frickin' laser beams

From: Slashdot
Laser Weapon Shoots Down Airplanes In Test 
airshowfan writes"Boeing's directed-energy weapons (a.k.a. frickin' laser beams) have been getting some attention lately. The Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) is a C-130 that famously burned a hole through a car's hood, and the YAL-1 AirBorne Laser is a 747 that shoots a laser from its nose that is powerful enough to bring down an ICBM. But even cooler is the Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX), a laser that is mounted on a truck (which probably costs less than a 747, but who knows) and that can shoot down small aircraft, as shown in the picture on this article. (The Laser Avenger supposedly also has this capability). We live in the future!"

The Apple, part 1. As Sci-Fi Story by John L. Sokol

The big apple, that's what they used to call it, but I never understood why.

It was my first day on the job. I have my new uniform if you can call it that, a dingy orange jump suit and florescent reflectors like out of the 80's pop group DIVO. I pull the truck over, I hear the back open and the crew begins loading. I can't believe this old crappy truck is still on the road, it's engine groans like the old Prius hybrids every time I try to accelerate. It's got to be almost 60 years old by now and once it might have been considered a small truck. Now it towers over everything, twice the width of everything on the road. The only reason it's still in use is because it belongs to the city and they are too cheap to replace it I guess. It engine had been replaced years back and had been converted to electric when they stopped selling gas here, before, the rest of the country did. In doing so the streets are now like death traps with 600 volt rails jutting out all over the roads that are constantly replenishing the caps. It's amazing how few problems they have with it. You'd think people would be getting fried all the time, but nobody walks the street these days, not even to cross it.

I really should have used the restroom before I started driving. On the street in Manhattan there are no restrooms. The entrance to main office I which just left from is only a few feet away from the other end of the block.  Technically I am still  in the building.  I stared at it's concrete, looming overhead, like being under a bridge.   I'm sure I can just run over, while the work crew is loading, and be back in 5 minutes, before anyone even notices.

I open the door to face the traffic, I can remember what this used to be like in my youth when you'd get hit in the face with the familiar, almost comforting smell of petroleum exhaust and the blare of car horns. I actually miss it. Now the whole road is like an ocean of little robotic bumper cars silent. Nobody is even paying any attention since the cars drive themselves now, occasionally brushing against the rails for power. I remember when the Smart car first came out and how odd they seemed at the time; now there is nothing but. Everyone is oblivious, sitting in little half width toy cars, with the exception of this one old truck as far as the eye can see.

“Hey where are you going”, shouted another DWP worker sitting in his little orange toy car stopped in front of me. I reply, “I need to use the rest room!”. “You sure?!”, “Yes, I really need to go”; “Christ”, He waves me over, and I jump in. Moments later a path opens amongst the cars crossing ahead of us. Some invisible traffic light had signaled and seven lanes of traffic wide stopped and opened up, like the parting of the red sea. We cut across and were silently zipping down the street. We stop at the end of the block and I start to step out, he yells “You better get back there quick”. Before I could reply he was gone. I run up the stairs through a set of double doors and dive in to the men's room.

Finally at peace, I step out and take a deep breath, and as I walk past the front desk I hear, “Hey, where are you supposed to be? Is that your truck out there?”. Stunned, “yea, but--” , “What the fuck!” he grabs me by the wrist, “Your in a real load of shit now! Come on”, we run back down the stairs, among the toy cars packed bumper to bumper, is another orange car that's empty. He jumps over the 2 inch rail in the middle of this part of the road and hops in the car. I try to follow, when one of the cars lurches forward and rams the back of my ankle. “agh!”, I fall almost hitting that rail, bloodying my knee and catching myself on the car next to ours. All of the cars lurch forward again, “Shit!” still holding the car in front of me that is now dragging me along. This is it, I have been on the job maybe 30 minutes and it's over for me, the 600 volt rail is only inches from me, when I feel my arm getting grabbed and I come crashing inside the passenger seat. “Holy cow, grandpa! You ain't from around here are you? Ed or you can call me Eddy.” We glide down the street silently back to where I parked the truck. There's a whole crowd of guys in there orange suits. Eddy says “ I'd hate to be in your shoes.” I can see there is already a tow truck angling towards us up the side street, I get out, “Thanks”. He jumps out too and the car speeds off.

