Noodling about with my new stylus on my Android-running Dell Streak

Noodling about with my new stylus on my Android-running Dell Streak, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

The app is called Free Hand Note. The stylus feels a little clutsy, but I
can scribble stuff well enough.

The Turkey is complete and we are ready to pounce! Happy Thanksgiving! (This is the last of the #TurkeyPorn)

The Turkey is complete and we are ready to pounce! Happy Thanksgiving! (This is the last of the #TurkeyPorn), a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

Our Turkey is ready for insertion into the apparatus of ovening!

Our Turkey is ready for insertion into the apparatus of ovening!, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

Moments after this photo was taken, an aluminum foil tent was erected
over the turkey and the turkey was inserted!

"Ovening" is a word, right?

That looks like enough garlic for our Turkey, doesn't it?

That looks like enough garlic for our Turkey, doesn't it?, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

And the Turkey Day BEGINS! (We even have #MST3K playing in the living room TV)

And the Turkey Day BEGINS! (We even have #MST3K playing in the living room TV), a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

NYTimes: "7 in Renegade Amish Group Charged With Assaults" You read that right! There's a "Renegade Amish Group"

NYTimes: "7 in Renegade Amish Group Charged With Assaults" You read that right! There's a "Renegade Amish Group", a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

You know the world is getting weird when the NY Times reports this: "Federal agents arrested the leader of a renegade Amish group and six others in eastern Ohio on Wednesday and charged them with hate crimes for a series of beard- and hair-cutting assaults against Amish men and women."

Just look at those guys in the NYT article's photo--it's like a Daily Show segment or something!

source: www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/us/7-arrested-in-hair-cutting-...

ThePete elsewhere on the 'net!

• TheSocNets
  
  OK, here are all the social networks, socnets, microblogging, miniblogging, media sites and other places you can find me (reasonably active) on the web:
  
  Commerce:
  
  * My Novel for Kindle
  *
  *
  * (great old ThePete.Com stuff)
  
  

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Website666 is done.

Sadly, real life is getting to be a pain in the ass and I’m finding myself forced to consolidate my efforts online even more than I already have.  I’ll continue posting stuff like I have on Website666.com but I’ll be doing it on my lifeblog at http://thepete.com/life or on my Tumblr.  So please follow me in either place or on Twitter.

This blog will stay up but I’ll probably transfer all the posts in it to my lifeblog and to my Tumblr.  Eventually, I may take the blog down entirely just because I’m a bit OCD and I like things tidy.

Damn, I really wanted to keep this site going.  I just have too much to do in real life and in my virtual one.  2011 has been the year of realizing the difference between what I am capable of doing and what time, itself, will allow me to do.  That process has helped me decide what is most important to me as a creator and a concerned citizen.  So, I hope you’ll check out my other projects at the links mentioned above.  I’ll definitely carry on my contrarian thinking policies as that’s the only way to make the world a better place.

Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll continue to follow my exploits at one of the locations above.  Take care and please remember to question everything!!

What the heck is up with this huge, uh, thingy (?) of bananas?

What the heck is up with this huge, uh, thingy (?) of bananas?, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

Is "bushel" the word I'm looking for? But seriously, have you ever
seen a nob like this on a bunch of bananas?

Hey, check it out! It's ThePete.Game! It's a really silly, useless, hard Flash game I designed. Why'd I do it? I don't know!

Actually, I'm running on a tiny amount of sleep, so that might be part of it.  But check it out:

Handblogging Test with sponge and stylus

Handblogging Test with sponge and stylus, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

It's true--some sponges conduct electricity and can be used to write
on and control capacitive touchscreens! Kooky, huh?

Late Night Thoughts from the Kitchen on the End of the World(ish)

Gmail has crashed Win7 Chrome twice in the last five minutes.

Gmail has crashed Win7 Chrome twice in the last five minutes., a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

Let's invent a new word for when Chrome crashes on a page it shouldn't
crash on: Aw-noying.

OWS rant by someone else (and a challenge by me)

sirmitchell:

I’m having a really hard time understanding my country right now. I’m seeing an overwhelming amount of apathy, laced with immaturity, on a level that is unbearable.

Democrats, Republicans, and every other bastard in Washington (minus a few like Kucinich, Paul, Sanders) do not give a single shit for any one of us unless it makes them richer, or more powerful. For years they’ve continued on a path that makes them, and their friends richer, while letting the people they are elected to represent starve economically & figuratively.

Two months ago today, a small group of people started to protest, they’ve had enough. They decide to finally take a stand, in a way no politician has in decades. The small group, begins to grow. Do we welcome them with open arms? Some do, some don’t care and the rest condemn them. Call them lazy, smelly, unpatriotic, hippie scum, liberal idiots with no direction. I’m sorry, I thought this was the fucking Land Of Opportunity. What kind of bullshit American Dream exists where you graduate school with $80k in student debt, can’t find a job, can’t afford health insurance and when you stand up to protest, you are met with rubber bullets, pepper spray, and batons. Yet hardly anyone cares that their friends, family and neighbors rights are being tossed in the shitter. We have a President who openly supported Egypts right to free assembly, but doesn’t seem to care one bit that police across the country are playing batting practice on peaceful protesters. It’s entirely unacceptable. 

