It's about time. Anyone who has seen the old pilot certificates can say that they looked like they were cut out of the back of a cereal box. They were grey and printed on just thick paper, EASILY forged by anyone with a laser printer.

When my wallet was lost/stolen back in November, I went looking for it for a month, then sent for new licenses, etc. The FAA sent my new certificates today. They are really kinda neat looking. First of all, they are plastic. Second, they have neat graphics of a jet, and the Wright Flyer, along with a modified DOT symbol. You kinda have to see it to get the idea. Hey, that's a good idea. Ok, I'll put copies on the web :-)

The hologram was really pretty neat. It is also a lot easier to keep these things in your wallet without having to laminate them so they don't get destroyed. And they turned around my request pretty quickly.

Now all I need to do is replace my medical and I'm back in the air. Don't worry, I'll watch out for TFRs :-).

Posted by mikki at 02:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What a wonderful feeling when one makes the LAST PAYMENT on a major purchase. Today I made the last payment on my wonderful truck, my 1999 ML430. It is a happy truck, great in the snow, and pretty much without problems over the years.

That's one more little weight off our shoulders. Another weight is being taken off in the Psycho Sensei Semi Annual Pitch The Junk week. Tons upon tons of useless junk is being tossed out the door. Ah the fun. Toss toss toss. Pitch pitch pitch. Wish me luck.

Posted by mikki at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is pathetic, folks. If somebody doesn't stop these fascists in the gestapo called Homeland Security, the whole idea of asylum, rights, and just about everything else this country stands for is going to be nothing but memory. If a Buddhist NUN who had to sneak out of China to get here doesn't deserve asylum, WHO DOES? You can bet your butt that if this was a catholic nun or a fundie christian nun who was in fear, she'd be let in with no questions asked.

HOPEWELL, Va. -- Sonam always feared her devotion to Buddhism would land her behind bars in her native China. As it turns out, she is serving a long term in jail -- not in East Asia but in central Virginia. [Washington Post: Front Page]

Posted by mikki at 10:34 PM | Permalink

In a big win for the constitution, First Amendment expert and Georgetown law Prof. David Cole has won a big one for freedom and against blatantly awful provisions of the Patriot Act.

From CNN:
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups designated international terrorist organizations.

The ruling marks the first court decision to declare a part of the post-September 11, 2001 anti-terrorism statute unconstitutional, said David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project.

In a ruling handed down late Friday and made available Monday, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins said the ban on providing "expert advice or assistance" is impermissibly vague, in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments.

John Tyler, the Justice Department attorney who argued the case, had no comment and referred calls to the department press office in Washington. A message left there was not immediately returned.

The case before the court involved five groups and two U.S. citizens seeking to provide support for lawful, nonviolent activities on behalf of Kurdish refugees in Turkey.

The Humanitarian Law Project, which brought the lawsuit, said the plaintiffs were threatened with 15 years in prison if they advised groups on seeking a peaceful resolution of the Kurds' campaign for self-determination in Turkey.

The judge's ruling said the law, as written, does not differentiate between impermissible advice on violence and encouraging the use of peaceful, nonviolent means to achieve goals.

"The USA Patriot Act places no limitation on the type of expert advice and assistance which is prohibited and instead bans the provision of all expert advice and assistance regardless of its nature," the judge said.

Cole declared the ruling "a victory for everyone who believes the war on terrorism ought to be fought consistent with constitutional principles."

Posted by mikki at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am SO HAPPY that I am not in my home state of New Hampshire right now. It is crawling with completely insane politicians and their entourages zipping up and down the state trying to woo anything with two legs and a vote. The only thing more humorous than watching them scuttle around like so many rats is watching the journalists chasing after them. (Of course, I have to remember I *was* one of those journalists in 1980, but I've repented since then :-))

Perhaps the best part of all of this is that we get to watch this from the safety and relative warmth of home. I say relative warmth because it's still bloody cold here in Northern Virginia, but still warmer than up in good ole New Hampshire. Although, I must say, waking up this morning and looking out the window certainly reminded me more of NH than Virginia. We had about 5 inches of snow, causing poor Wessiepooh to once again crank up the snow blower in order to get out of the driveway and get to work. I, on the other hand, get to stay home. Woo hoo!

