From PvP.
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Monday, December 29, 2003
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Friday, December 26, 2003
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Chermside = Madhouse
Okay - just gotten back from Chermside - where they're trialling having the centre open for the 36 hours before Christmas. And judging by what's going on down there, it'll be happening everywhere next year.
The queues to get into the place where backed up for blocks. People were parking in Marchant Park and the walking down to Chermside - rather than risk the insanity of trying to find a park.
Want to know just how many people where down at Chermside tonight? Well, this was the car park at 10 o'clock at night.
And this was inside of Chermside - at midnight
Basically, as I said - Chermside = Madhouse.
The queues to get into the place where backed up for blocks. People were parking in Marchant Park and the walking down to Chermside - rather than risk the insanity of trying to find a park.
Want to know just how many people where down at Chermside tonight? Well, this was the car park at 10 o'clock at night.
And this was inside of Chermside - at midnight
Basically, as I said - Chermside = Madhouse.
Monday, December 22, 2003
An Easy Mistake To Make... I Guess.
I was on the phones again all night tonight. And I found a common theme among a bunch of people who called up. A lot of them seemed to think it was a good idea to beat their chest and talk about how they were going to hurt other people 'if they try it again' - sometimes as extreme as stabbing them in response to a punch.
Now, people, this is something that is known as a Bad Idea. Because when you say it on the phone on 000, you are being taped. When the person answering the phone says the call is recorded, you are being taped. And when you express the intention to kill someone - even if it's in response to provocation - you do Serious Harm to your defense in a possible murder trial.
True, if you're doing it only in response to provocation, it's probable you'll be able to escape a life sentence. You won't escape jail, though, unless you get sent to a mental institution. (I guess it could be argued that anyone stupid enough to announce their intention to kill someone when they're being taped might as well be clinically insane.) Self-defense is a valid defense against a murder charge, but there are some catches. The big one, the one that is really important, is that they need to be trying to kill you (or someone close to you, I guess).
Fair enough, if there's bad blood between you, a case could be made that the reason they were found dead at your hands was that you killed them in self-defense. However, if you're on record as stating your intention to kill someone regardless of the extremity of their actions - that blows a big hole in your defense. A big, going to jail to become someone's bitch kind of hole.
The other one is the concept of 'commensurate show of force'. In plain terms, self-defense needs to be a reasonable response in the circumstances. If someone punches you in the face and you shoot them in theirs, you're out of luck. Pulling a gun against a knife can be valid, but you'd need to establish the circumstances pretty well. ("He looked really threatening in my scope, officer...")
The law is pretty strict when it comes to self-defense. An example of this that came from my Mobil armed robbery course - if you were being held up, pulled a gun out from behind the counter and shot the guy who was holding you up and killed him - self-defense. However, if you gave him the money and shot him as he was leaving... murder (again, maybe not first-degree, but still murder). Once you're out of clear danger from someone, you cannot claim self-defense.
I guess this is just another note in my campaign to allow us to blow up the phones of stupid people. But that's still a long way off. Curse human rights. :(
On another note, I had a really ominous email at work. The acting inspector was asking me to come see them about it, copies had been sent to a number of places, a big note 'to be placed on employee's file' on it, so I was kind of nervous to check the attached file.
It was a 'well done'. A nice lady (yes, we do get nice callers, it's just that the annoying ones are the ones who get the rants) who I'd helped out had called back to thank me. I can't really go into more details, unfortunately (curse professional confidentiality!) but it really chuffed me. Coming as it did near the end of my shift, it restored my battered faith in humanity. Somewhat.
Though I swear people in general still don't know how to enjoy themselves.
NEWS.com.au | ALP 'beer for votes' claim (December 22, 2003) - Labor Party. Electoral Rorting. They're words you normally never see in the same sentence are they.....
Tasteless, But Funny
I guess if you're offended by ethnically insensitive humour, you can just bugger off now.Two families move from Pakistan to Australia. When they arrive the two fathers make a bet. In a year's time whichever family has become more Australian will win.From Right-Thinking
A year later they meet again. The first man says, "I have changed my name to Trevor, my son is playing AFL, I had a meat pie with sauce for breakfast and I'm just about to jump in my Commodore and go to the pub to pick up a slab of VB, how about you?"
The second man replies...
"Fuck off, towelhead."
NEWS.com.au | Greens co-founder 'Labor stooge' (December 22, 2003) - can anyone say they're really suprised.....
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW - MUST SEE TRAILER!!!!!!!* Spitfires verses Robots of Death!!!!!
Only drawback - the horrible Paltrow thing is in it.
Only drawback - the horrible Paltrow thing is in it.
Sunday, December 21, 2003
None Shall Pass
Running away? You yellow . . .
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Running away? You yellow . . .
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Saturday, December 20, 2003
French Guard
I'm French! Why do think I have this outrageous
accent, you silly king-a?!
