Google Drive-ing Away Customers?

Google came out with its online storage service this week, and techies are already sounding warning bells about its terms of service.  In comparison, Dropbox and Microsoft's SkyDrive are very clear about who owns what.

From the Dropbox terms of service:  "Your Stuff & Your Privacy: By using our Services you provide us with information, files, and folders that you submit to Dropbox (together, "your stuff"). You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don't claim any ownership to any of it. These Terms do not grant us any rights to your stuff or intellectual property except for the limited rights that are needed to run the Services, as explained below."

From the SkyDrive terms of service:  "5. Your Content: Except for material that we license to you, we don't claim ownership of the content you provide on the service. Your content remains your content. We also don't control, verify, or endorse the content that you and others make available on the service."

Although Google's Drive misleadingly starts its terms of service with the statement that "what belongs to you stays yours" . . . that's not exactly true.  It goes on to say the following:  "When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes that we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.

So much for "doing no harm" . . .  And not only does Google feel free to abuse it users, it can't resist kicking them in the ass as they walk out the door:  "This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing that you have added to Google Maps)."   Think very carefully before you upload any files whatsoever to Google Drive . . .

If GOP Candidates Tweeted Like Teenagers

Talk About Being Secretly Serviced!

Looky-- Snooki Nookie

Anniversary Greetings

Possibly The Best Obituary Ever

From the Denver Post:

Michael "Flathead" Blanchard

1944-2012

A celebration of the life of Michael "Flathead" Blanchard will be held on April 14th, 3 pm 8160 Rosemary St. Commerce City.

Weary of reading obituaries noting someone’s courageous battle with death, Mike wanted it known that he died as a result of being stubborn, refusing to follow doctors’ orders and raising hell for more than six decades. He enjoyed booze, guns, cars and younger women until the day he died.

Mike was born July 1944 in Colorado to Clyde and Ethel Blanchard. A community activist, he is noted for saving the Dr. Justina Ford house from demolition and defending those who could not defend themselves. He was a Republican delegate, life member of the NRA, founder and President of the Dead Cats MC. He loved music.  Mike was preceded in death by Clyde and Ethel Blanchard, survived by beloved sons Mike and Chopper, former wife Jane Transue, brother Stephen Blanchard (Susan), Uncle Don and Aunt Cynthia Blanchard (his favorite), Uncle Dil and Aunt Dot, cousins and nephews. Baba Yoga can kiss his butt.

So many of his childhood friends that weren’t killed in Vietnam went on to become criminals, prostitutes and/or Democrats. He asks that you stop by and re-tell the stories he can no longer tell. As the celebration will contain adult material we respectfully ask that no children under 18 attend.

Pennsylvania Police Pop Perp Porting Penis Package

Ray Woods' bulge aroused interest from the police-- and when they probed deeper, he got the shaft.

It all started when traffic cops searched 23-year-old Ray Woods after a routine stop in Folcroft, Pa. last week. The cop reported that he saw a bag of marijuana at Woods' feet, and another vial full of weed on the seat when he asked Woods to step out of the car. Their attention was immediately drawn to a giant bulge in his pants, according to reports.

The patrolmen took Woods to a precinct house where the the contours of his pants aroused suspicion. Officers pulled down the perp's pants and discovered he had 41 bags of heroin and 48 bags of cocaine concealed in a larger sack, which was tied to his penis.

"I've seen it down their pants, in their ass, but I've never seen it tied to their penis," Folcroft police officer Christopher Eiserman said. "I couldn't believe it."
But things really got weird.

"I tried to remove it," Eiserman continued. "Unfortunately, and I don't know if it was nervousness or not, but [Woods] started urinating all over." Woods was charged with possession with intent to deliver, tampering with evidence and other crimes.

Chocolate Hangover

Happy Easter

Asshole Cyclist Looking For Sympathy Buys Himself A Heap Of Trouble

The story of a callous cyclist who struck and killed a 71-year-old pedestrian and then apparently took to the Internet to tell his side of the story is burning up discussion forums in San Francisco. In a message posted on the Mission Cycling Club forum, member Chris Bucchere identified himself as the cyclist responsible for the crash the morning of March 29:

“I wrecked on the way home today from the bi-weekly Headlands Raid today. Short story: I'm fine. The pedestrian I clobbered? Not so much.

