INTERESTING: Cryptology should be practiced by all

Friday, March 9, 2007

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;
jsessionid=UXQ40JSPCWITXQFIQMFCFGGAVCB
QYIV0?xml=/news/2007/03/08/wmafia08.xml

http://tinyurl.com/399emv

Mafia boss had messages delivered by bus
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Last Updated: 1:57am GMT 08/03/2007

*** begin quote ***

Investigators, including a team from the FBI, have spent the last eleven months deciphering his code. The investigation has led to dozens more arrests, as his crime syndicate was dismantled. Earlier this week, Vincenzo Piraneo, who drove a bus down the 189 road between Palermo and Agrigento, was arrested for allegedly helping Provenzano distribute his pizzini. A further 21 arrests were also made.

*** end quote ***

Interesting that if one does cryptology right, then no arrests would have been possible.

One time pads, RSA, and cyclic substitution ciphers are virtually unbreakable. The British had to capture the Enigma to break it. The Americans broke the Japanese codes because of a breakdown in transmission security. The FBI broke the mad bomber’s rants because he left a worksheet around.

The amateur should look for the crystal box. How does it work and how do I know it’s secure. It doesn’t matter what the claim for a black box, you can NOT trust it.

How many of us have encrypted stuff and forgotten the key? I have.

Interesting problems.

 

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Posted by reinkefj

XPfails – luggable – BLOGDESK loses the ability to talk to the target

Friday, March 9, 2007

Interesting. Every once and while, BLOGDESK loses its mind. It fails to complete a conversation with the target blog it is storing into. I don’t know who to blame (i.e., the Blog site, XP, or BlogDesk). But only a reboot will clear. After a restart, everything works fine. Now that I have gotten in the habit of SAVE then PUBLISH, it’s NBD (no big deal).

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Posted by reinkefj

FUN: Cute joke I hadn’t heard before.

Friday, March 9, 2007

FROM LUDDITE’S WIFE

*** begin quote ***

Finally, a new bumper sticker for BOTH political parties.

This hottest selling political bumper sticker: “RUN HILARY RUN”

Democrats put it on the rear bumper.
Republicans put it on the front bumper.

*** end quote ***

But, where would a Libertarian put it?

… anywhere he could in New Hampshire?

Leave a Comment » | FUN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GUNS: Gun used to stop an attack. No shots fired. Kudos to the hero.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=2007703050350

http://tinyurl.com/3bsdt4

March 5, 2007
A death averted
# Passer-by uses gun to halt attack
By Nicklaus Lovelady

***Begin Quote***

As customers watched in horror Sunday afternoon, a man stabbed a woman and attempted to set her on fire in the parking lot of a Jackson store, witnesses said.

The attack was stopped by a passer-by, who held the man at gunpoint until police arrived, witnesses said.

***End Quote***

This writer is going to be drummed out of the liberal media union.

Violating the “gunz is bad” mantra.

Here we have a passer by using his tool to save a woman.

Other passers by didn’t interfere. Going face to face with a knife wielding nut isn’t good for your health.

What would they have done if they had been suitable armed?

It’s my “sprinkle a few sheepdogs amoung the sheep” argument.

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Posted by reinkefj

LIBERTY: Death by Gooferment — Category: Skoolz

Thursday, March 8, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/
death-by-emergency.html

http://tinyurl.com/2a2ddg

Death by Emergency Plan
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

***Begin Quote***

A strange culture of emergency has taken over this country, and the slightest provocation triggers it. It could be an expected terrorist or just an old-fashioned weather warning. The officials are quick to swing into action, and tell you what to do.

The problem is that these demands are often based on nothing other than government plans that are not in your best interest. It behooves all of us to think carefully about genuine preparedness, which might often involve bucking the system and telling the emergency nazis to mind their own business.

*** and ***

The best approach to an emergency is simply to let people make their own judgments about how to stay safe. Instead, we have developed a system whereby a central plan goes into effect that applies to everyone. This is why evacuations tend to be mandatory these days, and why you are not allowed to rescue your own children from danger.

This brings us to the final presupposition of emergency management in this country: officials assume that you are their property. You have no rights, no freedom of choice, and no volition of your own that should be respected. Your one job is to obey them, and at least if you are killed, they can have bragging rights that they got everyone to go along.

At some point in the coming years, you will probably face this problem. There will be some emergency in which you will be told to put your life or that of your children in the hands of experts, who pretend as if they know what is best for you. Chances are that they don’t, and this emergency will be the time when you need to think seriously about fundamental values. Is obedience to authority more important than life itself?

