Hired a lawyer to hold my hand filing the paper we need to file to get the mortgage reinstated.
It's pretty simple, but I didn't know what was called what. Dan filed a notice of appearance so that GMAC's lawyers can't say we defaulted.
He managed to get the Offices of Daniel Stern to actually speak to him. That might have been worth the retainer all by itself!
This is causing all sorts of tension at home, but we should be good real soon.
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31 May 2006
30 May 2006
Fucking M$
I am trying so damn hard to go legit. Why can't they just make it easy?
This damned Windows Genuine Advantage BS really pisses me off. Yes, I know that the copy of XP Pro "corporate" I am using has been compromised. Yes, I know that the license that I recieved has expired. You honestly don't need to tell me every ten seconds by opening a bubble pop-up.
I'll toss a clue out there for you M$, there are two reasons people pirate software: 1) Because it's WAY overpriced. 2) Just to see if they can get around whatever anti-piracy crap there is. Just ask Ubisoft, they got hit with both 1 and 2.
M$ is definitely guilty of overpricing. Just look at the price difference between Home and Pro. Then try and find out what makes Pro so much more expensive... My brand new legit copy of XP Home was bought after much soul searching and I really couldn't find a good reason to drop the extra $100 .
And because they are the big boy, they walk around with a target tattooed to their chest. I can't help but point out that Win98 was exceedingly easy to install on multiple machines, and M$ did not go out of business. And M$ became a GIGANTIC corporation with the childishly easy to copy DOS and Windows 3.11.
It's an old story, they are counting every single instance of piracy as a lost sale. Not the correct paradigm. There are a good many people that if you magically made it impossible to steal an M$ OS would not buy it.
My suggestion to M$ is to lower the price, that encourages people to just buy the damn thing. I'll even bet that if it was $40 for Home and $60 for Pro, they would see a large enough increase in sales volume to make up for the reduced price. The second suggestion I have is to make no attempt to prevent piracy. And the reason I suggest this method is: PEOPLE ARE PAYING FOR LINUX!!!! Linux is out there FOR FREE but people will still call up NewEgg, or Staples or Best Buy and drop their hard earned on it.
I will admit my original reason for buying a legit copy was because the version I am running currently was not going to survive major hardware changes (new motherboard), but why couldn't this shit waitTHREE MORE FUCKING DAYS FOR THE GODDAMN HARD DRIVE TO GET HERE????
So now I must do the "build a completely new machine" thing with a blank drive and new motherboard. Joy of joys.
Please excuse my use of the Franch Language.
Oh, and Windows Genuine Advantage?
The only advantage I can see to having a legitimate copy is getting the stupid bubble to stop popping up.
I bought my legit copy of XP before this cutesy little trick.
My next upgrade will be enough machine to run my games with an emulator on Linux.
Congratulations M$! You really created a future customer with this.
This damned Windows Genuine Advantage BS really pisses me off. Yes, I know that the copy of XP Pro "corporate" I am using has been compromised. Yes, I know that the license that I recieved has expired. You honestly don't need to tell me every ten seconds by opening a bubble pop-up.
I'll toss a clue out there for you M$, there are two reasons people pirate software: 1) Because it's WAY overpriced. 2) Just to see if they can get around whatever anti-piracy crap there is. Just ask Ubisoft, they got hit with both 1 and 2.
M$ is definitely guilty of overpricing. Just look at the price difference between Home and Pro. Then try and find out what makes Pro so much more expensive... My brand new legit copy of XP Home was bought after much soul searching and I really couldn't find a good reason to drop the extra $100 .
And because they are the big boy, they walk around with a target tattooed to their chest. I can't help but point out that Win98 was exceedingly easy to install on multiple machines, and M$ did not go out of business. And M$ became a GIGANTIC corporation with the childishly easy to copy DOS and Windows 3.11.
It's an old story, they are counting every single instance of piracy as a lost sale. Not the correct paradigm. There are a good many people that if you magically made it impossible to steal an M$ OS would not buy it.
My suggestion to M$ is to lower the price, that encourages people to just buy the damn thing. I'll even bet that if it was $40 for Home and $60 for Pro, they would see a large enough increase in sales volume to make up for the reduced price. The second suggestion I have is to make no attempt to prevent piracy. And the reason I suggest this method is: PEOPLE ARE PAYING FOR LINUX!!!! Linux is out there FOR FREE but people will still call up NewEgg, or Staples or Best Buy and drop their hard earned on it.
I will admit my original reason for buying a legit copy was because the version I am running currently was not going to survive major hardware changes (new motherboard), but why couldn't this shit waitTHREE MORE FUCKING DAYS FOR THE GODDAMN HARD DRIVE TO GET HERE????
So now I must do the "build a completely new machine" thing with a blank drive and new motherboard. Joy of joys.
Please excuse my use of the Franch Language.
Oh, and Windows Genuine Advantage?
The only advantage I can see to having a legitimate copy is getting the stupid bubble to stop popping up.
I bought my legit copy of XP before this cutesy little trick.
My next upgrade will be enough machine to run my games with an emulator on Linux.
Congratulations M$! You really created a future customer with this.
29 May 2006
On The Cross
I have clashed with some over Freedom of Religion is not freedom from religion topic before.
Most of the time I have to conceed the other side's point. Putting the Ten Commandments outside a court house is the State chosing a religion.
State funding of a memorial to fallen soldiers that happens to be in the shape of a huge cross, isn't. Motive is everything in a criminal case, why not here?
The big ass cross is in San Diego.
The Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary is as big as Arlington.
I am fed up with this irrational need to irradicate any symbol that resembles a religious one.
Us veterans put that cross there to honor the fallen. Making the federal government pay for the upkeep of a memorial to the dead of its wars is the proper thing to do. The current fiasco stems from a rule that federal funds cannot be used to maintain property that the federal government doesn't own. They didn't always own it. Nor did they always own Arlington.
It is not symbolic of Christian Glory. It is a memorial to the troops who are no longer with us. If this were just a Christian thing, there would not be Jewish, Muslim or Buddist graves there. Just like Arlington, the individual grave is consecrated by the appropriate holy figure. But most of them are Christian graves.
Fucking Moonbats, learn what a thing is for before going off. I am willing to bet that not a single one of these morons bothered to find out WHY that cross is up there. All they know is Federal Land and Religious Symbol.
I wonder if the problem is really that there is a religious symbol on the hill, or if that cross simply reminds these spinless oxygen thieves that there are better people than them who gave everything for some really nebulous ideals.
I know the above is a rambling mess, but I get angry and emotional around this topic on Memorial Day.
Most of the time I have to conceed the other side's point. Putting the Ten Commandments outside a court house is the State chosing a religion.
State funding of a memorial to fallen soldiers that happens to be in the shape of a huge cross, isn't. Motive is everything in a criminal case, why not here?
The big ass cross is in San Diego.
The Fort Rosecrans National Cemetary is as big as Arlington.
I am fed up with this irrational need to irradicate any symbol that resembles a religious one.
Us veterans put that cross there to honor the fallen. Making the federal government pay for the upkeep of a memorial to the dead of its wars is the proper thing to do. The current fiasco stems from a rule that federal funds cannot be used to maintain property that the federal government doesn't own. They didn't always own it. Nor did they always own Arlington.
It is not symbolic of Christian Glory. It is a memorial to the troops who are no longer with us. If this were just a Christian thing, there would not be Jewish, Muslim or Buddist graves there. Just like Arlington, the individual grave is consecrated by the appropriate holy figure. But most of them are Christian graves.
Fucking Moonbats, learn what a thing is for before going off. I am willing to bet that not a single one of these morons bothered to find out WHY that cross is up there. All they know is Federal Land and Religious Symbol.
I wonder if the problem is really that there is a religious symbol on the hill, or if that cross simply reminds these spinless oxygen thieves that there are better people than them who gave everything for some really nebulous ideals.
I know the above is a rambling mess, but I get angry and emotional around this topic on Memorial Day.
28 May 2006
Memorial Day
It's not about Grandma.
It's about me mates who didn't make it.
And here is my annual posting of this poem. In New Zealand they only quote the "They shall not grow old" stanza, raise a glass, drink, and say, "Lest we forget!"
For The FallenWith proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
Laurance Binyon
26 May 2006
Think On This
I think, legally and morally, that if someone is threatening your life, you are correct in killing them first. By the way, in most US states, the law agrees with me and juries some states where it is illegal too.
Compare this to Islam vs the US. A very vocal group of Moslems not only says they want us dead, but say that they intend to make us dead. So, there is nothing wrong with killing them!