I think it’s about time we redefine what “patriotic” is, because it’s not about wearing t-shirts will Bald Eagles breaking through them on fire holding an American Flag in it’s talons while shooting fireworks and drinking Bud Light, the official beer of freedom. Patriotism is caring enough about your country that you will stand outside for two months straight in an attempt to make a better, stronger, smarter country where everyone can succeed, and not just the ones who can afford a lobbyist in D.C. 

Look at history—America has never been a universally trustable country.  We’re supposed to have been founded on principles that we’ve violated countless times. Freedom of religion, but here’s money on which a god is endorsed. Equal rights, but if you’re Japanese we’re locking you up while we atomize two of your cities.  Freedom of speech is guaranteed, except for a while when it was illegal to talk shit about the government’s latest war.  I know I don’t even need to talk about that time we randomly decided all men aren’t created equal and that it was OK to own people.

One thing that’s been consistent, probably since America Day 1, is our country’s friendliness toward businesses.  Pick up some real history books (ok this one) and learn about how the American government has always protected the rich and how American wars have always been a racket.

I don’t think it’s time we redefine “patriotism” at all.  I think it’s time we redefine what is important to us as a species.  Is it better that America respects human rights? Or that all governments on planet Earth do?  Is it more important that the planet’s economy is strong? Or that we have something that maybe isn’t an “economy” at all that can better protect human rights and guarantee human advancement?

What we’re seeing now is the tipping point between Capitalism/Globalism kinda-sorta-working and it utterly crumbling around the ears of 99% of the Earth’s population.  Does anyone really want to protect/support the country that was the Number One proponent of the Capitalist/Globalist system for nearly a century? 

America has always been a tool for the rich.  All our borders give us is an excuse to not care about the rest of the world.

Let’s redefine ourselves. 

A week of Wall Street layoffs

mlesblog:

theamericanbear:

As protesters find new ways to “Occupy Wall Street”, major financial firms have been busy handing out pink slips this week.

It’s the second week of what’s expected to be a brutal season for job cuts as big banks have already announced that there will roughly 75,000 fewer people working at their firms.

Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase commenced new rounds of job cuts this week, following the lead of Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and RBS.

Most of the layoffs at Bank of America this week came from the firm’s investment banking and capital markets divisions, according to a source close to the firm. A Bank of America spokesperson declined to comment. In September, Bank of America announced planned cuts of 30,000 employees over the next several years.

JPMorgan Chase’s spokesperson wouldn’t discuss whether any jobs had been cut or any numbers. “There were no job cuts beyond those previously announced months ago.”

In the firm’s third quarter earnings conference call, JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon said the firm would see a reduction in headcount but no major layoffs. Sources familiar with the bank’s activities this week said that a number of traders were handed pink slips this week.

“Things have gotten pretty bad, pretty fast,” said Richard Lipstein, managing director of the executive search firm Boyden. Lipstein said he’s seen a big uptick in jobseekers over the past two weeks, particularly among midlevel executives.

Mid-to-late November is typically the season for layoffs, as banks want to avoid making cuts during the holidays in December. By doing it before year-end, these employees aren’t eligible for bonuses. (more)

Silver lining: New dissidents for OWS.

They aren’t really thinking are they….

No, the rich folks just aren’t getting it. It’s like they WANT it to get so bad that violence happens.  It’s like they really ARE stuck-up assholes like we’ve all been saying.

Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent.

Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent.

-Issac Asimov (via penny-royal)

It’s also the first option of the most desperate. :

I was there to take down the names of people who were arrested… As I’m standing there, some African-American woman goes up to a police officer and says, ‘I need to get in. My daughter’s there. I want to know if she’s OK.’ And he said, ‘Move on, lady.’ And they kept pushing with their sticks, pushing back. And she was crying. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he throws her to the ground and starts hitting her in the head,” says Smith. “I walk over, and I say, ‘Look, cuff her if she’s done something, but you don’t need to do that.’ And he said, ‘Lady, do you want to get arrested?’ And I said, ‘Do you see my hat? I’m here as a legal observer.’ He said, ‘You want to get arrested?’ And he pushed me up against the wall.

I was there to take down the names of people who were arrested… As I’m standing there, some African-American woman goes up to a police officer and says, ‘I need to get in. My daughter’s there. I want to know if she’s OK.’ And he said, ‘Move on, lady.’ And they kept pushing with their sticks, pushing back. And she was crying. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he throws her to the ground and starts hitting her in the head,” says Smith. “I walk over, and I say, ‘Look, cuff her if she’s done something, but you don’t need to do that.’ And he said, ‘Lady, do you want to get arrested?’ And I said, ‘Do you see my hat? I’m here as a legal observer.’ He said, ‘You want to get arrested?’ And he pushed me up against the wall.

