Random Rants, by Thomas Andrew Olson

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-126211642011-12-01T04:43:18.223-05:00Random Rants, by Thomas Andrew OlsonA place of political, social and technological meanderings.TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-86110448671680415152007-08-06T15:43:00.001-04:002007-08-06T15:43:05.683-04:00Buddhist Monk Reincarnates as Chinese Bureaucrat, Arrests Self

I just don't know how else to describe it. It's too fucking absurd. Go here.Perhaps this will foment a new revolt to free Tibet: "No Reincarnation Without Representation!" could be their battle cry.

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-54449032012271706662007-08-03T10:54:00.001-04:002007-08-03T10:54:05.532-04:00Coming to a showroom near you, the new Nissan "Orwell"

Yes, indeed, folks. Without being asked by anyone, Japanese automaker Nissan is taking it upon themselves to "solve" the DUI problem by making a car with multiple biometric technology interlocks, the sole purpose of which being to save the driver from him/herself.It monitors your breath, your body odor, facial expressions, eye movements, the sweat on your palms, and probably your brain wave

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-60229571563355441542007-06-01T10:59:00.001-04:002007-06-01T10:59:25.561-04:00Seduced and Abandoned - Cindy Calls it Quits

When I first saw the title of Cindy Sheehan's piece, "Goodbye, America," in yesterday's Chron, I had an initial fleeting thought that she actually meant it. Was she so fed up with war, the Bushies, the Dems, and the failings of peace-activists that she finally just said "Fuck it all, I'm moving to Argentina and learning tango."?Well...no. But the honest, gutsy outpouring that has characterized

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-56144670176512062532007-05-31T09:24:00.001-04:002007-05-31T09:24:15.239-04:00Perhaps we should see more of this at home

Two interesting articles caught my eye yesterday: (1) The Chinese equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration chief was actually sentenced to death for his key role in a corruption/bribery scandal leading to the poisoning and potential deaths of their US-export customers and their pets; and (2) Japan's Agriculture Minister hanged himself in shame, over allegations of significant bookkeeping

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1172254260352767692007-02-23T13:11:00.000-05:002007-02-23T13:11:00.406-05:00Try doing this in a Blue State

My "hero of the week" is a retired, 70-year-old ex-Marine named Allan Clady, who, when attacked by muggers on a cruise-line tour bus in Costa Rica, killed one of the assailants with his bare hands. This prompted the other riders to defend themselves, and forced the remaining attackers to flee.Actually, there's another hero in this story: the local police chief, Luis Hernandez, who confirmed no

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1163019057086563552006-11-08T15:50:00.000-05:002006-11-08T15:50:57.126-05:00A quick thought on yesterday

The biggest news for me, today, wasn't that the Dems retook the House, and, at last count, are 7000 VA votes away from capturing the Senate, but rather the surprise announcement of Rumsfeld's resignation as Secretary of Defense.Bush claimed that he expected Rummy would serve until the end of his administration, and Rummy himself indicated he wouldn't go sooner, unless it was involuntary. Could it

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1162841973818566042006-11-06T14:39:00.000-05:002006-11-06T14:39:33.926-05:00All Incumbents Must Go

While I agree, in principle, with the position taken by several LRC contributors that elections today are little more than a scam supporting institutionalized corruption, I still intend to cast a ballot on Tuesday. I have no illusion that my vote – if it’s even counted correctly – is going to make one bit of difference in terms of my own vision for the future of political governance in this

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1162475789531822902006-11-02T08:56:00.000-05:002006-11-02T08:56:30.123-05:00Kerry's Gaffe Changes...What???

OK, so John Kerry botched a joke aimed at Bush. But then I guess only a shallow fool or a posturing Republican would have failed to get the joke in the first place. I picked up what he was trying to say immediately, but gave him minus points for delivery.But no, everyone had to get in a big huff over it, claiming he was taking nasty potshots at the troops - yeah, right - like that's something a '

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1158285773154157282006-09-14T22:02:00.000-04:002006-09-14T22:02:53.153-04:009/11 Retrospective, Part 4

[This is the fourth in a series of retrospective articles originally posted to my personal website on Lycos/Tripod in 2001, concerning my thoughts on the events of five years ago, as they unfolded at the time]The Madness of King GeorgeNew York, March 21, 2002Dr. Strangelove has taken over the Administration.Our government's recent proclamation that it will now consider the nuclear option against

