I've been here lately, but more busy than usual. I recently got a pseudo-promotion at my job. I say pseudo because my boss left and I was asked to take over, but since he was at the same official title as me, my title remains the same, as does my pay for now. I am now a Team Lead. I currently have no team to lead, but that will most likely change within the next month.
Other than that, I took a trip to Shenandoah National Park. Skyline Drive is one of the most beautiful 100 miles of roadway in the country. I recommend anyone who hasn't been there to go. The hiking is great too, we hiked three trails. One was to Hawksbill the highest point of the park, another was to a waterfall and yet another was a rock scramble to a great 360 degree view of the park.
2006-10-26
2006-10-05
Good News, Bad News
Thumbs up: Studies show that smoking weed might help prevent alzheimers disease, so do your grandparents/parents a favor and roll them a joint!
Thumbs down: Many states, including my own have banned or are planning to ban the AWOL, or alcohol without liquid. This device turns alcohol into a vapor so you can inhale it. No bad taste, no hangovers. The liquor industry was scared to death by this gizmo, since it suddenly made their product look like a drug...
But seriously, since alcohol is 100% legal for adults, why shouldn't they be able to consume it however they want? If I want to inject alcohol into my veins, why not? Not that I have done that, or inhale it, but why should we really care what other people are doing with their alcohol? Not just in bars, this law prohibits you from using alcohol like this in your own home.
Thumbs down: Many states, including my own have banned or are planning to ban the AWOL, or alcohol without liquid. This device turns alcohol into a vapor so you can inhale it. No bad taste, no hangovers. The liquor industry was scared to death by this gizmo, since it suddenly made their product look like a drug...
But seriously, since alcohol is 100% legal for adults, why shouldn't they be able to consume it however they want? If I want to inject alcohol into my veins, why not? Not that I have done that, or inhale it, but why should we really care what other people are doing with their alcohol? Not just in bars, this law prohibits you from using alcohol like this in your own home.
2006-10-03
GOP Scandal
It was just announced today that former Congressman Mark Foley (R, FL) is gay. Evidence has recently showed that he was having cyber sex with teenage boys who served as his pages in recent years. I think this is an interesting development for several reasons. Though it seems many people knew about this recently it was only revealed a month before the election, which I believe is unethical; this should have been released when the information was known. Also, the press is calling Foley a pedophile, but the boys were 16-17, which is of the age of consent in DC.
Some things for all of you readers to watch are the midterm elections in November, it will be interesting to see how this affects the Republicans fighting for re-election.
As a side note, to those of you who are unfamiliar with how House elections work, districts have been gerrymandered to the point where just about all seats are practically uncontested since each party has a clear majority in each district.
Some things for all of you readers to watch are the midterm elections in November, it will be interesting to see how this affects the Republicans fighting for re-election.
As a side note, to those of you who are unfamiliar with how House elections work, districts have been gerrymandered to the point where just about all seats are practically uncontested since each party has a clear majority in each district.
More Congressional Medling In Our Lives
Over the weekend, Congress did their best to ban online gambling, making it illegal for banks to process money used for such a purpose. This new bill (which should become law soon), cost the industry billions of dollars and will make it very hard for casual sports bettors like myself (I play a few $5 bets a month) to have fun betting on the football games.
The way this law was passed is also very odious. Most of The Senate did not want to pass this legislation, but a few Senators like Bill Frist added it to a bill to enhance port security, so the only way to vote against the ban on gaming would be to vote against port security. Congress uses large bills like these to do everything from banning gaming to giving some hick a million dollars to study the feces production of catfish.
888.com has already suspended betting operations in the US and most others are probably going to follow soon. So now living in America means that you are in one of the only countries that will not allow you to place a bet online!!!
Of course Congress is just as corrupt as any other organization, so they are allowing gambling online for state lotteries and horse racing, since those industries have already filled the Congressmen's pockets with money.
2006-09-26
Don't Cook That...It's the Law
From the city that brought you gun bans, smoking bans, and bad drivers comes a proposed ban on trans fats, the kind of fats that make french fries crispy and donuts good-tasting. Most doctors agree that these fats are not good for you, but in moderation they are unlikely to do you in on their own.
The NYC ban would not apply to grocery stores (yet), but this is one locale that is already very far down the slippery slope of limiting personal choice and personal responsibility in the name of public health.
With the quality of the air in the big apple I'm surprised they aren't requiring children to wear face masks like the Chinese do.
You want to know something that's much more dangerous than trans fats? Driving. Car accidents kill more than 45,000 people in the United States each year, and more people in New York state than died on 9/11.
