Zappa and Witches

A couple of nights back I was re-reading parts of The Real Frank Zappa Book, an autobiography by Frank Zappa. One chapter in particular called Porn Wars was in reference to his battle with the PMRC – anyone remember them?

For a quick reference the PMRC was an organization that was tax exempt and had no members, only founders. It was primarily a group of women, mostly wives of government officials. Tipper Gore, wife of Al Gore was the lead spokesperson of the whole deal and Al Gore supported the actions and even ran the hearings on the issues.

What were the issues? Mainly that rock music (and apparently only rock music was singled out) offended these Christians and so they were trying to first get it banned outright and then to get it labeled as “dangerous.”

A clear affront to our civil liberties and just another witch hunt. But it got very serious and fortunately we had people like Zappa fighting for our rights. I always thought of Zappa as a bit of liberal, but as the definition has shifted some he would probably be considered more of a libertarian.

One phrase in the chapter in particular cracked me up – “…it was about some leather weasel getting cornholed.” Classic Zappa.

But as we all know, the music industry capitulated on this affront and you now have nice little parental advisory warnings on your media. At the end of the chapter Zappa asks “will the artists ever get back in control?”

And this is the point of my post –

This book was written in 1988. Zappa passed away in 1993, just five years later. He never saw the “media revolution” and couldn’t have imaged what we take for granted today.

Due to the advent of MP3s (and other digital formats) and the explosive growth of the Internet I would say that artists have, indeed, regained some control. They (artists) are no longer beholden to conglomerate record companies pulling all the strings. They have their own web sites, their own recording studios, and there is no need to burn CDs anymore - You can distribute everything across the net. I think Zappa would have liked it.

Until the next witch hunt begins and they start enforcing people to putting labels on their web site we are probably OK for a while.

Kill off All My Demons, and my Angels Might Die, Too

Expensive Watches

In the latest edition of Forbes Life magazine there is an article entitle Finishing Touches in which the author asks the question "What's the difference between a $500 watch and a $50,000 one?"

While I wouldn't even spend $500 on a watch, the old saying "a fool and his money are soon parted" comes to mind.....

Moving Closer to Fascism

Have you heard the latest in the war on free speech? It’s fairly well known, but often ignored, that the Obama administration has used it’s considerable power and weight to bear down on those who oppose “the one” to suppress negative opinions about him. This occurred during his campaign, and is still occurring during the healthcare debates.

But most shockingly to me, Obama and his administration recently jointly proposed and helped pass an outright anti-free speech bill into the UN HRC. Go read about it. The HRC is mostly comprised of countries that have a horrible history of human rights practices and is predominantly lead by an Islamic counsel.

In short…

The new resolution, championed by the Obama administration, has a number of disturbing elements. It emphasizes that "the exercise of the right to freedom of expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities . . ." which include taking action against anything meeting the description of "negative racial and religious stereotyping." It also purports to "recognize . . . the moral and social responsibilities of the media" and supports "the media's elaboration of voluntary codes of professional ethical conduct" in relation to "combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance."

and...

The OIC’s resolution would ban outright the “defaming” of religions, speech critical of religion (even if accurate), and open discussion about any negative consequences resulting from the implementation of religious beliefs (such as Sharia law).

Folks….this is at the very heart of what free speech is meant to protect. That you or I can have and voice a difference of opinion. That we may question the status quo or the actions of our fellow man. These laws are thin disguises, at best, to stifle criticism and alternative points of view. It’s amazing to me that the U.S. has backed this type of bill while people in European countries are being jailed (or worse) for criticizing Islam, Mohamed, or the Quran.

Thinly disguised blasphemy laws are often defended as necessary to protect the ideals of tolerance and pluralism. They ignore the fact that the laws achieve tolerance through the ultimate act of intolerance: criminalizing the ability of some individuals to denounce sacred or sensitive values. We do not need free speech to protect popular thoughts or popular people. It is designed to protect those who challenge the majority and its institutions. Criticism of religion is the very measure of the guarantee of free speech — the literal sacred institution of society.

