OH HAI!
Worth Reading... |
Steve's Page
Peter's Page
Frigax
EFF
Fark
TNDF
Packing
Freenet
Politech
All of 'em
GlockTalk
Cryptome
Nigga Know
The Daily WTF?
Where's George
Me Elsewhere...
/.: ShaunC
/.: Motherfucking Shit
Fark: Frigax
Reddit: shaunc
NANAS: Canned Ham
...cheers!
163051
|
It's time for a new noun in the IT world, and that noun is "datamergency."Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural data·mer·gen·cies
Usage: often attributive
Date: circa 2008
1 : an unexpected corruption or loss of data which consumes the DBA's mental resources at an hour or attention span previously unanticipated
The last time I coined a term, it was "quasinonymous." I'm willing to swear on a stack of Pasta that I posted a blog entry about it, because I remember being so dumbfounded that there were no Google results for the term at the time that I wanted to lay claim to inventing it. There are only 3 results now, and the other two are clearly dated after the first juncture at which I used "quasinonymous" in casual blogging, so I'm fairly confident that I was the first to put it to text. Presumably I deleted the blog entry that introduced the term due to contents I'd written in a drunken stupor and didn't want to have out there. In any case, it no longer exists.
Consider this my official claim to the word "quasinonymous" as well, should it ever make it into common language; now that I've seen it at two independent sources, I ought to submit it to the Jargon File. "Datamergency" / "datamergencies" shall remain hereby created for the duration, though, as I've put nothing in this post to warrant later deletion.
--
With thanks to Merriam Webster |
|
|
Last week, I submitted a Letter to the Editor to the Commercial Appeal, and (as usual), it printed. The letter centered around my opposition to Wal-Mart's proposed location at Macon and Houston Levee roads, in Cordova.
My full letter was edited for both space and content, so I reproduce the original below.
I'm both surprised and disappointed that the Land Use control Board has voted to greenlight construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter at the intersection of Macon and Houston Levee roads. I have to assume that the sole dissenting member, Emily Trenholm, must be the only Cordova resident on the Board, if Cordova is even represented; as I can't imagine anyone who lives in this part of town voicing approval for such a development.
As an area resident, I'm already dismayed at the burgeoning traffic problems surrounding this intersection. Nearly two years ago, I built a home in a quiet neighborhood full of single-family residences just off Houston Levee. In those two years, I've seen my daily commute to and from work double, from 20 to 40 minutes. Starbucks, Sonic, and McDonald's have all opened retail outlets here, bringing plenty of congestion as it is. I simply don't understand the notion that further retail development will somehow improve this area, especially expansion of the "big box" nature.
Southbound morning traffic on Houston Levee routinely comes to a stop as drivers attempt to turn into the existing venues. Recently, even more delays have been introduced as several new churches have begun construction on Houston Levee. Commuters are forced to yield to dump trucks, bulldozers, and other construction implements traversing roadways that only offer one lane in each direction. This is supposed to get better once development commences on a 150,000 square foot structure? Wal-Mart's supply chain, consisting primarily of tractor trailers, will add even more inappropriate traffic into this residential area. Neither of the affected roads are physically prepared to handle semi trucks.
Adding 1,000-foot turn lanes is not going to alleviate congestion problems. Neither will widening the main corridors themselves, though Wal-Mart has not even offered to pay for that. I invite the Land Use Control Board to take a good, long look at Germantown Parkway and then tell the residents of Cordova, with a straight face, how widening roads eases congestion. Once Wal-Mart moves into an area, that's only the beginning. What will the Board approve next at this intersection? Best Buy, Home Depot, Sam's Club, Costco? We already have a ridiculously over-commercialized zone in Cordova, it's called Wolfchase. Let's leave it at that, please.
This is a residential area which does not need to be turned into a distriplex. I live quite close to the intersection of this proposed Wal-Mart, and I can reach any of three other Wal-Mart locations with a ten minute trip. One is on Highway 64 at Wal-Mart Drive, another is on Germantown Parkway at Friars' Point, and the third is in Oakland. The first two are Supercenters, open 24/7. And let's not forget the Wal-Marts which have been built and subsequently closed down, including one at Germantown Parkway and Wolf River Boulevard, just blocks from the Supercenter they built in its place.
