Category: Things that make you say hmmm?

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The 2nd ammendment doesn’t grant the right to bear arms…

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It is supposed to insure it.

I found an interesting analysis about the 2nd amendment a few weeks ago. The analysis states that the language of the 2nd is straightforward and unambiguous.

It is assumed, according to this analysis that citizens living under the constitution inherently have the right to own arms and that right is not granted by the 2nd amendment but is protected from government interference by the 2nd amendment.

The analysis is far more detailed and can be read in its entirety here.

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So without thinking about it too much, I sent the link to an acquaintance on Twitter.

He was, as always embattled with one of the gun control advocates from one of the groups like Moms Demand Action, or Everytown for Gun safety. This analysis made his point and he sent it to the gun grabbers.

Progressives

I’m always surprised by the nasty comments from the gun control crowd. For an “enlightened”, “Progressive”, “Well Educated”, group, you’d think their vocabulary would have a bit more depth.

Nonetheless it got me thinking about the logic the gun control folks are using.

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Some of the gun control people absolutely believe that guns should be removed from the hands of people because of the harm some guns might cause.

That led me to this thought;

“By their logic, I could advocate bringing back Eugenics Laws because one of their descendants might be responsible for killing a bunch of people.”

Their logic is just as flawed about guns as mine is about descendants.

You can’t know a gun is going to hurt someone any more than you can know a descendant is going to be a criminal.

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There is no family on the planet that doesn’t have at least one criminal in the family tree and no family is immune from producing criminals.

I could as easily make the case that preventing people from breeding is likely to be equally beneficial to society and the planet in the long term, as removing guns.

After all, fewer people sucking up resources burning fossil fuel, etc. would be better long term to combat global warming.

I’ve considered invoking the Zardoz paradigm where the primitives were given guns so that they’d war amongst themselves thereby keeping their numbers manageable.

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I don’t think that would add anything useful to the debate other than to offend the fem-nazis by forcing them to view a half naked, hairy, violent, Sean Connery.

Humm… Might be worth it after all!

I wonder all the time, why the “Moms Demand” and “Everytown” groups aren’t also teaching gun safety. I believe that there are too many guns to confiscate, even if I believed that line of illogic. I believe instead, that teaching children gun safety would save more lives.

I absolutely believe the fewer people in the general population who have knowledge about proper handling of, and behavior around guns; the more likely gun accidents become.

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For me its simply pragmatic. If you teach gun safety you can’t go wrong.

The educated gun control folks reject that kind of education. These are the same people that seem content with censoring other knowledge as well.

These folks are content with not teaching children via Chemistry Class about dangerous chemicals in the home. In spite of the fact that accidental poisoning is common.

They’re offended by locker room nudity, but not extremely suggestive nudity & sexuality in movies. They’ll decry playground fights as unacceptable, but will show DVD’s to their children depicting bloody fights and dismemberment.

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Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating censorship any more than I’m advocating gun control.

I just wish these groups were consistent in their logic.

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This one’s weird…

Verizon

After 23 years with Verizon, having the same phone number and either dial-up or DSL service. This morning, I called and closed the account.

Strangely, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I’d come to hate Verizon, on the other hand they’d become a fixture in my life.

Its like the smoker that hates smoking, but can’t quite stop themselves from lighting up in the morning. You know what you’re doing is a bad habit but you keep doing it anyway. Been there, done that!  When you finally do quit, it’s strange to not have the bad habit anymore.

Truth to tell, I’d kept the same phone number for so many years, so a friend would always be able to find me.

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He died in 2008 so it’s unlikely that he’ll be needing to call; if he did happen to call, I doubt that I could do much to help him.

Strange as it is to say, closing the landline account is oddly, letting go of the past. Hard to believe that a couple of thin pieces of copper can feel like an anchor to a place and time, yet the feeling is there. Now I’m feeling just a bit adrift. 

I’m sure that this is nothing more than a passing wave of nostalgia, like missing bakelite 78rpm records.

It’ll pass quickly.

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And we’re on high alert

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You’ve go to be kidding me!

I found out that the other half was on a list of folks to be killed by some deranged student at the school

A 15 to 16 year old apparently made a list of people that the kid wanted to kill. I guess you have to take that kind of thing seriously now days.

But really what are the odds? I guess a better question is; are we prone to over-reacting about these things and if so, why?

When I was in school, there were teachers that I harbored ill will toward. While I might have said bad things, I’d never have actually done them harm. Hell, I’d have been hard pressed to even say anything negative to them. 

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Back in the day we actually respected our elders. We knew that if we didn’t we’d be doing time in the Master bedroom with our Dad and his ohhh so thin belt cracking across our backsides!

