RANT: Rosie O’Donnell Back to Daytime TV; not on my TV

Sunday, March 21, 2010

http://showbiz411.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/rosie-odonnell-back-to-daytime-tv/

Rosie O’Donnell Back to Daytime TV
Published March 19, 2010 Television Leave a Comment

*** begin quote ***

Rosie O’Donnell is headed back to daytime TV.

My sources say that Rosie will fill the void left by Oprah Winfrey starting in the fall of 2011.

Rosie was overheard telling pals at Joe Allen’s restaurant in New York last night that deal is almost done to restore her to her place as Queen of DaytimeTalk.

*** end quote ***

REF: https://reinkefaceslife.com/2010/02/19/rant-queen-of-nice-calls-rush-limbaugh-a-junkie/

Sorry, Rosie, you fooled me once.

You and your talk show foil Garofalo.

When you needed the viewers, it was all sweetness and light. Once you didn’t you trashed the simpletons that believed you.

Well, sorry, fool me once.

And, it’s not a gay thing. See, when we watched you, we knew you were, you just took care not to rub our noses in it. Everyone is entitled to privacy and choices. Just not, a public lashing, gay or straight. I don’t want the airways filled with sex or invectives by anyone.

So, while I wish you no harm, don’t expect me to watch and enrich you.

Your time has passed.

And, as Judge Judy say, “… if your tongue came notarized.”

Don’t tell me it’s raining either.

Argh!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: “health care” slavery

Sunday, March 21, 2010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/19/AR2010031901470.html

Is health-care reform constitutional?
By Randy E. Barnett
Sunday, March 21, 2010

*** begin quote ***

But making you buy insurance merely because you are alive is a claim of power from which many Americans instinctively shrink. Senate Republicans made this objection, and it was defeated on a party-line vote, but it will return.

*** end quote ***

This “health care” bill makes us slaves. Even more of a slave than we already are?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | GOVEROTRAGEOUS | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: “Deal or No Deal” strategy

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Did you ever see “Deal or No Deal”?

As an IT Architecture / BPR kinda guy, I think you have to have a strategy to get through the game. (Hey, I play penny slots too. No genius here.)

The only way to get a MILLION is to have two MILLION cases at the end.

Strategy is critical to escape with a prize.

I think that can apply some elementary statistics or probability theory.

You can predict the “banker’s offer” approximately and that leads you to a process to play.

It seems to me that you can compare the offer based on picking a low or high case. Then you make the decision from that.

Suppose, for example, at any point in the game, the distribution of cases can tell you what to do relative to the offer.

The offer is “fair” if EV = ∑ (p sub i * V sub i) is equal to the Banker’s Offer.

When receiving the Banker’s Offer, one can calculate the EV (ALL) of the current set of cases, the EV (HIGH) dropping the highest case, and the EV (LOW) dropping the lowest case. In a truly random game, you can calculate the potential loss EV (LOW) – EV (ALL) . And the potential gain EV (HIGH) – EV (ALL).

The offer can then be subject to the same test.

IF there is only ONE high value, the OFFER is usually cut in half.

By comparing the potential gain versus the potential loss, that determines if the contestant should take the offer or not.

You can’t pick cases, (although 26 seems to have a MILLION more than probability would dictate), but you can have a money management strategy.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | GAMBLING, INTERESTING | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Obama’s NCAA Bracket

Saturday, March 20, 2010

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/03/obamas-ncaa-bracket-goes-bust-with-kansas-loss.html

Obama’s NCAA Bracket Goes Bust With Kansas Loss

March 20, 2010 8:43 PM

Joel Siegel and Karen Travers report:

*** begin quote ***

President Obama should hope that the big health-care vote scheduled for Sunday turns out better than his N.C.A.A. tournament picks.

*** end quote ***

Hmm, hope it goes against him as well. For the country’s sake!

Is this the new Presidential “Kiss of Death”?