Retired New York Supreme Court Judge Karen Smith, working as a legal observer after the raids on Zucotti Park this Tuesday, via Paramilitary Policing of Occupy Wall Street: Excessive Use of Force amidst the New Military Urbanism (via seriouslyamerica)

Sigh… this is some serious police-state-ish kind of behavior. How does this sort of behavior go away?

The right to assembly is being crushed; the Internet is on the verge of censorship; the legislative body of the most powerful nation in human history is about to declare pizza a vegetable. We are no longer citizens, we're the sane inmates in an asylum run by psycopaths and sociopaths.

The right to assembly is being crushed; the Internet is on the verge of censorship; the legislative body of the most powerful nation in human history is about to declare pizza a vegetable. We are no longer citizens, we're the sane inmates in an asylum run by psycopaths and sociopaths.

thereisnogod:

apoplecticskeptic:

syntheticpubes:

(and the pizza = vegetable thing passed.)

“I declare congress a vegetable.” Awesome.

Totally on point.

BRING IT! I’m sick of people pretending that we don’t live in a corporate police state simply because America doesn’t look like the novel “1984”.  These American frogs clearly need the water they’re cooking in to start bubbling or else they’re never going to realize that smell is them simmering in their own juices.  

“The get a job” crowd clearly have jobs but zero imagination or compassion. Assholes.

simplyopinions:

:(

THIS is how you present facts and tell the truth in a graph. Numbers, text, imagery, all representing actual FACTS.

Please check all of the content you consume for confirmable facts.  It’s depressing how some on the left think that they can get away with lying just because they’re lefties.

ARG! Why do folks on the left think they can lie and get away with it, too?

I've been a follower of politics for a loooong time.  While I call myself an independent, I do have left leanings.  However, those left leanings don't allow me to condone lies from the left just because I believe in their POV more than the right's.  Lies are still lies and the definition of a lie is something said in order to deceive or mislead.  So, now that the left is getting out there with their own voice, presenting their "side" of various arguments, you'd think I'd be happy, right?  Alas, not.

I posted what follows earlier today on Website666's Tumblr and it provides a great example of the left misleading anyone who reads their "info"graphic:

saboma:

American Censorship Day November [16th]

What the hell is the exact definition of an “infringing link”??  I hate these over-simplified “infographics” that fail to define basic terms. The fact that there is no definition of “infringing link” makes me want to ignore the whole thing.  I am so sick of people on either “side” of the political “aisle” failing miserably at properly informing the people they are trying to persuade.  This is a bad infographic because it does a great job of inspiring fear but a shitty job of, you know, actually providing information.

And it’s not just the lack of an “infringing link” definition.  Look at the “As a result” section.  It represents what website self-censorship is like now and will be like after SOPA passes.  Before SOPA, it’s a small circle.  After SOPA, the circle is MUCH LARGER!! OMG!!  THAT CIRCLE IS WAY BIGGER!!  How bigger?  Well, I can’t tell since there are NO NUMBERS describing the circles.  This is all beside the fact that there is no way to measure self-censorship in a future we haven’t lived in yet.  In short, this ven-ish diagram has zero basis in fact. In other words, it’s made up just to scare the shit out of you.

The same can be said for the line graph next to it.  Before SOPA, you see the number of new startups rises!  But after, it goes down. :( BUT THE DATA POINTS AREN’T NUMBERED, so we have NO WAY OF KNOWING WHAT THEY MEAN!!! This, also, is beside the point that this line graph does the same thing the ven-ish diagram does—it makes shit up about the future—there’s no proof that the number of new startups will go down after SOPA.

Under the “HOW DOES THIS AFFECT” section, it would be nice to see the part of the law that explains email providers would have to censor email with infringing links. It would also be nice to know how social networks could possibly censor the links of hundreds of thousands of users, especially when URL shorteners can be used to mask the links.

As I mentioned, this infographic fails to mention what an infringing link even is and that inspires even more fear than the even bigger circle of self-censorship or the non-specific datapoints in the “new startup” line graph.  What IS an infringing link?!?!  Is THIS an infringing link?  IsTHIS?  Would YOU be posting an infringing link by linking to this post?  OMG!!  WE LIVE IN SOVIET RUSSIA!!

It’s a shame propagandists get hired to make “info”graphics like this, instead of good human beings who want to properly inform people.  Especially since the truth about this bill is probably very terrifying.

THANKS FOR THE FEAR MONGERING, AMERICANCENSORSHIP.ORG!

I remember when Air America first went live.  I tried listening to some of their shows, but they were just as obnoxious as the shows from the right (especially the "noxious" in "obnoxious").  Who does it serve to be loud and whiney on either "side" of an issue?  Likewise, it serves no one to cheat the facts, or blatantly lie, as I feel the above infographic does.

I'm an atheist in all things.  I try my best to believe/trust nothing without some semblance of proof (or at least evidence).  When an infographic does not provide any, but still gets reblogged all over the place, I get really frustrated and a little worried because that means that many people are basing their decisions on propaganda, not on facts.  Regardless of whether you're basing your decisions on the will of a god you imagine to be real or a graph that has no basis in actual fact, your decisions are likely to be just as faulty.

