Wow. I never thought I’d blog one of these, but this is a really great Slashdot post.

The one button mouse is Intelligent Design.
The multi button mouse is Evolution.

Which do you prefer?

But I can’t, nor can I be bothered to figure out how to do so. Let me point out one simple fact… If that character defines the set of people who find you acceptable, likable – or rather, you believe this to be so – you carry the small, small soul of a politician, and must deal with the simple fact that I am the backwards E that is bringing your shit down.

Moreover, if you did not understand the above paragraph, nor did you engage in the five minutes of consultation with Google or Wikipedia, or lord forgive us, a book, that might cure you of ignorance – ignorance not being a crime, sin, or disease, but the total inability to remedy it being all three – if you did not understand, than you are simply the type that I care to offend, the burden on goodness which allows me to say, “Well Lord, I am not much, but at least I am not that.”

More on this later.

For now, a mere thought that has been bothering me. Many people write. Some even have some skill. A select few are truly good. Whether I belong to the ultimate or penultimate class, I care enough to edit, to read aloud, to avoid reuse – you know, the basic artisanry of writing. So why is it, that the bulk of personal writing that even I am willing to put out into the world, is the horrid, horrid, shit that fills many a tower of blog? Yes, I apologize – this blog’s content is tepid, the prose unedited – and not in a good (i.e. avoid the NC-17) way. Isn’t it odd that I am not unique in that; of all the things we commit to paper or Word format or HTML, why is it that we choose the least of it to disseminate to the world?

That the answer is clear makes it no less disheartening.

A last point: some TV shows are really good enough to make me consider going outside, buying a pack of smokes, and relighting the habit. Californication seems to be one of those shows – I can’t remember laughing so hard, naturally. It deserves some time and a chance.

I have all these sites which get opened in their own Firefox tabs and sit there until read and absorbed or disposed. Since Scribefire doesn’t let me update my blogroll directly, fuck it; I’ll just blog a goddamn link. I will continue to do this, because, frankly I browsing to the admin page and adding a link takes forever, where forever is defined as too long.

In any case:

Intellectuals Whores is brilliant and true.

God, this is cool, albeit somewhat eerie. Can’t help but think of Frank Poole floating, lost in the void.

While letting a friend use my computer to log in to NYU home, I saw this (publically accesible) document, asserting NYU’s stance in assisting RIAA with going after NYU students and network users. You can find it here. In it, NYU pretty much stipulates its complete compliance with RIAA and not the law (judging by the actions asserted, not the apologia presented). Worse yet, this Provost bandies about the fallacious “you wouldn’t steal a CD” argument, all the while wrapping herself and her argument in the American flag, invoking Abraham Lincoln, and academic responsibility, misrepresenting intellectual history.

There is an apparent divide here – better schools (Harvard in particular) have voiced opposition to these abuses and lesser schools toe the DMCA line. It’s sad to see my alma mater fall in the latter class, especially in such a poorly argued fashion.

Clearly, the Zionist Plot proceeds apace.

• From the Washington Post (via the BBC): “A few weeks ago, 14 squirrels equipped with espionage systems of foreign intelligence services were captured by [Iranian] intelligence forces along the country’s borders. These trained squirrels, each of which weighed just over 700 grams, were released on the borders of the country for intelligence and espionage purposes. According to the announcement made by Iranian intelligence officials, alert police officials caught these squirrels before they could carry out any task.”

• Directly from the BBC: “British blamed for Basra badgers – …UK military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said: “We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area… …One housewife, Suad Hassan, 30, claimed she had been attacked by one of the badgers as she slept. ‘My husband hurried to shoot it but it was as swift as a deer,” she said. “It is the size of a dog but his head is like a monkey,’ she told AFP.”

I think this proves the great diversity now afforded by the West. After all, for too long, following the doctrine espoused by the infamous Judeo-Christian World Zionist Plot, by Big and Little Americas (aka, Satan) – an ancient document dating back to the early 3^rd grade – only Zionist dogs and Zionist swine were permitted in the Western ranks. The inevitable children produced by the mixture of the noble legions were also allowed: the valued zionistische Schweinhünde. It brings joy to the heart to see the opportunities of Western decadence offered to an wider array of members of the powerful Phylum Chordata. In turn, this will secure dominance in the air, on land, and sea. Still, in light of these news reports, two things are clear.

• Iranians are better hunters than Iraqis. After all, the Iranians managed to catch squirrels alive, while the Iraqi could not manage to hit a 30 lb. dog-monkey. Come on guys, can’t Juma give you some shooting tips?

• The only animal sympathetic to the plight of Dar al-Islam is the the mouse. Walt Disney would be proud at how the image of mice has been rehabilitated. Once the mascot of the World Zionist Government, now the mouse too suffers under the oppressive heel of the Jewish conspiracy. (Though he seems to suffer from geographical issues as well; somehow “Tel Rabi” has moved to the soon to be liberated Jerusalem).

Well, there is no winning move. Play or don’t play, optimal checkers is a draw.

Yup, checkers is solved, and no one wins.

Took my Florida approved, CWP prerequisite gun safety class yesterday. All that I have left is some paperwork (and a fingerprinting) Some would think this a celebratory act (or a sad reflection on America, given the impending fingerprinting), but it was merely practical – tomorrow I return to Manhattan.

With no sarcasm or irony – yay.

Now, a thought that crossed my mind the other day about democracy – even those who hold it as a nigh-religious value concede that the structure does not serve all purposes, neither in function or morality.  There are a couple of examples that spring to mind – the military is obvious, transplant list priority is another.  I am curious as to what other examples exist – I doubt that they are hard to find, just hard to see.

That being said, the stability of the American structure – and its pervasiveness throughout the world – is a testament to this Great Experiment beset by two oceans.

There will be those who snicker, those decry an “empire,” those who forsee – and will – doom.  However, the honest and objective, independent of outlook, can only concede that She truly is remarkable.

We have a vibe.

Is that little or lot?

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As a somewhat related aside, Adorno turns up in the oddest places.