«Don't Talk to Police»

If you ever have an encounter with the police, and you're a US citizen, you need to know this. It could seriously save your way of life.

Dont Talk to Police


I wounder, are you even required to tell them your name if they ask? Anything you say can and will be used against you. It can never be used in your favor. At time index 27:17 the police officer has his say in the matter.

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«Cigar Insurance»

Here's a story I've had saved on my hard drive for a long time...

A North Carolina man, having bought several expensive cigars, insured them against... get this... fire. After he had smoked them, he then decided that he had a claim against the insurance company and filed. The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason that the man had consumed the cigar normally. The man sued. The judge stated that since the company had insured the cigars against fire, they were obligated to pay. After the man accepted payment for his claim, the company then had him arrested for arson.

Only thing I can say is: Pwned.

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«There Goes My Cop-out»

Let me first say that I disagree with and condemn the Selective Service System. I only registered when I turned 18 because I was extorted by the government; by law I had to. I thought there was a law that says anything signed while under coercion or intimidation is not lawful. I guess the government is exempt when they're the ones doing the coercion.

Anyway, I was forced to register for the Selective Service. However, if it came down to it and they reinstated the draft, I'll do whatever I can to get out of it.

I can't really claim it's against my religion, since I don't have one. Even the draft wouldn't make me fake believing in a religion. However, I would consider claiming I'm homosexual (or at least bisexual) due to the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

Thanks to Obama's recent vow, that may no longer be an option. Obama promised to end the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

Ok, that's a good thing. It's another step towards equal rights and diminishing the blatant discrimination against sexual orientations other than heterosexuality. Good for Obama (if he follows through).

I'll just have to find some other way to dodge the draft if it is reinstated. Maybe I could at least get a non-combat listing due to my bad left eye and thus bad depth-perception. Problem is, I hate the military mentality. I'm afraid I wouldn't blindly follow orders without understanding them or seeing a point for it. Maybe I'll just skip the country or go to a federal prison instead...

Let's just hope it doesn't come to that.

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«Suppressing Protests»

This video was put up 2 days ago. Scientology is trying a new method to stop protesters.

Scientology: Casting Stones

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«YouTube Bike Thief»

So just how easy is it to steal a bicycle, even if it is locked?

bike thief


That's right. They stole their own bike, some methods were quite bold. The police, however, drive right past the thief and head for the camera man instead. The only concerned citizen helped, rather than reported it.

Granted, unless someone was specifically out to steal a bike they wouldn't be carrying those tools. And a lock is still better than nothing at all.

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«The Problem with Bicyclists and Red Lights»

In all 50 states in the US, bicycles are legal road traffic. In the same respect, bicyclists by law have to follow the rules of the road. It's illegal in most states to ride a bicycle on a sidewalk, including Alaska (in a business district, anyway). This is a law that is not very well enforced or known about, as I see plenty of bicyclists on the sidewalks. Really, I don't know how they do it with all the trees and power poles in the way; there's places that you can't even walk on the sidewalk around here. Well I for one ride on the roads.

Anyway the point being, bicyclists should ride on the roads and are bound by the same laws cars are. The problem with that is the traffic lights do not detect bicycles. It's a bit unfair; we have to follow the rules of the road, but at the same time the road doesn't acknowledge us. There's a coil of wire embedded in the pavement that acts like a metal detector. A bicycle doesn't have enough metal to be detected, so the traffic light never changes for us. I can see this being a bigger issue in the future when car bodies are made of a nonmetallic composite, and engines are made of ceramic (and there will be cars like that someday).

Many times I've had to sit at a red light and wait for a car to come up behind me before the damn light will change. That can take a while at night. Sometimes I end up taking a right and turn around somewhere down the road. The pedestrian push-button is usually not within reach, but that works in the few intersections that it is. Sometimes I wish a bunch of bicyclists would sit over the sensors at a red light and just let the cars back up behind them. Maybe that would get the point across...

I grew up 14 miles North of town, so I didn't have any traffic lights or busy intersections to deal with. I'm getting a little more use to city riding, but I still have trouble with left turns. I'll sit there on the right shoulder waiting for a break in traffic in both lanes. I usually end up having to pass my turn and continue on to an intersection with a street light, turn onto a side road, turn around and go back to the light, and go back the way I came on the main road so I'm in the correct lane to make a right turn to my original destination. It's a real pain and sometimes can take me nearly a mile out of my way. I think I need to start getting more aggressive and pull into the center of the lane when I'm about to do a left turn, stopping traffic if necessary. I'm legal road traffic, after all. That's what hand signals are for.

Do any of you ride a bicycle in town or city traffic? If so, how do you deal with it?

