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Dancing

In general I like the trend amongst advertisers that have finally figured out that dancing is cool! Recently I have seen Michelin tire commercials and BASF commercials with Tango dancing. Now there is this re-make of the old Gene Kelly “Singing in the Rain” number from Volkswagon (Golf GTI Commercial). Pretty awesome dance moves, though one friend as issues with the intellectual property rights being abused by advertisers. I have not given that much thought, but do appreciate the dance moves.

2005 10 05 Scott Nolan Dance
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Politics

So the Virginia State General Election is only a month away. This week is the deadline to register to vote for this election (so if you are not registered, register right now). It is astonishing to me that Jerry “the crook” Kilgore has been able to keep up with Tim Kaine this long. In any sane state, the crook would have fallen behind the excellent candidate months ago, but not in Virginia… sigh. Please go vote! Turnout is usually low for state office elections, so your vote counts for more this year than in a national election as it is compared to fewer other votes.The Kilgore campaign is afraid to debate. They know their candidate will be exposed as an unacceptable extremist, so they have only allowed debates that are out of state (the first debate was in West Virginia, and video cameras were not allowed) or restricted to remote areas where the video of the debate is prohibited from being published or broadcast over a wide area. Jerry knows he can’t stand up to the reason and maturity of Tim Kaine, so he simply is not allowing the voters to see the two of them side by side.

If you do not think state officials have an impact in your lives, check out HB 1807 (Creates a Class 6 felony for providing a minor with a contraceptive or contraceptive device if the person knows or has reason to believe that the minor is engaging in sexual relations with a person three or more years older than the minor). This bill would make it a felony for my brother to provide his teen aged daughter condoms if she is dating twenty something boyfriend. Think about that.

No, really, think about that for a minute. If your teenaged daughter was dating a 22 year old boyfriend, wouldn’t you want them to have birth control available? How are they going to get it without your consent and help? Our state already makes it difficult for teenagers to get birth control. The only reason I bring up my brother and niece is because my neice at 16 was dating a 20 year old. A felony? Please go vote some sanity into the house of delegates. Vote this November 8th, and get the patron of HB 1807, and all his “yea” voting companions out of our lives.

2005 10 05 Scott Nolan Virginia Politics Comments (0) Permalink

Fun

Last night we went to see Serenity at WorldGate. For all you Firefly fans out there, it was awesome, though also more than a little sad. “That Evil Joss” pulls off several more of the bait the viewer and then surprise the view stunts he became famous for in the Buffy, Angel, and Firefly TV shows. There are several surprises, more Alliance history is explained and Reavers are no longer such a mystery. This is mostly a show about Mal and River, and a new character, who is quite compelling, though very scary.

If you are a fan of good Science Fiction, you must go see this movie, it is impressive. It combines rich, deep characters with action and story. Unlike so many movies, some good guys to get killed, and that is where the sadness comes in.

I believe this movie will be great even if you never saw the Firefly TV shows, though some of the depth in the characters may not show through. For fans, it shines. Now I have to get some dinosaur toys to glue to my own “console” (my monitors and desk at work).

2005 10 01 Scott Nolan Movies
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Looting the Spanish Main:

Today (September 19th) is national “Talk Like a Pirate Day” and ye should all be talkin’ like pirates, or else!

Now I’ll swagger over to the grog barrel for more o’ that swill!

Anxiously awaiting my letter of marque!
Dirty Sam Flint
Arrrrr!

    My pirate name is:
    Dirty Sam Flint
    pirate_flag_image
    I’m the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean, not to get rid of me, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Like the rock flint, I am hard and sharp. But, also like flint, I’m easily chipped, and sparky.Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

2005 09 19 Scott Nolan Fun
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Politics

Sorry for so many political entries lately, but with only 55 days left until the Virginia State General Elections, I feel it is critical to convey some information. If you have not yet registered to vote, you only have until October 7th to do so! The election is November 8th. Virginians will be electing new Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Delegates to 100 House seats (though a few of those are uncontested). Your vote counts more in this statewide election than it does in a national congressional or presidential election because typically far fewer people vote (usually only one in eight presidential voters). That is 8 times as much voting power, before you factor in that your state laws have more impact on you day to day than the federal laws (which tend to get more rigorous review before passage).On to the order of business, found a new website that brings into very sharp focus exactly what Delegate Bob Marshall of the 13th district has been doing in office: bobmustgo.org is very well researched, with details about most of Bob’s bills and statistics about Bob’s ineffective role as Delegate.

A second website (though it’s been around longer) has details about Del. Bob McDonnell and Del. Dick Black as well as details about Del. Bob Marshall. I had been unable to find out much about the candidate for Attorney General, and www.vafamilyvalues.org shows me exactly what sort of extremists are running on the Republican ticket. It is deeply disturbing that in all three state-wide office races the extremist neo-cons have completely swept aside their moderate, fiscal conservative counter-parts of the G.O.P. I insist that we can no longer call the Republican party the GOP, at least not in Virginia. It is clear that the party has changed, and that social restrictions and bigotry and hatred are more important to the new Republicans than running an efficient government and staying out of people’s lives.

