Domain: indystar.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to indystar.com.
Comments · 128
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Re:How ridiculous.
They are all crooks.
In general, yes, but...
The hypocrisy of the democrats who ripped on republicans and Bush and now ignore it when they do the EXACT same type of stuff just kills me.
I would say EXACT same type of stuff. I for one would much rather go into debt trying to help the economy and make things better at home than invading foreign nations for almost no reason.
Change we can believe in ROFL. I'll bet now not one real change will happen.
Obama IS changing the tone in Washington, just not all at once. The democrats in congress are just getting there pants tight over finally being able to DO something that they're stuffing this stimulus bill full of everything they've ever wanted. They shouldn't be doing this, but history has shown that the president doesn't have complete control over ANY party in congress, even their own (this is a good thing). Before you say there's no change, keep in mind that a few things are already different from our last administration.
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Re:research in motion
And are using it to stage an invasion of the US, apparently.
Fortunately, the Canuks appear to have miscalculated.. Hockey in the US doesn't draw 100% of the population as it does in Canada, so most of us are safe.
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Re:How about
That's true, but its a subjective call. Remember this famous photo:
http://willybova.com/hanging-chad.JPG
Youre putting the decision into the hands of humans who have their own biases.
At the end of the day its probably a wash in most cases, but a couple of people with their own agendas could easily throw a close election because the laws and election technology are just so terrible. Another point, the butteryfly ballot:
Again, this is hostile to the elderly. Usability must take their needs into account.
Better technology and better implementations as well as better laws could easily change many elections to be more accurate and more fair to voters.
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Re:Mentioning "his denial" in the summary. Thanks.
Well, I was going to come up with a conspiracy theory just so I could lower Purdue's mediocre reputation , but then I found this and realized I didn't have to go through all that trouble:
Go Jackets!
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Lack of Energy Savings Expected- No Less Confusing
I live in Indiana, and I don't know anyone who wanted DST, or has warmed up to it in the short time we've had it in most of the state. (Right, most. Some counties had it before, just as some counties are in Eastern or Central time. Most were with Indy in year-round EST (GMT-5) before. Most changed to Eastern Time (EST/EDT), some didn't. The curse of being adjacent to states with different timezones.) Fact is, it's dark when I commute during the winter and light in the summer either way. Most people I know have the lights on in their office whenever they're there regardless of whether the sun is out or not, and many do the same at home.
I'm sure people who actually spend leisure time outside might care, but they aren't using more or less electricity to do it, are they? The idea that "more daylight" would mean less electric power consumption due to lighting is foolish. The two things don't seem to be related in modern, urban life.
According to the report on the $8.6 million more spent on residential electricity in the state (as reported in the Indianapolis Star), they think there was some saving in lighting but that heat and air conditioning more than made up for it. That makes some sense too- the cost of AC in an office building has got to be lower per person than everyone going home and turning on their own. Heck, I stay late at work for the climate control sometimes, so that's no surprise to me.
But energy savings wasn't the compelling reason for Indiana to go on DST according to the governor. The reason given was business: companies dealing with other companies were supposedly having problems because no one knows what time it is in Indiana. I don't get that either. That's even lamer than not getting up earlier if you want to. And now Chicago's in a different timezone than us (the middle of the state- some of that corner is with them) year 'round, which seems like more of a business problem than their only being in our timezone half the year. Being in the same timezone as NYC seems less useful. Anyone in a non-US timezone isn't going to guess which one we're in anyway. -
Re:didn't we know this?
Check this out: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID
= /20070829/LOCAL/708290511
Cop goes joy-riding with three girls in the car, gets in an accident, tells them to flee the scene, lies to superiors, contradicts witnesses, etc.
He *may* get fired.
If you did half of that you'd still be in prison in ten years. -
Re:Tit-for-Tatthese days natural resources are much easier bought that stolen. That would be true if it weren't for the fact that the people doing the fighting and the people getting the resources we the same, but they aren't. Why bother buying the mineral rights to Darfur off Ebay when you have the world's most powerful army at your disposal?
