Category: Uncategorized

My friend John Auchter is one of the most intelligent (and by the number of “discussions” we’ve had, most patient) people I know. John is also really freakin’ good at putting those wonderful ideas of his into comics. His latest comic is one such example. To writ:

Now I will say this: Hopefully, in these few weeks between election seasons, we can talk about this in a less emotional way. I think those who would like to see gay marriage legalized have to respect and acknowledge people’s religious feelings on the subject. Nobody likes to have something they find distasteful shoved in their face.

For instance, I don’t ever want to have to see a Cirque du Soleil show. I don’t want to ever vacation in Branson, Missouri. And I don’t ever want to tour a veal farm. I have no firsthand knowledge of these things, but the mere thought of them makes me queasy. Perhaps if I were a more free-thinking person I could. But in these cases, I wear the badge of closed-minded prejudice with pride. So, yeah, I understand how being forced to discuss homosexuality could be unpleasant for some. Hold that thought.

And he hits on nail on the proverbial head. Majority isn’t always right. Just look at Branson, Missouri.

Personally, I voted against the gay marriage amendment because I don’t think it’s government’s place to tell me what and what is not moral. That’s a slippery slope no one should ignore. But, John is a lot funnier about it, so go read his comic and the commentary (you’re not allowed to skip the commentary) right now.

Link

WoodTV has posted the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant for CyberNET. Any teachers out there, you can use this to illustrate just what a Ponzi scheme is.

Link (PDF)

This case just gets worse and worse. The remaining executives seem to be rallying around the missing head of Barton Watson and looting the company while they can. Creditors are filing lawsuits left and right but, surprise, there’s no money left. Why?

[CyberNET’s Chairman Jim] Horton said he doesn’t have any money to pay creditors; and yet, just before Watson killed himself during a standoff with police last week, Horton wired money into his own bank account. One million dollars of that money went to an office in Hong Kong. $750,000 went to Barton Watson’s mother. Another $20,000 went to Barton’s wife Krista, with Horton’s wife Angie receiving $20,000.

Right. Since his golden parachute got a hole shot in it, Horton is now screwing the creditors out of everything he can get.

Prison is too good for people like this.

Link to quoted story
Link to Watson 911 tapes
Link to Watson suicide story
Employee reaction
Employees to get no more checks
CybrNET was a “Ponzi” scheme – mLive
CyberNET’s final employee newsletter (news story, no actual newsletter)
Employees return to work after raid
Barton a “true con man”, and OCD, apparently

I want a set of these! Logitech behind-the-head, dual headphone, boom mic, and the cover is red. Very cool.

(Actually, I’m just posting this here so I don’t forget it.)

ThinkGeek :: Logitech Internet Chat Headset

Before you think he is, he’s not. Dan Rather’s mistake of running with a story he should have been more skeptical about is only the cover for Bill’s other objective. Like so many before him, O’Reilly is not defending Rather. Rather, he’s protecting his bread and butter – old-school journalism. The Bush papers (and Swift Boat Vets before that) are not the fault of bloggers who got away with something “wip[ing] out a lifetime of honor and hard work” simply by having a LiveJournal account. In fact, if O’Reilly had done his homework, he would know that the bloggers were the first ones to debunk the papers.

And if you think O’Reilly isn’t protecting himself, check this quote out:

Unfair freedom of speech did him in. This is not your grandfather’s country anymore.

Nice. Nothing like playing the Fear card. But, to be fair, he’s right. This isn’t your grandfather’s country anymore. No more will the Hearst’s and Clear Channels (other side)of the world have sole ownership of information. They may control certain media, but there is always a voice available to, well, people like me. Not that anyone reads this, but I can still publish it, which is a step in the right direction. And there are many other smarter and more dedicated people out there whose voice is being heard on the internet. They are the ones who have kicked in grand-dad’s teeth and changed the media.

O’Reilly mentions that the flaw in journalism is that journalists rely on other journalists for information. I submit that what is really pissing him off is that, under the Old Guard, he was only accountable to those from which he got the information. Now, he’s accountable to everyone. Me, you, Slashdot, Boing Boing, Fark, hell, even Jason Kottke can weigh in if he wants. Yeah, I think that might have something to do with Bill’s defense of Dan.

New York Daily News – Home – Bill O’Reilly: Dan got smeared

CNet is reporting that, maybe as early as next year, the price on plasma and LCD televisions (and, theoretically, computer monitors as well) will plummet in the next 12-18 months. “Plummet” here is defined as 30%, which means that a 20-inch LCD TV from a well-known manufacturer will be under $299, down from $700 to $800 today. According to according to Tasso Koken, vice president and general merchandise manager for Sears home electronics, “[t]he 2005 price drops in LCD will make the 2004 reductions look like a walk in the park”.

!!!

Link

I may not have ever had good sushi, after reading this HOWTO. I wish I had some way to validate what this guy is saying, because it sounds like he does.

Sushi Eating HOWTO [via J-Walk Blog]

This is a fun little site. All kidns of Firefox and Thunderbird hacks.

MRTech.com [via Alice & Bill]

Finally, a reason to play Unreal Tournament! A single-player (offline) mod that looks like it was inspired by Painkiller. I think I got Unreal for free with my mobo.. woo hoo! Now, if I only had a hard drive.

Hmm… that sounds like a song. “If I ooooonly had… a hard… drive…”

Nah.

Link

Once again, Tech Writers don’t get it. (Name and contact info removed so I don’t have to deal with some guy bitchin’ about me posting his info all over the place.)

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:28:54 -0800, [President/Principal Writer]  wrote:
> Speaking of google, what's the difference between doing a little
> research about the contents of a test and an employer using goggle to
> underhandedly find out information about a candidate.
>
> [President/Principal Writer's first name]
> --
[President/Principal Writer]
President/Principal Writer
[Company name]
[Company website]
MSN: [removed]
Yahoo: [removed]
There are two pains in life, the pain of sacrifice and the pain of regret.

This is the pain of the industry, if you ask me. Googling your name for info is already cliche in some circles. If you don’t think that people are plugging your name into search engines before or after talking to you… wow. That’s like not looking up the bio of an acclaimed writer. You’d have to prefer the experience of being ignorant.

To be fair, this post was quickly followed by a number of people pointing out that you can use this activity to your advantage, a kind of free advertising. Does you name show up in newsgroups being helpful? A potential employer might like that. Of course, you may not want your name turning up as you’re knocking a common practice for someone doing due diligance on a candidate or company. The real issue is that what Mr. Poster expressed as an “underhanded” practice is a belief held by more people in the Tech Writing world than you would believe. Did you know that some employers expect writers to do other things besides write? I know, we need a union to stop these things!