Every time I hear some religious wacko spouting off about not allowing people who are born gay to marry because it would destroy the "traditional" sense of marriage, I have often remarked to myself, "Fine. If marriage between a man and a woman is so sacred, so traditional, let's outlaw divorce."

Now, someone has proposed doing just that! The full story and the story behind the story may be found at this link.

Obviously the chances of this happening are remote to non-existent. But, for those of you in California, or know someone from California, you might want to toss this tidbit their way and have them sign the petition anyway. What's the worse thing that can happen? The people agree and outlaw marriage?

As an aside, and related to this story, as some of the religious wackos spout on this subject that procreation is why marriage is the way it is, then they wouldn't be opposed to testing every man and woman who wanted to get married to see if a) they are capable of having kids and b) if they are going to have kids. If they can't have kids because God has made either partner sterile or otherwise incapable of producing offspring, or if the couple are not going to have kids, then they shouldn't be allowed to marry. Right?

That would certainly stop people like Rush and Elizabeth Taylor hopping from marriage to marriage.

That is not a misprint or some spoof. The title is exactly what this film is all about.

Enjoy!

It's one thing to hear and chuckle about the Peter Principle. It's quite another to be the victim of its main thrust.

It appears that my time with the government will soon be coming to an end. We have known for some time that our large room would be redesigned to accommodate more people (i.e. an influx of contractors). What we didn't know was the specifics.

We thought we would be forced to use the same desk configuration that the current crop of contractors use which is roughly a 6 foot desk set in a 4 foot space (essentially a 24 square foot space). That was bad because in our group we use our extra desk space to image/work on machines as well as other items.

I was just told that the new size of our cube will be 4x4.

I want everyone who reads this to trace out a 4x4 area, place your chair in it, then a PC, a pad of scratch paper, pens, pencils, a phone, extra notepads and miscellaneous papers. You see the issue, don't you?

My current space is somewhat luxurious in that it is approximately 48 square feet with plenty of desk space to put machines I am working on, lay out papers with notes I want to keep handy, my supplies and other miscellaneous items. In addition, because I sit next to a large support pillar, I have a small tabletop on which I can store other items if the need arises.

Now, if you take away all that workable space just to hire more people for friends of the governor*, where do you propose we do our work? That's right, in a separate room, away from our desks which means we can't answer our phones or email which means any calls we get won't be answered in a timely manner which means we'll hear about it from the higher ups when things don't run as smoothly (not that it is now, but I digress).

Many people have talked about working in a cubical farm and certainly Scott Adams has had years worth of material on the subject. However, this must be very near the top of outright stupidity when it comes to a work environment.

I've already told the supervisor who told me about the new plan that I'll be giving quitting if they go to this format, so it looks like I only have a few more months of employment. I could go to the Union** and file a complaint but since I'm not a formal member***, they'll probably ignore me unless I pony up more protection money.

Now, there is a possible out. I applied for a low-level managerial position so if that comes through, I can avoid this but, the office I will be placed is still half the size of where I am now. But at least I'll be getting experience so I can finally move out of here.

So, anyone looking for a low-level project manager or jack-of-all-trades?

*It is a well known fact that Deloitte Consulting, who gets the vast majority of state contracts, has people who worked with and for the governor. Their contracts run for years and cost the state tens of millions of dollars, all because the contracts do not specify that state workers should be taught what the contractors are doing, thus, the contractors stay around near indefinitely.

As point of fact, our current ERP software project is 102% over budget and there is at least another year to go before it approaches some semblance of closure.

**The Union makes a big stink about protecting the workers, but has over the last decade, when contract negotiations have come up, continued to give away more and more "benefits" while insuring the incompetent can't get fired. Next to the mafia, they're great at sucking money from people.

***There are two classes of non-managerial employees working for the state. Full Union members and fair-share members. I am of the latter. Essentially, we pay a fee to the Union for getting us our jobs, our benefits and salaries and all the other sundries. Fair-share member fees are determined by a formula but it is less than a full Union membership.

