Dear 2011,
Good Bye. Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
I started the year in bed recovering from knee surgery.
When I was strong enough to get up and about on a couple of crutches I found my Road Glide Custom was stolen right out of my garage.
During a big company event I damn near broke my neck thanks to the crutches and the blizzard and almost took out my boss in the process as I fell to the ground.
I then got the flu and had to endure a cross-country flight back home from the big company event. I just wanted to die.
All of that was just in January 2011.
Things only got exponentially worse from that moment on. 2011 was, without a doubt, the worst year of my life. However...
As this year comes to a close things are already looking up.
My pulmonary docs know how to care for my lungs to hopefully keep me out of the hospital.
I am mobile again and feeling strong. I know I will drop all this added weight from the accident, and get out and do the things I love to do once again.
I've got my amazing Dykes on Bikes family all over the world that has always been there for me.
My NYer friends have never left my side and it's been amazing to see Coyote so many times this year.
My beautiful niece makes my heart swell to the bursting point every time I see her cute little face or hear her beautiful little voice and giggle.
Finally, my involvement in San Francisco politics and the San Francisco LGBT community continues to grow. Happy New Year to all my new friends on the SFPD Chief's LGBT Community Advisory Forum. I'm really looking forward to all the wonderful things we can do for the most beautiful city in the country.
2011 really sucked, but it feels like I hit rock bottom so hard that the bounce back up is heading straight for orbit. The end of 2011 has been so beautiful and I can feel that momentum continuing throughout all of 2012.
Found this great letter on my Sarcoidosis support site...
Dear Patients:
You have it very hard, much harder than most people understand. Having sat for 16 years listening to the stories, seeing the tiredness in your eyes, hearing you try to describe the indescribable, I have come to understand that I too can't understand what your lives are like. How do you answer the question, "how do you feel?" when you've forgotten what "normal" feels like? How do you deal with all of the people who think you are exaggerating your pain, your emotions, your fatigue? How do you decide when to believe them or when to trust your own body? How do you cope with living a life that won't let you forget about your frailty, your limits, your mortality?
I can't imagine.
But I do bring something to the table that you may not know. I do have information that you can't really understand because of your unique perspective, your battered world. There is something that you need to understand that, while it won't undo your pain, make your fatigue go away, or lift your emotions, it will help you. It's information without which you bring yourself more pain than you need suffer; it's a truth that is a key to getting the help you need much easier than you have in the past. It may not seem important, but trust me, it is.
You scare doctors.
No, I am not talking about the fear of disease, pain, or death. I am not talking about doctors being afraid of the limits of their knowledge. I am talking about your understanding of a fact that everyone else seems to miss, a fact that many doctors hide from: we are normal, fallible people who happen to doctor for a job. We are not special. In fact, many of us are very insecure, wanting to feel the affirmation of people who get better, hearing the praise of those we help. We want to cure disease, to save lives, to be the helping hand, the right person in the right place at the right time.
But chronic unsolvable disease stands square in our way. You don't get better, and it makes many of us frustrated, and it makes some of us mad at you. We don't want to face things we can't fix because it shows our limits. We want the miraculous, and you deny us that chance.
And since this is the perspective you have when you see doctors, your view of them is quite different. You see us getting frustrated. You see us when we feel like giving up. When we take care of you, we have to leave behind the illusion of control, of power over disease. We get angry, feel insecure, and want to move on to a patient who we can fix, save, or impress. You are the rock that proves how easily the ship can be sunk. So your view of doctors is quite different.
Then there is the fact that you also possess something that is usually our domain: knowledge. You know more about your disease than many of us do - most of us do. Your MS, rheumatoid arthritis, end-stage kidney disease, Cushing's disease, bipolar disorder, chronic pain disorder, brittle diabetes, sarcoidosis or disabling psychiatric disorder - your defining pain - is something most of us don't regularly encounter. It's something most of us try to avoid. So you possess deep understanding of something that many doctors don't possess. Even doctors who specialize in your disorder don't share the kind of knowledge you can only get through living with a disease. It's like a parent's knowledge of their child versus that of a pediatrician. They may have breadth of knowledge, but you have depth of knowledge that no doctor can possess.
So when you approach a doctor - especially one you've never met before - you come with a knowledge of your disease that they don't have, and a knowledge of the doctor's limitations that few other patients have. You see why you scare doctors? It's not your fault that you do, but ignoring this fact will limit the help you can only get from them. I know this because, just like you know your disease better than any doctor, I know what being a doctor feels like more than any patient could ever understand. You encounter doctors intermittently (more than you wish, perhaps); I live as a doctor continuously.
So let me be so bold as to give you advice on dealing with doctors. There are some things you can do to make things easier, and others that can sabotage any hope of a good relationship:
Don't come on too strong - yes, you have to advocate for yourself, but remember that doctors are used to being in control. All of the other patients come into the room with immediate respect, but your understanding has torn down the doctor-god illusion. That's a good thing in the long-run, but few doctors want to be greeted with that reality from the start. Your goal with any doctor is to build a partnership of trust that goes both ways, and coming on too strong at the start can hurt your chances of ever having that.
