Tag: You Can’t Cure Stupid

The Million Dollar Solution to the Ten Dollar Problem

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the police officer in New York who accidentally shot another officer who was in plain clothes. Well it looks like New York is looking into a million dollar solution to the problem…

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525257,00.html

They want to create guns that can recognize another officer’s gun. Here is what they are coming up with…

One idea involves the use of radio frequency tags that would allow officers to pinpoint where other cops are in the city, Browne said. Another involves tags that would work gun-to-gun and use an infrared sensor: When a weapon is pulled from an officer’s holster it would trigger a signal that would be sent to the gun of a nearby officer. The signal may be seen or heard.

Well let us look at the technological problem with either case. The first is the fact that if the police can located other officers via radio transmission then so can any body else with the correct equipment. That means you can easily pinpoint an undercover of plain clothed officer. I’m sure criminals would jump for joy to have this technology.

Then there is the idea of using an infrared sensor on the gun. This again can be replicated and used by criminals to disable police officers’ guns. Also infrared is line of sight so if on officer was partially behind cover there is a good change the sensor will not function as desired anyways.

Now let us look at the cheap solution. Training. The plain clothed officer should have never been shot by the uniformed officer because police should try to identify their target if at all possible. I’m highly doubting a plain clothed officer would be dumb enough to pull a gun on any uniformed officer. That doesn’t make sense so the threat to the uniformed officer shouldn’t be anything at all since no gun would be drawn on them. Simple, elegant, and much more reliable then any gun disabling technology. Also it’s harder for criminals to use it to disarm the officers. Not every problem needs to be solved through the use of expensive technology.

A Court with Common Sense, This is a Rare One

A while back (before I started this blog) there was a rather frightening story…

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/boston-college-prompt-commands-are-suspicious

A computer science student at Boston College was arrested. His room mate accused the student of “hacking” into the school’s computer systems and changing other students’ grades as well as ending out e-mails purporting the room mate was gay. But the reasoning on the warrant from the police is what was the scariest. The warrant for his arrest stated…

uses two different operating systems to hide his illegal activities. One is the regular B. C. operating system and the other is a black screen with white font which he uses prompt commands on.

So the evidence the police has was the fact the student was dual booting Windows and Linux (Linux is specifically mentioned later in the EFF article). Apparently Linux was being used to hide the student’s illegal activities. I mean we all know anything run via a command prompt is an operating system for only the most serious business of the serious business hackers.

Lord knows I could easily be arrested under such justification. Thankfully the Massachusets Supreme Court threw the case out…

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/06/update_on_compu.html

It’s nice to see some common sense dealing with potential computer crime still exists. Normally simply accusing somebody is a “hacker” is enough to get a court case. Couple that with a lawyer who can spew enough technical jargon, no matter how incorrect the jargon is used, and it is enough to convict the suspect.

Greenpeace Being Morons Again

Man I hate these guys…

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/08460718-4e0f-11de-a0a1-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

So the road to blame all meat eating people for the world’s problems is being further paved. Now us omnivores and carnivores are being blamed for the destruction of the rain forest.

The sum of it is since we eat meat and potentially use leather products we make a demand for cattle. The demand for cattle requires Brazilian farmers to burn down more rain forest to create more pasture. I have a better idea, maybe we should blame those farmers burning down rain forest to create pasture land.

I’m getting damned sick and tired of this attitude of people who eat meat are villainous. This is like the letter to the editor some lady sent into to The Red Star (I mean the Star Tribune) saying people who eat meat are immoral because they support the killing of animals. Well I have news for all you meat haters, animals have been killing each other for sustenance well before we came around. Instead of taking the moral high ground why don’t you just eat your non-animal products and be happy and quiet about it.

Possible Oil Price Manipulation? No Shit?

The feds are investigating the possibility that oil prices are being manipulated…

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/05/gas_prices246.html

I don’t think there really needs to be an investigation on this one, it’s pretty obvious. What’s next? Will the feds investigate the possibility that water is wet?

