Not really directed at you but more an addition to your post...
What I find disturbing is this talk about proving one's innocence. That's not how the justice system works, or should work. The burden of proof is on the State to prove that you either, more likely than not, committed the offense or that a reasonable person would conclude, beyond reasonable doubt, that you committed the offense. The former is for civil offenses and the latter for criminal offenses.
You should never, ever, have to prove your lack of guilt.
One other thing, the Western courts do not typically find people innocent. They find them 'not guilty.' For who among us is innocent, after all? (Some weasel words included because defining "Western" may be difficult and I am not aware of specific operations for each and every court.)
I am on the road, sort of, and I certainly don't even have any data worth stealing. Yet, at home, I have a box running Lubuntu and running a VNC server with secure connections enforced and only allowing access for a specific IP address (my VPN). I use any old laptop that I have with me, often just for a Live USB, and connect to my VPN, then my home server, and then access the web. I even do this for typing this post.
I don't even have an email client configured on this particular computer - that's accessed by connecting to the remote machine. There's ample power at home and a UPS, a real one and not some pseudo thing from APC, so I've not had a problem. If worse comes to worse there's a failover system and, absolute worst, I have a laptop that's set to resume when power returns should that happen - that's my tertiary backup.
ll were properly configured and tested prior to leaving. The house has a security alarm and cameras so I *might* know if there's a physical intrusion. This isn't even 'special' data, not by any means, it's just that I'd prefer to be moderately secure. Hmm... How has it been of benefit?
I was still on the road when the Ubuntu family of 15.10 dropped so I used the remote machine to grab all of the 64 bit versions and set them to share as torrents. I don't have to worry about the hotel's wireless being snooped on as my data is encrypted. I get to access my NAS from remote. If someone steals my laptop then I'm good to go in an hour or less. When I go to Canada or come back, there's nothing for them.
I also encrypt and upload a few things. I'll put some in various different services and some on my own server. Sure, I never know where what is but I know where it all is and can find it. That way I can still use eTrade when I'm bored. I have shared service through my credit union so I don't need to do any online banking and I never do.
I'm sure it's not 100% secure, nothing is. It's secure enough for my needs and has an acceptable risk profile. I used to carry around quite a bit of proprietary code and other data. Keeping things encrypted and choosing the least risky method is kind of a habit. I know that nothing is secure, it never will be, but if one wants complete security they'll never get anything done.
I think you just met someone who still has "faith in the system." They're a rare breed around these parts. I think we may need to start putting a few out on the range for preservation sake. That or a zoo...
I once got arrested for drinking in public (case dismissed, they just wanted me to stop being an idiot) and I made it through a strip search and the mandatory shower while wearing a Fentanyl patch on my arm. I was getting out in a little while, bailing out, so I gave it to another inmate. Fentanyl is a very strong opiate and the patches are akin to the nicotine patches - transdermal. The funny thing is, they thought I had drugs on me so I was searched by three officers at once. They were too busy messing with my shoes and clothing, so they never noticed the patch.
My point is, not all searches are equal. 'Snot much of a point, I guess, but there's a chance of making it through so long as you don't bring attention to it, act exceptionally nervous, or give them cause to be more complete.
Using spare parts, super glue, duct tape, and a hammer, my parents built me from spare parts in the year of our Flying Spaghetti Monster Nineteen Hundred and Fifty Seven. Often times, I look back at the myriad changes in technology and marvel. So much seemed so trivial at inception yet has resulted in great and dynamic changes. From storage, to compute power, to speed, to communication, and even to input methods - it has been a grand change and a most wonderful show.
Like yourself, I too ponder the lack of reflection and appreciation, and don't I understand why there's so little notice of it. Marvel, that's the word. It has been a beautiful time to be alive. I wonder, how many generations passed before the discovery of fire was no longer seen as a game changing innovation.
they say goldfish got no memory i guess their lives are much like mine the little plastic castle is a surprise every time it's hard to say if they are happy when they don't seem much to mind
One additional resource is the local universities. They will not, obviously, have all the varied cases - at least not up to date, but they may have access to thinks like LexisNexis and Westlaw. Even private universities may have access and allow you, a resident, to access this. Some State universities offer cards for no fee or for a nominal fee which may even allow remote access. And, as you stated, one can always shlep to the local court house, find their way to the moldy basement, and read the records there.
