People are constantly fighting over the content of the constitution, which always confused me because it's not missing parts, or written in another language, but people are always fighting over what it says.
I think I've figured out why.
People argue that there is no right of the people to keep an bear arms even though that exact wording is in the 2nd amendment. The same people argue that the right to an abortion is in the constitution even though the word "abortion" appears nowhere within the document.
The answer is so obvious. Someone, somewhere along the way misread the 2nd amendment! See they thought it read:
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear abortions shall not be infringed."
It all makes sense now!
As a retired supreme court justice said, "We don't need people who can interpret the constitution; we need people who can read."
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thought police. No, seriously. The fucking thought police
This is not a straining leap coupled with extrapolation and assumptions. This is not like when someone yells,
"THOUGHT POLICE! 1984! DOUBLEPLUS UNGOOD!"
This is like;
Well shit. The motherfucking thought police... Never thought I'd see the day.
Massacre fallout: Charges for essay
High school teacher 'disturbed' by violent content of assignment
That had to be one hell of an essay. This straight "A" student didn't make specific threats or threaten specific people, but the police saw fit to actually charge him with a crime for his writings.
A student was charged with a crime for writing something that was construed as threatening, even with no corroborating evidence. I, like Uncle am speechless.
Hat tip to Uncle
"THOUGHT POLICE! 1984! DOUBLEPLUS UNGOOD!"
This is like;
Well shit. The motherfucking thought police... Never thought I'd see the day.
Massacre fallout: Charges for essay
High school teacher 'disturbed' by violent content of assignment
Told to express emotion for a creative-writing class, high school senior Allen Lee penned an essay so disturbing to his teacher, school administrators and police that he was charged with disorderly conduct, officials said Wednesday.
Lee, 18, a straight-A student at Cary-Grove High School, was arrested Tuesday near his home and charged with the misdemeanor for an essay police described as violently disturbing but not directed toward any specific person or location.
That had to be one hell of an essay. This straight "A" student didn't make specific threats or threaten specific people, but the police saw fit to actually charge him with a crime for his writings.
A student was charged with a crime for writing something that was construed as threatening, even with no corroborating evidence. I, like Uncle am speechless.
Hat tip to Uncle
Overheard at work
Coworker 1: I can't believe we messed it up.
Coworker 2: Maybe, but we did it with teamwork!
Me: It takes teamwork! One person to do the work, the other person to mess it up!
Coworker 1: Together we can spin our wheels!
Coworker 2: Maybe, but we did it with teamwork!
Me: It takes teamwork! One person to do the work, the other person to mess it up!
Coworker 1: Together we can spin our wheels!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The beginnings of justice?
Current, former officers indicted in elderly woman's death
That poor elderly woman who was gunned down trying to defend herself from armed people in plain-clothes forcing their way into her house.
Whoops. The plain clothes people were police officers enforcing a no-knock (unannounced) raid on this elderly woman's house. The police did not dress as police officers, nor did they state that they were police officers when they broke into her home. She saw armed people forcing their way into her house and she feared for her life and fired the gun she kept for safety from gang violence at the officers. The officers returned fire and killed this poor woman who died afraid for her life. (More info)
The raid was based on an unreliable source, and the various paperwork steps for approving a no-knock raid were skipped or are being contested. But hey, at least they got the right house this time.
Justice should be served, but it won't bring this poor woman back.
Hopefully this will give people pause and let them reconsider this idiotic policy.
Hat Tip to David Codrea
That poor elderly woman who was gunned down trying to defend herself from armed people in plain-clothes forcing their way into her house.
Whoops. The plain clothes people were police officers enforcing a no-knock (unannounced) raid on this elderly woman's house. The police did not dress as police officers, nor did they state that they were police officers when they broke into her home. She saw armed people forcing their way into her house and she feared for her life and fired the gun she kept for safety from gang violence at the officers. The officers returned fire and killed this poor woman who died afraid for her life. (More info)
The raid was based on an unreliable source, and the various paperwork steps for approving a no-knock raid were skipped or are being contested. But hey, at least they got the right house this time.
