Tuesday, October 31, 2006

UK Revoking US Independance

I'm reproducing this entire Slashdot post here in case it goes away. Great stuff.
This is the UK, as your constitution isn't worth toilet paper now, we're revocing your independance:
To the Citizens of the United States of America:
In light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy). Your new prime minister, Tony Blair, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium," and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix will be replaced by the suffix "ise." You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra'; you may elect to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you find you simply can't cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up "vocabulary"). Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.
2. There is no such thing as "US English." We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of "-ize."
3. You will relearn your original national anthem, "God Save The Queen", but only after fully carrying out Task #1 (see above).
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. November 2nd will be a called "Come-Uppance Day."
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling "gasoline")-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called "crisps." Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with mayonnaise but with vinegar.
9. Waiters and waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.
10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as "beer," and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as "Lager." American brands will be referred to as "Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine," so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
12. You will cease playing American "football." There is only one kind of proper football; you call it "soccer." Those of you brave enough will, in time, will be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the "World Series" for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (i. e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776). Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day.
15. Start pronouncing "Queen Camilla." She will be your next queen!

http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=203689&threshold=3&commentsort=0&mode=thread&cid=16655413

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Device Tests Uncertainty Principle with New Precision

According to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the precision of simultaneous measurements of position and velocity of a particle is limited by a quantifiable amount. Schwab and his colleagues were able to get closer than ever to that theoretical limit with their measurements, demonstrating as well a phenomenon called back action, by which the act of observing something actually gives it a nudge of momentum.

"We made measurements of position that are so intense -- so strongly coupled -- that by looking at it we can make it move," said Schwab. "Quantum mechanics requires that you cannot make a measurement of something and not perturb it. We're doing measurements that are very close to the uncertainty principle; and we can couple so strongly that by measuring the position we can see the thing move."
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/523711/?sc=dwhn

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

To Or For?

"The key difference between marketing for growth and acting like a monopolistic utility is one of posture. Do you spend time doing things to your customers or for your customers? When someone calls tech support, are you viewing it as a chance to do something for them, or to get rid of them to cut costs?

One of the reasons small is so much more important than big is that people who think small have the power and flexibility to do things for their customers."
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/10/to_or_for.html

The Invisible Century: Einstein, Freud, and the Search for Hidden Universes

An interesting idea: compare and contrast Einstien and Freud. A capable history - o - science reader but fails to capture the imagination. Mine, anyway.
http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Century-Einstein-Search-Universes/dp/0143035525/sr=8-2/qid=1161205207/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-1761859-4568048?ie=UTF8

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Americans Question Bush on 9/11 Intelligence

Many adults in the United States believe the current federal government has not been completely forthcoming on the issue of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 53 per cent of respondents think the Bush administration is hiding something, and 28 per cent believe it is lying.

Only 16 per cent of respondents say the government headed by U.S. president George W. Bush is telling the truth on what it knew prior to the terrorist attacks, down five points since May 2002.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13469

Hair Bands from the 80s Quiz

Hilarious -- can you remember the names of 80's glam bands from their pictures?
http://www.kcra.com/slideshow/entertainment/10063629/detail.html?qs=;s=1;w=320

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Placebo: Meds

At times dark, deep, and melodic -- other times poppy and bright, this is a very good disc. This isn't your 2002 Placebo.
http://www.amazon.com/Meds-Placebo/dp/B000EBEHR2/sr=8-1/qid=1160774364/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1761859-4568048?ie=UTF8

The Kooks: Inside In/Inside out

I'm very relieved that Brit-Pop isn't dead. The Kooks keep it down to earth, lyrically honest, and downright fun. Why isn't more music fun anymore?
http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Out-Kooks/dp/B000DN6CHY/sr=8-2/qid=1160774178/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-1761859-4568048?ie=UTF8

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Good Digital Photography Education Site

'Technique - Photography is all about light, and digital is no different. I try to light as much of my work as I can, and this was true before "Dig' day"'
http://www.dg28.com/technique.html

Sunday, October 8, 2006

North Korean Successful Nuke Test

North Korea is boasting that it performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test today, saying it detonated a successful underground blast in a " great leap forward" - in defiance of international warnings.

The reported nuclear test sparked worldwide condemnation against the communist regime and concerns it could seriously destabilize the region, with even Pyongyang's ally China strongly opposing the move. The US called for immediate UN Security Council action, and along with Japan was expected to press for more sanctions on the impoverished North.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1822552.ece

Bush's New Space Policy

Some good, some bad, some downright scary.
Bush is pushing for a new, civilian space policy plus a new military policy ensuring the "freedom of action" of US interests including disallowing other's "freedom of action". Also states indirectly that nuclear propulsion systems like Project Orion may be back on the table.
http://www.ostp.gov/html/US%20National%20Space%20Policy.pdf

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Mandriva Linux 2007 Released

I'm a big fan of Mandriva Linux for the home user. 2007 is now out and includes a 3D desktop, Cedega support for windows games, and a whole lot more. Torrents now available:
Mandriva 2007 LiveCD no install needed -- boot right from the CD to try it out! Will not write back to your HD, so there's no risk.
Mandriva 2007 Free install CDs.
I will seed these torrents for a week or two.
Enjoy!
http://www.mandriva.com/en/linux/2007

Monday, October 2, 2006

Voyages of the Pyramid Builders by Robert Schoch

Schoch may be a good geologist and may have turned the world on it's head by re-dating the Sphynx thousands of years older than conventional academia will admit. However, he's a terrible book author. Once you get past this, the book proceeds smoothly to his main thesis: that in Sundaland -- a now flooded plain in Asia -- the first protocivilization emerged and spread out across the world when it was flooded, seeding pyramid building civilizations across the globe.
http://www.amazon.com/Voyages-Pyramid-Builders-Robert-Schoch/dp/1585423203/sr=8-1/qid=1159896689/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4124072-5596945?ie=UTF8&s=books

Silent Hill

Great movie. The plot follows the story of the games convincingly, and the effects, audio tracks, and sets match the feel perfectly. Very disturbing and confusing movie, but very, very creative. Great stuff.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384537/

Genesis of the Grail Kings by Lawrence Gardner

This book is a mess.
Don't get me wrong, there's some great research here about the origins of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought -- did you know that the 10 commandments were a re-write of one of the pages in the Egyptian Book of the Dead?
However, the stuff about the Mesopotamians having monatomic gold, and that it is superconductive and antigravitic is simply unproven and speculative. No references are given to back them up, and no current science known supports it.
And the stuff about the Sumerian Annunakai being alien genetic scientists creating us as a slave race in their own image, well... this makes great fiction, but where's the evidence?
http://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Grail-Kings-Explosive-Bloodline/dp/1931412936/sr=1-3/qid=1159896157/ref=sr_1_3/102-4124072-5596945?ie=UTF8&s=books

The Greys by Whitley Strieber

A good SF thriller by alleged real-life alien encounterer. A plausible extraction to the present day given the assumption that Roswell really happened: a secret government organization with nearly unlimited reverse engineered technology trying feverishly to cover up the existence of extraterrestrials. A very interesting sub-plot -- there was a previous human civilization before the ice age that now lives on another world.
http://www.amazon.com/Grays-Whitley-Strieber/dp/0765313898/sr=8-1/qid=1159885128/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4124072-5596945?ie=UTF8&s=books

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Show Your Bones

Interesting disc. Sometimes I hear The Velvet Underground's Nico in the Yeah Yeah Yeah's lead singer Karen O. Obviously influenced by Sonic Youth, the Violent Femmes and the White Stripes, but uniquely their own -- this disc is brilliant start to finish. You do have to be in the mood for some harmonic dissonance and disturbingly da-da like tunes, but when you are you'll wish your stereo went to 11. Also recommended is their first disc, Fever to Tell.
http://www.amazon.com/Show-Your-Bones-Yeah-Yeahs/dp/B000EHQ7L0/sr=8-1/qid=1159884746/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4124072-5596945?ie=UTF8&s=music

Sunday, October 1, 2006

10 Techie Business Myths

Myth #1: A brilliant idea will make you rich.
Myth #2: If you build it they will come.
Myth #3: Someone will steal your idea if you don't protect it.
Myth #4: What you think matters.
Myth #5: Financial models are bogus.
Myth #6: What you know matters more than who you know.
Myth #7: A Ph.D. means something.
Myth #7: I need $5 million to start my business
Myth #8: The idea is the most important part of my business plan.
Myth #9: Having no competition is a good thing.
Myth #10: After the IPO I'll be happy.
http://rondam.blogspot.com/2006/10/top-ten-geek-business-myths.html

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