Small Achievements

Message #2099545937

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 04:38:34 -0000

I got Coffin r64 running stable and reliably on my V4/SA.

Message #4651764

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 14:47:55 -0000

Consider it your "profile" and "profile photo" ... yes, it's there and people read it.

Message #4651128

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 11:04:05 -0000

I read the bios at one time, then realized no one read them.

Message #4651120

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 08:18:22 -0000

I couldn't update my photo, so you'll always see me as I was in 2014, but I looked younger then so I'm down with that

Message #4651115

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 07:55:49 -0000

Sun Feb 21 2021 02:20:25 AM EST from arabella

Wed Feb 17 2021 08:00:43 PM EST from LoanShark

Updated my Uncensored bio.

I had forgotten we had those

Updated

(Does anyone read the bios? (Given that I ask this on Uncensored, it is kinda 2 questions in one))

Message #4651109

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 07:20:25 -0000

Wed Feb 17 2021 08:00:43 PM EST from LoanShark

Updated my Uncensored bio.

I had forgotten we had those

Message #4650797

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 01:00:43 -0000

Updated my Uncensored bio.

Message #4623722

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 23:00:26 -0000

Cool! We're based out of northern westchester (Yorktown Heights) and my son's youtube channel is "fantech0104". We're sort of know as "oh yeah, they're that father and son with the talking teddy bear who introduces every video". (It kind of stuck. He's 20 years old but we still have the bear as the channel mascot because people love his antics.) And I'm pretty sure he carries a copy of that letter around with him. Is it the one where the MTA specifically says they do allow photography and video of their railways, excluding, as you pointed out, big commercial-style setups with tripods, and that letter can be presented to any officials who question it? We do know that the Port Authority does *not* allow photography. This is because anyone who brings a camera onto the PATH train is obviously a terrorist who intends to blow up the World Trade Center again. This hasn't stopped us, of course; we're just a bit more subtle about it.

Message #4622857

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 01:33:43 -0000

I live just north of you and rode MNR to work for years. I'm also a railfan of sorts - I'm sure it's because I idolized my dad, who worked for the transit authority for the better part of 40 years.

It's well-established that you're allowed to photograph trains as long as you're not trespassing, with the notable exception of commercial photography (i.e. using a tripod) without written permission, throughout the MTA system (including the subway, LIRR, and so on). I'm not surprised that the cops were nice because they understand that 99% of the railfans out there are harmless folks who love buses and trains. There's a letter floating around the interwebs where the MTA acknowledges this. If you don't have a copy (and want one), let me know and I will see if I can find it.

Message #4561466

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 21:27:01 -0000

Let the record show that if we were there to cause trouble, we would have succeeded. We're not troublemakers, but we frequently get lumped in with them.

Message #4560388

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 15:24:08 -0000

Be careful, if they get your name you will be put on a "known racist" list.

Message #4560384

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 15:06:54 -0000

But getting to see IG actually use the word "Karen"... priceless.

Message #4560370

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 14:03:38 -0000

That must be entertaining for the ten seconds you get to savor the irony, then wears off, I would imagine. I'm a domestic terrorist, and my son is one too. A few nights ago we were running an errand (checking in on my parents' house, as they're still stuck at their snowbird place in Florida) and we decided to do some railfanning on the way home. We parked the truck at the Valhalla train station and did some videos of the crossing, which has new equipment. (Don't laugh ... the railfan community is huge and the revenue from his channel pays a major portion of his college tuition.) A minute or two after we left, the local police pulled us over and asked what we were doing there. It seems that Karen was on the train. She concluded that we were Antifa or BLM thugs who were *obviously* trying to derail the train or something. After a few minutes of conversation with the cops (who were awesome, by the way) it was clear to them that we were engaging in a harmless, wholesome activity, and they were annoyed with Karen, not with us. We chatted for a little while about the IGlet's hobby and they were equally as impressed as everyone else always is. It's a shame, really ... we went on that errand to get out of the house and blow off some steam, and because someone harshed our mellow we came home equally as agitated.

Message #4559825

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 16:46:25 -0000

Called in "riot" to work for the first time ever.

Message #4433234

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:31:16 -0000

It's uncanny. They still let me on airplanes and everything.

Message #4431275

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:55:04 -0000

Because you stopped listing me as a reference. Good choice.

Message #4431274

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:54:05 -0000

SA for today: I passed another background check. I don't know how I keep doing that.

Message #4373688

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 21:59:25 -0000

Ig - Those images are not in my Wet Dreams...

Message #4373655

Fri, 31 Aug 2018 17:56:08 -0000

"He said I'd blown a seal. I told him to just fix the damn thing and leave my private life out of it."

Message #4373128

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 19:25:07 -0000

so punny.

Message #4373001

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 00:07:11 -0000

I wish Yuri was here to grumble.

Message #4372979

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 21:05:27 -0000

*groan*

Message #4372954

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 18:44:03 -0000

> Yeah, sure, my rod is intact. That's good for you, when things need to be piston.

Message #4372949

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 18:26:46 -0000

IG - exactly. Next test - put a little heavy oil in the cylinder and repeat the test. If you've got a little backpressure, it's probably rings. If not, valves.

Message #4372930

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:22:54 -0000

Yeah, sure, my rod is intact.

Message #4372627

Sat, 25 Aug 2018 21:09:18 -0000

It looks like you're correct. No air pressure coming out of the hole when I pull the starter. So if the cylinder is moving but there's no pressure, does that mean the rod is intact but something else is broken (head or rings etc) and air is blowing past the cylinder? I'm assuming at this point that I've gone as far as I can without disassembling the engine block.

Message #4372424

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 17:29:08 -0000

That doesn't mean you have compression. Put your finger over the hole while you pull the starter. If you don't have pressure, you've got a problem in the head or rings.

Message #4372047

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 21:32:10 -0000

Ok, I removed the plug, probed the plug socket with a screwdriver, and gently pulled on the starter cord. The screwdriver moved back and forth with the cylinder. That would seem to indicate that the cylinder is not seized and the rod is not broken.

Here's a close up photo of the plug:

Message #4372004

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 19:26:31 -0000

Yeah, see if you have compression at all.......

Message #4371959

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 14:24:27 -0000

>Is the piston moving? I haven't disassembled it enough to check that yet ... but when I was trying to get it started again, I did notice that it turned unusually freely. I assumed that was just because it was already warmed up, but a broken rod might result in the same effect, right? When I have time I'll look.

Message #4371768

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 19:16:04 -0000

The Turtle Moves!

Message #4371703

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 13:03:37 -0000

Is the piston moving?

Message #4371566

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 18:05:52 -0000

IG - A friend had a problem with power washer due to not getting enough throughput of water. But not sparks and smoke and stuff.

Message #4371562

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 17:37:37 -0000

I wonder if maybe it's too lean, or something got stuck due to ethanol?

Message #4371558

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 17:19:19 -0000

The last one didn't appear to be fouled or burned externally. Cleaning and gapping it had no effect. I'll pull out the most recent one later and see if it is similar.

Message #4371542

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 15:47:47 -0000

well, what do the spark plugs look like when you pull them out after it fails?

Message #4371531

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 14:12:32 -0000

That would require two pressure washers, which I now have. The damn thing blew itself up again this weekend, right in the middle of my deck project. I heard a pop and saw some smoke, the engine stopped, and now it won't start again. Despite my legendary frugality, I went out and bought an electric so I can keep working on the deck instead of spending the rest of the summer fighting with this engine. Does anyone have any advice on how to troubleshoot a single-cylinder engine that, I suspect, keeps burning out spark plugs?

Message #4368941

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 12:41:49 -0000

Did you consider using the pressure washer to clean the parts?

Message #4368858

Sun, 05 Aug 2018 22:40:18 -0000

My small achievement for today: I finally got my pressure washer running again.

The last time I had it running was spring of last year. It had been getting harder and harder to start, and then one day it stopped cold dead while it was running. I ass-umed it had a problem with the fuel intake, perhaps a blockage that finally turned into a full clog. But after my injury last year I didn't come back to it for the rest of the year.

Yesterday I took the whole damn thing apart. I disassembled and cleaned the fuel tank, the carburetor, and the throttle body. No joy.

If I wasn't such a bonehead, I might have tried replacing the $5 spark plug at the beginning of the weekend. That fixed it immediately. But at least now I know everything is clean.

Message #4366739

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 22:04:42 -0000

I may be looking again soon, depending on how the company's recent take-over pans out. Comes with the territory though.

Message #4366738

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 22:03:54 -0000

> Oh, and also that people poop in the streets. But that might just be >hearsay. That also happens in SF. Not *as* much in the outer cities. Most of the homeless folks that I've spoken with seem to be ex-military, however. There are a few technical folks that have lost their homes, but they're relatively rare.