I can say that I was never abused. I don’t recall ever being bruised by the belt or the paddle used at school. I vaguely recall having a mark where a switch landed poorly because I was running in tight little circles. But that was Grandma and her aim wasn’t all that good to begin with.

My, how times have changed!

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I’m sitting here doing the security check.

Alarm? CHECK!

Doors Secured? CHECK!

Weapons at hand? CHECK!

I keep feeling like I shouldn’t have to be concerned in the least.

It’s a pissant kid for Gods sake!

Then the other half reminds me of the violence in schools today and I go back to the security check. 

Thanks to the internet, public records, and fucking Google search… This address is associated by name with my other half.  Google will even give you directions in less than a minute.

And it’s free! Yipppeee! So much for paying the damn phone company for an unlisted number! Oh and THANKS GOOGLE!

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We’re not living in fear, we’re taking precautions as suggested by the police, and being a little less careless.

What really bugs me about this is the fact that I might be placed in a position where I have to decide to harm a dumb 15 – 16 year old kid.

That is so far out of my comfort zone I can’t even begin to explain.

I’m built to protect children, not harm them!

At 15 – 16 this kid is still a Child no matter how you slice it. God, I hope it’s just talk & the kid had time to cool down while in juvenile hall. 

If something were to happen, where I ended up defending myself or my other half with lethal force, could I live with myself? Could I live with myself if I allowed this kid to harm my other half, because I couldn’t wrap my head around a child being a threat?

There are just some questions you never want answered.

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Wow! just wow.

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Just heard about this one in my local area.

Middle schoolers in a suicide pact?  Where the hell does that come from?

Their lives are so tortured that before they can drive they’re trying to kill themselves?  

Don’t get me wrong I have no pity for them and almost wish they’d succeeded. Then they’d at least serve a purpose, kind of a signpost that says it’s not really all that bad.

It would give other parents the opportunity to say “Now girls, go plug yourselves into your ipods, do your homework, and we’ll call you when the pizza gets here to feed your fat asses”

I do pity their parents.

What must go through a parents mind upon learning their child was in an almost successful suicide pact? That must be horrible and then of course there’s the high probability that CPS is going to be all up their asses.

Add to that, the stress of paying the co-pay for hospitalization and on-going psychiatric care possibly lasting for years and in short order I could see the parents having all kinds of difficulties. I’m talking marriage ending kinds of problems. I can’t even imagine the weight of guilt these parents are laboring under.

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But no one is ever going to talk about that… It’s going to be all about the reason behind why their little darling tried to kill themselves.

I sound harsh, I know. 

Heck, I grew up waiting for the damn A-Bomb to wipe us out. I had to do well in school because if I didn’t I’d be held back for as long as it took for me to pass or I dropped out, whichever came first.

I had the military crawling all over me wanting me to join up, see the world, serve my country.

You want pressure or stress?

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Try being different WITHOUT any expectation of support, understanding,  or, for that matter without even knowing that there were others who felt just like you.

Bullying was the norm and you either toughened up or you spent your days crying.

I can remember being bullied for the color of my fucking hair. Yeah! My hair color got me taunted and on at least one occasion in a fight. When I was a kid I was a “Soulless Ginger” as Cartman says on SouthPark.

I toughened up, I learned to throw a punch, I became confident in myself and my abilities and created a niche where I was indispensable and thereby insured my safety.

I also learned that safety was transient and no-one is forever indispensable. Turns out, those were valuable lessons and they’ve served me well throughout my life.

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There was one suicide in my High School. One that I’ve always felt I should have seen coming or could have, should have, prevented.  The young man was troubled and while I’m not sure, I suspect he might have realized he was gay.  

I’ll never know because he killed himself and the shame and stigma his family felt prevented our asking any questions about the period of time leading up to his suicide.

I know there was some legal trouble that originated with a false fire alarm, and that his father had something to do with the fire department. But I knew nothing at the time about his home life or indeed who he was as a person.

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I knew him, I spoke to him but he was very closed off. I’m not even sure he was gay, I remember him being a “blank”, quiet in class, got good grades, but he didn’t participate in any of the stuff the rest of us guys were into.

I don’t think we were purposely ostracizing him, it was just that his name didn’t come up when we planned to skip school or something.

I’ve always felt bad about not really “seeing” him. I think if I had, I’d have seen perhaps a kindred spirit, or at least his pain.

Things are totally different now. 

Bullies don’t get their comeuppance in the form of a righteous pummeling. They can reach their victims with ease via our technology at all hours of the day and night.

