Memoirs of a Yooper

30 Days of Deprivation

2008-08-09T13:22:00.003-04:00

Beginning August 1st I will try something new. I will deprive myself of something I enjoy for one month. Each month will be something new. I will obviously start small and hopefully work my way up from there. There are a couple reasons for this:

1. To better discipline myself

2. A lame attempt to honor those that are deprived by reasons other than choice

3. To see if I can even do it

My first 30 days of deprivation will be soda. No, not alcohol! That would be more of a culmination of this project!

My letter to Bart Stupack

2008-06-22T19:43:00.001-04:00

I wrote Congressman Stupak this letter after finding out he sold out his constituents to Bush:

Congressman Stupak,

I was extremely disappointed today when I learn that you voted Yes on H.R. 6304 which will give amnesty to telecoms that spied on American citizens and broke federal wiretapping laws.

This bill is a severe blow to civil liberties in this country and I WILL NOT support any member of Congress that votes in favor of limiting them. Please enlighten me as to your reasoning for supporting this awful bill.

Where has the "strength" of the democratic party in congress been? I have not seen it.

I served six years in the military during Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom and as human being with a conscience, I fundamentally disagree with the abuse of power the Bush administration has used against the American people.

Very Respectfully,
Adam Dempsey

What do April Blizzards Bring???

2008-04-13T12:40:00.000-04:00

Dugg: This is how police SHOULD react to protesters

2008-04-09T08:58:00.001-04:00

A video of an LAPD officer explaining things to an Anon protest group. This is how protests SHOULD be treated.

read more | digg story

Dugg: Obama Didn't Want My Money

2008-04-08T21:59:00.001-04:00

An amazing story!The Obama campaign returned a $100.00 donation check to a donor with a letter explaining why. The letter left the individual even more committed to Obama.

read more | digg story

Absolut Idiots!

2008-04-08T16:42:00.001-04:00

These people that are upset and boycotting Absolut Vodka over the ad they ran in Mexico are complete idiots!:

Learn your history before you open your mouth! America stole all of its land one way or another from the indigenous people of North America. Just because we beat the shit out of them with superior weapons doesn't give us the right to take their land. If you think it does, think about me coming over your house over with a NERF bat for you and a aluminum bat for me. WHEN you lose I guess I get your house, property, possessions, and will kick your family out. That would be fair right?

Free Magenta!!!

2008-04-02T08:12:00.001-04:00

Free Magenta!

So neighbors steal your wi-fi, kill the link or... have fun!

2008-04-02T07:45:00.001-04:00

So you find out that everyone in on your block is using your network without your permission. Do you lock it down or...? Or maybe you want to have a little fun. A little creativity with squid and you could turn your everything they browse upside down (literally)

read more | digg story

Ahhhhh! The good ole' 80's

2008-03-31T14:02:00.001-04:00

CBS Video Streaming sucks!!

2008-01-21T19:33:00.001-05:00

Every time I get halfway through an episode of Jericho their shit player stops working. It's no wonder people would rather download than stream. Oh yeah, and of all the networks CBS's video quality sucks the worst also.

Payphones and privacy

2008-01-16T14:07:00.000-05:00

I am sure everybody has noticed the dwindling number of payphones around the country. I think part of Apple and AT&T's deal for iPhone exclusivity was that for every couple hundred iPhones sold AT&T would remove a payphone thereby requiring even the most stubborn cellphone holdouts to cave in and get one.

Seriously though, my problem is this:

If I needed to make an anonymous phone call to the "authorities" I would NEVER use my cell phone and with the lack of payphones nowadays I would probably just forgo making the call altogether. Having to weigh whether something is important enough to report that it costs me my own privacy and anonymity is a problem that doesn't seem to have a positive solution.

Cheney! Ha!!!! See you told yourself so!!

2007-08-13T19:24:00.000-04:00

found here at liveleak.com.

Letter to Senators Levin and Stabenow

2007-06-28T10:19:00.001-04:00

I wrote this FAX to my senators the day before the Senate voted on an amendment to remove a national ID system from the immigration bill.

