My Christmas Wish List

Well it is that time of year again. This list is for my family and friends mostly but if any of you loyal readers feel an urge to lavish me with gifts, this is your template. ;)


GYROBALL!!

Gift cards for Mossberg 590 and 12 gauge ammo.

mp3 Player (supports .ogg .mp3 and flac) Does not need to have video or anything. NOT an iPod please. I like Sansa because they work better with linux and I think iPods are too trendy and overpriced. I will mostly use it snowboarding and on the boat so sports model might be good idea.

Pretty much anything from Thinkgeek.com

Nintendo DS w/ New Super Mario Bros.

Xbox 360 or Sony Playstation 3

Wacom "Bamboo Fun" Tablet


Books:

"The Fabric of Reality" By David Deutsch

"Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition"

"The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey"

"Elephants on Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments". By Alex Boese

Live Election Results From Google.

Election Day

Well I woke up early this morning to go vote and there was a line around the building! I waited for almost an hour before I had to leave to go to work. Hopefully the lines will be smaller this evening.

A certain someone will not shut the fuck up at work today. She is so annoying, it is very hard to be patient with her. Mostly it's because she repeats the same statement 4 or 5 times because she has nothing else to say and is desperate for anyone to listen to her. Some days I feel sorry for her, other days I feel like I want to strangle her. She can say some of the most moronic shit. Today she keeps repeating "Well I really think Obama is going to win". Well that is some cracker jack prognosticating there C****. what on earth gives you that opinion? Last time I checked you thought he would be a terrible president because, and I quote, "His name is Barack Obama!" I honestly don't think she cares who wins and I doubt she voted, she just wants some one to argue with.

The Final Countdown

Well this is it. Two more days and this election will be in the books. Hopefully my country will take a new turn in the next 4 years. I think Americans need to go back and read The Constitution, and remember what the founding fathers had in mind when they laid out the plans for our republic. Americans have gotten lazy in their civic duties over the last 15 years and the chickens are coming home to roost. Endless war both abroad and against it's own citizens, warrantless wiretaps, trillions of dollars in debt. This is not the way America is supposed to be. She is broken, bleeding, lying in the gutter and gasping for help. We have been stepping over her every day on our way through our busy lives, on our way to our jobs where we earn less than we should but are thankful just to be working. On the way to the discount store to buy more imported goods from China that we really don't need to begin with. Pissing in the gutter where America lay dying as we pollute the world around to the point of no return. When will my countrymen awaken and realize that there is another option? You are the Government. We pay Them, and in return they strip us of our rights and bailout their corporate cronies on Wall Street. This election day I hope people think of these things as the walk into the booth. It may be the last vote we get.

Ron Paul on Rachel Maddow

It is amazing to me that I am virtually the only Ron Paul supporter I know IRL. He has received more air time during this economic crisis than he did during the entire primary, he seems, to me at least, to have all the right ideas, and he is still perceived as a fringe character by 94% of the people I know. It makes no sense, and quite frankly it's the scariest facet of this election season to me. I have this strange claustraphobic/drowning feeling and it's getting worse.

Why is google so slow today?

It seems like only Google sites and apps are affected. Youtube seems ok but Google Video is slow. My iGoogle page took 5 mins to load on a 8mb connection. Even other sites that use google wont load such as vanityfair.com and pitchfork.com . What gives?

A Message for Sara Palin

Ron Paul On CNN About The Bailout

Autumn

OMG I can't wait to get out of work at 11:30 and go up north! A whole weekend of doing nothing. Just my style. although I will be missing Colossus =(

GO BLUE!

Go away, 'batein!

Sorry for the obscure Idiocracy reference there. Last nights debates were AWESOME! McCain came across as a confused and angry old man. Some of his ideas sounded down right idiotic, like his proposal to have troops returning from Iraq going directly into teaching, without any certifications or examinations. Sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me. All in all I would have to say that Insane McCain's chances are quickly dwindling, the only hope he has now is another stolen election (which we can never rule out).

Let me just make a quick aside here, I in no way support Obama, I think he is a average candidate and I don't match up with him on several key issues like FISA and the economic bailout.

But, there is no doubt in my mind that if John McCain gets elected the USA as we know it is doomed. There is only a 50% chance off doom with Obama.

RON PAUL 2012!!!

I love my job

Today the owner of my company called me to shoop something into this picture. I will leave the rest up to your imagination.

Debates

A little live blogging here, sorry for the lack of posts but I've been not busy.

I <3 Jim Lehrer!

Obama is killing McCain. I wish Ron Paul was there though.

