Wings away Pegasus !
Sorry , but it was difficult not to start singing that annoying hercules song. Hero's name was Perseus though in this movie. And yes, like hercules , he was a half son of Zeus
Star was Sam WORTHINGDON, i Think.
Remember that annoying terinator movie where the hero was a deathrow inmate that go ressurecd and turned into a temintor ? Yeah , that guy. And it's the same personality her. He smiles once in a while , but you swear you're looking at that same terminator guy transplanted into this movie. I swear the guy is like arnold swartznegger in his early day he can only play one roll.
ok. So . Mankind, symbolized by one single anient greek city, no longer worships the gods and starts tearing down their temples. Since the gods need mans worship to survive , they cant have this , so man and gods go to war, with lots and lots of really cool modern special effects on the side of the gods , who are highly hamstrung by the fact that the more men they kill the weaker they become.
Philisophically , as an aspiring writer, I find the whole situation fascinating. How do you go to war with someone you don't want to hurt ? And the whole waring philosophies of man trying to do things their own way and forget about the gods, vs the gods trying to keep their worshippers, it's a theme the modern world is struggling with in real life, making this several thousand year old myth a lot more relevant than you would expect.
In the end, big battles, awesome special effects, and an interesting philosophy debate to think about long after the movie ends.
Oh yes, the good guys win in the end. But considering how old this tale is , you probably already figured that out.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Data Stick - Wind
Bought myself a Data Stick from Wind.
what the heck is a data stick , you ask ?
You stick it in the usb slot of your lap top computer (or regular computer) and ...well , it's not quite a cell phone call , but it is using the cell phone network to connect to the internet. And it has a phone number and everything , but don't call me on that number, cause there's no handset , no way to answer, no way to even hear it ring.
World of Warcraft hates it.
The first time I tried out the game on it , well it is a different provider , and they are paranoid with all the account theft going around in that online game. They locked me out and sent me a nasty email to reset my password because of suspicious activity.
But it's all good now.
100$ for the stick
45$ for "unlmited" data.
By unlimited they mean 5 gigs a month and they slow you down if you go over it, but you never actually incur extra charges above the 45$ / month.
And the best part of all ?
No contract.
If you're feeling poor , you shut it down for a month or two , and then when you're feeling rich you start it up again.
It's not for everyone. Not everyone is in a position where internet on the go will do them any good or do them much use. But if you are one of those people , it sure as heck beats the 3 year contract nonsense bell and rogers will demand of you.
what the heck is a data stick , you ask ?
You stick it in the usb slot of your lap top computer (or regular computer) and ...well , it's not quite a cell phone call , but it is using the cell phone network to connect to the internet. And it has a phone number and everything , but don't call me on that number, cause there's no handset , no way to answer, no way to even hear it ring.
World of Warcraft hates it.
The first time I tried out the game on it , well it is a different provider , and they are paranoid with all the account theft going around in that online game. They locked me out and sent me a nasty email to reset my password because of suspicious activity.
But it's all good now.
100$ for the stick
45$ for "unlmited" data.
By unlimited they mean 5 gigs a month and they slow you down if you go over it, but you never actually incur extra charges above the 45$ / month.
And the best part of all ?
No contract.
If you're feeling poor , you shut it down for a month or two , and then when you're feeling rich you start it up again.
It's not for everyone. Not everyone is in a position where internet on the go will do them any good or do them much use. But if you are one of those people , it sure as heck beats the 3 year contract nonsense bell and rogers will demand of you.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
House MD
House Video's at Megavideo
Kind of got into the House TV series, which is an interesting thing in itself since I don't watch TV. Found a site on the net.
House is a drama about a doctor named Gregory House, some staff , and the patients they treat. I suppose I could go on and on about the stuff other people covered, or I could just put a link in HERE and let you read it when you get around to it.
One of the most interesting things about House, from the perspective of an aspiring writer , is the way the series is organized. You have to understand that the most successful shows have always been about people. Be it the latest star trek episode, or star wars , or House. The Gizmo's in start trek really should overshadow the people. In real life they would. One need only look at any modern western army and what do you see ? Tanks, stealth bombers, rifles with a ridiculously long range that should be called sniper rifles, but every rifle is that long range so they don't bother, night goggles... the toys make the war in the real world.
But in Star trek , it's all about the charactars interacting. In star wars, the force and the light sabres are really nice toys , but the one thing The Force did was balance out the toys and bring people to the front again.
House is the same way.
Lets face it. House is a total Ass. But he's a well crafted total ass. His urge to solve puzzles , manipulate people , and see how they work becomes the perfect vehical for doing , you guessed it , charactar studies. And of course it's no good to study boring people , so every one of the main charactars in that show has their own little secrets for him to slowly pick apart. Even better, the episodes are not stand alone works. They all build on each other (makeing it different from most TV series) and reference previous things the charactars have done.
And of course the major point of the medical setting is to bring in a constant string of new charactars to be picked apart and analyzed. The patients. They're all deep charactars with their own little secrets to be picked apart as well.
Other shows have tried to do this. Star Trek goes to different worlds for example, thats their endless stream of new charactars to study. But doing up a whole world every episode .. it's too broad a stroke. They're biting off more than they can chew , and it shows. Really they should have circled the same three or four planets and plumbed the depths of charactars from a very few races rather than make totally new races every single episode. That was just too much squeezed into each show, and it showed.
Babylon 5 did well, with it's station bringing in diplomants and wanderers so there was always new blood to be examined there. But again , no one was really doing the examining. You just happened to notice they were doing weird things.
Another thing that should be mentioned are the long term plots The ones that go across ten or so episodes. A new hospital owner hates house , and over ten episodes trys to fire house or get him to quit . House ticks off a cop , who makes Houses life miserable and trys to get him thrown in jail for another dozen or so episodes. The slow work up of houses insanity , trip to a mental institute, and the aftermath which is in fact still ongoing as late as the end of season 6.
Some people call it formulistic writing. But I call it a vehical. You have a relatively stable situation ( a hospital) and a steady stream of new events (in this case patients) to provide fresh blood , fresh infusions of material , so the audience doesn't grow bored.
If I was to try and write an ongoing story or novel (which by the way I am) I would make a check list of things to do in that novel.
And of course, you would have to first think about a framework , often called a formula , to fit all this in. Either they all stay in one place and the people come to them (hospital , space station ala babylon 5 / Deep space 9) , or a group of them go wandering and are always encountering new people (Xena Warriar Princess, David Eddings Belgariad, Original Star Trek hopping on their ship and always exploring )
Just my thoughts on the matter.
