Perhaps this eminent domain issue may be remedied by providing the landgrabbers a lot of dirt - enough dirt so they won'’t have to steal it from the poor and the elderly again.Sounds good to me. I'm boxing up my dirt this evening.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Practice Civil Disobedience over Private Property Rights
Columnist Stephen Gordon suggests sending dirt to the 5 Supreme Court justices and the developers in the Kelo v. New London case. He says,
Congress COLA
Congress has awarded itself (once again) an increase in pay. The good thing is that this is just a Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) and not a performance increase. Obviously, with the stagnation of Social Security Reform, Tax Reform, Energy Bill passage, and the multitude of other problems that they have failed to tackle or failed to fix they definitely don't deserve a performance pay raise.
Really, though, do they need anymore money? It amazes me that when it comes to letting the American people keep more of what they earn, Congress goes crazy. But let them take more money home and nary a word...
Really, though, do they need anymore money? It amazes me that when it comes to letting the American people keep more of what they earn, Congress goes crazy. But let them take more money home and nary a word...
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Prideful Politicians
A commentary by Peggy Noonan explores the disturbing trend in modern politicians to speak of the virtue of their character. She basically illustrates that our modern politicians have no humility and it is having a detrimental impact on their decision making abilities. She writes,
As usual, she has an insightful and well-written editorial on the current events.
The Supreme Court this week and last issued many rulings, and though they were on different issues the decisions themselves had at least one thing in common: They seemed to reflect a lack of basic human modesty on the part of many of the justices.Besides slamming the Supreme Court Justices, she derides Sen. Barack Obama for his comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, Bill Frist for speaking about his great sacrifices, and the Clintons for politicizing a spiritual event.
As usual, she has an insightful and well-written editorial on the current events.
Civil (dis)Obedience follows Kelo v. New London Ruling
A developer is seeking to use the power of eminent domain to remove a Supreme Court Justice from his home so that the developer can build a hotel that he plans to name " The Lost Liberty Hotel." The attempt, though unlikely to succeed, is serious.
Gotta love the ingenuity of the American people.
Gotta love the ingenuity of the American people.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Interesting Idea with Great Reasoning
Forty-five legal scholars of diverse idealogical backgrounds think that life-time tenure for Supreme Court justices is too long considering modern medicine's ability to extend life.
A good read.
A good read.
Want a new look
I want a new look for my blog. I'm just not happy with it. Maybe while I'm on vacation next week I will see what I can drum up.
Theological/World-View Quiz
I saw that my brother took a "Theological Worldview Quiz" so I did as well. I have to admit that I had to look up a few of the questions as I did not understand what they meant. I'm not sure what a lot of this stuff means, but for those who are interested, here are my results:
If you don't have a blog to post your results, go ahead and put them in my comments. I'm interested in how my good friends and family rate.
 | You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com |
If you don't have a blog to post your results, go ahead and put them in my comments. I'm interested in how my good friends and family rate.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Outrage over Private Property Ruling
I have been shocked by the public outrage at the Supreme Courts private property ruling. It seems people around here are just enraged by it. Even some people who are usually apolitcal are upset about this.
Of course, the pundits have been having a field day with this. Here are some links to what some other people are saying:
Of course, the pundits have been having a field day with this. Here are some links to what some other people are saying:
- Armed robe-ery: Supreme Court heists property rights
Doug Powers - The Great Leap Backward
Vox Day - Black-robed Robin Hoods
Barbara Simpson - Property Rites
Thomas Sowell - Eminent injustice in New London
Jeff Jacoby - High Court to Homeowners: Stick 'em up
Paul Jacob - The End of Private Property Rights
Neal Boortz
- Barely a Ripple
Neal Boortz - Wanted: A Little Perspective please
Paul Greenberg
Friday, June 24, 2005
Property Rights Amendment
Earlier this week I wrote of an upcoming Supreme Court ruling that I was fearful would allow the government to use eminent domain to transfer property from one private owner to another private owner. Well, the ruling has now come down and it is official: The rich and powerful can use their influence and money to convince local government officials to use eminent domain to take the property of one citizen and to sell it to another private citizen on the vague promise that the new use of the property will generate more tax revenue.
Our forefather's understood the value of property rights in a free society. That is why they included the phrase "nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation." in the fifth amendment of the Constitution. They understood a need for government, at very limited times, to seize property with the caveat that the property would be for public use, things such as roads, schools, townhalls, etc.
