31/21

Starting Late Today
Originally uploaded by dcdan.

The 31 like we are 21 birthday celebration was kicked off this weekend. Check this set to see the evidence.

Thinking So You Don't Have To

I'm sure I'm late to the party on this one but this guy cracks me up, Ze Frank

$64,000 Question

Will the addict Bush pardon Ken Lay, but declare that revealing so would compromise national security and do it via a signing statement?

Hastert Asserts Protection of Rights

I was trying to figure out why Hastert had his panties in a bunch over the search Rep. William Jefferson's office and now I know why:

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is seeking to determine his role in an ongoing public corruption probe into members of Congress, ABC News has learned from high level government sources. Federal officials say the information implicating Hastert was developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government

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link

Welcome to The Brave New World

I saw yesterday's USA Today and one of the headlines read "For Some Idol Voting More Important than Presidential Election" to those people I say, it's worked now go collect your soma

Email I Received this Morning

Enjoy being the fake Taylor Hicks for the next year of your life. If it doesn't get you at least one free lap dance, then I don't know what to do with you.

Have You Learned Nothing

Nancy have you learned nothing?You don't out him on your watch, you speak to him on the sidelines off the record and you keep a game face unless you realize that he is beyond redemption and then you throw him under bus or you cover for them, just ask Scooter and Delay. (compare and contrast)

For This Screen Shot Alone

This phone commercial seems to be appropriate

Twins

Twins
Originally uploaded by dcdan.

So my MacBook Not Pro (MBNP) arrived yesterday at 9:30 am no less! There were several reasons behind the decision to go ahead and order one of the MBNPs First off was the size, while updating my old PowerBook G4 to give to my dad I forgot how small and how much I liked it the size of the 12" PB. Additionally, there are several issues with the MBP that I have run into the first is the processor whine, which is usually drowned out by the screen whine when it isn't running at its brightest and last is that my batter now has a life of 15 minutes. I need my computer for work which is how I pay for all of these toys and I'd need something to use in the interim, I'm still on the fence of if I want to sell the MBP or keep it as an entertainment system (whose host name will either be (reallyExpensiveDVDplayer or pro) I'm leaning towards the latter. So putting all of these things together I pulled the trigger and ordered one from Apple with the upgrade to the 120GB HDD.
The setup, since my MBP was still very new, I used the transfer tool that comes with OS X, the only thing the tool missed was the I had the Apple Developer Tools installed and that it didn't respect that I have the current version of Java pointing to 1.4 and not 1.5 other than that it went flawlessly. I was up and coding within an hour or so.
My impressions of the MBNP are good so far. It is cooler to the touch than the MBP and I'm liking the keyboard and the size, this feels much more manageable like the 12 inch. I haven't had a problem with the screen but I could see that if you have overhead lighting it could be distracting also I've only noticed though when I have a large section of the screen primarily dark (like reading my blog) I calibrated the batter last night and got about 3:45 out of, while running at medium brightness via wireless, coding, two reboots an being mostly connected to my cell phone via BlueTooth. Things to know before buying a MBNP as a opposed to a MBP fingerprints will show on the MBNP the touch pad will show oil from your fingers but it easily wipes off, thought it is less heavy than the MBP it is noticeably heavier than the 12 PB, if you are glossy screen averse there is no latch so you have to tug to open it is a bit more pressure than I was excepting, lastly if you are planning on using parallels or Citrix at 1024x768 it is a tight fit on the smaller screen. but overall I'm much happier with it than the MBP and I've only slightly noticed the reduced screen size. I'm still on the fence of naming it either "yeahIpaidExtraForBlack" or "NotPro"' currently I'm leaning with NotPro.

Because I Can

Tiring of the problems with my MacBook Pro summarized here: (edited for removal of the mundane side convo)
Dan: I'm trying to figure out my favorite MBP feature
Dan: I'm not sure if it is the 20 minute battery life
Dan: the whine when the proc isn't active
Matt:lol
Dan: or the whine when my screen isn't a full brightness
Matt: you see the new macbooks?
Matt: for an extra $1,000 we got 2" of screen, a larger hard drive, and a video card
Dan: shit
Dan: maybe I'll ebay this one
Matt: i think i am going to hold out till the next rev of the mbp and sell mine
Dan: i'm really missing the tinyness
Dani: of my 12 inch
Matt: i am going to go to the grand opening of the midtown apple store friday and try to fuck around with one of these new macbooks
Matt: i'll let you know
Dan: 1699
Dan: for a black one
Dan: with a 120gb drive
Matt: i was fucking shocked to see that they all have duo cores!
Dan: yeah I was expecting single cores
Dan: just to make the pro series more I don't know
Dan: pro
Dan: :-)
Dan: I'm tempted to order one
Dan: so I will have a computer while I send this one in
Dan: damn you apple!
Dan: hmmm black or white
Dan: damn you one click shopping!
Matt: lol
Matt: go for it! go for it!
Dan: Your web order number is W2XXXXXXXX
Matt: you know you can sell the one you have even without fixing it! you're selling the warranty, too, so let the joker who buys it handle the repairs
Matt: wow - you rock
Dan: actually instead of ebaying my MBP
Dan: I may just have a super expensive entertaniment system
Matt: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pealco/sets/72057594136649292/
Dan: nice
Dan: but Roger didn't get the bigger drive :-)
Matt: the remote is white
Dan: that Apple store is dangerous for me
Dan: b/c it is right next to the sony store
Matt: yeah man that was pretty fucking hair-triggr
Dan: I think I'm going to keep the MBP and rename it "expensiveDVDplayer.dcdan.com"

