You know things are shifting in America when Fortune magazine, the bible for business journalism, runs a cover story titled "Is pot already legal?". You also know it when Barack Obama's Department of Justice publishes a long-expected memo signalling that the federal government will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries if they are legal under state law. Marijuana for medical reasons -- to tackle chemotherapy-induced nausea or Aids-related wasting or glaucoma, among other conditions -- is now legal in 13 states, including the biggest, California. Next year, 13 more states are planning referendums or new laws following suit. Last week a California legislative committee held the first hearings not simply on whether medical marijuana should remain legal, but on whether all marijuana should be decriminalised, full stop. The incentive? The vast amounts of money the bankrupt state could raise by taxing cannabis.

In 1970, 84% of Americans supported keeping marijuana illegal. Today, that number has collapsed to 54%. The proportion believing that marijuana should be legal has gone from 18% at the end of the 1960s to 44% today.

The concentration of THC, the active compound, is much higher now than in the past. But since no one has ever overdosed on marijuana, it's difficult to say why that matters. Yes, if someone has a history of mental illness, it's not that smart to experiment with the cannabinoid receptors in the brain. But it isn't smart for such people to take any drugs -- or too much alcohol -- for that matter. For most people, stronger pot merely translates into a need for less of it to get the same effect. Too much and you'll likely nod off -- and wake up later with no hangover. If pubs served pot rather than beer, crime rates would plummet.

Those very helpful toast cards that the DoRT's use at the Shooter Service were made by me a few years ago. A few weekends ago a group of danes noticed the deck and thought it was really cool and wanted a deck for an upcoming wedding. Well, Prax did such a great job with the custom card backs for the wedding that they ordered 10 decks. The great thing is that this means the printer that I just started using has the masters for the cards and I can get DoRT Toast Decks printed to order.
I am really happy I found this printer and foresee much business with them in the future.

The Ultimate Office Tailgate Sweepstakes | Enter to Win Sweet Prizes on Comcast.net

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How can I not show my frustration and still vent. I can't. Maybe I should have a disclaimer like others? Naaaaahhhhhhh!

Don't fucking tell me about cancer!
I was diagnosed at 15.
I've been through three rounds of chemo, two of them with radiation.
It fucking sucks ass worse then you could ever possibly want to imagine.

I'm not here because of any god or courage or faith.
I'm here because I was lucky.
I was lucky my doctor found it when he did.
I was lucky I had great state paid for insurance (my dad worked for the SHA).
I was lucky that I was young.

No god, no courage, no faith, all luck.
I have lost my mother, an aunt, two uncles and a grandfather to cancer.
The rest all died from heart disease.
It sucks.
It really sucks when a family member dies before reaching puberty because of cancer.
Some god, courage and faith there huh!

The voting portion of the annual Ren Awards is happening now!

As always I have to ask for you to please vote for MDRFFoF.org as the favorite online community.

http://www.renaissancefestivalmusic.com/awards/ - you can vote even if you're not a Rennie!

In case you’re not getting enough Augmented Reality with your Doritos bag, please head over to A&E’s site to check out “The 5 Lives of Criss Angel MindFreak” ad campaign.
Called a “Print it. Play it. Mystify”, this unique ad campaign allows the you to play a game in augmented reality space.
Essentially, you print out a special sheet, and then hold it up to your webcam. The image that you see on your display is a cube with a tiny object on it. You must then turn the sheet in three-dimensional space so that the object follows a certain path, within a certain amount of time.

So very cool, I am really going for that gold...

http://www.aetv.com/5-lives-of-criss-angel/5-lives-augmented-reality/

I never really thought I would say this but walmart really came through for me today. First I got that huuuuuuuuuuuge freakin' sub for a whopping $5. More importantly they had 3 containers of Carnation Malted Milk (original). I love vanilla malts but I have been unable to find plain malt for about 2 years now. I used to get Original Ovaltine but for some reason all I have been able to find is the chocolate or hot chocolate varieties for a minute now. We have been hitting up the Super Wally World in Arbutus for since it opened and they have had the shelf tag for the Carnation brand but never any on the shelf. I Have checked in 5 other super walmarts all to no avail, then today in Cockeysville...

Tonight after the Daily Beer, Lumpy is having a vanilla malt.

First we have a lovely Buffalo Chicken Dip to go with our Mission Chips.