Kind of got into the House TV series, which is an interesting thing in itself since I don't watch TV. Found a site on the net.
House is a drama about a doctor named Gregory House, some staff , and the patients they treat. I suppose I could go on and on about the stuff other people covered, or I could just put a link in HERE and let you read it when you get around to it.
One of the most interesting things about House, from the perspective of an aspiring writer , is the way the series is organized. You have to understand that the most successful shows have always been about people. Be it the latest star trek episode, or star wars , or House. The Gizmo's in start trek really should overshadow the people. In real life they would. One need only look at any modern western army and what do you see ? Tanks, stealth bombers, rifles with a ridiculously long range that should be called sniper rifles, but every rifle is that long range so they don't bother, night goggles... the toys make the war in the real world.
But in Star trek , it's all about the charactars interacting. In star wars, the force and the light sabres are really nice toys , but the one thing The Force did was balance out the toys and bring people to the front again.
House is the same way.
Lets face it. House is a total Ass. But he's a well crafted total ass. His urge to solve puzzles , manipulate people , and see how they work becomes the perfect vehical for doing , you guessed it , charactar studies. And of course it's no good to study boring people , so every one of the main charactars in that show has their own little secrets for him to slowly pick apart. Even better, the episodes are not stand alone works. They all build on each other (makeing it different from most TV series) and reference previous things the charactars have done.
And of course the major point of the medical setting is to bring in a constant string of new charactars to be picked apart and analyzed. The patients. They're all deep charactars with their own little secrets to be picked apart as well.
Other shows have tried to do this. Star Trek goes to different worlds for example, thats their endless stream of new charactars to study. But doing up a whole world every episode .. it's too broad a stroke. They're biting off more than they can chew , and it shows. Really they should have circled the same three or four planets and plumbed the depths of charactars from a very few races rather than make totally new races every single episode. That was just too much squeezed into each show, and it showed.
Babylon 5 did well, with it's station bringing in diplomants and wanderers so there was always new blood to be examined there. But again , no one was really doing the examining. You just happened to notice they were doing weird things.
Another thing that should be mentioned are the long term plots The ones that go across ten or so episodes. A new hospital owner hates house , and over ten episodes trys to fire house or get him to quit . House ticks off a cop , who makes Houses life miserable and trys to get him thrown in jail for another dozen or so episodes. The slow work up of houses insanity , trip to a mental institute, and the aftermath which is in fact still ongoing as late as the end of season 6.
Some people call it formulistic writing. But I call it a vehical. You have a relatively stable situation ( a hospital) and a steady stream of new events (in this case patients) to provide fresh blood , fresh infusions of material , so the audience doesn't grow bored.
If I was to try and write an ongoing story or novel (which by the way I am) I would make a check list of things to do in that novel.
- Steady stream of new charactars
- Someone to examine those new charactars
- Detailed charactars , with secrets , for the main cast
- Really deep main charactar , with a lot of secrets to be dribbled out a little at a time.
- Always have a love interest going somewhere
- Always have some secret activity going on
- Long term plots ! (A given if you're writing a novel..not so much on a TV series )
And of course, you would have to first think about a framework , often called a formula , to fit all this in. Either they all stay in one place and the people come to them (hospital , space station ala babylon 5 / Deep space 9) , or a group of them go wandering and are always encountering new people (Xena Warriar Princess, David Eddings Belgariad, Original Star Trek hopping on their ship and always exploring )
Just my thoughts on the matter.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Sony 2HD diskettes 10 Pack - worthless
gotta reinstall winxp on an older machine, got a back up disk but it's not bootable. So I go down to the hardware store and buy a pack of diskets.
Computer can't read the disks.
Cant format them.
Insists there's no disk in the drive.
I give up after 4 disks of this nonsense.
These guys are pirates, their product flatly doesn't work.
Computer can't read the disks.
Cant format them.
Insists there's no disk in the drive.
I give up after 4 disks of this nonsense.
These guys are pirates, their product flatly doesn't work.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Ware Thee The Robots
New robotic system allows medical diagnoses in remote Labrador community
NAIN, N.L. - A new robotic system has been installed at a health clinic in the remote Labrador community of Nain allowing for medical care without the need to travel.
The Remote Presence Robotic System uses a secure Internet connection to help doctors do assessments and diagnose patients in real time from another location.
Medical data, such as ultrasound images, can be transmitted through the robot and medical personnel can lead resuscitation, discuss treatment plans and interact with patients and the local health team.
So how long until some guy in india is running a robot to mop the floors, tend cash , flip your McDogfood's burger ?
How long before 100% of all jobs can be exported to other countries ? Because I mean , once you start outsourcing manual labor , its all over. Now no one will be able to hold a job in any proffession without threat of it heading overseas.
We need laws to prevent this stuff. At the very least , the job must stay in the country . Because shipping it all to the Philipines will be the end of us.
NAIN, N.L. - A new robotic system has been installed at a health clinic in the remote Labrador community of Nain allowing for medical care without the need to travel.
The Remote Presence Robotic System uses a secure Internet connection to help doctors do assessments and diagnose patients in real time from another location.
Medical data, such as ultrasound images, can be transmitted through the robot and medical personnel can lead resuscitation, discuss treatment plans and interact with patients and the local health team.
So how long until some guy in india is running a robot to mop the floors, tend cash , flip your McDogfood's burger ?
How long before 100% of all jobs can be exported to other countries ? Because I mean , once you start outsourcing manual labor , its all over. Now no one will be able to hold a job in any proffession without threat of it heading overseas.
We need laws to prevent this stuff. At the very least , the job must stay in the country . Because shipping it all to the Philipines will be the end of us.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Inquiry findings hurt Taser's business, company to say
Article
VANCOUVER — A British Columbia public inquiry's conclusion that a jolt from a Taser can be lethal wasn't based on all of the evidence and has hurt the manufacturer's business around the world, the company will argue in court this week.
This is like watching the tobacco companies try and sue every doctor who claims smoking is unhealthy.
But Taser International argues Braidwood didn't take into account all of the information the company provided, and that it wasn't given an opportunity to respond before the report was released.
Tasers "Response" was to spam anyone who asks with thousands and thousands of pages of utter rubbish and then demand you read every last word of it. And if you actualy did they would produce thousands more. Effecitvely they were trying to give themselves the ability to stall forever , and the judge called time on them.
The Arizona-based company says the report has forced it to travel the world to defend its products, and the findings prompted law enforcement officials in Africa to scrap a contract worth "tens of millions of dollars."
