but the prices HAVE to be close to what Dell sell's the same PC for. With the Power PC processors (which still are superior to the x86), Mac OS X and the hardware design I feel you are getting a good package deal. Change out the Power PC's to Intel Pentium's and you're getting a FreeBSD based operating system on a Pentium box with a pretty case. It's just not that special to me anymore. Give me OS X, I'll build my own PC (which I've been doing forever) and I'll be satisfied. We'll have to wait until the end of 2006 to see if I'm willing to buy one...
Why Would Anyone Buy One Now? (Or Apple Offended Me)
This is a copy/paste from an email I sent out rambling on about why on God's green earth would Apple switch (bad pun) to Intel processors.
I guess if I had $3000 to throw away I would buy the PowerMac that I've been pretending to save up for (it'll be a collector's item). Because Apple has announced the transition to Intel do you think anyone would want to buy a current Mac? Do you realize in 2 years our Macs will be outdated? Did you know my ear is still fucking killing me?
This decision by Apple really and truly is bothering me... Apple had something special and all because the Intel chips run cooler... that's flawed logic... Apple uses the SAME processors in their desktops and Laptops. Intel has specific processors for Laptop's, The Pentium M, who's top speed is currently at 2.1Ghz. They're great processors but Power PC processors are still faster and Job's all but admitted that during his keynote address. It's all because they run cooler. They better 'white box' OS X 10.5 Leopard or SERIOUSLY drop the prices of their hardware into the realm of what Dell is charging. To me this is almost unforgivable... I'm sure the die hard Mac users won't have a problem because they're either too brainwashed or stupid to care...
I guess if I had $3000 to throw away I would buy the PowerMac that I've been pretending to save up for (it'll be a collector's item). Because Apple has announced the transition to Intel do you think anyone would want to buy a current Mac? Do you realize in 2 years our Macs will be outdated? Did you know my ear is still fucking killing me?
This decision by Apple really and truly is bothering me... Apple had something special and all because the Intel chips run cooler... that's flawed logic... Apple uses the SAME processors in their desktops and Laptops. Intel has specific processors for Laptop's, The Pentium M, who's top speed is currently at 2.1Ghz. They're great processors but Power PC processors are still faster and Job's all but admitted that during his keynote address. It's all because they run cooler. They better 'white box' OS X 10.5 Leopard or SERIOUSLY drop the prices of their hardware into the realm of what Dell is charging. To me this is almost unforgivable... I'm sure the die hard Mac users won't have a problem because they're either too brainwashed or stupid to care...
Monday, June 06, 2005
I'm confused...
Can someone please explain to me why the Left, who is trying to remove all instances of God from any federal building, is so hell bent on persecuting our soldiers for possibly mishandling a Koran? Isn't the Koran 'the literal word of God and the culmination of God's revelation to mankind'? And the place these terrorists are located is a federal building, right?
Saturday, June 04, 2005
For Those Of You That Noticed...
I moved my blog yet again. I was hosting it at my personal (although sparse) .WebSite, I have now moved it to www.ImOffended.org. I couldn't resist getting the domain name...
Thursday, June 02, 2005
The Way It Was (or WTF Happened To Us?!)
Ahh... More Mac back ups to share with my Faithful Reader(s)! This one dates back to November 26, 2003 and comes from my buddy at The Ideasmithy. I can't express how much I wholeheartedly agree with it.
Are you a survivor.........
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's probably shouldn't have survived. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors! We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them. We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of them! Congratulations. Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors?
A must read for people over 25 yrs of age!
Are you a survivor.........
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's probably shouldn't have survived. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors! We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them. We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of them! Congratulations. Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors?
A must read for people over 25 yrs of age!
My New Home (or Live It, Love It, Learn It)
Well I guess it's pretty obvious that my HTML skills aren't all that great. I tacked on a nav bar to the top of my Blogger Template so you guys could navigate around the new site with some ease... uh... that's about the extent of it.
Be sure to check out the Gallery (more pics coming soon) and my links section for some stuff of interest.
More later...
Be sure to check out the Gallery (more pics coming soon) and my links section for some stuff of interest.
More later...
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
As much as I like the UK...
Here's another one from Mike Sid. The article can be found at BBC News
Doctors' kitchen knives ban call
Doctors say knives are too pointed
- Isn't that the point (pun intended)?
A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to reduce deaths from stabbing.
A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on the increase - and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings.
They argued many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon.
- So instead of trying to fix the alcohal and drug problem they want to (yet again) screw over the law abiding people.
The research is published in the British Medical Journal.
The researchers said there was no reason for long pointed knives to be publicly available at all.
They consulted 10 top chefs from around the UK, and found such knives have little practical value in the kitchen.
- But I'm sure those chefs still have the 'offensive' knives too (until their houses are raided and they are thrown in jail for owning them).
None of the chefs felt such knives were essential, since the point of a short blade was just as useful when a sharp end was needed.
The researchers said a short pointed knife may cause a substantial superficial wound if used in an assault - but is unlikely to penetrate to inner organs.
- My understanding was kitchen knives where a tool used for cooking. Now they're classified as weapons?
Kitchen knives can inflict appalling wounds
- So can drunk politicians that drive off bridges...
In contrast, a pointed long blade pierces the body like "cutting into a ripe melon".