Resident Evil 5

Ok fine. You know what Sony and Microsoft? You guys finally got to me. Fine, fuck it. I'll just buy a fracking PS3 or 360. You guys found my weak spot.
I personally believe that RE4 was one of the best games I have ever played. Me and a friend sat down at the Gamecube on one day and the next thing I knew we had played the game for about 26 hours, it was time for work! I was sitting in my cubicle that day and all I could think of while I was at work was how I needed to get a bigger briefcase so I can store my sniper riffle and my grenade launcher. We were hooked bad on the sweet gory goodness that is RE4, and played it constantly from the time we got home from work until we passed out from sheer exhaustion, intoxication, or both. To this day my wife (then girlfriend) loathes the game and any memory of the solid 3-4 weeks we played this game constantly. She still refers to the game by impersonating the arms dealers gruff voice, "Whaddaya buyin? Whaddaya- Whaddaya- Whu-Whu- Thank you, heh heh heh", (she doesn't stutter, we would cycle through the menus so fast he never got to finish a sentence, so that was all she would hear).
Soooo, Fuck you Sony and Microsoft, I will cave and play your little game once again. But now you must battle it out for my affection, my cash, and my wife's ire. Who will win?

Nothing suspicious eh?

This is probably the craziest story I have read today, and I read a lot of news online. I can't believe the police are not considering this suspicious. Sounds like the Detroit Police Dept. might have been doing some overseas training over there. What a joke! How safe would you feel living in this neighborhood now knowing that investigation, or rather lack of investigation into your death can so obviously bought and paid for.

Puppy Linux Install

Well again I am totally impressed at how well this distro performs. The install simply could not have been any easier. I originally tried to install Xubuntu. The live CD booted but the desktop just could not load. I kind of expected that as the system only has 256mb of memory. Then I popped in the puppy linux live cd. Within minutes the desktop was loaded and ready to run. My friend could not believe how fast it booted. He said when he used to turn the computer on in the morning he would go take a shower and get some coffee and by the time he was done with that XP would just about be finished loading. This system was so slow he could not even play solitaire. Dragging the cards took minutes!
Puppy was lightning quick off of the live cd and I explained that that boot was a little slower than normal because it was of the cd. After showing him the web browser, Abi Word (my personal fave word processor), and how to mount his wife's iPod, he was sold. We went ahead with the install. This was slightly confusing for me as I assumed that the box icon on the desktop that said install would install the system, like in *ubuntu. Actually this is the package manager it appears. After a quick look in the menu I found the Universal Installer. After a few clicks we were ready to run gparted. I set up the fs as ext3 and began the install. We sat down to eat some burgers and steaks (my payment, which I never request, but always gladly receive) and about halfway through dinner I got up to check on the progress. It was ready for a reboot. After removing the live cd I rebooted, picked my keyboard layout, and about 35-45 seconds later we were staring at the desktop. I set up his network interface, and since he had never had a computer fast enough to truly browse the web, I pointed him to some of my favorite sites like last.fm , pandora , and pixeljam. All told I would have to say this was one of the easiest computer rescues I have performed. No backups, no confusing install process, no hours of waiting (like with the XP reinstall), hell I didn't even have to crack the case open to put in more ram! If you have a seriously underpowered PC I would HIGHLY recommend Puppy Linux 4.0. It's a bit on the ugly side but it performs quite well and as we all know, it's what on the inside that counts!

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Michelle Obama, Secret Black Panther

Ok now that I have your attention I would like to discuss this email I received from a co worker:

According to Snopes.com , Princeton was requested to put a 'restriction' on distribution of any copies of the thesis of Michelle Obama (a/k/a/ Michelle laVaughn Robinson) saying it could not be made available until November 5, 2008 but when it was published on a political web site they decided they would lift the restriction.
Subj: Thesis - Michele Obama aka Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
OBAMA'S MILITANT RACISM REVEALED

In her senior thesis at Princeton, Michele Obama, the wife of Barack Obama, stated that America was a nation founded on 'crime and hatred'. Moreover, she stated that whites in America were 'ineradicably racist'. The 1985 thesis, titled 'Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community' was written under her maiden name, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson.

Michelle Obama stated in her thesis that to 'Whites at Princeton , it often seems as if, to them, she will always be Black first...' However, it was reported by a fellow black classmate, 'If those 'Whites at Princeton ' really saw Michelle as one who always would 'be Black first,' it seems that she gave t hem th at impression'.

Most alarming is Michele Obama's use of the terms 'separationist' and 'integrationist' when describing the views of black people.

