Why We Hack

I can relate ...

Sometimes disobedience is necessary and good when rules fail us, and it's at the core of why we hack. Hacking is a means of expressing dissatisfaction, confounding the mechanism, and ultimately doing better. Here's why it's so important.

(link) [Lifehacker]

06:15 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link



Battle for the Ruhr

Battle for the Ruhris the title of my current read. The cover blurb:

With Allied armies poised on the banks of the Rhine, Nazi Germany tottered on the brink of collapse. The ensuing battles on German soil--especially those in the so-called Ruhr Pocket--were as fierce and hard-fought as any in the European theater. Going well beyond previous accounts, Derek Zumbro chronicles this key military campaign from a unique and fresh perspective-that of the defeated German soldiers and civilians caught in the final maelstrom of the war's western front.

I'll admit to a bit of fascination with WW2 military histories - this began as an effort to understand my Dad. He was a Technical Sergeant in the 3rd Armored Division. Here's a snip from his memoirs:

...we were attached to the 3rd Armored Division known as the Spearhead Division. We stayed attached to them for the duration of the War. The Allied Armies went on the offense to close Ruhr Pocket, later named the Rose Pocket in tribute to Maurice Rose, 3rd Armored Commander. He was killed near Padaborne on March 6, 1945, the same day four of us were strafed by an ME 109. We were strafed by fire in front of a stone barn. I dove inside the door. I knew I was hit. The first thing I did was unbutton the front of my clothes to see if shrapnel went through me. No. We piled into a jeep and went back to service battery. Dr. Decker dug the shrapnel and a lot of red tile out of my back and butt. They gave me the Purple Heart Medal and advised me to watch that none of the punctures festered.

We moved on to close the Rose Pocket at Padaborne and on the Rhine River. We crossed the river at Remagen on a pontoon bridge built by the engineers. We encountered no resistance from the Germans. We advanced on east and crossed the Elbe River. We were told after a couple of days that we were on the Russian's side of the river and were pulled back to the other side. The War was over and we were anxious to get back home.

So you can see why I'm interested... this book uncovered my Dad's somewhat faulty memory - General Rose was killed on March 30th, not the 6th. So I don't know if my Dad was shot on the 6th or the 30th! And like so much else about him, I probably never will...

20:25 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link



You want flies with that?

Ya know, I would normally dismiss such stories as faked, or at least exaggerated, but this one, well, let me tell you a story.

Back in 1994, I happened to wander into a bait shop in Noblesville, looking to buy some fishing tackle. Displayed in the case, next to the cash register, was a McDonald's Cherry Turnover, looking pretty fresh. The only signage suggested that I ask for the story, so I did.

The owner of the shop had purchased the turnover and discovered a pit (or some foreign object) in it - he returned it to the store and asked for a refund. They refused, offering instead to replace it with another. He didn't want that - having found one contaminated food item he was leery of accepting another identical item for fear it would have the same problem - remember, we're talking less than a dollar here. After a heated discussion with the McDonald's manager, and no satisfaction, he resolved to simply inform people of the sloppy (and potentially dangerous) foods the restaurant was selling. He told the manager that he owned a shop, and would display the offending item and explain the situation to his customers. Which he, obviously, did.

The turnover was purchased in 1986 - 8 years before I saw it.

Vladimir Lenin, King Tut and the McDonald's Happy Meal: What do they all have in common? A shocking resistance to Mother Nature's cycle of decomposition and biodegradability, apparently.

(link) [Daily Mail]

Update: Natural News has more on this sordid tale ...

10:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link



Recent Reports

Well, I'm not going to go into any detail (yet) but I feel I would be remiss if I did not issue a warning: make sure you know what you're getting into if you take a psychotropic prescription medication for any reason. Suffice it to say that while we are indeed "smoke free", we are having serious issues with side effects and have stopped the program.

More later - maybe.

21:05 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link



The recession was made in China

Interesting point, highlighting Chinese government intervention in the market to skew things their way. Imagine that.

We all can see the responsibility of Wall Street and the U.S. mortgage market for today's global recession. Yet behind both is a more fundamental cause: China's financial rise. As much as the products in the aisles at Wal-Mart, this recession was made in China.

(link) [CNN]

21:34 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link



The Blog is Not Forgotten

It's just been on hold for a bit, while other some other things we've got going on get hashed out. I've been hesitant to blog about it, because, well, I wasn't sure of success. You see, we're in the process of quitting cigarettes. And it's actually going quite well.

We got a prescription for Chantix, and are starting week four of the regimen. So far so good - we've both broken down and had a couple since our official date, but on this program that's OK. The drug blocks the nicotine receptors and you get nothing from smoking. All that's left is the habit, not the addiction. And it's a lot easier to kick a habit than it is to break an addiction.

What finally prompted us? Cash. A pack here in Indiana costs about $5. Both of us were smoking one pack a day. You do the math. Microsoft Money tells me that since January 1st, 2002 (when I started the database) I've spent over $21,000 on cigarettes. There's our tractor, our bailer, a livestock trailer and a used half ton pickup truck.

The really galling thing about it is that of that twenty grand, the tobacco company probably grossed five. The rest went to taxes at various levels. We've been paying the state for the "privilege" of our habit. If that's not motivation for anarchists I don't know what is...

Of course, the non-smoking majority may well be in for a surprise. If we smokers quit and stop paying taxes to fund all these great programs, either the great program's gonna disappear or somebody else's gonna hafta pick up the tab. I wonder who that will be?

19:47 /Home | 1 comment | permanent link