Did Dr. Ron Paul just say that the government said they believe they have the right to assassinate American citizens who may be a threat to the Federal Government?
Where the hell did he get that from? Who said they believe they have that right? Where is this coming from? Why aren't more people pissed off about that?
February 19, 2010
Food for Thought (Structured approach to the purpose of governance)
Hypothesis: The power of law is the power of armed control. Through law we, as a collective, decide under penalty of armed punishment, what actions for which we will use our collective armament and power to punish individuals or other ordered and targetable collectives. My hypothesis is that this power of law should not be used to regulate morality.
Second Hypothesis: Law, when properly implemented, should not impede upon the free will (which God himself has granted man) of the individual or the democratic will of targetable collectives.
Third Hypothesis: The purpose of law is to protect individuals and collectives from the individual application of force in violation of either of the first two premises. As such, the application of collective force should only be used to deter and prevent others from using force to prevent a part of that collective from going about their own business and exercising their own free will.
To be expounded upon at such time that I actually have time to discuss.
Second Hypothesis: Law, when properly implemented, should not impede upon the free will (which God himself has granted man) of the individual or the democratic will of targetable collectives.
Third Hypothesis: The purpose of law is to protect individuals and collectives from the individual application of force in violation of either of the first two premises. As such, the application of collective force should only be used to deter and prevent others from using force to prevent a part of that collective from going about their own business and exercising their own free will.
To be expounded upon at such time that I actually have time to discuss.
February 06, 2010
New Host
Ok - rehosting the blog with BlogSpot underneath - this should be interesting...everything will likely be messed up - let's see how this post goes...
See you on the other side
I'm going to attempt to convert my Blog over the next 2 days - it's going to be a challenge, I have to rework how everything operates, but I'll probably end up with a nicer looking blog in the end because I have to re-do the template.
If this works, my pages will be going from .asp to .htm.
I'll have less control over the information I log, but I'll also have a redirect to my old programmed content on something like custom.richgautier.com - I haven't worked out the details yet...
So....see you on the other side....
If this works, my pages will be going from .asp to .htm.
I'll have less control over the information I log, but I'll also have a redirect to my old programmed content on something like custom.richgautier.com - I haven't worked out the details yet...
So....see you on the other side....
February 03, 2010
Dear Google - Thanks A Lot For Leaving Me High and Dry
Dear Google:
I have used Blogger for 11+ years as the text content engine to my website. I used Blogger before Google owned Blogger, and the original product was so much better than what you have turned it into.
Blogger was originally designed as a content management tool, not just for vanilla blogs, but for people who needed a way to manage all kinds of published content.
I would have happily paid for such a service over the years, but you never asked for anything other than a link advertising Blogger at the bottom of my pages. At no time did you tell me that supporting a basic functionality of the Internet - FTP - was costing you more money than you made back from me.
All of my pages are indexed at Google, with .asp extensions - with a PageRank befitting my little piece of the web. Your replacement product will no longer support my website, its design and structure, or my purposes. Even if I migrate my content, all of my links will be changed, and I will no longer be able to customize my content programatically.
You've also given me less than two months to migrate to new tools, effectively freezing my content until I find a new content management tool.
Thank you so much for caring so much about your customers, especially those who have been with you since the beginning.
If you should happen to run into the fun guys who originally made Blogger, could you ask them kindly to come back and re-deploy their original product, maybe under a new umbrella? I could really use a customizable content management system right about now.
I have used Blogger for 11+ years as the text content engine to my website. I used Blogger before Google owned Blogger, and the original product was so much better than what you have turned it into.
Blogger was originally designed as a content management tool, not just for vanilla blogs, but for people who needed a way to manage all kinds of published content.
I would have happily paid for such a service over the years, but you never asked for anything other than a link advertising Blogger at the bottom of my pages. At no time did you tell me that supporting a basic functionality of the Internet - FTP - was costing you more money than you made back from me.
All of my pages are indexed at Google, with .asp extensions - with a PageRank befitting my little piece of the web. Your replacement product will no longer support my website, its design and structure, or my purposes. Even if I migrate my content, all of my links will be changed, and I will no longer be able to customize my content programatically.
You've also given me less than two months to migrate to new tools, effectively freezing my content until I find a new content management tool.
Thank you so much for caring so much about your customers, especially those who have been with you since the beginning.
If you should happen to run into the fun guys who originally made Blogger, could you ask them kindly to come back and re-deploy their original product, maybe under a new umbrella? I could really use a customizable content management system right about now.
