RANT: Why doesn’t El Al have these security problems?

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hx0cKyXG0oBZZrD7MDjlNPiW1Vbw?docId=8d9a653047b54c63a4302f15c3c19626

Airport body scans, pat-downs draw more complaints
(AP) – 13 hours ago

*** begin quote ***

“It’s all about security,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. “It’s all about everybody recognizing their role.”

*** end quote ***

I guess “We, The Sheeple” have to recognize our role to do what we are told by this representative of the elite who run this country.

I can’t image anything she could say that was not more telling about their thinking.

So shut up and get felt up.

We know what’s good for you.

The small fact, that this has NOTHING to do with security and everything to do with control, might enter YOUR thinking!

Did the Jews being loaded on the railcars in Nazi Germany feel this way? It’s all about training you to comply and follow orders!

Xraying pilots and feeling up screaming children is a GREAT security strategy. The terrorist must think this is funnier than a Saturday Night Live skit!

I refuse to fly! I suggest that you do too. Nothing will bring this issue to a head as empty airlines over the holidays. Sorry, but explain to all your disappointed relatives that they can’t see the grandchildren because of the TSA. Nothing will change this faster than a a bunch of <past tense synonym for urine output> off grandparents with lots of time to annoy “their representatives”.

Stop the nonsense now. Disband the TSA! Turn security back to the airlines.

Why doesn’t El Al have these security problems?

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RANT: Bankruptcy for States

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/smash-the-union-thug-ocracy/

SMASH THE UNION THUG-OCRACY
By Dick Morris And Eileen McGann
11.8.2010

*** begin quote ***

One of the first orders of business to come up in the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives will be the demand for bailouts of states where expenditures have been especially profligate – California, New York, Michigan, Illinois, and Connecticut. Throughout 2009 and 2010, these states governments have stayed above water by repeated infusions of federal cash. These one-shot stimulus payments must be repeated each year. They are all non-recurring expenditures requiring separate annual appropriations.
The Republican House must say no and hold the line, stopping this raid on the federal Treasury. The cry in the caucus must ring loud: “No More Bailouts!”
But, as the Republicans demand fiscal discipline and refuse to make the citizens of the other, more responsible states subsidize the wayward finances of California and New York, we need to focus on the union power that has forced states, localities, and school boards to raise taxes, borrow money, and – ultimately – to depend on federal bailouts.

These unions have forced contracts on their states, localities, and school boards which provide for ever higher wages, benefits, and pensions. Even now, teachers are on strike in a suburb of Pittsburgh because they feel a 4.5% annual wage increase is inadequate!

*** end quote ***

This should be interesting.

One thing in a “corporate bankruptcy” is that past contracts are broken. Everyone gets a haircut. Pensions get dumped on the Federal Gooferment at a greatly reduced level; ask the Delta pilots about that.

It will be interesting.

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GAMBLING: Borgata changes its comp formula

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

After a recent trip to Borgata in AC, my wife earned no comp dollars. That was strange. She played her “mystery slot dollars”, “bonus slot dollars”, and “slot dollars”. Actually turned out she actually made some money. She originally thought there was something wrong with her card.

By an experiment, we demonstrated that there was nothing wrong with her card.

Just that you NOW only get comps on what you play through their machines. And, it appears to be on a greatly reduced basis.

I’m going to try and quantify just how far they have “dialed” it back.

Argh!

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POLITICAL: BHO and “middle class” tax hikes

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

President Obama, at a news conference, at the end of the G-20 Summit on Friday, said: “I want to make sure that taxes don’t go up for middle class families starting on January 1st.”

He’s either a fool, a liar, or both!

What does he think has been going on? Does he really believe that taxes haven’t gone up.

Cigarettes? The devaluation of the dollar. Insurance.

Does he have any grasp of economics?

Or is he just the “teleprompter president”, who reads whatever “barbara streisand” is displayed for him by his handlers?

Argh!

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HARDWARE: MacBookAir is more like Windoze that folks admit

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

An observation: my macbookair is “slowing down”.

