* Posts by Jason Haas

15 publicly visible posts • joined 17 Sep 2007

Real ID law to receive makeover under Obama

Jason Haas
Flame

Another winning law from Jim Sensenbrenner

Oh, F-Jim makes me sad some people in Wisconsin elect guys like him to Congress. Sensenbrenner has been there for decades, and rarely veered from his right-wing stance on most anything, except maybe to go further to the right, as with the Real ID act he introduced. it got shot down time and time again until it was finally attached to an Iraq War spending bill -- and who'd vote against the troops? It's a lesser known legacy of the Bush regime that deserves to get thrown on the heap.

Obama's rainbow stealth aircraft uncloaks over Virginia

Jason Haas
Jobs Horns

No commentary about Bono at the pre-inaugural party?

The first thing I did after watching the pre-inaugural party on Sunday or Monday (whenever it was) was to come here to El Reg in search of biting commentary about the presence of not just Bono, but the whole band at the party in front of the Lincoln Memorial. And what do I see? Nada. Nada! Effing nothing! I count on you people for this! Bah.

US Senate wants answers on soaring text rates

Jason Haas
Boffin

Sen. Kohl is one monie fellow

Yeah, along with Russ Feingold, ol' Herbie is my U.S. Senator. He's got money up the wazoo, so I don't think he'd be too concerned about getting more of it. He can just let the interest buy a new yacht..... but having that much does warp your being, or so I've heard.

Jason Haas
Boffin

The question of why it's so expensive has occurred to me

20c a pop to send a few bytes of text, even across the wirelessesses, makes little sense. They're making mad profits off of this, especially given how easy and thoughtless it is for people to send text messages. They don't think about it, at least not until they send hundreds of them and get the bill... this definitely deserves looking into.

Google maps Russian assault on Savannah

Jason Haas
Flame

To think...

Sherman spared Savannah on his fiery march through the South.

A tiny part of me wishes Putin would finish it off once and for all. Preferably without civilians getting killed as is happening in Ossetia... that really is not good.

Microsoft pledges love and money to open source

Jason Haas
Joke

First comment has my thought

Robert Moore said it first: was today April 1st? It's not, right?......

even El Reg's graphics want it to be 1 April!

Apple under the gun to master the iPhone's 'second album'

Jason Haas
Jobs Horns

Andy! You're on The Reg now!

Not quite MacUser, is it? ;->

'Loitering Munition' prowler-bomb in Welsh test

Jason Haas
Pirate

And this is good?...

Seems patently un-good to me. As we all know, magnificent technology such as this _never_ malfunctions....

Whither Google's new CFO?

Jason Haas
Go

executive turnover in IT? unheard of!

Just as unheard of as glorious high-tech weapons systems failing. *Never* happens!

Want to snoop on your neighbors? Come and work in Wisconsin

Jason Haas
Linux

sorry, socialists are long gone here in Milwaukee

As much as I admire what the socialist mayoral administrations did in their time in Milwaukee, especially Mayor Daniel W. Hoan's capable leadership during the Great Depression, they're long, long gone. The hard right has a lot of power in the media here, although the voters in the city of Milwaukee reject them. (The suburbs are another story.)

As for "Weenergies," well... that's no surprise to hear. I doubt the "open" records had much to do with interim Mayor Pratt's non-reelection, as beloved Congressman Tom Barrett ran for mayor, and is now our very capable mayor. (Granted, it couldn't have helped.) Barrett is certainly not a socialist, but he makes a very good mayor.

US scientists puncture the ethanol biofuel bubble

Jason Haas
Alert

Wither biodiesel? It's not directly mentioned but is indirectly impugned

What grinds me about this is that it solely talks about corn and switchgrass, and uses "biofuels" too generally. What about biodiesel? We've been growing soybeans and canola for ages, and every time there's a harvest, there's "increased" CO2 release from the equipment. every time food is shipped, there's "increased" CO2 release. Any time we do anything, there's "increased" CO2 release.

This apparently does not look at making biodiesel, be it from soybeans (not so good, though what I use -- me, a baby seal killing bunghole!), canola (better, more yield per acre, maybe less pesticides), or better yet, algae. Or waste fry grease.

In short I don't think we're going to cause the world to end by using biodiesel. But don't equate it with ethanol. Biodiesel uses far less energy and resources to produce than ethanol, and you get 3:1 energy output:input ratio with biodiesel, as opposed to at best 1:1 with ethanol.

Terry Pratchett has Alzheimer's

Jason Haas
Heart

very sad but hopeful

This is like hearing that a member of my family has Alzheimer's... which has actually happened to me before. But that's not the point. This is terrible news. When I read it the other day, I was studying at a café, but then when I read this, I couldn't do anything more. I just ... couldn't. I think you know what I mean. I went home and talked with my wife, who has a good idea of what this meant to me.

sad thing is it was my ex-wife who nursed me back to health after my head injury (made famous some 6.5 years ago on slashdot!), and it was she who introduced me to TP. (and my favorite band in the world, The Church. but that's a little less important right now.)

I know personally how the people of the Internet can rally to support someone. His note is hopeful. Let's give PTerry our best!

Top US engineer in piss-off-everybody car fuel solution

Jason Haas
Thumb Up

Let us not forget biodiesel

While I will be a stalwart promoter of biodiesel, which I use in my car (my fuel comes from the rogue terrorist state of Iowa!), I believe it is an intermediate fuel, something we use along the way to whatever's next -- cellulosic ethanol, algal biodiesel production, etc. I love to drive with biodiesel in the tank of my VW TDi, and I have comfort knowing it can be made from a variety of stocks and sources. But I know it's probably not going to be the fuel we use in the end.

But for now, Biodiesel = teh b0mb. (only it's not explosive... making it even more teh bomb!...)

Beeb confirms Davison-Tennant Who hook-up

Jason Haas
Alien

as long as we're going back in time...

my two favorite [of the Doctor's] companions:

Leela, portrayed by Louise Jameson

The first Romana, played by Mary Tamm

now they were filmed in their youth, which was in the 1970s, and they're looking quite good for older women... alas we can't yet go back in time and bring forward our pre-adolescent reminiscences...

Vista attacked by 13-year-old virus

Jason Haas

Would nVIR or INIT-29 still endanger old PowerPC Macs running Classic?

What a thrill to see an old virus resurge under Vista. We once had a bit of a Mac OS 9 worm ship on our LinuxPPC discs, although it was never a real threat; it was wrapped in some Linux or Mac OS shell that made it inert. But still, I wonder, should, say, nVIR, an old virus that could infect Macs running System 4.1or higher, effect the Classic environment on Macs running OS X? (To think what a pain reinstalling the system software was in those days... "insert disk 3" "ok..."