Saturday, August 25, 2012
R.I.P. Neil Armstrong, First Person to Set Foot On the Moon
Neil Alden Armstrong, spacecraft commander of NASA's Apollo 11 mission and the first person to walk on the Moon, has died at 82.
UVA Declines Obama Request to Speak
In a statement released Friday, it was confirmed that the university declined the president's request to speak at UVA.
Are You a Hero or a Bystander?
Who Is Likely to Step Up or Freeze Up in a Crisis; Research Identifies Prime Traits.
He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died
Interesting old story at Mental Floss - their most popular story of 2008.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Semen: Nature's antidepressant?
A new study by researchers at SUNY Albany
claims to have identified an unexpected weapon against depression:
Unprotected sex. Apparently, semen is rich in chemicals that help increase a partner's happiness, mood, and even quality of sleep.
Gallery: Monarch butterfly migration
Excellent collection, and here are some equally impressive photographs of the swallowtail butterfly.
Inside an Abandoned Soviet Submarine
This Foxtrot B-39 (U 475) Russian submarine was apparently built in 1967
and operated through several decades of the Cold War before it was
decommissioned in 1994.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Marine forced into a psychiatric ward for anti-government Facebook postings freed from the hospital
The Circuit Court judge dismissed the case against Brandon Raub, who had
been detained by government officials and transferred to a VA Hospital
in Salem, Va., earlier this week. The judge called the petition to
continue Raub's forced detention “so devoid of any factual allegations
that it could not be reasonably expected to give rise to a case or
controversy.”
Here's the previous post.
Here's the previous post.
Can states go after Corzine if Obama administration won’t?
Hot Air has links and comments, including a video of Rick Santelli and James Koutoulas discussing it.
Per Koutoulas, "Eric Holder's Dept of Justice is the biggest enabler of financial crime in US history."
Per Koutoulas, "Eric Holder's Dept of Justice is the biggest enabler of financial crime in US history."
Pigs Depicted Having Sex Doggy-Style In Chinese Public Square Are Said To Represent Filial Piety
By unseemly elements, by the way, I mostly mean liberals, but also pranksters, and middle-aged men who have lost hope, and those young people who know not what they do, and vagabonds who have slipped through society’s cracks, and fallen women, and criminals of blue or white collars, and the irreligious, and factory workers, and that guy I saw drinking a beer on the street with red meat on a plate in front of him, and girls who smoke, and those who enjoy watching the world burn. Constantly in the gutter, is it any surprise they reek of impropriety and egomania, and threaten to drag the rest of us into their sordid lair?
These rotten apples would never look upon this sculpture in Zhengzhou, Henan province and think of “a young pig giving his mother a back massage."
via BoingBoing.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Some Guy Broke Into LL Cool J’s House, So LL Cool J Beat the Hell Out of Him
The burglar ended up with a broken nose and a broken jaw.
Spanish fresco restoration botched by helpful elderly amateur
"The once-dignified portrait now resembles a crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic."
Justice Dept to affirmatively recruit dwarfs and those with “psychiatric disabilities” or “severe intellectual disabilities.”
Via Jonah Goldberg, who says, "Insert Eric Holder joke here."
The PJ Tatler has obtained documents from the Justice Department detailing efforts to recruit attorneys and staff who are dwarfs or who have “psychiatric disabilities” or “severe intellectual disabilities.” On May 31, 2012, Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez issued a directive to affirmatively recruit people with these “targeted disabilities.”
This DOJ policy does not merely involve prohibitions against discrimination, but rather the documents reveal deliberate recruitment efforts to hire as attorneys and staff for the Department of Justice people suffering from psychiatric disorders and intellectual disabilities. Moreover, applicants can “self-identify” their disability by means of the “Standard Form 256, Self Identification Disability.”
The PJ Tatler has obtained documents from the Justice Department detailing efforts to recruit attorneys and staff who are dwarfs or who have “psychiatric disabilities” or “severe intellectual disabilities.” On May 31, 2012, Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez issued a directive to affirmatively recruit people with these “targeted disabilities.”
This DOJ policy does not merely involve prohibitions against discrimination, but rather the documents reveal deliberate recruitment efforts to hire as attorneys and staff for the Department of Justice people suffering from psychiatric disorders and intellectual disabilities. Moreover, applicants can “self-identify” their disability by means of the “Standard Form 256, Self Identification Disability.”
Wednesday links
Gallery of towels folded into animal shapes.
Is There a Limit to How Tall Buildings Can Get?
Here's a Blog Featuring Dogs Being Humiliated For Bad Behavior.
Can hot water freeze faster than cold water?
25 fan-modded stormtrooper suits.
Is There a Limit to How Tall Buildings Can Get?
Here's a Blog Featuring Dogs Being Humiliated For Bad Behavior.
Can hot water freeze faster than cold water?
25 fan-modded stormtrooper suits.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Virginia veteran detained for posting anti-government messages on Facebook
A former Marine involuntarily detained for psychiatric evaluation for
posting strident anti-government messages on Facebook has received an
outpouring of support from people who say authorities are trampling on his First Amendment rights.
The evolutionary history of dragons, illustrated by a scientist
An evolutionary ecologist has created a dragon phylogeny, or evolutionary tree: the best part is his elaborate explanation of how he came
up with the evolutionary relationships between different species and
families of mythical beasts.
German wind and solar power: Grid Instability Has Industry Scrambling for Solutions
Sudden fluctuations in Germany's power grid are causing major damage to a number of industrial companies. While many of them have responded by getting their own power generators and regulators to help minimize the risks, they warn that companies might be forced to leave if the government doesn't deal with the issues fast.
Waste and abuse at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Breaking news: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wastes piles of taxpayer money on ludicrous nonsense, just like every other organ of our bloated government.
Read the whole thing, but here's a couple of highlights:
$479,354 for sign language translation services for two “entry level employees.”
Starting salaries at the agency exceeded Office of Personnel Management standards by up to 90 percent. Judicial Watch adds that “a dozen new hires take home more than $225,000 a year, while a student intern was paid $51,620 ‘through completion of education & study.’”
Read the whole thing, but here's a couple of highlights:
$479,354 for sign language translation services for two “entry level employees.”
Starting salaries at the agency exceeded Office of Personnel Management standards by up to 90 percent. Judicial Watch adds that “a dozen new hires take home more than $225,000 a year, while a student intern was paid $51,620 ‘through completion of education & study.’”
Back to School: The Rise of Customized Education
Hybrid schooling: piecing together education from parents, TV, district and university teachers, parent
co-ops, and online providers.
I have 7 grandchildren, and 5 of them (so far) are homeschooled.
I have 7 grandchildren, and 5 of them (so far) are homeschooled.
Speaking of gov't jobs, Detroit has a horseshoer, but no horses
The local union president said it is "not possible" to eliminate positions.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Another robbery foiled by a little old lady with a gun
Out in Hendersonville, NC, an 87 year old lady persuaded two armed
robbers to leave her house when they broke in at 3 AM. And by “persuaded” I mean that she showed them the handgun she was going to shoot them with if they didn’t exit the premises immediately.
Senator Webb Regrets Healthcare Vote
Well, BFD, as Joe Biden would say. Too bad it's too late.
Retiring Virginia Sen. Webb: Healthcare bill 'great regret'.
Retiring Virginia Sen. Webb: Healthcare bill 'great regret'.
How One Texas County Fakes Crime Statistics to Make the Border Look Safe
Federal grant money creates an incentive for local law enforcement to
falsify their crime statistics. The fake stats tell a story that ends up
benefiting the local agencies that clamor for the grants, while helping Washington sell its story that the border is safer than it really is.
Dream Team: The 10 Best Conservative Columnists
With Charles Krauthammer as team captain of the Right's intellectual Olympians.
Monday links
Jumbo fingerprints made from random stuff.
France in the Year 2000 is a series of futuristic pictures issued in France in 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1910. Also, SF Writers Predict the 2012 Future, from 1987.
Gallery: Caravanserai – Staging Posts of the Desert.
Cooking with Power Tools
Flamingos have erectile tissue in their mouths. Related: Want to persuade Flamingos to mate? Play them Barry White and Marvin Gaye.
91 year old takes controls of rare two-seat aircraft 70 years after he first flew one in WWII.
France in the Year 2000 is a series of futuristic pictures issued in France in 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1910. Also, SF Writers Predict the 2012 Future, from 1987.
Gallery: Caravanserai – Staging Posts of the Desert.
Cooking with Power Tools
Flamingos have erectile tissue in their mouths. Related: Want to persuade Flamingos to mate? Play them Barry White and Marvin Gaye.
