Me - 1, My Computer - 16.7 Million

So my computer is officially toast.  For quite a while now, it was teetering on he edge of non workdom, and finally gave up today.  The battle has been long and hard, but much like the current war in Iraq, it was an unwinnable situation.  Here is the story.

It all started a couple of years ago when it would reboot itself while I was playing The Sims 2.  So, since it's a homebuild, I began the troubleshooting process.  I never could pinpoint the exact problem, so I just stopped playing The Sims (that was the only time it would reboot).  Problem avoidance worked pretty good.  I recently started trying to play more games, and the problem resurfaced.  Resurfaced with a vengance it did, as the problem games, and other programs, grew in numbers:  The Sims 2, SimCity 4, Return to Wolfenstein, Oblivion, and websites running lots of scripts.  But I never could figure out why I could run Half Life 2, Civ 4, and Farenheit with no problems, weird.

Last week my main hard drive keeled over.  Luckily I had a spare hanging around leftover from my attempt at a RAID array.  My computer never seemed to want a RAID array, so I shevled that project after lots of cursing and failed attempts.  So I went through the ordeal of reinstalling Windows, and other programs I reguarly use.  I won that battle, but the war was still on.

Yesterday, my dad decided he'd get me a "new" motherboard since I was sure my motherboard was the source of my woes.  I say "new" because there is no such thing as a new name brand Socket A motherboard.  We went out, retrieved one that seemed to fit the bill, and I proceeded with the upgrading process when we got back in.  After it was in I went to start it up, and... nothing.  My computer didn't do anything, well, not nothing, it did discharge it's capacitors when I removed power, but that was it.  Not one fan spun, the hard drives didn't whirr, and the floppy didn't make that annoying brrrrrrr brrr sound.  I thought it was just a dead board, so tore it out and replaced my old board.  This time the fans spun for a about a second, and then stopped.  Now I realized there was a big problem.

Further investigation led to a loose (actually it was far beyond loose, more like it wasn't going to connect with anything no matter what) wire a harness that connects my power supply to the motherboard.  Seemed like a replacement of that part would sove all problems.  I retreived this part today, installed it with my old motherboard, and ..... the fans spun, the computer POSTed (the beep you hear when you boot a computer), returned a floppy drive failed error, and shut down.  Afterwards the computer wouldn't POST at all, usually indicative of a fried motherboard.  So, I reinstalled the new one.  This time nothing happened, and I didn't hear the capacitors discharge, so I tried a spare power supply that I had.  Worked like a champ, until the awful POST code that was returned.  Turns out I didn't put enough thermal paste between the CPU and heatsink, and this code was the "OMG YOUR CPU IS GONNA FRY!! I'M SHUTTING DOWN BEFORE YOU MELT THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM!!" warning.  After putting enough paste on, the computer POSTed beautifully.  Then, the real barrier hit -- Windows.  Windows doesn't like something I did, and returns a "your hardware is messed up, replace the hardware you just installed" error.  Well, since it's a motherboard, technically everything is considered new.  I don't even know how to begin troubleshooting this, I can't even boot in Safe Mode (including only the command prompt), or run Windows Setup, so something is messed up bigtime.  I've chalked it up as broken, I have not the patience to deal with this, and I pulled out my laptop so I can get to the internet.  The quest for the next version of my computer has begun, and I'll begin sourcing parts as funds allow.  Just sucks that I have to use my laptop again.

Minimum Wage

A proposal to raise the minimum wage (S. 1062) was shot down this week, but that's not an entirely bad thing.  Those against the proposal cite damage to the profitability of employers as the reason why we can't raise minimum wage.  That reason is not the reason I'm supporting.  We do need to do something about the minimum wage, and that is to convert it into a living wage.  Enacting this bill would be a great short-term solution, but it falls short, we need to do something bigger.

