tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107054612024-03-07T01:27:45.513-05:00Steven A Bristol - blah, blah, blogSteven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1161663365199134652006-10-24T00:13:00.000-04:002006-10-24T00:16:05.236-04:00TangerineI just downloaded <a href="http://www.potionfactory.com/blog/2006/10/18/introducing-tangerine/">Tangerine</a>, a new app that is supposed to make itunes playlists of like tempoed songs. Pretty cool so far. You can get the <a href="http://www.potionfactory.com/blog/2006/10/18/introducing-tangerine/">free download</a> while it is still in beta.Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1161263351201707342006-10-19T09:01:00.000-04:002006-10-19T09:09:11.210-04:00IE7 first impressions...not good1. I just downloaded ie7 on my work computer. I was having a problem with the way ie6 was displaying some css, so I thought, "If ie7 renders this properly, then I will just tell the client to upgrade." Well, ie7 made the same rendering mistakes. So much for all the hype.<br /><br />2. I went to download an exe file to install. In ie6 it asked me once if I wanted to run this file. IE7? you guessed it, it asks me twice; I guess that is improved security.<br /><br />When I told Kevin about this (over IM) all he said: "you expected?" I think that says it all.<br /><br />My first impressions are that this is a poor product. Thanks Microsoft.<br /><br />I will continue to post my impressions as they happen.Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1160328034361363122006-10-08T13:15:00.000-04:002006-10-08T13:20:34.386-04:00has_parent? is deprecated and will be removed from Rails 2.0For anyone using acts_as_tree the node.has_parent? method has been depricated. Instead, use node.parent, like this:<br /><br />Change:<br />do something unless node.has_parent?<br /><br />To:<br />do something unless node.parentSteven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1151359395747980992006-06-26T17:54:00.000-04:002006-06-26T18:03:15.760-04:00Ruby on Rails bugI put this in my view:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> <%= check_box_tag 'newSignon', '1'%><%=content_tag 'label', 'New user?', {'for'=>'newSignon', 'onclick'=>visual_effect(:toggle, 'newBlock')}%></span><br /><br />I expected this:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> <input type=checkbox id="newSignon" name="newSignon" value="1"/><<abel for="newSignon" onclick="Effect.toggle(</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >'</span><span style="font-size:85%;">newBlock</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >'</span><span style="font-size:85%;">)">New user?</label></span><br /><br /><br />I got this:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> <input id="newSignon" name="newSignon" type="checkbox" value="1" /><label for="newSignon" onclick="new Effect.Toggle(</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >&quot;</span><span style="font-size:85%;">newBlock</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >&quot;</span><span style="font-size:85%;">,{});">New user?</label></span><br /><br /><br /><br />I guess it is escaping the embedded quote, but it is doing it inappropriately. I don't have time to dig through the source and fix it, but I might later.Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1140626062764913252006-02-22T11:33:00.000-05:002006-02-22T11:34:22.776-05:00Better Quote"PHP is the devil" <br /><br />-David Heinemeier Hansson<br />(later in the same talk)Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1140624690390014812006-02-22T11:07:00.000-05:002006-02-22T11:11:30.406-05:00Quote from DHH on RORHere is a great quote I just heard:<br /><br />"This is a snowflake... Your application is not one of them. For most of the time, for most of the people what they do is not unique. You are not special."<br /><br />-David Heinemeier Hansson<br />(talking about Ruby On Rails)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.carsonworkshops.com/summit/">listen to the talk</a><br /><br />(In case you are wondering, I love the quote and ror)Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1129593145797181472005-10-17T19:49:00.000-04:002005-10-17T19:52:25.803-04:00Installing MySQL 5 on Fedora Core 4It seems like some people (including me) are getting this error when installing the rpm of mysql 5 on fedora 4: libmysqlclient.so.14 is needed by (installed) dovecot-0.99.11-2.EL4.1.i386<br /><br />Here is how to fix it:<br />1. Open the package management tool and go to the mail server.<br />2. Uninstall dovecot.<br />3. Run the RPM again: rpm -Uvh MySQL-server...<br /><br />Now it works!Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1123071749310402532005-08-03T08:10:00.000-04:002005-08-03T08:22:29.316-04:00No more googleTo those of you regular readers (and I only count myself in this group), you will notice that I have removed the google advertisements. I did this because:<br />1. I have finally become convinced that the only people who click them are people who think they are part of the site.<br />2. They are becoming ubiquitous. I prefer more uniqueness with my ubiquity.<br />3. Although I still use google for searching, I no longer think they are an "us" company. They are a "them."<br />4. Google is being sued (multiple suits both in the US and internationally), meaning people are alleging that it has engaged (or at least not taken diligent measures) in practices that inflate the click through rate of adverts. You may notice that in my blog roll I read three google blogs. You can find more information about this issue from the <a href="http://www.fuckedgoogle.com/">http://www.fuckedgoogle.com/</a> blog.Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1116548597038815942005-05-19T20:13:00.000-04:002005-05-20T09:31:38.613-04:00Creating a Class from xmlFor any of you writing api's for today's hottest websites (say that like your a game show host), there is a great tool that will turn an xml document into a cs file. The tool is xsd and comes with Visual Studio .NET. Here's how it works:<br /><br />1. Use the following text to make a file called c:\table.xml:<br /><pre><br /><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1"><br /> <tr><br /><th>Col 1</th><br /><th>Col 2</th><br /><th>Col 3</th><br /> </tr><br /> <tr><br /><td>col 1 row 1</td><br /><td>col 2 row 1</td><br /><td>col 3 row 1</td><br /> </tr><br /> <tr><br /><td>col 1 row 2</td><br /><td>col 2 row 2</td><br /><td>col 3 row 2</td><br /> </tr><br /> <tr><br /><td>col 1 row 3</td><br /><td>col 2 row 3</td><br /><td>col 3 row 3</td><br /> </tr><br /></table><br /></pre><br />2. Open cmd and goto c:.<br />3. Run the following: xsd table.xml<br />4. See the file created c:\table.xsd<br />5. Run the following: xsd table.xsd /t:lib /l:cs /c /namespace:xmltest<br />6. See the file created c:\table.cs<br /><br />Isn't that cool? It makes all the classes and even makes arrays. Admittedly, it would be better if it made strongly typed collections, but it is not bad.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9px;">[tags: <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/.net" rel="tag">.net</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/programming" rel="tag">programming</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/c#" rel="tag">c#</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/tech" rel="tag">tech</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/oop" rel="tag">oop</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/classes" rel="tag">classes</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/xml" rel="tag">xml</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/tag/code generation" rel="tag">code generation</a>]<br /></span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1116294061392502692005-05-16T21:33:00.000-04:002005-05-16T21:41:01.396-04:00Hello Cleveland!Well it has been a long time since I wrote anything here. I have been super busy with deshuffle, which was going very well before I left for vacation, and got sick. I am still sick. I haven't touched it in weeks. Hopefully it will be live before too long.<br /><br />Anyway, vacation was great! We had a great time with my Dad and Step-Mom in LA, and with Gil in the bay area. I shot about eight hours of video and took about <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/stevenbristol">700 pictures</a>.<br /><br />Work is going well.<br /><br />I just vaped my laptop and put 2003 on it (2000 was getting way too slow).<br /><br />Amelia and Abby are doing very well. Kim is sick too :( though.Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1111719836476896672005-03-24T22:02:00.000-05:002005-03-24T22:03:56.476-05:00Wolfowitz and the World BankHere's a good one about <a href="http://fafblog.blogspot.com/2005_03_13_fafblog_archive.html#111106794913185849">Wolfowitz and the World Bank</a>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1111528376619608692005-03-22T16:49:00.000-05:002005-03-22T16:54:12.770-05:00Everyone must watch this - EPIC 2014Everyone must watch this - <a href="http://www.broom.org/epic/">EPIC 2014</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:9">[tags <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/epic" rel="tag">EPIC</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/epic+2014" rel="tag">EPIC 2014</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1110847850014821552005-03-19T20:42:00.000-05:002005-03-19T08:43:09.976-05:00flickr.comAs some of you might have noticed I am using <a href="http://flickr.com/">flickr.com</a> to store pictures of the family for you to enjoy. The photos may be found at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenbristol/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenbristol/</a>. Currently there are over 240 pictures up, and I am planning to add more regularly. If you are rss savvy, you may subscribe from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=82766119@N00&format=rss_200">here</a>. flickr is a lot better if you register (free); it looks like a lot of links are turned off if you are not registered. I have create a group (for picture aggregation) at flickr called "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/my_family/">Our Family stevenbristol</a>."<br /><br />I am also writing some tools to make flickr easier and better. Look for them soon<br /><br />FYI, I did purchase the annual "pro" service.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:9;">[tags <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/flickr" rel="tag">flickr</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/pictures" rel="tag">pictures</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/photos" rel="tag">photos</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/images" rel="tag">images</a> ]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1111240798055015892005-03-19T08:56:00.000-05:002005-03-19T08:59:58.056-05:00WeightMy goal for the year was to lose thirty pounds. As of this morning, I have lost a total of, wait for it... twenty and a half pounds! I find that amazing.