Message #4366737

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 22:02:21 -0000

> 2018-07-21 19:26 from IGnatius T Foobar >Well yes, but I keep hearing that the cost of living in that area >exceeds the income of all except the ultra-elite. True only if you live in San Francisco proper. The suburban areas (e.g., Hayward, Oakland, etc.; but don't tell them I call them that) are substantially more affordable. Still expensive, mind you, but you can get by. That said, if your idea of a good job is working at the local OSH, you're either retired from normal work-a-day stuff anyway, or a teenager still waiting to hear back from Stanford University or Berkeley on admission status. If you really hit rock bottom, you end up moving into the red regions of California, where cost of living is extremely affordable, but you then have to put up with rampant crime, every other home being a meth lab, etc. Basically, the further east you go in California, the cheaper it becomes, up until you reach the Nevada border, where again prices rise due to it being a campers mecca.

Message #4366253

Tue, 24 Jul 2018 18:38:45 -0000

Grats on finding work, kc5tja!

Message #4365942

Sun, 22 Jul 2018 18:11:37 -0000

the income of the people.

(Now that citadel isn't networked you can add the edit feature.)

Message #4365941

Sun, 22 Jul 2018 18:10:36 -0000

I think it was the elite poop in the street and the cost of living exceeds the people.

Message #4365819

Sat, 21 Jul 2018 23:26:31 -0000

Well yes, but I keep hearing that the cost of living in that area exceeds the income of all except the ultra-elite. Oh, and also that people poop in the streets. But that might just be hearsay.

Message #4365229

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 18:57:32 -0000

I have a job?

Message #4365207

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 17:32:34 -0000

Huh... I didn't think of that. Move to the SF Bay area for an enforced diet.

Message #4364720

Mon, 16 Jul 2018 23:34:14 -0000

Oh my ... you live in the SF Bay area? How do you afford to eat?

Message #4363843

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 17:21:08 -0000

Rolling, in this case, was not on foam, but on PVC pipe covered in a thin carpet. These were definitely quite hard. It also relies on body weight, not just for calves, but thighs and back as well. I also learned yesterday some neck stretching using the same roller that frankly almost put me to sleep snoring. I walked into the gym with a migrane, and walked out without one. (Though it came back later in the day.) That's how effective those stretches and rolls were. No doctor has helped before. No chiropractor. No diet (save for the keto diet). Nothing. I'm quite pleased with this gym. For the price I thought I was paying the typical bay area rich-part-of-town tax, but I can see that they're worth more than I had expected.

Message #4363592

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 14:42:34 -0000

Foam rollers. Particularly useful for the iliotibial band. Body weight massage is helpful the same way. There's a technique where you can put most of your body weight on your elbow, and use that to massage your partners gluetes/hamstrings/IT band. Builds lots of pressure.

Message #4363549

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 09:54:27 -0000

Huh... that sounds interesting, kc5tja. I don't know if we have a gym in the area quite like that. But then, knowing the people in this area, it'd only get abused somehow. The folks here aren't the nicest individuals you could have as neighbors. When I retire, I definitely will move from this place. "Rolling"? Is this some form of massage?

Message #4363403

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 18:48:09 -0000

Congratulations! That is definitely not a small achievement. My small achievement, on the other hand, is that I signed up for a gym where the personnel there actually take the time to train you. Like everyone's heard of using rollers to roll out muscle tissue and working out kinks and stuff. How many people actually spend an *hour* doing that, in pain, with tears welling up because it hurts so much? It's cliche; it reminded me of those kung fu movies where they hyper-stretch new students, but at the end of it all, it was worth it and required. My legs are sore from just the rolling, but hot damn if the coach wasn't right -- they are far more limber than they were before, and overall I feel substantially better. (He says, at this gym, average new-comers spend about a month just learning how to properly roll and for the pain to subside as the body gets used to the process. *NO* 24-hour fitness ever told me any of these things.)

Message #4363316

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 11:39:36 -0000

Thanks, all. It's a test of one's willpower, to be sure. At the office, Friday is bagel and donut day, and I had to smell that every time I walked into the breakroom, testing my will to resist it, heh. Funny thing is, I could safely eat those now, but I intend to continue avoiding them. I think the tricky bit, at this point, is figuring out how much I can properly eat without losing or gaining weight.

Message #4363217

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 23:31:40 -0000

Fantastic guys. Congratulations on your accomplishment!

Message #4363192

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 19:47:24 -0000

That's a HUGE achievement. Congratulations. I lost nearly 100 lbs. It's NOT easy.

Message #4363184

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 19:20:15 -0000

I beat diabetes. Last Nov, in time for Thanksgiving, I learned I had diabetes. I put myself on a diet to reverse it. Last week, the results of the blood work performed that week came in, and I kicked its ass. I'm so not diabetic now. I went from 230 lbs in Nov to 160 lbs now, and I do feel considerably better.

Message #4362022

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 17:57:22 -0000

If you don't mind falling asleep, I'm more or less video blogging its progress from zero to working computer. https://peertube.mastodon.host/video-channels/7def09dc-da27-4fb4-afa6-3af7f0bc835c/videos is the video channel I'm maintaining for this purpose. I have a 3rd episode recorded and is waiting to be uploaded; I just ran out of time today. I'll try getting it uploaded later tonight after work.

Message #4361975

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 15:01:00 -0000

I am fascinated by this project and hope to build one someday.

Message #4358665

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 11:39:38 -0000

Neato!

Message #4358515

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 18:04:32 -0000

I've written the first FPGA core for what will eventually become the Kestrel-3 homebrew computer.

Message #4349509

Thu, 03 May 2018 14:17:01 -0000

>I like the idea that I know someone who has been booted from Twitter, >not once, but multiple times. I've gone two months without getting kicked off now. I must not be trying hard enough.

Message #4344911

Tue, 10 Apr 2018 15:14:26 -0000

Replaced Ubuntu Linux on my laptop with Void Linux. I have to get used to such a simple Linux environment again; it reminds me of Slackware in many ways, except that it has actual package management. And, unlike Debian's otherwise excellent DPKG system, XBPS is lightning fast. It's like combining the benefits of using DPKG with the raw speed of using RPM (which are just ever so slightly more intelligent than raw CPIO archives anyway). Overall, an excellent user experience. So far, at least. The only problem I'm having is Firefox has zero audio output, due to what appears to be security-related issues. For some reason, it's not able to raise PulseAudio, nor to fork any subprocesses to deal with audio. I'm bamboozled as to why. Meanwhile, the shell beep is DEAFENINGLY LOUD, and no amount of AlsaMixer settings seems to be able to reduce it. So I know audio works, kinda; it's just a "simple matter" of wiring all this shit together. After years of using Ubuntu, I've lost my hackery skills, so I'll need to relearn this stuff. :(

Message #4340379

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 13:36:32 -0000

Serious gratz!

Message #4340190

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 04:13:34 -0000

Finished the Kestrel-2DX.

Message #4339416

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 14:28:05 -0000

Took the bus to work, and didn't miss my transfer. (though I did miss my first bus because I was trying to figure out payment options since I forgot to get a bus pass from work)

Message #4339263

Sun, 04 Mar 2018 11:29:49 -0000

I like the idea that I know someone who has been booted from Twitter, not once, but multiple times.

Message #4338276

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 17:52:43 -0000

Got kicked off Twitter again. This account lasted close to two months, which may be a record for me.

Message #4324801

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 16:47:22 -0000

Making more graphs. Stopped using Rails to fetch the data, once I learned R can pull it from the db directly (which runs faster). *cues Frank Zappa* I'm a graphin' fool...

Message #4324551

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 14:45:23 -0000

Heh. The data itself is unimportant as long as the graph is compelling. You could be a statistician. :)

Message #4318972

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 15:58:04 -0000

My small achievement involves using Rails to pull data, stuff it into an R environment, and get pretty PNG files to show in the pages served by Rails, so I can make nifty graphs to satisfy all the scary statistical requirements of the sorts of people who get a woody from such things. I personally don't care about the data itself, just looking at pretty graphs. I could fill these things with noise and be happy.

Message #4318971

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 15:56:13 -0000

Hmm... instead of removing, you could perhaps layer something over the offending script?

Message #4318198

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 16:52:20 -0000

I also tried using the same acetone to remove the crappy silkscreened message on a faux vinyl folder I have here. It started dissolving the faux vinyl instead.

I'm thinking maybe I should rethink my relationship with acetone.

Also it seems that "Ace Tone" would be a good stage name for a glam rock guitarist.

Message #4318191

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 16:19:39 -0000

Hah.. As I was reading this I was wondering if you were going to try the pen I gave you under acetone to see if it would go gooey too. Glad that you found it useful.

Message #4318173

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 14:36:37 -0000

My small achievement (or perhaps small accident) of the day I had a pen that I kind of liked, but I didn't like the inscription on it (it's from MADD, and having lost a family member to a drunk driver in the past I know that MADD is comprised of wacktivists, not advocates) so I wanted to remove it. I attempted to remove the inscription using acetone. The acetone did remove the inscription, but it also began disintegrating the entire body of the pen. I let it sit for a minute until the plastic stopped rubbing off on my fingers when I handled it. Unfortunately the inside was still gooey, and when I attempted to reassemble the pen it fell apart, complete with gooey strings resembling Rice Krispie Treats. Must track down the pen that Aahz gave me at my high school graduation party (which took place some 20+ years after I finished high school). Haven't seen it since we moved house three years ago. It was my favorite and it's gotta be around here somewhere.

