Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Quote
"Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort."
- Robert A. Heinlein.
- Robert A. Heinlein.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Metal Vista
Thursday, July 26, 2007
America the Fearful
Okay.
What...the....fuck is the point of our airline "security" anyway?
My wife and I were trying to get on a flight last week and did the usual drill. Empty pockets, pull laptop (and now camcorder) out and put in tray, pull liquids out in quart bag, take off shoes, lay down jacket, blah blah blah. Xray all. Walk through metal detector. Here comes the fascists.
"This bottle is too big" they say.
"HUH? What bottle?"
A bottle that my wife has literally gone through 100 security screenings and flights is now suspect. It was an unmarked flip bottle for shampoo. Not even half full. It possibly held an ounce more than regulation, if full, which it wasn't.
Evil Fascist Stormtrooper had got a live one. A 30-something white man and woman with a suspicious hair product. Holy shit, I'm surprised I didn't get a finger up my ass for probing as a possible Al Queda.
El al hasn't had a single hijacking in 39 years. This is why. If we want actual security, that's what it looks like folks. Harsh questioning, racial profiling, nationality profiling, five armed combat staff on a plane, steel locked pilot door, guarded planes, and so on.
So how do we compare?
This guy (Link) was smart enough to realize that the TSA Spetsnaz fuckers aren't bright enough to locate the trash away from the people that want their liquid "bombs" back. Don't think I didn't consider making a grab for our shampoo bottle. I really did.
This pilot (Link) notes that our 6000 airplanes are left unguarded at night and by day too for the most part. He also notes that TSA fails 90% of the time to detect weapons.
I have often wondered how they stop plastic or worse razor sharp ceramic or glass knives from getting onto planes on someone. Answer: They don't
So the next time you have go through the TSA security checkpoint, remember, everything you are being forced to do is useless bullshit. Everything. And flip the bird to George Bush as you board the bird.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Art, Pornography, and Critics.
Art. What it is that? What do others consider "art”?
I regularly browse through all the art on a website called deviantart.com that people contribute everything from paintings to photographs to graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for computers and so on. There is a fairly wide variety of art that is posted there and I have noted where what they classified as "art" conflicted with my preconceived biases. There is blood-ridden goth photographs, there is art that is 
hardly separable from pornography including bondage, there is vector graphics that are generated by computer programs (albeit by artist programmers), the terminally pop anime, and so on. Infinite variety.
Politicians, do-gooders, and our Judeo-Christian ethic-driven society would have us be paranoid about what we let into our eyes. This can be found in the Janet Jackson Wardrobe Malfunction debacle, the famous Supreme Court quote regarding pornography "I know it when I see it!", and so on. On the other side we have feminists that are (rightly) afraid of anything that is used to exploit women, even when those women could use the money.
I regularly browse through all the art on a website called deviantart.com that people contribute everything from paintings to photographs to graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for computers and so on. There is a fairly wide variety of art that is posted there and I have noted where what they classified as "art" conflicted with my preconceived biases. There is blood-ridden goth photographs, there is art that is 
hardly separable from pornography including bondage, there is vector graphics that are generated by computer programs (albeit by artist programmers), the terminally pop anime, and so on. Infinite variety.Politicians, do-gooders, and our Judeo-Christian ethic-driven society would have us be paranoid about what we let into our eyes. This can be found in the Janet Jackson Wardrobe Malfunction debacle, the famous Supreme Court quote regarding pornography "I know it when I see it!", and so on. On the other side we have feminists that are (rightly) afraid of anything that is used to exploit women, even when those women could use the money.
Like most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The proponents of the Judeo-Christian Ethic need to learn that they can self-censor and it is a free country, and the feminists need to learn that societies that are more "open" such as Germany, Netherlands, etc. have less incidents of rape, for example, than ours. 
But there is more to this "porn" label. What is it that makes it taboo in the first place? Why is that the female form is particularly singled out for covering? I think we all know the answer(s) to that, and none of them have to do with equality.
But there is more to this "porn" label. What is it that makes it taboo in the first place? Why is that the female form is particularly singled out for covering? I think we all know the answer(s) to that, and none of them have to do with equality.
