From the registration page of an outsourced travel company:
Password invalid. Non-alphanumeric characters required: 1.
Use any of the following: !,@,-, or .
Oooh, I get to pick from ALL THOSE? How ever will I chose?
(A co-worker reports that, contrary to the options provided, ‘#’ works. Idiots.)
My brother points out an article over at Bloomberg that gets to the bottom of the arrow thing.
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) — Rose City Archery Inc., an Oregon company that makes arrows used by children, hit a bull’s-eye with Senate legislation that would rescue Wall Street banks.
From page 300 of the senate draft of the “EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT OF 2008“:
SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN
WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 4161(b)
is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub-
paragraph (C) and by inserting after subparagraph (A)
the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN WOODEN
ARROW SHAFTS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not
apply to any shaft consisting of all natural
wood with no laminations or artificial means of
enhancing the spine of such shaft (whether sold
separately or incorporated as part of a finished
or unfinished product) of a type used in the
manufacture of any arrow which after its as-
sembly—
(i) measures 5/16 of an inch or less in
diameter, and
(ii) is not suitable for use with a bow
described in paragraph (1)(A).’’.
Yep. Rome is burning and someone thought it a good time to help out the toy arrow manufacturer in his district. It’s selfish stunts like that that got us into this mess in the first place. I really, really wish there were a requirement for every line in an act to have a sponsor. It’d be nice to see who’s being such a bastard…
And people think I’m a cynic for no reason.
I’ve seen this a few places, so I’m not sure where it originated “America is a place where profits are privatized and losses are socialized”.
I must say, it would be nice to have enough money that when I screwed up, the government would step in to bail me out. Instead, I have to watch my 401K head for the basement and make a note to chat with my grandmother about tips for living through a depression.
Interesting times.
Part 1 in a series.
The State Department has traditionally put together a list of industry representatives for these meetings, and anyone in the U.S. telecom industry who had the requisite expertise and wanted to go was generally given a slot, say past participants. Only after the start of Bush’s second term did a political litmus test emerge, industry sources say.
Time magazine link
slashdot link
Yep, you read that right. For a technical conference, it was decided that those who “supported the other side” were to be summarily kicked out. (Note: I’m not naive enough to believe that only dry technical stuff happens at that conference. There’s also the interests of large campaign donors to protect. It’s just that they’re being so brazen about it (and would be kicking up such a fuss if it were in the opposite direction) that it’s impossible to believe that it’s anything but outright evil.)
Brings to mind how the new Pope is being described as a “reluctant member of the Nazi Youth” since membership was compulsory. Are we entering a phase where only people who donate to the Republican Party are allowed to be postmen? Are allowed to vote? Are allowed to live?