Considering you have BP saying things like "We need regulatory certainty" before they expand an existing facility inside the United States, why would you think they'd be willing to build an entire drilling operation in the middle of Africa without security enforced by bombs? would've been good for them, actually And, actually, that sums up your entire foreign policy view. We know what is good for you. -
Re:Kurt's memorial
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But in a press release last week...
Bush vowed to pwn the EPA anyway:
This ruling puts the EPA in charge of regulating auto emissions, not Congress, and not the States as had previously been the case. Now reconsider it in this context; http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= /20070401/NATIONWORLD/704010403/-1/ZONES04 and note the following:
"If necessary, said industry lobbyists and Republican aides in Congress, Bush intends to skirt the Senate approval process by making recess appointments to put the three nominees in the posts."
Lesson: When the street magician fingers the bright shiny coin in his right hand, keep your eyes on what the left one is doing... -
well no wonder
After all NFL sent their lawyers after a church (russian translation) for violation of copyright on broadcast rights and it did not cause waves of protests from fans. And all of those stories of building property for games using local tax money? Prohibitions to translate games when they are in town (want to see it, go buy a ticket, instead of your paid cable subscription).
Football IMHO is getting up there in *AA league these days. -
Staying Healthy.
Tangently related to the main story. Apparently wellness programs is the new thing in combating rising health care costs.
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Re:Another case of academia vs. the real world
I'd go for double daylight savings if I could.
Hah! If you're in Pulaski County, IN, you just did go through double-daylight savings... causing pounding headaches for anyone who needs to mass-update consumer electronic devices remotely (like me).
linky-linky
=D -
Re:Taxes suck, but why not?What makes society half-useable is people don't usually have the desire or intentions to carry out such actions
I would put it on constitution more than desire or intentions, which is why the previous poster's idea that one day the West will take up arms against its government won't ever happen. Most people can't bear the thought of leaving behind their big screen TVs and beige two stories even though they might really really want to kill you because you are wearing a shirt with the logo of the sports team that just beat their favorite sports team.
The 'protection' afforded by carrying a firearm comes from the idea that criminals are less likely to attempt to victimize you if they think you might be carrying. Anything short of your scenario or something similar brings with it a higher likelihood of being killed. (Like this guy) Your government can always send out Lon Horiuchi if they think you might have a gun.
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My kids are too busy setting fires for video games
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What a mess!
I simply cannot believe how long this has gone on. What a staggering waste of time and resources. This is probably as good an example as any of why the West is probably going to fall. While China is ramping up production and making huge economic strides, we here in the US are arguing over lines of code as our manufacturing base continues to crumble. Changing over to a "service economy?" Please.
How many hours have been wasted on this type of crap? What useful item has been produced out of this or any of the other spurious "copyright" or "intellectual property" cases?
Trial lawyers giving money to politician lawyers, who make laws so trial lawyers can argue cases against rival trial lawyers in front of judge lawyers. So, what's the common denominator and who benefits? Follow the money.
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48% graduate in Indianpolis
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Re:Indiana info misleading - voting mostly going o
Not I but my brother voted on one of our iVotronic's today and told me that everything seemed to go well while he was at the polling place. One of the workers did tell him that the process is taking longer and voters are requiring a lot more assitance.
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Re:no supriseActually, our machines vary by county. here is a regularly updated page that chronicles various voting related issues in the state.
All of the newness of our Voter ID law and our optical scan machines convinced me to actually vote today. Despite the glaring lack of quality candidates the process was fairly smooth. -
Re:"smear message"?