- Oh the imagery! A ripe melon getting cut! Ban the damn melons too!
The use of knives is particularly worrying amongst adolescents, say the researchers, reporting that 24% of 16-year-olds have been shown to carry weapons, primarily knives.
The study found links between easy access to domestic knives and violent assault are long established.
- Hey instead of banning them, you could force citizens into a 'Kitchen Club' where they would keep their registered long bladed kitchen knives locked up. They would prepare the food there (under guard of course) and then take the freshly prepared meat/chicken/veggies home to cook.
French laws in the 17th century decreed that the tips of table and street knives be ground smooth.
- Pfft! The French have ALWAYS been pussies.
A century later, forks and blunt-ended table knives were introduced in the UK in an effort to reduce injuries during arguments in public eating houses.
The researchers say legislation to ban the sale of long pointed knives would be a key step in the fight against violent crime.
"The Home Office is looking for ways to reduce knife crime.
"We suggest that banning the sale of long pointed knives is a sensible and practical measure that would have this effect."
- I can't believe that anyone takes this shit seriously!
Government response
- Brr! I just got a chill!
Home Office spokesperson said there were already extensive restrictions in place to control the sale and possession of knives.
"The law already prohibits the possession of offensive weapons in a public place, and the possession of knives in public without good reason or lawful authority, with the exception of a folding pocket knife with a blade not exceeding three inches.
"Offensive weapons are defined as any weapon designed or adapted to cause injury, or intended by the person possessing them to do so.
- Ah... intent! My mechanical pencil can take someone's eye out. So all's someone has to do is try and use it in an offensive manner and it gets banned?
"An individual has to demonstrate that he had good reason to possess a knife, for example for fishing, other sporting purposes or as part of his profession (e.g. a chef) in a public place.
- How about 'I have a knife because I may have the need to cut something'? Not good enough? How about 'You pussies banned all firearms and I'm forced to use a stone age tool to defend myself and my family from the rash of home invasions going on'? What? That'll land me in jail?!? Socialism/Liberalism at it's finest.
"The manufacture, sale and importation of 17 bladed, pointed and other offensive weapons have been banned, in addition to flick knives and gravity knives."
A spokesperson for the Association of Chief Police Officers said: "ACPO supports any move to reduce the number of knife related incidents, however, it is important to consider the practicalities of enforcing such changes."
- Well hell, just do an unannounced spot visit to make sure that mommy is not using a knife that is too big to prepare Daddy and Juniors dinner with! And if she is, arrest her and throw her in jail for a month! That'll show that no good criminal mommy to not mess with a government that is far over extending it's authority.
Doctors' kitchen knives ban call
Doctors say knives are too pointed
- Isn't that the point (pun intended)?
A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to reduce deaths from stabbing.
A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on the increase - and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings.
They argued many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon.
- So instead of trying to fix the alcohal and drug problem they want to (yet again) screw over the law abiding people.
The research is published in the British Medical Journal.
The researchers said there was no reason for long pointed knives to be publicly available at all.
They consulted 10 top chefs from around the UK, and found such knives have little practical value in the kitchen.
- But I'm sure those chefs still have the 'offensive' knives too (until their houses are raided and they are thrown in jail for owning them).
None of the chefs felt such knives were essential, since the point of a short blade was just as useful when a sharp end was needed.
The researchers said a short pointed knife may cause a substantial superficial wound if used in an assault - but is unlikely to penetrate to inner organs.
- My understanding was kitchen knives where a tool used for cooking. Now they're classified as weapons?
Kitchen knives can inflict appalling wounds
- So can drunk politicians that drive off bridges...
In contrast, a pointed long blade pierces the body like "cutting into a ripe melon".
- Oh the imagery! A ripe melon getting cut! Ban the damn melons too!
The use of knives is particularly worrying amongst adolescents, say the researchers, reporting that 24% of 16-year-olds have been shown to carry weapons, primarily knives.
The study found links between easy access to domestic knives and violent assault are long established.
- Hey instead of banning them, you could force citizens into a 'Kitchen Club' where they would keep their registered long bladed kitchen knives locked up. They would prepare the food there (under guard of course) and then take the freshly prepared meat/chicken/veggies home to cook.
French laws in the 17th century decreed that the tips of table and street knives be ground smooth.
- Pfft! The French have ALWAYS been pussies.
A century later, forks and blunt-ended table knives were introduced in the UK in an effort to reduce injuries during arguments in public eating houses.
The researchers say legislation to ban the sale of long pointed knives would be a key step in the fight against violent crime.
"The Home Office is looking for ways to reduce knife crime.
"We suggest that banning the sale of long pointed knives is a sensible and practical measure that would have this effect."
- I can't believe that anyone takes this shit seriously!
Government response
- Brr! I just got a chill!
Home Office spokesperson said there were already extensive restrictions in place to control the sale and possession of knives.
"The law already prohibits the possession of offensive weapons in a public place, and the possession of knives in public without good reason or lawful authority, with the exception of a folding pocket knife with a blade not exceeding three inches.
"Offensive weapons are defined as any weapon designed or adapted to cause injury, or intended by the person possessing them to do so.
- Ah... intent! My mechanical pencil can take someone's eye out. So all's someone has to do is try and use it in an offensive manner and it gets banned?