Yep. Finding out your "stun gun" is killing people is likely bad for business.
He also questioned some of the studies and statistics provided by Taser, saying their methodology and results were insufficient to conclude, as the company does, that the weapons cannot affect the heart.
Thats legalese for "you just made those studies up out of thin air" , by the way , in case you missed that.
Initially, Taser's petition also accused the commission's lead lawyer and its medical adviser of bias, but a judge later forced the company to drop those complaints, calling them "an abuse of process."
translation : You're suing everyone in sight as a terror tactic.
The company has faced dozens of wrongful death lawsuits and sends legal demands to media outlets that suggest Tasers are responsible for anyone's death.
.
.
.
Last year, Taser International sent out a news release boasting it had successfully won its 100th dismissal of a liability lawsuit.
That one hundred people sued you because someone died from your safe weapon is not something to brag about.
I was wrong. You guys arn't like the tobacco companies. You're new and improved, more vicious , more lethal version of that pattern.
VANCOUVER — A British Columbia public inquiry's conclusion that a jolt from a Taser can be lethal wasn't based on all of the evidence and has hurt the manufacturer's business around the world, the company will argue in court this week.
This is like watching the tobacco companies try and sue every doctor who claims smoking is unhealthy.
But Taser International argues Braidwood didn't take into account all of the information the company provided, and that it wasn't given an opportunity to respond before the report was released.
Tasers "Response" was to spam anyone who asks with thousands and thousands of pages of utter rubbish and then demand you read every last word of it. And if you actualy did they would produce thousands more. Effecitvely they were trying to give themselves the ability to stall forever , and the judge called time on them.
The Arizona-based company says the report has forced it to travel the world to defend its products, and the findings prompted law enforcement officials in Africa to scrap a contract worth "tens of millions of dollars."
Yep. Finding out your "stun gun" is killing people is likely bad for business.
He also questioned some of the studies and statistics provided by Taser, saying their methodology and results were insufficient to conclude, as the company does, that the weapons cannot affect the heart.
Thats legalese for "you just made those studies up out of thin air" , by the way , in case you missed that.
Initially, Taser's petition also accused the commission's lead lawyer and its medical adviser of bias, but a judge later forced the company to drop those complaints, calling them "an abuse of process."
translation : You're suing everyone in sight as a terror tactic.
The company has faced dozens of wrongful death lawsuits and sends legal demands to media outlets that suggest Tasers are responsible for anyone's death.
.
.
.
Last year, Taser International sent out a news release boasting it had successfully won its 100th dismissal of a liability lawsuit.
That one hundred people sued you because someone died from your safe weapon is not something to brag about.
I was wrong. You guys arn't like the tobacco companies. You're new and improved, more vicious , more lethal version of that pattern.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Some politicians under foreign influence: CSIS
Some politicians under foreign influence: CSIS
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | 10:28 PM ET Comments398Recommend214
CBC News
Richard Fadden, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, is interviewed by the CBC's Peter Mansbridge.Richard Fadden, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, is interviewed by the CBC's Peter Mansbridge. (CBC)
Canada's spy agency suspects cabinet ministers in two provinces are under the control of foreign governments, CBC News has learned.
Several members of B.C. municipal governments are also under suspicion, Richard Fadden, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told CBC News in an exclusive interview.
"We're in fact a bit worried in a couple of provinces that we have an indication that there's some political figures who have developed quite an attachment to foreign countries," Fadden said.
At least five countries are surreptitiously recruiting future political prospects in universities, with China acting the most aggressively, he said. But Middle East countries are also involved.
"A number of countries take the view that if they can develop influence with people relatively early in their careers, they'll follow them through," Fadden said. "Before you know it a country is providing them with money, there's some sort of covert guidance."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/06/22/spying-csis.html#ixzz0reCQrHsb
--- ---- ---
In the vastness of the internet, some news articles have a habit of mysteriously vanishing , never to be seen again. So I'm just going to clip this one and hang onto it , if you don't mind too much. It's down played here, but it's a pretty outragous accusation. If it wasn't CSIS making these accusations, I would probably ignore it as part of the tin foil hat crowd , but since it isn't ...
Why I love my Wind Phone
Article = none, personal experience
Make and model : Huawei U1250 vs Samsung m610
The Samsung phone , which I got from Bell 3 years ago and just termiated , has the ability to take pictures, play music, and of course , make phone calls. This is common to both phones.
Price
The Samsung cost 325$ (full price) or 100$ and a 3 year contract. The Huawei was the cheapest lowest bottom of the line Wind had and cost me 70$ + tax , no contract. (Wind has no contracts)
Play Music
The Samsung has an annoying "universal" jack on the side that will accept the power cable for recharging , the data cable for loading up tunes from your computer ,and the head phone for playing music. The jack broke within the first 2 months, and took them 4 months of trial and error to eventually fix. During which I had to pay bell their monthly fee despite not having my phone. They pointed to the distributer (wirelesswave) and said it was their problem.
After which , I had to be careful to use the jack only for power because thanks to their four month delay I was now out of warrenty and it would cost me a fortune to fix it a second time. Barring spending 120$ for a blue tooth head set that could play music , my music phone suddenly no longer played music. I bought a cheap40$ mp3 player and 20$ ear plugs and counted myself lucky.
The Huawei has a standard jack on the top , the kind on your stereo , your mp3 player, any random electronic device. I was able to take my store bought earplugs and plug them in and they worked just fine. I was also able to take the 1 gig memory chip from the old Samsung and put it in the Huawei and it even read the songs that were on it.
The jack for connecting to the computer was the standard "small" usb cable , and it came with such a cable (I now have 3 identical such cables, they all work , so I know it's some kind of standard) and it automaticaly installed (under WinXP) and I was able to delete the old tunes and put in new ones with little fuss.
No Connection
The Bell phone (Samsung) would try to connect when I was in a dead zone , like the hospital, and it was totally useless without such a connection. It wouldn't tell you the time of day , play music , nothing. Basically if Bell cut you off your phone died.
The Wind phone (Huawei) after I phoned up wasn't active for the first hour. During which it would happily play tunes from the memory card and tell me the (admittedly wrong) time. So if I cancel my Wind account , my phones mp3 abilites are unaffected.
Internet
Bell refuses to block the internet. No way , no how , no helping you sabatage the settings so it won't actually connect , and you buy the 7$ / month internet plan (which is useless on the phone) or it's 50$ / megabyte. And if you're near the end of contract and ask to remove the internet feature because you're going to just pull the battery and dump the thing ? They tack on 11 months to your contract if you change any features. So don't bother.