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9;">[tags <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/weight" rel="tag">weight</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/weight+loss" rel="tag">weight loss</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1111240467377088172005-03-19T08:43:00.000-05:002005-03-19T08:54:27.383-05:00Books I've ReadHere is a list of books I have read so far this year:<br /><br /><ol> <li>Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin</li> <li>A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens</li> <li>Persuasion, Jane Austin</li> <li>Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe<br /> </li> <li>Mansfield Park, Jane Austin</li> <li>Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy</li> <li>Survivors of Atlantis, Frank Joseph</li> <li>Blink, Malcolm Gladwell</li> </ol><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9;">[tags <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Jane+Austin" rel="tag">Jane Austin</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Dickens" rel="tag">Dickens</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Marlowe" rel="tag">Marlowe</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Thomas+Hardy" rel="tag">Thomas Hardy</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Frank+Joseph" rel="tag">Frank Joseph</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Gladwell" rel="tag">Gladwell</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Pride+and+Prejudice" rel="tag">Pride and Prejudice</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/A+Tale+of+Two+Cities" rel="tag">A Tale of Two Cities</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Persuasion" rel="tag">Persuasion</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Faustus" rel="tag">Faustus</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Mansfield+Park" rel="tag">Mansfield Park</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/D'Urbervilles" rel="tag">D'Urbervilles</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Blink" rel="tag">Blink</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/Atlantis" rel="tag">Atlantis</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/books" rel="tag">books</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/literature" rel="tag">literature</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/reading" rel="tag">reading</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1110244325506512012005-03-09T19:25:00.000-05:002005-03-19T08:41:10.196-05:00Music - ManaA few weeks ago I promised to write about some great music I have recently discovered. This post is the first in a series:<br /><br />I fellow at work gave me <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006EXKB/ref=ase_cpcmusicshop/102-2108237-1808958?v=glance&s=music">"<b class="sans">Revolucion De Amor" </b></a><span class="sans"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006EXKB/ref=ase_cpcmusicshop/102-2108237-1808958?v=glance&s=music">by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mana</span></a>. This album is fantastic! Picture Los Lobos crossed with David Gilmore and the image starts to take shape. I know nothing about the band except that they might be from Texas, but I've heard enough to be excited. In the past two years the only music I came across that was this good was Eliott Smith or Modest Mouse. The link will take you to Amazon where you can listen to some samples; please do, it is well worth the time. At least listen to the first two tracks, if you are sorry you did I will buy you lunch.<br /><br />The only draw back is that all of the songs are in Spanish, and I feel like it would be a little better if I know what they were saying, and if I could sing along.<br /><br />After listening, Write a comment about it. What did you think?<br /><br />If anyone wants a copy, let me know.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9;">[tags <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/music" rel="tag">music</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/mana" rel="tag">mana</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1110414001014050752005-03-09T19:10:00.000-05:002005-03-09T19:21:21.093-05:00This is the kind of thing that makes me loath MS.A few days ago, the Internet Explorer Team at Microsoft put a new post on their blog. It talked about some of the new security enhancements to IE that can be found in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later.<br /><br />The new security feature talked about was something called Mark of the Web. Here is the premise:<br />(1) The OS and browser are so insecure (or users are so stupid) that:<br />(2) Malicious content is all too easily loaded onto the user's computer that:<br />(3) Content run from the browser's Local Machine Zone will now have fewer privileges than content found in the Internet Zone.<br />(4) So any content meant to run from the Local Machine Zone must have the "Mark of the Web" to give it elevated privileges.<br /><br />What this they are really saying is that their products (Outlook, IE, and Windows) are so insecure that IE trusts content found in the Internet more than content found on your own computer!! Is anyone listening? Clearly the evolution of this is that Microsoft will have to prevent users form using their own computers because they cannot trust the user. This is the kind of thing that makes me loath MS.