He threatened the D’s that if they didn’t vote for his healthcare bill, he wouldn’t campaign FOR them. Maybe he should have threatened TO come campaign for them if they didn’t vote for his healthcare bill instead.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Drew Cary and Reson save Cleveland — Part 3

Saturday, March 20, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9-ozphsuSk

Why not?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: A taxonoly for conspiracy threories

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Since I stand accused as a tin foil hat, I thought I should embrace it.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/233518

Know Your Conspiracies
NEWSWEEK’s guide to today’s trendiest, hippest, and least likely fringe beliefs.
By David A. Graham | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Feb 12, 2010

*** begin quote ***

Like recurring nightmares, conspiracy theories aren’t necessarily gone for good just because they disappear for a while. They often come back, sometimes in slightly different forms. Their last golden age came during the middle of the Bush administration, which saw rumors from the political left about connections between the Bushes and the bin Ladens, insinuations about the military-industrial complex and the Patriot Act—actually, pretty much every plotline in Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Nothing breeds paranoid theories like political exile, which means that with Democrats back in the White House, it’s the right’s turn to take up the standard, a task it isn’t shirking. And of course, several leftist theories remain in circulation. If you’re having a hard time keeping all these paranoid points of view straight, here’s a handy primer.

*** end quote ***

*** begin quote ***

1. Barack Obama was not born in the United States
2. Anthropogenic global warming is a hoax.
3. Goldman Sachs intentionally created the economic crisis.
4. Democrats’ health plan will create death panels.
5. Barack Obama is a secret Muslim.
6. Sarah Palin is not the mother of her 1-year-old son, Trig.
7. ACORN is part of a liberal conspiracy to steal elections.
8. FEMA is establishing detention camps.
9. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is trying to infiltrate Capitol Hill and spread jihad.
10. Obama wants to conscript Americans into a civilian defense corps.
11. Time magazine wants to restrict the Internet to licensed users.
12. 9/11 was an inside job.
13. The Omnibus One-World Government, Unified Currency, Dollar-Abolishing, Free Trade–Advocating Theory of Everything

*** end quote ***

That’s a list; not a taxonomy!

What makes up a “good conspiracy”?

Buzz, coverups, and some truth in the the theory.

My taxonomy: (1) Government; (2) Political; (3) Historical; and (4) Miscellaneous.

(1) Government

(1-1) 9/11 Truthers have shown enough to convince me that we didn’t get the whole story.

(1-2) Did FDR deliberately provoke the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor and act to ensure it was a disaster.

(2) Political

(2-1) “Barack Obama”. Not that he wasn’t born in the USA; I don’t know. Just that there is a tremendous coverup of all his documentation. AND, someone is spending a ton of money to keep it hidden.

(2-3) The “Progressive Movement” is a conspiracy to convert the USA into a Marxist state.

(3) Historical; and

(3-1) Kennedy Assassination. Does any one believe that Oswald shot a magic bullet from a terrible rifle at an angle at moving target?

(3-2) The Lusitania was carrying contraband arms and should not have been an incident.

(3-3) The Federal Reserve Bank is “The Creature From Jekyll Island,”

(4) Miscellaneous

(4-1) Man Caused Global Warming, Please come shovel out my sidewalk!

(4-2) Apollo moon landings were “staged”

Is there a better taxonomy?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INSPIRATIONAL: Fess Parker, an American Icon

Friday, March 19, 2010

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8575904.stm

Page last updated at 09:41 GMT, Friday, 19 March 2010

Davy Crockett actor Fess Parker dies, aged 85

*** begin quote ***

Actor Fess Parker, famous for playing American pioneer Davy Crockett in Walt Disney’s classic 1950s TV series, has died in California at the age of 85.

*** end quote ***

An American icon.

A celebrity who was squeaky clean.

An example of the American hero.

Where are the replacements?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | INSPIRATIONAL | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Copyrights for out-of-print books? No!

Friday, March 19, 2010

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23683

Volume 57, Number 4 · March 11, 2010
Publishing: The Revolutionary Future
By Jason Epstein

*** begin quote ***

To offset the decline of backlist I launched in the mid-Eighties the Reader’s Catalog, an independent bookstore in catalog form from which readers could order 40,000 backlist titles by telephone. The Internet existed but had not yet been commercialized. The Reader’s Catalog was an instant success, confirming my belief in a strong worldwide market for backlist titles. But I had underestimated the cost of handling individual orders and concluded, with my backers, that if we continued our losses would become intolerable. The Internet was now available commercially. Amazon bravely took advantage of it and in the beginning suffered the losses that I feared. But by this time I had begun to hear of digitization and its buzzword, disintermediation, which meant that publishers could now look forward to marketing a practically limitless backlist without physical inventory, shipping expense, or unsold copies returned for credit. Customers would pay in advance for their purchases. This meant that even Amazon’s automated shipping facilities would eventually be bypassed by electronic inventory. This was twenty-five years ago. Today digitization is replacing physical publishing much as I had imagined it would.

