Neocons are vile, and probably retarded

The latest in neocon horseshit is like being bukkaked with stupid (props). I can’t even begin to assess how retarded it is. These people are supposed to be intellectuals?

It’s really quite simple, Norm. If this is a war, and a world one, AND a shooting war, then do what the fucking Constitution says should be done, and have the Congress declare it. Oh, can’t get that happening? Then give it up.

Neocons, specifically ones who will never actually have to fight, have as big a hard-on for war, as they do a disdain for the foundational principles of our government.

I wonder what the American people will want. Oh, that’s right: it’s the neocon way to use the tools of mass media (who are, ironically, themselves tools) to dictate policy to the public as opposed to the normal system (wherein the government, in particular the elected officials, represent the views and ideas of the people who elected them).

They’re really sad. The saddest part is they just can’t see it, and never will. They’re fat, pasty jackasses who intellectualize about war as abstracts. They’ve never fired a weapon, they’ve never run 10 miles in combat gear, or slept in the mud. But in their policy papers, they’re warriors. And they’ll never see that disconnect.

The Middle East is now recursive

CNN.com unfucked it in the time it took to reload, but for a few minutes this story was headlined “Refugees flee refugee camp battle”.

Nearby Gamers: Locate other dorks near you!

http://nearbygamers.com/

Cute Google Maps hack to locate other dorks gamers near you.

A concise summary of how I spent the last half hour

Customer: “I want to edit this file, something.php, but it’s all weird, and FrontPage doesn’t understand it. It’s not HTM, although it is when I look at it in the browser. Can I convert it?”
Me: (stabs fork into eye) No. You cannot edit any of the files that end in .php. That’s code, that’s stuff we write. You can edit the files that end in .htm.
Customer: (long pause, sound of clicking) OK. How about this, somethingelse.php, can I edit that one? (describes changes desired)
Me: Yeah, that’s also one that ends in .php, so, no. Those changes are actually in the template in another file, and they’re all covered by the estimate for the new work.
Customer: (long pause, sound of clicking) Is thisfile.php editable? It looks like more code.
Me: None of the files that end in .php are editable by you. It’s all our code. You can’t edit any of them. Any. None.
Customer: (furious clicking) I want to make a change to static.htm, that’s ok, right?
Me: Yeah. Anything .htm is fine.
Customer: OK. That’ll work. Now where’s the table tag in foobar.php? I can’t find it, it’s all code.
Me: Do not edit php files. Anything you break, we’ll charge you for.
Customer: But I need to edit it, the table’s all wrong.
Me: Yeah, that’s line item whatever in the estimate, you have a bunch of changes to layout. Please do not edit the php files.
Customer: I’ll just make this one change, and call you back. click

On the plus side, we’re gearing up to hire someone full time to handle this sort of bullshit, so at least, maybe I’ll not have to listen to it for a while.

Stop calling it a “revolt”

The most recent self-aggrandizing Digg HD Key story on the front page continues to push the storyline that it’s somehow a “revolt” by Digg users, against The Man or something.

Seriously, explain to me how they’re revolting. (”The peasants are revolting.” “Oh, I know.” bah-dum bum psh)

I’d like to know, as part of your answer, a few actual facts. For example, what percentage of Digg users have HD-aware devices (tvs, etc)? How many without HD gear are planning on a purchase in the next 3-6 months? And finally, what percentage have been egregiously hindered by the lack of access to the key, for purposes of ad-hoc decryption of content?

I’m guessing here, but if you frame the “revolt” in terms of real numbers, you’re going to see the entire thing as a lot of me-too, bandwagon wankery.

I’m no stranger to odd geek habits: I have a convoluted “workflow” around dealing with getting content (that, you know, fell off the back of a truck) onto my Apple TV. I’m sure there’s some percentage of Digg users who really needed access to the key, to support their convoluted workflow.

But c’mon. You’re not a fucking hero for risking a DMCA takedown. You’re not innovative, or part of a movement, or anything else. You’re just some guy. It takes a lot more to rise above.

Perhaps they can also “Product Activate” the web?

Am I the only person sitting with jaw dropped over how people are raving that with Silverlight Microsoft rebooted the web?

Microsoft.
Rebooted.

More signs I’m doomed as a developer

From http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000849.html

I believe every software developer should have basic competence in a common graphics editor.

(Emphasis his.) He’s right; I’m so doomed.

There’s a few reasons; for example, I have poor color vision. No, I’m not colorblind. The best example I can give is, “I have CGA vision in a VGA world”.  I don’t see differences in shades, particularly in poor light or without a strongly contrasting background.

(I do, however, have extremely good distance vision - I can see farther, and more accurately, and anyone I have ever met; and I am very good at detecting motion, which is sadly useless while drawing pictures.)

This explains (1) why I never wore anything colorful until I met my wife (also, black is slimming), and (2) why I’m so good with a rifle, but it hinders my artsy-fartsy skill.

For me, though, it all comes down to, programming is forgiving and graphic design is not. If I go to learn, say, Python, no one is going to laugh that my “hello world” looks dumb (all things being equal). By my stick figures never transcend to real art.

At long last, my plan to eliminate emo kids is coming to fruition

FDA expands antidepressant warning to young adults:

Young adults beginning treatment with any antidepressant should be warned about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior associated with the drugs, health officials said Wednesday.

So to recap:

1. “Wow, the new My Chemical Romance record is so awesome. I’m gonna go cut myself.”
2. “Brandon, take your medicine, you’re crying again.”
3.  Profit! The problem just solves itself.

I feel like money should be changing hands

It seems that we’re one “hotnews” update away from a lot of people losing the bet, “Who will blog first, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates?”.

I mean, his choice of blog software sucks (it’s not based on WebObjects!) but he’s got an RSS feed, so he’s a cat picture away from having something you could kinda-sorta call a “web log”.