Where are the liberals and leftists screaming about people’s rights?

And if that is not enough, the Obama administration is now ordering pay cuts of executives for companies that have been bailed out – this is after they have already been bailed out, not before – when the government would actually have some authority to dictate terms of the loans.

And let’s not forget that while the government is taking control of the auto industry, and the banks, they are still seeking to gain control over yours, and mine, health insurance and medical plans.

What’s amazing to me is that the majority (?) of the American people seem to be going along with this. The debate shouldn’t be “how do we do it,” but is it even constitutional in the first place? The answer in most, if not all cases, is a fairly clear and resounding “no.” The constitution specifically grants certain and enumerated powers to the federal government and anti-speech laws, taking over private institutions, bailing companies out, dictating salary structures, and taking over healthcare isn’t there.

We’ve gotten so angry at what the government has done (bailing companies out) and how the companies have responded (continuing to blow the money) that we are loosing sight of the real issues. We are allowing our freedoms to be eroded and for the government to continue to gain footholds into every aspect of our lives.

People, somewhat rightfully, were upset at the Bush administration and it’s expansion of government power and shunning of civil liberties. Others, were quick to call the Bush administration a bunch of fascists, yet what that administration did pales in comparison to the encroachment of the Obama administration.

My father often compares what is happening, right now, to what happened prior to WWII as Hitler took over. The “game plan,” if you will, is roughly the same. It’s not hard to see the parallels between how Hitler came to power and the Nazi’s eviscerated human rights and the path the U.S. is on.

The Constitution Exists

Last weekend my g/f and I decided to take a couple of days off, have a long weekend and get out of town for a few days. We decided to go to Baltimore and D.C.

As I said there wasn’t any particular reason, just to get away and go somewhere else. Perhaps we’d get some good food and fall colors along the way. We got flights on the cheap (about $215 round-trip) and most of our hotels were paid for with travel points – hey, sometimes it’s nice to have to travel for work!

Since we both work from home we have flexible schedules. We left on a Wed night so I didn’t have to take a day off to get there. We also came home Monday night, which allowed me to work from D.C. that day and again, not have to take a day off for travel.

Once we got to Baltimore it was raining. It pretty much rained the whole time. I don’t mean it started and stopped the whole time, I mean it freaking rained the whole time. I think Sunday was the only day we got any relief from the rain. It also didn’t get above 50, but all of that was fine with us because we both love the rain and cooler weather.

Of course, the leaves were starting to turn so there were some beautiful colors to be seen in the trees, especially the maples.

We spent the first two days hanging out on the Inner Harbor. Free shuttle rides from the hotel and the occasional taxi got us everywhere we needed to be. As I said it was raining but it wasn’t so bad. My g/f was smart enough to bring and umbrella so we were able to keep most of the rain off of us.

We checked out the U.S.S. Constellation, which is still in the restoration process but you can check out the whole ship and it really makes you think about what life was like before HVAC, electricity and running water – all of the things we consider the staples of life in the USA today.

We also checked out the U.S.S. Torsk – that was cool, but not as cool as the U.S.S. Constellation. The Torks was more of a walk-through and see some stuff. You couldn’t get to certain parts of the sub and there wasn’t much hanging around to tell you what all the stuff was. I knew a little about diesel subs from reading books so I could explain the basics, but we were on from there.

We also hit the aquarium and I have to say it’s one of the largest and nicest aquariums I’ve ever been to. They have excellent displays and atriums depending on where you are in one of the buildings (they are interconnected and one ticket gets you all-access).

One of those nights we ended up in Canton Square at a place called Mama’s On the Half Shell. This was a most excellent place to dine. Wonderful food and a cozy atmosphere that lacked the touristy personality so many of the places seemed to have. In other words, it was just about perfect and I’d highly recommend that you go there to eat if you are in the area. One word of warning, the food is pretty rich and you can quickly end up with an upset stomach even if you are used to eating rich foods.

