Iran, Pt. Tres

From The Atlantic:

A little Dr. Seuss for consideration.

Iran, Pt. Deaux...

A little Penny Arcade to get in the mood and then we'll continue with tonight's early morning fiesta of fervor. Click the image to imbiggen!



I have to admit that this news article from Wired amuses the evil 1337 h4x0r side of me a bit:

Looks like 4chan and the Twitter Shitters have been busy...

Being neither a fan of Twitter (a tool that reminds me of how much I hate AIM-speak with the fury of Thor) or 4chan (a website which apart from their DDOS shenanigans against Scientology, annoys me to death), I have to admit that I'm impressed. Twittering as well as blogging has allowed news from inside Iran to percolate out into the world, a concept that would have been unheard of twenty years ago.

It is a huge risk they are taking in reaching out. Could you imagine getting a bullet in the brainpan for blogging? It's true and it is happening right now, friends, make no mistake.

The interesting thing about the DDOS (distributed denial of service, which is basically attempts to flood websites and choke up their available bandwidth with junk attachments, clicks, redirects, etc.) attacks is that it works both ways. Yes, they have been bringing the Iranian government and state controlled media outlets to their virtual knees by these attacks, but this has an effect on those inside the country who are trying to get legitimate news and information out.

I've been keeping a watch on the BBC websites and Fark, since the Beeb has more of a world view perspective than the more USA-centered mass media and Fark is a wonderful news aggregator in times of crisis so you can find links in a pinch when shit hits the fan.

I wouldn't recommend my readers join in the hacking fun, but I do post this so that y'all can take notice of what a few hundred thousand geeks can do. Good luck, we're all counting on you...

And Iraaaaan, Iraaaan Soooo Faarrr Awwwaaayyyy...

In case you haven't heard, the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran are currently in a crisis of potentially revolutionary proportions.

Right after the recent election held in Iran, which declared incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner with over 62% of the vote, questions of widespread voter fraud emerged.

While such accusations are quite common in political contests, it has been alleged that the violations of the process were so flagrant and biased towards Ahmadinejad that a recount and further review was demanded by his political opponent Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

This election drew 85% of the voting populace, which was inspired by high unemployment, a shaky economy and several polarizing factions who either vied to maintain the status quo or bring about sweeping reform to the government of Iran. Right after the election, several peaceful demonstrations were held in an attempt to bring about review of the election results.

After the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, certified the results of the election to be Allah's Divine Will in one day instead of the customary three, the demands for more in depth analysis became more fervent.

The Interior Ministry promised they would look into the results again and have updated information in seven to ten days, but stated that while the actual count might fluctuate a bit, Ahmadinejad was still the likely winner. Mousavi stated that there were upwards of ten million written ballots that were not certified correctly (meaning that the registration numbers on the ballots in question are not present and therefore cannot be tied to the individual voters who cast them) and that these ballots mysteriously appeared and were certified as valid before the actual non-write in ballots were.

Needless to say, friends, Iran is in a world of shit.

Since that time, demonstrations of the pro-reform / anti-Ahmadinejad voters have taken place in many areas of the country, specifically in Tehran where some demonstrations have numbered in the MILLIONS. Dubbed the "Green Revolution" in honor of both the traditional colors of Iran and for Mousavi's Obamaesque campaign supporting reform and change for the Iranian people, this situation appears to be the largest demonstration against the sitting government of Iran since the late 1970's when the Shah was removed from power.

It will be interesting to watch what develops. While it remains to be seen if a more democratically controlled government (that is likely to be still largely overseen and controlled in the background by the Islamic clergy) would be an improvement for the people of Iran as well as the rest of the world, I am hoping for the best...

I Thought So Little, They Rewarded Me...

There is a person who inhabits the office adjacent to mine who has a deep love of playing his hip hop radio station loud enough so that the music (and the accompanying bass thudding) constantly bleeds through into my inner sanctum. I suspected for months that he did it deliberately to annoy me, but that turned out to be basic paranoia, nothing more.

As it turns out, he just likes being an asshole. I asked him professionally and very politely several times to turn his radio down, but he really didn't seem to get the message. In fact, I could almost swear the radio would get slightly louder after each request I'd make.

So, my polite requests spurned several times later, I enacted revenge.

Several years ago, I acquired a copy of the HMS Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan. Oh, yes, I was going to enjoy this...

...and I had help.

Buddy of mine is on the IT staff at the workplace, so he arranged so that all of the guy's system sounds were swapped with snippets of Pinafore.

New e-mail received?
"And I copied all the letters in a big round hand."

Logging into the computer?
"I am the Captain of the Pinafore (and a right ol' Captain too!)

Throw something away in the recycling bin?
"Faaareweelll, my lovvve, I gooo to mmyyyy dunnngeeeoonn ceeelllll..."

Next, we put a CD in his radio and set the "wake to CD" alarm function on it to seranade him with the track 'Can I survive this Overbearing,' a keen section that includes the line, "Shall we submit, are we but slaves?"

We then recorded a voicemail excerpt of "I'm called Little Buttercup, dear little Buttercup" for him to enjoy amongst his regular work-related voicemails.

And for the coup d' grace, we ran a speaker up into the rafters above the ceiling tiles. This speaker was connected to another computer that had Pinafore on iTunes, which we set up on repeat.

I think he got the message. It's been quiet as hell next door for a week now... ;)

TARDIS's Aren't So Much Made As Grown...

I knew it was time. He had seen better days and Lords knew he was on his last legs.

Poor old Gerald.

For those unfamiliar with my vehicle, I had a '98 Ford Ranger. It was a pretty good truck, all things considered.

In the grand tradition of my grandfather, I would name each vehicle that would join me through life's journeys. Since '92, I've had the Admiral, the Admiral II: Electric Boogaloo, the Deathsaturn and Gerald.

Each had served me well in their own capacity and I can recall many memories of adventures within them, Fruitless or otherwise.

It was a sad day letting Gerald go. I kept toying with the idea of repairing him, but knew that this was illogical. Needed a new engine, new tie rods, new brake shoes, an alignment, new tires and various other repairs that stacked up a bill estimate between $4,500 and $5,500.

I'd seen newer, lower milage vehicles for slightly over that price range, so I knew I had to let go. I had to find a new road buddy and after much searching...



Behold, the TARDIS!

Fellow Doctor Who fans can see the "resemblance" although I am missing the white dome light on top and the words "Police Box" enscribed somewhere on the body. It is also not police box shaped, nor is it dimensionally transcendental. Laws of the road and physics being as they are, authenticity will sadly be a dream unrealized. Heh.

Was writing up a "farewell to Gerald" piece and if it has promise, I'll post it up soon. In the meantime, I shall take a spin in the TARDIS and see where she takes me.

*Bwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
EEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR*
dundundun dundundun dundundun dadundun dundundundun booweeeeoooooooooo weeeeeoooooooooooo...

1 2 3 4 United States Floating Corps...

This is my inner tube.

There are many like it, but this one is mine. My tube is my best friend.

It is my life. I must master it, as I must master my life.

Without me, my inner tube is useless. Without my inner tube, floating down the river is useless.

I must air up my tube true. I must float away from sharp rocks, who are trying to kill me. I must pack my cooler well before the river attempts to flip me.

I will.

Before God I swear this creed. My tube and myself are floaters of the Guadalupe. We are the masters of our drunken destiny. We are the awesome wasters of time.

So be it, until there is no more river, but sand.

Amen.