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID
= /20061106/LOCAL19/611060453 IndyStar.com Metro & State Politics 4:02 PM November 6, 2006 GOP fires telephone campaign company Automated call illegal in Indiana Powered by Topix.net By Jon Murray jon.murray@indystar.com The Indiana Republican Party has fired a company that made recorded calls around the state on behalf of its candidates' campaigns. Marion County Democrats on Saturday had accused the Republicans of placing "robo-calls" after two voters provided voice mail messages asking them to vote for Brizzi in Tuesday's election. One complaint was filed Friday with Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter, a Republican. State GOP spokesman Robert Vane said this afternoon that after investigating, party officials fired Virginia-based Conquest Communications Group. They refused to pay the company because it was using recorded messages. "That is not what we contracted for," Vane said. The Republicans intended for all campaign calls to be conducted "100 percent live," he said, but instead the company used a live introduction followed by a recording. Efforts were being made to contact Conquest. Vane declined to say how much the party still owed the company, which also used recorded messages to promote other candidates. Marion County Democratic Chairman Ed Treacy said there was no live introduction in the Brizzi calls. "That is a lie," he said, noting that only one voice could be heard during each voice mail message. Permission was never requested to play the recording, he said. Under Indiana law, a recorded message can only be placed if it is first introduced by a person who seeks and gets permission to play the message. "The attorney general better do something about it, or he has absolutely zero credibility," Treacy said. Staci Schneider, Carter's spokeswoman, said she had no update about the Brizzi calls. The office investigates all complaints about recorded calls, she said. Vane said the party's legal staff did not think the law had been violated. If a voice mail box asks the caller to leave a message, Vane said, that meets the consent requirement. Democrat Melina Kennedy, a former deputy mayor of Indianapolis, is running for prosecutor against Brizzi. +1 informative -
Current uses...
- The U.S. Postal Service tested them for their outdoor routes. That didn't work out.
- The Chicago Police Department uses them on their beats. (Insert donut jokes here).
- Companies with huge, huge warehouses considered them for their workers to get around faster, but I don't know how well that's gone.
- I submitted this story two years ago about tours in Chicago via Segway. They're still around.
- The National Park Service uses them too, apparently. See here.
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Here's the original submission...
Ohio Creates 'Pre-Crime' Sex Offender Registry
In a scene right out of Spielberg's vision of Philip K. Dick's classic short story the state of Ohio has established a pre-crime registry for sex offenders--even if they've never been charged with a crime!
"The person's name, address, and photograph would be placed on a new Internet database and the person would be subjected to the same registration and community notification requirements and restrictions on where he could live."
I can't wait to see how this is going to affect the current trend that has divorcing women making false accusations against their husbands during the custody phase of proceedings! Then there's the way this (being that it is a civil matter) can be expanded to encompass so many other things...
Could this new registry be away for the homophobic to reverse the trends towards civil rights homosexuals have achieved in recent years? What about the affect this can have on children engaged in normal sex play for their ages? I'm reminded of Ryan Zylstra, Leah DuBuc, Laura M. Wilcox, Genarlow Wilson and other teenagers and children who have had their lives ruined by this type of hysteria and the lack of due process that comes with it. And who can forget the vigilantes who murder people they find on these lists? People like William Elliott, who was placed on the registry at age nineteen for having sex with his two weeks shy of sixteen year old girlfriend and thanks to the registry murdered.
Now they want a civil registry they can place people on without the benefit of a conviction or a jury trial? Next thing you know they'll be pushing for a pink triangle on your ID! Oh wait... Well just remember that when you give up your rights one by one, you're doing it for the children....
I'm posting the original submission because I believe anyone who follows the links here will see quite clearly how bad this is even beyond the usual Constitutional violations. This is a law that will harm the very same people it purports to protect!
--I*Love*Green*Olives
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don't know what others have said
I'll be honest, I haven't read the other comments. But I'm shocked that you think there aren't jobs for math majors. I'd say of any major you can get a math major probably provides one of the best combinations of marketability with flexibility.