Posted by mikki at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is rare that the Psycho Sensei finds, in this world, a software company that not only responds to technical support email, but ACTS on it. Unlike Retrospect, whose support truly sucks the big wazooo, the folks at Intelliscanner who made my wonderful barcode scanner and cool software that lets me put all my movies and books and CDs into a database, also FIXED a problem within 24 hours of verification.

The Psycho Sensei is very happy with their performance, and awards them the Psycho Sensei Tech Support Award For Making Psycho Sensei Happy :-)

Posted by mikki at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So why am I getting more spam than ever? Maybe it's because attempting to stop a technological problem with non technological methods is ineffective. Having lawmakers, who are about as computer literate as my grandmother, instead having staffers do most of their computer based work, attempting to craft a law complex enough to stop the deluge of garbage, is laughable.

There are plenty of technocrats available who would gladly give their expertise and input to solve spam issues. However, Congress has not made use of them. Why not? Is it because they believe that geeks are not savvy enough in the ways of politics to mix geek speak with Congress speak? Or is it instead because they wanted to seem as if they were doing something when in actuality, nothing was accomplished?

In many cases of issues of popular opinion, the Congressional band-aid approach works just fine. The issue may be popular, but the actual non-effects of the feel good legislation are only felt by a few. The vast majority of the voters think that the Congress Critter has done a wonderful thing and continue to vote for him or her. Win for Congress without much effort. However, this method may likely lose bigtime in an arena where everyone is affected and the law is obviously bogus.

Perhaps next time, they might actually ask people with useful input.

Posted by mikki at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So what happens when a company promises you a certain level of privacy, and then LIES? Apparently, YOU don't get much recourse. The company may be fined, but what do YOU get for a breach of contract between you and the company? Wouldn't it be nice if we actually owned our own personal information? And GO EPIC by the way :-)

From Wired

The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a formal complaint with the Department of Transportation on Tuesday, alleging that Northwest Airlines engaged in unfair trade practices when it mailed three months' worth of passenger data on CD-ROMs to NASA researchers in 2002.

EPIC seeks a federal investigation and possible fines against the company for violating its privacy policy. It also intends to file suit against NASA in a California federal court Thursday to compel further disclosure of government documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

MORE ...

Posted by mikki at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have spent the past hour playing with this inane essay generator with various and sundry insane topics. It is HILARIOUS. Probably the funniest one thusfar shall be reproduced below in all its glory.

The subject of a magnificent penis is a controversial issue. At one stage or another, every man woman or child will be faced with the issue of a magnificent penis. Though a magnificent penis is a favourite topic of discussion amongst monarchs, presidents and dictators, its influence on western cinema has not been given proper recognition. Often it is seen as both a help and a hinderence to global commercial enterprises, many of whom fail to comprehend the full scope of a magnificent penis. Complex though it is I shall now attempt to provide an exaustive report on a magnificent penis and its numerous 'industries'.

Social Factors

Society is a human product. The immortal and indispensable phrase ‘honesty is the best policy’ [1] created a monster which society has been attempting to tame ever since. Much has been said about the influence of the media on a magnificent penis. Observers claim it is crunchy on the outside but soft in the middle.

Nothing represents every day life better than a magnificent penis, and I mean nothing. It grows stonger every day.

Economic Factors

Economics has been defined as 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.' To my learned ear that sounds like two people with itchy backs. We will begin by looking at the JTB-Guide-Dog model, making allowances for recent changes in interest rates.

Cost
Of
Living (there was a graph here :-))

?a magnificent penis

The results displayed in the graph are too clear to be ignored. Even a child could work out that the cost of living world wide are driven entirely by a magnificent penis. In the light of this free trade must be examined.