New York was once a great, tough city but it is on its way to becoming a laughingstock.
The NYC ban would not apply to grocery stores (yet), but this is one locale that is already very far down the slippery slope of limiting personal choice and personal responsibility in the name of public health.
With the quality of the air in the big apple I'm surprised they aren't requiring children to wear face masks like the Chinese do.
You want to know something that's much more dangerous than trans fats? Driving. Car accidents kill more than 45,000 people in the United States each year, and more people in New York state than died on 9/11.
New York was once a great, tough city but it is on its way to becoming a laughingstock.
2006-09-22
I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up!
To go along with my previous post, here is a lovely satire from The Onion, that describes just how stupid the intelligent design/evolution debate is.
These are the same type of people who imprisoned Galileo for saying the Earth revolved around the sun and who make a mockery of human intelligence.
2006-09-20
Crazy California
The state of CA is suing several auto companies, asserting that they are responsible for billions of dollars in damages caused by global warming. While many environmental kooks will applaud this lawsuit, I hope it fails.
First of all, while global temperatures may be up a degree worldwide, the part of it that was caused by humans is up for significant debate. Some claim it is possibly .01 degrees, some say most of the whole degree. At any rate, tens of thousands of years ago we were in an ice age, this is simply the other end of that curve. When dinosaurs ruled the earth and our ancestors were some type of rodent, temperatures were probably different from what they are today.
Secondly, if this lawsuit succeeds it could open the door to suing just about every manufacturing company, sending even more companies out of the US to build products and do their work in more business friendly countries.
Thirdly, CA is naming Toyota and Honda on the lawsuit. No other manufacturers make and sell as many low polluting hybrid vehicles as these guys. Taking away their profits just gives them less incentive to spend money researching cleaner and greener technologies.
Shame on you California.
Idiots
On one side, there are idiot gubernatorial candidates stressing that Intelligent Design (which should be known as backward, religious idiots) should be taught alongside evolution. Remember that intelligent design has absolutely no backing among scientific academics and the only people who support it are those who are too dumb to see the facts. They routinely say that there is no concrete fossil evidence of evolution.
Which brings me to my other point.
On the other side, every day there is more proof that yes, we humans have evolved from something else.
2006-09-16
Organic E. coli
The news is just now reporting that the recent outbreak of e. coli came from organic spinach.
I've known people who always buy organic products, despite the fact that they usually cost 10-40% more than conventional foods. No study has ever shown that organic food is better for you in any way.
This incident was bound to happen. Organic guidelines require produce to be grown without the use of any artificial chemicals, so instead of the safest, most scientifically advanced synthetic fertilizer, organic farmers use manure (cow shit). Cow shit can sometimes contain bacteria such as e. coli. These foods are consumed without cooking or pasteurization, greatly increasing the chances of people becoming ill.
Organic farming is very similar to the type of farming that was present in America 100 years ago, as far as the substances that are used to preserve the harvest. 100 years ago America's food supply was not safe.
Now we have companies like Whole Foods that sell these potentially dangerous products.
I've known people who always buy organic products, despite the fact that they usually cost 10-40% more than conventional foods. No study has ever shown that organic food is better for you in any way.
This incident was bound to happen. Organic guidelines require produce to be grown without the use of any artificial chemicals, so instead of the safest, most scientifically advanced synthetic fertilizer, organic farmers use manure (cow shit). Cow shit can sometimes contain bacteria such as e. coli. These foods are consumed without cooking or pasteurization, greatly increasing the chances of people becoming ill.
Organic farming is very similar to the type of farming that was present in America 100 years ago, as far as the substances that are used to preserve the harvest. 100 years ago America's food supply was not safe.
Now we have companies like Whole Foods that sell these potentially dangerous products.
2006-09-15
Virginia Law Would Reck Businesses, Lives
There is a proposal on the ballot in my home state (commonwealth) of Virginia that appears to merely be the usual "marriage is a man and a woman" type constitutional amendment, but is actually much more sinister.
The Virginia initiative has language that is so ambiguous it could open up attacks on arrangements that straight umarried couples have agreed to, such as wills, power of attorney, employer benefits, etc.
There are many groups fighting the passage of this law, and thankfully currently only around 45% of Virginians are supporting this measure, which could drop substantially once they read the rest of the bill, which says the Commonwealth will not recognize: "another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage."
Businesses are against this measure, because they may not be able to compete with businesses in Maryland and other states that would be able to offer benefits to domestic partners, whether they be of the same sex or not.
