The Knight Is Confused

Who's on first!
What's on second!
I don't know!
THIRD BASE!

Another Chapter of Eminent Domain

Once again, politicians abuse Eminent Domain statutes to take away from the little guy and give to the more-connected and politically favored guy.

KTLA, an LA news source, reports that the city of Los Angeles seized the property of furniture manufacturer Vaughan Benz in South Los Angeles, supposedly to build a new animal shelter.

A year later, there is an effort by Councilman Bernard C. Parks to sell the property to a company called Cisco Bros., which oddly enough is also a FURNITURE MANUFACTURER.

Now, why would the government take property away from a furniture manufacturer, and when they decide they might not want an animal shelter after all, sell it to a different furniture manufacturer?

The possible key difference between Vaughan Benz and Cisco Bros.? Cisco Bros. executives have political connections and have made $17,500 in campaign contributions to city leaders... including $1,000 to Parks and $1,500 to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

If there has been a more blatant display of graft in these Eminent Domain suits, I have not yet seen it. That's just shameful.

And on that sad note, I'm off. Rock on, kids.

I Have A Copyright

This piece from the Washington Post is somewhat tragically ironic. It notes that Martin Luther King's full "I Have a Dream" speech is often not heard in the classroom, because MLK's family controls and enforces the copyrights on it. It leads to the situation where the poorest institutions - such as minority-populated poor urban schools - cannot hear the speech.

Still Alive, If It Can Be Called Such

Yes, yes, Lo and Behold Knighterrant is still alive. Whoopdie do.

I got caught up in several things. Firstly, I finished Neverwinter Nights and all the expansions and premium modules. Great game, simply awesome.

Then I got caught up in a few things. One of which was a strange thread over on Cloudstrider where a new member named Ragnarok20 decided that drunk driving should be legal. Needless to say, just about everyone else disagreed with him and it sparked a fierce argument. (Calling it a "Discussion" or "Debate" would be generous.) Read it, if you feel so inclined.

But I'm off. Rock on.

Challenger

The Dodge Challenger. [Photo at Yahoo! News]

I want one.

Or Not!

Apparently, the architecture changes were just too much for my old hard drives to run on my old installation. Windows won't load up on my new computer.

Apparently, I'm getting a SATA drive sooner than I thought. And using up some of my precious installation keys. Bummer.

Oh well. No bottlenecks anywhere on my system at least, once I get the fucker running.

Anyway, I'm not big on Newgrounds, but I was directed at this little music video by a buddy of mine. I recommend it, it brightens one's day.

The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny


...Remember when I used to do social-political commentary? What happened? Oh yeah, I had shit to do. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get back to it eventually.

Rock on, kids.

Old Computer Signing Off

Well, it's served me (sorta) faithfully for five years, but this is the final post made from my old computer... well... if you don't count having to replace the motherboard... and the videocard... and the mouse... and the monitor... and the keyboard... and the freaking hard drive...

Okay, let me rephrase that. After I rebuilt it using non-craptastic non-Compaq parts, it served me reliably for years. However, in the wonderful world of Technology, even the most reliable items eventually have to be replaced due to impending obsolescence. Which makes me sad. :( <- See? That's me sad.

However, I finally got all the wiring/driver/etc. kinks worked out with my brand new, won't-be-obsolete-for-a-few-years-anyway computer. So this shall be the final post from this ole PC. It shall be gifted to my parents, and spend the remainder of it's operational life looking up marthastewart.com for my dear mother. (I feel kinda sorry for it.)

Rock on, Kids.

Proof That People Are Nuts

This item on the 'Concerned Women For America' website proves that people worry too Goddamn much.

They are expressing concern that the Barbie website having a question about gender, with the available answers being 'I'm a Girl', 'I'm a Boy', and 'I Don't Know' will cause massive gender identity issues in children.

I say these people need to find a fucking hobby other than worry about what might turn their kid into raging homosexuals. It's genetic people. You can't catch homosexuality from something.

I note with much mirth that it’s usually people that crow loud and long about the immorality of it that end up being secretly gay themselves.

Such as this Baptist minister for example. How ironic.

Rock on, kids.

Efficiently Wasting Time

I ran across the Experimental Gameplay website through another blog I read. Basically, the idea is this group of college folk would take a theme, and then have a week to program a game around it.

All games are simplistic, were programmed in about a week, and most are addictive as hell.

I recommend the classic Tower of Goo, by the way. Crazy stuff.

Have fun with this, but don't say I didn't warn you about it making your time vanish.

Rock on, kids!

Back In The Saddle Again

First post of 2006! w00t!

I spent my New Year's rather intoxicated. But, as alcohol is wont to do, it wore off. Stupid booze.

Been a fun few couple of days, and now, as depressing as it is, it is time to return to the dreary world of jobs.

Rock on, kids. Don't drink and drive. (And no, I didn't.)