*** end quote ***

As a society, we extend “copy right” protection to authors to ensure that ideas are available to benefit every one. When a book is “out of print”, then why do we give it “copy right protection” when we are denied access to the ideas. With the Internet and publish-on-demand, there is NO reason for a book to be “out of print”.

Time to reassess copyright laws.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RECOMMENDED: “The Invention of Lying”; just to true

Thursday, March 18, 2010

201003130929.jpg

The first lie ever told: “$800”!

Theology on two pizza boxes?

Stephanie March demanding sex. (Every boy’s dream?) “When he tests his discovery of lying by telling a woman that the world will end unless she has sex with him at that very moment but backs out at the last minute by claiming to have a phone call from NASA telling him the world is not going to end now.” ROFL!

“Let me know if you’ve lowered your standards.” (Too hot for me?)

“Man In The Sky forbid!”

Unfortunately, it’s a law of Nature that “hot” girls look down on fat old white guys with or without a “snub nose”. Sigh!

Hey, for a $1 from redbox and two hours of my life, recommended.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | RECOMMENDED | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Technology malpractice; Abbott Diabetes Care dictates how you interact!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

EMAIL RECEIVED AS A RESULT OF TEDIOUSLY ASKING A QUESTION ON THEIR WEB SITE

*** begin quote ***

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Abbott Diabetes Care, maker of FreeStyle and Precision products. We are pleased to provide you with a team of dedicated Specialists to help you understand your options in obtaining the FreeStyle and Precision products. Our Specialists are available to assist you toll free at 1-866-246-2683, Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 9 PM (CST).

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Abbott Diabetes Care

Join the FreeStyle Promise® Program Today and BE Supported! (https://www.freestylepromise.com)

This communication may contain information that is proprietary, confidential, or exempt from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any other dissemination, distribution, use or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete it from his or her computer.

*** end quote ***

No, I don’t want to call and talk to one of your “dedicated Specialists” (In a third world country?)

I just want you to answer my damn question.

If I wanted to endure the “fingernails on the blackboard” physical pain of calling your call center, I would have called in the first place.

My last THREE phone calls with product problems were really great experiences. Why would I want to repeat that experience? That’s why I sent you an email.

Argh!

If “marketing is a conversation”, Abbott Diabetes Care sure isn’t listening.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RECOMMENDED: “Love Happens” An Aniston chick flick

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

201003130849.jpg

Hmmm!

Sweet and the bird steals the show.

Seriously, was it debunking self-help gurus (i.e.: the guru’s realization that he practices none of the principles he teaches)? Tony Robbins came to mind.

Hey for a dollar from redbox. How bad could it be?

I found it funny.

And, took a good message away. “A-OK”?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | RECOMMENDED | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

WRITING: Words of Whizdumb (An Index Card Novel)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Words of Whizdumb (An Index Card Novel)

The fat old white guy injineer was a real tin foil hat to the end of his days.

He’d become one in high school, after reading about the “Winds Code”. It had been introduced in the Congressional Investigation of 1945. Even to a rank novice, a mere babe, he’d blown right through that deception. After that, he was a nonbeliever. He later absorbed Stinnett’s work.

Along the way, President Kennedy was assassinated. It wasn’t until much later that he dabbled in guns. It was then he learned first hand about how unreliable a Carcano was.

After that, he was a Truther, a Birther, or whatever -er was ever offered for consideration. He believed nothing. Except maybe the fact that no one ever spoke the “truth”. And certainly, no politician or bureaucrat.

+++

He wasn’t looking for his own conspiracy theory. He was just the below-average fat old white guy drifting through life. And, as an engineering student, he muddled through all the courses — math, physics, chemistry, strength of materials — to name a few. He drifted through the military with a stop at both NASA and NSA. He had a few jobs on Wall Street. He few jobs around NYC and the suburbs.

Along the way he collected souvenirs. And, he even wrote an obscure novel that he self-published. All his friends rolled their eyes at “a future alternative history”.

+++

The fat old white guy injineer was in a frenzy. It had struck him like Saint Paul on the road from Tarsus. A few chemical tests of his brick from 9/11. An photo identification analysis of a picture he’d taken in Princeton. Water analysis of some stored bottles on the porch of his Mom’s downtown apartment. Several late lights surfing the net.

