What would you do if you were Prime Minister?

Posted by Dave on August 17, 2008 in Controversial, General
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That’s the question I was asked on Friday by a work mate. I assumed the question also meant “…if you were granted power to do anything.”.

I answered a few things at the time, and I thought about it on the weekend and have a little list.

Remove government incentives such as 1st home owners and baby bonus. They only put more burden on us as a tax payer in the long run since Government is less efficient than private organisations and wastes money. Also if you need the grant for these items, you probably aren’t rich enough to have it anyway. (NOT saying poorer people shouldn’t have babies!!) That leads to point #2…
Outlaw fractional reserve banking. FRB is the cause of debt, poverty, and inflation. FRB works by banks depositing money in the central bank, then they can create about 9/10 times that money as loans to people, depending on the fraction set. People pay it back + interest and the money that was created is destroyed. It makes people poor since they are given money created from nothing and then they pay that back + extra that doesn’t exist, over time. The money supply never restores to the original level since bigger and bigger loans are created constantly. The creation of money is what inflation is in reality, not the increase in prices that this leads to. The RBA website has a spreadsheet you can download to view the amount created each year through FRB (16% last year).
Restore a gold and silver standard for money. This will stop unethical lending practices and money creation. Wealth will actually be based off primary industry production, not the confidence in the stock market and housing market to create new loans. Less growth in the short run, but it is honest and stops the dishonest business cycle we have now.
Allow competing currencies. As it stands now, the world is run by private organisations allowed to print money called central banks. A competing currency encourages honesty in the money. If people charge too much more than spot price for silver coins, a competitor can make them.
Remove all personal income tax. Personal tax is actually a relatively small percentage of total government income, and there never used to be tax until it was needed to fund wars. The goverment can survive on other sources of income such as GST, service fees and business tax (which I would reduce also). And how would the government survive…
Remove much of the existing Government departments. Many government sectors would not longer be needed with massive tax cuts (welfare, medicare etc) and besides which, it’s not the governments job to run our lives, but to manage the things on a national level not possible by local governments. I would also remove a great deal of power from DOCS and other services.
Greatly reduce defence spending. The defence force is a big money sap and Australia shouldn’t be meddling in other countries affairs who don’t ask for it. It is especially true while we have social injustices within our own walls (immigrants detained indefinately without trial, aboriginal health and department corruption etc). How will we defend Australia….
Remove tarrifs and trade agreements. It sounds unrelated, but when countries freely trade with others without increasing fees for government income and restricting trade for political reasons, they will gladly trade and have little need to attack. It also makes us richer since we can specialise in trading our cheap, excess goods for ones that are rare here. Think uranium, gas, coal, metals, cattle etc… It’s difficult to think of wars (especially in the last 30 year) that didn’t have a politcal reason behind them.
Privatise goverment services. With true competition, private services such as water, power, hospitals etc will run far more efficiently and cheaply than a goverment who has no budget and customer satisfaction concerns. It is also related to reducing tax and gov size. Imagine how good public hospitals would be if they were run like a business?
Overhaul commercial law. Pretty much all law is commercial in nature and origin. I would change laws in the direction that if you don’t harm someone, deprive them of their liberty, don’t steal etc then you are a free man. E.g. why should I be fined for parking my car on the lawn that I mow and possibly jailed for non-payment?
Remove discrimination laws. I don’t mean in the sense that you can beat people up for predjudice (above law), but that an employer shouldn’t risk fines for not hiring a particular person.
Quit international political money wasters such as the UN and Kyoto. They have lovely sentiments, but in the end just waste time and money. Especially Kyoto…boy there’s a post on it’s own. Instead of actually doing something, it just gives the appearance of it and earns some money by letting people pay to “pollute”. >:|

I could rant for a very long time about it, but I won’t since I would have pages of points :). I also know that these policies would mean I would never get elected too.

RX-7 for sale on ebay now

Posted by Dave on August 17, 2008 in General
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I stooped that low At least it should sell now I hope. Perhaps I need an ebay rant

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280257255984

New Olympic sports

Posted by Dave on August 13, 2008 in General
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I’ve been watching with Belinda, some of the Olympics, and I notice that there are some really silly sports (sorry anyone who likes them) for what I thought was more a track and field competition. Consider softball, tennis or basketball and contrast that against the ancient Greeks running naked across a stadium, threatened with death for failure (Belinda says that after reading some of the comments made by the coach of the Chinese gymnastics team - “Failure is not an option” amongst others - that she’s not sure that they weren’t threatened with death for failure).

Well, I came up with a new set of sports that could be good in our modern age.

