Current news media out of touch?

Is it just me. or do we not need the modern news media anymore? I mean seriously, you cannot get any more polarized views unless you watch Faux news' Oreilly or Hannity... and shouldn't Hannity be catching that mouse? That being said, yes, I lean to the left... but I also believe in gun ownership.

CNN's recent 10 sites that will guarantee to make you laugh were anything but that, and you can't mod them down or introduce new sites... blagh. By the way CNN writers, if you're reading this, we're sick of hearing about MJ. He's dead, and we get it. How about keeping the focus on Iran's election? That's relevant to tomorrow.

Newspapers are dead. You can't mod down or up a writer for a biased article. You can't be heard in newspaper print... you'd be lucky to get a print correction blurb in the editorial column that no one reads because the page is full of sponsored ads. I will say however, that at least the ads are not annoyingly animated to distract you from the article itself. On the web we are resorted to employing adblock plus and the like to prevent our kids from seeing porn advertisements whilst researching homework.

Newspapers, like ISPs exist for one reason and one reason only... advertisers now known as spammers pay, and they pay well. I suppose the question ultimately remains... how much would you pay for uninterrupted and unbiased news be it either print, television, or online? and can you even find such a resource?

I digress...

William M. Nett

2001 Honda Shadow Questions

I've scoured the interwebs for simple questions regarding my bike and have thus far found nothing helpful that didn't require a paid for subscription... Seriously? I own a 2001 Honda Shadow and was wondering about basic maintenance, like oil specs, spark plug gapping, the usual stuff that's included with the bike.

To be specific I was curious about the oil requirements and after my bike's battery died at McDonalds on my way to work, only after dissembling the bike did I discover that which Clymer's holds so dear. I live in Florida which gets a lot of rain, so I was concerned.

The 2001 Honda Shadow uses by default 10-40W oil, and while they don't recommend bump starting or jumping off a car battery (both of which I call BullCrap on). They conveniently suggest contacting the dealer. I did perform a jump twice, with no issues. What I didn't know was that the bike was supposed to be trickle charged every 30 days. She's charging now, but I digress and ask is the battery supposed to be draining if the power and engine switch is turned off? By my rationalization, there should be no load or closed circuit on the bike when everything is turned off. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Will

Ban the tasers!

Ok, as a former Military Police Officer, I completely comprehend the necessity of escalation of force and the use of non-lethal weapons to subdue a suspect or offender... but this taser device has just got to go. Since 2004, 300 'suspects', 'detainees', and yes 'criminals' have died due to being tasered. I think that's enough to revisit the device's use and or deployment. For some a single dose was enough, for others... it took several applications.

For some reason we've dropped the use of pepper spray, and gone to tasers. We even have an incident of a BART Officer mistaking his gun for a taser, and killing a face down and handcuffed 'detainee'. Make no mistake in training, I've been pepper-sprayed, gassed, and water gunned, all effective methods of disabling a person without having to send 10,000+ volts through a person's body. I can only think of one other device designed to the same thing... the electric chair. Believe me, having three feet of mucus dripping from your face changes your whole perspective and yes, it slows you down. These tasers are abused and are not being used by their designer's ideals, and its no wonder why.

Bad cop makes a mistake (surprise!) Agency gets sued. Agency has less money, hires cheaper cops. Agency hires idiots who watches C.O.P.S. on TV... and ends up with idiots like these:






FYI.... you cannot be arrested for trespassing unless a sign has been posted or you've been asked to leave and you refuse.

Idocracy is here!!! Run for the hills!!!

Is it just me or is Idocracy becoming a reality? Seriously... Florida's Publix is selling obviously cheaper garbage bags at the same cost with the same specs, Verizon doesn't know the difference between $.002 and .002¢, and Vonage thinks that they can just change their term of service imposing customers at will with no recourse? I have no recourse but to face palm and wonder... How did this happen?

Florida's Publix is selling a thinned out version of their trash bags with the same UPC code of lesser quality. Here's the proof:


I'm not done yet...



And Vonage? From their their Terms of service...

6. LENGTH OF SERVICE.
6.1 Service Term.
We provide our service to you indefinitely. Your service term refers to the period of time for which we will bill you periodically in advance (for example, one month or one year). The service term is the term that you selected from the options available when you signed up for our service. Your first service term begins on the subscription date, which is the date you first ordered service or the date we successfully process your payment, whichever is later. It is not the day you receive the equipment you ordered or the first time you use the service. Your service will continue until canceled by you or by us as provided for herein. Please note that the obligations of this agreement begin on your subscription date and are indefinite.

You read that right they can charge you indefinitely. I closed my account with them last night under the premise that my service would stop until the end of the monthly contract (which they do NOT tell you or publish and frequently change.) and was subsequently charged $42.00. My phone is dead. Thankfully, I purchased an alternative solution. Its no wonder their stock on NASDAQ is about to be delisted.

Caveat emptor... Buyer beware.

I swear, if they start watering plants with Gatorade, I'm leaving this country.