Al Qaeda wants Fallout 3.

From Thisislondon.co.uk:

Washington is laid to waste. The Capitol is a blackened, smoking ruin. The White House has been razed. Countless thousands are dead.

This is the apocalyptic scene terrorists hope to create if they ever get their hands on a nuclear bomb.

The computer-generated image below was posted on an Islamic extremists' website yesterday.

Click for larger version

Problem is, they stole the image from the video game Fallout 3. Having been a fan of the Fallout series for ages, I could spot this immediately. Someone needs to seen a few super mutants over to enforce copyright law.

Wii Fit: Best Game EVAH!!!

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Women: The Hot/Crazy scale

I weep for the future.

Brainz. I has it.

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Remember....

Mass. officer's gun "goes off" during safety class

From http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080520/D90PIAV01.html:

A firearms instructor in southern Massachusetts has been assigned to other duties after his gun accidentally went off while he was teaching a class on weapons safety. Officials say the Glock handgun discharged while Maj. Donald Lamar was demonstrating to Bristol County deputy sheriffs how to safely holster the weapon.

The bullet ripped a hole in Lamar's pants but missed his leg and foot.

Sheriff Thomas Hodgson says the officer made a "gross error in judgment" by not emptying the weapon before the class last week.

Lamar, a certified firearms instructor since 2005, was transferred to another division and will not carry a firearm while the incident is being investigated.

1) Glocks do NOT just "go off". The trigger is pulled, the weapon is fired. That is how Glocks are designed to work. No ifs, ands, or buts.

2) Somehow, this seems familiar. Wonder if it was a Glock Fo-Tay?

Passion and Freedom. The ability to say F*** You as a CEO.

So good, I had to repost it in its entirety. From http://forums.galciv2.com/312130:

Brad's life philosophy, for what it's worth
By Draginol Posted May 14, 2008 22:14:05

About once a month someone, somewhere, will comment on something I've written saying how "A CEO shouldn't act so unprofessionally in public". Over the years, I've gotten that message hundreds of times along with predictions of demise for my company due to my "public" behavior.

Now, I think the case could be made that we live in a different time. The new age of companies have executives who hang out on forums and mix it up with people. But I'm not going to make that argument because, ultimately, it doesn't matter. I would still do what I do no matter what.

My personal and professional objectives have always been the same: I want to do what I want to do.

That is my top priority. Freedom.

Freedom has consequences. I am certain, beyond a doubt, that my public postings on various topics over the years has alienated some percentage of users who have encountered what I written to the point that they have decided to not purchase products and services from my company. I'm okay with it. It's a price I'm willing to pay to be able to do what I want.

Here are some examples:

This week, Neowin.net publicly revealed its affiliation with Stardock. Stardock owns 40% of Neowin.net. It doesn't really affect the way the site is run. I was already on Neowin's staff as a volunteer long before I got Stardock involved with it. I just love the site and its community. And I wanted to help so we put together a new company to do just that and it's worked out great.

As an active user on Neowin, there are some people who don't like me. There have been many arguments as to why news items that get posted about Stardock get trolled. Here is one user's explanation:

The problem with this whole thing is that the staff here assumes most people have a problem with Brad due to his Stardock affiliation, but that's not the case at all. People just flat out don't like him. It has nothing to do with the companies he owns or doesn't own. It comes down to the way he treats members here.

Now, users on our sites who read my posts know how I "treat" people. It's not that I treat people badly. I'm just not very sympathetic to people who incessantly complain about every little thing. I particularly have little patience for people whose idea of "free speech" is to flame some person, product, or company and then be taken aback when that person or representative of that product or company defends themselves.
A user on WinCustomize.com wrote this today:

You guys have GREAT products (I am paying for virtually everything you make these days), but Brad tends to do all the PR himself, via grass roots article posts on sites like Neowin.net, etc. Their limited effectiveness contributes to the pervading sense that Stardock will never rise above a niche player, but the REALLY big issue here is that Brad is doing the grass roots posts AND then engages in these childish "my tiny little software company is bigger than your even tinier little software company" flame threads. Having the same person covering both of these communication avenues really really makes both the company and its executive management look very small and unfortunately rather petty.

I totally agree with most of what he said. Having the CEO of a company personally slogging it out on forums makes Stardock look small. He's totally incorrect if he thinks this is some for of PR. I don't do PR. Our PR team does PR. Hanging out on forums talking about games or bee keeping or skinning is not PR. I might also quibble that a $20 million company is not a "tiny little software company" but that's just me.

But the main point he's trying to make is totally correct. The fact that the CEO of Stardock is out on forums talking to users or even arguing with them or responding to some flame from some piddly quasi-competing "skinning" company does impact the perception of Stardock. However, I don't care.

Stardock isn't a public company. It's not investor run. It doesn't even have investors. It's my company. It's a company with around 60 people these days that I can proudly say has not had any voluntary turn over in over 2 years. How many other software or game companies of that size can make that claim? And the reason for that is that my public attitude is my private attitude too -- we're going to do what we want to do. Not just me but the people there too.