“Where the hell were you!, Get this truck outta here!” There is already a second truck behind mine and because of the way the curb rolls in one of the halve width lanes is blocked forcing a stream of cars to have to merge around. Traffic is a mess. 

Eddy puts his hands up, “Hey guys give him a break it's is first day”. I hear someone yell, “Hey get some depends grandpa!” While Eddy's distracting him I jump in and make my get away. “Whew!”. What else can go wrong today.

----

“Turn right ahead” I look down seeing the blinking map, the springs in the seat cushion are digging in to me. The little robotic cars wiz past me, I have found it's best to drive slow and let them navigate around me. They don't really seem to give me any breaks, not that this is unusual. I had driven here last, gee, I can't even remember, must be over 30 years ago, but this was the norm even back then. Still without people driving, they don't sound horns, I could just plow over one of these cars and would never even know it. I bet that would get the passengers attention. “Turn right ahead” I have no idea where I am at. I think I used to live down one of these streets, I think this is around where canal street was. Nothing is labeled any more. They didn't remove the street signs, just never bothered keeping them up. No body drives their cars here any more. I am not sure it's even legal for non-government people within the city limits.

“Your destination is to the left”, ahead is a dingy garage with another familiar orange jump suite waiting in front. I turn to pull in. “Whoa, back in, we need to unload”.

“So I heard you're having a shitty day.”, I can here some of the other guys in the back chuckling at this. “Not cool, Not cool, the boss wants to see you right now.” Before I could answer, another orange car had silently sneaked up. “Chop! Chop! Old man, wake up! Car's waiting. Why aren't you taking your calls?”. I reply “What?, I don't even have a phone”. “Is this your first day on the job or something?”, “Yea” I reply, “Well just get back, don't try to argue, just kiss ass. You'll probably be OK. Not a lot of people around that still know how to drive.”

“Ding, Ding, Ding” the little orange car is now making a chiming sound waiting for me, getting louder and louder impatiently. This is terrible. I just wish I was back in California or Bangalore or any of the other places I had lived where the world seemed to make some sort of sense. I haven't had a chance to catch my breath once today. The car whooshes off, weaving, ducking and dodging at a frightening pace. It reminds me of my first time in India. I couldn't believe how many close calls we almost had taking the little rickshaw there, and my kids who where young at the time screaming then laughing hysterically as we almost plowed over an old woman crossing the street, her pink saree suddenly filling the windshield in front of us. She didn't even notice that we went from 30 mph to a complete stop about 2 inches from her in the blink of and eye, but this is the norm there. Eventually you get used to it, but even the rickshaws weren't as frantic as this car. The car lurched hard, my already sore bloody knee jammed against the console as we race past another truck like the one I had just driven, narrowly missing, “Yikes!” I can feel the hair on the back of my neck rise. I can see the drivers eyes pop open wide as my car shot passed. I know exactly what she's feeling, I wonder if it's her first day too and what screwed up predicament brought her to this situation. Was it as bad as my own?

Tech World Anagrams

Tech World Anagrams

Some are better then others.

Medical Marijuana = AN IDLE JAMAICA RUM

Thomas Edison = ATOMS DO SHINE
Albert Einstein = TEN ELITE BRAINS

Microsoft = IS COMFORT
Microsoft Windows = I'D WOW CONFORMISTS
Microsoft Windows Xp = WORM DOWNS PC, SO FIX IT
Microsoft Word = IFORMWORST.DOC
Microsoft Office = IS OF COMIC EFFORT
Microsoft Vista = FASCIST OR VOMIT
Microsoft Windows Vista = OVATIONS WORM SWIFT DISC
Microsoft Windows seven = NOW SNOW-COVERED MISFITS

Macintosh = ISN'T MACHO


Sun Microsystems = COSTS MESS - MY RUIN
Sunsoft = NOT FUSS

Freebsd Unix = BURNED FIXES
Netbsd unix = BID NEXT SUN
Openbsd Unix = INDEX UP SNOB
Berkeley System Distribution = TRUSTILY. BEE'S KNEES MORBIDITY
Berkeley Software Distribution = SWEATIEST OR BROKENLY BRUTIFIED
Gnu's Not Unix = UNSUNG TOXIN & SIX GUN ON NUT
Sourceforge = OGRE OF CURSE & FORCE ROGUES
Debian Linux = I ANNEX BUILD
Redhat Linux OS = Dear! Lush Toxin = IN HOARD EXULTS
Fedore Core OS = FREE CODE OR SO
Fedore Core Linux = IF DELUXE CROONER
Linus Torvalds = STUN AVID ROLLS