Source: http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2009/05/28/feds-probing-possible-oil-market-manipulation-oh-wait/

Jealous Countries want United States to Relinquish Internet “Control”

Another thing that irritates me is the fact that the rest of the world apparently things the United States should relinquish control of the root DNS servers. I’ll drop this link to a slashdot.org story for reference…

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/28/1734243

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how the Internet works I’ll give a brief explanation of the DNS (Domain Name System). Each website is located on a computer which has a number associated with it called an IP (Internet Protocol) address. For instance the IP address of this web site is 74.200.243.253 (actually that’s wordpress.com’s IP address which hosts me). Typing that address in would take you to wordpress.com

Of course numbers aren’t really useful to human being when it comes to associating things. Because of this we designed a system to translate names to IP addresses. When you type in www.google.com what is actually happening behind the scenes is your browser is asking a DNS server to return the IP address of www.google.com. Once the browser gets the IP address it accesses Google though the IP address.

So the DNS is pretty much a phone book for the Internet. And the master servers (called root servers) are the rulers of the roost. They are controlled by ICANN via contract from the United States Department of Commerce.

What many other countries are saying is since the Internet is a multi-national entity that the United States should give control of the DNS to some third party (usually the United Nation’s name is dropped). This is a case of pure jealously and idiocy.

The Internet is an evolution of ARPANET. ARPANET was created by the United States Department of Defense as a project to create a communication network that would survive a nuclear strike for the Soviets. Anyways through much work and finagling this evolved into the Internet that we know today.

This bring my first argument against surrendering control of the DNS over to some other entity. America invested the initial capital and research into the creation of the Internet. We then opened it up for everybody to use. Now being it was a government project apparently different rules apply to it. Because when a corporate creation becomes a world wide de facto item (like Microsoft Windows) no other government calls for it’s release to a third party. Releasing the DNS root servers to international oversight would be like Microsoft releasing the source code for Windows to international oversight. Yet nobody calls for that because it’s understood Microsoft put the initial capital and research (i.e. they bought DOS from a third party and rebranded it after some small adjustments) into Windows so they own it.

My next issue is this, the Internet is not censored. It’s an open means of communication which anybody can use, even an opinionated ass such as myself. This is accomplished for one main reason, the United State’s right of free speech. I can imagine the second some other entity such as the United Nations got control over the DNS censorship wouldn’t be far behind. For instance the United Nations is very anti-gun so I’m sure pro-gun sites would get axed. Being they have a lot of clout with the United Nations I’m sure the European Union could get a resolution passed to ban any negative talk about the Lisbon Treaty as well. Pretty much the bastion of free speech that we know of as the Internet would become akin to what China does with the Internet.

Problem three with the United States relinquishing control of the DNS is the fact that there is nothing stopping any other entity from starting their own root servers. The DNS is incredibly dynamic and anybody can setup a DNS server. Hell your network and work probably has one. If Britain wanted to control a DNS server they could most certainly set one up and use it. Nothing is stopping them. So instead of bitching they could try setting up their own system and force their citizens to use it.

Finally the system currently works. I’m a big fan of the idea that if something isn’t broken don’t fix it. The Internet works incredibly well at the moment so why the Hell should we do something drastic like rework the DNS? All that will do is break something and we’ll be fucked bad.

Apparently the American Flag is Offensive?

I’m going to try to control the storm off foul language that’s currently running through my head…

http://cbs11tv.com/local/patriotism.at.office.2.1020415.html

So for Memorial Day Debbie McLucas puts up an American flag in her office (located at Kindred Healthcare). This is a pretty common thing to do in America, which is where she is. But her boss (shit head) and a supervisor (douche bag) found the flag offensive. They both told her she needed to take it down.

Well apparently she didn’t (good on you Debbie) and Mr. Bag did it for her. She came into her office to find the flag on the floor (completely against flag protocol).

