Miraclo Miles

Two Digits To Rule Them All Certainly not a new issue, but one of paramount of importance, is the potential problem of paperless, electronic touchscreen voting machines. Here's a piece on a 2-digit code that when entered into Diebold's voting machines creates a second set of votes that overrides those originally entered . That the voting machines in 85% of America's precincts are manufactured by one of three companies: Diebold, ES&S, and Sequoia. That all three companies are controlled by Bush "Rangers" - campaign contributors who've managed to raise $200,000 or more for the campaign - should be enough to at least raise one's eyebrows, if not hackles. While we're at it, here's a piece on how insular - and potentially corrupt - the technical review and oversight of these machines is .

Busy, busy, busy... Another weekend blew through, taken up with some good things and some irritating nonsense. In the Good column were finally getting the latest issue of Legends (#106) out the door, and getting most of the prep work for a series of eBay auctions laid -- I'm now aiming to start them some night this week, though not tonight since a week from today will be many people's last day of summer, and I'm afraid that'll make for bad marketing during those final, critical hours. The Bad side, especially Sunday afternoon, was taken up with finding that my computer had somehow fallen prey to a virus that was attempting to log keystrokes and so hunt for passwords. With both the Antivrus scan and ZoneAlarm running, I was used to nothing getting past, but I must have inadvertently let a door open. Ever since the last big clean-out and fortification (thanks again, Pat) the system's been working better than it had in over a year. I wish Norton Antiviru...

Depressed Batman outgrows costume, goes on binge Just to remind you that it's still an odd world . I guess Alfred cut him off.

Well, I guess it's better that it's for Halloween than for Career Day... I suppose it shouldn't strike me as strange as it does that some of these costumes that a little while ago only showed up in adult sizes would be trickling down to the kids. (Thanks again, Tammy!)

First Blair, then, perhaps, Bush..? The British Parliament is dusting off some law from roughly a century and a half ago in an attempt to impeach Tony Blair for leading the nation into war under false pretenses. It's too early to get much hope up, but perhaps there'll be justice and balance in the long run, and both the U.K. and U.S. can start to put our national nightmares behind us. (I'd spotted this yesterday, but was also sent the link by Grant Schreiber, writer/publisher of Judas Goat Quarterly .)

Bush administration attempts to hide a sicker, poorer nation ...unfortunately, it's not Afghanistan, but is instead the U.S. They had their appointee in the Census Bureau release the data a month earlier than usual, during the August congressional recess, rather in September when there would be more people waiting to notice it and it could undercut what poll boost the upcoming GOP Convention will give them. The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, and the uninsured went up by 1.4 million. Hoorah. I'd say something about this potentially popularizing Bastille Day here in the US, particularly if November 3rd dawns as a dark day announcing four more years of dress rehearsal for the Apocalypse, but I don't want an off-hand comment to lead to a visit from the Secret Service. I'm all about peaceful, lawful disgruntlement and protest here, folks.

Rescue From Afar? With millions of US citizens living abroad I was pleased to learn yesterday that some organizations such as Democrats Abroad are making a concerted effort to reach out, remind and register them in time for their mail ballots to help make a difference. If you or someone you know falls into this category, remember what difference an amazingly small number of votes (and the absence of same, through whatever mishap or agency) made in 2000, and act! There's even a handy list by country if you're looking to check out some of the locally-organized events.

Boats and Baby Ruths aren't the only things that float... Concentrating the bilge spewed by the partisan Swift Boat Captains for "Truth" in one place and subjecting it all to purifying sunlight is swiftvets eRiposte . (Thanks again, Tammy!)

In the Future... A process breakthrough appears to have brought transparent aluminum a step closer to reality, apparently without a visit from Scotty. Meanwhile, a good, if somewhat fluffy, piece on advances being made in robotics and exoskeletons over in Japan. Finally, I don't know about you, but if someone doesn't appear and wisk you off to the future within moments of your forking over the $10, I'd say it's safe to say you've been scammed. Still, you have to admire the thought that went into this, and the restraint in keeping the amount asked for low. Most of the people who'll go for it spend more than that on lottery tickets over the course of a day or two.

A Comic Fan's Tour I'd caught the Marvel Superheroes' Guide to New York City special on the Travel Channel a couple weeks ago, but the nigh-omniscient Tammy has pointed out the interactive map that covers some aspects of key locales. The special fell apart near the end, choosing to focus on the investment and auction aspects of the hobby - not only a digression but it comes across as a feeble attempt to justify comics fiscally, something that's unnecessary - but up until then it's an enjoyable show. I don't see it listed for a rebroadcast anytime soon, but you know how these cable channels are; it'll show up again before long.

Be ready to vote! The people at True Majority have set up a page of links to make it easy to register to vote, along with exploring vote-by-mail options, locating your polling site and even helping to get other voters registered. It's all here . I'll incorporate this into my permanent links down the left side of the page later, but I wanted to quickly get this info in place at least temporarily.

Laughing at the scary world Noting that Dungeons & Dragons - something I barely had a brush with - is celebrating its 30th anniversary , someone passed along this unintentionally hilarious link .

Ah, Nature! Sure, I'm too busy for any of this for a solid week and a half, and I pop up just to do links to novelty stories despite all that's happening in the world? Yes. That's just about the level at which I'm operating. First (Thanks, Tammy) is from Washington state, about a bear with a preference . Second is, well, I can't beat the article's opening line: "I was standing out in the water when I suddenly felt something moving in my pants."

Perhaps I'm still too easily amused... I know this isn't breaking news to anyone who cared, but I find it funny (and very much in keeping with the series' creators, who obviously couldn't pass up the joke) that the folks behind South Park have decided to release a themed DVD , featuring "The Passion of the Jew" - an episode centered on the impact of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ - on August 31st, the same day that Gibson's film is released on home video. The other two episodes on the South Park disc involve Cartman's venture into Christian Rock and the priest pedophilia scandals. I'm not expecting to see a glowing write-up in the Catholic Standard & Times , are you? (No, there's nothing there yet -- but I'll be curious to see whether it'll come up.) While most fans of the show are aiming to wait for each of these episodes to come out as part of boxed season sets, I'll be interested to see how well they do on ...

From M. Night Shyamalan... ( The Village ) Writing about current movies is always a touchy subject, as it’s difficult to say much of substance without giving away information that could spoil the film for someone. This is especially the case when the filmmaker has built a reputation as someone who has a “twist” to his plots – a reputation that I suspect has been feeling like a trap to Shyamalan since shortly after The Sixth Sense established it. So, with that in mind, following the next paragraph’s innocuous comments, I’ll advise anyone who’s still interested in seeing it with fresh eyes to skip the rest of this piece. I don’t intend to lay out the plot, but I will end up mentioning details you’d rather wait for; by the end of the piece I’ll undoubtedly mention the central element upon which The Village ’s existence depends. Safe comments: The film is an improvement over the progressively goofy Signs . The actors do a solid job, and the performances are suitably understated whe...