"But what about the majority of Moslems who don't wish us any ill at all Mr McThag?" I recommend that they start putting some distance, physically and mentally, between you and the people who say that they want all us Americans dead. Time for them to stand up and be counted as our friends, or at least insist that the terrorists do not represent them.
The situation we have now is akin to some belligerent fool waving a knife in my face with all of his buddies standing behind him at a distance whispering, "Stab him!" I hesitate to shoot him because I worry that the crowd will rush me, but I think I might have to kill knife boy or he will kill me. It certainly appears that I am going to have to kill the entire crowd to be safe, even if the guy with the cutlery is slowly cooling at my feet. What would help the situation immeasurably would be for the crowd to start saying, "Go ahead and shoot him, he can't threaten any of us when he's dead."
Compare this to Islam vs the US. A very vocal group of Moslems not only says they want us dead, but say that they intend to make us dead. So, there is nothing wrong with killing them!
"But what about the majority of Moslems who don't wish us any ill at all Mr McThag?" I recommend that they start putting some distance, physically and mentally, between you and the people who say that they want all us Americans dead. Time for them to stand up and be counted as our friends, or at least insist that the terrorists do not represent them.
The situation we have now is akin to some belligerent fool waving a knife in my face with all of his buddies standing behind him at a distance whispering, "Stab him!" I hesitate to shoot him because I worry that the crowd will rush me, but I think I might have to kill knife boy or he will kill me. It certainly appears that I am going to have to kill the entire crowd to be safe, even if the guy with the cutlery is slowly cooling at my feet. What would help the situation immeasurably would be for the crowd to start saying, "Go ahead and shoot him, he can't threaten any of us when he's dead."
Teflon™ Concepts
There are a lot of things that my mind cannot accept. My thoughts slide off these concepts like they were made of teflon.
One example is being dead if there is no afterlife. The idea of just ceasing causes my mind to recoil away from it. To not even be aware that there is no longer a you. It staggers me.
One example is being dead if there is no afterlife. The idea of just ceasing causes my mind to recoil away from it. To not even be aware that there is no longer a you. It staggers me.
25 May 2006
A Hmmmmmm...
I was reading where Kim Du Toit feels that changing moral values leads to no morals and the end of society. He makes a good case, but...
There's always a but.
His case hinges on the disposal of one value leading to the disposal of the next and so on. He cites Ptolemy Egypt and Imperial Rome and compares them to modern gay marriage and co-habitation.
Like I said before, he makes a good case. But I differ with him. The values he is mourning in todays society are all derived from the WASP ideal. I have offered my admiration for that ideal before myself, but unlike he, I don't feel that the things he is talking about lead to the downfall of America.
My moral philosophy is "Do as you will, harm none." Most of the WASP framework fits into that ideal, so I tend not to conflict with it much. But I feel that we can have a whole lot of sex with a whole lot of different people and not hurt anyone. Letting two men have sex doesn't advocate theft, murder, arson, rape or child molestation.
I have substituted a different set of morals that retains a large chunk of the WASP one. I believe Kim's mistake is in assuming that morals are an all or nothing proposition. And to an extent, he is right. If I am a Christian, then the entire package is a take it or leave it deal. You can't covet your neighbor's wife and steal and still be a Christian. But you can believe in the sanctity of marriage and think stealing is wrong without being Christian.
The danger, of course, of substituting one set of moral values for another in a society is accidently omitting the one thing that was keeping things tied together.
I fear that Congress is doing far more to unglue American society than the changing moral values brought by accepting that homosexuals can have meaningful relationships as strong as marriages.
There's always a but.
His case hinges on the disposal of one value leading to the disposal of the next and so on. He cites Ptolemy Egypt and Imperial Rome and compares them to modern gay marriage and co-habitation.
Like I said before, he makes a good case. But I differ with him. The values he is mourning in todays society are all derived from the WASP ideal. I have offered my admiration for that ideal before myself, but unlike he, I don't feel that the things he is talking about lead to the downfall of America.
My moral philosophy is "Do as you will, harm none." Most of the WASP framework fits into that ideal, so I tend not to conflict with it much. But I feel that we can have a whole lot of sex with a whole lot of different people and not hurt anyone. Letting two men have sex doesn't advocate theft, murder, arson, rape or child molestation.
I have substituted a different set of morals that retains a large chunk of the WASP one. I believe Kim's mistake is in assuming that morals are an all or nothing proposition. And to an extent, he is right. If I am a Christian, then the entire package is a take it or leave it deal. You can't covet your neighbor's wife and steal and still be a Christian. But you can believe in the sanctity of marriage and think stealing is wrong without being Christian.
The danger, of course, of substituting one set of moral values for another in a society is accidently omitting the one thing that was keeping things tied together.
I fear that Congress is doing far more to unglue American society than the changing moral values brought by accepting that homosexuals can have meaningful relationships as strong as marriages.
22 May 2006
What Bloomberg Is Missing
The Laws and ordinances of the State, County, City and associated Burroughs of New York, and New York City do not in any way apply to South Carolina.
Federal laws apply to both.
South Carolina's laws, likewise do not apply to New York.
Which brings us to this. If I sell a gun in complete compliance with SC laws IN SOUTH CAROLINA it is completely legal, even if that customer would be barred from owning a gun in NYC.
Another example of jurisdictional limitations. To purchase a handgun in Iowa, one is required to obtain an pistol purchase permit from the local sheriff. That permit is not required to purchase a handgun in Florida (ask me how I know). What this means is; although I do not have an Iowa pistol purchase permit, it is perfectly legal for me to buy a handgun in Florida, because I live in Florida! My Florida residency makes it illegal to buy a handgun in Iowa regardless of permit because of FEDERAL restrictions.
Federal laws apply to both.
South Carolina's laws, likewise do not apply to New York.
Which brings us to this. If I sell a gun in complete compliance with SC laws IN SOUTH CAROLINA it is completely legal, even if that customer would be barred from owning a gun in NYC.
Another example of jurisdictional limitations. To purchase a handgun in Iowa, one is required to obtain an pistol purchase permit from the local sheriff. That permit is not required to purchase a handgun in Florida (ask me how I know). What this means is; although I do not have an Iowa pistol purchase permit, it is perfectly legal for me to buy a handgun in Florida, because I live in Florida! My Florida residency makes it illegal to buy a handgun in Iowa regardless of permit because of FEDERAL restrictions.
20 May 2006
Mortgage Reinstatement
Here it is for all to see.
The Law Offices of David J Stern, PA sent us the following:
$5,210.53 in secured funds not later than June 8, 2006. So we need real money before then, so checks to assist need to clear before like June 1.
The break down is:
To the Bank:
$2,600.56 For the mortgage payments.
$91.72 Late charges
$45.00 Property Inspections
$110.00 BPO
To the Lawyer:
$325.00 Title Search/Exam
$75.00 Title Update (Estimate)
$255.00 Clerk Filing Fee
$500.00 Service of Process (Estimate)
$1,200.00 Attorney Fees
$8.25 Service/Mail Req'd by Law
The Law Offices of David J Stern, PA sent us the following:
$5,210.53 in secured funds not later than June 8, 2006. So we need real money before then, so checks to assist need to clear before like June 1.
The break down is:
To the Bank:
$2,600.56 For the mortgage payments.
$91.72 Late charges
$45.00 Property Inspections
$110.00 BPO
To the Lawyer:
$325.00 Title Search/Exam
$75.00 Title Update (Estimate)
$255.00 Clerk Filing Fee
$500.00 Service of Process (Estimate)
$1,200.00 Attorney Fees
$8.25 Service/Mail Req'd by Law
Update:
FuzzyGeff has come through!
He's sent us what we were short (assuming the mail doesn't lose it) and we will be able to get reinstated.
We will, of course accept any additional monies anyone should wish to send us.
FuzzyGeff has come through!
He's sent us what we were short (assuming the mail doesn't lose it) and we will be able to get reinstated.
We will, of course accept any additional monies anyone should wish to send us.
17 May 2006
Stupid Book-Keeping Error
Our mortgage is in foreclosure.
We made a mistake. Compounded it and made more. Our fault.
Going to try and get it reinstated, but I fear that we will not be given enough time to accumulate the requisite funds.
Harvey gets two education reimbursment checks and her annual bonus between now and the end of July. If anyone can loan us the money, lemme know. Loan will be repaid as the aforementioned checks arrive.
Thanks
Thag, hat in hand.
We made a mistake. Compounded it and made more. Our fault.
Going to try and get it reinstated, but I fear that we will not be given enough time to accumulate the requisite funds.
Harvey gets two education reimbursment checks and her annual bonus between now and the end of July. If anyone can loan us the money, lemme know. Loan will be repaid as the aforementioned checks arrive.
Thanks
Thag, hat in hand.