Justice should be served, but it won't bring this poor woman back.
Hopefully this will give people pause and let them reconsider this idiotic policy.
Hat Tip to David Codrea
DING DONG Jack is dead!
Jack Valenti, Hollywood's Lobbyist, Dies at Age 85
I don't take enjoyment in the death of another human, but this guy was quite the villain to hackers and coders everywhere. He suppressed the free speech of hacker magazine 2600, by filing a preliminary injunction under the DMCA.
DVD playing software is licensed out by the MPAA. When you buy a computer with DVD viewing software or buy a DVD player, a bit of money goes to the MPAA for use of a license to decrypt the CSS encoding and watch the DVD. Linux is a "free as in beer" so it costs nothing, there are many reasons for this, but suffice to say, Linux users didn't want to have to pay money for software to view a DVD that they'd already legally purchased. The MPAA was asked to provide a free Linux/Unix player to let people view the content of DVDs they'd paid money to watch. When the MPAA refused to deal with developers, and told them to use windows instead, the gauntlet was cast. One one side people who bought movies and just wanted to watch them on their computers at home, and on the other, a huge corporation unwilling to provide a simple program to allow viewers to watch the DVDs they'd already purchased. When DVD John, as he is now known all over the world, published the DeCSS to decrypt the CSS protection the MPAA tried to stop 2600 from printing it. Suddenly they began suing and shutting down hackers and strong-arming ISPs of people or sites which simply POSTED the information to the internet! By simply printing something, you could be charged. This is why my license plate frame says "Source code is free speech"
Jack is known for his quote,
Jack wanted to beat down people with the threat of lawsuit. People who wanted nothing more than to view a DVD they'd legally purchased. As time wore on, the lawsuits slowed because judges were less and less likely to uphold the idea of punishing someone for simply printing something.
I think I'll be wearing my "You don't know Jack" shirt tomorrow. (I'd find a pic, but its been discontinued) ... (as has he)
I don't take enjoyment in the death of another human, but this guy was quite the villain to hackers and coders everywhere. He suppressed the free speech of hacker magazine 2600, by filing a preliminary injunction under the DMCA.
DVD playing software is licensed out by the MPAA. When you buy a computer with DVD viewing software or buy a DVD player, a bit of money goes to the MPAA for use of a license to decrypt the CSS encoding and watch the DVD. Linux is a "free as in beer" so it costs nothing, there are many reasons for this, but suffice to say, Linux users didn't want to have to pay money for software to view a DVD that they'd already legally purchased. The MPAA was asked to provide a free Linux/Unix player to let people view the content of DVDs they'd paid money to watch. When the MPAA refused to deal with developers, and told them to use windows instead, the gauntlet was cast. One one side people who bought movies and just wanted to watch them on their computers at home, and on the other, a huge corporation unwilling to provide a simple program to allow viewers to watch the DVDs they'd already purchased. When DVD John, as he is now known all over the world, published the DeCSS to decrypt the CSS protection the MPAA tried to stop 2600 from printing it. Suddenly they began suing and shutting down hackers and strong-arming ISPs of people or sites which simply POSTED the information to the internet! By simply printing something, you could be charged. This is why my license plate frame says "Source code is free speech"
Jack is known for his quote,
If we have to file a thousand lawsuits a day,we'll do it.
Jack wanted to beat down people with the threat of lawsuit. People who wanted nothing more than to view a DVD they'd legally purchased. As time wore on, the lawsuits slowed because judges were less and less likely to uphold the idea of punishing someone for simply printing something.
I think I'll be wearing my "You don't know Jack" shirt tomorrow. (I'd find a pic, but its been discontinued) ... (as has he)
I <3 my 1911
My XD is no longer my go-to gun for most handgun situations. My 1911 has chiseled out a place in my heart.
I used to just like my 1911. It's a mil-spec, it's somewhat historical, and it's pretty cool. I'm not sure how the change occurred because I haven't been shooting it as much lately because of .45 ammo prices and my extra 9mm ammo. Somehow while only handling it and thinking about it the 1911 forced its way into my #1 slot. It just grew on me. I just love the way it feels, the way it handles, the way it points, and the way it conceals. I also love the way it's tough, this is no show piece. No bells or whistles here, this 1911 means business.