Senators Levin and Stabenow,

As a your constituent I implore and urge you to support the Baucus-Tester and Grassley-Baucus amendments to the immigration bill. The REAL ID would be one of the biggest steps away from freedom that this country has ever see. Requiring a citizen to carry and present identification within their own country is reminiscent of Nazi Germany and Communist China. I served my country honorably during Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom to help make this country a safer place to live. A national ID system would only make steps toward fascism and fear. For the sakes of our children and our children's children do not let liberty and freedom become a part of history. Thank you.

Very Respectfully,
Adam Dempsey

Poison War??

2007-06-28T09:37:00.001-04:00

Has Bush secretly engaged our country in a poison war with China? It seems everyday I read about the US discovering poisonous products from toothpaste to toy trains. China is also constantly stopping US products from entering their country as well. In this covert war Walmart must be the special forces used to deploy the poisonous products. Actually they'd be more like hired mercenaries because I'm sure Walmart would poison the Waltons for enough money.

clipped from www.birdhouse.org

Planet Unicorn Heeeyyyy!

2007-06-21T11:04:00.000-04:00

This is hilarious!!!

My First Marathon

2007-06-19T07:28:00.000-04:00

Well I did it! I finished Grandma's Marathon! I ran it in just under 4 hours. I should have been able to run it faster but I was worried about bonking. It was AWESOME!!!! I ran with Bill Gribbel and Jones for most of the race. We finished within a few minutes of each other. The fourth guy (second from right) is Jones' Guard buddy Ross. I am really sore now but it was so worth it. I definitely think I will do more of them.

Holy Free Money Batman!

2007-05-23T17:06:00.001-04:00

I won a scholarship for $500!! Who would've thought this prior C student in high school would be rockin' a 3.5 in university and getting scholarships. Not me. I also got my studetn teaching teaching placement and its exactly where I was hoping for.

The Evils of Starbucks

2007-05-21T08:26:00.001-04:00

Here is an excellent article on how poorly Starbucks treats its employees. Starbucks and Walmart are horrible for workers rights. Link

Workers revolt! or at least unionize.

MPAA pwnd by DIGG and the users of the free internet

2007-05-02T09:30:00.001-04:00

This weeks Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring secret code is:

09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0

Countdown to life without Bush

2007-04-27T09:42:00.001-04:00

This is my new favorite key chain gadget! It counts down the days to when the dolt GW is ousted by our constitution. Unless of course he becomes the true dictator he aspires to be. I can't believe the military brainwashed me enough to actually vote for this douche bag.

clipped from gizmodo.com

Best of two worlds

2007-04-23T09:31:00.001-04:00

The best that the U.S. and Russia have to offer come together in Africa. Isn't life grand?

clipped from www.boingboing.net

Do NOT Buy Monster Cables!

2007-04-19T13:59:00.001-04:00

This is the biggest scam in the home theater world. For instance Monster is selling Nintendo Wii component cables for $60 which is double what Nintendo charges for the official cables and up to six times what you can expect to pay for third party cables. Mind you the Wii only displays 480p. There is no possible way that there is a $50 difference in the quality of video between my $10 cables and Monster's $60 ones. I doubt most people could even tell the difference between the two.

Lets all buy only EMI's tunes

2007-04-02T10:33:00.001-04:00

clipped from www.engadget.com

EMI will now be available on iTunes DRM free! This is the first hammer coming down on the Belrin wall or DRM. Steve got the ball rolling but a major record company actually following through is amazing.

Go NPR!!!

2007-03-21T20:28:00.001-04:00

NPR is fighting the RIAA's attempts to raise royalties through an internet rate increase.

Would you like a police state with that?

2007-03-01T10:41:00.001-05:00

Police in this country are out of control! People should not be afraid of police. There was a time when police were supposed to protect and serve the people, not themselves or the government.

clipped from www.boingboing.net

Take a picture in Miami, go to jail

Miller said that in the next instant, he was surrounded by the officers. One attempted to trip kick him to fall to the ground, but he was concerned about his expensive camera equipment, so he tried not to fall on his face. He heard one officer say “He’s resisting arrest!”

Miller tried to explain he wasn’t, but he’d lost his negotiating leverage a few minutes back. He went down hard on one knee. The officers planted (Miller said slammed) his face into the concrete and twisted his wrists and arms behind him to the point of pain.
“They were treating me like I was uncontrollable, a meth addict or something,” he said. “I tried to explain, but one of them said, ‘If you don’t shut up, I’m going to tase you.’”
Miller, at last, shut up.