Political Factors

Machiavellian politics is rife. Are our leaders justified in pursuing and maintaining political power? Looking at the spectrum represented by a single political party can be reminiscent of comparing a magnificent penis and ones own image of themselves.

In the words of award winning journalist Augstin Tuigamala 'People in glass houses shouldn't through parties.' [2] This clearly illustrates the primary concern of those involved with a magnificent penis. If our political system can be seen as a cake, then a magnificent penis makes a good case for being the icing.
Is a magnificent penis politically correct, in every sense? Each man, woman and to a lesser extent, child, must make up their own mind.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a magnificent penis parades along man's streets and man waves back. It sings a new song, brings glamour to an unglamorous time, though a magnificent penis brings with it obvious difficulties, it is truly a magnificent penis.

I will leave you with the words of Hollywood's Demi Travolta: 'Oooh yeah a magnificent penis shoo badaby dooo.' [3]

[1] Traditional - possibly first said by King Arthor... but probably not.

[2] Tuigamala - Captain Sir - 1844 Inevitable Publishing

[3] It Magazine - Issue 302 - Spam Media Group

Posted by mikki at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It will be wonderful when MovableType integrates spam controls so that I don't have to manually delete the imbecilic comments by total turds who steal my work and effort to add their sewage spam into comments they place on bloggers' websites, thinking they can bury their crap that would be found by search engines and advertise their pathetic wares.

These thieves don't seem to care that it's ILLEGAL for them to do that. They don't care that they're stealing the bandwidth and hard work of others for their miserable selves, or that many blogs have simply disabled comments completely, thus removing a useful vehicle for communications. They simply continue to steal and annoy and be all around assholes.

In short, I hate them.

Posted by mikki at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If the following article from Alter.Net is true, then something MUST be done to stop the insanity before everything we hold dear as a nation and as a civilized body of intelligent people is completely crushed out of existence. What it would be replaced with is more the beginning of a 1984'ish scenario than anything we've seen to date. Combine this sort of list with RFID technology and what happens then? The PsychoSensei is afraid. VERY afraid.

Green Party "Terrorist" Not Allowed to Fly

By Frederick Sweet, Intervention Magazine
January 12, 2004

Art dealer Doug Stuber, who ran Ralph Nader's Green Party presidential campaign in North Carolina in 2000, was pulled out of an airline boarding line and grounded this past holiday season. He was about to make an important trip to Prague to gather artists for Henry James Art in Raleigh, N.C., when he was told (with ticket in hand) that he was not allowed to fly out that day.

When he asked why not, he was told at Raleigh-Durham airport that because of the sniper attacks, no Greens were allowed to fly overseas on that day. The next morning he returned, and instead of paying $670 round trip, was forced into a $2,600 "same day" air fare. But it's what happened to Stuber during the next 24 hours that is even more disturbing.

Stuber arrived at the airport at 6 a.m. and his first flight wasn't due out until nearly six hours later. He had plenty of time. At exactly 10:52 in the morning, just before boarding was to begin, he was approached by police officer Stanley (the same policeman who ushered him out of the airport the day before), who said that he "wanted to talk" to him. Stuber went with the police officer, but reminded him that no one had said he couldn't fly, and that his flight was about to leave.

Officer Stanley took Stuber into a room and questioned him for an hour. Around noon, Stanley had introduced him to two Secret Service agents. The agents took full eye-open pictures of Stuber with a digital camera. Then they asked him details about his family, where he lived, who he ever knew, what the Greens are up to, and other questions.

At one point during his interrogation, Stuber asked if they really believed the Greens were equal to al Qaeda. Then they showed him a Justice Department document that actually shows the Greens as likely terrorists – just as likely as al Qaeda members. Stuber was released just before 1 PM, so he still had time to catch the later flight.

The agents walked Stuber to the Delta counter and asked that he be given tickets for the flight so that he could make his connections. The airline official promptly printed tickets, which relieved Stuber, who assumed that the Secret Service hadn't stopped him from flying. Wrong! By the time Stuber was about to board, officer Stanley once again ushered him out the door and told him: "Just go to Greensboro, where they don't know you, and be totally quiet about politics, and you can make it to Europe that way."

