"My freedom to swing my fist ends at your nose."
This quote is in many versions on the Internet. They are all a little different. They are all a lot the same.
I've been thinking about this quote recently. It's a neat quote, which I have often attributed to one of the Founding Fathers, but I'm not really sure it was Ben Franklin who said it. But, it doesn't matter.
I've been thinking about freedom a lot. Maybe it's because of a certain convention in Denver. Dunno.
But, what is freedom and what does it mean to me?
Freedom is being able to disagree, on important, substantive issues, without fear of being seen as unpatriotic. Freedom is being able to express myself, without fear of being hurt, professionally or personally. Freedom is being safe from fear - real and imagined.
For the last 8 years, the Bush Administration has made all of less free. The McCain Campaign is trying to use the same legacy of fear. But I think Americans are sick of being afraid. Americans are tired of labeling the opposition of being unpatriotic.
I'm not afraid.
--andy
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Dear Biden
Mr. Biden, allow me to introduce myself. I'm the kind of guy you need to convince. While the mainstream media practically falls over itself to congratulate you on being picked as Obama's vice presidential candidate, I'm not convinced you are a good choice for the job.
Let me recap some recent history. You were for the war in Iraq before you were against it. You have a nasty habit of putting your foot in your mouth and then you like to take a good long while to chew on it before spitting it out. For example, I recall a certain comment about a certain clean African American . . . oh yeah . . . . your running mate.
I voted for Obama. I never considered voting for you. With you on the ticket, I must consider the idea of putting you within one heart beat of the Presidency. Will I vote for you? Yes. I will. Am I as enthusiastic about the ticket as I was this time last week? No. Am I going to donate again to the campaign? I don't know.
Convince me.
Let me recap some recent history. You were for the war in Iraq before you were against it. You have a nasty habit of putting your foot in your mouth and then you like to take a good long while to chew on it before spitting it out. For example, I recall a certain comment about a certain clean African American . . . oh yeah . . . . your running mate.
I voted for Obama. I never considered voting for you. With you on the ticket, I must consider the idea of putting you within one heart beat of the Presidency. Will I vote for you? Yes. I will. Am I as enthusiastic about the ticket as I was this time last week? No. Am I going to donate again to the campaign? I don't know.
Convince me.
New Toys!
I have been ill all weekend.
YUCK!
In fact, I was so drained from the weekend that I stayed home from work today to rest and recover from sleeping all weekend! :-) It sounds like a scam but I don't think it is at all. I'm tired. I knew I would not be able to concentrate at my usual levels, so going to work would have been a waste of everyone's time and energy.
I also thought I could use the time to work on the project I'm working on for Linux.com (more about that later). I sat down and started pounding on emacs and finally the screen on my venerable HP zv6000 finally died. The hinge(s?) has been broken for several months now and the laptop has needed a brace (like a wall) to keep the screen up. I tried giving the laptop some viagra, but it just can't keep it up anymore. Sadly, the screen was otherwise fine. But, the lose hinge(s) have been wearing at the connecting cable and recently the screen developed a dead-space line in the middle of the screen. I called HP to see what it would cost me to buy the parts to repair the machine. The hinge kit was ~$80.00 US.
Ouch! This is a ~4 year old machine! Instead I chose to buy a brand new 19" LG-flatscreen monitor. It's purty. It cost me $215 w/ tax. I'm going to buy myself a new desktop system for my birthday, and now I won't need to buy a screen for it! I also bought a MS ergonomic keyboard. It's a strange world where the only ergonomic keyboard in the store is "made" by a company known for it's crappy software. Ironically, they make wonderful hardware. Maybe Bill and ilk missed their true calling! Unlike most of the other keyboards, this is NOT a battery powered keyboard. It actually plugs in to the computer, so I don't have to worry about my battery fading on me when I'm on deadline. And, I have to say that it feels groovy on my wrists.
Well, I should get back to the project that I'm getting paid for and write some more about this later, butI though I would mention that Ubuntu was able to locate and use BOTH new peripherals WITHOUT needing any new drivers. However, setting up the screen would have been intimidating for a new user. I had to go CLI on it, and force Ubuntu to reconfigure my xserver, and I'll admit that my log in screen is still kinda creepy looking.
Oh well. I'll get these things all working one of these days!
YUCK!
In fact, I was so drained from the weekend that I stayed home from work today to rest and recover from sleeping all weekend! :-) It sounds like a scam but I don't think it is at all. I'm tired. I knew I would not be able to concentrate at my usual levels, so going to work would have been a waste of everyone's time and energy.
I also thought I could use the time to work on the project I'm working on for Linux.com (more about that later). I sat down and started pounding on emacs and finally the screen on my venerable HP zv6000 finally died. The hinge(s?) has been broken for several months now and the laptop has needed a brace (like a wall) to keep the screen up. I tried giving the laptop some viagra, but it just can't keep it up anymore. Sadly, the screen was otherwise fine. But, the lose hinge(s) have been wearing at the connecting cable and recently the screen developed a dead-space line in the middle of the screen. I called HP to see what it would cost me to buy the parts to repair the machine. The hinge kit was ~$80.00 US.