The “Beeeend and Snap!” (from the movie Legally Blonde) (Idea from the “clean and jerk”)
The Yngwie Malmsteen guitar solo shred-off
Speed Programming
TV Marathon (who can sit still the longest watching Friends, Better homes and gardens, Ready steady cook, Good morning Australia, Hi-Five, Infomercial with Moira, Telle Tubbies etc)
D&D 1st Edition
Bottle-O to party carton haul (Strongly biased in favour of the Aussies, close second to the Germans)

Maybe it won’t go through, but I would like to watch some of them.

Linux server up and running!

Posted by Dave on August 13, 2008 in Microsoft, Work, Linux, IT
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I installed OpenSuSE 11 today to replace Windows Server 2008 Enterprise. All up it only took about 2 hours to install and configure including Subversion, Samba, Web and MySQL. It feels to good to have it back. I’ll note the specs of this machine:

Athlon 2800+
Asus A7n8x Deluxe
2gb RAM
GeForce 7600GT
120Gb WD SATA HDD

Things I dislike about Windows Server:

It’s slow at everything. File, network, rights changes, installing and configuring apps, finding files etc
It’s difficult to configure with settings hidden in the registry or needing to use the clunky GUI
It is single user
Only one terminal (Windows)
No DOS only mode (it sort of has it, but it runs in GUI still)
No Equivalent to SSH
Severe vendor lock-in
Single purpose only
It feels very featureless
It’s very slow and difficult to manage users and groups
Poor driver support

Things I like about Windows Server:

It’s easy to setup a VPN
The new IIS manager is very good

Things I dislikeabout Linux:

Minimal games support
No good accounting package

Things I like about Linux:

Quick at nearly everything
Simple to configure either in a file or through the GUI
True multi-user
Six terminals + a GUI
Multiple run levels to chose from: text prompt only (Bash) or GUI + prompt
Very easy to use remotely through SSH
No vendor lock-in. I can easily configure any services or apps I want or port to another system
I can chose how I want to run it, and it becomes a server by adding apps and services, or more dedicated by removing unnessecary ones
It comes with thousands of applications and features out of the box for nearly any purpose
Easy and fast to manage users and groups
Fantastic driver support

ABC iView, it IS actually good!

Posted by Dave on August 11, 2008 in General
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I don’t know what happened, but ABC iView runs quickly now! It shows me connecting at between 2-3mb, menus are as fast as you can expect from flash, and there are no jumps or stops in the show.

Out with the new, in with the old

Posted by Dave on August 10, 2008 in Microsoft, PHP, Work, Linux, IT
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I got fed up with Windows Server 2008 for the last time yesterday, and I will start the migration back to OpenSuSE Linux on my home dev server. It’s up to version 11 now, so I will install that, even though it’s a pain to export subversion, files and databases.

What tipped me over the edge was not being able to use my SQL server for an unknown error and to consult the event viewer. The trial time had expired, and it didn’t have the decency to tell me to the face. I know I can simply install 2005 express, but it doesn’t make it easy with the changed control panel and needing to download it.

What frustrated me the most is that this is Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and that doesn’t include the most common server componants I might want. If I go back to OpenSuSE, I get EVERYTHING I want, free, no messages or bugs, no expiry times, the same old layout and features as usual since they did it right first time. I also get to run the thing with NO GUI, fast, no lag, no annoying updates and messages, easy to administer, start, shutdown and setup.

The Devil has little work to do when men in white coats hand out pills

Posted by Dave on August 6, 2008 in Controversial, General
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Before beginning, I’ll make clear that not all psychiatrists are evil, nor are antidepressants evil of themselves. Well maybe so to the last point.

WARNING: Long Post

This post has a long title, but I can’t summarise it any further, as it is how I feel about the antidespressant called Paroxetine. Paroxetine is an antidepressant of the class called “SSRI“, which I will go about a little later, that “help” people who are diagnosed with clinical depression.

Depression: The illness of a social pariah…
It’s a social stigma to have depression or be on antidepressants (or any mental illness for that matter!) No-one talks about it, but that’s how it is. Before I met Belinda, I thought that depressed people simply had a lack of self-control and didn’t have a positive outlook to life. While that is a small factor of it, the major part of it is that clinical depression is actually a biological problem. In Belinda’s case, her brain uses up serotonin too quickly, and leaves her with none for the rest of the day. It was first diagnosed when she was 16, and was given some tablets to make her better. They started having less effect, and was switched to an SSRI (Zoloft / Sertraline). Later Zoloft became less effective and so she was given Paroxetine / Aropax.

Going back a little, it was essential for her to have these drugs, since she may well have killed herself without them, but at no stage was she actually told what she was on, how to get off and what side effects they have. All that was said is, paraphrased,

“Your brain uses serotonin too quickly. These regulate it. They are not addictive and your brain will adjust to a normal level and will not need them anymore.”

True, mostly true, lie and lie

That spiel she was given may have to do with a lack of research material available at the time.

Antidepressants - Cure or Cause?