Officially, the Union must represent fair-share employees with the same diligence they do full Union employees. In practice, you're generally laughed at or told to join the Union first before they'll file a complaint.

Digitimes has another reason for Windows 7 sales to be low.

PC replacement demand is not driven significantly by the consumer market, but rather enterprise and government purchases ... most enterprises in Europe and North America are expected to start planning annual purchasing budgets for the year in March and April of 2010, actual replacement demand is not expected to spur until the second half of the year.

Companies and government might buy computers next year, but they should already be buying orders placed in March and April of this year. There are already accounts of corporate rejection of Windows 7, so that OS is not likely to have anything to do with corporate buying and government won't be a big market because UAC still does not meet government security standards . Back in January, retailers at CES remembered being "burnt by Vista" and saw nothing to change their minds about the contracting PC market. Perhaps OEMs and retailers could deliver the gnu/linux netbooks and desktops that people actually want to buy.

Not sure what else needs to be said. Young, nubile and cute (mostly) Japanese women on display showing lots of leg and inviting smiles.

Oh yeah. They're helping show off the newest games, blah, blah, blah.

One has to wonder when the assault against reason and common sense will end. It's bad enough there are those who think that a religious precept is a valid scientific principle despite not offering any testable evidence to support their claim, now we have the second largest state in the nation claiming that Neil Armstrong is not a scientist and that 5th graders shouldn't have to memorize his name as the first person on the moon in their social studies class.

I'm not sure how someone with two different engineering degrees who used those degrees to help progress both the aeronautical and space programs can not be considered a scientist.

Texans may like to claim that George W. Bush is not one of them, but continuing to do stupid things like this does nothing to disprove the linkage.

Who decided that all story submissions would be tagged with user email addresses? You might as well demand and publish people's real names.

This is a breach of trust that will drive away long standing users such as myself. Email addresses were collected under the promise of never being published. Now I have the choice of submitting things as AC, publishing my email address or just giving up. I'm leaning towards giving up. Boycott Novell has been more fun anyway.

At this point in time, the Republican party should just give it up when trying to claim they're for family values. Between Reagan's divorce, Rush's three marriages, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's lying about where he was for almost two weeks to cover his taxpayer funded escapade with a mistress, and now, in a similar vein, former Republican Assemblyman Mike Duvall who was caught on an open microphone talking about not one but two mistresses. Did I mention that former Assemblyman Mike Duvall is married and has two kids? For bonus points, former Assemblyman Mike Duvall was given a 100 percent rating from Capitol Resource Institute, a conservative advocacy group, for his votes on legislation considered pro-family during the 2007-08 legislative session.

Here's the thing that really amazes me (ok, amazes is too strong a word. Let's go with "causes me to laugh and shake my head"). In the most recent cases of marital infidelity, neither person had any qualms about doing it. In the case of former Assemblyman Mike Duvall, here are his actual comments when resigning from the Assembly:

"I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly, who are working hard on the very serious problems facing our state."

Inappropriate comments are the reason you're resigning? Not the fact that the you were cheating on your wife with TWO women, not the fact that one of them is apparently a lobbyist with an energy firm the state does business with, not the fact that you told the one she might have to be traded in because she's 36? Really? You're resigning only because your comments were caught on an open mic?

It's quite obvious that neither party has the high ground when it comes to moral character. However, for the Republican party to keep trying to claim they stand for family values when practically every month someone from their party is caught having an extra-marital affair, it boggles the mind that people out there still believe the lies (to get on the coattails from last night's Presidential address to Congress).

Get over it folks! The Republican party doesn't care about family values. They're merely parroting the comments of the Christian Terrorists© which are hijacking the party. All the Republicans care about, just like the Democrats, is that you drink the Kool Aid and don't look too hard behind the curtain.