The Supreme Court, though, has redefined "public use" now to mean something closer to "public purpose." No longer is the taking permitted only if the state has an important need for the property, such as a road or bridge which everyone needed. Now our property can be taken if the some local Government bureaucrat or elected official determines that there might possibly more economic use of our property by somebody else, a real-estate developer, an employer who needs to expand his business (thus creating jobs), or maybe a big box store which will generate more sales tax. And, since local governments always think that they need the extra tax money they will receive if somebody else gets your house, they will take it.
Understanding the nature of man and the nature of power, I can guarantee you that this enlargement of the state's power will result in fiscal extravagance and theft. "But wait, Randy," you say. "Doesn't the state/local government still have to compensate you justly? How can thievery enter into the picture?"
Good question. I'm glad you asked. There are several ways. First, just compensation does not mean fair market value. Professor Stephen Bainbridge, a UCLA Law professor explains this concept much better than I could.
The sad fact is that without strong private property protection rights, the nature of a man in power is to use government to steal from the poor to give to the rich. There is no longer any incentive for a person to speculate in land. I know of a guy who bought his house because he knew it was in the path of development. He had hoped to cash in about five years when the developers came knocking on his door. He understood that the land will be worth a lot more then than it is now. However, under this new ruling, a developer can come in and low-ball an offer. When my friend refuses the low-ball offer, the developer will turn to the mob (oops, I mean local government) to force the sale of his house. Once government determines what it thinks "just compensation" is, my buddy will be lucky to break even. His investment has just become worthless. Why would anyone take risks like this in the future?
That is why we need a property rights amendment. Congress must clearly layout the protections people have when it comes to that which they own. However, I am sure that Congress will stand quietly on the sidelines. They don't want private property protections. They want the power. So, instead of actually working to protect that which we work for, they will work to protect to keep us from feeling offended. What a great set of priorities.
This is indeed a sad day for freedom-loving people, as we see yet another fierce blow to liberty. Liberty is not quite dead yet in America, but she is on her knees, arms bound behind her. Her body is battered and bruised and her skin portrays the open wounds left by the whip of socialism. Yet, even as the black-robed executioner stands above her with sword drawn, she holds her head high and with eyes of fire she silently accuses all who stand by. To those who would seek to oppress those eyes say, "Fear me. For the fire of liberty will never burn out. It may smolder in the ashes. But someone, somewhere, at sometime will pick up that ember, blow on it and reignite the people's passion for me. And that passion will sweep across the people like a wildfire."
Our forefather's understood the value of property rights in a free society. That is why they included the phrase "nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation." in the fifth amendment of the Constitution. They understood a need for government, at very limited times, to seize property with the caveat that the property would be for public use, things such as roads, schools, townhalls, etc.
The Supreme Court, though, has redefined "public use" now to mean something closer to "public purpose." No longer is the taking permitted only if the state has an important need for the property, such as a road or bridge which everyone needed. Now our property can be taken if the some local Government bureaucrat or elected official determines that there might possibly more economic use of our property by somebody else, a real-estate developer, an employer who needs to expand his business (thus creating jobs), or maybe a big box store which will generate more sales tax. And, since local governments always think that they need the extra tax money they will receive if somebody else gets your house, they will take it.
Understanding the nature of man and the nature of power, I can guarantee you that this enlargement of the state's power will result in fiscal extravagance and theft. "But wait, Randy," you say. "Doesn't the state/local government still have to compensate you justly? How can thievery enter into the picture?"
Good question. I'm glad you asked. There are several ways. First, just compensation does not mean fair market value. Professor Stephen Bainbridge, a UCLA Law professor explains this concept much better than I could.
"First, it fails to take into account the subjective valuations placed on the property by people whose families have lived on the land, in at least one case, for over a 100 years. In other words... the government will be able to seize land at a price considerably below the reservation price of the owners. Second, unlike the prototypical eminent domain case, in which the land is seized to build, say, a school or road, in this case the city is using eminent domain to seize property that will then be turned over to a private developer. If this new development increases the value of the property, all of that value will be captured by the new owner, rather than the forced sellers. As a result , the city will have made itself richer (through higher taxes) , and the developer richer, while leaving the forced sellers poorer in both subjective and objective senses."Secondly, after the property has been seized and turned over to another private citizen, there is no recourse for the original owner if the project is never undertaken or the government miscalculated and the new use is not more economically valuable to the community. In fact, once property is transferred, in the absence of fraud or bad faith, there is no easy way apparent to return the property, even if the new owner changes his mind, goes broke, or gets a better offer.