What does nationality matter?

2007-02-27T11:36:00.001-05:00

Since when does the nationality of a college students matter even if he is depressed ands threatens that he has a bomb??? This is how the media continually feeds the flames of racism and bigotry.

clipped from www.cnn.com

Police: Depressed student said he had bomb, anthrax

ROLLA, Missouri (AP) -- Nearly two dozen people were being decontaminated Tuesday after a white, powdery substance was found on a student who claimed to have a bomb and threatened "terrorist-type" actions at the University of Missouri-Rolla, officials said.

The man, described as a graduate student depressed about his grades, also claimed to have anthrax, according to police. School officials said "possible bomb materials" were found when he was taken into custody.

The man's identity and nationality were not released, though school spokesman Lance Feyh said he was an international student.

Quote of the day

2007-02-15T08:27:00.001-05:00

"Stop buying products that serve any other master than you." Joel Johnson

This was in reference to an article he wrote for Gizmodo (link) about how what a joke consumer electronics are. The is a perfect description of DRM riddled products such as Microsoft's Plays for Sure, and Apple's Fairplay (which Steve Jobs want to gets rid of but Hollywood has a ~~gun~~ bazooka held to his head). If I legally purchase an album or a movie of of the intertubes I should be able to do whatever the hell I want with it. But no, the music industry and Hollywood stooges get to tell what I'm allowed to do with MY property. I purchased the product, not rented it. Anyway, as that went way off topic, read the article I linked to earlier.

Scary Stuff! aka Bush is trying to get into your pants

2007-02-14T17:58:00.001-05:00

I saw this blog today on Gizmodo (the best tech blog on the planet). It says that Hitachi has developed RFID chips that that call "powder" because they are so damn small! This makes the future of any type of personal privacy seem bleak! Remember: Nobody has more motivation to lie than your government. That's my favorite quote that I invented.

Eben Ice Caves

2007-02-12T17:43:00.000-05:00

Me, Mel, Sven, Missie, and Dewitt went to the ice caves in Eben this weekend. It was a great day for it! It was all of our first time going except for Sven. The walk was pretty easy. We brought snowshoes but didn't need them as the trail was packed down and more like a road. I brought my new Garmin Forerunner 305 sans heart rate monitor. It worked great and didn't lose reception once even being in my jacket pocket for the most part. I hope me and Mel get out and do some more fun stuff outside this winter. I'm looking forward to the Porkies in a couple weeks.

RIAA tries (pitifully) to spin Steve Jobs' blast at DRM

2007-02-07T18:19:00.001-05:00

It seems that the RIAA can not read very well. Maybe they should either turn down their corrupted music or get lawyers that read more than just Latin legal jargon. Steve Jobs unequivocally announced yesterday that he wants to see the END of DRM. Not a swtich to everybody relying on the same corrupted music format; the END! The RIAA ASSumed that he meant that everybody should switch to Fairplay which the RIAA would welcome with open arms. If Apple got together with all the tech companies out their couldn't they just crush the RIAA.

In related news, I've heard rumors that a bunch of idie artists and labels are going to join forces to take on the RIAA. Back in the 20's there was a broadcast radio monopoly which required smaller companies joining together to end the monopoly. I really hope this works because many indie artists want their music shared freely without being laden with DRM.

CFL's: Taking Too Many People to Change a Lightbulb

2007-01-04T10:20:00.000-05:00

I don't understand why it is taking so long for people to switch over to Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs in their homes. I know it took me long enough, mostly because I'm lazy. Now that I have made the switch I am not only excited to see the energy savings but I actually feel better about myself a a person. Switching to CFLs is THE easiest way for the average American to make a difference in our energy consumption. Here really why I don't understand why people are not swarming to the stores to buy CFL's: THEY SAVE YOU MONEY!!!!!!!!! I read somewhere that Adobe spent $11,000 outfitting their headquarters with CFL's and they calculated a savings of $100,000 per year!!!! I think the problem is that Americans are obsessed with instant gratification. They want their savings RIGHT NOW! We don't want to spend an extra $3 on a light bulb unless it saves us at least $3 immediately. I think we need more aggressive marketing to 'edumacate' people on the NUMEROUS benefits to switching over "from the dark side."