First of all, I was a dual comp sci / philosophy major until my junior year. I ditched philosophy altogether, switched comp sci to a minor, and declared a math major. I graduated in 2005 and had three serious job offers in my area before I graduated. I'm now working at one of those places while they pay for my continuing education (working on an M.E. in systems engineering - I think I'll go for a PhD eventually). My wife was also a math major, although she did a dual math/comp sci program (she's a lot smarter than me). She also had numerous job offers before she graduated, but it's hard to tell which offers were for the comp sci major, which for the math, and which for both.
There have even been several articles in the last couple of months about the rising importance of math skills in a variety of different job markets. Here's one: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= /20060726/BUSINESS02/607260395/-1/ZONES01 and here's another about how hard it is to fill math/science jobs: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID =/20060725/INSCHOOL/607250328. I can't find the article that I was really looking for (something my boss handed me a while ago) but it had to do with the way that math was becoming increasingly important in areas not traditionally thought of as math-related (like marketing, management, etc.)
So there are plenty of straight-up math jobs. Look for a job that includes the word "analyst". Or think about becoming an actuary. Teaching can be a good idea if you enjoy it since you can frequently find schools that will help pay for higher education.
My main advice would be this, however, get work experience as soon as you can. This lets you get your foot into the door of other types of careers that aren't based strictly on math. Any genuine work experience you can get (outside of student jobs like working in the library or whatever) when combined with a math major will help you get a better shot at jobs that aren't specifically for math-majors.
I say go for the math if that's what you like. You can enter more careers from a math major than almost any other major you could choose.
-stormin -
Damaged?
I also don't recall that the "SOLID" building he attacked was actually detroyed, but instead was just damaged.
What is your definition of damaged?
I'd call a third of the building just plain gone with the rest being totally uninhabitable a little more than just damaged. Remember they had to get people off the upper floors using ladders which meant not even a stairway survived, as a lot of the third of the building that vanished went through the rest of the building.
That said I have to wonder if the tunnel isn't strong enough to basically make any explosion a giant shaped charge more than a tunnel destroying event. -
Re:Wow-Crummy Burger.
I don't remember ever paying millions to a sporting event. Maybe that's in yen?
Well, over here we have to (collectively) pay millions to subsidize millionaires.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= /20051017/NEWS02/510170432/
I think the Colts suck and should leave town, but I have to pay for this shit? Lucky for me I live near the county line, so sometimes I'm able to avoid paying this dumb tax. -
You need the proper tools
If you really want to modify your workspace in a meaningful way, you need to use the proper tools. If you do a good job, you might end up with something like this.
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As thin as a well sharpened knifeHopefully the SCOTUS has chosen this as a poster boy for the inanity of the current Patent system... The first thin wedge of peeling back the move to patent any and everything including software.
As a rule, getting the SCOTUS to grant certiorari for your case is usually the bulk of the battle; they more often choose to hear cases when they expect that the lower court's result was mistaken. According to here,
In 2001 a federal jury in Denver ruled against LabCorp, and the company was eventually ordered to pay $7.8 million in damages and attorneys' fees. The appeals court that handles patent cases affirmed the lower court decision in 2004.
So, in the Laboratory Corp. v. Metabolite Laboratories SCOTUS appeal, the "infringer" was ruled against at lower levels, and thus the patent holder is facing an uphill fight. -
Not the first stone cast in this fight....
This isn't the first round between McKillip and Nees. Nees had previously created a documentary film about McKillip entitled Words of Sedition: how the highest levels of power shut down free speech in Kokomo.
You can find more info on this case from when it was filed in this Indianapolis Star article.
You can also read more about it on Nees' personal website.
You can watch Words of Sedition online as well.
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Re:Sweet Old KokomoHow long before they change the law?!
According to this article, the state legislature is planning on changing the open records law specificially to exclude mailing lists from being able to be released to the public under the law. So... not very long at all.
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Re:don't be so paranoid.
One, I've never heard of any company firing someone who smokes. Could you provide a source.
Have you tried google?
