The answer is ego. Each of us has the capacity to completely ignore all logic and reason, to delude ourselves into believing that we're so special that nothing bad will happen to us. When we take risks that our bank accounts can't cash and deep inside we know better, we're being just a little bit too full of ourselves.
2008-03-14
Why do we fall for bubbles?
Why do we fall for bubbles, you dumbass?
Airport Security Gestapo
For some reason I found a bunch of horror stories about airport security, as well as the lack of airline customer service.
One guy's tale of horror regarding TSA and GAT Security incurred a lot of comments on both sides. Ok, so the guy should've gotten there earlier, even before the counter opened, but the security theater in letting rentacops with superiority complexes mess with your stuff completely sucks. Let people with CCW licenses carry guns onto flights: some dude stands up and yells "Allah Akbar!" and he'll fall over with ten bullets in his head. Self-regulation beats government-imposed regulation every time. But the lemmings that are the bulk of this country are too self-absorbed to care about things like freedom and civic duty.
Another guy had a microcontroller programmer confiscated because of some incompetent screeners: "Apparently, it’s not 'improvised' if it comes in a printed box."
Apparently TSA screeners think hummus is a liquid. One gem of a comment: "I'm glad I live in America, where, at least until they rescind the Bill of Rights, I can proclaim THIS ADMINISTRATION SUCKS ASS." Indeed. However, it's because Bush is a neo-con, pushing his agenda down everyone's throats. Democrats do that as a matter of course. The Republicans have fallen quite a ways. McCain's a neo-con too, so what do we have? Three presidential candidates who suck ass. Ron Paul's the only decent candidate, yet he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell because there are too many stupid people. Well, they'll reap what they sow. In the meanwhile, I'd better stock up on bullets for when the revolution comes. I mean, there are all those stupid people.
Seems like from one of those sites I picked up a link to Alex Jones's Infowars site. He's a Ron Paul advocate, so he's gotta be decent. Check out this video of Bill Clinton, linked from Infowars. Sure sounds culpable, doesn't he?
One guy's tale of horror regarding TSA and GAT Security incurred a lot of comments on both sides. Ok, so the guy should've gotten there earlier, even before the counter opened, but the security theater in letting rentacops with superiority complexes mess with your stuff completely sucks. Let people with CCW licenses carry guns onto flights: some dude stands up and yells "Allah Akbar!" and he'll fall over with ten bullets in his head. Self-regulation beats government-imposed regulation every time. But the lemmings that are the bulk of this country are too self-absorbed to care about things like freedom and civic duty.
Another guy had a microcontroller programmer confiscated because of some incompetent screeners: "Apparently, it’s not 'improvised' if it comes in a printed box."
Apparently TSA screeners think hummus is a liquid. One gem of a comment: "I'm glad I live in America, where, at least until they rescind the Bill of Rights, I can proclaim THIS ADMINISTRATION SUCKS ASS." Indeed. However, it's because Bush is a neo-con, pushing his agenda down everyone's throats. Democrats do that as a matter of course. The Republicans have fallen quite a ways. McCain's a neo-con too, so what do we have? Three presidential candidates who suck ass. Ron Paul's the only decent candidate, yet he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell because there are too many stupid people. Well, they'll reap what they sow. In the meanwhile, I'd better stock up on bullets for when the revolution comes. I mean, there are all those stupid people.
Seems like from one of those sites I picked up a link to Alex Jones's Infowars site. He's a Ron Paul advocate, so he's gotta be decent. Check out this video of Bill Clinton, linked from Infowars. Sure sounds culpable, doesn't he?
2008-03-10
1 out of 10 Americans are sleep deprived
According to the CDC, anyway. And I'm one of the 10%!
Part of it is time management. Part of it is wanting to do too many things. Prioritization is another important skill that isn't taught in school. Happiness has a lot to do with how well one can integrate those things into one's life.
Part of it is time management. Part of it is wanting to do too many things. Prioritization is another important skill that isn't taught in school. Happiness has a lot to do with how well one can integrate those things into one's life.
