flagrantdisregard » weird

Who are you?

John — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:29:10 +0000

I have 4 followers on Twitter (my Twitter page) and 9 (fans) on Pownce (my Pownce page) and I haven’t made any updates on either site. What’s up with that? I think I’ll have to start using whichever service reaches 20 followers first. I mean, I’ll owe it to them, right?

Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?

John — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 02:21:08 +0000

A man spends 10-20 hours every day with a woman in a virtual world. He “marries” her. Is he cheating on his flesh and blood wife? Of course he is. He may not be having sex with his virtual mistress but marriage is about a lot more than who you have sex with.

Sitting alone in the living room in front of the television, Mrs. Hoogestraat says she worries it will be years before her husband realizes that he’s traded his real life for a pixilated fantasy existence, one that doesn’t include her.

Is This Man Cheating on His Wife? – WSJ.com

An oasis of comfort and happiness

John — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:20:54 +0000

I’m bemused and delighted. I’m not sure if it’s the way they talk about something without actually saying it, their smiling faces, or their over-the-top sincerity; but whatever it is, this site makes me happy.

Clean is happy

Does the punishment fit the crime?

John — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:48:04 +0000

In the United States, copying a DVD can get you up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. At least, that’s what all of my legally rented Netflix DVDs tell me every single time I watch them. For fun, I thought I’d see if that punishment was reasonable by surveying the California penal code (the penal code is actually funnier than it sounds). Here are some other crimes, for comparison:

Crime (penal code section)	Maximum prison sentence	Illegal DVD equivalent
Assault (“an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another”) (241.a)	6 months	10 counts of assault = 1 illegal DVD
Possession of an assault weapon (12280.b)	1 year	5 assault weapons = 1 illegal DVD
Battery (“any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another”) against a peace officer, fire fighter, nurse, physician, lifeguard, paramedic, armed services member, etc. (243.b)	1 year	5 counts of battery = 1 illegal DVD
Deserting your child with intent to abandon (271)	1 year	Deserting 5 children = 1 illegal DVD
Firing a laser at an occupied aircraft (No, I’m not kidding!) (247.5)	3 years	0.6 DVDs
Sexual battery (243.4.b)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Throwing feces on a prison guard (243.9.a)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Assault with a deadly weapon (245.a.1)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (261.5.d)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Forcing your wife into prostitution (266g)	4 years	0.8 DVDs
Rape (264.a)	8 years	1.6 DVDs
Kidnapping (208.a)	8 years	1.6 DVDs
Mayhem (“unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body”) (204)	8 years	1.6 DVDs
Sexual assault of a child (269)	15 years to life	3 to 20 DVDs
2nd degree murder (190.a)	15 years to life	3 to 20 DVDs
1st degree murder (190.a)	25 years to life	5 to 20 DVDs

So, in theory, you might do more time for illegally copying a Disney DVD for your kids to watch than if you deserted them in a Hollywood alley. Does that sound reasonable to you?

Justin.tv

John — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 03:42:20 +0000

You know you’ve really “made it” as a species when you can waste time on narcissistic pursuits (like blogging). Food and shelter? Don’t bother me with trifles. I am posthuman. And just think: after a year of filming, they might even be able to edit together 90 minutes worth watching!

(Then again, does “decadent, crumbling empire” look anything like this?)

Splat

John — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 02:38:05 +0000

This is more fun that it has any right to be. My son stumbled across it while we were waiting for dinner. He loved it. Teletubbies: harmless, demented fun.

Sorry, this website is on a coffee break, please come back later

John — Sun, 30 Jan 2005 08:50:09 +0000

I just found out that the online Social Security Administration office locator doesn’t like working on weekends and holidays. Really. Like, they open so many new offices during the week that it takes them 9 hours to load all the new addresses Saturday night.

Starbucks density

John — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 05:44:35 +0000

I’ve only got 16 within five miles of my home and even that seems ridiculously high. That’s one Starbucks for every 3,125 residents of my small town. There’s a competition over at kottke.org to see who has the highest density.

Some people would take the blue pill…

John — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 17:01:08 +0000

“I wanted to play Internet games so much. I wish I could just play games without having to think of anything else,” Mr. Jin told police.

Rebel Billionaire

John — Sat, 13 Nov 2004 09:29:59 +0000

I used to work with Heather, a contestant on Rebel Billionaire. So weird. She won’t talk so I have to watch the show to see how she did.