So Digg's comment system changed...

I'm getting really sick of reading some of the nasty things people have been writing about the changes to the comment system on Digg. Like whoever made those changes, I am a programmer too. I deal directly with the people who use the applications I write nearly every day, and I have never had a paying customer tell me that something I've written sucks. No.. They make reccomendations about how to make it better. Why? Because their sole mission in life isn't to piss off and insult the programmers that write it. They want to have a product that works for them becuase thats what they pay for.

The difference between what I do, and what the programmers that made the new comment system work is that they have alot more customers. Its hard enough keeping 10 or 20 users happy let alone the numbers Digg has to deal with. I'm sure eventually the system will get better, and I'm sure they look forward to constructive criticism, but support them, don't tear them down.

And to the guys who wrote it... Good Job, and ignore their attempt to bring you down knowing that they have no clue how the process goes.

Spitzer Changes Stance on Medical Marijuana

New York State Governor, Eliot Spitzer has said he can support the legalization of marijuana for some medical uses. While I think this is a step in the right direction, and I applaud him for opening his mind and allowing his pre-conceptions to be corrected, I found another section of the article hillarious.

"Legislation in Albany would permit an eligible patient to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or be in possession of up to 2.5 ounces of harvested marijuana. To get the marijuana, though, patients would need to find their own suppliers, whether on the streets or by other means. "

This means, yes people will be able to use marijuana for some medical uses legally, but... Unless plants start miraculously sprouting up around their house, they're still going to have to purchase it from drug dealers, unless the drug dealers freely give it to them.

I have a huge problem with this. It completely defeats what I see as a huge purpose for legalizing medical marijuana or just legalizing marijuana. It will contribute money to the pockets of drug dealers rather than legitimate channels that would otherwise contribute to further research on marijuana. How does this make sense?

Its not all the State government's fault though. The federal government needs to relax its laws relating to the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and stop raiding the institutions that provide it. Those responsible in the federal government need to get off their lazy asses, and do exactly what Spitzer did - put their preconceived ideas aside, and listen to the facts.

Legalization of Marijuana - Good or Bad?

I always get angry when I read discussions about the legalization of Marijuana. Most of the time you see people flaming back and forth with really weak reasoning. Well here's my take on the issue.The main reasoning I've heard against marijuana is:Like cigarettes, smoking it may lead to cancer (although I have seen no studies that show this).It impairs peoples judgement - (maybe not - keep reading)It is a gateway drug leading to the use of other drugsIts just bad because it is.Ok, now for the Pro-Marijuana reasoning:A study conducted in New York this year showed that the reasoning of experienced pot smokers was not affected by being high. Their response time was however.Marijuana effectively helps people with certain types of pain.Marijuana is bought, sold and used illegally in this country despite huge the large penalties associated with it. This drives up its black market price making some people very rich and promoting crime. Legalizing it would take a huge chunk of profits out of the hands of drug dealers and put it into the hands of law obiding citizens.Supposedly, Marijuana is more effective and successfull in the treatment of certain psychological disorders than the drugs that are legally available for their treatment.I'm hoping that the legalization of medical marijuan eventually takes hold nation wide and federally. My reasoning behind this is that if it does, it will be easier, and less taboo to study it. Proper studies will effectively prove or disprove the propoganda we hear from either side of this argument, and we'll finally know if its good or bad. I get incredibly angered at people who refuse to open their minds to the possiblity that all of the negative propoganda they've grown up hearing about pot might be wrong when the fact is NOBODY KNOWS. Marijuana could be a miricle drug that helps all kinds of conditions that are we currently don't have solutions to. Its use could even be beneficial to our health in general. The one thing that is true about Marijuana is that unless people open their minds and allow our scientists and doctors to investigate the possibilities, we'll never know the truth. That's what infuriates me.



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