I assume this is an example of “crud buildup”. In Windoze, the registry is the source of all crud. Over time, for inexplicable reasons, the hardware just gets tired. Random slowdowns, lockups, crashes all eventually leading to the dreaded “bare metal restore”. Think voluntary suicide. A metal lobotomy. Starting over, … maybe. Who knows what exactly you will lose.

One of my reasons for trying the MacBookAir was the reputation for … stability.

Sorry, but I think I need a bare metal restore here on McBa.

It’s not going to be pretty. What will I lose?

This is one of the reasons I don’t recommend Apple.

Argh!

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RANT: The TSA has really carried “security theater” to molestation and porn!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/11/these-events-took-place-roughly-between.html

13 November 2010
TSA encounter at SAN

*** begin quote ***

These events took place roughly between 5:30 and 6:30 AM, November 13th in Terminal 2 of the San Diego International Airport. I’m writing this approximately 2 1/2 hours after the events transpired, and they are correct to the best of my recollection. I will admit to being particularly fuzzy on the exact order of events when dealing with the agents after getting my ticket refunded; however, all of the events described did occur.

*** and ***

At this point, I thought it was all over. I began to make my way to the stairs to exit the airport, when I was approached by another man in slacks and a sport coat. He was accompanied by the officer that had escorted me to the ticketing area and Mr. Silva. He informed me that I could not leave the airport. He said that once I start the screening in the secure area, I could not leave until it was completed. Having left the area, he stated, I would be subject to a civil suit and a $10,000 fine. I asked him if he was also going to fine the 6 TSA agents and the local police officer who escorted me from the secure area. After all, I did exactly what I was told. He said that they didn’t know the rules, and that he would deal with them later. They would not be subject to civil penalties. I then pointed to Mr. Silva and asked if he would be subject to any penalties. He is the agents’ supervisor, and he directed them to escort me out. The man informed me that Mr. Silva was new and he would not be subject to penalties, either. He again asserted the necessity that I return to the screening area. When I asked why, he explained that I may have an incendiary device and whether or not that was true needed to be determined. I told him that I would submit to a walk through the metal detector, but that was it; I would not be groped. He told me that their procedures are on their website, and therefore, I was fully informed before I entered the airport; I had implicitly agreed to whatever screening they deemed appropriate. I told him that San Diego was not listed on the TSA’s website as an airport using Advanced Imaging Technology, and I believed that I would only be subject to the metal detector. He replied that he was not a webmaster, and I asked then why he was referring me to the TSA’s website if he didn’t know anything about it. I again refused to re-enter the screening area.

*** end quote ***

Wonder when “We, The Sheeple” will remember the Fourth Amendment?

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FUN: Original Adventure

Monday, November 15, 2010

http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/225/Adventure.html

*** begin quote ***

“You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building. Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and down a gully…..”

That’s the beginning. The beginning of Adventure, also known as Colossal Cave, but also the beginning of adventure games as we know them today.

This title, being a historic game, also has an interesting history. In 1973 its creator, Bill Crowther, was a developer involved in the creation of ARPAnet. He and his wife used to be enthusiast spelunkers, as well as regular Dungeons and Dragons players.

In their spare time, the Crowthers explored and mapped portions of the Mammoth and Flint Ridge cave systems in Kentucky for the Cave Research Foundation.

During this period, the couple split up. To be nearer to his two daughters, Crowther decided to write a program for their amusement. A simulation of this cave he explored, mixed with elements from his fantasy roleplaying. They enjoyed it a lot, and the game was passed from friend to friend during the early days of the internet.

Eventually, in 1976, programmer Don Woods found a copy, enjoyed it as well, and contacted Crowther to ask whether he could expand it. Crowther gave his permission. So Woods, who loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy, added some typical Tolkien elements such as Elves, Trolls and even a volcano (inspired by Mount Doom). The game was then completed as we know it today.

*** end quote ***

Boy, I loved that game. Played on an old TI with the thermal paper. Made maps and charts. It was a hit with all the injineers. Sigh! Lost youth.