Show respect - I say this one carefully, because there are certainly some doctors who don't treat patients with respect - especially ones like you with chronic disease. These doctors should be avoided. But most of us are not like that; we really want to help people and try to treat them well. But we have worked very hard to earn our position; it was not bestowed by fiat or family tree. Just as you want to be listened to, so do we.
Keep your eggs in only a few baskets - find a good primary care doctor and a couple of specialists you trust. Don't expect a new doctor to figure things out quickly. It takes me years of repeated visits to really understand many of my chronic disease patients. The best care happens when a doctor understands the patient and the patient understands the doctor. This can only happen over time. Heck, I struggle even seeing the chronically sick patients for other doctors in my practice. There is something very powerful in having understanding built over time.
Use the ER only when absolutely needed - Emergency room physicians will always struggle with you. Just expect that. Their job is to decide if you need to be hospitalized, if you need emergency treatment, or if you can go home. They might not fix your pain, and certainly won't try to fully understand you. That's not their job. They went into their specialty to fix problems quickly and move on, not manage chronic disease. The same goes for any doctor you see for a short time: they will try to get done with you as quickly as possible.
Don't avoid doctors - one of the most frustrating things for me is when a complicated patient comes in after a long absence with a huge list of problems they want me to address. I can't work that way, and I don't think many doctors can. Each visit should address only a few problems at a time, otherwise things get confused and more mistakes are made. It's OK to keep a list of your own problems so things don't get left out - I actually like getting those lists, as long as people don't expect me to handle all of the problems. It helps me to prioritize with them.
Don't put up with the jerks - unless you have no choice (in the ER, for example), you should keep looking until you find the right doctor(s) for you. Some docs are not cut out for chronic disease, while some of us like the long-term relationship. Don't feel you have to put up with docs who don't listen or minimize your problems. At the minimum, you should be able to find a doctor who doesn't totally suck.
Forgive us - Sometimes I forget about important things in my patients' lives. Sometimes I don't know you've had surgery or that your sister comes to see me as well. Sometimes I avoid people because I don't want to admit my limitations. Be patient with me - I usually know when I've messed up, and if you know me well I don't mind being reminded. Well, maybe I mind it a little.
You know better than anyone that we docs are just people - with all the stupidity, inconsistency, and fallibility that goes with that - who happen to doctor for a living. I hope this helps, and I really hope you get the help you need. It does suck that you have your problem; I just hope this perhaps decreases that suckishness a little bit.
Found this touching contribution to Short Final on AVWeb:
The fallen Betty Ford was returning to Grand Rapids for the last time. Her remains were abord a beautiful United States Presidential airplane painted blue and white. The airport was closed to all other traffic for 30 minutes. Airliners waited patientally on the ground and some in a hold over the GRR VOR. As Ms. Ford's plane, SAM 324, landed, they were cleared to taxi all the way to the end, in front of a thousand people. The tower frequency was absolutely silent.
One unknown airline pilot, in a low, respectful voice, said, "Rest in peace, Mrs. Ford."
After a short pause and in a slow, measured response, the Presidential plane's pilot identified himself:
We live in scary times where the dumbest of the dumb appear to be the ones in control and the intelligent and informed are shouted down. Made up history, made up facts, made up laws, made up constitutional wording, have all become facts to the lemmings who are too stupid or too young or both to recall history as it really happened.
The profoundly stupid things being said by the Republicans about the debt ceiling is extremely scary so I'd like to remind them of what their hero said about the debt ceiling:
Congress consistently brings the Government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest rates would skyrocket, instability would occur in financial markets, and the Federal deficit would soar. The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. It means we have a well-earned reputation for reliability and credibility – two things that set us apart from much of the world.
If they allow the United States to fail to pay its bills by not raising the debt ceiling our economy will make will look so bad the Great Depression will be viewed as good times.
She was always a joy to be around. A warm, funny, quick witted, light up a room sort of woman. She and her husband, my Uncle Syl, are always in the happiest of my memories. (Even if ya did burn me with a cigar Uncle Syl. LOL. OK, I kinda walked into it.) This is when it sucks being 3,000 miles away from family. Family I would love to be with right now to share and listen to stories of the life and the lives this amazing person touched.
I love you Aunt Lu. I'll miss you. Rest in Peace Lucille Helen Zabrouski-Sammartine
Anyone that argues LGBT Equal Rights and the Civil Rights movements are not the same thing need only read this poem by a gay black man.
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!
Today marks the 8th Anniversary of the Iraq War. An illegal war. A war against a country that never threatened us. A war against a country that never attacked us. A war that destroyed thousands of American lives and millions of Iraq lives. And for what? What purpose did it serve and why are we still there?
As if this anniversary wasn't depressing enough now we are bombing yet another country. Today we began bombing Libya. Why? Again, what purpose does it serve.