91 year old takes controls of rare two-seat aircraft 70 years after he first flew one in WWII.
Video: Romney Roach Beats Obama Roach In Presidential Cockroach Derby
In the 16th Running of the Roaches, a Mitt Romney roach handily beat a
Barack Obama bug. The race has an 84 percent success rate in picking presidents.
You’ll never guess where flamingos hide their erectile tissue
Flamingos have erectile tissue in their mouths. Also, Want to persuade Flamingos to mate? Play them Barry White and Marvin Gaye.
Universal Mediocrity: Why do Britons like their sub-par health-care system so much?
Popular satisfaction vs measures of actual achievement.
The average Briton is unlikely to know that the NHS ranked worst for five-year survival rates in cervical, breast, and colon cancer. By contrast, the average Briton knows that if he suffers a heart attack, he will be taken to the hospital and connected to a lot of machines, from which he concludes that he is having the best possible treatment.
The average Briton is unlikely to know that the NHS ranked worst for five-year survival rates in cervical, breast, and colon cancer. By contrast, the average Briton knows that if he suffers a heart attack, he will be taken to the hospital and connected to a lot of machines, from which he concludes that he is having the best possible treatment.
State Stereotypes Using Google Autocomplete
Clever map of US state stereotypes, using Google Autocomplete to fill in "Why is [state X] so..."
via Geekpress.
via Geekpress.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Excellent story: An unexpected ass kicking
Unexpected meeting with an elderly man in a coffee shop has a blogger re-thinking lots of things. Follow-up here.
Via Instapundit.
Via Instapundit.
What if Hemingway or Oscar Wilde wrote The Lord of the Rings?
Alternative authors' versions of Lord of the Rings.
Matt Groenig, A.A. Milne, Andrew Lloyd Weber, James Joyce, Rudyard Kipling and others, including:
Hemingway - Frodo Baggins looked at the ring. The ring was round. It was a good ring. The hole at the heart of the ring was also round. The hole was clean and pure. The hole at the heart of the ring had an emptiness in it that made Frodo Baggins remember the big skies of the Shire when his father had taken him out and taught him to tear the heads off the small, furred things that walked there, even though he hated blood in those days and the stink of the blood was always part of the emptiness for him then and ever after.
via io9.
Matt Groenig, A.A. Milne, Andrew Lloyd Weber, James Joyce, Rudyard Kipling and others, including:
Hemingway - Frodo Baggins looked at the ring. The ring was round. It was a good ring. The hole at the heart of the ring was also round. The hole was clean and pure. The hole at the heart of the ring had an emptiness in it that made Frodo Baggins remember the big skies of the Shire when his father had taken him out and taught him to tear the heads off the small, furred things that walked there, even though he hated blood in those days and the stink of the blood was always part of the emptiness for him then and ever after.
via io9.
Apocalypse not - a history of bogus environmentalist scares
MUST READ set of articles:
Wired: Apocalypse Not: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Worry About End Times
Carpe Diem: On the 40th Anniversary of the "Limits to Growth"
George Will: Why Doom Has Not Materialized.
Wired: Apocalypse Not: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Worry About End Times
Carpe Diem: On the 40th Anniversary of the "Limits to Growth"
George Will: Why Doom Has Not Materialized.
Court rejects challenge to EPA E15 ethanol
Rejected not on merit but on standing - per the court those who brought the challenge didn't have the right to do so, so there's still hope.
Here's an report on the problems with engine durability with E15.
Smarter Fuel Future has provided you with a helpful graphic detailing just what the real cost of E15 will be to consumers, including a reminder that by 2022 (10 years) the goal is E40.
Here's an report on the problems with engine durability with E15.
Smarter Fuel Future has provided you with a helpful graphic detailing just what the real cost of E15 will be to consumers, including a reminder that by 2022 (10 years) the goal is E40.
Steyn knocks one out of the park: Obama's The Man With No Plan
Underneath the poseur narcissism, the half-wit demagoguery, and the
13-figure innumeracy is bleak reality: a flatline economy, underwater
property, declining social mobility, half the population getting a check
each month from the government and with minimum-wage service jobs as
the only alternative to long-term dependency.
If you seriously think this election is about gay marriage or affordable contraception, you’re about to do to America what Gavrilo Princip did to the Habsburg Empire.
If you seriously think this election is about gay marriage or affordable contraception, you’re about to do to America what Gavrilo Princip did to the Habsburg Empire.