February 02, 2010
Blogger.com – No Longer Support of FTP Publishing in Blogger after March 26 – Webmove – Mashable Web Blog
Well, it's been a good 10 year run - but I'm about to have to switch my Blogging site to some new configuration. Blogger.com – No Longer Support of FTP Publishing in Blogger after March 26 – Webmove – Mashable Web Blog What really sucks is that I use a custom ASP web site that won't be supported by their option. I'm going to have to switch over from Blogger to an on-site blogging system, which means lots of development effort on my part - and I have about a month and a half to do it.
February 01, 2010
Highway becomes runway: Aircraft makes emergency landing on New Jersey Turnpike
Having lived in Jersey, the first thing I thought when reading Highway becomes runway: Aircraft makes emergency landing on New Jersey Turnpike was: He's going to have to pay the maximum toll when he gets off because he doesn't have his entrance ticket.
January 02, 2010
Kindle Part II - Why I'm still a luddite
This morning I was walking my dog, and in his haste to find a comfortable place to do what he does on walks, he yanked the leash to its end. This would have been all well and good on any other day, but on this day, I had decided to do some multi-tasking, reading my Kindle on the walk.
My poor Kindle 1 leaped from my grasp and tumbled two full twists before hitting the cement walkway. As I yelled profanities at the dog, I knelt down and cradled the pieces of my poor abused electronic book and slid the back onto the unit, cradling it back into the (haha!) protective leather case.
Damaged..the screen connections were damaged. My poor e-book had taken a hit to the top-left corner of the screen, and it had ripped apart the e-ink screen connectors, so there were now lines running both across and down the left and top of my display. Sadness, pure sadness, ran through my soul. This is an expensive book. I had paid a good chunk of change for this unit some time ago. Sure I had received $80 cash back from Bing, but I bought the unit right before the 2nd gen Kindle arrived, so I still ended up paying more than the current full price.
After looking on the web for suggestions, I tried the reset button (no dice), and eventually called Kindle Customer Service at Amazon. Upon calling Amazon at first I received a call center with a heavily accented customer service rep. My hopes were almost dashed at being understood, when he passed me on to 'Kindle Customer Support', which appeared to be staffed by understanding and caring English-speaking folk. They understood what had happened and at first promised to take care of me.
That is, until I got to the second representative. He identified that the unit was out of warranty, and I told him that I knew that and would be willing to pay for repairs, and THIS is where I decided to not replace my Kindle with another Kindle.
It can't be repaired. They don't repair the units. Not even the units that are in fine working order except for the screen. They only replace them. And they only replace them with newer units. WHAT!?!?!??!!?! No, no, no! The Kindle 1 has a replaceable battery and takes memory cards that allow me to separate my library, and store much more material. The Kindle 2 buttons aren't as good as the Kindle 1. Yet, the rep categorized the Kindle 2 as an upgrade. Some upgrade! And I'd be paying for a new unit that I liked less? What kind of a deal is that?
Now, back to the luddite comment. If I had dropped the book I was reading (a 19th century text on 'How to Live on 24 Hours a Day'), it wouldn't have dented and become unreadable. It may have become unbound, being more than 100 years old, but I'd have been able to see the top lines of the text when I gathered the sheets from the ground. Perhaps one page may have torn, nay two, but not each and every page of that book and every other book in my library safe at home. It is things like these that make me pine for the old ways, assuring me, over and over, that the new ways are not always better, and in some ways worse.
My poor Kindle. Someone tell Jeff Bezos that his 'upgraded' Kindle isn't getting my vote. I'll use my poor Kindle 1 until the day I can't read the screen at all (which may be soon if I drop it again), but I'll be damned if I replace it at full cost with a unit that takes more capabilities away from me. The fact that a manufacturer no longer supports equipment for repair at less than 2 years after you buy it is disappointing and goes to show just what kind of throw-away consumer society we've become. I am sorely disappointed in Amazon's inability to support their product, but they're certainly not the only ones. I'd pay extra at this point for something with a 10-year warranty (not that dropping should be a covered event). Maybe I'll go out into my garage and hug my Stanley and Craftsman tools.
My poor Kindle 1 leaped from my grasp and tumbled two full twists before hitting the cement walkway. As I yelled profanities at the dog, I knelt down and cradled the pieces of my poor abused electronic book and slid the back onto the unit, cradling it back into the (haha!) protective leather case.
Damaged..the screen connections were damaged. My poor e-book had taken a hit to the top-left corner of the screen, and it had ripped apart the e-ink screen connectors, so there were now lines running both across and down the left and top of my display. Sadness, pure sadness, ran through my soul. This is an expensive book. I had paid a good chunk of change for this unit some time ago. Sure I had received $80 cash back from Bing, but I bought the unit right before the 2nd gen Kindle arrived, so I still ended up paying more than the current full price.