LSI to Purchase Infineon Hard Drive Semiconductor Business
2008-03-06
2008-02-28
Meanwhile Bug
Pidgin, formerly GAIM, is a decent universal IM client. Part of its attractiveness its support for Sametime, a Lotus software application. The Meanwhile plug-in for Pidgin provides access to the Sametime protocol. However, in newer versions of the Sametime server, Meanwhile users were unable to see some people on their lists as being logged in, even though they were. This is a known bug. Oddly enough, even after I upgraded to Pidgin 2.3.1, the bad library remained, so I went looking for another fix.
2008-02-22
SPAS-12
I stumbled upon a site dedicated to the Franchi SPAS-12. There are some classified ads on there. $1400-1500 is what the classifieds seem to ask. That's a lot more expensive than a Remington 870! I suppose I shouldn't be partial to collecting odd items, since I'm more concerned with practicality, but still, it'd be cool to have. An 870 with a pistol grip, folding stock, and rail for a red dot could be a fun shooter as well. It just doesn't have the cool factor of being banned from further importation!
2008-02-21
Atchisson Assault Shotgun
My manager actually sent me a link to a video on YouTube of a full-auto shotgun. Naturally, I was intrigued. Of course civilians can't get them, but it's still cool. My dad had mentioned the Atchisson to me, but I never looked it up because he didn't really explain what it was! Wikipedia has an article that has a bunch of links, and there's a post on Digg. The manufacturer, Action Manufacturing Company, has a press release on the AA-12 as well.
Machine Gun Price Guide
On the HKPro forums someone posted a link to a site tracking the prices of machineguns. It's very informative. That and it's a bit depressing that it costs tens of thousands of dollars to buy machineguns that are all made before 1986.
2008-02-16
Mini Trucks
My dad sent me these links. Makes me wish I had a ranch.
Ulmer Farm Service sells Japanese light trucks. They're right-hand drive, though, so aren't legal on public roads.
Bulldog Offroad has rebuilt vehicles, but they aren't street legal either.
Now if a company in the U.S. made a hybrid mini-truck, that'd be sweet!
Ulmer Farm Service sells Japanese light trucks. They're right-hand drive, though, so aren't legal on public roads.
Bulldog Offroad has rebuilt vehicles, but they aren't street legal either.
Now if a company in the U.S. made a hybrid mini-truck, that'd be sweet!
2008-02-10
Partnership Taxes
Goddamn taxes.
I found a definition online that helped decode the difference between adjusted basis, basis in assets, and capital accounts:
I found a definition online that helped decode the difference between adjusted basis, basis in assets, and capital accounts:
—Partner’s Adjusted Basis (Outside Basis): This is the partner’s investment in the partnership. Outside basis is determined without considering any amount shown in the partnership books as capital, equity, or similar account. When a partner disposes of an interest in a partnership, the difference between the sale price and the partner’s adjusted basis is the taxable gain or loss. Each partner is responsible for keeping track of his/her adjusted basis.
—Partnership’s Basis in Assets (Inside Basis): This represents the tax basis in assets held by the partnership. The inside basis is used by the partnership in computing depreciation, gain or loss on sale of assets, etc. The partnership keeps track of the inside basis of assets.
—Capital Accounts: This represents the partners’ share of partnership equity (partnership assets minus partnership liabilities). There is a separate capital account for each partner. The capital account generally represents the partner’s distributive share of the partnership’s net worth as shown on the balance sheet. The partnership keeps track of each partner’s capital account, and presents an analysis of the capital account on Schedule K-1. The capital account is different than the partner’s adjusted basis. The capital account does not include a partner’s share of partnership liabilities.
2008-01-31
Chinese Flip-Flops
This site proves that Wal-Mart is evil and cheap Chinese products are dangerous shit. It's not just lead!
2008-01-29
Multitasking and Productivity
Recently there was a post on /. linking to an article on The Atlantic about the problems with multitasking. Just what I suspected all along. The article appears to be from last November—why'd it take so long to get picked up?!
Then c|net has an article regarding productivity in this brave new age of technology. Referring back to the multitasking article, much of the current technologies actually aren't conducive to productivity at all! The claim: "interruptions from e-mail, cell phones, instant messaging, text messaging, and blogs eat up nearly 30 percent of each day"—ouch.
