In honor of recent events, I think it's time I bust this avvie out again.

Good idea, reim.

All right, geeks, listen up.

You have portable USB flash drives.  If you don't, you should.  Ferfucksake, people, they're cheap enough now.

Take that USB drive and have some fun with it.

Don't just use it to store miscellaneous crap on it.

Okay, that's in part what I do, but there are other options.

Install portable applications like Firefox and OpenOffice.org.

Hell.  On my 512mb USB thumb drive, I have room for both of those AND the latest version of Damn Small Linux.

What can be better than carrying an open source browser, a fully-functional open source office suite, AND a pretty slick open-source operating system all on something smaller than a pack of gum?

What can be geekier?

As a qualified geek among geeks, I say "go forth and do this, yea, verily.  Your geekitude shall be fruitful and spread among your brethren and all shall be well."

I want to get one of these.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that it seems to have Windows keys on it.

I hate those.  

I bought my current keyboard because it's a quality keyboard, but also because it's one of the only decent ones I could find that DIDN'T have those stupid Windows keys.

I'm always bumping the goddamned things when I use a keyboard that has them.

I wonder if the Das Keyboard people make Windows key-less models?

<rant>



So I ordered a computer tower with a power supply, as well as a hard drive and a froppy drive from Geeks.com and because their shipping option gave me an estimated delivery date of Friday, I put my work address as the ship-to.

So Thursday, I go to track the package on FedEx's website, and see that they changed the delivery date to Saturday.

Confused, I call FedEx and ask them why.

They tell me "oh, because we're more likely to reach people at home on Saturdays.  We scheduled a Saturday delivery for your convenience."

I say "it would be convenient for me if you were to just deliver it on Friday, because that address is my work address.  I won't be at work on Saturday, I'll be at home."

They then proceed to tell me that it's too late now to schedule a Friday delivery, so it'll have to be Saturday.  I ask them to change the ship-to then, so that they deliver it to my HOME address Saturday, and they inform me that I have to have Geeks.com do that.

So I call Geeks.com and have them call FedEx and tell them to change the ship-to to my home address, which they do.

I call FedEx back and verify that the ship-to was changed to my home address, and that delivery was still scheduled for Saturday, everything's fine.

So today I'm waiting for my package at home, and I figure I'd go track it to see what the status is.

On FedEx's site, they now list the package as "on FedEx vehicle for delivery", but for some reason the "Estimated Delivery Date" is now listed as Tuesday next week.  



Grrrrrrr....


So I call FedEx again, go through their stupid voice activated phone menu system again, and finally reach a real person and ask why it takes three fricking days for the FedEx delivery vehicle in St Cloud, MN to get to my house when I can easily do it in 20 minutes or less.

FedEx Guy: Well the delivery date was rescheduled for Tuesday next week because there was nobody at the delivery address when delivery was attempted.

Me: That's funny.  I've been here all day so far and nobody's rung my bell or knocked on my door.

FedEx: Delivery was attempted at 9:00 am.

Me: At 9:00 this morning I was in my kitchen making coffee.  Nobody attempted delivery then.

FedEx: At this address?  <reads off my work address>

Me: No.  That's my work address.  I'm at home.  I'm not at work on Saturdays.  That's why I had the vendor change the ship-to on this package to <my home address>.

FedEx:  Oh.

Me: Why did the driver attempt delivery at my work address?

FedEx: We thought the new address was a business, so we tried delivering to the original address first because it was Saturday, and we're more likely to reach people at home on Saturdays.

Me: (Trying hard to keep calm) No, that's my work address.  You people changed my delivery date to a Saturday, so I had to change the ship-to to accommodate that.  Now it's Saturday, I have given you the correct delivery address, and you idiots change your gameplan again and go back to the original address?  

FedEx: Well we were trying to do this for your convenience.

Me: What would have been CONVENIENT for me is if you people had delivered the package TO THE ADDRESS I ORIGINALLY GAVE THE VENDOR on the day you originally scheduled!  Instead, you tried to anticipate, and now you've screwed it up to the point where I'm not going to get it at all until TUESDAY?

FedEx: Well all the drivers are gone now... I can have it delivered to your work address on Monday... will that work?

Me: No.  You will deliver my package to my home address, and you will do it today.

FedEx: I might be able to swing that... but it'll be after 5:00.