Wind happily blocked the internet from their end. No charge.
Texting
Both wind and Bell blocked texting from their phones. Bell tried to do a sales job on you , but in the end if you insisted they would block it anyways.
I attribute this more to one of our previous prime ministers getting hot and bothered under the collar and saying nasties about texting to all phone providers , than I do to the policies of any particular company.
Monthly Charges
Bell wanted 30$ / month for voice 400 minutes, +7$ / month for internet that was totally useless that they basically extorted from me under threat of 50$ /megabyte data charges if I didn't put that feature on, and 11 month contract renewal if I tried to take it off.
Wind wants 35$ / month unlimited voice. There's a deal for half off before the end of june , but I'm not really counting breif specials since both companies have them. Paid in advance and if I get into trouble they'll just shut the phone off during the periods I can't afford it, rather than racking up the charges.
Contract
Bell demandes a three year contract , and buried way deep in it is a clause that says they can change their mind any time they like and you are stuck with it. You don't get to say "thats not what I signed up for !". This comes into importance when they try to save you from leaving and going off to some other company by promising you outragous things. I worked in a call center and I had such calls all the time. The "Save" department never left any notes about such deals , and so the customer was generally stuck in another 3 year contract with no real savings or bonus at all.
(Rogers has a similar contract clause, by the way)
Wind has no contracts.
Conclusion :
Wind Mobile wins hands down . Why ? Policy. They don't try and gouge you every time you turn around. Bell does. Monthly prices are similar (Bell lowered them drastically to come close to wind) but the aggrivation factor makes all the difference in the world.
Make and model : Huawei U1250 vs Samsung m610
The Samsung phone , which I got from Bell 3 years ago and just termiated , has the ability to take pictures, play music, and of course , make phone calls. This is common to both phones.
Price
The Samsung cost 325$ (full price) or 100$ and a 3 year contract. The Huawei was the cheapest lowest bottom of the line Wind had and cost me 70$ + tax , no contract. (Wind has no contracts)
Play Music
The Samsung has an annoying "universal" jack on the side that will accept the power cable for recharging , the data cable for loading up tunes from your computer ,and the head phone for playing music. The jack broke within the first 2 months, and took them 4 months of trial and error to eventually fix. During which I had to pay bell their monthly fee despite not having my phone. They pointed to the distributer (wirelesswave) and said it was their problem.
After which , I had to be careful to use the jack only for power because thanks to their four month delay I was now out of warrenty and it would cost me a fortune to fix it a second time. Barring spending 120$ for a blue tooth head set that could play music , my music phone suddenly no longer played music. I bought a cheap40$ mp3 player and 20$ ear plugs and counted myself lucky.
The Huawei has a standard jack on the top , the kind on your stereo , your mp3 player, any random electronic device. I was able to take my store bought earplugs and plug them in and they worked just fine. I was also able to take the 1 gig memory chip from the old Samsung and put it in the Huawei and it even read the songs that were on it.
The jack for connecting to the computer was the standard "small" usb cable , and it came with such a cable (I now have 3 identical such cables, they all work , so I know it's some kind of standard) and it automaticaly installed (under WinXP) and I was able to delete the old tunes and put in new ones with little fuss.
No Connection
The Bell phone (Samsung) would try to connect when I was in a dead zone , like the hospital, and it was totally useless without such a connection. It wouldn't tell you the time of day , play music , nothing. Basically if Bell cut you off your phone died.
The Wind phone (Huawei) after I phoned up wasn't active for the first hour. During which it would happily play tunes from the memory card and tell me the (admittedly wrong) time. So if I cancel my Wind account , my phones mp3 abilites are unaffected.
Internet
Bell refuses to block the internet. No way , no how , no helping you sabatage the settings so it won't actually connect , and you buy the 7$ / month internet plan (which is useless on the phone) or it's 50$ / megabyte. And if you're near the end of contract and ask to remove the internet feature because you're going to just pull the battery and dump the thing ? They tack on 11 months to your contract if you change any features. So don't bother.
Wind happily blocked the internet from their end. No charge.
Texting
Both wind and Bell blocked texting from their phones. Bell tried to do a sales job on you , but in the end if you insisted they would block it anyways.
I attribute this more to one of our previous prime ministers getting hot and bothered under the collar and saying nasties about texting to all phone providers , than I do to the policies of any particular company.
Monthly Charges
Bell wanted 30$ / month for voice 400 minutes, +7$ / month for internet that was totally useless that they basically extorted from me under threat of 50$ /megabyte data charges if I didn't put that feature on, and 11 month contract renewal if I tried to take it off.
Wind wants 35$ / month unlimited voice. There's a deal for half off before the end of june , but I'm not really counting breif specials since both companies have them. Paid in advance and if I get into trouble they'll just shut the phone off during the periods I can't afford it, rather than racking up the charges.
Contract
Bell demandes a three year contract , and buried way deep in it is a clause that says they can change their mind any time they like and you are stuck with it. You don't get to say "thats not what I signed up for !". This comes into importance when they try to save you from leaving and going off to some other company by promising you outragous things. I worked in a call center and I had such calls all the time. The "Save" department never left any notes about such deals , and so the customer was generally stuck in another 3 year contract with no real savings or bonus at all.
(Rogers has a similar contract clause, by the way)
Wind has no contracts.
Conclusion :
Wind Mobile wins hands down . Why ? Policy. They don't try and gouge you every time you turn around. Bell does. Monthly prices are similar (Bell lowered them drastically to come close to wind) but the aggrivation factor makes all the difference in the world.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Harper says Air India inquiry report a 'damning indictment'
article
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, talks Malcolm Edwards, Shipra Rana and Monique Castonguay, members of the Air India Victims Families Association, in his office on Parliament Hill Thursday following the release of the final inquiry report on the 1985 terrorist attack. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Four years and 200 witnesses later, Justice John Major concludes a long-sought federal inquiry into the 1985 terrorist attack with a massive report that finds systemic failures and errors by Canada’s police and intelligence agencies...
Thank you for stalling this matter for TWENTY FIVE YEARS so that we can see that the guys in charge of our police long long ago were incompetant twerps but it's too late to do anything about it because they're all retired and some of them have even died of old age by now.
The usefulness of a 25 year old inquiry cannot be understated, because there is no understatement that can describe "less than useless" or "total and complete waste of time".
The Canadian government appreciates you letting them jerk you around for decades and generally doing nothing about this.
