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Wednesday, November 26, 2003 |
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I was walking around Stanford University on Monday and found myself thinking "boy, aren't the spoils of monopolies nice?" You do realize where the money for Stanford University came from, don't you? That's right, he was the President on the Central Pacific railroad. Now THAT was a monopoly! If you were a farmer in Sacramento in the 1860s and you wanted to get your wheat to the exchanges in Chicago there was only one way to go. No competition at all.
So much of our language. So much of our culture. So much of everything around me in Silicon Valley started with that railroad monopoly. In fact, much of our technology started there too (the telegraph, which was the thing that really made the Internet possible was developed for the railroad).
One of Silicon Valley's first computers, in fact, still sits in a little tower that overlooks Santa Clara's railroad yard. I wrote and took pictures during a tour Patrick and I got of the tower a few years ago. That "interlocker" machine (which is really a mechanical computer) was designed for the railroad monopoly. Our understanding of algorithms and communication greatly advanced during the railroad age.
Think about it. Sun Microsystems. Hewlett Packard. Apple Computer. Cisco. Excite. Yahoo. Google and many others owe their starts to Stanford University which got its funding from a railroad monopoly.
By the way, if you get a chance to visit Silicon Valley, definitely do take a walk around Stanford University. It is one of the most beautiful college campuses I've ever been to. The Canter museum is a great treat and it's free. Oh, and make sure you check out the Golden Spike that's in the museum. It is a great reminder of where the gold came from that built Silicon Valley. [The Scobleizer Weblog]
11:27:00 PM 
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Gregg Thomason: "Scoble Needs a Clue #462"
Dude, why do you assume that everything I say here accurately represents what Microsoft "understands about Linux?" I'm only 1/55,000th of Microsoft and my blog only represents myself. I have ABSOLUTELY NO prior restraint on my weblog. In other words, no one else at Microsoft participates in the production of my weblog. This weblog is my words, and mine alone. They may, or, may not, agree with anyone else's beliefs or understandings, either within or without Microsoft.
I am NOT a Microsoft executive. Any attempt to speak on behalf of Microsoft is just trying to give you my opinions of what is going on inside Microsoft. I make no warranties as to the quality of my opinions or posts herein.
He says that Linus speaks often on mailing lists. That's great, but it's not on a weblog that holds his name.
[The Scobleizer Weblog]
You tell em Scoble! Captain Poopdeck
11:22:03 PM
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"The thrifty billionaire." [The Scobleizer Weblog]
.....Even with its billions upon billions in cash, Microsoft is as frugal as Ebeneezer Scrooge. It's a company that buys canned weenies for food, not shrimp. Until last year, even Bill Gates and his second-in-command Steve Ballmer flew coach. (For scheduling reasons, the company purchased its first corporate jet.) Bucking the trend of most large, wealthy corporations, Microsoft remains in start-up mode where tight budgets are the rule. When you sit back and think about it, this frugality is less surprising and even explains how a company can come to accumulate such great hoards of cash.
Oh how I wish I could be this thrifty, and have this much money to be thrifty with! Captain Poopdeck
11:13:30 PM
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The Religion of Terrorists [America's Voices]
.....after 9-11, I kept hearing President Bush say 'Islam is a religion of peace'. I would love to have taken that at face value, but the facts of what was going on in Israel with Arabs constantly attacking the Jews, not to mention a strong history of terrorism around the world over the last 40 years, I couldn't. I started to do some homework on this 'religion of peace'. What I found out was that peace has nothing to do with Islam. In fact, it's founder, Mohamed, couldn't win converts to his new religion in large numbers through his arguments so he turned to violence. From the beginning, Islam has been spread primarily via war and forced conversions. Hardly sounds like a religion of peace to me.
11:00:25 PM
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It's Still a Tail [America's Voices]
President Lincoln once got into an argument with a man who insisted that if they re-framed the issue by calling it another name, there would be no disagreement. The exasperated President is said to have replied, "Look here. If you call a dog's tail a leg, how many legs would it have?" "Why, five", said the man. "Wrong", said President Lincoln. "Four. You can call it a leg, but it's still a tail."
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Leaving aside the fact that these judges invented a right, thus usurping the prerogatives of the Legislature, the fact remains that there simply cannot be a right for a person to be something he cannot be. I have no right to be Elizabeth Hurley's husband, however much she may wish it, any more than I have a right to be seven feet tall and all muscle. I have been denied the right to savor the rich experience of being a black person; let's see the court change that.
What the judges said by their act was that they are not satisfied with reality, so they want us to call it something else. But however loving, faithful, and committed a homosexual couple may be, they will never be a married couple, even if you dress them up and give them rings and a marriage certificate. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts may at some point order us not to call them idiots, but President Lincoln could have told them: you can call a fool 'Your Honor', but he's still a fool.
