And people think the Americans are crazy

Apparently the Dutch - normally known for their progressive views on modern issues - have taken a giant leap backwards with a new iPod tax. Here's the link:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/27/netherlands_ipod_tax

Apparently Germany has a similar tax on hard drives, but I couldn't find more information about that. The scary thing about this issue is that it scales - as technology improves, the levy grows.

I just wonder when the RIAA will pay off Congress to implement that here?

The elephant blinks

Looks like the firestorm of controversy has finally forced a retreat in the neocon agenda. Perhaps something similar will happen with the filibuster issue. Here's the link:

"House GOP yields on ethics rules"

The truth comes out...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/22/tridgell_releases_sourcepuller

Mardi Gras memories...

I was going through my picture archive, looking for good dirt on my friends, when I stumbled upon a great group shot of Mac, Major, and I at the Tropical Isle bar just off Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras 1999. The green bottle Mac is holding is called a "Hand Grenade", and they are a common sight along Bourbon.

MILSPEC!!!

Security guards own.

Great quote from Chris

I liked something that Chris wrote on the kulua-l mailing list today (link to KULUA):

I run Fedora Core. It's developed in the open by people that aren't certifiable. They believe that GNU Free Documentation License covered documentation is "Free"; they believe that the GPL is "Free"; and they believe that Linux is "Free" unlike, it seems, a large part of the debian-legal mailing list.

Apparent fraud at the TSA

According to this CNN article, the government is investigating fraud and wasteful spending at the Transportation Security Administration. Here's the link to the CNN.com article.
This is the part I found amusing (and shocking):

The operations center, located just outside Washington, has a 4,200-foot fitness center with a towel laundry service for 79 federal employees. It also has seven kitchens equipped with refrigerators, microwave ovens, ice makers and dishwashers.

The report said that the center's offices and work stations were larger than federal standards allow and that most had cable television.

A fitness center twice the size of my house for 79 employees?! Wow, I'm in the wrong business. I should work for Uncle Sam.

New blog!

I've decided to create a blog. I've always been interested in diaries, but found the "pen and paper" format to be too unwieldy. I'm certainly not the type to bare my soul to folks I don't know, so don't worry - I won't use this space to whine about relationships or any of that crap. If I do pontificate, I'll try to keep it to a minimum.

I'll probably use it to publish quotes I've found humorous or insightful, post my thoughts on certain things, and maybe link to good products or good deals that might interest my friends.

Blogger.com seems to be a nice site, and seems very easy to use (a big plus in my book). If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know.