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
French Guard
I'm French! Why do think I have this outrageous
accent, you silly king-a?!
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
On another note, insomnia sucks.
Friday, December 19, 2003
What Monty Python Character are you?
Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who!
What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
New York Daily News - Crime File - 5 arraigned in cop & gown mugging fest - "We don't like to hurt nobody." - the why the hell do you mug them dickhead?
The Official Ninja Webpage: REAL Ultimate Power!!!! - can't remember if this has been posted before, but damn it's a funny site.
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
The following are my musing whilst watching the Sci-Fi Channel's latest mini-series - Battlestar Galactica. Keep in mind Galactica was a series I obsessed over as a child, but have tried to avoid in later years for fear of tarnishing my cherished memories.The following may contain spoilers. If you've that worried - too bloody bad - I can't be arsed inviso-texting it.
********
First 40 minutes everyone is either fighting or screwing.
Subtlety is not an Americans strongpoint. How do we show that the blonde supermodel robot is evil? We have her snap a baby's neck (off camera of course!).
Since when did Cylons = sexbots?
Most startling change so far? Starbuck's now a woman. As well, Boomer who was a black man, is now an asian woman. And this change is because? Good question.
Almost an hour till we get to the blowing shit up - it's called Battlestar for a reason guys.
At least they didn't redesign the Vipers - one of the coolest looking starfighters ever.
At least the Cylons didn't waste time when trashing the 12 Colonies - 50 kilo-ton nukes all the way!!!
The Galactica is a relic of the first Cylon war - so none of the computers are networked and all the equipment (phones, headsets, etc) are chorded (nothing wireless). Very cool.
Too many small cute children subtly pointing out how terrible the loss of life and family is during war... It's called Battlestar people!!!
Madam President (who was Education Secretary) = boring. I love West Wing, but not in space! Again, it's called Battlestar people!!! And of course she's a bleeding-heart leftie to fight with Cmdr Adama.
Oh No!!! The cute kiddie we just met has to die because her ship can't travel FTL & the Cylons are attacking!!! Oh the humanity!!!
And now everyone's bonking again!!! If Apollo & Starbuck start screwing I'm going to cry.
At last - an upgraded Cylon who isn't a supermodel.
Lingerie Model Cylon is back. And she's psycho-analyzing wimpy British Baltar (apparently it's a rule in American TV, all British accented characters = wimpy). .....and she's trying to have sex with him again (even though she's a figment of his imagination... I think).
Oh god - Starbuck was in love with Apollo's brother.
Goodie - they've arrested the journalist (like all journalists should be).
And naturally there's a secret Cylon onboard the Galactica so we get to play 'guess the spy'. Woohoo - paranoia abounds.
Still no seatbelts on capital ships in the future.
Did I mention how much Viper's rock!
Always amazes me when people are allowed to smoke on a spaceship. Must be good oxygen recyclers/scrubbers.
And as the final shot of the show - they reveal the Secret Cylon!!! Good thing for them there's going to be more of this show (apparently) - otherwise that'd be a real shitty ending.
********
On the whole - not too bad. The acting was painful at times, and there was far too much soulful attempts at adding depth and pathos to the tragic characters (I said attempts - I don't indicate they were successful) and not enough of the big space shooties. After all, why have such fancy efforts if you're not going to use them!!! And not enough Cylons dammitt!!! (except the one with her tits falling out - but she doesn't count - she's not a real Shiny SilverTM Cylon).
As for the redesigned Cylons (not the SexBot Cylons - the others. Remember how Unkie George sued the Battlestar guys the first time around. When the new bots look an awful lot like most of the droid armies seen in the first two SW prequels...
Still any sci-fi that isn't raping the corpse of Star Trek or Gene Roddenbery's margin doodles is a good thing. But then again, this is the Sci-Fi channel - the bastards that cancelled Farscape.
Thursday, December 18, 2003
A Quiz For People Who Know Everything
(1) There's one "sport" in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?
(2) What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
(3) Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
(4) Name the only sport in which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball?
(5) What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
(6) In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
(7) Only three words in standard English begin with the letters "dw." They are all common. Name two of them.
(8) There are fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name half of them?
(9) Where are the lakes that are referred to in the "Los Angeles Lakers?"
(10) There are seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. Taking a base on balls-a walk-is one way. Name the other six.
(11) It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it?
(12) Name six or more things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter "S."
Answers.
1. Boxing.
2. Niagara Falls. The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.
3. Asparagus and rhubarb.
4. Baseball.
5. Strawberry.
6. The pear grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the whole growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.
7. Dwarf, dwell, and dwindle.
8. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.
9. In Minnesota. The team was originally known as the Minneapolis Lakers and kept the name when they moved west.
10. Batter hit by a pitch; passed ball; catcher interference; catcher drops third strike; fielder's choice; and being designated as a pinch runner.
