GameHater's blog: "Only when I find something worthwhile"

created on 06/24/2009 | http://fubar.com/only-when-i-find-something-worthwhile/b301101

posted on 08/12/2011&nbs-07:00;@&nbs-07:00;10:08&nbs-07:00;am

One reason I am not on a ton of social sites
http://fubar.com/one-reason-i-am-not-on-a-ton-of-social-sites/b301101-1157470

Facebook Stole Every Number in Your Phone; Here’s How to Undo the Damage

Published August 12, 2011 | BGR

This may come as a shock considering how seriously Facebook takes your privacy, but if you’re a Facebook user with one of Facebook’s mobile applications installed on your iPhone or one of several other smartphones, you’ve been robbed. Each and every contact stored on your phone is probably now also stored on Facebook’s servers, as was re-re-rediscovered by Facebook users this past week.

Whether or not people in your contact list even have Facebook accounts, their names and phone numbers are likely now in Facebook’s possession.

There is probably a clause buried deep within Facebook’s terms and conditions that makes this invasion of your privacy OK on paper, but odds are still pretty good that it’s not OK with you.

Complete instructions outlining how to remove all of your contacts’ phone numbers from your Facebook account can be found below. Whether or not the data will be completely wiped from Facebook’s servers is unclear, but we’ll leave that for the lawyers to figure out.

. Visit facebook.com from a PC and log in

2. in the top-right corner of the screen, click on Account and then Edit Friends

3. In the menu on the left side of the screen, click on Contacts

4. Here, you will see that each and every one of your contacts in Address Book are listed along with their phone numbers… wipe the look of shock and disgust from your face

5. On the right side of the screen, click on the “this page” link

6. Follow the instructions on this page — you’ll have to disable contact-sync in Facebook’s mobile app if it’s enabled — and click the Remove button

Note: Many users note that Facebook’s mobile apps now carry disclaimers that mention the fact that Facebook is taking your data. Of course Facebook does currently include a disclaimer, though the wording makes no mention of this data being stored on its servers. Even still, this has not been the case with all versions of the app, and there are also numerous reports from users who claim to have never synchronized their contacts with Facebook’s mobile apps, yet still find all of their contact data stored on Facebook’s servers.

This content was originally published on BGR.com

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posted on 06/30/2011&nbs-07:00;@&nbs-07:00;10:06&nbs-07:00;am

Worth the effort to read...especially with the holiday
http://fubar.com/worth-the-effort-to-read-especially-with-the-holiday/b301101-1154152

Six Boys And Thirteen Hands...

Each year I am hired to go to Washington DC, with the eighth grade class from Clinton, WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima , Japan , during WW II.

Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?'

I told him that we were from Wisconsin . 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.'

(It was James Bradley who just happened to be in Washington , DC , to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington , DC , but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)

'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin . My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers' which is #5 on the New York Tim es Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.

'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.

(He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph...a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the battle of Iwo Jima . Boys. Not old men.

'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank.. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys.. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'

'The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona .. Ira Hayes was one of them who lived to walk off Iwo Jima . He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?'

So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down, drowned in a very shallow puddle, at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken).

'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky . A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or the New York Tim es would call, we were trained as little kids to say 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell 's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press.

'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a combat caregiver. On Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died on Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the pain.

'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'

'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima , and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.'

Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.

We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice

Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom...please pray for our troops.

Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also ..please pray for our troops still in murderous places around the world.

STOP and thank God for being alive and being free due to someone else's sacrifice.

God Bless You and God Bless America .

REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day.

One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is . . that if you look at the statue very closely and count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th hand was the hand of God.

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posted on 05/05/2011&nbs-07:00;@&nbs-07:00;12:05&nbs-07:00;pm

Mileage Tax? Really?
http://fubar.com/mileage-tax-really/b301101-1150016

Below is the latest little effort to make up for the foreseen decline of the gas tax as cars get better on mileage and people drive less...