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INTERESTING: Engaged in a huge number of species-wide social experiments?

Monday, November 15, 2010

http://web.docuticker.com/go/docubase/61784

Premarital cohabitation and divorce: Support for the “Trial Marriage” Theory?
November 7, 2010 18:50
Source: Demographic Research

*** begin quote ***

   A number of studies show that premarital cohabitation is associated with an increased risk of subsequent marital dissolution. Some argue that this is a consequence of selection effects and that once these are controlled for premarital cohabitation has no effect on dissolution. We examine the effect of premarital cohabitation on subsequent marital dissolution by using rich retrospective life-history data from Austria. We model union formation and dissolution jointly to control for unobserved selectivity of cohabiters and non-cohabiters. Our results show that those who cohabit prior to marriage have a higher risk of marital dissolution. However, once observed and unobserved characteristics are controlled for, the risks of marital dissolution for those who cohabit prior to marriage are significantly lower than for those who marry directly. The finding that premarital cohabitation decreases the risk of marital separation provides support for the “trial marriage” theory.

*** end quote ***

Now, I’m just a fat old white guy injineer but it would seem that “We, The People” are engaged in a huge number of species-wide social experiments. Abortion, same-sex marriage, sex selection, trial marriage, single mother households, serial monogomy, serial marriage, multigenerational welfare “farming”, Prohibition, Welfare/Warfare Statism, Theocracy, Socialism, Communism (although I’d be hard pressed to define it), genocidal tribal warfare, and on an on. Just name a few off the top of my head.

And, most of them, if not all, in some way trace back to he Gooferment. (It truly is the root of all evil. The Serpent in Garden of evil wasn’t a snake; it was a politician.) Before we try to remake the face of the Earth in the vision of Al Gore, before we change civil society, before we collapse under the weight of debt, before we throw away generations of accumulated wisdom, we should have an idea for what we want to accomplish.

Isn’t the medical adage, “First do no harm”, appropriate here?

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TINFOILHAT: Thinking about TFHs and the Kennedy Assasination

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The TFH (tin foil hat) category of this blog presents dikw (i.e., data, information, knowledge, wisdom) based in part on theory, observation, experience, and conjecture. While this is not a court of law, I defer to the great American Jurist, Judge Judy, “if doesn’t make sense, it’s not true”. The purpose here is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily the only ones, to the phenomena we observe. Theory and conjecture should always welcome and encouraged. Of course, the best evidence is a repeatable experiment that the reader can perform to authenticate findings of fact. All else is not as good. But, unfortunately, life requires us to move forward on incomplete, inaccurate, and inconclusive information. But we tread lightly where we are unsure.

So why isn’t the Kennedy Assassination kill shot reproducible? A crappy rifle, an angle, an elevation, a moving target, and wind? Judge judy should examine this case. It doesn’t make sense.

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http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Did-Irish-born-William-Greer-cause-JFKs-death-107915254.html

Did Irish-born William Greer cause JFK’s death?
New book revives role of JFK’s driver in Dallas
Published Sunday, November 14, 2010, 7:16 AM
Updated Sunday, November 14, 2010, 7:16 AM

*** begin quote ***

The new book on the assassination of John F. Kennedy by Clint Hill, the secret service agent closest to him on the day, also focuses attention on another member of that service detail the driver of JFK’s car that day, William Greer, a native of Tyrone, Ireland.

Greer’s actions that day remain controversial, so much so that some crazed conspiracy buffs have claimed that he was the one to shoot Kennedy because he was an Ulster Protestant who disliked Kennedy’s Catholic faith — a fact his son admitted to.

*** end quote ***

Citing Judge Judy, this all doesn’t make sense. We may never know the truth, but it certainly is NOT the official story.

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IPAD: Apple wants control

Sunday, November 14, 2010

EMAIL WITH Prof P

Re: Jasper Jottings for the IPAD

*** begin quote ***

Right now Jet Tech and I are wrestling with how to get a free book (one that was electronically given to me by the publisher) onto one of the 6 ereaders on my iPad. I like reading on the iPad so I encourage you to go with it.