Ouch! This is a ~4 year old machine! Instead I chose to buy a brand new 19" LG-flatscreen monitor. It's purty. It cost me $215 w/ tax. I'm going to buy myself a new desktop system for my birthday, and now I won't need to buy a screen for it! I also bought a MS ergonomic keyboard. It's a strange world where the only ergonomic keyboard in the store is "made" by a company known for it's crappy software. Ironically, they make wonderful hardware. Maybe Bill and ilk missed their true calling! Unlike most of the other keyboards, this is NOT a battery powered keyboard. It actually plugs in to the computer, so I don't have to worry about my battery fading on me when I'm on deadline. And, I have to say that it feels groovy on my wrists.
Well, I should get back to the project that I'm getting paid for and write some more about this later, butI though I would mention that Ubuntu was able to locate and use BOTH new peripherals WITHOUT needing any new drivers. However, setting up the screen would have been intimidating for a new user. I had to go CLI on it, and force Ubuntu to reconfigure my xserver, and I'll admit that my log in screen is still kinda creepy looking.
Oh well. I'll get these things all working one of these days!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Ctrl <-> CAPS
I just swapped the keyboard mapping for my Ctrl Key and CAPS key.
If you understand what that means, save me. If you don't, just toss me some pity.
But, I have to admit that I am happy to welcome my new emacs overlord. . . . . . .
If you understand what that means, save me. If you don't, just toss me some pity.
But, I have to admit that I am happy to welcome my new emacs overlord. . . . . . .
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Emacs
I want everyone to understand how hard this post is to write. I have been a vim user for a long time. Vim has some real advantages - it's light, easy to use, and is installed on most unix systems by default. Last, but not least, google-reader uses vim style key bindings!
Until recently, vim did everything I needed it to and it did it well.
But, my current job requires me to write a lot of SPSS syntax. The only SPSS syntax highlighting files that I can find for vim are outdated and crufty. After I found PSPP, a project by the FSF, I suspected that my days with vim might be numbered. I was right.
SURPRISE!!!! PSPP integrates very well with emacs. There is even a major-mode for emacs, which makes editing SPSS syntax a dream.
So, with a heavy heart, I sat down and read the emacs tutorial.
And I liked it. Yeah, that's right. I actually liked what I saw. I don't want to get completely lost in the massive OS that is emacs, but I did enjoy using it today. Regexp is a little different and my fingers need to learn some new moves, but that will come.
eegads. the bazaar hath cometh.
Until recently, vim did everything I needed it to and it did it well.
But, my current job requires me to write a lot of SPSS syntax. The only SPSS syntax highlighting files that I can find for vim are outdated and crufty. After I found PSPP, a project by the FSF, I suspected that my days with vim might be numbered. I was right.
SURPRISE!!!! PSPP integrates very well with emacs. There is even a major-mode for emacs, which makes editing SPSS syntax a dream.
So, with a heavy heart, I sat down and read the emacs tutorial.
And I liked it. Yeah, that's right. I actually liked what I saw. I don't want to get completely lost in the massive OS that is emacs, but I did enjoy using it today. Regexp is a little different and my fingers need to learn some new moves, but that will come.
eegads. the bazaar hath cometh.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Road Warrior Cometh
Next month, I become the ultimate Road Warrior! Mad Max can't touch this insanity. I leave on September 8th for beautiful Oklahoma, a state I have not spent much time in. I will not return until September 26th.
This means I will spend two weekends in Oklahoma. And here's the really crazy part - I'm OK with all of this. Oklahoma is not a particularly large state and it just happens to have several nifty looking climbing areas. I'm going to lug the gear down there with me and spend the weekends climbing and camping in the Wichita Mountain Wilderness Preserve. I don't have a lot of granite experience and this looks like my opportunity to get some!
Now I just need to get some partners. If you happen to know any climbers in the Lawton Oklahoma region, give them my name and number please!
This means I will spend two weekends in Oklahoma. And here's the really crazy part - I'm OK with all of this. Oklahoma is not a particularly large state and it just happens to have several nifty looking climbing areas. I'm going to lug the gear down there with me and spend the weekends climbing and camping in the Wichita Mountain Wilderness Preserve. I don't have a lot of granite experience and this looks like my opportunity to get some!
Now I just need to get some partners. If you happen to know any climbers in the Lawton Oklahoma region, give them my name and number please!
Monday, August 11, 2008
5.10 !!
I onsighted a 5.10 this weekend at the Shanty cliffs in the Adirondacks. It was a mixed route, but the crux was 100% trad. I can't remember the name of it (I rarely remember the name) but the crux was a fun THIN finger crack that went up and right. You come off a good horizontal onto some thin fingers and as you crank up and right the feet get progressively poor. The last 2 - 3 moves (height dependent) are nearly featureless.
