Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Scary stuff

This is really scary. Especially because there are no solutions offered anywhere. make sure you run AdAware at least once a week, and have something like Avast that will get rid of Trojans quick. At least its not happening in the states. Maybe people really will start burying their money in the backyard again...

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Pirates reach new shores

The Pirate Party is almost ready to board Australia! Gotta admire their tenacity and energy.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Journalistic Bias from a tech's perspective

I have written at length about the disconnect between conservative thinking and the tech community and how much opportunity there is for conservative thinking to engage the tech community. This post from techdirt perfectly illustrates the ambiguity techies have about journalism and bias.

One one hand it easy to dismiss the writer as clueless- I mean, why not come out and just admit that bias is journalism and it's all about supporting leftist ideology. The writer never does. He even suggests that it's ok for journalist to have an opinion, which almost seems to come off in the typical lefty apologist approach, but if you have been reading techdirt for any length of time you know that their writers are extremely sceptical of establishment thinking and journalism. They are simply coming at it from a different angle than conservative activists, journalist, and intellectuals.

Which is why conservatives should be reaching out on an intellectual level to the tech community. They have far more in common with them than they would imagine, and our foundational principles are more often than not the same.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Imagine (no apologies to Lennon)

Imagine the following scenario: A couple of young leftwing activists travel the country visiting NRA offices pretending to be illegal weapons dealers looking to start shipping illegal guns from Mexico into the city and need some help figuring out the logistics. What the NRA offices don't know is that they are phonies and everything is being taped with hidden cameras and will systematically be exposed to the public once the investigation is complete.

Imagine what would happen if those videos showed NRA staff members offering to help with those illegal activities. Imagine how those two young activist journalists would have their careers made at this point. Imagine them all over the cable and network shows, the interviews, book opportunities, movie offers. Careers made, right?

Imagine.

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Racism concept map (Click to enlarge)


Now we can all see if we are racists with this handy concept map!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

John Stewart on Acorn

John Stewart has become hit and miss for me, but this one is actually funny.
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Some fun stuff

Some of my students have been kicking around the idea of doing a skate clip centered on bails and hi-fives. Here it is:

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Kraut- Hammer!

Charles "Martel" Kraut-hammer just threw down the best hammer of the year. Read it and weep.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Calling all technophobes and Monty Python fans


Aside from the obvious hazards an IT company in South Africa has proved that it's faster to use a carrier pigeon for data transfer than IP providers in South Africa.

Local news agency SAPA reported the 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, took one hour and eight minutes to fly the 80 km (50 miles) from Unlimited IT's offices near Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was strapped to his leg.

Of course the only really important question is was it an African or European pigeon?

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

eBooks

This is a huge issue right now. As a librarian and dedicated bibliophile I thought I would not really like ebooks, but I have found that they are great for light reading. Currently I am using the Sony touch screen (great features, grainier screen) and a Kindle. I was shocked by how much I like both and how they solved many of my classic problems. As a professor, I no longer have to carry 6 or 7 books around- I can load thousands on one device, which also solves a classic traveling problem for me.

Most digital books even allow you to annotate them and write notes. Very nice, and I am a definite convert, even though I will always prefer a "real" book. But I have realized that ebooks will probably take over in the next 10 years because they are so functional and easy- and cheaper.

The real issue are these power plays the article I linked to discusses. Everyone with money and power wants to ensure that they get to keep. The one exception has been Sony, which is actually making their devices more functional and interactive with other formats. Exactly the opposite of Amazon's Apple approach: proprietary and controlled. These issues have huge implications for the future control of knowledge and dissemination of information. We have already seen a massive sell out of America's truth corps, the press, when it comes to putting facts and relevant information before the people. Most people think that the Internet will open the door in ways that people with power cannot close it, but don't believe. There are other ways of controlling information. The Obama administration has already backed down from a plan that would have given the president the legal freedom to shut down the Internet in emergency situations, but there are plenty of other alternatives.

It's critical that conservatives and libertarians pay attention to these developments and fight for free markets and freedom of information.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

That's what I'm talking about!

This is rad. Some republican is finally getting a clue

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Pirate Party





I have written about this numerous times and hope conservatives start figuring out how important these issues are to young voters- and how naturally its fits with conservatism. The Pirate Party has won an EU seat. They are rapidly becoming a serious movement in Europe and are attracting new converts all the time.

Mainstream, older generations think the Pirates are not serious- I mean they were a spontaneous reaction the a legal ruling against a torrent tracker from Sweden right?! But then think about how the Establishment has been treating the Tea Parties and townhall protestors stateside and you start realizing that there may be a lot of similiarities here.

Pirate Christian Engstrom sounds an awful lot like a traditional conservative. He just doesn't know it and neither does most of the tech world or youth because conservatives are not reaching out and communicating. Get with it people. Time to run up the Jolly Roger!

How Corrupt is America?

Ted Kennedy's public life from beginning to end was defined by corruption and abuse of privilege. It's that simple. His entire career and life are gross contradictions to everything America is supposed to stand for, yet he is still being celebrated and lionized by the same corrupt establishment that allowed him to exist in the first place.

Kennedy's corruption and disdain for the average American is like book ends for his life. He began it by walking away from an average American, leaving her to die, and he ended it pretty much the same way- boldly trying to change a law he created so the democrats can keep power. He does it because he can get away with it. Like a bad child our politicians just keep testing their boundaries, pushing the people's limit. Kennedy was the ring leader, but don't think it ends with him. President Obama has been rolling Kennedy style since he was first elected by getting his opponents thrown off the ballot on technicalities. The Obama presidency is not a repudiation of abuse of power and privilege, but rather the coming of Age for Kennedy style corruption. No one has benefitied more from the privilege of the wealthy and powerful to have their dirty laundry hidden or excused that President Obama. From the Media's blackout on his voting record and past to his thuggish behavior to hedge fund managers or lawyers fighting corruption (of Obama's friends), no one has utilized the Kennedy style better and to more effect than Barack Obama.

It would seem that the American people are finally beginning to tire of this behavior and are demanding some accountability and integrity from our elected officials. But we seem to be acting like bad parents who have let their children push their limits and are suddenly "getting tough" pretending that we are really good parents who let their children develop some bad habits. You have all seen those kinds of parents who suddenly pretend that they actually care about their child's behavior, but it won't last that long and pretty soon the kids will be up to the same old thing.

It's because our culture is corrupt too. We as Americans are concerned more with comfort and entertainment than virtue. Making sacrificies is not easy, for our elected officials or on the personal level. We love to decry our politicians, but they still represent us. After all, the people of Massachusetts kept electing Teddy year after year, no matter how despicable or open his corruption was. Maybe we deserve these leaders, because they reflect our own failures as parents, citizens and people.

Hopefully, Kennedy's death will remind us that we once produced men like Washington and Lincoln, and that we can return to those virtues, those values and that America.