16 May 2006
I Feel So DIRTY
I have actually PAID for a Microsoft operating system. The shame.
Damn MS for finally implementing an effective method of forcing users to actually buy a legitimate copy for each machine.
This is not the first copy I have owned legitimately, just the first one I've had to buy. I have two copies of Win98 and a copy of 98SE Upgrade that were given to me. The two laptops and The Boy's desktop all came with a form of XP. Pro on the laptops and Home on the Compaq.
As soon as the VA check gets here, I will be getting a new 250gig SATA hard drive, installing my motherboard, and installing Windows XP Home. I would have preferred Pro, but it's $129 for OEM at NewEgg. The XP Home Upgrade Retail was normally $100, but Best Buy had it on sale for $50. Retail is better than OEM if you want to make radical changes to your hardware without buying the OS again. The pirated copy of XP I am running is Pro, and I am not using the features that differentiates Pro from Home, so why spend the extra funds?
My upgrade is moving right along. My old motherboard's AGP slot is 2x/4x. My favorite flight sim has developed a stutter. So, I figured it was time to upgrade to a motherboard with a 4x/8x AGP slot. So, I bought the board. Little did I know that changing things like the motherboard, cpu or the boot hard drive caused XP to bail. Since MS has instituted some changes to make pirated copies hard to install fresh, I figured I should get legal.
Upgrade stage one:
1. Replaced PNY GeForce FX 5200 (128mb) video card with PNY GeForce 6200 (128mb). Dead fan on the 5200. Might be fixable, but I can't find a fan that will work for less than the price of the new card.
2. Replaced the 350w power supply with a 450w with dual fans. Improved air flow got a 5^C drop in CPU temp!
3. Added two 80mm case fans, one in front, one in back. Got another 7^C drop in CPU temp.
4. Delete 512 PC2100 RAM stick and replace with 1024 PC3200, joining the other PC3200 512 (I had upgrade in sight even a year ago).
5. Disable onboard Realtek AC97 and install Sound Blaster Audigy SE.
6. New Motherboard, going from a 266MHz FSB to 400, going from 4x AGP to 8x, change from 4 IDE to 2 SATA (with RAID onboard) and 4 IDE get two more USB 2.0 slots, change from PCI to Onboard LAN (may stay with the PCI for speed reasons), change from PC2100 to PC3200 RAM.
7. Add a SATA 250gig hard drive.
8. Add a dual layer DVD burner.
9. Add a second SATA 250gig hard drive and activate the RAID 1. Constant back-up!
10. Delete 80gig IDE hard drive and put it in the iMac.
Upgrade stage two:
1. New motherboard (again). Change from Socket A (462) to Socket 939. Change from 2x184 pin PC3200 slots (2gig max) to 4x184 pin PC3200 slots (4gig max).
2. New CPU. Right now that is an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice (2.0 GHz) to supplant my AMD Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8 GHz). While 1.8 to 2.0 doesn't seem like a huge increase, the changes in bus speed and going from 32 to 64 bit cores are supposed to make it seem more like 4.0GHz by comparison.
3. (Optional) since this upgrade is longer term than Stage One, it might be a good idea to change to a PCIe 16x video card. There isn't a huge price difference between AGP 8x and PCIe 16x motherboards and PCIe 16x cards are about $150. But I just bought a video card, dammit!
4. 19" LCD monitor. BOO YAH!
One of the nice things about how I am doing this is I will have lots of left over parts. I am thinking that what I should do is get a case and make Bev a new machine. The Boy can have a better video card and maybe a better monitor. Or slap The Boy's processor (AMD Athlon XP 2400+) into the Stage 1 board and change to a desktop case and he gets a general upgrade. That might require another OS purchase though.
I do so love polishing cannon balls.
Damn MS for finally implementing an effective method of forcing users to actually buy a legitimate copy for each machine.
This is not the first copy I have owned legitimately, just the first one I've had to buy. I have two copies of Win98 and a copy of 98SE Upgrade that were given to me. The two laptops and The Boy's desktop all came with a form of XP. Pro on the laptops and Home on the Compaq.
As soon as the VA check gets here, I will be getting a new 250gig SATA hard drive, installing my motherboard, and installing Windows XP Home. I would have preferred Pro, but it's $129 for OEM at NewEgg. The XP Home Upgrade Retail was normally $100, but Best Buy had it on sale for $50. Retail is better than OEM if you want to make radical changes to your hardware without buying the OS again. The pirated copy of XP I am running is Pro, and I am not using the features that differentiates Pro from Home, so why spend the extra funds?
My upgrade is moving right along. My old motherboard's AGP slot is 2x/4x. My favorite flight sim has developed a stutter. So, I figured it was time to upgrade to a motherboard with a 4x/8x AGP slot. So, I bought the board. Little did I know that changing things like the motherboard, cpu or the boot hard drive caused XP to bail. Since MS has instituted some changes to make pirated copies hard to install fresh, I figured I should get legal.
Upgrade stage one:
1. Replaced PNY GeForce FX 5200 (128mb) video card with PNY GeForce 6200 (128mb). Dead fan on the 5200. Might be fixable, but I can't find a fan that will work for less than the price of the new card.
2. Replaced the 350w power supply with a 450w with dual fans. Improved air flow got a 5^C drop in CPU temp!
3. Added two 80mm case fans, one in front, one in back. Got another 7^C drop in CPU temp.
4. Delete 512 PC2100 RAM stick and replace with 1024 PC3200, joining the other PC3200 512 (I had upgrade in sight even a year ago).
5. Disable onboard Realtek AC97 and install Sound Blaster Audigy SE.
6. New Motherboard, going from a 266MHz FSB to 400, going from 4x AGP to 8x, change from 4 IDE to 2 SATA (with RAID onboard) and 4 IDE get two more USB 2.0 slots, change from PCI to Onboard LAN (may stay with the PCI for speed reasons), change from PC2100 to PC3200 RAM.
7. Add a SATA 250gig hard drive.
8. Add a dual layer DVD burner.
9. Add a second SATA 250gig hard drive and activate the RAID 1. Constant back-up!
10. Delete 80gig IDE hard drive and put it in the iMac.
Upgrade stage two:
1. New motherboard (again). Change from Socket A (462) to Socket 939. Change from 2x184 pin PC3200 slots (2gig max) to 4x184 pin PC3200 slots (4gig max).
2. New CPU. Right now that is an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice (2.0 GHz) to supplant my AMD Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8 GHz). While 1.8 to 2.0 doesn't seem like a huge increase, the changes in bus speed and going from 32 to 64 bit cores are supposed to make it seem more like 4.0GHz by comparison.
3. (Optional) since this upgrade is longer term than Stage One, it might be a good idea to change to a PCIe 16x video card. There isn't a huge price difference between AGP 8x and PCIe 16x motherboards and PCIe 16x cards are about $150. But I just bought a video card, dammit!
4. 19" LCD monitor. BOO YAH!
One of the nice things about how I am doing this is I will have lots of left over parts. I am thinking that what I should do is get a case and make Bev a new machine. The Boy can have a better video card and maybe a better monitor. Or slap The Boy's processor (AMD Athlon XP 2400+) into the Stage 1 board and change to a desktop case and he gets a general upgrade. That might require another OS purchase though.
I do so love polishing cannon balls.
12 May 2006
But Oh So Politely
Today's thought is Political Correctness.
A method of robbing one side of the ability to say what they mean without being rude.
A quote from a TV show (Babylon 5) sums it up, "If you cannot mean what you say, you cannot say what you mean."
I love how one side has taken control of the very language. Being Progressive sounds so good doesn't it? You're on the side of "progress"! Think that a Progressive could sell what they are shilling if they had to say Socialist or Communist everytime they currently say Progressive.
Progressive has a double meaning for taxes. When people hear "progressive" tax rates, they don't think, "rates get progressively higher as your income rises." And we were very carefully prepared to not think that way by how the rates were presented.
PC has led to some other demons. Why is it that calling someone a WOP is just a mild insult and CENSORED still unthinkable? In the early 19teens calling an Italian immigrant a WOP would get you a knife in the ribs. Why did that insult fade but CENSORED remains fighting words? Almost as if someone had an interest in keeping that term current.
And there is nothing special about any specific word. You find someone who hates blacks, and you prevent him from saying, "CENSORED" he can heap enough hate and scorn on "Sir" there is no doubt that he means "YOU FILTHY CENSORED". Aren't tones and inflection fun?
So, since there is no real escape from bigots and bigotry, why attempt to channel the discourse a certain way? What purpose does it serve to retain one word as the insult when those who would use it can be insulting without using it?