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1158285660297589012006-09-14T22:01:00.000-04:002006-09-14T22:01:00.296-04:009/11 Retrospective, Part 3

[This is the third in a series of retrospective articles originally posted to my personal website on Lycos/Tripod in 2001, concerning my thoughts on the events of five years ago, as they unfolded at the time]PathwaysMarshalls Creek, PA, December 21st, 2001If I didn't understand what it was like to be a minority before, I certainly do now.I've been away for quite some time, looking at the world

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1158285533215238322006-09-14T21:58:00.000-04:002006-09-14T21:58:53.216-04:009/11 Retrospective, Part 2

[This is the second in a series of retrospective articles originally posted to my personal website on Lycos/Tripod in 2001, concerning my thoughts on the events of five years ago, as they unfolded at the time]It Won't Kill Us to TalkNew York, October 1st, 2001I believe it was Winston Churchill who said, "It's better to jaw, jaw, jaw than war, war, war."While I agree that the Taliban ruling regime

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1158285263219335982006-09-14T21:54:00.000-04:002006-09-14T21:57:53.510-04:009/11 Retrospective, Part 1

[This is the first in a series of retrospective articles originally posted to my personal website on Lycos/Tripod in 2001, concerning my thoughts on the events of five years ago, as they unfolded at the time]The Folly of EmpireNew York, September 21st, 2001It's times like these that I wish Barbara Tuchman was still with us.Though not considered a "professional" historian by the literati, she

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1155912474516961042006-08-18T10:47:00.000-04:002006-08-18T10:47:54.520-04:00Why won't they let me celebrate?

Killjoys are everywhere, these days. I'm not allowed a single moment to savor a victory in life, as the forces of fear, coercion and destruction are constantly on alert for any signs of joy, happiness or peace within oneself, and instantly swing into action to snuff out that flickering flame.I expressed joy the other day at Joe Loserman's loss in the CT Dem. primary, and his sore-loser's decision

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1155148476065635472006-08-09T14:34:00.000-04:002006-08-09T14:34:36.093-04:00Joe "Loserman" works for Republican win in CT

Anyone reading this who's 50-plus probably remember the old Looney Tunes cartoon featuring the mildly dimwitted but always high-principled elephant, who, when he made a commitment, stuck to it no matter what. Whenever challenged, he would reply, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant..."Apparently, in a twisted reversal of this noble take, Senator "Un-elect" Joe Lieberman, losing his cushy

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1150309006107615032006-06-14T14:16:00.000-04:002006-06-14T14:16:46.153-04:00Confederate Flags in Space, Oh My!

Apparently, Keith Cowing got his knickers in a bunch over an attempt by someone on eBay to profit from "momentos" allegedly flown by a cosmonaut on a recent Soyuz/ISS mission. Of course, such profiteering on the part of ISS participants is not allowed by a NASA-written code of conduct, but that wasn't the issue, here. The issue was the nature of the momentos themselves, namely, a number of small

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1149248329642216212006-06-02T07:38:00.000-04:002006-06-02T07:38:49.676-04:00Scariest Movie of the Summer

No, it's not a slash-em-up by Wes Craven. It's called "America: From Freedom to Fascism", by Aaron Russo. Here's a quick review:"FOUR STARS (Highest Rating). The scariest goddamn film you'll see this year. It will leave you staggering out of the theatre, slack-jawed and trembling. Makes 'Fahrenheit 9/11' look like 'Bambi.' After watching this movie, your comfy, secure notions about America -- and

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1147886318785017742006-05-17T13:18:00.000-04:002006-05-17T13:18:38.830-04:00I wish Verizon would make up its mind

After all the hoopla surrounding Verizon's alleged passing of millions of phone records to the NSA since 9/11, the large telecom is now claiming that the recent USA Today expose was a pack of lies.However, the response to my angry rant that I received from Verizon Customer Service last week, was far more vague:"Dear T. Olson,Thank you for contacting the Verizon eCenter. My name is Christine, and

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1147191330979023022006-05-09T12:15:00.000-04:002006-05-09T12:15:31.036-04:00NASA needs young replacements...but don't we all?

NASA, it appears, is having a personnel problem.It seems that their graying workforce is not seeing enough turnaround, and promising young engineering grads are either going elsewhere, or are convinced to go into different fields entirely before even entering college. Thus there is fear that NASA could experience a shortage of home-grown rocket scientists, etc. in the not too distant future, as

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1146596997066383342006-05-02T15:09:00.000-04:002006-05-03T08:37:54.656-04:00"A Day Without Immigrants" is like a day without...well...you know...Spanish...

