@5 & @9 - exactly.

@#5 - A person with the true hacker mentality will do great work for them, and then in his off hours will write code to bypass the system he helped them create during the day just to know he can. Hopefully, that code will be leaked back to us. (It usually is.)

Eh, most of his fans don't care that he acts like this because they do TOO.

Evil Jim - What about the fact that he wasn't doing anything illegal in the first place? Am I correct in assuming this weigh station is a public area? Am I correct in assuming the photographer in question is a)a member of the public, b)pays taxes, and c)has rights?
I would write this up as harassment, just like all the other photo related BB posts. If it's a public place, a "terrorist" could just come LOOK AT IT if they wanted to. Also, if it's a public place like a highway or a city park - then isn't it called "public property" because the citizens own it?

Numlok - EPIC FAIL

On one hand it sounds like an awesome idea. On the other, in this world, it sounds like entrapment.... Which for those of you who don't know, used to be this concept that the powers that be could not lure or goad you into acts of illegality and then arrest you for them, however, at least in the US the patriot act basically eliminated that...

And they'll think it bizarre when at age 45 they come down with some "inexplicable" disease that they just can't figure out where they got....

@34,35,36 - Agreed.

@20 - That's what I thought.
@31 - Match point.
@33 - Bribery is "not unreasonable"? It's been said already, but I'll reiterate... Their offer was a bribe to remove the negative comment. They had the chance to fix it when he called. If I go to and they screw up my burger and I try to get it fixed and they are rude, I'm not going to call my friends back and say "oh no no sorry they're NOT horrible" to earn a few sawbucks. His review was accurate. If it were editable, I WOULD change it to reflect that the "company offered me a $75 bribe contingent on my removal of negative review". An offer that is CONTINGENT is a bribe plain and simple.

Wow, that's nuts. According to TEXAS state law, it is absolutely LEGAL for a PARENT to serve alcohol to a CHILD, provided the parent is present at the time of consumption. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, Chapter 106 Sec 106.06 (b) A person may purchase an alcoholic beverage for or give an alcoholic beverage to a minor if he is the minor's adult parent, guardian, or spouse, or an adult in whose custody the minor has been committed by a court, and he is visibly present when the minor possesses or consumes the alcoholic beverage.

@#5 ROFLMAO. ROFLMAO, ROFLMAO, ROFLMAO. KUDOS.

As I see it, at least according to what I read online (which is pretty much only anarchist, leftist, freedom fighter, liberalist, and irate news) most of the world at current is the hellmouth. But I dunno, DisneyWorld has only had a few bad comments lately. It might be the one okay place left. At least until they have that new instant DNA reconciler running at the turnstile.

@List of Comments
TL;DR

@31: Wow. Try Lubbock. Same thing. I always preferred driving in Dallas, people seemed MORE likely to let you in their lane, etc. But then, I always take the freeway EVERYWHERE. I figured it was a survival of the fittest effect, you learn on the freeway that you have 3 seconds to decide whether you would like to be cordial and allow a traffic maneuver, or die in a horrible wreck. I've always thought the line in Texas East to West was Abilene. When you cross thru the city going West, traffic intelligence decreases, as you head East it increases.

@All - google Lubbock TX red light cameras. It's a huge boondoggle, I'm told they actually revoked the law but the cameras are ?some reason? still up. What reasons would a ...perfectly trustworthy... government have for leaving up cameras that are ...out of use...

@Takuan - Actually I've read multiple ways of eliminating the license plate issue. One was with a special type of high reflective covering that was clear yet reflects light so highly even a flashlight makes it virtually impossible to read. I would suggest using something I believe I saw on boingboing about using l.e.d.s to disrupt the cameras ability to obtain an image. Something about using l.e.d.s that render any object within their circle a white blotch.

Wow. It amazes me sometimes how there can be so many intelligent people on boingboing debating for what seems to me to be common sense. I'll reiterate what everyone else (who seems to grasp the obvious) has already: If you're researching deadly contagious human diseases, you don't put your lab in downtown 'Metropolis'. Thusly, if you're researching animal diseases, you stay as far away from major animal popuations as possible. ESPECIALLY those in the food chain. The US government is historically poor at source control. Does anyone remember the Texas Tech University prof. who was found guilty of fraud and improper shipping? They originally thought he had stolen vials of Anthrax, Plague, Small Pox, but actually he just purposefully fudged some numbers and shipped them some cheap way. "No, not priority mail, just standard - it's only deadly diseases."
@48 - It very well might be that government cover-up, wikipedia does mention the controversy surrounding possible biological warfare research.
@14 - ROFLMAO - You're probably right too.

