In the never-ending battle against that scourge with the meat-product name, we've installed some new software here at the TW blog. Using a combination of technical hijinks and serious prestidigitation, the rogues who attempt to use the comments section for their nefarious commercial purposes -- unrelated to our own commercial purposes, nefarious or otherwise -- have heretofore been isolated from the general population. With great success.

Henceforth, thanks to the new weapon in our arsenal (a plugin called Bad Behavior), the vile creatures will be stopped before they even reach our doorstep. As with any new software, there may be kinks to work out. If you find your access to this fine blog limited for reasons beyond your knowledge, you might have been mis-identified as a vile creature. With notice, we will be happy to rectify that situation.

An anti-war activist named Bill McDannell is trying to walk across the country. His journey is slated to take him through Tucson around Dec. 31. For more info, check out http://www.wtetw.com.

I got a press release earlier this week about a new series of support groups called Vets4Vets. The whole shebang is headquartered in Southern Arizona, and the effort is described as such:

Vets4Vets is a non-partisan project. All Iraq-era veterans are welcome. We leave our politics behind us at the door when we get together to help other Iraq-era veterans—and to help ourselves! We include Iraq-era veterans from all across the political spectrum on the issue of the war.

Vets4Vets support groups consist of military veterans listening and taking equal and uninterrupted turns telling their stories within an agreement of complete confidentiality.

Find more info at http://www.vets4vets.us.

It's been exactly one surreal week since I had to put down my beloved 12 1/2-year-old pet that I've had for eight years. Painter was my first dog that I had as an adult, and he was and will always be my heart dog. Even though I have another hound in the house, I think we are both grieving in our own ways.

In 1998, I was living in Redondo Beach. I got laid off from my job and vowed never to be an employee again. I started my own copywriting business working from home in my pajamas. The timing was right to get a dog.

Although I had never seen a greyhound up close and personal, I saw a mini billboard in the Oakland Airport with a greyhound wearing a stocking cap sitting on a loveseat with the caption, "50,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they don't run fast enough."  I wrote down the URL, came home and filled out an online application in 15 minutes.

And that's exactly how my first greyhound Painter pogo-ed into my life and profoundly changed it.

I became enamored with the breed, and a year later, I failed fostering, as a second bounced into my life; Lily is 9 years young. I read every book on greyhounds and joined a greyhound listserv that in 1998 had 300 members and now has more than 3,000. When I moved to Tucson and realized there was a dog track in my own backyard, I became a greyhound activist and got involved in greyhound rescue.

Painter taught me how to work a room. He did that with such ease and grace that I followed his lead to become more outgoing. He taught me to accept others on their own terms without judgment; it's a big learning curve for me. And best of all, he made me laugh everyday.

Now Painter frolics without pain at the Rainbow Bridge along with all the other pets that have gone before him and lives on in cyberspace as I celebrate his life with Painter's Greyt Adventure.

So long, Joe Barbera. Thanks for the laughs.

The final Friday night gathering of the Viper Crew gave mixed reviews of the mid-season finale of Battlestar Galactica. Athena and I gave it a B; Helo gave it a gentleman's C, and Crashdown, who had never watched an episode before, appreciated all the hot chicks. Which, IIRC, is why Tortillas loves BSG, too.

There's still lots to love about BSG. Loved the start to the season the political overtones of New Caprica. Loved watching Baltar learn his way around the Cylon disco. (The choices Gaius is making now--oh, so bad. Baltar! You're terrible!) Loved watching Starbuck fall to pieces and pull herself together and fall to pieces all over again. She's so fraked up!

But the last few episodes, while they've had great moments, have felt disjointed. Miss the smooth storytelling of the earlier seasons. Miss the political intrigue, which seems to have been shortchanged recently. And miss Chip Six!

Here's hoping for a great second half when we make the move to Sundays next month.

Mexican flag-burning activist (and recent Get Out of Town! honoree) Roy Warden, who really got people fired up at a pro-immigrant rally in April, is on MySpace!

Surprise -- he's single! Further surprise -- an eyeliner-wearing bisexual named Orlando is in his Top 8! Apparently, a penchant for burning Mexican flags cuts across subcultures.

Am I the only one just pissed beyond belief that the Republicans could end up using the serious, sudden illness of a Democratic senator to effectively take back control of the U.S. Senate? I mean ... that's beyond low.

A gentleman named Brian called and e-mailed me about a movement called Appeal for Redress. In his words:

Let me introduce myself in case you don't already know me. My name is Brian and I hold the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Army National Guard and have served for 9.5 years as a Medic. I also expect to go career and eventually earn my Commission as an Officer as a nurse or a Chaplain. I proudly served from 2003 to 2005 Stateside in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I speak solely in my own capacity as a citizen and as a voter. Recently, 10 Armed Forces members, including myself, were interviewed on 60 Minutes in regards to the Appeal for Redress. A few have already been to Iraq and by the time the 60 Minutes piece airs a gentleman will very likely be on his second tour.  The Appeal for Redress is a *legal* and *respectful* way for Active Duty Members to show their concern to their Congress Members. Some will say that what we're doing is not legal. Let me assure you it is legal and those that would have you think otherwise are very mistaken or either too lazy to look up the regulations for themselves. We are backed by GI rights lawyers and several Active Duty Members have gone through their appropriate chain of command to make sure all is well and legal.  Please visit: http://www.AppealForRedress.org

Check it out.

-- Got an umbrella?

-- Is it just me, or are reality series ideas getting more moronic by the second? Follow-up question: How the hell is it possible for reality series ideas to keep getting more and more idiotic?

-- The Cats are No. 1! Too bad it's only December!

-- And finally, we're just hours away from another issue of the Weekly hitting the internets. Can you contain yourself?