FUN: New Chemical Element – Governmentium

Friday, July 13, 2007

From some one who will remain nameless with too much time on their hands.

*** begin quote ***

The recent hurricanes and gasoline issues are proof of the existence of a new chemical element. A major research institution has recently announced
the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science.

The new element has been named Governmentium. Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant
deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into
contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take over four days to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant
neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will
cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical
concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes
Administratium…an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

*** end quote ***


TECH SERVICE: Blog notes on a topic

Friday, July 13, 2007

A blog is an excellent tool for keeping notes about a specific topic. The free, and unequaled, wordpressdotcom gives you a free blog that youcan configure for your own use alone. If allows you to have a rolling log of notes on a topic that is search able, and categorize able. Wish I had been doing it two years ago.

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TECH SERVICE: wordpressdotcom could use an inbox

Friday, July 13, 2007

FEEDBACK submitted

***Begin Quote***

This may sound dumb, if it was available I’d use it.

I think that blogs with “fresh content” are more interesting that those with “stale”. As a hobby blogger, I’ve realized that my site postings get “clustered” around when I can produce them. Some of my posts get “pushed” out of the lime light too quickly.

I’ve been struggling with this by adjusting the time stamps. But, it’s hard and cumbersome.

So like drafts, and the roles of author and editor, I’d like to propose an “inbasket”. The user would specify say minimum interval say in hours. The free, and unequaled, wordpressdotcom would then “post” from the inbasket when the time expires. If you wanted to get fancy, it could sense how “full” the inbasket was, and adjust the time based on a minimum / maximum exposure time (i.e., based on % full basket set minimum 2 hours; maximum 6 hours).

This would ensure that the blog might have fresh content around the clock with minimum angst by the creator.

Just in case you were sitting around with nothing to do! ;-)
fjohn

***End Quote***

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INTERESTING: the question from a certain level

Thursday, July 12, 2007

http://www.meansofinquiry.org/

Means of Inquiry

***Begin Quote***

Means of Inquiry is devoted to effective inquiry of concepts and institutions, for the purpose of identifying and resolving complex contradictions, for the result of advancing knowledge and the effectiveness of beneficial human activity.

***End Quote***

Often the question presupposes the answer. Or, the question once answered spawns a new question. Or, the question from a certain level of understanding can’t be answered without improved understanding (i.e., the Einstein quote).

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LIBERTY: the detainee, torture, tribunal law

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Latest DownsizeDC missive

http://www.downsizedc.org/index.shtml

***Begin Quote***

Please take immediate action to repeal S. 3930, the detainee, torture, tribunal law. It’s un-American.

My personal comment to you:

This is so un-American, I am at a loss as to understand how it got past in the first place. As big “D” democrats, I’d have thought you’d be more sensitive to the civil rights of people. The limitations of the Constitution were placed on Government not just for citizens of the USA. No, those limitations were on the Government on the USA regardless of citizenship. I am shocked and appalled that this abuse continues for a minute longer that it takes for you all to get together and correct it. There’s no excuse for it. Being abusive doesn’t make you tough or safe. It makes you look like a bully. And, bullies always get taken down by the mob of little people. Get to work and fix this now. Or we’ll send people to Washington who can get it fixed.

Mr. Ferdinand Reinke
Kendall park, NJ 08824-1424

***End Quote***

This should be used on the congress critters. Wonder how long it would take before that was repealed? No campaign contributions required to get that moved forward quickly.

Argh!

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FUN: From “old” friend who flies a lot and has too much time on his hands.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Even funnier as you keep reading…..

Heard in-flight

All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in flight “safety lecture” and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

1. On a Southwest flight (SW has no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!”

2. On a Continental Flight with a very “senior” flight attendant crew, the pilot said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.”

3. On landing, the stewardess said, “Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to have.

4. “There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane”

5. “Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.”

6. As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: “Whoa, big fella. WHOA!”

7. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, “Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted.”

8. From a Southwest Airlines employee: “Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”

9. “In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite.”

10. “Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines.”

11. “Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.”

12. “As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.”

13. And from the pilot during his welcome message: “Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!”

14. Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City the flight attendant came on the intercom and said, “That was quite a bump, and I know what y’all are thinking. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t the airline’s fault, it wasn’t the pilot’s fault, it wasn’t the flight attendant’s fault, it was the asphalt.”

15. Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo . Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what’s left of our airplane to the gate!”

16. Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than perfect landing: “We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.”

17. An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a “Thanks for flying our airline..” He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, “Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?” “Why, no, Ma’am,” said the pilot. “What is it?” The little old lady said, “Did we land, or were we shot down?”

18. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we’ll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.”

19. Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement: “We’d like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you’ll think of US Airways.”

20. Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light ’em, you can smoke ’em.”

21. A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles . The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.. OH, MY GOD!” Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!” A passenger in Coach yelled, “That’s nothing. You should see the back of mine!”

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(I agree. Funnier.)

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YAHOO ANSWER: start investing

Thursday, July 12, 2007

http:// answers.yahoo.com/question/
;_ylt=Ajc.cSp3s66dlx8NU73r
fQ6vxQt.?link=answer&.crumb=sXRU6OYqF03&qid=20070712
090500AANTLkC&.done=http%253A%252F%252Fanswers.yahoo.com
%252Fquestion%252Findex%253Fqid%253D20070712090500AANTLkC

http://tinyurl.com/yo22zb

start investing

QUESTION

Asked by “barteq007”

How do I start investing?

I would like to get into the whole investing thing, however, have very little experience and not too many resources. I would like to start up with about $3000, so I don’t know if it’s even worth getting into stocks, funds or similar?

First of all which broker should I go to? Will they help me with making decision on where to invest? I live in Chicago and work right in the loop so there is abundance of different companies, I’m just afraid of even walking into their office and being so inexperienced… Are they dealing with people like me, or are they interested only in people who have hundreds or thousands?

