Oct 01, 1999, 5:25pm

"Mark, where's you're friggin rant update? Ya bastard!"

Yeah yeah yeah. I swear, if you had the month I did, you too would be coocoo for cocoa puffs, and ready to just say "phluck it". Let's see. How did I spend my September? I spent considerable time chasing down a delinquent client (also a fairly large company) for a measly $150. I had a major hard drive crash 5 days before I was to do my biannual systems upgrade. I spent about 60+ hours setting 4 computer systems from a fdisk'ed state. I closed two projects, and started three more, (2 for clients, one for me). I got more and more frustrated with Richmond drivers and the lifestyle out here.

I need a vacation.

So I'm taking one - a pittance of one, really - only 3 days at a trailer down south. But I need it.

In the meantime, there's going to be a slew of new postings in this here page, I swear to God! I've got a lot of stuff on the brain that has me going "hey, that'd make a good rant!" and I took notes. So my plan for the next week or two is to post semi regular updates (when did you last hear that from me - :-)) and surprise the heck out of everyone.

So the topic du jour? How would you like to murder someone, and only have to spend 187 days in jail for it? It can be done - just come to Canada!!

You see, there's this guy, going by the name of Robert Hutchinson, who did a drunken hit and run on a kid here in Richmond, BC. Tried to evade the police through various vehicle switches. Guilty as hell. He was sentenced to 18 months prison, and walked out after 187 days. Got drunk, got behind the wheel of a lethal weapon, and killed someone. Oh, and lest I forget, bleeding hear liberal types with their "he's a good person at heart, let's give him a second chance" attitude helped get him out, even though the parents of the person he killed had a 2700 signature petition asking for him to serve his full (and meagre) sentence.

So here's the deal. Know anyone you want to knock off? Bring 'em up here, Know where they are going to be at a given time, get drunk, get behind the wheel, and you're off. Hopefully the person you want to take out is crossing the street, but don't let that minor issue stop you - drive off the road into pedestrian paths if you need to - Hutchinson did. Now who wouldn't jump at the chance to "off" somebody if the penalty was less than 200 days in jail? And it's a Canadian jail too, don't forget - your own TV, come and go as you please, and in many cases, no walls or fences to keep you feeling all "confined" and shit.

You know, it just makes me shake my head in disgust....

Our court system is so mickey mouse, it's not funny. While we don't have the rampant "sue you" mentality the States has, we do have incredibly stupid judges (don't forget, we have judges up here who have basically made kiddy porn legal), and even worse, we have a no-balls prison system. Long ago the politically correct types got control, and shifted prisons from places of punishment, to places "where individual rights still reign supreme". Often prisoners live better lives inside a Canadian prison than they do outside. I personally believe all violent crimes should be punished with harsh sentences and living conditions. I believe in rehabilitation, but I don't believe in giving up the punishment aspect to achieve rehab.

You beat someone up? 2 years, no tv, no recreation (other than reading, taking classes, etc), and a strict rise to bed regimen to follow.

You killed someone? 20 years minimum, ditto on above.

You drove drunk and killed someone? First, you never, ever get to drive legally again. Next, you spend 2-5 years in prison, with no privileges, no tv in your cell, no come and go as you please. You work 8 hours a day, and while you are in prison, every dollar you earn means 75 cents goes to the family of the person you killed.

You rape someone? Hrmm... you don't want to hear my personal solution for a rapist's punishment. Let's say the word "slice" comes to mind.

Oh, and one more thing. When I say "2 years" or "5 years" or "20 years", I mean just that. No bullshit "time off for good behaviour". How about "time added unless you are always in good behaviour", ya lying, cheating, violent, raping, killing (pick one or more) bastard!

There's a lot of talk about deterrence in the US... as in "three strike rule is deterrence", or "death penalty is a deterrence". I don't know about the death penalty (I don't think "the state" has a right to kill anyone... they should be bound by the same laws individuals are - thou shalt not kill), but I think the 3 strike rule is.

Up here in Canada, prison life for most offenders is so cushy, so comfortable, so easy on them, that it often is not a deterrence at all. If a guy knew he would lose his license for life, with no recourse if caught driving drunk, would he think about it a lot more before getting behind the wheel? With the current 48 hour / 1 month / 1 year program in place in most provinces, yeah, I think he would. It's obvious that some people are far too stupid to realize that driving drunk is dangerous, so maybe showing them equally harsh consequences would open a few eyes that otherwise would be blind.

And that's all I have to say on that.

Wait till the next episode, where I espouse on a totally different topic - Microsoft and their crappy software ... should I bill them for all the hours they caused me to use up with this latest round of installs?

Till next time.... thanks for stopping by.

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Mixelania

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Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
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St. Petersburg Times
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AP Story on Espresso
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Globe and Mail
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The Olympian, WA
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Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer

NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines

Time Mag Article
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NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.

Washington Monthly
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USA Today - Barista Jam
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WSJ Article
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Reuters Interview
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CoffeeGeek
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CoffeeKid Website
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enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.

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DPReview Forums`
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MoCo Loco
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Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
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Canon 5D
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Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography

Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.

Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D

Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs

28mm f1.8 Lens
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Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.

Canon 50mm 1.4
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Canon 10-22mm
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