JaBbA's Hut

Found on Flickr:











...

Look, I hate guns. Really. And I know that cops do bad things sometimes, and need to be held accountable.

But I've seen way too much hand-wringing over police excess in this story:

MIAMI - A fugitive gunman accused of killing a Florida sheriff’s deputy was shot 68 times by SWAT team officers who found him hiding in the woods, according to autopsy results.

Police fired 110 shots at Angilo Freeland, 27, the target of a massive manhunt in central Florida following the shooting death of Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Williams Thursday.

“That’s all the bullets we had, or we would have shot him more,� Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.

The guy killed a cop who pulled him over for a traffic stop, killed a K-9, shot another cop and shot at others. He'd shown that he was willing to kill. He was hiding out, armed and dangerous, and was near a school.

110 bullets isn't too high a price to pay to make sure he's not going to kill anyone else in that situation. And maybe Sheriff Judd should be a little more careful what he says to reporters, but that quote is going to make him famous, because even people like me say "Thanks, Sheriff, for doing your duty. And you're entitled to a moment of release after 24 hours trying to track down the man who killed one of your deputies."

And now for something completely different:

Male Restroom Etiquette:

Speech is your enemy. Never, ever, under any circumstances say a single word while within a bathroom. Not to a friend, not to a lover, not to Jesus himself. Violation of this precept grates against all good things and the way of nature, corrodes the efficiency of the bathroom and places the very fabric of our civilization in peril.

JaBbA ROTFLMAO.

I find this especially funny because I've had this discussion with women many times, and generally, they just don't understand. This goes way back, and is a central plot point in Asimov's 1954 novel The Caves of Steel - The central character forces himself to look at his robot partner, Daneel Olivaw, in the restroom, even though it greatly pains him to do so.

JaBbA says check it out, when you have 10 minutes to watch a video. Not horribly unsafe for work, but probably against your company's policy to be watching funny videos on YouTube anyway.

Perhaps the dangerous liquid being sought by the Department of Homeland Security has been found:

DHMO is a constituent of many known toxic substances, diseases and disease-causing agents, environmental hazards and can even be lethal to humans in quantities as small as a thimbleful.

Remember, an entire state of matter is now a national security risk.

I miss those innocent days, when a little hanky-panky in the Oval Office was considered a "High Crime".

So does Dean Friedman.

JaBbA says check it out. Only workplace-appropriate if your co-workers aren't easily offended.

Thanks to Emily for the link.

Yup, it's Antichrist day! I wonder how many people are really worried about today's date...

Regardless, it is an important day on the Internet. Today is the day the 6bone shuts down, because Ipv6 has reached a tipping point in production and a testbed isn't needed any more. Someday, we'll have 10 billion publicly-available Internet-connected devices, and the new IPv6 addressing scheme will make that possible.

I've seen a lot of slams lately on "The Decider".

This on may be the funniest.

Thanks to Emily for the link.

Q: How many people with ADD does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Hey! Let's ride bikes!

That reminds me. I need to change the lightbulb in the front hall. And fix the smoke detector. And.......

s'cuze me. RSS reader just came up......

(Stolen, verbatim, from 43 Folders)

Looks like some librarians have come up with the Cure for Information Overload.

JaBbA says check it out.

I keep getting emails about AOL's "Email Tax" from good, progressive organizations.

Bush is spying on Americans. The NeoCon's are plotting to consolidate their party in the 2006 elections. Soldiers are dying in Iraq. Why the HELL are they wasting their time on this?

Look, AOL is a private company. Yes, they're huge. But there IS competition.

They are NOT going to create an "Inferior Service" for people who don't pay. What they are doing is responding to a real need - how to get legitimate business emails to their customers without allowing the SPAM. Businesses will be paying for the privilege of bypassing the SPAM filters - and they will get that right by subscribing to good business email practices. If people ask to be taken off the list, they will get off the list.

This isn't a "Tax". It's a business-class email. Like business-class seats on flights. And they'll pay for it. And personal emails will continue to be allowed. And if people sign up for newsletters from non-profits, AOL will recognize that the address is in the recipient's address book and will deliver the message.

And if people don't like it, then go to the competition. Earthlink, NetZero, etc., etc., etc.....

So let's get back to the real issues, OK?

UPDATE
[name dropping] My old friend John Levine [/name dropping] agrees with me

I'm a huge Daily Show fan, not so much the Colbert Report - I get it, I just find him annoying.

But he nailed the problem of defining a non-creedal religion in The De-Deification of the American Faithscape.

Watch the whole thing. The response in priceless:

Colbert: So, do you celebrate Christmas or Hannukah?

Bobby the Stage Hand: Sure.

If the video is unavailable, here's the funny bit: whatholdsunitarianstogether.mp3

EDIT yes, I know. I misspelled Describing.

In honor of Wilson Pickett, who died today.

Besides the Land of a Thousand Dances (1966), Other #1 hits included

- In the Midnight Hour (1965)
- 634-5789 (1966)
- Funky Broadway (1967)
- Don't Knock My Love (1970)

and, of course, Mustang Sally.

He was featured as the inspiration for the Dublin R&B band in The Committments. A great talent.

JaBbA's off to listen to some R&B.

But their "205" year in review doesn't have a democratic candidate to include, so this one is all Bush -- and it's NOT complimentary. What it IS is funny as hell.

JaBbA says check it out.

Becuase I just gotr this verry important email:

From: "Justin - Online Educatoin Enrollment"
You have been referred to us: (Referral ID: R8912)


Based on your present knowledge and past life experiences our University administration
office has been trying to contact you. We feel you may qualify for one of our Univsersity degrees in your area of expertise.

We have been qualifying people based on thier experiences in past and present jobs and
are offering qualified degrees with transcripts for those that qualify.

If you call our offices now we can confirm our information and send you either a Bachelors',
Masters', or Doctorate within 2 weeks.


Administration Office Number:
1-206-202-1674

Administration Hours:
24 hours, 7 Days a week, including Sundays and Holidays

Enrollment Department
Fidel Wright
Client Identification: CL6142

Don't forget, it's a Universistey degre complet with a transcript !
Emphasis mine

The idea of a mega-database is Bad Enough:

To help the government track suspected terrorists and spies who may be visiting or residing in this country, the FBI and the Defense Department for the past three years have been paying a Georgia-based company for access to its vast databases that contain billions of personal records about nearly every person -- citizens and noncitizens alike -- in the United States.

But the name of that Georgia Company?

Choicepoint.

32,000 consumers personal information including names, addresses and Social Security numbers were illegally accessed by using the user name and passwords of a company that has a contract with the data aggregator.