"An individual has to demonstrate that he had good reason to possess a knife, for example for fishing, other sporting purposes or as part of his profession (e.g. a chef) in a public place.
- How about 'I have a knife because I may have the need to cut something'? Not good enough? How about 'You pussies banned all firearms and I'm forced to use a stone age tool to defend myself and my family from the rash of home invasions going on'? What? That'll land me in jail?!? Socialism/Liberalism at it's finest.
"The manufacture, sale and importation of 17 bladed, pointed and other offensive weapons have been banned, in addition to flick knives and gravity knives."
A spokesperson for the Association of Chief Police Officers said: "ACPO supports any move to reduce the number of knife related incidents, however, it is important to consider the practicalities of enforcing such changes."
- Well hell, just do an unannounced spot visit to make sure that mommy is not using a knife that is too big to prepare Daddy and Juniors dinner with! And if she is, arrest her and throw her in jail for a month! That'll show that no good criminal mommy to not mess with a government that is far over extending it's authority.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Mmm... Xenia!
I found this picture on my hard drive when I was backing up my Mac and I felt that I should share it with my faithful reader(s). This is Xenia Seeburg from The Lexx TV Series and she is one sexy woman. Love them pouty lips...
Monday, May 23, 2005
Episode III (Or What Color Lightsaber Would You Have?)
I saw Revenge of The Sith on opening day and I really enjoyed it. It was far, far better than the Eps I&II and (to me), the CGI was better and not as in your face as the first two (but there was still a lot of it). Being in the Star Wars mood I found this 'What Color Lightsaber...' quiz on the net. The questions are stupid and the web site is slow but the results came out better than 'What D&D Character Are You'.
Your Lightsaber is Blue
Blue is often associated with depth and stability.
It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom,
confidence, and truth.
What Colored Lightsaber Would You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla
Your Lightsaber is Blue
Blue is often associated with depth and stability.
It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom,
confidence, and truth.
What Colored Lightsaber Would You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla
What D&D Character Are You?
I saw this in an old email and I thought it was kinda neat until I found out that I was a tree hugging psychopath...
I Am A: Chaotic Neutral Human Ranger Druid
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral characters are unstable, and frequently insane. They believe in disorder first and foremost, and will thus strive for that disorder in everything they do. This means that they will do whatever seems 'fun' or 'novel' at any given time.
Race:
Humans are the 'average' race. They have the shortest life spans, and because of this, they tend to avoid the racial prejudices that other races are known for. They are also very curious and tend to live 'for the moment'.
Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.
Secondary Class:
Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.
Deity:
Silvanus is the True Neutral god of nature. He is also known as the Patron of Druids. His followers believe in the perfect balance of nature, and believe that nature's bounty is preferable to any other 'civilizing' method. They wear leather or metallic scale mail, constructed of leaf-shaped scales. Silvanus's symbol is an oak leaf.
Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan (e-mail)
I Am A: Chaotic Neutral Human Ranger Druid
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral characters are unstable, and frequently insane. They believe in disorder first and foremost, and will thus strive for that disorder in everything they do. This means that they will do whatever seems 'fun' or 'novel' at any given time.
Race:
Humans are the 'average' race. They have the shortest life spans, and because of this, they tend to avoid the racial prejudices that other races are known for. They are also very curious and tend to live 'for the moment'.
Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.
Secondary Class:
Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.
Deity:
Silvanus is the True Neutral god of nature. He is also known as the Patron of Druids. His followers believe in the perfect balance of nature, and believe that nature's bounty is preferable to any other 'civilizing' method. They wear leather or metallic scale mail, constructed of leaf-shaped scales. Silvanus's symbol is an oak leaf.
Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy of NeppyMan (e-mail)
Sunday, May 22, 2005
We Still Hate The French Right?
I've always liked making fun of the French for being a bunch of snail eating pansies. Sure they love our Marlboro's, Levi's and Coca-Cola but what have they done for us lately? With the war in Iraq 'over' (for lack of a better word) we haven't heard much from them, so this is just a friendly reminder; Yes, We Still Hate The French.
Some fun stuff: If you Google 'French Military Victories' and press the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button you'll get this search page back.
More Fun Stuff: Go to Albino Blacksheep's page for a quick and dirty listing of The Complete Military History of France.
Some fun stuff: If you Google 'French Military Victories' and press the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button you'll get this search page back.
More Fun Stuff: Go to Albino Blacksheep's page for a quick and dirty listing of The Complete Military History of France.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Never Upset A Fan (or Super Hot Pants No More)
I came across this fan manipulated picture off of The Caped Wonder web site. Starting from the top, Superman now has a haircut, a little darker blue and a little lighter red in the costume, the same style 'S' only bigger, no 'S' symbol on the belt buckle, NO HOT PANTS and taller boots. This is what he should look like, it keeps the new updates but blends it in with the old very well. Click on the picture below for the full sized version.
ETA: I resized the picture in iPhoto and it looks great (Mac's rule). I also posted a side-by-side comparision of the two pictures on my .WebSite.
ETA: I resized the picture in iPhoto and it looks great (Mac's rule). I also posted a side-by-side comparision of the two pictures on my .WebSite.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Assault weapons ban comes to end: A dud?