+++

He put it all on a web page. He’d emailed it to every email address he had.

Then he sat back to wait.

+++

“Is it done?”

“Yes!”

“Clean?”

“Neat and clean!!”

“And, the material?”

“All the primary evidence!!!”

“Secondary?”

“No, sir.”

“No? Explain!”

Now sweating, “Sir, it was the encrypted page that alerted us. Ever since the Patriot Act 1, we have been scanning the net with our allies in the various ISPs. The code was unbreakable. That’s what brought it to our attention.” Now really sweating. “It was obviously a book code. And, it didn’t match any of the Library of Congress books. That was the key that put the investigation in overdrive.”

Grimacing, the sweaty man knew this wasn’t going to be taken well. “The ISP gave us the identity. It didn’t take long to track him down. He didn’t use any attempt to hide like the Onion Router. Or post from a hacked account. It was really quite easy to find him. Amazon’s sample look gave us enough text from his pathetic story to decrypt enough. That’s the story. The ISPs recalled many of the messages. We nuked the web page. Google cleaned its caches. Lulu and Amazon nuked the book for sale. So while secondary evidence is not totally clean, it’s clean enough.”

“OK!”

+++

The mail that day delivered a printed copy of the webpage to several people.

The thin old Luddite friend of the fat old white guy injineer looked at the page of gobbledygook. Sad about the untimely demise. It was another crypto challenge from his old friend. the last one. He was enough of a crypto nerd to know it was a book code and he knew what book his old friend had used. Now if he could just find it.

The mail was also delivered in Iowa; two letters addressed to each of the two twin children — just babies — who were heroes and heroines in the fat old white guy injineer’s book. The babies’ dad put each letter with each twin’s autographed and dedicated book in their memory chests. Like a hope chest for when they grow up.

+++

The nation’s sheeple slumbered. Never knowing that another disturbing -er had been avoided. Suppressed.

Or had it?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Writing | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: If this isn’t intergenerational theft, what is?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100305/ap_on_go_co/us_budget_deficits_3

Congressional estimates show grim deficit picture
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer
Fri Mar 5, 6:17 pm ET

*** begin quote ***

WASHINGTON – A new congressional report released Friday says the United States’ long-term fiscal woes are even worse than predicted by President Barack Obama’s grim budget submission last month.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that Obama’s budget plans would generate deficits over the upcoming decade that would total $9.8 trillion. That’s $1.2 trillion more than predicted by the administration.

*** end quote ***

Time for a serious acknowledgment. This generation was “robbed” by the last in the Social Security Ponzi scheme, as well as the continual addition to the debt. So to are we “robbing” future generations by piling on the debt and unfunded liabilities.

So what is the answer?

Well, clearly each year, the demographics change as to the intergenerational population. So there’s MUST be year to year deficit neutral budgets. Since there has to be a true up in the next financial year. So any deficit must be corrected in the following year. Since we can NOT eliminate the debt build up over 70 years in a few years, we need to have a 70 year deficit reduction plan. CLEARLY, we can’t have unfunded liabilities or off-budget expenditures.

So, it’s a giant mess.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Bears and bureaucrats

Monday, March 15, 2010

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100313/COMMUNITIES/303130002/Animal-groups-Could-ruling-lead-to-hunters-shooting-cats

Animal groups: Could ruling lead to hunters shooting cats?
BY COLLEEN O’DEA • STAFF WRITER • March 13, 2010

*** begin quote ***

The cat: Common, popular house pet or exotic, dangerous animal?

A number of animal activists have contacted state officials in an effort to head off a potential reclassification of feral cats, which could end the growing number of programs that trap, neuter and return them back into neighborhoods or the wild, and allow them to be hunted.

The state Fish and Game Council has condemned the idea of leaving cats in the wild and now another committee that reports to the state Department of Environmental Protection is studying the issue of TNR programs.

*** end quote ***

Argh!

What’s wrong with “hunting”? Is it more humane to let these past pets starve?

The NJ bureaucrat diddled with the bear population until, after a few “near misses” and one dead dog, they were forced to reinstate the “bear hunting season”. (My prediction is that is the last one will hear about NJ bears unless they are near extinction.)

How long before they are forced to do the same with feral cats?

An increase in diseases coming to humans a la the dear tick and lyme disease? An increase in children being threatened?

