2014-07-31

The joys of pending staycation.

Oh wait.

There isn't any joy.

Guess that's the price I and my family will pay for bad decisions and being stuck in the crumbling class formerly known as middle.

The only difference between us and the poor, is we're surviving paycheck to paycheck and we have a roof over our heads.


2014-07-29

US$50 Billion?

"
"

From today's Wikipedia page.

2014-07-26

Terrible parking job.

Couldn't be bothered to straighten out after first getting in?

What an asshole.

2014-07-25

Seriously - Israel is run by the right wing; does anyone really expect them to act like rational human beings?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2014/jul/24/gaza-crisis-palestinian-death-toll-passes-700-live-updates

They see Palestinians as less than human. I sincerely believe the only reason they don't use their large nuclear arms is because it would make the lands they are slowly cleansing for themselves unusable.

To all you bozos who shop at Amoron, or worse, link to them.

This is the asshole corporation you're dealing with -

http://www.occupy.com/article/amazon-scariest-part-cias-new-amazon%E2%80%8B-cloud-storage?utm_source=Website+%27Join+Us%27&utm_campaign=80c5663526-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_77fe4a462d-80c5663526-67628737

"The fact that the cloud's $600 million budget will be parceled out from the CIA kitty over the next ten years, in some ways, confuses the issue. All 17 agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community will be making use of Amazon's cloud, including, selected at random, the NSA, the DEA, the Department of the Treasury, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and Coast Guard Intelligence—which you'd think you would have heard of by now. Like: there should definitely already be a CBS procedural or at least a USA Network original series about Coast Guard intelligence agents, given how much old people love boats and mysteries. "
The fact that the cloud's $600 million budget will be parceled out from the CIA kitty over the next ten years, in some ways, confuses the issue. All 17 agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community will be making use of Amazon's cloud, including, selected at random, the NSA, the DEA, the Department of the Treasury, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and Coast Guard Intelligence—which you'd think you would have heard of by now. Like: there should definitely already be a CBS procedural or at least a USA Network original series about Coast Guard intelligence agents, given how much old people love boats and mysteries. - See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/amazon-scariest-part-cias-new-amazon%E2%80%8B-cloud-storage?utm_source=Website+%27Join+Us%27&utm_campaign=80c5663526-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_77fe4a462d-80c5663526-67628737#sthash.WGALeTjt.dpuf

The fact that the cloud's $600 million budget will be parceled out from the CIA kitty over the next ten years, in some ways, confuses the issue. All 17 agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community will be making use of Amazon's cloud, including, selected at random, the NSA, the DEA, the Department of the Treasury, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and Coast Guard Intelligence—which you'd think you would have heard of by now. Like: there should definitely already be a CBS procedural or at least a USA Network original series about Coast Guard intelligence agents, given how much old people love boats and mysteries. - See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/amazon-scariest-part-cias-new-amazon%E2%80%8B-cloud-storage?utm_source=Website+%27Join+Us%27&utm_campaign=80c5663526-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_77fe4a462d-80c5663526-67628737#sthash.WGALeTjt.dpu"

2014-07-21

Hey MS, sure cutting out software testers was a good idea?

Let's hope Windows or Office aren't running these systems -

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/skytrain-partially-reopens-after-unidentified-computer-problems-1.2713685

SkyTrain partially reopens after unidentified computer problems

Shutdown of Expo and Millennium lines forces thousands of passengers off trains and out of stations

CBC News Posted: Jul 21, 2014 1:06 PM PT Last Updated: Jul 21, 2014 4:49 PM PT
 
Days after this -
 
 
 

Skytrain shutdown angers, frustrates rush hour commuters

Computer glitch shuts down Skytrain for hours at worst possible time

CBC News Posted: Jul 17, 2014 10:16 PM PT Last Updated: Jul 17, 2014 10:50 PM PT
 
And ... I mean people testing software, not 'SDETs' which develop software to test the software.
 
 


Hmm ... I think I'll pass on getting an iPhone.

Here's why -

http://www.zdnet.com/forensic-scientist-identifies-suspicious-back-doors-running-on-every-ios-device-7000031795/

Forensic scientist identifies suspicious 'back doors' running on every iOS device

Summary: During his talk at HOPE/X Jonathan Zdziarski detailed several undocumented services (with names like 'lockdownd,' 'pcapd,' 'mobile.file_relay,' and 'house_arrest') that run in the background on over 600 million iOS devices.
Jason D. O'Grady

2014-07-20

Vacation time

Posting may be light the next week or so. Finally taking a real vacation for a change.

2014-07-17

Proof that deities are just fairytales.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/god-pledges-5000-for-cancer-research,36486/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:1:Default

2014-07-16

I am so glad I don't test Microsoft software anymore.

If you were, you'd be pretty much walking around Redmond with an even bigger target now than when idiotic developers would scream at you in meetings for finding bugs or point out that their shitty code doesn't do what the customer asked for.

Now - management wants to get rid of you too -

"Some of the job cuts will be in marketing departments for businesses such as the global Xbox team, and among software testers, while other job cuts may result from changes Nadella is making to the engineering organization, Bloomberg reported."

More here - http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/15/microsoft-job-cuts.html

Real stupid of Microsoft - getting rid of the only shred of objectivity behind your software.

2014-07-15

Easier than it sounds.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-to-beat-the-nra-in-7-not-so-easy-steps-20140714

The article has a big flaw in it.

It mentioned 'stand your ground' laws, but fails to mentioned who organizations like the NRA partnered with  - namely ALEC.

When that connection is made, you then realize that the NRA is really truly nothing more than a lobbying organization for arms manufacturers, not actual individual gun owners.