And how many correct terms have we blown through for persons of Negroid descent? Colored. Black. African-American. And how many of those have also developed into the functional equivalent of the dreaded N-word? And African-American is particularly amusing to me, an Afrikaaner who moves here would, technically, be more of an African-American than a black person born and raised in Detroit.
I know this is rambling and disjointed. I understand that blacks, unlike Italians cannot hide where their ancestors hail from. But here's an observation I have made; Most everyone I have ever heard say something disparaging about blacks is angry about affirmative action or some related program. And that seems to have more to do with anger at the government and transference than racism.
A method of robbing one side of the ability to say what they mean without being rude.
A quote from a TV show (Babylon 5) sums it up, "If you cannot mean what you say, you cannot say what you mean."
I love how one side has taken control of the very language. Being Progressive sounds so good doesn't it? You're on the side of "progress"! Think that a Progressive could sell what they are shilling if they had to say Socialist or Communist everytime they currently say Progressive.
Progressive has a double meaning for taxes. When people hear "progressive" tax rates, they don't think, "rates get progressively higher as your income rises." And we were very carefully prepared to not think that way by how the rates were presented.
PC has led to some other demons. Why is it that calling someone a WOP is just a mild insult and CENSORED still unthinkable? In the early 19teens calling an Italian immigrant a WOP would get you a knife in the ribs. Why did that insult fade but CENSORED remains fighting words? Almost as if someone had an interest in keeping that term current.
And there is nothing special about any specific word. You find someone who hates blacks, and you prevent him from saying, "CENSORED" he can heap enough hate and scorn on "Sir" there is no doubt that he means "YOU FILTHY CENSORED". Aren't tones and inflection fun?
So, since there is no real escape from bigots and bigotry, why attempt to channel the discourse a certain way? What purpose does it serve to retain one word as the insult when those who would use it can be insulting without using it?
And how many correct terms have we blown through for persons of Negroid descent? Colored. Black. African-American. And how many of those have also developed into the functional equivalent of the dreaded N-word? And African-American is particularly amusing to me, an Afrikaaner who moves here would, technically, be more of an African-American than a black person born and raised in Detroit.
I know this is rambling and disjointed. I understand that blacks, unlike Italians cannot hide where their ancestors hail from. But here's an observation I have made; Most everyone I have ever heard say something disparaging about blacks is angry about affirmative action or some related program. And that seems to have more to do with anger at the government and transference than racism.
09 May 2006
Speaking Of Military Funerals
Get a copy of "Gardens of Stone".
One of the very few movies to get some small details right about the Army.
One of my favorite parts is when one character, a medal of honor winner, hears the honor guard of his friend cracking wise. He gets right in the face of the wisecracker and yells, "Shut the fuck up!" and stands there, daring the guy to do something. Bear in mind this is in formation. The lieutenant in charge of the formation turns around to see what the heck is going on and the MoH holder looks him in the eye and says, "What are you looking at?" The LT brings his sword to present arms immeadiately, the MoH recipient returns the salute.
What did they get right? One, the LT saluted with his sword. Two, you win the MoH officers salute you and you return their salute (this is opposite of normal.
One of the very few movies to get some small details right about the Army.
One of my favorite parts is when one character, a medal of honor winner, hears the honor guard of his friend cracking wise. He gets right in the face of the wisecracker and yells, "Shut the fuck up!" and stands there, daring the guy to do something. Bear in mind this is in formation. The lieutenant in charge of the formation turns around to see what the heck is going on and the MoH holder looks him in the eye and says, "What are you looking at?" The LT brings his sword to present arms immeadiately, the MoH recipient returns the salute.
What did they get right? One, the LT saluted with his sword. Two, you win the MoH officers salute you and you return their salute (this is opposite of normal.
Barely Suppressed Rage
After watching some footage of the protesters being drowned out by the rumble of Harleys I was reminded of a thought.
Gods I want people like Phelps to just drop dead.
So, I have a proposal. Just make the invited guests of a funeral not responsible for their behavior. Temporary insanity brought on by grief? It could work.
Phelps is brave because he knows that there is nothing the mourners can really do. Until he finds a mourner who doesn't care about the consequences as long as Fred dies. Only going to take a few times before the fun wears off for the protestors. And I, for one, PRAY that I am on the jury that is charged with determining guilt of the counter-protester. "I'd love to convict him, but he violated rules #1 and #2. He was being careless, and Darwin was watching."
For the curious, those are Niven's Laws. #1 Do not piss off people with guns. #2 Do not stand near people violating rule #1.
Gods I want people like Phelps to just drop dead.
So, I have a proposal. Just make the invited guests of a funeral not responsible for their behavior. Temporary insanity brought on by grief? It could work.
Phelps is brave because he knows that there is nothing the mourners can really do. Until he finds a mourner who doesn't care about the consequences as long as Fred dies. Only going to take a few times before the fun wears off for the protestors. And I, for one, PRAY that I am on the jury that is charged with determining guilt of the counter-protester. "I'd love to convict him, but he violated rules #1 and #2. He was being careless, and Darwin was watching."
For the curious, those are Niven's Laws. #1 Do not piss off people with guns. #2 Do not stand near people violating rule #1.
08 May 2006
Some Fun To Break The Tension
You scored as Serenity (Firefly). You like to live your own way and don't enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.
| Serenity (Firefly) | 94% | ||
| Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) | 94% | ||
| Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) | 88% | ||
| Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) | 81% | ||
| Moya (Farscape) | 75% | ||
| Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) | 75% | ||
| Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) | 69% | ||
| Enterprise D (Star Trek) | 69% | ||
| FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) | 69% | ||
| Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) | 63% | ||
| SG-1 (Stargate) | 63% | ||
| Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) | 56% |
Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com
And The Excitement Never Ends
Sunday, around 5:00, The Boy decided to slam his entire bottle of Serequel, a sleeping pill. Thirty some odd pills.
The Lovely Harvey rushed him to the hospital while I fretted at home, being next to useless in a "wait and see" situation.
The local hospital transferred him to St Joeseph's in Tampa and I met Harvey there. There was some odd logistics involved with that. She took her car to Community in New Port Richey, they transferred him by ambulance to St Joeseph's. Harvey called to tell me that and I called a friend (thanks Joe!) to give me a lift to pick up her car. I ran the 9C1 home and hopped in my car and headed down to Tampa to meet at St Joe's. When I was getting close I called her cell to ask what room they were in. They had not left yet! They were still waiting on the ambulance. This was about 8:00. So I went to bother my buddy Marv while I waited for Harvey to call and tell me that they were on the way. She called just after 11 and got to the hospital at almost exactly midnight. Dunno why it took the hospital three hours to find an ambulance.
The good news is that it's almost impossible to kill yourself with these things. But they still wanted to keep him overnight for observation to be sure. I expect him to be released early today, good as new.
The Lovely Harvey rushed him to the hospital while I fretted at home, being next to useless in a "wait and see" situation.
The local hospital transferred him to St Joeseph's in Tampa and I met Harvey there. There was some odd logistics involved with that. She took her car to Community in New Port Richey, they transferred him by ambulance to St Joeseph's. Harvey called to tell me that and I called a friend (thanks Joe!) to give me a lift to pick up her car. I ran the 9C1 home and hopped in my car and headed down to Tampa to meet at St Joe's. When I was getting close I called her cell to ask what room they were in. They had not left yet! They were still waiting on the ambulance. This was about 8:00. So I went to bother my buddy Marv while I waited for Harvey to call and tell me that they were on the way. She called just after 11 and got to the hospital at almost exactly midnight. Dunno why it took the hospital three hours to find an ambulance.
The good news is that it's almost impossible to kill yourself with these things. But they still wanted to keep him overnight for observation to be sure. I expect him to be released early today, good as new.
06 May 2006
Equivalence
Now that being an illegal alien is called being an undocumented worker and the change results in no prosecution I have some other suggestions for the label.
Start performing surgery, now you can be an undocumented medical professional.
Go ahead and sell drugs, you are now an undocumented recreational pharmacist.
No reason not to make MG.42s in the basement, you are an undocumented small-arms manufacturer.
Drive 120 in residential areas, you are an undocumented race car driver and the block is an undocumented race facility.
Start performing surgery, now you can be an undocumented medical professional.
Go ahead and sell drugs, you are now an undocumented recreational pharmacist.
No reason not to make MG.42s in the basement, you are an undocumented small-arms manufacturer.
Drive 120 in residential areas, you are an undocumented race car driver and the block is an undocumented race facility.
04 May 2006
Good News For A Change
The Lovely Harvey had her surgery for her skin cancer (Basil Cell Sarcoma for those scoring the home game).
They literally took a silver dollar sized hunk out of her neck, fifteen stitches to close. If the literature on the web is even remotely accurate, she should be good to go now. It's a slow spreading cancer and rarely metasizes to other tissue. She just has to stay out of the sun and wear lots of sun block, spf-25 or more. For my sun worshipping honey, this is a lifestyle change.
Now she has to be extremely careful about how she moves so she doesn't rip her stitches.
Get well soon! I love you!
They literally took a silver dollar sized hunk out of her neck, fifteen stitches to close. If the literature on the web is even remotely accurate, she should be good to go now. It's a slow spreading cancer and rarely metasizes to other tissue. She just has to stay out of the sun and wear lots of sun block, spf-25 or more. For my sun worshipping honey, this is a lifestyle change.
Now she has to be extremely careful about how she moves so she doesn't rip her stitches.
Get well soon! I love you!
02 May 2006
Dispair
My mother has cancer.
She had trouble breathing the other night and has had problems with losing her voice lately, so she went to see the doctor.
They drained 2L of bloody fluid out of her lungs. This fluid was tested and found to contain large amounts of cancer cells.
She had some tests done today and will be having a CAT scan tomorrow or Thursday.
If anyone knows the proper proceedure for "Mom has cancer, panic impotently!" let me know and send me an ISO 9001 compliant checklist.
She had trouble breathing the other night and has had problems with losing her voice lately, so she went to see the doctor.
They drained 2L of bloody fluid out of her lungs. This fluid was tested and found to contain large amounts of cancer cells.
She had some tests done today and will be having a CAT scan tomorrow or Thursday.
If anyone knows the proper proceedure for "Mom has cancer, panic impotently!" let me know and send me an ISO 9001 compliant checklist.
29 April 2006
Serious Lack Of Communication
I am fat because I eat too much and move around less than a pet rock.
That's my fault. Nobody else. Exercise pretty much tends to be a primary activity, and it is deadly dull.
Stress might be a factor, but dammit! It's not your fault you got skin cancer, it's genetics. You didn't ask to become a diabetic, genetics again. My worries are that you are going to die! Dammit, cancer and diabetes are serious shit!
The Boy might be a pain, but all 13 year olds are. He's just a different kind of pain from the norm. At least he's not going to parties and doing crack just to show us! And he has only come home in a police car once and he wasn't even charged! =)
I love you two. If I didn't I would be so gone. Without the love, there is no reason for staying. Luckily, there's a lot of love here for you guys. Never forget it, even if I'm moody because I hurt.
I'm here because I am with the two people I love the most in the whole world. Just because I cannot express it doesn't mean I don't feel it.
That's my fault. Nobody else. Exercise pretty much tends to be a primary activity, and it is deadly dull.
Stress might be a factor, but dammit! It's not your fault you got skin cancer, it's genetics. You didn't ask to become a diabetic, genetics again. My worries are that you are going to die! Dammit, cancer and diabetes are serious shit!
The Boy might be a pain, but all 13 year olds are. He's just a different kind of pain from the norm. At least he's not going to parties and doing crack just to show us! And he has only come home in a police car once and he wasn't even charged! =)
I love you two. If I didn't I would be so gone. Without the love, there is no reason for staying. Luckily, there's a lot of love here for you guys. Never forget it, even if I'm moody because I hurt.
I'm here because I am with the two people I love the most in the whole world. Just because I cannot express it doesn't mean I don't feel it.
25 April 2006
Serious As A Shadow On A Chest X-Ray
I seem to have developed a mild case of pneumonia. YAAAY!
I also seem to be allergic to something too. This makes the pneumonia worse, or at least adds to the mucus problem.
And I have managed to go from 194 lbs in 2004 to 235 today. Yippie! I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the tree in the backyard is active by comparison to me.
I also seem to be allergic to something too. This makes the pneumonia worse, or at least adds to the mucus problem.
And I have managed to go from 194 lbs in 2004 to 235 today. Yippie! I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the tree in the backyard is active by comparison to me.
24 April 2006
Repetition Is Fun
I have had a recurring thought.
Should the US decide that there will be no more Islam, we could do it. And unlike the Nazi vs Jew holocaust, the Moslems have made it clear publicly that they want all us Westerners dead or converted (except the Jews which get to just be dead).
My mind is skidding around this. Genocide, with the moral high-ground. It boggles! The complete eradication of a culture, and it would be self defence.
I have long thought our foreign policy should be based on what the other country says we act like. Iran says we murder babies in the street, OK. Dead babies on the menu. I am also convinced that we could develop a weapon that only killed babies that are actually in the streets, sparing those merely on the sidewalks or indoors.
Iran is currently trying real hard to get nukes and doing the nation-state equivalent to waving a loaded gun around a crowded room. If this was just a single nut in a gymnasium, there is no question the moral and legal thing to do is cap the whacko. Problem is, if we cap Iran, we're pretty much going to have to eliminate Islam. And given the choice between Islam and my culture, I pick my culture and will not weep if there are no more Moslems. Of course, their future is in their hands. They pop a nuke on us and our response is automatic. It will not be cycled through public opinion polls. We have enough to eliminate the much larger Soviet Union, their allies and China for good measure. Iran? Prepare to fire 2% of the missles, turn key to the right on my count, 3, 2, 1 TURN... And Iran should consider that we still have those subs with missles too. The commander of a boomer is not required to confirm a TACAMO generated fire mission.
This is a recurring thought.
And if we have to kill them all, there will be no reason not to make the middle east our own private gas supply too.
This is beginning to look like a win-win...
Should the US decide that there will be no more Islam, we could do it. And unlike the Nazi vs Jew holocaust, the Moslems have made it clear publicly that they want all us Westerners dead or converted (except the Jews which get to just be dead).
My mind is skidding around this. Genocide, with the moral high-ground. It boggles! The complete eradication of a culture, and it would be self defence.
I have long thought our foreign policy should be based on what the other country says we act like. Iran says we murder babies in the street, OK. Dead babies on the menu. I am also convinced that we could develop a weapon that only killed babies that are actually in the streets, sparing those merely on the sidewalks or indoors.
Iran is currently trying real hard to get nukes and doing the nation-state equivalent to waving a loaded gun around a crowded room. If this was just a single nut in a gymnasium, there is no question the moral and legal thing to do is cap the whacko. Problem is, if we cap Iran, we're pretty much going to have to eliminate Islam. And given the choice between Islam and my culture, I pick my culture and will not weep if there are no more Moslems. Of course, their future is in their hands. They pop a nuke on us and our response is automatic. It will not be cycled through public opinion polls. We have enough to eliminate the much larger Soviet Union, their allies and China for good measure. Iran? Prepare to fire 2% of the missles, turn key to the right on my count, 3, 2, 1 TURN... And Iran should consider that we still have those subs with missles too. The commander of a boomer is not required to confirm a TACAMO generated fire mission.
This is a recurring thought.
And if we have to kill them all, there will be no reason not to make the middle east our own private gas supply too.
This is beginning to look like a win-win...
20 April 2006
Reminiscing
Gunner, sabot, two tanks, left tank first.
Up!
Identified.
FIRE!
On the way.
[BOOM]
Target, right tank.
Up!
Identified.
FIRE!
On the way.
[BOOM]
Target, cease fire.
Up!
Identified.
FIRE!
On the way.
[BOOM]
Target, right tank.
Up!
Identified.
FIRE!
On the way.
[BOOM]
Target, cease fire.
19 April 2006
Illegal Immigration Solution
Shoot them.
The basis of the castle doctrine if someone breaks into my home is that the corpse would not have been eligible to be shot had it just stayed out of my house.
Same same for the Mexicans. If they had stayed in Mexico, they would not have been in MY rifle's range.
And the solution for the illegals mass protests, it's an oldie, but a goodie: Maxim. Three Maxim guns in your choice of caliber could take out one demonsration in less than an hour. Lords know they can kill that many in an hour, WW1 proved it.
So, Mexicans, wanna live? Do it legal.
The basis of the castle doctrine if someone breaks into my home is that the corpse would not have been eligible to be shot had it just stayed out of my house.
Same same for the Mexicans. If they had stayed in Mexico, they would not have been in MY rifle's range.
And the solution for the illegals mass protests, it's an oldie, but a goodie: Maxim. Three Maxim guns in your choice of caliber could take out one demonsration in less than an hour. Lords know they can kill that many in an hour, WW1 proved it.
So, Mexicans, wanna live? Do it legal.
Education Spending
This is going to start with an analogy, so bear with me.
Lets say that I don't know how to perform a job. Let us also say that I am hired to do this job. Let us also suppose that my salary is $40k a year. Will raising my salary to $60k per year suddenly make me able to perform it?