I generally prefer female forms as an artist. Probably has something to do with being a "Kinsey Zero" and probably has something to do with an artistic fondness for curves of all kinds. This may be momentary but currently I love organic objects and women are generally very organic objects (joke!). I prefer the shape of a tulip bulb in its organic asymmetry to that of a cubist drawn figure made of blocks. It's a thing. Now that is not to say that I can't appreciate the cubists or a more significant abstraction such as a Mark Rothko or a Jackson Polluck painting. I do. But if I make a pottery piece it's more likely to be a round form than a square one, and if I make a sculpture, she's probably going to be "generous" in figure. Deal with it, critics.
The two pictures above are certainly arguably could be put in the "porn-y" column. Except one, Courbet's "Origin of the World" on the right, hangs in the Louvre. It is quite popular, as you can imagine.
Most of the pictures I put on this website are not of women. Many are not of people at all. Some are. All of the pictures spoke to some artistic gene inside of me. If you see a female form on this website, if you are so concerned, don't look for the nudity. Look at how the photograph is composed. Is the figure dead center? Left of center? Right? Is the model well lit? Is she de-emphasized to emphasize something else in the frame, perhaps some part of her? Where is she? Is the picture humorous? Why do you think I liked the photo over 100s of others I had to choose from?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Really patient wife required......
Halo 3 Special Edition Xbox 360 Console.I'd be happier with the clear green from the first xbox.
Still, if you want to be the alpha geek, this is a good start.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
Apple plans "cheaper" Nano-iPhone
Only $300 at end of this year.
In addition, full screen iPod rumor started already for January 2008.
Link
In addition, full screen iPod rumor started already for January 2008.
Link
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Dr1vel's Guide to Management Part 1
1. Be Nice. If you are ever rude to an executive assistant, an IT person, or an equal, you are an idiot. These people lubricate the workplace and can grind you to a halt like an engine with no oil! Don’t be fake. Be NICE. Take them to lunch occasionally and pay for it. Or at least chat with them regularly and ask how their life is going. Help them if you can in any way. Always defend them. If you are rude to a subordinate, you are probably still an idiot.
2. Find the jerk. There is probably at least one person in your office that is a jerk. Hopefully it is not your boss. Hopefully it is not her boss. Do whatever it takes to identify all the jerks in the organization and neutralize them. Sometimes, that is merely avoiding them. And sometimes that is having them politically assassinated. Do what you have to do. P.S. Don’t BE the jerk.
3. Hire good people. I have spent way too many hours I’ll never get back trying to fix people that refuse to be fixed. Forget it. Fire them. There is simply better people out there, I swear.
4. Meetings are generally a waste of time that managers love to entertain themselves. It’s a form of crack, even I have felt it. Don’t be an ass. Use email, chat, call (in that order) to discuss and plan things, then send a memo. If you must have a meeting, keep it short, 15 minutes short, preferably standing, not sitting.
5. Set realistic goals, enforce them, let your employees decide how and when to get it done. If they get it done, then time clocks are not necessary. They can work anywhere. On the other hand, if they don’t get it done, and don’t have a damn good reason, do what you have to do to correct/fix them. Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE). You really don’t want them to do busy work to get their 8 hours. You want them to get the real work DONE.
6. Never ever shoot the messenger. In fact honestly tell your staff that you will NEVER yell at them for an accident or a mistake if they bring it to you. You are there to CURE the mistakes, right? If they kill someone, your first thought should be how to help them bury the body, not what a stupid mistake that was. We all make mistakes, even you. You just presumably have the experience to hide yours better, right?
7. Exception to Rule 6. If the messenger did something willfully, they chose to violate a rule, as opposed to simply screwing up, that is NOT a mistake, that is death….. Fire them with extreme prejudice.
8. Clients need simple language. Assume they are three years old. It is NOT a “clockwise rotating air impeller, it is a “fan”. This is particularly important when conversing with a client. Ask them “Did you follow that” or similar, often when talking to them about technical matters. Reports can have a bit more technical language, but the Summary and Conclusions should be very very clear and simple. That’s what most people read. Bullet points. One page or less preferably.