11. Lettuce.
12. Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, snowshoes, stockings.
...Well, now you know! Feel any smarter?
(1) There's one "sport" in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?
(2) What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?
(3) Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?
(4) Name the only sport in which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball?
(5) What fruit has its seeds on the outside?
(6) In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?
(7) Only three words in standard English begin with the letters "dw." They are all common. Name two of them.
(8) There are fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name half of them?
(9) Where are the lakes that are referred to in the "Los Angeles Lakers?"
(10) There are seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. Taking a base on balls-a walk-is one way. Name the other six.
(11) It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it?
(12) Name six or more things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter "S."
Answers.
1. Boxing.
2. Niagara Falls. The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.
3. Asparagus and rhubarb.
4. Baseball.
5. Strawberry.
6. The pear grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the whole growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.
7. Dwarf, dwell, and dwindle.
8. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.
9. In Minnesota. The team was originally known as the Minneapolis Lakers and kept the name when they moved west.
10. Batter hit by a pitch; passed ball; catcher interference; catcher drops third strike; fielder's choice; and being designated as a pinch runner.
11. Lettuce.
12. Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, snowshoes, stockings.
...Well, now you know! Feel any smarter?
News Just In On RotK
Here's what Penny Arcade has to say about Return Of The King...
You may be wondering whether or not this is a good movie. You want to know if the hopes you have invested in it will be dashed, your good heart trampled as it was when you left Episode One - gasping at the naked contempt displayed by George Lucas.
I predict that you will be knocked clean on your ass, in the absence of mercy, pounded by raw craft and quality for the film's over three hour duration. I liked Two Towers well enough, preferred Fellowship, you know, but it'll do. It was better than jabbing your hand into a box of used medical sharps. Return of the King, by comparison, is every element executed with laser-guided precision. At one point, I covered my gaping mouth with the Hordes of the Underdark manual. Yes, I brought it. I'm sort of a big dork, maybe nobody told you.
Read it for yourself here, if you must, but that's really all the review there is. I mainly wanted to post it 'cos of the description of Episode One.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Rewriting History
One of the things that really annoys me is the manner in which certain vested interests in the community have a habit accepted by everyone else as the norm, of rewriting history to serve their own purposes. Anyone who's studied Australian history over the last 6-8 years would have seen this activity in practice with what has been labeled the black armband of history being applied to Australia's past, whether warranted or not.In the last year or so however, there has been no more blatant an attempt to rewrite history by the bleeding heart loony left (you know - the ones who still can't get over the fact that the communists lost) than the whining that surrounds Australia's dealing with so-called refugees arriving on Australia's shores. Probably the worst example of this rewriting, surrounds that of the Tampa affair. You know the one - where a Norwegian container ship came across a sinking ferry which had departed from Indonesia in an attempt to illegally reach the Australian mainland. And when told that they would be returned to the Merak, the port they had departed from, while the Tampa continued on its journey to Singapore, became quite "angry" towards a crew they outnumbers by over 10 to 1.
Now, you get the likes of David Marr and Marian Wilkinson in their book Dark Victory (with a title like that - you know they're not pushing an agenda....) carrying on like pork chops about how terrible the Australian government is to these poor innocent people just because the Government wants to (Shock! Horror!) protect the sovereignty of it's borders. What you won't see however, are people like this bothering to deal with the difficult question of whether these people are actually refugees or not. Why bother to confront the difficult questions when you can get all emotional instead (Won't somebody think of the children!!!).
As Alexander Casella points out in this excellent review of their book,
"Second, the right to flee persecution does not entitle a refugee to choose his country of asylum freely. Once a refugee has reached safety, further movement to other countries is no longer covered under the asylum umbrella. If such movement occurs, it is defined as "secondary movement", that is to say, movement for the sake of convenience and not to flee persecution. In other words, it is the movement of refugees who already have asylum and are thus in no danger from persecution, as opposed to the flight of those for whom it is an imperative necessity."Wow. And I always thought it was just pure luck that meant that those boat people arriving in Australia from the middle east got here by pure luck rather than by bypassing the thirty-odd countries that lie between their homeland and here.
Another issues which the whining lefties never deal with is also pointed out by Casella.
"Thus Australian law provides for automatic detention for anyone entering the country illegally. On an annual basis, Australia has a quota of some 12.000 resettlement slots for refugees, divided into "offshore" and "inshore". "Offshore" includes refugees who are accepted from abroad, namely either from refugee camps or people in pressing need of asylum. "Inshore" includes two categories; the first is composed of people who have entered Australia legally and who have made an asylum request during the validity of their visa. Such cases are generally given bridging visas while their application is being assessed and are accepted for resettlement if recognized as refugees.So...does that mean that for every queue jumper that is allowed to stay in Australia, a genuine refugee who wasn't able to pay the $5 000 per person to people smugglers to get them to Australia is forced to miss out? That sucks. But then again, those people waiting in refugee camps somewhere overseas, don't provide anywhere near as good a photo opportunity or political mileage as those who are detained attempting to illegally enter Australia do they?
