This Old Blog

On a billboard sitting next to Baseline Road/State Road 35, just north of the intersection with E. Fort King Road near Ocala Florida stands this blatant monument to Canadian imperialism. A billboard with the National Flag of Canada. I don't know who this Lamar individual is, but he needs to be found and stopped. I'm surprised the local Romney-fearing Tea Party activists haven't found this and replaced it with a genuine American flag. Perhaps now that they're been alerted, they can do something to remove this from our sacred Florida and American soil. View Larger Map

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs. Thomas Jefferson How does it feel to be financially raped again by Standard & Poor's? The first time was when they over rated mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO) along with Morgan Stanley's and Moody's, helping to bring about the over-inflation of the real-estate bubble and its subsequent collapse.[1] Four years later S&P does it again when they offer their considered opinion about the US Congress' performance when r...

The 2011 hurricane season started June 1st. The Florida fire season is running full tilt; I can smell the smoke from the burning in the morning as I get ready to head into work. The days are typical Florida summer days, where the humidity matches the temperature, and both are in the low 90's. The fence around Partnership 2 and 3 now extends around the IDE in Research Park. When I walk in these days the gate is still open but there's a security guard standing there now. I can understand having a security fence around the IDE, but the Partnership buildings have the UCF logo emblazoned on their sides. Tends to dampen the feeling of open education around these parts, but then I'm a bit old fashioned anyway. I get to sit in a nice conference room, in air-conditioned comfort, with my rear planted in a Herman Miller Aeron chair (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). I remember a decade ago when having an Aeron chair was a high point of geek chic. Now everybody has them it seem...

Sigma SD-1 I have been watching with a certain sadistic glee the reaction of Sigma users to the newly-introduced Sigma SD-1 for the shockingly high price of $9,700, body only. I say shockingly because of what it contains. It contains a Foveon-based, APS-C size sensor. That's right, an APS-C sized sensor that is to be found in essentially every other DSLR manufactured by the likes of Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, and many others for $1,800 or less. Sometimes a good deal less. To add insult to injury Sigma has had the stones to try and convince the world that the sensor isn't really 15MP, but is actually, based on how the color filters are built into the Foveon sensor, 3 x 15MP, or 45MP. And that's why it should cost nearly $10K. Uh-huh. They're claiming the SD-1's image quality is equivalent to a medium format digital camera such as the Pentax 645D, which is a cool $10K, body only, and worth every penny. Uh-huh! I could at this point spew forth a righteo...