We have no money for infrastructure.
We have no money for the arts.
We have no money for education.
We have no money for healthcare.
Yet, if we took the money we spent just today on bombing three innocent countries around the globe we could fund all the above items for years.
All I can do is sit here and cry.
The Founding Fathers on War.
I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.
- John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, 1780
Finally, there seem to be but three Ways for a Nation to acquire Wealth. The first is by War as the Romans did in plundering their conquered Neighbours. This is Robbery.
- Benjamin Franklin, Positions to be Examined, April 4, 1769
No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
— James Madison, Political Observations, 1795
Don't get me wrong. War serves a purpose and I am so happy to live in a country that, for all intents and purpose, simply cannot be effectively attacked. To quote President George Washington:
If we desire to insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.
- George Washington, Annual Message, December 1793
However, at what point do we go from defender of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness to Tyrant?
The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation.
- George Orwell
People who complain that Gas is $4/gallon but have no problem buying bottled water, which is nothing more than municipal tap water, sold back to them at a 1900% profit after their taxes already paid to pump and filter it.
P.T. Barnum was so right. A sucker truly is born every minute.
Congress continues to fight over the United States Budget and all the talk seems to be about cutting social services in the name of debt reduction. On the chopping block is funding for critically important things such as Planned Parenthood and NPR.
I love math. Remember, it was my high math score that got me into computers in the first place, so let's do the math for the budget.
The Federal Budget is $1.3 Trillion. Of that Planned Parenthood gets about $300 Million and NPR gets about $428 Million. That equates to an itty bitty teeny weeny percentage of the total budget.
Planned Parenthood gets about 0.02% of the budget and NPR gets about 0.03% of the budget.
Now let's look at the War Budget (sorry, I can't call it the Defense Budget because it has nothing to do with defense). The United States of America is spending about $719 Billion to make war.
That translates into 55.3% of the budget. 55%!!! We are the only Super Power on Planet Earth. We are the biggest baddest most awesome military in the history of the world. However, we really don't need to be spending that kind of money on our military. It is completely unnecessary.
Imagine the utopia this country could be if we cut war spending by a few hundred billion. Let's bring it down to a level where we can blow up the earth 5 times over instead of 10 times over. We'd still be the biggest baddest bully on the block, but we'd also be able to care for our citizens.
Stop funding Planned Parenthood. Really? A much needed and depended upon service for women's healthcare. Do Republicans hate women that much? How do they view their wives and daughters?
Stop funding NPR. Really? Are the Republicans that terrified of an informed electorate?
As per the United States Constitution, only Congress can declare war. The last time congress declared war was 70 years ago in 1941. So why are we stomping all over earth blowing up people? Oh right, they have the audacity to put a country where our resources are.
Stop spending more than half of every tax dollar blowing up people and we can provide health care for all Americans. We can provide an education for all our children. People can afford to go to college and oh so much more.
Math doesn't lie. Politicians do. Look at the math and don't let people trick you into believing that cutting funding for important services for people has anything to do with reducing debt. It doesn't.
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes … known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
— James Madison, Political Observations, 1795
Since moving to California I have had an extremely difficult time describing the music I listen to. For me it's perfectly normal. Doesn't everyone listen to this?Apparently not.
So here is a bit of musik for you to enjoy. Like the punk rock I started listening to in the late 70's, to the "New Wave" of the 80's and the Gothic of the 90's here is a sampling of the Industrial Music I listen to today and, in my opinion, is the greatest, most thought provoking musik ever created in the history of mankind.
If you've struggled with Microsoft's Virtual PC you know it, well, sucks. I have started using VirtualBox and it's totally awesome.
If you create a virtual drive for your virtual box, say an Ubuntu Linux box, and you suddenly are running low on disk space and you smartly created a dynamically expanding variant then this is how to expand the virtual size without affecting the physical size and having to copy it.
Open a command window.
Go to the VirtualBox directory, usually C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox.
Type VBoxManage modify hd <VDI filename and path> --resize <size in megabytes>.
Voila! You now have more virtual disk space!
Note: the size in megabytes is what you want the final size to be. For example, if you currently have an 8.00GB virtual drive and use --resize 8192 you will still have an 8.00GB virtual drive. The size is not how much you want to increase it but rather what the final size will be. So if you want to make an 8.00GB virtual drive 16GB then the switch would be --resize 16384.
Mr. Adamu H.Sambo told me so. LOL! Got this awesome 419 scumbag scam in my inbox. This is the email...
Our Ref: IKG/NG/CO
This is to officially inform you that a visa card has been accredited in
your favor,in the just concluded ikobo 3rd quarter promotion that was
conducted for regular email users by the ikobo company recently.Your
winning parcel has been sealed in a brown envelope and also with a manual
that will enable you activate this ATM card in any ATM center in your
country of residence.
However the ATM card is accredited with the total sum of $2.5 Million
United States Dollars Only.