Mrs. Obama clearly identifies herself with a 'separationist' view of race.

'By actually working with the Black lower class or within their communities as a result of their ideologies, a separationist may better understand the desperation of their situation and feel more hopeless about a resolution as opposed to an integrationist who is ignorant to their plight.'

Obama writes that the path she chose by attending Princeton would likely lead to her 'further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant.'

Michele Obama clearly has a chip on her shoulder.

Not only does she see separate black and white societies in America , but she elevates black over white in her world.

Here is another passage that is uncomfortable and ominous in meaning:

'There was no doubt in my mind that as a member of the black community, I am obligated to this community and will utilize all of my present and future resources to benefit the black community first and foremost. '

What is Michelle Obama planning to do with her future resources if she's first lady that will elevate black over white in America ?

The following passage appears to be a call to arms for affirmative action policies that could be the hallmark of an Obama administration.

'Predominately white universities like Princeton are socially and academically designed to cater to the needs of the white students comprising the bulk of their enrollments.'

The conclusion of her thesis is alarming.

Michelle Obama's poll of black alumni concludes that other black students at Princeton do not share her obsession with blackness. But rather than celebrate, she is horrified that black alumni identify with our common American culture more than they value the color of their skin. 'I hoped that these findings would help me conclude that despite the high degree of identification with whites as a result of the educational and occupational path that black Princeton alumni follow, the alumni would still maintain a certain level of identification with the black community. However, these findings do not support this possibility.'

Is it no wonder that most black alumni ignored her racist questionnaire? Only 89 students responded out of 400 who were asked for input.

Michelle Obama does not look into a crowd of Obama supporters and see Americans. She sees black people and white people eternally conflicted with one another.

The thesis provides a trove of Mrs. Obama's thoughts and world view seen through a race-based prism.

This is a very divisive view for a potential first lady that would do untold damage to race relations in this country in a Barack Obama administration.

Michelle Obama's intellectually refined racism should give all Americans pause for deep concern.

Now maybe she's changed, but she sure sounds like someone with an axe to grind with America Will the press let Michelle get a free pass over her obviously racist comment about American whites? No doubt, it will.

PS: We paid for her scholarship!

And here was my response:

OMG who cares. So she wrote this thesis over twenty years ago. And who wasn't a little militant and revolutionary minded when they were in college. I really wish that people would quit focusing on race with Obama. I have news for everyone. The Obamas are NOT Muslims in hiding, or secret Black Panthers waiting to enslave the white race or any of that. What they ARE is the same policies and ideals held by George W. Bush but wrapped in a new package. They want you to focus on race. They want you to be so distracted by that so you pay no attention to the real issues.

I will not vote for Obama for the following reasons:

1. He has not committed to a timetable to end the Iraq occupation. He postures himself as an anti-war candidate but in reality he supports a US presence in the middle east indefinitely, exactly like McCain and Bush.

2. He is slowly flipping his stance on Iran. When his campaign started he was lambasted by the right for saying that we should openly talk with Tehran. Now he classifies the Iranians as a "grave threat". Attack Iran and you will be praying for $5.oo a gallon gasoline.

3. He voted in favor of telecom immunity and gave his support to the illegal warrant-less wiretapping program put in place by George W. Bush. He was party to destroying the 4th amendment and our right to privacy.

I could go on but I figured I would just hit the main points. If you are going to attack Obama, do it on the issues. He has plenty of other faults.

The people in my office know that I am a politically active Libertarian, so they feel compelled to constantly forward any political email that shows up in their in-box. I was getting a little tired of explaining to everyone why Obama is not a Muslim, KFC does not really genetically engineer headless featherless chickens, you will not be reimbursed for forwarding that email about Hotmail and Bill Gates checking the longevity of a certain chain letter, and that no matter how many times they send you an email, you did not win the Spanish lottery (these are all real forwards I have received in the last few weeks.) So I introduced them to Snopes. What a huge truckload of fail that was. Now they take any email with a link to Snopes in it as gospel even if they never read the fucking link, which nine times out of ten explains that whatever earth changing event they are trying to alert me to was most likely a scam perpetrated by a 13 yr old boy.

Sheesh.

I <3 physics

If you love physics like I do, than you will probably want to download this sweet little physics simulation sandbox. Reminds me of Falling Sand and Phun, two other fine little simulations.