There's something kind of magic about it, really. It's not quite a hobby of mine but it's not something entirely alien, either. I've had some fun in a few archives, over the years. You find some interesting things out about the area where you're now living. It's almost as enjoyable as spending a day in the unsorted records room at a local Historical Society.
Never take advice (even if it looks good) from someone who doesn't understand the difference between freedoms and rights or liberties. I have the freedom to build and use a nuclear device (up until they catch me) but I do not have the right to do so. When they catch me, they'll take away my freedom. There are many Socialist countries where the citizens have different rights affording varied degrees of liberty. There you go.
Who the hell is modding this down?!? That there is important information, thank you very much! If you don't like blueberries (and judging by the moderation, you do not!) then pound it in your ear. This here thread's about blueberries now. (Wasn't it always?) How's that off-topic? I mean, compared to all the other posts?
If you've never had blueberry jam, homemade, then you're sorely lacking and I hope you get some before you die - and live long enough to regret moderating that nice, informative, post down. Yes, I don't even wish evil on you for doing so. I wish you to learn the error of your ways! This is blueberries we're talking about. Sheesh!
Seems like we got us a bunch of berry bigots in these here parts. *spits* I don't cotton to no blueberry haters. (Err... What does 'cotton' mean, anyhow? I'm just gonna go with it, fuck Google.) Also, I'm not sure why I've a Southern accent in my head. It really should be a Down East accent, ayuh. Got that theah berreh pickin' done 'fore twas time ta hahvast the patatahs. Waiting for Matha to be done with the teeth so I can have some of that theah apple pie. It's worth it, for blueberries.
Anyhow, I'll try again with the jam. It's not bad if I dump out the top half inch. *sighs* My neighbor, she's in her 70s, has shown me like a half dozen times but she doesn't actually measure anything. Somehow, it works. It appears to be almost random, however. Cooking is chemistry, canning is really hard chemistry. Making jam is even harder chemistry. She's like a mad scientist.
You are most welcome. I am, shall we say, passionate about my blueberries. It was actually in my top ten reasons for retiring to Maine. I kid you not. (Technically, an abundance of easily accessible foods like fish, deer, and my garden. Some take more work than the others.) I do have some wild blueberries on my property. Some of the land is fields gone fallow (I think that's how it's said - I'm interpreting Mainer-speak as a person who's 'from away') and they're often stolen by the birds and bears before I get to them. I have, indeed, yelled at both a moose and a bear to get the hell out of the blueberry field while I'm busy acquiring my treasures. There's enough to go around, they can find their own patch.
I should note, that while the moose is large - it is also stupid. Do not attempt to scare a moose during rutting season, you will not win for he is afraid you're going to steal his mate. As for the bears? Meh... They're cute little buggers. They don't get much bigger than 3-400 pounds. Unless she's got cubs, it's on. They run away when they discovered you've noticed them. They're pretty sneaky though. They're also harmless. Like, literally, won't hurt you unless you do something stupid like crawl under it and hit yourself with its paw. The White Tail Deer eats blueberries too but they're usually too skittish to come into the fields with you. If they do then you don't even need to scare them away. They're harmless. They're also not as stupid as meese (plural for moose).
I have blackberries and raspberries. Those are good but they're not blueberries. The birds eat a lot of those, as do the bears. I don't mind too much because those plants are evil. I must confess to paying neighborhood kids for those. I seldom pick them on my own and, even more seldom, make a special journey to pick them. They have thorns and fight back. Little bastards. The risk isn't worth the reward. If they were blueberries, I'd devise a way.
