furiousBlog

After getting my camera back on Wednesday, I was anxious to get out and do some shooting. So, I went out last Thursday during lunch to Scott's Run, a little park where Gary and I have shot several times before. The camera was working great. Nikon had updated the firmware for me and the new menus and dialogs look great. None of my shots were all that great, but there were a few I liked well-enough, so I figured I'd post them here. So, here they are:



Also, I posted some pics from my family's trip up to the mountains a couple weeks ago on my family photos site.

Another shirt from Threadless that I must own:



And unlike the last one I posted about, I can even wear this one (no embarrassing man parts).

I've got a few pages/articles open right now mostly relating to privacy and the politics thereof. They each really deserve their own post, but I'm pretty sure I'll never get around to it. So, I'm just presenting them here.

The Value of Privacy by Bruce Schneier

In this article, Bruce Schneier explains why privacy advocates usually make the wrong arguments when discussing government attacks on our right to privacy.

Some clever answers [given by privacy rights advocates]: "If I'm not doing anything wrong, then you have no cause to watch me." "Because the government gets to define what's wrong, and they keep changing the definition." "Because you might do something wrong with my information." My problem with quips like these -- as right as they are -- is that they accept the premise that privacy is about hiding a wrong. It's not. Privacy is an inherent human right, and a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect.

Message for '08 Dems: Only cowards think we're at war

This article is quite provocative in that it attacks the very idea that the country is at war.

But America is not under attack by an enemy force of any significance. We got sucker punched by 19 maniacs with box cutters. Republicans want us to run scared because of that for the rest of our lives. But the thing about a sucker punch is that you can't protect yourself against it. Any idiot can take the breath out of you, no matter how tough you are. But only cowards -- actually I think "scaredy cat" is more appropriate here -- live their lives worrying about such things. Of course you've got to do your best to stay alert -- in this context that means port, air and many other types of security. But freaking out and becoming paranoid leaves you more vulnerable, not more protected.

My last tidbit is not really an article, but a subversive ringtone that Gary played for me and that is too good to not post about. It's written and performed by They Might Be Giants and is pure genious. Here are the lyrics:

Call connected through the NSA/Complete transmission through the NSA/Suspending your rights through the duration of the permanent war

Buy the ringtone or download mp3 (via)

Cyndi text-messaged me today to let me know that my camera has returned to me. I'm giddy. I can't wait to get off of work and get home.

And, since this entry is so short and content-less (and since I don't want to do a whole photosite entry on this site, yet), here's a link to a set of photos that I really like. It's on one of the photoblogs I view daily.

Checkmate

I especially like the fifth one (knight to solo man), but the last one is my favorite.

It looks like the RSS feeds for this site are busted. The title and content aren't showing up where they should (but, a new entry does show up, so you'll still know when I've posted something). I'm not sure what's causing the problem, but I'll take a look into it when I've got some time.