Holy crab I learned a lot this week!
- Senator Barack Obama, the nominal Democratic nominee for President and the candidate I support, is not a liberal or progressive, but a centrist. As are most of the Democrats in Congress. And at least as it pertains to probable cause and civil liberties. It’s OK; I had the same problem with Bill Clinton and yet, overall, Clinton turned out to be a decent president. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to complain, though. And if you disagree, so should you.
- I can learn more about bicycle maintenance from the internets!
- Watch this video closely and try to figure out the sound he’s making. Then close your eyes or look away and just listen. Seeing is not believing.
- I just knew it was rum that gave me the worst hangovers, not tequila. And it turns out Cuervo Gold is almost half cheap rum. Go figure. (via John Gruber)
- I’m an average-paced runner in Oregon, even now, for 10Ks, according to Kelly Johnson’s calculations.
- I haven’t gotten any paper phone books in the three days since I signed up at this website. (via Dale at the Faith in Honest Doubt)
- “Faith” healing… doesn’t. Still. Ever.
- Likewise, some people are so blinded by religion that they hope concealing their religious motives somehow makes it OK to scar and disfigure children in their care. John Scalzi explains:
First, yes, I’ve heard about the middle-school science teacher here in Ohio who is getting fired for branding crosses into the flesh of his students with a high frequency generator, and who was also slipping religion into his science teaching. Oops.
What stands in my mind, however, is this bit from the article, in which the teacher explained “he simply was trying to demonstrate the device on several students and described the images as an ‘X,’ not a cross.” Because, you see, zapping an “X” into the flesh of your pubescent students with a tool that outputs 50,000 volts a pop is not a problem.
- I’m going to bet that the creators of this material, which is the blackest black ever, so black that light just seems to fall into it, are fans of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. It just makes sense.
- There are girls out there who would both a) consent to ride topless or naked through the streets of Portland, and b) yell at guys taking pictures of them in a way that girl doesn’t like. Funny!
- Lastly, this tracking shot, from the end of last Friday’s mid-season finale of Battlestar Galactica, is an instant TV classic, I believe. I’m linking it rather than embedding because it’s a huge spoiler if you haven’t seen the episode yet.