It's a whole lot of information about blueberries. Wonderful, nommy, delectable, blueberries. You can never quite be certain which one will be a little tart and which will be the sweetest. I've concluded that it's best to eat them all. You can cram a few in your maw and hope for the average - that seems to do wonders. They're also beautiful in pancakes, muffins, and bread. Some may say that my masculinity is damaged by making these sorts of things. I'll ignore them while rubbing my tummy. Then I'll stab them for making fun of my blueberries.
No, I'd normally not reply but this is blueberries. Nommy means one goes nom nom nom while eating them and they go yummy in your tummy. Dude! Blueberries! I mean, nommy blueberries! They're like little drops of love from Mother Nature.
Not all blueberries are blue. They're pink, blue, dark red, some are kind of purple, and some are black - they vary a bit in between the shades. I've also noted your other reply. I'll look into it.;-) Jams are a pain in my ass. I make a mean jelly, though.
Indeed, that's kind of, sort of, my point. She'd suddenly be attractive and I'd make a horrible go of it and would end up taking a long time. Also, I'd make the faces that the dog makes. Hopefully that was a given.
I don't know a whole hell of a lot but I'm a fairly quick study and I know quite a bit already, maybe it would be fun to go there and volunteer to do some help? A kind of Cuba IT Group or something? My Google-fu is either weak or there's no such group of volunteers. I'd think that it'd be kind of fun. Maybe I can meet Raul and braid Fidel's beard while I'm there?
There are indeed. I've tried quite a few of the various species over the years. I love my blueberries. I recently shared a story about them... Lemme see if I can find it... Nope, was more than a few days ago. Basically, as a wee toddler - not much larger - 3 - 5 years old, I ate some blueberries and, as it turns out, they were inside bear poop. Yup... I ate bear poop blueberries. *sighs* I was sharing it when someone was alarmed about their being power lines near their house and worried about their kids.
I really don't like the cultivated berries as much. Sure, they're sweeter but they also feel mealy. They're just not as good. I don't know if I have had the variety you speak of but it's possible. If you ever get to my neck of the woods, I'll share some of my stash with you. We have one subspecies, I'm not even sure if it has a name, that you find in patches. They're dark, almost black. They also tend to grow a bit larger. They are the epitome of heaven in a little package direct from Mother Nature herself. I usually separate those out and gorge myself on them instead of being patient and freezing them.
Man, I'm hundreds of miles from home and my stash of blueberries. Stupid Slashdot...
I've never really found her all that attractive but you get her to compete in a hands-free blueberry pie eating contest and I'll lick that goo off her like a dog licks peanut butter off the roof of their mouth.
I'm going to assume you know nothing about blueberries. (The vary in color, for starters - quite a bit actually, up to and including pink and black.) Also, they're kind of complicated to harvest. 'Tis not an easy thing to do, I suspect. They also don't all tend to ripen at the same time and may well be mixed in with some other berry in the low bushes. I forget the name of that berry but it's almost identical to the blueberry only it grows on a different plant (coniferous shrub) and is poisonous. It too grows in shallow and acidic soil.
This actually is kind of difficult, I suspect. They have an electric raking machine but it's still needing to be guided by a user. It also mashes the damned things all to hell and anyone who uses it is a spawn of Satan. In fact, for even suggesting such a thing, you're dead to me. You're dead to me Khyber! Dead to me, indeed!
I take my fucking blueberries serious. I'll straight up stab a mother fucker for messing with my blueberries.
I live in the home of the Great Wild Maine Blueberry and it is nommy. For starters, you're correct. We have no brown people until harvest season - then we have a lot of them. They stick around for the apple picking season. Then they disappear like the wind. Often, they're Jamaican. I have no idea why. A buddy doesn't hire them, they're from a separate company supplied by Wyman Blueberry or something or other. He hires locals.
Also, blueberries are seldom "picked" per se. Some, very few, are hand-picked and those will cost you a small fortune. The Wild Maine Blueberry (which is nommy) is a low-bush plant and not to be confused with cultivated berries which are larger and, often, on taller plants. The blueberries are raked with a device that is similar to a cranberry rake, they just have less space between the tines. You gently pull the rake up, from beneath the berries, and tilt it forward while pulling gently upwards. You repeat this until the berries fill the back portion. Then, leaving some space for the wind to blow, you dump the berries into your pail. Why? The wind winnows out the berries and your bucket will be heavier and the berries cleaner.
