slightlysilly.net

Sigh of Relief

I feel like we just blew up the Death Star. Karl Rove is spinning off into the distance in his damaged TIE fighter.

Well done, America.

A Bit of Sanity from Bob Barr

Bob Barr, 2008's Libratarian Party presidential nominee, has eloquently restated the case for ending the "War on Drugs" in an article for the Huffington Post. The only thing he doesn't mention is that, not only would we save $42 billion dollars a year, but drugs would certainly be (over) taxed in much the same way that alchohol and tobacco are. Of course, such taxes are antithetical to the Libratarian platform, but I seriously doubt legalization will ever happen without taxation.

Though I disagree with Barr on a variety of issues, I certainly admire what he's trying to do.

Republican Denial

David Brooks's op-ed in the New York Times today is a perfect example of modern Republican denial. Rather than actually make arguments that address Democratic positions, he decided to make up an imaginary, snarky, ridiculously hyperbolic address to the convention. He pushes every stupid meme the Republicans have come up with so far to attack Obama. What he does not do is show how his party's platform is better than that of the Democrats. At this point, it seems like Republicans have given up even trying to convince America that they have any reasonable solutions to the problems of our times. It's much easier to deny that the problems exist, or to make up problems that don't exist, but are easier to argue.

Having watched David on PBS's coverage of the convention (and on the News Hour for many years), I know he is capable of better analysis while under adult supervision.

Reduce Junk Mail

Physical junk mail wastes an incredible amount of resources and a measurable amount of my time. I've tried to stop mail addressed to "resident," but it appears to be impossible. However, I recently found a site run by the credit bureaus where you can remove yourself from "pre-approved" offers for credit cards and insurance. If you're interested, go to https://www.optoutprescreen.com. If you use the site, I suggest that you only give them the information required (as they ask for more). They provide ways to opt out by telephone and snail mail as well.

Unbreaking the Law

Today the Senate voted to retroactively grant legal immunity to telecom companies for conducting illegal warrantless wiretaps on U.S. citizens on the U.S. government's behalf. With any luck (and perhaps pressure from constituents), the House won't be so lenient.

If you want to more about how this all started, read Mark Klein's story.

Obama voted against the bill, McCain voted for it, and Clinton didn't show up.

Mass Effect

I've been playing BioWare's Msss Effect lately. In my opinion, it's by far the best sci-fi RPG ever made.

If you've become a bit obsessed with the game as I have, you might enjoy the video posted on this page:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/838/838508p1.html

Dance you fool, dance!

Ack!

For many years in the late 80s I enjoyed the Bloom County comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. He eventually stopped writing Bloom County, did Outland for a while, and then wrote some great childrens' books that I got to read to my little sister. Until recently, I didn't realize that Breathed started writing a new strip called Opus. It reminds me of the good old days. You can read the strip here.

ST:STCS Rendered Ship Pack Released

I've put together a collection of bitmaps and ship files for the ST:STCS game called the "Rendered Ship Pack" that can be downloaded here. The pack contains images generated by rendering 3D models of FASA ships available on the web. The new images give the game a slightly more realistic look (more akin to using miniatures rather than counters in the boardgame). If you're playing the game, I suggest that you try the rendered ships to see if they suit your taste.

ST:STCS is a computer version of the FASA boardgame, "Star Trek: Starship Tactical Combat Simulator" that I've been working on as a hobby for several years. You can find the game at the link provided for the Rendered Ship Pack.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

I think the so-called "war on drugs" is the most insane, self-defeating public policy in place today. Appearently, many law enforcement officers agree. Take a look at this video and visit LEAP if you are so inclined.

Geeky Convergence

I can't help but provide a link to Stephen Colbert's monologue about Dungeons & Dragons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqxnGfyx7U&search=colbert%20dungeons

On a related note, a few months ago, Colbert gave a great description of Aragorn during an interview on the Daily Show with Viggo Mortensen:

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/celebrity_interviews/index.jhtml
(Since I can't link directly to the video, you'll need to flip through the pages until you find Viggo. The bit I'm referring to is in the last couple minutes of the interview.)