It no longer amazes me, though it still pisses me off, at every attempt I make to try and improve myself, a door is slammed in my face. Every step I make is calculated to improve myself not only for my own well-being, but to make myself a more valuable employee to my current employer as well as those in the future.

Yet, despite me taking these initiatives, I am continually thwarted in my attempts to progress. The most recent incident involved what would have been a time and money-consuming step to get another degree. In this case, it would have been for IT Project Management.

A little background is in order. When I first started my educational endeavors, I did a dual major in Photography and Business Administration. While I pursued my degrees, I worked 40 hours a week and paid for every dime of my education out of my own pocket. No scholarships, no loans, no grants, no nothing. The entire burden was on me.

When I pursued my Bachelor's degree in Paralegal Studies, again, the money came out of my pocket though in this case, my parents and I split the tuition/room/board 50/50. However, anything else, books, transportation, entertainment, that all came out of my pocket. Again, no scholarships, no loans and no grants though I did, finally, get a student loan in my final semester.

I worked on weekends during school and when I came home during break, I worked as many hours as I could so I could pay for the next semesters schooling. As some professor said to me back in my original schooling, "You're burning the candle at both ends."

So now, after moving about in my career, I find myself in a position where I am completely bored without any chance of promotion in the immediate or near future. Yes, getting a paycheck is nice, but at what cost?

So, earlier this year, I decided I would get (another) degree but in a more concentrated field for which I know I would enjoy. Specifically, project management.

I say this because it's quite obvious to anyone who works with me or who I support that this line of work is perfectly suited to me. When I am in charge of small-scale projects, they ALWAYS come off without a hitch so long as people follow my directions. There is no confusion as to what is to take place, when it is to take place, what equipment is needed at the location, etc. I take care of everything and, apparently miraculously to everyone involved, the work gets done on time, on budget and without problems.

So I met with a local university who offered a degree in IT Project Management and went through the process of submitting the required paperwork, getting my transcripts sent (at my cost of course) and waiting on the results of how many courses I could transfer in.

Mind you, I have 3 degrees already and have taken several IT-related courses which helped me get to this point, all of which were paid out of my own pocket.

As the orientation was fast approaching, I finally received the final notification of what courses I would need to take to complete this degree.

69 credit hours is what I would need. 69. Yeah, go ahead, laugh. It's not funny.

If I take two courses a semester, it would take me four (more) years to complete this degree while again working a full-time job.

If that wasn't bad enough, there were four courses for which I was refused prior credit. Two were programming courses (intro 1 and 2) and two others dealt with network security and communication networks.

Now, having already taken two programming classes way back when, I figured there had to be a mistake. So the counselor appealed the decision and was told that programming had changed too much between I took those courses (roughly ten years ago) and now.

Huh? Maybe I'm missing something but programming still involves creating functions and loops, correct? The only thing that has changed are the languages.

Further, since I'm already working in the IT field and dealing with network security and communications network, I should have been able to get credit for those courses as well.

Nope, I had to take 6 credit hours and then petition the Chancellor with written evidence that I could bypass those courses.

Did I mention that despite all the courses I have previously taken, I would have had to take a literature course as well as U.S./World history course?

When I called the admissions counselor I told her there was no way I could pursue this degree and be able to finish it in anything resembling a reasonable time without getting credit for previous courses taken as well as life experience. The only way I could do so would be to quit my job and go full-time to complete the degree.

Further, I told her, quoting General George Patton, "I don't like paying for the same real estate twice."

So there you have it. Another door slammed in my face when I try to improve myself. I looked around at the few other colleges and universities in my area and see the same pattern. One of them even requires a foreign language class as part of their IT program which begs the question, "How many of you need to know a foreign language to do your job?"

I've read the various articles posted here about changing careers later in life (of which I am technically part of) and while it all sounds good, the huge (and ridiculous) barriers that are placed in ones path to get somewhere makes one realize it's probably easier to be a loan shark than it is to further ones education or career goals.