You also do it gently so that you squish fewer berries - berries that are squished are suitable only for the cannery. Berries that go to the cannery don't make as much money. Unfortunately, most berries go to the cannery these days. You need to know the right people to be able to get the good stuff - which I do. I generally get an obscene amount of berries and freeze them after cleaning them. I also make blueberry jelly and blueberry pie. I can't seem to make a good jam, however. I just can't get it so that it's not runny. I'll learn...
There's quite an art to raking them. As I mentioned above, I've a friend who owns around 500 acres of berries. I get some healthy exercise helping him out. In the spring we go and burn the fields every other year. We put chemicals on the fields to kill the Poplar tree saplings. We put hay on the fields after the season is over - that's burned off the following year, in the spring, while the snow is still in the woods but not in the fields - as it is wont to do, most years. They've an automated burning machine but that's set a hill, down in Vienna, ME, ablaze on more than one occasion. He (which also seem to mean me most years) doesn't subscribe to that highfalutin newfangled stuff - it's done the way it was done by his father before and his father before that. Legend says, his grand father was the one to invent the blueberry winnowing machine. I've no idea of the veracity, they're all liars.
Truth be told, I'm not quite sure how I got roped into helping. I started just buying blueberries but soon got asked if I wanted to see how it worked. Not long after, I was invited to give it a shot. Pretty soon, I'd filled my belly and my pail was empty. This meant that I should probably give him money. So, I gave him money but was told I should probably fill a pail. Soon, that turned into a few. Eventually, I figured out that I was paying to work. I'm not quite sure how that state of affairs happened but I did stop paying and now I don't actually pay for my heap of berries but I earn them by helping out. He's offered to pay me, numerous times, but I think he only offers to be polite and knowing that I'll decline.
If you've never had the Nommy Wild Maine Blueberry then you're missing out. They're not as sweet as the cultivated berries and, often times, not as large. However, they're full of flavor and my doctor (another lying bastard) tells me that they're good for me. He's probably a member of the blueberry cartel. There is actually quite a bit of money in blueberries, they're one of the highest paying crops around. They're just finicky and a bitch to harvest. They do have automated raking machines but they don't actually result in berries you'd want to buy unless you were buying them canned. Let's just say, they don't treat the berries right.
So, while someone may develop a machine to autonomously harvest berries,
I can't wait until I have grandchildren. (Note: Kids, if you're reading this - I *will* get my revenge.) I'm so going to teach them that one. I've secured it in the memory vault. Hopefully it sticks. Thanks. I can see that being mangled in front of the preschool class. Heck, I can see that coming in handy at all sorts of places.
My nephew couldn't say "firetruck" very well. It came out, "firefuck." I obviously bought him a remote control firefuck. He then proceeded to take his brand new toy (it was a huge one) to school for show-and-tell. I hear great things happened, up to and including a phone call. Some folks might scoff, I suspect you, on the other hand, understand.;-)
Re:Impressive but not unique
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Err... Define "online" for me, if you will... (I've only been "online" since 1985 or so, help me out.)
You'd probably fit under the Libertarian tent nicely but we've kind of been overrun by a vocal minority that are, truly, idiots so you might not want to. Unaffiliated seems wise.
You have, obviously, never seen me game nor seen me install Arch. I dare say, they're not entirely dissimilar. A bit of poke and hope here, a guess there, a hope there's a save feature here, and tada! Somehow, I rescue the princess - while playing Zork.
Slashdot Mirror
Not really directed at you but more an addition to your post...
What I find disturbing is this talk about proving one's innocence. That's not how the justice system works, or should work. The burden of proof is on the State to prove that you either, more likely than not, committed the offense or that a reasonable person would conclude, beyond reasonable doubt, that you committed the offense. The former is for civil offenses and the latter for criminal offenses.