In Greensboro, after Stuber showed his passport he was told that he could not fly overseas or domestically. Undeterred, he next traveled an hour-and-a-half to Charlotte. In Charlotte, the same thing happened. Then Stuber drove three hours to his home after 43 hours of trying to catch a flight.

Stuber said he could only conclude that the Greens, whose values include nonviolence, social justice, etc., are now labeled terrorists by the Ashcroft-led Justice Department.

Questions about how one gets on a no-fly list creates questions about how to get off it. This is a classic Catch-22 situation. The Transportation Security Agency says it compiles the list from names provided by other agencies, but it has no procedure for correcting a problem. Aggrieved parties would have to go to the agency that first reported their names. But for security reasons, the TSA won't disclose which agency put someone on the no-fly list.

Frederick Sweet is Professor of Reproductive Biology in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Posted by mikki at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yet another airline breaching passenger privacy, using personal information for purposes NOT disclosed. Once again we come to the obvious conclusion that a property right in personal information should belong to the INDIVIDUAL, not to the collector!

Northwest Airlines provided information on millions of passengers for a secret U.S. government air-security project soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, raising more concerns among some privacy advocates about the airlines' use of confidential customer data. [Washington Post: Front Page]

Posted by mikki at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So is this what US troops have been fighting for? Remove a dictator and replace him with complete repression for 1/2 the population? Wouldn't it be ironic if our men and women died fighting for the rights of men to commit adultery, with wives powerless to do anything about it? How about the application of Islamic family law to the non Moslems in the region? This is just pathetic.

From the Financial Times

Iraqi plan for Sharia law 'a sop to clerics', say women

By Nicolas Pelham and Charles Clover in Baghdad
Published: January 15 2004 4:00 | Last Updated: January 15 2004 4:00

Iraq's Governing Council on Wednesday defended its approval of a controversial family law that would make it possible to apply Islamic law - Sharia - instead of civil statute in domestic matters such as inheritance and divorce.

Opponents, mainly Iraqi women's groups, say the measure is a sop to Islamic clerics, who are holding up agreement on the national political process.

Hamid Kifa'i, Governing Council spokesman, denied the text, which was approved with no announcement, was part of a political deal with clerics. "It is not a concession to fundamentalists, we don't have fundamentalists in Iraq," he said.

Psycho Sensei Says: "yeah, right!"

He added that Paul Bremer, the top US administrator in Baghdad, had not signed the measure and that without the signature it would not take effect before June 30 at the earliest, when sovereignty is due to be transferred to an Iraqi provisional government.

The Governing Council's move puts the coalition in a sensitive position, caught between the demands of secular and westernised groups and the Muslim clergy. In a press release posted on the Coalition Provisional Authority website yesterday, the US declared it was "strongly encouraging Iraqis to ensure that women and women's rights are included in all facets of Iraq's political transition".

Women's groups say the new law will abolish the previous civil law on families, which had been applied since 1959, and devolve family law to sectarian religious courts. Mr Kifa'i countered that the new law simply offered Iraqis the option of using religious courts voluntarily, and that the civil law would remain in effect.

"We cannot force people to apply other laws outside their [religious] rites," he said. "The family law would enable every Iraqi to resolve all their differences on the basis of the doctrine that they believe."

Islamic courts are generally seen as less favourable to women in matters of divorce, marriage and inheritance than civil courts.

On Tuesday hundreds of women demonstrated against the move, chanting: "No to sectarianism, no to discrimination between men and women in our new Iraq."

Nasreen Barawi, the Harvard-educated minister of public works, led the protests, saying that women were discussing a general strike in the ministries. "Iraqi women feel that they are not fairly represented in the Governing Council and ministries," she told the Zaman newspaper. Three of the Governing Council's 25 members are women.

The move is likely to please conservative clerics, however, and comes amid sensitive negotiations between the council and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, spiritual leader of Iraq's Shia Muslims.

