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I wanted to rant a moment about TV. Basically - it sucks. Since I’m unemployed at the moment I decided to cut back on my cable bill and now I only have 12 channels. It’s mostly broadcast stuff but at least it’s clear. For the most part I would watch The History Channel, Discovery, and the occasional TLC (when they weren’t running some damn “A ___ Story” or “Trading Spaces” marathon). I like that kinda stuff because theres intellectual quality to it and you can come away having learned something, all while being entertained.

Since those channels are gone I’m forced to now watch stuff like “The Unit”(stolen image above). Generally speaking I have no use for ‘prime time tv’ because its either over exaggerated ‘police work’, ‘military action’, or ‘national terrorism scares’. I had some hopes for “The Unit” and it was somewhat interesting until the end where they revealed one of the soldiers wives is screwing the units CO. That just killed it for me. Why do they have to do that? Do they find promoting all this immoral shit profitable, or do they just includes this stuff for the girls so they can have a little drama when their signifigant other wants to watch the show. Is there not enough of that junk on everyday with those ridiculous soap operas and prime time shows about desperate cheating housewives? I suppose you could argue that this stuff is better than reality tv (which we still aren’t rid of as a society), but I’d only give it a notch or two above.

I’ve discovered that a blog is not only a good way to get the word out on things that interest you, but a great way to archive things on the web that you may want to go back to later. Bookmarks are ‘ok’ but if you format on a semi regular basis and forget to export your list (as I do on a semi regular basis) it can be a bummer when you want to go back to something later and it’s gone. /babble

As a result I’m marking this as something I’ll probably go back and buy later, considering the price is outta my range right now ;).

Weird ehh?

Microsoft Launches Beta Live.com Search Engine

Microsoft has launched a beta test version of its new search engine, Live.com, as part of the company’s much-hyped initiative to launch a series of free ad-supported software products — namely Windows Live and Office Live — which will be distributed via the Internet.

Let me emphasize that phrase “ad supported”. Don’t we have enough of that crap when we surf already? If you want FREE Office I recommend OpenOffice.org, and I really have no idea what Windows Live! is..

I don’t know if anyone has heard about the new legislation out of a New York Senator (seemingly pictured above) but in summary he wants to enact a criminal law the requires law enforcement officers to shoot in non deadly areas when they are pushed to using their gun within the force continuum. I could rant on this until I’m red or even blue in the face but I think ‘this article‘ gives you a better summary of while this is a stupid idea.

*Edit: Luckily the bill was dropped after the Senator (a candidate for Lt. Governor mind you) stated:

The proposal was inspired by the death of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant who died in a hail of police gunfire. Diallo, challenged by officers who thought he resembled a suspected racist, was trying to pull out his wallet to show his identification. The four officers involved were acquitted of all charges.

“I wanted to try to ensure that such a tragedy would never happen again,” Paterson told the News. “While that is still my goal, I realize on reflection that this bill was not the best way to pursue it.”

Me being the relatively new MMORPG fan I am I just wanted to post a screenshot (yes, I said screenshot) of the new Star Trek Online MMORPG. This wont be out for a year or two but I’m really looking foward to it

*source*

I thought this was funny - being a teenager who never really loitered about in places people didn’t want me.

A new gadget repels gangs of teenagers by emitting a high-pitched noise that can be heard only by under 20s.

Police are backing the Sonic Teenager Deterrent, nicknamed the Mosquito because of its sound, reports the Daily Telegraph.

It annoys teenagers so intensely they have to clutch their ears. Eventually they can stand it no longer and have to move on.

But because the body’s natural ability to detect some frequency wave bands diminishes almost entirely after 20, adults are completely immune.

The £622 black box, which can be attached to the outside wall of shops, offices and homes, sends out 80-decibel bursts of pulsing sounds at up to 16khz.

It sounds to youngsters like a demented insect or a very badly-played violin.

Howard Stapleton, a businessman and former electronics apprentice at British Aerospace, who was sick of youths hanging around outside his shop, came up with the idea.

Working in his bedroom in Merthyr Tydfil, and using his four children as guinea pigs, he came up with a prototype of his device and asked the local shop to test it.

“I got it so that only my kids hated it and my fianceé and I were completely unperturbed,” he said. “We put up the prototype outside the store and almost immediately people stopped congregating.

“The beauty of it is that the noise does not have to be loud, just pitched at the right level which affects teenagers.”

 Source

You see this kinda stuff all the time on the news but - wow - how often do you see a North Carolina State Troopers cruiser missing an engine?

Trooper Brand is in critical condition - hopefully he’ll pull thru.

This is belated by a few days but I wanted to make note of Don Knotts (1924-2006) passing. I’m a big fan of The Andy Griffith show because theres nothing like it on TV today and there will never be again. RIP Barney