I urge all individuals and businesses in the area to support a defeat of this ballot question. Virginia was recently listed as the most "business friendly state" by Forbes. Let's not shoot ourselves in the foot.
The Virginia initiative has language that is so ambiguous it could open up attacks on arrangements that straight umarried couples have agreed to, such as wills, power of attorney, employer benefits, etc.
There are many groups fighting the passage of this law, and thankfully currently only around 45% of Virginians are supporting this measure, which could drop substantially once they read the rest of the bill, which says the Commonwealth will not recognize: "another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage."
Businesses are against this measure, because they may not be able to compete with businesses in Maryland and other states that would be able to offer benefits to domestic partners, whether they be of the same sex or not.
I urge all individuals and businesses in the area to support a defeat of this ballot question. Virginia was recently listed as the most "business friendly state" by Forbes. Let's not shoot ourselves in the foot.
2006-09-13
Astroglide Airlines
No posts for a while, been busy.
Seems all the new restrictions the TSA imposed after the British/Muslim/Terrorists thought about using liquid explosives are still in effect.
The GOOD news is that, according to the TSA's website, up to 4 ounces of "Personal Lubricants" are allowed as carryon luggage. Since any amount of toothpaste, shampoo, mascara, chapstick and a myriad of other items is prohibited, I'm not sure if this admission of allowing K-Y on the flight is an official invitation to join the mile high club, or some kind of TSA joke.
Yes, contact lens solution is allowed, but hand sanitizers are not. I personally have no idea why the TSA is now allowing a sex-related item on board, but I think if the people at the TSA were getting more of it, they might ease up on the other restrictions too!
Seems all the new restrictions the TSA imposed after the British/Muslim/Terrorists thought about using liquid explosives are still in effect.
The GOOD news is that, according to the TSA's website, up to 4 ounces of "Personal Lubricants" are allowed as carryon luggage. Since any amount of toothpaste, shampoo, mascara, chapstick and a myriad of other items is prohibited, I'm not sure if this admission of allowing K-Y on the flight is an official invitation to join the mile high club, or some kind of TSA joke.
Yes, contact lens solution is allowed, but hand sanitizers are not. I personally have no idea why the TSA is now allowing a sex-related item on board, but I think if the people at the TSA were getting more of it, they might ease up on the other restrictions too!
2006-08-22
Different Reactions
Porn was accidentally broadcast in the background of a news show in Sweden. The media was interested, some people were "shocked" but nobody complained.
If this had happened in the United States, the station broadcasting the material would be fined millions of dollars per man, woman, child, and unborn fetus that saw the program, the offending network would have to issue a lengthy apology and pledge to fight porn, and would have to pay for psychological counseling for all the children that will now become rapists and murderers for having seen this show.
Maybe my above conclusion is overblown, but the US is pretty scared of porn. You can't even show tits on TV, something that almost every infant has succled at one point or another. There is not one person who hasn't seen tits, a pussy, or a cock, so I don't see what the big deal is about the human body. Maybe it goes back to the puritan roots of the USA, but by at this point we respect no "establishment of religion."
I say, we should have a public porn network. It could be instructional for children, especially a lot of the people I went to CMU with.
If this had happened in the United States, the station broadcasting the material would be fined millions of dollars per man, woman, child, and unborn fetus that saw the program, the offending network would have to issue a lengthy apology and pledge to fight porn, and would have to pay for psychological counseling for all the children that will now become rapists and murderers for having seen this show.
Maybe my above conclusion is overblown, but the US is pretty scared of porn. You can't even show tits on TV, something that almost every infant has succled at one point or another. There is not one person who hasn't seen tits, a pussy, or a cock, so I don't see what the big deal is about the human body. Maybe it goes back to the puritan roots of the USA, but by at this point we respect no "establishment of religion."
I say, we should have a public porn network. It could be instructional for children, especially a lot of the people I went to CMU with.
2006-08-11
The Sheep Accept Their Fate
Today, one day after the foiled terrorist attack, people are accepting the fact that they aren't supposed to carry any liquids onto planes, while Britons (a group not known to make a fuss) are complying with their countries banning of all carry-on luggage, including books. For a people who stood up gallantly to the Nazis, allowing their own government to ban books on an airplane is beyond pathetic.
Meanwhile, here's an interesting article from Ronald Bailey, in which he outlines that a risk of being killed by a terrorist is much less than getting into a car crash, murdered, drowned, and many other ways that people die even if terrorists carried out attacks regularly. Simply put: all this extra security is nothing but political bullshit, designed to enslave the populace.