The second includes people who have arrived illegally, are consequently detained, and have made an asylum request while in detention. Such cases, if recognized as refugees needing asylum, are subsequently released and accepted for resettlement.
The system hinges on the fact that for every "inshore" case accepted, there is, within the annual quota, one "offshore" slot less for a refugee in dire need of assistance. "
Of course, if those people who where so interested in seeing the right thing done would focus their efforts on those who actuality deserved their help rather than those who provided the prettiest pictures for the Australian media, they might actually get some good work done. But I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen....
And that's another thing, I'm sick and tired of seeing bullshit sob stories from the Australian Bolshevik's Collective (Your ABC - not if you're a white heterosexual mainstream Australian it's not....) about those people who have been denied entry to Australia as refugees - because they're found to not be refugees (see that whole thing about secondary movement) committing self-harm to themselves because they're not getting their way. People who are willing to commit acts of premeditated politically motivated violence and themselves and others in order to force a Government to change it's policies are just the sort of stable well-meaning citizens who can contribute to a healthy society aren't they.....
Hang on..... acts of premeditated politically motivated violence. Sounds awfully familiar doesn't it. Let me see here
The Intelligence Community is guided by the definition of terrorism contained in Title 22 of the US Code, Section 2656f(d):Food for thought isn't it...
—The term “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.
—The term “international terrorism” means terrorism involving the territory or the citizens of more than one country.
—The term “terrorist group” means any group that practices, or has significant subgroups that practice, international terrorism.
This rant was brought to you by the letters F for frustration, L for left wing and B for bastards. I now return you to the usual humerous but inane postings from myself.
Monday, December 15, 2003
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Whoop!!!
NEWS.com.au | Gotcha: US captures Saddam (December 15, 2003) - to quote Bill Lawry - "Got 'im! Yes!!!!"
And the reaction of the Iraqi people to this?
Trapped in a cellar, Saddam dug a hole and buried himself as U.S. soldiers moved into the house where he was hiding, an Iraqi official said Sunday.
"The American soldiers had to use shovels to dig him out," Entifadh Qanbar, spokesman for Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi, told The Associated Press.
Qanbar, basing his account on reports from members of the U.S.-led occupation authority, said Saddam had a salt-and-pepper beard when he was captured. Soldiers photographed him, shaved the beard and photographed him again before running DNA tests, he said.
"The DNA test confirmed 100 percent Saddam Hussein's identity," he said.
More here
And the reaction of the Iraqi people to this?
NEWS.com.au | Hungry elephants hijack sugar trucks (December 7, 2003) - the moral of this story? Don't mess with Elephants when they're after the sweet goodness.
When Shitty B-Grade Movies Get Something Right
Slasher movies. I'm not a big fan of the genre. I have better things to do than watch a number of oh-so-pretty people do stupid shit that means a 'psychotic' killer will kill them in a number of semi-creative ways. (Honestly, in some slasher movies, the killer's probably the only sane one in a world gone mad. But I digress.) But the one thing that really narks me about slasher movies is the assumption that being a psychotic serial killer somehow endows someone with immense physical prowess.
The act of donning a mask (it's usually a mask), a long-flowing jacket (or in the case of Scream, a robe kinda thing) and carrying a big knife somehow means you can move faster than people can see, you can wrestle anyone into submission (before you stab 'em, natch) or climb things that really shouldn't be climbable. Which is a genre convention I find immensely difficult to swallow.
Now, there was a slasher movie called 'Wishcraft' on cable last night, and it was playing in the background at work. Near as I could tell, it was about a kid who received a mysterious totem thingy in the mail, with a note attached saying it granted him three wishes. So he wished to go out with a cheerleader at his high school... the same time a psychotic killer starts murdering high school kids around the place. Who is incredibly strong, can get into stupidly inaccessible places without anyone noticing, so on and so forth.
And when the denoument comes, the psychotic killer is the one who sent the kid the box - and has already used his wishes to get his superpowers. And I was really impressed that the premise meant the psychotic killer could be the usual stupidly unbelievable 'psycho' actually made sense to act like he was!
So while it was nothing more than a slasher movie with a little extra hint of morality tale, I still enjoyed what I saw of it. And seeing the slasher, after stabbing a random victim, pulling out a full-on sword was a refreshing change as well. :)
Just thought I'd say.
Friday, December 12, 2003
What Makes Life 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%.
How about achieving 103%? Here's a little math that might prove helpful.
What makes life 100%?