Public Domain = BULIMIAC POND

Free Open Source = UP OF SERENE CORE & OPENER OF SECURE

Free Open Source Software = SUFFOCATE OR SERENE POWER & NOW USE CAREFREE POOFTERS

Free Software Foundation = NOW OF SNUFFIER TOADEATER & WORN-OUT IF TONE-DEAF FEARS
-- TOADEATER [Originally, a charlatan's helper who ate (or pretended to eat) poisonous toads so that his employer could display his prowess in expelling the poison.]


Internet Guru = TURGENT URINE


World Wide Web = BORED, IDLE? - "W.W.W."
Web Surfing = IF SNUB GREW & WIN SERF BUG
Internet Chat Rooms = THE MORON INTERACTS
The Google Search Engine = OH, CHEER NET-LOGGING EASE
Technical Support = HELP! CONTRACT IS UP & The Pro Pc Lunatics & PC HELP - SO TACITURN


Network Solutions = NOW STINK OUT LOSER
ICANN Rules = CLEAN RUINS
Internic = IN CRETIN
Internet protocol = COOL! NOT INTERPRET
Internet Protocol Version Six = INTROVERT CORNIEST EXPLOSION & SO INEXPERT SILVER CONTORTION
Domain Registry Service = REVENGES TRIM IDIOCRASY & I'M ANGRIEST RE-DISCOVERY

Boarder Gateway Protocol = COWPAT OR DEROGATORY ABLE

Secure Shell = HER CLUELESS

Universal Serial Bus = ILLUSIVE AS RARE SNUB

The C Programming Language = CLEAN RAMPAGING TOUGH GERM & GLEAM HOT GRUMPING CARNAGE

General Protection Fault = TO CORRUPT AN ELEGANT FILE

T One Line = NON-ELITE
Co Location = COOL ACTION!
Server Room = ERRORS MOVE
Beowulf Cluster = WE'LL BRUTE FOCUS

Relational Database = INALTERABLE AS A TOAD

High Definition Television = OH NO! THIEVING INFIDELITIES
Music Television = SIT, VOLUME IS NICE
Blue Ray Disk = IS BULKY DEAR

Silicon Valley = SOCIAL 'N' LIVELY & Villainy Close

Electrical Engineer = CAREER INTELLIGENCE

American Telephone And Telegraph = REPELLANT MEATHEAD OR CHEAPENING & THE PAEDOPHILE, CLEAN ARRANGEMENT

Pacific Bell = IF CLIP CABLE

Motorola = Too. Moral  & A ROM tool & O! Lot o' RAM.

Computational Chemistry = PSYCHOTIC, MEAN MUTILATOR

high speed internet = EIGHTH SERPENTINED
This is really interesting in many mythologies. Gnostic, Hundu, Egyptian, Japaneses


Now to really blow your mind!
If your wondering how some of these anagrams ring true then think about these anagrams

Who Is Answering This? = A WRITHING SHOWINESS & WIN SINISTER HOGWASH

Messages In Anagrams = A MASSAGER MANGINESS
massage is to manipulate
manginess is defined as Mean; contemptible


Anagram Studies = Sugared Stamina & ARGUED SATANISM & Grade us, I'm Satan!

Low cost ARM processor development boards.

Low cost ARM processor development boards. 
http://www.emblitz.com/index_us.html

Out of India.

Clifton, NJ - What happened to Lori Mc Kinney?

This is all I was able to dig up on the internet about what happened. If anyone has more please send it to me and I will post it here.

I really cared about her, she was a good friend and is missed.

-----------
From some newpaper:

In July 1993, Lori McKinney was found dead on a beach. John J. Pepe Jr. was eventually convicted of reckless manslaughter.

"When he came to us, he had three different stories from other murders all rolled into one," Swearingen said. "It didn't take us long to put a case together against him and figure out what happened."

The bar the couple had been to earlier that night is now closed. The places that serve alcohol that remain are primarily restaurants, which occasionally generate noise complaints.