Message #4302881

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 16:12:39 -0000

(though, considering the constraints I'm running up against in the FPGA, I might have to rewrite the BIOS firmware in raw assembly.)

Message #4302878

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 16:10:22 -0000

Two entries today: Kestrel-2DX has a working machine language monitor of sorts (more like a super-primitive boot loader at this point). You can load from SD card, *or*, enter raw hex values into memory and save your work for later. It'll put Windows out of its misery! In an unrelated yet equally interesting curiosity for me, I've finally started writing my own programming language in the Modula-2 syntax family. What makes this language significant for me is it's the first time I've ever gotten procedure calls actually "working". (Native code is not yet produced, but it's intermediate form is optimized for native code production through a fairly trivial process.) Why? Because it's a fun challenge. And, maybe, I can replace my use of C with this language to help write the BIOS firmware. (Currently using C, and while C itself is OK to use, the support tooling for it is buggy, clunky, and just plain hard to use correctly.)

Message #4291774

Mon, 11 Sep 2017 13:42:37 -0000

I remembered it being "Session" instead of "Standard" but you are actually correct.

Message #4291390

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 21:35:21 -0000

Without looking it up - Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer?

Message #4291339

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 13:35:42 -0000

> I'm so old when I see fossil, I think Fido. Me too, I even remember what it stands for.

Message #4291233

Wed, 06 Sep 2017 19:09:57 -0000

I'm so old when I see fossil, I think Fido.

Message #4291218

Wed, 06 Sep 2017 17:15:44 -0000

Cool! Congratulations on "rebooting" the project (ooh, bad pun there)

Message #4291146

Wed, 06 Sep 2017 04:19:40 -0000

I'll, uhh, just leave this here for now. https://hackaday.io/project/27139-kestrel-2dx

Message #4288496

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 02:13:01 -0000

Re-learning Fossil source code management. Reminded myself of how quite pleasant it is to use. Fun fact: back when I was first laying out my plans for the Kestrel-3, I was seriously considering hosting the code in a Fossil repository. The rationale was that, since Fossil is a single C binary, it'd be relatively easy to port compared to something like Mercurial or Git (which requires not only porting a C compiler, but Python and its dependencies and basically half of a Linux distribution's user-land, respectively). This would allow me to dogfood with the new computer, supporting Kestrel development on the Kestrel itself. Alas, people at the time convinced me out of that idea. It was probably a mistake, but oh well.

Message #4288495

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 02:07:24 -0000

Not ended; put on the back-burner while I focused on other things. Like getting employed again.

Message #4288472

Mon, 21 Aug 2017 21:52:28 -0000

I thought you'd ended that project? Or is this something new?

Message #4285311

Fri, 28 Jul 2017 14:47:22 -0000

Decided to wire up the pipeline stages I've written to see how things work so far. It *almost* works as expected out of the box. Some missing features need to be implemented. Some TODOs that I've forgotten about have come up again. So, while it doesn't work correctly yet, it's *almost* there. Quite happy so far.

Message #4284581

Tue, 25 Jul 2017 00:47:48 -0000

New job!

Not only did I get a new job - but I even get a new job together with my boss (who r0cks)!

Loved the old job.....loved the old team

New execs ruin everything

New job is awesome!

Message #4284394

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 05:30:20 -0000

Working on Verilog for a new CPU for the Kestrel-3 (because the old CPU is too big/unweildly to use in a circuit). This time, going with 5-stage pipeline. Well, I managed to work the pipeline back to instruction decode stage, and it now properly decodes memory stores (8, 16, 32, and 64-bit) as well as register-immediate ALU operations. This is sufficient to spoonfeed the pipeline with instructions to load a register with arbitrary value, as well as to store said value at an arbitrary address. It's not Turing complete yet, but it's getting there. Slowly.

Message #4282521

Fri, 14 Jul 2017 13:45:12 -0000

I've been a fan of NB for a long time; they come in widths that accommodate my somewhat wide feet. That's nice and comfortable.

Also they're still made in the USA, which is a win.

Message #4282287

Thu, 13 Jul 2017 18:07:47 -0000

There's absolutely nothing wrong with space-walking near Omicron 3. However, I do not wish to appear as if that is what I am doing.

Message #4281738

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 22:46:56 -0000

I have given up on NB, I always thought they were great sneakers, that lasted a long time. Now they don't seem to last and are very uncomfortable.

Message #4281722

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 20:32:53 -0000

Hey, what's wrong with Omicron 3? :-P

Zoo, They were probably circa 2010 New Balance sneaks. Probably the most comfortable I've ever worn.

Message #4281671

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 16:52:01 -0000

My sneakers don't. I purchase 'classic' style sneakers, which are difficult to find, but helpfully give me the appearance of living on this planet, rather than space-walking near Omicron 3.

Message #4281388

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 12:56:00 -0000

How old were the sneakers and what brand? I have noticed lately sneakers fall apart very quickly.

Message #4281346

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 02:54:16 -0000

Didn't we used to have a Small Accidents room?

Helped a friend paint their new place today. But my favorite sneakers must have been frightened. As soon as I got there and pulled out the paint the sole of my right sneaker pulled off near completely; held on only at the toe.

So what does any geek in this situation do? Why duct tape it of course! But of course, just as I finish my perfect taping job and stand to go to work...the *other* sole pulled off! And yes...that one also got the Tape Treatment.

All I needed was a pair of glasses on which to put matching duct tape....

Message #4276282

Fri, 09 Jun 2017 16:47:53 -0000

My small achievement for today: I got "first post" on Slashdot. (Yes, they're still around! And it's a crap ghost town. I saw a story and made a comment and then realized I got F1RST!!!1) [ https://goo.gl/fyEzkc ] if anyone cares :)

Message #4269475

Mon, 15 May 2017 16:39:21 -0000

I'm so sorry

Message #4269134

Sat, 13 May 2017 15:05:42 -0000

Are anti-achievements allowed here? We lost one of our cats. He must have escaped the house while I was running errands this last Tuesday. Steph and I are pretty sad over it.

Message #4268881

Fri, 12 May 2017 16:33:53 -0000

I didn't wring the fat neck of the board president last night while asking several questions to get an idea why everything failed so badly with my condominium restoration. He got frustrated with me, and said I never bothered coming to a board meeting while it was happening. I pointed out that, at the time, I lived two hours away, and couldn't easily come to board meetings. I didn't point out that, frankly, I couldn't know how bad things really were until it's all said and done. And, at the end of the day, I wasn't only there to resolve my own problem with the restoration, but to also make sure future problems like this do not happen with other homeowners. It's that latter part that he doesn't get. Because, I guess, he doesn't think forward, only about the immediate problems. Which is probably why they're having terrible problems with water damage throughout the condominiums now, supposedly from people not responsibly handling their appliances or replacing their water heaters.

Message #4264749

Wed, 26 Apr 2017 18:59:47 -0000

(Specifically a set of slides related to the topic... asked me to look over them for comments).

Message #4264748

Wed, 26 Apr 2017 18:59:06 -0000

I was asked to comment on Linux security administration. Which is kind of interesting, as my professional background involves mostly Windows. I'll take it as a small achievement that someone thought enough of my abilities to ask for comments on such a thing.

Message #4262502

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 16:57:18 -0000

What's the story, Wishbone? (Sorry ... had to say it)

Message #4261538

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 17:35:24 -0000

Managed to build a Wishbone B4 bridge for asynchronous static RAM last night. Most of the bugs worked out; only some intermittent flipped bits that seems to manifest only when one cycle is a write operation and the next immediate cycle is a read operation. Not sure what's causing that yet; wondering if it's due to capacitive loading on the data pins of the RAM chip.

Message #4261015

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 06:17:00 -0000

I've written my very first Wishbone B4-compatible FPGA core. It feels like a completely different interconnect than Wishbone B3.

Message #4221028

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 18:55:07 -0000

Using only gold on the connectors of course.

Message #4220979

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 15:07:48 -0000

I managed to procure a Raspberry Pi 3 last night, and after several hours of playing with it, managed to get it to program my icoBoard Gamma FPGA board!

Message #4220971

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 15:05:20 -0000

Well, I'm using pmod connectors, which are six conductor connectors. ;)

Message #4220968

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 15:00:16 -0000

It's the old "build one to throw away; in the end, you will anyway." But really, I object to your one-wire "mainframe" channel. You need to use traditional bus-and-tag connectors. If the connector does not break one or more toes when you drop it on your foot, it isn't beefy enough. (Fond memories of those old mainframe days...)

Message #4219524

Tue, 28 Mar 2017 11:34:05 -0000

Neato!