*** end quote ***

As I understand it. IBOOKS on the IPAD can only take an EPUB or PDF format via ITUNES. You didn’t say what format the ebook was in? Assuming (and we know what that means), that you have ITUNES set to export “books”, it should flow right over. I have to assume that the ebook you’re attempting to move is in another format. Depending upon what format it is, you’ll have to convert it. On the MAC, I like CALIBRE. While the UI is terrible, it does “do” many formats that I haven’t even heard of. Let me know what the format is or send me the file, I’ll attempt to convert it for you. After all I’m sitting in ICU with nothing to do. :-) Argh!

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MONEY: What will our “friends” the Chinese say?

Sunday, November 14, 2010

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE6A706720101108

*** begin quote ***

The summit has been overshadowed by disagreements over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) policy under which it will print money to buy $600 billion of government bonds, a move that could depress the dollar and cause a potentially destabilising flow of money into emerging economies.

*** end quote ***

The you know what is flying towards the fan?

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MACBOOKAIR: OSX 10.6.5 applied

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Update applied. Big one. Reboot required. We’ll see.

Sound still broken.

Assume sharing is still broken.

Argh! Have to consider “bare metal restore”.

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Raids at Orange County barber shops

Saturday, November 13, 2010

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-illegal-barbering-arrests-20101107,0,2783682.story

Criminal barbering? Raids at Orange County shops lead to arrests, raise questions
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
November 7 2010

*** begin quote ***

As many as 14 armed Orange County deputies, including narcotics agents, stormed Strictly Skillz barbershop during business hours on a Saturday in August, handcuffing barbers in front of customers during a busy back-to-school weekend.

*** end quote ***

What a complete waste of time, money, and attention!

It’s an example of racist licensing laws.

Why do we need the Gooferment to insert itself in the “hair biz”?

Don’t you think that the free market can handle that?

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INSPIRATIONAL: Express our displeasure in very effective ways

Friday, November 12, 2010

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/07/residents-missouri-town-block-protesters-picketing-soldiers-funeral/?test=latestnews

Residents of Missouri Town Block Protesters From Picketing Soldier’s Funeral
Published November 07, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Members of a small Missouri town banded together Saturday to block a controversial pastor and members of his Westboro Baptist Church from protesting the funeral of a fallen U.S. soldier, Fox4kc.com reports.

*** end quote ***

That’s “We, The People” in action. We don’t need our Gooferment to abridge anyone’s right of free speech. But, we can express our displeasure in very effective ways. No parking available? Gee that’s just too bad.

“Reinforcing that cordon, the locals applied firm pressure to ‘visitors’ not to intrude. The gas station wouldn’t sell gas to the intruders. The local sheriff was issuing warnings for parking violations. There were no rooms available for fifty miles around. And, those that wouldn’t ‘get with the program’ were usually arrested on trespass or violating some MV code or another. Reporters who transgressed were sent to the Guv’s woodshed.” — CHURCH 10●19●62 Volume 2 Page 285

“We, The People” have tremendous power to “instruct” our fellow citizens in proper conduct in so many ways.

As a little L libertarian, there’s no one who is more anti-war more pro-life than anyone, but intruding on the funerals of the military is hust NOT the proper place to conduct essentially a political discussion.

The fact that a town full of people recognized the problem and actioned it without fuss or muss is inspiring to me!

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INTERESTING: And you wonder why I sat for 30+ hours in the hospital one day?

Friday, November 12, 2010

http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/nurses_11/archive/2009/07/01/how-do-i-chart-that.aspx

*** begin quote ***

  • DO NOT mention medication errors in a patient’s chart. In the patient chart, document only what was given.

*** end quote ***

Yeah, we wouldn’t want the truth in a medical record.

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TECHNOLOGY: Make the patient records and charting available to the patients

Thursday, November 11, 2010

An open letter to ClearPractice:

http://www.clearpractice.com/ehr/contact.cfm

To whom it may concern:

I think you are really on to something here. I’d like to share one idea. (It probably has occurred to you already, but perhaps not.)