9. Training is worth every penny. Do it.
10. Organizations rot from the top down. Every time. If the boss is an asshole, get out as soon as possible.
11. Never try to change too much too fast. Especially if you have worked there for less than a year. Large groups of people are slow to change. This is why some churches are still stuck in the time before Christ. People are resistant, work with them. Be nice. One big change a year. Tops. You can do a thousand little paper cuts of change, but only one big one per year.
12. If you are a middle manager, your job is not to cover your ass. Your job is to protect your staff from their mistakes. If they make a mistake, it is because YOU failed them, and you have to protect them from the client, and the boss. Do not look for someone to blame, look at yourself.
13. Computerization is great. It is also a great pain in the ass. Most employees can do fine with a lesser computer, preferably a laptop. CAD people need the latest thing. Electronic files are great, but until they come out with a perfect replacement for paper, prepare to have a killer high speed scanner. If you don’t do backups of the entire system and offsite storage of same, you better have paper!
2. Find the jerk. There is probably at least one person in your office that is a jerk. Hopefully it is not your boss. Hopefully it is not her boss. Do whatever it takes to identify all the jerks in the organization and neutralize them. Sometimes, that is merely avoiding them. And sometimes that is having them politically assassinated. Do what you have to do. P.S. Don’t BE the jerk.
3. Hire good people. I have spent way too many hours I’ll never get back trying to fix people that refuse to be fixed. Forget it. Fire them. There is simply better people out there, I swear.
4. Meetings are generally a waste of time that managers love to entertain themselves. It’s a form of crack, even I have felt it. Don’t be an ass. Use email, chat, call (in that order) to discuss and plan things, then send a memo. If you must have a meeting, keep it short, 15 minutes short, preferably standing, not sitting.
5. Set realistic goals, enforce them, let your employees decide how and when to get it done. If they get it done, then time clocks are not necessary. They can work anywhere. On the other hand, if they don’t get it done, and don’t have a damn good reason, do what you have to do to correct/fix them. Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE). You really don’t want them to do busy work to get their 8 hours. You want them to get the real work DONE.
6. Never ever shoot the messenger. In fact honestly tell your staff that you will NEVER yell at them for an accident or a mistake if they bring it to you. You are there to CURE the mistakes, right? If they kill someone, your first thought should be how to help them bury the body, not what a stupid mistake that was. We all make mistakes, even you. You just presumably have the experience to hide yours better, right?
7. Exception to Rule 6. If the messenger did something willfully, they chose to violate a rule, as opposed to simply screwing up, that is NOT a mistake, that is death….. Fire them with extreme prejudice.
8. Clients need simple language. Assume they are three years old. It is NOT a “clockwise rotating air impeller, it is a “fan”. This is particularly important when conversing with a client. Ask them “Did you follow that” or similar, often when talking to them about technical matters. Reports can have a bit more technical language, but the Summary and Conclusions should be very very clear and simple. That’s what most people read. Bullet points. One page or less preferably.
9. Training is worth every penny. Do it.
10. Organizations rot from the top down. Every time. If the boss is an asshole, get out as soon as possible.
11. Never try to change too much too fast. Especially if you have worked there for less than a year. Large groups of people are slow to change. This is why some churches are still stuck in the time before Christ. People are resistant, work with them. Be nice. One big change a year. Tops. You can do a thousand little paper cuts of change, but only one big one per year.
12. If you are a middle manager, your job is not to cover your ass. Your job is to protect your staff from their mistakes. If they make a mistake, it is because YOU failed them, and you have to protect them from the client, and the boss. Do not look for someone to blame, look at yourself.
13. Computerization is great. It is also a great pain in the ass. Most employees can do fine with a lesser computer, preferably a laptop. CAD people need the latest thing. Electronic files are great, but until they come out with a perfect replacement for paper, prepare to have a killer high speed scanner. If you don’t do backups of the entire system and offsite storage of same, you better have paper!