***End Quote***

Here’s how the government kills its citizens. It tells them to do the wrong thing.

I’d charge those 8 deaths to the Skoolz and Mandatory Attendance laws. Wouldn’t you? The parents couldn’t get their kids because they were IMPRISONED in the gooferment jail-lite aka the skoolz!

You have to love how Lew rips the argument apart.

It all boils down to do you own your own body. If so, then NO ONE has the right to tell you what to do. It’s your problem. It’s always your problem. The gooferment’s courts have ruled that the gooferment has no specific duty to protect you. So why do people think otherwise.

Choose life. Ignore the gooferment. Make your own choices and deal with the consequences.

Any thing else, you’re just kidding yourself.

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Posted by reinkefj

LIBERTY: Jury Nullification and 15 minutes of fame!

Thursday, March 8, 2007

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

LIBBY JUROR: PARDON HIM
Wed Mar 07 2007 19:21:48 ET

***Begin Quote***

MSNBC host Chris Matthews spoke with Libby juror Ann Redington on HARDBALL. Juror [#10] says she would support a Bush pardon for Libby.

Transcript:

Chris: You’re for a pardon out of sympathy for the defendant.

Ann: Yeah, I think in the big picture, um, it kind of bothers me …

***End Quote***

Sorry, Ann, your 15 minutes is up. Now is not the time to have reservations. You could have “nullified”. Just like the juries that tried John Peter Zenger. Just like the juries that effectively ended Prohibition. Just like the OJ jury. Just like any juror could do.

If you have misgivings, then you just say “not guilty”. Don’t explain it. Don’t comment it. Don’t answer any questions about it.

Just exercise your sovereign right as a juror and then keep your mouth shut!

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: The Guv and Karlagate

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Last couple of days 1015 has been properly dogging the Guv about his gift to his squeez. She “bought” a condo with his money supposedly. What is of “interest” it that she’s the head of a big state union. And, he “negotiated” with her “something”. He blocked pension and benefit reform by the legislature. And, she got a condo.

Now, he’s stonewalling with the “it’s a private matter”.

Sorry guv. It stinks.

Plus, what about a gift tax return? If it was a “loan” (with privileges), even if it was without interest, where’s the IRS?

It just shows that the political class places themselves above the law.

Argh!

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Posted by reinkefj

LIBERTY: “Letters” from ww2 point the way to peace for us now

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

http://www.opendemocracy.net/arts-Film/
iwo_jima_4381.jsp

http://tinyurl.com/3bek9v

Letters to the past: Iwo Jima and Japanese memory
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney
23 – 2 – 2007

***Begin Quote***

Clint Eastwood’s film “Letters from Iwo Jima” finds the humanity behind the brutality of war, thus honouring the past and opening hearts in the present, says Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, author of “Kamikaze Diaries”.

***End Quote***

Only a vet understands that brutal fear.

Even if you were a “biloxi blues” type (i.e., sent home from boot camp because the war has ended) of vet, you’re a vet. In the quiet time of boot camp, you’ve recognized that the training might even kill you.

(Humorously, I had an uncle who in WW1 was assigned to supply at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. The family would always tease him when he would wear his campaign hat on Vet’s Day. He only held a rifle twice in his military career. Once, during boot camp. And, once to march in the NYC ticker tape parade for V-E day. But, he was a vet. I can still hear him saying to my grandmother “but, Sister, I could have been killed.” Then, when he wasn’t around, they’d have little jests about “killed by a falling pile of blankets”. But, they did always admit he was a vet. I thought the parade part was funny because there was a “shortage” of returning vets for the politicians to praise and a plethora of parades scheduled for politicians to get up in front of their constituents and “run for reelection” by praising the troops and the citizen support. So he had to do more marching in V-E parades than he ever did before. The powers that be stripped places of anyone with two legs and a uniform to march. Many times. Reminds me of today in some respects.)

Only a vet who felt the cool breeze of death understands. Only a vet who’s been under fire really understands. Only a vet who has killed an enemy really understands. Only a vet who’s been on the receiving end of injury or close to harm’s way really understands.

I thought that this was an excellent review. And, one of the comments really struck home.

*** begin quote ***

It was not called the “Rape” of Nanking for nothing, you know.

While America and the world rightly is horrified by incidents like the My Lai murders, are we now supposed to just ignore and thus condone government-sponsored murder, rape, theft, and arson? I refuse to “un-demonize” the brutal, sociopathic Japanese soldier (of any rank).