The sad fact is that without strong private property protection rights, the nature of a man in power is to use government to steal from the poor to give to the rich. There is no longer any incentive for a person to speculate in land. I know of a guy who bought his house because he knew it was in the path of development. He had hoped to cash in about five years when the developers came knocking on his door. He understood that the land will be worth a lot more then than it is now. However, under this new ruling, a developer can come in and low-ball an offer. When my friend refuses the low-ball offer, the developer will turn to the mob (oops, I mean local government) to force the sale of his house. Once government determines what it thinks "just compensation" is, my buddy will be lucky to break even. His investment has just become worthless. Why would anyone take risks like this in the future?
That is why we need a property rights amendment. Congress must clearly layout the protections people have when it comes to that which they own. However, I am sure that Congress will stand quietly on the sidelines. They don't want private property protections. They want the power. So, instead of actually working to protect that which we work for, they will work to protect to keep us from feeling offended. What a great set of priorities.
This is indeed a sad day for freedom-loving people, as we see yet another fierce blow to liberty. Liberty is not quite dead yet in America, but she is on her knees, arms bound behind her. Her body is battered and bruised and her skin portrays the open wounds left by the whip of socialism. Yet, even as the black-robed executioner stands above her with sword drawn, she holds her head high and with eyes of fire she silently accuses all who stand by. To those who would seek to oppress those eyes say, "Fear me. For the fire of liberty will never burn out. It may smolder in the ashes. But someone, somewhere, at sometime will pick up that ember, blow on it and reignite the people's passion for me. And that passion will sweep across the people like a wildfire."
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Flag Burning Amendment
The BIG NEWS today is that the House of Representatives passed a piece of legislation that would amend the Constitution making it illegal to burn the U.S. Flag as means of protest. It has been held by the Supreme Court that flag burning is political speech protected by the First Amendment. The pundits are all in a tizzy as they breathlessly explain the rest of the process the proposed amendment must go through to actually be included as part of the Constitution (Senate has to vote, states have to ratify).
Personally, I think the news people are jumping on this bandwagon a little too early. If memory serves me, the House of Reps has passed this legislation every year for the past 5 years and it has never passed the Senate. I am too lazy right now to go research and find out if my memory is accurate. But, we will assume it is. So, I don't care that the House of Reps passed the bill...they do it every...let me know when something new actually develops. That is news.
Next, who really cares. I am a patriot of patriots. I love this country and I love its flag. I find it a high honor to be allowed to fly a flag outside my home. We are the greatest nation ever to grace this and Earth, and while we may not be perfect, there is no other nation who does it better. So, while I find the burning of the flag to be utterly detestable, I can not think of how anyone else's right to life, liberty, or property is being infringed upon by the use of force or fraud when some idiot burns a flag. To me, that should be the standard of all law. Only actions that deprive an individual of his right to life, liberty, or property through the use of force or fraud should be illegal. So, unless some steals a flag to burn it, there is no victim when an idiot buys his own flag and lights it aflame.
Now, that being said, I think the law should allow that any person convicted of beating the living tar out of another individual who has burned a flag to be fined no more than $1 and then that conviction should be sealed. That would curb a lot of flag burning, or at least let those of who respect our flag and our country handle the issue of flag burning in a reasonable and prompt manner.
Instead of worrying about protecting people for being offended (yes, that is about the worst that can happen to another individual), maybe Congress should work on passing an Amendment to repeal the 16th Amendment that makes it legal for the Government to use force to deprive an individual of their income. That seems like a better use of the news print, news airwaves, and news bandwidth than this tired old story, recycled from years gone past.
Personally, I think the news people are jumping on this bandwagon a little too early. If memory serves me, the House of Reps has passed this legislation every year for the past 5 years and it has never passed the Senate. I am too lazy right now to go research and find out if my memory is accurate. But, we will assume it is. So, I don't care that the House of Reps passed the bill...they do it every...let me know when something new actually develops. That is news.
