Something nifty that made me think of you:
http://www.artomat.org/
Unfortunately, they expressly forbid magnets, but you do stuff that doesn’t have magnets attached as well, so….check it out!
Month: December 2003 Page 3 of 4
First of all, this meme has been amusing me, but for somewhat personal reasons. Long long ago, we had officially sanctioned clans on JediMUD. At the time they were implemented, I was still a low-ranking member of the administration, and i warned them all it would end in tears. I was sadly proven correct, and one of the first acts I undertook when I became a member of the administration team a few months later was to have them all desanctioned. Jedi’s official position became “You can create whatever affiliates you want between yourself and other players, but the administration will not recognize any of those affiliates as official nor extend any special treatment towards them.” I still think this is a reasonable policy.
Anyway, flash-forward a few years, when Dina and I were hanging out mortside and complaining that no one ever did anything for the sheer fun of it. So we founded Clan Quixotic. The only requirement to join was the willingness to, at the drop of a hat, band together to, say, go kill every dragon in the game, just for the heck of it. After Dina finished the papers she had to write for her Masters degree, we celebrated by making a list of the ten hardest mobs to kill in the game at that time, and setting out to kill them all in ascending order of difficulty. We were that kind of group.
Ah the good old days. I think it’s about time to wipe the dust of my mort’s armor and clock back to Minus Time for some hack and slash.
A lot of people have been writing a lot of good stuff about electronic voting machines and their disturbing lack of audit trails. This week, PBS’s Robert Cringley weighs in with a thoughtful analysis. Go read it, it’s good stuff.
One of my favourite comic strips right now is Jef Mallett’s Frazz. Today’s strip is a good example why:
Snarfed from lysana:
Qveere Eye for Thye Medieval Man
It’s interesting how pervasive this show has become in the short time it’s been around. I’ve seen no less than 5 mentions of it in daily comic strips, and countless parodies such as this one and this one which I posted the other day.
I admit that it’s one of my favourite things on television, and I do hope it’s not going to be overwhelmed by its popularity and turn into something less fun than it is now. Until then, i’ll enjoy the ride.
Linked via gridlore, perhaps the funniest story I’ve read in…..ages.
The Biker, the quiet street, and the evil attack squirrel of death…
Several days ago, I sent a e-mail to my congressman, Rep. Johnny Isaacson (R-GA), via the Human Rights Campaign, protesting the proposed constitutional amendment restricting the definition of marriage. I just received his response:
Dear Rob:
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.J. Res. 56, proposing an amendment
to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage. I
appreciate your thoughts on this issue and the opportunity to respond.
This resolution, introduced by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (CO-4) on May 25,
2003, would amend the Constitution to declare that marriage in the United
States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. It would
also prohibit the Constitution or any State constitution, or State or
Federal law, from being construed to require that marital status or its
legal incidents be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups. I have
signed on as a cosponsor of this resolution.
Please feel free to visit my website at www.house.gov/isakson for more
information on issues that may be of importance to you, as well as to sign
up for my monthly email update. Thank you again for contacting me, and I
hope you will not hesitate to call on me in the future if I can be of
assistance to you.
Notice that the proposed amendment not only attempts to restrict the definition of marriage, but also forbids any federal or state law to create any construction that confers similar rights under another name (At least, that’s how I read the penultimate sentence of the second paragraph).
My reply to Rep. Isaacson:
Why? What interest is served in disenfranshising millions of people who want to create stable, family oriented lives for themselves who happen to share the same gender? What interest is served in adding an amendment to the Constitution of the United States that restricts liberty rather than expanding it?
Same-sex marriages pose no threat whatsoever to the sanctity or vailidity of exisiting opposite sex marriages, and I defy anyone who thinks they do to explain to me why they are not a bigot.
I eagerly await a non-form letter response to this issue.
My view on same-sex marriage is fairly straightforward. I see no difference between a same-sex couple and an opposite sex couple. Both relationships are equally valid in my eyes, and therefore I see no compelling reason why a same-sex couple who wants to create a family through marriage should not be allowed to. I applauded the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision holding that the state has no compelling interest in restricting who can get married and ordering the legislature of that state to do something about that. And I really think that in 20 years, or 40 at the latest, this will all seem as obvious to us as the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s appears to us now. Meanwhile, it is important to make sure you let your representatives know that our gay and lesbian citizens deserve all the same rights under the law as our heterosexual citizens. No more. No less.
You can find the address of your congressman at http://www.house.gov/ and http://www.senate.gov/, or you can find them via the Human Rights Campaign website.
“Also, a general question: Does anyone actually like that “12 Days of Christmas”” song? I mean, aside from the drunkenly bellowing “Five GOLDEN RINGS!!!” part. Every time it comes on, I cringe knowing it’s going to be on for six or seven minutes of enforced jollity. It’s like the “Stairway to Heaven” of Christmas carols, the one whose original charm has entirely rubbed off and has managed stick in the canon simply by sheer barnacle-like tenacity. Dump it, I say!”
–John Scalzi
yahtzee63 ponders what would happen if the Fab Five visited various SF characters. Hilarity ensues.
Thanks to rmjwell for the link!
Yesterday afternoon I got home from work feeling utterly exhausted — to the point where I fell asleep in front of the TV within 15 minutes of turning it on. So I thought I’d go lie down for a nap until kitanzi got home. about 20 minutes later, she called me, asking if I’d be willing to come pick her up from work because she wasn’t feeling well either.
Neither of us seems to be outright sick, but both feeling a bit under the weather, so we’ve taken it easy today. We did go to the library booksale, and picked up a small handful of books, including a half dozen Keith Laumer Retief books, which I’ve never actually read, and an AD&D Fiend Folio, a lovely book that usually sells for quite a bit, and they only wanted $1 for. Then we swung down to Roswell to check the Gafilk mailbox, and back home for relaxation.
We waited until six to officially decide not to attend the Atlanta housefilk tonight. Disappointing, as this marks the fourth in a row we’ve missed for one reason or another, but Gafilk is in one month, and we’ll get to see everyone there. I hope everyone has a good time.
So, in leui of anything actually interesting to say, I’ll succumb to the last resort of the helpless blogger