So the question is, do stay at my current job, though it holds no interest for me and I have to delete emails for one of the higher ups so he can send email*, or do I quit my job, take time off, maybe write about what I've experienced and go from there?

As I said in a previous posting, I am literally a jack-of-all-trades. You can put me in just about any IT position and I can do the work. Not as well as you but give me a day or two to get up to speed and I'll be shoulder-to-shoulder with you. I pick up on things so quickly that trial-by-fire has lost all meaning to me.

I was counting on this ability and my broad experiences to leapfrog me to a better position. Sure, I don't know everything, nor will I claim to. If I can't do a job, I'll tell you but I'll still give it my best shot if you want me to do it anyway.

The biggest issue is that everyone wants to see some piece of paper claiming you have the educational background to do a job OR some outlandish years of experience. I have literally seen job postings for junior PMs that require either a B.S. and 7-10 years of experience or a Masters. For a junior PM!! What, are they designing, starships?

So, the floor is open. Opinions wanted and solicited. Let's see what those of you in the ether of the Net have to say about this conundrum.

*No, I'm not kidding when I say I have to delete emails for one of the higher ups. He is either too lazy, too stupid or too incompetent to delete emails he no longer needs. He has his secretary, who has access to email, call our helpdesk to have one of us delete enough emails so he can send messages.

Did I mention he's an attorney?

Despite all the hype, it is easy to predict that Windows 7 will go the same way Vista did. Vista was a failure in every way, so a pretty new face was made to sell the same buggy and customer hostile core and the Microsoft hype machine was turned on full blast. Now that Vista 7 is RTM, we no longer have to make predictions, we can simply watch the results. Here is a collection of Vista 7 failures found on YouTube. Enjoy what I found in a few minutes:

• Counter Strike Fail
• Power Management Fail Hibernate seems to be broken. Any power management working would be an improvement over XP or Vista but we should not expect such miracles from non free software.
• Cracking Video shows how to p0wn "activation." Soothing music welcomes you to the botnet.
• Good rundown of Windows 7 problems by seasoned IT professional who has yet to give up on Windows. He's not correct about being able to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7.

Update 1/2/2011 Real users have been forced to buy Vista 7 with their new computers for more than a year and it's Vista all over again. They tell the story better than I can.

Here are videos that have collected at YouTube over the last year. Windows 7 is no less a pig and no more secure than Vista was, everything the Microsoft boosters say is a lie. All of these videos were made after the RTM date and most after the October 22nd, 2009 shelf date. The best have bold dates.

2009

• 07/28 - an amazing Windows 7 failure video. Ten minutes long but fun the whole time.
• 09/11 - buggy dual monitor action. It's funny how my PIII can correctly do this kind of thing with composting using E16 and Debian. Multitouch on Windows 7 has had a lot of high profile failure too.
• 10/22 - Fails the day it was released to the public. Man forced to wipe Vista to install Windows 7 and ends up with two dead computers.
• 12/29 - Windows 7 speech recognition, impressive and completely worthless.
• 12/31 - What Windows 7 OEM "support" is really like, explained by a former Gateway support tech. The techical issue was product activation but the video is a profoundly sad portrait of betrayed US tech workers.

2010

• 01/03 - A gamer hates Windows 7 performance and broken Steam
• 01/05 - Another user abandons the Windows world over Vista/Windows 7.
• 01/15 - Another tech and XP fans tell his users to go from XP to Mac OSX because Windows 7 is so poor
• 01/18 - This poor user thinks Vista was better, how pathetic.
• 04/19 - Hardware does not work with Windows 7, user hates it.
• 07/10/2010 - Excellent critique by long term Windows user fed up with Vista/Window7. After fighting "updates" for two years, user runs to Mac and vows to never purchase Windows again.
• 07/29 - Windows 7 ruins a netbook and lots of other hardware, user can't use CDs and is very frustrated.
• 8/21 - Infuriating general flakeyness, poor user wants his XP back.
• 09/04 - Poor battery life of Windows 7 graphically illustrated.
• 09/30 - Windows 7 broken so that user can't log in.
• 10/04 - User complains about poor performance and incomplete Vista facelift for Window 7. Thinks it works a little faster with "classic" 1995 like menu bar.
• 10/10 - Fake AV demonstrated, shows that Windows 7 is still insecure and preyed on by all sorts. The demonstrator should have actually used virtual machine if he really needed Windows.
• 10/31 - Slow shutdown ruins someone's day.
• 12/10 - Great demonstration of CPU usage in Windows 7 vrs GNU/Linux.