I'm very curious, who exactly asked for this new Wal-Mart? Who pushed for it to be built at this location? Who will reap its tax benefits? Who is going to take over the 150,000 square foot building if it fails and is closed down? And who, ultimately, is being compensated financially for the approval?
Certainly the residents of Cordova are none of the above.
|
|
|
George Carlin was one of a handful of comics who worked to define the line between what's acceptable and what's not. His body of work should stand to remind us that we should not accept censorship, we should not accept the government getting in the way of the people enjoying entertainment.
We've just lost an icon.
The aristocrats! |
|
|
The local paper is carrying an AP article about the recent tomato salmonella scare, and I can't help think that this is yet another alarming mountain being constructed of a molehill, some smoke, and a whole lot of mirrors.
Restaurants are not trashing tomatoes "to protect their customers' health" or "for the safety of [their] guests." They're taking these measures because tossing their entire existing inventory of tomatoes, and even throwing incoming pre-ordered cases straight into the dumpster as they arrive on the truck, is far cheaper than having to defend against a single lawsuit if someone were to fall ill.
And who can blame them? Given the choice of scrapping $1M worth of perfectly good tomatoes, or paying out $10M in a lawsuit to some idiot who decided that an upset stomach was akin to winning the lottery, I'd make the same decision. But I'd at least be honest about it.
If I were an executive at McDonald's or Burger King or Subway - or especially Wendy's, who faced the bogus "finger in the chili" lawsuit several years ago - I'd be all over the airwaves making it perfectly clear why you can't have a tomato on your burger this month... It's not because it isn't safe. It's because we're too likely to get sued by someone who catches a stomach virus, happened to eat at our restaurant last week, and wants a big payday.
Each day, millions of Americans eat tomatoes and suffer no ill effect, and that's true even now. This mystery salmonella outbreak has caused fewer than 200 reported illnesses, and has killed no one. Yet the message being spread through the media like wildfire is "don't eat tomatoes or you're going to die!"
Typical. The media needs you scared, it's how they sell their product (you) to their advertisers. And no amount of money could purchase the free and supposedly positive publicity that the various fast-food conglomerates have received in the past few days; I suppose there are some CFOs tabulating nice credits into their goodwill accounts right about now. Come and spend your economic stimulus check at McDonald's, America, we won't serve you those evil deadly tomatoes; oh, and pay no attention to the fact that we aren't lowering our prices to compensate for the missing ingredients.
As for me, I enjoyed a fresh sliced tomato with sea salt as part of my dinner this evening. And I fully expect to be around next week to tell you how delicious it was, and how all of this was just scare-mongering and CYA.
Unless, of course, I'm killed by terrorists in the meantime. |
|
|
Photographs have an amazing way of capturing a moment, of evoking emotion, of playing out a scenario for which you couldn't be present. It's not very often that a picture makes me sad, what with the advent of websites dedicated to posting funny snapshots. And it's been almost two years since a photo actually brought me to tears.
But this series of images comes close.
|
|
|
My lack of cable over the past couple of years has left me relying on Blockbuster to send my favorite cable series in the mail. Recently I decided to take a chance on a Showtime series called The Tudors. (Yeah, I know, welcome to last year. Sorry, the DVDs weren't out then.) That series is captivating, but the surprise came on Season 1 Disc 4.
There, in the bonus features, Showtime decided to pimp some of their other programming. And that's where I found Californication.
Becca: "Father?"
Hank: "Daughter?"
Becca: "Can I ask you something?"
Hank: "Anything, my love."
Becca: "Why is there a naked lady in your bedroom?"
Hank: [pause] "You wait right there, OK?"
Becca: "There's no hair on her vagina. Do you think she's okay?"
Hank: "I'll check."
And that's just in the first two minutes. How did this manage to slip entirely under my radar? Considering that The X-Files was the best series ever to hit television, and I've rented every rancid bomb that Duchovny has been in since, I can't believe this riotously funny bit of programming has been around for more than a year and I've quite simply never heard of it.