You should never, ever, have to prove your lack of guilt.
One other thing, the Western courts do not typically find people innocent. They find them 'not guilty.' For who among us is innocent, after all? (Some weasel words included because defining "Western" may be difficult and I am not aware of specific operations for each and every court.)
I am on the road, sort of, and I certainly don't even have any data worth stealing. Yet, at home, I have a box running Lubuntu and running a VNC server with secure connections enforced and only allowing access for a specific IP address (my VPN). I use any old laptop that I have with me, often just for a Live USB, and connect to my VPN, then my home server, and then access the web. I even do this for typing this post.
I don't even have an email client configured on this particular computer - that's accessed by connecting to the remote machine. There's ample power at home and a UPS, a real one and not some pseudo thing from APC, so I've not had a problem. If worse comes to worse there's a failover system and, absolute worst, I have a laptop that's set to resume when power returns should that happen - that's my tertiary backup.
ll were properly configured and tested prior to leaving. The house has a security alarm and cameras so I *might* know if there's a physical intrusion. This isn't even 'special' data, not by any means, it's just that I'd prefer to be moderately secure. Hmm... How has it been of benefit?
I was still on the road when the Ubuntu family of 15.10 dropped so I used the remote machine to grab all of the 64 bit versions and set them to share as torrents. I don't have to worry about the hotel's wireless being snooped on as my data is encrypted. I get to access my NAS from remote. If someone steals my laptop then I'm good to go in an hour or less. When I go to Canada or come back, there's nothing for them.
I also encrypt and upload a few things. I'll put some in various different services and some on my own server. Sure, I never know where what is but I know where it all is and can find it. That way I can still use eTrade when I'm bored. I have shared service through my credit union so I don't need to do any online banking and I never do.
I'm sure it's not 100% secure, nothing is. It's secure enough for my needs and has an acceptable risk profile. I used to carry around quite a bit of proprietary code and other data. Keeping things encrypted and choosing the least risky method is kind of a habit. I know that nothing is secure, it never will be, but if one wants complete security they'll never get anything done.
I think you just met someone who still has "faith in the system." They're a rare breed around these parts. I think we may need to start putting a few out on the range for preservation sake. That or a zoo...
I once got arrested for drinking in public (case dismissed, they just wanted me to stop being an idiot) and I made it through a strip search and the mandatory shower while wearing a Fentanyl patch on my arm. I was getting out in a little while, bailing out, so I gave it to another inmate. Fentanyl is a very strong opiate and the patches are akin to the nicotine patches - transdermal. The funny thing is, they thought I had drugs on me so I was searched by three officers at once. They were too busy messing with my shoes and clothing, so they never noticed the patch.
My point is, not all searches are equal. 'Snot much of a point, I guess, but there's a chance of making it through so long as you don't bring attention to it, act exceptionally nervous, or give them cause to be more complete.
Using spare parts, super glue, duct tape, and a hammer, my parents built me from spare parts in the year of our Flying Spaghetti Monster Nineteen Hundred and Fifty Seven. Often times, I look back at the myriad changes in technology and marvel. So much seemed so trivial at inception yet has resulted in great and dynamic changes. From storage, to compute power, to speed, to communication, and even to input methods - it has been a grand change and a most wonderful show.
Like yourself, I too ponder the lack of reflection and appreciation, and don't I understand why there's so little notice of it. Marvel, that's the word. It has been a beautiful time to be alive. I wonder, how many generations passed before the discovery of fire was no longer seen as a game changing innovation.
they say goldfish got no memory
i guess their lives are much like mine
the little plastic castle
is a surprise every time
it's hard to say if they are happy
when they don't seem much to mind
One additional resource is the local universities. They will not, obviously, have all the varied cases - at least not up to date, but they may have access to thinks like LexisNexis and Westlaw. Even private universities may have access and allow you, a resident, to access this. Some State universities offer cards for no fee or for a nominal fee which may even allow remote access. And, as you stated, one can always shlep to the local court house, find their way to the moldy basement, and read the records there.