2005 09 14 Scott Nolan Virginia Politics Comments (1) Permalink

U.S. Constitition out the Window

I really don’t feel that the recent decision by Federal Court to uphold the president’s right to hold U.S. Citizens without charges indefinitely has shocked enough people. This case amounts to throwing the Bill of Rights (amended into the U.S. Constitution) out the window or down the drain. If our government can hold us in jail indefinitely, denying us council because they have not charged us, and delaying pressing any charge because the president has arbitrarily declared us an “enemy combatant” then how can any of us answer those charges in a court of law? This prevents the truth from being heard, and it wraps things up too nicely for an easy coup and dictatorship, right here in the United States. Please read more about this here.This abbrogation of our rights must be stopped. Jose Padilla probably deserves to be locked away, but only after a fair trial with legal representation and a jury of his (and our) peers. If his appeal is not heard by the U.S. Subreme Court, it is time to start brown-nosing the dictator, folks… because your freedom is only at the whim of el presidente!

2005 09 11 Scott Nolan Politics Comments (0) Permalink

Politics

The Prince William County Committee of 100 is hosting debates between candidates for two House of Delegates districts, the 13th and the 50th, on Thursday, September 22nd, from 6:30pm until it ends. There is a $20 for dinner (served at 7pm) and I am trying to find out if there is a charge for just attending the debates (which start at 8pm). They’ll be held at the Manassas Holiday Inn (map), and you should RSVP to pratt1@comcast.net.

  • Bruce Roemmelt v. Bob Marshall – 13th District
  • Donald Shuemaker v. Harry Parrish – 50th District
2005 09 09 Scott Nolan Virginia Politics Comments (0) Permalink

Environment

On a lark I dropped by the local Toyota dealer last week to see if the AT-PZEV rated Prius was easy to get in Virginia. It turns out that all the Prius cars being sold at the local dealers have the AT-PZEV rating in case you have to move to California after you buy your Prius here in Virginia! Awesome.Then I dropped by a second time with my HP Velotechnik Street Machine Gt (recumbent bicycle) in my Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon to see if it would fit in the Prius. It does! It is a very close fit, and I have to load the bike in rear end first (the Prius luggage space narrows at slightly at the back of the car), but it does fit. This is great news, and we put one on order this past Saturday.

The main goal is to dramatically reduce my personal contribution in greenhouse gasses, and with an AT-PZEV rating the Prius is vastly cleaner than my not even LEV rated 2001 Saab 9-5 Aero. Additional benefits are:

  • approximately double the mileage (~57mpg versus ~27mpg)
  • Prius uses regular unleaded versus the Aero needing Premium unleaded
  • CVT transmission instead of the Saab’s manual transmission (traffic)
  • having a real, turn-by-turn Navigation system instead of crappy On-Star
  • wireless key system so I can leave the keys in my purse
  • bluetooth phone connection for my wife’s mobile phone

The only drawbacks I see at this point are that I am giving up the Saab’s wonderful ventilated seats (a six pack of “muffin” fans in each front seat behind perforated leather, very cool). It will be hard to survive hot summers in Virginia without the cooled seats, but perhaps I can aftermarket something into the Prius. I’ll also be giving up some unneeded horsepower (I should never have bought the Aero), possibly a few other luxury features (climate controls for each side?).

I am re-negotiating price with the dealer now, but look forward to swapping out the Saab for the Prius once our special options package comes in.

2005 09 08 Scott Nolan Cars
Environment
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Politics and Hypocrisy

There is a very interesting and revealing story in the Washington Post about why the wealthy appear to be more likely to support President Bush’s adventure in colonialism than the less affluent. It appears, though no scientific studies have been made, that the wealthy have less to lose as their children are not likely to actually be in the military.This gets back to my whole rant about the Rebulican Party of our times (since the mid-1960s anyway); that they are a huge collection of hypocrites. Hypocrisy really pisses me off. It is hypocrisy for Pat Robertson to claim he’s a Christian and yet call for the assasination of Venezeula’s President Chavez. It is hypocrisy for Bob Marshall to claim he is supporting families by attacking homosexuals. It is hypocrisy for Jerry Kilgore to claim a good record as attorney general of Virginia when his office is being investigated for criminal activity and he has hired criminals to run his campaign. It is hypocrisy for President Bush to claim that we should stay in Iraq to “honor the fallen” when they would not have fallen at all if he had not sent our troops there to make his supporters wealthier. The hypocrites need to be expelled from our great nation and in some cases tried for their crimes against humanity.

We have less than 90 days until Virginia’s November 8th election! Please come out to meet Bruce Roemmelt this Friday night, August 26th, at my house from 6:30pm until 10:30pm. Directions are online.

2005 08 23 Scott Nolan Foreign Policy
Politics
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Modified Prius?

100mpg+!!! So I’ve already decided that my next car will be an PZEV rated CVT driving gas-electric hybrid, but now I hear people are modifying their hybrids so that they can plug them in to make the first few miles of any trip on battaries alone! An article on Yahoo descibes a few people doing this, there are always lots of facts over at HybridCars.com, and there is a Yahoo Group called Prius+ for those who are modifying their own Prius hybrids to be plug-in hybrids to be ultra-clean. Check out California Cars Initiative for photos and more technical details of modified hybrids.

2005 08 15 Scott Nolan Cars
Environment
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