If You Smoke, You're Fired
and
Bad habit is under fire from Daniels, U.S. firms
From the article:
Ohio is one of 21 states that allow companies to fire workers who smoke anywhere -- even at home.
You call me paranoid, but I bet that if, 10 years ago, I'd suggested that people would be fired for smoking in their own homes and on their own free time you would have called that paranoid too. -
Re:Is that happening in America - INDEED!Indeed, what is Happening in America? What's next? I can't burn the President of my University in effigacy? http://www2.indystar.com/library/factfiles/people
/ b/brand_myles/brand.html What about burning crosses?http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2005/06/facul tycross.html After that you'll probably be telling me I need to wear CLOTHES to class!Jokes aside, I beleive private institutions are free to set their own standards, but they should do so carefuly. Clearly, this was not a set standard at all, but a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. What a waste to admit the student, educate him for almost a year and half, give him a great scholarship and then have a person who should be an academic and life mentor try to drive the student out of the university in some kind of chest pounding contest. If the student does manage to stay at the University and graduated, I'm sure they'll ask him for a donation a year later. I think I lived this storry.
For ever teacher's pet, there's a teacher's punching-bag.
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Re:Yellow Box
How about slightly over minimum wage? Aside from bennies, you could almost make that much at Wendy's.
Delphi is threatening to contribute to the loud sucking sound you hear at the Southern border.
The strike in Kokomo and Anderson is supposed to put a big kink in GM's parts hose for awhile. The union has banked $1B for this contingency, which I believe makes it possible for them to hold out for about 6-8 months. Oh, and in addition to the pay decrease, they'd like to can a sizeable percentage of the workforce.
n.b. the executives want multi-multi-multi million dollar bonuses while the bankruptcy proceedings are in play.
Merry Christmas
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Re:Educational Costs a major issue here
"Why will you be excited to pay for some kid to go to college so he can make more with your money? That's going to be an exciting bill to pass... Why would you vote for someone who takes that kind of money from you?"
You would if it was YOUR kid.
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[story you'll never see]
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= /20051117/NEWS01/51117040
"BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Personal information about nearly 5,300 Indiana University students might have been accessed by a computer hacker, school officials said." -
fer sure
If I had to recall 75,000 hybrids I'd make a fake plant to divert people's attention too.
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Why he's in jailA bit of history. Back in May, his company was shut down by court order. His assets and house were seized. An injunction was issued to stop him from further spamming. A court-appointed receiver took over the operation, paid off the employees, and shut the operation down. Meanwhile, a criminal indictment was in progress, but not yet completed.
So Smith went to the Dominican Republic and tried to restart spamming from there. On June 28th, a judge issued an arrest warrant for him. When he returned to the US, he was arrested, but released on bail, with home monitoring.
The prosecution then asked for a six-month criminal contempt sentence for trying to violate the injunction and fleeing prosecution. Smith had a court date for that in July, and lost. So now he's in jail for six months.
This is somebody who just didn't get it when the court ordered him to stop.
This is just the first phase. The felony case is just getting underway.
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Why he's in jailA bit of history. Back in May, his company was shut down by court order. His assets and house were seized. An injunction was issued to stop him from further spamming. A court-appointed receiver took over the operation, paid off the employees, and shut the operation down. Meanwhile, a criminal indictment was in progress, but not yet completed.
So Smith went to the Dominican Republic and tried to restart spamming from there. On June 28th, a judge issued an arrest warrant for him. When he returned to the US, he was arrested, but released on bail, with home monitoring.
The prosecution then asked for a six-month criminal contempt sentence for trying to violate the injunction and fleeing prosecution. Smith had a court date for that in July, and lost. So now he's in jail for six months.
This is somebody who just didn't get it when the court ordered him to stop.
This is just the first phase. The felony case is just getting underway.
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Re:for freedom
Bush doesn't advocate creationism.
