Guest Topic: Disturbing Naked British Men

Okay, when I first read the headline for this FoxNews story, summarizing a Daily Mail story, I thought: "Big deal. Why is it news that women have become more self-conscious and have poorer confidence in their bodies in today's media culture?" Newspapers are too lazy and poor to do their own investigative surveys, that any company issuing a press release about their latest study gets published. However, reading into the story, I noticed something more sinister, the unabashed body images of British men: "These body image issues do not translate to men at all, the Daily Mail reports. Gentlemen are strutting around naked almost twice as much as their female counterparts in any given day." Strutting around naked, you say? What the? The FoxNews story ended there, so I had to read the actual Daily Mail story.

An even more disturbing depiction of British male attitude towards their own naked bodies showed up: "They are so fond of being naked that more than two-thirds said they regularly walk around the house with nothing on." How did this happen? When did it become de rigeur for British men to be starkers dans la maison? I mean, it's become a common humorous device to have some pasty, soft, patchily hairy duffer padding around a flat, only to be discovered by their mate's girl/mum/tabloids. But was this a nod to a masculine trend of doffing the full monty? Maybe I'm just a gormless Yankee, but I believe a mass of swaying todgers is a sign that the empire is going all pear-shaped.

To understand some of the colorful idioms used in that last paragraph, laugh your arse off here.

Helmety References Friday

Hee hee! The new Chad Vader episode is out, and it is full (shakes fist to heavens: FULL!) of original trilogy lines and throwbacks. If you don't think that you'll be a funnier person just by looking at the video, I have to assert: You will be. Heh. You will be.

"There's something alive in here. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Guest Geek Stuff: Meesah Not on Stamp!

The Post Office is releasing a set of Star Wars stamps in May (timed to happen with the latest admission of inefficiency, er, postage increase), and to the joy of all Star Wars fans, no Jar-Jar! And, for your viewing pleasure, a send-up of Kill Bill, Episode I of KILL JAR JAR:

"Alright, PG bloody satisfaction, but I'm gonna get it!"

Guest Heh: The Next Generation of Lent

So, here we are, in the middle of the Lenten Season, when most people give up sweets, video games, or other things. So, I have to ask, what do the kids these days give up for Lent? Social networking sites. I think that's just fine. The theological underpinnings for Lenten denial is to be more mindful of one's faith, and one way to remind oneself of God, and your neighbors, is to deny that little bit of selfishness we all have, whatever that may be.

I don't agree with the one girl in the story who gave up MySpace and started using Facebook instead, because that defeats the purpose. What's wrong with email? I remember, back in college, I gave up web browsing for Lent and limited myself to email. But that was at a time when only porn and entertainment was online. E-commerce was not reliable, and news sites were very pale versions of the newspapers. These days, almost everything is done from your web browser of choice, one's entire workday may be spent online using a web browser (I mean for your job, not playing Bejeweled!), so the things one can sacrifice technologically also changes. Oh, and for the record, for what I gave up for Lent, no comment.

Alleged Con Artists Caught Stealing from Courthouse Cafeteria

No soup for you! Heh. The AP lede was right on target. Of course, this evidence can't be brought into their current case, as it might be "prejudicial."

Peer Review for IPCC Means "Rubber Stamp"

Steve McIntyre over at Climate Audit recounts his frustrating experience at attempting to review two unpublished papers to support conclusions in the paleoclimate section of the IPCC 4th Assessment. He requested to review the data, but was rebuffed by the Working Group with a bunch of bureacratese. Also, the writers of the papers refused to allow access to their data, because they were currently under review by their respective journals. Here's where the cherry picking of support for AGW shines through as political bias.

First, reviewers of support papers are expected only to verify the respective papers' references, according to the IPCC. However, that practice is only done for already published papers, which we assume the scientific journal did a good job on their own review. But for unpublished papers, obviously the reviewers for the IPCC have to do their own review of the data, instead of just looking up old articles and making sure newer published papers have not negated those older conclusions. But from Dr. McIntyre's initial queries, it seems the IPCC is not in the business of peer review, which means they should not have even included unpublished papers for support anyway.

