require "rubygems"
require "spec"
$TESTING = true

puts "merb init called"

require 'merb/merb_server'

dir = File.dirname(__FILE__)
Merb::Server.instance_eval {@@merb_raw_opts = []}
Merb::Server.merb_config
Merb::Server.config[:merb_root] = File.expand_path("#{dir}/../..")
Merb::Server.config[:dist_root] = File.expand_path("#{dir}/../../dist")
Merb::Server.config[:environment] = 'test'

require 'merb'

$LOAD_PATH << DIST_ROOT+"/app/models/"
$LOAD_PATH << DIST_ROOT+"/app/controllers/"
$LOAD_PATH << DIST_ROOT+"/app/helpers/"

require DIST_ROOT+"/conf/merb_init"

ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection('test')




!! then in merb_init.rb have:
ActiveRecord::Base.configurations['test'] = {
  :adapter => 'mysql',
  :username => 'root',
  :password => 'xxxxxxx',
  :database => 'mrblog_test',
  :host => 'localhost'
}