Friday, December 7, 2007

  It seems that both the hard drives that were in my main computer were damaged in some way.  I can't even re-format them.  Thankfully, the motherboard is still good, though I'm not sure how good.  It seems that I can no longer have two internal hard drives hooked up and the computer still work.

  In any case, I put in one of my old 9 1/2 gig HDs.  Not everything is as it was, but it's working nicely.  That's the thing I hate about pre-installed OS's: if you ever do have to re-format, you can never get it back to the way it was.

  My speakers don't work, because I don't have the drivers.  They may be on the recovery disk.  I haven't explored it.  I've only re-installed XP with it.

  Since my HD space is so small, I'm using a 2G flash drive to install most of my programs onto.  Seems to be working out nicely, although my newer GetRight would not install correctly, though it seems it has nothing to do with the location.

  My plug-in ball mouse doesn't seem to work, so I'm using a new cordless optical one I got for my spare computer, and it's behaving strangely on the verge of annoying.

'Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire

  I'm not sure why, but some part of me thought the man-made global warming bullshit couldn't get any more absurd, and then I read this:

"In a campaign that has spread like wildfire across the Internet, a group of Israeli environmentalists is encouraging Jews around the world to light at least one less candle this Hanukka to help the environment."

  The next sentence struck a little funny.

"The founders of the Green Hanukkia campaign found that every candle that burns completely produces 15 grams of carbon dioxide."

  Psst.  Hey, buddy.  I got 15 grams of carbon dioxide, pure.  $20.

  And then we have more racists crying racism.

Report: Seattle's gifted program favors whites

"Almost three-quarters of the students enrolled in the Accelerated Progress Program (APP) are white, compared to about 40 percent districtwide."

  Oh, no!  Hide your children!

"About 1,500 students in APP are admitted after testing in the 98th or 99th percentile nationally in cognitive ability and reading and math skills."

  They let them in because they had high test scores?  THOSE BASTARDS!

"But according to the report, APP is perceived to be 'elitist, exclusionary and even racist,' and that some of its African-American students are bullied and isolated."

  Perceived?!  Well, that's all the proof I need.

"The report also raised concern about student selection, saying admission to the program relies too much on a single test and is unfair to low-income students and students without parental support."

  Don't you know that it's evil to allow statistical facts to be reflected in real life when they are unfavorable to certain groups?  And again, how dare you let merit be your criteria.

"'I think that we are going to work really hard to bring [up] the representation of all the different students in our advanced learning programs,' said Bob Vaughan, director of advanced learning for the district. 'The process we have now for selection is not sufficient.'"

  That's right.  It doesn't matter if the person is actually smart enough to succeed in the class.  What matters is an equal balance of skin color.

"The program's curriculum lacks vision, the report said, and rigor in classes is inconsistent. 'The philosophy and definition of giftedness in Seattle do not reflect current developments in the field of gifted education,' it said."

  Everyone is gifted in some way.  Even the severely mentally retarded.

Firefighter stabbed in Eastie pack attack

"A Boston firefighter is mending from what could have been deadly stab wounds he suffered early yesterday morning when he was allegedly jumped in East Boston while off duty by a group of Hispanic males who told him they 'don't want any gringo here'."

Though police are not classifying the incident as racially fueled, the Boston Police Department's Community Disorders Unit is investigating. The 32-year-old jake, whose name officials were not releasing, is white."

  Raise your hand if you see the contradiction.  For those who didn't see it, let me give you a hint.

"'don't want any gringo here.'" -- "police are not classifying the incident as racially fueled"

  I'd really like to know what un-mentioned detail makes this incident not racially fueled.  What logically applicable definition of the word "gringo" removes race from the equation?

Sunday, December 9, 2007

  Has anyone else noticed that nearly all of the new Sci-Fi Channel movies have Russian characters in them?  What's up with that.