Gleeful Gecko » Canary In A Coal Mine

Two Types of Grownups

Brett — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:20:46 +0000

I often say one of the big problems in DC is the lack of grown ups but following the SOPA/PIPA debate yesterday I realized I have been wrong. DC has grown ups, it just has the wrong kind. I see there being two types of grown ups, the good ones are the ones who take their jobs seriously and get their work done. In DC this would be little things like passing a budget, planning for the country’s future, stuff like that.

The other kind, the kind we have tons of, are the type of grown ups who like to order people around. The anger of the SOPA supporters are people showed they were fed up with the bullshit was telling. ‘Why does America need to follow the Chinese and Iranian Internet censorship plan?! Because I said so!’ No appeal to facts, just bluster. These are a type of grown up we could easily do with less of in DC. Can’t pass a budget but fight like hell to censor the internet? Don’t expect me to be impressed.

Scaling Problems

Brett — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:53:09 +0000

Patents have a huge scaling problem. The fine folks at Frugal Dad put together a great graphic that demonstrates the issues, but the bottom line is that the patent system couldn’t scale when they allowed concepts to be patented. People have a lot of ideas, many of them may be impractical today, but everyone rushed to patent them anyway. The system is broken. We need adults to come along and fix it again, sadly we don’t elect adults anymore, we prefer zealots of whatever team we are cheering for in the election game.

Source: http://frugaldad.com

Lessons In Indefinite Detention of US Citizens

Brett — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:43:48 +0000

The President signed into law the indefinite detention of US citizens by the US military, he said he has some objections, but signed the law anyway. If he were not lying there is an easy and quick way to end this nonsense. Detain every sponsor of the bill immediately and hold them until the law is revoked.

They are clearly supply lending support to terrorists by gutting the US Constitution and thus undermining the freedoms that the terrorists oppose. By detaining these lawmakers we would send a powerful message to others in the congress to think before they pass laws that grant the government powers with no checks on them. We could set up a web cam so we could watch the detention in a military work camp in North Dakota, it is teachable moment that the President should seize.

Internet Censorship. Bad. I would have thought this was obvious.

Brett — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:11:11 +0000

I ██████ ██████ ███████ ████ ████████ ██████ ███████ to ████ and █████ for a █████ on how to █████████ the ████████ is a ████ ████. ███████, ██████ ███████.

The Romans, The Vikings, The Normans, Then Nobody….

Brett — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:05:26 +0000

Who has conquered England? The Romans, the Vikings, the Normans, then nobody until the Health and Safety Bureaucrats came. Once they ruled the world, now they can’t be trusted with balloons and party favors.

Once They Were A Land Of Giants

Brett — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:26:08 +0000

It is now too dangerous to even cross the streets in England. I expect society will soon ground to a halt and all will come to ruin, but at least it will be safe.

This Is True In Far Too Much Of The World

Brett — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:59:07 +0000

In prison there is no female or male. There are only humans and monsters.

One of the sad truths of far too many places in the world. This time it is Syria, but it could be so many other places. Thankfully the human spirit is strong and very, very hard to break completely.

The Resistance Strikes Back With Cheese

Brett — Mon, 30 May 2011 14:35:07 +0000

The resistance in the UK to the Health and Safety Nanny culture scored a major win when rebels held an ‘unofficial’ cheese rolling competition in Brockworth. The rebels risked all chasing rolling cheese wheels and scored a major victory for eccentricity vs the wrap everyone in bubblewrap crowd. Huzzah and good for them!

Do You Live In A Dictatorship?

Brett — Sat, 28 May 2011 16:32:30 +0000

Here is an easy quiz to see if you live in a dictatorship. Question 1: Are you facing a year in jail for using the dictators toilet? If you answered yes then yes, you are living in a dictatorship.

No Right To Resist Illegal Entry In Indiana

Brett — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:56:13 +0000

Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.

How could anyone not think this is a very, very bad thing? Read the attached decision to see if the article was overstating it, but it seems to be spot on. Your home isn’t your castle in Indiana any more.

Jeremy Clarkson: Let Them Eat Cake

Brett — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:35:30 +0000

I have rarely read more ignorant words than these:

“If you do lose your job and you end up living in a barn, with just a fire to keep you warm and nothing to eat but what you can find in a hedge, be happy. Because you’ll be having a much better life than me.”

He knows this isn’t true, you know this isn’t true and the guy in the barn sure as hell knows this isn’t true. This came from an article in the Telegraph about the superpower the rich in the UK are using to keep people from talking about them when they do stupid things. Clarkson is, of course, fully behind this superpower.

England the Brave, Part whatever

Brett — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:25:40 +0000

Apparently being a jerk is no longer legal in the UK. The crime in the article is that a beach side keytarist is alleged to have played ‘Everyone is Kung Fu Fighting’ at a couple of Chinese people in Wales. At worst he was being a jerk and even a bigoted jerk, but somehow that is now worth police action. Car break-ins, street violence, not so much I guess, Cops have more important things to do.

More Of England Succombs to the March of the Nannies

Brett — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:55:48 +0000

Town famous for its medieval heritage to lose its cobblestones over health and safety concerns. Five people injured during the year vs the three people who would have been injured in town with normal sidewalks. Cobblestones branded ‘tool of the devil and must be purged’.

Via Medieval News

England Safe at Last!

Brett — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 13:47:45 +0000

England safe at last as the scourge or Dwile Flonking is finally over. I am told they were once a great Empire before the nannies got them. I bet Jeremy Clarkson was a rabid dwile flonker when he was young.

Give Me That Old Time Religion

Brett — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:12:34 +0000

Some fundamentalists are more fundamental than others. Not sure this is a cultural revival I am fan of.