Sure, there's a cost to doing what you want to do. I have gotten plenty of ribbing that we're making a TURN-BASED fantasy strategy game instead of making it an RTS. But I want to make a turn-based fantasy strategy game. It won't sell as well as an RTS would but so what? What good is more money if you can't do what you want to do?

I've 36. I've got a beautiful wife. 3 wonderful children. Plus I've got the toys. The Porsche 911 Turbo, the boat, the lake cottage, the big house, etc. And I get to work every day with people who I really like. Not just professionally but on a personal level.

Every day at Stardock is FUN. Even during crunch-time it's FUN. And why is it fun? Because every day we do what we want to do.

And part of doing what you want to do is being able to show some obnoxious customer the door or not hiding the fact that you're an expert in some area when discussing a topic on some web forum.

One last example from Neowin:

No matter how much money Stardock has given Neowin, no matter how much better services Neowin has been able to provide it's members as a result of this (which I highly respect Stardock for leaving NEowin virtually untouched, don't get me wrong), it will never, ever, justify an Admin acting with a "better than thou" or a "know it all" attitude towards its members.

Lest you think that their interpretations are wrong I'll say it myself. Yes, I do know better than most people on the topics I participate in. The typical loud mouth posting on a web forum is a cretin. And I am willing to say, on the record, that yes, I do know more. On Neowin, when i get into debates on OS technology or whatever then yea, I do know what I'm talking about and most of the time, the person ranting is a bloody loon. And yes, as an admin and owner I will act with a "better than thou" attitude if I want simply on the principle that I'm going to do what I want to do. Any user who thinks that the forum postings of any individual, even a CEO, are going to have a noticeable effect on sales or traffic has no idea what they're talking about. I've been running on-line communities since I was a teenager (20 years now), so I think I can be a "know it all" on that factoid.

But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether I'm justified or not because I'm going to do what I want to do. And so far, it's worked out pretty well for both me, my family, my coworkers, and our customers.

Brad, taking resumes?

A summer of super hero movies...

14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies

From http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90ONKV00:

Police say a trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos has overturned, spilling the cookies still in their plastic sleeves into the median and roadway.

Illinois State Police Sgt. Brian Mahoney says the truck's driver was traveling from Chicago to Morris on Interstate 80 around 4 a.m. Monday when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into the median.

"The boxes came out of the trailer and boxes were ripped open," he said.

The crash about 50 miles southwest of Chicago remains under investigation.

Mahoney says no charges have been filed but both lanes of traffic remain closed while authorities remove the cookies.

Got Milk?

Quiz Time. Picture your personality.

When you click the link, a series of about 12 pictures will come up. Click on a photo that best represents your feeling for that category. Just continue to keep picking the pics that appeal to you after reading the category. At the end it will give you a profile of yourself.

http://dna.imagini.net/friends/

You can find mine here:

http://friends.imagini.net/@2577134-e0a3

Chinese (airliner) fire drill

From http://www.kxxv.com/global/story.asp?s=8304187:

News reports say three people were injured as passengers evacuated a Chinese jetliner at Beijing airport today following a fire alarm.

The Communist Party newspaper, People's Daily, says the alarm went off as the China Eastern Airlines flight was preparing to take off. The paper says the passengers were ordered to evacuate, and three people were injured...

....injured running around the plane and trying to get in the other side's hatch.

This will not end well...

Found on Michael Bane's blog.

And with that, I'm outta here for a while. Seeya when I get back.

It's for the children...

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080503/ap_on_re_us/fake_gun_control:

Bills seek punishment for use, display of fake weapons

Concerns that realistic-looking toy weapons are confusing police and threatening safety have led 15 states to try going beyond gun control and cracking down on fake firearms.

Officer Micheal Hoover knows a fair amount about guns as a sniper instructor for a Tennessee SWAT team. He recalls the night two years ago when a car pulled up beside him on a highway and the passenger waved what looked like an Uzi.

"It scared me," he said. "If anyone is in their right mind, I don't see how it wouldn't."

Hoover was off duty and called for police help. A 20-year-old man was charged with aggravated assault after police found a black plastic Uzi submachine gun under the car's passenger seat, but he was acquitted because jurors felt the officer should have been able to tell it was only a toy.

Lawmakers across the country are coming to a different conclusion, deciding that it is so hard to differentiate the toys from the fakes that public safety demands they take action.

Among those 15 states, seven bills limiting fake guns are pending this year and 21 have been enacted since 1990, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states have enacted or are considering multiple measures. They range from prohibiting imitation firearms in vehicles to banning the toys from convenience stores.

Tennessee lawmakers are considering a proposal by state Rep. John Deberry to make it a misdemeanor to intentionally display or expose "an imitation firearm in a public place in a threatening manner." Exceptions include justifiable self defense, lawful hunting, and displays such as a museum collection.