So, activists on the left and the right, why not just tell the truth instead of doing what ever it takes to influence us?  If your argument is so strong, why fudge things?  Unless, your argument isn't so strong, in which case you should ask yourself why you think that your view is the right one.

saboma:

American Censorship Day November [16th]

What the hell is the exact definition of an “infringing link”??  I hate these over-simplified “infographics” that fail to define basic terms. The fact that there is no definition of “infringing link” makes me want to ignore the whole thing.  I am so sick of people on either “side” of the political “aisle” failing miserably at properly informing the people they are trying to persuade.  This is a bad infographic because it does a great job of inspiring fear but a shitty job of, you know, actually providing information.

And it’s not just the lack of an “infringing link” definition.  Look at the “As a result” section.  It represents what website self-censorship is like now and will be like after SOPA passes.  Before SOPA, it’s a small circle.  After SOPA, the circle is MUCH LARGER!! OMG!!  THAT CIRCLE IS WAY BIGGER!!  How bigger?  Well, I can’t tell since there are NO NUMBERS describing the circles.  This is all beside the fact that there is no way to measure self-censorship in a future we haven’t lived in yet.  In short, this ven-ish diagram has zero basis in fact. In other words, it’s made up just to scare the shit out of you.

The same can be said for the line graph next to it.  Before SOPA, you see the number of new startups rises!  But after, it goes down. :( BUT THE DATA POINTS AREN’T NUMBERED, so we have NO WAY OF KNOWING WHAT THEY MEAN!!! This, also, is beside the point that this line graph does the same thing the ven-ish diagram does—it makes shit up about the future—there’s no proof that the number of new startups will go down after SOPA.

Under the “HOW DOES THIS AFFECT” section, it would be nice to see the part of the law that explains email providers would have to censor email with infringing links. It would also be nice to know how social networks could possibly censor the links of hundreds of thousands of users, especially when URL shorteners can be used to mask the links.

As I mentioned, this infographic fails to mention what an infringing link even is and that inspires even more fear than the even bigger circle of self-censorship or the non-specific datapoints in the “new startup” line graph.  What IS an infringing link?!?!  Is THIS an infringing link?  Is THIS?  Would YOU be posting an infringing link by linking to this post?  OMG!!  WE LIVE IN SOVIET RUSSIA!!

It’s a shame propagandists get hired to make “info”graphics like this, instead of good human beings who want to properly inform people.  Especially since the truth about this bill is probably very terrifying.  

THANKS FOR THE FEAR MONGERING, AMERICANCENSORSHIP.ORG!

The Empire State Building lit up yellow (gold?) and green (from 11/10/11)

The Empire State Building lit up yellow (gold?) and green (from 11/10/11), a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

Not sure why it's got those colors. They seem to change almost every night.
The ESB was lit up blue tonight.

There's a reason these Lego Hazmat Workers are dressed the way they are.

There's a reason these Lego Hazmat Workers are dressed the way they are., a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

What are you guys standing there for? Expecting Spielberg to yell RUN?

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree BEFORE the lights go on (the tree itself).

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree BEFORE the lights go on (the tree itself)., a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

What else could the scaffolding be for if not for hanging the lights? Or
are there ornaments, too? I don't remember.

My latest Lego Acquisitions: Lego Samurai, Lego Geisha, Lego Gojira, Lego Hula Girl, and more!

My latest Lego Acquisitions: Lego Samurai, Lego Geisha, Lego Gojira, Lego Hula Girl, and more!, a set on Flickr.

It's now gotten impossible to decide which of my new minifigures I like the most. The contenders are probably the Japanese-themed figs. Lego Samurai, Geisha and Gogira (aka Godzilla) are probably tied, though I really love Cleopatra (and her viper!) and the boxer is awesome because he can be happy or beaten up :)

Thursday night's @TheDailyShow had Emmy written aaaall over it.

Thursday night's @TheDailyShow had Emmy written aaaall over it., a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

Seriously!

Special #arghfriday video to @paharwell @webraw & everyone else! Happy @arghfriday!

Special #arghfriday video to @paharwell @webraw & everyone else! Happy @arghfriday!

ThePete elsewhere on the 'net!

• http://audioboo.fm/boos/541082-thepetecast-some-thoughts-on-the-direction-the-world-is-going-in
  
  I was hoping to embed my latest audioboo over here, but it looks like that doesn't work : Well, I'd love to hear what folks think of my take on the handb
  
  http://audioboo.fm/boos/541082-thepetecast-some-thoughts-on-the-direction-the-world-is-going-in
  
  I was hoping to embed my latest audioboo over here, but it looks like that doesn't work : Well, I'd love to hear what folks think of my take on the handbasket-to-hell ride the world seems to be taking, so please have a listen (it'll take just 5 minutes!) and comment there or here! Thanks!
  