Little Boy and Fat Man. Wish we’d had them on December 8, 1941.

J W Ritter
USAF (Retired)

*** end quote ***

He ignores the facts of Wilson getting us into WW1, WW1 sets up WW2, and FDR steers us into WW2.

It’s really an indictment of the politicians. Who were not blessed enough, smart enough, or honest enough to steer us around these ghastly wars.

It’s really an indictment of the people who are not blessed enough, smart enough, or honest enough to say, to these supposed leaders, “no”.

Politely, firmly, unequivocally “no”.

So now we should be saying: No more “fresh young meat” to satisfy your needs! Bring all the troops home from all around the world. Now! It’s easy. Everybody gets on a plane, boat, or starts walking home. All travel order only go one way — home! Now!

Dona nobis pacem.

Note: Fixed some typos. 

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Posted by reinkefj

WRITING: Copyright symbol

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

ALT169 (Hold the ALT key and tap 1 6 9 on the numeric keypad) gives you the little copyright symbol. (If it’s defined in the font your using) 

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Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: Seekers should remember libraries

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

One of the LKDNNJ members pointed out that libraries with their usually free internet printer-equipped computers is a valuable resource.

(I knew that because when I was “out” and interviewing in NYC, I’d use libraries to land in between interviews. Them, and hotels, were excellent for rest room facilities and a place to kill some time between appointments.)

Glad to be “in”, but as usual I always anticipate being “out’. Forewarned is forearmed. Or is that four armed?

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: DELL doesn’t deliver

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

I’m stuck with LUGGABLE that fails a lot with winrot. My “fixit” plan is stalled waiting for DELL to deliver the replacement drive. Argh! When I ordered it was supposed to ship, express, Friday 02MAR07. When I looked for the tracking number on Monday 05MAR07, the ship date was now Wednesday 07MAR07. When I checked today it’s now 12MAR07. Argh! Never buy another DELL?

Update thursday 08 Mar 07: DELL emailed me to say it’s delivered. Hmmm, and I’m supposed to be happy?

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Lottery fever

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

>Subject: Win the Lottery?
>I see a NewJerseyite has one of the lottery winning
>tickets….hmmm….3 Tyne Court?

Drat, darn, heck … … no!

I even stayed up to watch the live drawing hopin’ it would help.

Interesting story. At least, I think it was interesting.

I spent an extra two buck yesterday on it.

Went to the local quick check (which was neither quick, nor did they give me a check), and paid my “tax” for lottery tixs.

(It really doesn’t qualify as a tax under my strict definition. It is avoidable. But, if you win, you’ll pay an obscene amount of “tax” so maybe it is. It is popularly described as a “tax on stupidity”. So I paid it willingly. But, in my own defense, I only pay when the jackpot is at “life changing” amounts.)

So when the disinterested person was playing on the machine’s keys, she spit out a two line ticket by accident in the midst of my tickets. She put it off to the side and gave me mine.

I quickly told her I wanted it.

I had visions of the tv news interviewing her as the sole winner of the grazillion dollar jackpot, saying “i made a mistake and this rude guy made me buy my mistake”.

:-(

So, I very politely but firmly “bought” the mistake.

When Frau checked the tix last night, I told her the only one she needed to check was that one. I was sure that the Comos was going to play a joke on me or teach me a very “interesting” lesson. It was a $2 ticket and it “won” $2.

How weird is that?

I know that if I hadn’t bought that mistake. It would have won.

Arghh!

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Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: Figuring the market

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

There no “flux”. It’s a cyclic bull inside secular bear market. Yeah, I know “wt…”!

The secular trend (aka the channel) is the very long term trend. It’s bearish. It’s generally accepted that that long term trend is to lower valuations. PEs are at record highs. Oil is creeping back up. The Chinese are out of balance in trade. AND, the gooferment has several structural financial problems — out of balance budget, mounting debt, war costs, inflation, medicare costs escalating, medicare’s drug benefit, social security is unfunded, government pensions, government benefits — that make for bad news! The secular trend is evidenced by lower highs and lower lows. The cyclic trend is bullish(aka were going up inside the channel). There is no evidence of “bad news”. Business still are showing profits. Albeit slowing, but still profits. The structure of the economy seems to be good enough to support the normal course of business.

So, we are looking at is oscillation inside a channel that is sloped down. Watch the charts as the daily results bounce between the boundaries.

What should someone do?

Depends upon your age, and what kind of money it is.