So yes I ordered one of the new MacBook Not Pros (Black 120GB drive) and will be using my current MacBook Pro as my entertainment system.

Let the Fucking Begin

Now I know this fucks with truthiness The Washington Post article asks "Is Teen Sex Bad?" Here is my take on it, of course teen sex is bad, like anything you have to practice a lot to get good at it and you probably won't be that good at it until you are in your twenties or beyond these rules have to form my check list for rules for women I will date

1) No Republicans
2) No entry level talent
3) No "Daddy Issues"

But I'm digressing, I think the article is actually try to answer the question is sex bad for teens to participate in and not a critique of $killz.

On that subject I also have anecdotal evidence as I was once a teenager and I was having the sex and you know what. I was fortunate enough to have supportive parents in the fact they didn't take an all or nothing stance and realized a few things that the fucking abstinence only people don't get

1) That there is as strong possibility that I will engage in sexual behavior
2) That they raised me to learn how to make decisions for myself

My parents we not about keeping us in the dark, they were about making sure we knew that we would have to make many choices in life and wanted us to be well informed and know the risks, consequences and rewards of our behavior. I know of others whose parents weren't as open as mine and this led to ignorance, confusion and bad choices. That is not to say I've never made bad decisions growing up, but it wasn't because my parents withheld information from me, it was purely the a results of my decisions There was no problem with me sleeping over a girls houses in high school or college. There were no discussions of if you have sex you will burn in hell and get AIDS and have babies, there were instead discussions if you decide to engage in these activities you'd better know what the hell you are getting into and don't come crying to me saying "I didn't know this would happen"

The shelterers of knowledge would have you believe, that my parents raised a family of demons, when in fact, not a single one of us have been to prison or have illegitimate children running around. Instead we all have careers, are in good standing with society and pay taxes.

So actually this has taken a turn towards a thanks to my parents and since it is between Mother's Day and Father's Day, I'll end my rambling with a thanks to my parents for teaching me how make decisions and think for myself and for allowing me to wear my t-shirt to school that said "Protect Your Johnston, no how magic you think it is... practice abstinence, monogamy or use a condom"

New Category of Jack Ass

My latest category of jack ass and these people are damn close to the spammers are the Friendster/MySpace/Flickr/[Insert Social Networking Toy for the people four years younger than me here] are the friend link whores. You people suck. When I see your myspace profile with ten fucking thousand friends, get real, I'm not going to be your Flickr friend, esp if you haven't even commented on any of my photos and I know I haven't met you in person.

Open Message

Dear DNC and DCCC,

If your infighting fucks up the 2006 elections and I have to spend that much more time under Republican rule, I'm likely to give up. You share the same building for fuck's sake talk about this stuff inside of it [avoid phone use of course, they can hear you] and solve your problems without taking it outside, that is the one thing I'll allow you to borrow from the Republicans.

Thanks,
Dan

Marriage Question

The Crazy Christian Right always likes to point to the Bible and say marriage is between a man and a woman, but shouldn't they instead be pushing for marriage between a man and many women?

Yeah Yeah

Yeah Yeah
Originally uploaded by dcdan.

I was concerned going to this concert after the disappointment of the Mobb Deep show I went to a little while ago, but I was happily surprised. Ice Cube rocked the house. There was even an NWA medley in the middle of the show, actually seeing Ice Cube live rapping "Straight Outta Compton" "F___ tha Police" and "Gansta Gansta" is amazing. The crowd was great too, I saw a crocheted Kangol hat and a woman wearing a "Pecan Rican" t-shirt and two preppy kids one in khakis, oxford shirt and a tie, with his buddy dressed like the unibomber. My only beef with the whole show was guy at the door marked my hands like I was under 21 so I had to explain to the bartender and had to scrub my hands clean of the stamp and get a new one. But other than that all I have to say is Ice Mutha Fucking Cube, yeah, yeah "It was a Good Day"

When The Onion Mirrors Reality

From the Onion in 1999 Clinton Deploys Very Special Forces To Iraq to CNN today Report: Mentally ill troops forced into combat

Drove To Work Today

I drove the thirty five or so miles to my office in the 'burbs today and I'm going to tell you I don't how you guys do it everyday. The stress from driving the risks and shitty drivers just plain suck and I haven't even mentioned the costs. I'm sticking to biking or walking.
As an public service I direct to this guide to biking in DC

Free Pair

Panties 3
Originally uploaded by dcdan.