The security measures being used are completely ineffective. In my previous post, I asked the question, "How far will it go?" I think we could safely eliminate all of our current security checking. All that is needed is an adaptive approach to singling out certain people. Young arab males travelling alone seem to be a good place to start. If we find out that terrorists are starting to come in other colors we can move our search there, but it's stupid to tell the 75 year old World War II veteran that he can't take his bottle of water on the plane because radical muslims are potentially using this method to bring bombs on board.
2006-08-10
How Far Would You Let It Go?
As an afterthought to my previous post,
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
--Thomas Jefferson
The inconviences of too much liberty is that shit can happen. Perhaps an airplane or two would go down every year through the acts of pissed off people.
How far would you be willing to go to prevent that?
0. Freedom
1. No weapons (federal laws that violates the 2nd amendment prohibit carrying on airplanes. Those who are licensed to carry weapons are among the most law abiding citizens. Just think if one of them had been on each of those 4 flights on 9/11. The muslims with the box cutters couldn't have gotten one of those. Would we be in the middle of this "war on terror" if we weren't disarmed on plans on that fateful day?).
2. Metal detectors.
3. X-rays of your luggage.
4. Prohibitions on all fluids (this just occured today; I read that they are expecting it to last 12 to 72 hours. We are now in the middle of that time frame). This means no water, contact lens solution, handcream, etc. Does the American woman with 2 young children carrying a purse full of handcream really worth this extra effort?
---Now that we've gone this far, how many steps below are you willing to let us fall?---
5. Prohibitions on ALL electronic devices. No cell phones to alert people if your flight is late, no iPods to listen to music on the 5 hour flight, subjecting your $3,000 laptop to baggage "throwers".
6. No more carry on luggage. No books, no magazines, no change of clothes, no nothing.
7. Strip searches. What if someone wrapped an explosive around their penis or tits? Suddenly you would have to go fully nude in front of the TSA.
8. Body cavity searches. Next a terrorist could put a condom full of explosives into their assholes, vaginas, whatever. So boarding an airplane would require everyone to take off all their clothes and have someone of the same sex stick their latex-gloved hand up their ass.
I'd personally like to see us go back to level 0.
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."
--Thomas Jefferson
The inconviences of too much liberty is that shit can happen. Perhaps an airplane or two would go down every year through the acts of pissed off people.
How far would you be willing to go to prevent that?
0. Freedom
1. No weapons (federal laws that violates the 2nd amendment prohibit carrying on airplanes. Those who are licensed to carry weapons are among the most law abiding citizens. Just think if one of them had been on each of those 4 flights on 9/11. The muslims with the box cutters couldn't have gotten one of those. Would we be in the middle of this "war on terror" if we weren't disarmed on plans on that fateful day?).
2. Metal detectors.
3. X-rays of your luggage.
4. Prohibitions on all fluids (this just occured today; I read that they are expecting it to last 12 to 72 hours. We are now in the middle of that time frame). This means no water, contact lens solution, handcream, etc. Does the American woman with 2 young children carrying a purse full of handcream really worth this extra effort?
---Now that we've gone this far, how many steps below are you willing to let us fall?---
5. Prohibitions on ALL electronic devices. No cell phones to alert people if your flight is late, no iPods to listen to music on the 5 hour flight, subjecting your $3,000 laptop to baggage "throwers".
6. No more carry on luggage. No books, no magazines, no change of clothes, no nothing.
7. Strip searches. What if someone wrapped an explosive around their penis or tits? Suddenly you would have to go fully nude in front of the TSA.
8. Body cavity searches. Next a terrorist could put a condom full of explosives into their assholes, vaginas, whatever. So boarding an airplane would require everyone to take off all their clothes and have someone of the same sex stick their latex-gloved hand up their ass.
I'd personally like to see us go back to level 0.
Attack On All Liquids!
It seems that a plot was foiled to bomb planes in midair bound from the UK to the US. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who was probably behind it (here's a hint: they aren't Mormon).
The British flipped out and banned all carry-on luggage from their flights, with only a few exceptions (wallets, glasses, tampons, etc.) You aren't allowed to bring iPods or books! Can you believe this? These fucking British Nazis banned books!!!
Not to mention that it's just a little bit harder to join the mile high club now, since the TSA has banned all liquids and gels (no K-Y allowed anymore).
Penn Jillette said that we should make every passenger consume a slice of bacon before boarding the flight; if we did that we wouldn't even need the x-ray machine or metal detector.
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