-----------
From: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P1-22673212.html
STRANGLED BY THE SEA -- WAYNE WOMAN'S DEATH A MYSTERY
By BRUNO TEDESCHI, Staff Writer The Record (Bergen County, NJ) Date: 07-20-1993, Tuesday
Section: NEWS
Edition: All Editions -- 3 Star, 2 Star P, 2 Star B, 1 Star Late, 1 Star Early
Biographical: LORI McKINNEY. JOHN PEPE

Lori McKinney of Wayne was very much in love with her boyfriend back home, her friends say.
That's why they can't believe she left an Ocean County bar early Saturday morning with another man.
The decision to leave with him, authorities say, turned out to be a deadly mistake.
-----------
WAYNE WOMAN'S KIN `CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE' -- PETITION AGAINST MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE IN HER DEATH
By COLLEEN MANCINO, Staff Writer Date: 11-19-1993, Friday  Section: NEWS
Edition: 2 Star P, Also in 3 Star, 2 Star B, 1 Star Late, 1 Star Early

CORRECTION: Lori McKinney, the Wayne woman who was killed this summer at the
New Jersey shore, was 24 years old. Her age was reported incorrectly Friday.
(PUBLISHED, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1993, PAGE a02.)

Friends and family of the Wayne woman who was killed in the surf off the New Jersey shore ...
LORI A MCKINNEY Born Dec 1968 More Information on LORI A MCKINNEY
45 OAKLEY WAY Map It Recorded: 04/15/2001 LORI A MCKINNEY business listings Check Yellow Pages WAYNE, NJ 07470
-----------
SLAYING SUSPECTS SHOULDN'T GET PRETRIAL INTERVENTION
By ROD ALLEE, The Record (Bergen County, NJ) Date: 12-15-1993, Wednesday Section: NEWS
Edition: All Editions -- 3 Star, 2 Star P, 2 Star B, 1 Star Late, 1 Star Early
Column: COUNTY LIFE

Lots of facts are missing in the case of John Pepe of Lyndhurst, a  21-year-old college student and former high school football player who has been indicted on a charge of aggravated manslaughter in the death of
Lori McKinney of Wayne.
This week Pepe applied for pretrial intervention. If that had been granted, McKinney's family and friends -- and the public -- would never have gotten to find out what happened that night.
Pretrial ... 
-----------
From : http://www.bookrags.com/highbeam/100-mourn-wayne-woman-who-drowned-19930722-hb/
100 MOURN WAYNE WOMAN WHO DROWNED -- WHAT HAPPENED IN THE WATER STILL A MYSTERY TO INVESTIGATORS
BRUNO TEDESCHI, Staff Writer The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
Date: 07-22-1993, Thursday  Section: NEWS
Edition: 2 Star P, Also in 3 Star, 2 Star B, 1 Star Late, 1 Star Early
Biographical: LORI McKINNEY. JOHN PEPE

As Lori McKinney of Wayne was buried Wednesday, questions remained about her death at an Ocean County beach over the weekend.

At least 100 friends and family members gathered at St. Philip The Apostle Church in Clifton to mourn McKinney, while ...

Bronx. She lived for 17 years in Clifton before her family moved to Wayne ... She attended Paul VI
She worked at Bergen Tire in Saddle ... and Restaurant in Lavallette, where ...
is accused of strangling Lori McKinney July 16 and leaving her body in the ... Bergen Tire in Saddle Brook
-----------
FROM:   http://www.leaderarchives.com/PDF/1994/September/09-15-1994.pdf
Pepe luncheon leaves bad taste
Dear Editor:
We all use the expression "I've heard it all," but never has it held so much meaning as now when we read of a fundraiser to show support for. the convicted killer, John Pepe of Lyndhurst. People paying $50 a. plate for this man is one of the sickest things I've ever heard of Thank goodness the management at the Fiesta had the good sense and the courage to stop it when they realized who the benefit was for. The Pepe family friend who was organizing this absurdity is a Lyndhurst resident named Pat DeSimone. She had, been very busy planning "the party" and calling all the newspapers to tell them about it. Someone, please, take the $50 they're charging for the lunch and buy this woman a clue!! Besides her obvious poor judgment, DeSimone clearly has a warped sense of justice and too much time on her hands. I suggest that DeSimone take some of her idle time and put her organizational skills and fund raising abilities to good use and help t some truly needy individuals and organizations — there are plenty of them.  It is irritating and ridiculous to hear DeSimone describe Pepe as "a boy that has never been in any trouble. In our opinion, this was an accident. We still feel John is innocent." Someone heeds to tell DeSimone that, in fact, John Pepe is not "a boy" but a 220 lb. grown man and even if he has never been in any "trouble" before, causing the death of another human being is more "trouble" than most of us will ever have. Furthermore, Mr. Pepe is NOT innocent; a jury convicted; him of manslaughter. He is responsible for the death of Lori McKinney. John Pepe strangled her McKinncy's neck muscles were bruised and her eyelids had hemorrhaged. DeSiitione is also quoted as saying, "the family suffered quite a bit of legal fees, I thought they could use some help."  Does DeSimone realize that John Pepe is NOT the victim? Docs she realize that this is not Some Hollywood movie where the innocent child of a poor unemployed single parent is unjustly accused of some crime and the parent spends every last dime to clear the kid's name? In reality, (his family was in a better position financially than most of us. What's been made public about this family is that the father owns a construction company and, at the time of the manslaughter, the family owned a nice Lyndhurst home as well as two additional homes in the upper middle class beach community of Laval letie. Furthermore, their convicted son; John; had just completed his education at Colby College in Maine where tuition, room and board totals a whopping $25,420 a year! A benefit luncheon for this convicted killer? It's enough to make all of us lose our appetites for the rest of our lives.
 Jolyn Gamer
 Rutherford