If your argumentis that you cannot get people who know how to do the job for less than $60k a year, then the raise MUST include terminating the people who don't perform so that vacancies will be created to allow the qualified people be hired at the new rate.
What we tend to have in education spending is what I describe above. We are told that otherwise qualified applicants will not apply for teaching positions because the pay scales are too low. So, to attract better teachers, we much increase salaries. Fair enough, but this line of reasoning implies that the current employees are not qualified to do the job.
If giving teachers a raise came with firing all of the incompetent ones and included provisions for firing future bad teachers, I could get behind it. The problem really is that we cannot get rid of the deadwood in our system. Thanks teacher's unions!
Lets say that I don't know how to perform a job. Let us also say that I am hired to do this job. Let us also suppose that my salary is $40k a year. Will raising my salary to $60k per year suddenly make me able to perform it?
If your argumentis that you cannot get people who know how to do the job for less than $60k a year, then the raise MUST include terminating the people who don't perform so that vacancies will be created to allow the qualified people be hired at the new rate.
What we tend to have in education spending is what I describe above. We are told that otherwise qualified applicants will not apply for teaching positions because the pay scales are too low. So, to attract better teachers, we much increase salaries. Fair enough, but this line of reasoning implies that the current employees are not qualified to do the job.
If giving teachers a raise came with firing all of the incompetent ones and included provisions for firing future bad teachers, I could get behind it. The problem really is that we cannot get rid of the deadwood in our system. Thanks teacher's unions!
17 April 2006
Things That Bother Kim Du Toit
Dead Link to Kim Du Toit's Defunct Site
1. People who are constantly talking on their cell phones. I have to say, I agree with him here. Anyone who can't NOT talk to someone for even a second really needs a book.
2. People who pronounce a “d” like it’s a “t”. "Every time I hear someone say “just a secont”, I want to beat them over the head with a baseball bat." Gotta disagree with him here. My midwestern accent naturally does that. But I DO know how to pronounce 'd'. I don't say tipthoung or mitwestern. I'm sure a linguist would tell us why. And should someone from South Africa be telling me, a NATIVE AMERICAN-ENGLISH SPEAKER how to pronounce my MOTHER TONGUE??
3. Tattoos. He is so horrified by ink that he doesn't even want a waitress with a sleeve to serve him food. Pussy. He considers it self multilation. I don't and I hope that he gets so creeped out by my tats that he barfs. What kind of man can't look at a tattoo?
4. People who put their empty paper cups neatly on the ground outside their car doors, and then drive off. I agree here. Too many car shows have had to relocate because the people who attend leave the place looking like a dump, and/or don't patronize the business sponsoring the show.
5. Loud (c)rap music in cars. Double plus agree! And it goes triple for houses making that much noise. Your entertaining tunes should not emanate past your property. They should especially not intrude into mine.
And a few of my own.
1. People with nothing better to do than to chew on fruit flavored vulcanized tree-sap. I hate gum. I hate the wet sucking sound of it pulling away from teeth. I hate the smack of the lips coming apart and slapping together. It is the ultimate in mindless activities. For a sophont, any activity that doesn't require your brain should be shunned.
2. People with no experience with something I have experience with telling me all about how it is or was. You have no frame of reference to correct me, so shut up.
3. People who have no idea how to change their own oil. I don't care if you choose to take it to Jiffy-Lube or the dealer, but you should at least know how to and own the simple tools to perform the task.
4. Being ignored by the staff at a business. There is nothing you are doing that you cannot drop to assist the customer, you know, the people who decide if your place of employment stays open. And if you ARE so damn busy you can't help me right away, a simple, "We'll be right with you," will do. A customer in the store takes priority over stocking the shelves. A customer in the store trumps a customer on the phone. A customer in the store is more important than standing around doing nothing.
5. People who don't patronize the sponsor of a free event, like a car show. It's mostly restaurants that are footing the bill and sacrificing parking space for the show-cars, throw them a bone and buy a meal. Most of them even give you 5-15% off the bill too!
12 April 2006
Something I Just Noticed
I am doing my insomnia thing and I just noticed something while watching "Air Force One".
When they shoot the pretty press secretary her pupils aren't dialated. The normal fear/anger/excitement response is to dialate the pupils.
Do we call this bad acting?
When they shoot the pretty press secretary her pupils aren't dialated. The normal fear/anger/excitement response is to dialate the pupils.
Do we call this bad acting?
11 April 2006
Chevy Men Wear Kilts
On page 106 of the June 2006 issue of Chevy High Performance is MY CAR!!!
Happy Dance!
In your FACE Canniff.
PS, if you want your own copy it's the one with a purple Nova and "11 Tested Bolt-Ons For Under $899" headline.
And except for small edits, the write up is what I wrote.
Happy Dance!
In your FACE Canniff.
PS, if you want your own copy it's the one with a purple Nova and "11 Tested Bolt-Ons For Under $899" headline.
09 April 2006
They've Gotten It Backwards Again
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegion
"Rasheed sued in 2000 after the state signed a contract with a new food vendor that began providing lamb and fish to Muslim prisoners on two Islamic holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Rasheed said the meals were inappropriate.
On the first holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, Rasheed’s faith requires that he eat the meat of cows, oxen, or camels. On the second holiday, which celebrates the pilgrimage to Mecca, he is required to eat specially slaughtered cattle." On the first holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, Rasheed’s faith requires that he eat the meat of cows, oxen, or camels. On the second holiday, which celebrates the pilgrimage to Mecca, he is required to eat specially slaughtered cattle."
Please note that Rasheed is required by his faith to eat certain things on certain days. Sounds like Rasheed's problem, not mine. My faith does not require me to supply Moslems with special foods on special days. The reason he cannot obtain said foods is becase he is in prison. If he had JUST OBEYED THE LAW he would be free to run to the Piggly Wiggly and buy the foods required of him by his faith. So screw him. My respect for his faith's diet is restricted to not serving him foods that are always forbidden by it. I'm not going to say, "Pork chops or starve, Rasheed," but if he had not committed whatever crime in 1975 that landed him a life sentence, he would be free to eat anything he wanted.
If he has not yet completed his pilgramage to Mecca, are we required to release him so he can complete that important pillar of faith?
"Rasheed sued in 2000 after the state signed a contract with a new food vendor that began providing lamb and fish to Muslim prisoners on two Islamic holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Rasheed said the meals were inappropriate.
On the first holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, Rasheed’s faith requires that he eat the meat of cows, oxen, or camels. On the second holiday, which celebrates the pilgrimage to Mecca, he is required to eat specially slaughtered cattle." On the first holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, Rasheed’s faith requires that he eat the meat of cows, oxen, or camels. On the second holiday, which celebrates the pilgrimage to Mecca, he is required to eat specially slaughtered cattle."
Please note that Rasheed is required by his faith to eat certain things on certain days. Sounds like Rasheed's problem, not mine. My faith does not require me to supply Moslems with special foods on special days. The reason he cannot obtain said foods is becase he is in prison. If he had JUST OBEYED THE LAW he would be free to run to the Piggly Wiggly and buy the foods required of him by his faith. So screw him. My respect for his faith's diet is restricted to not serving him foods that are always forbidden by it. I'm not going to say, "Pork chops or starve, Rasheed," but if he had not committed whatever crime in 1975 that landed him a life sentence, he would be free to eat anything he wanted.
If he has not yet completed his pilgramage to Mecca, are we required to release him so he can complete that important pillar of faith?
07 April 2006
This Is Getting Stupid, Dick
Ribbon meanings.
We need to pick colors for "National Stubbed Toe Awareness" and "International Lost Car Keys Awareness" ribbons.
Other ideas, "Crap, It's Monday Awareness" "I Lost My Virginity and Can't Find It Anywhere Awareness" "I've Fallen and Can't Get Up Awareness" "I Can't Afford A Springfield M1A National Match Rifle With A Stainless Steel Barrel and Leupold 6-18x40mm Scope Awareness" "Dude, Where's My Car? Awareness" Etc...
We need to pick colors for "National Stubbed Toe Awareness" and "International Lost Car Keys Awareness" ribbons.
Other ideas, "Crap, It's Monday Awareness" "I Lost My Virginity and Can't Find It Anywhere Awareness" "I've Fallen and Can't Get Up Awareness" "I Can't Afford A Springfield M1A National Match Rifle With A Stainless Steel Barrel and Leupold 6-18x40mm Scope Awareness" "Dude, Where's My Car? Awareness" Etc...
06 April 2006
I Have A Dream
I hear that there is a group of Islamists that wish to create a "seperate but equal" enclave here in the states where they can better follow the Sharia without the interference of our infidel laws.