Before I go further, let's look at the minimum wage.  Currently the minimum wage is $5.15 per hour, and that translates into a annual gross income of $10,712.  This assumes 40 hours worked per week, and 52 weeks worked per year, any other annual income I cite assumes the same.  During his term Bill Clinton allowed the states to set their own minimum wages, and several states have taken advantage of that.  Currently 18 states (AK, CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, MN,  NJ, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA, WI) and DC have a state minimum wage higher than the federal wage. 6 states have no state minimum wage (AL, AZ, LA, MS, SC, TN), so the federal wage is the wage, 1 state, Kansas has a lower state minimum wage, and the rest of the states have a minimum wage that's the same as the federal wage.  Since I like pictures, here's a map of the wages from the Department of Labor (I added the specific wages)

Uh oh, is this another incarnation of the Red vs Blue Map?  Almost is.  Anyways, I know there are more than 3 cities that have set higher minimum wages, but I don't have that info at the moment (this stuff was compiled from Wikipedia and The US Dept of Labor)

Now, the biggest problem with the minimum wage now is, it doesn't keep up with inflation.  Only in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon will the state minimum wage keep pace with inflation.  Even the proposal that was shot down wouldn't keep up with inflation.  If they wanted to bring it back in line with inflation they would raise it to $7.95, here's why.  The current minimum wage went into effect in 1998, so adjusting today's annual income to 1998 dollars, we find that the annual income goes down to $9,244.28 (actually it's 2005's figures, the calculator I used didn't have 2006 figures), and of course this means that each year inbetween would be lower.  Adding the differences together we find a disprepancy of $5831.15, that added to the initial value of $10,712 gives use the hourly wage of $7.95.  That's what the minimum wage should be at today, but this is only the 1998-2005 time period, if we look back farther, the minimum wage should be even higher.  I don't have the exact vaule, but it's somewhere in the $9.00 neighborhood.  So where is this $5,831.15?  It's in the hands of employers, they don't want to keep up with inflation because they make money off inflation.

But of course, this assumes that people can actually live off $10,712.  Can we really say that this is a fair wage?  This is the reason why unskilled workers work multiple jobs, and the classic retort, "Well, they can go to school to become skilled," doesn't apply to everyone.  For some people it is impossible.  Our social system traps many good people into situations where they have to work 3 minimum wage jobs just to get the basics.  Yes, there are programs to help people, but not all people are welcome to those programs.  If we created a living wage, then there would be need for less programs, lessening the burden on the government, and people could work less.  When people work less, they are with their family more; this alone can help "break the cycle" for the children of the working class and below.  Also, with a living wage, people can actually have the basics, and maybe a little entertainment from time to time.

So, how do we do this?  This may sound crazy, but bear with me.  First, abolish the federal minimum wage, or just make it apply to government jobs (but those jobs are salaried anyway, doesn't really matter).  Second transfer this power to the states, mandating that they establish a living wage.  The reason for this is because the living wage will vary from state to state, and perhaps even from borough to borough.  The living wage is tied directly to the cost of living, and is better suited for the state governments to oversee this program.  It would also be encouraged that they determine the living wage by the "basket of goods" method, that way, inflation isn't an overt issue, since it's then tied to the goods & services in the "basket."  For example, a gallon of milk could be $1.00 one year, but $2.00 the next year, when calculating the cost of the living wage, the inflated cost is already accounted for.

So there it is, get rid of the federal minimum wage, and have each of the several states enact a living wage.  And just so everyone knows, Congress gave themselves a "cost of living" raise this session.  If a bunch of already rich people are entitled to a cost of living raise, shouldn't everyone be allowed the same privilege?

Miami Terror Plot

In case you haven't heard yet, a group of 7 'terrorists' have been charged for plotting to destroy the Sears Tower.  From the moment this story hit the pavement, it didn't make much sense.  Mostly because the terrorists were reported as being al Qaeda members, al Qaeda supporters, and completely detached from al Qaeda.  At first it seemed no one could make up their mind what they were, but in looking into this I found the indictment, which cleared up a few of the questions, it's on the Chicago Sun-Times' homepage (can't give a direct link since it's a java pop-up, it's also a PDF), and at findlaw.com (not a PDF).