Next, who really cares. I am a patriot of patriots. I love this country and I love its flag. I find it a high honor to be allowed to fly a flag outside my home. We are the greatest nation ever to grace this and Earth, and while we may not be perfect, there is no other nation who does it better. So, while I find the burning of the flag to be utterly detestable, I can not think of how anyone else's right to life, liberty, or property is being infringed upon by the use of force or fraud when some idiot burns a flag. To me, that should be the standard of all law. Only actions that deprive an individual of his right to life, liberty, or property through the use of force or fraud should be illegal. So, unless some steals a flag to burn it, there is no victim when an idiot buys his own flag and lights it aflame.
Now, that being said, I think the law should allow that any person convicted of beating the living tar out of another individual who has burned a flag to be fined no more than $1 and then that conviction should be sealed. That would curb a lot of flag burning, or at least let those of who respect our flag and our country handle the issue of flag burning in a reasonable and prompt manner.
Instead of worrying about protecting people for being offended (yes, that is about the worst that can happen to another individual), maybe Congress should work on passing an Amendment to repeal the 16th Amendment that makes it legal for the Government to use force to deprive an individual of their income. That seems like a better use of the news print, news airwaves, and news bandwidth than this tired old story, recycled from years gone past.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
AFI's Top 100 Quotes
While "Gone with the Wind" had the number one ranked quote, the movie "Casablanca" has the most quotes in the top 100. It is certainly a great movie.
Secret to Long Marriage
In this article about the couple who set the record for the longest marriage (80 years), they cite the reason for such a long marriage is the fact that they don't go to bed angry with each other. While very sweet and sappy, the true secret to their long marriage was the fact that they married young and lived a long time. But let's not let math get in the way of sentiment.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
No more property rights
The Supreme Court continues to affirm the idea that local governments have more authority over private property than the private citizens who own the property have. These rulings have had a disastrous effect on liberty. To truly attack the individual, you must remove his ownership of property because a person's authority over his own life and destiny is best seen in the accumulation of his property. He exerts dominion over his property, and thus displays the dominion he has over his own life. When the state can supersede a man's dominion over his own property, the individual loses his power over his own destiny (thus over his own liberty).
The article said that the Government is expected to win a pending case where the Supreme Court was asked to rule if it is permissible for local officials to take people's property through eminent domain for economic development projects like shopping malls. When the government can use force to take property from one private citizen and give it to another private citizen, then we will no longer be living in a free society and you will no longer be able to count on the rule of law protecting your assets. If the government can take your home and give it to a developer, how long until the government can seize your IRA and give it to a Social Security recipient. The two cases are ideologically the same.
Its kind of scary seeing the government get so much power to seize that which we work hard for. When their power is complete, there will be no incentive to work because there is no incentive to accumulate wealth. Our economy will falter then. I'm not sure there is anything you can do to protect yourself from this other than, if a developer comes and asks for your home. Sell it to him immediately. If the government gets involved, you will get screwed out of its value.
The article said that the Government is expected to win a pending case where the Supreme Court was asked to rule if it is permissible for local officials to take people's property through eminent domain for economic development projects like shopping malls. When the government can use force to take property from one private citizen and give it to another private citizen, then we will no longer be living in a free society and you will no longer be able to count on the rule of law protecting your assets. If the government can take your home and give it to a developer, how long until the government can seize your IRA and give it to a Social Security recipient. The two cases are ideologically the same.
Its kind of scary seeing the government get so much power to seize that which we work hard for. When their power is complete, there will be no incentive to work because there is no incentive to accumulate wealth. Our economy will falter then. I'm not sure there is anything you can do to protect yourself from this other than, if a developer comes and asks for your home. Sell it to him immediately. If the government gets involved, you will get screwed out of its value.
Monday, June 20, 2005
I'm shocked and appalled...
Not really. I am not surprised at all by the report that AOL network harbors the most infected PCs. It only makes sense that if you are so inept at the internet that you have to use AOL as your ISP, then you are probably too clueless to properly protect and maintain your PC. You are the target of most hijackers and phishers because they know you can scam you. Really people, the internet is a dangerous place...if you don't want to take the time to learn how to protect yourself and your family from it...they don't get on it.
I can tell you the number one request I get for help at church and from people at work on their personal machines is how do I clean up this virus-laden, spyware infested piece of machinery. Rarely do I get someone asking me how can I prevent these problems from cropping up in the first place.
I usually clean the machine up one time for them for free and give them an education in the what is happening and why. I try to teach them how to protect themselves. After that, $100/ hour to fix a recurring problem on your machine. If you hit people in the pocketbook, they will maybe learn the lessons and stop being bad neighbors on the information superhighway.