Sicko
Let me start that, to date, I thought Michael Moore was a worthless piece of crap ideologue that needed to be slapped upside the head with a fact, if he could find one. I pretty much saw him as Rush Limbaugh with a camera. And, you conservatives, that’s not a complement.
All that being said, I just sat through his recent movie “Sicko” on Sunday. I had been intrigued, as socialized healthcare had gotten to be a pretty big concern of mine as of late. At my core I am a Libertarian and am loath to give the government any more responsibility that I can. My core (accurate) assumption is that government is the worst way to do something. Unfortunately, it still is sometimes the ONLY way to get some things done eg defense. All that being said:
I THOROUGHLY was impressed with Sicko. No, really.
Yes, he is Michael Moore. Yes, there was a little playing fast and loose with some facts/opinions. No it is not a news piece and is more like a blog commentary. And Yes, he is still a leftist freak. Still, he has a point, and we’ve got to do something about it.
I am a huge fan of The Economist and last year they did half a magazine on socialized medicine and America. The long and short of it, as I recall it, was that our privatized systems are roundly worse than nearly any Nationalized System going. Worse with regards to MONEY that is. It costs us and our employers and our taxes to keep the jacked up system we have. We have the most expensive healthcare in the world (World Health Organization data). We are the only country in the developed world besides South Africa that does not provide heath care for all it’s citizens. We have HORRIBLE infant mortality rates. More data here: http://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf
As an entrepreneur myself, I gotta say that the thought that any person that wants to start a business in a country with socialized medicine, can simply not worry about the high cost of medical insurance. They just start their business. Of course, taxes come into play and that can be a problem if it is out of control, but apparently our privatized health costs are eating employers alive too!
In addition, as Moore’s movie shows, we have average Americans, mom and pops, going bankrupt over routine health matters. That’s appalling. Moore showed one guy that accidentally cut his finger tips off with a saw and had to choose which one to replace, as he had to pay out of pocket. One cost 12k the other 60k. He took the 12. Aweful.
Many people that were sick from helping at the World Trade Center disaster from asbestos and dust exposure amongst other things were not getting the medical help they needed. He took them to Cuba. Now Cuba has always had fairly good medical care, but what is amazing is that their healthcare is only two spots in the ranking behind America’s. And it’s “free”. We are 37th in the WHO’s rankings of healthcare. Right above Solevenia and behind Costa Rica! Nuts.
One of the things that warmed me to MM a little bit was his attack on Hillary. Now before you think I am completely duplicitous, let me explain. I hated Hillary for a decade for the shit she tried to pull with Hillarycare. It wasn't so much that she tried to fix healthcare, it was that she was appointed to head a comittee that did it's thing in SECRET and all because she was the wife of POTUS (President of the US). Newsflash Hillary, we are not a fucking monarchy!!!! You don't get to be appointed to hardcore issue comittees, in secret no less, because you screw the president (exception Monica? I digress) and Bill doesn't get to either when you get into office! Got it?
Anyway, Moore points out that Hillary is now REALLY well funded by, you guessed it, the HMO and Pharmaceutical lobby. Number 2 in the Senate as I recall. Go figure!
It is telling that Sicko has apparently been lauded on both sides of the political aisle. It really needed to be said that our healthcare blows. Now the question is…..
Our government sucks. It is part of the reason that the privatized system we have sucks. Can it do any better if it takes over? I doubt it, with a few caveats.
Governator Arnold is trying to implement a system in California where everyone has health care. If I understand it, the plan is to keep the best parts of the privatized systems, control HMOs, have fees (TAX!) to doctors and hospitals, do prevention (DUH!), and so on. Whenever I used to hear the words “socialized medicine” I thought of higher taxes (still true) and crap care. I am not so sure it has to be that way. Perhaps that states can do better. Either way, the HMOs need to be slapped hard. They are abusing the system and abusing us. Enron all over again.
Conservatives, go see Sicko. No really go see it. Liberals, you know what to do. Get off your asses and do something.