There's something kind of magic about it, really. It's not quite a hobby of mine but it's not something entirely alien, either. I've had some fun in a few archives, over the years. You find some interesting things out about the area where you're now living. It's almost as enjoyable as spending a day in the unsorted records room at a local Historical Society.
Never take advice (even if it looks good) from someone who doesn't understand the difference between freedoms and rights or liberties. I have the freedom to build and use a nuclear device (up until they catch me) but I do not have the right to do so. When they catch me, they'll take away my freedom. There are many Socialist countries where the citizens have different rights affording varied degrees of liberty. There you go.
Who the hell is modding this down?!? That there is important information, thank you very much! If you don't like blueberries (and judging by the moderation, you do not!) then pound it in your ear. This here thread's about blueberries now. (Wasn't it always?) How's that off-topic? I mean, compared to all the other posts?
If you've never had blueberry jam, homemade, then you're sorely lacking and I hope you get some before you die - and live long enough to regret moderating that nice, informative, post down. Yes, I don't even wish evil on you for doing so. I wish you to learn the error of your ways! This is blueberries we're talking about. Sheesh!
Seems like we got us a bunch of berry bigots in these here parts. *spits* I don't cotton to no blueberry haters. (Err... What does 'cotton' mean, anyhow? I'm just gonna go with it, fuck Google.) Also, I'm not sure why I've a Southern accent in my head. It really should be a Down East accent, ayuh. Got that theah berreh pickin' done 'fore twas time ta hahvast the patatahs. Waiting for Matha to be done with the teeth so I can have some of that theah apple pie. It's worth it, for blueberries.
Anyhow, I'll try again with the jam. It's not bad if I dump out the top half inch. *sighs* My neighbor, she's in her 70s, has shown me like a half dozen times but she doesn't actually measure anything. Somehow, it works. It appears to be almost random, however. Cooking is chemistry, canning is really hard chemistry. Making jam is even harder chemistry. She's like a mad scientist.
You are most welcome. I am, shall we say, passionate about my blueberries. It was actually in my top ten reasons for retiring to Maine. I kid you not. (Technically, an abundance of easily accessible foods like fish, deer, and my garden. Some take more work than the others.) I do have some wild blueberries on my property. Some of the land is fields gone fallow (I think that's how it's said - I'm interpreting Mainer-speak as a person who's 'from away') and they're often stolen by the birds and bears before I get to them. I have, indeed, yelled at both a moose and a bear to get the hell out of the blueberry field while I'm busy acquiring my treasures. There's enough to go around, they can find their own patch.
I should note, that while the moose is large - it is also stupid. Do not attempt to scare a moose during rutting season, you will not win for he is afraid you're going to steal his mate. As for the bears? Meh... They're cute little buggers. They don't get much bigger than 3-400 pounds. Unless she's got cubs, it's on. They run away when they discovered you've noticed them. They're pretty sneaky though. They're also harmless. Like, literally, won't hurt you unless you do something stupid like crawl under it and hit yourself with its paw. The White Tail Deer eats blueberries too but they're usually too skittish to come into the fields with you. If they do then you don't even need to scare them away. They're harmless. They're also not as stupid as meese (plural for moose).
I have blackberries and raspberries. Those are good but they're not blueberries. The birds eat a lot of those, as do the bears. I don't mind too much because those plants are evil. I must confess to paying neighborhood kids for those. I seldom pick them on my own and, even more seldom, make a special journey to pick them. They have thorns and fight back. Little bastards. The risk isn't worth the reward. If they were blueberries, I'd devise a way.
To answer another question, I found this link:
http://umaine.edu/blueberries/...
It's a whole lot of information about blueberries. Wonderful, nommy, delectable, blueberries. You can never quite be certain which one will be a little tart and which will be the sweetest. I've concluded that it's best to eat them all. You can cram a few in your maw and hope for the average - that seems to do wonders. They're also beautiful in pancakes, muffins, and bread. Some may say that my masculinity is damaged by making these sorts of things. I'll ignore them while rubbing my tummy. Then I'll stab them for making fun of my blueberries.