In the indictment it states that the terrorists were not al Qaeda members, but were seeking support from al Qaeda.  In seeking al Qaeda support, they contacted an al Qaeda representative that was actually an undercover agent.  The terrorists pledged support for al Qaeda, and gave the agent a few shopping lists over time.  In the end, the terrorists recieved boots, body armor, radios, firearms, binocluars, a rental vehicle, a digital camera,  a memory card, and $50,000 cash.

Outside of the Sears Tower in Chicago, the terrorists were also plotting to destroy the FBI Building in North Miami Beach, and were conducting reconnaissance on the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building, various federal courthouses, the Federal Detention Center, and the Miami Police Department all from the Miami-Dade area.  In all, there are 4 counts of conpiracy: 1. Conspiring with a foreign terrorist organization. 2. Conspiracy to comitt a crime. 3. Conspriacy to destroy a federal building, and a center of commerce. 4. Conspriacy to levy war against the USA.

Directly from the indictment:

Narseal Batiste told the [operative] that he wanted to attend al Qaeda training, along with five of his soldiers, during the second week of April and further detailed his mission to wage a "full ground war" against the United States in order to "kill all the devils we can," in a mission that would "be just as good or greater than 9/11," beginning with the destruction of the Sears Tower.

Hold up a sec, so we are to believe 7 terrorists (6 of which will be trained), were planning on waging a ground war against the US? A ground war?   Unless that was some hellacious body armor, something tells me they wouldn't get very far at all.  And this was supposed to be bigger than 9/11?  They didn't even order explosives, how were they going to blow up the Sears Tower?  I guess the case could be made that they hadn't gotten that far, but wouldn't you order the more hard to get items first, and leave the boots until later?  Boots are easy to come by, bomb parts are not.  I don't believe these guys were seriously a threat, if they were a threat, they would've made sure thier al Qaeda contact was really in al Qaeda, and not an operative from the US Government.  Terrorists are supposed to be smart, not a bunch of idiots.

This whole thing has sham written all over it, dumb terrorists are planning the biggest terror plot since 9/11 involving the Sears Tower and a number of federal buildings, and they don't even have bombs.  This is just a stunt (looks awfully close to entrapment)  performed on a group that may or may not have been seriously considering a terror attack, just to raise the level of fear across America.  We've become complacant with our lack of terror plots lately, so one had to be brewed up to make us afraid again.

Or was this generated to direct our attention away from this: AP -- US Gets Access to Worldwide Banking Data.  Rember our phone records, and how they claimed it was only international calls at first?  It wouldn't surprise me if this SWIFT system is also looking at domestic banking.

My Political Affiliation -- But Not Really

I took another one of those silly quizes today, and this makes no sense whatsoever.  The title is What Political Party Do You Put Your Beliefs In?  So naturally I figured it would include the 2 main parties, and the main 3rd parties, that wasn't the case.  It seems to be more about political theories, than the actual parties.  Here's how I did.

You scored as Anarchism. <'Imunimaginative's Deviantart Page'> Anarchism 83_font> Socialist 67_font> Green 58_font> Democrat 42_font> Communism 17_font> Fascism 17_font> Nazi 8_font> Republican 8_font> What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In? created with QuizFarm.com

I'm not sure how I'm an Anarchist, I believe government is a necessary evil.  Government is something not to be trusted, not something to completely do away whith.  Besides, is there an Anarchist Party?  (Yes there is, just looked it up) Doesn't that go completely against Anarchy?   "I don't believe in government at all, but vote me into the Senate so I can be part of the government!"  I can assure everyone that I don't believe in Anarchy, I also don't believe in theories that lead to Anarchy, ie Libertarianism and Communism.

I'm also not sure how Socialism scored so high.  There are a few things we could learn from Socialism, but 100 percent Socialism is no good, I don't believe the government should own all (or most of) wealth.  Capitalism is OK, we need more checks against it, but at no point should we turn over all wealth to the Government.