The Rube Goldberg Gas Tax

By RICK FERRI

The Obama administration is floating a transportation authorization bill that would tax automobile drivers based on how many miles they drive. This new tax is being considered to make up for lost gas tax revenue as cars and drivers become more energy efficient.

The proposed “Transportation Opportunities Act” would mandate a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax that’s calculated by installing electronic equipment on each car and at filling stations. VMT calculation and payment would take place electronically every time you buy gas at the pump. Buying and maintaining the equipment would undoubtedly be at a cost to service stations and vehicle owners, and non-compliance will likely result in hefty fines. The plan is a part of an administration’s draft proposal obtained by Transportation Weekly.

Call me a pragmatist, but if the Obama administration wants to make up lost revenue because people are being more energy efficient, why not just increase the gas tax? The federal excise tax on gasoline is already 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. Increasing this tax fixes the lost revenue problem. It’s a simple solution that doesn’t require that we all buy expensive equipment for our cars to essentially pay a new gas tax.

I believe VMT should be called the Rube Goldberg Gas Tax because while it’s objective is the same as the gas tax, the way it collects revenue is extremely complex, costly and cumbersome. It’s understandable that the administration wishes to avoid the stigma of increasing gas prices when the price of gas is about $4 per gallon, but VMT is so close to a gas tax that it’s going to be called that anyway.

The administration’s answer to falling federal revenue from lower energy use should be higher energy taxes. This encourages even less energy use, which is in line with our national energy policy, and it maintains revenues without creating more forms of federal taxation.

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posted on 01/07/2011&nbs-08:00;@&nbs-08:00;06:01&nbs-08:00;am

Copied from an email from my Dad
http://fubar.com/copied-from-an-email-from-my-dad/b301101-1140581

CINDY WILLIAMS was appointed by Obama as an Assistant Director for NATIONAL SECURITY in the Congressional Budget Office.....

Military Pay

This is an Airman's response to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in the Washington Times about MILITARY PAY, it should be printed in all newspapers across America .

Ms. Cindy William wrote a piece for the Washington Times denouncing the pay raise(s) coming service members' way this year citing that she stated a 13% wage
increase was more than they deserve.

A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article below. He ought to get a bonus for this.

"Ms Williams:
I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GI's earn enough" and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and my bank account. Checking my latest earnings statement I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes per month. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40 after.

I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of the team responsible for a 5,000 host computer network. I am involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for "Network Technicians" in the Washington , D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years’ experience in my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum............ I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.

Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had the pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces.
Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN ; I leave the choice of service branch up to you. Whatever choice you make though, opt for the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience."

As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone. Obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of
cash the government has been giving them.

Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night, and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember this: trade whatever MRE's (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor.

Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't be nearly long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points
you present in your open piece.

But, tomorrow from KABUL , I will defend to the death your right to say it.

You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment right and every other right you cherish...On a daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective noses at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies.

And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall
to say that we make more than we deserve?

A1C Michael Bragg, Hill AFB AFNCC

IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT OF THE AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

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posted on 11/30/2010&nbs-08:00;@&nbs-08:00;05:11&nbs-08:00;am

Funny story
http://fubar.com/funny-story/b301101-1137566

A Great Senior Moment!

Here's a quote from a government employee who witnessed a recent inter-action between an elderly woman and an antiwar protester in a D. C. airport. There were protesters on the train platform handing out pamphlets, on the evils of America . I politely declined to take one.

The elderly woman was behind me getting off the escalator and a young (20-ish) female protester offered her a pamphlet, which she politely declined. The young protester put her hand on the old woman's shoulder as a gesture of friendship and in a very soft voice the young lady said, "Lady, don't you care about the children of Iraq?"

The old woman looked up at her and said, "Honey, my father died in France during World War II, I lost my husband in Korea , and a son in Vietnam. All three died so a bitch like you could have the right to stand here and badmouth our country. If you touch me again, I'll stick this umbrella up your ass and open it."

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!!