Message #4219474

Tue, 28 Mar 2017 05:36:43 -0000

I'm working on a home-made computer as folks may already know. I've recently decided to take a break from the project. As one does, I got a sudden urge to work on some aspects of it. Since I'm taking a more mainframe-y approach to my design these days (a simplification of what I'd eventually like to see), I need mainframe-y style I/O channels to talk to things like a terminal, mass storage, and so forth. So far so good. Long story short, I've narrowed my search down to using either my own adaptation of Spacewire protocol and bog-standard SPI or RS-232. My Spacewire implementation needs a lot of work still, but is already able to receive data nicely, and with some effort, you can send stuff too. However, the state machine that implements the hardware flow control protocol is (well, WAS) complex, and so I never got around to implementing it. Meh, took a break. Had more important work to do anyway. Today, I managed to implement a transmitter (only) for RS-232 which can also be used for SPI as well (or, perhaps accidentally, it's an SPI engine that happens to also support RS-232 transmit as well). It's smaller and faster than the Spacewire implementation I'd originally started out with (Both 64-bit and 11-bit shift register widths top out at 53.5 Mbps when clocked at 107MHz). This is much faster than my Spacewire implementation, which tops out at 37Mbps, but realistically should be run no faster than 25Mbps for reliable operation on my (limited) FPGA hardware. As it happens, trying to pit one design against the other for comparison, I learned an implementation technique that *might* allow me to finally finish my Spacewire implementation. So, the battle of Spacewire versus RS-232/SPI is not yet over. Small achievement from all this background is, bluntly, sometimes you learn the most when you complete throw-away projects. Two things Adam Savage said which resonates with me: (1) You will fail. Embrace it. (2) The only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.

Message #4219420

Mon, 27 Mar 2017 21:35:32 -0000

Damn, Mgmt! Looking forward to hearing what you consider "big" achievements!

Message #4218290

Sat, 25 Mar 2017 22:50:47 -0000

Well, it is not a phd. and it took me 15 years. but now it is done.

Message #4218270

Sat, 25 Mar 2017 17:52:44 -0000

I still don't have my degree; after five times trying. I've given up (at least until I retire, *IF* I ever can).

Message #4217296

Wed, 22 Mar 2017 21:06:14 -0000

During the last twelve month, I got married, a university degree and my first real job.

I feel old now. But in a good way.

Message #4183583

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 18:51:19 -0000

This was on Instagram, of all places. Apparently we both follow someone we both knew in high school. I didn't even know she was there until she came at me with a two-screenful unhinged deranged screed. It was GLORIOUS. :) You know my policy ... people who are too easily offended are the most fun to offend. Better get some thicker skin if you want to hang out on my Internet, cupcake.

Message #4179070

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 21:37:15 -0000

> 2017-01-23 16:02 from IGnatius T Foobar > > My SA for today: > > Pissed off an ex-girlfriend from nearly 30 years ago, without even >trying. > > I love the Internet. > > It's the best use of Facebook, that's for sure.

Message #4179060

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 21:02:35 -0000

My SA for today: Pissed off an ex-girlfriend from nearly 30 years ago, without even trying. I love the Internet.

Message #3918588

Fri, 01 May 2015 13:25:49 -0000

>with antennas on your mind.... "Antennas on your mind" sounds like you have designs on becoming a wireless cyborg. I'll stick with my screen and keyboard, thankyouverymuch.

Message #3914685

Fri, 24 Apr 2015 05:04:26 -0000

Glad to hear you are having fun IG. I am doing the same with the boy on the Boy Scout side of things. I can commiserate and find joy in the small things that make it fun for the youngsters as I find some fun it it as well.

Message #3912551

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:24:12 -0000

"The old town didn't give us much more than just the water bill." That, of course, is precisely what you DO want, and nothing MORE, from your "local municipality" if you just happen to be a ham radio operator with antennas on your mind....

Message #3912278

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 00:35:44 -0000

Survived a marathon weekend of activities with the Girl Scouts. (Yup, my daughter is a scout ... so ... who out there wants to buy some cookies!) Saturday morning, trash pickup day at the park (evidently the whole town has this thing where all the local civic associations do trash pickup on the same day). But we weren't in the fieldy grassy parts of the park, no no no, that would be far too mundane for Troop 2920 ... we went into the woods where people *actually* litter. It felt like the beginning of a really bad episode of Law and Order ... I was sure someone was going to come across a dead body at some point. Saturday afternoon -- the Powder Puff Derby! (That's the girls version of the Pinewood Derby, dontcha know ... and the cars have *much* more bling.) Out of all the entries for the half-dozen troops competing together, Sammi placed second with her shiny gold car with blue wheels, expertly crafted and weighted with a little help from Dad. One of her best friends, who had originally encouraged her to join the troop, placed first. They both came home with trophies. It was awesome. Saturday evening ... camping trip! Who the heck was responsible for planning all these activities on the same weekend?!! Actually it was the Boy Scout Jamboree and a lot of families have kids in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, so they do a lot of these activities together. Got there late, set up the tent in the dark and in the wind, which was all sorts of fun. Much festiveness and s'mores making. Woke up extremely sore from sleeping in a weird position due to having a little girl wrapped around me in a death grip all night to stay warm. These girls are awesome. Like I've been saying ever since we moved, it's great to actually be part of a real community. The old town didn't give us much more than just the water bill.

Message #3902478

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:30:20 -0000

> 2015-04-02 07:22 from dothebart >saw a raven (no - really not a crow...) out in the wild for the >first time yesterday. > You missed the chance of a lifetime to pick up a firebrand and sing: Flieg' heim, irh Raben. Nach Walhalls prangende Burg.... Oh well, guess Wagner isn't the first thing in most folks' mind....

Message #3902466

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 11:22:19 -0000

saw a raven (no - really not a crow...) out in the wild for the first time yesterday.

It was having supper on some roadkill.

The size is enormous - like a chicken and all black - compared to the a bit more than dove size crows...

There are about 60 pairs of them living in NRW, around 3 pairs near cologne - so not something you see on a daily basis at all.

Message #3879187

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 21:21:45 -0000

Installed a Hardlock dongle with Aladdin's HL-Server on a virtual Win7 in a kvm/qemu vm. As easy as a mouse click: "Add USB Host device".

I thought this would be way harder or even impossible.

Message #3839110

Fri, 05 Dec 2014 00:02:09 -0000

Glad you liked them. They scratched an itch.

Message #3839018

Thu, 04 Dec 2014 20:31:01 -0000

You awaken to find yourself in a maze of twisty passages, all alike. .Goto XYZZY, and watch out for the pedophile.

Message #3838176

Thu, 04 Dec 2014 05:57:05 -0000

“Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party.” - Chapter 1: Down the rabbit hole :-)

I fell down :-(

Message #3837632

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 23:06:35 -0000

Yes,i'm sure reading the previous stories helps. It all reads as one story. I cannot put into words how much i enjoyed reading it, only that i think it's awsome!

Message #3836548

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 01:02:42 -0000

You may judge for yourself. The story in question is the third one, "Athena's Last Child." It will make a little more sense if you read the first one first. http://venyawrites.wordpress.com

Message #3836420

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:46:00 -0000

Fri Oct 31 2014 19:07:52 EDT from Sig

About 8 years after I first wrote it, I finally made an ending for a short story that I don't hate.

Well done Sig! Was it a happy ending ?

I got a story i wrote maybe3 years ago, that was meant to be finished by December(3 years ago), my main character is still stuck in a pub :) .

I'll pull him outta there soon, the drunkard!

Message #3810225

Wed, 05 Nov 2014 21:09:39 -0000

That works. Just ask any hobbit...

Message #3810135

Wed, 05 Nov 2014 16:43:38 -0000

Let me guess: "The End"

Message #3807042

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 23:07:52 -0000

About 8 years after I first wrote it, I finally made an ending for a short story that I don't hate.

Message #3805971

Thu, 30 Oct 2014 02:40:21 -0000

>Sled ready? No. Still waiting on rails, and I may do a top-end this year.

Message #3802126

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 19:11:28 -0000

pfft... sell-out...

Message #3802117

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 18:52:58 -0000

>Watched someone else get bought... again. It only hurt a little.

Message #3802116

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 18:52:45 -0000

> Unless that means more than 40 mpg, and NOT a hybrid, keep looking. You do know that not buying a hybrid makes you a racist, right? I learned that on MSNBC.

Message #3802115

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 18:51:46 -0000

> That is most likely a CVT transmission (continuously variable). Is that the same thing as a hydrostatic transmission? My riding mower has that. Would I be correct in guessing that when I am moving slower, the wheels are turning with more torque?

Message #3802037

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 13:41:46 -0000

That was a nice one. Thanks!

Message #3801730

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 02:45:51 -0000

I hear they got gobbled up, almost as if by Pacman. http://goo.gl/hk1qpM

Message #3801708

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 01:04:08 -0000

Watched someone else get bought... again.

Message #3801435

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 19:00:00 -0000

A friend of mine has to park his car on the street - no alley and no driveway for his home. His car was recently totaled by a hit-and-run while it was parked overnight. Last month he got a new car to replace it. Yesterday it was stolen. Blech.

