Alcoholics Anonymous—The beginning chapters of the AA "Big Book" ought to be read by everyone. In all seriousness, I have yet to meet a person who does not need to be in a Twelve Step program. Just replace the words "alcohol" and "alcoholic" with your own poison, vice, obsession, or difficulty in life and you'll probably find that what you read there applies to you and that practicing the Twelve Steps and leading a life of increased humility would help you cope with it in a healthy way.

Ecclesiastes—Probably the most philosophical book of the Bible, one that has a great deal of value for me.

George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm—Both books are reminders of what unchecked government power will lead to and offer us countless reminders of the value of freedom and how costly it is when you lose it.

The Epic of Gilgamesh—The Sumerian/Babylonian story of a proud arrogant king, two-thirds divine, who is humbled by death, his human limitations, and his own mortality.

William Golding's Lord of the Flies—A book that demonstrates in spades the best and the worst features of the human condition and I think gets to the heart of what human beings really are.

Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son—While all of the Dickens' novels I've read have a similar philosophical character, this book is in my opinion his best.

Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose—Even though it takes place in 1327, the issues the novel discusses are eminently relevant to today; indeed, to any period of time, past, present, or future. Religious freedom, censorship and banned books, the love of knowledge and scholarship, controversy over fundamentalist religious dogmas and doctrines, the danger of a theocracy, and the roles love should play in a person's life are all issues that are discussed in this wildly entertaining mystery. It's a modern classic as dense and well-written as the best of Tolstoy or Dickens.

Carl Sagan's Cosmos—No book I know of does as good of a job of using the science to promote the humanities. It's a great read.

Name of the Rose is a "must read" for any thoughtful, intelligent person. Even though it takes place in 1327, the issues the novel discusses are eminently relevant to today; indeed, to any period of time, past, present, or future. Religious freedom, censorship and banned books, the love of knowledge and scholarship, controversy over fundamentalist religious dogmas and doctrines, the danger of a theocracy, and the roles love should play in a person's life are all issues that are discussed in this wildly entertaining mystery.

It's one of those books that ought to be read again and again over a person's life like one's favorite Dickens novel(s) or Tolstoy's War and Peace, books that are so densely packed with delicious and minute detail that a subsequent read will turn up new discoveries to titillate the intellect. Great literature is that which is worthy of being read throughout a person's lifetime, and Name of the Rose fits that mold brilliantly.

Indeed, I get my drinks from a replicator so I don't pay, you insensitive clods! But I don't drink lattes, I drink raktajinos! Only the Klingons know how to make coffee.

Indeed, escape is a new offense, he will have to spend more time in prison in addition to completing his original sentence, and he will no longer be housed in a Club Fed. He'll be behind the razor wire now. Sucks to be him.

They'll catch him no doubt pretty soon... unless this was coordinated with someone on the outside. If so, he could be far away by now. But they'll catch him eventually. As many people have pointed out recently in many posts on many topics, it's hard to remain anonymous and hide in plain sight these days.

I haven't read the opinion—I'm not in the mood for that kind of comedy today—but one must keep in mind that this is also a First Amendment issue as well, the issue being the right to anonymous free association, something that the ACLU has brought up in its lawsuit against the NSA regarding its own phone records that have been swept up in the NSA's dragnet. In the past, the Supreme Court has been very clear regarding the right to the right to associate anonymously. But the right-wing conservative fascists on the court might rule differently. But if any of them are students of history, especially recent history, and take note of the simple fact that if a government is given the liberty to reach into these fundamental rights it will abuse them, they will rule justly on this issue.

If I were to actually decorate for the holidays, I'd want an ENIAC of a display. I'd want multi-colored vacuum tubes on the outside of the house making it appear like a psychedelic beehive that will cause an urban brown-out when I turn it on. Of course I'd turn it on during Xmas eve because I am a Grinch at heart.

...for I have a greater chance of winning the Powerball or Mega Millions lottery than this ever happening. (FYI, I don't buy lottery tickets.)

My point is that this is not going to happen... ever. The state as a whole will not approve of it, Congress will never approve of it (even if it ever becomes less dysfunctional), and politically it's a bad idea. It'll take one powerful state politically and water it down into six.

Now, the idea of a State of Jefferson for the areas of the state north of Redding is not bad in some ways. The conservative nut jobs who live there and in southern Oregon deserve each other. They can run it into the ground. However, this country cannot withstand the existence of another South Carolina.

I think California succession is a better idea given the size of its economy. We Californians can stand on our own. And we wouldn't even have to change the flag. There is a reason why the phrase "California Republic" is written under the grizzly bear.

It has nothing to do with parasites. My beautiful black cat is living proof that some cats are possessed by Satan.
She's a feisty beast and very evil. The fact that she's black only makes it more evident.

This is not quite true. The general rule of courts is to expect attorneys to follow the court's rules regarding legal pleadings. An in pro se or in pro per (that's someone filing a pleading on his own behalf without an attorney) is generally given more latitude because he or she is not an attorney in the interest of justice. The court's expectation there is that the document be readable, it make rational and logical legal arguments, and that they be properly cited. In California and in federal courts, successful habeas corpus petitions written on toilet paper have been filed by prisoners.

This is interesting because web sites like Facebook ban sex offenders from using it in its terms of service (or so I'm told as I've never read them) and some jurisdictions ban paroled or probationed sex offenders from using social networking sites. And there have been some jurisdictions (California for one) that have tried to force all registered sex offenders to register with the government their e-mail addresses and their social media logins, thereby making them public record and allowing the Facebooks and Twitters of the world to easily find them.

This case is an advertisement for why everyone should have access to the Internet without restriction regardless of their current status. It seems that this guy was not on some kind of supervised release, for if he was he'd likely never find out about these biased comments by the hearing officer.

This case is also the reason why I don't blog or express too many of my more private thoughts online but instead sequester them in a paper diary. (No one reads Slashdot comments so this place doesn't count.) No one is going to stumble across my more biased ramblings and opinions through an unfortunate Google search.

Indeed. I understand that Austin is sort of like Berkeley, San Francisco, or Davis in many ways, quite enlightened although not quite a people's republic, with that certain sanctuary of ignorance centered around the Capitol building being the exception.

I am wearing my asbestos underwear so I'm prepared for the flames. I will now unload the vitriol.

There are times that I wish that the Republic of Texas, the entity that was created in 1836 after a war of revolution against Mexico, had remained an independent nation. Texas politicians are a national disgrace and I wish they would have just remained independent. They are the American Quebec, a province that many in Canada despise but cannot be gotten rid of without harming and hamstringing the rest of the country.

That Texas is governed by morons is evident in this article. A quick look at its current governor and its previous one, who also just happened to steal an election to become the President of the United States should remove any doubts as to the veracity of that statement.

Not many I suspect. All the porn does is stoke the fires of the perversion. It's a kind of addiction, a progressive disease, not unlike alcoholism. Use of the porn leads will lead to an actual victim at some point if the porn user lives long enough and gets the opportunity.

I doubt California could afford it. What Sweden spends per prisoner is probably double what California does. I suspect a Swedish dungeon affords better conditions than a California one.

How many J2EE/EJB containers does the world really need? Certainly the world would be diminished if Oracle killed Glassfish completely because it is, after all, the reference implementation. But dropping commercial support only means that Oracle not going to support it as a commercial implementation. Keep in mind that Oracle also owns WebLogic, a more prominent and I dare say more successful competitor in this arena.