If the Fuckweasels allow this, I want an enclave of my own. Imagine a place where the Constitution is followed without interference from the Fuckweasels.
I have an even better idea, lets scrap what we have now and make the whole damn nation a place where the Constitution is in force. As if it were the Supreme Law of the land. Imagine.
If Mexicans are so damn hot to be in the USA, I say lets take the USA to them! Annex the place. Make them all Americans. With some judicious slaughter of some our dumber anti-business laws, which are unconstitutional anyway, an annexation of Mexico would be good for both nations.
If Moslems are so hot to blow up our shit, we should blow their shit up right back. They hit something important to us, like say a World Trade Center, we should pop Mecca. Hit the fucks where they live. They wanna be medieval? Fine, I can support that. I don't think anyone has ever done a medieval invasion with modern weapons. Move over Ghengis, you will be remembered as a piker if we ever get pissed enough. And I am there NOW. I am not alone and the numbers are growing.
DC is increasing its irrelevance with the average American. How long before we notice that if we just start ignoring them and start a new Government without them we will be better off. I wonder if we will have to kill mountains of them of if we can just stop sending money.
Lest I come off as a racist, and I'm sure I do, let me explain.
I think the best way to end an US vs THEM mentality is to make a THEM an US. I'm an American, and I think that America should be for Americans. Black-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Scottish-Americans (me), German-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Catholic-Americans, Moslem-Americans (if its possible), Chinese-Americans, N-Americans. Those are all AMERICANS with a different flavor. That's the stuff that made America great. The stuff that allowed us to go from a backwater colony to the leader of the free world in less than 200 years. A united Germany is about the same age and they didn't mangage to become much more than another European nation, and they still aren't.
What did we do different? First, we allowed just about anyone from somewhere else to move here. Second, through some impressive intolerance and bigotry we demanded that the newbies became Americans, and this insured that their kids would be Americans. Third, we dismantled the culture they brought with them, filed off the serial numbers and added the parts we liked to our own culture. That's the "Melting Pot" in a nutshell.
We did not allow permanent enclaves of "others", let alone allow them to expand.
I am not saying that it was implemented perfectly. The problems of Blacks come right to mind. Racism prevented them from assimilating fully, and now many don't want to be a part of what they see as a "white" culture. The racism is mostly cured, but the scars remain.
I don't advocate completely abandoning your native culture to come here. St Paddy's day is fun. Cinco de Mayo is fun. Mardis Gras is fun. I cite the Jews as a good example of living by their own rules but still being Americans.
Mexico, African and Islam might have some cultural components that would be really nice to add to our own, but they have to be melted in the crucible and the slag must be skimmed off and discarded. Just like everyone else who moved here to become an American, no matter how long ago.
At the end of it all if you wish to remain a THEM, stay home.
02 April 2006
Some Implications Of The Immigration Thing
Fuckweasels in Congress: WE THE PEOPLE understand the meaning of illegal. Maybe you don't because you are so damn insulated from the laws you pass with the clauses that add up to, "Except us." We would be perfectly happy with summary executions of illegals at this point.
Fuckball in the Whitehouse: We want the fucking Army to do the main thing that we have armies for; DEFEND THE MOTHERFUCKING BORDERS! We would be perfectly happy with summary executions of illegals at this point.
Read that again: We would be perfectly happy with summary executions of illegals at this point.
And how did it get to this point? Not sure. But the US has a culture of its own. It was assembled from the parts of cultures of all the people who emigrated here to be sure, but it is a functioning culture. We expected people who moved here to adopt it, or not bother moving.
Why is that so hard for you? Why are you so supportive of the colonization of the US by a foreign nation? In an earlier times that would be called treason.
English became the common language because the majority of our immigrants for years were from England and Ireland. Then came Swedes and Germans. Then the Italians. Then Asians. The choice was not between two languages, it was between fifteen. Common culture requires common language. The English speakers were the established natives by then. It was also the language the first Congress consciously chose to be our national language, German was a contender for a while.
The common culture issue is also why there tends to be more crime around the illegal alien enclaves, they are not part of the local culture, so it is easier to rationalize the crimes. And this has played out time and time again in American history, Mexicans are really no different than the Irish, Italian and Chinese when they were very new to the country and had no roadmap to bridge the gap between their old culture and the local one. The difference here is that we have allowed the Mexican aliens to create a stable enclave where they are not expected to assimilate and become members of the larger US culture. They are and remain Mexicans. There are similar issues with Puerto Rican and Cubans, who do not identify themselves as Americans and thus are not part of the culture around them. At best the people in these communities can called expatriates. Perhaps we should hand the Cubans guns and send them back to fix their own problem with Castro. Perhaps we should educate the Puerto Ricans that if you were born in Newark, New Jersey, you are not really a Puerto Rican, PR-American perhaps.
There are elephants in the living room that, because of Political Correctness, Americans are not supposed to talk about. It has gotten to the point where nobody cares who is offended when we defend our culture over yours. Especially since there is an entire nation where that culture is the norm and there are no emigration restrictions on moving from the US to Mexico.
PC speak is the core of the problem, it prevents one side of the debate from being able to talk about the issues rationally. The other side is gaming that to their advantage. The issue is almost at critical mass. Continuing to play the injured party when you are the one doing the most harm is not going to fly much longer. You may wish to start speaking calmly and rationally before all tolerance of you is gone.
Fuckball in the Whitehouse: We want the fucking Army to do the main thing that we have armies for; DEFEND THE MOTHERFUCKING BORDERS! We would be perfectly happy with summary executions of illegals at this point.
Read that again: We would be perfectly happy with summary executions of illegals at this point.
And how did it get to this point? Not sure. But the US has a culture of its own. It was assembled from the parts of cultures of all the people who emigrated here to be sure, but it is a functioning culture. We expected people who moved here to adopt it, or not bother moving.
Why is that so hard for you? Why are you so supportive of the colonization of the US by a foreign nation? In an earlier times that would be called treason.
English became the common language because the majority of our immigrants for years were from England and Ireland. Then came Swedes and Germans. Then the Italians. Then Asians. The choice was not between two languages, it was between fifteen. Common culture requires common language. The English speakers were the established natives by then. It was also the language the first Congress consciously chose to be our national language, German was a contender for a while.
The common culture issue is also why there tends to be more crime around the illegal alien enclaves, they are not part of the local culture, so it is easier to rationalize the crimes. And this has played out time and time again in American history, Mexicans are really no different than the Irish, Italian and Chinese when they were very new to the country and had no roadmap to bridge the gap between their old culture and the local one. The difference here is that we have allowed the Mexican aliens to create a stable enclave where they are not expected to assimilate and become members of the larger US culture. They are and remain Mexicans. There are similar issues with Puerto Rican and Cubans, who do not identify themselves as Americans and thus are not part of the culture around them. At best the people in these communities can called expatriates. Perhaps we should hand the Cubans guns and send them back to fix their own problem with Castro. Perhaps we should educate the Puerto Ricans that if you were born in Newark, New Jersey, you are not really a Puerto Rican, PR-American perhaps.
There are elephants in the living room that, because of Political Correctness, Americans are not supposed to talk about. It has gotten to the point where nobody cares who is offended when we defend our culture over yours. Especially since there is an entire nation where that culture is the norm and there are no emigration restrictions on moving from the US to Mexico.
PC speak is the core of the problem, it prevents one side of the debate from being able to talk about the issues rationally. The other side is gaming that to their advantage. The issue is almost at critical mass. Continuing to play the injured party when you are the one doing the most harm is not going to fly much longer. You may wish to start speaking calmly and rationally before all tolerance of you is gone.
31 March 2006
26 March 2006
What I Did On Spring Break
Much fun was had by most. We got there about 1:30 and basically hung around and chit chatted. I didn't win the raffle prizes that I really wanted, but did win a set of vinyl decals. Not sure what I am going to do with them.
Special thanks to The Lovely Harvey for tolerating this car habit.
I might have burned a wheel bearing on the trip. It's squeaking really bad, but not getting hot or pulling. Have to see if I can get away with just repacking it. And even if it's toast, bearings are only $30 a side. I tried a new brand of synthetic grease the last time I did this and it might not have been up to the task.
Even with a possible bad bearing, I got off light compared to some others who came up from Tampa. Roger blew "something" in his valve train on the Beast. That car is essentially a race car and really shouldn't be driven on long trips. Phil broke his tranny, we think it was his fault. He had to decelerate suddenly and manually downshifted it to drive. He might have pulled too far and got second. That would be consistent with the way it is acting. Marv didn't break at all!
And this is an example of how to spend a lot of money on ruining a '95 Impala.
22 March 2006
The Cash Hemorrhage That Is Biscayne
The failed ball joint took something else with it. Prolly a tie rod. There is a loud POP when I am steering.
