Search *this*, asshat
Thanks to DT for pointing out this article on retailers searching *your* property after you've made a purchase and before you've left *their* store. Well worth the read, especially around this time of year. As the great Nancy Reagan once said..."Just Say No". Oh, and don't shop at Wal-Mart. They're truly evil.
http://www.bwcitypaper.com/bw.digg.page.final.html
The author is man after my own heart. I've said the same things they say in the article time and time again.
Friday, November 03, 2006
VA Voting Shenanigans
This freaked me out a little. And it doesn't seem to be getting too much press (at least that I've seen). Perhaps I'm just overly sensitive.
An article in the Online Journal says:
"What is being called a "glitch" by Hart InterCivic spokespersons, three cities in Virginia -- Alexandria (my note: population 128,283 in 2000), Falls Church (pop. 10,377 in 2000) and Charlottesville (pop. 45,049 in 2000)-- will not properly display (~Democrat) Jim Webb's name on the November ballot summary screen. Voters will only see 'James H. "Jim"' on the ballot, instead of 'James H. "Jim" Webb'.
To make matters worse, the candidates will have "their party affiliations . . . cut off". To put some perspective and clarity to this, in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, Virginia, voters will not be able to recognize Jim Webb by his full name OR by his party's affiliation!"
Those of us who live in VA know that those 6-year-old census numbers have done nothing but skyrocket since they were recorded. So the number of voters seeing incorrect (or incomplete) information on their ballots is going to be significantly higher than the 183,709 recorded in '00. Nice. The last couple of elections have been won and lost by what...27...maybe 30 votes? 100k shouldn't matter at all...right?
While on the subject, did anybody happen to catch HBO's "Hacking Democracy" last night about the ultra creepyness of the Diebold voting machines? Scary stuff. I only watched a few minutes of it (but I recorded it for later viewing pleasure), but I have to say the ease with which they were tampered was startling.
---
Edited to change my population data. Evidently I used the total population of VA (7+ million). Duh. The data has been corrected. However, my point still stands. With a race that came down to 6,000 votes (as of last night), that 100k+ still could make or break somebody. I guess we'll see after all of the the recounts and lawsuits are done.
This freaked me out a little. And it doesn't seem to be getting too much press (at least that I've seen). Perhaps I'm just overly sensitive.
An article in the Online Journal says:
"What is being called a "glitch" by Hart InterCivic spokespersons, three cities in Virginia -- Alexandria (my note: population 128,283 in 2000), Falls Church (pop. 10,377 in 2000) and Charlottesville (pop. 45,049 in 2000)-- will not properly display (~Democrat) Jim Webb's name on the November ballot summary screen. Voters will only see 'James H. "Jim"' on the ballot, instead of 'James H. "Jim" Webb'.
To make matters worse, the candidates will have "their party affiliations . . . cut off". To put some perspective and clarity to this, in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, Virginia, voters will not be able to recognize Jim Webb by his full name OR by his party's affiliation!"
Those of us who live in VA know that those 6-year-old census numbers have done nothing but skyrocket since they were recorded. So the number of voters seeing incorrect (or incomplete) information on their ballots is going to be significantly higher than the 183,709 recorded in '00. Nice. The last couple of elections have been won and lost by what...27...maybe 30 votes? 100k shouldn't matter at all...right?
While on the subject, did anybody happen to catch HBO's "Hacking Democracy" last night about the ultra creepyness of the Diebold voting machines? Scary stuff. I only watched a few minutes of it (but I recorded it for later viewing pleasure), but I have to say the ease with which they were tampered was startling.
---
Edited to change my population data. Evidently I used the total population of VA (7+ million). Duh. The data has been corrected. However, my point still stands. With a race that came down to 6,000 votes (as of last night), that 100k+ still could make or break somebody. I guess we'll see after all of the the recounts and lawsuits are done.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Canon 20d: The autopsy
The autopsy is complete.
All of the photos (and any clever comments I could muster) can be seen here:
http://www.pbase.com/gmr2048/20d-dissection&page=all
I have to say, I agree with Canon's diagnosis. There was no saving this patient. It's amazing. The camera didn't get all that wet in the accident, but that didn't stop death and destruction from raining down on all the little internal bits.
Thanks to this place for hosting the PDF parts catalog with exploded 20D which I used as a step by step deconstruction manual:
www.customslr.com/technical/EOS_20D_Parts%20Catalog.pdf
The autopsy is complete.
All of the photos (and any clever comments I could muster) can be seen here:
http://www.pbase.com/gmr2048/20d-dissection&page=all
I have to say, I agree with Canon's diagnosis. There was no saving this patient. It's amazing. The camera didn't get all that wet in the accident, but that didn't stop death and destruction from raining down on all the little internal bits.
Thanks to this place for hosting the PDF parts catalog with exploded 20D which I used as a step by step deconstruction manual:
www.customslr.com/technical/EOS_20D_Parts%20Catalog.pdf
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