This was emailed to me by my buddy Mike Sid;
By Deborah Sontag The New York Times, APRIL 25, 2005 (subset)
Despite dire predictions that America's streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban in September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several city police departments.
The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. It underscored what many of them had said all along: The ban was porous - so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition.
Shut your freakin' pie-hole ya skank! 'Assault weapons' are full auto's (that's machines guns to you others) - B
"The whole time that the American public thought there was an assault weapons ban, there never really was one," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, a gun- control group. What's more, law-enforcement officials say that military-style weapons, which were never used in many gun crimes but did enjoy some vogue in the years before the ban took effect, seem to have gone out of style in criminal circles.
"Back in the early '90s, criminals wanted those Rambo-type weapons they could brandish," said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police. "Today they are much happier with a 9-millimeter handgun they can stick in their belt."
Well Duh! It's a helluva lot easier to conceal a Glock than it is a AK-47 - B
When the ban took effect in 1994, it exempted more than 1.5 million assault weapons in private hands. Over the next 10 years, at least 1.17 million more assault weapons were prod- uced - legitimately - by manufacturers that availed themselves of loopholes in the law, according to an analysis of firearms production data by the Violence Policy Center.
Oh here we go again! 'Loopholes', if it served a Liberal anti-gun agenda it wouldn't be called a 'loophole', it would be called 'complying with the law' - B
Throughout the decade-long ban, for instance, the gun manu- facturer DPMS/Panther Arms of Minnesota continued selling assault rifles to civilians by the tens of thousands. In compliance with the ban, the firearms manufacturer "sporterized" the military- style weapons, sawing off bayonet lugs, securing stocks so they were not collapsible and adding muzzle brakes. But the changes did not alter the guns' essence; they were still semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips.
Ha bitch! You just said 'in compliance'. So bayonet lugs, 'secured stocks' and muzzle breaks are OK. Can you please explain why a fucking pistol grip on a semi-auto rifle is so bad? Moron. - B
After the ban expired in September, DPMS reintroduced its full- featured weapons to the civilian market and enjoyed a slight spike in sales. But that increase was short-lived, and predictably so, said Randy Luth, the company's owner. "I never thought the sunset of the ban would be that big a deal," he said.
It is a big deal fucknut! We have just proved it did NOTHING! - B
No gun production data are available for the seven months since the ban expired. And some gun-control advocates say they do not trust the self-reporting of gun industry representatives, who may want to play down the volume of their sales to ward off a revival of the ban.
A replica of the ban is again before the Senate. "In my view, the assault weapons legislation was working," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, a chief sponsor of the new bill. "It was drying up supply and driving up prices. The number of those guns used in crimes dropped because they were less available."
Assault weapons account for a small fraction of gun crimes: about 2 percent, according to most studies, and no more than 8 percent. But they have been used in many high-profile shooting sprees.
OK, let's look at these last two paragraphs; Diane 'If I had my way, Mr and Mrs America turn them all in' Feinstein the woman who wants to repeal the 2nd amendment, says it's 'working' when the next paragraph it states only 2% (actually less according to the FBI) of all gun related crimes use them. The tactic is to start on the scary looking stuff to fool the ignorant and then go after everything else. -B
Gun crime in the United States has plummeted since the early 1990s. But a study for the National Institute of Justice said that it could not "clearly credit the ban with any of the nation's recent drop in gun violence."
Gee, y'think it might have to do with more states allowing their citizens to carry concealed weapons? - B
By Deborah Sontag The New York Times, APRIL 25, 2005
Despite dire predictions that America's streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban in September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several city police departments.
The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. It underscored what many of them had said all along: The ban was porous - so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition.
Shut your freakin' pie-hole ya skank! 'Assault weapons' are full auto's (that's machines guns to you others) - B
"The whole time that the American public thought there was an assault weapons ban, there never really was one," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, a gun- control group. What's more, law-enforcement officials say that military-style weapons, which were never used in many gun crimes but did enjoy some vogue in the years before the ban took effect, seem to have gone out of style in criminal circles.
"Back in the early '90s, criminals wanted those Rambo-type weapons they could brandish," said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police. "Today they are much happier with a 9-millimeter handgun they can stick in their belt."
Well Duh! It's a helluva lot easier to conceal a Glock than it is a AK-47 - B
When the ban took effect in 1994, it exempted more than 1.5 million assault weapons in private hands. Over the next 10 years, at least 1.17 million more assault weapons were prod- uced - legitimately - by manufacturers that availed themselves of loopholes in the law, according to an analysis of firearms production data by the Violence Policy Center.
Oh here we go again! 'Loopholes', if it served a Liberal anti-gun agenda it wouldn't be called a 'loophole', it would be called 'complying with the law' - B
Throughout the decade-long ban, for instance, the gun manu- facturer DPMS/Panther Arms of Minnesota continued selling assault rifles to civilians by the tens of thousands. In compliance with the ban, the firearms manufacturer "sporterized" the military- style weapons, sawing off bayonet lugs, securing stocks so they were not collapsible and adding muzzle brakes. But the changes did not alter the guns' essence; they were still semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips.