@19 - Exactly the right line of thought.
Has anyone noticed that they sell shockers all over the place in the US? I personally own a ballpoint pen, cigarette lighter, and pack of gum, which are all shockers. I'll also second the other comments that A)It's not the voltage that kills you, B)I hardly think it'll deliver 600v without some special mods, and C)it's a prank, I doubt there was any serious malice to it.

You removed your ampallang?!? I'd have told them just where to stick their metal detectors. Same for the nipples. My piercings stay right where they are, I don't care what I was going for I would walk.

FYI, I will only say this once because it will live on in Google cache forever - I'm in Lubbock. This figures. TSA is evil, but so is the city of Lubbock. Google "Lubbock TX Chippendales arrests" or "Lubbock TX strip club lawsuit" or "Lubbock TX liquor sales". If this were me, or my wife, sister, mother, whatever I would have said sod off I'm not flying then and requested a ticket refund. What will the airlines do if a huge amount of passengers start requesting refunds and complaining to them? I haven't flown since before all this crap and I won't. We have joked for years that they'd never let me on a plane (I have various piercings, tattoos, steel in some teeth, and always have to frisk myself before going anywhere), now I know it's TRUE.

Boycott flying. Boycott tourism to the USA. Boycott Lubbock TX.

Is this going to end up working like the EU's "Schengen" countries? Will I be able to "freely pass" from state to state so long as I am willing to have the proper "visa" (read:PAPERS, SHOW US YOUR PAPERS)?

Kudos to Takuan, great quote Stefan, wtf are you talking about 0XDEADBEEF?

Being human means so many different things to different people and always will, but I think Takuan hit the nail on the head with where we should start the definition. But I would be interested to see a comparative study on the answers to "What does it mean to be human/What is a human" from such wide sources as a child in Somalia, a businessman in Japan, a teenager in the US, a "businessman" in Columbia, and etc. We might be surprised at the intersections and divisions.

So what if a country like the US or the UK cut some of that military and anti-terrorist funding and redirected it into medical research? Cancer, HIV, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, these names should be 1, 2, and 3 on the Terror Watch List. The US spent $893 million fighting drugs in Colombia (maybe we should have just sold those drugs)in 2002. http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/narcotics.cfm
The US spent $696 BILLION last year on military funding. http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp#USMilitarySpending
In 2007 the US spent more than 50% of it's budget on "Defense", while just over 5% each was spent on Health Care and Education.
http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp#InContextUSmilitarybudgetvsotherUSpriorities

http://www.peaceandlove.net/

LMAO @ Takuan. Man you've always got a good sense of humor to go with a decent insight. Nuff said.

#13 - tl;dr
It's really silly to me that so many people have negative comments about "bikers". First off, what qualifies as a biker? Is it anyone who rides a bike? What is a biker gang, is it a gang of friends who ride? I will admit there have been groups who cause trouble, commit violence, break the law, but I really get offended when there are such broad spectrum generalizations that bikers are bad. Having a family full of bikers, from my neice and nephew who professionally race GSXRs and the like to my father in law who just rides around town, I know better. It seems to me that too many people watch the old TV movies where the bikers are these big bad tattooed illiterate scumbags who live to fight. Have any of you ever heard of Bikers Against Child Abuse? What about the Missionaries? Nooo, hundreds of biker groups out there who support the community and even HELP law enforcement (oh hey, have you noticed there are some cops on bikes???)and no one here seems to have noticed them.

1st comment!

It's funny how in places where nudity is commonplace there is a desensitization of the stigma, so you'd think in a pleasure obsessed population someone would realize that less is more. If you get people to wear MORE clothing for a few years then it won't take much skin to be alluring. Ever seen those sexy bathing suits from the roaring 1920s? Frankly after seeing all of these 8 year olds in super mini skirts and tube tops, skimp is a turn off. It's a turn on just to see a tastefully dressed attractive woman.

#8 - I'm Pagan, and I don't worship Idols. Funny though, millions of Americans of many religious affiliations do, they call it "American Idol". Hahahahaha

#11 - ROTFLMMFAO

#22 - Kudos on mentioning the FSM, but it is to me to invoke Godwin's Law, thus, "I think it's just another one of Hitler's strange ark quests gone awry!"

#40 - I gave you a 5!

#41 - Maybe that's why Thrym had stolen it, YHWH and Jesus are like the god mafia, and they didn't want a hit put out on JDawg.

#42 - Aye.