UPDATE: I just realized that the picture comparing CFL's and incandescents is quite outdated CFL's cost much less nowadays (I paid $7 for a three pack of GE CFL's in Dec. of 2006). I'll look for a new one and post it when found.

Great Deal?? Not if Home Depot has their way!!!! ONE MONTH FOR SHIPPING IS RIDICULOUS!!! = NO PRESENT FOR TIMMY!!!

2006-12-12T12:59:00.001-05:00

I ordered what I think is a steal of a deal from Home Depot! When did this occur? you might ask. Well on cyber Monday, Nov. 27th, of course. By the time I found out about the great deals most of them were gone. I did find a $50 Ryobi Laser Level Kit (see picture) for $10 though so I snagged me three of them. One for me and two for gifts. Well today, Dec. 12th, I checked the status on the order for the umpteenth time and it still stated "processing." Finally, with much hesitation I called Home Depot's customer service number I got with the conformation email. After an excruciating ten minutes of horrible Christmas Hold Music, I talked to a very nice woman that played extremely stupid with me, saying she couldn't do anything for me except send the warehouse an email asking 'what's up' and that would take 72 hours. When I told her I ordered the product on the 27th of November and I needed my package by Christmas she said there was nothing she could do. She refused to expedite the shipping, or the "contacting" of the warehouse. So after 72 hours (which in online shopping equals next Monday) and then 5 - 7 Business Days "after your item leaves the warehouse" I will receive my order. This will most likely be after Christmas and will give my order a total order to delivery time of ONE FULL MONTH!!!!!!!!! Deal or no deal this has been another horrible experience and has once again affirmed my hatred for Big Box stores.

UPDATE: 1/4/07: Just found out from Seth Godin's Blog that Bob Nardelli, Home Depot's CEO, got fired. HA! Here's the kicker, according to Seth Mr. Nardelli got $210,000,000.00 in severance. Yes, count those zero's!!

Amazon Officially Sucks

2006-12-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

Amazon has invented this awful system to get their amazing deals for the holidays. First you have to be registered and logged in to your account. Next you have to vote on the deal you want. In my case I wanted the 30GB Microsoft Zune that retailed for $260 but amazon was selling 1000 of them for $90! Great deal right??? Well hold you horses. Next Amazon has to "randomly" select you to be eligible to buy one. I did not win and now I, along with I assume tens of thousands of amazon users will hold a grudge against them and possibly never shop with them again!!! Does losing make ANYBODY want to shop at amazon *more*??
Yes, I am a sore loser and amazon should realize that most people are sore losers and they are creating thousands of them each week. What kind of idiot came up with that kind of marketing strategy!

Visa checkcards and tracking

2006-10-31T09:18:00.000-05:00

I was just thinking yesterday morning about what our world would be like if there were no longer any Greenbacks. This would definitely make GW a happy man. The government would be able to track our day from our first cup of joe at Starbucks to our late night iTunes purchase. Mind you I'm currently reading 1984. Well last night during Heroes I saw a Visa commercial about a made-up fast food restaurant where everyone was going throuh the routine with utmost efficient. They were all using their Visa cards and dancing to choreographed music while. Suddenly a guy pulls some cash out of his wallet and the whole production screeched to a halt. Trays fall, people collide; it became chaotic all because a guy paid for his meal with cash. I am definitely addicted to my VISA check card and it scares the hell out of me knowing that Big Brother knows my every move.

NPR : Wide-Open Spaces and Large-Scale Sounds

2006-10-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

NPR : Wide-Open Spaces and Large-Scale Sounds

Nice sound! From NPR's Song of the Day

I love my Google reader!

2006-10-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

I was never really into RSS feeds. I figured I would just go to the websites I wanted to read, right? Wrong! I started out by trying NewsGator but didn't find it to appealing so I decided to give Google Reader a try. Surprise Surprise Surprise! It is. Another wonderful web 2.0 application from Google. Everything I want from the Internet now comes to me! From videos and news to education and technology. It uses tagging, folders and stars just like Gmail.

I WIN!!!!!!!

2006-10-14T11:29:00.000-04:00

I was the Blog of the Day at blogoftheday.org on August 23rd. Pretty sweet! I'm practically famous now.