Since last November Mr Sistani has been holding up agreement on the selection of anational transitional assembly next May, asking that its members be elected, rather than selected by provincial caucuses.

Adnan Pachachi, the current president of the Governing Council, met Mr Sistani on Tuesday to try to persuade him to support the US plan for a caucus-style mechanism.

Violence in Iraq's Sunni Arab regions continued yesterday, as a suicide car bomb killed at least three Iraqis in the town of Baaquba and wounded 30, according to Iraqi police. US forces also reported a firefight with militants in Samarra, in which they killed eight and took no casualties themselves.

US forces meanwhile announced the capture of Khamis Sirhan Mohammed, who they described as the ringleader of anti-coalition guerrillas in the western al-Anbar province, and was number 54 on the US most wanted list of former Ba'ath party officials.

Posted by mikki at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In one of the most STUPID things a pilot could possibly do, this complete idiot attempted to single handedly prove all of the government's assertions about pilots. In just one STUPID flight, this moron pulled out all the stops, making certain the stunt would be something talked about at the highest levels of homeland stupidity.

Of course, even though this dweeb posed a "security threat" you would find that he couldn't have been intercepted before he crashed into one of those power stations he orbited.

From CNN

(CNN) -- The case of a pilot with a preliminary blood-alcohol ratio of 0.13 is raising legal questions after his erratic, four-hour flight over Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Friday.

The pilot, John Vincent Salamone, 44, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, flew "haphazardly" over Philadelphia and Atlantic City, New Jersey, twice entering controlled airspace without permission.

At one point the plane flew near a nuclear power plant, prompting security concerns, officials said.

Salamone's blood-alcohol content registered 0.13 after a breath test administered after he landed, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Bruce Castor told CNN. In Pennsylvania a motorist is considered to be operating a motor vehicle under the influence with a blood-alcohol ratio of 0.08.

The pilot was arrested and could have his license suspended or revoked, federal officials said. But local law enforcement officials are not sure what criminal charges to file against the pilot.

Salamone's 1967 Piper Cherokee meets the definition of a vehicle, defined under Pennsylvania law as "any device upon or by which a person or property may be transported ... upon a highway," Castor said.

But "now you've got to figure out what a highway is," Castor said. "It is trickier than I first thought it was going to be."

Castor said his staff is researching Pennsylvania statutes and case law to see if the airport runway or the air routes fit the legal definition of highway.

The airport runway initially appears not to fit the definition because it is not publicly maintained, he said. But Castor said he believes the air routes can be construed to be a highway.

He has never encountered a similar situation in his 18 year career as a prosecutor, Castor said.

"I'm sure someplace in Pennsylvania this has happened before, but we've got to look," he said.

Salamone, the president of a concrete company, was released from custody, and calls to his business were not returned.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said Salamone has no previous aviation accidents, incidents or enforcement actions on his record. The FAA said it could move to suspend or revoke Salamone's pilot's license, or impose a civil penalty.

Another FAA spokesman, Jim Peters, said an air traffic controller noticed Salamone's plane on radar at 6:30 p.m. about 15 miles northwest of the Philadelphia airport, flying southeast toward Philadelphia. The plane crossed into the airport's restricted airspace.

"Normally if you are piloting out, all you do is you call us and say 'I'd like to proceed in this airspace,'" Peters said. "He didn't do that."

The pilot headed toward Atlantic City and Ocean City, New Jersey, before trying to land at a smaller airport south of Philadelphia.

The pilot did not land, however, and re-entered Philadelphia airport airspace.

Air traffic controllers contacted the pilot and asked if he wanted to land in Philadelphia. He declined, instead heading back to Pottstown Limerick Airport, where he made one attempt to land at his home airport before flying over a nuclear power plant, Peters said.

A police helicopter intercepted the plane and forced it to land at 10:17 p.m., Peters said.

He "came down on his own volition" at Pottstown airport, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia, said the airport's manager, Mike D'Aries.

"From what they can determine, it was pretty obvious that when he landed he was pretty intoxicated," D'Aries said.