You are advice to contact Us through the email bellow
(Name:Mr.Williams Oyenka )
(Email: ikobomoneytransfer@w.cn)
He is in charge of the delivery of
your winning parcel with the details below:
Full Name:.............
Residential country:..............
Delivery Address................
Telephone number:............
Date of birth:............
Note: you are to make the payment the payment of 150 USD for the delivery
of your ATM CARD worth 2.5 Million USD. if you know that you can not afford
to make this payment don,t border to reply us
And also you are further advice to stop every communication with any person
or coperations regarding any monetary transaction for their are alot of scammers
online wanting to scam people.
Below is the account officer information with which the $150.00 USD for the
security keeping fee is to be sent via WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER or MONEY
GRAM.
BELOW IS HOW TO MAKE THE PAYMENT
Name of Receiver: Obaraye Foster Nedium
Address of Receiver: 18 AGIDI STREET OBIARUKU, DELTA STATE
Country:NIGERIA.
As soon as you have made the payment, You are to send to this office a scanned
copy of the Western Union Money Transfer payment slip via email as issued
by
the Western Union agent and also endeavor to provide me with the information
listed below for verification:
(1). Name of Sender.........................
(2). Address of Sender......................
(3). Phone number...........................
(4). MTCN number...........................
(5). Amount Sent.............................
(6). Text Question...Who........................
(7). Answer...........Me..........................
You are advice to contact your delivery officer immediately through the
provided e-mail given above.
On behalf of the entire Ikobo company we say Congratulations on this great
winnings of yours.
Signed.........
Mr. Adamu H.Sambo
Ikobo Promo Co-ordinator 2011.
Contact Mr. Adamu H.Sambo
Email: ikobomoneytransfer@w.cnTell: +234-816-065-0249
Since 9/11 the United States Government has created two completely unnecessary agencies, the creepily named Department of Homeland Security and the 4th Amendment violating Transportation "Security" Administration.
I just returned from a business trip and after this one the absurdity of what the TSA puts the travelling public through had to be shared.
As difficult as it will be to believe what you are about to read, please know it is 100% true and I have taken no poetic license nor have I exaggerated the situation. There is no need because it truly is its own theater of the absurd. This is this weary traveler's experience, it may sound familiar but we must all speak out against this violation of our civil liberties.
Last April I was in a motorcycle accident. While stopped at a stop sign I was rear-ended by a tractor trailer. It has been a long, painful road to recovery and I recently had surgery performed on my knee. I am still recovering from the surgery and require crutches to move about. The airline arranged to have wheelchairs waiting for me at each leg of my journey.
Ok, not to digress, but if you have never flown Virgin then you really need to. They are the greatest airline ever and I never want to fly with anyone else ever.
A very nice TSA employee got me settled in the wheelchair, helped me with my bags and got me up to the checkpoint. His professionalism, helpfulness and courtesy was wonderful and I gave him a tip to thank him for all the help he gave me.
Oh yeah, one more point about the TSA. Every TSA employee I have ever had to deal with have been friendly, professional, helpful, caring and all around nice people just like you and me. I have no problem at all with the TSA employees. It's the Administration itself and it's draconian procedures that I take issue with.
This nice gentleman takes my bags and my crutches and stuff and lugs them over to be X-Rayed while I am left alone in my chair waiting for the next female TSA agent to pat me down. I won't go into details but the new enhanced pat-down was so offensive and disturbing that a closed my eyes tightly as a few tears rolled down my cheeks. American citizens should not be subjected to this tyranny on our own soil. This is just wrong. However, that is not even where the absurdity of the TSA procedures begins in my tale of woe. It begins now...
Following my "Gate Rape" the TSA employee wiped her hands all over a paper filter to capture any residue accumulated while she molested me. Obviously, it was clear. She then returned to me with a fresh pad and informed me that she had to now do the wheelchair. I reminded her that it was the TSA's chair. She told me to just let her do her job so I sighed and just sat there as she wiped every inch of the wheelchair with the filter and touched me intimately on three occasions as she wiped the wheelchair's seat.
She walked back to the machine with the pad and I asked, "What if you find something on your chair? Will I be blamed for it and arrested because a substance was found on your chair?" She looked at me and said nothing. The look on her face was one of, you make perfect sense and I can't figure out the purpose of this but I have to do it. Given the dejected look on her face I just sat there and shut up. When she told me the obvious, that it was clear, I said, "Thank you."
I thought that leg of my journey was as silly as it could possibly get but yesterday I learned just how wrong I would be as the absurdity reached a new height.
On my journey home yesterday I was again assisted by a lovely, friendly TSA employee to the check-point and, after my horrible experience with "Gate Rape"' I decided it was better to potentially do damage to my knee than deal with the "enhanced pat-down." My crutches went through the X-Ray and a very nice, handsome, TSA employee waited on the other side of the metal detector with them. I stood up, putting my weight on my good leg. He reached out and with love and support helped me hop through the metal detector and then handed me my crutches on the other side.