If we are talking tax-deffered retirement money for a young person, then you want to be fully diversified, fully advantaged, and tactically shifting the mix as it seems fitting. If we are talking non-tax-deffered, then one has to be less careful (i.e., losses are deductible). A non-market-timer, buy and hold, average joe should be really careful in this environment. We’re going down. The only question is how far, how fast, and when.

My personal strategy, and I’m an old fart, that doesn’t have the ten years for the market to come back, is to in April 15th, take a conservative position with ½ maybe even more of ALL retirement and non-retirement money. I am expecting that all the IRA contributions to support the market thru April. Like deal or nodeal, I like to look at the upside versus the downside. With the S&P, and most metrics at near records, with PEs in the stratosphere, I postulate ex-cathedra from my belly button, is upside 1500 from 1350 and downside 900 from 1350. Numbers are approximate. That’s 11% up and 33% down.

So, I’d be very careful about taking a big loss in a retirement account.

In tax-protected accounts, I’m moving half or more to cash in April.

In taxable account, I’m confused. If I sell to move to cash, I’ll have to pay taxes ~25%. If the downside is 33%, then the loss would be 8%. I’m much more tempted to roll the dice. I’m reviewing each holding and trying read the entrails of the chickens to determine how the individual will fare in the downdraft.

Hopefull, if you’ve read my book,

https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2006/06/30/muny-mental-lock-in-or-training-elephants/

then there is no single investment that will put a hole below the waterline.

I try to think about pyramid. Emergency fund and savings should be untouched by any down draft in the market.

If you’re efund and savings are defective, then that’s a different problem.

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Posted by reinkefj

WRITING: Trying to “claim” my blog

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

To whom it may concern:

I’ve been trying to claim my wordpressblog reinkefaceslife. I’ve been able to do it on Technoratti. I’m pretty tech, but I can’t just seem to make it click on bloglines. What am I missing?

As an IT exec, I’d say that the process is flawed. If you have diagnostics, they aren’t apparent to me. So for example, if there is a two step check, then there should be two distinct red / green lights would be a good start. The site really should have a diagnostic mode that reports or journalize the steps that it is “seeing”.

Then, maybe I’d have a clue what is wrong.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Red light cameras for nu jerzee

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Today on 1015, they reported that red light cameras are the latest revenue raising idea in trenton.

Argh!

Despite the fact that I was just in an accident caused by an illeagal left turn, I am still opposed to the automatic ticketing.

I’m less concerned about the camera. I am concerned about the gang in trenton finding a new way to rob us. I’m sure that they wouldn’t shorten the yellow to raise money.

We can have cameras on the roads, just as soon as they put them in the politician’s offices, homes, and hangouts.

Argh!

1 Comment | Ranting | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Sorting in Excel

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

>>> Oh well, the favor involves an Excel spreadsheet that I am using to
>>> keep track of the team’s standings. I have a formula in there to
>>> calculate Win-Loss percent as you will see, but what I would also like
>>>each table (AL East, AL West, NL East, NL West) is sort the teams
>>>according to W-L percentage.
>>>
>>> I think what my problem is..is that I am trying to sort ‘within’ the
>>> spreadsheet, ie, just certain cols and rows. If I made each table
>>> (e.g. AL East) a separate spreadhseet then I suppose I could do it.
>>> Well don’t spend too much time on it…(you are too expensive for
>>> me)…I just thought I would give it a try.

>> I copied your sheet 1 to sheet2.
>> I removed your extra columns, merged cells, and two hidden merged cell
>> columns.
>> I “equalized” in column width all cells.
>> I then selected each range to be sorted. Did “data”
>> “sort” “PCT” for the range.
>> I repeated that for each one of the four ranges.
>> I think that is what you were trying to do.
>> It should be possible to code a macro to sort all four ranges
>> automagically.
>> (But you said don’t spend a lot of time.)

>That was great, thanks so much! So it looks like after I make an update,
>that all I have to do is then highlight the range to be sorted, and Select
> Data, Sort. I gave it a test and it worked great.
>
>My next challenge will be to try and write a macro to calculate the GB
> (Games Back)! Thanks again John, I knew you would know how to do that.

http://www.math.utoronto.ca/mathnet/questionCorner/baseball.html

*** begin quote ***

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MATHEMATICS NETWORK
Question Corner and Discussion Area
How To Compute Standings In Baseball
Asked by David Tobey on October 6, 1997:

In sports statistics, namely baseball, how do you calculate the number of games that a second place team is behind the first place team? This is easy if both teams have played the same number of games, but if they have not played the same amount, it isn’t so clear. This sounds like a fascinating mathematical question for a math fan and sports buff. I have come up with a few scenarios, but never have seen a definitive formula.