Maybe the remain bears will feast on the out-of-control cats?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Amazing cars you probably didn’t know about

Monday, March 15, 2010

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/car-tech/10-high-tech-cars-to-tear-up-the-tarmac-675005

Car tech News
10 high tech cars to tear up the tarmac
Our pick of the world’s most advanced street autos
By John Brandon
Friday at 15:20 GMT

*** begin quote ***

Car technology is advancing quickly – partly to save the auto industry from imminent collapse, but also because tech innovations can help save lives on the road.

*** end quote ***

Not sure if I need it to tell me that there are people in front of me. Maybe in a decade or two.

I probably could use it to remember the last speed sign we passed. Or remind where I see the radar traps.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Insane, but good, taxonomy of entreprenuers

Sunday, March 14, 2010

http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/06/replicators-innovators-and-bill-gates/

Replicators, Innovators, and Bill Gates
by Vivek Wadhwa
on Mar 6, 2010

*** begin quote ***

After agonizing over this for weeks, I went to my friends at the Kauffman Foundation, and they referred me to their book titled “Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism”. Carl Schramm and Bob Litan wrote that all who take the risk are entrepreneurs, but that there are two types of entrepreneurs: “Replicative entrepreneurs”, who constitute the vast majority of small businesses (such as restaurants and dry cleaners), and “innovative entrepreneurs” — the rare few who bring new products/services to market or who pioneer new production methods (such as Walmart, eBay, and Dell).

*** end quote ***

(Has Vivek gotten smarter since when I worked with him? Or, am I slipping?)

Interesting distinction.

My take on it is that the USA needs more of both kinds.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Health “something” takeover; just say “no”!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

FROM FACEBOOK

FJohn Reinke

>American Thinker Blog: A glimpse into our Kafkaesque future under Obamacare

“For a taste of the Kafkaesque under ObamaCare, consider the 159 new boards, panels and programs in the 2,733 page Senate Health bill, as compiled by Senate Republicans. These panels would be the face of ObamaCare for every aspect of every medical need of every American.”

WOW! And, this is better than the evil insurance companies?

# – # – #

FROM COMMENTATOR #1

Yes, infinitely better, because insurance company executives will not be getting rich on the backs of middle-class Americans while actively depriving working-class and poor Americans of access to health care for their families.

# – # – #

FJohn Reinke

Yeah, we’ll just have another slew of bureaucrats getting rich off of us. And, if you thought the insurance execs were highly paid, then wait until you see a bunch of gooferment executives and how much they get paid!

# – # – #

FROM COMMENTATOR #2

In other words, America should remain in the position that it ranks 37th among the world in providing health care and have a mortality rate higher than some 3rd world countries.

# – # – #

FJohn Reinke

AND, (with all due respect to a fellow Jasper), you think that turning over “health”, “health care”, or “health care insurance” — depending upon whatever the Socialists in DC are using to sway us today — is the way to improve that? It’s worked out REAL well for the American Indians who suffer with the “Indian Healthcare System”. It’s gooferment at it’s best where they are reported to say “Don’t get sick after June!”!!!!

Sorry, but as BAD as the current system is perceived to be, what they are going to do to us is WORSE.

And, my best argument: when you get screwed, who will you complain to? A gooferment court! Yeah right. AND, if you decide it’s a mistake, how are you going to unwind it? Answer: You can’t! It’s a one way street. Like another example of inter-generational theft, Social Security…. See More

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. TANSTAAFL: There Ain’t No Such Thing As a Free Lunch.

# # # # #

Upon reflection:

(1) It is interesting how the Socialists “shift terminology”. Are we talking about “health”, “health care”, or “health care insurance”? These are all very different things. And that leads right into the next point.

(2) The Socialists mix stuff together. DOWNSIZEDC has a “One Subject At A Time” effort. Are we trying to reach the “uninsured”? Are we trying to lower the cost of “insurance”? Are we trying to address the “portability” of insurance without regard to employment (a vestige of WW2 wage and price controls)? What are WE trying to accomplish?

(3) “Pre-existing conditions” can NOT be covered. Covering them makes it into welfare or pre-paid medical care; not insurance.

(4) The gooferment, particularly in the FDA and in Medicare, is totally immersed in the minutia of “Health Care”. To the point of “regulatory capture”. Big Pharma, Big Insurance, and Big Medicine have a strangle hold on the regulatory mechanism. They have an incestuous relationship with congress critters via campaign contributions and regulators by employment opportunities.

