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Showing posts from October, 2009

Crash Crash Crash

So I bought a new XFX X58i motherboard and a nifty Intel Core i7 CPU to go with it. It was time to upgrade my Core 2 Quad system to a faster Core i7 system and get more RAM. I had Windows XP Pro 64bit and it was finally starting to run slow after a good 2 years of processing and programming. Friday came and I pulled apart my system and installed the new motherboard. Turned it on and ... nothing. No beeps, no POST, nothing. Worst yet, my 3ware card did not show the bios. So I pulled out the new stuff and returned the old stuff. Turned it on. Got past the POST and the Marvel embedded RAID controller BIOS and then again, no 3ware bios. Well, that really stinks because the 3ware card controls my RAID-1 array that contains my system data. I called 3ware who insisted that I just RMA the 8006-2LP and get a replacement. When I talked to the tech support person, she stated that it was not possible to hook the drives up to a new 3ware card because the "old" 8006-2LP (pre-9000 series) l

Niche Taxes

In the USA, it would seem that lots of writers, commentators, screen writers, and pundits are obsessed with fat or obese people. One commentator on CNN [1] writes about using a tax to control obesity. In California, we already have a Fat Tax , it's in the form of a tax on fast foods and sugary junk foods. Yet, there are fat people in California, and most of the people who are eating at McDonalds, Wendy's, Jack, and In-N-Out are all thin or acceptably sized. Forbes ran an article in September of 2009 discussing how a fat tax could be some kind of reformist ideology. The Forbes article mostly is concerned with raising billions of dollars to help pay for some kind of unforseen increase in socialized healthcare. It also claims that by 2015, 40% of Americans will be obese. Seriously, how can anyone publish this stuff? There are some level headed people out there who have some good things to say [2] in the Center for Consumer Freedom's Who Wants A Fat Tax article. There, a re