Message #3801429

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:41:41 -0000

Wed Oct 22 2014 01:35:21 PM EDT from Animal

Fixed the winch in my truck.

Sled ready?

Message #3801428

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:41:03 -0000

Tue Oct 21 2014 01:17:23 PM EDT from zooer

Goats go to heaven,
Sheep go to hell.

Mehhh

Message #3801134

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 18:17:44 -0000

How many other projects have you on your bench?

Message #3801116

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 17:35:21 -0000

Fixed the winch in my truck. New solenoid pack, some minor rewiring to the connector to make it work (not sure how it worked before, to be honest). Reinstalled on the truck, cable respooled. Another project off the bench. \o/

Message #3799929

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 17:17:23 -0000

Goats go to heaven,

Message #3798901

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:33:17 -0000

Goats would do.

Message #3798763

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 03:39:54 -0000

Of course, sheep. Why not?

Message #3798622

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:27:40 -0000

> > I think the only way I could have paid less for this might have >involved high power weaponry, sheep, photography, and about a month's >reconnaisance. Sheep?

Message #3797549

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:07:15 -0000

Thanks! Yes, it's CVT. I couldn't quite remember the name for it, but I recall it. I suspect I did not pay too much. I paid less for this than one woul dpay for a 2015 Accord LX (the lowest priced model), and less than I paid for my VW Beetle back in 2003. I splurged a bit and got the extended warrantee, but only because someone owned the car before me, and the current warrantee runs out in 16 months otherwise. I think the only way I could have paid less for this might have involved high power weaponry, sheep, photography, and about a month's reconnaisance.

Message #3797347

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 18:29:29 -0000

> > The transmission system is rather different. Because Melvin never >learned to drive a manual transmission, I needed to purchase a car with >an automatic transmission. This has that special system that smooths >out the transitions from gear to gear such that you can't really detect >anything... possibly because it doesn't have a conventional system of >gearing at all. I recall seeing a video about this style of >transmission and thinking, "Huh, that's pretty clever." > That is most likely a CVT transmission (continuously variable). It is a 'perfection' of a concept originally developed, believe it or not, back in the 1950s (possibly even earlier) but back then the rest of the drivetrain was, by today's standards, antediluvian! Yes - it improves overall efficiency between the crankshaft and the drive wheels, which means in plain language, improves gas mileage. And not by some small amount, either. If gas economy is one of your major considerations (and today, how can it not be) then the V4 was a "must do" since the V6 is, in comparison, a pig. I really can't find any fault at all in what you did (other than - most likely - you may have paid too much!). Congrats again!

Message #3797136

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:32:53 -0000

This car has a feature that tracks maintenance needs, alerting me to when I should take care of such an item. So, that should be helpful. I am less concerned about speed, so it doesn't really matter to me if I run with a V4 or V6. I do care about mileage, so a V4 works better for me in that regard. The transmission system is rather different. Because Melvin never learned to drive a manual transmission, I needed to purchase a car with an automatic transmission. This has that special system that smooths out the transitions from gear to gear such that you can't really detect anything... possibly because it doesn't have a conventional system of gearing at all. I recall seeing a video about this style of transmission and thinking, "Huh, that's pretty clever." It probably helps improve the mileage for an automatic, I suspect, although I'm not an expert in such things. Certainly, driving to work this morning was an entirely different experience, from white-knuckled fury to a calm sort of mild annoyance.

Message #3797102

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 16:30:50 -0000

It's an L4 in the Accord. Boxers are overrated, at least as implemented by Subaru in the 2.5L--yow! Unreliable. Their 2.2L in the mid-90s had a better rep.

Message #3796672

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:42:55 -0000

Oh - that car loan. Whenever, and as often as you can afford it, double up on the payments. That will MORE than cut your loan time in half since the extra money goes entirely to the principal and not the interest. I did that with a car loan (back when I had to do car loans) and cut a 4 year loan to 19 months. Doubled the payments about 15 times and then called the bank to find out how many more months really remained. They told me "four more" so I sent in the remaining four months one at a time on the normal due dates and was "done with it" almost two years early. Saved a bunch of money! This obviously doesn't work for everyone but if it works for you, do it. It will "hurt" along the way, but you will have your title a lot quicker and it will boost the credit score very nicely as well.

Message #3796670

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:39:00 -0000

> > I guess now it's car payments, something I haven't had to do for a >very long time. > > Let me start by saying I agree with your choice of car in every possible way. "Used" from a reputable source is **always** better than buying new and you hit the reason square on. Hondas are just as long-lived as most Toyotas. Just remember one important thing. I do not care WHAT the manual or the dealer says, get your oil changed every 3,000 to 4,000 miles. Do not believe the "7,500 miles" crap. If you follow *my* advice the engine will outlive the body! If not... Oh - make sure you know if it has a timing belt or a timing chain. Hope it has a chain. And if it has a belt, follow the replacement schedule religiously. Otherwise you are flirting with a disastrous (and expensive) engine failure. "V4" engine? Is it a "boxer" configuration? Hope so - they seem to make for fast cars! Good luck with the new one. You will no doubt end up finding it to be a great car!

Message #3795937

Sun, 19 Oct 2014 21:57:10 -0000

Okay, it's done. I bought a Honda Accord EX-L (which is rather fancier than I expected to get). It does have a moonroof, which isn't exactly a selling point for me, and quite a few other misc. features, but hopefully none of them will drive me insane. It's not brand new, though... it's a 2013 model, with only 25,000 miles or so on it. In some ways, I think this is better, as someone else took the depreciation hit, allowing me to buy the car in pretty good condition for much less than it would cost to get even the base LX new. I guess now it's car payments, something I haven't had to do for a very long time.

Message #3795933

Sun, 19 Oct 2014 20:40:23 -0000

I had a few MR2s (all MkIs) and loved them.

Message #3795675

Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:25:25 -0000

Sat Oct 18 2014 08:31:29 AM EDT from fleeb

Oh, yeah, I wish I still had my vintage VW beetle (1971 Superbeetle), but it did have some pretty nasty problems. I needed a car that worked.

Sorta the same position today, but with a newer and less-wonderful car.

After some research, I think the Honda Accord (with a v4 engine) wins. That thing seems to be a veritable tank. If I can find one that isn't even remotely fancy (no moonroof or any of that crap), it should give me no problems for a very long time. And it has great gas mileage.

Agree with the "veritable tank" comment. Have owned 2 Honda Accords. First one I bought used and sold at 180k miles. Second one I bought "new" in 2002....now has 120k on it, and (knock on wood) aside from normal maintenance and a new bumper, remains all original and as dependable as the day I bought it.

Message #3795600

Sun, 19 Oct 2014 05:01:15 -0000

One of my favorite "oddball" cars is the first-generation Honda Civic Del Sol. Most likely because that car reminds me, in an "almost looks like" way, of the first generation Toyota MR2. *Very* similar body style. I had 2 different first-gen MR2s. The first was supercharged and - generally - a nice car. The second, I restored almost from junk, to showroom-new condition. And along the way put over 200,000 miles on it. Sold it with 330,000 miles on it, needing a valve job (disclosed to the buyer) for roughly three times what I paid for it. Current car is a 2002 MR2 Spyder (convertible). **Very** fast in spite of being naturally aspirated in every way. And best of all, it averages around 37 mpg burning regular gasoline. In about a year I am planning to move on from the MR2. It's a great car, and I'm going to miss it. But it is starting to be just a tad small for all the "ham stuff" I keep finding myself needing to carry from one place to another. So... looks like a "real trunk" and a back seat with (shudder) four doors is lurking in my future. Fortunately fuel economy in the newer stuff has gotten quite good in the last five years or so.

Message #3795595

Sun, 19 Oct 2014 04:24:54 -0000

If you believe Click and Clack actually worked on cars, they said that Honda seemed to make some fairly reliable cars:

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&story=cartalk-cars-we-hate&subject=more&aff=cartalk&cartalksvc

I have never been able to scrape up enough to buy one, but I have owned the "honorable mention" at the end of the article (AMC and Chrysler), and would have to agree with the assessment of them :-)

Message #3795349

Sat, 18 Oct 2014 18:12:17 -0000

I think my 1973 Capri is a great car for someone. Someone who has the knowledge to take care of its little idiosyncracies and the money to get the body work done right. Someone else, in other words.

Message #3795312

Sat, 18 Oct 2014 14:04:44 -0000

> And it has great gas mileage. > Unless that means more than 40 mpg, and NOT a hybrid, keep looking.

Message #3795296

Sat, 18 Oct 2014 12:31:29 -0000

Oh, yeah, I wish I still had my vintage VW beetle (1971 Superbeetle), but it did have some pretty nasty problems. I needed a car that worked. Sorta the same position today, but with a newer and less-wonderful car. After some research, I think the Honda Accord (with a v4 engine) wins. That thing seems to be a veritable tank. If I can find one that isn't even remotely fancy (no moonroof or any of that crap), it should give me no problems for a very long time. And it has great gas mileage.

Message #3794927

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:27:26 -0000

fleeb - I completely agree. There's a point in the relationship between car and owner where it simply becomes unsustainable in the absence of the over-riding consideration of "extreme collectability" for that particular car. VW Beetle (original): keep at all costs VW Bus (1960s/70s vintage): keep at all costs All other VWs: dump ASAP

Message #3794903

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:40:03 -0000

Heh, this is precisely why I'm moving on. It was okay while I had it, but it's just starting to get to a nickle-n-dime phase. There's more than the immediate stuff that needs attending, and I'm unwilling to sink money into this.

Message #3794712

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:51:16 -0000

Rule of thumb I use for used car upkeep If your car costs you, in six months, more than the equivalent of one car loan payment (based on what you paid for it - pretend you had a loan for that amount), and if this happens for two consecutive six month periods, it is time to get rid of it. Example: if the imaginary car loan would have cost you $300/month and if you have encountered more than $300 in upkeep (DIY here - mechanic labor does NOT count) in two successive six month periods, move on. EXCEPTION: if the car is an extremely rare collectible, or if the car was more than 20 years old when you bought it. In either of those cases double the allowable expense. My gut feel, just because it is a VW, is that you should get rid of it and move on. VWs are notorious money-pits after roughly 10 years age. And there is absolutely NO car they EVER made (except the original Beetle) that I woulld own, never mind keep.

Message #3794707

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:30:47 -0000

typical shit for old cars and from what I've heard, VW especially. You either need to start DIYing the small stuff or the mechanics will nickel-and-dime you to death. Congrats on getting 12 years out of it; sounds like it has been mostly trouble-free if $800 is "enough"... heh.

Message #3794704

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:10:54 -0000

I suppose this is an achievement... I need to release my car into the wild, and let it go. I've had it over 12 years now, and it has performed reasonably well for me, even if I kinda hate VW for being dicks about a few things. But it has started to exhibit too many little problems in a row lately, leading me to think that it's time to find another car, and get rid of this one. Within one month, I've had the engine coolant reservoir replaced because the old one cracked and was leaking, the brake lights housing repaired (only the middle brake light has worked for the last several months), and now my wipers have failed. In total, getting the best price possible for the repairs, I have already spent $800 with another $400 likely for the wipers. That's enough.

Message #3793611

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 23:24:55 -0000

best argument against gun control.

Message #3793448

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 13:23:23 -0000

The deer had been drinking and shouldn't have been on the road in the first place.

Message #3792618

Sun, 12 Oct 2014 14:26:52 -0000

Nice ad. Makes me nostalgic; I owned that same car. Same color, same year, probably almost the same options packages. Totaled by a deer in 2009.

Message #3791542

Sat, 11 Oct 2014 03:37:41 -0000

Good copy Sig. A must read by any fan of Stephen King.

Message #3791518

Sat, 11 Oct 2014 01:24:20 -0000

Sold the Subaru. Ad is up for a few more days. It was well-received. http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/4707236275.html

Message #3756556

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 18:47:19 -0000

It certainly should be!!

Message #3755853

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 17:24:19 -0000

That's a barrier?

Message #3755836

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 15:39:38 -0000

Broke the 80hr week barrier. :-/

Zzzzzzz

Message #3755272

Fri, 15 Aug 2014 18:44:43 -0000

Soldered a thermal sensor, using a transistor and a capacitor. Attached it to the mainboard of a XW8600 HP workstation and it works fine. Now the fans in my frankensteinian hackintosh spin at reasonable low rate.

Message #3732816

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 19:02:00 -0000

Created a series of words nobody has uttered together in this particular order.

Message #3729822

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 14:19:37 -0000

Heh.

Message #3729809

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 13:51:52 -0000

Today marks the first time someone directed the "check your privilege" sobriquet at me. I am so proud to be an American.

Message #3695398

Fri, 11 Apr 2014 03:20:27 -0000

I promised myself that I'd file my taxes early this year. Well, here it is April 10 and I've just completed my latest filing ever. The sad thing is, the government has been earning interest on my money for a few extra months, money they will use to keep the lights on in large buildings where bureaucrats decide how to screw me more.

Message #3690584

Mon, 31 Mar 2014 15:36:18 -0000

Oh yum..... Now I'm hungry.

Message #3690071

Sun, 30 Mar 2014 16:10:11 -0000

No ketchup ... it had mushroom gravy.

Message #3688056

Thu, 27 Mar 2014 19:42:58 -0000

Message #3687114

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 20:44:44 -0000

That sounds awesome!

Message #3687081

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 18:29:52 -0000

Tasty meatloaf too

Message #3687074

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 18:03:36 -0000

My small achievement today: lunch with Aahz. Yes that's right: meatloaf with the meatloaf.

Message #3685904

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 21:02:38 -0000

Ah well. Just looking for an intersection where none existed again.

Message #3684137

Sun, 23 Mar 2014 18:33:20 -0000

No, it will be local, in Tacoma, WA.

Message #3681613

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 11:06:31 -0000

Hmmm... Do you know if you're planning on taking the course in Maryland? Or is it virtual? Do you know if the course is administered by a private company... say... TeleCommunication Systems?

Message #3680730

Tue, 18 Mar 2014 23:44:45 -0000

I'm not actually worried per se about the Security+, but there are a fair number of things I know OF but not necessarily ABOUT. It's all part of the baseline cert list required for DoD to do computery things. I have a Certified Ethical Hacker course in a few weeks also on that list which will be similarly kinda-sorta-not-really challenging. Once I have the baseline things, the Army will put me in for higher level, more interesting courses.

Message #3679701

Tue, 18 Mar 2014 01:33:20 -0000

Grats on the GRE!

Sec+ is a breeze, really. And you're a much deeper geek than I, so you should have no problem with it. If you want to go toward that direction, though, have you considered a CISSP or a CISSM?

Message #3679450

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:19:46 -0000

Don't let them know about the BBS's you visit when it comes to security

Message #3679210

Sun, 16 Mar 2014 23:28:47 -0000

GRE is done. With any luck, I won't be around this fall to start grad school, but I'm going through the process as though I were, since it would suck to delay school for another year and then have the mobilization fall through. Next is Security+, then I will take a break from useful things and get my general radio license.

Message #3652181

Mon, 10 Feb 2014 19:29:30 -0000

I editing one page on somebody's weebly web page.

Message #3652080

Mon, 10 Feb 2014 07:51:19 -0000

"They use the imperial system, they wouldn't know what an 'ice train' is", to paraphrase Vincent Vega here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercity-Express

My subnotebook never makes any fan noise in normal operations, but when it does, it is frightening, too. And yes, this mirrored sound is totally nice, never thought such a small piece of hardware could sound so, well, "ok". Probably due to not being all plastic, too.

Message #3652034

Sun, 09 Feb 2014 21:55:57 -0000

hehe, kernel compile makes it sound like an ice trains hunting through tunnels at 250 km/h, but otherwise its all quiet.

yes, definitely the most beautifull & powerfull notebook I owned yet.

AND - kernel compile done after 20 minutes? whew.

if its edges weren't that sharp you could easily throw it ower to peers - its like floating and hardly weighting anything.

lets see how long the a little flexible carbon body lives - sony says its intended to flex.

its speakers point from the backside into the screen - so you sort of hear a reflection - realy fancy cool sound, as if it would come from the display.

Message #3651938

Sun, 09 Feb 2014 12:12:08 -0000

Sounds great, but the only problem is, that it is a Sony. I have long stopped buying any of their hardware, everything but my PlayStation I had sever faults within the first two years. And the playstation stopped working properly, too. Discs would stop to load, until you tried to turn the whole PS around.

Other people had similar issues. Especially with the joints where the display connects to the notebook base.

Wishing you look, though.

Message #3651852

Sat, 08 Feb 2014 23:18:27 -0000

so me got a sony vario pro 13.

If folded, its thinner than a macboc airs keyboard base.

Its by far the most light thing with a full hd display and a usable computer attached I've ever put my hands on.

now... the only problem is... how to get rid of the winsux8 and get some useable OS boot on that.

(using the windows 8 ui I now somewhat know how my technical learning resistant mom in the 60'ies feels when working with a computer - and I think thats the problem many people have with this...)

Message #3650889

Fri, 07 Feb 2014 06:01:14 -0000

Fort Dix is (literally) a stone's throw from where I lived in Browns Mills NJ prior to my retirement and move to The Mountain here in northern California. My house was on Ridge Road right near where you'd cut through the woods (on a paved road) about 300' to end up on Ft. Dix Upper Range Road.

Message #3650480

Thu, 06 Feb 2014 19:02:05 -0000

Yes, having a proper standing army is one of the top reasons for income tax being a necessary evil.

Plus army people rock!!

I grew up on Fort Benning, Fort Sill, and Fort Dix... :)

Message #3648812

Wed, 05 Feb 2014 02:51:12 -0000

Seconded. I, for one, appreciate you sitting on that wall so that I can continue to enjoy my freedom to marvel at the ever rising stupidity of government from afar (among other things).

Message #3647182

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 12:47:38 -0000

Sig, I've just gotta say that I am more than pleased that some of my tax dollars are going your way. It's one of the few good things they do with the money they rob from me every month.