I got the route clean, but my partners did not. Unfortunately, the #5 brassy I placed in the crux popped the second time one of my partners fell. It held her on her first fall, but she pulled it in fall #2. She thinks it failed because she pushed out away from the wall to make her fall cleaner. I thought the placement was pretty secure, so I'm bothered that it failed.
I got the route clean, but my partners did not. Unfortunately, the #5 brassy I placed in the crux popped the second time one of my partners fell. It held her on her first fall, but she pulled it in fall #2. She thinks it failed because she pushed out away from the wall to make her fall cleaner. I thought the placement was pretty secure, so I'm bothered that it failed.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Mass. MOCA - The Journey
Karen, Lea, Tony and I went to Mass. MOCA on Saturday. It was phenomenal. We saw lots of interesting and provocative modern art AND we got to see 3 Charlie Chaplin short films, set to live orchestral music. It was an incredible show. Karen and I had never before watched an entire Chaplin film, so this was really quite an experience for both of us.
The movies were absolutely hilarious. The three shorts all starred the same 4-5 people. The plots were simple and timeless, and even the young children in the audience were laughing hysterically as Chaplin and company kicked, poked, prodded and amused themselves, for our entertainment.
I can truly admit that I am officially a big fan of the tramp.
If I get some of the pictures from the show from Karen's camera, I'll post them here.
The movies were absolutely hilarious. The three shorts all starred the same 4-5 people. The plots were simple and timeless, and even the young children in the audience were laughing hysterically as Chaplin and company kicked, poked, prodded and amused themselves, for our entertainment.
I can truly admit that I am officially a big fan of the tramp.
If I get some of the pictures from the show from Karen's camera, I'll post them here.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Bats in my belfry
Great Scotts! There are bats in my belfry! Last night we were woken up to find an errant bat had stumbled into our bedroom. It took about an hour to help it get back outside. This would be weird enough in it's own right but this is the third time this week!
Either they go back outside or I'm building a super computer in the basement and calling it the bat-computer. And, then I'll go get some black tights, a bad-ass sports car and I'll go get my bad-ass on.
Either they go back outside or I'm building a super computer in the basement and calling it the bat-computer. And, then I'll go get some black tights, a bad-ass sports car and I'll go get my bad-ass on.
McCain, Obama and Britney . . A Threesome I Must Forget
The Huffington Post ran an interesting article yesterday on a new McCain attack ad.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/30/mccain-ad-links-paris-hil_n_115841.html
The Huffington Post is undoubtedly a partisan news source, but at least it is openly partisan. The ad itself though is 100% McCain Campaign. After viewing the video, I realized that the find folks at the Huffington Post got it wrong. The attack isn't damaging to Obama because of how it attacks him; it's damaging because of how it attacks us.
Disclosure: I have donated money to the Obama campaign.
As with many other McCain Campaign ads, it uses a backdrop sound of a crowd chanting:
"Obama! Obama! Obama!"
The ad then smoothly segues into a comparing Obama to mega stars such as Britney Spears, who are also infamous for their various problems and foibles. But, the McCain ad has failed to take note of one fact . . . Britney is only a megastar because we (the people of the United States) made her one. She's not royalty. She wasn't born/married into this position of stardom. Obama's incredible popularity and yes, stardom come from the American people.
So when McCain points out his rivals star-power and then derides it with comparisons to Britney Spears understand that he is really attacking every single person who has ever supported (by vote, money or chant) the Obama campaign.
So here's some free advice for the McCain campaign. Attacking voters is not an effective way to win elections. Attack ads take on a whole new dimension when they attack the supporters of a candidate rather than the candidate himself.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/30/mccain-ad-links-paris-hil_n_115841.html
The Huffington Post is undoubtedly a partisan news source, but at least it is openly partisan. The ad itself though is 100% McCain Campaign. After viewing the video, I realized that the find folks at the Huffington Post got it wrong. The attack isn't damaging to Obama because of how it attacks him; it's damaging because of how it attacks us.
Disclosure: I have donated money to the Obama campaign.
As with many other McCain Campaign ads, it uses a backdrop sound of a crowd chanting:
"Obama! Obama! Obama!"
The ad then smoothly segues into a comparing Obama to mega stars such as Britney Spears, who are also infamous for their various problems and foibles. But, the McCain ad has failed to take note of one fact . . . Britney is only a megastar because we (the people of the United States) made her one. She's not royalty. She wasn't born/married into this position of stardom. Obama's incredible popularity and yes, stardom come from the American people.
So when McCain points out his rivals star-power and then derides it with comparisons to Britney Spears understand that he is really attacking every single person who has ever supported (by vote, money or chant) the Obama campaign.
So here's some free advice for the McCain campaign. Attacking voters is not an effective way to win elections. Attack ads take on a whole new dimension when they attack the supporters of a candidate rather than the candidate himself.
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