Rumis

I don't often link my board game reviews in here any more, but am making an exception for Rumis, a game I reviewed today. It's a beautiful and intelligent abstract strategy game that I highly recommend. Take a look at the picture at right, then click on through for the full review

My summary: "A superbly designed and produced abstract strategy game. One of my favorites of the year."

Urgh (DSLExtreme)

Today's been a bad Internet day. My DSL line has been dropping about 30% of packets all day. This is really frustrating when I'm working from the home office, because it's hard to get anything done, not even email, let alone remote site programming.

DSLExtreme says they know about the problem. It's apparently affecting "the north". (North of what, I'm not sure.) They swear it'll be cleared about by 4pm.

3.40pm and my packets are still dropping at 30%.

Urgh.

NEWZ: Alabama Attempting to Censor Homosexuality

The Sordid Story

Allen said that if his bill passes, novels with gay protagonists and college textbooks that suggest homosexuality is natural would have to be removed from library shelves and destroyed.

"I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them," he said.

A spokesman for the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center called the bill censorship.

"It sounds like Nazi book burning to me," said SPLC spokesman Mark Potok.
...

Allen said no state funds should be used to pay for materials that foster homosexuality. He said that would include nonfiction books that suggest homosexuality is acceptable and fiction novels with gay characters. While that would ban books like "Heather has Two Mommies," it could also include classic and popular novels with gay characters such as "The Color Purple," "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Brideshead Revisted."

...

Aside from the moral debates, the bill could be problematic for library collections, said Jaunita Owes, director of the Montgomery City-County Library, which is a few blocks from the Alabama Capitol.

"Half the books in the library could end up being banned. It's all based on how one interprets the material," Owes said.