----------
from: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22488585.html
SENTENCE UPHELD IN `DUNK TAG' DEATH -- MAN LOSES BID TO TRIM 10-YEAR TERM
By MATTHEW MOSK, Staff Writer The Record (Bergen County, NJ) Date: 09-30-1995, Saturday Section: NEWS
Edition: All Editions -- Two Star B, Two Star P, One Star
Biographical: LORI MCKINNEY. JOHN PEPE

A state appeals court has denied a 23-year-old Lyndhurst man's bid to reduce his 10-year prison sentence for strangling a Wayne woman and leaving her to drown in the ocean at the Jersey shore.

In a ruling released Friday, a three-judge panel of the state Appellate Division in Newark said there was overwhelming evidence against John Pepe and a jury could easily have convicted him of a ...

Ode To A Spell Checker

Found this floating about in my in box.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Ode To A Spell Checker
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: bill crawford

Subject: 'owd to a spel cker"

didn't find it .. so did a google, and found some pieces of it....

    Due yuo believ spel cker is helpin kids larn how to right better?
           and....    Mi spel cker is on strke

then accidentally,  found this, more interesting.... and a very funny....   this is much better.......

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
interesting development in European thinking

---

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" wiz "z" and "w" viz "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords containing "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.
Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas

Bill Maher talked about the H1N1 Debate on HBO

HBO Real Time with Bill Maher October 16, 2009

U.S. Centers for Disease Control Vaccine Ingredients:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf

My new house disaster.

From An E-mail Dated Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 3:46 PM



Data from
http://www.melissadata.com/lists/ezlists/ezHomeowners.aspx?zip=91763

I bought for $210K in June 2003,   The house originally was had at a HUD auction for $150K around  Dec 01.

For Photo's of when I just bought it.
http://www.dnull.com/house/




I really wanted to sell  after our return from India August 2006.   Look at house trading volumes, barely any homes are selling now.




View Larger Map

10/19/09
Well after pouring some $35K in to new windows, upgrading the electricity and adding central air and building a work shed in the back, I have lost it.
Worst part is I worked so hard to pay down all my debts, running all over from Orange County to Santa Barbara to find work to pay the mortgage. Ultimately end up unemployed and unable to pay the mortgage, Couldn't find any renters, or buyers. Unable to live there because it's too far from any tech companies to work for.   And just too damn hot to even go out for a walk or try to get any programming done while there.

Where we stand in this universe

This is from an E-mail that was floating around some time ago.

(If your not seeing images go to this URL)
http://johnsokol.blogspot.com/2009/10/where-we-stand-in-this-universe.html
---------------------
Now, THIS is really fascinating - I’ve never really thought of it in these magnitudes,but it’s rather dazzling to see it presented this way.

I certainly thought this was enlightening. Didn’t even realize we knew much beyond our sun ….

It’s a big universe.

Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky.
It is more than 1000 light years away.

The universe humbles us.
 
And to think that each of us is but one person (out of a few billion) on earth.
 

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do.
But attitude determines how well you do it."

-Lou Holtz