<br /><br />If Microsoft did not have so much money I would say they are in real trouble. If only that were true.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:9;">[tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/microsoft" rel="tag">Microsoft</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/ie" rel="tag">IE</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/internet%20explorer" rel="tag">Internet Explorer</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/tech" rel="tag">tech</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/browser" rel="tag">browser</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/programming" rel="tag">programming</a> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/security" rel="tag">security</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1110310908283269452005-03-08T14:35:00.000-05:002005-03-08T14:43:25.546-05:00The gap<a href="http://smartpei.typepad.com/robert_patersons_weblog/" accesskey="1">Robert Paterson</a> has a <a href="http://smartpei.typepad.com/robert_patersons_weblog/2005/03/what_is_wrong_w.html">very interesting blog entry today</a> about exposure to words early in life and the ability to learn latter. Here is the text:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >What is wrong with our schools?</span><br /> <p>What is at the heart of the failure of schools today. I think that it is a failure of family functioning.<br />More than 30% of kids enter school already unable to learn and disruptive.<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">By grade 3, it is too late.</span><br /></p><p><br />Be sure to follow the link and go to his site where there is a link to a pdf power point with charts and graphs and more information.<br /></p>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1110122738665663572005-03-06T09:40:00.000-05:002005-03-06T10:25:38.666-05:00Not enough timeLately I have been having a real problem with time. During the week I am in Jacksonville, I work around fifty hours and since my family is in Gainesville, I have no real time pressure. The weekend is totally different. I really feel like almost every minute is accounted for, and there are simply not enough of them. <br /><br />This manifests itself most predominantly in the following way: When I am doing something, I am usually pressured to stop doing it, leave it unfinished, and do something else. I inevitably respond by wanting just a few more minutes and continue what I had started.<br /><br />The first solution I tired was to try to shift some of my weekend chores to the week. I started spending more time searching out things I was curious about; following links or topics that I could not investigate at work (because they are not work related), or writing to this blog, or whatever. Sadly this did not work. I found that there are still more things I need to do during the weekend and that conflicts with family time, not to mention time for friends. <br /> <br />I have a new plan; to some of you this will seem obvious, but it was a revelation to me: I would become a slave to the clock. Before starting something I will determine how long I may spend on it, when that length has been reached, I will stop. Even if I am not finished. I will pick up where I left off the at the next opportunity. <br /><br />I tried this on Friday, and it worked really well: I was working from home and began my work day at 6:05 AM. I planed to work straight through and finish at 2:05. When it was close to two o'clock I saw a great stopping point (only two small items to finish) and decided to work until I reached it; if I was lucky (meaning I did not run into any unexpected problems) I could be done by 2:05. At 2:10 I found myself unlucky and still had only two small problems to finish. I was feeling pressure but with the end in sight I could push through. Knowing Kim was waiting for me to stop work so we could do a few errands before the weekend, I decided to stop working and take care of Kim's needs. I would continue work on Monday morning. It felt great. Although I had not finished my task, the weight of the conflicting interests was removed. It felt like a miracle had occurred.Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1109871152640619712005-03-03T12:24:00.000-05:002005-03-03T12:32:32.666-05:00Google's technologyI found <a href="http://news.com.com/Googles+secret+of+success+Dealing+with+failure+-+page+2/2100-1032_3-5596811-2.html?tag=st.next" target="_blank">this</a> today from the <a href="http://blog.outer-court.com/" target="_blank">Google Blogoscoped Blog</a>. The article talks about the technological infrastructure at <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=google&btnG=Google+Search" target="_blank">Google</a>.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9px;">[tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/google" rel="tag">google</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/technology" rel="tag">technology</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/linux" rel="tag">linux</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1109858005279339992005-03-03T08:28:00.000-05:002005-03-03T12:33:31.056-05:00More on War PathJeff raised some good questions in his <a href="http://stevenbristol.blogspot.com/2005/02/war-path.html#comments">comments</a> about my post <a href="http://stevenbristol.blogspot.com/2005/02/war-path.html">"War Path."