So, even though this is only one reviewer's experience, it seems that the position that the IPCC's assessments on climate change are based on "peer reviewed" research is not entirely accurate.

Guest Topic: Photobucket Holds It Own

The temporarily light-blogging bro sent me a nice story about Photobucket. When I started blogging, I quickly found out that I needed a real host for all my photos, so that the links would never die, and that you did not need to have a session ID from Yahoo or AOL to view. Hotlinking a news sites' picture also didn't cut it, because of their archiving procedures. It was all about the link. Apparently, the mission of Photobucket is exactly that, as expressed by Jerry Murdock, Photobucket investor and advisor: "Linking is the new currency of the Web." This is as true for the lowly blog with "2 or 3 readers" to the multi-media news portals garnering several million hits a day. The link drives traffic, which has become the formula for advertising revenue.

Some points that the CNN story missed are the popularity of Photobucket with bloggers and the mention of competitors such as ImageShack. But the article got to the point when it asked Silicon Valley guys about Photobucket, and nobody had heard about it, but that all the teenagers did. Photobucket is not the MySpace leech that some analysts believe it to be, and the upcoming generation of web users are already proving that.

Greenpeace Suprised

The Greenpeace vessel protesting against Japanese whaling vessels has been denied port in Tokyo Bay. Greenpeace calls this action "using politics to shut down freedom of speech," whereas the sailor's union probably sees it as keeping pirates and other criminals away from other vessels that Greenpeace may seek to harm. Even though Greenpeace tepidly denounced the Sea Shepherd group, whose ship was responsible for assault and sabotage on several Japanese whaling vessels earlier this year, it's obvious the Japanese sailors would rather be safe than sorry.

Fuzzy's Call To Arms

Rob Wilco, man of action.

Survival Tactics?

I didn't pay much attention to the story of two people falling overboard a cruise ship and being rescued when it was first reported. Accidents happen, and it was good the young man and woman were saved. But some interesting details are trickling out about the circumstances of the fall. First, "[t]he two have asked that the circumstances be kept private." Hmm, you don't say? Second, the man was totally naked when he was fished out of the water. Really? Third, the young man told his rescuers that he took off his clothes as a "survival tactic." Right... According to this article, the "survival tactic" for falling overboard is to keep your clothes on to stay warm. Well, he's young, and apparently stupid, so maybe we'll let that slide. But, fourth, the young man wants to continue on with the cruise, (did I mention that the fall happened on the first night of embarkation?) and the young woman does not.

That warrants an eyebrow raise. *raise* And a flick. *flick* I add up all these little notes, and I'm thinking something en flagrante was a-happening on that ship rail. I would not be surprised that the young lady might be too embarrassed to rejoin the cruise, while the young man might be thinking: "Hey, that was only the first night! Who knows what'll happen the rest of the trip?" Hey kid? Next time, find an empty lifeboat. There's more privacy, and, with your luck, you might need it.

King Kane Toad!

REUTERS/FrogWatch (North)/Handout

Non-native cane toads were introduced into Australia over 70 years ago to take care of an infestation of cane beetles, but without any natural predators to keep their own numbers down, the cane toad has become the symbol of Man's arrogance over Nature, and an epic warning for not studying the consequences of quick ecological fixes. With a population now soaring over 200 million, there's bound to be some genetic freaks out there, so this environmental group found one. Look at that thing, it's freaking huge (literally)! Their skin secretions are poisonous if ingested, so I hope that guy washed his hands before eating.

"I Just Kept Running..."

A real life Forrest Gump ran around the world.

Mac vs. PC Redux

Every few months, it seems, the Mac vs. PC debate springs up among my circle of friends. Well, people my age and demographic (male, heterosexual, owns several gaming consoles) have this reaction to the Mac. But other people who need to use a Mac for a living come to appreciate the Mac a little bit more (really little). Honestly, if I wanted a disposable appliance, I'd buy a cardboard box with some film in it. But, I think I may have found a Mac that I could really enjoy using:

Via Sooper Sekrit PC Gremlin

I'm Pretty Sure That's Wrong...