Early technologies, like the Deere plow, focused on helping us do one thing well. There's an important distinction between a core technology development and mere infrastructure changes. The Internet as we know it was invented in 1974 years ago. The Web was birthed in 1989. Where's the next leap in IT? Blogs, social networks, and such are just sideshows to the real leaps that change the way we do things. The question is, will we use what we have at our disposal in a productive fashion?
Then c|net has an article regarding productivity in this brave new age of technology. Referring back to the multitasking article, much of the current technologies actually aren't conducive to productivity at all! The claim: "interruptions from e-mail, cell phones, instant messaging, text messaging, and blogs eat up nearly 30 percent of each day"—ouch.
Early technologies, like the Deere plow, focused on helping us do one thing well. There's an important distinction between a core technology development and mere infrastructure changes. The Internet as we know it was invented in 1974 years ago. The Web was birthed in 1989. Where's the next leap in IT? Blogs, social networks, and such are just sideshows to the real leaps that change the way we do things. The question is, will we use what we have at our disposal in a productive fashion?
Boosted Air-Source Heat Pumps
c|net has an article on an electric heat pump that's supposed to be more efficient for cold-weather locales. The company, Hallowell International, has some more information on their website, including a white paper.
Thou shalt not murder
Massad Ayoob also writes articles for the magazine Backwoods Home, and I ran into a couple interesting columns recently. One of them is regarding ammunition: storage, safety, and pricing. His point about how ammo prices being artificially depressed in the '80s continuing into the '90s was new to me. Then there was a link about how to respond to anti-gunners. I'd seen some of that before in Boston T. Party's writings, but Ayoob is more mainstream. One of these days I'll have to attend LFI.
Anyway, the point of this post is that Ayoob brings up the Commandment that really says "Thou shalt not murder". Even in the Bible, the Old Testament at least, there is killing sanctioned by God. Wikipedia has a word or two on this as well, for those who don't believe an article in a magazine about living away from the beaten path.
Anyway, the point of this post is that Ayoob brings up the Commandment that really says "Thou shalt not murder". Even in the Bible, the Old Testament at least, there is killing sanctioned by God. Wikipedia has a word or two on this as well, for those who don't believe an article in a magazine about living away from the beaten path.
2008-01-27
Why not to use Ruby on Rails
Slashdot had a link to an article on what to and not to use Perl for. One thing was for Web applications, which I disagree with. Several other people did too, one of whom posted a link to some issues that Ruby on Rails has by one of the most prominent dev community members. The rant is rather spectacular. F-bombs and colorful metaphors all over the place. I actually sympathize with the guy's troubles. Having done Perl CGI freelance, I know that a lot of the code out there is total crap, and many of the people in the industry couldn't code to save their lives. Still, it sounds like Ruby on Rails really sucks: 400 restarts a day is very unstable. Why bother?
Dave Hall told me how cool Ruby on Rails is, but I'm glad I passed on the latest buzzword language. The Catalyst MVC framework for Perl sounds interesting. Even so, I'll probably roll my own.
Dave Hall told me how cool Ruby on Rails is, but I'm glad I passed on the latest buzzword language. The Catalyst MVC framework for Perl sounds interesting. Even so, I'll probably roll my own.
2008-01-26
2008-01-23
C&R Links
Some interesting sites with information pertaining to the Type 03 FFL (C&R):
- Surplus Rifle's page on how to get a C&R
- Cruffler has lots of good info
- A useful C&R clarification via letter from the ATF
- Information from a previous post
2008-01-21
Radford Survey
Apparently HGST uses the Radford Survey to compare salaries, benefits, etc. against other companies to determine competitiveness. It'd be interesting to have access to the raw data.
Social Networks & Wall Street
I was googling around to see what exists in terms of stock-related offerings to social networks. One blog post I found listed several minor sites. The main one seems to be SocialPicks. There's also a site called Herd St., and some other obscure ones like BigSmarty and UpDown.