“In the central nervous system, serotonin plays an important role as a neurotransmitter in the modulation of anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, sexuality, appetite, and metabolism, as well as stimulating vomiting.” - Wikipedia

A depressed person might want to kill themselves, get wildly angry for no reason at little provocation, get massively depressed over very little, lose all empathy and sympathy and a swag of other signs. With the above quote, you can only imagine what it is like to live with very little serotonin in your body.

The SSRI antidepressant stops the brain from wasting serotonin, leaving much more available than before (90% reuse in a normal body). Doing so however, brings on a large list of possible side effects, the worst of which is complete dependance on the drug with intollerable discontinuation symptoms to the point of pretty much being stuck on them for life.

“Antidepressants are like a narcotic, with your local GP being the dealer. ’Take this drug to get better. Oh BTW, you’re now hooked on them, you have to pay for them, I can’t help you get off them, and you need to pay me before you pay to get a refill each month at the pharmacy.’ ” - me one day thinking about those damn pills.

Now enter the subject of this section - cure or cause? Weaning off these drugs causes symptoms WORSE than not being on it at all, and you get MORE problems (of a different nature) than it solves being on them as well!

Discontinuation hell
In the five years that I have known Belinda, she has tried to come off them three times - all unsuccessful. Each time it has caused problems so severe that she cannot work, eat, sleep, talk, walk or anything else in a normal manner. Usually it ended with Belinda underneath her bed, crying and refusing to come out because the world is too scarey since any sensory input sends her brain into overload. She takes her tablets to end the hell, and the vicious circle begins again.

On these tablets, I have to take them, if I forget I get sick, I feel depressed to take them, I can’t talk about it in public, it costs money, taking these tablets causes depression symptoms, I have to get off, I can’t get off, I’m (back to start)… etc etc

This time, the fourth time, Belinda HAD to get off since she was pregnant. Did I mention she had to cease in a very abrupt manner? The vomiting (on top of morning sickness vomiting) came, so did the depression, and the shakes, and the nervousness, and the “brain zaps”, and the stress (and add just about any symptom from any list that exists). This time however, there were several factors in our favour.

Belinda had already quit work due to a previous nervous attack (the wonderful drugs at work) and only had her own private floristy work to do.
The knowledge of simply having to do it was a determining factor in “just having to do it.”

The peak was probably our recent trip to the hospital, and after that the anti-emetics she was on helped a lot. The battle has been pretty strong, but we are actually on the winning side now. We don’t know how long it will last (some people NEVER have relief from coming off!), but at least Belinda can get up and eat now.

The whole point of this
Well the whole point of this post is to raise awareness of what depression is, and also to question, “what on earth we are being fed by doctors!?” The outright mistruth about the nature of antidepressants given to Belinda was just plain disgusting. No matter what symptoms Belinda gets in the future, she has categorically sworn never to go back on them again. If our children are ever diagnosed with depression, I would rather quit work and physically watch them 24/7 than give them an antidepressant.

Some things that have helped a lot are:

B vitamins
Manganese (quite interesting what that does in the body, and how lacking we are of it in modern food!)
Vitamin C
Isotonic anti-oxidants
Great friends who have cooked us meals and called to see how we are going
Lastly the amazing power of God to defeat the evils in our life!

Thanks everyone!

ABC iView not as good as first thought

Posted by Dave on July 26, 2008 in General, IT
2 Comments »

It’s slow, cuts out, made entirely of flash so it’s hard to navigate. It doesn’t stream so you don’t get to wait and watch it later. Gack. I might try it in a few months when they make it better.

Teh Bestest new evah! ABC IPTV!11!111!!!!! (iiNet is awesome)

Posted by Dave on July 25, 2008 in General, Linux, IT
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ABC has an IPTV service now, free. You can see repeats from the last two weeks on six channels. Add shows to your playlist and watch!

The best is that iiNet have it unmetered!!

EDIT: I forgot the linux part of this. Bad news for Linux people - it’s flash. but at least it’s not silverlight.

RX-7 for sale

Posted by Dave on July 23, 2008 in Baby, General
3 Comments »

My 1982, series II, red RX-7 is officially for sale “as is” now. I’m very sad, but it’s the way it has to be. With baby coming and bills rising it has to go, and I won’t get the cash to fix it.

What’s right with it:

Extended port Series V 13b turbo (about 260kw/350hp)
Series V gear box
3″ Exhaust from turbo to muffler
Handset for computer mounted in console
Close to new radiator
Recent new paint job (garaged since)
All rust removed with paint job

What’s wrong with it

Fuel pump broken
Needs major service
Needs heater fan installed (I have it)
Needs clutch fluid changed
Needs a tune

Name a price since I don’t really know what it’s worth and I have to get rid of it. I have been waiting for about four years to do it up before selling and it hasn’t happened yet, so it has to go as is.

See pretty photo’s below: