Community is where you make it

Tag: rants

  • Where in the World is North Korea?

    Where in the World is North Korea?

    North Korea disappears at night. South Korea appears to be an island, disconnected from the Asian continent with North Korea appearing virtually as dark as the sea. I was going to claim this was the result of the North Korean government’s policies and their resulting extreme poverty, but fortunately, I found this first:

    17. I hear that North Koreans are very poor. Is this true?
    By international standards, DPRK citizens enjoy a very high standard of living. In Socialist Korea, the state guarantees all citizens the right to quality healthcare, education, stipends for the disabled, retirement pensions and access to recreational facilities, as well as a wide array of other state-supported services. Indeed, DPRK citizens are guaranteed many provisions that are uncommon in many developed capitalist societies, which are home to real poverty. Unlike in many countries of the capitalist world, the DPRK is a state free of homelessness, unemployment, prostitution and starvation. (Source)

    Thanks, DPRK FAQ! How soon will the KFA shop offer signed photographs of Leader Kim Jong IL? ;-) /sarcasm

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , , ,

  • North Korea’s Musudan-ri Missile Facility

    According to multiple news reports, North Korea is threatening to launch a Taepodong 2-type intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from its Musudan-ri missile facility. GlobalSecurity.org has multiple satellite pictures and maps showing the facility. Thanks to Google Maps, you can be a satellite tourist, too.

    <rant>I don’t understand why Internet news reports don’t include these links.</rant>

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , , , , ,

  • Google — Still not evil?

    Google is praised for its “Don’t be Evil” corporate motto, probably in part because it’s extraordinary–most companies’ codes of conduct address integrity and ethics without addressing issues of absolute morality.

    Yet, along with this acclaim comes closer scrutiny. Google cannot simply say an action was a good business decision and makes money for the shareholders when the action helps oppress 20% of the world’s population.

    Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Google has done–Google agreed to provide a Chinese version of Google search that purges any topics the Chinese government finds objectionable. Topics such as democracy, human rights, and oppression. That’s evil.

    Interestingly, this is not the first time Google has censored the Internet at a country’s request; it did the same for France and Germany.

    Hat tip: Hog On Ice

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , , , , ,

  • Jammin’

    Driving home from the airport last night, I got stuck behind a car being driven erratically. Its speed would range from 54 up to 66 mph, seemingly slower when by cars in the adjacent lane and when passing was impossible, and faster otherwise. It was also slowly drifting side to side. I thought the driver might be drunk.

    Finally, just before my exit, I was able to switch lanes and accelerate. As I passed, I looked and saw the driver, completely oblivious to his surroundings (and probably to the fact that he was driving), with a cell phone plastered to his ear.

    Where’s a cell phone jammer when you really need one? Unfortunately, jammers can be expensive and are illegal in the US.

    But a little experimentation could be fun… ;-)

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , ,

  • Car rental keys

    I have a question for you: why does Hertz give me two car keys on the same ring? These are not thin keys, but the ones with the big, black plastic “handle” on them. The resulting mass of keys, remote, and key ring is too big to comfortably fit in my pocket. It’s not as though I can remove one of the keys; the ring is permanently joined.

    Update: A coworker suggested that, because these keys have a chip in them that must operate correctly for the car to start, Hertz may be providing redundant protection should a chip fail.

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , ,

  • We the People Act — stupid sometimes

    Last November Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas introduced H.R. 4379, the We the People Act, to protect us from an out of control federal judiciary.

    SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON JURISDICTION.

    The Supreme Court of the United States and each Federal court–

    (1) shall not adjudicate–

    (A) any claim involving the laws, regulations, or policies of any State or unit of local government relating to the free exercise or establishment of religion;

    (B) any claim based upon the right of privacy, including any such claim related to any issue of sexual practices, orientation, or reproduction; or

    (C) any claim based upon equal protection of the laws to the extent such claim is based upon the right to marry without regard to sex or sexual orientation; and

    (2) shall not rely on any judicial decision involving any issue referred to in paragraph (1).

    SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON JURISDICTION.

    Paul proposes this bill because, as he sees it, the federal courts “have wrested from State and local governments issues reserved to the States and the People by the Tenth Amendment.” But “free exercise or establishment of religion”? Hello? Ever hear of the U.S. Constitution, specifically its First Amendment?

    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

    So Paul proposes, by legislation, to gut the First Amendment to “return” free exercise or establishment of religion issues to the states. I guess we need to remind Paul how to amend the constitution.

    Unfortunately, the bill gets worse.

    SEC. 7. CASES DECIDED UNDER ISSUES REMOVED FROM FEDERAL JURISDICTION NO LONGER BINDING PRECEDENT.

    Any decision of a Federal court, to the extent that the decision relates to an issue removed from Federal jurisdiction under section 3, is not binding precedent on any State court.

    Looks like Paul forgot the Fourteenth Amendment, too.

    1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. [* * *]

    Someone get Paul a Constitution.

    Hat tip: Danny Carlton, alias “JackLewis.Net”.

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , , , ,

  • Wouldn’t want to get stuck with a needle — again

    This evening, I went to drop off a car at the hospital where Suzi works so I wouldn’t have to wait up and get her after work. As we were standing in the ER waiting area, a man walked by with a couple of friends saying, “They’re going to hurt me. They’re going to stick me with needles.”

    I could feel his pain and started to defend his fear to my kids. After all, I hate needles. Just about then, Ashley pointed out, “Uh, Dad? He has a tattoo right where they’d stick him.”

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , , , , ,

  • Shut Up and Let Me Drive

    A new study shows that brains aren’t good at multitasking — If you’re listening, you can’t watch as well. Or, in scientist-speak:

    When attention is deployed to one modality — say, in this case, talking on a cell phone — it necessarily extracts a cost on another modality — in this case, the visual task of driving.

    Why the attack on cell phones?! The study showed that listening, not “talking on cell phones,” impaired visual processing.

    In the interest of safety, let’s not ban just talking on cell phones while driving. Why not ban listening to music or talk radio? In fact, let’s outlaw radios or CD players in cars. In the meantime, some enterprising lawyer can file a class action products liability lawsuit against automobile manufacturers for making available audio equipment in their vehicles — obviously a defective design that contributes to the unfettered distraction of responsible drivers and the consequential injurious accidents caused thereby.

    Better yet, let’s make it illegal to drive under the influence of sound. “Kids, stop your fighting and be quiet back there. It’s the law!” “Sorry, dear. I’d love to talk about your book club but I can’t; it’s illegal.”

    Shut up and let me drive.

    hat tip: TechNudge.

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , ,

  • Turn a kid on to Engineering

    Jack Ganssle
    Jack Ganssle

    Jack Ganssle, embedded systems guru, challenges you to turn a kid on to engineering.

    In the ’60s and early ’70s a national Apollo-era fascination with things technical helped groom youngsters for an electronics career long before entering college. It wasn’t (quite) as dweebish to enter a science fair as is the case today. Kids were excited about science and engineering.

    Above all, perhaps, was the specter of ham radio. Like so many others of the time, I got my first ham license at age 16. Though even back then sophisticated operating modes like single sideband (SSB) existed, most of us teenagers couldn’t afford the latest cool technology. We were forced to build our own equipment.

    “Forced” is hardly the right word, since building stuff was much more interesting than actually using it, when and if it finally worked.

    It brings back memories for me: endless hours playing with Legos and my Erector set, the two-stroke lawnmower engine spread out across the shop (that never worked again), the crystal radio my dad helped me build, the blown fuse from connecting a ham code key using just an extension cord (don’t ask…), the ham radio receiver in my bedroom, the Jacob’s ladder in the garage.

    What do kids play with these days that interests them in hardware? Ganssle has some suggestions:

    Get a Digikey catalog. Surf over to www.imaginetools.com. There are indeed a lot of resources for young EE-wannabees. Check out www.arrl.org, or Ward Silver’s Ham Radio for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, April 2004.

    Sounds like fun!

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , , , , , ,

Search

Subscribe

Get Brent Logan in your inbox.

Stuff

Made with

in

to

Copyright 2004-2026 Brent Logan

Thanks for visiting!

Brent Logan