But WHICH tie rod? They aren't expensive on their own, but there are four of them. Once a tie rod is replaced, you need an alignment, which is more money. I needed an alignment because of the ball joints, but now I need to either figure out which ball joint or just pay the alignment place. Considering how smoothly the ball joints went, I should pay someone who has the proper tools.
I have the tires to replace the ones which were ruined by my previous bad alignment. Interestingly, the Kumho Ecsta 712 in 275/40WR17 ($106 ea.) are not that much more expensive than the Goodyear Wingfoot in 225/70SR15 ($75 ea and discontinued) I used to buy. And the Kumho is a high performance wet/dry tire! The Goodyears were slighty better than average performance all season tires. So, if I was driving in snow, the Goodyears would have an advantage. Um, FLORIDA, doesn't get snow where I live, and rarely where I don't. And the Kumhos lasted two years (and 35k miles) of bad alignment, and the back tires are still in good shape. The Goodyears lasted about the same. Wonder if I can get three years on a set of tires with a good alignment. Tires on the Camaro lasted five, those were Goodyear Eagle ST in 225/70SR15, but the Eagle ST was discontinued. The Goodyear Eagle GT II in 225/70SR15 only lasted a year on my Caprice.
By way of comparison, the Goodyear Eagle RS-A in 235/70VR15 for The Lovely Harvey's Caprice run $123 per tire and that is the only tire in that size that is rated for what the car can do. We could get her the The Eagle GT IIs for $75 each, but the car would routinely outperform the tires and I refuse to compromise on her safety to save a whopping $176 spread over three years. How ironic is it that to save money on tires, we would almost have to change to 17" rim and buy racing tires? There are a lot more choices in the 255/50-17 sizes which are the stock Impala SS size, starting at $99 going to $193.
I don't want to spend any money on the car because of the way The Lovely Harvey treats me about fixing it. If it were her car, we would both give a resigned sigh, I'd say something like, "These parts wear out, we'll just fix it," and we'd fix it. With her radiator I was way more concerned that she had had to drive without coolant than I was about replacing the radiator. Driving without coolant would have meant a new motor! That's metric money. And when the frame on the blue truck was cracked and needed to be welded, I was more shocked that the design was bad enough that there were stress cracks on the frame than upset we had to fix it.
When it is my car, she acts like I have been conspiring to make the parts wear faster and that I sit around breaking things just to cause financial crisis'.
I will let everyone in on the secret. Shit like this breaking makes me hate my car. And when I hate my car, I don't want to drive it.
Because of the double tap from the sewer and the front end, I don't think I will be able to afford gas to go to the Daytona Spring Fling. I can take my pick of rides with someone else, but going to a car show without your car is like going to the prom without a date. As it stands, I will probibly have to dip into savings to pay for the tires and alignment.
But WHICH tie rod? They aren't expensive on their own, but there are four of them. Once a tie rod is replaced, you need an alignment, which is more money. I needed an alignment because of the ball joints, but now I need to either figure out which ball joint or just pay the alignment place. Considering how smoothly the ball joints went, I should pay someone who has the proper tools.
I have the tires to replace the ones which were ruined by my previous bad alignment. Interestingly, the Kumho Ecsta 712 in 275/40WR17 ($106 ea.) are not that much more expensive than the Goodyear Wingfoot in 225/70SR15 ($75 ea and discontinued) I used to buy. And the Kumho is a high performance wet/dry tire! The Goodyears were slighty better than average performance all season tires. So, if I was driving in snow, the Goodyears would have an advantage. Um, FLORIDA, doesn't get snow where I live, and rarely where I don't. And the Kumhos lasted two years (and 35k miles) of bad alignment, and the back tires are still in good shape. The Goodyears lasted about the same. Wonder if I can get three years on a set of tires with a good alignment. Tires on the Camaro lasted five, those were Goodyear Eagle ST in 225/70SR15, but the Eagle ST was discontinued. The Goodyear Eagle GT II in 225/70SR15 only lasted a year on my Caprice.
By way of comparison, the Goodyear Eagle RS-A in 235/70VR15 for The Lovely Harvey's Caprice run $123 per tire and that is the only tire in that size that is rated for what the car can do. We could get her the The Eagle GT IIs for $75 each, but the car would routinely outperform the tires and I refuse to compromise on her safety to save a whopping $176 spread over three years. How ironic is it that to save money on tires, we would almost have to change to 17" rim and buy racing tires? There are a lot more choices in the 255/50-17 sizes which are the stock Impala SS size, starting at $99 going to $193.
I don't want to spend any money on the car because of the way The Lovely Harvey treats me about fixing it. If it were her car, we would both give a resigned sigh, I'd say something like, "These parts wear out, we'll just fix it," and we'd fix it. With her radiator I was way more concerned that she had had to drive without coolant than I was about replacing the radiator. Driving without coolant would have meant a new motor! That's metric money. And when the frame on the blue truck was cracked and needed to be welded, I was more shocked that the design was bad enough that there were stress cracks on the frame than upset we had to fix it.
When it is my car, she acts like I have been conspiring to make the parts wear faster and that I sit around breaking things just to cause financial crisis'.
I will let everyone in on the secret. Shit like this breaking makes me hate my car. And when I hate my car, I don't want to drive it.
Because of the double tap from the sewer and the front end, I don't think I will be able to afford gas to go to the Daytona Spring Fling. I can take my pick of rides with someone else, but going to a car show without your car is like going to the prom without a date. As it stands, I will probibly have to dip into savings to pay for the tires and alignment.
20 March 2006
Car Mod Madness
I have replaced the ratty headliner with a refurbished one from a 94 Impala. I had it recovered in charcoal gray.
Part of the installation is a set of lights just above the rear doors to allow the back seat passengers to read.
The headliner in a 91-96 Caprice/Impala SS/Biscayne is a dense open-cell foam covered in fiber-cloth on one side and an attractive fabric on the other. It's about 4' wide and 5' long. Imagine getting that into the 3x4 door. It's not pretty.
Actually, it IS pretty. I still have to cut the hole for the overhead console and get that back in, so no pics yet.
Part of the installation is a set of lights just above the rear doors to allow the back seat passengers to read.
The headliner in a 91-96 Caprice/Impala SS/Biscayne is a dense open-cell foam covered in fiber-cloth on one side and an attractive fabric on the other. It's about 4' wide and 5' long. Imagine getting that into the 3x4 door. It's not pretty.
Actually, it IS pretty. I still have to cut the hole for the overhead console and get that back in, so no pics yet.
18 March 2006
Kipling Corner
Danegeld:
It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
"We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."
And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!
It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."
And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.
It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:
"We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"
It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation,
To call upon a neighbour and to say:
"We invaded you last night - we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."
And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!
It is always a temptation to a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say:
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."
And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.
It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray,
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say:
"We never pay any one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost,
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!"
I'm Figuring It Out
I come to realize that to feel good about yourself you must be good at something you feel good about doing and you must be able to do that.
For example, the only thing I am good at, and am able to do, is be a fucking prick. But being a fucking prick doesn't make me feel good.
There was once roleplaying, I moved away from my group and I am no longer able to tolerate the online discussion groups. Which is sad because GURPS is a fun system. But since I am not Kromm or Hans, then my opinion matters not. And I want to matter. But I don't, and I never will so why butt heads?
There was once cars. When you don't have a job and your wife is sick of paying to fix the car, there is no way she'll let you buy modifications. And once again, there is an "expert" that everyone defers to, so I don't matter. And I want to matter. But I don't, and I never will so why butt heads?
For example, the only thing I am good at, and am able to do, is be a fucking prick. But being a fucking prick doesn't make me feel good.
There was once roleplaying, I moved away from my group and I am no longer able to tolerate the online discussion groups. Which is sad because GURPS is a fun system. But since I am not Kromm or Hans, then my opinion matters not. And I want to matter. But I don't, and I never will so why butt heads?
There was once cars. When you don't have a job and your wife is sick of paying to fix the car, there is no way she'll let you buy modifications. And once again, there is an "expert" that everyone defers to, so I don't matter. And I want to matter. But I don't, and I never will so why butt heads?
15 March 2006
The Joys Of Home Ownership
The Lovely Harvey was doing the laundry and when the washer went into drain mode, sewer water came gushing out of every drain!
The county thinks it could be their issue, but we don't seem to have a clean out.
I dumped a gallon of Main Line and Lateral Cleaner down the garage shower drain. I hope that fixes it.
The county thinks it could be their issue, but we don't seem to have a clean out.
I dumped a gallon of Main Line and Lateral Cleaner down the garage shower drain. I hope that fixes it.
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