Thank you and good night.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, right, talks Malcolm Edwards, Shipra Rana and Monique Castonguay, members of the Air India Victims Families Association, in his office on Parliament Hill Thursday following the release of the final inquiry report on the 1985 terrorist attack. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Four years and 200 witnesses later, Justice John Major concludes a long-sought federal inquiry into the 1985 terrorist attack with a massive report that finds systemic failures and errors by Canada’s police and intelligence agencies...
Thank you for stalling this matter for TWENTY FIVE YEARS so that we can see that the guys in charge of our police long long ago were incompetant twerps but it's too late to do anything about it because they're all retired and some of them have even died of old age by now.
The usefulness of a 25 year old inquiry cannot be understated, because there is no understatement that can describe "less than useless" or "total and complete waste of time".
The Canadian government appreciates you letting them jerk you around for decades and generally doing nothing about this.
Thank you and good night.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Torn Memories of Nanjing
Japanese vets admit on film to Nanjing atrocities
Activist Tamaki Matsuoka is challenging Japanese perceptions of the country's war record with a new documentary on the atrocities known as the Rape of Nanking.
Her film, Torn Memories of Nanjing, combines the memories of Japanese war veterans with accounts by Chinese survivors of the massacres of 1937-38, after Japan captured the former capital city of Nanking.
About 1950 a funny thing was invented. It was called The Pill , and it was a reliable form of birth control.
This had a significant impact on world history. Why ? Because before The Pill the only way to pare off the population and make sure they don't explode beyond their food supply and kill everyone , was to go to war with your neibour and get all your young men (and theirs) killed off.
It became a bit of a sport , european nations actually held "summer wars" on a schedule and everything. Regular paring off of the population was good for the nation.
Whenever I hear about the atrocities and evil things done in world war 2 and before , I can't help but think. We were a different race then. War was actually the only path to racial survival. It wasn't very nice, but it was a fact of life. Death was a fact of life.
But not anymore.
The varying atrocities of world war two and before are not on the germans hands or on the japanese hands. The blood is on all our hands. All nations did it. The only way to be a nation was to do it.
The past belongs in a history book. Interesting read, but the current generation wasn't even born when those events occured. And we certainly didn't live under the shadow of the choices those people faced, and the rather nasty reality they had to deal with every day of their lives.
Don't spit on the guys grave until you walk a mile in his shoes. That's all I'm saying.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2010/03/31/nanjing-documentary.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r2:c0:b0#ixzz0qHYMjVCg
Activist Tamaki Matsuoka is challenging Japanese perceptions of the country's war record with a new documentary on the atrocities known as the Rape of Nanking.
Her film, Torn Memories of Nanjing, combines the memories of Japanese war veterans with accounts by Chinese survivors of the massacres of 1937-38, after Japan captured the former capital city of Nanking.
About 1950 a funny thing was invented. It was called The Pill , and it was a reliable form of birth control.
This had a significant impact on world history. Why ? Because before The Pill the only way to pare off the population and make sure they don't explode beyond their food supply and kill everyone , was to go to war with your neibour and get all your young men (and theirs) killed off.
It became a bit of a sport , european nations actually held "summer wars" on a schedule and everything. Regular paring off of the population was good for the nation.
Whenever I hear about the atrocities and evil things done in world war 2 and before , I can't help but think. We were a different race then. War was actually the only path to racial survival. It wasn't very nice, but it was a fact of life. Death was a fact of life.
But not anymore.
The varying atrocities of world war two and before are not on the germans hands or on the japanese hands. The blood is on all our hands. All nations did it. The only way to be a nation was to do it.
The past belongs in a history book. Interesting read, but the current generation wasn't even born when those events occured. And we certainly didn't live under the shadow of the choices those people faced, and the rather nasty reality they had to deal with every day of their lives.
Don't spit on the guys grave until you walk a mile in his shoes. That's all I'm saying.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2010/03/31/nanjing-documentary.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r2:c0:b0#ixzz0qHYMjVCg
Thursday, June 03, 2010
New credit cards pose security problem
Article
Most newly issued credit cards pose major fraud and privacy concerns because of how they're designed to be scanned through the air, some cyber-security experts warn.
"Contactless" MasterCards and Visa cards have been available in Canada for several years, but they've only recently reached the bulk of consumers as the country's biggest banks adopt them.
The credit cards have an embedded computer chip called a radio frequency identification, or RFID, tag. When waved near a payment terminal in a store, the chip supplies the card's number and expiry date through radio waves, avoiding the need to swipe or insert the card or have a cashier handle it.
'It's not encrypted, which is not what we were expecting.'—IT security expert Pablos Holman
And that's the first problem, U.S. cyber-security expert Pablos Holman says.
Anyone can buy an RFID credit card reader online, where second-hand units sometimes sell for under $10, and start scanning cards in public — without cardholders knowing.
WHAT ????
You mean some turkey can just bump into me on a crowded bus with a back pack with a scanner hidden inside , scan my credit card, and next thing I know the dang thing has been racked up ?
One of the comments to the article suggests tin foil in the wallet.
Since you're not supposed to put tinfoil in the microwave because it messes the thing up , and microwave cooks by "micrwoaves" (radio waves) , seems a reasonable precaution.
quick ! Where's the tin foil !
No , not for my head ! For my wallet !
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/05/31/f-rfid-credit-cards-security-concerns.html#socialcomments#ixzz0poLQk9zQ
Most newly issued credit cards pose major fraud and privacy concerns because of how they're designed to be scanned through the air, some cyber-security experts warn.
"Contactless" MasterCards and Visa cards have been available in Canada for several years, but they've only recently reached the bulk of consumers as the country's biggest banks adopt them.
The credit cards have an embedded computer chip called a radio frequency identification, or RFID, tag. When waved near a payment terminal in a store, the chip supplies the card's number and expiry date through radio waves, avoiding the need to swipe or insert the card or have a cashier handle it.
'It's not encrypted, which is not what we were expecting.'—IT security expert Pablos Holman
And that's the first problem, U.S. cyber-security expert Pablos Holman says.
Anyone can buy an RFID credit card reader online, where second-hand units sometimes sell for under $10, and start scanning cards in public — without cardholders knowing.
WHAT ????
You mean some turkey can just bump into me on a crowded bus with a back pack with a scanner hidden inside , scan my credit card, and next thing I know the dang thing has been racked up ?
One of the comments to the article suggests tin foil in the wallet.
Since you're not supposed to put tinfoil in the microwave because it messes the thing up , and microwave cooks by "micrwoaves" (radio waves) , seems a reasonable precaution.
quick ! Where's the tin foil !