Like I said earlier, it's not the TSA employees but the entire purpose of the TSA's existence that I take issue with.
Things happened without issue, but here is where the absurdity starts. My carry on luggage is X-Rayed and things as innocent as nail clippers are confiscated. Given the number of nail clippers I have lost to the airlines I now pack them in my checked luggage.
I upgraded to First Glass for the trip home. Once we are eight miles above ground and cruising along the beautiful and friendly stewardess with the awesome name of Rebecca came around to take our drink orders and let us know what was on the menu this evening.
As this is First Class, my Chardonnay was served to me in a glass wine glass. My dinner was served to me on a tray with china plates and I ate my food with real silverware. Real silverware including a knife!
Nail clippers? BAD!
8" Stainless Steel Blade? GOOD!
Apparently it has been determined that terrorists only fly coach.
So, after reading this very true story, what purpose does the TSA serve? Can you think of one because it's not about Security.
A new show on the National Geographic channel called COUNTERTERROR NYC begins this Sunday.
Everyone knows I have a huge Cop fetish and I am extremely proud to be from a century long line of NY's Finest. So please do not view this post as disparaging of of this task force.
However, I need to ask one very very important question. How the fuck would these officers have prevented 9/11?"
Obviously the answer is they would have had zero affect on the attacks of that horrific day.
So what purpose do they serve?
Closing the barn door after the horse has escaped?
Put the Genie back in the bottle?
No, I think it is to simply keep fear alive to convince the sheeple that giving up just one more right yet again, that allowing a greater police state in your life yet again, is ultimately good for you. We've seen this model repeated throughout history and it always ends horribly.
Don't believe the fear mongering.
Make your voice heard.
Question Authority. ALWAYS!
Love your Country but be suspicious of your Government.
Most horrifying quote of the entire movie was when that crazy pastor lady is on the phone and she says, Ya know I think Democracy is the greatest political system on earth but that's just it...and it's ultimately designed to destroy itself because we have to give everyone equal freedom and ultimately that's gonna destroy us.
Equality is bad in the eyes of these people. That truly speaks volumes of how evil and how lost these people are. Their words and actions are about as un-American and un-Christian as you can possibly get.
RANKIS ANDREW
Today's nation reminds one of late 19th century Calif. Railroads controlled politics,media,land. Corruption & greed were rampent.
However, I also need to include my new favorite tweeter @RagingTeabagger who does as good a job picking on Tea Baggers as @TSAgov does picking on the TSA.
RagingTeabagger
#teaparty denounces McCain! Obama a patriot? Only those over 70 living in trailers on SS and Medicare listening 2 Limbaugh are patriots! #p2
After years and years and years of listening to him on Sirius OUTQ it still amazes me how he remains calm, focused and civil in the face of such complete and utter ignorance.
Rita is so stupid I wonder if she has the ability to dress and feed herself. She has no concept whatsoever about the country she calls home.
If you can stomach it, here's the conversation with this stupid fucking cow.
While my job is lots of fun, it's really annoying that nobody (facebook, twitter, gowalla, yelp, etc) ever lets the world of developers know that they changed their API or what they changed.
How do you find the changes? Your product stops working!
So, for all of you developers out there wondering why your Yelp app is crashing, here's why.
Retrieving Business reviews using http://www.yelp.com/syndicate/biz/{0}/rss.xml, where {0} is the business id, is no longer available from Yelp.
The Yelp API is still valid for retrieving information about a business on Yelp. For example, http://api.yelp.com/phone_search?phone={0}&wysid={1}, where {0} is the businesses phone number and {1} is your API key.
Sadly, the API only returns the three most recent reviews.
Pretty sucky to only be able to get the last three reviews, but if your app has suddenly stopped functioning you now know why and how to fix it.
This really dumb bill that would have done absolutely nothing to protect citizens but make me travel far and wide and pay a premium way above the reasonable cost of ammunition is dead, dead, dead!
Fresno Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Hamilton ruled that AB 962, the hotly contested statute that would have banned mail order ammunition sales and required all purchases of so called “handgun ammunition” to be registered, was unconstitutionally vague on its face.
Thank you Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Hamiliton!
Oh yeah, and "vague on its face" is an understatement. This was a really stupid idea for a bill that absolutely needed to be killed.
Like my Friday Tweet of the week, I have decided to provide obscure Tech Tips on Monday.
Today's tip: Is your computer secretly connecting to the internet?
Have you ever wondered why your computer is running slow? Why you are seeing so much disk activity or just plain curious to know if your computer has been hijacked? Well, here's the solution.
Open a Command window. If you don't know how to do that click Start -> Run and type "cmd" on the Open line and hit enter.
At the command prompt type, netstat -b 5 > netstat.txt. The -b switch will display the executable involved in creating each connection or listening port.
After a few minutes press CTRL+C.
At the command prompt type netstat.txt to open the file in your default editor.