Personally, I'm not interested in yet another SNS. I'm looking for a site that allows stock performance tracking with minimal noise. Some people don't care for sharing exactly what they're trading, but wouldn't mind to export their annualized ROI. A simple, functional site to keep track, and possibly export performance information to other web applications. An issue would be gleaning out the historic numbers from feeds.
Google Gadgets has a JavaScript API for retrieving stock data. Apparently they get their data from a company called CSI. Still, Google Finance exports all exchange data in the JavaScript of the individual stock pages, which could be used to get at least 5 years of data, possibly more.
Personally, I'm not interested in yet another SNS. I'm looking for a site that allows stock performance tracking with minimal noise. Some people don't care for sharing exactly what they're trading, but wouldn't mind to export their annualized ROI. A simple, functional site to keep track, and possibly export performance information to other web applications. An issue would be gleaning out the historic numbers from feeds.
Google Gadgets has a JavaScript API for retrieving stock data. Apparently they get their data from a company called CSI. Still, Google Finance exports all exchange data in the JavaScript of the individual stock pages, which could be used to get at least 5 years of data, possibly more.
2008-01-20
Representational State Transfer
REST is another Web buzzword. Actually, I'm not clear on what the breakthrough was. Further, it mandates stateless behavior, which most Web applications rely on for login: either cookies, or a hidden input variable tucked away on a page, correlated to state information on the server. Still, I suppose it warrants more study.
2008-01-10
Tech News
Wireless Charging at CES.
Google and Facebook join DataPortability.org.
Microsoft offers to buy FAST for $1.2B.
Data centers on cargo ships? Sounds like the beginnings of an "off-shore data haven".
Network Solutions has been front-running queries—boo!
Mobile phone projectors to debut this year?!
Linux-based PMP features head-mounted display.
Alienware to release a gigantic curved monitor?! I want one!!
Shimmer to secure port access.
Apparently, it's legal for customs to rummage around on your laptop.
Building Beer-Brewing Bender!
NYT has the story behind the breakup of Intel and OLPC.
Google and Facebook join DataPortability.org.
Microsoft offers to buy FAST for $1.2B.
Data centers on cargo ships? Sounds like the beginnings of an "off-shore data haven".
Network Solutions has been front-running queries—boo!
Mobile phone projectors to debut this year?!
Linux-based PMP features head-mounted display.
Alienware to release a gigantic curved monitor?! I want one!!
Shimmer to secure port access.
Apparently, it's legal for customs to rummage around on your laptop.
Building Beer-Brewing Bender!
NYT has the story behind the breakup of Intel and OLPC.
2008-01-09
Gold & The Privateer
While looking for information on the gold confiscation of 1933, I ran across a site called The Privateer, a newsletter for liberty-minded individuals. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but it looks intriguing.
Presidential Executive Order 6102 is some evil stuff. Basically, it forced people to sell their gold to the government at a fixed price. Nine months later, the Gold Reserve Act transfered ownership of Fed gold to the U.S. Treasury, and the value of the dollar was devalued 41% relative to gold. Basically, FDR screwed the American people. What a fascist piece of shit! Why anyone would respect the guy is beyond me. It took WWII to pull the country together economically, and war brought other problems with it.
The Privateer has a timeline detailing the gold-related events in the 20th century that's quite illuminating.
Presidential Executive Order 6102 is some evil stuff. Basically, it forced people to sell their gold to the government at a fixed price. Nine months later, the Gold Reserve Act transfered ownership of Fed gold to the U.S. Treasury, and the value of the dollar was devalued 41% relative to gold. Basically, FDR screwed the American people. What a fascist piece of shit! Why anyone would respect the guy is beyond me. It took WWII to pull the country together economically, and war brought other problems with it.
The Privateer has a timeline detailing the gold-related events in the 20th century that's quite illuminating.
2008-01-08
2008-01-07
Technology Voter's Guide: Ron Paul
C|net has Ron Paul's take on several technology issues. Their election guide has some interesting coverage as well.
Turns out Dr. Paul has the same view on Net neutrality as I do. He kicks ass!
Turns out Dr. Paul has the same view on Net neutrality as I do. He kicks ass!
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