No , not for my head ! For my wallet !
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/05/31/f-rfid-credit-cards-security-concerns.html#socialcomments#ixzz0poLQk9zQ
Google dumps Windows. But can the rest of us?
Article
According to the Financial Times, Google is in the midst of replacing all of its Windows-based desktop PCs with ones that run Mac or Linux, citing security concerns since the company was a target of a hack originating in China back in January of 2010.
This may be something of a shock to everyone, but Google has never really been completely reliant on the Windows platform, so this is a pretty easy “fix” for the company.
Now why wouldn't you be using windows ?
Oh yes ! You're in competition with them (microsoft) ! ha ha ha !!
Or their search engine business.
So ..they have an operating business, a search engine business, a database business, a compiler business, a game business...umm..exactly what , when it comes to computers , do they not have ?
Hmm...
You know , I think that non windows platforms are going to be come really popular shortly , since you now have to get off of windows in order not to compete with microsoft, but simply to stay in business.
The capitalists realize the evil of monopolies. This is born by their actions. Monopolies are what you impose on someone else, not what you suffer.
:)
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
You Have just won .. "Click"
Ontario man bilked of $150,000 in email scam
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/01/14/email-scam.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r5:c0:b0#ixzz0piOzRctQ
A southern Ontario man says he now owes his friends and family $150,000 after international email scam artists bilked him of the funds by convincing him he was about to inherit a fortune.
Let me educate you on proper protocal when receiving corospondance from total strangers.
"You have just one ..." Click ! Hang up the phone.
"Dear Mr Uttawa Bud , I have found your Blug a Fascinating Read but I wood like to interest you in an issue of sum concearn to me. My Uncle who lives in Somalia has inherited a fotune but needs to move it out of the country quickly before ... " Delete !
Ring Ring ? "Mr Ottawa Boy ? My name is Joyce , please stand by while I transfer you to Marlene " Click ! (Joyce is a computer doing cold calls..the tip off is she doesn't let you get a word in edgewise so you usually don't catch on she's a recording..usually is good enough for a telemarketter)
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/01/14/email-scam.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r5:c0:b0#ixzz0piOpWviE
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/01/14/email-scam.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r5:c0:b0#ixzz0piOzRctQ
A southern Ontario man says he now owes his friends and family $150,000 after international email scam artists bilked him of the funds by convincing him he was about to inherit a fortune.
Let me educate you on proper protocal when receiving corospondance from total strangers.
"You have just one ..." Click ! Hang up the phone.
"Dear Mr Uttawa Bud , I have found your Blug a Fascinating Read but I wood like to interest you in an issue of sum concearn to me. My Uncle who lives in Somalia has inherited a fotune but needs to move it out of the country quickly before ... " Delete !
Ring Ring ? "Mr Ottawa Boy ? My name is Joyce , please stand by while I transfer you to Marlene " Click ! (Joyce is a computer doing cold calls..the tip off is she doesn't let you get a word in edgewise so you usually don't catch on she's a recording..usually is good enough for a telemarketter)
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/01/14/email-scam.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r5:c0:b0#ixzz0piOpWviE
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Your conference is now my conference
Stronach aims to put girls, women on G20 agenda
A group of young women from G20 countries will meet in Toronto later this month, with the intent of putting the concerns of girls and women squarely in the spotlight.
A young group of woman have decided to crash a conference of bankers and financial leaders in order to make a publicity stunts o they can have ... what .. votes for women ? They already that. Treat all women in the world by western standards ? Umm..not gonna work. Most dictators would rather shoot them.
but the point is ... why are you bothering a bevy of bankers for this balderdash ?
I have decided I'm starting a new political party. It will be the Free Beer on Friday Political Party. And I"m going to raise awareness of it by bashing some conference or another. OH here's one... Plumbers Technical Standards Association ...thats a good one. Lets crash the plumbers conference so we can advertise a politicial party !
Dumb dumb dumb.
Even worse. The Plumbers won't be holding their conference in town anymore. It draws too much radical attention. In fact no one will hold a conference in this berg anyomre because hey , if you're gonna crash teir party , you're gonna crash anyones, right ?
A group of young women from G20 countries will meet in Toronto later this month, with the intent of putting the concerns of girls and women squarely in the spotlight.
A young group of woman have decided to crash a conference of bankers and financial leaders in order to make a publicity stunts o they can have ... what .. votes for women ? They already that. Treat all women in the world by western standards ? Umm..not gonna work. Most dictators would rather shoot them.
but the point is ... why are you bothering a bevy of bankers for this balderdash ?
I have decided I'm starting a new political party. It will be the Free Beer on Friday Political Party. And I"m going to raise awareness of it by bashing some conference or another. OH here's one... Plumbers Technical Standards Association ...thats a good one. Lets crash the plumbers conference so we can advertise a politicial party !
Dumb dumb dumb.
Even worse. The Plumbers won't be holding their conference in town anymore. It draws too much radical attention. In fact no one will hold a conference in this berg anyomre because hey , if you're gonna crash teir party , you're gonna crash anyones, right ?
Bad Propaganda
Witnesses cast doubt on Israel's convoy raid account
"Personally I saw two-and-a-half wooden batons that were used... There was really nothing else. We never saw any knives.
"This was an attack in international waters on a peaceful mission... This was a clear act of piracy," he added.
.
.
.
The pictures, from Arabic TV, showed the campaigners in a jubilant mood. One said she was determined either to get to Gaza or to die a martyr.
You know what I hate worse than propaganda ?
Bad propaganda. Propaganda where people obviously believe they just have to go down this recipie and then they're golden, and no one will challenge them.
Propaganda like , say organizing a peaceful outing to bring food to the Gaza Strip , and starting all this peace and goodness with a rousing round of chanting "DEATH TO MY ENEMIES" and swearing you'll get there or die.
Propaganda like saying there's no weapons on these peaceful ships, just really big sticks. And oh yeah , the "unarmed" passengers , with a history of suicide bombing , rushed some armed guards in the vain hope that they'd all get shot up and it would make a nice embarrasing international incident.
Except the invaders were armed with paintball guns. Painful .. but for 680 people 9 casualties is pretty low.
And hten of course you get to accuse the invaders of being pirates, despte the fact that you started this whole "peaceful protest" with a bunch of chants about how you were going to kill them.
Yep. You managed to hit every point on the peaceful protest list.
And a few extra that make you look like a donkeys behind.
I have no sympathies for protesters that want to kill people. I really don't care how "peaceful" they think they are , they still want people dead, they aint peaceful.