Well eventually Kindred Healthcare posted a statement on their website (no link was given by the news article so I can’t reference it here, sorry) which stated the following…

“The disagreement was over the size of the flag and not what it symbolized. We have invited the employee to put the flag back up.”

So the flag was three foot by five foot at that’s too big? Hmm… I know my company has a full sized flag hanging on a flag pole right outside of our office. I know this not just because I walk by it every day but also because we replaced the flag on Memorial Day. We also gave the old flag to the local VFW for proper disposal.

Anyways being two people said the flag was “offensive” I don’t think the take down had anything to do with size. This is standard company speak for “We fucked up and don’t want to accept blame for it.”

What the Hell has a country come to when you can’t even display that country’s flag?

Here is the contact information for the company…

Kindred Healthcare
Corporate Headquarters
680 South Fourth Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202

502-596-7300
800-545-0749

web_administrator@kindredhealthcare.com

Source: http://gunrightsradio.com/forums2/index.php/topic,1782.0.html

It’s the Gun Store’s Fault

No story to link to on this one. This post is more or less going to be a rant about one of the dumbest ideas ever, blaming the gun dealer for a criminal’s activities.

I don’t remember where I saw this but a group of people were outside of a gun store protesting because a criminal (who wasn’t one at the time of purchasing his gun) obtained his firearm from the store. The protesters were trying to blame the store owner for selling the man the gun even though the man passes a background check (and of course anti-gunners love the idea of background checks).

Now maybe I’m dense enough to have my own event horizon but I don’t understand how you can blame a gun dealer for the actions of one of their customers.

Let’s compare this to the automotive industry. There is a massive number of D.W.I. fine written out every year. This is because people are stupid enough to drink booze then attempt to drive.

If we follow the earlier mentioned protesters’ logic we should be blaming the automotive dealers every time a drunk driver kills somebody in an accident. Just like the gun dealer the automotive dealers are simply selling a product to another person. They don’t know what the buyer is going to do with the car they sell them. For all the dealer knows the buyer could be planning to use their newly purchased car to attempt to kill the Dutch Queen (Google it).

Hell we might as well just go all out. We may as well blame Target for selling a kitchen knife if it’s used in a stabbing. Why not blame Best Buy when somebody uses a computer purchased there to write a computer virus?

The reason we don’t blame the automotive industry, Target, or Best Buy for any of the mentioned actions is because most of us are smart enough to realize they didn’t have a hand in any of those actions. They simply sold a consumer a product. But according to some people this concept is no longer relevant when a gun is involved. What the Hell makes gun dealers responsible for doing the exact same thing GM (oh wait they aren’t selling cars) Ford (who aren’t selling many) does?

This lack of logic is what I hate about the anti-gun movement. Every argument they made can be stricken down by actual facts and the light use of logic. Their arguments are based entirely on emotions. Generally that emotion is a fear of guns. But as with most emotion driven arguments logic isn’t the basis. In fact logic is strictly ignored for if it were used the argument would not be viable.

Soon not Having a White Roof will be Illegal

The things “scientists” will say to get a piece of that Al Gore’s Apocalypse “research” money…

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6366639.ece

Apparently if we all paint our roofs white it will reduce carbon emissions (you know the stuff plants use to perform photosynthesis and create oxygen) as much as removing all vehicles from the roads for 11 years.

I’m tossing this one in the “I want global warming money so here is a crackpot idea” pile. Sadly if this “research” catches on you know the current administration will seriously consider a law that would make it illegal to have a roof that isn’t white. Cripes.

American Academy of Pediatrics View on Guns

In the last episode of the Handgun Podcast (the episode title is Technical Difficulties) Eric mentioned he picked up an anti-gun brochure from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It sounded bad so I asked him if I could get a scan which is so kindly provided. So here it is.

http://christopherburg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/anti-gun-pediatrics.pdf

So I’ll just give my view on the brochure on a point by point basis.