2014-07-14

Another Link Light Rail horn-abuse moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXtpMB1d1eE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Some have commented that the drivers a honking because it's at a crosssing.

No fucking shit you dumbasses, but you miss the point.

First off there is already a flashing bell when the crossing is cut off to drivers and pedestrians. So really they aren't honking for the cross traffic.

Secondly - even then, most train drivers honk only once (and it's usually a long burst for the next crossing), but this idiot driver seems to feel the need to demonstrate extra stupidity by honking 'Pop Goes The Weasel' at EVERY opportunity (scratch that - in the winter time, it's Jingle Bells).

But more importantly it's to me the abuse of the device (it is after all a safety device) that really ticks me off. This driver is so apparently enamored with abusing the horn, to the point that it makes me wondet if he's really paying attention to what's in front of him.

At this particular crossing there have been fatalities (i.e. someone jumping in front and killing themselves, and I sincerely wonder if the Link Light Rail driver at that time was distracted by the horn such that they weren't paying attention.).

2014-07-10

I'm so glad I don't work for these fuckers.

http://truth-out.org/news/item/24876-monsantos-herbicide-linked-to-fatal-kidney-disease-epidemic-will-ckdu-topple-monsanto

Glyphosate is no ordinary herbicide. Besides being the most used herbicide on earth, it is also the central pillar of Monsanto's temple. Most of Monsanto's seeds, including soy, corn, canola, alfalfa, cotton, sugar beets and sorghum, are glyphosate resistant. As of 2009, Monsanto's Roundup (glyphosate) products, which include its GMO seeds, represented about half of Monsanto's yearly revenue. This reliance on glyphosate products makes Monsanto extremely vulnerable to research challenging the herbicide's safety.
Glyphosate-resistant seeds are engineered to allow the farmer to drench his fields in the herbicide to kill off all of the weeds. The glyphosate resistant crop can then be harvested. But if the combination of glyphosate and the heavy metals found in the groundwater or the soil destroys the farmer's kidneys in the process, the whole house of cards falls apart. This may be what is happening now.

As sick as this could be, this part of the story is the part that really makes me want to throw up -

An ugly confrontation has been unfolding in El Salvador. The US government has been pressuring El Salvador to buy GMO seeds from Monsanto rather than indigenous seeds from their own farmers. The US has threatened to withhold almost $300 million in aid unless El Salvador purchases Monsanto's GMO seeds. The GMO seeds are more expensive. They are not adapted to the Salvadoran climate or soil.
The only "advantage" of Monsanto's GMO seeds is their glyphosate resistance. Now that glyphosate has been shown to be a possible, and perhaps likely, cause of CKDu, that "advantage" no longer exists.

Should Americans tolerate a government that essentially is coercing a smaller country into it's people's death?


2014-07-08

Can life be any more fucked up than this?

http://whowhatwhy.com/2014/06/29/carlyle-groups-latest-acquisition-the-jfk-library/

Carlyle Group’s Latest Acquisition: the JFK Library (!)

The next time someone tells you - you are full of shit; say whale shit!

It's evidently quite useful -

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/07/incredible-whale-poop-might-help-fight-climate-change

The Incredible Thing About Whale Poop Is That It Fights Climate Change

Biologists say the majestic swimmers' "pump" mechanism filters the oceans of carbon.

| Mon Jul. 7, 2014 2:48 PM EDT

2014-07-06

Whales - Oceans' engineers?

http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/07/whales-proclaimed-engineers-of-the-ocean-by-scientists/

"With huge metabolic demands, great whales are the ocean’s ecosystem engineers: they eat many fish and invertebrates, and distribute nutrients through the water. Even their carcasses, dropping to the seafloor, provide habitat for many species that only exist on these “whale falls”.

“Among their many ecological roles, whales recycle nutrients and enhance primary productivity in areas where they feed,” said Joe Roman, biologist at the University of Vermont. Whales do this by feeding at depth and releasing fecal plumes near the surface — which supports plankton growth — a remarkable process described as a “whale pump.” Whales also move nutrients thousands of miles from productive feeding areas at high latitudes to calving areas at lower latitudes."

I never thought of it in that sense. There's so much about these creatures people have to learn about. Can you imagine what we as a collective group of species could do if we could communicate and take action for mutual advantage?

I'm sure these creatures have much to say about uh ... oh I don't know ... global warming for instance.

2014-07-02

FAIR exposes Frankenfood Propaganda for that it really is.

http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/the-assault-on-organics/

"Unfortunately, most reporters writing on the topic fail to dig under the surface spin of their sources. A closer look at some of these sources suggests that the anti-organic narrative did not arise organically.

Riley’s “organic mommy mafia” narrative in the New York Post starts off with a few examples of moms who are “so crazy” and “worried” about non-organic food that they harass other moms, then quotes her main source, author and conservative activist Julie Gunlock."

And just who is this Julie Gunlock?

"Gunlock is director of the Culture of Alarmism Project at the Independent Women’s Forum, a group that “gets its funding from right-wing foundations and other conservative interests including the Koch Brothers,” explained Karl Grossman, professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury (and a FAIR associate), in a recent CounterPunch piece (4/30/14)."

And, who are the Koch Brothers?

"The Koch brothers are the conservative billionaire co-owners of a conglomerate of chemical and oil companies, including Koch Ag & Energy Solutions. They and other biotechnology/chemical companies have a lot to lose from the explosive growth of pesticide-free organic foods."

Propaganda no less.

2014-07-01

Happy Canada Day 2014.

In honor of Canada, I celebrate the only way one can on the Internet -

posting a clip of Celine Dion singing the Canadian National Anthem at a hockey game -