"Personally I saw two-and-a-half wooden batons that were used... There was really nothing else. We never saw any knives.
"This was an attack in international waters on a peaceful mission... This was a clear act of piracy," he added.
.
.
.
The pictures, from Arabic TV, showed the campaigners in a jubilant mood. One said she was determined either to get to Gaza or to die a martyr.
You know what I hate worse than propaganda ?
Bad propaganda. Propaganda where people obviously believe they just have to go down this recipie and then they're golden, and no one will challenge them.
Propaganda like , say organizing a peaceful outing to bring food to the Gaza Strip , and starting all this peace and goodness with a rousing round of chanting "DEATH TO MY ENEMIES" and swearing you'll get there or die.
Propaganda like saying there's no weapons on these peaceful ships, just really big sticks. And oh yeah , the "unarmed" passengers , with a history of suicide bombing , rushed some armed guards in the vain hope that they'd all get shot up and it would make a nice embarrasing international incident.
Except the invaders were armed with paintball guns. Painful .. but for 680 people 9 casualties is pretty low.
And hten of course you get to accuse the invaders of being pirates, despte the fact that you started this whole "peaceful protest" with a bunch of chants about how you were going to kill them.
Yep. You managed to hit every point on the peaceful protest list.
And a few extra that make you look like a donkeys behind.
I have no sympathies for protesters that want to kill people. I really don't care how "peaceful" they think they are , they still want people dead, they aint peaceful.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Failure to understand the phrase "Peace Movement"
Gaza aid flotilla 'leaves Cyprus'
The Palestinian territory has been under an Israeli and Egyptian economic blockade for almost three years, with only limited humanitarian aid allowed.
The activists, from the Free Gaza Movement, want to break the blockade.
Israel imposed the measures after the Islamist movement Hamas took power in Gaza.
Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past decade.
.
.
.
For days, human rights activists aboard the flotilla of ships have been saying they are due in Gaza soon, but they are now running days late.
In the 60's , as I'm sure everyone knows, there were these peace protest. People didn't want war anymore. They wanted you to stop shooting at each other , stop fighting, etc etc. And they organized protests. They had sleep ins. They had love ins. they invented non-violent protests. This was where Green Peace was born.
In the new century, a new form of war has broken out.
Some people have noticed the tactics that the war protesters used in the sixties , and decided that must work on the western nations, so instead of bullets , they'll use non violent protest.
But they're not interested in stopping war. They've taken sides, and the definately want one side to win , and the other side to drop dead. Peace is just a tactic, world domination of Islam is their end goal. So all western non islamic nations will now be subject to "peaceful protests" until they all drop dead and die.
OH thats not what they say , that would be too violent. What they say is "they should go someplace else". Trouble is they want the whole dang planet , so there really isn't any "some place else" when you're out to take it all.
And the whole peace and harmony and love they neibour and brother hood of man thing ? Only if you're a muslim. Only if you're THEIR variety of muslim. And there's a bunch. And they fight each other constantly. With bullets and riots and using unarmed civilians as armies in wave attacks. And it's pretty obvious by their actions they don't give a dang about the welfare or lives of their true believers.
umm...yeah. Failed to understand the concept of "Peace Movement".
These people don't want peace. They want to conquer it all. Bullets didn't work , they'll try something else.
But peace is not what they're interested in.
And living under their system would incurr a breif hellish life and a nasty death.
I'll pass thanks.
Sink that flotilla. Those guys are soldiers , not civilians.
The Palestinian territory has been under an Israeli and Egyptian economic blockade for almost three years, with only limited humanitarian aid allowed.
The activists, from the Free Gaza Movement, want to break the blockade.
Israel imposed the measures after the Islamist movement Hamas took power in Gaza.
Hamas has fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past decade.
.
.
.
For days, human rights activists aboard the flotilla of ships have been saying they are due in Gaza soon, but they are now running days late.
In the 60's , as I'm sure everyone knows, there were these peace protest. People didn't want war anymore. They wanted you to stop shooting at each other , stop fighting, etc etc. And they organized protests. They had sleep ins. They had love ins. they invented non-violent protests. This was where Green Peace was born.
In the new century, a new form of war has broken out.
Some people have noticed the tactics that the war protesters used in the sixties , and decided that must work on the western nations, so instead of bullets , they'll use non violent protest.
But they're not interested in stopping war. They've taken sides, and the definately want one side to win , and the other side to drop dead. Peace is just a tactic, world domination of Islam is their end goal. So all western non islamic nations will now be subject to "peaceful protests" until they all drop dead and die.
OH thats not what they say , that would be too violent. What they say is "they should go someplace else". Trouble is they want the whole dang planet , so there really isn't any "some place else" when you're out to take it all.
And the whole peace and harmony and love they neibour and brother hood of man thing ? Only if you're a muslim. Only if you're THEIR variety of muslim. And there's a bunch. And they fight each other constantly. With bullets and riots and using unarmed civilians as armies in wave attacks. And it's pretty obvious by their actions they don't give a dang about the welfare or lives of their true believers.
umm...yeah. Failed to understand the concept of "Peace Movement".
These people don't want peace. They want to conquer it all. Bullets didn't work , they'll try something else.
But peace is not what they're interested in.
And living under their system would incurr a breif hellish life and a nasty death.
I'll pass thanks.
Sink that flotilla. Those guys are soldiers , not civilians.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Privacy : Why do I care ?
Facebook changes are 'not enough,' say groups
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) says that "more is needed" from Facebook to address privacy criticisms.
In a blog post, the civil liberties group praised Facebook for a "great first step" towards giving members of the site more control over their data.
However, it warned members against choosing the site's recommended privacy control setting.
So. Why do I care about privacy ? Why am I running a blog under an anonymous name instead of my real name ? Why the hassel ?
The truth is , I didn't care about privacy. No one cared.
Until I went to work one day , and my employer asked me if I played guitar, if I was in a band. Yes I played guitar , no I'm not in a band or thinking of starting one , why do you ask ?
He did a search on google. Some guy with the same name as me was starting a rock and roll band and he was worried I was going to leave him.
I went to a job interview at a personel agency. They asked for my Facebook page. I said I didn't have one. They demanded it , insisted, threatenned not to hire me if they found out I was lying to them.
And by the way , why don't you have a facebook page ?
It's too big a violation of my privacy. I'll get spammed by half the world. And can I have my resume back ? I don't want to work for you.