Me: If you tell me it's going to be after 5:00, then I'm going to come down there to pick it up myself.  That will take me 20 minutes.

FedEx: Well that might work too.

Me: You don't want me to do that.  Don't make me come down there.

FedEx: How's 2:00?

Me: 2:00 is fine.  You mean today still, right?

FedEx: Right.

Me: That's just fine.







Bunch of fuckups.  Next time I'm going UPS.

That's the funniest damned avatar I've seen yet on this forum.  

British gov't loses key case over terror suspects' detention

Britain's government suffered a major blow to its security policy as the country's highest court of appeal ruled that the indefinite detention without trial of foreign terrorism suspects was illegal.

You know, it's not just the "slippery slope" bit that concerns me about all the various "enemy combatant" detainees the US is holding.

I mean, yes, it bothers me that they are so willing to throw due process AND the Geneva Convention out the window.

But that's not what bothers me the most.

What concerns me most is the fact that most of these detainees ARE terrorists.  Many of them trained at camps run by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.  They learned how to do things like take hostages, build bombs, plan and execute schemes to kill as many civilians as they possibly could.

These are truly terrible people, when it comes down to it.

And because their rights are not being acknowledged in their detention without counsel, without being charged, without being able to have access to any evidence the government has against them, without being able to do anything, effectively, to help their own defense, sooner or later, they are going to be set loose.

That's the reason why we have due process in place.  It's not just to ensure that everyone is treated equally... I mean, that's the main goal, but it also means that if due process is followed to the letter and rights are respected, scum of the earth don't get set free on technicalities.

And I figured it was about time I started responding to them.

I just received the below email this morning at work:

> Will we still be the Country of choice and still be America if we
> continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other
countries that came to live in America because it is the Country of
Choice???
> Think about it . .
>
> All I have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS? I
celebrate Christmas, but because it isn't celebrated by everyone! , we
can no longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season's Greetings.
It's not Christmas vacation, it's Winter Break Isn't it amazing how this
winter break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday? We've gone so far
the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that I am now
being offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with that.
> This says it all!
>
> This is an editorial written by an
> American citizen, published in a
> Tampa newspaper He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please!
>
> IMMIGRANTS,
> NOT AMERICANS,
> MUST ADAPT.
> I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some

> individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
> we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of
> Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when
> the "politically correct! ! " crowd began complaining about the
> possibility that our patriotism was offending others.
>
> I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone
> who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is
> almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there
> are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and

> apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America
> being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our
> sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own
> culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This
culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and
victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.
>
>
> We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Russian, or any other language.
> Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the
> language!
>
> "In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian,
> right wing, political slogan.. We adopted this motto because Christian
men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is
clearly documented.
> It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools.

> If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the
> world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.
>
> If Stars and Stripes offend you, or
> you don't like Uncle Sam, then you
> should seriously consider a move
> to another part of this planet. We
> are happy with our culture and have
> no desire to change, and we really
> don't  care how you did things where
> you came from. This is
> OUR COUNTRY,
> our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen
> the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every
> opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and
> griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of
> life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great
> American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.
> It is Time for America to Speak up
>
>
> I Sent this because I am tired of the whole "thought police" mentality
by so many in America.

 

I felt the need to respond to it, like so:

Not really.  In fact, I'd like to respond to it, point by point, just to be clear.

People have the right to speak whatever language they like here.  While I agree that it's probably in their best interest to learn it, by no means should anyone be forced to.  That is not the act of a free society.  

People also have the right to not have others' religious beliefs shoved down their throat.  I'm not particularly fond of Christmas, primarily because of people like the person that originally wrote this thing.

As for immigrants, everyone here (aside from American Indians) came here from someplace else.  Immigrants don't "steal jobs", they don't "drag our economy down", and they are responsible for far less crime (as a group) than people born here are.

What the author of this apparently doesn't understand is that our unique American "culture" isn't ours... it's made up of hundreds and thousands of individual elements from hundreds and thousands of cultures that have meshed together and is constantly in flux, constantly changing.

Anyone that doesn't see that isn't a very "good American", and is instead just a backwoods "NIMBY" (Not In My Back Yard-er) with the blinders on.

"In God We Trust" is NOT our "national motto".  It is used by Christians (who think that EVERYBODY ELSE here should be Christian also) to be intentionally exclusionary to anyone that doesn't think the way they do.

