British to save e-mail records

It appears that the USA isn't the only country to think about spying on their populace. The British government has put in place rules that would require ISPs to keep records of every e-mail sent or received.

"The rules, which come into effect by March 15, implement a 2006 European Union directive. Service providers will not store the content of e-mails, and the government says there is no threat to individual privacy."

Ok, so there'd be no threat to privacy. Maybe so. Maybe not.

As an example I have a cousin who lives in Britain. (I do, btw)
Any e-mail I send to or receive from her will have a record kept.
Will the British government, at some later time, want to expand this to
include keeping an eye on what is said? Can it be kept safe? Will it be shared?
If so, by whom will it be shared.

Big Brother is watching, and it worries me.

more to come.

Tooth extractions part III

First. A Happy New Year to all.

On to the story.
Today I began the second part of my journey wearing dentures.
As you'll recall, last year I had my upper teeth removed and a
full upper plate made. I have gotten used to that. Solid solid
food is still, to this day, not all that easy for mr s. -that's
me- to eat. I finish last -and I am not racing- most of the time.

The lower teeth came out today. As of 11 EST (-5 GMT), I am totaly
with out my natural teeth.

I needed more Novacain today then I did last year. More to the tune of
four shots to the left jaw, three to the right and one, spaced along the
front gum. It all wore off around 1300 (1 PM).

I can speak well and have the occaisional twinge from the sutures.
Meds to combat the pain and infection. NO. I don't have an infection.
The meds for that are to keep it from developing.

In four weeks I begin the final steps in all of this. I'll have a mold
made of the lower gum. Five weeks later, with a week break to allow the dental
practice a vacation -their choice, not mine, I'll have my lower deture in place.

I am hoping that solid solid foods will be easier to eat. I will trully miss
a good deal of foods if it becomes too hard to eat. Corn on the cob and apples
being two of them.

I'll keep y'all posted.

More to come

So this is Christmas

So this is Christmas and what have we done.
Another year over. A new one just begun.
--John Lennon.

So, Christmas has come and gone. For some it just happened or will happen. Remember there are 12 days of it. Day 12 is the 7th.

Christmas for Jen, Andrew and me was a bit light on the receiving end this year.
Lighter still on the giving. Times are tough on all of us. Remember it's not
what you get. It's the thought.

On the Lennon reference. When the song was written, we were involved in a war in Viet Nam. The times are different, or are they. We are agian invoved in a war. Or is that wars. I honestly don't know any more. Like it or not.

All I know is this, we, as a country, need to support our troops. We don't, I repeate, DON'T need to support the reasons. We have family and friends on foriegn soil fighting a mostly unjust cause. They deserve our thanks for their service. They need our support when they return home. They also deserve what the Viet Nam vets didn't get for the most part. That is the help they'll need to heal from all the scars. Emotional as well as physical.

This is also a time for reflection. At least for me. I look back on the past year to see what I have. What I have done. Where I have gone. Even if it is only in my "backyard". I also think of family and what they have had happen.

I wish those who do read my blog a Happy an Prosporus New Year.
Thanks for reading. See you in 2009

-More to come

Laptop Searches

It still astonishes me that the government can get away with this. As I have mentioned before, I am all for the protection of our populace. LEGALY. The article linked here gives one some insight in to what's happening. Googling would undoubtedly lead to more stories. So would looking at the articles posted at the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) site. www.eff.org.

Call me a Conspiricy Theorist. I just don't think the Government needs to go about this in this way.

In my opinion, our Fourth Ammendment right to unreasonable searches and seizures are being violated by doing this. The authorities can search if it's -my emphisis added- IN PLAIN SIGHT And if not, then get a warrant. PERIOD.

Note: Clicking on the title links to the referenced article.
More to come

Day two of new smile aka new smile part deux

So, here I am two days, 10 hours and 25 minutes as of the start of this post in to having a full upper denture. It's not as easy as I thought it'd be. Eating solid foods is doable. It's also a bit tough. Pun intended. Yeah, I can eat solid food. And I am enjoying doing so. It's the one thing I missed having while I had no teeth. I did eat some semi-solid foods and some more than semi-solids. Just not TRULLY solid. I just wish I had the lowers to go with the upper. I think it'd be easier to eat.

I also got to thinking today while I was working. It got to the point where I almost broke down. Yes, I almost cried. And, what's wrong with a guy who cries?
NUTTIN'!! imo.

You may ask why I almost cried. I'll tell you.
Having a full upper makes me feel old. People my age should not, I repeate, NOT
have dentures. Sure there are people my age who do have them. I just feel that aat
44 going on 45, I should not have them.

I knew a few years ago that I'd most likely need them I just didn't think it's be this soon. I guess that's what I get for not paying more attention to the brushing.
My own damned fault.

I'll keep y'all posted

-More to come.