Geek Drivel

Sheesh… I wouldn’t want to be a drug dealer these days, if this is what they have to go through to get their product. I wouldn’t want to be one of the policemen who had to dig through the crap to find it either. They don’t make a Bunnysuit strong enough that I’d ever feel clean afterward.

It’ll be interesting to see how this fight turns out. And important as well. If North Dakota wins, it’ll put a damper on any attempts to use carbon tariffs.

(Yes, it does “unfairly” give renewable energy an advantage over coal powered energy — that’s the whole point to it. But if I read the law correctly, there’s nothing preventing that; Minnesota is perfectly within its rights. On the other hand, as everyone should know, strange things happen in courtrooms.)

It just goes to show that no matter who you’re dealing with, or how trustworthy you think they are, it’s always a good idea to count your change.

(In other words: “in God we trust. All others pay cash.”)

Wow, those Swedes even have smarter bank robbers!

This is certainly going to shake up the software industry.

“A fool and his money,” the saying goes, “are soon parted.” Will people ever figure out that if something sounds too good to be true, it’s because it is?! When the scam-ees let their own greed do most of the scammers’ work for them, the scammers don’t have to be very smart to waltz away with thousands of dollars.

“[A] new record for stupidly large lawsuit demands.”

Here’s something you’d probably never think of:

[...] a self-enforcing protocol for determining property tax: the homeowner decides the value of the property and calculates the resultant tax, and the government can either accept the tax or buy the home for that price. Sounds unrealistic, but the Greek government implemented exactly that system for the taxation of antiquities. It was the easiest way to motivate people to accurately report the value of antiquities.

It seems counterintuitive, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The (short) article can be found here; it’s worth a read.

Gotta love the idea.

[...] The conviction culminated 17 years of Hovind sparring with the IRS. Saying he was employed by God and his ministers were not subject to payroll taxes, he claimed no income or property.

You can invoke the God card to get away with a lot in this country — but the IRS card always trumps it.