(5) Government should be the “referee”. If you’re screwed by an insurance company, you can appeal to the “king” via the courts and regulators. With Obama-care, if you’re screwed, to whom will you appeal?

(6) Strategically, Obama-care plan is a one way street. Once we create an entitlement, and the sheeple plan around it and come to depend upon it, it’s immoral to jerk the rug out from under them.

(7) Tactically, Obama-care plan is a one way street. If this wildly unpopular bill becomes law, and even if the Congress turns over to the R’s, Obama will still be President for two more years. He’ll veto any repeal. So, the taxes will go into effect. Who knows who will be President in 2012? Hillary, Pallin, Ron Paul?

For these reasons, I am fundamentally opposed to this monstrosity being proposed.

I’m not so much worried for myself. But Frau needs her “health care” and can’t afford any screw ups.

Argh!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | GOVEROTRAGEOUS | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Just use GMT!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

http://www.lewrockwell.com/pr/end-daylight-saving-time2.html

End Daylight Saving Time
by Sheila Danzig

*** begin quote ***

It has not escaped our notice that in the United States, Eastern standard time is the same as Central daylight time and Mountain standard time is the same as Pacific Daylight Time. Thus, we propose that The Pacific and Central time zones remain on permanent daylight saving time, and that the Mountain and Eastern time zones remain on permanent standard time.

*** and ***

This proposal will simplify scheduling, travel, and commerce. And by ending semi-annual clock tampering, it will also allow people to get more sleep, be better adjusted to their daily routine, avoid missed appointments resulting from failure to reset clocks, and, most importantly, save lives.

*** end quote ***

http://www.standardtime.com/

I don’t agree completely.

Let’s just go to GMT time. COmputers already do.

And, leave everyone free to sort out the details themselves.

With one standard time, people will sort it out.

# # # # #

1 Comment | Technology | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Four cents?

Sunday, March 14, 2010

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/13/2604016/irs-suits-pay-visit-to-car-wash.html

Bob Shallit: IRS visits Sacramento carwash in pursuit of 4 cents

By Bob Shallit

The Sacramento Bee

Published: Saturday, Mar. 13, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1B

*** begin quote ***

It was every businessperson’s nightmare.

Arriving at Harv’s Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. “They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending,” says Harv’s owner, Aaron Zeff.

The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff’s on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was … 4 cents.

Inexplicably, penalties and taxes accruing on the debt – stemming from the 2006 tax year – were listed as $202.31, leaving Harv’s with an obligation of $202.35.

*** end quote ***

He was lucky they didn’t use their “customer satisfaction devices” (i.e., one or more of those assault rifles the IRS recently took delivery of)!

Argh!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | GOVEROTRAGEOUS | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Gooferment interferes in medicine

Saturday, March 13, 2010

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2010/03/dispatches-and-loser-is.html

“Americans spent $7,289 per capita in 2006 compared with Norway’s per capita figure of $4,763. Canada, which has a single-payer system, spends $3,895 per capita.”

I’m just a fat old white guy injineer. But, you’ve got apples and oranges comparison here. You’re comparing the semi-socialist USA with the more socialist N and C. AND, then telling us that “it’s twice as bad”.

Sorry, but we have the worst of both worlds. Federal interference in the drug market place. Regulation of everything in sight “medical” at all levels of gooferment — federal, state, county, and municipality — adds enormous costs. Not all of which are accounted for. The costs are indeciperable.

I’m frustrated trying to demonstrate it to you.

Let’s compare insurance marketplaces. Medical insurance is disaster. Car insurance is better than medical, but still costly. Life insurance is cheap, and other than fiscal solvency, basically unregulated.

One problem is that “medical insurance” is more like pre-paid medical care; rather than “insurance”. Another problem is that the cost of regulation and bureaucracy is extraordinary. Pay a doctor in cash and you’ll find 50 to 75% discounts. Finally, drugs are the “technology” that will flatten the medical cost curve. But FDA and BigPharma are conspiring to keep the cost of entry high. Also, the FDA gets criticism if an “unsafe” drug gets out, but none if it never gets out at all.

Look at how we do “medical care” with all the government intervention. I have cold, sunburn, or a sprain. I need to go to the government licensed doctor, to get a prescription on a government approved form, take it to the government licensed pharmacy, where a government licensed druggist dispenses something aking to an aspirin. Note, I left out the government licensed and government regulated insurance company.