More fodder for the rental list, I guess. This shit's funnier than Weeds, and there's some great gratuitous tits in the first episode. I can't imagine it gets any worse. |
|
|
I posted the following in a thread on Reddit, but it bears repeating.
My experience with health insurance is that a large chunk of the people use it as a way to mitigate against unexpected "oh shit" events in their daily lives. Seriously. I don't know a single person who has ever used their health insurance to get out of work or get cheap access to pills.
One of my coworkers has a son who is autistic. He incurs more than your average kid's worth of medical bills, and while I don't know any details, I'm sure he's glad the insurance is there.
One of my coworkers got pregnant and had a baby last year. Her health insurance came through to ensure that her maternity costs were covered, and that her baby has good medical care.
Me, I got bit by a brown recluse spider two years in a row. Once in 2006, and a whopping 5 bites from presumably a single spider last year. My health insurance guaranteed that I could get in to see the doctor, get a prescription for methylprednisolone and some expensive antibiotics, which of the $120 price they covered $20.
That's right, two years in a row I had to pay $100 out of pocket for antibiotics, even though I was paying $120 a month to the insurance company. In 2006, it was Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. In 2007, it was Cigna. I only went to the doctor once each year, for the same thing both times. Twice I paid $1536 in premiums to the insurance company, and twice they paid $20 on a $120 prescription, leaving me to cover the $100 balance. Can you imagine why some people are bitter?
I gave the insurance companies $3000. They paid for $40 of my prescriptions, and then balked.
This year, the company's health care plan premiums were going to go up to $180 a month for me, a single guy. I said to hell with that, and found my own policy with Humana for $150 a month. While that's hardly cheap, I consider myself lucky. Those who were on the family plan (self plus spouse plus children) saw their rates go from $560 a month to more than $1000 a month.
I don't understand how anyone can afford to have a wife and kids these days. It's one of the primary reasons that I choose to stay single.
Maybe there are people out there who are abusing their health plans, and if they're the reason the premiums are going up, I say fuck 'em. But the way rates are rising, nobody is going to be able to afford a family in five or ten years. Something's gotta give. |
|
|
I've recently noticed that many traceroutes from my Comcast connection at home to remote hosts wind up being routed through various routers on mclean.va.ibone.comcast.net.
Seems sort of odd. McLean, Virginia is not far from CIA headquarters in Langley, or NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. And so I really began to wonder when a traceroute to 4chan.org didn't include any suspicious hosts, but a trace to img.4chan.org - which resides on the exact same ASN, and through the principles of BGP routing should follow the same path - adds an unusual hop to the trace:
I have some other and potentially more interesting traceroutes to posit in the future, and I've confirmed with someone else on Comcast's cable network, less than 5 miles from me, that the 68.86.85.0/16 hosts do not generally appear in his traceroutes as they do in mine. |
|
|
You folks are fucking with the wrong motherfucker.
You've been calling me since mid-March with your magazine debt scam, and as of April 1st, I've begun keeping a log of all the calls you make to me. The date, time, the number you're calling from. Did you realize you're calling my cell, and thus costing me money?
I will continue to keep track of the calls you make to me. When, and from what number. At some point, I will approach my state Attorney General with the evidence I have been collecting. I've decided not to do this quite yet.
While I've built up a pattern of calls that clearly demonstrates wanton disregard of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I'd really rather continue to build my dossier. I don't just want you to stop calling me over some bogus debt (the single and only time I ever answered one of your calls, the woman claimed I owed money for Vogue magazine - I don't think so!). I want your scamming asses raked over the coals.
And I will see it done.
Keep on calling me with your bullshit. Keep on dialing my cellphone, which is on both the state and national Do Not Call registries. Keep on calling, you bad-debt buying, fraudulent call-making pieces of shit. Keep on trying to tell me that I owe money for "magazine subscriptions" that never happened.
You will be seeing me in court in the state of Tennessee if I have to take a god-damned entire week off work to make it happen, or else you will be settling with me after your exposure is realized in a Tennessee small claims court.
Assholes. |
|
|
| RIP, Charlton Heston. You were a bit of an asshole, but you fought for the Second Amendment, and for that, you deserve respect. |
|
|
Older Entries... (385 total, now viewing 1 - 10)
|
|
|
|