Next, it was a train ride into D.C. where we spent the rest of our time. My friends that I met in Montana now live in West Virginia and were able to drive in for a night and my g/f’s friend who lives in D.C. was also able to meet us. We had dinner at Restaurant Nora, which is the first certified organic restaurant in the U.S.

The had “happy beef,” and “happy chickens” as well as organic vegetables. The prices were a tad expensive, but the quality of the food was excellent. Everyone enjoyed their meal and nobody complained about the price. I would say it is easily comparable to any other place that is pricey, except you get all organic food. It was also nice to see some of our friends which we hadn’t seen in a while.

Over the two days that we were there we must have walked about 12 ~ 15 miles. That doesn’t include the public transportation and taxis we took a few times. There is just that much to see and do once you are in D.C. Most of the stuff is right there on the mall with the museums and monuments.

We ducked inside the Smithsonian museum of Natural History and checked out a few things but it was so packed we decided to leave. If you had a week you could spend the entire week in that one museum for 8 hours a day – and there were three other Smithsonian museums!!

We walked to the capitol building, but didn’t go inside. Apparently they “whisk” you through there and you can’t see any cool stuff since congress is in session – what is the point? But we were some of the die-hards that stood there in the chilly rain and took photos anyway. “Ahhh….here is where it all gets fucked up,” I said – which pretty much won me an unfavorable glance from my g/f. J

We also saw the Lincoln memorial – twice. Once during the day and once at night. I highly recommend you check it out at night. They did an excellent job lighting it and the difference between the two is like….well….night and day. It’s an excellent monument and you can’t get a feel for how big it is until you walk inside. Pictures just don’t do it justice.

The WWII monument and the Vietnam Wall were also both pretty amazing, but in completely different ways. It’s a pleasure to see that we still pay homage to the people who have fought and died for our country.

One of my favorite highlights was the National Archives and getting to see the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. I won’t bore you with details as you can go read about that somewhere else but there were a few things that I really liked about the display:

1) you can get right up on the displays and take all the time you want. As long as you don’t touch the glass, you can lean on the frames and put your nose almost on the glass to see the documents which are just a few inches underneath.

2) Some of the documents were originals and some were copies – the specific pages are rotated in and out as to help reduce the deteriorating effect of light on the pages. No flash photography and it’s fairly dim in the room

3) Other documents were on display, such as the drafts of the Bill of Rights or the Constitution – in some ways these were more fascinating that the final drafts as you could see the mark-ups, scratch-outs, linear notes and all kinds of things that went into drafting the final documents.

The Constitutions is in fairly good shape, but the Declaration of Independence is so decayed that you can barely make any of it out. Not surprisingly, John Hancock’s signature still stands out and is still legible. So I can tell you that, believe it or not, there is still a Constitution – it’s shredded and in a waste basket, but you can still see it.

Also on display is one of the remaining Magna Carter documents. It’s the only one that resides in the U.S. and, if you are not aware, represents about 700 years of English common law that was used as a basis for our Constitution.

Stops at the white house were mandatory and as much as I tried to get a quick meeting with Obama to straighten his ass out, the secret service would have none of it. The view is much better from the rear than the front, but you get a lot closer to the front. There was some old lady that had been out there in a plastic tent protesting the use of nuclear weapons – since 1982 or something. I think she also hadn’t seen a dentist since 1982 as most of her teeth were missing and she was very difficult to understand. No other crazy nutbags were out there, but my g/f tells me used to see them all the time.

A police officer (no I was NOT in trouble) told us to hit a bar on 15th street called Old Ebbitt Grill. This was a great place. It had a beautiful bar and warm atmosphere. We didn’t eat, but checked out the oyster appetizer menu as well as the regular menu. It would be easy to see “backroom” meetings happening here during the wee hours of the morning over a nice single-malt scotch or aged whiskey.

