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Killing Time and Taking a Break…

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Well Thanksgiving is here.  I’m having dinner with some family friends Thursday night and have today through Sunday off.  I will probably write a few posts here and there but honestly me thinks I’m going to take some me time.

It’s been a long time since I got a game at release time.

I picked up Hitman Absolution on steam at 10% off with all the previous games as well.  Since I missed Blood Money I figured it was a good deal at under 50 bucks with tax.  So I’m going to spend this weekend killing virtual people in creative ways.

I need to let my mind unwind since I have a week of fun starting Monday.

I’m also in the process of setting up a new Tablet.  I feel like I’m in Star Trek.

Who Needs the 4th Amendment…

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Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge. (CNET obtained the revised draft from a source involved in the negotiations with Leahy.)

Unpossible I say, a politician rewriting a bill to be counter to the interests of Americans after debuting it as being to their benefit?  It’s like they know the public doesn’t want this but it’s the only way they can pull it off.

Who needs the 4th amendment, am I right?  They’re not even trying to be overt about this anymore.  Can someone please explain to me why the government needs this kind of power.  How is it that the act of informing a judge and getting a warrant to express probable cause for the invasion of privacy is necessary is a hindrance?

Oh, that’s right, it’s a hindrance to finding undesirables to be weeded out of the population. While anyone with half a brain should know not to expect those things to be private, which is why I’m not a big fan of the cloud, it seems a far stretch the government cannot first obtain a warrant.

Contact your legislator now and start raising hell.  Just to illustrate the double standard of this, I’m reasonably sure it’s safe elected officials will be exempt and still require a warrant. Laws for thee not for me.  If these elected representatives want this, they need to make their services public for all to see… They’ve got nothing to hide right?  At least that’s what they keep telling us.

SSCC #461 – Selma

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According to a 911 call, Abbott handcuffed the nurse when she refused to draw blood because Abbott didn’t have a court order.

“Officer Travis Abbott came and just arrested and made a huge scene with our house administrators,” a nurse told the 911 dispatch supervisor in the call. “He just handcuffed her – he could care less about anything – in front of the middle of our ER. And this whole ER is in complete chaos, and frankly, somebody needs to come here and handle it.”

That’s right folks.  This woman was handcuffed because he dared to question his authority. Not only that, he removed a critical care worker from an ER.  I would like to point out to Officer Travis, if the day ever comes you need emergency care, they will all remember you.  The lucky thing is, most people will just do the right thing.  Some however could remember it, and might just be willing to say “Take him someplace else.”  I wouldn’t fault them for that.

What is very interesting though:

They did confirm that the DWI suspect was later taken to the county magistrate, who released him because there was no probable cause.

If I ever meet that nurse, dinner is on me.  It’s also worthy of note that when other deputies arrived she was released and there are no noted charges pending against her.  I think what happened is best described by South Park:

State Sponsored Criminal #461: Officer Travis Abbott

Because how dare the proles question a officers legal authority, just do as your told or we’ll toss you in cuffs or tase you*.

Via Sean.

*Yes, I know he needs to go on the list, h/t to Uncle on it.

Quote of the Day – Ambulance Driver (11/20/2012)

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But as a son, no matter how far you have ventured into manhood yourself, you are never prepared to tell your father goodbye. I know this for a fact.

Ambulance Driver – Bob Scruggs
September 10th, 2012

[QFMFT.  I remember that day like it was yesterday.  I remember taking a couple midterms just after finding out about it.

It wasn’t really surprising to either my mom or I, cancer’s a bitch like that you know.  A friend of mine actually came up to the UW the day before to give me a ride home so I could say goodbye since it was obviously coming.  I said my goodbye’s though a part of me wishes I hadn’t because that is the image burned into my head, not as I saw him when I left back to UW that Sunday night.  That Sunday night was when he said his final goodbye to me.

I still wasn’t ready for it though.  Nothing ever really makes you ready for it.  I remember the Calculus test I took shortly after my mom told me over the phone.  I don’t however remember what I got on it.  I do remember the TA and professor looking at me like I was nuts.  My dad would have kicked my ass for using it as an excuse and I knew it.

Luckily the next week was Thanksgiving break, my roommate and I played a couple of rounds of Command and Conquer Generals as well as Ghost Recon trying to keep my mind off of it.

Come to think of it, I think that’s also when we recreated part of the battle of Gettysburg on the ceiling of our dorm room.

You thought I was kidding didn’t you?  Sadly I can’t find the rest of the pictures I took.

The wife was in the Cougar marching band and Apple Cup was at UW that year.  I drove back up early Saturday morning and worked on homework and played games.

I don’t remember who won, I do remember walking back across campus to the dorm with her after the game and someone said something derogatory about her, it was then I knew I was in the second stage of grief.  While wearing a UW sweatshirt I replied, “Said like a true Hucking Fusky” and just  squared my shoulders back while looking at him.  They peeled off as some of his friends urged him and we continue across campus uninterrupted.