No, I'd normally not reply but this is blueberries. Nommy means one goes nom nom nom while eating them and they go yummy in your tummy. Dude! Blueberries! I mean, nommy blueberries! They're like little drops of love from Mother Nature.
It's a blueberry. I'd not get this wrong, trust me on this. ;-) It's one of the ones listed here:
http://umaine.edu/blueberries/...
Not all blueberries are blue. They're pink, blue, dark red, some are kind of purple, and some are black - they vary a bit in between the shades. I've also noted your other reply. I'll look into it. ;-) Jams are a pain in my ass. I make a mean jelly, though.
Indeed, that's kind of, sort of, my point. She'd suddenly be attractive and I'd make a horrible go of it and would end up taking a long time. Also, I'd make the faces that the dog makes. Hopefully that was a given.
I don't know a whole hell of a lot but I'm a fairly quick study and I know quite a bit already, maybe it would be fun to go there and volunteer to do some help? A kind of Cuba IT Group or something? My Google-fu is either weak or there's no such group of volunteers. I'd think that it'd be kind of fun. Maybe I can meet Raul and braid Fidel's beard while I'm there?
Then again, maybe I'd better not 'help.'
No XKCD but, how about a Dilbert?
http://dilbert.com/strip/1995-...
Very much on topic. ;-)
There are indeed. I've tried quite a few of the various species over the years. I love my blueberries. I recently shared a story about them... Lemme see if I can find it... Nope, was more than a few days ago. Basically, as a wee toddler - not much larger - 3 - 5 years old, I ate some blueberries and, as it turns out, they were inside bear poop. Yup... I ate bear poop blueberries. *sighs* I was sharing it when someone was alarmed about their being power lines near their house and worried about their kids.
I really don't like the cultivated berries as much. Sure, they're sweeter but they also feel mealy. They're just not as good. I don't know if I have had the variety you speak of but it's possible. If you ever get to my neck of the woods, I'll share some of my stash with you. We have one subspecies, I'm not even sure if it has a name, that you find in patches. They're dark, almost black. They also tend to grow a bit larger. They are the epitome of heaven in a little package direct from Mother Nature herself. I usually separate those out and gorge myself on them instead of being patient and freezing them.
Man, I'm hundreds of miles from home and my stash of blueberries. Stupid Slashdot...
I've never really found her all that attractive but you get her to compete in a hands-free blueberry pie eating contest and I'll lick that goo off her like a dog licks peanut butter off the roof of their mouth.
I mean, yeah, I have *some* standards.
I'm going to assume you know nothing about blueberries. (The vary in color, for starters - quite a bit actually, up to and including pink and black.) Also, they're kind of complicated to harvest. 'Tis not an easy thing to do, I suspect. They also don't all tend to ripen at the same time and may well be mixed in with some other berry in the low bushes. I forget the name of that berry but it's almost identical to the blueberry only it grows on a different plant (coniferous shrub) and is poisonous. It too grows in shallow and acidic soil.
This actually is kind of difficult, I suspect. They have an electric raking machine but it's still needing to be guided by a user. It also mashes the damned things all to hell and anyone who uses it is a spawn of Satan. In fact, for even suggesting such a thing, you're dead to me. You're dead to me Khyber! Dead to me, indeed!
I take my fucking blueberries serious. I'll straight up stab a mother fucker for messing with my blueberries.
I live in the home of the Great Wild Maine Blueberry and it is nommy. For starters, you're correct. We have no brown people until harvest season - then we have a lot of them. They stick around for the apple picking season. Then they disappear like the wind. Often, they're Jamaican. I have no idea why. A buddy doesn't hire them, they're from a separate company supplied by Wyman Blueberry or something or other. He hires locals.