Ha bitch! You just said 'in compliance'. So bayonet lugs, 'secured stocks' and muzzle breaks are OK. Can you please explain why a fucking pistol grip on a semi-auto rifle is so bad? Moron. - B
After the ban expired in September, DPMS reintroduced its full- featured weapons to the civilian market and enjoyed a slight spike in sales. But that increase was short-lived, and predictably so, said Randy Luth, the company's owner. "I never thought the sunset of the ban would be that big a deal," he said.
It is a big deal fucknut! We have just proved it did NOTHING! - B
No gun production data are available for the seven months since the ban expired. And some gun-control advocates say they do not trust the self-reporting of gun industry representatives, who may want to play down the volume of their sales to ward off a revival of the ban.
A replica of the ban is again before the Senate. "In my view, the assault weapons legislation was working," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, a chief sponsor of the new bill. "It was drying up supply and driving up prices. The number of those guns used in crimes dropped because they were less available."
Assault weapons account for a small fraction of gun crimes: about 2 percent, according to most studies, and no more than 8 percent. But they have been used in many high-profile shooting sprees.
OK, let's look at these last two paragraphs; Diane 'If I had my way, Mr and Mrs America turn them all in' Feinstein the woman who wants to repeal the 2nd amendment, says it's 'working' when the next paragraph it states only 2% (actually less according to the FBI) of all gun related crimes use them. The tactic is to start on the scary looking stuff to fool the ignorant and then go after everything else. -B
Gun crime in the United States has plummeted since the early 1990s. But a study for the National Institute of Justice said that it could not "clearly credit the ban with any of the nation's recent drop in gun violence."
Gee, y'think it might have to do with more states allowing their citizens to carry concealed weapons? - B
Super Hot Pants
What is up with mangling classic super-hero costumes? I can live with the dark red looking leather, I can even deal with the smaller 3D rubber 'S', but seriously, the hot pants have got to go!
I Have A Reader!!!
Holy Shit! I have a reader... and he's Offended by me! My life is complete, I can die happy.
Here's his email to me;
What is the sense of owning a blog spot, if you don't use it. I now know why you have no readers, because there is no new material. I'm Offended at the fact, that it has been several weeks since you last posted. You should be offended that I must write this email to you, and that you may have just lost your last faithful reader.
Sincerely
Your last devoted reader.
Here's his email to me;
What is the sense of owning a blog spot, if you don't use it. I now know why you have no readers, because there is no new material. I'm Offended at the fact, that it has been several weeks since you last posted. You should be offended that I must write this email to you, and that you may have just lost your last faithful reader.
Sincerely
Your last devoted reader.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
My Political Views
This is how I scored on The World's Smallest Political Quiz
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 80%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 90%.
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 80%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 90%.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
More Micro$oft Shenanigans II
This really kills me. Some 17 year old kid by the name of 'Mike Rowe' registered mikerowesoft.com and... wait for it... ready? was sued by Microsoft! *sigh*, I Know this story is over a year old but it's the first I'm hearing of it so I'm passing it on to my faithful reader(s).
Here's the CNN Article
Here's the CNN Article
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Cute Little Yummy Bunny!
Now this has to be one of the most vile, disgusting, twisted schemes I have ever come across... And I'm totally PISSED that I didn't think of it first!
This guy found a rabbit (named Toby) and he is saying he will eat it if he doesn't get $50,000 donated to him by June 30th. As of this writing he has $24,515.62. Frikkin' GENIUS.
Visit SaveToby.com
This guy found a rabbit (named Toby) and he is saying he will eat it if he doesn't get $50,000 donated to him by June 30th. As of this writing he has $24,515.62. Frikkin' GENIUS.
Visit SaveToby.com
Monday, April 18, 2005
You Talkin' To Me?
This a neat little page I saw off of the Planet Gnome Site; What Kind of American English Do You Speak? Here's my results:
45% Yankee
35% General American English
10% Dixie
10% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern
That's a lot of Yankee. I hope I don't get pegged for a North East Liberal...
45% Yankee
35% General American English
10% Dixie
10% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern
That's a lot of Yankee. I hope I don't get pegged for a North East Liberal...
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Procrastination...
Well it seems I haven't posted anything in a few weeks... Ah, I'll finish this post later.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
I'm in shock! No really, I am...
I received an email from my buddy over at the Ideasmithy titled 'Guns'. It went like this; 'This can't be good for fans of firearms. The Libs are going to take this and run with it.' With a link to the following Washington Times article.
The basics of the article (for those who won't read it) is about some Fucked Up Little Bastard with a Hitler fetish, shoots his Grandfather (a tribal police officer), steals two of his guns, and kills 8 students and 1 teacher at his high school. Then, reminiscent of the two other Fucked Up Little Bastards at Columbine, he kills himself as soon as the police show up. Coward.
That's not the shocking part about it. This LA Times article that I found is what's shocking, it's titled 'Gun Violence Renews Legislative Debate'. Before I read this article I expect a typical LA Times Left Wing Nut Job Editorial about the evils of firearm ownership yadda yadda yadda. Well good reader(s) this one is about some pissed off people who WANT to be able to own and carry concealed guns. Of course it does delve into the anti-gun 'retarts' side of it also... All in all a very good read.
The basics of the article (for those who won't read it) is about some Fucked Up Little Bastard with a Hitler fetish, shoots his Grandfather (a tribal police officer), steals two of his guns, and kills 8 students and 1 teacher at his high school. Then, reminiscent of the two other Fucked Up Little Bastards at Columbine, he kills himself as soon as the police show up. Coward.