12oz top shelf blue cheese dressing
4oz whipped cream cheese
1 large chicken breast
2oz Crystal wing sauce

Dice the chicken into smaller then bite size pieces and cook in a pan, with hot sauce, until done.
Fold the cream cheese into the dressing. Add the chicken and remaining sauce from pan to the mixture and fold in.
Serve with chips or toast points.


Then we follow that up with some cookies...

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
20 oreos, crushed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
Add in the crushed oreos. Beat on low speed for just a few seconds to break up the oreos in the dough.
Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

And of course to go with all these goodies is beer #4, Fraoch Heather Ale.

Hey our second beer is up but I'm going to be making a few changes already. I am going to be going much more in depth into the process and the beers. We do want to know if there are any beers people want to see reviewed, we'll take that bullet just so you don't have to.
Go check out "Daily Beer" at http://beer.deliciousplacebo.com

Go check out "Daily Beer" at http://beer.deliciousplacebo.com

No really go check it out now...

I'm having a bad day. I didn't sleep last night due to stress and distress. I am in a very off mood, not hostile just very sad with a hint of anxiety. It seems my mood was very noticeable at work, I am usually very jovial and quite a smart ass.
My mood was bad enough for me to be pulled aside and asked what was going on. My simple reply of "I'm having a really rough day and I'm just trying to keep it together." The reply I received was "I'll pray for you." Gee thanks...
First let me state that I really don't have any problems with religion or people having faith, hell if it works for you and gets you through the day, more power to you. I must also state that if you are going to share your religious vies with me I will share mine with you.
My "saved" boss did not take to well to my reply of "Thanks but save it for someone who believes." This was apparently a shock and an invitation to try to save me as well. After a 10 minute monologue about how Jesus and prayer can help me we had this discussion (and I probably screwed up any chance of a promotion).

Me: I appreciate that you are really trying to help me but I don't believe and there really isn't anything you can say that will make me believe.
Them: What happened that you lost your faith?
Me: You are assuming that I ever had faith, but I did, I was even an altar boy. Then at age twelve my appendix ruptured and during surgery I had a foot of my small intestine removed because it had become tangled up. During my stay in the hospital I also caught a case of scarlet fever. In my eyes I had never done anything to justify such horrible medical situations especially when I did as everyone told me and prayed for my getting well.
Them: God does challenge us every day.
Me: I don't feel that a 12 year old should be challenged with a rupturing organ, it didn't seem right then and only seemed worse as I got older.
Them: So because of that one instance you turned your back on Jesus? He never turned his back on you.
Me: Oh no if anything that episode built my faith but the summer after my 15th birthday I was back in the hospital. I was spitting up blood. Turns out I had a bleeding ulcer. During this stay in the hospital they also discovered my first lump.
Them: But I thought you said the lumps were just fiber?
Me: Haha, yeah the ones on my head are, during my last MRI I had 43 of them throughout my torso. At 15 it really sucks to find out you have something that there is no cure for. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I lot weight and became sicker because of the treatments and guess what. I still have lumps throughout my torso even after three rounds of treatments over my life.
Them: And, through that you lost your faith?
Me: Nope, again it me wonder what I was doing wrong. I spent years reading every theological book I could get my hands. I studied the worlds religions and cults. I went to seminary just to find the answer.
Them: All of that you don't believe in Jesus?
Me: Oh, I believe in Jesus and Martin Luther and all of the others but they were just pitchmen, prophets and speakers of their beliefs but nothing divine.
Them: You've missed the point of what Jesus teaches.
Me: Nope because guess what? Jesus teaches the same thing that most other religions do, "Be good to one another". End of story.
Them: Do you believe in a higher power or not in God at all?
Me: I'm not an atheist or an agnostic, I am a secularist but that is about politics and religion. I'm not even irreligious because I don't mind faith or belief in other people. I guess am a noncognitivist, I refuse to debate the existence of a "god" because there is no sensical or logical argument for one.
Them: 10 more minutes of why Jesus should be my savior, I do them credit for listening to my points and allowing me to speak but I don't think they heard a word I said.
Me: Yeah, I just don't buy in to the whole higher power thing.
Them: Do you believe in Nature or Karma?
Me: Nope because ultimately they are just variants on the same theme. To bottom line it before I get back to work...
Good people have bad things happen to them and bad people have good things happen to them, innocent children develop illness and get hurt and are treated bad and die every day. Millions of people in the world have been killed in the name of every "god" that has "existed". You really can't argue the existence of "god" in the wake of that.

