Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

The nice thing about the new code is that I can pretty seamlessly create any old overlay I want; which means that if you are an artist that's a regular contributor to BME, it's not hard to make a custom logo for those image (ie. co-branding). I'll make up a how-to sheet on that some time, but it should be perfect for suspension groups, tattoo artists, etc…

I just whipped off these four to test the software; as you can see it worked fine (the only one I think I like enough to keep is the zombie one).

First, some scrapbook stuff. As you know, we made a guestimate at the pricing. As it turns out, we ended up with a bill a solid $3000 higher than expected from the printing company. Their excuse? “We thought the covers were black and white when we quoted you.”

That's a load of crap because while we were talking about those quotes, they had the source files in their possession. And when I asked them, “well, what does it cost to prepare a color cover” they told me it cost a couple hundred dollars more over the run…. Which is a far cry from $3000.

This is the same printer I've used for two previous books as well as the trading cards, so I trusted them and we'd just done everything over the phone without written contracts. We ended up losing money on the softcovers which cost much more than expected, and making a little money on the hardcovers (they were cheaper than expected).

The only good news is that there was an overrun on the hardcovers, so we've got about an extra hundred to hundred and fifty hardcovers to sell — which will pick up the slack of the loss (so please don't think I'm asking for a handout — assuming they all sell there's no loss at all).

Lessons learned:

• Always get a written estimate that includes the specifics.
• If any details of a project change post-quote, get a new quote in writing.
• Just because you've worked with someone before, doesn't mean they won't screw you the next time.
• If you're doing a small press run, print it as a hardcover. It's not that much more expensive and worth every penny.

Anyway, while I was waiting on that I started jotting down some of the 9/11 timeline. I find that when analyzing IAM logs for “misbehavior” you get some very interesting insights if you create timelines that include only specific types of events — I took a look at some of the 9/11 timelines online and started whipping up one of my own.

I'm not going to tell you what conclusions to draw. I'm tired of doing that. Really tired of it. Any fool can read the history of what happened (all of the below is VERY easy to confirm and none of it is considered “conspiracy” type news) and see what's really happened. I've hilighted the parts that I thought were particularly telling:

  2000:           Bush Sr. again meets with the bin Laden                  family on behalf of the Carlyle Group (a                  defense contractor). This was denied until                  a thank you note was found.    Spring 2000:    Mohammed Atta meets with US DOA official                  Johnelle Bryant (using his real name), who                  says he asked her for a loan of $650k to                  buy and modify a crop-duster with a giant                  chemical tank, tells her all the details of                  his travel over the last year, asks about                  security at the WTC, tells her about al                  Qaeda and how it needs more Americans to get                  involved, calls bin Laden the world's                  greatest leader, asks to buy an aerial photo                  of Washington from her, asks her how she'd                  feel if someone crashed a plane into                  buildings in Washington, threatens to kills                  her, and so on. He comes back a second time                  in a lame disguise (glasses) trying for the                  loan again. Three other terrorists try for                  the same loan from Bryant.    Jun 2000:       The websites attackonamerica.com,                  attackontwintowers.com, horrorinnewyork.com,                  nycterroriststrike.com, terrorattack2001.com,                  pearlharborinmanhattan.com, and many other                  similar domains are all registered.    Sep 2000:       Unmanned spy planes map and photograph                  Afghanistan, including footage of bin Laden                  himself.    Oct 2000:       Two of the hijackers move in with                  Abdussattar Shaikh in San Diego, an FBI                  undercover agent.    Oct 24-26 2000: Emergency drills based on crashing a plane                  into the Pentagon are carried out.    Jan 2001:       The Bush Administration orders the FBI and                  CIA to back off investigations into the bin                  Laden family (who are currently living in                  Falls Church, VA).    Jun 2001:       US launches "Visa Express" in Saudi Arabia,                  where the issuing office allows US VISAs to                  be obtained anonymously. Three hijackers get                  their visas at this office.    Jun 11 2001:    FBI are shown photos of the hijackers by the                  CIA. The FBI recognize them, but the CIA                  refuses to give them any information citing                  "clearance".    Summer 2001:    The Pakistani government wires $100,000 US                  to lead hijacker Mohammed Atta. The aid that                  did it is the main suspect in the Daniel                  Pearl murder.    Jul 2001:       FBI agent Ken Williams tries to start an                  investigation into terrorists he believed                  were taking flying lessons in Arizona, but                  is blocked.    Jul 2001:       US government informs Pakistan and Russia                  that the US is planning military strikes                  against Afghanistan in October.    Jul 4-14 2001:  Osama bin Laden received kidney treatment at                  an American hospital in Dubai and meets with                  CIA Station Chief Larry Mitchell. While                  officially denied, this continues to be                  confirmed by both French Intelligence and                  hospital staff.    Jul 24 2001:    The US government (the owners of the WTC                  center at the time) sells the WTC to a                  private investor for $3.2 billion. This                  is the first time it has ever been sold.    Jul 26 2001:    John Ashcroft (US attorney general) stops                  flying commercial airlines due to a "threat                  assessment". When asked about the specifics                  he claims not to know why.    Jul 2001:       David Schippers (Clinton impeachment lawyer)                  is contacted by FBI agents who want him to                  get the government to stop the attacks. They                  tell him a terrorist attack is planned for                  NYC.    Aug 6 2001:     Bush is read a report than bin Laden is                  planning to hijack commercial planes and use                  them to attack US. Bush cancels the meeting                  part way through and spends the rest of the                  day fishing.    Aug 2001:       Raytheon (defense contractor) demonstrates                  fly-by-wire technology. Employees from                  Raytheon's "Global Hawk" pilotless plane                  division are on every one of the flights                  that crashed on September 11th.    Aug 12 2001:    US naval intelligence officer Mike                  Vreeland, imprisoned in Canada on fraud                  charges, gives details of the WTC and                  Pentagon attacks to his Canadian jailors                  which he claims he downloaded from a                  Pentagon server he hacked. Included is the                  statement, "let one happen, stop the rest".    Aug 22 2001:    FBI agent John O'Neil quits because his                  investigations into the pending bin Laden                  attacks were being continually blocked by                  his superiors.    Aug 23 2001:    The Mossad gives US intelligence a list of                  the hijackers including Alhazmi, Almihdhar,                  Alshehhi, and Atta.    Aug 25 2001:    Hijackers Alhamzi and Almihdhar buy their                  tickets using credit cards with their real                  names. Arrest warrants issued days earlier                  are ignored.    Aug 28 2001:    Even though he is wanted by police, lead                  hijacker Mohammed Atta buys his ticket                  no-questions-asked as well.    Sep 4 2001:     The Bush administration calls for support of                  the NA in Afghanistan and an overthrow of                  the Taliban.    Sep 5 2001:     Two of the hijackers are believed to have                  been photographed on an ATM camera (these,                  along with photos of Atta and Alomari in                  Portland are literally the only photos of                  the hijackers ever taken in the US.)    Sep 6-10 2001:  Put options are purchased on United Air                  Lines and American Airlines (only these two                  airlines) as well as on a number of                  WTC-based businesses. These options are                  purchased via Deutschebank/A.B. Brown,                  managed by the current executive director of                  the CIA.    