Deberry said he wants to prevent incidents like one last year in which a 12-year-old boy was killed in West Memphis, Ark. DeAunta Farrow was shot by a police officer who said he thought the boy was carrying a gun and that the youngster refused to obey orders to halt. Investigators later said DeAunta had a toy gun.

"It's important that a child cannot walk into one of these little convenience stores, plop down a dollar and walk out with something that can get him shot on the spot without question," Deberry said.

A spokeswoman for the Toy Industry Association declined to comment on the trend toward fake gun legislation but referred a reporter to its Web site, which states that it "emphatically rejects the scenario that casts toys as villains."

Federal law requires toy guns or imitations to bear an orange tip to indicate they're not real.

However, lawmakers say those tips are often disguised or removed.

"It only takes 30 seconds for a kid to either take a marker or some paint, or shoe polish, and that orange tip is gone," said Deberry. He said the imitation guns are nearly identical in size, design and color to real ones.

"One of the imitation weapons I got at a convenience store looked very much like the assault weapons that the secret service and other FBI agents carry under their suits," he said. "Another one was a handgun that had a silencer on it."

New Jersey state Sen. Bob Smith has proposed legislation that would make it a crime to remove the tips or "obscure" a firearm by adding a tip to it.

"If police are called to the scene and don't see those tips, then they open fire because it appears the person has a deadly weapon," said Smith. "The officer doesn't have too many choices."

In Florida, state Sen. Gary Siplin has a bill that would prohibit individuals from carrying a paintball gun in a vehicle. He said he had been told about youngsters brandishing such guns while driving. He said if they're bold enough to do that they might use the fake weapon to commit a crime.

"Sometime these people try to go into a store and try to rob it with a toy gun, and if the police come they may shoot thinking it's a real gun," Siplin said.

The leading U.S. opponent of gun control doesn't think much of legislation that seeks to control fake guns.

National Rifle Association spokesman Ashley Varner said anti-toy gun legislation is "silly" because "it doesn't deal with issues of crime."

"It won't eradicate the human element of the crime," she said. "It doesn't target getting criminals off the street."

If my kid was stupid enough to take a toy gun and point it at a cop, then by God I hope the cop shoots him. It isn't the toys fault, it is the dumb ass kid's fault. Those toy guns have age limits. You (IE, the parent) should be smart enough to know what your kid can handle for his age. Your kid should know when it is playtime and when it is serious. Walking around with a toy gun isn't cool, it is stupid. Here's your sign!

I'm a nerd. I took a Star Trek quiz.

Ron Simmons inducted into hall of fame

From http://www.ajc.com/gatech/content/sports/stories/2008/05/01/hallburst_0502.html:

That player was Ron Simmons, an All-State defensive lineman from Warner Robins High. Simmons would sign with Florida State where he would become a two-time All-American.

On Thursday Simmons, who now lives in Marietta, was one of 13 players named to the College Football Hall of Fame.

"This has to be one of the greatest honors that I have ever received and I can't tell you how thrilled I am," Simmons told the AJC on Thursday. "When I look at all of the great players who are in the Hall of Fame, I can't believe I'm on that list. This a tribute that I share with all of those guys who got things started at Florida State."

After his playing days Simmons became a professional wrestler.

"There are so many people who help you get to a place like this," said Simmons, who turns 50 on May 15. "I don't know that I can thank them all but I am going to try."

I've watch Ron wrestle from his days with Butch Reed in the NWA as the team of DOOM. When it morphed into the WCW, Ron was doing great in singles competition. He really shined once he moved on to the WWF with the Nation of Domination and APA. Currently, though, his funniest bit to date is showing up at opportune times to chime in with "Damn!". Watch below.

A diet to kill for.

From http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0427081arkansas1.html:

Meet Broderick Laswell.

Since his arrest last September on a murder charge, the Arkansas man, 19, has been locked up in the Benton County jail, where he has shed 105 of his original 413 pounds. While most people suffering from obesity would probably welcome such a weight loss, Laswell has made a federal case out of it. Claiming that he is "literally being starved to death," the 6', 308-pound Laswell Friday filed a lawsuit charging that his civil rights have been violated by jailers. According to the U.S. District Court complaint, Laswell contends that he is being provided with so few calories that, about an hour after every meal, "my stomach starts to hurt and growl. I feel hungry again." This purported "lack of nutrition," Laswell claims, is reflected in miniscule biscuits and cake sizes, the small amount of chips accompanying sandwiches, and the occasional provision of "2 small cookies." And just in case anyone thought he was only concerned about junk food, the accused killer also complains about the "drizzle of dressing" placed on his "small side of lettuce."

The lethargic Laswell claims that "on several occasions" he has "started to do some excersizing and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out." He attributes this, of course, to diminished calorie intake, not morbid obesity. Laswell and an accomplice were arrested last year for allegedly beating and stabbing a man to death...

When 3000 calories a day just aren't enough, introducing the prison diet...

Hey! Tough guy!

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