I know that Pastis and Conley are pretty good friends, but friendship can only extend so far, and I'm not sure "Bicky" would be more popular than the zeeba zeeba eatas.

Maybe Some String Would Help...

Somehow, this seemed related to my MacGuyver post from yesterday. Just a feeling I had...

It's The Super-Geekiest!

I just saw this and had to post it. This goes out to all the guys who used to dream about saving the world with some gum, duct tape, some string, and a paper clip!

It's a Mac attack!

Helmety Medical Checkup

I haven't posted a regular episode of Red vs. Blue in a long while, mainly because they're working on their 93rd. And when they call it a "popular web series," they emphasize the "series" part. If you haven't watched the last 92 episodes, then you'll be totally lost. However, too many chuckles were in this particular episode for Helmety Goodness Fridays to pass up. A new team member has arrived, the replacement's armor is yellow, and it's a GIRL. Even better, it's Grif's sister. Grif is on the red team, so, even better than that, Sis has joined the blue team. And the Blues resident horndog, Tucker, wants to get in a little bow chica wow wow time, but Doc has her all occupied. Oh, and Sheila the Tank's going crazy and the Reds have fallen into a vast underground cave, but that's neither here nor there. Just remember, Caboose and Sheila have a little history, but only in Caboose's mind!

"Wowsers! I didn't even know a leg could bend that far! That is a leg, right?"

Pirates Place Bounty on Pooches

REUTERS/Zainal Abd Halim

You know criminals have been hurt, when they set a contract hit on a successful law enforcement official. But Malay disc pirates have met their match in the form of two tail-wagging crimestoppers. The retrained sniffer dogs were responsible for uncovering a cache of pirated DVD's worth over 3 million dollars. Lucky and Flo better have their security detail enhanced. Good girls!

Calling a Geek, a Geek...

Ouch.

Debate Over?

I wanted to wait a bit, to see if there would be any mainstream media sources reporting on the debate between six biggies on opposite sides of the global warming crisis debate. Of course, there hasn't been any, because the alarmists lost the debate. With Michael Crichton, Richard Lindzen, and Phillip Stott arguing the motion that Global Warming is not a Crisis, and Gavin Schmidt, Brenda Ekwurzel, and Richard Somerville arguing that Global Warming is a crisis. Using evidence, reasoned analysis, and no emotional hand-waving arguments, the anti-crisis side shifted the opinions of the audience from 57 percent crisis to 42 percent, and 30 percent non-crisis before the debate to 46 percent afterwards. Pretty striking, but obvious as to why the Debate is Over narrative has to be repeated by the mainstream media, otherwise the anti-capitalist goals of like-minded socialists will not be met.

Gavin Schmidt, one of the main koolaid drinker modelers over at RealClimate, was comforted by other warmenists, but most notably one of the editors, who admitted that they did the best they could with presenting the science as it is known today. Ray Pierrehumbert admits that logic and science do not inform their side of the debate:

My hat is off to Gavin, Brenda and Richard, who I think did about as well as can be done playing the science straight, but the response shows that some other tactic is necessary to engage the hearts as well as minds of the audience. I’m not, of course, suggesting that one play crooked with the science the way Lindzen does, but that tactics which play more to peoples’ feelings, tactics which even extend to ridicule of opponents where they deserve ridicule, may be needed to win in fora like this one. I’m not sure what such tactics would look like, but I doubt many scientists have the requisite theatrical skills.

AGW scientists require "theatrical skills" to win scientific debates. Astonishing. I thought scientists required evidence and logic to win scientific debates, and if they lose, that means their data are wrong. I guess that does not apply in the CO2 radiative warming theory for global warming. It just is. Debate over. Sorry, no, it's not.

Heavy Coffee Drinkers: Drink Up!

Alright! Not that I was worried about my blood pressure, or anything, or that I was ever going to stop drinking coffee (unless over 20 clinical trials unambiguously prove testicular damage, just sayin'), but it's always good to show the stimulant-nazis (tea's better for you, Tea? Feh!) that they have no idea what they're talking about. You'll have to pry my coffee cup from my cold dead fingers!

Shocker: Chinese Restaurant Food Unhealthy!

In the most unsurprising surprise news I've read today, the news that chinese restaurant fare in America contains more calories, more sodium, and more saturated fat than is required for a healthy diet, still shocked me: shocked me that people are shocked about this! What's important to note, is that this is food served in a restaurant, not chinese food served at home, so the portions are bigger, the sauce is richer, and more oil is used in preparation, just like at any other restaurant in America. Fer chrissakes, didja know that a half onion loaf at Tony Roma's has over 2800 calories! C'mon people! The common sense deal with a healthy diet and restaurants is: restaurants are a treat, not some place you should go for your meal everyday.

What Do Ninjas Eat?

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may have noticed that I am a fan of a Japanese cartoon called Naruto. The star of the show, Naruto Uzumaki, wants to become the strongest ninja in his village, but he's kind of shrimpy, and all he wants to eat is ramen. So, what should he eat, to become big and strong? We'll have to Ask A Ninja!

"Oh boy, my ninja sauce will make you shoot your mother in her head!"

Local Election Not Dirty Enough

Heh. How bad is China's local culture of corruption when villagers look forward to elections so they can pick up all that mad bribery money? Money (heh) quote: "But this election, they went to the temple and all we got was a bowl of rice and bottle of beer after all was said and done. It's peanuts." Peanuts, indeed.

Dutch Cyclist Foils Shoplifter

Ha! Good for Opa! They mention the injuries the 81 year old cyclist suffered in catching the thief, but what happened to the bike? Details, man, details!

Just A Quick Correction on a Climate Change Story

When the AP writer in this story wrote:

The U.S. — responsible for about one-quarter of the world's greenhouse gases that scientists blame for global warming — rejected the 1997 Kyoto protocol, a U.N. treaty that requires 35 industrial nations to cut greenhouse gases by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

The Bush administration argues the Kyoto protocol would hurt the U.S. economy and objects that high-polluting developing nations like China and India are not required to reduce emissions. Instead, the White House says it is spending almost $3 billion a year on energy-technology research and development to combat climate change.

One is left with the impression that the Bush administration rejected Kyoto, when it was the Clinton administration that rejected it. The only one to "symbolically ratify" the treaty, after it was unanimously rejected by the Senate, was Al Gore himself. That second paragraph should read:

The Clinton administration administration argued the Kyoto protocol would hurt the U.S. economy and objected that high-polluting developing nations like China and India are not required to reduce emissions.The Bush administration continued the Clinton policy, and now is spending almost $3 billion a year on energy-technology research and development to combat climate change.

I'm always glad to help out the Associated Press. Seems like they need it more and more these days...

Uh, Bad Idea Much?

Unless AOL is trying to double fake-out the predators, it doesn't matter what security measures adults put in the new locator feature, children, and the careless, are going to be preyed upon.

Is This What They Meant By Multiculturalism?

As one might be able to tell, I really like this comic strip Get Fuzzy. Because even the most prejudiced character, with a little cultural exchange, can broaden his perspective.

What Are Those Pants?

Looks like those triplet mind-meld powers are at it again. Rob Wilco finally calls out Shakespug on his fashion choice: what looks like troubador trousers is actually a rubber dishwashing glove. Perhaps Shakespug is just preparing for the St. Patrick's Day aftermath? Depends...

Beer Before Liquor...

With St. Patrick's Day tomorrow (otherwise known as National Binge Drinking Day), expect a lot of stories today talking about hangover cures, drinking strategies to avoid those hangovers, and the truth about about sweet, sweet, beautiful drunk talk. Of course, the only thing that cures a hangover is time, but your hungover buddies don't want to hear THAT.

Gaming Improves Eyesight

Heh. "Leave me alone Ma! I'm improving my spatial resolution!"

