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Trainblogging

Avid readers of this blog know that I have "jailbroken" my iPhone, which basically means that I have the ability to load software on it provided by third parties. This includes software from open source projects like apache, and what not.

One of these packages is called "srelay" which is an open source SOCKS proxy. By creating an ad-hoc wireless network on my MacBook, and then having my iPhone join that ad-hoc network, I'm able to run srelay on my iPhone, and use it as my laptop's proxy server.

Since my iPhone is connected to the Intarweb via EDGE, I can thus blog while sitting on this here Amtrak train travelling from somewhere north of Kent towards my stop in Tukwila-- without the use of a wifi hotspot.

Technology. Ain't it great?

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Savin' Some Money

Looks like recent crash tests of the Audi A3 have resulted the IIHS giving it their top marks in every single category they test, earning the A3 a spot on their "Top Safety Pick" list.

No doubt, this will save me some cash on my auto insurance (and it doesn't have anything to do with a talking lizard) when I call my insurance company tomorrow, but out of curiosity, I wanted to see if there was anything else on the IIHS "Top Safety Pick" list that I'd consider driving.

Here are the other picks in the "midsize cars" list: Audi A4 (everyone in the US drives a sedan-- I like the Euro-look of a hatch), Honda Accord, Saab 9-3, and Subaru Legacy.

In the large car segment, the Audi A6 shares the spotlight with the Ford Taurus (and sister car) Mercury Sable, and Volvo S80.

Two convertibles made the list-- Saab 9-3 and the Volvo C70.

In the small car segment, only the Subaru Impreza (aka WRX and Saab 9-2X I suppose?) made the list, although I doubt that my A3 has that much more room than a Subaru.

A dozen SUVs and a half dozen minivans, pickups and mini-SUVs made the list, but given that they are about as fun to drive as sticking your finger in a hot light socket, I won't grace them with a mention here.

Then again, while the Taurus isn't going to win any Motor Trend "car of the year" awards either, I'm sure it's a fine car (for your grandmother).

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No MMS on iPhone = Good Thing

If somebody wants to send me a picture from their phone, I hardly think it's too much to ask for them to do it via email. I think this is a good thing because it forces people to stop using the cellular-only protocol of sending multimedia content, and uses the everpresent SMTP/MIME mechanism, even if this means people need to change their behavior.

Apple is doing all of us a good turn, just like they did to hasten the end of floppy discs by abolishing those from every Mac since the original iMac.

I solicit your responses. Tell me I'm crazy, or whether I'm spot on or somewhere in between.

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What Country Is This?

Michael Mukasey was confirmed as Attorney General by the Senate.

The number one law enforcement official of the United States of America is now an individual who stops short of calling waterboarding torture.

I don't know what's more offensive... That this even happened, or that in this political climate, that this is a reality, not to mention a conceivable outcome. And at a vote of 53-40 at that.

So, here is the Senate Wall of Shame, in ranked order:

1. Democrats In Name Only: Bayh, Carper, Feinstein, Landrieu, Nelson, Schumer
2. Every Republican Senator in Congress (except John McCain and John Cornyn (TX), see below) because all of them voted for the confirmation
3. Joe Lieberman, a.k.a. George W. Bush Jr.
4. Democrats In Name Only On The Campaign Trail: Biden, Clinton, Dodd, Obama
5. John McCain, who couldn't be bothered to cast his Nay vote
6. Republicans Alexander and Cornyn who couldn't be bothered to vote one way or the other

So there you have it. A clear refusal to repudiate the type of activity that Uday and Qusay Hussein would be proud to use, a practice utilized in the Spanish Inquisition, and which would make the Gestapo smile...

We are now firmly espousing hollow definitions of "freedom" and "democracy", where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness only applies to those who are not suspected of terrorism, and where the suspicion of terrorism now can consist of anything from wearing a shirt with Arabic script on it, to a garment with flashing LEDs.

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