*** end quote ***

Their Answer:

image574

===

My summary: The original question taught me that sorting in Excel can not handle “hidden columns” (i.e., width set to zero — a consultant’s trick), columns of unequal width, and merged cells. Interesting facts I was unaware of. The effort was time stopped before I learned how to sort four ranges on the same page. I assume a macro, but I’ll bet named ranges might work as well since all sort on the same “pct”. Finally, the heavy lifting of calculating games behind was solved nicely by the University of Toronto. Thanks to the folks there. Finally that was interesting because they don’t play baseball. :-) For all those kids who went to gooferment skool, that formula is (I guess) the Canadian way of writing the generalized solution to a quadratic equation. Also interesting.

An interesting interesting exercise.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: RSS is nothing more than XML, but what implications

Monday, March 5, 2007

http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=570307363

Practical RSS
John Mahoney
CTO / co-founder of Instant Information

RSS is nothing more than a specific application of XML applied to the information distribution problem. Here’s an excellent short explanation of it. Everyone may benefit from. RSS could be the way out of the morass of email we all deal with every day. Blogs, many websites, wikis, most forums can all produce an rss feed.

Envision instead of sending an milti-meg email full of attachments, that absorbs resources galore all over, one can create an entry that gets shared automagically with everyone who wants it. RSS is a pull technology. Your reader PULLS the content your interested in as opposed to you having to go get it. You can control it.

It turns the information model upside down from the way we think about it now.

Instead of one email with a bunch of carbon copies, you can “subscribe” to sources. on the intranet and internet, who will feed you.

I’ve been “doing” RSS as both a publisher and a consumer for a while now and would be happy to show you how it can work for you.

If someone can’t live outside of Microsoft LookOut, there is a freeware product called RSSPOPPER that will make an rss feed look like email folder to your LookOut. ;-) Wouldn’t want anyone to go into withdrawal.

If you are on email subscription lists, there are ways to turn them into rss feeds as well.

I’d love to “consult” with anyone who thinks I can help.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Yet Another abuse of the troops

Monday, March 5, 2007

http://alternet.org/waroniraq/48788/

60,000 Marriages Broken by Iraq, Including Mine
By Stacy Bannerman, The Progressive
Posted March 5, 2007.

*** begin quote ***

Congress has abandoned the troops for nearly four years. It is the soldiers, their families, and the people of Iraq that pay the human costs. The tab so far: more than 3,000 dead U.S. troops, tens of thousands of wounded, over half a million Iraqi casualties, roughly 250,000 American servicemen and women struggling with PTSD, and almost 60,000 military marriages that have been broken by this war. Including mine.

*** end quote ***

This an inexcusable abuse of our people in uniform. The costs of this “war”, (undeclared by Congress), like those of many others, is just conveniently “overlooked” by the political class.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Divshare – Free eternal large file hosting (How’d they do that?)

Monday, March 5, 2007

http://distributedresearch.net/blog/
2007/03/04/divshare-free-file-hosting-
for-mp3s-and-blog-pictures/

http://tinyurl.com/32h4rj

Divshare – Free file hosting for mp3s and blog pictures
Andy Roberts
an online researcher who initiated distributedresearch.net

***Begin Quote***

Divshare allows you to upload as many files as you like, up to 200Mb per file and then serves them up wherever you like for free, as text links, hotlinked from your blog or embedded as an mp3 player. And there’s a divshare uploader plugin for WordPress.org which makes it so easy to add pictures to a blog without incurring any bandwith or file quota charges, whilst keeping them all organised together under your divshare account, accessible from the dashboard. This would probably have some advantages over using flickr as a file hosting resource for blogs and wiki.

***End Quote***

Naturally, I like anything that is free. This site purports to keep anything online for free forever? I don’t know how they can do it, but that doesn’t prevent me from trying it out.

Of course, being paranoid, I’d only put stuff there that I didn’t really care about. If it was the least bit private, it’d have to be encrypted.

YMMV, but it might be useful.

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Free language lessons

Monday, March 5, 2007

http://www.language-learning-advisor.com/
language-learning-advisor-news.html

*** begin quote ***

Free FSI Language Courses is a site that is making available all of the old FSI language courses created by the US government. These courses are free for download (in pdf and mp3 formats) for anyone who wants them. A number of courses are currently up and in due time many others will be there as well.