Argh! Recently, I got sunburned in a Third World Country island. I went to the local gas station and bought some lidocaine-laced aloe gel after consulting with the gas jockey (about the cost in US dollars). Also, recently, on a different trip, I was in a First World Country in Europe with a headache, needed an asparin, and went to the “drug store” to find out that I had to have “a script from a doctor” to buy such a “powerful drug”. Are you kidding me?

Finally, “We, The People” are free to do anything we want with OUR bodies. It’s the essence of self-ownership. If I want medical advice from an “unlicensed” provider and put “unapproved” drugs into it, that’s my business. Not the gooferment’s.

Keep your gooferment out of my body, my health, and my business. It’s only role is protect my rights from being abridged by force or fraud. “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ..”

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Where do the homeless go?

Saturday, March 13, 2010

“… … … they will disappear just like the homeless do when a Democrat is elected President.”

# – # – #

Very astute observation. Where do they go? Nowhere, they just are no longer useful to beat the Republican up with.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

GAMBLING: An interesting problem

Saturday, March 13, 2010

http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/57864.html

Penney’s Game
6 March 2010
By Donald Catlin

*** begin quote ***

Every now and then in this column I like to look at so-called proposition bets (for example see my archived article An Earful of Cider that appeared in December of 1999). These are wagers that sound like either a sure thing, or at worst a fair bet, and are anything but. A dandy example of this is Penney’s Game named after its inventor Walter Penney (Journal of Recreational Mathematics, October 1969, p. 241). I wish to thank my friend The Midnight Skulker for bringing this game to my attention.

*** end quote ***

I don’t know how this applies to gambling in that I don’t know where you can get such a bet in a casino.

That being said, the article’s findings (i.e., Player B has an advantage) were surprising.

Given that playing slots is like being Player B (I.e., the Casino is Player A and sets the terms of the wager), I’d like an advantage.

Last time I heard of a player getting an advantage was when the Canadian casino kept turning off the Keno machine allowing the same results to come day after day. Wonder if that smart fellow, who won a lot of money, was allowed to keep his “winnings”. (Hope so!)

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | GAMBLING | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Thinkg about non-stopping Toyotas

Friday, March 12, 2010

FROM A FACEBOOK EXCHANGE

*** begin quote ***

ABCDEF wants to know how you can be trapped in a runaway car with a stuck accelerator for 20 minutes. I would like to know if people are so stupid to not know that turning off the car will at least allow you to coast to a stop if the brakes are not working (icluding the emergency brake). Or is there some hidden part of the st…ories where the cars cannot be turned off? If there is… why hasn’t any media outlet said that?

*** end quote ***

I “believe” (Medicine from Doctor Phil, Law from Judge Judy, and Politics from Glen Beck) that the stupid things do NOT respond to turning the key OFF. (Not to ACC or to the position that allows the key to be extracted and locks the steering.) The lame street Press has reported that there is SOME kind of a button, somewhere in the cabin, that can … See Morebe pushed for an “emergency stop”. (I’d have thought pushing the brake pedal would engage the brake. OH NO, dumm, there’s some SOFTWARE involved in the process. Are they out of their freakin’ minds. Nobody involved ever done “software” support.) Sigh.

P.S. In my Mom’s garage, sometimes people block me in. I used to move cars. Now, if it’s a Toyota, I call the attendant. :-) Discretion!

# – # – #

I, and others, don’t think it’s that easy. From what I understand, admittedly just from what I read, software is allowed to over ride the operator stomping on the brake. I find that incredulous. But, evidently, this little gem has a software that has a mind of its own. I’ll play Sargent Shultz, who says “I know nuthin, Nuting, Nothing at all”! But, it may not be so clear cut. Just an opinion.

# – # – #

*** begin quote ***

GHIJKL: sorry , i’ve never known a car that doesn’t allow you to take it out of gear , and emergency breaks are a physical cable with 0 electronics in them ( thats sort of the point of them else they wouldn’t be able to pass inspection ) although i believe breaks could be disabled due to abs and you may not be able to turn off the engine , a gear box is a gear box , can ALWAYS put it in neutral even if you cant do park/reverse.

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but I think we are ALL going to need to do a “software update”. A month ago, I’d have said the same thing. (Probably with a lot more sarcasm!) Without having gotten one of these gems and ripped it apart, the Main Stream Media — or Lamestream Media — has led me to believe that this is no longer true. The car has a significant software …

# – # – #

[JR: I’ll continue to follow the reports.]

