The Melting Pot Should Not Exclude

Posted Oct 26, 2009. ~7min read.

In the late 1800’s, after an explosion of immigration to the United States, a new metaphor started circulating — The Meting Pot. Referring to the fusion of different cultures, nationalities, backgrounds, and ethnicities, “The Melting Pot” became part of American culture in the early 1900’s. Although the metaphor intends to help create a national identity, many today see the phrase as antiquated and insulting. People want to keep their heritage, culture, traditions, and not be formed into a new being.

Personally, I like to look at the metaphor differently. I like to believe that the Melting Pot allows you to retain your uniqueness, but at the same time, not segregate you from the plate. Yes, the plate in this “Fred” metaphor is America.

With this extremely long winded introduction, even more so than usual, I want to talk about exclusion, labeling, classification, and Fox News. Wait, Fox News?

When in Arizona, Ride Sally Ride

Posted Oct 24, 2009. ~1min read.

AstriCon officially ended on October 15th, but luckily… Yeni and I stayed on a couple of days to spend some “face-to-face” time with some of our VoIP pals (after all, it’s nice to shake hands with someone you talk to regularly but lives more than 2000 miles away).

On the 16th, Yeni and I headed to the Glendale Harley-Davidson with David Duffett, and rented a couple of bikes. We headed north through some amazing country that well, I’d only seen in pictures. We saw cactus, we drove by mountains that looked like Big Thunder, and had a great meal at a dive off the beaten path. More importantly, we got to ride with David, who although it was the first time I had ridden with him, felt like we’d been riding together for years.

Here’s a few movies…

TSA Searching Bags Ugh

Posted Oct 23, 2009. ~2min read.

[][1]

I absolutely hate the sacrifice of freedom in the name of security. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

I believe in those words and wish we would keep those in mind whenever, without probable cause or due process, the TSA (the government) searches your belongings — like mine were this past week (both checked and carry on).

I do not like it on a plane. I do not like it on a train. I do not like it on a boat. I do not like it with a goat. I do not like being searched Uncle Sam I Am.

Opening my checked bag and finding this neither made me feel safe nor secure.

National Right to Work Foundation Propaganda Crap

Posted Oct 21, 2009. ~1min read.

[][1]

Ever watch Penn & Teller’s Bullshit? Man I love that show. If you haven’t watched Bullshit on Showtime, check it out… it’s great… but I digress, and in the tradition of Penn & Teller…

And then there’s this Asshole…

Meet Jim Risch, United States Senator

I don’t know how I get on these lists, but I get on them. Out of nowhere, Jim Risch sent me a manilla envelope explaining to me how “Big Labor” exploits its members, placing “handpicked candidates” in political power, etc.

Astricon, here I come!

Posted Oct 11, 2009. ~1min read.

[][1]

It’s October and that means I’m going to Phoenix!

Astricon, the meet-up of Asterisk users / developers / fans / etc, starts October 13th, and this year I received the honor of presenting. My talk, Asterisk Applications: Unexpected Hurdles, showcases the Ann Arbor Parking “Smackdown” earlier this year.

qxork, Fred Posner, and the INS

Posted Sep 11, 2009. ~4min read.

[][1]

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends 🙂 And in no random order…

qxork.com

So, you ever give out an email address and the person questions the spelling, asks you to repeat the work, or just in someway makes it a non-pleasurable experience? Of course you have… Well, after explaining that it was “m like mary” and “2 r’s in Forrest” for the last time, I decided to get a really small domain with letters that don’t sound like other letters (ie no m, n, c, d, e, t, etc.).

Since there weren’t many 3 or 4 letter domains to be found, the new domain is… q x o r k. “Hi, I’m Fred. Send it to Fred at q x o r k dot com.” Yes, it doesn’t pronounce. Yes it doesn’t mean anything… but also… Yes, it’s easy to say clearly on the first time. There’s not much to the site… think of it as a Fred Posner gateway if you will… with links to my sites and contact information. Check it out at www.qxork.com.

INS

Ah, nothing brings a sense of wonder to me than the effectiveness of our Federal Government.

Meet the New Boss

Posted Aug 4, 2009. ~4min read.

My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.  We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.Barack Obama

Meet the new boss.
Same as the old boss.The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

-START RANT-

Today I got irked. Irked as hell and totally cannot understand why more people do not express frustration. Maybe people just gave up. Maybe we’re approaching an American society that doesn’t view democracy and freedom in the same way that our founders dreamed. My state of mind comes from three main sources: taxes, information, and accountability.

Yes, the economy sucks. You know what? It did before. You know what?

This time, it's for real

Posted Jul 30, 2009. ~3min read.

[][1]

Ah… getting older. I’ve noticed that as I have aged, the hair line recedes and the gut expands. Not truly the look I dreamed about as I pictured myself approaching forty, but the look I’ve achieved nonetheless. Speaking of forty…

Jimmy Buffett’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty” remains one of my all time favorite songs. I don’t know why, but for more than 20 years I just have simply loved that song. The thought of now being closer to 40 than 30 brings a different appreciation of the song… and well… just is simply an odd feeling. Anyway, as usual I digress…

So, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve well… I’ve become more rotund. I’ve posted and written about it many times. Hell, I even have a website called Fat Freddy Says. But the reality remains, that I’m bigger than I want to be and it’s not my coat that makes me look fat. The other month, Yeni and I bought a

Telemarketers Schmelemarketers

Posted Jul 18, 2009. ~1min read.

[][1]

Today I posted some recordings I made using something I like to call the “Annoyatron.” Basically, using Asterisk (the open source Internet Telephony software) allows me to handle incoming calls based on a variety of issues.

Went to a ball game…

Posted Jul 16, 2009. ~1min read.

Good friends from Gainesville visited their family in Detroit last week; providing the perfect excuse to get great tickets and let Yeni watch her first baseball game. The Tiger’s stadium is really nice, and our seats along the third base line were just fantastic.