The pilot faces two citations from the FAA for flying through Class B controlled airspace -- airspace around a major airport -- without FAA approval. The FAA is investigating the incident.

CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.

Posted by mikki at 09:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unfortunatley, seems that the spammers are completely ignoring the law, and since it has so little teeth in it, they can likely continue to do so without much down side. Meantime, I have received more junk faxes the weeks after fax.com was fined, than I had prior. In fact, I'm now out of toner due to junk faxes. Thanks so much, dweebs. I've had to disconnect the fax again.

Two weeks after a much-heralded U.S. antispam law took effect, junk-mail-filtering firms say they're weeding out more unwanted messages than ever. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News]

Posted by mikki at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a look at THIS story. How could the USPTO be lame enough to grant a patent like this? What's next? Psycho Sensei says "DUH"

Two Web entrepreneurs accuse Network Solutions and Register.com of selling e-mail addresses and URLs that infringe on their naming method patent. [CNET News.com]

Posted by mikki at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They aren't allowed to use US data yet, but that won't stop them from sneakily obtaining it from the EU, whose strong personal data privacy laws wouldn't allow this without the clandestine deal.

Commission less than candid about deal within deal [The Register]

Posted by mikki at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Psycho Sensei says: do that in the US and you will get summarily kicked out after a body cavity search and possible detention as an enemy combattant. It's about time other nations treat us the way we treat them. Maybe it will make us think twice.

An American Airlines pilot was fined nearly $13,000 Wednesday on accusations he made an obscene gesture when being photographed at the airport as part of entry requirements for U.S. citizens, officials said. [AP World News]

Posted by mikki at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Psycho Sensei recommends that everyone go to this handy link and purchase one of these before it's TOO LATE!!!!

Posted by mikki at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An interesting story about scuba. The Psycho Sensei loves scuba, and you should too, so READ THIS AT ONCE :-)

He looked like the type of macho diver who prefers speed over underwater life. [Christian Science Monitor: All Stories]

Posted by mikki at 07:58 PM | Permalink

The Psycho Sensei is NOT amused! Welcome to the backup saga. I have been trying to back up my massive G5 filled with 750 gigs worth of video. I have a DLT drive, so it seemed logical to use my already paid for copy of Retrospect. It refused to work with Panther, postings to their forums were fruitless, emails were fruitless, and generally I had an expensive piece of software and corresponding hardware and tapes that were WORTHLESS. Unless, of course, I pay another 200.00 for their brandy new upgrade that MIGHT work with my setup, but I can't tell until I fork over the money.

So I tried BRU. That didn't work either, despite the valiant attempts by tech support. So I decided, since I really need the backups NOW, to buy a HONKING BIG Firewire 800 drive and just use deja vu. So I ordered one from Apple. They have no clue when they're going to be able to ship. So I gave up and ordered one from CDW. Ordered it to be shipped that day, overnight, and sat here waiting for it. Little did I know that an account rep I never heard of had CANCELLED the order. No email. No phone call. NOTHING.

So I am PISSED.

Posted by mikki at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally something smart. Free speech rules!

A federal judge rejects a company's legal attempt to assail BadBusinessBureau.com, which features negative reviews from consumers who claim to have been "ripped off" by retailers. [CNET News.com]

Posted by mikki at 10:20 AM | Permalink

Ok, let's take a look at this idea. Would ANY of the 9/11 hijackers have been caught under a plan that checks their background? Only if the flagged list was a list of all Arabs. So why is the government SO adamant about collecting HUGE amounts of data on us, and making it more difficult for us to travel? Perhaps so they can catch OTHER criminals in ways that we NEVER would have allowed prior to 9/11. The question is, why are we allowing it POST 9/11 when it clearly would do nothing to prevent other attacks (terrorists generally have squeaky clean backgrounds and records).

Despite stiff resistance from airlines and privacy advocates, the U.S. government plans to push ahead this year with a vast computerized system to probe the backgrounds of all passengers boarding flights in the United States. [Washington Post: Front Page]

Posted by mikki at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a tip from Gaige I went to the website for IntelliScanner Collector and bought their wonderful barcode scanner and software to put my collection of EVERYTHING into electronic form without a royal pain in the butt.