Should I get into the internet broker companies like E-Trade or Ameritrade or it’s not a good idea for a newbie?
Also how much on average are relatively good and safe stocks and how much can I potentially earn/loose on them? Also how much professional companies like Charles Shwab will charge me for trades or advices – will those fees be covered by potential stock gains? BIG THANKS!

ANSWER

Dear “barteq007”:

Well, with no experience, take your 3k$, fold it in half, and put it your pocket. See you just doubled your money. Sorry it’s an old wall street joke. But seriously, there are so many ways to lose your money, please evaluate all advice, even mine, for suitability to you.

Let me make sure I understand your question, you’ve got a stake and what to get into “investing”. You’ve inquired about brokerages in Chicago. And, internet alternatives.

First, stop and take a deep breath. Running into anything, without a thorough understanding of what your getting into, will likely end badly. So please resolve to make haste slowly.

Second, time for some “education”. Below I’ve cited Suzzie Orman and Dave Ramsey for the emotional issues about investing. Also Bob Brinker’s site has an excellent reading list. Finally, for the immediate investing, look into all that credit unions have to offer.

Third, you’ll have to decide if you really want a brokerage account to buy and sell stuff or if you will use mutual funds. I always point people to Vanguard in Philly and on the net http://www.vanguard.com as the exemplar without equal of low cost mutual funds. It’s really hard to go wrong with them.

So to sum up, 3k$ isn’t a lot. No doubt it’s a lot to you. But in Wall Street terms, it’s tiny. If you said you had 3M$, my advice would be the same except louder. 3k or 3M, “investing” can cost you a lot of money from mistakes. So, don’t do anything, until you collect a lot more info.

Hope this helps. I’m interested how it works out for you. Drop me a note sometime. My blog may have helpful “stuff”.

Ferdinand J. Reinke
Kendall Park, NJ 08824

SOURCE

http://www.creditunion.coop/
http://www.suzeorman.com/
http://www.daveramsey.com/
http://www.ftc.gov/
http://www.sec.gov
http://www.bobbrinker.com/books.asp
http://tinyurl.com/lxu93
http://www.reinkefaceslife.com/

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Update: Selected best by voters

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INTERESTING: Translating the “silent revolution” to what you see

Thursday, July 12, 2007

http://changethis.com/36.05.Dramatic
http://changethis.com/pdf/36.05.Dramatic.pdf

***Begin Quote***

Dramatic Impact: The Effect of “The Silent Revolution”
By You, our ChangeThis readers

We asked you, our ChangeThis readers, to submit brief manifestos of 250 words to describe the impact of “The Silent Revolution” as defined in Elizabeth Haas Edelsheim’s earlier manifesto on the continuing influence of Peter Drucker on business.

***End Quote***

This is a slap upside the head, harder than any V8 commercial, that the rules are again changing silently. Right under our feet. People rule! The value of intelligent cooperation in the creation of value should be what we are seeking. Objections will consign organizations to the dust bin of progress.

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LIBERTY: tax-funding laws mandating education

Thursday, July 12, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north546.html

Cartels: Economists and Central Bankers
by Gary North

***Begin Quote***

You will search in vain for a chapter on education as an oligopoly within the context of tax-funding, laws mandating education up to age 16, and government licensing of college-accreditation agencies. Somehow, economics textbook authors skip over any analytical discussion of this, the largest sector of the American economy.

***End Quote***

This skewers the blindspot of economists. And, politicians depend upon people to overlook the essential question.

Why do we have the gooferment funding, operating, and regulating so many things best left to the free market?

Education, banking, medicine, drugs, farming, … .. the gooferment has it’s nose in everything!

That needs some debate!

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YAHOO ANSWER: Ideas Please

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

http:// answers.yahoo.com/question/
;_ylt=Ajc.cSp3s66dlx8NU73r
fQ7CxQt.?link=answer&qid=20070711174844AARCARa

http://tinyurl.com/2673ua

Ideas Please

QUESTION

Asked by “MASTER”

I need Ideas Please!!?

I am a really creative writer except I dont know any good topics could you guys and gals please help me?

ANSWER

Dear “MASTER”:

Well, ideas are a dime a dozen. Unfortunately, good ideas are priceless. I’ll give you a couple. You’ll have to decide which is what!

As I understand it, you’re looking for fodder that you use as grist for your mill.

If you’re interested in creating systems that will spew out ideas, then you need to read the Edward De Bono sites (main link cited) about lateral thinking, paradigms, memes, and a lot of other strange ideas.

If you’re interested in having people bring interesting ideas to you, start a free blog at wordpressdotcom. (I would suggest that you spend the 15$ and get your own domain names. You might get lucky and hit the next meme buster, ebay, or pet rock dot com. If you do, that 15$ will allow you to move easily.

Hope this helps. I’m interested how it works out for you. Drop me a note sometime. My blog may have helpful “stuff”.

Ferdinand J. Reinke
Kendall Park, NJ 08824

Webform that creates an urgent email => http://2idi.com/contact/=reinkefj
Web page => http://www.reinke.cc/
My blog => http://www.reinkefaceslife.com/
LinkedIn url => http://www.linkedin.com/in/reinkefj

SOURCE

http://wordpress.com/
http://www.edwdebono.com/
http://tinyurl.com/lxu93
http://www.reinkefaceslife.com/

# # #

UPDATE

Another answer was picked by the asker as “best”. I don’t agree and I’m disappointed but life goes on!
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RANT: involuntary servitude

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ODD_RELUCTANT_JUROR?S
ITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-
07-10-08-24-18

http://tinyurl.com/2b9spf

 

Jul 10, 8:24 AM EDT
Jury Duty Excuses Could Bring Charges

*** begin quote ***

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — A Cape Cod man who claimed he was homophobic, racist and a habitual liar to avoid jury duty earned an angry rebuke from a judge on Monday, who referred the case to prosecutors for possible charges.

*** end quote ***

Why the nerve of that peasant! Who does he think his is? The owner of his own body. The custodian of his time. A sovereign individual. Failing to kowtow to the power of the gooferment!

