Russ Nelson's blog

[ Home | RSS 2.0 | ATOM 1.0 ]

Sat, 18 Apr 2009

It is NOT moral

It is NOT MORAL to use violence (or threats of violence) to change the behavior of peaceful people. This is true no matter what they are doing: whether they are talking to each other, writing to each other, meeting with each other, worshipping with each other, or, yes, trading with each other.

Even if you COULD successfully direct the behavior of other people who have their own plans, IT IS NOT MORAL TO DO SO.

posted at: 04:00 | path: /economics | permanent link to this entry

Mon, 13 Apr 2009

I protected my civil rights today

I was wandering around NYC in the late afternoon today, taking a break from work. Wandered my way down a rathole, into the nether regions of the roads behind Belleview Hospital. Only way out without retracting my steps was to go through the hospital. On the way out, I noticed the old facade of the hospital, with some beautiful stonework. Of course I took a photo, being careful not to include any faces in the photo.

IMG_1426

Immediately a security guard came over and told me "No photos! You'll have to delete any photos you've taken!". I refused, of course. The Supreme Court has ruled that you have a right to take a photo from public property. Bellevue Hospital, being owned by the city, is of course public property. He called for his supervisor, an older and presumably wiser gentleman.

The supervisor gently explained to me (obviously an ignoramus hick from out of town but I repeat myself) that the hospital board has a policy prohibiting photos. I didn't bother explaining to him that the hospital doesn't rule on the Constitution, nor can it take away a basic civil right. I explained that I respected people's right to privacy and didn't include any faces in the photo. He explained that if I did it again, he could confiscate my camera, but that I could keep my photo. No point in explaining the law to him; I just shook his hand, said thanks, and left.

So, no, he still thinks he can threaten peaceful people, but since he respected my civil rights (since I knew them), no harm done.

The moral of the story is: know your civil rights, or you WILL lose them.

posted at: 04:00 | path: /economics | permanent link to this entry

Sun, 12 Apr 2009

Ride starting Mon Apr 13 18:11:41 2009

24.33 km 79814.97 feet 15.12 mi 4489.00 seconds 74.82 minutes 1.25 hours 12.12 mi/hr

BRRRRRRRRR!!! Another chilly April ride. Dang. I was fine on the ride, but now I've got a chill. May have to fire up the Japanese-style soaking tub.

posted at: 22:11 | path: /bicycling | permanent link to this entry

Sat, 11 Apr 2009

Gun Control means Hitting your Target

I went to 4-H Shooting Sports club with my son today, and shot a .22 rifle for the first time in 30 years. Once I got the rifle sighted in, 4 of 10 were within a bullet's diameter of where I wanted to put them, and on the single target, all were within the innermost circle.

Gun control means hitting your target! w00t!

CCF04112009_00001CCF04112009_00000

posted at: 04:00 | path: /economics | permanent link to this entry

Mon, 06 Apr 2009

Ride starting Fri Apr 10 15:27:24 2009

23.28 km 76393.65 feet 14.47 mi 5457.00 seconds 90.95 minutes 1.52 hours 9.54 mi/hr

Brrrrrrr, that was a cold ride. Shorts and bike jersey, less than 50 degrees out. But I had a nice ride. Nothing to argue with there.

posted at: 19:31 | path: /bicycling | permanent link to this entry

Wed, 01 Apr 2009

Archives

Are you not a coder? Or are your coding skills rusty, having moved on? No matter! You can still contribute to open source. Open source is only one part of a program. The other part is open data. I'm encouraging people to contribute to OpenStreetMap. We're running OpenStreetMap mapping parties all over the world. All skills taught! What's important is your willingness to contribute to an Open Data project, and location, location, location. We can only map where you are.

posted at: 15:30 | path: /opensource | permanent link to this entry

Yeeks!

Yeeks! Patri Friedman disses folk activism, which I sadly find myself trapped in here.

Sing it, choir!

posted at: 04:00 | path: /economics | permanent link to this entry

Made with Pyblosxom