Some random thoughts on the immigration issue - as you will see, it's all over the map, so have fun:The late, great Harry Browne used to say that a truly free and prosperous society had nothing to fear from immigration, but that a welfare state had everything to fear - fear of too many poor people trying to get in, and fear of a lot of rich people trying to get out. His statement has been borne

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1146235244410897032006-04-28T10:40:00.000-04:002006-04-28T10:40:44.436-04:00"Fear Tower" breaks ground

After 4 1/2 years of stupid wrangling by greedhead developers and posturing pols over the fate of "Pataki's Pit" - known to the world as the former site of the World Trade Center - an "agreement" has finally been reached to allow construction to proceed - the construction of an architectural abomination ironically named the Freedom Tower.Despite polls taken over the last several years,

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1145298028022581982006-04-17T14:20:00.000-04:002006-04-17T14:20:28.056-04:00So....who owns it NOW?

THIS guy has got to be driving Cary Sherman to drink.Sherman, of course, is the RIAA's chief water carrier and point man on the music industry's war against its own customers, in defense of a failed business model.Sven König just might be the guy who puts a final wooden stake in the heart of current digital copyright law.So what's the big deal? König's new software, which he calls "sCrAmBlEd?

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1145024114185108852006-04-14T10:15:00.000-04:002006-04-14T10:15:14.543-04:00An Uncomfortable Truth?

According to an article in CNN-Money today, Nor'easters get an extra day to file that dreaded 1040, because of one major IRS service center in Massachusetts, and an obscure policy regarding the 15th falling on Easter Weekend. So they're closed Monday, apparently.Of course, it makes no difference to me. I personally think the whole thing is a scam and a fraud. Do I file? Sure - but that doesn't

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1145021177862140432006-04-14T09:26:00.000-04:002006-04-14T09:26:17.880-04:00Taxes, defined

This is a piece that seems to go 'round every year about this time. No one will confirm authorship, but no one disagrees with the substance!How Taxes Work . . .This is a VERY simple way to understand the tax laws. Read on -- it does make you think!!Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1144328130574236862006-04-06T08:55:00.000-04:002006-04-06T08:55:30.993-04:00America's immigrant solution: A gift from the past

I should begin by saying that – assuming the stories I was told concerning my heritage are correct – my great-grandfather would technically be considered an “illegal immigrant” by today’s standards. Fearful of not having the necessary “papers” upon disembarkation from the transport ship at New York’s Battery Park in 1888, worried that he might be sent back to Sweden, family legend has it that my

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1143575435129901532006-03-28T14:50:00.000-05:002006-03-28T14:50:35.170-05:00Running for a Smoke

Well, we probably knew it would come to this sooner or later. New York's chief resident anti-smoking busybody, hizzoner Mike Bloomberg, jacked the taxes on cigs in town a couple of years back, raising the price-per-pack of my wife's favorite Winstons to $7.50. So what's a cig-sucking, self respecting, tax and busybody hating New Yorker to do? Buy elsewhere, of course - either in another state, on

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1142613000587497782006-03-17T11:30:00.000-05:002006-03-17T11:30:00.630-05:00Cartoon Wars come to America

Another protest has been made by the Faithful over cartoon depictions of their religion. But it's not Islam, this time.I've never been a fan of government-induced censorship (thank God we still have a 1st Amendment!), but I think corporate censorship is also equally egregious. Apparently mega-Scientologist Tom Cruise is miffed over an episode of South Park lampooning his "religion". And since

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1142524382634136712006-03-16T10:53:00.000-05:002006-03-16T10:53:02.673-05:00If Mr. Softy Sold iPods

Apple has nothing to worry about...http://www.wimp.com/microsoftipod/Seriously, even if you're a Micro$oft fan, you've got to admit these guys are making a point.

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1141675697540155212006-03-06T15:08:00.000-05:002006-03-06T15:08:17.576-05:00Elon: I want to believe - but please launch something first.