Bush's Spanish 'no muy bueno,' White House says

Free pair of DC Dan panties to anyone who has video of Bush singing the National Anthem in Spanish

Talking Out of Both Sides of Your Mouth

Sticker Seen on the Metro
Originally uploaded by dcdan.

This fucker is talking about how rights rights are being restricted in Russia, what about here? To make it clear the only liberation he is looking for is the liberation of oil from the ground and trading barbs with Russia maybe this conspiracy sticker is closer to reality than I would like to believe :-(

Priorities

It's easier to rig an electronic voting machine than a Las Vegas slot machine

People please, please make sure that your vote counts.

Kicking it Old School via the Archives

No Limit Solider
Originally uploaded by dcdan.

Man do I love Archive.org especially because it has caches of the original spank your face site and so today I share with you songs that I rewrote as nerd-hop
old song cover/rewrites

PS that is me circa 2000.

While I'm at It

Scott Feldstein feels the same way.

Rant Two for the Day

Of course the media isn't going to discuss Colbert and will he say he isn't funny. He called them out at their own party for saying that they sucked at their job, it wasn't a stand up routine, it was satire. Rather than listening and admitting he was right, they tried to attack him in the same way and said "Oh for a comedian you weren't funny." He wasn't trying to be funny he was telling you to your face you suck.

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But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!

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This is a Rant

No matter what they may tell you the free market does NOT work in the following three situations:

1) Health Care
2) Education
3) Environmental Issues

1) Health care - When you are having a attack but only have $500 in your pocket the free market would dictate that the woman who wants a new pair of tits for $550 would be served first.

2) Education - The elimination of the public school system for a voucher based system would help to create an aristocracy where in the poor would never have a chance to get an education and "pull themselves up by their boot straps" because the wealthy will ALWAYS make sure their children will not be less educated.

3) Environment - There is no free market for pollution and destruction, especially when CEOs only think six months out in advance.

Maiden Name

This post about a guy's dealings with Visa brought up an interesting point. [For those to lazy to read it, it deals with a guy confusing the Visa operator about his mother's maiden name]
Anyway, this got me to thinking what about those who mother's don't have maiden names? Or if your parents are gay, you will either have two mothers or no mother and this will really screw up the system.
[sarcasm]This is so far the only convincing argument I have found that would make any kind of sense in banning gay couples from having children[/sarcasm]

We Are Sick People

Americans 'sicker' than their English counterparts

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The health of the richest people in the US is as poor as the worst educated, lowest paid among the English."

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The World Fact Book from the the CIA shows that the GDP - per capita is $30,900 in the UK. The Fact Book also shows "The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $42,000." from this it is reasonable to assume that Americans are richer than their UK counter parts.

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"Researchers say this may come down to a matter of money. In the US $5274 is spent per capita on medical care while in UK, taking both nationally funded and private healthcare into account, that number is just $2164."

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One of the reasons often cited by the Addict Bush's administration is "that is simply costs too much" the number above helps to disprove this as the US spends more than twice as much per capita as the UK and is less healthy. Not to mention that 45,800,000 people in the US don't have healthcare unlike the universal coverage in the UK and finally that those without healthcare are less like to seek preventative medicine and don't visit the doctor until the need (and the price) are catastrophic.

So clearly the we can't afford it argument is non-sense and the it would cause a healthcare crisis is wrong because the people of the UK are healthier, so why is a universal healthcare plan for the US the not the only logical choice?

Clinton's Fault

Frist blames Clinton for gas prices.
This is always a sign that the GOP is floundering because when something is clearly their fault, they blame Clinton.

Tax Rebate

Jack Ass
Originally uploaded by dcdan.

Despite the fact the budget deficit is fucking huge and based on the past "tax rebates" that are regressive instead of progressive and the fact that not enough people in the Capitol have the balls to stand up and stop this shit. I'm pretty sure I'm going to see the $100 "tax rebate for gas" check that Addict Bush will invariably be able to push into law.
As such I officially pledge that $50 of it will go to the ACLU and $50 of it will go to the DNC.

6.6.6 Day Plans

Since it is the 6/6/6 is the day before my born day I'm sharing this link from WFMU with you.

DO NOT use headphones! The objective of this day is for everyone within earshot to understand that it is the National Day of Slayer. National holidays in America aren't just about celebrating; they're about forcing it upon non-participants.