Rant

Why do headphones suck?

Posted . ~2min read.

Why are headphones build so incredibly poorly? »

Why I Do Not Support the Health Care Bill

Posted . ~5min read.

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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.

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No, You Cannot Scan My ID

Posted . ~3min read.

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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…

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Thanks neighbor!

Posted . ~2min read.

Can you guess which WiFi network is mine?

wifi
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… 

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Thought for the day…

Posted . ~1min read.

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

The Melting Pot Should Not Exclude

Posted . ~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.

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?

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TSA Searching Bags Ugh

Posted . ~2min read.

[tsa][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.

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National Right to Work Foundation Propaganda Crap

Posted . ~1min read.

[Read the mailing...][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.

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Meet the New Boss

Posted . ~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?

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Telemarketers Schmelemarketers

Posted . ~1min read.

[][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. »