I used to post on the old usernet news groups. You always had to be careful not to leave an email address, because automatic programs sifted through all the usergroups looking for anything that even looked like an email address and put you on a mailing list to try and sell you viagra and gawd only knows what else.
I got drunk one time, and I stumbled across the email address of Sadam Hussain (dictator of Iraq at the time, he's been deposed by the americans since then). Did I send him hate mail ? No , I signed him up for every homosexual porn site I could find.
Why do I care about privacy ?
I didn't, until a hotmail email address got spammed out of existance. And hten hotmail actually shut it down because there was too much traffic but for 30$ / month they'd be happy to reactivate it.
I didn't, until people started calling my cell phone , from the USA , to sell me junk. On my dime.
I didn't, until a job interview gone wrong where they demanded my facebook page so they could check up on me.
I didn't , until I started looking for a job, and whenever I answered the phone, it wasn't for a job interview, it was a telemarketer trying to sell me stuff, and they had my name.
Now, I care.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Schizophrenic Windsor man gets life for murder
Article
Assistant Crown attorney Gary Nikota said the sentence was appropriate, since the beating of Kearley was not the first time Downs displayed violence.
"Five months before, he engaged in a vicious attack on a mother and a young child for no apparent reason," said Nikota.
So your first incident was when you , for schizophrenic reasons, decided to beat on some random woman and her kid passing by ? Because God told you to ?
Let me guess. before that you were completely non violent, never did a thing in your life , right ?
It's sad to watch people walk down this path. Especially when one of them is known to you. It's like watching one of those dumb zombie movies where your best friend is slowly turned into some kind of monster and then comes chasing after you trying to kill you.
I hate when that happens.
Assistant Crown attorney Gary Nikota said the sentence was appropriate, since the beating of Kearley was not the first time Downs displayed violence.
"Five months before, he engaged in a vicious attack on a mother and a young child for no apparent reason," said Nikota.
So your first incident was when you , for schizophrenic reasons, decided to beat on some random woman and her kid passing by ? Because God told you to ?
Let me guess. before that you were completely non violent, never did a thing in your life , right ?
It's sad to watch people walk down this path. Especially when one of them is known to you. It's like watching one of those dumb zombie movies where your best friend is slowly turned into some kind of monster and then comes chasing after you trying to kill you.
I hate when that happens.
Friday, May 21, 2010
US cartoonist apologises over Facebook Muhammad row
Article
A cartoonist whose work inspired an internet campaign inviting people to draw images of the Prophet Muhammad has apologised for her role in the row.
Writing on her blog, Molly Norris said her satirical cartoon was "hijacked" and that the campaign was "offensive to Muslims".
The problem is that as is the case many times, her first instinct was the correct one. The religion of Islam is attempting to tell the entire world how they can live their lives, and attempt to control all commentary on Islam, and this is not acceptable.
I'm sorry if you don't like the things we say and think about your religion, but shooting people who say bad things doesn't help. It only makes it worse. Your religion, in fact any religion , isn't protected over here. People have a right to comment on these things and decide they don't much like them , or think they're silly or foolish or what not.
And running around saying "You have insulted our religion , you must die" is like a politician running around saying "I take insult to that , kill all those people."
Islam is a dominant religion , it is a political force. And it has entered the field of politics and that's life. It gets rotten tomatoes thrown at it just like every other politician , that's the price of power. That's what you have to put up with when you seek to rule any large group of people.
Deciding there can be no criticism allowed of a political force, be it a person or a religion , that is the real intolerance. That is what is truly unacceptable.
And that's why this whole cartoon thing is a flash point. You're stifling criticism of a ruling power.
A cartoonist whose work inspired an internet campaign inviting people to draw images of the Prophet Muhammad has apologised for her role in the row.
Writing on her blog, Molly Norris said her satirical cartoon was "hijacked" and that the campaign was "offensive to Muslims".
The problem is that as is the case many times, her first instinct was the correct one. The religion of Islam is attempting to tell the entire world how they can live their lives, and attempt to control all commentary on Islam, and this is not acceptable.
I'm sorry if you don't like the things we say and think about your religion, but shooting people who say bad things doesn't help. It only makes it worse. Your religion, in fact any religion , isn't protected over here. People have a right to comment on these things and decide they don't much like them , or think they're silly or foolish or what not.
And running around saying "You have insulted our religion , you must die" is like a politician running around saying "I take insult to that , kill all those people."
Islam is a dominant religion , it is a political force. And it has entered the field of politics and that's life. It gets rotten tomatoes thrown at it just like every other politician , that's the price of power. That's what you have to put up with when you seek to rule any large group of people.
Deciding there can be no criticism allowed of a political force, be it a person or a religion , that is the real intolerance. That is what is truly unacceptable.
And that's why this whole cartoon thing is a flash point. You're stifling criticism of a ruling power.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Gnumeric Disapointment
Yeah, now they tell me I'm diabetic. And they gave me this thing to stab my finger with and take readings and I'm supposed to write down those readings and everything.
Hmm....a spread sheet can do that job easy.
So I got my free copy of Gnumeric, which |I recommend to all my friends, and I have to tell you , I've never really used it before. Oh I did quick demo's and tried one or two things, but I never actually used the dang thing on a daily basis to actually perform work.
So I stab myself, and I take readings, and I put them in the spreadsheet.
And a bunch of readings suddenly go missing.
Maybe I made a mistake. Enter the latest readings , save adn close , open , and make sure they're there. Perfect.
next day their gone.
Amn I losing my mind ?
There was one very high reading it stuck in my mind. It's gone.
Gnumeric ... doesn't work. All that effort. All that enthusasm I got a free spreadsheet I don't have to pay a few hundred dollars etc etc etc....
Dang thing just doesn't work. Your "saved" data has a habit of simply evaporating.
I hate crud like that.
Hmm....a spread sheet can do that job easy.
So I got my free copy of Gnumeric, which |I recommend to all my friends, and I have to tell you , I've never really used it before. Oh I did quick demo's and tried one or two things, but I never actually used the dang thing on a daily basis to actually perform work.
So I stab myself, and I take readings, and I put them in the spreadsheet.
And a bunch of readings suddenly go missing.
Maybe I made a mistake. Enter the latest readings , save adn close , open , and make sure they're there. Perfect.
next day their gone.
Amn I losing my mind ?
There was one very high reading it stuck in my mind. It's gone.
Gnumeric ... doesn't work. All that effort. All that enthusasm I got a free spreadsheet I don't have to pay a few hundred dollars etc etc etc....
Dang thing just doesn't work. Your "saved" data has a habit of simply evaporating.
I hate crud like that.
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