Subject: Please oppose the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA

I urge you to reject the Internet Blacklist Bills (S.968 and H.R.3261). I am deeply concerned by the danger these bills pose to a free and open Internet and to the rights provided for by the Bill of Rights (1st & 5th Amendments specifically). Government blacklists are the tools of authoritarian regimes, not countries that pride themselves on personal freedom and due process of law.

While I do not support infringement on others’ intellectual property, those who do infringe still deserve the due process of law which these bills would deny them. These bills serve only the interests of large media companies that already abuse the rights granted to them by the DMCA. Passage of these bills will only lead to further abuses and will not slow digital piracy in any meaningful way. The Internet and its citizens always route around these types of roadblocks.

Free speech and due process should not be subject to the whims of a few large corporations. These bills are dangerous and short-sighted, and, if passed, will be ineffective. I urge you to join Senator Wyden and other members of Congress, such as Representatives Lofgren, Eshoo and Issa, in opposing them.

Other than this minor disappointment, I am really enjoying the LG Optimus. It’s not the flashiest device out there, but it serves my current needs well.

What I don’t understand is two other characters joining him (even if one eventually changed her mind). The human race has survived far worse conditions than a zombie apocalypse. Humanity will do what it has always done… adapt. It’s not as if humanity was suddenly thrust into the dark ages. While electrical power may be harder to come by, there is plenty equipment ripe for the taking to make life safer and even provide some modern conveniences. Civilization isn’t over, it’s just experiencing a shift to a new “normal.”

Besides, a bullet to brain later on, doesn’t sound any more painful than vaporization by a fuel-air explosive.

I started this as a series of micro-blog posts, but have decided to relocate the endeavor to my blog, so not to annoy my followers too much. I shall replicate my initial posts here and continue on.

Genesis

3:11
Why is god asking questions? Isn’t it all knowing?
3:16
Shouldn’t god punish itself for its own flawed creations?
3:22-23
What is wrong w/ knowing good and evil? Sounds better than being an ignorant stooge.
4:9
Again with the questions. It’s not very knowledgeable for an all-knowing being.
4:13-14
Who is going to find him? There seem to be only two other people in existence.
6:7
If god is all-powerful, why doesn’t it just fix us? Genocide seems a bit extreme. What did the animals do anyway?
8:18-19
How are giraffes and elephants supposed to climb down a frakking mountain?
8:20
What was point of saving the animals if they were going to sacrifice them? Yahweh’s not big on forethought I guess.
9:24-27
What did Ham do and why is Canaan being punished for it? Also, I guess slavery is A-OK.
11:7
This Yahweh dude sure is a party pooper.
12:17
Oh that Yahweh. Always punishing the wrong people.
19:31-32
Offering of daughters for gang rape and drunken incestuous cave rape. I’m sensing a theme.
20:17
Yahweh corrected the situation, but what is with punishing the wrong people? Sucks to be anybody other than Abraham.
22:12
It was only a test. I am so relieved. That makes it all better. Wait. No it doesn’t. Yahweh & Abraham are both horrible.
26:7
Are we really doing this again?
27:41
What is with all the familial strife. Can’t they all just get along and be equals.
29:25
Deception and incest. This book is full of good moral principles.
29:30
More incest. These people are freaks!
29:34
Leah is a seriously deluded individual.
30:3
Yeah, because this same plan worked out so well for Abraham.
30:9
This is getting ridiculous. Jacob must be exhausted.
32:28
Jacob wrestles god and emerges victorious? This god is seriously un-godlike. Why are we supposed to worship him again?
34:3
More rape. Why am I not surprised?
34:8-9
So women are basically slaves and they have slaves themselves. This seems like a fair and equitable society.
34:13-14
Let me get this straight. Selling your sister to someone who is uncircumcised is the disgraceful part. Riiight. This whole book is disgraceful.
34:25
Mass murder is an appropriate response to your sister being raped. Noted.
38:7 38:10
Old Yahweh is back to his murderous ways. Shocking!

It took a little longer than I expected since I hadn’t programmed in a while, but it was fun nonetheless.

Download here.

When there is a card mounted, closing the lid or suspending from the menu hangs the machine requiring a hard reboot to fix. There a bug report on Launchpad for this issue, but it seems that little progress is being made. I really hope this issue is resolved for 10.04 or before.

The 8GB internal SSD is sufficient for now, but it would be nice to have a card in the reader permanently for extra space.