My Cyborg Name Decoder name

2006-09-08T19:21:00.000-04:00

TJ's wedding weekend

2006-08-31T11:23:00.000-04:00

A late entry but the weekend as a whole during TJ's bachelor party was a lot of fun. I wanted to upload of picture of me and Mel outside our SWEET cabin but Picasa Web Albums site is down right now so I can't upload any pics. I saw a lot of old faces of which most I was glad to see and catch up to. There were of course, the obligatory people who haven't changed since high school and probably never will. I took al ot of pictures so feel free to browse them at my Web Albums link on the right side of the page (as soon as can upload them of course).

Back to school

2006-08-31T11:18:00.000-04:00

Well, classes started up again on Monday. I think I'm going to like all of them but it looks like I'll be observing a lot of hours at the high school. That plus I have to go to three state or local government meetings for my final poly sci class. All this on top of woirking until November 1st. My school schedule is great with lots of time for lunch and studying.

2006-08-25T21:15:00.000-04:00

Sailing

Jul 18, 2006 - 7 Photos

Picasa Web Albums: another Web 2.0 wonder!!!

2006-08-23T12:52:00.000-04:00

Google has done it again!! Now, in conjunction with Picasa, I can upload all my pictures to the internet way easier than using Flickr. The downside is only being able to store 250MB for free but $25/year for 6GB doesn't sound to shabby. This is awesome because it makes it so easy to upload. just select the pics I want to upload in Picasa and click the Web Album link. I can have a Web Album link in Gmail to attach pictures easily. It is still only in the testing phase and may not be available to everone. Right now I'm resizing down to 1600 pixals in order to conserve space but if I pay the $25 I'll upload the largest size available. Now all my friends can download my whichever pics they want instead of me having to email them. There is also an html generator to embed albums into blogs or myspace. See my links on the sidebar to get to my albums or click here

Insurance companies = immoral greedy thieves

2006-08-16T11:49:00.000-04:00

Why do these insurance companies look for any reason to not pay a claim??? Many of those poor people (both literally and figuratively) in Louisiana and Mississippi lost everything last year and many will not receive any compensation from the insurance company's they've paid premiums to for years. I figure that I have paid an average of $500 every six months for the past ten years for auto insurance . That equals TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! What a f-ing ripoff! Wind damage vs. Storm surge? What a bunch of bullshit! Storm surge does not blow the roof off of a persons house! I feel sorry for the souls of the people that steal from hard working people that want security for their lives, families, and property.

Saw Ricky Bobby

2006-08-13T15:21:00.000-04:00

Mel and I went and saw Tallegeda Nights last night and it was pretty funny. The French guy who's played by the comedian that does Ali G is probably the funniest part of the movie. There were a few random parts that didn't make sense like the team owner talking with the sponsors guys but over all the movie was really funny. It was a little hard to make out some of the punchlines over the engine noise but I guess that'll make people watch it again. We almost went to "An Inconvenient Truth" but I figure it'll be out on DVD soon and will be just as good on the small screen. I'm really itching to get out sailing again soon with dad in Esky or here with DOug or Duby or anybody.

Ahhhhh! No classes for 2 weeks

2006-08-10T11:31:00.000-04:00

Finally I get a break from brainwork! I just finished my last exam for the History of Mexico and while I enjoyed the class I am glad to be done for a couple weeks. Sailing Tuesday with pops was awesome. We tried to calibrate the new autohelm's compass but I think it was to windy (we couldn't get a steady rate of turn). We sailed for 14 miles around the harbor. I wish I could get down there more often but working at the marina is increasingly taking up more and more of my time. I am quite sick and tired of not having any free time to hang out with Mel. Next summer I doubt I will return which is a shame because I love it down there. Mel said Tom Petty was amazing in Detroit; as was Stevie Nicks who was a special guest for him.

Mel's Birthday

2006-08-08T07:25:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday honey! Today Mel is going down to Detroit to see Tom Petty with Karnack, Dave, and Missie. Stevie Nicks will be making a special guest appearance and Mel is understandably ecstatic. I am going to cruise down to Esky after class and hopefuly go for a sail with pops. There is supposed to be a nice 10mph south wind in the afternoon. This is a picture from my first sail on the "Blue Herron."