Message #3647108

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 01:13:47 -0000

Of course, the Army giveth and the Army taketh away. My base pay went up by $340 per month (taxed). However, they decided to reinterpret the basic allowance for housing rules (again) so that dropped by $260 per month (untaxed). Net gain of $80 per month. Huzzah? Oh well, not like I got into this to get rich. And it could be worse; they could retroactively collect the "overpayment" based on their new understanding. This isn't the first time this has happened.

Message #3647091

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 23:41:04 -0000

W00t - Grats, Sig!

Message #3647054

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 20:52:15 -0000

awesome!!!

Message #3646959

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:52:30 -0000

Gratz! That's no mean feat.

Message #3646748

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 04:55:53 -0000

The E7th seal has been officially broken. The Army's mail system recognizes me as a Sergeant First Class.

Message #3621839

Sat, 21 Dec 2013 22:31:35 -0000

Rarely have I been glad to have TriCare.

Message #3621783

Sat, 21 Dec 2013 12:39:55 -0000

This was the New Yawk exchanges, that was someone better than the national registry. I had some questions, each time I called I wanted to confirmed the answers to those questions, I was told three different answers. I also have some information out there that they are telling me is wrong but no one can confirm or tell me what is incorrect. So nobody in Washington government knows what they are doing, no one at the state government knows what they are doing and the insurance companies I spoke with are also confused. I have spoken with my doctor's offices and gotten conflicting "I think..." answers to my questions. No one knows what is going on. but hey at least I have a confirmation number that may or may not do me any

Message #3621774

Sat, 21 Dec 2013 11:12:26 -0000

Yeah, this health insurance shit shows that nobody knows what the fuck they're doing in Washington.

Message #3621695

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 23:54:16 -0000

Small Achievement for me: After not being able to keep my insurance be it was canceled I had to go through the exchanges and sign up for Obama'scare. After several weeks I was finally able to do so. Had to go through a bunch of shit to get there, some of it scary. I was told several different things while trying to sign up. I have a confirmation number but the insurance company has not sent me anything. What I achieved was an upset stomach and a headache that lasted for a few weeks. What I got in return is a better health care plan but more expensive. I could have gone with a cheaper plan with a much, much higher deductible. (3x)

Message #3621501

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 11:41:31 -0000

If you follow the videos from the beginning, you can see how I'm gradually improving the editing skills. I'm getting smoother, less clunky.

Message #3621500

Fri, 20 Dec 2013 11:40:19 -0000

I've been doing more video editing lately. I record myself playing Minecraft, with commentary, and then do some video editing to handle a variety of little things, like maybe cut to more interesting parts, remove boring bits, speed various things up, etc. I often find myself adding some text to the video, maybe to emphasize something that the commentary left out, or to make fun of my own commentary when I got some piece of information wrong or missed something entirely. Adding text involved pulling up Gimp, writing out the text in that, adding any colors or effects or whatever, and then saving it as a PNG. I'd then use the NLE that I like (Lightworks) to pull in the graphic and position it where I want. Today, I learned that Lightworks actually has a Title effect where I don't have to do all of that anymore (unless I want to use a graphic effect on the text that the built-in title effect doesn't have). Mostly, though, I am getting a lot better at video editing. That's the small achievement. I have two examples of my improved video editing skills: Fighting an ender dragon (inexpertly, in my case): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbKRo3HSvcc And this video, at about 5 minutes in, I did something that required an insane amount of effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryeVo7iInjA

Message #3581988

Mon, 04 Nov 2013 23:56:54 -0000

Not sure why, but I misread that as: "mostly inhaled now..." Glad you're feeling better.

Message #3581962

Mon, 04 Nov 2013 22:49:29 -0000

thanks - mostly healed now...

Message #3577475

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 22:08:40 -0000

Glad you're ok; feel better, TriL

Message #3576570

Mon, 28 Oct 2013 10:35:20 -0000

Fell down some stairs
Achievement unlocked: major soreness and bruising.

Message #3575499

Sat, 26 Oct 2013 22:47:26 -0000

Installing WinXP in a virtualbox so I don't have to keep rebooting to do work things for the Army.

Message #3571782

Wed, 23 Oct 2013 01:16:41 -0000

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round. Will it go 'round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghj5V5cUo1s

Message #3571595

Tue, 22 Oct 2013 18:29:10 -0000

Tried to do the right thing, and got thrown under the bus. I've learned my lesson. From now on I will try to do the wrong thing.

Message #3553511

Sat, 05 Oct 2013 22:47:13 -0000

Message #3553510

Sat, 05 Oct 2013 22:43:41 -0000

A jet fighter? A firetruck? A clown car? The Oscar Mayer Weiner moble?

Message #3553206

Sat, 05 Oct 2013 20:29:48 -0000

I passed my Category C driving examination (Older Brits will know this as "Class 2 HGV" and now I can drive one of these:

Message #3551622

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 14:11:01 -0000

They have an army. They were fun to work with in theater. Unlike many of our NATO brethren, they actually wanted to leave the base and find the people making life suck for the Afghans. They were excellent support with good equipment and training. And also the best coffee in theater, even in the field.

Message #3551255

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 04:48:22 -0000

Tue Oct 01 2013 11:28:28 PM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

Whoops. Ike was adopted from Canada.

Canada? That's not even a real country! ;)

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.

Frank Zappa

Check and check. Uncle Frank says it is o.k.

Message #3550285

Wed, 02 Oct 2013 03:28:28 -0000

>Whoops. Ike was adopted from Canada. Canada? That's not even a real country! ;)

Message #3549520

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 22:10:36 -0000

The smallest achievement to date: Not all of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish® crackers have smiles on them. Last night I shook the bag, three crackers

Message #3549156

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 17:28:15 -0000

I knew who you were talking about - was just pointing out that he's too young to be my brother...

Message #3547007

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 16:17:10 -0000

Message #3546834

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 14:36:13 -0000

Message #3546685

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 13:59:00 -0000

>Kyle is young enough to be my son. Sorry.... South Park reference. Surprised to hear you answer in the affirmative!

Message #3546649

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 08:52:52 -0000

Kyle is young enough to be my son.

And my dad was an Army Chaplain.

He went where they sent him.

And I went where they sent him.

Oklahoma was certainly an interesting experience, though my 2nd grade teacher was completely fabulous about it.

Message #3546617

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 01:58:15 -0000

>Being the only Jewish kid in a public school is fun... Do you have a brother named Kyle? ;-p triL, your dad clearly sent you to public school on purpose...

Message #3546614

Sun, 29 Sep 2013 01:49:08 -0000

Or while wearing a hat. Good one Tril, had my wife and I laughing pretty hard on that one.

Message #3546566

Sat, 28 Sep 2013 18:05:21 -0000

The Lord's Prayer is not from the Jewish liturgy, plain and simple. It's not like reading a chapter of Psalms. (which would be less denominational.

Still, bottom line, my parents know it and feel weird about it.

I also know all the words to silent night... (which my father - a rabbi - told my school principal I was not allowed to sing)

Being the only Jewish kid in a public school is fun...

I remember having to bring in a note on Green Eggs and Ham day to explain that I could not eat them in a boat, on a moat, with a goat... etc.

Message #3546540

Sat, 28 Sep 2013 14:18:53 -0000

>However, most of Orthodox Jewry very much considers Talmud, Mishnah, >and many aspects of Tradition and Kabbalah mandatory. In fact, much >of rabbinic Orthodoxy holds that if a tradition is practiced >continuously in the same way by the same community over X amount of >time, it gains the strength of law for that community. > Wow, does that ever sound so very Roman Catholic! The Roman church position is that there are three Authorities: 1. Sacred Scripture (Old and New Testaments) 2. Tradition (as you stated, "practiced contiously... strenght of law") 3. The Magisterium (the Teaching Authority of the Church) Nobody (usually, at least) argues with #1. Few argue with #2, however if you allow enough time then tradition can change. Example... there is as much opposition today to Rome's return to the Tridentine Mass and re"legalization" of Latin Masses as there was back in the late 1960s and early 1970s when Rome moved the Liturgy into the vernacular. Times change; people change; and Tradition can change with either. Now, #3, on the other hand, causes much mayhem and discord - even to the point of disintegration, as in the Reformation. As in the Great Schism (see prior post on the "Filioque" episode). Not so much today - at least in the large scale. Hmmmm.... we need more Jews!

Message #3546297

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 20:13:38 -0000

Wed Sep 25 2013 07:55:25 PM EDT from vince-q

Most of what Western Europeans and North Americans consider as "Jewish" is a curious mixture of Torah, Talmud, Tradition, and the Kabbalah.

For Orthodox Judaism it's simple. If it isn't in the Torah, it isn't required of Jews. And if it *is* in the Torah it's ***mandatory***.

Actually, Vince, that's not correct.

There is a specific Jewish sect that believes that if something is not in the Tanach that it's not required. They are called Karaites.