Now I realize that you want to be “wholesale”; not “retail”. People, especially as patients can be so messy, and demanding. But, you’re software’s metaphor is the “practice”. You’re going to have to sell into against all sorts of competition. And, doctors are not IT guys (like me). They want to be “practicing” or playing golf. You need to incorporate “patient” and patient-driven demand into you model.

I’d suggest that you make the patient records and charting available to the patients. This would pressure the doctors to at least look at your solution.

Venially, looking at it from my own pov, my wife is very ill. I could use a charting system that would present to doctors the information I capture in an standard organized fashion. I’ve tried Google, Mcrosoft, Caremark, and several others. They all are unusable. Yours is the closest I’ve seen to a mature offering.

Since my wife has been sick, we have watched mystery diagnosis. There are a lot of “sick” people out there. Who are spending huge amounts of time and effort going from doctor to doctor seeking help. That certainly translates to a ton of administrivia and waste.

If you had patients “charting” their own conditions, you could drag the doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and regulators (kicking and screaming) into the Twenty First Century. Your window of opportunity is limited. Obamacare is going to FORCE change.

I’ll show your setup to any of the docs that will listen. (I give them all free technology consulting.) But, would it be better for me to show them my wife’s chart on my iPad?

If you want an alpha test case, I volunteer. (Despite what I was taught in the military!)

fjohn reinke

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VETERANS: “a grateful nation remembers”; I think not!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

201011070809.jpg

“A grateful nation remembers”

You have to be kidding me. Remembers? No one even knows it’s Veteran’s Day or Armistice Day. Other than store “sales”, “We, The People” don’t remember. If we did, we wouldn’t permit young men and women to put their lives at risk for anything but the most well-thoughtout urgent national interest. And, when they come home broken or in a box, we’d give them the respect they deserve.

I’ll believe that “a grateful nation remembers” when:

• Military funerals are attended by the President or Vice-President, the Senators of that Vet’s State, their Congressman, the Governor, their state reps, their county reps, and their municipal reps. At least then, these “decision makers” would get the fullest sense of the cost of these escapades.

• When our troops are brought home from the 160+ countries. Why are we still in on the DMZ in South Korea and German? Didn’t those wars end long ago? Time for a new foreign policy and new Department of Defense.

• When our broken vets are fixed as best we can in a dignified humane fashion. “We, The People”, through the politicians we elected made this happen. We have to step up to our responsibility. We have failed. The politicians and bureaucrats are to blame. And we have to change the system.

• When we have a “war tax” to ensure that every American regardless of income level or station in life is overtly paying for these foreign excursions. Remember the Spanish American War Tax on every cell phone. Let’s bring it back! (I don’t advocate taxes.) But this will remind everyone every month that we have wars going on and they need an “exit strategy”!

Then, I’ll believe that “a grateful nation remembers”!

Donna Nobis Pacem!

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MONEY: We need to return to Constitutional money — gold and silver

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

http://nicholasnigro.blogspot.com/2010/11/quantitative-easing-just-got-easier.html

Sunday, November 7, 2010
Quantitative Easing Just Got Easier
Nicholas Nigro

*** begin quote ***

This roundabout way of printing money will, apparently, guarantee only one sure thing that you can take to the bank: the further weakening of the once Almighty Dollar and a corresponding rise in critical commodity prices because of it. Translation: From the grocery store to the gas pump, those who can least afford it will pay more and more for basic necessities. But I imagine the government measuring sticks will continue to tell us that we are living in a period of very low inflation for the foreseeable future, and that we should be more concerned about the prospects of deflation.

*** end quote ***

What “they” have fooled everyone into thinking is that a “dollar”, a “Federal Reserve Note”, that green piece of linen cotton “paper”, is actually worth something tangible. In elementary economics, we learned that humans transferred from barter to money because money had certain useful characteristics. Most notably it permitted the butcher to trade directly with the candlestick maker without trading with the baker first. From whence all the good things that the division of labor provides — specialization.