We must have different definitions of advocacy. -
While crocodile blood may not pan outthere was a discovery recently that Valproic acid, a commonly used anti-convulsant drug can cause cells that are infected with dormant HIV to express the virus, which then alerts the immune system which then kills the cells. If this works out it will be a major advance as one of the problems with HIV now is that it can go dormant for long periods of time, especially with the new HIV drugs that are available and then flare up again. If you force the virus to express itself the immune system kills the cells it has infected. There is a possibility with this treatment that the body could be cleansed of HIV. If this works out there will still be the hard work of developing therapies that can be afforded in the third world, but it's a promising start.
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Re:It's not that deep
Of course a criminal would want some privacy, or someone who is lying to his wife. But otherwise I can't think of a good reason for it.
Do you leave the door open when you take a crap, or leave the shades up when you make love? Some people simply prefer privacy for some parts of their lives - that is, part of "what they want to do" is do X in private. They don't need to justify it to your self-righteous ass.
Of course there are far more serious reasons for keeping some things private. Anyone who is in a minority that may face bias or repression may want to keep some things to themselves. Many homosexuals stay "in the closet" out of fear - which, considering that people are beaten and killed because of their sexual orientation, is not unreasonable.
I know many Pagans who are in the "broom closet" because they are worried about discrimination - and given a recent court case in which parents were forbidden from exposing their kid to Wicca or "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals", again that's not unreasonable.
It's not always that "Big Brother" stops you from doing what you want, sometimes it's your neighbors.
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Re:No daylight savings time here
CrazyTalk: Could be worse - you could live in Indiana, a small state which effectively has THREE time zones (Central with DST near Chicago, and Eastern time with or without DST depending on where you are in the state.
Not any more. On Wednesday, April 28, 2005, Indiana's Senate passed a bill to move Indiana to DST, and on Thursday, April 29, 2005, their House passed it. See this Indianapolis Star article. -
How to avoid zoning issues....
This: $25M estate is for sale. The guy who owned it was receiving $100M+ in compensation from the company he founded. ($ + stock) (he sold encyclopedia door-to-door as his last job before he founded the insurance company). He and another dozen+ suits were taking huge loans out of the company to load up on shares of stock. They bought a company which insured trailers (as in mobile home trailers - tornado magnets) and the company financially bounced pretty hard and most of them were tossed. They are now being pursued for repayment but are claiming they have no way to pay and will not declare bankruptcy.
The funny thing is, they would have kept the money had the stock paid off but they don't believe they owe anything because the stock didn't pay off. The best part is Hilbert (said estate above) claims he's spent all of his money and has nothing more than a handful of millions left - as an aside: a substantial number of donations were made before the financial issues - hospital wings, orchestra, athletic facilities, etc. Mysteriously, his wife seems to have two substantial estates across the street from each other in Florida, etc. The Hilbert family attorney claims she's permitted to have her own financial status and it's no one else's business. read that: they've stashed the money in her name.
Who is she? The second Mrs. Hilbert. She was the stripper at Mr. Hilbert's son's bachelor party. I'm not kidding. The only thing she shouldn't have taken off during her routine is the bag she had on her head. Have you heard the phrase, "Uglier than a mud fence?"
Oh, they've had two auctions to unload everything they left behind because it wouldn't fit when they moved into the biggest house they could afford around here - 9'000 ft^2 - $5M. Auction #2 The real estate sign advertises "55'000 ft^2 under roof!" The basketball court mentioned in the cited story is a to-scale replica of Indiana University's, down to the championship banners, scoreboards, ...everything. -
How to avoid zoning issues....
This: $25M estate is for sale. The guy who owned it was receiving $100M+ in compensation from the company he founded. ($ + stock) (he sold encyclopedia door-to-door as his last job before he founded the insurance company). He and another dozen+ suits were taking huge loans out of the company to load up on shares of stock. They bought a company which insured trailers (as in mobile home trailers - tornado magnets) and the company financially bounced pretty hard and most of them were tossed. They are now being pursued for repayment but are claiming they have no way to pay and will not declare bankruptcy.