Oh, and I mentioned it was raining right? On the first day in D.C. when we hit the National Mall they were giving away free umbrellas. We already had one so I turned it down and we kept sharing the one we had. It was a travel umbrella so it wasn’t that big but it worked well enough. However, me being a complete dumb-ass, I left it at one of the bars we stopped at to have a drink. No umbrella and it was raining. We got completely soaked, but it was still fun even if I was kind of in the dog-house over it.

I figured by the time you added up all the tips, taxis, and metro rail stations we still made out far better than renting a car and paying for parking in either Baltimore or D.C. So if you go, try the transportation.

All in all, a good trip and a nice weekend getaway. Someone asked me why I would go so far away. Considering that airline tickets were fairly cheap, my truck only gets about 13+ mpg on a good day, and our hotels were practically free I said it cost about the same amount of time and money to go there than it would be to drive somewhere in Texas.

Lost my Ketchup!

It was in the fridge last time I looked for it. A big bottle. Too big to fit in the door, actually. But today I looked in the fridge and I couldn't find it. I have no idea where it went. It's just gone....

Maybe I need an iPhone

Or a notepad might work just as well. As usual, I go for long periods without writing anything on the blog. It’s not that I don’t have ideas. I have tons of ideas. Maybe too many ideas. But inevitably I feel like it’s too overwhelming to actually write about them. I don’t know if that’s because it’s too much at once, or I am just tired, or not motivated.

I’ve been putting a lot of time into my own website project that is so close to going online I can taste it. The problem is, I have too few people who are taking the beta testing seriously and one of my developers has gotten extremely flakey and unreliable. The combination of the two has me very frustrated right now. But if all goes well I’ll have it online somewhere around the first of the year.

Last week we finally got some really nice weather. It’s starting to cool off at night, and get warm, but not too hot, during the day. I keep the windows open as much as possible as long as the AC isn’t kicking in. This morning I woke up and it was about 70 in the house, which is very nice.

My friends are going camping next weekend. I’m taking a rain check since I am going to fly to Baltimore and D.C. with my g/f. No real reason, let’s just get away for a bit. Hopefully we can catch some of the fall colors and enjoy some good crabs. I love crabs. I don’t care what we do as long as I get my all-you-can eat crabs at some hole in the wall that drags a trash can over to the table for the shells and has cold beer.

Recently I put a quite a bit of time into working with OTRS, which is an open-source trouble ticket software. We need to find something new at work so I am evaluating this one. If anyone works with a good trouble ticket software that they like please let me know about it.

I also started dicking around with Jasper Reports and iReport by Jasperforge. They are reporting packages that are similar to Crystal Reports, but they are open source. The problem is that I don’t really know what I am doing and I don’t recall, nor want to learn, all of the MySQL query stuff to make nice reports. *sigh*

Someone sent me this email pointing out the difference between liberals and conservatives:


This is a generalized view, but hopelessly accurate... Remember this: There are liberal and conservative Democrats, Republicans and Independents. It's not the party, it's the mindset; however, it is a fact that the Democrats have the majority of the liberals.

If a conservative doesn’t like guns , they don’t buy one. If a liberal doesn’t like guns, then no one should have one.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, they don’t eat meat. If a liberal is, they want to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, they quietly enjoy their life. If a liberal is homosexual, they loudly demand legislated respect.

If a black man or Hispanic is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful. Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church. A liberal wants any mention of God or religion silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that his neighbors pay for his.


And maybe it is a somewhat fair generalization. But what is not here is the flip-side of the coin. Conservatives are also generally Christian or Jewish and they too try to impose their sense of morality and religious beliefs just like liberals do. Things such as freedom of speech, freedom to do what we want with our own bodies, freedom of homosexuals, etc. have all been attacked by conservatives and the right wing.

But that is what we do. We make an effort to impose what we believe to be a proper sense of life on others via laws. I’m not saying one side is right or justified over the other, but I am saying you can create equally disturbing and grotesque examples of conservatives and right-wing groups.