Quoting from my favorite novel (Mine!) “Money is a matter of functions four, a medium, a measure, a standard, a store.” He repeated that four times like poetry. “Six Characters in Money: Portable – Durable – Divisible – Uniformity – Limited Supply – Acceptability.” CHURCH 10●19●62 (Vol 1) 978-0-557-08387-9 page 110

“We, The People” have forgotten that. As well as the Dead Old White Guys Constitutional admonition that only gold and silver should be money. Along with a bunch of other stuff, like the Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and a general dislike for oppressive Gooferment.

So, now, the politicians and bureaucrats are riding high on the hog and the taxpayers have been laid low. Like the host of a parasite weakened to near death.

Gooferment is the meme that kills people. It’s time to awaken from our economic nightmare and throw out the FED and return to “Constitutional money” — gold and silver. And watch the global economy rebound when the world isn’t paying the “inflation tax”.

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RANT: Something that “liberals” and “conservative” can agree on?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2010/11/sad-but-not-surprising.html

Friday, November 05, 2010
Sad, but not surprising UPDATED

*** begin quote ***

MSNBC has suspended host Keith Olbermann indefinitely because he apparently made political donations to three Democratic candidates.

*** end quote ***

And where do the traditional broadcast anchors contribute? You don’t think that ANY of them give money to conservatives or R’s, do you?

The “liberal” media bias is just dishonest. The slants are one thing; the out-and-out hostility to viewpoints not approved by the vast left-wing conspiracy are unacceptable. The folks are voting with their eyeballs.

At one time, “liberal” was a label one could be proud of. A champion of the people. “Classical liberals” opposed the King and force. Modern day little L libertarians trace their roots to these great thinkers.

Now, both “conservatives” and “liberal” joust to be the one in control of the “guns of Gooferment” to tell people how to run their lives. I, no more, want orders from conservatives than I do the liberals.

Let’s cut Gooferment spending 10% across the board. Let’s sell 50 or 100 year bonds to retire the Gooferment debt. Let’s demand that the crooks in DC only spend what is taken in in taxes.

Let’s end the Warfare / Welfare state. And, return to peace.

Isn’t that something that “liberals” and “conservative” can agree on?

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RANT: An email riff about the evils of the “guns of Gooferment”

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

>In regard to unemployment, if you need to rely on that to survive

Agreed. Unfortunately, they pitched it as “insurance” and it ain’t. Unemployment is not an uninsurable risk. It’s not random. (Learnt that in the MC eckynomics class; I am after all a fat old white guy injineer with a low index.)

>So let’s agree to disagree.

Agreeably.

>government stands to make a profit. As they have on the bailout money.

So, they stole 10K$ from my wife’s retirement fund to enrich the unions, Wall Street, and the big banks. Then they sell the proceeds of that theft, make a profit, and me as the victim are supposed to be happy about that? If they had been forced to go thru bankruptcy, she would have gotten some money back. Estimates were 25¢ on the dollar. So we got screwed; I’m not happy. It was only a small percentage of her retirement and our portfolio. But it was the principle. By allowing anyone to avoid bankruptcy, the Gooferment took the pressure off the various managements to find a solution. By allowing Leman Brothers to fail but bailing out others, they created a mess. Goldman Sachs was picking winners and losers. Lehman was the biggest GS competitor. Timmy and others were all ex-GS people. It was a raid on the public treasury.

>I know you’ll never agree with me, but that’s my humble opinion.

You’re right about that. I’ve worked on Wall Street and I KNOW how the sleeze think.

>I believe most of today’s unemployment is due to skills gap.
> There are a lot of jobs out there, but individuals don’t fit the profile.

Might be. I think that the unemployment is due to the uncertainty that the Gooferment has introduced.

>I fear those jobs will not be coming back.

Well you could get them back if there were tariffs. But then, like Smoot Hawley, will create a worse Depression. We have to reinvent America. I think we have a natural global advantage in the production of food. So instead of paying farmers not to grow, we need to incentivize the food production process.

