Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Blaugh, The Un-Official Comic of the Blogosphere

I'm sure this is just the first of many fun things to come out of Gnomedex this weekend. Blaugh is supposedly The Un-Official Comic of the Blogosphere. Subscribed.

Fashion for The Intelligently Design

For those who love to wear their Intelligent Design on their sleeves, now you can. Intelligently Designed Apparel and Merchandise offers you a selection of clothing, and I'm sure mugs and other knick-knacks. Of course that begs a number of questions, not the least of which is, I don't seem to recall clothing being a part of the original sketches.

via The J-Walk Blog

Pay-Per-Post Is A Really Bad Idea

Quick hit here, but I think the new Pay-Per-Post concept is a really bad idea and hope it dies a miserable death before bloggers who don't follow that path have to include numerous disclaimers and disclosures. Just a really bad idea.

Kerry Speaks Out On Net Neutrality

John Kerry has weighted in with his thoughts on the Net Neutraility issues now that the Senate Commerce committee came up a bunch of cowards. Kerry is pledging to stop the bill and is looking for engagment. I agree with the engagement part, and I think anyone who can should get invovled in this debate. I just hope that the personna of Kerry jumping into the fray won't weaken what support can be mustered.

The French Keep Trying To Take A Bite Out of Apple

Those pesky French. They keep trying to take a bite out of Apple's closed iTune/Ipod game by changing the laws and opening up music purchased through iTunes to other players. How egalitarian. The law has passed both houses of the French parliament, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the final stretch.

What's Going On At The Wicked Stage

Sorry things have been sparse of late here on The Wicked Stage but they should quickly come back to the normal frenzy. I've been in and out of my normal life cycle as I've been dealing with some family health issues lately and also a big project or two that I've got perking on the burner.

So, stay tuned, the frenzy will heat up again very shortly.

The Republic Is Doomed: Senate Fails To Pass Flag Desecration Amendment

Hurrah for the Red, White, and Blue. The US Senate failed by one vote to pass a Constitutional amendment prohibiting desecration of the American Flag. Now can we actually see these folks attend to some real business?

Perhaps I'm being unkind, but this kind of foolishness does more to desecrate the flag than any burning or other form of protest in my mind.

Feds Crack Down On Laptop Security

After a month featuring five different instances of data being lost, stolen, or compromised from five different US Government agencies, the Office of Management and Budget is cracking down. Well, sort of. New guidelilnes for encrypting data and and a 45 day deadlline to implement the new policies have been put in place, adding more layers of security and privacy protection for that data. Unless of course it happens to be logs of phone calls made, or overseas bank transfers. Then all bets are off.

Via The Washington Post.

Democracy In Action

You got to love this country. You got to love democracy. You don't got to love how some politicians waste your money coming up with inane and arcane laws. Take a look at this list of loopy laws and you may never vote again.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• A Chicago law forbids eating in a place that is on fire.
• Hartford, CT., makes it illegal to educate dogs.
• In Tennessee, you can't shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile.
• and one of my favorites for all you giraffe lovers out there: Atlanta makes it against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.

More fun with government here.

Chicago Tribune Weighs In Against Net Neutraility

The Chicago Tribune weighed in against Net Neutraility urging us all to not be fooled by the message of those in favor of the concept. Give me a break. The Tribune Co. has a vested interest in their little media empire (which is currently a candidate for implosion due to greedy squabbling among stock holders) and siding with the big boys on this one. They'd be better off trying to publish a decent newspaper and attempting to field a better baseball team. But then, they've never been worried about quality anyway as long as the bucks roll in.