I found this link over the weekend…
ONLINE voting, anyone???
Ok, so here’s a question – we live in the age of technology and information…why can’t we vote over the Internet yet?
I mean, seriously, some of the folks I talked to sat in line for hours – who has time for that in this day and age?! Maybe I’m missing something important here – fill me in if I’m wrong – but with a nice chunk of government funding for security and encyption purposes and a system to retrieve your online voting pinin lieu of a voter’s registration card, could it really be any worse than…
- the grand, old butterfly ballot / hanging chad incident of 2000
- random voting booths around the country not being counted because they weren’t…plugged in 🙁
- citizens rising from the grave to cast their ballots for democracy
- prank calls informing voters that their precincts have been changed to mislead the gullible
- identity theft / voting twice / absentee ballots lost in the mail / etcAll I’m saying is that with the last several elections having gone by with such tiny margins, maybe this would be a good alternative to help up those turn-out rates…
Doh…
Wow – I haven’t posted in quite a while!
A Trip Back in Time…
Flashback: High speed modems (2400 baud) become affordable
http://aroundcny.com/technofile/texts/2400modem88.html
A little “fiber” humor for ya…
I came across this quote in one of the forums discussing Verizon’s new FIOS (fiber) services…
Of all the places in the US (NYC, Boston, major cities, or even major suburbs) they choose KELLER, TEXAS??!?!?!
Cows don’t use Fiber!
Great Dialog, Pt. 2
(Kermit, posing as Rosenthal – Miss Piggy’s attorney – comes to visit her in the slammer)
…
Miss Piggy: I’ve missed you so, ehhh, Rosenthal! It’s been an eternity…
Kermit: It’s been forty-five minutes!
Miss Piggy: Time goes slow in the cooler.
Kermit: Well, I just want you to know that we’re going to get you out of here because we’re going to catch those thieves red-handed!
Miss Piggy: What color are their hands now???
Kermit: I don’t think this is the time for that type of humor…
Miss Piggy: When you’re in stir, you take the laughs when you can get ’em, Rosenthal.
Great Dialog, Pt. 1
(scene opens with Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo flying in a hot air balloon)
…
Gonzo: Woo-wee!!! I’d like to try this sometime without the balloon!
Kermit: What’s that – plummeting???
Gonzo: Yeah!
Kermit: Well, I guess you could try it once…
Bill Gates can go to hell…
“So what did you do this weekend?”
Well as exciting as it sounds, I spent this weekend rebuilding my profile with Microsoft Money from the ground up – woo hoo! It seems to me that instead of making you agree to that 150-page long EULA for every product you attempt to “upgrade,” Microsoft may as well just throw down a nice, animated picture of Clippy giving you the middle finger because that’s about how I felt this weekend when trying to span from 2001 to 2005. Note that this is actually the second time that I’ve been granted the opportunity to reorganize my finances from the ground up – the last time a few months ago was purely by accident.
The next time it happens, I’m switching to Quicken.
Surprisingly, though, it did go a bit easier as I learned that through the miracle of online banking, I was able to import statements directly into the software of my choice…except from Chase because they’ve been “updating” their website for the past three years now, apparently…
But financially I am doing quite well now – last night was the first time I’ve checked to see where the old portfolio stands and, well, I don’t want to talk about it! Nonetheless, my new salary kicks in next week and my 401k should start accumulating nicely again, so at least not all is lost.
Two credit cards left to go and one will be gone by Christmas – man, it feels good to finally see the light at the end of that tunnel! I don’t know off hand just how much I’ve paid off this year – I’ll compute that in another couple of months, but let’s just say that Santa will be mighty proud of me this year.