Would you buy a used E-meter from this man?
4 minute read
March 15, 2010, 12:17 AM
Anonymous had its March raid on Saturday. Appropriately, it was Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard‘s 99th birthday on the day we raided. Our theme was over-the-top rainbow.
I, however, had a different look in mind for myself. Working next door to the monstrosity known as the Founding Church of Scientology, I see them around quite a bit. And the uniform for the Org staff at the Ideal Org location is a black suit and gold pocket square. The shirt varies between black turtleneck and white collared shirt. I have a black suit. I also have a black turtleneck. And with this kind of spoofing in mind, I ordered a gold pocket square. And I dressed up in their uniform, in order to possibly de-legitimize the Scientologists in the eyes of the public. So the question becomes, would you buy a used E-meter from this man?
Continue reading…Categories: Project Chanology
Now this is what civil disobedience is meant for…
3 minute read
March 9, 2010, 7:21 PM
I read an article on The Washington Post‘s site on my lunch hour at work today, where Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has urged Virginia state colleges to rescind policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Basically, Cuccinelli contends that the colleges have no legal right to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, and that only the General Assembly can ban such discrimination. According to the article, the General Assembly has declined to make that move numerous times, including this week.
I took a few things from this. First of all, Virginia apparently got the administration that it deserved. They voted for these knuckleheads, and they got exactly what they deserved – people who want to take Virginia a few decades backwards on social issues. Bob McDonnell certainly got high points from me during Virginia’s gubernatorial race last year for the privatize-the-liquor-stores bit, and the reopening-the-rest-areas bit. And Creigh Deeds was certainly a weak candidate. But considering that McDonnell wants to cut spending on public education and the attorney general wants to roll back protections for gays and lesbians has me really annoyed. We don’t want Virginia to turn into a state as backwards as South Carolina, where a state lawmaker actually introduced legislation to ban paper currency. I like to say that Virginia can produce an educated citizenry. However, if you can’t pay your professors…
Additionally, this is what civil disobedience is meant for. I’ve thought for a while that a lot of the civil disobedience that happens at protests and such is just for show. I don’t quite see how sitting in the street until you’re arrested (in a pre-arranged arrest, no less) and things of that nature get much accomplished. However, these state colleges should respectfully tell Ken Cuccinelli to go shove it, and that they will continue to maintain their non-discrimination policies that protect people based on sexual orientation regardless. After all, the heart of civil disobedience is in protesting an unjust law by blatantly disobeying it.
Categories: State and local politics
So the redesign for CSS is coming along well…
3 minute read
March 1, 2010, 1:42 AM
The redesign of this site to implement CSS layouts is coming along well. So far, all the major templates are built, the site navigates, and the Archives and Major Areas sections are complete.
I’m building the new version of the site in a “sandbox“, and I’m going to launch it all at once. This isn’t going to be a launch-in-sections like I did in 2004 and 2007. I’m doing the whole thing at once. I’m also deliberately designing it to make sure that no links change. The site still uses PHP, so it’s not like pages are going to have to get re-spidered anyway for an extension change.
As far as how things are going to look, expect to see a number of tweaks. All the screen-captures in Major Areas are updated, and Major Areas has a new header image. In Archives, the Vintage Schumin Web page has been completely rewritten, and I’ve attempted to clean up navigation on the Site Updates page. Then also look for various minor changes throughout, as I bold this or italicize that.
Right now, I’m most worried about two areas. I’m worried about the Main Page, and the Journal. For the Main Page, the Photo Feature concerns me. Currently, the database supplies the left edge of the main content panel, because it varies depending on whether the Photo Feature is horizontal or vertical. I feel that implementing that variable in CSS will be something of a challenge, but I think I’m up to it. Then in the Journal, I’m not too worried about actually designing it all. I’m more worried that a few entries might break a CSS-designed layout and have to get fixed. I’m not too keen about having to comb through 1,200-some Journal entries to find a few bad apples, though I have a feeling I know which ones might break the new page if something is going to break it. Hopefully that concern is unfounded, and everything will go smoothly. We’ll soon find out, I suppose.