Downlad OE-cake

Fuck the iPhone 3g

Seriously, I can't believe the hysteria over this phone. See this link for a rundown of why I think this phone is WAY over hyped.
The same guy that had the infected laptop got one today and brought it into the office. Everything ground to a halt as everyone had to hold it and slide their fat little hot dog fingers all over it. Ohh cover flow! Wow, it's an iPod as well! Big fucking deal. What, you want to view a page with flash? Well too fucking bad. Wait, you want to send a text message with a picture? Well too fucking bad again. Want to spend 3 times too much on a gadget that can't do half of what is promised just so you can look cool? Well that I can help you with.
I would like to point out that I am commenting on the phone here, not the users. But come on people, there are more important things to do than browse you music collection on your phone.

Cramer: Stocks are Doomed, Sell Now

After the meltdown of Bear Stearns, the bail out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and now the IndyMac fiasco, more good news.

Well at least I can sleep well at night knowing that the Federal Reserve is there to look after my best interests. Oh wait a second, I forgot I am just a lowly taxpayer. Fuck.

I Love Money

This show is a trip. I think I found my new secret tv addiction for the summer. It's a real shame that my favorite from the previous shows, Midget Mack, was already eliminated in the first episode though. Still worth a watch or at least add it to your tivo.

Link From VH1

Taking Puppy Linux for a walk

Well I decided to fire up the live cd of Puppy Linux just to familiarize myself with the install process and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised! The initial test run froze up after I attempted to test my video settings in XORG. A hard reboot later I decided to roll the dice and see what would happen without testing and *poof* the desktop appeared and was ready to go. I am floored at how fast it is running of the live cd. Seamonkey, as a browser is a little on the fugly side but it is lightning quick. A pleasant surprise to see Flash working out of the box. And an absolute plethora of tools available from the get go. I think I will be keeping this live cd around for a handy little recovery disk. Well we see how well things run tomorrow when we try it out on a system with only 256mb of ram, compared to my 2gig.

LG ENV VX9900

So I have had this phone for about 91 days, and of course, now the front screen no longer works. SO frustrating! I can't see who is calling me or read messages without opening the damn thing and thats an automatic two handed operation. Not easy while driving, or doing anything else for that matter. I hope the guy at the verizon store will hook me up.

Why we must impeach now.

This is why we have to impeach now. We can not say that it is to late and will serve no purpose. If we ever hope to hold anyone accountable for what has happened to my country over the last 8 years, we must impeach now.

Windows Install: Part Deux

Well it appears that everything is installed and running now on the infected laptop. Hopefully that will be the last time I have to go through that. Honestly, if you are reading this and you are thinking about re-installing Windows, just give linux a try. It takes less time to download and burn a live cd than to do the reinstall. Try it out for a few days. Trust me. You will thank me in the end.

Just got back from a surprise birthday party for my friend TJ. As usual we had a few libations and after that the night began to flow. I talked a friend with a c.'98 PC that is way to slow for today's standards into letting me run some Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux on there. I will post on that install on Monday so you can see the difference. (Well so I can see the difference and try to relate it to you through my limited understanding of the English language.)

The group had a discussion on politics and I was pleasantly surprised to see that quite a few of my friends are actually starting to pay attention to what is going on in this election. Some of their opinions are biased or ill-informed but at this point, after witnessing the apathy and ignorance of the last 13-15 years, I am happy just to be able to hold a conversation on this subject without being given a wedgie and goaded into a keg stand.

First!

Hello World!
Well I figure that since I am the only one reading this blog right now I may as well make the first post something I am interested in. How much MS Windows sucks. I am currently using Ubuntu as my flavor of the month in linux and i had forgotten how much of a total pain in the ass windows is. One of the execs at my office called me upstairs yesterday to investigate the always ominous "Internet problem". What I encountered was a pc so thoroughly infested with viruses, spyware, key loggers, and various other malware that i wanted to wrap a condom around the mouse.
Turns out he fell for the old "need a codec to view this porn video" scam a few months ago and his dell lappie has now become the fucking burning man festival for the Zlob trojan. I have never seen so many different variants of this particularly nasty bug in one place.
After attempting to update spybot, (he had installed it but not run a scan in a "few months") I noticed that it appeared that Zlob was blocking spybot from updating its definitions. Then we tried ad-aware. No luck. After closing ad-aware spyware alerted me to about 50 different reg key changes.
At this point I decided it would be easier to just take off and nuke the site from orbit, only way to be sure. I procured his re-install disk and took his lappie for the weekend. Well I am now 4 hours into the re-install and I can safely say that I will never use another MS product voluntarily. My mind is spinning with drivers and updates and restarts.
He is a really nice guy and did offer to take me and the wife to dinner for my trouble so I don't mind doing a little geekery for him. Well I will be updating as I go so stay tuned!