I bought two cases of LEDs for $2.99 each at Costco (one 60W equiv, one 75W) . Yep, $2.99. I replaced every bulb, inside and outside my house and it's really nice. The color is the same all over the house, and knowing I won't have to change one till I'm well past 60 is VERY Cool.

The 1200 was second gen Amiga. My first was a 1000 (with the optional 256k RAM module in front) and I preferred it to my Mac. I remember spending $600 for a RAM module the size of a hardback book that hooked to a huge port on the side and gave me (gasp) 1MB of RAM. That was enough to run the whole OS in RAM. This was my bbs machine, and my CI$ and Genie box. I used a C128 to run Quantum Link.

I got a 3000 in 1990 but soon went Mac and Linux for good.

As always, I will be distributing beer and fried chicken embryos.

That is how we celebrate Halloween in France.

Yep, indeed so. I submitted that ten minutes after I woke up and twigged the error after some coffee. Sorry about that.....

The Bureau of Indian Affairs calls them that too. Shocking.

Pregnant women, especially older pregnant women, are generally screened for potential fetal disabilities. And it's done early enough that the parents can choose to abort the pregnancy.

So you can stop with the OMG NAZIS handwaving.

Ok, obviously none of you guys are marksmen, or are forgetting ear protection tech. Let me give you an example which should clarify this and give further clarity to the "always recording" argument.

Guns are LOUD...a lot louder than they seem on tv...typically 140 - 190db. When there is a gunfight in a room and people have a conversation afterwards on tv, I chuckle. Unless they are wearing hearing protection (colloquially: "ears") all they would hear after the gunfight would be ringing. It is mandatory on most outdoor ranges and all indoor ranges that people wear hearing protection. Three or four .45ACP shots in an indoor range without protection, and you're deaf for at least the rest of the day.

Cheap hearing protection tends to be earplugs or big muffs, like you might see on an airport runway. But competitive marksman typically use electronic "ears" that permit normal conversation via an external mic on the headphones (and in fact amplify normal sound up to 45db), but shut down for any gunshot, essentially a fast audio gate. And they work flawlessly.

Once you turn them on, they are always listening for any sound above 85db, which they will attenuate by at least 30db, usually much more. How is that possible, if they have to "hear" the sound before they protect your ears from it? Because they are insanely fast, on the order of 1 - 1.5 ms.

I suspect similar technology is being used in the "gunshot detection systems" and it is very possible to only record the gunshot if the threshold is above 85db.

I did not get Fed bail, but I was released for 14 days to get medical treatment I could not seem to get in Feds. After 14 months at Wyatt I was getting serious chest pain (probably from being in a constant combined state of fear and incredulity) and was getting no treatment at Wyatt. I petitioned my trial judge, and she ordered me sent to FMC (Federal Medical Center) at Devens, MA.

I arrived there and was immediately put in SHU (Special Housing Unit - the "Hole") and ignored for 22 days. My family and attorney were told I was "on the compound but not accepting calls or visitors." After three weeks of no contact, my attorney issued a writ of habeas, I was released from SHU, ordered to call my attorney and family, and tell them I was alive and well.

I was assigned a cell with an piece of shit - an AOL chatroom child molester, and there I stayed for another three months. Not a single medical procedure was performed on me. Finally, I came to an agreement with the Government: they would permit me to be released for fourteen days for medical treatment, if I would plead guilty to one count, and do five years. Blackmail? Obviously. But it was the best I was going to get, so I agreed.

I was released on a million bail (surety) and $10,000 cash. I put up my house and had to write a check (my wife did, actually) for $10,000. An ankle monitor was strapped on, and I was told I would only be permitted out of the house for medical appointments, to which I would be accompanied by police. I was told that if I stepped one foot out of the house without authorization, or my bracelet went off, I would be instantly violated, and lose my home and the $10,000.

Fourteen days later, after having a heart cath and a stent, I was back in court. I pleaded guilty to one count, and 90 days later was sentenced to 60 months. The $10,000 check was returned and surety voided the day I pleaded. I was a first-time offender, so you can freely assume Hammond will not even get the "lenient" treatment I received.

I should probably write a book, I suppose.

I spent 52 months in Feds from 2006 - 2010. IMVHO, this is what's happening, at least on the legal side. He will never get bail. He's innocent till proven guilty, of course, but fed bail is supposedly all about flight risk. "Danger to the community" implies guilt so it can't be used..technically. The question for the Magistrate (who usually decides bail, not the Trial Judge) is: does a set of conditions exist which will assure the defendant's appearance at court? And that, is typically up to the US Attorney or AUSA. I did not get bail and was held at Donald W Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, RI for 22 months before finally pleading out.

If Hammond goes to trial, he will never get out. 92% of all fed criminal cases plead out. Why? Because when the choice is possibly three mandatory life sentences vs five years, you end up taking the lesser of two evils. The Feds add all sorts of sentencing enhancements to make it so risky to roll the dice with a jury, it just isn't worth it. I was not guilty of the offense it was claimed I committed, but I couldn't risk the rest of my life on being able to convince 12 people too stupid to get out of jury duty.

Hammond's other option is USSG 5K1.1 (Sentence reduction for substantial assistance in convicting another criminal.) The Government must submit a motion for this reduction, IF they like what you snitch. There are other options such as the Safety Valve (for which Hammond is not eligible due to previous offenses. Rapper T.I. got out of prison after like 18 months for machine guns and silencers because he gave the Government substantial assistance. Real gangsta.

If Hammond miraculously gets out anytime within the next ten years, he got a 5K1.1, most likely. When the feds want you, you're fucked.

Furthermore if they simply sold raw feeds of every single event they could make a TON of money from people picking and choosing what to watch.

No kidding. I love the Mountain Biking and BMX events, but they're never actually on television. Instead, it's three hours of Shot Put!

Hm, interesting. I might indeed be able to offer a little, and anything to put this harpie off the net is worth a shot. Let me read and think.

Thanks again...

Hah, cool! Thanks for the link, and the vote of confidence. I appreciate the current links..I'll pass the data on to the appropriate folks.

I'd have to think about releasing the brief. I would rather it not become evidence in some future action. Maybe in the future...

Thanks again!