</a> I would like to address them here in the main blog.<br /><br />I would like to take his points in turn:<br /><br />1. Is the US forcibly spreading democracy?<br /><br />I think it is important to look at the historical context of the current actions; why is the US in Iraq? It seems clear to me that the main reasons for the US invasion, occupation, and "liberation" have all turned out to have no more value than hogwash. WMDs? None. Suddam’s links to Al Qaeda? Fictional. If this is the historical context then doesn’t the heart swelling thought of spreading democracy seem a little bit like marketing, white wash, rose-colored glasses, or blinders?<br /><br />2. Spreading democracy requires the use of force.<br /><br />Obviously changing a form of government requires the use of force, or violence; I can’t think of an example where that change was not violent. I think however, there is an equally obvious difference between the peoples of a government revolting, like the French against Louis or the British (now American) against George, and an alien power invading, conquering, and deposing the current leadership and installing not only new leadership but a whole new form of government. Let’s face it the people of Iraq didn’t even ask for help (maybe that is a little simplistic, but I think true).<br /><br />I’d like to make another point here: I believe that a democratic government in Iraq makes it better for some, maybe even many people. But I also believe it makes it worse for others. If we can remove attempts at judgment, I will stand up and say I am not wise enough to say which case is better. I believe most people could not truly say (outside of opinion) which case is better. "Even the very wise cannot see all ends."<br /><br /><br />3. The severity and surety of an impending act could convince you that it is acceptable to punish someone for a crime they have not yet committed.<br /><br />My heart goes out to your feelings of propriety and desire to keep people safe and feeling safe, but I think it is important not to be so moved by these noble feelings that we are willing to do things that will ultimately give up our freedoms and consequently our safety. Our safety is directly tied to our freedoms. My family came from a communist country. Want to talk about no freedoms, try school children taught that they should "turn in" their own parents for being against the state. People living with that level of fear do not feel safe. I would rather be afraid of a terrorist act than my children, friends, or family. This is what happens without freedoms. Most Americans joyfully take their freedoms for granted, I do not.<br /><br />This is the slipperiest of slippery slopes, and we’re sliding here. It is deathly important to protect the rights and freedoms of your most hated enemy. If we can take his freedoms or allow them be taken, then so can yours be taken, and mine. It reminds me of the old adage, "First they came for Saddam, but we did not stop them. Next they came for Iran, but we did not stop them. When they came for me there was no one left to stop them."<br /><br />Not that I expect this government to behave in this most justly and constitutional way, let’s be frank: This government (not just the current leadership) had long ago released us from the bondage of unalienable rights. I don’t have to go to Guantanamo or "Enemy Combatants" for this point, the US government actually allows (requires) one to sign away these "unalienable" rights when they join the US military. Please take this opportunity to read the definition of the word <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=unalienable" target="_blank">unalienable</a>. This is the word that this great country of ours was founded upon and this is the slope we are flying down.<br /><br />4. There were plenty of non-weapons-program-related crimes that Saddam did and was committing.<br /><br />What crimes justified our actions? Not the actions of one individual against another, but the actions of one nation against another.<br /><br />5. Churchill’s quote "…democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."<br /><br />I can think of at least one form of government I like better than democracy: theocracy. Not as practiced by the pre-1900 Vatican, but as practiced in Tibet (when there was a Tibet). This leads me to the main point here: The form of government is not nearly as important as the quality of the people who run that government. I will maintain that the last political leader who I truly liked (or trusted) was the Dali Lama; Representative <a href="http://www.ronpaul.org/" target="_blank">Ron Paul</a> <a href="http://www.house.gov/paul/" target="_blank">(or)</a> from Texas is not far behind though.