  

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New Canary Island Grows Reminding Us We're Just Passengers on this Planet

From CoalSpeaker.com:

Amazing video of the new island being created as we blog…

This is amazingly cool. Of course, three jokes come to mind:

1) Get Fox News on the phone! The problem of Global Warming and rising sea levels is solved! The Earth is creating new land for us! Everybody buy SUVs!!

2) A new island in the Canary Islands?!?! QUICK! TEST A NUKE ON IT! (Or am I thinking of the Bikinis?)

3) Watch that video at 1:40 and tell me you weren't surprised no locals were yelling "GODZILLA!!"

But seriously, this is Mother Nature (or geology?) at work and it's totally cool.  Read more about it in another CoalSpeaker post or you can read even more at Telegraph.co.uk (beware the autoplaying video they have!)  While local cats are happy for the freshly cooked fish washing ashore, there have been evacuations due to tremors and to the toxic gases coming up with the fresh ground.  I think they've also closed beaches and the nearest airport.

4) I wonder how long it'll be before there's like eight Starbucks on that island.

simplyopinions:triumphalarch:unfavoredtruths:Anti-Atheist AmericaIt’s insane that these small minded evangelical ‘christians’ preach love and say they follow Jesus when they are literally the SOURCE if the hate and segregation.We shall not live in the closet. We shall be proud Atheists.My favorite part of this video is how hokey it is, complete with a “stirring” soundtrack. Why not just type the words:ATHEISTS ARE PEOPLE, TOO! WAAAAAAA!!Ok, that last bit isn’t a word, but still. This struck me as a seriously whiney video and I’m an atheist!I guess I just don’t like the idea of turning ourselves into victims. We’re the ones who are on the right side of history (not to mention, reality). Our wrong answer is still more accurate than most religion’s “right” answers. I feel no need to defend myself against ignorance. I simply live where I won’t be discriminated against.COME TO THE CITIES, FELLOW ATHEISTS!! EVEN BELIEVERS HAVE TO GET ALONG WITH US HERE!:)Seriously, atheists folks, get over yourselves. If we live long enough, they’ll all die off and reality will eventually win out. Besides, making atheists into victims does nothing for our cause.

Was wandering around Times Square when...

Was wandering around Times Square when...

btx91:

withgodgivenass:

9gag:

PETA Owned

Husbands raping wives is a very real issue, guys.

Dont like PETA, but bondage/bdsm isnt rape/abuse.

Great, but then where is the guy in that pic above?  Whips and chains are more commonly known as tools for abuse and oppression.  Showing them in connection with (or connected to) a sexy woman, seems like a seriously weird message for an animal rights group to send.

ThePeteCast: Some thoughts on the direction the world is going in

We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone.

We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone.

Orson Welles (via executions)

Wrong.

1) We’re not born alone. Our mother is there and at least one other person, like a doctor or a midwife. Sometimes even our dad is there.

2) We don’t live alone.  Even if we never marry and never have roommates, most of us have neighbors and, beyond that, every single one of our lives depends on the existence of other people.

3) Sure, some of us do die alone, but very rarely does it have to be that way. 

4) That last sentence is so incredibly cynical that it’s almost not worth commenting on.  

But seriously, if we were truly alone, we’d not have electricity in our homes, or food in the grocery store, or clothes to wear.  Every damn moment of the day we are touched by other people.  Just because Orson Welles was a great film maker, that’s no reason to ignore the fact that he was a self-centered white guy who was an egotistical drama queen.

We are not alone.

Only through our relationships with others can we make sure that none of us feel alone.  Only through our own emotions, our acts of caring, and our lack of self-centered tendencies can we help each other and ourselves understand and feel like we are truly not alone.

It’s this kind of nihilistic BS that encourages selfish behavior.  Orson, you could make a really good movie, but you were a freaking drama queen.

I loved you in Transformers: The Movie, though. 

Another one for the #USAWTF files or maybe we should start calling it #Failmerica? Either way, this one comes from thefremen:inothernews:This is video, reportedly shot during the OccupyCal protests yesterday, November 9, of Berkeley, California police officers driving their batons into the stomachs of protesters at UC Berkeley, who appear to be doing nothing but linking arms and voicing opinions. The officers in the middle are striking the two women directly in front of them square in the gut, ruthlessly and mercilessly. I don’t see any projectiles thrown or anything else that could possibly justify the brutality we’re seeing here. Unless cops just don’t like the concept of peaceful protests.Reblog this, folks.(h/t katiesilorio, et al)Contrast this to the non-existent police response to the pro-pedophile riot at Penn State. Contrast this to the non-existent new coverage or the non-existent outcry of America to stop this sort of injustice from ever happening.That video is bizarre. It’s like the women getting pepper sprayed in NYC a couple months back. No clear reason for the violence to continue. The kids in the video above do nothing to instigate the violence and the cops aren’t in any clear danger at all. I’m just glad they stopped beating them at all. The demeanor and the uniforms of the cops make this look like a student film, almost. That’s not riot gear they’re wearing. Gray helmets with face shields? Where’s the body armor? If those students had fought back I bet they could have taken those cops. It would have been in self-defense. How else does an innocent civilian react to a police state?And yes, kids, this is what a police state looks like.

A definite sign of the failing of America from stfurapeculture and others:

stfuconservatives:

likeproust:

stfuconservatives:

haguenite:

theweekmagazine:

Occupy Wall Street? Egyptian riots? London looting?

NOPE.

Penn State student rioting over the firing of Joe Paterno. More photos from last night’s riots here.

If a group of crows is a murder, what’s a crowd of rape-apologizing douchebros called?

I believe a pace of asses would be appropriate.

-Joe

I think the overwhelming majority of male faces in this photo is rather telling.

mhmm

Fucking sickening.

Did Americans have a riot when the Supreme Court ruled Bush could enter the White House?  Did we riot when Bush illegally invaded Iraq?  Did we riot when we found out that Bush lied to us about Iraq?  Did we riot when it was discovered our government tortured in our name?  Did we riot when Obama assassinated Osama bin Laden rather than putting him on trial like the Iraqis did with Saddam?  Did we riot when an American citizen, convicted of no crime, was assassinated by an American drone?

What’s it take to get Americans to riot?  An LA Lakers game or the firing of a beloved coach who did nothing to stop illegal sex acts.

What the fuck is wrong with us?  Seriously, America, your attitudes are so assbackwards I am completely unable to reconcile your claims of moral righteousness with your actual behavior.  

Seriously. #USAWTF

just messing around with my cat

just messing around with my cat

Look! I can draw stuff!

Look! I can draw stuff!

thedaytheytriedtokillme:

Ex-CIA agent Nada Prouty says Detroit prosecutors railroaded her

Huh, kinda reminds me of Sibel Edmonds.  Her new(ish) website is here: http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/

Trying out DocAS Lite for iOS as a possible way to handblog. Seems ok but...

Trying out DocAS Lite for iOS as a possible way to handblog. Seems ok but..., a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

I'm looking forward to my stylus getting here.

simplyopinions:

religiousragings:

A Right-Wingers Guide to Life’s Value

so true.

This is why I hate our culture because it allows for blatant contradictions and truly absurd disconnections like these to exist.

socialistguineapigs:

Because the 400 are our masters, and we don’t want to go against our masters.

Nah, it’s because we want to be them.

Chinese Rep Says Wellfare States Brought on EU's Economic Woes

In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, Jin Liqun, chairman of China's sovereign wealth fund, said the following about a possible bailout for the EU:

"If you look at the troubles which happened in European countries, this is purely because of the accumulated troubles of the worn out welfare society. I think the labour laws are outdated. The labour laws induce sloth, indolence, rather than hardworking. The incentive system, is totally out of whack.

He also said:

The welfare system is good for any society to reduce the gap, to help those who happen to have disadvantages, to enjoy a good life, but a welfare society should not induce people not to work hard.

This from a guy representing a country with some of the lowest paid workers in the industrialized world. Planet Capitalism is really starting to worry me. If China will be the one determining how workers are treated I think I'm going to start looking on Craigslist for good deals on spaceships.

I just LOVE how these rich assholes can just blatantly lie about the causes for the economic woes around the world. I don't know the specifics of the EU's problems but should a system that doesn't treat humans well be supported? Should hard work be forced on every last citizen? This system is really getting out of control. Now where would "used spaceships" be on Craigslist?

finally feeling a bit better...timing sucks tho'

finally feeling a bit better...timing sucks tho'

Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain together in Tesla's Lab, Spring 1894

Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain together in Tesla's Lab, Spring 1894, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

Dude. This is out of control. I never thought they were in a photo together. To me, it was crazy enough that they were even friends, but this picture? AAAAAAAAAH!!!

And yeah, writers/fans of "Sanctuary"? Tesla was NOT a vampire. Though, he does look like one in this picture. :

"Tesla and Twain" does kind of sound like a TV action show, doesn't it?

"TESLA AND TWAIN: One is a master of words, the other is a master of electricity! Together they shock you speechless!"

...or something like that...

 

Pic found via Nemoi who found it via destoosonsogno and pile, who posted it originally.

Migrating Website666 to a new server

You’ll still be able to follow Website666 on Tumblr, but the main site will be at website666.com.  Please pardon the site while I whip up the new layout and get the graphics to show up properly on the main site.

Liberal Media? Check out "WTF CNN" from @Pixelfish

WTF CNN, a photo by PixelFish on Flickr.

Yeah, I've been noticing just how "liberal" the so-called "liberal media" really is for a while now and this is a perfect example. If the media really was liberal they'd be slamming the Republicans for their utter hatred of the poor and they'd be covering the #Occupy protests constantly instead of barely.

It's hard for me to even care anymore. The world is so upside-down.

Before FDR died he wanted a 2nd Bill of Rights added. Here's what those rights would have been:

Before FDR died he wanted a 2nd Bill of Rights added. Here's what those rights would have been:, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

This is actually a screencap from Michael Moore's preachy but depressingly accurate movie "Capitalism: a Love Story."

Funny how the very things listed above are the very things big business and politicians are hacking away at.