Around 8 am I was descending Divisidero Street southbound and about to cross Market Street. The light turned yellow as I was approaching the intersection, but I was already way too committed to stop. The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions. The intersection very long and the width of Castro Street at that point is very short, so, in a nutshell, blammo.

Bucchere was a member of the website strava.com, which tracks minute-by-minute data of cyclists for training purposes. According to sources, Bucchere was traveling through the intersection – which is at the bottom of a steep hill – at approximately 35 mph at the time of the collision. Bucchere continued his post:

The quote/unquote 'scene of the crime' was that intersection right by the landmark Castro Theatre – it leads from a really busy MUNI station to that little plaza where The Naked Guy always hangs out. It was commuter hour and it was crowded as all getup. I couldn't see a line through the crowd and I couldn't stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find.

I don't remember the next five minutes but when I came to, I was in a neck brace being loaded into an ambulance. I remember seeing a RIVER of blood on the asphalt, but it wasn't mine. Apparently I hit a 71-year old male pedestrian and he ended up in the ICU with pretty serious head injuries. I really hope he ends up OK.

They asked me a bunch of stupid easy questions that I couldn't answer, so they kept me for a few hours for observation, gave me a tetanus shot and sent me on my way. Anyway, other than a stiff neck, a sore jaw/TMJ, a few bruises and some raspberries, I'm totally fine. I got discharged from the hospital during the lunch hour. The guy I hit was not as fortunate. I really hope he makes it. The cops took my bike. Hopefully they'll give it back.

In closing, I want to dedicate this story to my late helmet. She died in heroic fashion today as my head slammed into the tarmac. Like the Secret Service would do for a president, she took some serious pavement today, cracking through-and-through in five places and getting completely mauled by the ragged asphalt. May she die knowing that because she committed the ultimate sacrifice, her rider can live on and ride on. Can I get an amen?

Amen. The moral of this little story is: WYFH [Wear Your Fucking Helmet]

One poster wrote, “I'm not sure that's the moral of the story,” to which several others agreed. Another poster wrote: “What were you thinking ? As a 15 year sf resident and a 10 year cyclist and a pedestrian at that intersection every weekday .. I'm kind of embarrassed to wear my mc kit anywhere nearby now. I truly hope you've learned your lesson but I'd have to say this is not the end of the story for you, and yes you should get yourself a lawyer.” Another poster wrote, "It takes just one fucking jerk like Chris to give a bad name to the countless other bikers whom obey laws and ride safely." Another poster spoke directly to Bucchere: "Your irresponsibility injured (and ultimately killed) a man and you took to the Internet to tell your story? Yeah, you deserve jail time."

The posts on Mission Cycling Club's message board have since been removed and SFPD still has yet to officially identify the cyclist involved in the incident.  Bucchere's Twitter, LinkedIn and website accounts are gone.

GOP Judge Turns School Marm

In a bit of political grandstanding earlier this week, Obama confidently predicted that the Supreme Court would not take an "unprecedented, extraordinary step" by overturning his health care law-- provoking a storm of protest that he was challenging the nation's top judges. Meanwhile, a GOP-dominated three-judge panel has been hearing a challenge to the health care law in the 5th district. And when the administration's lawyer began her arguments this morning, the Republican-leaning panel went apeshit.

Reagan appointee Judge Jerry Smith immediately interrupted, asking if the Department of Justice agreed that the judiciary could strike down an unconstitutional law. The DOJ lawyer, naturally, answered yes — referencing Marbury v. Madison, the landmark case that firmly established the principle of judicial review more than 200 years ago.

But despite the lawyer's acknowledgement of the judiciary branch's purview, the Republican panel ordered her to "submit a three-page, single-spaced letter by noon Thursday addressing whether the Executive Branch believes courts have such power."

Commentators have been unequivocal about the meaning of the court's order-- that is was meant to embarrass the President. According to blogger Allahpundit, "what the 5th Circuit is doing is humiliating Obama as a way of getting him to stop the demagoguery, with the letter acting as the equivalent of a kid writing on the blackboard as punishment after class. “I will not question Marbury v. Madison, I will not question Marbury v. Madison, I will not question...”

Charting New Depths At NBC

"I appreciate NBC’s boldness in having me on," said Palin, adding, "Doesn’t it kind of reflect that diversity of opinion that I hear that you all espouse?"

"Or desperation," said Meredith Vieria ...