10:54:40 PM
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Quote of the Day
"When in doubt, tell the truth." Mark Twain
10:48:05 PM
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Bush the Statesman
The PhDs and pundits just don't get it.
Last week, newspaper columns made fun of Bush's trivial gaffes while exchanging toasts with the queen. What the smug commentators missed is that the average American didn't see a fool, but himself or herself. We don't know just when to pick up the glass at a royal banquet. And we're suspicious of those who do.
When those Americans educated beyond all common sense snicker over Bush's grammatical blunders, their sarcasm makes Americans rally round the president. We don't speak perfectly, either. And we don't like it when stuck-up do-nothings laugh at us.
When Bush declares that some things are worth fighting for, intellectuals dismiss him as a vulgar jingoist. But some things are worth fighting for, and the American people know it in their guts. Off campus, patriotism isn't a dirty word.
The left has made a suicide pact with reality. But the rest of us aren't signing on.
10:23:16 PM
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"If Guns Are Outlawed.... ...can we use swords?" Yep, as this little old lady proved.
An 80-year-old woman used a ceremonial sword to fight off two six-foot raiders who burst into her home. Angina sufferer Jean Freke grabbed the sword from the wall in her drawing-room after she was pushed to the ground. The widow wrestled with one of the... [Kim du Toit]
2:34:23 PM
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Think about it! Thanks Bob
Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths who explained their belief systems. I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say.
The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam complete with a video. After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.
When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: "Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world. And, that by killing an infidel, which is a command to all Muslims, they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?"
There was no disagreement with my statements and without hesitation he replied, "Non-believers!"
I responded, "So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can go to heaven. Is that correct? This would include Christians, Jews and other non Islam faiths?"
The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He sheepishly replied, "Yes."
I then stated, "Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul II commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith, or Pat Robertson or Dr. Stanley ordering Protestants to do the same in order to go to heaven!"
The Imam was speechless.
I continued, "I also have a problem with being your friend when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me. Let me ask you a question...would you rather have your Allah who tells you to kill me in order to go to heaven or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be with me?"
You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame.
Chuck Colson once told me something that has sustained me in these 20 years of prison ministry. He said to me, "Rick, remember that the truth will prevail." And it will !
Rick Mathes is the Executive Director of "Mission Gate Prison Ministry."
1:52:22 PM
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While growing up I always felt like I was surrounded by lots of Turkeys. I was right! Captain Poopdeck
11:07:13 AM
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Required Reading - Thanksgiving.
IN TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL, Karl Zinsmeister tells why he is thankful. (Hat tip: Glenn) With Thanksgiving here, and the... [Citizen Smash - The Indepundit]
By the way ... if you are not a registered e-mail subscriber to the WSJ you should be. Captain Poopdeck
10:49:20 AM
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Diebold rolls on back, pisses self, begs for mercy.
Diebold has withdrawn its lawsuit threats against the sites that republished the leaked memos demonstrating its gross malfeasance in its voting machine business. Having had these memos exposed by whistle-blowers, Diebold sought to use copyright law to censor websites that published them. Then EFF took up the cause of one of the site-operators, the Online Policy Group, and now Diebold is slinking away with its tail between its legs, off to plot the downfall of democracy in some rancid warren of its own devising. Don't let the courtroom door hit yer ass on the way out. Link [Boing Boing Blog]
9:52:04 AM
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Thanksgiving With The Troops. [Kim du Toit]
Awwwww Isn't that sweet? Lets go try to convince the troops that we libs really like them. Think we can get them to put all those nasty gun thingys away for a day. Think about it Hillary. Do you really want to be in the presence of thousands of troops (with guns) who hate your stinking guts? Captain Poopdeck
9:20:25 AM
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Donkeys in HELL! Film at 11!. [suburban blight]
Now I'm finding this much less silly. Um, who whips the donkeys? American soldiers? No. If you're looking for the guys that make the poor donkeys's lives such a living hell in the first place, look at the donkey carter. Also, like the donkeys care if they're stopped and searched! Like the sight of these ominous "automatic rifles" scares the shit out of them. They're fucking donkeys, for crying out loud! They don't care! They don't even know what a rifle is. And they're going to be hauling something, so what's the big deal about them standing there getting checked? This is supposed to connote some type of animal cruelty or something? I don't see it; seems like standing in a shady checkpoint queue would be easier than hauling donkey ass across town any day.
This is so sick and funny at the same time. Is the media so hard up for news? Captain Poopdeck
12:36:31 AM
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© Copyright 2003 Lopsided Poopdeck.
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