flog

I'd like to find a browser that doesn't chew up over a Gig of physical memory just because I left it open over the weekend with 8 tabs loaded.

Oink was raided and his servers confiscated on 2007-Oct-23. I found this quote in memoriam on a cool metal torrent site that shall remain nameless:

Yes, it provided a way to get free versions of widely available 

popular albums, but it also archived and cataloged the last 50 

years of music better than any other place on Earth. Many of which are

not readily available for purchase anywhere. It was an excellent record 

of one field of human achievement and now its gone ... How about the 

Clash's "Vanilla Tapes" that were lost on a subway train 30 years ago? 

It was on Oink, but not in stores. Just one of hundreds of examples. 

It was the digital music version of the burning of the Library at Alexandria.

  

In my mind, these raids highlight the absurdity of the record companies' position that data can be locked down. It's all just 1s and 0s, it's butt easy to copy, copying it does not deny access to it for someone else, and most importantly, it "wants" to be free. Data in general and music in particular is meant for the masses and the corporations cannot lord it over music fans without rendering the music unlistenable (given the recent spate of Britneys and Justins it seems they may be taking that route). The day will soon arrive when musicians get back to making their money the old fashioned way - by performing live - a full-body experience that cannot be digitized and shared online (yet). (Notice how I tacitly accepted the unfounded assertion by the RIAA that piracy hurts record sales. Lies are insidious.)

Oh, and here's some sanity to counteract the blatant falsehoods in the IFPI's press release:

• An artist's thoughts on Oink
• The problem with music
• Time to clear up the murk about Oink (from the Guardian

Someone who I consider (not quite a friend, but) a very fond online acquaintance who I've met a couple times in real life at TDI get togethers forwarded me the Andy Rooney email that's making the rounds lately. Not surprisingly, it is exactly as accurately attributed as the George Carlin anti-Mexicans email that he forwarded to me several months ago. Anyway, the person who sent it to him added the following postamble (or should I say post-ramble):

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED

STATES OF AMERICA ,  

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION

UNDER GOD,  

INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!



I was asked to send this on if I agree or delete if

I don't. It is  said that 86% of Americans believe 

in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding 

why there is such a problem in having "In God We Trust" 

on our money and having "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Why don't we just tell the 14% to  BE QUIET!!!

 

If you agree, pass this on, if not delete. .

  

For some inexplicable reason this had a rather profound effect on me. I should expect that I am not surprised that atheists are one of the few groups in America that can still be openly hated in polite company. Also, it is clear from the prose that the person writing it is a Grade A rtard (sic). Also, it is a fairly good assumption that any reply would be ignored were one to be crafted. Still I felt compelled to respond. My thought was that this sort of thing is still allowed because no one bothers to stand up to the brutes that spout off. I was also offended by the sheer hatred inherent in the assertion that I ought to be denied my rights to speech, assembly, and (by extension) suffrage because I don't believe in Santa Claus.

As one of the 14% I feel compelled to answer

this question:



"Why don't we just tell the 14% to  BE QUIET!!!"



Because anyone who can read above a 4th grade level

can see that the Bill of Rights is all about

protecting the rights of the minority against

infringement and curtailment by tyranny.  Freedom of

speech is exactly about allowing both the "good" ideas

and the "bad" ideas both to be aired in public with

the government not having any business in telling

people what they can say or think.



In the same way, the separation of church and state is

about the government remaining neutral in matters of

personal belief.  Only a fanatic mistakes for

antagonism, neutrality by the government (or the

demand from citizens of this country that the

government honor its obligation to be neutral) on

matters of personal belief.  Church/state separation

is the law of the land and just because the  majority

might be cool with mingling church and state does not

mean violating it is ok.  By the same logic, any other

item in the Bill of Rights could be ignored if enough

people just decide to go along with it.



This country is supposed to be ruled by the wonderful

principles laid out in the Constitution and Bill of

Rights not by narrow-minded thuggery.

  

I once got compared to an incestuous pedophile by a crazy Mormon asshole for espousing a similar view with regard to teenagers and marijuana in an online forum.

Kids killing other people while drunk driving is a tragedy, but as usual the rhetoric from the advocates is way over the line in the opposite direction. Whatever happened to the middle way?

  Yeah. 

  I'm gonna set my soul on fire.

  My heart beats low while the flames grow higher.

  Strike a match and then the truth is told.

  I'm gonna set my soul on fire.



  The devil made me a woman, I ain't no liar.

  Her eyes grow bright like the lake of fire.

  Struck a match and then I sold my soul

  for the black-haired girl from the lake of fire.



  I'm gonna set my soul on fire.

  My heart beats low while the flames grow higher.

  Strike a match and then I sold my soul.

  I just set my soul on fire.

  

There's so rarely decent articles on everything2.com that this one about Manos, the Hands of Fate deserves mention.

Those Canadian film students are sitting on cult classic kitsch gold with their movie, Hotel Torgo.

From here:

"One of the most basic laws in the universe is the Second Law of 

Thermodynamics. This states that as time goes by, entropy in an environment

will increase. Evolution argues differently against a law that is accepted

EVERYWHERE BY EVERYONE. Evolution says that we started out simple, and over

time became more complex. That just isn't possible: UNLESS there is a giant

outside source of energy supplying the Earth with huge amounts of energy. 

If there were such a source, scientists would certainly know about it.

[emphasis added]"

  

What could that source of energy possibly be? It has to be Jebus. Another thing I like about the 2LOT Argument Against Evolution is that it denies the possibility of conception and embryonic development. Something else which we all know is a lie straight from hell. We all leap from our mothers' snatch fully formed, just like Athena.

People often make the claim that atheism is a religion because atheists like to make nonsensical statements like this:

Why do people want to call atheism a religion? Because that would let them 

say, "Ha ha, you're just as religious as we are, so shut up and leave us alone."

But it's simply not true: atheism aligns itself with science, with evolutionary

theory, with rationality and empiricism, and religion aligns itself with faith,

dogma, and tradition. Show an atheist evidence that he is wrong and he will

think for a moment, and then nod in assent that he is convinced; show a theist

the same thing, and he will grow angry and offended that you would disrespect

his faith.

  

Atheism no more aligns itself with science, evolutionary theory, or anything else than ayulism or accepting that the Cat in the Hat is a fictional character does. Atheism entails exactly a lack of belief in any god or gods and one can conclude no more about an atheist than that they lack a belief in any god or gods. As much as atheists may be loathe to admit there are loons and wackos that number in our ranks.

I'm plowing through backlogged /. entries at bloglines and came across this funny entry about a strange bug in Excel 2007:

Microsoft already has a patch in the works to help users overcome this issue. 

Whenever the user types a '*' in a formula, an animated sprite of Charles 

Babbage's head will pop up. It will show this bubble caption:



"It looks like you're trying to multiply two numbers. I can help show you how 

to use the Method of Finite Differences to find a good approximation of your

answer using only addition and subtraction. Would you like me to bring up a

wizard so that we can get started on finding an appropriate power series?"