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posted on 11/23/2010&nbs-08:00;@&nbs-08:00;08:11&nbs-08:00;am

Must be the weather....
http://fubar.com/must-be-the-weather/b301101-1136988

Good morning to anyone that actually takes the time to read it....or just hello if your in a different time zone!

I don't know what it is today but I figure its partly the weather. Just feel blah. So yeah...let's blame the weather.

Sitting here at my desk in my office and its actually a slow day since its getting close to Turkey day. More then likely be running on a skeleton crew tomorrow and off for Thursday and Friday (yeah!!). Alright...back to this. Normally I feel pretty blah by mid winter since there is like a ton of snow in Michigan by then. But I am still usually in a good mood if you take out the weather factor. But this week....nah...complete opposite.

More then likely its just a combo of things. Weather...holidays...dealing with the entire family for an entire day, minus my dad since he went to FL early this year. Go figure on that. Smart man. I love my family but I hate spending an entire day with all of them...I'm one of the single ones in the family...still...but I really have to start saying No to the entire family function. My cousin bailed...she found a way to only show up for the food and leave right after...dangit. So that leaves me and my other cousin to fight off the questions of why haven't you settled down yet. (sigh) I love my family...I love my family. lol

I came to work yesterday and was thinking its a moaning monday...and it literally was since I had to listen to people bitch and moan. I know its just me for the IT here but there are portions of it that I am not responsible for (AS400 or simply put main frame work is the big thing). It truly sucks when you walk in the door and see your voice mail light blinking like crazy with 10 messages...all for main frame issues. Called them all back or emailed them telling them to call the main frame support. Well...it seems almost all of the main frame support took this week off but 2 people and neither are answering phones or emails. Gee....so I get the pissed off overflow.

Solution? Send out a mass email to all the folks having issues and CC the entire main frame section with the issue letting them all know that its just 2 people responsible this week...and that I wasn't able to get ahold of them by phone or email. Oh....and I CCed the head of IT for the entire company. :-)

Wouldn't you know it...suddenly there are responses. He was literally ticked that there are only 2 people for 12 plants working the main frames. FYI....normally its 1 person for 1 plant. For the holidays its supposed to half are working at the least. Opps.

And wouldn't you know it...I come in today and almost the same issue....but this time I don't have to send out a mass email. Thank god.

Don't get me wrong....I actually love my job. I like where I work and most of the folks I work with. It's flexible hours and awesome pay. But it kills me that there is so little communication between the IT Staff on vacations and days off. Argh!

It's gotta be the weather....It's gotta be!

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posted on 11/08/2010&nbs-08:00;@&nbs-08:00;12:11&nbs-08:00;pm

Veteran's Day Specials for Vets...please repost
http://fubar.com/veteran-s-day-specials-for-vets-please-repost/b301101-1135651

· Veteran’s Day Offers! This Veteran’s Day, November 11^th, be sure to show your ID and take advantage of some great deals…

- Applebee's Restaurant - Free dinners to veterans throughout Veterans Day November 11th; selections will be from a new Veterans Day menu.
- Outback Steakhouse - Free Blooming Onion and beverage.
- Golden Corral- Free buffet dinner from 5-9 p.m. on Nov. 16 to anyone who has ever served in the U.S. military Staff.
- Subway is showing its thanks with free six inch subs to all Veterans or Active Duty members.
- Krispy Kreme - One free doughnut of any variety.
- UNO Chicago Grill- Free entree or individual pizza with an entree or pizza purchase of equal or greater value.
- Brides Across America - Provides free wedding gowns to qualified military brides.
- Lowe's & Home Depot - Extra 10% off to active-duty military members, National Guard and reserve members, retirees, honorably discharged veterans and immediate family members.
- Amazon.com http://amazon.com/ - Free "Veterans Day Honor" MP3 album download. The album includes 12 songs by The Bands and Ensembles of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- Cabela's Outdoor Store - Offers their employee discount to all veterans, active-duty military and reserves, law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel Nov. 11-12. Discounts vary from 5% to 50%, depending on the item.
- Build-a-Bear Workshop - Members of the armed services including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Reserve Officer Training Corps, will receive a 20% discount Nov. 11-15 on any one transaction at Build-A-Bear Workshop.
- Dollar General - 10% discount for all veterans, active-duty military, National Guard and reserve and their immediate families.
- Fashion Bug - 20% off all plus-size and misses clothing purchases with a copy of military ID or spouse's military ID.

