I didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning.

After Suzanne went back up to the room, I was still feeling froggy. I went back down to the Gnomedex lobby area and chatted with Mike for well over an hour. As the 2 AM witching hour approached, I wasn't yet ready to call it a night. I didn't really feel much like hitting the streets so I checked out the dance club in the hotel. I didn't crash until four in the morning. Suzanne finally succeeded in waking me up at 8:30 this morning. Now I'm whipped! I'm exceedingly happy that there's a Starbuck's in the hotel lobby.

Can I please call it Faux News now?

This wasn't actually posted until 10:30 AM Tahoe time. I tried like hell to get it up last night (keep your mind out of the gutter), but I was having no luck at all. This is what I was thinking around midnight last night.

I realize that this isn't the norm, but I'm still frequently bothered by Fox News. I'm not bothered by their opinion-based prime-time programming. I'm bothered by the whole "Fair and Balanced" thing. Hell, it doesn't matter much anyway. I watch MSNBC at home because I find Keith Olbermann to be extraordinarily entertaining.

Sad news...

It's exceedingly sad that Lori Hacking's body has been found, but it might be possible to find slight solace in the fact that she can now be given a proper burial.

Suzanne and I went to our room after the band finished and the prize giveaways were done. We watched a little bit of the vidiot box but I was feeling fairly antsy. I'm still antsy. I convinced her that we could at least head down to where we have free wi-fi. The area has mainly cleared out, but there are a few people left yakking about everything tech under the sun. Entertaining...

If you haven't heard by now, John Kerry and El Dubya had a little debate on Thursday evening. I didn't watch a great deal of it because the canned responses would have probably pissed me off. David Cobb and Michael Badnarik also had a debate on Thursday evening. Who are those guys? A free registration (including details like phone number) is required at the Free-Market News Network, but they have archived video of the debate between Cobb and Badnarik. It's entirely too bad that Badnarik and Cobb won't be seen with Dubya and JFK. What do you expect, a democratic process?

Howwwwwwwwwwwwwwdy-ho!

It's pretty much the end of the first official day of Gnomedex. The schedule for the day was as listed at the Geeks Gone Wild conference schedule for October 1. This is the third year that we have attended Gnomedex. The previous years had individual speakers speaking one at a time. The previous years saw individuals like Leo Laporte, Doc Searls, John C. Dvorak, Rob Malda, and a number of other people speaking. The format for this year was panels. I enjoyed the format change. This years speakers are listed at the schedule link above. I enjoyed the dialogue generated by having the panels. The Silicon Valley Houserockers are rockin' the house and being interrupted every once in a while by the folks from Via who are bound and determined to hand out a crapload of prizes and Gnomedex swag. That's cool!

Well, we made it to Gnomedex relatively unscathed!

Here are the first pictures I've taken. They're not awesome or anything, but they're a start.

Dude, our hotel in Chicago (Des Plaines actually) has an Indian TV channel with Indian soaps...

OK, so that's not really quite my speed (or Suzanne's). In fact, she just flipped the channel. I'm normally the one who wants to gain knowledge (or at least hear the news) by watching the idiot box.

Congratulations to Judge Victor Marrero. He's the judge who wrote today's opinion that portions of Patriot's investigation rules and non-disclosure requirements are un-Constitutional. Here's the conclusion:

"To summarize, the Court concludes that the compulsory, secret, and unreviewable production of information required by the FBI's application of 18 U.S.C. § 2709 violates the Fourth Amendment, and that the non-disclosure provision of 18 U.S.C. § 2709(c) violates the First Amendment. The government is therefore enjoined from issuing NSLs under § 2709 or from enforcing the non-disclosure provision in this or any other case, but enforcement of the Court's judgment will be stayed pending appeal, or if no appeal is filed, for 90 days."

I don't hate the government or any of the people we have elected (or hopefully might send packing back to Crawford). I just drastically disagree with them and I think they want too much space in our lives. Patriot was a knee-jerk reaction after an extraordinarily traumatic event. It's time to go back to the drawing board and make sure that we are protected but safe under the Constitution. John ("To those who pit Americans against immigrants, and citizens against non-citizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America’s friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil. Our efforts have been crafted carefully to avoid infringing on constitutional rights while saving American lives.") Ashcroft's phantoms might be real after all.

If you're wondering about that 18 U.S.C. § 2709 thing, look no further than this link.

Lake Tahoe, we're almost on the way!

Are the "war on terror" and/or our little adventure in Iraq a war against Islam?

I happen to believe that they come dangerously close. Why? No, it's not because the overwhelming majority of present day transnational terrorists are radical adherents of Islam. It's because of the things our country does. For some reason, many of our elected leaders feel morally responsible for ensuring that democracy, tolerance, diversity, and many other facets of our way of life take root and thrive in other countries. One of the latest examples was the 2004 report from the State Department on International Religious Freedom.

