The end of an era...

There really is very little reason to use floppy disks anymore.

Devices such as USB drives are not only more convenient, faster, and more spacious than floppies, but they’re also inexpensive. A good USB drive will only run about $15-50 depending on what brand and type of size of USB drive you get.

Some models even offer encryption. What’s not to like? Do yourself a favor: Dump your floppies, go to Wal-Mart or any computer store, and buy a USB drive. There’s no reason not to.

When floppies fade into computer history and everyone else tries to make the transition to a new storage format, you’ll be glad you have one.

You can even impress a few of your non-computer-savvy friends and maybe even get them to purchase one.

I believe we will soon arrive at the end of a floppy era… a very floppy era…

Why are we here?

We thirst for freedom, yet all the while we are imprisoned by conditioned beliefs and paralysed by fear.

Freedom and restrictions do not go well together. They are constantly at odds with one another. And since both are constant companions, the stage is set for a permanent dual.

So, like sheep, we suffer, wear ourselves out and eventually die.

Such is our lot in life.

Legalize It All !!!

I had a thought recently.

What if our reality was just the dream of another reality? What if peanut butter and jelly were somehow the answer to many of the mysteries of the universe?

I know, weird.

Then, I put those thoughts on hold and had another thought.

What if we legalized everything? Anything that didn't physically harm another person is perfectly legal to do. Sex, drugs, suicide — it's all fair game.

Here's why I think this would be good for the world.

We let everyone do whatever the hell they want, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. This way, the smart people will try it, get tired of it, learn their lesson, and then pass this lesson on to their children.

The stupid people will overdo it and die, and hopefully somehow take their children with them.


What do you think?

Should We or Shouldn't We ???

This isn't about moral superiority, it's about protecting our country.

That isn't to say morals have no place in the matter. I don't think torture precisely appeals to anyone except nut jobs and sadists. I know from experience that the majority of those who torture do so not out of sadistic pleasure, but out of a desire to protect our country from future attacks.

There's only one problem with this: torture generally doesn't prevent future attacks.

These terrorists tend to be absolutely insane, and I believe many of them will not give up information no matter what. The real problem with torture is that torturing is essentially the same thing as posting "Join Al Qaeda" signs in neighborhoods of those undecided between extremist Islam and moderate Islam. Bin Laden prospers off the ignorance of the people in his country, and he uses their ignorance to be able to point to America and say, "They are the reason for all of your suffering."

If we torture captured Iraqis, it will only reinforce his message that we're all devils. And think about that message in the light he's portraying it for a second: it sounds quite sane and rational.

Big bad America invaded us, we shot at them to protect and defend our country, and now they're torturing our soldiers.

You could argue that this is irrelevant because Bin Laden can put whatever spin on things he needs to, even outright lie. True as this may be, I don't for the life of me see how feeding the fire could be helpful.

So when you think about it in these complex terms, not torturing may actually benefit our national security and our troops overseas more than torturing would.

A big problem with America is that we tend to take many more prisoners during combat that any country in the world. Other countries without embedded reporters on the front line have a higher enemy casualty rate when they engage. I have a real problem when you do everyting in your power to kill an enemy solder, before he kills you, then run up and yell "MEDIC" to save his life! When every shot we fire is broadcast on CNN and Al Jeezera that afternoon, this is the world America lives in.

With that in mind, I say that there are times when torture is appropriate. When you capture a man whom you know, without a doubt, knows something vital to our security, then should torture be allowed, nay demanded.

Not assumptions, not "he must know it, he's so high-ranked", but certainty (such as in a case where you have a fragment of a letter by a man with a detailed plan to bomb America).

Torturing under any other circumstances is foolhardy

And to say a few words about the Geneva Convention, I would like to remind everyone that it offers protection for those solders who fight for an established, recognized country, whose solders serve in uniform and in an organization with rank and structure.

To the man, those in our overseas detention facilities are terorrists who fight in civilian clothes, often hiding behind women and children. They serve themselves, and are often mercenaries from neighboring countries, being paid by warlords, druglords and just plain thieves to disrupt the politcal environment.

Be Kind to the Pizza Guy...

Kindness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in equality.

My measurement as a human being, my worth, is the pride I take in performing my job --any job -- and the respect with which I treat others.

I am the equal of the world not because of the car I drive, the size of the TV I own, the weight I can bench press, or the calculus equations I can solve.

I am the equal to all I meet because of the kindness in my heart.

And it all starts here -- with the pizza delivery dude.

Found Where ???