Hey, look what we've got here? I'm on my lunch break playing with a digital camera and look who showed up?
Click for huge size!
Look at the gun powder that worked its way into the checkers on the grip where my fingers go.
I used to just like my 1911. It's a mil-spec, it's somewhat historical, and it's pretty cool. I'm not sure how the change occurred because I haven't been shooting it as much lately because of .45 ammo prices and my extra 9mm ammo. Somehow while only handling it and thinking about it the 1911 forced its way into my #1 slot. It just grew on me. I just love the way it feels, the way it handles, the way it points, and the way it conceals. I also love the way it's tough, this is no show piece. No bells or whistles here, this 1911 means business.
Hey, look what we've got here? I'm on my lunch break playing with a digital camera and look who showed up?
Click for huge size!
Look at the gun powder that worked its way into the checkers on the grip where my fingers go.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Make it stoooooooooooop!
Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Shake your day away- you can Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Shake your day away- you can Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Shake your day away- you can Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Shake your day away- you can Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Shake your day away- you can Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Shake your day away- you can Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Party, party! Join us, join us! Shake your day awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
I shall replace you with a perl script
Via ThinkGeek
I thought of this shirt because I'm not too far off from replacing someone with a couple hundred lines of perl...
this feeling...
is it...
could it be...
EVIL!?
Oh hell. Curse my black hat roots...
Ahhhhhh... The power...
I thought this one up...
Sadly, you exhibit all the grace and poise of a drooling mental patient chewing on a deck of cards.
I can't wait to use it.
The Toggle Switch
Bah! The guy who's pushing me to finish my code keeps interrupting me while I'm trying to work!
"Hey, so, how's it coming?"
*remove headphones* "What?"
"How's the code coming. Any progress?"
"Yes, of COURSE there has been progress. I've been working on it for two hours since you last interrupted me!"
"Oh. Yeah. Just checking."
30 minutes later
"Hey, could you check on that alert?"
"Dude!" *remove headphones* "What?!"
"Chill; I just want you to look at that alert."
"Dude, I can't just stop coding and do something else."
"??? Yeah you can!"
"No; I can't! See, in my head there's a BIG toggle switch. One side is working, living, breathing, eating, talking, driving, everything I do. The other side of the switch is just CODING. There is NO in-between! I'm either in coding mode, or I'm in other mode, but I can't keep switching back and forth like this! --Do you want the code or not?!"
"Ok man, code. I'll just look at it."
Gah! *replaces headphones*
Ok, so I was a little pissy, but I'm not a typical programmer, so he should just be happy that I'm not making demands, pushing back deadlines, and screwing around with new shit we'll never use.
"Hey, so, how's it coming?"
*remove headphones* "What?"
"How's the code coming. Any progress?"
"Yes, of COURSE there has been progress. I've been working on it for two hours since you last interrupted me!"
"Oh. Yeah. Just checking."
30 minutes later
"Hey, could you check on that alert?"
"Dude!" *remove headphones* "What?!"
"Chill; I just want you to look at that alert."
"Dude, I can't just stop coding and do something else."
"??? Yeah you can!"
"No; I can't! See, in my head there's a BIG toggle switch. One side is working, living, breathing, eating, talking, driving, everything I do. The other side of the switch is just CODING. There is NO in-between! I'm either in coding mode, or I'm in other mode, but I can't keep switching back and forth like this! --Do you want the code or not?!"
"Ok man, code. I'll just look at it."
Gah! *replaces headphones*
Ok, so I was a little pissy, but I'm not a typical programmer, so he should just be happy that I'm not making demands, pushing back deadlines, and screwing around with new shit we'll never use.
NoteTag Information (Long version!)
The following e-mail includes guidelines and instructions to help you get the best out of the service.
Please read them before using the service.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
Please try to use plain text e-mail wherever possible.
