Successful Upgrade to Movable Type 3.0

Just a housekeeping note to indicate that I’ve successfully updated the site to Movable Type 3.0. I had debated between upgrading to MT3 or switching to WordPress, and in the end decided to stick with MT, for now.

The primary reason for making a change at all was to improve the site’s spam …

I realize that in today’s political climate one blog entry is unlikely to change anyone’s mind, and agreeing to disagree is sometimes the best that can be done.

I’m posting about John Kerry’s acceptance speech for those who might still be on the fence, or those that need some validation that Kerry is a viable choice. I’m probably in the latter category, previously not so much for Kerry as against Bush. In Kerry’s speech tonight he strongly articulated a number of viewpoints that I strongly agree with, and did so in a non-negative and persuasive manner. (The transcript is available online.)

I heard the first half of speech this evening while driving the family to supper, and later read the entire thing online. The speech reads well, and the delivery was very powerful; very presidential. Based on what I heard and later read, I feel much more positive towards Kerry and his abilities to actually lead the nation, though the truth is I’ve avoided paying too much attention until very recently … even the next three months could become tedious in terms of the campaigning.

Here is an expanded set of quotes from tonight’s speech that really spoke to me. There was one moment, which luckily occured right as were pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant, when I got unexpectedly very choked up. It struck at the root of the problem with the current war: America simply does not initiate violence without a manifestly clear and present danger.

And as President, I will bring back this nation’s time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.

Before you go to battle, you have to be able to look a parent in the eye and truthfully say: “I tried everything possible to avoid sending your son or daughter into harm’s way. But we had no choice. We had to protect the American people, fundamental American values from a threat that was real and imminent.”

Additional highlights are quoted in the expanded entry accessible by the “more” link immediately below:

The Cassini spacecraft has been returning wonderful photos of Saturn and its rings all summer, but this image of Mimas, one of the moons of Saturn, really caught my eye. The crater that is visible near the top is about 80 miles wide, and the mountain in the middle is as high …

Having visited Monument Rocks last year, we were excited when we had the opportunity to swing by this unusual geological formation on the way to Lindsborg a few weeks ago. These fossil encrusted limestone structures are remnants from the time when Kansas was at the bottom of an ocean, and are 2-3 stories …

After 26 years of living in the SF Bay Area, and 30 years since we first left home, we’ve made the decision to return to our hometown of Lindsborg, Kansas. This decision comes after contemplating such a move off and on for the past 6 years. To be honest, this is probably …

We recently returned from a fairly long family visit in Kansas. Unlike many of our recent road trips, this one wasn’t documented via this journal. There were many, now irrelevant, reasons for that and though I’d like to go through the few hundred trip photos and create a travelogue, realistically, that’s probably not …

A recent entry by ZulyZu reminded me of a fantastic catalog I saw while staying with my brother. Called something like the Cabela’s Master Product Catalog, it’s 500+ pages of outdoor equipment the likes of which I’d never seen before. (ex. a deer hunting vest that includes a built-in seat!) It’s apparently …