What I just realized about legalizing marijuana
I’ll start by saying that I do, in fact, support legalizing marijuana. But I also think it would be a good idea to legalize heroin, cocaine, and prostitution. I do NOT support legalizing them because I think they are OK to engage in. I want them legalized because I am SICK of people thinking that it is a CAUSE, and I’d rather have law enforcement working on other things.
Look – if you want to sit in your house with your face attached to a skull bong carved out of volcanic rock all day instead of being productive – then go nuts. I don’t think you’re going to go crazy and rob liquor stores or become a child molester. But let’s get two things absolutely clear:
1. If you smoke pot every day, there is an almost 100% chance that you are a complete LOSER. I can already hear people arguing – just save it. I know PLENTY of people who smoke it every day, and you can count their redeeming life qualities on on hand. A hand that had been in a lawnmower accident.
2. Quit trying to make the Big Case for legalization. Yes – it should be. No – it will NOT be. It is not politically wise to stand up and say that you think anything that seems unsavory to conservatives should be legalized. And that’s too bad – it really is. But that’s how it is. Phelps got what he deserved, because if he had thought about what would have happened if he got caught smoking weed, he would have realized it would be just exactly what DID happen.
To summarize: if you spend any time at all making a big argument for the legalization of marijuana, you need to put down the BONG, and find another cause. It’s not harmless. It never has been.
Moving to Skype
I’ve known for a long time that Skype is the way to go for direct calling. Even knowing that, I have – for some unexplained reason – just kept paying monthly fees to Time Warner and now Verizon for unlimited calling services. No more.
Had a call with the ass-kicking offshore developers at Sakha this morning, and it was all via Skype. Instant connections, crystal clear, and to INDIA. While I was in it, decided to see just what it would cost to get all set up. Turns out it’s pretty fair. Like REALLY fair. For unlimited national calling and an inbound phone number with voice mail it ends up being around $60 for a YEAR. Compared to $50 a MONTH for Verizon, it ends up being a no brainer.
Goodbye landline.
New Years
– Ended up at a VFW at midnight. Not the plan at ALL, but ended up being really fun.
– 750 entries to stiffs.com. Happy with that.
– Looking forward to a great 2009
Washington Mutual
Short post: WaMu is absolutely, positively, the worst POSSIBLE bank ever even IMAGINED my man. I am ASTOUNDED that one financial institution can get SO many things SO wrong, SO much of the time. NEVER, EVER bank with these idiots.
OK, so maybe I should lay off
For those who know me, I don’t mind a little drink now and then. So this article was especially interesting, considering I have personally experienced ALL of those symptoms, and more than once in the past month.
So I think I’ll lay off for a while. Of course there’s New Years Eve, so it will have to be after that. And then my birthday, so after that. Then Vegas end of January – so February. After Valentine’s day. Although that is getting pretty close to St.Pats. Which is only a couple of weeks before The Masters – and we always have a party for that. So May. Damn. Cinco De Mayo. June is Father’s Day and the US Open. 4th of July. August. We’ll shoot for August.
Stiffs.com 2009 game is up!
That’s right kids – 12 months of sick fun for the whole family for just $15 – or 3 entries for $30!
Get over to stiffs.com right now and sign up. It’s super fun!
Verizon FIOS in Los Angeles
Yes. It’s here. I’ve heard nothing but good things, and was about done with the outages and poor customer service at Time Warner cable. So I did it – and this is no small deal. I have digital TV, DVR, phone ANd Internet ALL through Time Warner. But I did it anyway.
First step after signing up was to get the actual fiber pulled from the pole to the house, done by a different team than the Verizon installer. That took a week to schedule, but installed no problem once they were out. Then came the install. I got an 8-10am install window last Thursday, and was told to play 4-6 hours for installation, and an extra two if I was getting TV AND Internet. No way would it take that long, I thought. Actually, it did. The guy showed up at 8am and left at 3pm. 7 hours. Oh – but worth it.
So now I have 4 TVs with boxes, 3 of hem with HD and DVR. I have Internet phone, with my old number ported over, and Internet that is just about exactly FOUR TIMES FASTER than it was before. I actually tested before and after the install. Time Warner: 5750 Kbps down, 485 up. Verizon: 19518 down, 4488 up. Crazy.
Best part of all? $50 a month LESS than Time Warner. So yeah. Recommended.
Sorting a LOT of data
Very interesting article on how Google sorts data – the punchline being that they sorted 1 petabyte (which is 1000 terabytes, or 1 million gigabytes – don’t even try to comprehend it – it’s not possible) in 6 hours and two minutes. Trust me when I tell you – that is absolutely amazing. Sorting is really the heart of what Google does, and to be able to do it that fast in astounding. And on only 4000 computers!
The other interesting part of this story is how they actually STORED that much sorted data. Easy! Just put it on 48,000 hard drives. I’m not kidding. Read the article.
The Seventh Sign of the Apocalypse
The end of the world? Why? Because my MOM has a BLOG now. It just seems impossible that she is just off writing on the Interwebs, but it’s true. And guess what? She’s AWERSOME at it. Don’t take my word for it. Go look. Bookmark. Tell your friends. Send her money.
Sydney in Seussical
Oh mercy. Is this child talented or what? Her middle school put on Seussical for their class play this year – and it was just unreal. Everyone did a great job, but I must say – Sydney is just unreal. Her singing, her acting – it all just WORKS.
Video? Why yes, in fact there is some.