After looking on the web for suggestions, I tried the reset button (no dice), and eventually called Kindle Customer Service at Amazon. Upon calling Amazon at first I received a call center with a heavily accented customer service rep. My hopes were almost dashed at being understood, when he passed me on to 'Kindle Customer Support', which appeared to be staffed by understanding and caring English-speaking folk. They understood what had happened and at first promised to take care of me.
That is, until I got to the second representative. He identified that the unit was out of warranty, and I told him that I knew that and would be willing to pay for repairs, and THIS is where I decided to not replace my Kindle with another Kindle.
It can't be repaired. They don't repair the units. Not even the units that are in fine working order except for the screen. They only replace them. And they only replace them with newer units. WHAT!?!?!??!!?! No, no, no! The Kindle 1 has a replaceable battery and takes memory cards that allow me to separate my library, and store much more material. The Kindle 2 buttons aren't as good as the Kindle 1. Yet, the rep categorized the Kindle 2 as an upgrade. Some upgrade! And I'd be paying for a new unit that I liked less? What kind of a deal is that?
Now, back to the luddite comment. If I had dropped the book I was reading (a 19th century text on 'How to Live on 24 Hours a Day'), it wouldn't have dented and become unreadable. It may have become unbound, being more than 100 years old, but I'd have been able to see the top lines of the text when I gathered the sheets from the ground. Perhaps one page may have torn, nay two, but not each and every page of that book and every other book in my library safe at home. It is things like these that make me pine for the old ways, assuring me, over and over, that the new ways are not always better, and in some ways worse.
My poor Kindle. Someone tell Jeff Bezos that his 'upgraded' Kindle isn't getting my vote. I'll use my poor Kindle 1 until the day I can't read the screen at all (which may be soon if I drop it again), but I'll be damned if I replace it at full cost with a unit that takes more capabilities away from me. The fact that a manufacturer no longer supports equipment for repair at less than 2 years after you buy it is disappointing and goes to show just what kind of throw-away consumer society we've become. I am sorely disappointed in Amazon's inability to support their product, but they're certainly not the only ones. I'd pay extra at this point for something with a 10-year warranty (not that dropping should be a covered event). Maybe I'll go out into my garage and hug my Stanley and Craftsman tools.
December 29, 2009
Life Maintenance
Just noticed that the grandfather clock has the wrong time and the pendulum isn't swinging. I've long since learned to ignore the chimes on the hour and the half. As I get up to wind it, 945 email messages are flowing from my main Internet provider's mailbox into Outlook to be sorted, categorized and, for the most part, ignored.
Life has its maintenance tasks, and during the holidays and vacations, we tend not to keep up with them. I have no idea what day the clock stopped or when the family server went down. Someone must have hit the switch before we left on vacation because I couldn't connect to it remotely while I was away. The majority of the email is SPAM anyway, or something that interested me for a while and I want to make time for, but haven't the time to make.
My grandfather clock is now back tick-tocking, and my Bayesian filters are busily sorting the month's email I haven't read. Glancing at the bill box, I have some more maintenance to do this weekend. I know I've paid many of them, but I know of at least 2 that I've neglected to take care of over the holiday.
Well, back to life and its doldrums...
Life has its maintenance tasks, and during the holidays and vacations, we tend not to keep up with them. I have no idea what day the clock stopped or when the family server went down. Someone must have hit the switch before we left on vacation because I couldn't connect to it remotely while I was away. The majority of the email is SPAM anyway, or something that interested me for a while and I want to make time for, but haven't the time to make.
My grandfather clock is now back tick-tocking, and my Bayesian filters are busily sorting the month's email I haven't read. Glancing at the bill box, I have some more maintenance to do this weekend. I know I've paid many of them, but I know of at least 2 that I've neglected to take care of over the holiday.
Well, back to life and its doldrums...
December 19, 2009
Blogging
I've been blogging for almost ten years now. I started out hyperlinking just about every topic in my blog because I believed in the hypertext possibility of the web. Back ten years ago, my posts would have 5 or six links in each post, linking to people, companies, anything I was talking about. Nowadays I just write. Over the years, I've become even more self-conscious about what I write, too. Sitting locked up in the snow house today I was looking at some of my old blog posts. Some of them are just inane now. Some of the postings are like looking at the Internet Dead Pool, covering tech ideas that just never went anywhere...
I don't want to delete the whole thing and start over - but primarily because I'm not sure I would replace it with anything better. The historical significance of a running online diary isn't lost on me either.
I don't want to delete the whole thing and start over - but primarily because I'm not sure I would replace it with anything better. The historical significance of a running online diary isn't lost on me either.
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