I’d pretty much stopped reading back when my palmtop died last. Since they gave me a blackberry at work though, I’ve been working through the backlog of books I bought from Baen but never actually read.The first one was The Hero, in the Aldenata series with the posleen, darheel, and such. This is set about 1000 years after the rest of the series. I’d probably put it at between 3 and 3.

The government can’t find people to buy their debt anymore. China and sovereign funds around the world had been the main buyer since the spending orgy of the Bush administration. They no longer want to buy our debt however, since they think we won’t pay it back…Thus, the government has started playing gamese They are devaluing the currency. The Federal Reserve, a private company, is buying government bonds. The federal reserve gets all of its funds from the Treasury.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/11/kindle_complaint/So let me get this straight. You have a book. You can read it, but if you read it out loud then you’re violating the copyright? There goes all those school programs and assignments that tell you to read books with your children. Gee, where will that leave you authors? Hmmm…Here, let me paint this bullseye on your shoe, that way it’ll save you a step when you go to blow your foot off.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/11/feinstein_stimulus_amendment/The Democrats just try to piggyback it on legislation that is so widely advertised as being UTTERLY MISSION CRITICAL OR THE COUNTRY MAY NEVER RECOVER so they can get every last thing they want through without any scrutiny. This amendment is nothing less than a government mandate for 100% widespread invasion of privacy on the internet. It just goes to show that internet and privacy are one area where the two parties flip sides on depending on who is in power.

I don’t know why, but Microsoft is always there for me… when I have problems with my computer, they’re the first ones to step to the plate and make everything just that much worse. I bought a retail copy of Vista awhile back, and had installed it to my old Sempron system, then that thing left a glowing crater… Then I installed it to my wife’s computer. She bought a laptop, so I purged it off.

Every once in awhile I find a good quote. One that I would probably cycle in on a signature or tagline if I had enough of either. I just ran into another one.Three groups spend other people’s money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision. - Dick Armey There’s probably other groups, but those would also need supervision, so… :)

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/a-new-push-to-t.htmlThey want to turn off the lights for “health” reasons and so they can see the milky way. I seem to recall a campaign at some point in the recent past telling inner city families that they should make sure their outside lights and street lights are well maintained so that they can prevent crime, because criminals are like cockroaches and run from the lights…Which one should people believe?Personally, when I want to see most of the stars, I go up to the mesa or behind the monument.

DEAR AMERICAN:I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 800 BILLION DOLLARS US. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.I AM WORKING WITH MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY.

Please don’t take government money. It will destroy you. Look at other things that are subsidized by the government and how badly they are doing, and how expensive their products are… like Amtrak. Chrysler and GM both make great products, and I’m sure Ford has made at least one passable product at some point. If the government gets a stake in them, not only will they end up making lousy products, but they will be beholden to the government in every decision they make, and it will make it harder for competitors to get a foothold.

I had 3 before, all 3 quoted in the Freefall comicsAny sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.Any technology, no matter how primitive, is magic to those who don’t understand it.Girl Genius has come up with another one though. :)Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science! (Or technology…)