Pervasivelight 5.0

Saw Gunrunners, Smokey Mountain Knife Works, Lodge Cast Iron and, oh yeah, a predicted 3″ of snow in Dickson.

DAMN YOU AL GORE!!!

for the record, it sucks to drive by the Blue Ridge Parkway in a truck, at night, when my bike is on a truck somewhere else.

…and a lot to go.

austin, here we come.

from a friend in southern France.

I’d recommend against the George Bush collectible plate as well.

The movers have taken most everything, and it’s just a matter of days until we hit the road for the Lone Star State.

In the meantime, i’ve used my wicked skillz to hook up this kick ass entertainment center.

Gee, it’s a good thing we found this out before we did something like flood the atmosphere with sulfur.

So New York’s started counting it’s chickens, and currently on the buffet table the following:

According to Paterson, the stimulus aid to New York will include:

-$11 billion more in federal Medicaid funding. About 70 percent will go the state, the rest to county and big city governments that administer the health coverage program for the poor. The money will be split: $1.9 billion for the current fiscal year, $5 billion in 2009-10 and $4.2 billion in 2010-11.

-$2.5 billion to restore education cuts. The money will be split over the next two fiscal years and could be enough to eliminate Paterson’s proposed cut in education for the fiscal year beginning April 1.

-$556 million in “flexible relief” over two years to support government programs approved by the governor and Legislature.

-$940 million for high-needs students in schools and $760 million for special education, both spread over two years.

-$180 million to increase the maximum Pell Grant for college students to $500.

-$1.25 billion for mass transit and $1.1 billion for highways and bridges. State officials say each $1 billion of this aid could produce 10,000 construction and permanent jobs.

-$1.3 billion more for food stamps over two years; $1.3 billion to nearly double the length of time a jobless worker can collect unemployment checks, up to 59 weeks; and $100 million more for child care services for low-income parents trying to hold jobs.

Can someone tell me exactly what Patterson’s planning to stimulate with 1.3Bn worth of food stamps and nearly a billion for ‘high-needs’ (whatever that is) students?

From Reason, a non-comprehensive listing off porky products from the stimulus package.

• $5.5 billion for making federal buildings “green” (including $448 million for the Department of Homeland Security’s headquarters)
• $198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters
• $200 million for workplace safety in Department of Agriculture facilities
• $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution
• $300 million more for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees (see below)
• $180 million for construction of Bureau of Land Management facilities
• $500 million for wildland fire management
• $110 million for construction for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• $522 million for construction for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• $412 million for Centers for Disease Control headquarters
• $500 million earmark for National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland
• $100 million for constructing U.S. Marshalls office buildings
• $300 million for constructing Federal Bureau of Investigation office buildings
• $800 million for constructing Federal Prison System buildings and facilities
• $307 million for constructing National Institute for Standards and Technology office buildings
• $1 billion for administrative costs and construction of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office buildings
• $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees
• $125 million for the Washington, D.C. sewer system
• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI
• $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings
• $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service
• $5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the Veterans Administration’s “National Cemetery Administration”
• $60 million for Arlington National Cemetery
• $75 million to construct a new “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies
• $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems
• $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations
• $2 billion for a FutureGen near-zero emissions powerplant in Mattoon, Illinois
• $2 billion for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrid cars
• $650 million for the digital TV (DTV) transition coupon program
• $1.2 billion for summer jobs for youth
• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries
• $750 million earmark for the National Computer Center
• $10 million to fight Mexican gun-runners
• $850 million for Amtrak (on top of its regular subsidy)
• $100 million for lead paint hazard reduction
• $275 million for flood prevention
• $65 million for watershed rehabilitation
• $650 million for abandoned mine sites
• $1.3 billion for NASA (including $450 million for “science” at NASA)
• $100 million to clean up sites used in early U.S. atomic energy program
• $10 million for urban canals
• $1.5 billion for carbon capture projects under sec. 703 of P.L. 110-140 (though the original section only authorizes $1 billion for five years)
• $500 million for state and local fire stations

I’d advise stocking up on the 3 F’s (Food, Fuel, Firearms) cause we are so screwed…

update: Looks like I’m not the only one who hates it.

…but still f**king hysterical.

Taunting My Little Pony fans.

Thousands of drivers in Italy are expected to seek compensation after it was revealed that a system to catch them jumping red lights was rigged.

More than 100 people, including police officers, are being investigated as part of the fraud.

-vs-

Drivers beware: Big Brother could be watching you at every Big Apple intersection soon.

The mayor’s preliminary budget released Friday proposes to amend state law to allow for traffic-light cameras at “unlimited locations” in the city and to raise the fine from $50 to $100.

“The program has been successful, and we want to expand it,” Mayor Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna said.

and this old gem

Mayor Bloomberg has a message for New Yorkers who don’t like surveillance cameras: Get real.

“It’s just ridiculous people who object to using technology,” the mayor said, adding that he had not talked with anyone in London who wasn’t “thrilled” at the presence of security cameras in their capital.

The Daily News reported yesterday that a camera in lower Manhattan has been secretly recording license plates in a test of the planned “Ring of Steel” surveillance system.

must be some of those new fangled “fast” zombies.

Joe Gasaway with the Illinois Department of Transportation said someone altered the IDOT message boards on southbound I-255 at Highway 162 to say “daily lane closers, due to zombies” this morning.

Someone warn Canada… oh sh*t, Moral-Flexibility is down… we’re too late!

So I finally got my W2 from work. Running the numbers, between New York State and New York City taxes, the move to Texas is roughly a $6000 annual raise.
Between that and the whole freedom thing how could I say no?