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Our government threatens to change the Internet as we know it. I'm not talking about sales tax or things like that -- no, I'm talking about censorship. After all, that's what SOPA and PIPA boil down to. The wording of the legislation is vague enough to allow our government, built on the tenets of free speech and freedom of expression among other things, to prevent the citizens from accessing websites that they can get to today. Not only would they prevent access to those sites, but the burden of policing the content would be placed on the owners of said sites, and the punishment for not policing said content is jail time -- more jail time than Conrad Murray got for his actions (or lack thereof) that ended Michael Jackson's life.

Yes, the blackout day is over. That's why you can see this post, why you can access Wikipedia and Reddit. But as much as the news reports that we have won, the fight is not over because the bills still exist. I have contacted all three of my congressmen (and don't go after me, anti-sexism police, because all three of them are indeed men) and have stated my opposition to the legislation. Do I expect my own words to make a difference in how they vote? No, I most certainly do not. After all, I'm not the one paying them thousands upon thousands of dollars to vote the way I say. But if this country is truly a representative republic in which Congress is meant to represent the will of the citizens, SOPA and PIPA will not pass.

This is not the end of it, either. The industries behind these two bills (because, let's face it, no congressperson is intelligent or technologically savvy enough to come up with this kind of thing on their own) still have the money and, therefore, the influence to dream things like this up and try to ram them down our throats. The mass media will continue to gloss over these sorts of things because they support them; it takes a full blackout or a simple protest from some of the largest websites out there to draw the public's attention to what is happening.

Did you ever wonder why movies and music are so expensive? Based on the industries that support these two bills it's clear that the money is going directly to lobbying, which is a fancy and polite way to say bribery. The government places the interests of large industries before the interests of the people, treats people like criminals before they've committed crimes, and dreams up draconian legislation in attempt to put rose-colored glasses in front of our eyes the way China and Iran do, and most of us just sit there and take it.

So, what am I asking for? Why am I posting something this long and rambling? We need a change. We don't need a change in the form of a politician who says "I'm going to bring change"; we need change in the form of politicians who actually make change. There is a list of politicians and their stance on SOPA at www.sopaopera.org. The ones who support it are on the left; the ones who oppose, on the right. The ones on the left need to be voted out of office. End their political careers by sending them home for attempting to curtail freedom of speech -- the freedom of speech that is guaranteed to us, as US citizens, in our Constitution. If you do not, the leaders of our country will continue to trample on it and all the rights and freedoms guaranteed within.]]> http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry120117-074517 http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry120110-152218 http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry111230-073543
I know what people say when they talk about time going by fast now. So much has happened over the past year that it all runs together, even with Mario -- he was basically a bologna loaf that you could put in one place, look away, look back and he'd still be there. Now he runs around the house like he's got a jetpack strapped to his ass and causes minor amounts of chaos wherever he goes.

Anyway ... looking forward to what 2012 brings.]]> http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry111209-071441 http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry111118-183749
Enterprise has several choices for hauling things around. They have cargo vans, pickup trucks large and small, SUVs, and minivans. I chose a minivan because I know what Enterprise offers: Dodge & Chrysler. I've already rented a Town & Country from Enterprise before, so I knew what to expect when I went to pick it up this morning. When I got there I was presented with the key to a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan with 504 miles on the clock.

When I sat in the driver's seat I was presented with the Town & Country's dash, but a little more bold. This one didn't have the non-navi touchscreen; it had a regular ol' radio with aux input and MP3 playback capability. Driving it off the lot I felt the same sort of power as the T&C: smooth, quiet delivery of 283 horsepower to Roosevelt Rd. The 6-speed auto shifts smoothly, but it feels like it hunts for gears when going up onramps. It's easy to hit higher speeds in the Grand Caravan and not even notice it -- it absorbs choppy roads really well. The audio is pretty good for a stock system, but it's quite bass-heavy when the bass is set to 0.

The Stow & Go seating is a cinch to figure out. I've never used it and was able to fold the two middle-row captain's chairs and the rear bench into the floor with ease, but I had to move both front seats forward before I did. Once everything was in place the Grand Caravan swallowed all of the cargo with zero room to spare -- an impressive feat for a minivan considering it's 8 pallets' worth of computer equipment. The engine behaved about how I'd expect it to with that much cargo: the tachometer showed me that it was working harder, but it wasn't any louder or rougher than when the back is devoid of cargo. Speaking of being devoid of cargo, the engine really wants to go when the vehicle is empty -- you can floor it and get up to 60 without even noticing. Sorry, Landmeier Rd.

An interesting thing to note is that, like the Town & Country, the Grand Caravan has an "econ" button. This pretty much instantly raises your average fuel economy by 3MPG, at the expense of power delivery. It feels like the transmission shifts to higher gears sooner when the vehicle is in econ mode, but if you're cruising on the highway and nobody else is around this is the perfect way to extend your range. Some of you may remember my chief compliant about econ mode on the T&C: the first-to-second shift was unnecessarily rough. Not so in the Grand Caravan; you feel the shift much sooner than in standard mode, but it's equally smooth.

I liked the automatic sliding doors and liftgate. I used the power liftgate when loading a couple of PDUs into the back -- they're significantly larger than power strips so being able to open the vehicle without putting them down is a good thing.

I have two complaints. First, the thing has manual mode. Really? It's a minivan, there is absolutely no market for that in the US. It's implemented pretty stupidly too: with the transmission in D, the driver needs to slide the gear selector to the right to upshift and the left to downshift. The gear selector is sticking out of the dash next to the steering wheel -- it's impossible to do this without looking and feeling like a massive tool. The second thing kind of ties in with the first: the buttons on the back of the steering wheel have zero to do with the transmission's manual mode. They are redundant controls for the radio, cruise control, etc. Why? Come on now ... if you're going to put a manual mode in a minivan, at least make it less tool-ish by giving the driver paddle shifters, even as buttons on the back of the steering wheel.

So ... overall it's a pretty good vehicle. No squeaks, creaks, or loud noises to speak of, but it's not without its issues. I hear the front brakes warp very quickly but I have no evidence to back that up, given that I rented it less than 12 hours ago. If Julie wanted this vehicle I probably wouldn't have any issues getting her one, to be honest.

One thing I forgot to mention: the Grand Caravan fits in my garage where Julie's 2-door Civic normally sits. Pretty impressive.]]> http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry111110-081230
I'm participating in Movember this month, which means I am growing a moustache. I can't tell if Julie likes it because she asked when I'd shave it off, and then she asked if I really had to shave it off ... so yeah. Not sure what's going on.

I'm also going to get to play with a quarter-million dollars' worth of hardware at one point this month. That's going to be awesome. I'm almost a bit scared to take it to the data center because it's so bloody expensive.

That's about it for now. ]]> http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry111020-193523 http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry111011-180043 quick. That Microsoft commercial in which they build a store in the lady's house seems much more realistic now. ]]> http://www.evildre.com/index.php?entry=entry110819-070242
Well, now I know. Granted, I'm not doing everything myself. Given my limited knowledge there's really no way I could do it myself; I have friends and family to help me.

By the end of my laundry list of projects, though, I will have an impenetrable fortress that will shield me from all but the most severe zombie apocalypse. We're talking an alligator-filled moat, high-powered laser turrets mounted on the roof ... okay, maybe not. But it'll at least be more liveable.

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