Category: Things that make you say hmmm?

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Yet more obscenity… (Sorry, not the “Good” Kind)

A reader of my blog directed me to this little jewel of insanity.

T shirtA 14 year old in West Virginia was wearing a t-shirt at school like the one at the right. (I pulled this image from the NRA website. The shirt is for sale there.)

Short version.

The young man apparently tried to exercise his FIRST Amendment right to freedom of expression and refused to change shirts. Then the school calls the cops, the young man is arrested for “Disrupting the education process” REALLY? What ever happened to calling your Mom or your Dad and having them pick you up from school and giving you a talking to you wouldn’t soon forget.

Why the fuck were the cops called at all?

At worst, the kid may have been in violation of some dumb assed dress code. Hell you see more controversial shirts at the mall.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is yet another over-reaction from people about guns. Honestly I’d never thought you’d see this kind of crap from West Virginia. After all that is one of the “Flyover” states isn’t it?

I haven’t been able to confirm it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was another example of stupid “Zero Tolerance Policies”

In expressing his support for the Second Amendment… This 8th grader had his First Amendment right trampled and left in the Mud.

The police know they’re wrong in this. The District Attorney knows this trifling thing should have been nothing more than the school, the police (since they were called), the young man, and his father sitting down and having a discussion about why this shirt shouldn’t have been worn and as was already done, a day of suspension for the young man. Ideally it should have been the Principal, the young man and his dad.

That’s where it should have ended.

The people of Logan West Virginia should be outraged that their tax dollars are being wasted this way. They should be asking serious questions about the schools administration too.

As I’ve written before, what kind of lesson are we teaching? “Don’t handle your own problems foist it off on someone else? Make sure that you complicate things so much that only a jury can sort it out?” Come on!

This is not how civilized people in a polite society deal with simple problems.

There was a time in this country when we didn’t need Lawyers, Judges, and Police to be involved in every single aspect of our lives.

We shouldn’t need to take anything to court except in cases of the most serious breaches of law or in simply unresolvable cases.

Worse is that this young man is going to have a juvenile record for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

Why do we repeatedly teach our young people about their Rights, about doing the Right Thing and then turn around and punish them for exercising their rights or doing the right thing?

I’ve written about this before,

The young man who disarmed a gun wielding moron on a bus in Florida because the person with the gun was holding it to the head of another student and threatening to pull the trigger.

The young life guard who saved someone life, but that “save” was outside the area he was paid to patrol and so as a result of doing the right thing, he was fired.

Then there’s the young man in Oregon who saved someone else from drowning and because of procedure his family was hit with a bill for an ambulance ride and examination in the local emergency room.

The Elementary school child who was suspended for chewing his poptart into the shape of a gun.

The child who took his cap gun to school and ended up being grilled for hours and his family’s home being searched for weapons.

The adult Army Sargent in TX who was arrested, had his guns confiscated, lost out on a Career promotion, and had his Son terrorized by a police officer because The Sargent was “rudely” displaying a rifle… By the way it’s  legal to carry rifles openly in TX.

There are so many more of these cases it’s unreal.

Folks, this kind of stuff goes on all the time, each day there’s another incident added to the list.

For every incident that makes the national news, how many are being swept under the carpet?

I’ve been told I’m wrong. I’ve been told that the government isn’t coming to take guns out of the hands of the people. I can only say OH, Really???

If that’s true, then why are police so quick to search homes, specifically looking for weapons? How do we justify the repeated violations of the First and Fourth amendments nationwide? How do we justify the denial of the Second amendment when legally owned guns are confiscated during searches conducted in violation of the Fourth amendment?

WE CAN’T!

If you entertain for one moment that the Constitution of the United States of America isn’t under siege you really need to think again.

To my conservative and liberal readers. Regardless of your stance on guns… (put that aside for just a moment). We need to reach out to each other to protect all of our constitutional rights.

The loss of the First amendment will affect all of us.

Do you want to live in a nation where you can’t speak your mind? How about a nation where you fear having your home searched randomly for contraband, not because you were accused but just because someone felt like it? This is perhaps not fiction anymore.

We already have seen the erosion of privacy that is tantamount to an illegal search by the NSA.

It will take a united America to protect The Constitution. There are no party lines in this, no color, no religion, no conservatives, no liberals, only Americans who believe in Freedom.

I’m no longer a member of the NRA, but I’ve got the hat… I think I’m going to be wearing it a lot more. A) to let folks know I’m pro 2nd amendment, and B) because I’m sure that I’ll be able to find liberals to have discussions with.

