Ron's Log

Some Beautiful Writing

Right here. I dare not quote a word of it.

Been There, Done That

Hope you all watched the Republican debate tonight.

Devo-esque

Robot High School. 3:17, one take and SFW. Headphones. Not relaxing.

My Mind Has Been Boggled

Medical marijuana vending machines in Los Angeles. For real. At least three dispensaries in Los Angeles have installed them.

The computerized machine requires fingerprint identification and a prepaid card with a magnetic stripe. Once the card and fingerprint are verified, a bright green envelope with the pot drops down a slot.

[Inventor and owner Vincent] Mehdizadeh says any user approved for medical marijuana and registered in a computer database at his dispensaries can pre-purchase the drug and then use the machine to pick up.

Marijuana dispensed from the machine is less expensive than that distributed by human hand. The machine sells one-eighth of an ounce for $40.

The DEA feigns a neutral interest:

"Somebody owns (it), it's on a property and somebody fills it" said DEA Special Agent Jose Martinez. "Once we find out where it's at, we'll look into it and see if they're violating laws."

OTOH:

A man who said he has been authorized to use medical marijuana as part of his anger management therapy said the vending machine's security measures would at least protect against illicit use of the drug.

"You have kids that want to get high and that's not what marijuana is for," Robert Miko said. "It's to medicate."

Do the obviously level tones of his statement demonstrate a benefit from that medical marijuana?

Anyway, I'm in the midst of watching the second season of Weeds and I spotted this news article and wondered if I had gotten a contact high, or what.

Just In Time To Crash On Super Bowl Sunday

Domino's Pizza has announced that you will be able to track the progress of your pizza via the internet from the time you order it to the moment it goes out the door. Unfortunately, the drive from the store to your door remains a black hole. Why don't they organize ride-alongs or maybe just put a camera inside the vehicle that records the journey on a little chip of flash memory which the driver gives to you along with the pizza. Then, while you eat the pizza you can watch to see if the driver sneezed on it.

The tracking site is here.

Cute, Brief, SFW Video

Here. Must have sound ON.

National Portrait Gallery - Washington, D.C.

Photo by paulcrumlish of the Stephen Colbert portrait on display in the National Portrait Gallery. Explanatory text here.

Blatino Oasis

Last year I was surprised to hear after the fact about "Blatino Oasis" at Helios Resort in Palm Springs, and I guess the organizers were paying attention. They've sent me an announcement about this year's event. It will be May 9-12 at Helios again [annoying music warning - gawd, I think it's Prince] (NSFW).

Scrolling down that page I spotted these links to make hotel reservations:

For some of us, gay-friendly, clothing-optional resorts ARE regular hotels and resorts.

Watch The Vote Counting

In a press release [PDF] issued today, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters announced that a live video feed of the vote counting process will be available via the internet.

The Registrar of Voters office will offer live video of the Election Night ballot count via its
webpage at www.voteinfo.net.

"We want voters in all areas of the county to be able to see ballots being counted on Election Night," said Barbara Dunmore, registrar of voters, "The public can now watch the activities at the central count location in Riverside from anywhere in the world."

Video streaming will begin on Feb. 5 starting at approximately 7:45 p.m. and will run until the release of the final semi-official results, anticipated near 5 a.m. on Feb. 6.

Me, I'm going to be tying a big pink ribbon on my ballot so I can see when it gets counted.

Mayor Parks's Response On Shelter

The Desert Sun has published Mayor Yvonne Parks response to the recent brouhaha about the shelter on Mountain View which she says should be called a "cold weather shelter," not a homeless shelter.

The lack of available space in Indio and the worsening economic condition has created the need for more room than they had in previous years. This is a critical problem and was discussed thoroughly at CVAG’s Homeless Committee beginning in October 2007. I am a member of that Committee. At one of these meetings Judy Shea offered her Sober Age Center as an available site. The Chair referred Judy to work with DPSS and Jewish Family Services to see if something could be worked out.

Subsequently I met with DPSS and Jewish Family Services at the facility. They seemed happy with the site and said they were working out the details of sub-letting from Judy. I advised my City Manager of the County’s plan.

This was not an action item for City Council. I only recently have been advised that Judy was portraying to the County and Jewish Family Services her facility had all of the approvals necessary for the use. County officials know full well that no Mayor or individual City Councilor has the authority to issue land use permits. That is strictly the pursue [perview?] of the City Manager, Planning Commission, and the City Council as a whole.

There will be a special meeting of the city council on Friday night (February 1) at 6 PM to deal with the issue of the shelter.