Use a preinitializer to load the settings from application.yml so
that they are available as early as possible. All settings can also
be overridden using environment variables.
The ad-hoc settins in environment.rb are then moved to this new
system so we have one consistent location for settings.
Why is our testing fixtures such a mess? It took me half an hour to find a useable node. And I'm still not sure if it's ok, since I want to get to bed. kthxbye