Maybe when I have time to tilt at windmills, I can throw some sand in the gears.

My argument would be “involuntary servitude”.

From the Thirteenth Amendment: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

I can not be compelled to serve on a jury!

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INTERESTING: Balancing Church and State

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

FROM AN EMAIL IN MY HIGH SCHOOL FORUM

***Begin Quote***

Between their violence (as a generic proxy for all the “violence” in Catholic schools), and the later priestly pedophilia scandals, the Church in the USA is a mere shell of it’s former glory. I also made a similar observation in my blog of how the Church has lost the youth.

And, in a sense, the global Church has fallen away from whatever role it had in balancing the power of the State. The Church versus godless Communism probably freed Poland, and definitely had a lot to do with the fall of the USSR. It created the tipping point. Too bad. We could use and ally in wresting the American Gooferment from the current Socialists (both D’s and R’s) that are destroying Liberty here.

***End Quote***

Yes, the Church offset the power of the Kings of old to oppress the people. One has to wonder. Was it a direct conspiracy of the Socialists to destroy the Church? Anyone who studys history can see the classic role of the Church as the arbiter of good and evil. Was it necessary to destroy the Church, all Churches, as a refuge of oppressed people? So let’s examine what the Social Progressives have done.

  • Catholic Schools, gone, a casualty of gooferment education.
  • Catholic and Christian family solidarity anchored by grandparents in or near the family, gone, a casualty of Social Security checks.
  • Catholic and Christian family solidarity anchored by mothers in the home raising children, gone, a casualty of high gooferment taxes and “women’s liberation”.
  • Catholic Charities, gone, a casualty of gooferment welfare.
  • Catholic Hospitals, gone, a casualty of gooferment health care.
  • Catholic Moral Leadership, gone, a casualty of “Catholic in name only” politicians.
  • Catholic traditional marriage, gone, a casualty of the “free love” “let’s just shack up” trend.
  • Catholic Sanctity of Life, gone, a casualty of “women’s rights”, “reproductive freedom”, and “privacy rights”.
  • Catholic Missions to the Poor, gone, a casualty of the gooferment’s high taxes and “foreign aid”.
  • Catholic doctrine of the “Just War”, gone, a casualty of the “War on Terror”.
  • Catholic & Christian Christmas, gone, a casualty of the gooferment’s “winter solstice holiday”.
  • Catholic & Christian Easter, gone, a casualty of the gooferment’s “spring fling”.
  • Catholic, Christian, and Black Churches with their strong emphasis on Family and community, crippled, another casualty of the gooferment welfare.
  • Catholic protection to “illegal” immigrants, gone, a casualty of the War On Immigration.
  • Catholic Fraternal Orders, gone, a casualty of gooferment regulation on insurance and Social Security.
  • Catholic Churches (the buildings themselves), gone, a casualty of gooferment “social engineering” cause wholesale demographic changes.
  • Catholic financial support of the Church as an institution, gone, a casualty of the gooferment high taxes including inflation.
  • Catholic endowments, shrinking, a casualty of inflation.

To steal Walter Williams formulation, “if the Head Socialist wanted to completely destroy the Church — a generic label for all the moral institutions regardless of denomination Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Pentecostal, or any other intuitions that believes in absolutes like good and evil — as a counterbalance to the power of the oppressive State, then they could not have designed a better system to do it than the out of control gooferment of the USA.”

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TECHNOLOGY: THINKFREE blurs the lines

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

http://product.thinkfree.com/products/

ThinkFree Online

***Begin Quote***

ImageManage, access, and edit documents over the internet. Get the best Microsoft Office compatibility available. Share and get everyone’s input on your story, schedule, or marketing materials.

***End Quote***

THINKFREE is messing with my neatly laid out paradigm (i.e., consultant speak for how one looks at the world).

In the beginning, there was the (big mainframe) computer and it had input devices (i.e., punched cards) and output devices (i.e. printers). And after that everything got complicated. IBM’s SNA allowed intelligence and processing power to escape from the mainframe datacenter and go “native”. Then came IP and someone eventually hung one of them new fangled personal computers and there was a paradigm shift.

So we now have a zero footprint web browser, a thin client (i.e., gotomypc and it’s ilk), a fat client like some of the universal instant messengers or Microsoft Outlook, and (obese) clients that are servers like SBS that can do everything with or without the network.

THINKFREE has ONLINE (zero), DESKTOP (fat), SERVER (obese), and (now) PORTABLE (that acts like my uninstalled life).

You have to dig for pricing, but it looks like $50 except for server where they don’t tell you the price. (Always a bad sign.)

The free online will have premium options as yet unpriced. (Always a bad sign).

And, it still doesn’t integrate email.

I’d classify it as Zoho’s stupid brother!

Except for the blurring of the lines between online and offline. In that sense, it’s innovating. (IMHO)

You really want to be able to work without having to think about your connectivity status or what hardware you have available.

Looking at the DESKTOP minimum requirements, it’s very hefty.

In summary, it’s an interesting dead end that could be expensive.

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TECHNOLOGY: update your web pages quickly

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/07/eleven-lessons-.html

Eleven lessons learned about blogging, so far
* Marc Andreessen
* Jul 10, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Fifth, writing a blog is way easier than writing a magazine article, a published paper, or a book — but provides many of the same benefits.

I think it’s an application of the 80/20 rule — for 20% of the effort (writing a blog post but not editing and refining it the quality level required of a magazine article, a published paper, or a book), you get 80% of the benefit (your thoughts are made available to interested people very broadly).

Arguably blogging is better because the distribution of a blog can be even broader than a magazine article, a published paper, or a book, at least in cases where the article/paper/book is restricted by a publisher to a limited readership base.

This of course assumes that you’re not trying to make a living writing magazine articles or books, or you’re not trying to get tenure as a professor by publishing peer-reviewed research papers.