>> "We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented."

Actually, it's never been adopted in the "official" sense, and in fact, the Founding Fathers weren't even Christian.  Most of them were DEISTS.  THAT'S clearly documented.

And where people get the idea that the United States is a "Christian Nation" is beyond me.  I think people need to read some fricken history books, because it's anything but.

Thomas Jefferson wasn't a Christian.  In fact, in a letter to John Adams in 1823, he wrote:
 
"And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors."


And speaking of John Adams, in his memoirs, he said:

"The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find a precept for Creeds, Confessions, Oaths, Doctrines, and whole carloads of other foolish trumpery that we find in Christianity."

Not exactly the writings of "Christian men".  And these are the guys who founded this country.  And they are not alone.  The vast majority of the men and women that founded this country were of like mind.

They had just left a continent overwrought with religious rule.  Why on Earth would such people ever try to start ANOTHER religious country, having just left centuries of religious turmoil behind them?

But then, any casual look at the US Constitution will show how "Christian" this nation really is and was intended to be.

NOT EVEN ONCE, anywhere, in the US Constitution is "God" or "Christ" or "Jesus" or "Christianity" mentioned.

NOT. EVEN. ONCE.

In fact, religion itself is only mentioned in two places in the Constitution, and even then, it is only mentioned where it is restricted where government involvement is (in the first amendment, and also in Article VI, where it clearly states "... but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States").

In other words, would people out to found a "Christian Nation" go so far out of their way to make sure that NOT just Christians would be in charge?

I think not.


> "It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools."

Not while those schools are public, and operated by tax dollars, it's not.  It is an endorsement of a government entity of the belief in a deity.  The only way it would be appropriate is if equal access were granted ANY OTHER RELIGION that desired to also place a reference to it there.

And I think we can both agree that that would end up being absurd.  So the easiest, and most fair answer is to leave it all off, since it doesn't belong there anyway.  Schools are not intended to indoctrinate people into religious belief systems.

That is more than just "offensive" to some people.  It is a violation of THEIR rights as well.

Part of the First Amendment to the US Constitution is the "free exercise thereof" bit in reference to religion.

Insisting on endorsing GOD in an official capacity interferes with that right to "free exercise thereof" where religion is concerned.  I'm sorry, but that kind of disrespect toward the US Constitution -- the very CORNERSTONE of our country, a document over 200 years old that made this country what it is today -- is about as un-American as I can think of.


This bit really ticks me off, in fact:

> If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the
> world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.

Sorry, wrong answer.  I was BORN here.  I grew up here.  I have lived here my entire life.  "God" isn't part of my culture.

But freedom is.  The author of this letter apparently thinks that "freedom of religion" is just fine, as long as that religion agrees with his.

Well he's wrong.  It's my country too, and he can stuff his God, because he has no right to insist that anyone that doesn't agree with him simply "leave".  That's not very American either.  In fact, that's tantamount to being treasonous, in my opinion.


> We are happy with our culture and have
> no desire to change, and we really
> don't  care how you did things where
> you came from. This is
> OUR COUNTRY,
> our land, and our lifestyle.

Who, exactly, is "we"?  White, God-fearin' Christians?

As I mentioned above, everybody here came from somewhere else.  Apparently some think that after THEY got here, everything should just stop, because that was it.  That was all.  The gates are closed.  Everything halts, the country is perfect JUST THE WAY IT IS.

It doesn't.  Nor should it. And it isn't.  Nor will it ever be.

And people wonder why the rest of the world HATES Americans.  It's not because of "our freedom".  It's not because of our wealth.  It's not because of our lifestyle.

It's mostly because of ignorant pricks like the author of this original message that have no concept of how this country was founded, grew, and is continuing to grow.  It's because of prejudice that oozes out of every pore of the folks that apparently are unaware of anything past their own noses, that this country is made up of thousands of different cultures, and races, and religions.

And that every time they insist that THEIRS is the ONLY WAY and that ANYONE that disagrees can just LEAVE, they just advertise how petty, how small, and how truly narrow-minded and ignorant they truly are.