To: American People

We, the members of UCAWWW, petition that the Internet (World Wide Web) creates nothing but harm in society today. The Internet is a cause for addiction and sin while taking away traditional family values. Our children are being exposed to filth that causes sexual tendencies and drug addiction.

We therefore, demand that the internet be permanently banned from American homes.

We MUST restore faith in God and steer clear of the devil!


Sincerely,
The Undersigned

I found this petition at, of all places, www.onlinepetitions.com. Only in America can you find an online petition to ban being online!

What the????

News Flash!!!

An international animal rights group {PTEA} is sending a protester dressed as a black bear to follow the Queen when she visits Canada this month.

Does anyone else see what's about to happen here? Canada harvests more black bears in one season that the rest of the world combined...

...only PETA would think of something like this!!!

Why we are who we are...

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
who has given us the right to vote.

We go, not because we want to, but because we need to!

Wether we believe in the cause or not,
we go uphold the Constitution,
so that EVERYONE will get to keep their freedom.

Religion...

A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.

Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge.

Carl Sagan

Cats...

They will not go quietly,the cats who've shared our lives.

In subtle ways they let us know their spirit still survives.

Old habits still make us think we hear a meow at the door

Or step back when we drop a tasty morsel on the floor.

Our feet still go around the place the food dish used to be,

And, sometimes, coming home at night we miss them terribly.

And although time may bring new friends and a new food dish to fill,

That one place in our hearts belongs to them...and always will.

--author unknown

If a Tree...

If a tree falls in the forest, and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?

A falling tree creates vibrations in the air (as well as some damage on what it falls on). Vibrations in the carrier medium are not sound. Sound is when someone perceives those vibrations and therefore hears sound.

I hope this makes it perfectly clear and answers the question once and for all. Now on to the chicken or the egg experiment.

A Draft?????

Anyone standing in favor of a draft does not believe in individual rights, or human rights at all, for that matter. A draft, which is brought about because of lack of support for a particular military engagement, requires people who would not normally volunteer for the military to be conscripted. If the person had wanted to be in the military without the draft, and he decided it to be the best option available, that person would already be in the military.

The draft is, by definition, involuntary servitude. Once drafted, should the victim meet all physical requirements, the only way out would be a conscientious objector status – which he must ask permission to receive. This is not a very good argument in favor of the draft being anything other than involuntary, since the ultimate authority on whether a draftee must commit to the fighting machine is not the draftee himself.

Now, suppose we were to start calling a draft by another name for involuntary servitude: slavery. Would all of those writing in favor of the draft be willing to concede that, in order to stop the nation building going on today, we need everyone to pitch in and advocate slavery? With its nationalist appeal and media coverage, the draft is really just slavery all dressed up for the prom. It is nothing more. Involuntary servitude is not consistent with libertarian ideals. It is also not consistent with inviolable human rights to build an army of conscripts. Manufacturing slaves to spread ideals seems like a compromising position.

It would seem that, to advocate a draft, would be to violate any principles one has claiming inviolable human rights.

Dan Rather....

Quotes from Dan Rather on Election Night 2002

"Could be game set and match Republicans."
"They're about first and goal from 4 yards out."
"Tight as the pages in a book."
"President Bush is hoping to ace his first midterm."
"Crackling like a hickory fire."
"Two hands worth of white knuckle still hanging ten."
"Reminds you of that old Will Rogers line, it takes a lot of money just to get beaten."
"It's beginning to get exciting as the Democrats' fingernails are starting to sweat"

Quotes from Dan Rather on Election Night 2000
"This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."
"Turn the lights down, the party just got wilder."
"It's cardiac-arrest time in this presidential campaign."
"He swept through the South like a tornado through a trailer park."
"Don't bet the trailer money yet."
"It's too early to say he has the whip hand."
"Now Florida, that race, the heat from it is hot enough to peel house paint."
"It's a ding dong battle back and forth."
"If he doesn't carry Florida Slim will have left town."
"If a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a hand gun."
"They both have champagne on ice, but after the night is over, they might need a pick axe to open them."
"This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach."
"It's about as complicated as a wiring diagram to some dynamo."
"Only votes talk everything else walks."
"This will show you how tight it is it's spandex tight."
"We're going to go to some of those longnecks from a long time ago."

and we listened to this idiot for how many years?

Ripped from the Headlines....

A "small" number of backup tapes with records detailing the financial information of government employees were lost in shipment to a backup center, Bank of America said on Friday.

The tapes contained information on the customers and accounts of the U.S. government's SmartPay charge card program, which has more than 2.1 million members and annual transactions totaling more than $21 billion, according to the General Services Administration. Reports have pegged the number of cards affected at 1.2 million.