***End Quote***

Clearly, a blog is a light weight way to update your web pages quickly. Stale content on a web page is the kiss of death. Blogs are really nothing more than a web page with content rolling out like “toilet paper”. (A deliberately chosen metaphor.)

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YAHOO ANSWER: payment from a deadbeat

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

http:// answers.yahoo.com/question/
index;_ylt=AlOVOvqTuYWX2IG
1H.3X4lCTxQt.?qid=20070710084124AAgp4XQ

http://tinyurl.com/2hrg3p

payment from a deadbeat

QUESTION

Asked by “euroteacher0”

Try to get payments from a student or give up?

I teach private lessons and have a student that is 3 months late on paying me for the lessons. I know, you’re thinking why did I let her go 3 months without paying, but she’s a member of the Mormon church that I sometimes go to and thought she’d be reliable. Anyway, she stopped taking lessons, hasn’t paid, won’t respond to my emails or phone calls, and the only time I did get through to her, she was on a trip to the mormon temple and said she’d pay me when she got back (ie she can go on temple trips but she can’t afford to pay me.) I’m getting to the point where I want to write her a nasty email but perhaps it’s just better to let it go and count my losses…

ANSWER

Dear “euroteacher0”:

Well, getting money out of a deadbeat is often compared to getting blood out of a stone. Frankly, I think the stone is easier.

Let me make sure I understand the question. You have a deadbeat student of an undescribed age. This person owes you an unenumerated amount of money. You think she’s a Mormon. But, she’s not acting like any Mormon I’ve ever heard about. And, you’ve tried to collect nicely. But are up to launching a nasty email. Is that about right. (All subsequent advice rests on these assumptions.)

How much is involved? Not the specific amount, but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? Have you ever heard of the concept of a Pyrrhic Victory? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory

Be careful you don’t fall afoul of some federal or state law in attempting to collect this debt. See the ftc site cited.

On the other hand, no one likes to be taken advantage of. So let’s do some self-examination of our own state of affairs. Now I’m no Judge Judy — not a lawyer — nor do I play one on TV, but do you have a contract? How will you prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you have a valid claim? Is this person over 18 or 21? If you have no contract, you really have no case. imho.

Assuming you have no written contract, then my suggestion is to regard this as tuition in the school of hard knocks. You should get a lawyer to draw you up a contract for ALL students going forward. You should also change your payment terms. CIA (Cash in advance) is good. Certainly, a credit hold policy, no lessons if you’re in arrears. Good customers can go bad, but I’d cut good old customers a little slack. I think you have to be harder on yourself, no more nice guy.

Assuming that you DO have a written contract, then you have to decide if it is worth the time, money, and attention to enforce it. If it’s big buck or you need it to eat, then go to Small Claim Court.

I’d caution you, if you don’t have a written contract, to be careful what you say or write. You could get hooked for slander or defamation. That could be expensive.

Even if you don’t have a written contract, and if you are sure that she’s a Mormon, and assuming that you need the money or want to teach her a life lesson, then I would very carefully consider approaching the Mormon Church Hierarchy. I’d seek out one of their Bishops and ask him to mediate the dispute. I’d call it a misunderstanding. I’d reign in all the assertions and stick to the facts. You gave this Mormon lessons believing that Mormons were scrupulously honest. Be prepared you may find that this person is not a Mormon. I’d try to use the power of their community to settle the matter to everyone satisfaction.

I’d forget about nasty emails because they can be used against you in court. All emails you be personal and sad (i.e., I’m sorry that we have this disagreement, but I need to eat.)

Hope this helps. I’m interested how it works out for you. Drop me a note sometime. My blog may have helpful “stuff”.

Ferdinand J. Reinke
Kendall Park, NJ 08824

SOURCE
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.shtm

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UPDATE

Best answer by voters. Err, vote! One vote among one choice. Some choice!

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RANT: If this be treason, then sir make the most of it

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/
ny-etliveus085286071jul08,0,3908150.story?coll=ny-music-print

http://tinyurl.com/3a7cj7

U.S. leg of Live Earth hits key notes
BY GLENN GAMBOA
July 8, 2007

*** begin quote ***

However, Etheridge aside, it was nonmusicians at this concert who made the most passionate pleas about demanding action for the environment. “Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmentalist author, president of Waterkeeper Alliance and Robert F. Kennedy’s son, who grew hoarse from shouting. “This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors.”

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but I don’t buy it. Global warming, action on “the environment”, and more force applied to people.

You, sir, are a poltroon. Attempting to manipulate the mob into a frenzy. By your name, you have been born into a clan that seeks to lead the people. And, if they won’t be led, then they will be frightened. And, if they still won’t be led, then they will be forced by the guns of gooferment.

A crass solution at best. Heavy handed at worst.

The Kings of France used force to oppress the people. The people rose up instigated by “leaders”. The French nobility was fed to the guillotine. And, when the “leaders” couldn’t do better, they too were fed to the guillotine. Eventually the mob was ruled by a tyrant.

Force begets force.

I often blog that the hallmark of a bad idea is when you have to force people to do it.

In the madness of crowds, we see people do all sorts of absurd things. Their paradigms (i.e., how they see things) and their memes (i.e., the concepts they have) are flawed. The Egyptians had no zero. The Romans no numerals. The Chinese no alphabet.

Over time, with a great deal of pain, bloodshed, and sorrow, we have found that freedom and liberty “unlock the atom” of human ability.

Conversely, there is no way to force a human to do what they want. They can be a stubborn as the most uncooperative donkey. More dangerous than a spitting camel. And more treacherous than any other animal known. You may beat them into submission, you may force them into submission, you may tax their meager possessions. But be careful, you’d be better off killing them. Because when you push them over that imaginary line, when they have nothing left, or you’ve rendered the ultimate insult, then you will have no other course but to kill them. And, you best do it quickly. Like a wounded bear, you don’t want to have to track them down. They can turn in an instant. With lightening quickness, the strength of a Hercules, and the merciless ness of Attila the Hun.

And, you’ll have deserved every iota. Because you initiated force. Like begets like.

Now I disagree that we have rotten politicians. We have the best politicians that money can buy. And, who put us on this path, your figurative and literal progenitors. Who promised the mob something for nothing to vote your ilk into office.

See government is a meme. And a dangerous one at that. It only exists in the people’s mind. And, once they change their minds and see you and your ilk for what you are — aggressors — you’ll never be able to hide again.

So what exactly are these traitors betraying?

Till you can mount an indictment, this is just playing to the mob.

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TECHNOLOGY: More on Seattle taxpayers

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

CONTINUING THE DISCUSSION ON MLPF

>But, I say pity the poor soul who thinks that America’s only wealth is
>measured in tax dollars.

It’s not that I think America’s wealth is measured in tax dollars. That’s a negative measure; it’s the load on the vitality of Americans. The sand in the economic engine. The friction. Tax dollars are a measure of how much is REMOVED from some American’s investment account. Taxes are opportunities that can never be taken by the original earner. If you earn 100k from MLPF or Alba earns his 100k from JibberJobber AND you each lose 50k to taxes, then you and he can NOT invest in my latest get rich scheme — color coded name tags for families at wakes to tell who’s from what side of the deceased’s family. It’s a real winner!

Seriously, taxes deprive you and Jason from using your 50k as you see fit. Invest it, spend it, throw a party for all the MLPFers, or give it to your favorite charity. It’s YOUR money. It’s STOLEN from you at gun point. It’s nothing more than other people robbing you to use the sweat of your brow to feather their nests, reward their friends, and punish their enemies. The “good works”, that incidentally they use the illusion of legitimacy to do, hides the fact that they are using the proceeds of theft. Why if I steal your 50k and give it to the Salvation Army, do I go to jail? But the gang in DC steal your 50k, call it taxes, give a bureaucrat a job, throwing a bone to some purpose or other, and we’re all supposed to applaud them for the “service”? The hidden problem is that whatever you were going to do with your profits doesn’t get done. It right out out the Economics 101 “the broken window” fallacy. Society is a net loser when wealth is used to fix the broken window because it was NOT available to do something else. We see the window, but we don’t see all the effects of the action precluded. So too, we see “Seattle” but we can’t see what it precluded!

There’s a reason that taxes are compulsory. No one would pay them if there weren’t.

Gooferment “sells” us “services” that we don’t want at prices we can’t afford. Compare it to the “free market”. Not some of the nonsense where an industry is “regulated”, but a real free market, like the computer hardware market. If you want to “sell” me a service, then you have to satisfy my needs. If I’m in the least way dissatisfied, I have choices. If the gooferment “sells” me a service and I’m not satisfied, there’s nothing I can do.

>America’s greatest asset is attitudinal.

America’s greatest asset is the liberty that allows us to “be all that we can be”. We are the beneficiaries of a lucky happenstance of the American experiment. The Classical Liberals have freed us from oppression by Kings, Churches, and random gangs of thugs. They given us the “invisible hand of the marketplace”, the “division of labor”, and “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”. They weren’t perfect by a long shot, but they gave us a huge start. We’ve, like the Prodigal Son, squandered or birthright by being lazy. Lazy in our thinking; that gooferment could give us something for nothing. Lazy in our complacency; that we need to always reinvent ourselves to take advantage of opportunity. Lazy in our faith; faith in our own abilities, the honesty of our fellow men, faith in the universe that gives us all we need. We’ve allowed gooferment to take over charity (i.e., welfare), education (i.e., indoctrination), and basic slew of other stuff!

Sorry, but we’ll have to disagree agreeably on the value of Seattle’s innovation. I’d be looking for the “hidden opportunities” that the “Seattle innovation” precluded.

fjohn

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INTERESTING: Random sad thoughts

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Reflections upon a death, funeral, and some sad observations

On Independence Day, Frau received word that an aunt had died. That shook her, since she had wanted to visit her, but Frau’s own health problems precluded it. It took the immediate family a little time to get organized, and she waited impatiently anxiously for the arrangements to be published. She was concerned that her own health would preclude her participation in saying good bye, and seeing again people from the good times long past. Eventually the arrangements were announced, and she prepared for the sad days ahead. Today was the last of those days.

As a blogger, I captured a few thoughts and observations. Some silly. Some funny. Some poignant. Some insightful. You’ll sort out which are which.

We attended the wake, the funeral Mass, and the final service.

* The wake has to be one of the more barbaric legacies of the past. The body is displayed and everyone remarks how “good” or “bad” the deceased looks. Duh. They are dead. Often after having undergone some of the most horrendous “medical procedures” of their life. Hard to look “good” in death.

* The deceased is dressed by relatives, who I guess think that the Final Judge will be impressed by a business-like attire as our life’s worth is assessed. I always remember another of Frau’s relatives who dressed the deceased in a “heavy metal” t-shirt so the widow exclaimed, proclaimed, and explained to any who would listen that “he would always be comfortable in the afterlife”. By contrast, it made as much sense. In this case, the attire was traditional.

* I had the inspired idea, probably from reading the “name tag” guy’s blog, that at the wake, the funeral home (now there is a strange appellation to hang on a business) should have color coded name tags for the arriving mourners. (Black for immediate direct family. Red for relatives on the deceased mother’s side. Blue for the father’s side. Green for the co-workers. Purple for real friends. Magenta for acquaintances. Pink for those barely known. White for strangers off the street. You can tell I had too much time on my hands during this session. But it was probably a more acceptable idea than my others — booklets listing all relatives and friends like a baseball program, introductions like at a wedding where the bridal party is announced, or a photo session with each visitor by the casket. Like I said, too much time on my hands.)

* Another relative pointed out to me that there were some people who scan the obits on a daily basis, see people who they “know”, and drop by to the wakes. Now that’s one bizarre concept of a “hobby”. It’s like the criminals that read the obits and go burglarize the homes of the deceased and grieving during the wakes and funerals. I was also told that the police put the addresses on special watch lists for extra attention. (As an anti-statist, I find it had to believe that the gooferment could be that pro-active. I’d more likely believe that they can’t read and if they could they’d be the one’s doing the crime. But then I’m jaded.) I just nodded with interest, thinking I had to get this in my blog!

* The funeral Mass spawned another whole set of musings. The old priest gave a interesting homily about the “church desert lady, who always told people after dinner to save their forks, because the best was yet to come”. A little hokey. If your dessert was so good, wouldn’t you give people clean forks to eat it with? But, he was just trying to make a point, I guess. (Again too much time on my hands. I was always taught to pay attention when some one was speaking since they may have a good idea to share. I did observe some of the old folks nodding and some young folks texting. But, he was interesting.)

* The priest admitted he never met the deceased. But, then later proceeded to say some things as if he knew her. Obviously prepped by someone. Wasn’t too outlandish. Unless you actually listened to what he was saying. But he was trying to be comforting. At least he was concise.

* Had the mandatory use of incense. Makes me sick. And, I guess it has some metaphoric (or maybe meteoric) meaning that escapes me.

* Had three “alter boys”, two of whom were NOT boys. Only the middle girl seemed to know the drill. She kept the other two prompted as the priest patiently waited for them to catch up. The youngest girl’s bejeweled beach flip flops caught my eye, and led to this observation.

* Leaving aside all the feminist observations about the Catholic Church, and the pedophile controversy that has stripped priests and religious of any deference, it’s a far cry from the alter boys of my youth. In those days, there were tests and auditions. And, you — if you were into that sort of thing — had to earn your way onto the “first team”, and you had to be “certified” to assist at Mass, Weddings, or Funerals. And, you could lose your status if you botched it up. There was even the Pastor’s circle, where the premier alter boys were listed. In those days, it was a lucrative hobby, since the alter boys received tips or a cut of the take from an event. Today it just looks lame. Like a dying beached whale.

* In the details of the Funeral Mass, it’s obvious who’s practicing and who’s lapsed. Maybe it’s the advent of the gooferment skoolz teaching secular progressivism. Maybe it’s the feel good generation that thinks that they can do whatever they want. Maybe it’s the a fore mentioned scandals. Maybe it’s the lack of an oral tradition. Maybe it’s “education”. Teaching evolution and that we are just smelly dirty hairless monkeys. But it was clear that it’s the religion of the old and not the youth.

* Every young girl in the deceased’s family had a visible tattoo. (Not a value judgment. Just a stunning observation.) Two of the six had visible piercings. (Ouch, just looking at them, hurt. Reminds me of my now deceased father-in-law who made a rare familial rule “if God had wanted you to have holes in your ears, he’d have provided them”. To which Frau would respond “so we should be going around naked then”. But she never got her ears pierced. On a theological level, it made perfect sense to me with my four years of D’s in theology. If you believe that we are made in the “image and likeness of God” then it’s impertinent to mess with his creation. Don’t the Jews ban from their consecrated cemeteries, any deceased with tattoos? And the Orthodox Jews want spilled blood buried with the deceased. Interesting to us forensic anthropologists.)

* As the funeral procession left the Church for the next stop, I noticed with interest that at one intersection a man tipped his hat. And, along the way an older woman blessed herself as we passed. (Yeah, I know too much time on my hands, but we were going slow. 15 to 20 mphs! I had lots of time to avoid hitting any one.)

* We went to the cemetery. The deceased was to be cremated so it was “interesting” to go to the cemetery. The funeral director led us in the side road that ended with “dead end” sign just in front of the open cemetery gate. I thought that was very funny. But in keeping with the occasion, I didn’t laugh out loud. (But inside I was ROFL!)

* One other observation, in the repast, various people chatted with Frau. One told us that she was never getting married. (I think she had children.) And another proclaimed that the deceased was thrilled when she told of the teller’s wedding plans and that teller wasn’t pregnant. (Again not a value judgment. An interesting perspective on marriage in the modern society?) (I remember that in my youth the Nuns would put special attention on the religious formation of the girls. The young girls got special propaganda sessions on religion and familial values. I never got a straight answer why from any priest, nun, or brother. But a cantor once explained to me that in the religious traditions of the Jews, the woman was the home maker. And, practically, if you had the hearts of the girls, then they would bring the boys into line. Seems logical. If that’s the case based on the evidence I saw today, the Churches have lost the war.)

Maybe I’m just an old fuddy duddy.

So this was the last of two sad days. I thought the deceased was a sharp witted lady who was in her own way very daring. She always “hung” with us at wakes, and kept things lively with her thoughts and chuckles.

I’ll miss her.

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TECHNOLOGY: pity the poor Seattle taxpayers

Monday, July 9, 2007

Responding to an MLPF comment about Seattle Schools using tech in educational themes.

***Begin Quote***

>Now that is innovative thinking and the administrators of the Seattle Public Schools should be congratulated!
{Extraneous Deleted}
>What say you?
>Jay Deragon
>Social Networking Strategist

*** end quote ***

I say pity the poor Seattle taxpayers who had their wealth stolen so that some highly paid bureaucrats could mess with other people’s children all at the point of a gun. (Don’t pay those taxes and see what happens. Don’t send your children to gooferment skoolz and see what happens.)

Sorry, but making happy videos and playlists isn’t education. It’s glorified babysitting and brainwashing. There are hungry people around the world learning in the pressure cooker of poverty to “eat these kid’s lunch”. In a day and age, when we should be first in a whole bunch of categories, we’re last in just about everything that matters. (We may be tops in “I felz gud abut myself”!)

Congrats, you have to be kidding us.

