Emancipate your hard drive!

L.A. Bans Master/Slave

In the latest round of government niggardliness (I love that word!) against the English language, L.A. County notifies vendors that using the term “Master/Slave” to describe computer hardware is racially insensitive!
 

How Guns Define America

FREEDOM

This essay covers the impact of the freedom to carry guns on American culture. It uses many examples from history, playing the Hitler card quite often. While most of the essay is thick in history and philosophy, my favorite part uses a fictional example:

I recently visited a website that featured a picture of Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, with the caption: My hero! Someone who thinks his way out of trouble! The implication, of course, is that force and violence are universally to be rejected and despised as unworthy of thinking people (or Vulcans).

Well bucko, Spock carried a phaser as well as a tricorder, and he used it when he had to. If the Star Trek future represents a hope for our species at its most reasonable and open-minded best, it would be well to remember that the Enterprise carries a hell of a lot of photon torpedoes because the cause of human decency cannot be advanced if all the decent humans lie dead.

Bad medicine for the senate

Senators swallow hard over Dayton's medicine

Sen. Dayton (D-Minn) came up with a amazing approach to show his contempt of the Medicare prescription drug bill. He proposed an ammendment to the bill that lowers senators' own drug benefits to match what is being proposed for senior citizens.

Of course, the senators passed the ammendment 93-3. What else could they do? If they didn't vote yes on the ammendment they would publically confirm that they are the two-faced, back-stabbing, ass-hats we all know they are.

You can read more of Dayton's comments on this issue at his press office's web site.

Original source - the General Bullshit forums at Something Awful (SA/GBS).
Thanks to Tricia for pointing this link my way.

I am pissing beatles!!!

Boy breeds beetles in his body

Indian kid has beetles, over 1/2cm long, coming out of his penis! OUCH!

Thanks to Claes for this link. 

Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy

“Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy, Buy One Get One Free”

A fantastic (and very long) speech about "New Democracy" and the death of "real democracy".

Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy (bring to a boil, add oil, then bomb).

Real audio replay of the speech. If you prefer to read it instead, the transcript is included on the same page.

A new god

Inside the Soul of the Web

A person watches 24 hours of Google queries scroll across a screen in real time. I haven't read something that left me this disturbed in a long long time.

I'd never thought about it before, but running a search engine is an awesome responsibility. Users look to Google the same way some people look to a god. But unlike a god, Google actually might have an answer. But it isn't really a god. Google is run by people. And people, unlike a god, can make mistakes. What happens when a person prays to Google, but the answer is a mistake? I guess even a god can't help everyone...

The Big Rip

The Big Rip: New Theory Ends Universe by Shredding Everything

A rather harrowing new theory about the death of the universe paints a picture of "phantom energy" ripping apart galaxies, stars, planets and eventually every speck of matter in a fantastical end to time.

Special Delivery!

To Stonesthrow Apartments, Property Management:

Regarding your policy requiring written notice prior to receiving any package from a public shipping courier or the US Postal service: Terrorism via public shipping has usually targeted only very important places or people. Stonesthrow apartments is not an important place. None of your residents are important people likely to attract the attention of a terrorist. The likelihood of a terrorist attack at Stonesthrow via public delivery services is significantly lower than the likelihood of one of your residents busting into your office and shooting everyone in anger because one of their important packages was not delivered due to nonsensical bureaucratic paranoia.

Thank you,

Stephen M. Redd,
Resident

Deliver us from Yvel!

One of my long time aliases is the name "Yvel". I came across this today, and thought the use of yvel was particularly interesting in this context.

The Lord's Prayer in English:
From a 15th century MS, Douce 246, Bodleian library

Fader oure that art in heuene, halewed be thy name: thy kyngedom come to thee: thy wille be do in erthe as in heuen: oure eche dayes brede 3eue us to daye: and for3eue us oure dettes as we for3eue to oure dettoures: and lede us no3te into temptacion: bot delyver us from yvel. Amen.

They feared me back in the 15th! Not sure what the "3"s are all about though, maybe some 15th century form of l337 speak...

Pac Man afflicted kids..

"Computer games don't affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we'd all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music..."

~ Kristian Wilson, CEO, Nintendo Gaming Corporation, Inc, 1989

Fake Piggie

"...but it feels so fake when you make yourself squeal like a piggie, 'cause you don't usually mean it."

-- Lloyd Baker

Tell me about it!

Atlantis Under Antarctica?

Atlantis Under Antarctica?

An interesting article giving some interesting historical evidence to support the notion that Antarctica may have been the seat of a very advanced Human civilization.

Link courtesy of Jeremiah.