2011

• 02/01 - Bugs and clown music
• 02/11 - Microsoft Anna voice tells you how annoying Windows 7 is
• 02/13 - Windows 7 ruins $1,000 computer so user is unable to play games, make videos and whatnot.
• 03/16 - Five crashes a month belies hype for this man. He wanted an improvement over Vista and 64 bit OS, but thinks Windows 7 is worse than Vista, which he also thought suckes. Wants to go Linux but has a few programs holding him back.

Ok, so it's not really a news flash. Those who inhabit this electronic environment are fairly cognisant of the lack of basic scientific knowledge of the general public. In fact, a recent survey by The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press continues to reinforce the fact that a majority of Americans are both ignorant and skeptical of basic scientific principles such as Evolution, as well as sciences role in our every day lives.

The complete report may be found at this link. There are two areas I do disagree with from those in the scientific community. First, while it is indisputable the climate is warming, it is not entirely convincing that man is the sole source.

It could be us. We know we throw metric elephant loads of crap into the atmosphere every day. It could also be a natural occurrence which is conveniently happening at the same time as we pollute the air. Or it could be a combination of both. More research is needed to determine the who and what.

Second, when it comes to animal research, I don't agree with the scientific community. There is no reason to use animals to test drugs or products when there are millions who would volunteer to be guinea pigs. After all, we're the ones going to use this stuff, not a rabbit or pig.

From the dept of brain dead or bribed journalists.

This ZDNet opinion piece has got to be the worst defense of unethical business practices I've see to date. Basically, the author admits M$ bribes and punishes OEMs and that's AOK with him. Let's preserve this gem:

a company gets twice as much from a PC with their brand on it as one they make for someone else. MSI needs this money to survive in a world where its Chinese partners can undercut them. The margin justifies MSIs existence.

It is also true that Linux cannot afford a presence in the channel. Its not how we roll. You cant invest in retailing if your product costs nothing. There is nothing to invest. Thats why Linux and open source depend on the Internet.

A monopolistic practice occurs when two sides are offering the same deal and one side gets all the business. But in this case both sides were not offering the same deal. Microsoft offered channel support, Linux a hearty handshake and rhetoric about freedom.

... What Linux needs to succeed is a way to offer more than was offered MSI. The question is, how would you structure a deal?

Well, that's a good question. What besides an OS that works and costs zero dollars does free software offer? OK, it can cost up to half what Windows costs if you get it customized and maintained by a company like Xandros. "Channel Support" is just a code word for exclusion of competition by bribes and threats, the very definition of anti-trust conspiracy. Lately, "Channel Support" has come at a terrible cost to companies like Asus. Retail partners like CompUSA, Circuit City and others who got themselves channel stuffed with Vista. This is what Li Chang, vice president of the Taipei Computer Association, was complaining about and it's worth a DOJ investigation. People don't want Windows, they want computers that work. Retailers and OEMs that don't deliver are going the way of other M$ partners and M$ themselves.

Ordinarily, I don't pick on language and style but the phrase, "how we roll," references to his parents' national origin bring special disgrace on ZDNet and the Wintel press. It's hard to tell if he's being cynical or if M$'s culture has really degenerated so far. This single article earns Dana a place in my Poison Pen Collection.

It's taken them 30 years, but the Japanese have finally constructed their first full size Gundam.