That's not the shocking part about it. This LA Times article that I found is what's shocking, it's titled 'Gun Violence Renews Legislative Debate'. Before I read this article I expect a typical LA Times Left Wing Nut Job Editorial about the evils of firearm ownership yadda yadda yadda. Well good reader(s) this one is about some pissed off people who WANT to be able to own and carry concealed guns. Of course it does delve into the anti-gun 'retarts' side of it also... All in all a very good read.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Ha Fucking Ha Ha! You Stupid Bitch!
'Poster Mom' for Gun Control Arrested on Gun Charges
By Susan Jones CNSNews.com Morning Editor March 02, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - The president of the Springfield, Ill., chapter of the Million Mom March faces charges of having drugs and an illegal handgun in her home. Press reports said the gun's serial number had been scratched off.
[ORION: :)]
Annette Stevens became a gun control activist after her son was shot to death several years ago. She told a newspaper the gun belonged to her late son, and when she found it, she didn't know what to do with it, so she put it in a drawer.
[ORION: Belonged to her son and had the serial number scratched off?!? Her son was one of the bad guys! I'm glad the fuck is dead.]
Police reportedly found the gun and illegal drugs while executing a search warrant at Stevens' home in connection with a spate of drive-by shootings in the area. Stevens insists the search was illegal.
[ORION: Drugs too! Sweet! I hope they fry her ass.]
Second Amendment groups were quick to note the irony of a gun control activist being arrested on gun charges.
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) called it a classic case of "liberal elitists" who "cannot walk their own talk."
"I find it incredible that someone representing an organization that pushes legislation that only punishes law-abiding gun owners would possess such an illegal weapon," said Richard Pearson, ISRA's executive director.
"Surely she must be familiar with US gun laws and those in Illinois, considering the position she holds. Does she think the law does not apply to her due to anti-gun affiliation? It's the height of hypocrisy!"
[ORION: Say it again brutha!]
Press reports said Stevens did not have the ID card required of Illinois firearms owners.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms called it ironic that "this poster mom for gun control" has admitted keeping an illegally altered handgun in her home while she's campaigned to deprive other citizens of their firearms.
"If Stevens is so convinced guns don't belong in society, then why didn't she immediately turn that gun over to the police when she found it more than two years ago?" asked CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
"Why did she keep it? What's wrong with this picture? Ms. Stevens is about to learn that supporting gun control is like keeping a vicious dog. They sometimes bite the hands that feed them."
"In the kind of Draconian anti-gun society Stevens and her cohorts are trying to create," Gottlieb continued, "it wouldn't matter if she were innocent as she claims. Under the laws her group supports, gun owners are essentially considered guilty until they prove themselves otherwise."
CCRKBA said gun laws supported by activists such as Stevens do nothing to prevent crime - but go a long way in eroding the rights of law-abiding citizens.
By Susan Jones CNSNews.com Morning Editor March 02, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - The president of the Springfield, Ill., chapter of the Million Mom March faces charges of having drugs and an illegal handgun in her home. Press reports said the gun's serial number had been scratched off.
[ORION: :)]
Annette Stevens became a gun control activist after her son was shot to death several years ago. She told a newspaper the gun belonged to her late son, and when she found it, she didn't know what to do with it, so she put it in a drawer.
[ORION: Belonged to her son and had the serial number scratched off?!? Her son was one of the bad guys! I'm glad the fuck is dead.]
Police reportedly found the gun and illegal drugs while executing a search warrant at Stevens' home in connection with a spate of drive-by shootings in the area. Stevens insists the search was illegal.
[ORION: Drugs too! Sweet! I hope they fry her ass.]
Second Amendment groups were quick to note the irony of a gun control activist being arrested on gun charges.
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) called it a classic case of "liberal elitists" who "cannot walk their own talk."
"I find it incredible that someone representing an organization that pushes legislation that only punishes law-abiding gun owners would possess such an illegal weapon," said Richard Pearson, ISRA's executive director.
"Surely she must be familiar with US gun laws and those in Illinois, considering the position she holds. Does she think the law does not apply to her due to anti-gun affiliation? It's the height of hypocrisy!"
[ORION: Say it again brutha!]
Press reports said Stevens did not have the ID card required of Illinois firearms owners.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms called it ironic that "this poster mom for gun control" has admitted keeping an illegally altered handgun in her home while she's campaigned to deprive other citizens of their firearms.
"If Stevens is so convinced guns don't belong in society, then why didn't she immediately turn that gun over to the police when she found it more than two years ago?" asked CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
"Why did she keep it? What's wrong with this picture? Ms. Stevens is about to learn that supporting gun control is like keeping a vicious dog. They sometimes bite the hands that feed them."
"In the kind of Draconian anti-gun society Stevens and her cohorts are trying to create," Gottlieb continued, "it wouldn't matter if she were innocent as she claims. Under the laws her group supports, gun owners are essentially considered guilty until they prove themselves otherwise."