*** end quote ***

Could be a cheap way to learn a language.

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Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: Rebates … you almost fooled me.

Monday, March 5, 2007

I was about to buy some cheap tech dodad online when I noticed the price jumped when I went to check out.

Rebate?

I don’t know about you but I’ve learned my lesson. I don’t do rebates! I think it’s an unfair business practice.

As a matter of fact, I punish vendors with this scam. I refuse to do business with them at all.

Good bye Buy Dot Com.

You almost fooled me. But you won’t get that chance again.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: PLAXO acts flakey tonight

Sunday, March 4, 2007

http://www.plaxo.com

I like Plaxo for it’s ability to sync my Outlook with their most current info.

One thing I do on Sunday nights is “collect” all my new LinkedIn contacts and put them into my Outlook. As part of that process, I check for their plaxo status. If they’re not in Plaxo, I send them an invite. Most times it’s ignored but about a quarter pick it up.

Tonight, Plaxo must be offline tonight. The plaxo invite mechanism did show up with every contact. I focused on the first contact as being the one with the flakeyest invitation mechanism.

Hopefully stuff will be better on the morrow. Sigh, I can break everything.

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Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: It’s NOT you!

Sunday, March 4, 2007

poster71877900

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Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH:: How this fellow Became a Big Wheel

Sunday, March 4, 2007

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17030580/site/newsweek/

http://tinyurl.com/2655bb

How I Became a Big Wheel

Let go by IBM and deeply in debt, a family man turned his childhood passion for unicycles into a thriving online start-up.

By John Drummond Newsweek

***Begin Quote***

It was supposed to be a hobby—just a part-time thing to generate a little extra money. We didn’t think we could make a living at it. I thought I would work at IBM for 30 years and retire, just as my father had. At that point I had only seven to go. The dot-com bust began in early 1999, about the same time we launched Unicycle.com. The odds seemed stacked against us. Online companies were folding. We had no experience running a company. Amy was an at-home mom to our three boys. I had just earned a degree in journalism by attending college at night. We were deeply in debt.

***End Quote***

Necessity is … …

That is the power of the internet to transform our world.

If you don’t have a second business that is working, then you better have ones that you are trying.

I have FOUR in various stages of incubation.

Even if they all tank, I’ll know what doesn’t work.

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Posted by reinkefj

LIBERTY: Another call for the separation of school and state!

Sunday, March 4, 2007

http://reinkefj.newsvine.com/_news/2007/03/04/
597680-a-call-for-separation-of-school-and-
state-the-boston-globe

http://tinyurl.com/yw3mb3

A call for separation of school and state
The Boston Globe
Seeded on Sun Mar 4, 2007 11:14 AM EST
politics, constitution, libertarian, libertarians, government-schools

***Begin Quote***

Once Americans may have agreed on what children should be taught, but that day is long gone. On any number of fundamental issues, parents today are sharply divided, and there is no way a government-run, one-curriculum-fits-all education system can satisfy all sides. The only way to end the political battles over schooling is to depoliticize the schools. And the only way to do that is to separate school and state.

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Clearly, the gooferment is pursuing its own agenda. Or, that of the 1920’s socialists who wanted a nation of good soldiers / compliant factory workers.

If the state skool can indoctrinate children with what ever the State feels is appropriate, then isn’t it immoral to force the parents to pay for an education that they morally object to. And, then by extension, isn’t it immoral for the State to force anyone to pay for a service that they object to.

If the State is my agent to whom I empower to act on my behalf, I can not give it powers that I don’t have. If all men are endowed by their Creator with the same rights that I have, then no one has a right that I don’t have. So if I can’t do it, then no amount of adding others, like me, doesn’t give the State any different power then I would have acting alone.

I can’t force some one’s child to go to my school, then the State can’t force parents to do it.

I can’t force you to give me money even if I call it taxes, neither can the State.

It is all just immoral. As well as being ineffective, inefficient, and just wrong.

Leave a Comment » | LIBERTY | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Reworking the Police Profession

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Cutting out the “mickey mouse” by over enforcement?

read more | digg story

Interesting that a “private development” “owns” their own roads and the police are limited to what they can enforce.

May need a little tuning? But  a great idea. Like the roads and parking lots at Disneyland, there’s no reason why roads have to belong to the gooferment!

On a technical note: This is one of my first uses of the DIGG “blog about it” function. I’m not sure I like it, but I’ll try anything.

Your thoughts?

Leave a Comment » | LINKEDIN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

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