Why do I believe that America's overwhelming desire to see other countries accept freedom, diversity, and tolerance partially constitute a battle against Islam? Islam means submission. I believe that it would be possible for a predominantly Muslim country to hold free elections and follow parts of our way of life (if they desired). However, there are portions of life which are completely bound with the requirement to submit. That requirement for submission would preclude some of the tolerance and acceptance of diversity that many in the West see as prime virtues of a free society.

Our operation in Iraq was primarily based on "WMD". When it began to appear that WMD wouldn't be found, the thrust started to move to, "But we freed an oppressed people from a brutal dictator." Later on in the occupation, some talk of a Constitution based on Sharia law started to occur. We couldn't have that! Paul Bremer threatened to put the kibosh on that. Such a constitution wouldn't be in line with our desire to have a democracy in the Middle East.

The Michael Ledeens of the world try to brush aside the naysayers by using Reagan's "victory" against those damn pinko Commies as proof that America can and will force her values elsewhere in the world. What price did that come at? In the book Imperial Hubris, the anonymous author recollects a Senate hearing from the 80s in which a Senator acted surprised that the future Afghan leaders would be "anti-American Muslims". What enemies of our future are we supporting/creating in our current campaigns? Only time will tell...

There is a time to be brutally vicious. We've already missed on one count. Osama's head wouldn't be a magic bullet to stop the "war on terror". However, it would show that we're not screwing around when we say "dead or alive".

All of that gets away from the point that, for some reason, we think that the religious affairs of other countries need to be conducted as they are in America. That is arrogant. It also comes dangerously close to being "fightin' words".

I've finally done it...

No, I haven't figured out the answer to any fundamental questions of life (e.g. "Why are we here?") yet. However, I finally got my Badnarik for President yard sign put in my front yard.

Take two...

My mother called during the initial airing of Persons of Interest. It was good to talk to her and she was wishing us a good trip to Gnomedex. I could have recorded it on the Replay earlier I suppose. I just didn't think about it...

So far, this show is pretty good. It's not a lightning-paced anti-terror flick. It's just the story of twelve of the thousands of people who were detained after 9/11. I'll break to actually pay attention to this documentary now.

Ta-ta!

In the never-ending quest to find something interesting on the boob tube...

I was checking out this evening's listings. We normally watch The Screen Savers followed by Countdown on MSNBC. I was looking to see what comes on at 8 PM (Central). I noticed a documentary called Persons of Interest. We're going to watch that. It's too bad that this is currently only seeing airtime on The Sundance Channel. From the film's website, here's a brief description of what the show is about:

"After the Sept.11 terrorist attacks, more than 5,000 people, mainly non-U.S. nationals of South Asian or Middle Eastern origin, were taken into custody by the U.S. Justice Department and held indefinitely on grounds of national security. Muslim immigrants were subject to arbitrary arrest, secret detention, solitary confinement, and deportation. Many were denied access to legal representation and communication with their families. During a period when the U.S. government has made every effort to depersonalize these detentions, refusing to reveal the names or even the number of immigrants detained, the voices of those affected — their testimonials and experiences — become our only window into the human costs of post September 11th immigration policies. Following an unconventional format, Persons of Interest presents a series of encounters between former detainees and directors Alison Maclean (Jesus’ Son) and Tobias Perse in an empty room which serves both visually and symbolically as an interrogation room, home, and prison cell. Through interviews, family photographs, and letters from prison, the directors have fashioned a compelling and poignant film, allowing those affected a chance to tell their own stories."

A haiku 4 U....

Imperialist?
Hell no! Not the U S A!
Only led by dweebs!

I thought about making the title "A haiku a day keeps (something) away" but I didn't know if I'd have the discipline to keep it up.

That one was inspired by a few bottles of Guinness, just viewing Kill Bill: Volume 1, surfing the Children of Acid website, general boredom, general dislike of either of the two big party candidates, and probably a few other things.

Kill Bill was interesting. I'm not even totally sure why we didn't bother to see either of the Kill Bill movies in the theater. I can't wait to see the second part.

Suzanne and I were driving around town yesterday afternoon and we actually saw a Badnarik for President lawn sign in someone's front yard. I don't believe that this is one of the individuals we've seen at any of the local Badnarik in 2004 meetups. Maybe the word is getting out slowly. I haven't done as much as I should have. I need to rectify that situation...

I've refrained from discussing PABAAH here because I think they're pathetic...

