be the change you want to see in the world

Truly one of the great ironies of our time. Here’s the abstract of a new study on tinfoil as a cranial shield:

Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government’s invasive abilities. We speculate that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.

Not sure I’ll go all the way to the conspiracy with these guys. Sounds kind of, well, aluminium chapeau…

I suddenly realized how meaningless it is now to have a beta designation on this blog. For a while I had one because I wanted to belong. I wanted to be beta too. Now its just silly. Everyone is beta. Google started it and the herd just snapped into line like a bunch of desktop icons. I don’t want to be beta any more. So now I am my favourite Greek letter, iota.

Always ahead of the curve. Now I’ll never make it to the museum of modern betas.

Playing with Drupal 4.7 tonight and wondering what the .install file does. After installing about twenty modules the old fashioned way - using PHPMyAdmin to run the .sql file to create the database tables needed to support the module - I decided to read an install.txt file. Imagine my suprise to learn that, if there is a .install file included with the module, all you have to do is upload it to the modules directory and enable it on the module admin page. Drupal now creates the database tables for you. I tried it. It works. Makes sense, given everything Drupal needs to know to do this is already in the config file.

Many people are not comfortable with adding database tables using PHPMyAdmin. Now they don’t necessarily have to use it to install modules. This will help the Drupal community extend its reach and grow the install base. And it will save me a bit of time on each Drupal project. Time is money. And it adds up.

Thanks, Drupal Gods!

The Bush junta administration is leading by example yet again as it preaches democracy around the world. The people should speak, right? Voting is a sacred right, right?

The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 — as the phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly shut down.

The national Republican Party, which paid millions in legal bills to defend Tobin, says the contacts involved routine election business and that it was “preposterous” to suggest the calls involved phone jamming.

Preposterous? Any sane person could not help but conclude that the calls were related. The man was convicted, after all.

How do they do it? The Republican organizers get people to call the voting support line and then hang up when volunteers answer the phones. This means people with real problems can’t get through and, therefore, can’t vote.

Once again, Bush wastes the lives of young men and women who die abroad for his phony commitment to democracy. What are people in the countries he is supposedly trying to “liberate” to think? This is democracy? Some improvement. Truly a tragedy of our times. Bush’s presidency can’t end soon enough. Hopefully, the American public have had enough of the Republicans in general and will give control of Congress back to the Democrats next fall.

In the category of insanely bizarre time-wasters, zombo.com made me laugh pretty hard. If you have issues with George W. Bush being completely out of control, take back some control of the shrub at dancingbush.com. And if this hasn’t wasted enough of your time, try prettyworthless.com for more, but I suggest you don’t. Unless you really want to. But don’t blame me.