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posted on 07/08/2009&nbs-07:00;@&nbs-07:00;12:07&nbs-07:00;pm

Some good lyrics
http://fubar.com/some-good-lyrics/b301101-1042785

My Girlfriend's a dick magnet My Girlfriend's gotta have it
She's hot, can't stop, up on stage, doing shots, Tip the man he'll
Ring the bell, get her drunk she'll scream like hell.
Dirty girl, gettin' down, dance with guys from outta town.
Grab her ass, actin' tough. Mess with her, she'll fuck you up.
No one really knows if she's drunk or if she's stoned, but she's
Comin' back to my place tonite!

She likes to shake her ass she grinds it to the beat
She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth
I like to strip her down she's naughty to the end
You know what she is, no doubt about it
She's a bad, bad girlfriend!

Red thong, Party's on, Love this song, sing along.
Come together, leave alone, see you later back at home
No one really knows if she's drunk or is she's stoned
But she's coming back to my place tonite. I say
No one really knows just how far she's gonna go,
But I'm gonna find out later tonite

She likes to shake her ass she grinds it to the beat
She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth
I like to strip her down she's naughty to the end
You know what she is, no doubt about it
She's a bad, bad girlfriend!

Doesn't take her long to make things right.
But does it make her wrong to
Have the time of her life. the time of her life
My girlfriend's a dick magnet My girlfriend's gotta have it

She's a gold digger now you figure out it's over, pull the trigger.
Futures finished, there it went, savings gone,
The money spent

I look around and all I see is, no good, bad and ugly,
Man she's hot and fixed to be, the future
Ex-Miss Connolly!

She likes to shake her ass she grinds it to the beat
She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth
I like to strip her down she's naughty to the end
You know what she is, no doubt about it
She's a bad, bad girlfriend!

She's a bad, bad girlfriend.
She's a bad, bad girlfriend.

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posted on 06/24/2009&nbs-07:00;@&nbs-07:00;06:06&nbs-07:00;pm

Pride in what we do
http://fubar.com/pride-in-what-we-do/b301101-1037948

Over the last week and a half I was back in Ohio taking part in an inspection for my old guard unit (well...was current at the time). It's whats called an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI). An ORI is designed to see if a unit is capable of handling and functioning with its mission capabilities. We had been getting ready for it for the last 18 months...and in 4 days it was over. So much work and prep put into it and we rocked.

We pulled the highest rating that could be given in both sections of the ORI. That has not been accomplished by a unit in over 14 years. That says alot in the planning and training that went into getting ready.

Monday was my last day officially with the unit. I out processed with them. Why? I live over 6 hours away now instead of 30 minutes. I transferred to another unit.

Leaving that unit was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. I spent 16 years with them. They were my second family. I have watched kids grow up in that unit and then join when they turned 18. I watched friends retire from there. 16 years...long time. To have my commander shake my hand and tell me thank you and remember when I worked directly for him and some of the pranks I pulled as an airman.

I told him that being in that unit had been some of the proudest years of my life. I deployed with them several times, I worked with them through situations that called us all together. We always took pride in what we did. We took the core values taught us in basic and live by them. That is what makes us one of the best units around. Hands Down. We are pointed out by the active duty as one of the units to turn to when in need of bodies for deployments or for training exercises. We are the unit that can and will find a way to make something work.

That is where we pull our Pride from...each other....we rely on each for the knowledge, the friendship, the values to adapt and overcome obstacles put in our path.

We were the First then....and we are First Now.

To be the first unit put together after WWII and still be around...that says alot.

I will miss you all...you will always be home. No other unit will be able to replace the Pride I have in having been a member.

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