ThePete elsewhere on the 'net!

• thepete: I've got a cold without the cold. http://t.co/VCQVVlGZ
  
  thepete: I've got a cold without the cold. http://t.co/VCQVVlGZ
  
  


• thepete: I just filmed a video "I've got a cold without the cold." @ New York, NY, USA on #viddy #achey #tired #headache #bleh http://t.co/ByQdwsNg
  
  thepete: I just filmed a video "I've got a cold without the cold." @ New York, NY, USA on #viddy #achey #tired #headache #bleh http://t.co/ByQdwsNg
  
  


• thepete: @SultryScarlet having an apetite is good when you're sick, right? "Feed a cold" right?
  
  thepete: @SultryScarlet having an apetite is good when you're sick, right? "Feed a cold" right?
  
  


• thepete: @SultryScarlet @MrsSpooky @SierraRein thanks for the sympathy tweets, ladies :) Chicken soup was tasty but not filling enough. Making pasta.
  
  thepete: @SultryScarlet @MrsSpooky @SierraRein thanks for the sympathy tweets, ladies :) Chicken soup was tasty but not filling enough. Making pasta.
  
  


• thepete: On days like today (when I'm sick) I miss @SierraRein (who is out of town) more than usual. I gotta make my own chicken soup! WAAAAAAAA!
  
  thepete: On days like today (when I'm sick) I miss @SierraRein (who is out of town) more than usual. I gotta make my own chicken soup! WAAAAAAAA!
  
  


• thepete: Congratulations, GOP! You're handing Obama a 2nd Term by Preventing him from Creating Jobs the One Way he can. http://t.co/E0JpqQbD...
  
  thepete: Congratulations, GOP! You're handing Obama a 2nd Term by Preventing him from Creating Jobs the One Way he can. http://t.co/E0JpqQbD...
  
  


• thepete: ThePete elsewhere on the 'net! http://t.co/okqPMyi8
  
  thepete: ThePete elsewhere on the 'net! http://t.co/okqPMyi8
  
  


• thepete: @lisarein sounds worse than me. I am the sole member of the #occupymybed movement. :) Just reeeally tired and getting chills. Lame.
  
  thepete: @lisarein sounds worse than me. I am the sole member of the #occupymybed movement. :) Just reeeally tired and getting chills. Lame.
  
  


• thepete: @MariAdkins thanks. Will do my best. Just woke from a nap and may go buy a couple cartons of OJ from the local market. Going to sleep more 2
  
  thepete: @MariAdkins thanks. Will do my best. Just woke from a nap and may go buy a couple cartons of OJ from the local market. Going to sleep more 2
  
  

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I've got a cold without the cold.

I've got a cold without the cold.

Congratulations, GOP! You're handing Obama a 2nd Term by Preventing him from Creating Jobs the One Way he can.

Congratulations, GOP! You're handing Obama a 2nd Term by Preventing him from Creating Jobs the One Way he can., a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

What's amazing is that Dems and the stupid GOPers voted this down. It's like they WANT to kill our country. I mean, how could they vote against jobs AND maintaining roads, bridges and train tracks?

Gah...I'm going back to sleep. Shoulda known better than to check the news while feeling under the weather.

ThePete elsewhere on the 'net!

• thepete: @SultryScarlet sorry :/
  
  thepete: @SultryScarlet sorry :/
  
  


• thepete: @SultryScarlet noooo, it's the same thing in reverse! I didn't get enough sleep last night and can't get to sleep but I'm still tired >_<
  
  thepete: @SultryScarlet noooo, it's the same thing in reverse! I didn't get enough sleep last night and can't get to sleep but I'm still tired >_<
  
  


• thepete: @SultryScarlet I seem to be suffering from the opposite :/
  
  thepete: @SultryScarlet I seem to be suffering from the opposite :/
  
  


• thepete: Whoa--just saw a kid on the street with a Bolex. #wtf! Those things use film! #doublewtf
  
  thepete: Whoa--just saw a kid on the street with a Bolex. #wtf! Those things use film! #doublewtf
  
  


• thepete: Clint Eastwood doesn't give a fuck who gay marries, but disabled people? Fuck those guys. http://t.co/QvCXTcSG
  
  thepete: Clint Eastwood doesn't give a fuck who gay marries, but disabled people? Fuck those guys. http://t.co/QvCXTcSG
  
  


• thepete: @MariAdkins ack! That sucks. I wish @Twitter would let us turn off t.co links. #annoyingashell #indeed
  
  thepete: @MariAdkins ack! That sucks. I wish @Twitter would let us turn off t.co links. #annoyingashell #indeed
  
  


• thepete: RT @thepete: Pretty much the best ThinkGeekDotCom action shot EVER: http://t.co/Yea2TlP1 so jealous :)
  
  thepete: RT @thepete: Pretty much the best ThinkGeekDotCom action shot EVER: http://t.co/Yea2TlP1 so jealous :)
  
  


• thepete: yay Twitter turned a non-http'ed domain name into a t.co link which made my last tweet annoyingly cryptic. Let's try that again...
  
  thepete: yay Twitter turned a non-http'ed domain name into a t.co link which made my last tweet annoyingly cryptic. Let's try that again...
  
