Mind Monkey is now up and running.

The new site, Mind Monkey, is now up and running. It's not perfect, but it's at a point where I'm going to start using it instead of Cleared for Access for my posts. I may or may not eventually move these posts over; for now, it's linked as the Archive. So come on over to Mind Monkey, and let me monkey with your brain meats.

Fnord.

New site is coming along.

Just a quick note: the new site is slowly taking form. Once I'm satisfied with the basic layout, I'll switch over to there. Still haven't decided whether to archive all the old posts there or leave them here, but I'm leaning toward leaving them here. The new site will be a new blog, although it really won't cover anything different. Just a different name. Stay tuned.

Fnord.

Hatred and depression all wrapped into one

The US Senate today did something that the oil industry has been trying to do for twenty years...they voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling. Words can not express the hatred and contempt I feel for those who voted for this shameful, despicable act, nor can they do justice to the feeling that the Bush administration really does want to rape this planet for all it's worth before it drags this country screaming into Hell.

This is just the latest assault against the environment in a string of attacks that started the day that asshole took office. From scientists being gagged for daring to speak out against the president's environmental policies, to producing shoddy environmental documenation, and capping it with the laughable "Clear Skies" initiative...gah. I just can't express how much I despise the man and his supporters. ANWR is salt in the wound.

Eisenhower (who created ANWR) and Roosevelt (arguably one of the most conservation-minded presidents of the twentieth century) must be rolling in their graves. If I were a Republican, I'd be ashamed of how the party had raped the memory of past Republican presidents. No wonder my father became a Democrat. What the hell is this country coming to?

Fnord.

New domain coming

Because blogger.com is Teh Suck, I have registered my own domain finally and will soon be moving over there. Details to follow. Most likely I'll just provide a link to this site once the new one goes live instead of trying to recreate posts there.

Stay tuned, same time and same bat channel...for now.

Fnord.

California edges closer to the Massachusetts model

A San Fransisco County superior court judge today ruled California's ban on gay marriage violates the state constitution. The case will be appealed and the state supreme court will have to rule, if they choose to take up the case. This mirrors the situation in Massachusetts over a year ago when that state's supreme court ruled that the state constitution, as written, protected gay marriage.

This is good news, of course. There is a proposed constitutional amendment pending in the state legislature that would ban gay marriage, making the court case moot, but I hope the state's voters are progressive enough to reject it if it actually winds up on the ballot. It's far from a sure thing, though. California is pretty blue, but the voters can be surprising. The same state that was the first to legalize medical marijuana also voted to deny illegal immigrants education and health benefits (since stalled in court) and voted in the notorious "3 Strikes" law (currently being reworked, if memory serves).

Still, this is a positive sign. While it gives the fundies more ammo against "activist judges," it also provides another much-needed chance for people to see that gay marriage won't bring about the Apocalyse. This is the new civil rights battle, and it's interesting to bear witness to these moments in history.

Fnord.

Just thought I'd throw this out there...

As if we didn't need more proof that the White House is in the hands of people who just should not be making speeches, I give you this bit from DailyKos. Enjoy.

Fnord.

The brains of the Insurance Institute seem to be missing

You may have seen the report on Friday that Consumer Reports, based on tests conducted by the Insurance Institute, named the Ford Focus the best small car of the year. Today, CR rescinded that honor in light of the II's side-impact crash test results, which gave all small cars a rating of poor unless they were retested with optional equipment, at the request and expense of the manufacturer.

I have a couple observations about this. For one, no small car is going to do well when t-boned by an SUV. Small object hit by large object = small object suffers. Even with safety features like side-impact airbags, you're probably going to get a couple bruises (or worse) if you're in said small car. In that sense, yes, they are "poor" choices when it comes to accidents.

However, if you look at how the II tested the cars, you'll see their tests are bubkus compared to the indusry-standard governmental crash tests. They take a big, 3100 lb weight, and smash it into the car at 31 mph. That's it. Guess what? I don't think any car would do well if run over by a boulder, do you? Contrast this to the government method, which takes a block of similar weight but lower to the ground to (get this) simulate an actual vehicle. Boulder simulation vs. vehicle simulation...hmm.

Anyway, the Ford Focus (to use the example from the article) gets an "Acceptable" rating, or 3 stars, in the government crash tests. Maybe it would be nice to know that, if I were in a Focus and a huge rock rolled down a hill and smashed into the car, I'd be likely to survive. But I don't think this is a vital point when most people go car shopping. Personally, I'll take the knowledge that I'd likely survive a t-bone in said car over the boulder.

Bottom line? I think II is dumb, and CR is over-reacting. And no, I don't drive a Focus.

Fnord.

Martha, Martha, Martha!

I periodically check CNN.com during the day to keep up on what's going on in the world. I only actually read one or two articles, since most don't interest me, but it's nice at least having a hint of things happening outside of my office.

But today...ever since I got in this morning, the only thing CNN has been covering as their headline news item is Martha Stewart getting out of jail. Oh look, Martha's out! Look, now she's driving home! Aw, she's feeding her horses, how sweet! And now she's baked a cake! We love Martha, she's so fascinating and important!

Good god, people. She's a convicted felon who just got out of jail after serving a pansy term. She's richer than she was before she went in, and her financial prospects look good. She's got a talk show and a reality show coming out, and the merger of K-Mart and Sears will probably put more of her crap into people's homes than ever before. Her magazine will undoubtedly take off because of the "new, softer Martha."

I just don't understand this insanity that seems to have all the media outlets in its ironclad grip. I can understand covering her release, but to continue making it the main story for half the day? Give it a rest, people...there are far more important things going on in the world than Martha Stewart.

Fnord.

Holy crap this is awesome!

This video was forwarded to me by Sam over at The Escapist. You should go watch it. Now.

I especially like the parade of rabbits with various numbers on their chests.

Fnord.

Three cats

A friend came across this image while doing a Google image search on tattoos. I honestly don't want to know how it came up, but it's damn funny. A shame I don't get images like this attached to the mass of porn spam that's been finding its way into my work email box the past few weeks.

Fnord.