They tried to say more but I said I needed to get back to work but it did make me feel better that they were concerned for my wellbeing as well as my eternal soul (not that I have one).

That whole thing just made me even more frustrated and added to the misery that has been my Monday...

I just came across this and can't wait to give it a try, Clipper City is one of the few microbrews that consistently doesn't disappoint.

Clipper City Brewing, home of Heavy Seas, Oxford Organic, and Clipper City, announced its plans for a new collection of special edition, big brews as part of its expanding Heavy Seas line. These big brews will be made in small batch only and bottled in 22 oz bombers. The true treasure will be to find it on draft at your favorite pub since a very limited number of kegs will be available. In addition a few of their current vintage dated seasonals will be moving to this new packaging to help make cellaring these beers easier.

The new 22oz Bomber Series began as a pet project of the Clipper City Heavy Seas brewers who created very small batch experiments to amuse the palates of folks who worked at the brewery. They quickly agreed that some of results were just too good to keep to themselves.

Founding partner Hugh Sisson encouraged the project by saying, " We believe in making well crafted beer with quality ingredients and sometimes it's fun to be creative and try the unexpected".

The Big DIPA - Double IPA, is the first in the Heavy Seas Bomber Series due to be released in July 1. In keeping with the Heavy Seas philosophy, Big DIPA is a big beer with a surprising balance and an earthy hop aroma. The best part is that you'll hardly notice it's 10.6% ABV (est). The label artwork was created by Kurt Krol, one the brewers who also helped to develop the recipe.

5 Kinds of Hops
3 Kinds of Malt
ABV 10.6% IBU 75.5%

Watch for a new Heavy Seas 22oz Bomber Series release monthly through the end of 2009. Definitely hide some of these in your treasure chest, when they're gone they are gone

The Pirate Bay Has Been Sold!!!

The Pirate Bay, one of the world's best known torrent search portals, is being sold to some Swedish firm. It will no longer be so piratey.

Global Gaming Factory X AB, a Swedish firm that runs Internet cafes and game centers, plans to buy The Pirate Bay for 60 million kronor (~$8 million), twice the fine that was slapped on The Pirate Bay defendants by a Stockholm court earlier this year. The new owners plan to make it a legal service that allows "content providers and copyright owners to get paid for content that is downloaded via the site."

"Legal service"...."paid for content"....they better change the name.
PiratesPay.org

Next week, President Obama will sign the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law.

Just take a look at what the new law does:
* Tobacco companies must reveal all product ingredients to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and seek FDA approval for any new products.
* Our nation's children – potential first-time smokers – will no longer be seduced by flavored tobacco products, including candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes, which will be banned.
* Consumers won't be misled by cigarettes labeled "light," "mild," or "low-tar" as healthier choices. These terms have also been banned.
* Warning labels will be clearly visible, taking up at least half of the front and back of cigarette packages.
* No more public cigarette vending machines in places where IDs haven't been checked.
* Children will be further protected from tobacco advertisements and sponsorships, which will be banned near schools and playgrounds and at sports or entertainment events. The law also restricts colorful store displays.

This shit just pisses me off. WTF is all I can think and I don't even smoke cigarettes. Okay, I do smoke cloves but not after this bill is signed because they will be illegal nation wide. Do we really need more warning labels on the packs? To quote "Thank You For Smoking"; "You will be hard pressed to find anyone that doesn't know smoking is bad for you." It's something that has been drilled into society since the early eighties. Light, mild and low tar, yeah right if you really think they were healthier in the first place then you should be removed from the gene pool. I didn't even know cigarette vending machines still existed. As for the whole advertising thing, look how well similar laws have prevented kids from drinking liquor. The only useful part of this bill is that they will have to reveal all product ingredients to the FDA. I hope many feel as I do about this because I'm having another WTF moment. Do you mean to tell me they didn't have to in the first place? I'm sticking to my cigars as long as they let me, try one it might not feed your cigarette addiction because they 100% TOBACCO without the added toxins. Still not a healthy aternative (for that try cannabis sativa) but better then those horrid cancer sticks. ;)

This one is from Geekologie and for some reason it made me think of Diego...

That's right folks, a toilet that Twitters every time it's flushed. Because if that's not a sign of the apocalypse, what is? Your mom making out with a robot. Oh, I thought you were asking. What do you mean I said it? LISTEN, I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! Now, where were we? Right, a Twittering toilet.

It's Spring and we wanted to let you know what's going on with the MDRF Friends of Faire.