With Elon Musk, it's become an issue with me of suspension of disbelief.Anyone who's been following the drama of private space entrepreneurs knows that Musk, founder of PayPal, has spent the last several years and tens of millions of his own money (earned from the sale of same), to build a new expendable-launch system that promises, via improved technologies and greater efficiency in overall

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1139348285817549392006-02-07T16:38:00.000-05:002006-02-07T16:38:05.843-05:00

The "final word" about the Cartoon Riots?Here's an interesting take from a bunch of cartoonists on all the brouhaha in Islamistan.Most of it's pretty predictable, you have to scroll to the very end to get to the good part:"Chronicle cartoonist Don Asmussen will take on the subject in Wednesday's comic, but he has decided that it won't include an image of the prophet."It's disturbing to see a

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1139327340946777882006-02-07T10:49:00.000-05:002006-02-07T10:49:00.980-05:00

Quote for the Day"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience...Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1133802365001562652005-12-05T12:06:00.000-05:002005-12-05T12:06:05.020-05:00

Dear Federal, State and Local Officials: Go Home(I can't take credit for writing this, but it's worth the read!)Recently, former Vice President Al Gore began a speech he gave at the We Media conference by making the startling observation that our democracy was in danger and that he felt like he was living in an “alternate universe.”At first, he says, he thought “it was an aberration when three

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1130352184684829482005-10-26T14:43:00.000-04:002005-10-26T14:43:04.706-04:00

This is simply too damn funny:http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1875184,00.aspThe key quote:" "Turning the Internet over to countries with problematic human-rights records, muted free-speech laws, and questionable taxation practices will prevent the Internet from remaining the thriving medium it has become today," said California Republican Rep. John Doolittle in a statement. "Let's see..."

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1118254722313833692005-06-09T15:36:00.000-04:002005-06-09T12:41:10.056-04:00Can MacIntel increase market demand?

Everyone else in the blogosphere has been waxing poetic on the virtues of Apple's Intel switch in terms of Apple's present business models, and the juggling act required to keep everyone happy going forward. There is little chatter, however, about the potential for growing actual market share - so I'll go with that topic.On this issue, I get the sinking feeling in my gut whereby "Steve giveth,

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1118249104872781162005-06-08T15:41:00.000-04:002005-06-08T12:45:04.876-04:00Update from yesterday, re OS X on legacy Pentiums

I took the liberty of hyperbole concerning an Intel-ported version of OS X potentially running on a legacy Winblows Pentium pee-cee, and shouldn't Bill of Borg be crying in his beer right now.Well...I spoke too soon. I should have known that logic wouldn't extend beyond Steve's immediate self interest. It won't be as easy as all that - if ever. I quote from a poster to the Thinksecret mailing

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1118158942628828712005-06-07T14:29:00.000-04:002005-06-07T11:42:22.633-04:00Apple's Not in the Wilderness Anymore

This is something I always wanted: Being able to run Mac OS X on a Pentium.Apparently, my moment arrived - and as usual, while I was out. Good thing I live for irony.In his usual hyperbolic form, Steve Jobs, during his keynote at the WWDC Monday, formally announced that by 2007 all Apple products would ship with Pentium processors. This was a deal five years in the making. I had known for a long

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1117652570353901502005-06-01T14:29:00.000-04:002005-06-01T15:02:50.366-04:00I expect more from my Legends

I think this story is pathetic.It seems like the "First Man to Walk on the Moon" has lived in a cave all these years. He has actively shunned publicity, preferring to live in relative obscurity in his native Ohio, where he lectures at university. He's trotted out by NASA every five years for the obligatory "anniversary of the moon landing" speech. He came out of hiding a couple of years back,

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1115915070991233952005-05-12T15:30:00.000-04:002005-05-12T12:24:31.000-04:00Apple's Widget "exploit": The sky is not falling, so go back to sleep

Apple computer tends to pride itself - most of the time rightfully - on its lack of viruses, malware, and spyware, things that plague the majority PC community to the tune of nearly 98,000 items. So naturally, when Apple makes a programming goof that could potentially open the door to such things, the "plagued" can't help but howel derisively, in a "sky is falling" fashion.www.macworld.com/news/

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12621164.post-1115148726403788872005-05-03T15:29:00.000-04:002005-05-03T15:33:17.686-04:00Fools who insist on marrying psycho-bitches deserve what they get

Unfortunately, these are not isolated events:http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/03/wilbanks.found/index.htmlhttp://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/306002p-261817c.htmlThere are thousands more, each day, just not so over-the-top as to make the evening news.Now, I don't know who first coined the term "psycho-bitch" - was it Sam Kinison? But no matter - there are a lot of them out there, trust me. I must

TomsRantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348041151904736114noreply@blogger.com0