Please keep the body of the e-mail free from other text. (don't forward messages to NoteTag or reply where it will quote the previous message)
One command per e-mail (for now ;)
Tags have no spaces in them. If you make a tag "San Diego" it will make two tags, "San", and "Diego". Use "sandiego" to keep it simple.
All tags and commands are case INsensitive. This means "gEt CHINA" will be the same as "get china". That way you don't have to worry about your e-mail capitalizing the first word. Caps matter in notes, though.
All single quotes will be removed. So dont bother.
NoteTag is meant to be used to quick (read: "short") notes. Your notes are limited by 100 characters. If you find your notes are too long, voice your complaint, but know that this probably isn't the right service for you.
There is no limit on tags you can associate with a note, so got nuts. (but not too nuts :)
GET CREATIVE! If you think of a creative thing to do with NoteTag, leave a comment! http://tinyurl.com/5g5txp
If you want to stop using NoteTag, please let me know why so I can consider resolving the problem you're experiencing. NoteTag will never get any better if you don't make recommendations. The only dumb question will be the one unasked!
NoteTag is a one-man show! Please bear with me on interruption of service and replying to e-mails. I'll do my best to keep it running as much as possible!
COMMANDS
The following commands must be used to start every message to NoteTag. The command, its function and an example will follow.
add [tag] [tag...] note [my new note goes here]
This command adds a note to your database with the tags as searchable words attached to it. You may use one or more tags.
Your note may NOT rpt NOT have the word 'note' in it. It will not read properly. You may use 'notes' or 'notebook' or '-note', anything but a space followed by the the letters 'note' (caps or no) followed by a space. This will likely change in the future (likely change it to 'nte'), please be patient for now.
Also, try not to end your note with a space, as you will require the space when you delete the note with the del command.
EXAMPLE:
add walmart market note remember to buy 1gal of cheese
get [tag] [tag...]
This command will retrieve all notes that have the tag or tags you indicate. You may use one or more tags.
Notes will come in one email per tag, so if you request three tags, you'll get three e-mails with notes.
EXAMPLE:
get walmart
del [note you want deleted]
This command will delete all instances of the note within your database. The note portion IS case and punctuation sensitive, and must be matched EXACTLY.
Since you must match the note EXACTLY to delete it, I'd recommend keeping the notes you add simple.
EXAMPLE:
del HOOOOly CRAP! Im sure Glad I d0nt h\@ve 2 typ3 this on my phone!!!12^%^%$#
del id rather keep it simple
clr [tag] [tag...]
This command will remove all notes that have the tag or tags you indicate. You may use one or more tags.
EXAMPLE:
clr shopping walmart
all notes
This command will retrieve all notes for all tags, sorted by tags. This may be a lot of data, so it is not recommended you run this command from a device with limited output or screen size like a phone.
help
Use the \"help\" command to get a short message with instructions and guidelines for useage of NoteTag. It will include a link to this information at the end.
ODDITIES
Creating notes with multiple tags creates multiple instances of the note with the different tags you requested. This means that if you add three notes for tag "market" and one note for both "market" and "walmart", if you "clr market" there will still be a note for your last note under "walmart". A fix in on the way.
If you want to authorize a new e-mail address, you have to let me know manually right now. Soon you will be given an authorization key, and to add a new e-mail, all you'll have to do is send "aut my_authorization_key". Until then, please bear with me.
[more to come, I'm sure :) ]
Thanks for signing up, I hope NoteTag is as helpful to you as it will be to me!
Please read them before using the service.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
Please try to use plain text e-mail wherever possible.
Please keep the body of the e-mail free from other text. (don't forward messages to NoteTag or reply where it will quote the previous message)
One command per e-mail (for now ;)
Tags have no spaces in them. If you make a tag "San Diego" it will make two tags, "San", and "Diego". Use "sandiego" to keep it simple.
All tags and commands are case INsensitive. This means "gEt CHINA" will be the same as "get china". That way you don't have to worry about your e-mail capitalizing the first word. Caps matter in notes, though.
All single quotes will be removed. So dont bother.
