Category Archives: WTF?!

Data-lust be damned!

The following quote is from Birdnote. I am SICK of datalust, sick of the belief that our curiosity supersedes the rights of other creatures to live unmolested. Damn these scientists. Let someone tackle them and strap a proportionate device to their heads because that would be “fascinating.”

“Tiny devices attached to the heads of frigatebirds revealed fascinating information”

Your guns don’t keep you free, the Rule of Law keeps us all free

Police detained armed militia members after a man was shot at a protest in Albuquerque – The Washington Post

“The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a ‘civil guard,’ were there for one reason: To menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said in a statement. “To menace the people of New Mexico with weaponry — with an implicit threat of violence — is on its face unacceptable; that violence did indeed occur is unspeakable.” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller (D) said the statue would now be speedily removed as an “urgent matter of public safety” until authorities determine a next step.

Note: the “militia’s” actions brought the opposite of what they intended: shame and arrest. You shot yourselves in the foot again. 

“The bases, all in former Confederate states, were named with input from locals in the Jim Crow era.”

Why are Army bases named after Confederates? – The Washington Post

Fort Benning in Georgia, the home of Army infantry and airborne training, is named after Brig. Gen. Henry Benning, who led troops at Antietam and Gettysburg. In remarks in 1861 laying out slavery as the reason for secession, Benning warned that abolition would lead to “black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything. Is it to be supposed that the white race will stand for that?”

Three of the biggest bases in the United States are named after Confederate leaders, including some who were famously inept.

Hey, sober realists — get over yourselves

Today, Ruth Marcus joins the chorus of those who feel honor-bound to throw cold water in the faces of Sanders supporters. The steady message is we are stupid, foolish idealists, unrealistic, and blind to recent history. The message is it is wrong to believe you can change a system you find increasingly intolerable. The message is it is foolish to think that if millions of people work together they can make any changes. The message is give up, shut up, and put up with the status quo because that’s the best you can hope for. Wanting anything else means losing everything.

I find these pundits, these adults, these oh-so-smart people increasingly unbearable. I’ll give Marcus the benefit of the doubt that just because she’s paid by big media and lives among the rich and powerful doesn’t mean she can’t have my best interests at heart.

I’m tired of corrupt capitalism run amok. I have little faith in the sacred market and less in the status quo and its advocates. I’m tired of seeing and hearing that democracy is meaningless, sold to the highest bidder. I’m tired of a system that lets the richest people and corporations do and have anything but tells the rest of us to sit down and be quiet.

I’m sick to death of this crap. I’m going to wipe the cold water from my face and vote the way I want to for the change I want. I hope millions of other people will do the same. Change will come.

Rage against the machine – again and again

Wow. That was absolutely un-fucking unacceptable. I sat down to journal 45 goddamn minutes ago and NOW I’m just able to start. Scream of rage at Microsoft, at Windows 10, at Dell. RAGE.

Deep breath. The day had started fine.

Cuppa coffee in hand, I sat in front of the big screen tv as I do every morning. A few things on the computer were still stuck from last night. Couldn’t see any notifications. Couldn’t access the Start menu. No biggie, I’m used to restarting at least once every goddamn day — at least once. So, I restarted and an update installed. This must be the tweak to the latest build I’d read about. Before long, the first error message. Eventually, the system ran restore on its own, but failed. I ran System Restore manually to roll back 24 hours. It said it failed, but eventually, I got in and it said it succeeded in restoring. Click on OneNote. “App cannot run. Contact Administrator.” FUCK YOU, Microsoft. Who the hell do you think the goddamn administrator is? So, restore did fail, at least in part. Restart. No better. OK, go to the Store and reinstall OneNote. Nope, Store won’t load. In fact, I gather by an overlay that all Store apps are fucked up. Nice.

I’ve been a rat in computer maze for over 30 years. I’ve run into countless dead-ends before. There’s always a way around. I install OneNote 2013, the free desktop app. It’s overkill for my purposes, but the simpler app won’t load. I wait while 2013 installs. Wait to load notebooks. Wait. Now, an hour after I began, I’m sorta caught up. Of course, I don’t know yet if anything else runs.

Sigh.

If anyone mentions “Apple” or “Macintosh” in the comments, I will drown a kitten.

To Hell with Kim Davis

I think jail is a last resort as punishment for non-violent crimes. In Davis’ case, I would have sentenced her to hours of community service equal to the hours she worked but refused to issue licenses to same-sex couples. Each 8 hour work day would add 8 hours of community service for free, preferably some of it on a suicide hotline, all of it supervised by a probation officer.

Nevertheless, she was sentenced to jail for contempt of court. Days later, she was released without comment, as far as I know. We can be certain she is as full of contempt as ever, so what’s the plan? Let her hide in her office every day with the shades drawn?

Davis’ contempt is so great she has said that licenses issued by anyone but her are invalid – that was mean-spirited of her. I’ve heard only anemic contradiction of that. If I were part of a same-sex couple in Davis’ county, I’d ask for her to sign the license for full legitimacy. When Davis refuses, call the sheriff and add more public service hours.