ssh user@server1 'cat /path/to/config/file.conf' | diff /path/to/other/config/file.conf -

I’ll leave it as an exercise for the user to write a shell script that will do this automatically, though it should be fairly easy to do.

Pennsylvania, the state that gave birth to this great country, has a chance to set things right. It has not had a moment to shine like this since 1787 when our Constitution was written there.

So securing Obama’s nomination and eventual victory isn’t the only great moment Pennsylvania has had since the Constitution. It’s just the most recent.

She’s exactly the person Obama is talking about when he says that people in small towns are bitter and cling to things like religion or guns or lapel pins. It’s not that their bitterness makes them love these things. It’s that they’re so disenchanted with government that they don’t think it can fix the big things, like the economy, so they focus on the little things.

In other words, she is an example of the attitude Obama was talking about. Maybe ABC was trying to be ironic when they let her on to ask her question. Or maybe they were just their usual clueless selves.

A while back I had to set up Movable Type on a system where the Perl binary wasn’t in the usual location. So I wrote a quick and dirty shell script that you can run on a directory to replace the perl call (usually /usr/bin/perl) with whatever you want, as long as it’s an executable.

Note: This code comes with the usual caveats. Don’t come crying to me when you run it on a production instance of your blog and you lose your job and your wife leaves you and you end up in a van down by the river. Read the script and check your work.

Replace Perl Bin

Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) interrupted atheist activist Rob Sherman during his testimony Wednesday afternoon before the House State Government Administration Committee in Springfield and told him, “What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous . . . it’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists! “This is the Land of Lincoln where people believe in God,” Davis said. “Get out of that seat . . . You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying! You believe in destroying what this state was built upon.”

Audio of this bigotry and my letter to her after the jump.

I wouldn’t really mind using taxpayer money to refurbish it if the church had cultural or architectural significance, just like I wouldn’t mind using National Parks money to maintain Fallingwater or using the National Endowment for the Arts to commission works. But I’m neither in Illinois, nor am I aware of this situation.

Anyhoozle, here’s my letter:

Representative Davis, I was saddened to hear your remarks to Rob Sherman as he gave testimony in front of the House State Government Administration Committee. That such a bigoted opinion could be held in modern America shows how far we have to go to reach a truly inclusive society. And that such an outburst would come from someone whose race and gender have felt the sting of discrimination shows this even more clearly. I am an atheist, and while I do not believe in a god or gods, I strive to be kind, generous and thoughtful. However, I will, like Rob Sherman, stand up for my rights when I feel they are threatened. And while I disagree that spending government money on restoring a church is inappropriate, I respect Mr. Sherman’s right to speak to his representatives and his fellow citizens on issues that matter to him. Not only that, but I expect a public official such as yourself to hold his views in the same respect. Mr. Sherman and all other atheists, indeed people of every religion, have as much of a right to contribute to the public discourse, and to live in the United States, as Christians. And our philosophy, while you may consider it to be dangerous, is fulfilling for a large number of people. Indeed, non-believers are more numerous in the United States than Jews or Muslims. We are not nihilists, nor do we wish to destroy anything. I would highly suggest, Representative Davis, that you get to know people before you judge them so harshly. Isn’t that one of Jesus’ teachings? I think that a public apology to both atheists and non-believers like myself and people of faith, who I think were horribly misrepresented by your outburst, would be the very least you could do. Sincerely, Paul Rothrock Lancaster, Pennsylvania

About 18 seconds into the video, just next to Obama’s right shoulder, I think I know that guy!

That’s my little brother. He stood in line for six hours to get that seat. Oh, and the speech is good, too. (Screencap after the break.) Here’s a screen capture

That’s my daughter, Ily. (It’s pronounced “eye-lee” goddammit.) Since she’s been born, my life has been really different. Awesome, but different.

Being a dad is one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. Even over the past four months I’ve been able to see her grow and learn new things. It’s also one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not complex or even especially difficult, but grueling. Hill’s been working second shift, so most days I’m taking her to day care, picking her up, and taking care of her until she goes to bed. (Not to mention that my ability to fall asleep in minutes makes me the one who gets up with her most nights.)

I’m really lucky to be a dad in the 21st century. Diaper bags and strollers aren’t froofy anymore. Car seats are better designed - no more trying to lower a kid into a seat from the outside of a car. And society is more accepting of dads actually caring for their kids.

So expect more posts about fatherhood and baby stuff in the future because, frankly, a lot of this stuff is really freaking cool.

I went to see Streetlight Manifesto at the Chameleon Club.

The concert was awesome. I was right next to the stage, so I got the whole effect of being in the pit with the kiddies without having my eardrums blown out, since most of the sound went over my head. Unlike most of the over 21 crowd, I didn’t go up to the balcony to have a drink. And it was a good thing. I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun sitting far away from the bands, out of the crowd like some stodgy old man, even though I was one of the oldest people in the audience.

The first band was some crappy local ska band. I knew things weren’t going well when he whipped out his electronic saxophone and they played the Super Mario Brothers theme.

The next band up was a huge improvement. It was The Stitch Up, which is a side project of the frontman for Mu 330. He played some solo stuff for a while and then the band members came on stage and rocked the house. They invited one of the audience members on stage to play one of the songs and he was actually pretty good.

We found out during their set the some douchebag in Philly had stolen Suburban Legends’ van and stole all of their instruments, so they weren’t going to be there. So the next band was the main act.

There aren’t words to describe Streetlight’s set. Everyone in the crowd knew all of the words to their songs, even the ones on the album that had been released less than a week ago. The band is incredibly talented and the songs are catchy and great for the type of venue they were at.

Unfortunately, they only played until 9:15 because it was an all ages show, but it was great while it lasted.

As for Hillary, I got her takeout from her favorite sushi place and her friend came down to hang with her. I was home by 9:30, so she felt better about that. This weekend I’m going to take the baby to my parents’ so that she can have some alone time in exchange for her letting me go to what was seriously the best concert I’ve ever been to.