If
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented
as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then,
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98%
K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96%
But,
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100%
And,
B U L L S H I T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%
So, it stands to reason that hardwork and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, but bullshit will put you over the top.
And look how far .........
A S S K I S S I N G
1 19 19 11 9 19 19 9 14 7 = 118%
will take you.
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%.
How about achieving 103%? Here's a little math that might prove helpful.
What makes life 100%?
If
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented
as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then,
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98%
K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96%
But,
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100%
And,
B U L L S H I T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%
So, it stands to reason that hardwork and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, but bullshit will put you over the top.
And look how far .........
A S S K I S S I N G
1 19 19 11 9 19 19 9 14 7 = 118%
will take you.
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Moi
| Your Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score | ||
| Category | Your Score | Average |
| Hacklust | 37.74% Has conversations in between massacres | 53.3% |
| Sensitive Roleplaying | 63.29% Will talk after everyone important's been killed | 54% |
| GM Experience | 71.01% Ran a module once or twice | 69.1% |
| Systems Knowledge | 90.25% Played in a couple of campaigns | 90.1% |
| Livin' La Vida Dorka | 40.23% Has interesting conversations in public | 62.8% |
| You are 64.07% pure Average Score: 68.4% | ||
Looked high and low for the "sets up simple straight-foreward two hour adventure and watches in horror as PC's career not only off the beaten path but into the orbit of a planet three dimensions away", but alas it wasn't there...
It Had To Happen.
| Your Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score | ||
| Category | Your Score | Average |
| Hacklust | 44.34% Will kill for XP | 53.3% |
| Sensitive Roleplaying | 50.63% "But what's my motivation for this scene?" | 54% |
| GM Experience | 56.52% Puts the players through the wringer | 69.1% |
| Systems Knowledge | 82.49% Played in a couple of campaigns | 90.1% |
| Livin' La Vida Dorka | 49.43% Has interesting conversations in public | 62.8% |
| You are 59.35% pure Average Score: 68.4% | ||
"Puts players through the wringer." Hah. As if.
Monday, December 08, 2003
Sunday, December 07, 2003
Stupid, Stupid Judge.
OK, It might sound like I'm just bashing the legal system more but...
Though I don't know all the facts it appears to me there's a judge out there who is seriosly in need of an ass kicking, and for once I'm tempted to do it. I am not a violent person by nature, but this twit is obviosly a moron and has allready given me a wy out of any charges.... suply me with alcohol.
For those not up to date with current affairs during the week just gone a man was aquitted of the crime of indesent dealings (I don't know exactly what he did nor do I realy want to) with an ELEVEN (11) year old girl, as he was found to be too drunk to be considered responsible for his actions. I don't think I need dwell on this level of stupidity, how can such a concept be justified. I feel stupider just for hearing it actualy happend.
Now that the precident has been set (and IMHO at least 100 years of legal system and evolution have gone down the drain) I would like to know if a: those seeking retribution for the crime can do so if they get significantly drunk at the time and get off sighting precidence, and, b: can you still be done for drink driving ("Sorry officer but I wouldn't be drink driving if I wasn't so drunk").
So for the first time I think we have a winner for the (drum roll..........) "Rappo's Asshole of the Week Award". This week it goes to the idiot judge who let such a defence stand (unsure of the twits name), lets all hope the moron gets punched in the face realy hard by a drunk guy who gets off on the precident they set.
(No, realy I want to know if I can sight this and get off criminal charges, think of all the dunken fun that could be had- mwahhahahahahahahahahahaha - lets go start a riot in the Queen St mall, maybe even do some cristmas "shopping" - AKA looting)
OK, It might sound like I'm just bashing the legal system more but...
Though I don't know all the facts it appears to me there's a judge out there who is seriosly in need of an ass kicking, and for once I'm tempted to do it. I am not a violent person by nature, but this twit is obviosly a moron and has allready given me a wy out of any charges.... suply me with alcohol.
For those not up to date with current affairs during the week just gone a man was aquitted of the crime of indesent dealings (I don't know exactly what he did nor do I realy want to) with an ELEVEN (11) year old girl, as he was found to be too drunk to be considered responsible for his actions. I don't think I need dwell on this level of stupidity, how can such a concept be justified. I feel stupider just for hearing it actualy happend.
Now that the precident has been set (and IMHO at least 100 years of legal system and evolution have gone down the drain) I would like to know if a: those seeking retribution for the crime can do so if they get significantly drunk at the time and get off sighting precidence, and, b: can you still be done for drink driving ("Sorry officer but I wouldn't be drink driving if I wasn't so drunk").
So for the first time I think we have a winner for the (drum roll..........) "Rappo's Asshole of the Week Award". This week it goes to the idiot judge who let such a defence stand (unsure of the twits name), lets all hope the moron gets punched in the face realy hard by a drunk guy who gets off on the precident they set.
