Things...

I'm disgusted by the behavior of some people... I don't know whether it was bad parenting, sociological pressures or just that people have gotten worse. Case in point, the 16 year old girl charged in the death of her 7 year old sister in Johnston, CO.

I wonder if part of the decline of civilization may be driven by the fact that those who are least capable of raising healthy, productive members of society are the ones procreating the most. All I know is that this is the kind of story that makes me think twice about bringing another life to this world.

Government Gone Wild

The U.S. House of Representatives pushed through a new bill which on the surface sounds like a good thing. Unfortunately, it's a slippery slope on our way to a "nanny state".

Why is it necessary to legislate requirements to turn what are ethical and moral imperatives into legal requirements?

Why is it necessary for ISPs to begin cataloging and monitoring Internet traffic and transmissions?

Obviously, I have a number of issues about this. The House put this bill through without requiring open comment or visibility into what they are voting on, Democrats used a process to speed this through without review, the bill would be redundant since it's covered by other laws AND obviously went without technical review. The more you attempt to monitor unsavory activity, the more you drive them to use new technologies such as encryption which prevent any visibility.

Click here to read a summary of the SAFE Act of 2007.

A Favorite Classic

A cop was patrolling late at night in a well-known Lovers spot.

He sees a couple in a car, with the interior light brightly glowing. The cop carefully approaches the car to get a closer look.

Then he sees a young man behind the wheel, reading a computer magazine. He immediately notices a young woman in the rear seat, knitting. Puzzled by this surprising situation, the cop walks to the car and gently raps on the driver's window.

The young man lowers his window. "Uh, yes, officer?"

The cop says: "What are you doing?"

The young man says: "Well, Officer, I'm reading a magazine."

Pointing towards the young woman in the back seat the cop says: "And her, what is she doing?"

The young man shrugs: "Sir, I believe she's knitting a pullover sweater."

Now, the cop is totally confused. A young couple. Alone, in a car, at night in a Lover's lane....and nothing obscene is happening!

The cop asks: "What's your age, young man?"

The young man says: "I'm 22, sir."

The cop asks: "And her ... what's her age?"

The young man looks at his watch and replies: "She'll be 18 in 11 minutes."