Look for any process or websites you are unaware.
Use Task Manager to kill the process or open Computer Management and turn off the service.
I hope you enjoyed this topic and found it helpful.
This has been an interesting week because it was a tragic week. The horror that occurred in Tucson and the Tea Bagger rhetoric chickens coming home to roost has made my tweet of the week extremely difficult to pick just one. Here are my top three. Enjoy!
by @Bristol_Palin - You are a paid member of the "lame stream media" you're always referring to, mom. Fire all of your ghost writers and tweet for yourself :(
by @RANKIS - Before they came to power people said very little about the rhetoric and violence of the Nazis. 12 years later the world cried. #p2
by @aurosan - Starting to think dismantling the mental health system in the 80's was all part of Reagan's plan to get more GOP voters in the long run.
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
Nogales, AZ
Nogales, Mexico
Twin cities separated by an imaginary line.
Twin cities that are home to human beings.
Twin cities who's only commonality is their name.
Imagine there's no countries.
I've traveled all around this wonderful world of ours. The Americas, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Europe, Africa. Everywhere I went I could not find a single American or Islander or European or African. I could only find other human beings. Sure they may speak a different language, worship a different God, dress in a different fashion but those are merely ways for humans to adorn and identify themselves. Remove it and you just have another human being exactly like you.
Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion too
Honestly, look deep into your soul. What's the fighting all about?
What purpose does it serve?
When 1-n parties go to War, the number of winners always equals zero.
So what's the killing all about.
Imagine all the people. Living life in peace
I have imagined it every day of my life. I wish there were more people around to see it.
Nogales, AZ
Nogales, Mexico
Twin cities in name only.
A thin imaginary line is the difference between hope and abject poverty.
They are not taking our jobs. Will you go pick yummy strawberries for pennies a day?
Of course not.
Do you want to know who is taking your jobs?
All those millionaires that got tax cuts.
I'll be the first to agree that yes, tax cuts for millionaires has helped to created a huge number of jobs.
Sadly, none of them are in the United States of America.
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Among the victims of yesterday's senseless shooting was Christina Taylor Green. A nine year old girl born on 9/11/2001 and one of the babies featured in the book Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11. A child born amid tragedy dies amid tragedy.
Today her heartbroken mother speaks about the loss of her child, Christina.
One would need to be in a deep state of denial to think that the vitriolic rhetoric coming from the right via the pseduo-news outlets like Fox and incompetent people like Beck and Palin had no influence on the tragedy that befell America yesterday in Tucson, AZ.
While there are many things I would like to say about the current political clime, Sheriff Dupnik hit the nail on the head.
5:40 pm PST - "All the vitriol we hear by people who make a living doing that -- that may be free speech, but it's not without consequences" - Pima County Sheriff.
Thank you for reading my blog today. I hope it was helpful and informative. News is slowing down, not much more to report today so I will pick it up tomorrow.
In closing I'd just like to say that some may think my judgement of Sarah Palin a bit harsh or even outright wrong. That's ok with me but I disagree. For the past two years her rhetoric has helped to gin up crazy people like this. When she put crosshairs on people like Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others what the heck did she expect to happen? If you or I created the same poster as Sarah Palin and published it we would have had a very long chat with Secret Service and would currently be guests of Club Fed. Why? Because of exactly what happened today. Shame on you Ms. Palin. Shame on you.
3:05 pm PST - Shrinks and FBI profiler talking about shooter. Bottom line, what a loon! Lots of interesting tid bits about young Mr. Loughner I'm sure will be surfacing in the coming days and weeks.
3:00 pm PST - Death toll has increased to six innocent lives. :'(
2:45 pm PST - Fmr. Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking. "Congesswoman Giffords is a strong fighter." Holding a moment of silence for those who have died or been injured at today's senseless tragedy.
2:35 pm PST - "What Americans do at times of tragedy is come together and support one another." - President Obama.
2:31 pm PST - Apparently the total death toll is currently five. Rep Gabrielle Giffords not among them. She is out of OR and in critical condition.
2:09 pm PST - Federal Judge John Roll among the fatalities. It's been reported that he lived around the the corner from the event and came out to support Rep. Giffords. That makes it 2 fatalities; Judge John Roll and a 9 year old girl.
2:00 pm PST - Governor Jan Brewer speaking. Calls Rep. "Gabby" Gifford a close friend. She appears clearly moved, as would be expected, at this tragedy, says, "all of Arizona is shocked and deeply saddened." She seems to want the rhetoric to be toned down.
Let's hope all Americans rise up to drown out the crazy people getting too much media attention. I believe in the amazing goodness of the American people and I hope this will make the majority of us stand up and finally say enough!
1:47 pm PST - President Obama speaking.
1:45 pm PST - Shooter appears to be identified as Jared Loughner. This is his chilling good bye video. The topic of currency is a popular Tea Bagger meme.
1:36 pm PST - Shooter is a white male born in 1988.
My thought at the moment...I hope this horrible event will finally tone down the rhetoric.