# # # # #

UPDATE

Now it appears that there is some question about the authenticity and accuracy of these claims.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Can’t Yahoo at least id spam that claims to be from Yahoo?

Friday, March 12, 2010

*** begin quote ***

From: “Yahoo!” <jenny@networkci.net>
Date: March 12, 2010 1:53:42 AM EST
To: <jenny@networkci.net>
Subject: Verify Your Account Services!!!
Reply-To: mail.dataservicea2@yahoo.com



Yahoo! Customer Care Satisfaction Survey

                             Account Alert Yahoo!

Dear Valued Member,
Due to the congestion in all Yahoo users and removal of all unused Yahoo! Accounts, Yahoo would be shutting down all unused accounts, You will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Login Info below after clicking the reply botton, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.
UserName: ……………………………… Yahoo!
Password:………………………………….
Date Of Birth: …………………………………..
Country Or Territory:..……………………….
After Following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconvinience.



Yahoo! Customer Care Yahoo!


*** end quote ***

This type of SPAM is exceptionally frustrating.

Yahoo should at least be able to catch it.

They even have a offering of “hidden addresses”. So you’d thing they could use that to ensure that their sers KNOW what’s really from them.

Come on, guys, this ain’t rocket science! Is it?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Free audio books

Friday, March 12, 2010

http://www.booksshouldbefree.com

BooksShouldBeFree.com

*** begin quote ***

Your source for free audio books. Download one in mp3, iPod and iTunes format today.

*** end quote ***

The great, not so great, and terrible books for those long car rides!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Wasn’t the Census used in the round up of the Japanese Americans for “internment” in WW2?

Thursday, March 11, 2010

http://www.lewrockwell.com/barnett/barnett18.1.html

The Census and History: It Is Not a Pretty Picture!
by Gary D. Barnett
…  is president of Barnett Financial Services, Inc., in Lewistown, Montana.

*** begin quote ***

I have been discussing the unconstitutional nature and danger of modern census taking for several years. By attempting to expose through my writing the very invasive practice of the “census,” and by educating others about the false reasoning for these government intrusions, my hope is that more and more people will contradict the accepted system by not complying with the census process. One can do this and still remain within constitutional bounds simply by refusing to give any information other than the number of people living in a particular home. This seems simple enough, but due to threats of fine or worse, and threats by the federal government to withhold tax redistributions from state, county and local communities, the populace at large continues to acquiesce to “State” pressure.

*** and ***

The point I want to make is that data-collection by government about the citizenry is always dangerous. Future uses of this private information can never be known. Besides the fact that it is anti-liberty, it allows the state to monitor its citizens, and also sets the stage for an easier path for government to control the people. While the U.S. Census may seem harmless enough to the masses, it could eventually lead to disastrous results. Today we are not only being counted by government, but are having our private information gathered and data-based as well. Our phones are tapped, our emails are captured, our movements are watched, our financial records are monitored and warrantless search and seizure is common.

*** end quote ***

Don’t forget the role of the US Census in the Japanese Internment!

# – # – #

From: reinke, ferdinand
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 9:50 AM
To: gbarnett
Subject: with respect to the Census

Wasn’t the Census used in the round up of the Japanese Americans for “internment” in WW2?

# – # – #

From: “Gary Barnett”
Date: March 10, 2010 12:02:19 PM EST
To: “‘reinke, ferdinand
Subject: RE: with respect to the Census

Yes it was, and I should have mentioned it in my article.

All best … Gary

# – # – #

NOT bad for a fat old white guy injineer.

When it comes to ANY gooferment program, remember: ineffective, inefficient, and can be pervert to an evil purpose.

How do you tell when a politician, a bureaucrat, or “The Gooferment” is lying? Yup, when their lips move.

“The Census will never be misused.” Tell that to the approximately 110,000 Nisei Japanese Americans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment who were forcibly “interned”.

(Much fewer in Hawaii. Why? No Germans on the East Coast. Why?)

(My Grandmothers, on both my Father’s and Mother’s sides, living on opposite coasts, spoke fluent German at home as their primary language. As did their brothers and sisters. They stopped after Pearl Harbor for fear of internment. How’s that for chilling? I could have been born in an internment camp. If this silliness got out of hand.)

Argh!

The Gooferment is evil.

# # # # #

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »