Well--I spent a lot of time over the past couple weeks working on the motorcycle. Every day I'd either work on the motorcycle, or else I'd work on cleaning the garage, or-or-or.
There's still a lot to do out there, of course. And in the basement. I'm going to continue this trend because A) it makes me happy, and B) it's going to have to get done one way or another.
And I want to get the fun cars usable, and the MGB sold. Need room and such to do that.
* * *
...anyway, the news stories about fireworks always crop up around this time of year.
The "anti" faction always has some idiot who's willing to stand up and say, "Save me from my own stupidity!"
one of the most publicized opponents is a guy who was severely burned in 2004 because he was launching mortar-style fireworks from his moving car, and one blew back in through the window and set his stash on fire.Emphasis theirs.
Next sentence: "...you'd think the anti-legalization opponents could find a better spokesperson."
Because it's impossible to mandate that everyone have COMMON FREAKING SENSE the "anti" folks think it's best just to ban everything. This is true even about things like diet foods: the "Center for 'Science' in the Public Interest" insisted that Olestra had to be banned because the "no fat" label would make people gorge themselves on potato chips instead of "healthy food". (And they came up with that ludicrous assertion that Olestra caused "anal leakage"; it was scaremongering. Sadly, it worked.)
In a just and sane world, the idiot quoted in that article would be ashamed to talk about why he's all scarred: "Uh, well, a...thing...happened." C'mon; the guy was doing something egregiously stupid. The only way he could have been more stupid would have been to have an open container of Everclear in the car. Shit.
...but because of fuckin' retards like that guy, fireworks have to be illegal and the rest of us have to suffer? WTF.
Consumer Reports has the usual busybody "you're too stupid to handle sharp objects" list of "safety tips". "Leave the fireworks to the professionals!" *sigh*
#8: "Keep fireworks flat. And never ignite them in a container, especially one made of glass or metal." Bottle rockets, you assholes?
What on God's green Earth can class C fireworks do to a metal container? Sure, if you're one of those motherfucking morons who insists that he can't have fun unless he's mucking around with dynamite--but class C fireworks are specifically designed to make a lot of noise and light without dissipating too much energy.
If you're in danger because you threw a pack of ladyfingers into a garbage can, you're not dealing with class C fireworks--that's for damn sure.
I don't know how many times I've said it: there is no substitute for basic safety precautions. But part of that means not doing incredibly stupid crap like putting a fountain on your head and having a friend light it, you know, or sticking lit firecrackers in your mouth, or what-the-hell-ever stupid crap people do that lands them in the freaking emergency room.
Keeping this kind of thing in mind, I will not buy anything that's not DOT Class C. I don't want M-80s or partial sticks of dynamite. I don't give a rat's ass about impressing anyone; I just want to light fuses and have fun. And to me "fun" means no one goes to the hospital, damn it.
* * *
I find it surprising that there are so few states with Illinois-level restrictions on fireworks. Ace has a link to a Gizmodo article with a map of the US showing what's legal where, and I've taken the liberty of ganking and reposting the image here:
That entire map ought to be green, damn it. Failing that, there shouldn't be any grey or red on it. *sigh*
...but in most of the US, DOT Class C fireworks are legal. In fact, the states which ban everything amount to a handful, and even if you combine that handful with the idiot states like Illinois where all you can get are sparklers and smoke bombs, it's still approximately single digits.
* * *
Last night I was surfing around Mangareader and found Yandere Kanojo, which is pretty funny. It's about a milquetoast guy who falls in love with the toughest gangster girl at school...and she falls in love with him at the same time.
It suffers from disjointed narrative, because (I gather from translator comments) the untranslated pages are hard to come by, and the library of "raws" is therefore incomplete. But it's not too hard to catch up with the missing information and it's a fun read.
* * *
The spring season of anime finally finished downloading, but for a couple of stragglers, and the summer season has several series that I'm going to give a try:
Yuru YuriPrimary criteria for inclusion on the list were things like "cute girls" and "interesting synopsis". Mawaru Penguin Drum is the wild card, as even the previews contain almost no information on character designs or plot, but I saw enough in one preview to convince me that it probably won't be made of egregious suck, so I'll try it.
Morita-san wa Mukuchi
Usagi Drop
The IDOLM@STER
R-15
Ro-Kyu-Bu!
Mawaru Penguin Drum ??
Mayo Chiki!
I haven't even started on the spring anime yet. In fact, the only anime I've watched since June 11 has been one ep of Yawara!, so I guess I'd better do less WoW and more anime for a while.
Crap, this otaku stuff is really hard to manage.