The funny thing is, they would have kept the money had the stock paid off but they don't believe they owe anything because the stock didn't pay off. The best part is Hilbert (said estate above) claims he's spent all of his money and has nothing more than a handful of millions left - as an aside: a substantial number of donations were made before the financial issues - hospital wings, orchestra, athletic facilities, etc. Mysteriously, his wife seems to have two substantial estates across the street from each other in Florida, etc. The Hilbert family attorney claims she's permitted to have her own financial status and it's no one else's business. read that: they've stashed the money in her name.
Who is she? The second Mrs. Hilbert. She was the stripper at Mr. Hilbert's son's bachelor party. I'm not kidding. The only thing she shouldn't have taken off during her routine is the bag she had on her head. Have you heard the phrase, "Uglier than a mud fence?"
Oh, they've had two auctions to unload everything they left behind because it wouldn't fit when they moved into the biggest house they could afford around here - 9'000 ft^2 - $5M. Auction #2 The real estate sign advertises "55'000 ft^2 under roof!" The basketball court mentioned in the cited story is a to-scale replica of Indiana University's, down to the championship banners, scoreboards, ...everything. -
Two Indiana Entries
Today's Indianapolis Star. The mention of Scott Jones - the guy who invented voicemail - has a good project background.
People have been coming from all over the state (literally) to work on the project (just down the road a piece) on a very regular basis, just for the fun of it.
I've talked to several people who have been tinkering with it and are having a good time. Sometimes, bordering on obsession. -
Bush praised themThe president praised Congress for showing bipartisan support for U.S. troops and efforts to fight terrorism. "This legislation will help America continue to promote freedom and democracy" in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush said in a statement. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID
= /20050511/NEWS06/505110469/1012They forgot to mention that he said, "Now it's one more step to a "united, Imperial, Orwellian America!" and that it "bringing me one more step to being American Emperor! Yeeehaww!!"
If only that grenade was real
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Re:Anyone RTFA? They haven't voted!
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID
= /20050511/NEWS06/505110469/1012
To quote from the link: Congress has approved an additional $82 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan and to combat terrorism worldwide, boosting the cost of the global effort since 2001 to more than $300 billion.
The Senate approved the measure Tuesday on a 100-0 vote. The House passed the measure last week. It now goes to President Bush for his certain signature.
Satisfied, fool? -
Re:My uncle
Too bad for you that many of the people "freed up" in such a fashion are not similarly "freed up" from their debt loads, current bills, and all the costs coming down the pipe from an increased price of energy.
You fucking moron. Who asked them to get into debt in the first place instead of saving? Who asked them to get on a "all you can talk" cell phone plan and a "premium" cable TV package? And who asked them to buy an SUV instead of a hybrid? Just think with your head, you dumbfuck, for example demanding a hybrid as opposed to an SUV would have created a consumer market to which car manufacturers would HAVE to appropriately respond if they want to stay in business (why do you think S&P lowered Ford and GM's credit rating?).
You should stop whining like a little bitch and realize that fiscal responsibility is not just a made-up term applying only to the government.
It is YOU who needs to get real and realize that responsibility for one's welfare lies in the individual's hands. It is in your best interest to improve productivity so that you or anyone else doesn't have to spend their time constantly overcoming the same obstacles over and over and over like a slave, just to keep themselves alive (example: baking bread, WTF would you want to keep doing it if you have mastered it once and built tools to make it happen automatically).
Robotics and automation leads to cheaper goods and frees up the workforce to do other things, things in which human contribution is still needed to make them better.
If you want to keep doing a job that a machine already can do for you, you end up staying a piece of dumb wood and if you don't have means to stay alive, then you deserve to rot. You didn't bring anything useful to the table anyway, so no one will miss you. -
Re:Creating a Boom?