It even makes cool websites of all your STUFF .

I love this cool new toy.

Posted by mikki at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This idiot, if what is being said is true, wins the 2004 Psycho Sensei Geographically Challenged Idiot Award. How can any human with any intelligence believe that a Regional Jet can go from NYC to AUSTRALIA?

D'OH

From CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An American Eagle commuter flight from New York to Washington was diverted Saturday because a threat was made by a passenger "against the aircraft," an airline spokeswoman said.

An FBI spokesperson said the threat involved a note given to someone on the plane. The spokesperson also said a man made demands to be flown to Australia.

A Transportation Security Administration official told CNN that the man's note stated he had a bomb on the plane. One man is in FBI custody but the FBI said the incident does not appear to be related to terrorism.

American Eagle Flight 4959, carrying 19 passengers, was headed from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Reagan National Airport in Washington.

Federal authorities said there were five crew members, but Lisa Bailey, a spokeswoman for the airline, said there were three crew members.

The flight was diverted to Dulles International in Washington and landed at noon.

It was moved to an isolated area and was being searched by a K-9 unit, according to a spokeswoman from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

The federal government owns Reagan National Airport, but it is operated by Airports Authority under a 50-year lease agreement. Planes landing at Reagan follow a flight path which brings them closer to the Capitol and White House.

Passengers were interviewed by law officers after landing.

The plane, an Embraer Regional Jet, model 135, usually seats 37 passengers, the airline said. The jet has a range just under 2,000 miles when fully fueled. The air distance between New York and Sydney, Australia is 9,933 miles.

Posted by mikki at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is one of the most hilarious things I've seen lately. It's well worth the amusing click. You might want to read the rest of the site too, it's very amusing.

Kids! Accept Jesus Christ as Your Lord and Savior and Get a Free PlayStation 2

Posted by mikki at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HOORAY! The Psycho Sensei is VERY pleased that at long last these SCUM who use up my paper, my ink, and my phone line to send me CRAP are being forced to pay for some of this! Yes! Perhaps this will stop some of the other nincompoops from continuing this heinously awful and annoying method of selling their garbage.

The FCC puts the wood to Fax.com, hitting the company with the stiffest fine ever imposed for sending unsolicited faxes that violate federal do-not-fax rules. [Wired News]

Posted by mikki at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Psycho Sensei had NO idea that there were only 210 or so of these in the world! it never ceases to amaze me what awful caretakers of the planet we humans are.

Zoo officials announced the birth of six rare Bengal white tigers Tuesday, saying the their arrival increased the overall population of the endangered animals to 210. [AP World News]

Posted by mikki at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So we have multiple British Airways flights from London to Dulles being cancelled due to security concerns, and we find that the head of the agency charged with security at Dulles can't even be trusted with securing himself from the alcohol. Today's Washington Post reported that during an orange alert, New Year's Eve, the head of the agency supposedly responsible for our safety in the skies, was weaving around the road because he couldn't drive properly.

So, what has the TSA actually done to enhance our safety? I was absolutely shocked today to find out that only 20% of the cargo that is placed on board planes loaded with passengers, is actually inspected. And who is inspecting it? People who are absolutely positively UNTRAINED to detect explosives, biological weapons, or chemical weapons. These poor individuals who are charged with making the cargo safe don't have the slightest clue in the world what to do besides open a package and look inside. No bomb sniffing dogs. No x ray machines. No nothing.

Don't you feel safe now that general aviation aircraft are prohibited from getting too close to America's Favorite Shrub, but an aircraft out of Dulles with only 20% of its cargo checked and passengers screened by an agency headed by an alleged drunk driver can go on its merry way and possibly be detonated above DC plunging into who knows what?

Yes, but at least those pesky little Cessna 152s are out of the area...right?

Posted by mikki at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Psycho Sensei wishes you a Happy New Year, except for some of you, but you know who you are :-).

Posted by mikki at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)