"Federal law enforcement officials were immediately engaged when the tapes were discovered missing, and subsequently conducted a thorough investigation into the matter, working closely with Bank of America," the bank said in a statement. "The investigation to date has found no evidence to suggest the tapes or their content have been accessed or misused, and the tapes are now presumed lost."

Lost? Lost??

Lost is what happens to your car keys, lost is what happens to your pet, lost is what happens to a $1 dollar bill...lost is not what happens to 2.1 million members personal financial data from one of the largest banks in the world. Lost?

Here we go again....

"The City of Chicago recently completed a $475 million park/civic center known as Millennium Park. One of the central features is a sculpture officially called Cloud Gate and unofficially called "The Bean". The Bean is a giant, 3 story, 110-ton hunk of highly reflective steel.

Photographers taking pictures of the sculpture have been charged money by the city.

The park district is claiming that pictures of the park violate the designers' and artists' copyrights. Quoth Karen Ryan, the press director for the park's project,

"The copyrights for the enhancements in Millennium Park are owned by the artist who created them. As such, anyone reproducing the works, especially for commercial purposes, needs the permission of that artist."

At this rate, "true" artists will stop producing their works for the public...just another case of the patent laws getting out of control!

Do We Really Need This???

Gays will soon savour special kind of Queer Beer.

Three entrepreneurs from Sweden founded a company to manufacture beer especially for those of unconventional sexual orientation. 32-year-old Michael Hatmaker was the one to come up with the idea in the first place. He, along with his friends plans to produce special gay-beer under a trademark of "Queer Beer". According to Michael, the idea appeared rather absurd to him at first. Nonetheless, after discussing future perspectives, his friends agreed to get involved in the business.

It is noteworthy that one of Michael's business partners is gay himself. In fact, promotion would not be possible without his expertise. The three entrepreneurs claim that their main intention is to treat the topic of homosexual life style with a bit of humor.

They hope that the beverage will help gays and lesbians to feel more relaxed ad forget about concealing their sexual preferences.

Pull That Ad!!!!

Ford is yanking a planned Super Bowl ad that depicts a clergyman tempted by a new pickup truck after some victims of clergy sex abuse complained it made light of their trauma.

With that in mind, I’m asking McDonald’s to stop its “I’m lovin’ it” campaign because it makes light of the fact that some people love eating so much they’ve become obese.

I’m also asking Verizon to pull it’s “Can you hear me now?” campaign because it makes light of the fact that some people suffer from hearing loss.

I’m also asking America’s milk producers to pull the “Got Milk?” campaign because it makes light of the fact that some people are lactose intolerant.

And I’m also asking anybody who uses the phrase “these prices are insane!” to cease and desiste because the phrase makes light of the plight of the mentally ill.

Some people need to get a life and ... I guess I can't say that because it makes fun of the dead!

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...

Carnivore we hardly knew ye.

Turns out that the FBI quietly stopped using the controversial network surveillance hardware in 2002, preferring unnamed commercial products instead.

The Patriot Act allows the FBI to snoop on Internet traffic without a warrant, but according to documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center under the Freedom of Information Act, the agency only used its Carnivore-like capabilities three times in 2002 and six times in 2003.

Wow! really believe that! 9 uses in 2 years? I might belive that they DIDN'T use it for 9 minutes in the last 2 years due to maintenance, but that's about as far as I'm going to go.

Let me get this straight, the goverment has software that lets it monitor every piece of traffic on the internet, anonymously, and they don't use it?

yeah right sure

Oh, and by the way, Langly is not monitoring and recording the airwaves and cell phone frequencies either!

What it's all about...

I recently came across this quote that a company was using for it's model, or business statement:

Our efforts involve focusing unquestionable dynamic metamorphosis with awareness of integrity from the bottom up.

What a bunch of garbage! To run a sucessful business, in any market, all you have to do is follow a few, simple rules:

Obeying the law, both in letter and in spirit, is the foundation on which a company's ethical standards are built.
All of the company's employees and directors must conduct themselves accordingly and seek to avoid even the appearance of improper behavior.
All employees, officers and directors must respect each other and obey the laws of the cities, states and countries in which they operate.

Now that's something I can live with. And who came up with that? What mega Dot Com CEO claims it? Which Fortune 500 lending institution uses it for their model?

Would you believe me if I told you that it is the mantra of HORMEL FOODS! You know, they can SPAM!

My Tribute to a Great Man....

What Democracy Means to Me"by Johnny Carson (1991)

To me, democracy means placing trust in the little guy, giving the fruits of nationhood to those who built the nation. Democracy means anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president.