IIRC Indiana has some bizarreness
Yep, you're right. Basically, all of Indiana is on EST year-round. However, a few counties in the SE corner (around Cincinnati) go with DST. In addition, some counties in the NW and SW corners (basically the Chicago and Louisville areas) are in the Central time zone and observe DST. (map)
There's a bill just about every session of the state legislature to change this. There's a boost right now in that the new governor is actually pushing for it. I might go through this year, probably (the plan would be to switch on June 5 this year), but they amended the bill in the House to say that counties could "opt out" of DST. The feds came in (Dept. of Transportation, I believe) and said that that would be illegal, it's either all or none. But, the House passed it anyway. The Senate leaders have said they won't touch the bill until it goes through a conference committee to take that part out.
See stories here and here.
It's not as clear cut as this, though. It's a hotly debated topic in Indiana, with most of the business people for it (they say not having it hurts business) and farmers against it (they say it makes no sense). Generally, Republicans are for it, and Democrats are against it. Technology people that I know are generally for it, but the timeline (June 5) has them worried about keeping systems up to date.
I'm agnostic on it, though I do follow it closely. -
Re:Creating a Boom?
IIRC Indiana has some bizarreness
Yep, you're right. Basically, all of Indiana is on EST year-round. However, a few counties in the SE corner (around Cincinnati) go with DST. In addition, some counties in the NW and SW corners (basically the Chicago and Louisville areas) are in the Central time zone and observe DST. (map)
There's a bill just about every session of the state legislature to change this. There's a boost right now in that the new governor is actually pushing for it. I might go through this year, probably (the plan would be to switch on June 5 this year), but they amended the bill in the House to say that counties could "opt out" of DST. The feds came in (Dept. of Transportation, I believe) and said that that would be illegal, it's either all or none. But, the House passed it anyway. The Senate leaders have said they won't touch the bill until it goes through a conference committee to take that part out.
See stories here and here.
It's not as clear cut as this, though. It's a hotly debated topic in Indiana, with most of the business people for it (they say not having it hurts business) and farmers against it (they say it makes no sense). Generally, Republicans are for it, and Democrats are against it. Technology people that I know are generally for it, but the timeline (June 5) has them worried about keeping systems up to date.
I'm agnostic on it, though I do follow it closely. -
Re:tax on gas
I believe you are mistaken. A quick google on it turned up the following:
Wisconsin's gas tax goes into a transportation fund.
In 1997, we switched from general fund to an infrastructure fund (the Highway Trust Fund) for the federal gas tax
Indiana's gas tax is the primary fund source for local road work.
This is just a quick top-of-google sample-- I'll let you do the rest of the states. -
DST is stupid
Oh, don't even talk to me about Daylight Savings Time. I'm still pissed that my state (Indiana) is actually thinking about joining in this moronic ritual.
Daylight Savings Time is like pulling your bedsheet up because your chest is cold. Now your feet are cold.
My proposal is that we make the daytime minutes longer and the nighttime minutes shorter during the summer. Tadah - sunrise is at 7 and sunset is at 7 all year round. :-) -
Re:I don't know what's sadder...
How is the number of people in the US relevant? What matters is the percentage of criminals who are black. I would expect the percentage of executed persons who are black to be roughly the same
This is WILDLY off topic, but here goes:
It's relevant because the disproportionate number of African Americans in prison dramatically increased with the drug "epidemic" in the mid 80's and anti drug legislation. As a side regarding that, when you have those same laws, not applied to those higher up the distribution channel it depends on who you want to label a criminal. It appears your definition is that if you havent been convicted but your hands are dirty, you're not a criminal.
The prison population as a whole is just as irrelevant if you take that into account. You can't base who gets executed versus who is in the system. You have to do it by similar crimes.
Fair enough. Then let us set that aside, and deal only with offenses of a capital nature. When dealing with the federal death penalty, it's hard to say that there is significant bias. However, the states, that's a different story.
Here's a few links:
CBS News
Indynews Article on the Federal Death Penalty
Reprint of a Chicago Tribune article regarding Illinois' moratorium on executions
More.