(No, realy I want to know if I can sight this and get off criminal charges, think of all the dunken fun that could be had- mwahhahahahahahahahahahaha - lets go start a riot in the Queen St mall, maybe even do some cristmas "shopping" - AKA looting)
What Does Spike Jonze Really Think?
Check out An Interview with Spike Jonze.
And remember. The camera's rolling.
Have You Ever...
Have you ever found yourself coming up with a quip you're really proud of but never get a chance to say because the leading question is never asked?
I just had one of those moments...
James A: yep - this is Boxing Day release - am thinking we have to make it third year in a row :)
also - are you interested in trying to find out if/where the Extended Editions are being shown on the big screen?
Josh: Uh.... mildly... but I don't fancy spending eight hours watching them all in a cinema....
So, naturally, I was waiting for him to question me... ideally, along the lines of "Why would you want to know if you don't want to watch them?"
So I could off-handedly reply, "So I can say, 'Oh, by the way, they're showing the Extended Editions on the big screen at [fill in the blank]' and make all the ladies swoon with my geeky knowledge."
But, of course, he never did, so now instead of an amusing remark, that line now stands as testament to the world that I think way too much about some things. Oh, and that I'm a very sad person.
Go on, shoo. Chortle to yourself about how superior you are. See if I care. Mongrel.
Saturday, December 06, 2003
The ACCC are definently the good guys, even if they can't get that judges head out of his own ass
Ok, for those who don't know it is now illegal in australia to have a mod chip installed in you playstation as the previos rulling (were the ACCC kicked sony out of court) has now been overturned. Our legal system sucks. Now though it is true that modchips allow the use of illegaly copied games, they also allow the use of imported games, as sony - being the evil pricks they are - have region coding in they're games, ever since the original Playstation. I am actually fairly sure they came up with the system, which has now been adopted by the film industry for DVDs. Now I am of course a big fan of the Playstion and PS2 but I still think sony are being evil pricks. Mandatory quote time the following snippets are from the Australian Financial Review article ACCC attacks Sony victory.
"The ACCC believes region coding is detrimental to consumers as it severely limits their choice and, in some cases, access to competitively priced goods,"
The "chipping" case also attracted the attention of the Office of the US Trade Representative earlier this year. In March, it noted the US motion picture industry was "increasingly concerned" about Australian law at that time as it allowed the legal modification of DVD players in Australia.
According to legal sources, Sony's victory might mean the modification of DVD players is now also illegal.
Fun Fun fun. So there we have it. Now correct me if I'm wrong but we do have laws against anti-comptitive behavior don't we?? Also if you can't chip a PS2 or PS1, you can't play backup's of original games you own, and I mean BACKUP's, not Illegal copies. Form an article on ZNET sony have told us we do not have the right to backup the software they produce, this seems a bit rude to me, as I'm sure if a disk got dammaged they wouldn't replace it, we've seen that before with DVD's that suffer for DVD rot. The maufacturer will not replace the defective media, and I'm sure sony wouldn't either.
Parallel importing of music was a great thing as it did drop prices, but while Region coding exists, it's not plausable for either for PS1/PS2 or DVD.
What I would like to see about now is a consumer group attempt to sue Sony or force them to produce Pre-chipped PS1/PS2's (even if they stick with no backups, removing the region coding would be good). Now in my oppinion, a attack like this sould win, as it otherwise would be anti-competitive. Once this is done we could send a consumer group against the film industry to deal with the DVD regioning.
The case was given to sony as their region coding also prevents piracy as it creates a barrier to useing illegal copies. I think it is important to note that such resoning could also be used to remove CD and DVD burners form the shelves. Backups can be created on tape, large files could be moved on thumb drives. Only certain regestereg companys would be allowed to own or use burners, you bring in the thumb drive(s) or tape and they produce a CD or DVD for you. Obviosly this would be stupid, but it is possible as if you couldn't use a DVD or CD burner you couldn't create an illegal copy of any sortware. Somethings gotta break, and I'm voting for Sony, followed by the film industry (run by Americans, I think).
If you want a good laugh check out The Best Page In The Universe
Ok, for those who don't know it is now illegal in australia to have a mod chip installed in you playstation as the previos rulling (were the ACCC kicked sony out of court) has now been overturned. Our legal system sucks. Now though it is true that modchips allow the use of illegaly copied games, they also allow the use of imported games, as sony - being the evil pricks they are - have region coding in they're games, ever since the original Playstation. I am actually fairly sure they came up with the system, which has now been adopted by the film industry for DVDs. Now I am of course a big fan of the Playstion and PS2 but I still think sony are being evil pricks. Mandatory quote time the following snippets are from the Australian Financial Review article ACCC attacks Sony victory.