>This due to improper planning and reliance on another stipend from uncle
> sam, social security.

Another welfare program designed to transfer control to Washington DC. And, racist, xfer $ from poor minority men to rich white women. And, another mislabeled program; how can you “insure” old age?

>Why is Obamacare socialism when Medicare is a sacred cow?

Both are “socialism”!

>I think the free market is a viable option, with premiums being tax deductable.

I think we should just leave everyone alone to chose what they want and STOP using the guns of Gooferment to “social engineer”?

>Unfortunately, I do agree the Bush tax cuts must be repealed for the more wealthly americans.

Sorry, but when you take the money away from the rich, who will save and invest?

>Its an effective way to deal with the deficit. (Which Bush did wonders to increase.)

Nah, the Lafer curve, and the fact that you’re not dealing with idiots, will frustrate you. Lowering taxes will generate more revenue as it frees up people locked in by taxes. And, rich people aren’t stupid. How many docs will choose leisure over treating folks when their income is going to exceed 250K. And don’t forget it’s 250k$ on small business, so you’re paying on gross not net of expenses. It’s stupid. So like Maryland found out when they levied a “millionaire’s tax” over ½million, about ½ of their millionaires disappeared. Moved or feathered back their taxable income.

> legacy costs, defense and servicing debt.

I like the idea of a 10% across the board cut every year. But, no one is allowed to impact the citizens. Should drive the bureaucrats nuts!

>All of business is not hurting, this could be a record year on wall

>street. Bonuses are back up and greed is back in vogue.

You know that looting the public treasury is very profitable.

>Additionally, whether Republican or Democratic, I support my government.

That’s where we disagree. I’m a little L libertarian like Jefferson. It’s NOT my government. If we were having a beer, I could go into great detail about why it ain’t. :-)

> I disagree with some legislation, but I know it is a basic

>part of what makes this country great.

No, what makes this country great is liberty. And, then people make the most of it. Then, everything flowed from their “greed”.

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Leave a Comment » | Ranting | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

NETWORK: Wifi ain’t as simple as everyone thinks?

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Apple needs to work on its networking software. I know they really want to be an appliance and that Users s don’t need to bother with the details. BUTT (there’s always a big but):

• At RWJUH, the IPAD can not connect to the wifi, but the MACBOOKAIR can.

• At SPUH, the IPAD can connect to the wifi, but the MACBOOKAIR can not.

Also, at SPUH, they have blocked email.

Also, at RWJUH, they have an “entertaining” wifi implementation by HP (which I’d be embarrassed to have my brand associated with) which requires some mickey mouse authentication (that’s what trips up the IPAD) and disconnects randomly. (In the process of which causes both FIREFOX36, GOOGLECHROME, and SAFARI to lose their place in the browser session. (ARGH!)

And, of course, in the ultimate insult to the mundane User, there’s no way to bring these to anyone’s attention. (Argh!)

So why do they bother? An “accomplishment” on someone’s annual appraisal?

Doesn’t inspire confidence in the hospital’s brand.

(My personal test is how clean are the rest rooms — although you can not rest there? Both hospitals seem to do well by that standard.)

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Leave a Comment » | NETWORK | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Voting irregularities are “convenient”?

Monday, November 8, 2010

http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/25511115/detail.html

*** begin quote ***

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said there is no voter fraud, although the issues do come up because the touch-screens are sensitive. For that reason, a person may not want to have their fingers linger too long on the screen after they make a selection at any time.

*** end quote ***

At best, poor design. At worst, fraud. I don’t understand why a paper ballot isn’t produced from the machine and then “cast”. I think the entrenched politicians and bureaucrats like the system just the way it is “broken”!

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Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: Default, hyperinflation, or seizing the IRA/401k money

Monday, November 8, 2010

http://www.lewrockwell.com/holland/holland32.1.html

2010 Is Just Deck Chair Politics on the USS Titanic by Ron Holland

*** begin quote ***

Confiscation of Large Retirement Fund Accounts – The long-term confiscation and control idea is to eventually force all retirement benefits under the new automatic/mandatory IRA program where everything will be combined with and managed like your Social Security benefits. Wealthy and productive Americans will find their retirement benefits used to support the trillions in underfunded union, state and local government employee plans.