I was thinking we should have a “Jared day” where everyone wears the same t-shirt he was wearing when he got into all this trouble. I hope that the NRA is watching and provides funding for Jareds defense, I’m betting he’s going to need it.

If any part of this has struck a chord – stand up, take action.

Write your Congressman & Representatives. Their addresses are easy to find on various Government websites. Please take a second and look ’em up.

Try to wake up your family, friends, and neighbors. You do that not by browbeating them, but by presenting them with your concerns and facts.

Freedom is hard work. We’re up to it, but we all have to be engaged and pulling together.

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Dang! This is amazing to me.

There’s a lot of people who are obviously upset about the scandals keeping the Obama staff up at night.

I stumbled across these pieces yesterday and I was honestly gobsmacked. (I love the British… some of their terms are so colorful.)

The first piece I found was this one from Representative Jim Bridenstine

The next piece was from Mike Kelly

The last piece is Paul Ryan rebutting comments made by McDermott that implied the victims of the IRS targeting were somehow deserving of IRS abuse.

Honestly, I haven’t seen a President disparaged on the house floor since Nixon. I don’t remember if Clinton ever had anything so directly said against him during his hearings.

As to the IRS Scandal I honestly can’t believe what I’m hearing.

This is not a partisan issue. That the IRS has been implicated in this kind of corruption is frightening to the American people.

It should have the members of both parties quaking in their boots. After all what happens when the Republicans are in control? Payback is a bitch and the Republican party has a lot of axes to grind with the Democrats.

Instead of sniping at each other, and instead of the Democrats apparently circling the wagons concerning themselves only with this Presidency they should be hopping mad at being forced into this awkward position in the first place.

Both parties should be demanding that heads roll from the top to the bottom of the IRS. They should be working together to ferret out the corruption no matter where it leads.

Oh I’m not deluding myself, they wouldn’t be extinguishing corruption for reasons of Country, Oaths of Office, or The People. No they would be hunting down the corruption for no purpose other than enlightened self interest.

Whoever started this mess was sloppy. That can’t be tolerated… It hurts the Members of Congress chances at re-election. Heads on platters from the White House Staff, on the other hand would play very nicely in the 2014 & 2016 election cycle.

Cynical? Hell Yes! Plausible? Pragmatic? Expedient? Yes, Yes, & Yes!

The saddest part is that the members of Congress are so short sighted that they can’t see it. Given that shortsightedness can we really rely upon them to run this country?

Sorry, but in my book the answer is Nope.

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It was a down home kind of day

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Yesterday after doing some of the usual chores. Poo patrol & other little things around the house, I went into town for a Fire & Disaster Awareness day sponsored by the local community.

As some of you may know fire is a big deal here in the Southern California mountains.

It’s an even bigger deal when there’s been as little rain as there has been this year.

For those of us who’ve watched our homes burn to the ground, well… lets just say it takes on a whole new level of importance. 

Moreover here in Southern California there are a number of possible disasters. 

Fire

Mudslide

Earthquake

PowDSC0347er outages due to the above, or possibly just really strong winds.

There was a community a few years back that was without power for well over 2 weeks. Their problems were caused by a wind storm that blew down trees all over the Los Angeles basin. when the trees fell over, they took power lines with them.

So the community puts on these events and admittedly this is the first one that I’ve attended. It’s high time too.

We’ve got a small store of food and supplies here at the house and we have 3 day packs we carry in our cars. But I know that it’s not enough. I’d like to have a full on bug out kit that could feed us for months if necessary. 

The problem is that such a supply is pricy and I worry about the expiration dates on the foodstuffs. Of course should those supplies ever be necessary I’ll be kicking myself for not making the investment.

This is not about being a “Survivalist” it’s about being prepared. 

Look around your home, it doesn’t matter where you are… 

How much food do you have on hand?

What would happen if you lost power? Can you cook without electricity?

All that food in the fridge isn’t going to stay edible for long and frozen for less time than you might think.

What about water? How much of your water is pumped electrically to you or water tanks. What is the capacity of those tanks? Do your neighbors know enough to skip their showers and conserve? If you’re completely dependent on electricity for your water, you might want to have a drinking reserve.

When was the last time you looked at the expiration dates on your first aid kit? A 10 year old antibiotic or chemical cold pack will probably not be as effective as a 1 year old version.

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How are you fixed for batteries? 

Do you have a radio to listen to, for evacuation areas, or emergency information? How is that radio powered?

Do you have a method of recharging your cell phone? Think about the people after hurricane Sandy. Remember them huddled around makeshift charging stations?

That’s not to say that the cell towers will even be up but if cell service is available and your phone is dead you’re still in trouble.