Democracy is people of all races, colors, and creeds united by a single dream: to get rich and move to the suburbs away from people of all races, colors, and creeds. Democracy is having time set aside to worship--18 years if you're Jim Bakker.

Democracy is buying a big house you can't afford with money you don't have to impress people you wish were dead. And, unlike communism, democracy does not mean having just one ineffective political party; it means having two ineffective political parties.

Democracy means freedom of sexual choice between any two consenting adults; Utopia means freedom of choice between three or more consenting adults. But I digress.

Democracy is welcoming people from other lands, and giving them something to hold onto--usually a mop or a leaf blower. It means that with proper timing and scrupulous bookkeeping, anyone can die owing the government a huge amount of money.

Democracy means a thriving heartland with rolling fields of Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Spanky, and Wheezer.

Democracy means our elected officials bow to the will of the people, but more often they bow to the big butts of campaign contributors.

Yes, democracy means fighting every day for what you deserve, and fighting even harder to keep other weaker people from getting what they deserve.

Democracy means never having the Secret Police show up at your door. Of course, it also means never having the cable guy show up at your door. It's a tradeoff.

Democracy means free television, not good television, but free.

Democracy is being able to pick up the phone and, within a minute, be talking to anyone in the country, and, within two minutes, be interrupted by call waiting.

Democracy means no taxation without representation, and god knows, we've just about had the hell represented out of us. It means the freedom to bear arms so you can blow the "o" out of any rural stop sign you want.

And finally, democracy is the eagle on the back of a dollar bill, with 13 arrows in one claw, 13 leaves on a branch, 13 tail feathers, and 13 stars over its head--this signifies that when the white man came to this country, it was bad luck for the Indians, bad luck for the trees, bad luck for the wildlife, and lights out for the American eagle.

I thank you.

I will miss you johnny...the world will miss you

Things to Remember...

The word “Truth” means - in accordance with an established fact or reality.

Be cautioned, however, “Truth” is an extremely tricky word as it is subject to endless shadings and degrees by all who claim to know it.

We here do not profess to know the absolute “Truth” completely, only a small portion of it based upon the current facts of the day. We remember that today’s facts sometimes become tomorrow’s fallacy.

Try to remember this when reading the newspapers or watching the national news broadcasts...

Is it just me, or....

NASA scientists using data from the Indonesian earthquake calculated it affected Earth's rotation, decreased the length of day, slightly changed the planet's shape, and shifted the North Pole by centimeters. The earthquake that created the huge tsunami also changed the Earth's rotation.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this just a little bit scary?

Since this earthquake, Southern California is drowning, Northern California is freezing, and there's a huge heat wave accross the middle and southern parts of the country, in January!

And now the pencil neck geeks at JPL want to hit an asteroid and change it's path, just to see (analyze) what flies off in the dust? I'm all for progress and science advancement, but what happened to common sense?

Going Up???

Since I work in a 13 story building, I began watching the people in the elevators with me...

Why is it that no one talks in elevators? It doesn't matter if there's two or twenty people crammed in that tiny tight space, it seems like the elevator ride is almost always a silent experience, save the occasional sniffling, ruffling of papers, or coughing of the riders.

Is it that people are secretly white-knuckled and afraid to talk, worried that the weight of their words might send the elevator (and its inhabitants) plummeting violently towards their demise?

Is it the lack of visual stimulation necessary to spark a conversation? Gee whiz! Would ya look at the way them numbers light up?

I remember watching an Oprah show (or was it Dr. Phil?) once where they talked about manners and general ettiquette. It's just simple good manners to say "goodmorning" or "hello" when you step into a closed public space or come across strangers. Smile at the very least.

But hey, acknowledge someone else's presence - how hard is that?

Do We Dare to Judge...

When I once encountered a homeless man writing sheet after sheet of incomprehensible scribbles while muttering incoherently, I could choose either to believe that

(a) his writing had a "key" of sorts, a Rosetta stone hidden from me that would provide a translation, or
(b) his apparent writing was not really writing at all.

To this day, both these alternatives seem live options to me, not because they are logically compatible (they are not), but because I lack enough evidence one way or the other.

In this instance, I waver before the choices.

I have little doubt, however, that either those scribbles are in principle translatable, or they are not, and if the latter, that the man was irrational, though not necessarily a danger to anyone else.
For his writing to communicate beyond some basic tonal level—something like a cry or scream—I assume a fairly high level of intentional transparency, even if he holds beliefs that are bizarre or false in my estimation.

I must understand how his writing can represent the world, and believe that the representation can be recovered.

The presumption of language—or the gift of language to another being—is the presumption of truth-preservation.