CCRKBA said gun laws supported by activists such as Stevens do nothing to prevent crime - but go a long way in eroding the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
1984 Was Only 20 Years Off
OK more like 21 but that's nit picking. Down in Texas, students are being issued RFID cards to track thier movements on and off the bus. Scary and creepy. Of course in this day and age of Terrorism and the equally scary result of it, The 'Patriot' Act, all sorts of excuses are being made to invade peoples privacy. This technology starts off to 'protect' our children but where will that stop? It starts here folks, but it will only end with you.
EDIT: 'Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both'. Benjamin Franklin.
Read The Article:
EDIT: 'Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both'. Benjamin Franklin.
Read The Article:
Friday, March 11, 2005
Here's one reason why I can't stand Liberalism
This is a true story about what anti-gun freaks want to turn our country into.
Why Gun Control Doesn't Work.
Why Gun Control Doesn't Work.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Palm Linux?!?
Another interesting rumor from Palm. It seems they want to get the Palm OS to run on Linux. Damn that would be cool!
Read the Article:
Read the Article:
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Palmtop Mac?
It would seriously kick ass if Apple made a handheld, then I wouldn't need to buy a new India tech supported Palm. Imagine an OS X (re: Unix) based handheld? Geek me out!
Read The Article
Read The Article
Sunday, March 06, 2005
'Super Big Company'
For those of you that know me personally, know I work for a "Super Big Company'. So news items relating to my job I take a keen interest in. Here are a few that I thought you might find interesting;
Homeland Security borrows Amber Alert missing-kid technology
- Agree
Read my lips: No free WiFi
- Disagree
Source of Vonage blockage revealed
- Plead the 5th
Homeland Security borrows Amber Alert missing-kid technology
- Agree
Read my lips: No free WiFi
- Disagree
Source of Vonage blockage revealed
- Plead the 5th
Palm DS Update
Sadly it doesn't look like the Palm OS is going to be an option on the Nintendo DS...
http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2414
http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2414
Saturday, March 05, 2005
My IQ
I guess curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on a link in an ad window to take an IQ test. It went well until the end when the scum suckers made me register to get my results. Anyway, here it is (I thought I'd be smarter).
_____________________
Congratulations, ORION!
Your IQ score is 122
This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.
Your Intellectual Type is Word Warrior. This means you have exceptional verbal skills. You can easily make sense of complex issues and take an unusually creative approach to solving problems. Your strengths also make you a visionary. Even without trying you're able to come up with lots of new and creative ideas.
_____________________
Congratulations, ORION!
Your IQ score is 122
This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.
Your Intellectual Type is Word Warrior. This means you have exceptional verbal skills. You can easily make sense of complex issues and take an unusually creative approach to solving problems. Your strengths also make you a visionary. Even without trying you're able to come up with lots of new and creative ideas.
A day in my life...
In my previous post (Essential Palm Software Part I - NetChaser), I mentioned that my Palm's screen broke. What happened was the digitizer, the part of the screen that actually calculates where the taps are, got misaligned. I had an 'interesting' time with Palm support. This Flash cartoon is damn close to what I went through trying to resolve it.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Essential Palm Software Part I - NetChaser
Some people are content with using a Palm as just an organizer. I'm definately not one of those people! Although the Palm was originally developed as an organizer it has evolved well past that point into something very useful for the nerd inside all of us. I had a Palm Tungsten T3, a Sony-Ericsson T610 World Phone and a $30 a month data plan from T-Mobile. This setup allowed me to check my email and do some very limited web browsing.
This was fun for about 3 months until a.) My Palm's screen broke, b.) I lost my cell phone and c.) Paying 30 bucks a month for a possible 56k download, got old real fast. Of course to top it off T-Mobile wanted $250 to replace the phone (eBay was no better) or a steep cancellation fee. What did I do? I paid my account faithfully and just cancelled it last night! Ha, you bastards! Well, I still want my internet access and with the increase in popularity of Wi-Fi, I will be getting the Palm Wi-Fi card and jumping on to open wireless networks while on the road. Leaving the gray area of legality/morality of hopping uninvited onto someone's network ignored, how would one go about finding one to begin with? That brings me to the first item on the list; NetChaser.
NetChaser allows you to find WiFi HotSpots with your Palm and Wi-Fi card. Very handy indeed. If anyone is familiar with NetStumbler this does the same for the Palm. As of this writing it doesn't officially supprt the Tungsten T5 and I'm waiting on an email back from the developers as to when it will. Not to sound like a sales pitch, here's what it does (Copy/Pasted form PalmGear);
Main Screen:
- Signal Strength Display
- Access Point SSID
- WEP Status
- Loss-of-Signal Time display
- Current Battery Voltage and Time
Access Point Info:
- AP MAC Address
- AP SSID
- Signal Strength
- Channel
- Loss-of-Signal Time and Date display
- Latitude and Longitude of strongest signal
Full Logging Support:
- Log all access point data to a file for post-processing
- CSV standard file suitable for import into any database or spreadsheet
This was fun for about 3 months until a.) My Palm's screen broke, b.) I lost my cell phone and c.) Paying 30 bucks a month for a possible 56k download, got old real fast. Of course to top it off T-Mobile wanted $250 to replace the phone (eBay was no better) or a steep cancellation fee. What did I do? I paid my account faithfully and just cancelled it last night! Ha, you bastards! Well, I still want my internet access and with the increase in popularity of Wi-Fi, I will be getting the Palm Wi-Fi card and jumping on to open wireless networks while on the road. Leaving the gray area of legality/morality of hopping uninvited onto someone's network ignored, how would one go about finding one to begin with? That brings me to the first item on the list; NetChaser.
