Congratulations, Hugh and Lisa

Lisa's Wedding

probz wonderin whar i been.

around!

Opossum tips

Be honest

Aren't you already a little excited for Bowl Pick Them 2010?

oh man I love this guy

Tuesday link

Information Is Beautiful, one of the best blogs ever. Example:

But hidden in his coat is a red right hand

Futurama so far

So far, I think it's been good-to-excellent. Of the six episodes that have been broadcast so far, only one ("Attack of the Killer Apps," the eyePhone one) has fallen flat for me. They've collectively been better than any of the movies/season five except perhaps Into the Wild Green Yonder. None have been great, and it's sure not as good as it was in its last season, in which almost every episode was absolutely great. But it's been about as good as it was in its first run, which makes it better than almost every comedy on television right now.

The Who Isolated

There's more in them there intertubes.

two games for west

Quantum Minesweeper

Choice of Broadsides

Boney M censored

Boney M asked not to sing Rivers of Babylon at West Bank concert

this just in

Dear Friend,

With warm heart I offer my friendship, and my greetings, and I hope this letter meets you in good time. It will be surprising to you to receive this proposal from me since you do not know me personally.

I got your contact address through our mutual associate Signal NICK in my search for a reliable and trustworthy person who will assist me in a business investment venture in your country. I am Capt. WESTOPHER BROWNLY, the husband of Mrs. JUICY ROGER the former president of Tri Epsilon, fraternally located in the Central Alabama. My Wife is presently impeached from office on account of having left this country in May this year.

During my spousal regime as president of TRI EPISLON, I realized US$25.540 millions of dollars (Twenty-Five Million, Five Hundred and Forty Thousand US Dollars) from various blog projects I executed successfully via TRI EPSILON. I had planned to invest this money for heavy corn whiskey consumption.

Before my husband was accounted from office, I concretely and secretly deposited this money and declared it computer lremote cards with diplomatic security company that transports valuable goods/consignment through diplomatic . As a reward I have enormous offshore holdings of heavy corn whiskey.

I wish to discuss how much I will offer you if you will be willing to assist me claim the corn whiskey and invest it in your country. I want to assure you that all modalities are put in place and it is a risk free transaction. I'm trusting you as a God fearing person who will not sit on my lifesaving fund. This business demands absolute secrecy and confidentiality, thus all communications for now should be through e-mail because all my phone lines are connected to the TRI EPISLON telecommunication network services. I will furnish you with more details when I receive your positive response.

Execute your urgent reply, through the above email address:
wbrown@3e.org

Thanks.Best regards,
Dr (Capt.) Westopher Ingloria Brownly

Whale Wednesday

1. The Sperm Whale - Multiple Record Holder: "Mind-boggling is the best word to describe how deep they dive. If no one had ever heard of Sperm Whales (or some of the other deep diving mammals) and you asked any sensible scientist or engineer to design an air breathing animal to dive several thousand feet into the ocean, they would tell you to forget it. Can't be done. "Impossible!" they'd shout."

2. The Killer in the Pool: "Eyewitness accounts and the sheriff's investigative report make it clear that Brancheau fought hard. She was a strong swimmer, a dedicated workout enthusiast who ran marathons. But she weighed just 123 pounds and was no match for a 12,000-pound killer whale. She managed to break free and swim toward the surface, but Tilikum slammed into her. She tried again. This time he grabbed her. Her water shoes came off and floated to the surface. "He started pushing her with his nose like she was a toy," said Paula Gillespie, one of the visitors at the underwater window. SeaWorld employees urgently ushered guests away. "Will she be OK?" one asked."

3. Giant whale-eating whale found:

I love that someone made this video

ZZ Top never covered War's "Lowrider."

Justice

You want to feel in control, so you assume as long as you avoid bad behavior, you won’t be harmed. You feel safer when you believe those who engage in bad behavior end up on the street, or pregnant, or addicted, or raped.

It is infuriating when lazy cheats and con artists get ahead in the world while firemen and policemen put in long hours for little pay.

Deep down, you want to believe hard work and virtue will lead to success, and laziness, evil and manipulation will lead to ruin, so you go ahead and edit the world to match those expectations.

Yet, in reality, evil often prospers and never pays the price.

There are anecdotal accounts of people seeing the prisoners of concentration camps for the first time and assuming they must have been terrible criminals. The first place the mind goes is the place where the world is just.

Why do you do this?

Psychologists are unsure. Some say it is a need to be able to predict the outcome of your own behavior, or to feel secure in your past decisions. More research is needed.

-The Just-World Fallacy

Fruit MRIs

Inside insides

Metal Monday

Garbage island

An idea for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I'd think bigger, really big. Even though the Pacific is something like 20,000 feet deep where the plastic is, I think the nations of the world should commit to creating an enormous artificial island there. This would take decades if not centuries, but let's think long-term. A properly-shaped course-sand island, more like a wide reef curving to catch the ocean current, would naturally filter the ocean water, catching the tiny plastic pieces.

Besides the big advantage of catching the plastic, this island could also serve a function like a reef does, providing a spawning ground etc and alleviating the "ocean desert" aspect of so much of the Pacific. And, it's always nice to have more tropical islands, especially long curvy ones that are almost entirely beachfront. I'm not sure how wide such an island would have to be to support a variety of plant and animal life, but it's probably narrower than you'd expect.

Of course it's also possible such a formation would alter the ocean's currents and, I don't know, kill all the whales or something. But I think we're gonna kill most of them off anyway. Let's take a risk.

This would be extremely difficult and time-consuming to build. There are a couple of options. Ships could pass by and dump dirt or rocks or sand for the foundation, just everyone dropping at the same GPS location until the water was shallow enough to start construction of the filtering island. Or, you could bring up sand from, say, a few miles away on the ocean floor, where it's already super deep and getting deeper wouldn't really change things.

A related idea: create a smaller (a few square miles? a scientist would know how big was necessary), round artificial island in the shape of a bowl. Pump water into the bowl, and let the sand filter it.

So, there you go, UN. Get started.

Of course, none of this matters when the earth stops spinning.

I want to see the rest of this movie

this is what my first semester of college looked like.

click to make not blurry.