  


• thepete: Pretty much the best http://t.co/YXr410Hd action shot EVER: http://t.co/Yea2TlP1 so jealous :)
  
  thepete: Pretty much the best http://t.co/YXr410Hd action shot EVER: http://t.co/Yea2TlP1 so jealous :)
  
  

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Clint Eastwood doesn't give a fuck who gay marries, but disabled people? Fuck those guys.

OK, so he never said "fuck those guys" in reference to the disabled. At least, not that I know of.  But he doesn't give a crap about disabled rights until he is forced to.  You know, by the law and by lawyers who sue on behalf of victims of the law be broken.  So, when I saw someone on Tumblr and Twitter praising Eastwood for his "I don't give a fuck" stance on gay marriage, I had to say something.  Below is what I reblogged on Tumblr/Website666.com earlier today:

motherjones:

The Outlaw Josey Wales FTW.

Uhhh, sure, just don’t ask him how he feels about the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Back in 2000 he called lawyers who took on ADA lawsuits ”morally corrupt.”  Right, morally corrupt for suing on behalf of a disabled person who was accusing Eastwood of violating a law that protects the rights of the disabled?

Oh yeah, those ADA lawyers are real horrible people.

/sarcasm

Clint Eastwood may be a brilliant filmmaker but he’s a huge fucking douchebag.  I refuse to watch his films and I lose respect for actors who work with/for him because they don’t seem to mind working for a guy who still thinks the disabled should have no right to not pee their pants in his restaurant (which would you respect more human rights or “the heritage and antique value”?).

I was really surprised that Leonardo DiCaprio would appear in one of his films.  Leo is supposed to be a conscientious guy and he isn’t aware of Hillary Swank’s fate in “Million Dollar Baby”?

Full disclosure, the “morally corrupt” lawyer who sued him back in 2000 is my father-in-law.  But I’m preeeeetty sure that doesn’t make me unfairly biased toward the rights of the disabled. ;)

Is Eastwood's attitude about gay marriage wrong just because his attitude toward disabled rights is?  No, but it's a little frustrating when he is praised for a positive stance while a seriously negative stance is ignored.

See, you've got to understand that he doesn't seem to care about individual human rights.  He's probably a Libertarian.  He wants government to allow people to marry who they want AND discriminate against who they want.  His isn't the voice of freedom but the voice of freedom-from-responsibility.  The same kinds of laws that "protect the sanctity of marriage" are the same kind of laws that "protect the rights of the disabled" and it seems like he'd want those kinds of laws gone.  That's what scares me about Libertarians.  I'm worried that once one got into the White House all programs that help the common good would get scaled back or wiped out entirely.  Those programs are not in great shape as it is.  (Remember, in most countries you don't have to pay for all of your health care.)

In Libertarianism, and in much of America, really, there is this belief in the impossible that I think John Hodgman nailed in a segment last night on the Daily Show. He explained the belief that, if you work hard enough and long enough, everyone can be part of the 1%.

Not only is that mathematically impossible, it ignores the fact that shit happens.

Hard work and perseverance does not guarantee success.  Believe otherwise and you might as well believe in magic.

I mean, how many disabled 1%ers are there, anyway?  Maybe there's a reason for that?

motherjones:

The Outlaw Josey Wales FTW.

Uhhh, sure, just don’t ask him how he feels about the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Back in 2000 he called lawyers who took on ADA lawsuits ”morally corrupt.”  Right, morally corrupt for suing on behalf of a disabled person who was accusing Eastwood of violating a law that protects the rights of the disabled?

Oh yeah, those ADA lawyers are real horrible people.  

/sarcasm

Clint Eastwood may be a brilliant filmmaker but he’s a huge fucking douchebag.  I refuse to watch his films and I lose respect for actors who work with/for him because they don’t seem to mind working for a guy who still thinks the disabled should have no right to not pee their pants in his restaurant (which would you respect more human rights or “the heritage and antique value”?).

I was really surprised that Leonardo DiCaprio would appear in one of his films.  Leo is supposed to be a conscientious guy and he isn’t aware of Hillary Swank’s fate in “Million Dollar Baby”? 

Full disclosure, the “morally corrupt” lawyer who sued him back in 2000 is my father-in-law.  But I’m preeeeetty sure that doesn’t make me unfairly biased toward the rights of the disabled. ;)

nemoi:

petapeta:

highlandvalley:

gkojaxmeetsrebloggersuptown:

yasaiitame:

Interior design room

(via applearts)

The opposite of a golden parachute perhaps?

cincishaolin:

Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead. - O Sensei Morihei Ueshiba

I’m *mostly* down with this, but “as good as dead” isn’t accurate, IMO. It’s more like “only potentially alive.”  As long as our internal organs continue processing there’s hope for our lives and our world.

So if you need to stop growing for a bit, that’s OK.  Just don’t quit for good.  There’s so much more to learn.