However, they're targeting a flick that I plan on seeing with a boycott. One of the beautiful things about this country is that PABAAH is free to boycott this movie while the creators were able to make it and I'll be free to go see it. The thing that I find amazing is that the character(s) in question feel that they can judge a two (or so) hour movie by a two or three minute trailer. I'm sure that Trey Parker and Matt Stone will heap ridicule on both sides of the political arena and do it in a completely blasphemous manner. More power to them. As I've mentioned at the boards, I'll see this movie at least twice in honor of the dorks who are boycotting it. The only thing PABAAH's boycott proves to me is that they probably have a lacking sense of humor and are extraordinarily quick to boycott things when they don't know the whole story.

Hell, I bet PABAAH was cheering when this guy was refused entry to the United States. I don't know the whole story, but this dude just doesn't strike me as having terrorist ties. It's always possible and maybe someone has some "double secret probation" type evidence against him. I'm not holding my breath waiting for it to make its way to the public...

I was happy to receive one reasonable response to my anti-Bush/Kerry e-mail...

I suppose that I respond with e-mails against both of them because I don't feel represented well by either party. Besides, it's fun to let people know that there are political parties other than Democans/Republicrats. It gets people thinking about what they believe. I can sure as hell guarantee you that most media outlets and/or political entities don't talk much about alternatives.

Gnomedex begins next week. I'm ready now! We get to enjoy our annual CPR training at work tomorrow and then I'll be off until we get back from Tahoe.

Yahoo! has been running its Tech Tuesday column for ten months now. There's a lot of good information available. Check it out.

First it was Achim. Suzanne wasn't far behind. Both recommended checking out Firefox. I did and I like it. For now, I'm still mixing the use of both. However, I eventually intend to see if I like using an alternative exclusively. Hey, it's free! Give it a shot.

Well, I think I'll go get mentally prepared for CPR training (take that as get ready for bed). Nighty-night!

Two score and eighteen years ago, my father....

Was brought forth into this world.

Happy Birthday Zzaj!

I haven't talked much about the whole CBS thing because it really gets my goat. I checked out the documents online and had questions from the minute I saw them. There are issues that are much more important. However, just like the upcoming crap debates (for which you can be sure that a new Memorandum of Understanding has been drafted), issues and tough questions are rarely tackled and third parties are rarely invited.

Last week, I received a "10 reasons why Christians can't vote for Kerry" e-mail. This week, I just received a "10 reasons why Christians should vote for Bush" e-mail. I just finished sending my retort. I'm sure it will stir up some crap. I won't vote for the candidate I was using as an example, but I still won't be voting for Dubya OR Kerry either. I just received the first response. It was a "mail delivery failure" message from an AOL user who apparently doesn't want to hear about politics. I wonder if the blocker blocks the messages from the individual who sent me this gack in the first place...

First, we heard about the CIA's July NIE regarding Iraq...

Now there's news that even some Republicans are criticizing Dubya and Co.'s policies regarding Iraq. The administration's smiling face and assertions that all will be well reminds me of the young ROTC officer trying to maintain control of the crowd near the end of the movie Animal House...

"All is well. Remain calm. ALL IS WELL! REMAIN CALM!"

I hope that Dubya's re-election campaign will suffer the same fate as the ROTC officer. The crowd didn't remain calm and the poor young dude was flattened as people ran away from the chaotic scene. Four more years...of what? Pre-emptive defense?!? Will it be Iran next? They sure seem to be high profile on the radar.

Speaking of Iran...I feel that it's always important to listen to what other people (friendly or otherwise) are saying. Following that line of thinking, check out the Islamic Republic News Agency's website (from Iran). I'm pretty sure that I've put the link for North Korea's official propaganda mouthpiece here before. If I haven't, click here and enjoy.

Although my 20 year reunion is still four years away, I still like to occasionally see who I can find via the internet. I've been an unpaid member at one "past connections" site for at least five years and they have a pretty fair number of individuals listed from my graduating class. However, there are other places (e.g. Yahoo! groups) that have comparable features and don't currently want $39/year.

I just reviewed the text of Dubya's latest weekly radio address. The last paragraph is interesting. I want to know what "additional proposals" Dubya will make. He says, "For the sake of our common security, and for the sake of our common values, the international community must rise to this historic moment. And the United States is prepared to lead." That sounds very similar to the argument Dubya used to call the UN to action against Iraq...

Here we go again...

Our country is rating other countries on the amount of religious freedom that exists in them. First, it's not our job. We can hope that other countries will espouse tolerance, but we should never make any attempt to enforce tolerance. Using a carrot and stick in the effort to coerce other countries to take on our rather liberal view of tolerance is just plain silly and likely to reinforce already widespread resentment of the United States. Your tax money, hard at work....

