Pauls Rants and Revelations

SO I finally updated my wordpress install from 2.1 to the latest 2.6.

At first I was like “Way Neato!”. Then I realized that all of my categories and link categories were gone. Like, really gone. The only identifying mark was the slug with was a lot of “-2″’s. So, if some posts seem to be misplaced, this is the reason. I renamed what I could (had to edit the datbase directly to do it) but its sorted now.

Well, at least its working.

I mean, I read the documentation changes for the most part but didnt see any part about your categories fucking getting axed from the update.

Anyways, should you be upgrading, take a snapshot of the data in your wp_categories. This will be invaluable as you can map the IDs so you can rename the items in wp_terms (the new table) so that your categories are correct.

OK. Back to the digital salt mines.

-Cheers

You know why I like Ron Paul?

Well, I’ll tell you why. Because he does not scare the shit out of me whenever he speaks. Because he is a likable guy (so likable that I just donated another $5, which isn’t a lot but its the only time I ever gave money to a candidate).

Because when I checked out his track record, which is freely available on his site as well as other sources, he actually seemed like a politician who takes his job seriously. Who actually works for the betterment of the USA, not just to make a buck from his office.

And because when compared to the other candidates that are bidding for the presidency, I see him telling America as a whole about the things that have to be done to fix this country, not about how he alone would fix them if he were president, but what any president has to do. To me he is saying “Here is what has to be done and if no one else is going to do it then I will”.

Now I am not to most politically minded person on the planet. I, in point of fact, hate politics with the fire of a thousand suns. So if you have a problem with what I say or what I believe (*cough* personallimburgbaby *cough*) then feel free to correct me on it.

-Cheers

My wife and I just filed our taxes today. Damn, was it ever a chore. I mean, we had like 3 W2 forms and a thing from the daycare. After logging into the H&R Block site we had to keep hitting next for like…3 minutes.

Sure, it importing all our info from last year saved some time, but we had to fill in the new amounts for stuff which took like 10 minutes. Then another 10 minutes finding a check so that the government could direct deposit out phat 5 figure return into our accounts in the Caymen Islands.

What a hassle.

Not to mention the fact that it took like over an hour after we were done with the HR Block site to tell us our returns were transmitted and accepted. On a Saturday no less.  I’m just upset that I missed almost half an episode of Stargate to do our taxes, so sorry if I sound a little annoyed.

And if you believed even a word of what I just said, I have a whole barn full of unicorns I’ll sell you for only 30 pieces of leprechaun’s gold. You could probably make it tax deductible if you try.

-Cheers

Thats about the only thing I feel at the moment. Since this big project I’m working on is almost done the lack of sleep is starting to take its toll.

However, there are some bright spots.

…

I can’t name any at the moment, but I’m sure they’re there.

If you can think of any let me know.

-Cheers

A few days ago I saw a guy sitting in a car with a bluetooth headset on. He seemed a normal middle aged dude. Just sitting there. Not talking that I could see, just sitting outside a Hollywood video waiting for someone inside.

I think see someone exit the store as I approach, also with a headset. This person, a younger man, seemed to be talking to his companion but it may be that he was chatting about something to someone on the phone. This is not the first time this phenomenon has come across my path.

In this ever increasing world of connected-ness to technology and the pressure to stay informed, it seems that we have, as a technological society, come to want to mimic air traffic controllers in our everyday lives. The number of folks young and old I see walking around with these things is only going up, whether they actually use them or not.

Some people would be greatly assisted by these annoying devices; such as those in a busy office or a driving job where communication is key. Or, as previously stated, if one was an air traffic controller. But for the rest of you who spend upwards of $200 for this bit of techno-bling, you forgot to ask yourselves the very basic question; Will my vapid existence be given new light if I only appear to be an on-the-go techno-enthusiast?

The answer, if you have not already guessed, is no. No, it won’t. I don’t care if Paris Hilton has a diamond encrusted Motorola jobbie, if you are already too lazy to reach into your pocket or purse to pick up the phone, then you are probably too lazy to lift your hand to your ear to puch the on button.

And while I’m on the subject of girls sporting these ear obscenities, here is a tip: unless you are working in a club as the glory-hole chick and simultaneously working as a phone sex operator, you do not need one of these. Save those dollars for your next terms college tuition.

And guys, and you know who you are, you are no exception to the above statement. There are few jobs that require you to have a wireless headset. And if you really need one, your work will provide one to you. Unless you are really that unsure of yourself in this techno world. In that eventuallity, I’m having a 2-for-1 sale in my eBay store on headsets.

-Cheers

So I was one of the millions of people who weren’t lucky enough to be able to go to Macworld. As such, I was constantly hitting the refresh button on my browser so I could get the latest of what was happening from those who were posting blow by blow commentary.

At the tail end of the hour long keynote address, Steve Jobs reveals the newest Macbook, the Macbook Air. Touted as the thinest Laptop in the world, it is certainly impressive to look at. However, once past that, things start to get a little drab.