Firearms Injury Prevention
More than 44 million American own firearms. Of the 192 million firearms owned in the United States, 65 million are handguns.

Oh the humanity! Not handguns. Whatever shall we do, they are almost as evil as “assault weapons.”

Research shows guns in the homes are a serious risk to families.

I guess this could be true if the guns are lying around where kids can get at them. Kenn Blanchard told a story on his Urban Shooter podcasts about his grandmother. She kept a loaded shotgun behind the stove. Not once did the kids touch them because they were educated on the fact they shouldn’t touch guns without adult supervision. Go figure, who would have thought education could be beneficial. Apparently not the American education system.

Let’s go through their bullet list of fallacies.

A gun kept in the home is 43 times more likely to kill someone known to the family than to kill someone in self-defense.

I guess if we are going to include suicides than maybe this starts to make some shred of sense. But still it doesn’t. Just look at the Gun Facts document in the link.

A gun kept in the home triples the risk of homicide.

So because I own a gun I’m more likely to be a victim of suicide? Or am I the one who will commit homicide? Or will the gun kill people by itself? Vague facts usually aren’t facts at all but made up.

The risk of suicide is 5 times more likely if a gun is kept in the home.

So as long as I don’t have a gun I won’t commit suicide? I didn’t realize that guns caused depression. Interesting.

Lets look at the “Advice to parents” this brochure provides.

The best way to keep your children safe from injury or death from guns is to NEVER have a gun in the home.

What’s the best way to be defenseless when somebody breaks into your home? Why that’s to NEVER have a gun in the home. But hey when a criminal with a gun breaks into your home and threatens your child’s life what will you do if you don’t have a gun? Ask him not to shoot your child?

While we’re on the subject cars related incidents kill FAR more people every year then gun related incidents. The best way to avoid dying in a car accident is to NEVER have a car.

Find out if there are guns in the homes where your children play. If so, talk to the adults in the house about the dangers of guns to their family.

Yes be a good sheep and try to force your views on other people. Seriously does this mean if I know somebody who doesn’t have guns in their home I should tell them the dangers of being defenseless?

And then the classic line.

For those who know of the dangers of guns but still keep a gun in the home

You terrible human being you. You know guns are terrible evil devices that will murder your family and make you commit suicide, yet you still keep them in the home! For shame. What kind of advice does the American Academy of Pediatrics have for you horrible people?

Always keep the gun unloaded and locked up.

Lock and store the bullets in a separate place.

That’s right make the gun useless in a situation where you need it. Great advice, make your best means of defense worthless. Uh huh.

Anyways here is the link to Gun Facts which I mentioned.

http://www.gunfacts.info/

Finally I leave you with the contact information of the person who’s name is on this document.

Meredith A. Byington M.D.

1317 E. Hwy 175, Suite 800
Crandall, Texas 75114
972-472-3800

Her company’s (really shitty) website is http://www.mykaleidoscopekids.com.

Hey if she didn’t want this information out she wouldn’t have put it in here document.

Source: http://handgunpodcast.com/

Always Treat Guns as if They’re Loaded

While browsing SayUncle I found a story that perfectly portrays why you always treat a gun as if it’s loaded…

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/293333

So a hopefully soon to be Darwin Award nominee named Samuel Benally Jr. decided to explain gun safety.

Samuel Benally Jr. was at an apartment on West Tacoma Street when he said guns should be kept unloaded because people could point them at their heads, said Sierra Vista police Sgt. Brett Mitchell.

What does he do afterward? Puts his Ruger pistol t his head and pulls the trigger. He thought it was unloaded, he thought wrong. And now he’s dead. It’s nice to see Darwin hasn’t left us completely, he’s still there pruning the gene pool.

I guess my tag “You Can’t Cure Stupid” isn’t completely accurate. The late Mr. Benally proved it.

Source: http://www.saysuncle.com/2009/05/19/rule-1/