Solution: When possible, move your substantial retirement assets legally offshore to escape a future liquidity crisis when the theft will occur and drawdown your balances by taking withdrawals as soon as you can without an early retirement penalty.

The Risk of Private Gold Confiscation Will Go Up – When the dollar and Treasury market crashes, Washington will enact legislation against gold investors to curtail your profits, add a confiscatory non-productive asset tax or confiscate your gold with some type of fiat currency exchange. In any case, they plan to end up with your gold as this will be the basis of a restored dollar.

Solution: Move most of your gold offshore in a legal and reportable manner but outside the threat of closed or paralyzed banks, US investment firms and desperate politicians.

*** end quote ***

He makes it sound pretty bleak. But, I have to say, I don’t see how the Gooferment steers it’s way out of this debacle. They need trillions of “dollars” in wealth to somewhat balance the international books.

That means default, hyperinflation, or seizing the IRA/401k money.

There’s nothing else in the sizes that they need. Of the three options, seizing is the “easiest”. They only have to order a few hundred “custodians” to hand over the loot. Those “custodians” are companies that operate under the thumb of the Gooferment regulation, are beholding to the “bailouts” in one way or another, and are the fat cats who will be well rewarded for betraying the Sheeple.

The only question in my mind is does this bring on a full scale armed revolt. It’ll MIGHT make the tea parties look like a Boy and Girl Scout’s Jamboree. Think storming the Bastile. And, in the words of that often quote but possibly never said famous star-crossed Japanese Admiral: “You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.” — apocryphal unsourced quote attributed to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

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Posted by reinkefj

IPAD: Is held hostage by ITUNES and docking

Monday, November 8, 2010

So far the only way I have found to get a book into, or is it onto, the IPAD is via ITUNES. You either have to buy through their store (and boy do they make that convenient) or to import into ITUNES, dock the ipad, and sync it on board. That’s a pain. Amazing that the IPAD and the MACBOOKAIR are both sitting next to each other and they can not communicate by wifi or bluetooth. It’s no wonder that APPLE gets the label “CLOSED” and “DUMB”. Amazing for as good as their hardware is — novel, useful, and thought provoking, their implementations leave a lot to be desired.

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4 Comments | IPAD | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Theodore Sorensen wrote “Profiles in Courage”; not JFK?

Sunday, November 7, 2010

I thought you would be interested in the following story from The Wall Street Journal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703708404575587340376814562.html

Theodore Sorensen Dies at 82

Around my high school — eons ago, told to me by Brother Cronin, in a rare moment of honesty, that he thought — and several of the other Brothers thought — that Sorenson wrote JFK’s ‘profiles in courage’. And, further that old Joe paid ‘Theodore’ a princely sum to do it and keep his mouth shut. That earned ‘Theodore’ seat at the table and they knew he could compromise his ethics for a check. I just wonder….. when I read this headline I remembered that. FWIW. It was my first “tin foil hat” experience that I remember. Where an authority figure speculated that we might be consuming a load of “barbara streisand”. As Judge Judy says, “I should have put on my listening ears”, because I think we have been fed a lot of “barbara streisand” from a lot of “authority figures”. Argh! Too late we get smart?

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Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Here a bag, there a bag, everywhere a bag bag … of votes!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/nyregion/06ctgov.html?_r=1&bl

*** begin quote ***

Still, Connecticut voters could have been forgiven for wondering whether Friday’s official results would actually spell an end to a race that featured an unprecedented two-hour extension of voting hours in Bridgeport because of a ballot shortage, dueling transition teams from both candidates and a spat on live radio between Mr. Foley and the state’s top election official, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz — not to mention a bag of uncounted ballots, discovered two days after the election.

*** end quote ***

Yeah, I’m sure that if the party bosses need some more votes they can discover them. And, you expect “justice” in America?

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Posted by reinkefj

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