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“I’d rather be dead than red” echoed exactly once off the side of the junior high school as I was leaving for the day. If I pedaled faster down the street, the wind in my ears would drown out even the nastiest words spoken about my Mom’s marital status.

Yes… I was one of THOSE children, (queue sad dramatic music) I was from a broken home!

Little did I know, most of my friends, and the bullies were about to be similarly afflicted.

We grew up, we adapted and we didn’t kill ourselves… well with the one exception, generally we didn’t kill ourselves on purpose. There were some car accidents that resulted in deaths

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My point is, what the hell is going on?

This world isn’t all that bad a place. Yeah it can be a pisser, and you might not get everything your way, but it’s not too shabby a place. 

I can tell you this for certain. (Most of the time… There are exceptions!) This world is a better place because you’re in it.

If there’s something that you don’t like or that bugs you, don’t kill yourself, fix it! Fix it for everyone that comes after you and contribute to the betterment of the planet.

That is of course if you have the capacity to get beyond your own selfishness.

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How much is too much?

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These days everything has passwords, sign-ins, PINS, & we all have multiple accounts, the invasion doubles when you try to keep your work and personal lives separated. 

Now there’s this weird trend, and it’s one I’m not sure I’m comfortable with.

After a long run of being able to view my YouTube subscriptions using Apple TV, they’ve recently changed things. My YouTube stuff has been reset with a recent release of the Apple TV firmware. Now when I ask to take a look at my subscriptions, My Apple TV tells me…

“Sign in, Get better video recommendations, watch your playlists and subscriptions, and find channels you love. On your phone, tablet, or computer, got to youtube.com/activate and enter: UISU-GWGB”

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Problem is that I ALREADY had signed in the old way, perhaps a year ago. You know where I gave them my ID and password and everything was working great. Now not only do I have to sign in again, but this new sign-in method will probably add another data point to my overall profile at Google. 

This is one of those situations where someone, somewhere is trying to link the string of pearls of my life together via my devices.

The problem is that I’m a human being, and that by most standards implies a certain amount of social interaction. Heck I might log into a device like an Apple TV to show a favorite video or selection of videos to friends at their house on their Apple TV, or Roku, or Chrome, or even their smart TV, instead of my own.

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Pushing this method of registration limits that interaction, forcing instead that sharing be done via a device with a browser.

YouTube isn’t the only one using this method. Several of the TV networks, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, History, and even PBS have been using this register/activate this device at our website model for a while. In those cases they wanted you to register at your Cable/Dish provider, or directly with their website. 

The problem is that the major TV networks and PBS, can be provided over the air without a Cable provider. So the whole registration model makes no sense for them unless they provide a way to register you’re on an antenna.

But DUDE we’re trying to make your user experience better, this way your devices will be forever linked and we’ll push you things our systems determine that you’re likely to be happiest with.

In my life, I want to see the stuff I select and I don’t want content filtered by a computer, no matter how sophisticated it’s algorithms.

Aggregation

I am becoming more uncomfortable with linkages of this type.

At the risk of sounding like I’ve got a tinfoil hat on. The whole register / activate model doesn’t seem all that insidious until you consider what information this registration can collect. Here’s a short list just off the top of my head.

Number of device(s) you own

location (via IP) 

Type of device & manufacturer (via that funny code), your name, your account information (via Cable Provider or in this case Google.)

Socio Economic status (number of devices + your cable bill and premium channels vs. over the air only.)
NewImageYou could make a case for ability to detect approximate educational level and even number of adults or if there are children in the house and possibly the political affiliation of the home just from viewing habits. Nielsen has been doing this kind of thing for years and I’ll bet their algorithms are damn efficient.

Speed of your internet connection, when cross referenced against number of providers in your area, this can provide another data point in your social economic status. Do you have basic DSL or are you in a top tier FiOs or Cable plan?

 NewImageI personally don’t like people having that much information about me. This is Big Brother territory because it’s not only what I own, but what I’m interested in and likely to own.
 
For example, because I went to a site about gun safety sponsored by the NRA I get ads in Brietbart about concealed carry and holsters. Because I checked out a new WiFi device that’s not even released to the public yet, I’m getting ads on all my search pages about the that device. Because I happen to like Andrew Klavens snark on YouTube, my YouTube suggestions are all conspiracy theory videos.
 
This is the problem, because I am curious about a wide variety of subjects I end up having ads shoved down my throat long after I’ve decided a subject or product is of no interest.
 

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 I don’t like it and the only Way I can think of to opt out is to disconnect from the internet. For a wide variety of reasons that is no longer really a viable option in the country.
 
Maybe I should be wearing a tinfoil hat after all…