Do you have basic camping gear? That could provide you with shelter and you can stay warm in sleeping bags for quite a while.

This post isn’t about doom and gloom. I’m not suggesting the apocalypse is imminent.

I’m saying that if you’re prepared you’ll be able to weather the trials & tribulations of stuff that happens every day around our planet.

By the way, preparing for disaster isn’t about hearing that a storm is on the way and running to the Home Depot for generators & stripping the grocery store shelves bare.

Preparation is about NOT having to do either of those things.

It doesn’t take a lot, figure out what your vulnerable to. 

We have power outages in my town often in the Winter, so that’s one of my vulnerabilities.

I’ve got portable solar panels and power storage from Goal Zero that can recharge my phone, power or recharge some of the smaller A/C devices, my HAM rig,  and even my laptop if I need it. Although without internet my laptop would be more for my chronicling the event than for reading the local news.

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 The fireplace works and there’s a stack of firewood outside.

I have a gas stove so I can cook, and in Winter ya just move the frozen foods from the fridge out to the deck. (I’ve done it. frozen is frozen). 

So if there’s a power outage, I’m warm, dry, well fed, and since our water is gravity fed from a water tank up the hill I’ve got water for at least 3 -5 days before I even think about hitting the backup.

In short it’s inconvenient but not life threatening

In Spring & Fall it’s mudslides. Mudslides can isolate my home for a few days, usually not more than 1 or 2, and it’s very rare that a mudslide here in my area would kill the power. If there was a mudslide that killed the power, the Winter plan works pretty well except for the refrigerated / frozen foods.  So I eat whats in the fridge that’s likely to go bad first.

In Summer / Fall, the threat is wildfire. The best plan is get the hell out of the way! You leave when the fire dept says it’s time to go, it’s just that simple!

Earthquake… You have to figure all bets are off. If your home is still standing and not dangerous you use your plans and resources until help arrives. If your home isn’t standing or is unsafe, you grab your camping gear, emergency supplies, and get close to nature and/or evacuate to less damaged areas if / when you can.

Each of these options has flaws, my plans may not work for you, but these plans (with the exception of the Major Earthquake) have all been tested by me.

When I’ve discovered a flaw, I’ve made do, learned from my omission or mistake and I’ve changed the plan accordingly for the next time. That’s really all you can do.

I strongly encourage everyone to just give it some thought. You don’t have to be a survivalist, you don’t have to spend $1000s of dollars on c-rations or build a bunker. Just take a look at your home, evaluate the potential threats then plan accordingly.

It goes without saying in these events that you check on the old, you make sure your neighbors are OK and have some provisions. 

Obviously if you find someone in need, you help them… That’s the Human thing to do.

Just add preparation as one of your spring chores and hope like heck that the preparation never has to be tested.

 

 

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Grumpy Naked Computing (What happens at my house late at night)

1:00 am, the leather of my chair is cold on my bare ass as I sit down at my desk.

Unknown

I was just about asleep, then my technology started chiming with a regularity that forced me awake again.

Comments are being made on the blog, but they’re comments on really old posts.

I dig a little deeper. There are thousands of comments now, all of them trying to slip through the comment process so that they can post a link to what is probably a bogus web site.

The sites claims to be selling replica shoes, or handbags at very low prices.

More comments more bullshit.

Tracking the originating IP for this stuff takes me to China.

I scratch my balls. Got a friend in China… don’t want to cut him off but don’t know which IP addresses he’s likely to be using, These IPs look like they’re from Beijing.

I wish my buddy would come the hell home, I’d like to see him, I miss him.

When my buddy comes home all of China is going in the exclude list. I see how to do that elegantly and simply. 

In the mean time I’m blocking all the IP addresses that these spam comments are originating from. 

I try to maintain a blog that is enjoyable and yet isn’t draconian. I hate like hell having to block any IP but where there’s the potential to steal, there’s always someone willing to try.

I used to be pretty agnostic about it.

I thought if you were stupid enough to click on a link, or greedy enough that you wanted a Rolex for $50.00 and were willing to give someone your account numbers you pretty much got what you deserved.

I figured let the greedy scum feed on each other until only one scumbag remained, then snatch that scumbag up and toss their ass in a dark prison with their orifices clearly labeled when they went to the showers.

But then I started seeing the collateral damage. 

I saw the old, the charitable,the kind, the inexperienced being taken advantage of and my agnosticism evaporated.

Which is not to say that I support anything like CISPA or PIPPA or in fact most of the bullshit laws or government is trying to pass.

Hacking is 10,000 shades of gray.

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A hacker who hacks to point out a weakness in a critical system is very different from a hacker that cleans out an old lady’s bank account.