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9px;">[tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/" rel="tag">Iraq</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Saddam" rel="tag">Saddam</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/War" rel="tag">War</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Freedom" rel="tag">Freedom</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Democracy" rel="tag">Democracy</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Al Qaeda" rel="tag">Al Qaeda</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Wisdom" rel="tag">Wisdom</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Unalienable" rel="tag">Unalienable</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Rights" rel="tag">Rights</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Constitution" rel="tag">Constitution</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Churchill" rel="tag">Churchill</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Dali Lama" rel="tag">Dali Lama</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Ron Paul" rel="tag">Ron Paul</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1109637812370866932005-02-28T19:31:00.000-05:002005-02-28T20:19:00.293-05:00Monday. Again.It was another difficult Monday today. For those of you who do not know, I started a new job in December working for a Fortune 10 company. The department I am working for does not hire people directly, they start people as a contractor for six months, and then bring them on permanent. I am in that contractor phase. The other catch is that they are in Jacksonville, while I live in Gainesville. Here is a <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=gnv%20to%20jax">map</a> from airport to airport to give you an idea. Basically it takes about an hour and a half to drive home and two hours to drive to work. I have been driving up on Monday mornings and driving back on Thursday afternoon's, and working from home on Friday. So Monday's tend to be a little bit hard. Leaving my family, long drive, tired, Monday. Kim and I agreed that until I receive a permanent offer, it is not a good idea to move to Jacksonville. We'll see how long we can continue with this arrangement.<br /><br />Kim started painting the inside of our house today. We went and bought paint this weekend, and prepared the living room for painting last night. She said it looks pretty good. I can hardly wait to see!<br /><br />I have some great new music to share! I'll write about that in another post. Look for it.Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1109256625325990662005-02-24T09:49:00.000-05:002005-03-03T12:35:03.086-05:00The Mark of the BeastTrue or not <a href="http://www.av1611.org/666/www_666.html">this</a> is really funny.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9px;">[tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/666" rel="tag">666</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/devil" rel="tag">devil</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/hebrew" rel="tag">hebrew</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/funny" rel="tag">funny</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1109075891281173952005-02-22T07:24:00.000-05:002005-03-03T12:34:32.076-05:00War PathI found <a href="http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/2295/">this</a> today (thanks to <a href="http://urbansurvival.com/">George Ure</a>).<br /><br />Scott Ritter was the weapons inspector who repeatedly said that Iraq did not have WMDs. He now says that Bush has already Ok'd plans for a June attack on Iran. We won't have to wait long to see if he is right.<br /><br />On another note I would like to observe what I have never seen published elsewhere: If we agree that Iraq had no WMDs (at least not when the US invaded, and it is reasonable to suppose that they did not have them for some time before the invasion) then I am forced to wonder at the UN. For years it said Iraq had weapons and put sanctions on it. Leave alone the fact that the US had no grounds to invade, sanctions should have been lifted years early. What would the middle east look like now if that had taken place? What would the US and the world look like? It's 10:00 o'clock, do you know where your government is?<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 9px;">[tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bush" rel="tag">Bush</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/WMD" rel="tag">WMD</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Iraq" rel="tag">Iraq</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Iran" rel="tag">Iran</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Ritter" rel="tag">Ritter</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/War" rel="tag">War</a>]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10705461.post-1108644245706478492005-02-17T07:35:00.000-05:002005-02-17T17:17:15.843-05:00flickr.comI just started a page at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenbristol/">flickr.com</a>. No photos up yet, but I plan to put some up this weekend. So far it looks really cool, but I found a catch: If you have only the free account, they will only display 100 pictures, so when you upload the 101st pic, the first one is no longer displayed. It might be worth buying an account, it's not too expensive, but the whole paying for some online service sort of rubs me wrongly. As you know "I think all software should be free." This does include services like flickr. And before you ask let me assure you that I am one of those people that clicks on advertiser's banners to support my favorite sites.<br /><br />I'll write more about flickr as I start to use it. I hope to get my family members, who are spread across the country and internationally to start using it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:9px;">[tecchnorati tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/flickr" rel="tag">flickr</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/pictures" rel="tag">pictures</a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/photos" rel="tag">photos</a> ]</span>Steven A Bristolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553356068006112645noreply@blogger.com0