Categories: Schumin Web meta
It’s okay to want to celebrate one’s birthday on one’s own terms…
3 minute read
February 25, 2010, 7:24 PM
I had an interesting discussion with Mom today about birthdays. And at this point in the year, it’s more academic than about planning, because the next birthday is my brother-in-law’s in the middle of next month (and for the record, saying “my brother-in-law” still sounds odd). Then Mom’s doesn’t come up until April, and mine in May. When it comes to my birthday, the last one I was really all excited about was my 21st, and that was kind of tempered when I got a speeding ticket on the way up to JMU that morning. Then 22 and 23 came and passed without much fanfare, but then 24 is one where I rebelled against my birthday. That was the one where I really got serious about celebrating my birthday on my terms. That year, I wanted no cake, and no celebrations of any kind. And my mother never really “got it” on that one.
With mothers, birthdays are kind of interesting. After all, it was a special day for Mom, too. I came into the world, and Mom kinda had to, you know, have a baby. Lots of pain, I’m sure, since Mom went through 30 hours of labor with me before the doctor determined that I wasn’t coming out that way, and I ended up being born via C-section. But I like to think I was worth it, and Mom readily admits the same. But I think the whole giving-birth bit is why she’s not able to quite figure out why I want to celebrate birthdays quietly on my own terms. Mom wants to celebrate it because, after all, she became a mother on my birthday. But still…
I’ve said before in this space, as well as in the old quote section, that I kind of don’t like awards ceremonies. Okay, I loathe them. I would rather eat razor blades than attend an awards ceremony. It’s because I don’t like being thrust in the center of attention. And birthdays, if not celebrated properly, fall into the same category. I for one don’t like birthday cards. It’s unwanted recognition. Save the money you would spend on the cheap sentiment and do something else.
Categories: Birthdays
It’s raining, and wouldn’t you know it…
4 minute read
February 22, 2010, 8:08 PM
It’s raining, and wouldn’t you know it, I left my umbrella on the Metro coming home. I find this kind of ironic for two reasons.
First of all, while I was still at work, one of my coworkers wanted to take the umbrella, thinking I had pinched this one that had been sitting abandoned in a corner for about six months or so. I told him that this one was my “work” umbrella, and that the other one was still there.
Then secondly, when I got into my seat, I noticed that someone else had already forgotten an umbrella in that same seat. Then on the long ride back to Glenmont, I took one of my famous Metro naps. I woke up as we were pulling into Glenmont (going over the switch south of Glenmont tends to wake me up), and got off the train. The train went out of service at Glenmont, and headed for the yard. Then as I was riding the escalator up to the street, I realized it – no umbrella. Crap. Well, there goes ten bucks. So I saw that some poor schmuck had left their umbrella in the seat, and then left a second one to go with it.
This will mark the second time I’ve redesigned Schumin Web to have it end up looking almost exactly the same as it did before…
3 minute read
February 21, 2010, 12:30 AM
Categories: Schumin Web meta
Well, isn’t that a beaut…
3 minute read
February 17, 2010, 7:14 PM
Today was one of those days where it could only get better considering the way it started. Take a look at this:
Categories: Myself, Snowmageddon
And that’s the end of the gutter.
3 minute read
February 11, 2010, 8:52 PM
Ah, the joys of record snowfall. Cabin fever and collapsing gutters. And today, the gutter collapse went ahead and finished itself off. First of all, this is what we started with:
Categories: Snowmageddon
And snowed in again.
