National Security Inquiry: Urgent Request for Action

This is the email I have sent to my MP. Please find your own here on the Australian Parliament House website and feel free to take any portion of my email for the purpose of expediting a letter to your MP.

Gillard Government Caught Blatantly Violating own Law

If this article about the National Security Inquiry is anything to go by, the government has been caught breaking their own law, instituted by them to counteract abuses of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1982, as perpetrated by the earlier Howard government.

Utopia

I've read Utopia.

Have you?

People throw that term around a lot. It's meant to describe an idyllic nation of happy, happy people.

Actually, here's what the book describes:
- A place where petty criminals are made into slaves, for life.
- A place where, in order to take a holiday from your town, you need to get permission to abscond from your career-chip-style job.
- A place where only those who don't cause any problems and are happy to live out a life of servitude to the status quo can survive.

Just seems like something to think about for those who think that there is an easy solution to creating the ideal situation on earth for everyone.

Sometimes, literature just doesn't live up to reality.

More Police State Shenanigans in Australia

Read Crikey's piece on the government's latest attempt to strip citizen's of their rights. It's a good summary. Then, read the 60 page recommendation, if you can be bothered.

Times to Keep Jokes to Self: Thesis

Following is a section from my honours thesis into genetic tree algorithms, from 2003. I've italicised the relevant part.

What kind of idiot makes jokes in their thesis, you might ask? This kind of idiot.

Atheism for Kids

There are two* things wrong with religion:

1. The unsubstantiated beliefs, themselves, and
2. The fervour with which belief systems are defended by their adherents.

For the first reason, I want to prevent my daughter from being exposed to crazy ideas at an age predating her critical-thinking abilities.

Myki Sucks

Tomorrow is going to be a very sad day for me.

It's the day I'll use the last trip on my last value Metcard, and will effectively be forced to buy a Myki card.

The sale of multi-trip value cards stopped at the end of June, and I had meant to stock up on a few hundred dollars worth beforehand, to delay the inevitable, but I forgot about it, due to focussing on a long essay for uni.

Instead, I'm going to be forced to use the worst public transport ticketing system I've ever seen.