FUN: I’ve always wanted to

Saturday, March 27, 2010

FROM MY FAVORITE LUDDITE WHO’S “OLD”

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Have You Ever Danced?

An old prospector shuffled into the town of El Indio , Texas leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, “Hey old man, have you ever danced?” The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, “No, I never did dance… never really wanted to.”

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, “Well, you old fool, you’re gonna’ dance now,” and started shooting at the old man’s feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.

When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels.

The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man’s hands, as he quietly said, “Son, have you ever kissed a mule’s ass?”

The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, “No sir….. but… I’ve always wanted to.”

There are a few lessons for us all here:

* Never be arrogant.

* Don’t waste ammunition.

* Whiskey makes you think you’re smarter than you are.

* Always, always make sure you know who has the power.

* Don’t mess with old men, they didn’t get old by being stupid.

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I just love a story with a happy ending, don’t you?

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Yes, I do!

LOL

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Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Disputed Island Disappears

Friday, March 26, 2010

http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/03/26/1342258/Disputed-Island-Disappears-Into-Sea

Disputed Island Disappears Into Sea from Slashdot by samzenpus

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RawJoe writes “India and Bangladesh have argued for almost 30 years over control of a tiny island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have ended the argument for them: the island’s gone. From the article: ‘New Moore Island, in the Sunderbans, has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite imagery and sea patrols, he said. “What these two countries could not achieve from years of talking, has been resolved by global warming,” said Hazra.'”

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Great, now that’s how to solve problems. Talk until they disappear. Wonder if it works with politicians?

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Posted by reinkefj

INITIALISMS: Four Tasks of Mourning TEAR

Friday, March 26, 2010

J. William Worden’s “Four Tasks of Mourning” as outlined in his book Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy, can be summarized by the acronym TEAR:

T = To accept the reality of the loss

E = Experience the pain of the loss

A = Adjust to the new environment without the lost object

R = Reinvest in the new reality

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Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Add “Honest Politician” to the pantheon of imaginary things

Thursday, March 25, 2010

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=131249

Can pro-lifers ever support Democrats again?
Posted: March 24, 2010
Jill Stanek … …
… … fought to stop “live-birth abortion” after witnessing one as a registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill. In 2002, President Bush asked Jill to attend his signing of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. In January 2003, World Magazine named Jill one of the 30 most prominent pro-life leaders of the past 30 years.

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We all now know Nelson blinked fairly quickly, and Stupak blinked five months into it. There were others, but these were the front men. Both men betrayed the pro-life and Christian groups they had been working with. Nelson disallowed both Nebraska Right to Life and the National Right to Life Committee from viewing his 11th-hour compromise health-care language, and Stupak turned away from those whom he had just said he sought advice, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops, the NRLC and the Family Research Council. All three, as well as every other pro-life/pro-family group, urged him to reject the compromise pitched to him, a worthless executive order by the infanticide president.

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This makes it obvious: (1) there’s no such thing as a “Democratic” pro-lifer; (2) there’s no such thing as a “Democratic” who is fiscally responsible; and (3) there is ALMOST never a politician who can tell the truth.

Forewarned is forearmed.

… … like jumbo shrimp, the Easter Bunny, and let’s add to the pantheon of imaginary things: the pro-life Democrat, the fiscally responsible Democrat, and an “Honest Politician”.

“Honest Politician” added with apologies to Ron Paul, and a few historical figures.

Argh!

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Seems wryly humorous and poetic to write about pro-life democrats on the Feast of the Annunciation!

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Posted by reinkefj

HARDWARE: An SSD is quiet

Thursday, March 25, 2010

http://www.wxpnews.com/

Vol. 2, # 12 – Mar 25, 2010 – Issue # 28
Storage Technology: Past, Present and Future
Deb Shinder, Editor

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Most SSDs use flash memory and don’t need batteries. DRAM-based SSDs are faster, but need a battery or AC adapter and backup storage because their memory is volatile, so otherwise data will be lost if the electrical power is lost. Flash-based SSDs do use DRAM for a cache. Unlike traditional hard drives, SSDs have no moving parts. That makes them quieter and also more durable and less prone to failure. They are also less vulnerable to damage from vibration, shock or extreme temperatures, and they don’t have to be defragmented. They are fast for read operations, but SATA-based SSDs are slow on write operations. PCIe SSDs provide faster write speeds.

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The MacBookAir is quiet. But the bottom does get hot. From time to time, the box does slow down.

I’m suspecting it gets “cruddy” like windoze. Maybe it too needs a bare metal restore to get it back to its original snappy performance.

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Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Homeland Security couldn’t secure its own butt!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/03/bringing_lots_o.html

Schneier on Security
A blog covering security and security technology.
March 19, 2010
Bringing Lots of Liquids on a Plane at Schiphol

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5. Department of Homeland Security Theater calls an emergency meeting with the National Security Council, after which it is decided that all bottle-shaped objects (and all Dutch reporters) should be banned from flights.

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From the blog that coined the phrase “Security Theater”, here’s a funny extension. Despite the fact that the incident occurred overseas, it couldn’t happen here in the USA. Right!

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Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Zero-Day School Weeks

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/four.day.school.2.1583104.html

Mar 23, 2010 6:27 pm US/Central
4-Day School Weeks Might Be Coming In Illinois
State House Has Passed Bill Allowing School Districts To Set Up Shorter Weeks; Mayor Daley Has Doubts
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―

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Add an entire school day to the chopping block. State lawmakers want to move financially struggling schools to four day weeks. They say it will save money, and it won’t affect classroom time.

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Kids would still have to complete the same number of hours per school year, so switching to four-day school weeks would mean longer school days or shorter summer vacations.

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I have an idea that will save a lot of money.

Close the youth indoctrination centers completely and forever!

It’s immoral to make people pay for things that they did not agree to pay for. Parent had ’em. Parents feed, clothe, and shelter them. They should educate them too.

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Posted by reinkefj

QUOTE: “Do it Right The First Time!”

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

“Do it Right The First Time!”

and

“Make It Right!

Mike Holmes
Holmes on Homes
http://www.hgtv.ca/holmesonhomes

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: WIFI SSID should be something useful

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Mine is “3TYNE7328219525”.

My neighbors can get ahold of me if they need to.

What does MOAA1, UY2C2, 08FX10100287, and Startech tell you?

Argh!

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Posted by reinkefj

GUNS: Teach the young for their own good

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

“As I looked at my two young sons, each with his gun, and considered how much the safety of the party depended on these little fellows, I felt grateful to you, dear husband, for having acquainted them in childhood with the use of firearms.” – Elisabeth Robinson, narrating in “The Swiss Family Robinson” by Johann David Wyss

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Every time I read about an “accidental shooting” by a child, I wonder how much of it is TV. People get shot on TV all the time and shrug it off. In real life, you get shot with virtually anything larger than a 22 and you ain’t getting up any time soon. Firearms are a tool. Children need to be taught. Just like with any tool, it’s about respect. That’s what Dad’s are supposed to do. Aren’t they? Do they?

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Posted by reinkefj

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