No, I think that we as a society in the USA have “really screwed the pooch”. We, deluded by our politicians (No one can say we don’t have the best money can buy!), have a track record of bad decisions. Just to name a few of our mortal sins: The Civil War, All the various Wars to <insert favorite slogan> creating the American empire, Leaving the Gold Standard, Creating the Federal Reserve, Permitting the Income Tax, Prohibition, Social Security, Creating the ‘dole” of New Deal programs, Bombing Hiroshima – Nagasaki – Dresden, Gooferment Education, War on Poverty, War on Drugs, Medicare / Medicaid, and countless venial sins.

IMHO “our” action plan, that of the USA, should be to: end the “dole” (i.e., welfare to individuals and companies); end “public” education; return to honest money; bring the troops home from the 170 countries becoming like Switzerland and instituting a MYOB foreign policy; and cut the gooferment down to a tenth of what they are today by getting back to strict Constitutional interpretation.

See empires can’t sustain themselves.

As innovative Power Forum members, we should be able to see where the future is taking us and not just “go along for the ride”. The essence of “seeing the future” is to be able to avoid the pitfalls. Else, we are nothing more than the Delphi Oracle with a neat tool (i.e., the crystal ball). We can tell people what’s going to happen but we can’t change “their destiny”. I think we can. But it calls for some “heavy lifting”. First is, at the very least, to be judicious with our “congrats”. If I was going to give kudos to anyone in education, it would be those in the “home schooling” movement. They are demonstrating success. Then maybe I’d look to the private and parochial schools who educate in direct competition with the gooferment’s free education. They are demonstrating success. Then, maybe I’d look to the various “bees” (i.e., the National Spelling Bee; the National Geography Bee) who are seeking to make “learning” kool. Then, I laude people like Bill Cosby, Walter Wiilliams, and others who are castigating the culture of “being dumb is kool”.

No, I’d say that is NOT innovative and we should NOT send Seattle congrats. Sorry to be the bearer of an opposing point of view. Wish I could be funny and make a joke. But this is “funny”. Not “funny haha”. But “funny sad”.

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RANT: people need freedom and liberty

Monday, July 9, 2007

http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2007/07/04/independence-day-3/

http://tinyurl.com/2wvu2p

A COMMENT ON HOMELANDSTUPIDITY

*** begin quote ***

I usually read this site a lot. But it took a legitimacy hit with this article. Legitimacy in that it’s posted by an American who loves America. This rant sounds like it could have come from a discontent abroad trying to shake our confidence in our government.

Stand firm, and research everything debated before drawing any conclusions as to the articles voracity.

Blayde.

*** end quote ***

TRIGGERS MY REPLY

*** begin quote ***

Yeah, research how much purchasing power the dollar has lost between any two decades. (The answer lots; in the neighborhood of 20%!)

Yeah, research how “drug prohibition” hasn’t wound up EXACTLY like “alcohol prohibition” in the 1920s. (Answer exactly like; right down to the rival gangs shooting everything in sight over turf!)

Yeah, research how much “dumber” the American children are compared to the rest of the world due to gooferment education. Hint: where do politicians send their kids to school? (Answer, we are somewhere between below the average to bottom; socialist big gooferment eddycation works exactly as designed to produce workers for the elite to lead.)

Yes, so do lots of “research”, “stand firm”, as we go down the collective toilet.

*** end quote ***

Socialism hasn’t worked anywhere. Perhaps in the small religious sects or religious orders, but that’s a tiny possible exception. Real people need freedom and liberty to thrive.

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INTERESTING: Good ideas don’t need enforcement; bad ideas can only get compliance by force!

Monday, July 9, 2007

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?
UrlTitle=live_and_let_live&ns=JohnStossel&
dt=07/04/2007&page

http://tinyurl.com/yu8h7r

Live and Let Live
By John Stossel
Wednesday, July 4, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Is it really necessary to explain that government is force? When the Salvation Army asks you for a donation, you are free to say no, and you suffer no consequences. When the U.S. government demands a tax return and a check on April 15, you can’t say no and go about your business. You comply or face fines or imprisonment. Yes, you get to vote for candidates periodically. But having an infinitesimal say in who will coerce you doesn’t change that fact that they are using force.

***End Quote***

YES! It is because people don’t get it.

It doesn’t matter what I think, want, or desire; the gooferment will take its “taxes”. If I, the victim of this robbery, don’t hand over my wallet “voluntarily” meekly with lots of kowtowing, then they will simply take it. If I object or impede their theft, then they will send an armed gang — with badges, uniforms, in brightly colored cars, with flashing lights, and GUNS to hurt me, imprison me, or perhaps kill me.

What is the difference between paying “protection” to the mob and paying “protection” to the gooferment?

The mob would be cheaper!

See the gooferment’s use of force demonstrates how weak their ideas are. If it was a good idea, no force would be required.

Take seat belts. Note, on FreeTlkLive the hosts cited a study that showed Taxachewsits had a 64% compliance with a compulsory law while New Hampshire, the Live Free or Die State, had a 65% seat belt use rate with no law. I would use a seat belt, but I object to being told by the Gooferment that I have to. Besides, if the NJGUV doesn’t have to use one, who is the hypocritical gooferment to tell me what to do!

Good ideas don’t need enforcement; bad ideas can only get compliance by force!

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LIBERTY: blogger makes the excellent point “golden rule”

Sunday, July 8, 2007

http://educationconversation.wordpress.com/2007/06/18/dear-dr-walter-williams

***Begin Quote***

I can’t help but wonder if the problem may be our own years of state schooling. We lack the vision and the courage to take back our children and our future and to enable the less fortunate to do the same, to put the state in its place (which is not in our children’s minds and consciences), and to fly into the future. We yell, but not too loudly. We act, but not too boldly.

Free choice is staring us in the face. We still have the liberty to embrace it. My fear is that if we travel much farther down the road of all-state-schooling, we will all end up with no safety net. Our private education community will exist no longer – it will be part of the state system. Eventually, we will not even have the memory of freedom.