Sep 10 2001:    John O'Neil (the former FBI agent) becomes                  head of security at the WTC and moves into                  his office. He dies the next day.    Sep 10 2001:    The DOD announces that 25% of the Pentagon                  budget is unaccounted for.    Sep 10 2001:    Flights for most top Pentagon officials are                  cancelled for the next morning because of                  "security concerns".    Sep 11 2001:    The NRO (who runs the US spy satellites)                  runs a "pre-planned simulation" of what                  would happen if a plane were to be used to                  attack a building in New York.    Sep 11 2001:    Warren Buffet (one of the wealthiest men in                  the world) and a guest list of VIPs that                  worked at the WTC held a private "charity                  event" at Offutt Air Force Base, considered                  the "safest place in America". They are                  joined there later that day by President                  Bush.    Sep 11 2001:    The attacks happen. While they are happening                  the Carlyle group (the Bush-associated                  defense contractor) is hosting bin Laden's                  brother in Washington. Five Israeli Mossad                  agents are caught videotaping the WTC                  attack from Liberty State Park. They tell                  the FBI, "our purpose was to document the                  event".    Sep 11 2001:    Orin Hatch tells the AP that the US has been                  monitoring bin Laden's communication and                  knows it was him. Rumsfield denounces him                  for releasing "classified information".    Sep 11 2001:    After reviewing the footage, the New Mexico                  Institute of Mining and Technology states                  that the buildings fell because of precisely                  placed explosives inside the building                  structure. The NMIMT VP retracts the                  statement ten days later after being given a                  large Pentagon contract.    Sep 11 2001:    In a memo later leaked, Rumsfield writes that                  the attacks should be used as a facade to                  attack all of America's pending enemies,                  including those that are unrelated.    Sep 11 2001:    The FBI seizes all private security tapes                  that showed the plane impact at the Pentagon                  and classifies them, and claims that no                  footage was captured by their cameras.    Sep 11 2001:    White house personnel are given anti-Anthrax                  drugs and are told to take it regularly.    Sep 12 2001:    Passport of hijacker Al Suqami is found a                  few blocks from the WTC. The official story                  is that it somehow fell to the ground after                  the plane blew up without any damage.    Sep 13 2001:    The Pentagon does not deny the statement                  that they shot down Flight 93 (after it was                  said to have been taken control of by the                  passengers). Flight 93's debris covers a                  range of nearly ten miles.    Sep 13-19 2001: With FBI assistence, the bin Laden family                  and other prominent Saudis are secretly                  flown out of the US.    Sep 14 2001:    When confronted with evidence from Mike                  Vreeland that the Pentagon had been involved                  with the 9/11 attacks, the military claims                  he had never worked in intelligence, and                  that he'd be discharged in 1986. His lawyers                  then call (on a speaker phone in open court)                  his office in the Pentagon and confirm his                  current employment with the switchboard and                  get through to his voicemail.    Sep 14 2001:    The FBI retrieves the black boxes from                  Flight 93. They later reveal that they have                  recovered the data, but it is classified.    Sep 14 2001:    The US claims to have found the body of one                  of the hijackers in the rubble, as well                  as a tied-up stewardess with plastic handcuffs                  on.    Sep 16 2001:    The FBI stops forensic investigators                  (assigned to the case) from investigating                  the debris from Flight 93.    Sep 16-23 2001: More than half of the hijackers the US has                  named are shown to still be alive and living                  abroad. (This continues to be true).    Sep 21 2001:    Transcripts of flight attendant Amy Sweeny's                  phone call from the plane contradict the                  official hijacker list.    Sep 26 2001:    NYC bans any photographs from being taken at                  the WTC site.    Oct 27 2001:    NSA admits to destroying all of its domestic                  records pertaining to 9/11 due to concerns                  that they may violate civil rights.    Nov 1 2001:     The US government passes an executive order                  banning public access to presidential papers,                  retroactive to 1980.    Nov 21 2001:    The remains of all of the passengers but one                  from flight 77 are identified using DNA.    Dec 25 2001:    Even though a number of qualified sources                  have stated that the planes and the                  subsequent fire could not have knocked down                  the WTC, all of the metal that would have                  confirmed or disproved this was                  immediately removed from the site and                  "recycled" under government control.    Jan 4 2002:     Firefighter trade magazines call the WTC                  collapse investigation a "half-baked farce"                  and state that their engineers agree that                  even with the jet fuel that there's no way                  the planes alone (short of being loaded                  with explosives) could have brought the                  towers down.    Mar 2002:       "l'Effroyable Imposture" is published in                  France giving evidence that the Pentagon was                  actually hit by a missile.    Mar 7 2002:     Even though they'd claimed that there was no                  footage of the Pentagon plane attack, the US                  releases footage that they claim is a plane                  striking the Pentagon. The timestamp on the                  footage says "Sept 12, 5:37 PM".    May 17 2002:    Dan Rather tells the BBC that US journalists                  US journalists are not able to investigate                  9/11 related stories because of fear of                  reprisal against them.    Jun 23 2002:    NYC Fire Department records from 9/11 are                  classified.