Feel free to pass this on.  The author of the original letter was correct in one respect.  We DO have freedom of speech in this country.  And it IS time for Americans to SPEAK UP and make sure that idiots like the author don't get away with rewriting history, treating those that disagree with them as second class citizens, and use the US Constitution as kindling.

</rant>

Nothing really relevent to say about this, other than I just thought this was a funny picture and wanted to share it with everyone.  

I still haven't gotten the ones off of our camera yet, but here are some that one of our guests took and sent me.

I'll post more as I get them... some of them turned out pretty good.  


My brother-in-law.  He was the pirate from the joke that goes:

"A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel in his pants.  The bartender looks at him and says 'Hey, isn't that kind of uncomfortable?'  The pirate replies, 'Arrrr!  It's drivin' me nuts!'"




Here's my brother-in-law engaged in a fight with the other pirate at my party, my friend Josh.




Josh again, showing us what real pirates drink.




Here's me in my Ruprecht getup, and my wife, who is dressed as Zoot/Dingo from "Monty Python And The Holy Grail".




Ruprecht and Zoot/Dingo again:




This is my gaming crew, plus my sister.  

I'm having what is quite clearly a DNS problem lately, and, seeing as how it's now been going on for several days, I finally forced myself to call my wretched ISP to find out how much longer this will be going on or if they had any alternates for me to use.

And of course they were their usual helpful selves.






Her:  Thank you for calling <isp> customer service, how can I help you?

Me:  Yeah, I was wondering when the DNS problems that are going on will be sorted out?

Her:  DNS problems?

Me:  Yes.  Since Friday night, we've been having DNS issues, and I was wondering if you could either give me a timeframe for when they'll be working normally again, or if you could give me an alternative DNS to try.

Her:  If you are experiencing a slowdown in your internet connection, the best thing to do is to refresh your modem.  Can you do that now?

Me:  I rebooted my modem twice.  Since that's the only thing you guys ever tell us to do, that's something I do well before I ever call you.

Her:  Well we are not aware of any DNS problems; if you refresh your modem I'm sure that will take care of the issue.

Me:  I already did.  The problem is still there.

Her:  Well you should do it now.

Me:  I'm not at home right now.  I don't NEED to "refresh" my modem.  That's not the problem.  I just need an alternet DNS.

Her:  We don't have any others, and the ones we have are working fine.

Me:  No they aren't.

Her:  Yes they are.

Me:  Look, do you think I'd subject myself to you guys' ridiculously inept support if I wasn't having any problems?  There is a problem with your domain name server and I'd like it either fixed, or substituted.

Her:  Well nobody has reported any DNS issues.

Me:  I AM REPORTING ONE NOW.

Her:  Uh.... what, exactly, is the problem then?

Me:  I type the URL to a website... ANY website... and I immediately get a "server could not be found" message.  BUT, if I type in the IP address instead of the domain name, the site loads fine.

Her:  What browser are you using, sir?

Me:  I'm using Firefox at home-- wait, what does THAT have to do with anything?  This isn't a browser issue--

Her:  We only support Internet Explorer.

Me: THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY BROWSER.  This is a DNS problem.  Do you know what a DNS problem is?  

Her:  No, sir.

Me:  Can I talk to someone there that DOES know what I'm talking about, please?

Her:  There isn't anyone else--

Me: Yeah, I know.  I've tried getting information out of you people before, and it's nearly impossible.  Look, my number where I'm at right now is <work number>.  Have someone that knows what I'm talking about call me back so I can get some answers.

Her:  Okay.  I'll have someone get back to you.




[TRANSLATION:  "If you call and bitch two or three more times, we might have someone call you back, otherwise, don't hold your breath."]

Some of you may find this to be a good read.

I particularly found this passage to be of interest:

Nazi propaganda, policies and terror had broken down traditional support-networks. You couldn't be sure whom to trust. Everyone could be on the government payroll, or could turn into informants to save their skins. And so arms went out in Nazi salutes, militarist songs were sung at rallies and on the streets, "each one of us the Gestapo of the others." In fear, individualism was crushed, leaving most citizens to relate only to The Leader, or to their military units, the comradeship offered by fascism.

The mother of all "slippery slope" arguments.

Linkage

A civil liberties board with independent investigative powers is a nice start, but I'm skeptical that it would be effective in today's ridiculously overpowered, overfed, and over-everything government.

But at least it's not the half-assed slap in the face attempt the White House made.