First let me apologize for Prax and I not being around much lately. Life has been keeping us away but we are working on correcting this.

Next, I want to thank everyone in the group for doing such a fantastic job keeping the group going while we have been absent. You have all proven that it is our great members that make this thing work. A big thanks to the folks who have organized and handled the dinners and social activities, you know who you are.

On to the news...

We are planning updates to the web site (MDRFFoF.org) as well as the Message Boards (mdfof.proboards.com). These updates include layout, themes and content. We want your input so we can get this right so please let us know what you want or don't want, what we've got right and what's got to go in this thread http://mdfof.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=site&thread=2032&page=1

Prax has been busy getting a new vendor for our Pewter Pins and we have some great news. Not only will have pins for the general membership but we are going to have pins for the DoRTs and OBLs. She will be handling pre-orders as soon as we get final order minimums from the company. We are also still toying around with the possibility of a Founding Members Wooden Limited Edition pin this season, we will not have Wooden Pins this year as in the past.

Let's get this years Membership Drive started early this season. Our goal is 500 members by the closing day so let your friends know where to find us. No one needs to register on the Boards but it is a great way to start meeting people before you set foot in Revel Grove. Don't forget about the dinners, parties and events that we post on the Boards as well.

So please stop on by and see what's being talked about and lend your words.

Your humble admin,
Lumpy

Well I have a new pc almost...

It would seem that the onboard audio for this set up does not get along well with the 64 bit version of Vista. Come to think of it not much gets along well with the 64 bit version of Vista. I do have working versions of both Microsoft Office 7 and Adobe Creative Suite 3, as they are the main productivity programs that I use.
Now I have a working pc with decent enough onboard video and no audio. This MoBo only has PCI-E slots so none of the old hardware we have will work. I can hold off on the $400 video card for a few months but, damn, no audio is really fucking with me. I found a decent PCI-E Sound Blaster Xi-Fi card for $130 so as soon as I can I will get that.

The data migration has been a complete bitch, I got all of my emails transfered but none of my bookmarks. It only took one call to Apple Support to get the iTunes and iPhone things all worked out and migrated. By the way, did you know you can only use your purchases from iTunes on five devices(computers)and if you no longer have any of those old devices they really don't care. All of my websites and work info are good although the new stuff were working on was lost. We are hoping that we can get everything done soon (read - a few months) because I can't wait to show off all of the things we want to do.

There were a few people who helped make what I have now possible and I just want to say thanks a lot. A big thanks to my Dad for talking that HUGE bin of freakin' Snow Babies off of my hands. They have been sitting in the basement since my mother passed away and all of the family members who said they wanted them got extremely quiet whenever I brought up the fact that they needed to get them out of my house.

I still need a bit more to get this rig straight but it is happening. I found that since flat screen monitors have come down so far in price ($150 for a model that was $300 two months ago) that I want to replace my CRTs after I get the video card. That will probably also be after faire. Did I mention that I have no freakin' audio and it's driving me insane.

Wow, Vista (64bit) sure is flashy and it is putting all four of the cores on the CPU to the test. I've got to admit it does have some features that I really like and I love that it connects to the X-Box without a hitch. From the X-Box we have HDMI Video and Optical Audio going into the High Def TV which makes for some sweet streaming. Vista is, however, a big old piece of bloatware and has many silly setting designed to make the computer enthusiast (read - geek) very frustrated very easily.

Well that's enough for now, I just wanted to say "Hi world!"

I've been working a lot lately so haven't had much free time but this weekend is Prax's Birthday so I've got the entire weekend off.
We spent Friday doing some shopping for the rest of the weekend and started our chillaxin'. Saturday was a trip to the movies to see the Watchmen flik and then the Pepsi Challenge and more chillaxin'. Prax was able to tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi but preferred the Coke.
Happy Birthday!!!!
Todays plans include Strawberry Crepes for breakfast, a Hearty Split Pea Soup for lunch, and Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner. A butter cake with berry gnoch and cream cheese frosting as well ice cream will finish out the evening.
Tomorrow is WoW day and hopefully some relaxation.

I hope you have a good birthday angel.

So the latest game has been finished and I'm not just blowing my horn when I say this one is good. All playtest results were very positive, some of the best comments I've gotten on a design. The artwork was finished this weekend and I think it looks fan-freakin-tastic.

Hopefully we will have hard copy this weekend and they will be available on www.IcePackGames.com next week. This will make it's con premiere at Balticon in May. You can see the cards in the image below...