NetChaser allows you to find WiFi HotSpots with your Palm and Wi-Fi card. Very handy indeed. If anyone is familiar with NetStumbler this does the same for the Palm. As of this writing it doesn't officially supprt the Tungsten T5 and I'm waiting on an email back from the developers as to when it will. Not to sound like a sales pitch, here's what it does (Copy/Pasted form PalmGear);
Main Screen:
- Signal Strength Display
- Access Point SSID
- WEP Status
- Loss-of-Signal Time display
- Current Battery Voltage and Time
Access Point Info:
- AP MAC Address
- AP SSID
- Signal Strength
- Channel
- Loss-of-Signal Time and Date display
- Latitude and Longitude of strongest signal
Full Logging Support:
- Log all access point data to a file for post-processing
- CSV standard file suitable for import into any database or spreadsheet
Monday, February 28, 2005
Palm DS?
I love the palm OS and I've always been very picky on what handheld I would like. I've been through quite a number of them, and currently I'm saving for a Tungsten T5. I ran across this very interesting article about the Palm OS on the Nintendo DS. I hope it's true, I've always wanted a DS...
Read the article:
Read the article:
More Micro$oft Shenanigans
Microsoft is closing a loophole that enabled unscrupulous resellers to use Windows XP product keys that were stolen from large OEMs. The result: customers who purchase Windows on a new PC will not be able to activate, nor reinstall their operating system without first calling Microsoft.
Starting February 28, Microsoft will indefinitely begin to disable Internet product activation on OEM keys used by the top 20 worldwide PC makers.
If a customer attempts to activate Windows XP with an OEM key from a COA, they will be directed to call customer support specialists to obtain an override code - provided they can prove that their copy is legitimate by answering a series of questions.
Rest of article:
- Oh Puh-Leaze! Will these guys ever learn?
Starting February 28, Microsoft will indefinitely begin to disable Internet product activation on OEM keys used by the top 20 worldwide PC makers.
If a customer attempts to activate Windows XP with an OEM key from a COA, they will be directed to call customer support specialists to obtain an override code - provided they can prove that their copy is legitimate by answering a series of questions.
Rest of article:
- Oh Puh-Leaze! Will these guys ever learn?
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Graphics only? Hardly...
There seems to be a popular myth around that the Mac is only good for graphics and doesn't have any software available for it. Anyone who owns a Mac can tell you that it's not true and that it has many, many apps available for it.
Computers are fun to me and at times I get into them very heavily. First it started with Win 3.1/95, next was the hardware, onto more advanced OS's like NT 4.0 and finally onto Linux. Linux is neat, and my first exposure was Red Hat Linux 4.2. Yeah... My Linux experience almost ended at that. Not anything against Linux but there just wasn't enough eye candy in it for me. I've tried many, many distributions over the years and even ran strictly Linux on the desktop for 6 straight months. I was proud of that.
A little over a year ago, I inherited an iMac and have been hooked ever since. OS X rocks and it's the ONLY reason that I use one. When I feel the need to exercise my brain I can go into the command line and type away, compile and execute programs like mad, but when I'm too fried or lazy I can retreat into a beautifully made GUI... Mmmm, Eye candy... Not to mention they make some of the best looking hardware.
Here's a neat article on how a developer uses it.
Now don't get me wrong Linux is great and the one distribution that I have a love affair with is Gentoo Linux, one of the most hardcore distro's around. Fast, stable and only took me two days to download, compile and install a complete eye candy filled desktop. :)
Computers are fun to me and at times I get into them very heavily. First it started with Win 3.1/95, next was the hardware, onto more advanced OS's like NT 4.0 and finally onto Linux. Linux is neat, and my first exposure was Red Hat Linux 4.2. Yeah... My Linux experience almost ended at that. Not anything against Linux but there just wasn't enough eye candy in it for me. I've tried many, many distributions over the years and even ran strictly Linux on the desktop for 6 straight months. I was proud of that.
A little over a year ago, I inherited an iMac and have been hooked ever since. OS X rocks and it's the ONLY reason that I use one. When I feel the need to exercise my brain I can go into the command line and type away, compile and execute programs like mad, but when I'm too fried or lazy I can retreat into a beautifully made GUI... Mmmm, Eye candy... Not to mention they make some of the best looking hardware.
Here's a neat article on how a developer uses it.
Now don't get me wrong Linux is great and the one distribution that I have a love affair with is Gentoo Linux, one of the most hardcore distro's around. Fast, stable and only took me two days to download, compile and install a complete eye candy filled desktop. :)
Meet Ben
Isn't he a cute wittle poopie? His name is Ben and I picked him out from the litter, named him and trained him. He is one of the best dog's that I've known.
What to do?
I admit that I'm following the trend of a friend of mine who is having a fun time with his blog. As for what to put up here? Who knows, I picture it as a 'Seinfeld' type Blog. A blog about nothing.
As for my friend, his name is Gordon and he can be found at ideasmith.blogspot.com.
Read his stuff, it's sure to be better than mine.
As for my friend, his name is Gordon and he can be found at ideasmith.blogspot.com.
Read his stuff, it's sure to be better than mine.
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