Don't Back Down

October 2003

  • Free State Project

    I remember reading about the Free State Project sometime last year. It's an interesting experiment, where the goal is to get 20,000 people to relocate to a single state, where they then hope to influence the local government to maintain a bastion of liberty. The proposal seems sound….

  • Email Subject Spam

    I find it interesting when a reasonably legitimate service (eWeek magazine, in this case) sends out an update with asterisks in the subject line so that spam doesn't actually read spam. Instead, it is sp*m. Presumably this is to foil filters that look for spam in the assumption…

  • Take Off Time or Taxes?

    For those of you tired of working already, you might want to skip this piece. It won't make you feel much better about it. You see, it turns out that Friday was Take Back Your Time Day. The idea was to take off Friday in a show of…

  • Cuba or Bust

    For 40 years or so, with the exception of a five-year gap in the late 70s/early 80s, American citizens haven't been allowed to travel to Cuba. It's not bad enough that the government takes our money and spends it with abandon. They have to make up rules that…

  • Revolutionary Calling

    I heard an interesting piece on Marketplace yesterday afternoon. It was about the proliferation of cell phones that come with built-in cameras. A fad only a year or so ago, they are now everywhere. There has been more than one suggestion of banning the devices. While I can…

  • Right to Stupidity

    This week apparently saw someone ride the falls at Niagara. No barrel, no safety devices. Just man against nature. Maybe that's the trick. All these people in barrels get thrown all over the place and are eventually pummelled to death. This guy apparently didn't have any problems, and…

  • No Wonder I Don't Fish

    First, wildly ambitious carp start jumping into boats. They knock fillings from teeth, fish-slap you upside the head and generally let you know that they aren't going to take it any more. Well now they've taken it one step further. Another guy recently died because he got a…

  • Rocky Horror Show

    Last night, we went out for a night on the town and decided to take in a local production of the Rocky Horror Show. This was not the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but an actual stage production at a theater here in Charlotte. A couple years ago, I…

  • Remembering Another Friend

    Three years and six days ago, I wrote of a farewell to my own dear friend. The post was titled Goodbye, Old Friend and may be able to be found elsewhere online if you look for it in the right places. I am also adding it simply adding…

  • Size Does Matter

    I was in an enclosed parking deck the other day, and it actually has large vehicle spaces. Apparently this is the response to those compact cars only spaces that have been popular for a while. That's okay, fair is fair. But you have to wonder just how many…