What do you get when you remove a tyrannical leader (who was supported by the US for years) who maintained an iron grip on his country in the Middle East? Let's hope the CIA's worst predictions don't come true. That article is at the New York Times. You can either register for free or go here for logins from people who have registered bypass accounts. If the first one doesn't work, click the "This login didn't work" button for a different login.

I guess that one of our reasons for going in is scheduled for termination. The Iraq Survey Group is about to release a report saying that we have found no WMD (excluding a decades old sarin shell). I still wonder why we had bio-weapons related material going to Hussein AFTER the first Gulf War...

Lest I forget....

Go wish Jim and company the best of luck. This bastard Ivan looks like he wants to take a drive right up I-65.

I've never been much of one for signs or omens or the like (and I'm still not)...

However, it's totally unusual (I've never seen this) to see an immense rainbow (while I was on the way home from work this morning) that looked as if it spanned the width of the Mississippi River and then see another full and colorful arch right before sunset this evening. Perhaps the Norse gods are coming back via Bifrost.

This morning I noticed that Achim's blog had been updated recently. While looking around his links page, I noticed that he had links to a couple of Wikimedia sites. I had no idea that there was so much info available via Wikis. I didn't say much about 9/11/01 on 9/11/04 because I wanted to contemplate in silence and refrain from tarnishing a day of remembrance with my abhorrence for the fact that our ELECTED leaders still believe that we need to spread democracy (or any of our other ideals) throughout the world or create peace in areas of the world that have seen strife since before our country came into being. However, I noticed a wiki project that has great potential for the fourth and/or fifth anniversary of 9/11. It would be amazing to see the 9/11 Memorial section of Wikipedia grow by leaps and bounds as a tribute to what was lost on that day. Anybody can contribute to the wiki. If you have something to say, go say it. It would probably be best to familiarize yourself with how to do so first.

As we are often prone to do, we were having a discussion at work the other night...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

First and foremost, there's an amber alert that doesn't appear to be showing up on the ticker yet...

This amber alert is from Silvis, IL. See here for details. Maybe it will show up a little later. Update: This appears as if it has been canceled.

I think I've recovered from the twelve-hour nights. You can ask Suzanne. I was 100% WAXED. It's better now...

The bunnies have left the yard.

I have three gmail invites. Leave a comment with an email address and I'll speed an invitation on its way.

Zeitgeist anyone?

We're about T-20 days and counting...

Perhaps I'll have my desktop fixed by then. At least I've got the laptop. I had a few issues with my desktop recently and now it's acting like the power supply is wonky. If I have to buy many more new parts, I might just bite the bullet and buy a cheap new system. I like the ease of piece by piece replacement. Heck, I've had most of my current system for at least four years (some pieces longer). However, it seems like the point of diminishing returns is getting near.

Charley came and went. That beeeeeyotch Frances did another number on Florida. Ivan's now waiting in the wings. You might ask what the next series of storms will be named. Click here and see. Actually, that whole site has a great deal of information.

P.S. - I was able to mow the lawn today without killing any bunnies. However, I think I did scare the crap out of them. Perhaps they are scarred for life. For what it's worth, I don't subscribe to the philosophies presented at the aforementioned link. I just thought it was funny.

C-Span...

I'm watching C-Span right now. Michael Badnarik and David Cobb (Libertarian and Green respectively) are in the midst of a pre-recorded debate that actually took place on 8/31/2004. I'll bet you didn't hear anything about it in the "news". I hope that it will be available online sometime.

Suzanne's last paragraph in this entry is making fun of Dubya. I have deeper problems with other things that Dubya says. One of the blurbs he has been repeatedly using for a little while is, "The wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom. I believe America is called to lead the cause of freedom. I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that given the chance, they will embrace the most honorable form of government every devised by man. I believe all these things because I understand freedom is not America's gift to the world, freedom is the almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this world." I happen to disagree that "American strength" is the best way to get the word out.

In keeping with the finest traditions of Labor Day, I labored. I can't complain much. Suzanne worked for four hours this morning and I worked until 3 PM.

If you're Chinese, you'd better not peddle porn online. 250,000 clicks on a Chinese-owned porn site could land the owner in prison FOR LIFE. I realize that there are plenty of people in this country who wouldn't mind seeing penalties similar to that for porn-peddling (or perhaps even surfing). While we're at it, let's lock up all cheesecake-eating, cigarette-smoking, beer-swilling, non-church-going, dissent-speaking (or any combination thereof and more) people. We'd be better off, right? That brings me to one thing we were talking about at work today. I don't see how anyone would ever want to be a polygamist. However, I think that the Supreme Court decision that upheld law against it was wrong. I don't care what the European traditions said about polygamy. I care if anyone's right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness is being violated.