And, no, this is not Microsoft's fault and switching OSes will not solve this problem. All OSes inheritintly will have vulnerabilities. There will always be hacker losers and cyber punks who will invent and create ways to vandalize machines. While all of the major OS manufacturers are working to make it harder to break, there will always be some jerk who is smarter than some engineer who will break it just to say he can. Then, there will always be low-lifes who will rest on the shoulders of the jerk and exploit his genius for their own insidious purposes.
The answer is always, and will always, be end-user vigilance. It takes education, continuing education to stay on top of the security of your PC. Remember, you bought it, you own. It is not your ISPs problem that you can't protect it.
I can tell you the number one request I get for help at church and from people at work on their personal machines is how do I clean up this virus-laden, spyware infested piece of machinery. Rarely do I get someone asking me how can I prevent these problems from cropping up in the first place.
I usually clean the machine up one time for them for free and give them an education in the what is happening and why. I try to teach them how to protect themselves. After that, $100/ hour to fix a recurring problem on your machine. If you hit people in the pocketbook, they will maybe learn the lessons and stop being bad neighbors on the information superhighway.
And, no, this is not Microsoft's fault and switching OSes will not solve this problem. All OSes inheritintly will have vulnerabilities. There will always be hacker losers and cyber punks who will invent and create ways to vandalize machines. While all of the major OS manufacturers are working to make it harder to break, there will always be some jerk who is smarter than some engineer who will break it just to say he can. Then, there will always be low-lifes who will rest on the shoulders of the jerk and exploit his genius for their own insidious purposes.
The answer is always, and will always, be end-user vigilance. It takes education, continuing education to stay on top of the security of your PC. Remember, you bought it, you own. It is not your ISPs problem that you can't protect it.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Too Fast for even me.
Now I like to drive fast. I speed quite regularly, often without even realizing I am doing it. However, I would never drive this fast.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Relationship Class
Erin and I taught a Marriage Class this past Spring Quarter at church. We based the class on two books, "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman and "Love and Respect" by Dr. Eggerichs Emerson. This was a Sunday morning class geared toward couples ages 20-35 years old. It is kind of amazing, but there were only two couples in the class who had been married longer than us. I really didn't feel old until we discovered that. Our 10th anniversary is August 5, 2005. WOW!!! Ten years together.
Anyway. Here is my 11 week curriculum (includes teacher outline and discussion questions to hand-out), neatly compressed into one file. It is only 11 weeks because we didn't have Sunday school on Easter Sunday and Graduation Sunday. About half of the discussion questions were ripped off from the study guides found at the official websites of the books we were studying.
Official Website: The Five Love Languages
Official Website: Love and Respect
Anyway. Here is my 11 week curriculum (includes teacher outline and discussion questions to hand-out), neatly compressed into one file. It is only 11 weeks because we didn't have Sunday school on Easter Sunday and Graduation Sunday. About half of the discussion questions were ripped off from the study guides found at the official websites of the books we were studying.
Official Website: The Five Love Languages
Official Website: Love and Respect
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
The Tyranny of the Elite
EU Constitution drafter Valery Giscard d'Estaing says it was a mistake to let peasants actually read the Constitution before voting to ratify it.
He is quoted as saying, "It is not possible for anyone to understand the full text."
In other words, he is saying "I am smarter than all of you French people and I know what you need better than you do. Just trust me and vote for the thing." I guess that whole "consent of the governed" thing hasn't quite made it over to Europe yet.
He is quoted as saying, "It is not possible for anyone to understand the full text."
In other words, he is saying "I am smarter than all of you French people and I know what you need better than you do. Just trust me and vote for the thing." I guess that whole "consent of the governed" thing hasn't quite made it over to Europe yet.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Fixed publishing problem
For some reasons my settings for publication were not right, even though I don't remember changing them and they were publishing last week. Mysterious.
Blog Not Posting
For some reason, when I publish posts they are not actually making it to the webserver. However, I am not getting an error from Blogger. Hmmm... Why aren't my posts being published???
Our "International Image"
I'm not a big fan of Bill O'Reilly. I listen to his radio program and I find him to be a snot, I don't like him. Its not just his attitude and personality that I find offensive, I also don't like many of his commentaries. For instance one of his big "Talking Points" right now is how America should be working to ensure that we have a favorable image in the international community.
My question to him is why? Why do I care what the people of the world think about America? Their values are wrong and are values are right. I think if we have the world's approval, then we have lost that which makes us unique, that which makes us America.
Think of it like this: One of the big values we try to teach children is to stand up for what is right, no matter what others think. Isn't the problem of peer pressure really a question about what my image is to my peers? We have all heard, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?" This rhetorical question is geared to help children realize that just because a majority of people engage in a certain behaviour, doesn't mean that behaviour is wise or right. Actually, we honor those who are able to withstand the masses and stand alone for what is right. Why should this be any different in the world community? Isn't being right better than being popular?
Of course, anyone who thinks we can modify our image so that everyone likes us does not understand human nature. We are an envious people and think we should be the most powerful person around. There is a natural tension between those who are less powerful and those who are more powerful. Think about this in your own life. See, we are the richest, most-powerful nation that has ever been graced to live on God's green earth. The other nations are envious of our position, so the decry everything we do and seek ways to bring us down and promote themselves. There is no amount of "image consulting" the nation could do to overcome the envious nature of humanity.
We have to do what is right despite what others think. We must care more about ensuring that our citizenery is protected from foriegn enemies than we care about how some Frenchman, German, or African Tribesman thinks about us. We must be more concerned with ensuring that we are feared and respected by the nations than we are loved; our safety and security depends on it.
My question to him is why? Why do I care what the people of the world think about America? Their values are wrong and are values are right. I think if we have the world's approval, then we have lost that which makes us unique, that which makes us America.
Think of it like this: One of the big values we try to teach children is to stand up for what is right, no matter what others think. Isn't the problem of peer pressure really a question about what my image is to my peers? We have all heard, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?" This rhetorical question is geared to help children realize that just because a majority of people engage in a certain behaviour, doesn't mean that behaviour is wise or right. Actually, we honor those who are able to withstand the masses and stand alone for what is right. Why should this be any different in the world community? Isn't being right better than being popular?
Of course, anyone who thinks we can modify our image so that everyone likes us does not understand human nature. We are an envious people and think we should be the most powerful person around. There is a natural tension between those who are less powerful and those who are more powerful. Think about this in your own life. See, we are the richest, most-powerful nation that has ever been graced to live on God's green earth. The other nations are envious of our position, so the decry everything we do and seek ways to bring us down and promote themselves. There is no amount of "image consulting" the nation could do to overcome the envious nature of humanity.
We have to do what is right despite what others think. We must care more about ensuring that our citizenery is protected from foriegn enemies than we care about how some Frenchman, German, or African Tribesman thinks about us. We must be more concerned with ensuring that we are feared and respected by the nations than we are loved; our safety and security depends on it.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Small Group Materials
Ok. It's been awhile since I last posted my Small Group materials. So, this should catch us up to date...
Week 19 - Chapter 10
Week 20 - Chapter 11 - Part I
Week 21 - Chapter 11 - Part II
Week 22 - Chapter 12
Week 23 - Chapter 13 - Part I
Week 24 - Chapter 13 - Part II
Week 19 - Chapter 10
Week 20 - Chapter 11 - Part I
Week 21 - Chapter 11 - Part II
Week 22 - Chapter 12
Week 23 - Chapter 13 - Part I
Week 24 - Chapter 13 - Part II
Jackson Not Guilty*
BREAKING NEWS. THIS JUST IN:
California lets another celeberity off the hook. Visit California, the land of murders and perverts, if you are famous that is.
Of course, we all know that this trial has really just been one great big diversion to keep us from paying attention to the real crisis...we need to get Katie Holmes away from Tom Cruise before it's too late!
*Tomorrow we will return to our regularly scheduled program and look at issues that really do affect your life, or at least my life.
California lets another celeberity off the hook. Visit California, the land of murders and perverts, if you are famous that is.
Of course, we all know that this trial has really just been one great big diversion to keep us from paying attention to the real crisis...we need to get Katie Holmes away from Tom Cruise before it's too late!
*Tomorrow we will return to our regularly scheduled program and look at issues that really do affect your life, or at least my life.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Marketer Harvests Blogs
A marketing company has developed software that crawls blogs and harvests marketing data from them. This is American ingenuity at its finest. Marketing data is a hot commodity, a valuable resource. Gathering marketing data has been difficult because people don't like to give out the information needed by the companies. So, a company has figured out a way to mine that information. The information on the blog will tend to be accurate (unlike surveys where people try to fudge their opinions) and free (unlike paying people for their opinions or paying a research company to do phone surveys).
It is a way to get a lot more data, a lot faster.
As a blogger, I don't care if the company reads my blog, categorizes me (I'm a white, married male, 30-45 years old with two children under two years old) and uses information I freely give to help companies better understand my needs. As long as they don't call me...what do I care. May you guys get rich doing this.
It is a way to get a lot more data, a lot faster.
As a blogger, I don't care if the company reads my blog, categorizes me (I'm a white, married male, 30-45 years old with two children under two years old) and uses information I freely give to help companies better understand my needs. As long as they don't call me...what do I care. May you guys get rich doing this.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Disposable Camcoders
CVS is now selling a disposable camcorders. Let's see, it cost $30 for the camera and then $13 for the processing to a DVD. So, for $43 you can have a 20 minute DVD without having to buy a camcorder.
OR
You can go buy a pretty-decent, real camcorder and do the work yourself for $400 (i.e., the cost of 10 movies).
I can say that I would not have thought of disposable camcorders...but with the popularity of disposable cameras, why not? Even though it doesn't make sense to me, I bet this will be a boon for CVS.
OR
You can go buy a pretty-decent, real camcorder and do the work yourself for $400 (i.e., the cost of 10 movies).
I can say that I would not have thought of disposable camcorders...but with the popularity of disposable cameras, why not? Even though it doesn't make sense to me, I bet this will be a boon for CVS.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
If China can do it, so can the US
China (a tyrannical, communist dictatorship) is requiring all blogs to register. I have not been too worried about the Federal Election Committee's attempt to count blogs as donations to a campaign because I felt the law was technically unenforceable. However, the Chinese have developed
"a 'Net Crawler System' that will monitor the sites in real time and search each Web address for its registration number."So, the US may soon employ the same techniques as communist China in an attempt to control the political speech of its people. Man, isn't freedom grand?
Monday, June 06, 2005
National ID System
Microsoft and HP have teamed up to create a national ID system built on the .NET platform that they plan to sell to governments.
I have spoken in the past on what I see as "technological hurdles" to a national ID system. These two companies will go a long way to overcoming many of them, but it still will not be a perfect system.
I have spoken in the past on what I see as "technological hurdles" to a national ID system. These two companies will go a long way to overcoming many of them, but it still will not be a perfect system.
Off Today
I'm off today because it is a state holiday, Jefferson Davis' birthday. I'm not sure why we get the birthday of the leader of a foriegn country off, but who am I to complain. I planned to mow the lawn, but, of course, it is raining today. I don't know when I will get another chance to mow.
I feel like such a bad neighbor right now. My neighbors on both sides of me are trying to sell thier houses because they are moving and I feel like my long, ankle-high grass is detrimental to thier ventrues. Its just hard finding the time to mow when I work on Saturdays and have church and small group on Sundays. I should probably just pay a service to come in and do it, but they want $35 each time. My lawn is small that I can mow it in 25 minutes. I can't see paying someone more than a dollar a minute to mow a lawn. Its not rocket science...you push the machine up and down in rows.
So, long grass here we come.
I feel like such a bad neighbor right now. My neighbors on both sides of me are trying to sell thier houses because they are moving and I feel like my long, ankle-high grass is detrimental to thier ventrues. Its just hard finding the time to mow when I work on Saturdays and have church and small group on Sundays. I should probably just pay a service to come in and do it, but they want $35 each time. My lawn is small that I can mow it in 25 minutes. I can't see paying someone more than a dollar a minute to mow a lawn. Its not rocket science...you push the machine up and down in rows.
So, long grass here we come.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Everything back-up
I've re-posted all of my files to the new server...so I should be completely back-up. Sorry for any inconvenience that I may have caused.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
New Server
I've moved to a new server and have not had a chance to upload my old files yet (two kids...I am running on fumes right now). I've re-published the entire site from Blogger...but have not re-uploaded all my attachments.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Love them Bureaucrats
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200506/s1381589.htm
Remember when Government used to be something you could count on. Our own post office had a motto about "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
In Canada, though, 10 cm is enough to deter even the bravest of postmen.
Remember when Government used to be something you could count on. Our own post office had a motto about "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
In Canada, though, 10 cm is enough to deter even the bravest of postmen.
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