"The ACCC believes region coding is detrimental to consumers as it severely limits their choice and, in some cases, access to competitively priced goods,"
The "chipping" case also attracted the attention of the Office of the US Trade Representative earlier this year. In March, it noted the US motion picture industry was "increasingly concerned" about Australian law at that time as it allowed the legal modification of DVD players in Australia.
According to legal sources, Sony's victory might mean the modification of DVD players is now also illegal.
Fun Fun fun. So there we have it. Now correct me if I'm wrong but we do have laws against anti-comptitive behavior don't we?? Also if you can't chip a PS2 or PS1, you can't play backup's of original games you own, and I mean BACKUP's, not Illegal copies. Form an article on ZNET sony have told us we do not have the right to backup the software they produce, this seems a bit rude to me, as I'm sure if a disk got dammaged they wouldn't replace it, we've seen that before with DVD's that suffer for DVD rot. The maufacturer will not replace the defective media, and I'm sure sony wouldn't either.
Parallel importing of music was a great thing as it did drop prices, but while Region coding exists, it's not plausable for either for PS1/PS2 or DVD.
What I would like to see about now is a consumer group attempt to sue Sony or force them to produce Pre-chipped PS1/PS2's (even if they stick with no backups, removing the region coding would be good). Now in my oppinion, a attack like this sould win, as it otherwise would be anti-competitive. Once this is done we could send a consumer group against the film industry to deal with the DVD regioning.
The case was given to sony as their region coding also prevents piracy as it creates a barrier to useing illegal copies. I think it is important to note that such resoning could also be used to remove CD and DVD burners form the shelves. Backups can be created on tape, large files could be moved on thumb drives. Only certain regestereg companys would be allowed to own or use burners, you bring in the thumb drive(s) or tape and they produce a CD or DVD for you. Obviosly this would be stupid, but it is possible as if you couldn't use a DVD or CD burner you couldn't create an illegal copy of any sortware. Somethings gotta break, and I'm voting for Sony, followed by the film industry (run by Americans, I think).
If you want a good laugh check out The Best Page In The Universe
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Monday, December 01, 2003
Anal
No folks, I'm not here to talk about sex, but rather to describe the way some people act when it comes to critiquing movies. And there's no more anal a web-site to find such critiques that moviemistakes.com.Now, when you combine this retentive hobby of picking on all the minor (and sometimes major) errors and mishaps that occur in a film, with the fanatical analysis movies like the two (released so far) LOTR movies, you have the possibility of witnessing some very scary occurrences. However, all is not as bad as you might think. Witness Peter Jackson taking on the mistakes pointed out and explaining what happened.
Are you a bright?
Australia is nowhere near as hypocritical about religious tolerance as America is, but it's an interesting article, nonetheless (as well as being an interesting experiment!)Sunday, November 30, 2003
Saturday, November 29, 2003
Way To Break The News
Well, I was over in Shoppingtown the other day, when I ran into someone I used to work with at Mobil. I mean, not really work with, 'cos she was morning shift and I was afternoon/night, but we'd see each other most days and have the occasional chat.
So she was smiling broadly (she always does that) while telling me how her life had been going in the eighteen months since Mobil. She'd gotten married, she'd had a baby, and her husband had killed himself.
Now, I'd actually met the guy - he was a courier who'd drop by the servo, which I guess is how they'd met - and he didn't strike me as the killing-himself type. She was still grinning, and I wasn't sure if she was joking.
Nope, she wasn't. He really had.
I guess when people break news like that, they ought to give some sort of hint that it's kind of a bad thing. But she grinned away, so I had to take the plunge. It's not the first time this has happened to me, either - there was a time at uni when I ran into a couple of guys from high school who told me someone I couldn't stand had killed himself. One of them was grinning at me. I wasn't sure if they were having me on, at first, but they weren't.
I guess what I'm saying is - PLEASE DON'T GRIN AT ME WHEN TELLING ME ABOUT SOMEONE HAVING COMMITTED SUICIDE. I'm starting to get sick of it!
Friday, November 28, 2003
 Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago. -- Bernard Berenson Go Dave: DAVE'S BURNING OVER PARIS DAVID Letterman is seething after Paris Hilton's publicist convinced her to cancel a hotly anticipated appearance this week on Letterman's show. "The reason she canceled, she hired a publicist, this no-good, beady-eyed, weasel thug putz, publicist got ahold of her and forced her to cancel her appearance," Letterman raged. "I'm telling you, this guy is really lower than pond scum. This guy is, you know live bait? This guy is dead bait. You couldn't be oilier than this guy." Is Linux Desktop-Ready Yet...or Not? I had only two criteria: 1. My DVD player needed to work 2. My SMC 802.11g card needed to work Well folks, I can report that Linux is as useless on an off-the-shelf laptop as it was six months ago. Bombing Anywhere On Earth In Less Than Two Hours The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Air Force share a vision of a new transformational capability that aims to provide a means of delivering a substantial payload from within the continental United States (CONUS) to anywhere on Earth in less than two hours High-tech passport unveiled A NEW high-security passports featuring "floating" kangaroos and other anti-tampering technology said to help foil terrorists, people smugglers and other criminals, has been unveiled by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Tot locks up mum to watch TV TO have the television all to herself, a two-year-old girl in southwest Germany locked her mother in a bedroom, police said. Women inmates get paid makeover TAXPAYER are footing the bill for Christmas makeovers for a group of female Northern Territory prisoners, it was claimed last night.