What's the difference between Sarah Palin and a Terrorist? Lipstick.
1:30 pm PST - Sarah Palin is still trying to do damage control. Too late Sarah, the horse has left the barn. This famous tweet has now been deleted.
1:00 pm PST - Update from the Hospital.
5 people in critical condition.
5 people in OR
1 fatality, a nine year old girl.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition. Prognosis looks good.
An eerie portent from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords herself
12:54 pm PST - Pima County Sheriffs Dept. indicated the Pima County Sheriff will be giving a press conference at 6:00pm Tucson, AZ time. Sarah Palin, the blood is on your hands.
12:33 pm PST Sarah Palin's handlers are desperately trying to scrub her facebook page but people are getting screen shots. For example:
12:15 pm PST - A statement from President Obama:
"This morning, in an unspeakable tragedy, a number of Americans were shot in Tuscon, Arizona, at a constituent meeting with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. And while we are continuing to receive information, we know that some have passed away, and that Representative Giffords is gravely wounded. "We do not yet have all the answers. What we do know is that such a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society. I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping Representative Giffords, the victims of this tragedy, and their families in our prayers."
12:10 pm PST - A statement from House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH:
"I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured, and their families. This is a sad day for our country."
Her father Spencer Giffords, 75, wept when asked if his 40-year-old daughter had any enemies.
"Yeah," he told The Post. "The whole tea party."
Interesting quote from Pima county GOP - "Get on target, remove Giffords, shoot a fully automatic M16" (Pima County GOP, 6/2010). The blood is on your hands too GOP.
11:57 am PST - Darci Slaten, spokeswoman at University Medical Center in Tucson, just told CNN that she can confirm Rep. Giffords was shot in the head and that she is in surgery now. Several other victims are also in surgery.
11:48 am PST - Conflicting account of Rep. Gifford's death. Some say she has passed. Some say she is in surgery.
11:45 am PST - 21 year old male in custody. No other information.
The 112th Congress has only been in session for one week and already the shooting has begun.
Today Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) Arizona was assassinated today during an event at a Safeway in Tucson, AZ. Rep. Giffords and as many as seven other innocent people were also murdered this afternoon.
I do not know if this was a far right loon, or a far left loon or just a regular 'ole loon. However, if it does turn out to be a far right loon the Fox News, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael "Savage" Weiner and all of those of your ilk, the blood is on your hands! After years of intentionally disseminating misinformation and labeling it as news. After years of riling up your base with false threats and keeping them in deep fear of a non-existent threat they are now rising up and shooting innocent people because of the intentional misinformation you have filled their heads with. The blood is on your hands but none of you have a soul and I doubt this story will get more than a cursory glance on your "News" shows.
I fear for the future of this country if things continue as they are. However, I believe in my heart-of-hearts that the vast majority of Americans are all the same and are all good, giving, loving people. As such, I hope this event brings out all Americans, not right or left, but Americans to denounce the insanity that has permeated our media and now our Congress.
Godspeed Rep. Giffords. Godspeed to all the other victims.
There will be a press conference from the hospital in an hour and I will update my blog with the news.
This is what I hope to accomplish in 2011. A hydrogen fuel cell powered bicycle to get me too and from work.
This should be a fun and relatively easy project and I will document my progress here on this blog, well, once I'm off the crutches and can actually begin it.
I am really sick and tired of hearing people parrot Big Oil's talking point spewed forth by media outlets such as Fox "News" that hydrogen is complicated, blah blah blah. Nothing can be further from the truth and that is why Large Oil fears it.
Everyone knows that water's chemical composition is H2O, but what does that mean? It means water is comprised of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. This is a planet covered in water giving us a truly unending supply of hydrogen, unlike fossil fuels, ergo Big Oil's fear of it.
But Becca how are you going to get the hydrogen out of water? For those of us that made it past the 9th grade the answer is simple, electricity.
Pure Water is an insulator. Water does not conduct electricity. Impurities in water conduct electricity, pure water, no conduct. So, you take a pot of water, add salt, pass electricity through the water, capture the hydrogen side of the circuit and voila! Hydrogen.
The next step is figuring out how to store it. Creating it is easy, build a solar array, attach some leads that go in water, done deal.
Once that part of the project is complete the rest is really easy. Build a hydrogen fuel cell and a small tank both of which can be mounted on a bicycle and off I go.
Why do I want to attempt this project?
I made an oath to myself and to the environment that if I can help it I will never buy another gasoline powered automobile. I would love an electric car but as a renter how do I charge it? I would love a hydrogen car but they are not yet available, unless you live in SoCal.
That is when I decided to make my own hydrogen vehicle and create the means to make my own hydrogen. Free powered transportation. Gotta start small so I am starting with a bicycle.
I love the beauty and simplicity of hydrogen power. From water you create hydrogen. From the hydrogen fuel cell you create water. No drilling, no oil spills, no pollution, no green house gases.