The terms Hackers, and Hacking have lost all meaning in great part due to media misreporting. 

A hacker used to be a person that through their cleverness and innovative thinking was able to penetrate computer security and gain control of a system remotely. They were usually brilliant and more often than not BORED.

Occasionally, they’d cause damage to data, but that generally wasn’t the goal and shouldn’t have been too large a problem if the hacked computers were properly maintained and the data backed up.

The reason that hacking became such a big deal in my opinion was that the folks running the computers systems were embarrassed that they’d been caught with their pants down.

So they whined to their wealthy and powerful bosses who in turn blew the situation out of proportion to the politicians they were playing golf with and then the politicians had a wonderful scary new windmill to tilt at. and they looked busy and ever so smart to their constituents. 

Hackers, were in a way doing a public service. By pointing out the weaknesses of systems in a counting coup way they made the computing gurus of the times re-think their security approach. To some extent the computer security that we enjoy today is because of hackers. Yes, data sometimes gets lost or stolen but it’s not as bad as it could be. I credit that hackers spurred early computer pioneers to think about security.

By the time the government and media got through with the subject… We The People had something else to fear.

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Many of the hackers today aren’t what I’d call hackers.

The phishing emails, the virus laden websites, the chain letters from Nigeria aren’t hacking.

They’re betrayals of trust & kindness. In that way these crimes are no different than the normal Con-Man frauds. They should be prosecuted the same.

Armies of Zombie computers are in my mind perversions of theories of distributed computing. They are nothing more than a marginally clever re-tasking of otherwise brilliantly useful software to nefarious purposes.

You want to know who’s responsible for Phishing? Look at the spelling! 

They’re young, bored, and could be anywhere along the economic privilege curve.

A real Hacker I once knew called them script kiddies. These kids are just clever and technical enough to locate, figure out, and then use Hobby Kits that compile viruses and other creations designed completely and solely to cause mischief or be used in fraud.

But they’re not really creating “New” threats, they’re just reworking existing code.

Phishing techniques aren’t only used by children and criminals. And sometimes even people like me fall for them.

I recently signed a petition on Change.org. 

I wasn’t thinking about the organization, I was thinking about the petition and the cause.

I’m going to be writing about the cause as the story develops further.

Within 24 hours I was getting SPAM of all kinds from Democratic organizations around the country.

It’s taken me DAYS to remove myself from those mailing lists.

Just because I as a thinking person sign a petition supporting a young man being unjustly punished by stupidity doesn’t automatically mean I’m interested in being your best friend AND it doesn’t mean I’m automatically a Democrat.

I pointed out on one of the Removal pages that I held Democrats responsible for the “Zero Tolerance” Policies being used to unjustly punish this young man. 

I’m hoping that someone blows coffee out their nose on Monday morning.

PC

Ahhh and with that happy message. I’m going back to bed. 

I told you that sometimes the thoughts here would be random.

Goodnight

 

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Weird Dream

I often remember snippets of my dreams, but occasionally I remember big chunks of them and baby i have a NewImagereally strange dream world.

The dream in question this time is I’m in a nifty little house and all is right with the world. The house is small and efficient and there’s not a lot of space.

My stuff is where it should be and I’m whistling a tune as I’m cleaning this little place. (That’s how I know I was dreaming I can’t whistle to save my life!)

So I’m dusting or wiping down something and I open a door to wipe down the doorjamb (another sure clue I’m dreaming, nobody does that… Well I can think of one person who might. I’ll ask the next time I talk to him.) 

Anyhoo,

The door opens and I glance into the space beyond. I really don’t pay it any mind but as I’m cleaning I see a beam of sunlight coming through a skylight illuminating a beautiful space with a large stone fireplace.

I think “oh crap I’m going to be cleaning all day”

Then I pass through the door of my little efficient space into this grand space. The place is decorated exactly in the style I prefer. As I move from room to room I realize how truly big the place is. Each room is appointed exactly  in my taste.

The place is strangely familiar but a little uncomfortable, it’s that feeling that you get when you’re in someone NewImageelse’s home when you’re house-sitting.

This place though seems much more familiar. It’s like finding something half forgotten from your childhood in a random box. You’re connected to the object and holding it unlocks tons of memories. 

As I move from room to room I suddenly realize that this grand house is mine, but that for some reason not only am I living in a fraction of the available space, but I’m choosing to live in the smaller place.

All I need is a lizard with a tattoo wandering through the place and my dream scape would be complete.

I miss the good old days when I had nothing to worry about except dreams of space battles and alien species NewImageannoying me. 

At least those dreams made some kind of sense!