There’s no way I would have swung first, but I kind of wanted someone to try it.  I wanted someone to fill in for the nameless unseen mass that had upended my life.  I wanted something to direct my anger and rage at.

I never really denied it, for the most part I just accepted it.  Just because I accepted it doesn’t mean I was happy about it.

While you can prepare for death as much as you would like, no matter what it just never seems to be enough.  Death however is a fact of life and boy does it suck. -B]

Quote of the Day – Tamara (11/19/2012)

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Brethren and Sistern, there is an obvious lack of sufficient sermonizing here, so let me turn to the Book of Armaments, Chapter Four, Verse One: “Be Sure Of Your Target And What Is Beyond It.” There is no codicil that says “Unless you’re in a shoot house,” or “Unless you’re going really fast.”

It’s not okay to shoot your fellow range patrons EVEN… and I’d like to make this perfectly clear… EVEN IF THE RSO SAYS IT’S COOL.

(Emphasis mine.)
Tamara Keel – Seriously? Seriously?
November 18th, 2012

[While yes we can jokingly say wouldn’t it be nice at times if that were true.  But honestly thank god Tam is right.  Just because the RSO says your safe doesn’t absolve you from maintaining control of your weapon and properly identifying your targets.

Everyone is a RSO, period, full stop, end of discussion.  We all know these tacticool operators do and say some crazy crap.  The problem is impressionable youth take it and accept their quotes as gospel.  What happens in the end though is Mr. Tacticool ventilates someone who didn’t need ventilating.  The response from Fanbois?  Justification, absolvance, and excuses.  None step up to the accountability and responsibility department.  Both of which are critical for gun owners.

I wish I had saved it but recently I had stumbled across a video on Youtube and the individual in the comments started arguing against the four rules.  His complaint was because you need exceptions to the rules for things like maintenance and training.  The way around this is to create rules where no exceptions exist.  Funny thing for me is I’ve never needed an exception for maintenance or training.  Instead I use a dummy gun, or I watch my muzzle while cleaning and disassembling.  I promptly put him on my do not listen or watch list.*

Why?  Because the 4 rules are rules, without exemption and the wonder is you have to break two of them to end up in deep trouble.  I am willing to accept Alan’s condensed rules as it is merely the 4 rules condensed and non-redundant.  This individual had used a real weapon as a demonstration piece under the crux of it being unloaded.  Unloaded or not, I don’t like people pointing guns at me.  Why?  Because it’s how people get hurt and the comment after is always, “I thought it was unloaded.”  Grab any number of safe training methods, leave the real guns off to the side.

Back to the subject at hand though.  The nut behind the trigger ultimately has the responsibility of the safe handling and discharge of their weapon.  Failure to do so cannot be blamed on anyone other than the shooter.  The RSO is there as an extra set of eyes to try and stop things before they become unsafe.  Even then though final responsibility falls with shooter.

They don’t DQ RO’s when a shooter does something wrong for failing to stop them in time.  So why should anyone get a pass in this case?  -B]

*I would link said video, but I have spent the last 30 minutes searching and couldn’t find it.  It is possible and quite probable he pulled the video after trying to justify pointing a weapon at something he didn’t really want destroyed.  It was a video on muzzle up vs muzzle down and weapon retention.  If you know of the video, bump the link.  He was using an AR.

SSCC #460–Chicago

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After she had been viciously beaten by a patron she knew as "Tony," bartender Karolina Obrycka made it clear to the Chicago police officers responding to her 911 call that she believed her attacker was the "police." She then wrote down his last name — or how she thought it was spelled — on a scrap of paper and pointed out that security cameras at the Northwest Side bar had likely captured the attack.

Yet none of that wound up in the officers’ report. On Tuesday, Obrycka’s lawyer grilled Officer Peter Masheimer about the missing details as he testified at a trial stemming from a lawsuit she brought against the city of Chicago and Anthony Abbate, the off-duty cop convicted of attacking her.

The video of the attack can be seen here.

Fellow officers attempted to conceal and hide evidence and testimony against him.  None of them have been fired except the man responsible for the incident.  He however escaped jail time.  Not only that but it’s taken a Federal case to get anything done.  Guess we see why Chicago only wants it’s officers armed.

State Sponsored Criminal #460: Anthony Abbate

Protected by Peter Masheimer

Because when your cop buddy gets drunk and assaults someone, your job as a fellow officer is to protect and serve them.

Why Did I choose Engineering?

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Because of things like this:

There’s a serious personal reward to projects like that.  I do love how there’s even a trigger mode.

My wife just sat staring in astonishment.  Her dad has a prosthetic from an industrial accident.  While he doesn’t have smart limb, he does have a quite high tech limb that flexes and moves naturally.  Most people don’t even realize he has one unless he’s wearing shorts. 

10 years ago, this type of stuff was still fantasy for the most part.  The amount of processing and input gathering required limited the ability to create something usable.  Moore’s law is a freaking awesome thing.