A nice piece about how to sue in small claims court for a Microsoft refund from Linuxjournal.

] Judge: The defendant didn't show up, but Mr. Oualline you
] still have to prove your case. You say that they owe you
] some money. Why?
]
] Me: I bought a computer from them, and when I booted it
] up it displayed a license agreement with a long list of
] restrictions that limited what I could do with my
] computer. It also said that if I didn't agree with the
] license agreement, I could get a refund.
]
] Judge: I take it you didn't get your refund.
]
] Me: They sent me an e-mail yesterday offering me one, but
] it was only for the software. I want my court costs too.
]
] Judge: You removed the software from your system.
]
] Me: Yes.
]
] Judge: You installed something else.
]
] Me: I installed Linux.
]
] Judge: Judgment for the plaintiff.

HAHA! If I buy another x86 system, I totally need to try this.

Getting a Windows Refund in California Small Claims Court

] "I don't use Windows and asked my OEM for the refund,
] they have no idea what I'm talking about"
]
] Most customer support personel, supervisors, and managers
] that work within the sales departments of these major
] OEMs are not educated in this issue. First off, they've
] probably never actually read the agreement and secondly
] are not encountered with this situation as much as they
] should be. In other words, they don't have a procedure in
] place to deal with this. However, This does not mean that
] you are not entitled to your refund.

A refund for uninstalling Windows from a purchased computer?

WindowsRefund.net :: Get your refund

] The St. Louis-based appeals court said an injunction
] benefiting Steve Warnock, an art teacher and school bus
] driver, should have been granted because the DeValls
] Bluff School District endorsed a religion -- not just
] because Warnock was offended
]
] "We believe that prayers at mandatory teacher meetings
] and in-service training conveys ... a decisive
] endorsement," the appeals court wrote

Excellent. Now if they'd only get rid of that Moment of Silence bullshit. My high school defended it saying its not a religious moment, but a chance to reflect on the day ahead. Reflect on the day ahead? How the hell can I reflect on something that hasn't happened yet.

School loses prayer appeal

] To get a clearer idea of what had happened we walked
] outside. What we saw was terrifying. Everything that
] could be destroyed had been. The entire water coolant
] system was gone. The right-hand side of the reactor hall
] had been completely destroyed, and on the left the pipes
] were just hanging. That was when I realised that

This is an incredible read!
] Khodemchuk was definitely dead. The place where I was
] told he'd been standing was in ruins. The huge turbines
] were still standing, but everything around them was
] rubble. He must have been buried under that. From where I
] stood I could see a huge beam of projected light flooding
] up into infinity from the reactor. It was like a laser
] light, caused by the ionisation of the air. It was
] light-bluish, and it was very beautiful. I watched it for
] several seconds. If I'd stood there for just a few
] minutes I would probably have died on the spot because of
] gamma rays and neutrons and everything else that was
] spewing out. But Tregub yanked me around the corner to
] get me out the way. He was older and more experienced.

Interview with Chernobyl Engineer

He’s the farmers barren fields
The force the army wields
The expession in the faces of the starving children
The power of the man
He’s the fuel that drives the clan
He’s the motive and conscience of the murderer
He’s the preacher on t.v.
The false sincerity
The form letter that’s written by the big computers
He’s the nuclear bombs
And the kids with no moms
And I’m fearful that he’s inside me

-Bad Religion, American Jesus

] ] "If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your
] ] information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron
] ] than they are.

This is the only thing Alice Cooper says that I agree with. He's assertion that musicians have no right to discuss politics is beyond stupid.

Politics are one of the most important forces in music. CCR, Bob Dylan, the entrie Punk movement, The Doors Janis Joplin, Rage Against the Machine, Eminem, the list goes on and on. Now I agree a song entitled "Vote for Kerry" whose lyrics are nothing but "Vote for Kerry" is retarded.

In this day and age of 15 sec attention spans, music and song are a perfect medium for imforming the public about political issues.

Alice slams anti-Bush rockers

] Anyone who adds the screen name "MillionaireIM" to their
] AOL Instant Messenger Buddy List feature can receive
] actual game questions via instant message (or mobile
] instant message, for those appropriately equipped). Fans
] who aren't America Online members or AIM users can visit
] http://www.millionairetv.com to learn more and to
] download AIM for free.
]
] Then when contestants opt to "Ask the Audience" for
] assistance, the studio audience's answers will be added
] in with those sent by text-ers. More than 36 million
] people are active users of the AOL Instant Messenger
] service.

Interesting, and some cool hacks are possible.

Someone should tie this to the AI programs that use AIM. The AI uses the logic it already has to parse the question(the questions on millionaire are the type of questions that an AI can easily parse and find answers for), have a table of open sources (ie IMDB, Wikipedia, hell even google), and IMs the answer back. Client software could be run by any AIM/GAIM user, which accepts a multicast response from the AI with the answer, and auto-IMs millionaire that answer in under your Screen name. Get enough people running this client (which doesn't effect their IM experience at all), and you could tip the results in any direction you wanted, even the wrong way!

AOL IM becomes 'Millionaire' friend

janelane wrote:
] ] People driving or riding in a sport utility vehicle in
] ] 2003 were nearly 11 percent more likely to die in an
] ] accident than people in cars, the figures show. The
] ] government began keeping detailed statistics on the
] ] safety of vehicle categories in 1994.
]
] I really cannot conceive of SUVs as the root of all evil of
] the auto industry. If anything, that title should belong to
] policy makers who refuse to hike min mpg requirements or
] lobbyists who insist that making such policy would send the
] U.S. back into little more than primordial ooze (technically
] speaking). If they could more than double the average mpg
] from 12 mpg in '72 to 24 mpg in '82, they can sure as hell
] stack on some additional efficiency now without flushing the
] economy.

Here Here! Uping the MPG and reducing consumption are alternatives we need to look at. However, I have a feeling Energy Policy meetings go a little something like this:

Sec. of Energy: Mr President, we are too dependant on foreign oil. We have 2 options, we could secure more oil reserves through some kind of military operation or trading treaties, or we could rise the MP...

Bush: Wait, wait wait! I found if people give me choices, my head hurts. What was the first thing?

Sec. of Energy: ... er... secure more oil reserves through military action or a trading treat...

Bush: What did I just tell you about give me options? What is the first part of the first thing?

Sec. Of Energy:... [sigh]... Secure more oil with military action.

Bush: I like it.

Powell: Sir, this is truly the most retarded thing I have ever...

Bush: Damn it Colin, what have I told you? If two people talk to me at once, my head hurts. Now, lets do this. Bring me my wall sized coloring book! [aid brings in a large map], ok, here we go [throws dart]... hmmm.... Pa, Pasiff... Pacific Ocean! Looks kind of big. I call do over! [throws dart]... damn it, not again! You didn't see anything did you?

Powell: Just my duty to the American people going to hell.

Bush: Good. Do over! [Throws dart]

[Hours pass, Powell shoots himself, Hours pass]

Bush: Damn it! I just might have to take on Pacific and his punk buddys Atlantic and Indian. One more! [throws darts]... hmmm. Somebody call Dick and ask him what I-R-A-Q spells.

Safety Gap Grows Wider Between S.U.V.'s and Cars

A photo of a hand made origami dragon!

Origami Dragon

Useful color palette brainstorming for you webmaster types.

Excellent. I am horrible at figuring out what colors go with what other colors, what are good highs and lows, accents, etc. Take the work out of finding a palette.

ColorMatch Remix