Also, blueberries are seldom "picked" per se. Some, very few, are hand-picked and those will cost you a small fortune. The Wild Maine Blueberry (which is nommy) is a low-bush plant and not to be confused with cultivated berries which are larger and, often, on taller plants. The blueberries are raked with a device that is similar to a cranberry rake, they just have less space between the tines. You gently pull the rake up, from beneath the berries, and tilt it forward while pulling gently upwards. You repeat this until the berries fill the back portion. Then, leaving some space for the wind to blow, you dump the berries into your pail. Why? The wind winnows out the berries and your bucket will be heavier and the berries cleaner.
You also do it gently so that you squish fewer berries - berries that are squished are suitable only for the cannery. Berries that go to the cannery don't make as much money. Unfortunately, most berries go to the cannery these days. You need to know the right people to be able to get the good stuff - which I do. I generally get an obscene amount of berries and freeze them after cleaning them. I also make blueberry jelly and blueberry pie. I can't seem to make a good jam, however. I just can't get it so that it's not runny. I'll learn...
There's quite an art to raking them. As I mentioned above, I've a friend who owns around 500 acres of berries. I get some healthy exercise helping him out. In the spring we go and burn the fields every other year. We put chemicals on the fields to kill the Poplar tree saplings. We put hay on the fields after the season is over - that's burned off the following year, in the spring, while the snow is still in the woods but not in the fields - as it is wont to do, most years. They've an automated burning machine but that's set a hill, down in Vienna, ME, ablaze on more than one occasion. He (which also seem to mean me most years) doesn't subscribe to that highfalutin newfangled stuff - it's done the way it was done by his father before and his father before that. Legend says, his grand father was the one to invent the blueberry winnowing machine. I've no idea of the veracity, they're all liars.
Truth be told, I'm not quite sure how I got roped into helping. I started just buying blueberries but soon got asked if I wanted to see how it worked. Not long after, I was invited to give it a shot. Pretty soon, I'd filled my belly and my pail was empty. This meant that I should probably give him money. So, I gave him money but was told I should probably fill a pail. Soon, that turned into a few. Eventually, I figured out that I was paying to work. I'm not quite sure how that state of affairs happened but I did stop paying and now I don't actually pay for my heap of berries but I earn them by helping out. He's offered to pay me, numerous times, but I think he only offers to be polite and knowing that I'll decline.
If you've never had the Nommy Wild Maine Blueberry then you're missing out. They're not as sweet as the cultivated berries and, often times, not as large. However, they're full of flavor and my doctor (another lying bastard) tells me that they're good for me. He's probably a member of the blueberry cartel. There is actually quite a bit of money in blueberries, they're one of the highest paying crops around. They're just finicky and a bitch to harvest. They do have automated raking machines but they don't actually result in berries you'd want to buy unless you were buying them canned. Let's just say, they don't treat the berries right.
So, while someone may develop a machine to autonomously harvest berries,
I can't wait until I have grandchildren. (Note: Kids, if you're reading this - I *will* get my revenge.) I'm so going to teach them that one. I've secured it in the memory vault. Hopefully it sticks. Thanks. I can see that being mangled in front of the preschool class. Heck, I can see that coming in handy at all sorts of places.
My nephew couldn't say "firetruck" very well. It came out, "firefuck." I obviously bought him a remote control firefuck. He then proceeded to take his brand new toy (it was a huge one) to school for show-and-tell. I hear great things happened, up to and including a phone call. Some folks might scoff, I suspect you, on the other hand, understand. ;-)
Err... Define "online" for me, if you will... (I've only been "online" since 1985 or so, help me out.)
Littoral Combat Ship.
I was all sorts of excited when I first read about this. Then, I realized I was reading it wrong.
You'd probably fit under the Libertarian tent nicely but we've kind of been overrun by a vocal minority that are, truly, idiots so you might not want to. Unaffiliated seems wise.
You have, obviously, never seen me game nor seen me install Arch. I dare say, they're not entirely dissimilar. A bit of poke and hope here, a guess there, a hope there's a save feature here, and tada! Somehow, I rescue the princess - while playing Zork.
I might have been checking if one can curl the chat as I read this... Might have to scrape it. Ah, the things I do out of love for you guys.