I'm chalking this up into the don't take this quiz category, mainly because it is waaaaaaay off, at no point did it ask it I believed government should exist, that would've elimminated Anarchy right off the bat.  But of the systems in this quiz, I would say that I'm not 100 percent any of them, my system would be more of a mixture of Democrat, Republican, Socialist, and a dash of Green of the above systems.  I'd also include Libertarianism minus thier economic stance, and a little bit of my own theory.  I'd put them in a little jar and mix it up real good (to get rid of the chunks), pour it in a glass and give it a catchy name.  Jaysonism has a nice ring to it.

Freedom to Fascism

It's been a little while since I blogged, that's because I was working on a couple of things for my blog, and then my hard drive crashed.  Everything I was working on was lost, so I have to start all over, that sucks.  But what can you do?  Bitch about it, and install a new hard drive, that's about it.

My computer is up to speed now; well, mostly.  There are a few programs I still need to install, but the thing works, so now I'm catching up with the blogs I normally read.  IgnoranceIsntBliss posted a blog today about a new documentary coming out soon.  It's called America: Freedom to Fascism, and from the looks of it, Aaron Ruso (writer/director) is out for blood.  Todd Schwartz from CBS is calling this "the scariest goddamn film you'll see this year," and for those who haven't researched the Federal Reserve Bank, it will be.  Here's a couple trailers to it:

The 3 min trailer:

Direct Google Video Link

And the 15 min version

Direct Google Video Link

It opens July 28th in New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Austin, and Tampa (limited theatres), and Aug 4th in LA, Houston, Dallas, Miami, and Orlando.  Click the picture at the top of this post to visit this film's website.

Serbia, Montenegro, 2004 Elections, & the Gay Marriage Amendment

Serbia & Montenegro



The former country of Serbia & Montenegro is now 2 countries: Serbia, and Montenegro.  Currently the 2 countires are finalizing the process of separation, with new national flags hoisted today.  Serbia & Montenegro has been united since the fall of the Socialist Federal Repulic of Yugoslavia in 1992, where they reorganized into the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  In 2003 they again reorganized as Serbia & Montenegro (a confederation), officially known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.  The separation of these countries will bring the worldwide total to 192 soverign countries, pending acceptance into the United Nations.

Google News link

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Did Bush Steal the 2004 Elections?

An interesting read from Rolling Stone, check it out.
Rolling Stone -- Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

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S. J. Res 1: Marraige Protection Act aka The Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment

Lots of talk is running about surrounding the upcoming vote on this proposal.  Here is what the bill says (from www.govtrack.us):

JOINT RESOLUTION
 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
SECTION 1. This article may be cited as the `Marriage Protection Amendment'.
SECTION 2. Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.

Reports are that measure won't pass, as the requisite amount of votes will probably not be met.  The government proves once again that they are a body of discriminating dinosaurs by even proposing this resolution.  A measure like this may have stood a chance 30 years ago, but the acceptance of gays is slowly rising, and these resolutions probably won't ever pass on a federal level. 

What are my feelings on this?  Well, I'm against government intervention in our private lives, so based on that alone, I'm against this resolution.  I'm also against willy-nilly amendments to the Constitution, which is what this is.  Amendments to the Constituion need to have long-term longevity, and free of discriminatory elements.  An amendment must be something that will always be pertinent, we learned this with the prohibition amendment.  Also, the last time I checked, gays were people too.  If we restrict who they can marry, aren't we restricting the premise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  Sure, that's not in the Constitution, but it is one our founding principles as a country.

I've also read the arguements from those supporting this measure, which is deeply rooted in the religious right.  Here's a newsflash -- not everyone is a conservative Christian, and not everyone believes that gays are sinners.  In fact, there are Christian churches (and other religions) that have gay priests, not many, but they do exist.  Gay marriage does not hurt anyone, and no, it does not reduce the legitimacy of marriage.  Your marriage is not in jeopardy because Bruce & Jim are married.  If they want to marry, they should be allowed.  The only institutions that should limit marriages are the many churches, since that's the origin of this amendment in the first place.  In the end, this proposal is just a distraction from more important issues.

Google News Link
S. J. Res 1 at govtrack
H. J. Res 39 (the House counterpart) at govtrack