Aside from the rather puny processor, and lack of external ports (only 1 USB), and lack of HDD space, it is really not a great machine. Oh, I would not say no if I was presented with one, but I would certainly not spend $1800 just for the novelty of putting my precious mac into an envelope.

You can get the news and highlights and video on these other sites. Apples newest creation can be found here if you want to check it out.

Personally, though, I won’t be pining for this one. Mostly because my Macbook Pro totally kicks that ones ass. The Time Capsule, on the other hand, I would take in a heartbeat (right after I upgrade to Leopard that is).

-Cheers

On the way to our snowy vacation, as my luck would have it, I got pulled over for speeding. This pisses me off.

Now, I was going above the speed limit. Well above it in fact. I was in the passing lane trying to get around two assholes in lowered trucks (who the hell drives those during a rain storm in Oregon anyway?) playing a game of car tag. This was dangerous so as soon as a passing lane opened I gunned it; and got immediately noticed by the cops. They saw the two dingle berries (in fact passed right by them) but pulled me over instead. Erg.

Try as I might I couldn’t talk my way out of it. I give him the facts but he ignored me out of hand and threw a ticket at me. $250 worth of ticket.

Frustrated, and not wanting to make a scene in from of my family, I just took it and went on my way.

After we got back, a few days later, I called the county office to see about sending in my penance as there was no way in hell I was going to waste 6 hours round trip driving and $100 in gas to show up in court. The woman was, to put it mildly, so far from helpful that the light from it wouldn’t reach her in 100 years. She informed me that the tickets from that office often take a week or more to get put through their system. She had no reference at all to the ticket number and couldn’t do a damn thing.

So whats got my dander up, you ask?

The fact that in this digital age, where a dashboard cam video of a cop tazering someone can end up on Youtube within a day, a cop can’t find the time to put some freaking numbers into a computer at the end of their shift astounds me. Perhaps I don’t know all there is to know about the other side of writing the ticket, but it seems that it would be required of them to put them in the system in an orderly manner.

I called them again today, a week later, and still it wasn’t in the system. Double erg.

Enough about this ordeal already eats at my thin veneer of patience, but is there something that could be making it take longer then normal? Does anyone have any light they could shed on the inner workings of the police ticketing system? Can someone spot me $250?

Perhaps tomorrow they will have it in their system. If not then I am going to seriously consider raising some mildly annoying hell about it. Or just wait until the next day. What ever I have energy for.

-Cheers

So today is (or was) Thanksgiving. And while America is the only country to celebrate this (and even then, not the whole of it) I can’t help but feel somewhat excited.

Not for the wonderful dinners and time of family that comes with this holiday. No, what I am excited about is the sales that are going to be happening tomorrow. The “Black Friday” super sales that are almost as legendary as turkey day are what most people are talking about. Even at the family function we attended, some were talking about what stores they were going to hit up at 5:30 in the morning.

Its almost sad, really. I mean this is supposed to be a day of giving thanks but instead has turned into just a pre-cursor to a major commercial event. But then again, the basis of the holiday itself isn’t exactly saintly, so it’s probably for the best that it is just morphed into another commercialized day and quietly mark the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

-Cheers

And now folks its time for some fun fun web traffic generating. In this segment, I shamelessly mention a bunch of buzz words that are sure to get a lot of traffic. How many can I fit into one paragraph? Lets find out

“Ron Paul commented on Waterboarding and Christina Aguileras baby Boobs while generating $5 million in donations. When asked about his Web Traffic Generating Secrets, a Super Mario Galaxy proponent said ‘Don’t harp on Britney Spears or I’ll smack you with my Nintendo Wii nunchuck. Meanwhile, Condi Rice assured us the Failing Dollar and Apple are in great shape for the 2008 Olympics.”

So how many was that? 12? I suppose thats good enough. If you got a better one leave a comment.

-Cheers

P.S. - Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Kittens. (had to get that last bit in there).

More and more stories are popping up regarding what could be known later as the downfall of the USA. Articles on the failing of the dollar, failures of our leaders, and ridiculous steps people are taking to ensure public safety are some of the more prominent ones.  All this is telling me that a revolution is coming; and it isn’t going to be pretty.

I was, and still am to a point, proud to be an American. But the acts of our leaders and the mockery of our allies, not to mention what must be outright laughter of our adversaries, has really shaken what little faith I have left in our government.  The fact that some are going before congress asking for the head of Cheney, for none other than high crimes against the people, is just the latest indicator that something very, very bad is going to happen in this country. But it won’t come from outside; it will come from within.

Whether it will be in the form of an awakening, a revolution, or, quite possibly, an armed revolt of the people is still uncertain. I would hope that it is more of an awakening than anything else. If an armed revolt were to happen, it would be very bad for the government as, being the most armed country on the planet, private citizens with weapons greatly outweighs the police and armed forces combined (somewhere around 80 million).

On a more cheerful note, I believe that things will get straightened out in a (mostly) peaceful manner. A couple of impeachments is a start, and a good one, but lets make sure that we don’t replace one bad apple with another.

-Cheers