Rant

[][1]Sick, Poor? No thanks. You already know where I’m going— it’s in the title after all. At this time, I do not support the health care bill. Now before I get into the many reasons why I do not support this legislation, let me spell out the following disclaimers. I am a small business owner. I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat. I proudly check the NPA (no party affiliation), when I register to vote for one simple reason— I vote along my ideals and conscious; not along some party mantra. As a general rule, I feel that the government continually mismanages money and our current news media fails to account the statements of government officials to any fact check or truth test. With that introduction out of the way, I can now describe why I believe our government failed us— as we should expect it to. After all, the Founding Fathers did not want us to depend on our government; and for good reason. ...

[][1]Tell me about you. On a recent trip to Target, I decided to add some compressed air to my cart. Working in electronics, I find compressed air to be almost a necessity. The servers, computers, switches, and other equipment I use routinely need a good “spritz” of compressed air to keep the dust from accumulating. But I digress. When I went to check out, my cashier advised that I needed to scan my ID to purchase the compressed air. Not just show her my ID, but rather have my driver’s license scanned into their register. This of course allows Target to scan, read, and store my personally identifiable information. Although just someone’s full name fulfills the criteria of personally identifiable information, a Driver’s License barcode and/or magnetic stripe contains much more. By scanning the driver’s license, Target retains my full name, date of birth, address, gender, race, driver’s license number, license information (restrictions, endorsements), organ donation, and issue date. First, let’s look at the obvious… ...

Can you guess which WiFi network is mine? Passive Agressive? Yes. Funny? Perhaps. I’m no stranger to the fun and joy that comes from dog ownership. Let’s not forget that Forrest was 115lbs and as regular as could be. We tried (well, he couldn’t care actually, more realistically I tried) to be very considerate of private property when making our rounds. Now I don’t want to go off on a rant here, but… ...

The great thing about government? No accountability for failure. [][1]Things that make you go hmmmmm

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. 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?...

[][1]Fourth Amendment? Buh Bye 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. ...

[][1]Read the mailing... 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. ...

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? ...

[][1]GRRRRR Telemarketers! 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. Bottom Line: If I know you’re a telemarketer, you get the annoyatron. The full article is posted on VoIP Tech Chat. You know… while you’re checking out the link above, try other articles on VoIP Tech Chat… lots of great things to read....

The smartest thing I have ever done was not leave Florida permanently. After spending 20 plus years living and working in Florida, I’ve certainly seen my share of embarrassment. From Terry Schivo to Elian Gonzalez, the 2000 election to the Anna Nicole Smith Baby Daddy trial, Florida certainly helps give late night talk show hosts a punch line now and then. But this isn’t a post about Florida. This is a post about two law makers in Michigan that want to raise income tax. Right now, the State of Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the United States. Right now (March 2009), the Michigan unemployment rate is 12%. And with GM getting ready to lay off thousands more in May, this number will rise quicker than it will fall. ...