|
Remember, if You Panic, You're Only Helpling The Zombies
Check out this Java zombie simulator. It provides a nice aerial view of a city under a zombie attack. Given that there's no plucky band of heroes - or even just Ash - to stop 'em, they'll take over the entire place as you watch, unless the city draws a populated box with no way in or out, like it sometimes does.
And apparently, when zombies have no-one to infect, they just tend to stand around in groups. Typical.
Something I just had to blog...
Apparently, this is a clip for a Chemical Brothers track. Not some of their best work, but I kind of like the clip.
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation. -- Kin Hubbard I, Cringely: Digital Hubris: Apple's Tablet Computer Might Finally Be That Link Between Your PC and TV Source Claims SCO Will Sue Google A source claiming to be in the know says that the SCO Group is going to sue Google for not paying its Linux taxes. SCO builds BSD case with GNU/Linux users SCO has outlined its grievances with BSD code and says it plans to take this up with end users, rather than focus on determining who was responsible for allowing the code to slip into the Linux kernel. Spray-on contraceptive A SPRAY-ON alternative to the contraceptive pill has been developed by Australian scientists. Want to try the 'Orgasmatron'? US doctors are casting around for female volunteers to test an 'Orgasmatron', an implanted device that will trigger instant ecstasy, the weekly British magazine New Scientist reports in next Saturday's issue. Man Suspected Of Selling Explosives To Children MODESTO, Calif. -- The man suspected of selling old sticks of dynamite to children in a Modesto neighborhood has turned himself into authorities, but his girlfriend says he didn't do anything illegal. Chips are down for McDonald's Fast food corporation McDonald's has been rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for a campaign that trumpeted the brilliant simplicity of their recipe for fries -- the humble potato and nothing else. Woman Allegedly Charges $36,000 On Dead Man's Card A woman in Deland, Fla., was arrested for allegedly charging thousands of dollars worth of items on a deceased elderly man's bank card, according to Local 6 News.
|
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power. -- David Brin The Wall of Fame Meet the real star of Lord of the Rings - a 1,600-box server farm.  New Twists on the Milky Way's Big Black Hole The supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy is heftier than thought and rotates at an amazing clip, new research shows. NASA, Air Force Achieve Key Milestones On New Engine NASA, the U.S Air Force and two prime aerospace contractors have successfully completed testing of two key rocket engine components — critical milestones in the development of innovative engine systems that could, within decades, power a new generation of American space launch vehicles  When Cash Is Only Skin Deep A Florida company has announced plans to develop a service that would allow consumers to pay for merchandise using microchips implanted under their skin. Preparations Underway For The Soyuz Launch Of AMOS-2 The AMOS-2 broadcasting and communications satellite is undergoing final checkout at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in preparation for its launch on a Starsem Soyuz-Fregat vehicle next month.  Prospects Brighten For Future Superconductor Power Cables New research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) suggests that next-generation, high-temperature superconductor (HTS) wire can withstand more mechanical strain than originally thought. As a result, superconductor power cables employing this future wire may be used for transmission grid applications.  US passes anti-spam bill The US Congress has approved the first law aimed at stemming the flood of unsolicited email - spam - into the inboxes of computer users. The "Yes, You Can Spam" Act of 2003 I've been taking a look at the "CAN-SPAM" Act that Congress now appears set to pass, and it is nothing but trouble. It's clear that only the Direct Marketing Association, Microsoft, AOL and a handful of others had any input into the law, because it's carefully crafted to allow the big marketers free reign. And the loopholes it provides them will be more than big enough to provide aid and comfort for the smallest and sleaziest of spammers as well. Turkey and Gravy 'in a bottle' A NEW Turkey and Gravy Soda tastes, well, pretty much like you would imagine. But that's not stopping people from buying it. GM fluoro fish earn their stripes THEY look like any other zebra fish - until you put an ultraviolet light next to their tank and they glow brightly. Rembrandt found in rubbish A TINY Rembrandt print worth around STG800 pounds ($1900) is to be auctioned after it was found in a box of trash in a charity shop.  Man 'hasn't eaten' for 68 years AN Indian man who claims divine inspiration says he has survived 68 years without eating, drinking or relieving himself, baffling doctors who are unable to prove him an imposter. 
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)