Sadly, no mention is made of its ability to leap hundreds of feet in the air while simultaneously firing its weapons at targets.

Just think, in another 30 years we have finally see the Space Battleship Yamato. I want my wave motion gun!

I'm here today to introduce the next phase
The next step, in the big anus craze
I've got a thing real easy to do
I learned it with no problems and so can you

So stretch it out if you got the notion
Pull left and right in a jerking motion
Now that you got it if you think you can
Do it to the music - that's the Goatman

Everybody if you can do the Goatman
Stretch that hole turn it out if you're bad man
Open up pull the sides yes you can, can
Everybody in the house do the Goatman

Everybody if you can do the Goatman
Stretch that hole turn it out if you're bad man
Pull to the front back, and sides yes you can, can
Everybody in the house do the Goatman

Let it be known that you are all warned about a potentially serious event which may happen to you. It is an event so unbelievable, you may think this only a joke. But it's not. It's 100% completely real. Woe be to the person who has this happen to them.

Also, this is one of the very few times I cannot, and will not laugh at what happened to me. For as long as I shall live, no joke, smirk, snort, giggle or pleasant feeling shall ever be associated with this event.

Even now, as I write this, knowing what awaits me sickens my stomach and roils by innards.

From the moment I opened my door last night when I got home, I knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. The odor in the air was not the usual one I was accustomed to smelling. No, there was something sinister afoot and immediately, my heart sank.

My cat greeted me. Not too unusual. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. He stood there, his tail held high, the tip lightly moving back and forth. His yellowish-green eyes looked up at me as if to signify he too was wondering what the smell was.

Putting down the plastic bags I used to carry my lunch in, I made my way into the kitchen where the smell increased. My nose automatically followed the smell to the storage room off to the side where I was met with an odor that while not the worst I had ever smelled, was one of those you can't get out of your nose even when outside.

I flicked on the light and saw something I didn't think was possible. Or rather, so unlikely, it had to be man made.

There, on the floor where I had laid it not five days prior, was the watermelon I had planned on cutting open that night, its dark green skin now ruptured, its body in two complete horizontal pieces, its guts spewed across the floor.

I stared at the sight, now believing what I was seeing, the overriding stench of decaying watermelon juice filling the air about me.

"Fuck"

That was all I said. That was all that needed to be said for in addition to having the roughly ten pound fruit broken and rotting on the floor, seeds and pulp now strewn here and there, its juice had poured out on to the floor and into the thin carpet it was sitting on.

I looked at the discolored carpet and saw that the juice not only soaked into the carpet, but ran with the slope of the concrete slab that is my floor. Where the carpet ended (I had previously removed a 1' by 8" section due to a leaking garbage bag) the juice ran onto the concrete which still contained parts of the carpet pad (not much. Just the few spots I didn't scrape down to the concrete) and appeared to run under the wood edging.

I looked about the room and saw that the force of the explosion had sent shards of watermelon on to the side of my cats litter box, some jugs of water and detergent on the floor, the fronts of both the washer and dryer and even a small amount on to the wood trim.

For the next 1 1/2 hours I set about removing 9 square feet of carpeting, cleaned the sides of the cat box, washer and dryer, rinsed off the water and detergent bottles and of course, disposed of the broken corpse of the watermelon.

No amount of baking soda, carpet freshener/odor remover or bleach could compete with the smell that is rotting watermelon juice. The smell was so bad that when I applied a bleach soaked paper towel to the bare concrete, the odor of the bleach was more pleasant.

Tonight, I face my next task of continuing to scrape off the decaying remnants of the carpet pad and throwing it out as well as vacuuming then hand washing the kitchen floor to remove all vestiges of watermelon juice I may have tracked on to the floor as I set about removing the carcass and its aftermath. I will also use a hand-held carpet cleaner to try and, as best I can, clean the carpet where I may have tracked watermelon juice.

You have been warned. Exploding watermelons are no joke.