NoteTag is meant to be used to quick (read: "short") notes. Your notes are limited by 100 characters. If you find your notes are too long, voice your complaint, but know that this probably isn't the right service for you.
There is no limit on tags you can associate with a note, so got nuts. (but not too nuts :)
GET CREATIVE! If you think of a creative thing to do with NoteTag, leave a comment! http://tinyurl.com/5g5txp
If you want to stop using NoteTag, please let me know why so I can consider resolving the problem you're experiencing. NoteTag will never get any better if you don't make recommendations. The only dumb question will be the one unasked!
NoteTag is a one-man show! Please bear with me on interruption of service and replying to e-mails. I'll do my best to keep it running as much as possible!
COMMANDS
The following commands must be used to start every message to NoteTag. The command, its function and an example will follow.
add [tag] [tag...] note [my new note goes here]
This command adds a note to your database with the tags as searchable words attached to it. You may use one or more tags.
Your note may NOT rpt NOT have the word 'note' in it. It will not read properly. You may use 'notes' or 'notebook' or '-note', anything but a space followed by the the letters 'note' (caps or no) followed by a space. This will likely change in the future (likely change it to 'nte'), please be patient for now.
Also, try not to end your note with a space, as you will require the space when you delete the note with the del command.
EXAMPLE:
add walmart market note remember to buy 1gal of cheese
get [tag] [tag...]
This command will retrieve all notes that have the tag or tags you indicate. You may use one or more tags.
Notes will come in one email per tag, so if you request three tags, you'll get three e-mails with notes.
EXAMPLE:
get walmart
del [note you want deleted]
This command will delete all instances of the note within your database. The note portion IS case and punctuation sensitive, and must be matched EXACTLY.
Since you must match the note EXACTLY to delete it, I'd recommend keeping the notes you add simple.
EXAMPLE:
del HOOOOly CRAP! Im sure Glad I d0nt h\@ve 2 typ3 this on my phone!!!12^%^%$#
del id rather keep it simple
clr [tag] [tag...]
This command will remove all notes that have the tag or tags you indicate. You may use one or more tags.
EXAMPLE:
clr shopping walmart
all notes
This command will retrieve all notes for all tags, sorted by tags. This may be a lot of data, so it is not recommended you run this command from a device with limited output or screen size like a phone.
help
Use the \"help\" command to get a short message with instructions and guidelines for useage of NoteTag. It will include a link to this information at the end.
ODDITIES
Creating notes with multiple tags creates multiple instances of the note with the different tags you requested. This means that if you add three notes for tag "market" and one note for both "market" and "walmart", if you "clr market" there will still be a note for your last note under "walmart". A fix in on the way.
If you want to authorize a new e-mail address, you have to let me know manually right now. Soon you will be given an authorization key, and to add a new e-mail, all you'll have to do is send "aut my_authorization_key". Until then, please bear with me.
[more to come, I'm sure :) ]
Thanks for signing up, I hope NoteTag is as helpful to you as it will be to me!
Your tax dollars at work
Clearly someone at the department of health and human services needed some critical data regarding a "properly fitting" "thumb hole"
I wasn't sure what on Earth this waste of my money was looking for until I searched for his request and found it related to bowling balls.
That is all...
I wasn't sure what on Earth this waste of my money was looking for until I searched for his request and found it related to bowling balls.
That is all...
Monday, April 23, 2007
Got Peace?
The church I go to is really more agnostic than anything. The line of belief it's most closely related to is that based on "The Science of Mind".
I left church after the service with my dad and we walked to my car, talking. I noted the bumper stickers in the parking lot.
Got Peace?
Make love not war
Give peace a chance
Arms are for hugging
Impeach Bush
And then, my eyes fell on my bumper...
Yeah... I'm quite the paradox it seems...
I left church after the service with my dad and we walked to my car, talking. I noted the bumper stickers in the parking lot.
Got Peace?
Make love not war
Give peace a chance
Arms are for hugging
Impeach Bush
And then, my eyes fell on my bumper...
Yeah... I'm quite the paradox it seems...
Saturday, April 21, 2007
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