As above, so below. I was lucky enough to have actually had internet access when I was this age, but I didn't feel the need to vent or create some kind of rant online... I did however end up in lots of bbs and irc wars, however I was the OP and ircOP in most cases. True, she does seem to be trying to deal with it and deflect it, but she also does not know any better. I grew up in a very "interesting" neighborhood with a lot of culture crossovers. My school had both an advanced academics program with multiple students from the "rich" side of town as well as the highest gang rate in the area. Seeing as how I was in the academics program and lived in one of the poorest neighborhoods in town, I learned how to survive. Frankly, sometimes it is necessary for a teen to become Sun Tzu's Art of War to really make it thru; the problem is finding a delicate balance of defensive offense without crossing the line and ending up permanently damaging someone or someone's life. With that in mind - to the few teens reading this today who're having bully issues and such - everyone is afraid of something, BE that fear for THEM. Alot of bullies are only bullies within a set of boundaries, some won't cause trouble where they can be caught, so you take it to them there. I am NOT recommending violence or psychological warfare (cough) but sometimes it is necessary to be the bigger evil.

You know what always gets me? There are more complaints about regular parts of life (i.e. sexual innuendo, masturbation, nudity) than violence. Two people having sex is how life works, and yet more people complain about it than about a guy getting his head chopped off. Look at movie ratings. You can severe body parts bloodily and manage to keep a PG-13, but the minute you show a breast it's R. What's the deal? Is this an intentional plan to desensitize the nation to violence? I personally would rather my 4 year old accidentally watch the playboy channel than see Saw IV!!!

This country is full of idiots.

@32!! yes!!!
@Cpt Tim, which harry potter were you reading atm?
@42 no, rights cannot be "granted" that's why they are rights not PRIVILEGES
@48 EXACTLY!
@52 - Stab them in the face LOL good use of shock value
@53 Federal law should not outweigh local law, take it as personal opinion so I don't end up in the debate everyone is having, but when the laws differ between locality and the larger scale, the locality should win out. Just for the flame value let me say - Civil War? Isn't that why Texas has such an interesting state constitution, because they had to makie allowances for the post-slave day freedoms in the state as well as nationally?
@55 Perfect!
@60 I LOL'D

@Everybody
So if we carry it full force and we chip all the animals and track the food to "be safe", would that get you used to the idea of you being chipped for "safety"? Everything has to start somewhere, and I definitely see starting with animals and inmates. *George Orwell rolls his eyes from beyond*

"Blackest Material EVAR" rock on! In the tradition of the übergoth I was always quite fond of the ship in Restaurant, although I don't recall it actually being named.
This stuff would go great with my "I'm only wearing black until they make something darker" shirt!!!!

@8 -yeah, except for what #14 says about the WGA.

According to my most recent wiki read, it was .3% per for home video (which was enacted in the 1988 Strike, when the companies said home video was not a viable market and was too expensive to pursue).

@18,19,20,23 Exactly.

@21 The music industry doesn't realize what's going on. Look at Radiohead. Artists with no following need someone to do PR for them, but those who already have a following could take the reins themselves and actually make a living. I spent some time managing a few small bands and I know first hand, most record deals amount to jack $^$^ for the artists. The industry model has to change all around. Look at Madonna's new LiveNation deal. Look at the new record deal model, now the major companies are asking new contracts to sign over not just large percentage album sales, tour, and merchandising, but they are taking % of name use, sometimes owning the name rights, and making these "hands in every pot" contracts. If you were an artist, does it sound like a good deal to sign over the large share of EVERYTHING you do to the label? I saw some contracts that made it so if an artist so much as says "Yeah I kinda like Starbucks" the label gets a cut. See the Rolling Stone article - http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15137581/the_record_industrys_decline/print

We need more GPL and CC stuff out there, as well as a new industry model. I hope this sort of things affects other business models as well, I'm sick of paying $3+ a gallon for gasoline when I drive by the storage tanks where a local refinery has been literally stockpiling. (Can you say price fixing? I knew you could.)

On a complete rant note, who else is sick of poor products and poor service for large amounts of money? I personally haven't bought snacks at the theatre in 15 years, I'm not paying $5 for a bottled water when the water at home is free. Why does the drive thru have a screen to display my order when they don't even use it? Who in their right mind buys this false ripe produce at places like Walmart?

end rant

Woohoo first comment! LOL
It's amusing to me that it seems internet is quickly becoming a basic human right. That being said, I'm all for it! Everything should be open source, especially $^#$#@$^&$ wireless cards... (HELP!!! Damn Small Linux + Broadcom 4311)

It's a good thing I already don't fly due to the incredible fascism, because it that was my son and they told me I couldn't touch him there would be some seriously injured TSA workers. It sure sounds to me like there are terrorists in this country right now, they call themselves Homeland Security (sounds a bit Hitler-esque doesn't it?) and TSA!

@All

I had one Great-Aunt who was approx 112 when she passed and one who was approx 107. My grandmother lived to 97 in her own home, under her own power. My mother just passed away before Christmas at the age of 72, she had horrible emphysema, some sort of brain tumor, and finally passed due to complications related to a surgery she had in 1970. I fully expect and intend to live to be 110+, even if I have to be a little grumpy about it. :P