All:

First, I have been a poor host for this group, please accept my apology.  You should expect better from me and I intended to meet that expectation.

Second, I fear our group discussions have strayed drastically from firearms related topics and I would appreciate it if we limited our posting to discussions of firearms and firearms related topics (e.g. second amendment politics).

Third, maybe I have it all wrong.  What are your thoughts about the future of this group?  Let's discuss it...

Scott

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1040

Went to mail my checks to the state and federal wealth skim and re-distributors today.  Then realized I needed a stamp.  There should be special boxes at the USPO for taxes, in return for helping sort the mail why don't the provide free transportation of the documents?  The line for stamps was loooong.....

Did you ever wonder why there is an extra fee associated with filing taxes electronically?  I sure do!  Why should I pay the IRS when electronic filing saves money?  Stupid IRS: they want 100% electronic filing but can't figure out basic economics: offer a $20 tax credit for electronic filers.  In the short run it will save the IRS money (yes, I said short run because less labor is needed to scan and input returns)!  In the long run, they can slowly phase out the credit....  Problem solved.

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MTV did this:

You'd almost think they were pro-2A.

SB

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If Only We'd Used ANTS Profiler Earlier...  Really?  Maybe the solution was to use a language that didn't suck (C# sucks; don't ever let anybody trick you into using it as an engineering language, or base future revenue on C# development).  Also, any proprietary standard should be discarded for a community standard!

So what should you use?  C++ is a heck of a language--its few shortcomings are easily fixed with libraries.  Also, in the next year or so, we will see a new ANSI standard for C++.  The new standard will add a number of features (sockets, smart pointers (think garbage collection), maybe threads?).

Side note: recently, at work, we developed a solution with a partner using a customer mandated library for the mutual customer.  The partner chose C# (based on the vendor's recommendation: C# is easier, everyone is using it); we stuck with our solution: C++.  Our software was done faster and we found the vendor's C++ API more stable than the C# (not how they billed it: I guess the MS C# libs aren't as mature/stable as the MS C++ libs).

Anyway, enough ranting.

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Being a politician means never having to answer a direct question.

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Edwards '08

(Credit: I saw this at Les Jones.)

Presidential hopeful John Edwards--according to this AP story--believes every American should have health care. 

This is all well and good; it is also my belief that every American should have health care.  Unfortunately, Mr. Edwards also believes "you can't choose not to go to the doctor".  I guess he doesn't believe in the "land of the free"...!

Did he just imply you won't get coverage if you don't regularly visit a doctor?!  That's a crazy statement!  I can't imagine he did, but politicians are in a class of their own.  Regardless, it was a stupid thing to say.

With our current system we have choices.  As long as we--the consumers--can take our dollars elsewhere, we can choose another plan, another doctor, another hospital.  When the government steps in, our choices will be limited (think HMOs of the 1980s), we will be forced to take whatever care--substandard or otherwise--we can get.  While I think our current system is mediocre, I fear the Socialized Medicine the democrats are peddling will be far, far worse.

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Example_pistol_sketch

I live in the west.  I hoped I lived in a good gun toting populace.  But today I read we are not.  We are suspending children for drawing pictures of pistols (see example at right)?!

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.  --Benjamin Franklin (probably)

Ah...  What a waste.  We let too many damn Californians in: screwed up our housing prices AND our politics.

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Quadruplets

From the BBC comes this story of identical quadruplets--amazing!--birthed in a US hospital.  According to the story, the children were conceived naturally.  Pretty cool, huh?

But...  Why were they born in the US?  According to the story:

A medical team and space for the babies had been organised for the Jepp family at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary but several other babies were born unexpectedly early, filling the neonatal intensive care unit.

Health officials said they checked every other neonatal intensive care unit in Canada but none had space.

None had space?  WTF?  Is that what socialized medicine is about?  Birthing your children in another country?  Or is this just a general shortcoming of the Canadian health care and would exist with private insurance?  I don't know...  Just something to think about...

SB

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This, my friends, is comedy:

JIHAD STRIKES!

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Years ago, a kid could get excited about the computer field typing a relative few lines of code.  I started by typing BASIC programs--mostly games--into an Apple //e.  After I'd tire of the game, I'd fiddle with the code.  Sometimes things would end hooribly broken, other times I'd make a worthwhile improvement, but either way I was learning to develop software.  That's how I got my start.

But today, it takes many more lines of code and much more knowledge to develop a bit of software capable of entertaining an 11 year old.  All that commitment is a serious strain on even the most dedicated.  I question if I'd enter the computer field if I'd started in today's environment.

Until I installed Scratch on the children's computer.  Scratch aims to teach children (aimed at ages 8+)  basic logic and software development concepts.  Children are encouraged to learn through trial and error.  So what is it?  Scratch is a block based graphical programming language and IDE.  It is both simple enough for an 8 year old to use and powerful enough to create fun games.  Scratch ships with plenty of example "code" that does neat stuff.  Last night I saw the children play a bunch of cool video games they had themselves modified. 

Scratch Intro Facilitorial

• Install the software (easy!)
  
• Show the video (at right)
  
• Demonstrate opening an existing example (so they knew it was there)
  

To put this tool's power into perspective: I want it on my computer!

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