However, most of Orthodox Jewry very much considers Talmud, Mishnah, and many aspects of Tradition and Kabbalah mandatory. In fact, much of rabbinic Orthodoxy holds that if a tradition is practiced continuously in the same way by the same community over X amount of time, it gains the strength of law for that community.

Message #3545809

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:55:49 -0000

>So long as you say it. I grew up in the 70's and had parents that >rejected the same notions and I skipped out on that. Well, I was raised by agnostics -- who sent me to Christian Sunday School to broaden my horizons, and then subtly undermined everything I'd been taught, once I was back home. I have a weird perspective as a result, I suppose.

Message #3545802

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:52:44 -0000

Uhh vince... yes we *were* discussing the Lord's Prayer in *exactly* *that* *context.* As such, your heavy-handed response is inappropriate.

Message #3545742

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:02:06 -0000

> Sep 25 2013 10:26pm from LoanShark > > Seems to me that if I repeat a *specific* prayer every morning >(mandatory at school) it becomes also a ritual. > > First, we were not discussing the prayer in the context of public (or other) school recitation in an 'assembly situation' (and yes, saying the prayer in homeroom or other class situation is a school assembly situation, not a church). Next, as much as it may not be in the Citadel Tradition, please stay on topic. Getting off the topic is a distraction. That may work in the US Senate or the House of Representatives where the practitioner(s) and/or the recipient(s) of the "technique" are intellectual nonentities.. I absolutely assure you that is not the case here. So please. Don't do that. It irritates me (not important). And (this *is* important) it dilutes the integrity of the dialog.

Message #3545670

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 05:11:49 -0000

Wed Sep 25 2013 10:26:33 PM EDT from LoanShark

Seems to me that if I repeat a *specific* prayer every morning (mandatory at school) it becomes also a ritual.

So long as you say it. I grew up in the 70's and had parents that rejected the same notions and I skipped out on that.

Message #3545639

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 02:26:33 -0000

Seems to me that if I repeat a *specific* prayer every morning (mandatory at school) it becomes also a ritual.

Message #3545638

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 02:13:47 -0000

Replaced the 10" LCD screen on my netbook, which was inadvertently stepped on as I prepared to go to the TAPR digital communications conference on Friday.

Message #3545620

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 23:55:25 -0000

> Sep 25 2013 2:57pm from LoanShark > > Show me one word, one phrase, one concept in the Lord's Prayer that > > >can be construed as something other than Jewish? > > I can't. But it seems to me that the overall tone is more christian >than jewish. The focus on forgiving sins, debts. > > Anyway, it's not specifically a jewish religious ritual. > > Most of what Western Europeans and North Americans consider as "Jewish" is a curious mixture of Torah, Talmud, Tradition, and the Kabbalah. For Orthodox Judaism it's simple. If it isn't in the Torah, it isn't required of Jews. And if it *is* in the Torah it's ***mandatory***. But in any event the Lord's Prayer is a *prayer* and not a *ritual*. In the Lord's Prayer there is only one sentence dealing with "forgiving" and "debts"/trespasses. In phonetic Hebrew it goes like this: U-SLACH LONU ET HOVOTHEYNU KA-ASHER SOLACHNU GAM ANACHNU L'HA-YAVAYNU "Forgive us our sins As we (have forgiven) [or] (forgive) those who sinned against us." Not my translation; I am not in any way fluent in Hebrew. And in fact, that portion of the New Testament was most likely originally in Aramaic. And I know even *less* of that! ;) To work at the true intent of the Lord's Prayer would require an in-depth analysis of the influence of Essene/Zealot socio-polical thought on Jesus Christ. And most of that would be pure speculation. The bottom line? The Lord's Prayer is quite possibly as close to a "perfect nondenominational prayer" as we are likely to get.

Message #3545570

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 18:57:23 -0000

> Show me one word, one phrase, one concept in the Lord's Prayer that >can be construed as something other than Jewish? I can't. But it seems to me that the overall tone is more christian than jewish. The focus on forgiving sins, debts. Anyway, it's not specifically a jewish religious ritual.

Message #3545569

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 18:50:36 -0000

> Today I won an argument against a belligerent militant atheist. Like you-know-who, I'm sure he failed to recognize that s/he/it lost

Message #3545521

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 14:01:35 -0000

> Sep 23 2013 4:26pm from triLcat >I'd argue that the way my parents were raised - *required* to say the >Lord's Prayer in school the same way we said the Pledge of Allegiance >- might have been unfair - considering they were Jews. > Show me one word, one phrase, one concept in the Lord's Prayer that can be construed as something other than Jewish? Please?? The only thing "Christian" about it is that it was first uttered by Jesus Christ. A ****Jew**** by the way... ;)

Message #3545470

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 08:49:05 -0000

Mon Sep 23 2013 14:12:37 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

This is why I insist that atheism *is* *a* *religion*. It is a religion which teaches that no God exists. That's not the same thing as "no religion" and it's *certainly* not the same thing as "Constitutionally mandated concealment of any belief in God"

a NULL-Pointer still is a Pointer though.

Message #3545251

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 20:26:18 -0000

Yeah - it's one thing to expose children to other cultures or even talk about the theology in a general sense. I don't think it's wrong, for example, to give a history lesson that includes an overview of what Muhammed did in his life, or Jesus, or Moses, or John Smith... as long as it's in the context of history and/or literature.

I remember bringing in a dreidel and telling the kids about lighting candles. Once my mom brought in a slideshow of pictures from Israel that included the Western Wall and people praying, but all she said was "Here's the Western Wall. It's a very holy place to the Jewish people, and people pray there. Jews pray three times a day."

The question is whether it's informative, in the way that you might learn about Greek or Norse mythology, or coercive. I think there's enough space between the two. I may know who Athena and Zeus are, but nobody ever tried to convince me to pray to them... ;)

Message #3545221

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 16:07:41 -0000

I'd agree that that's over the line. Coercing non-Christians to recite a Christian prayer is just as bad as the school a couple of years ago who did the "be a muslim for a week" assignment. Here's the rub: coercing atheist practices is just as bad as coercing the practices of any other religion.

Message #3544033

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 20:26:41 -0000

I'd argue that the way my parents were raised - *required* to say the Lord's Prayer in school the same way we said the Pledge of Allegiance - might have been unfair - considering they were Jews.

OTOH, people who say moment of silence is a slippery slope obviously don't know that there are atheists who meditate... ;)

Then again, the whole world is crazy - a kid here was reprimanded for bringing tfillin (phylacteries) to a non-religious (but all-Jewish) school and allowing some of his friends to use them for prayer before school. (friends asked, so he brought to lend out!)

They said that it was religious coercion.

Message #3544013

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 18:12:37 -0000

That's not what it means! Freedom of religion is freedom *from* religion, and we have a Constitutionally protected right to never ever ever come into contact with any expression of religion which offends us (and that is: ALL of them!!) ... so say the militant atheists. They're wrong, of course. This is why I insist that atheism *is* *a* *religion*. It is a religion which teaches that no God exists. That's not the same thing as "no religion" and it's *certainly* not the same thing as "Constitutionally mandated concealment of any belief in God" As I've mentioned countless times before, I have no problem with people being atheists (I find it disappointing but it is absolutely their perogative) ... I have a problem with people jamming atheism down our throats by lawyering up (or simply shouting a lot) every time someone displays a different belief in public. I'd love to see Vince have a theological debate with the infamous child-molester Curly S.

Message #3544003

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 17:00:19 -0000

What the First Amendment *really* means on Church and State What it says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" "Respecting an establishment of religion" We came from England. England has (and still does have) a State Church. It's the Church of England the head of which is the English Monarch, the Clerical chief bishop of which is the Archbishop of Canterbury - who does not have "pope-like" authority, but basically is a Chief Executive Officer of sorts. THAT is what the First Amendment was aimed at avoiding. There is absolutely nothing in the First Amendment that even hints at such things as: 1. probiting prayer in public schools 2. Nativity scenes on public property 3. Christmas plays, concerts or pageants in public schools or on public property 4. Christmas trees on public property (such as the White House) 5. Chrismas Vacation and Easter Vacation (instead of Winter Break and Spring Break - ok, calling it Easter Vacation might put somewhat of a damper on those goings-on in Florida every Spring...) Everything that has happened that negatively impacts those things on that list up above is the result of *civil litigation* in the courts and *court* decisions based on a secularist and ****wrong**** interpretation of the Constitution's intent based on the actual language contained therein. Remember that famous Limbaugh-ism? WORDS MEAN THINGS.

Message #3544000

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 16:52:18 -0000

It never ceases to amuse me how many people think that "separation of Church and State" is mandated by the First Amendment, which is certainly *not* the case at all. Now if only someone could educate the SCOTUS on that point of law and set "stare decisis" straight on this point once and for all.

Message #3543989

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 16:17:44 -0000

Today I won an argument against a belligerent militant atheist. (Topic: there's no substantial difference between the "Freedom From Religion Foundation" and the "Westboro Baptist Church." Both are oppressively intolerant of anyone who differs from their religious beliefs.)