3 minute read
February 10, 2010, 3:08 PM
Winter certainly is packing a punch this week, isn’t it? First the snowstorm on Friday, and now today. And meanwhile, the collapse of the gutters continued, as the gutter that had collapsed under the weight of the snow over my neighbor’s balcony now collapsed over my balcony, leaving this board with nails in it hanging ominously overhead:
Categories: Movies, Snowmageddon
More snow? Ayyyyy…
2 minute read
February 8, 2010, 4:59 PM
I can’t get over that they’re forecasting even more snow for tomorrow. But that’s what the folks at Capital Weather Gang are saying. And this after I finally accomplished something:
Categories: Snowmageddon
Okay, that’s enough…
2 minute read
February 7, 2010, 3:08 PM
Well, I got the windows cleared. That’s probably enough for now, since the maintenance folks are going to need to do some more plowing before I can even think about moving the car. There’s more than six feet of two-foot-deep snow (some of which can support my weight) behind the car that I can’t move with the tools that I have.
But just to show you the epicness of this snowfall, here are pix:
The snow next to the car is up to my knees.
Categories: Snowmageddon
Another gutter bites the dust…
4 minute read
February 7, 2010, 1:36 PM
Categories: Snowmageddon, WMATA
The snow caused a gutter to collapse!
3 minute read
February 6, 2010, 8:11 PM
Yes, the wet, heavy snow (compared to the light, powdery stuff in December) caused a gutter on my apartment building to collapse. And I happened to get before-and-after photos. Take a look:
Categories: Snowmageddon
I am ready to be snowed in…
3 minute read
February 5, 2010, 12:22 AM
I am ready to be snowed in this weekend. The Sable is safely parked, and the cabinets are full. I am set. My castle is stocked up. Bring it on, nature.
Otherwise, today I discovered that adults can be just as bad as children when it comes to getting revved up about a potential snow day. All I heard today was, “Do you think we’re going to get tomorrow off?” I was all, noooooooo, since I think that the Feds have already decided on their course of action. They’re operating under an unscheduled leave policy for Friday, which for us basically means show up. Now whether they close early once the snow starts coming down is another story.
Meanwhile, speaking of snow days, when I was in school, I always just wanted to strangle those teachers that acted like it was our fault for missing school due to bad winter weather when we grumbled about having to go to school on Memorial Day for make-up days. These teachers that would say, “You had your Memorial Day back in January!” Big help. Like it’s my fault that it snowed. I remember my seventh grade year was hell for that kind of thing. We had something like 16 snow days that year. Thus we had no days off of any kind except for weekends from the last snow day in March through to like June 16 plus one Saturday (yes, we had one make-up day on a Saturday). And when you couple that with the fact that my homeroom teacher was a real d—–bag, it made for a very rough year. This particular teacher even made fun of me (in a mean way) in front of the whole class when he presented me my perfect attendance certificate at the end of the year. I had better attendance than he did that year, and he made fun of me…
Categories: Snowmageddon, Walmart, WMATA
And it’s snowing again.
3 minute read
February 2, 2010, 9:37 PM
Yep… it’s snowing again. And of course, I’m still hitting the workahol, staying tonight until 7:30. When I stay late, I drive, and when I drove through, the roads got progressively worse the further north I went. P Street NW in DC was fine. Then 16th Street NW in DC was also fine. Crossing into Maryland, 16th Street was good. Then Georgia Avenue inside the beltway was all right, but once I cleared Wheaton, I started having to guess about where the lanes were. I really had to slow down in the last two miles home, once I cleared Glenmont station. Then my street was white except for tire tracks. But I made it, and I am once again in my nice, warm apartment.
Meanwhile, they’re calling for a good bit of frozen precipitation this weekend. Capital Weather Gang gives a 20% chance of more than eight inches. However, the reality is that they don’t know. They gave a 25% chance of less than an inch, a 25% chance of 1-4 inches, a 30% chance of 4-8 inches, and then the aforementioned 20% chance of more than eight. But instead of saying “I don’t know”, professional weather forecasters just guess. After all, giving something like that looks a lot smarter than “dunno”.
Otherwise, I’ve been meaning to show an old family photo for about a month now. Take a look:
Categories: Driving, Family, Winter weather, Work