Respectfully yours,
Tammy Drennan

***End Quote***

Another Blogger takes on Williams. (As I did!) Since taxes are theft, why are vouchers OK? Even if they are a step on the road to liberty, why is it moral to make me pay for someone else’s choices? And, the blogger makes the excellent point “golden rule”. When the Gooferment provides the gold, it will make the rules. Why exchange one bad system for another bad system?

Unfortunately, the answer is to not pay for services you don’t want. Of course, that means, that the “nice men with guns” will come a steal from you, hurt you, imprison you, or even kill you.

But then we are not kidding anyone about the slaves that we are.

Argh!

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RANT: The NJ GUV got some press; now return to biz as usual

Sunday, July 8, 2007

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/
idUSN0619342520070707?feedType=RSS&rpc=22&sp=true

http://tinyurl.com/2e3vlj

New Jersey governor signs toughest U.S. carbon law
Sat Jul 7, 2007 5:13PM EDT
By Timothy Gardner

*** begin quote ***

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) – New Jersey became on Friday the first U.S. state to mandate sharp greenhouse gas reductions by 2050 to help fight climate change.

The law, signed by Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, makes New Jersey the latest state to bypass the Bush administration by setting mandatory regulations to fight emissions of gases that scientists link to global warming.

“We want to send a message to Washington. Wake up, get with the program and start doing something about greenhouse gases,” Corzine told reporters at Giants Stadium on the eve of former Vice President Al Gore’s international Live Earth concerts.

***AND***

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association opposes the law, saying it would raise fees and give sweeping powers to state agencies.

The law also seeks to deal with emissions from vehicles, the largest source of the emissions in New Jersey, by enhancing public transportation, car-pooling and the shipping of goods by rail instead of truck.

But even environmentalists said the effort would be a tough fight as renewable energy currently only provides a tiny portion of the state’s power.

“We need to be careful of congratulating ourselves on this legislation because the hard work is yet to be done,” said Doug O’Malley, the field director for Environment New Jersey, a green group that helped form the law.

*** end quote ***

OK here’s my prediction. It will have the opposite effect. Whenever the gooferment gets in front of some parade or other, it leads us “off the proverbial cliff”.

So where is the construction of kool cool nuclear plants?

I’ll be watching for all the state cars that go 55 to save gas! Hypocrites. Did you notice how many clebs jet setted to the save the earth concerts. And, the politicians aren’t giving up anything.

But we can all pay higher taxes and spend more for less. That’s OK. For us little serfs!

Argh!

A plague on all of them.

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TECHNOLOGY: GOOGLE mucked up authentication

Sunday, July 8, 2007

One criticism I have of Google, and it’s pretty severe, is that they have made a mess of authentication. Gmail, Google Accounts, and Gwhatever each with their own userid password combinations has one more than one occasion wasted a ton on my time. Throw in their acquisition of BLOGGER and it’s a total mess. It feels like it’s checking old cookies. Sure I can nuke ALL cookies and muddle around until I get it working, BUT that means I lose all the preferences and stuff set up for other sites that have done nothing wrong. If there is one thing that keeps me from imbibing in the google kool aid is their continued mucking up of something as simple as sign on. They also have taught me with their mucking up of the Google Desktop Search tool that the entire web20 paradigm is the suspect because you’ve lost control of what’s running and what it does. Although the recent acquisition of MusicMatch by Yahoo is that buying software, oh excuse me “licensing” (what “barbara streisand” is that), is no guarantee of software stability. It just demos that you can run a stable production environment on a WINDOZE and WEB20 as an OS ain’t much better. To me it proves the worth of Open Source. And, Linux. At least your sunken monetary cost is zero and you have a lot less to complain about.

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LINKEDIN: One size really doesn’t fit all needs

Sunday, July 8, 2007

FROM A MESSAGE I PLACED ON LINKEDIN INNOVATORS

*** end quote ***

I was playing with Jobster and really really didn’t want to spend a lot of time rebuilding my resume in my profile. I did it in LinkedIn, and it literally to a huge amount of time effort and attention. So what we really need is what I call a “sausage to pig” creator. Put in a resume on one side and the “sausage to pig” would create your profile on LinkedIn, Jobsters, and all the other “resume building” sites. It could be nothing more than making a resume an XML file.

The insight came in realizing that I, as many others I’m sure, have multiple resumes. I have several base resumes that I have customized in the past for SPECIFIC opportunities. If the purpose of a resume is to induce a conversation about a specific job to begin, then you want to highlight accomplishments relevant to that job. So for example, when I’m helping a newly minted turkey (i.e., the person just axed from “their job”), when we get up to creating their “marketing collateral” (usually a resume and cover letter), I counsel the “less is more” philosophy.

I like the idea of a sparse resume with three things on it — the (reader’s) objective, last three positions which each have three significant accomplishments designed to induce conversation, and education.

My modest insight is that if you use LinkedIn, or any other site as your resume, then you can do that customization for specific opportunities.

Argh!

One size really doesn’t fit all needs.

*** end quote ***


INTERESTING: Ron Paul Wins Big in First New Hampshire Straw Poll

Sunday, July 8, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Ron Paul Wins Big
Ron Paul Wins Big in First New Hampshire Straw Poll
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2007

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Presidential candidate Ron Paul today won the Coalition for New Hampshire Taxpayers (CNHT) straw poll at their annual picnic in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Dr. Paul received 182 of 294 votes cast, or 65 percent. In second place was Rudy Giuliani with 24 votes, or 8 percent.

“Today’s strong victory is further proof that Dr. Paul’s message is resonating throughout New Hampshire,” said campaign manager Lew Moore. “Dr. Paul is the only candidate in this race truly dedicated to smaller government and lower taxes for all Americans.”

CNHT is a statewide, grassroots organization dedicated to reducing the size of government at all levels, stopping judicial activism, providing students and parents with a choice of educational opportunities, expanding job markets, and protecting property rights.

***End Quote***

One can only hope that Ron can energize the majority who don’t participate in elections. This is America’s best hope for a significant change.

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