All that being said, I just sat through his recent movie “Sicko” on Sunday. I had been intrigued, as socialized healthcare had gotten to be a pretty big concern of mine as of late. At my core I am a Libertarian and am loath to give the government any more responsibility that I can. My core (accurate) assumption is that government is the worst way to do something. Unfortunately, it still is sometimes the ONLY way to get some things done eg defense. All that being said:
I THOROUGHLY was impressed with Sicko. No, really.
Yes, he is Michael Moore. Yes, there was a little playing fast and loose with some facts/opinions. No it is not a news piece and is more like a blog commentary. And Yes, he is still a leftist freak. Still, he has a point, and we’ve got to do something about it.
I am a huge fan of The Economist and last year they did half a magazine on socialized medicine and America. The long and short of it, as I recall it, was that our privatized systems are roundly worse than nearly any Nationalized System going. Worse with regards to MONEY that is. It costs us and our employers and our taxes to keep the jacked up system we have. We have the most expensive healthcare in the world (World Health Organization data). We are the only country in the developed world besides South Africa that does not provide heath care for all it’s citizens. We have HORRIBLE infant mortality rates. More data here: http://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf
As an entrepreneur myself, I gotta say that the thought that any person that wants to start a business in a country with socialized medicine, can simply not worry about the high cost of medical insurance. They just start their business. Of course, taxes come into play and that can be a problem if it is out of control, but apparently our privatized health costs are eating employers alive too!
In addition, as Moore’s movie shows, we have average Americans, mom and pops, going bankrupt over routine health matters. That’s appalling. Moore showed one guy that accidentally cut his finger tips off with a saw and had to choose which one to replace, as he had to pay out of pocket. One cost 12k the other 60k. He took the 12. Aweful.
Many people that were sick from helping at the World Trade Center disaster from asbestos and dust exposure amongst other things were not getting the medical help they needed. He took them to Cuba. Now Cuba has always had fairly good medical care, but what is amazing is that their healthcare is only two spots in the ranking behind America’s. And it’s “free”. We are 37th in the WHO’s rankings of healthcare. Right above Solevenia and behind Costa Rica! Nuts.
One of the things that warmed me to MM a little bit was his attack on Hillary. Now before you think I am completely duplicitous, let me explain. I hated Hillary for a decade for the shit she tried to pull with Hillarycare. It wasn't so much that she tried to fix healthcare, it was that she was appointed to head a comittee that did it's thing in SECRET and all because she was the wife of POTUS (President of the US). Newsflash Hillary, we are not a fucking monarchy!!!! You don't get to be appointed to hardcore issue comittees, in secret no less, because you screw the president (exception Monica? I digress) and Bill doesn't get to either when you get into office! Got it?
Anyway, Moore points out that Hillary is now REALLY well funded by, you guessed it, the HMO and Pharmaceutical lobby. Number 2 in the Senate as I recall. Go figure!
It is telling that Sicko has apparently been lauded on both sides of the political aisle. It really needed to be said that our healthcare blows. Now the question is…..
Our government sucks. It is part of the reason that the privatized system we have sucks. Can it do any better if it takes over? I doubt it, with a few caveats.
Governator Arnold is trying to implement a system in California where everyone has health care. If I understand it, the plan is to keep the best parts of the privatized systems, control HMOs, have fees (TAX!) to doctors and hospitals, do prevention (DUH!), and so on. Whenever I used to hear the words “socialized medicine” I thought of higher taxes (still true) and crap care. I am not so sure it has to be that way. Perhaps that states can do better. Either way, the HMOs need to be slapped hard. They are abusing the system and abusing us. Enron all over again.
Conservatives, go see Sicko. No really go see it. Liberals, you know what to do. Get off your asses and do something.
Allofmp3.com is dead. Long live MP3sparks.com
All of MP3.com a Russian service that provides MP3 music files for pennies (literally) was finally shut down due to pressure from the WTO.
They of course were back up almost immediately under a different name.
When will the record industry stooges learn?
They of course were back up almost immediately under a different name.
When will the record industry stooges learn?
Monday, July 2, 2007
Cross by Doulegur
This picture really resonated with me in my current religious experience, or quasi-lack thereof. Not sure why.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
I got to touch one.
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