Yes, I am just crazy enough a dreamer to do this. Wish me luck!
Earlier today, BGR published a story that Apple is looking to launch the iPhone on Verizon’s network as soon as February 3. That’s in line with an earlier report about no-vacation windows for Apple retail employees. And now something curious has just appeared in my inbox. An invite to a Verizon event, taking place in New York City on this coming Tuesday, January 11. Could it be?
LinkedIn spokesman Hani Durzy offers the following statement on the report: “We don’t comment on speculation. An IPO is one of many tactics that we could choose to pursue. We are focused on building our business and doing what is in the best long-term interest of LinkedIn members and shareholders.”
I make my living as a Sr. Software Engineer and I love it. It's especially exciting because I work in Social Media. However, my brain does not stop thinking of ideas when I leave the office and must therefore be classified as an addiction. Ergo, SDA or Software Developers Anonymous.
Last night I was up creating an interface to the iCloud API and now I want to make a better iCloud app for Android.
Today, the Prop 8 case out in California took two baby steps in a long legal journey. First, the Ninth Circuit denied standing to Imperial County. Second, "certified a question" to the California Supreme Court, asking for some guidance on whether there is any state law that allows initiative proponents to defend their ballot measure in court when the state refuses.
This seems confusing, but let's break this down. I think you will see that taking the certification step was a prudent -- though, in many legal scholars' opinions, including my own, unnecessary -- step to take.
First, the Ninth Circuit denied standing to Imperial County. During oral argument, the panel questioned whether a deputy clerk with independent responsibilities and supervised by a separate part of the California government could, without the actual Clerk of Imperial County, even represent the county, let alone the entire state. It looks as if the Ninth Circuit was unwilling to grant a low guy on the totem poll the right to step in where the chain of authority was tenuous at best. So, this first decision is a victory of marriage equality. Imperial County had wanted to defend Prop 8 in federal court and now, it cannot. And, while the deputy clerk could appeal, it is unlikely that this denial of standing will be overturned.
The second order is a little more complicated. It was not a final decision on standing like the order denying standing to Imperial County. Instead, the Ninth Circuit looked at the law and said, "We just don't know." A recent similar case out of Arizona holds that the right of initiative proponents -- ordinary citizens in their capacity as organizers of a ballot measure -- to defend their law when the state government refuses to do so hinges on state law. That is, the Prop 8 proponents' standing to defend Prop 8 going forward depends on what California law has to say about their rights.
But, the Ninth Circuit, a federal court, is not an expert on state law. So, when a question before a federal appellate court hinges on getting a clear answer to a question of state law -- in this case, does California law allow ballot proponents to step in the shoes of the state to defend their measure in court when the state declines to do so? -- the federal court asks the state supreme court, the final arbiter on state law questions, to give them an answer.
It would be like me asking my friend Jonathan, an economist, to teach me about the economic ramifications of repealing the estate tax, so I can use his expertise to help me make my legal or constitutional argument. He's the economic expert; I'm the legal expert. It makes sense that I would ask his advice. Here, the California Supreme Court is the expert on all things state law, and since the proponents' standing depends on state law, the Ninth Circuit asks its colleagues in California to tell them what to do.
This means a few things. First, we have no decision yet on the proponents' standing. Second, the Ninth Circuit is going to do whatever the California Supreme Court tells it to do because the California court is the final arbiter on what its state law is. Third, this intermediate step further delays any final decision. While certified questions are usually expedited, there is no telling how many weeks this adds to the process. The court could ask for briefing on the question, but that -- and the timeline -- is up to the court.
But, this is not a bad development. Since state courts have the final say on state law questions, and the standing question hinges on state law, had the Ninth Circuit issued a decision without asking for advice from the experts, its decision would be more ripe for appeal. This intermediate step ensures that the Ninth Circuit gets it right.
The worst decade of my life has come to a close with a great sigh of relief and a burden off my shoulders.
Over the past ten years I have experienced unemployment for the first time in my life,
Over the past ten years I have been the victim of violent crime a few times and am still in a protection program,
I lost my airplane and my Mercedes-Benz,
My net worth went from $4.7 Million to about $30,000,
My health took a nose dive,
I got fat,
and I even had to file for bankruptcy.
Yet it wasn't all that bad.
The best, most loving friends of my life are now a part of it,
I've experienced some pretty amazing things that are too innumerable to list here,
I've had the most interesting jobs of my career,
I finally moved to San Francisco, a city I've always wanted to live in,
I currently have the coolest and, thankfully, stablest job I've had in years,
and two of the greatest kitties are part of my life.
The reason I am so excited about 2011 and so hopeful for the future is that all the bad things listed above have been left behind and only the good things have passed over into the new year. I am content, happy and so full of hope.
No, it's not the NORCO talking. LOL. I really am filled with an enormous feeling of a brighter future where good things will finally come my way, and I hope the same for my family and friends.
Happy New Year everyone! I welcome you into my life 2011!
