I've been working on websites for a few businesses and this one went live yesterday:

Wimfields.com

I already run the website for the local newspaper, so when the publisher opened a restaurant, I got the job for its website, too. Wimfield's opened for business this morning and we had lunch there. The pork tenderloin sandwich was delicious. I would love to hear what you think of the site, expecially if you find any bugs. I think I'll write a post sometime describing how I made it. It looks simple, but I used some JavaScript and PHP to get around browser bugs and make it easier to maintain.

I've posted a report from our game night last night:

Game Night: 10-8-05

Google announced yesterday that they have an online RSS aggregator in their labs. I schlepped on over to google.com/reader to check it out. I was able to import all my feeds in an opml file from Bloglines, which is nice. Google Reader is pretty, but other than that, I'm not impressed. It doesn't work the way I want it to like Bloglines does. I usually want to read all of the unread posts from a particular site, but Google Reader just shows me individual posts pulled from all my feeds in chronological order. I only have time to skim many of my feeds (if that), but others I read every word. So this won't work for me. It has tagging, but it's not clear how that works or if it would even help me. So, I'm sticking with Bloglines for now.

I created a wishlist at BoardGameGeek.com showing some games that I think would be fun. I don't necessarily want to own these games, I just want to play them. So, if you're thinking about buying some German board games for yourself, consider these to be recommendations. Just make sure you bring them to one of our game nights. I updated my collection online, but it's still nothing compared to Matt's. I also posted my top ten favorite games.

Steve, don't eat it. volume 9 - Steve eats a silkworm pupa for the latest installment of Steve, Don't Eat It! You've never read it? What, are you too good for Steve or something? Whatever you're doing now, stop it. Click the links and go read it.

Writely is a browser-based word processor. You have most of the basic functionality of any desktop work processor, but there's nothing to install. Your work is stored online and you can publish it and collaborate with other Writely users. This might be a good way to work on the Brendoman.com book. I read about this on Slashdot, where several other AJAX browser-based apps are mentioned.

FEMA criticized for cruise ship deal - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

I just heard about this today. WTF, man? What are these people thinking?

The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract -- staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties -- has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.

To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person -- and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.

(via Wonkette)

FEMA criticized for cruise ship deal - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

I just heard about this today. WTF, man? What are these people thinking?

The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract -- staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties -- has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.

To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person -- and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.

Tom DeLay (R-TX) is stepping down from his position as House Majority Leader after being indicted by a Texas grand jury. This might be a good time to take a look at some of the jewels of wisdom that have issued from his mouth.

To some young refugees of Hurricane Katrina:

Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun? (Washington Post)

On Israel:

My friends, there is no Palestinian-Israeli conflict. There is only the global war on terrorism. (MSNBC)

On the Environmental Protection Agency:

The EPA, the Gestapo of government, pure and simply has been one of the major claw-hooks that the government maintains on the backs of our constituents. (AP/PBS)

On the working poor:

Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour [the minimum wage in 1996] are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist. (Congressional Record)

I could go on. I haven't even gone into the charges that he's facing in Texas now, which basically amount to fundraising fraud. He was the ringleader of the circus that surrouned Terry Schaivo's death, but in 1988, his own comatose father was allowed to die. We're not dealing with a high-quality individual here. I hope that he'll follow Michael Brown's lead and step down, not only from his job as Majority Leader, but from his entire House of Representatives job.

I've been rereading America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart, et. al., and here's a paragraph they wrote about our two party system:

Each party has a platform, a prix fixe menu of beliefs making up its worldview. The candidate can choose one of the two platforms, but remember - no substitutions. For example, do you support univeral health care? Then you must also want a ban on assault weapons. Pro-limited government? Congratulations, you are also anti-abortion. Luckily, all human opinion falls neatly into one of the two clearly defined camps. Thus, the two-party system elegantly reflects the bichromatic rainbow that is American politcal thought (Stewart, 108).