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«End of Jury Duty»

Here's how my jury duty went yesterday. It's actually a fairly major trial; expected to go 4 days, 6 felony counts, they brought a judge down from Juneau...

I got there a few minutes before they opened the jury chambers. There were already several people waiting. Once they opened the door, I was the second one to enter the room and sign in. I was handed a form to fill out, asking general information and if I knew any of the involved parties. I knew one of the witnesses, although not well. I went to school with him, but haven't spoken in years.

We watched a video about the role of a jury in the justice system. The video was made in the 70's, someone next to me sarcastically commented "at least they're up to date". The video was a bit exaggerated. They even admitted that in the video itself, saying something along the lines of "the reenactments in the video are extremes so as to make it more clear".

Anyway, after that we all shuffled into the courtroom. The judge asked a few general questions, such as are we all US citizens and Alaska residents. She pointed out we all should be, as the jurors are selected from Alaska permanent fund dividend applicants. (It's illegal for someone that's not an Alaska resident to apply for the permanent fund dividend.) She also asked if there was anyone mentally ill among us. That got a few laughs from people.

I was the first one called to the jury box. I didn't have many questions asked of me from either the prosecutor or the defense attorney. There were a few people that were dismissed because they couldn't be impartial or had emotional issues with the subject matter of the trial. When it came time for the actual selections, I was the very first one to get booted. The prosecutor didn't like me.

So that's the end of my jury duty for the month. I was out just before noon. I wish I would have made the trial, but then I couldn't have said much about it today. At least I got the experience I did.

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«Fuel Prices»

So, how are fuel prices in your area? What about diesel? This is what they're like here in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Yup, that's $3.919 for regular unleaded gas and $4.889 for diesel.

At this point, I'm curious what they'll do with the sign when it reaches $10.009. It seems most of the signs and pumps were not designed for the extra digit. Maybe they'll do away with that 9 on the end. I've always thought that added 9/10 of a cent was so ridiculous. It should be rounded to the nearest cent, don't you think?

I'll have to call in tonight "for further instructions", but if nothing has changed, Wednesday will be my first day of jury duty. My group number was called. Despite the common loathing associated with jury duty, I'm looking forward to it. This will be my first time.

Too bad that if I get on a trial I can't say anything about it until the trial is over.

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«News Topics»

Just a quick rundown of a few news topics that caught my attention today.

'Indiana Jones' tops box office on long holiday weekend
This is one movie I wouldn't mind seeing, even though I've read more poor reviews about it than good.
Aliens? In my Indiana Jones? It may be more likely than you think...

Noise Pollution
A complaint about a new firing range being built in town. This is the first I've heard of it. Oh, and the one they talk about as being "way out north" is also surrounded by neighborhoods, and in my opinion, is not that far out North of town.

Viacom and Google Should Share the Load
Yet another copyright lawsuit against Google... Need I say I hate copyrights? There's no feasible way Google could filter all the content uploaded by users, and they shouldn't have to.

Phoenix lander's work on Mars is delayed by a radio glitch
At least it landed safely, and everything seems to be in working order now. I hope this robot is like the others and far exceeds its expected lifespan.

TWO CENTS: Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry in California?
My answer is simply, yes. And not just in California, but every state.

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«Response to Looney on Gay Marriage»

This post is a response to Looney's opinions on California's ruling on gay marriage. It is suggested you go read his post first.

I fully support gay marriage. Just because there's been no precedent in civilization doesn't mean it's wrong. With that sort of attitude, civilization would never advance.

And how exactly does this ruling "trash the Constitution"? All I see it trashing is the Leviticus book of the Bible. And by our First Amendment, church and state are separate.

Besides, wasn't the Old Testament kinda trashed by the New Testament? Churches seem to ignore parts of the Old Testament that don't suit them (claiming the New Testament trumps it), while upholding other parts of the Old Testament that does suit them. (Wouldn't it be nice if we could just pick and choose what laws we wanted to follow, and disregard the rest?)

Anyway, back on topic... I'm sure I could find many different sources other than Ephesians 5:24-25 that define marriage. Just because you choose to use the biblical definition doesn't mean everyone should.

By your definition, Poor ol' Drek and his wife aren't really married, and can't be. Please, don't take this as calling Drek's wife a man; but rather that their marriage was not a symbol of Christ. And I'm sure Drek would have a word or two about asserting the validity of his marriage.

Besides, from what I read into Ephesians 5:24-25, it's using Christ's love as an example or analogy... Not directly saying marriage is a symbol of Christ.

It all comes down to the simple fact that gays are people, too. There are certain legal rights given to married couples, and gay couples should have those same rights.

Perhaps you can tell I have a strong opinion on the subject of gay rights?

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