Nothing Like a Clan War, a Scottish Clan War

Now we know why it's taking so long for the crew from This Spartan Life to make their next episode: Scottish Clan warfare using Covenant battleaxes!

"Find the tyrant! You will know him by his girlish throw."

UN Climate Experts Live Entirely Inside Computer Models

I just about threw my coffee cup at the screen when I saw this latest story on the UN's "conclusions" about warming's consequences on plant life. Apparently, they've forgotten all their geology classes and all that's known about the fossil record. In ages, era, and epochs past, during climates way warmer than anything current AGW predicts, biodiversity was through the roof. The report looks like a strategic ploy for more policy gambits by focusing on only a few species of plants and the parasites which may prey on them. But if the UN keeps making these ridiculously outrageous predictions, they may provoke many more scientists to speak out against their methodology. Already, advocates on their own side are complaining about the shrillness of their reports, but if you wake up the geologists and the paleontologists, the CO2 house of cards is going to collapse under the weight of 4.5 billion years of evidence against their little puff of air that's holding it up right now.

Light Blogging Today

Don't hate me for concentrating on my other interests today, but I'm almost done with a book and I just want to finish it. Is that so wrong? Perhaps I'll have some posts later tonight, but I'm not guaranteeing it.

Panamanian Birds Use "Wingmen"

Heh.

IceManakin: You are dangerous. But you can be my wingman anytime.

Maverickin: Bulls*t! You can be mine!

Just A Matter of Time

Viacom sued Google and YouTube for more than $1 billion. Most media tech watchers predicted the lawsuits would start coming as soon as Google bought YouTube, and even Google set aside more than a billion dollars to prepare for the legal proceedings and settlements. The problem with online video sharing sites is that they are almost designed to infringe upon copyrights. The music industry had Napster, so now the TV broadcasters have YouTube and all the other little guys showing clips of copyrighted material. The theory of media sharing sites is the image of a mix-tape. You record some songs all on one format, perhaps add a personally recorded message, and give it to one person. No big deal, and nobody's making any money off of it, right? But what if that person has a friend that wants to make a copy of that tape? How about there are a few thousand "friends"? How about you need some way of making money to cover the costs of making all those copies? Now, if the media-sharing sites were all non-profit organizations, there might not be a problem here (actually most media-sharing sites actually lose money, but only have paper profits from stock "value"). But if these several thousand people have just experienced the media without buying it or watching the ads that are supposed to accompany the show, the big media guy can say that you and your "friends" cost them revenue. Also, the unauthorized use of copyrighted material need not be limited to profit making endeavors, so that the owners of the material have the right to ask people to stop using them.

This is why I'm so interested in the outcome of all these media sharing companies. Giving a mix-tape to your girlfriend, while technically breaking copyright statutes, is almost never prosecuted. But doing so hundreds of thousands of times sounds like an unauthorized broadcast to me. The action today by Viacom has no effect on the people who actually use media-sharing sites to broadcast their original videos, but if any of them actually use any copyrighted material such as music for a background, without permission, that also is technically wrong. But precedence is also a part of the law, of which we only have about ten years of case law regarding media sharing and copyrights, so I'm interested in how all of this will play out. As someone who remembers the World Wide Web as the Wild, Wild, West, my bias is that everything on the net should be free and if you can make a buck off it, good for you. But even the Wild West turned into the western states, so I'm interested in seeing the how the taming of the web develops.

Global Warming Stunt Called Off: Frostbite

Heh. A trek to the Arctic was called off because the temperatures were colder than expected. I love this crap. Of course, the canard about unpredictable weather is thrown out, which is funny because a warming planet is supposed to become more stable and temperate. Plus, human caused global warming theory is based on models which are supposed to predict climate conditions. They haven't done that great a job so far...

Hot Ninja Love!

Since it's a bit of a slow day, unless you like all that NCAA March Madness stuff, I'm going to add my money to the 70 million dollar pot that the Movie 300 brought in over the weekend. So, while I do that, I'll leave you guys with the existential question I've been wrestling with ever since I reconnected with anime and manga: "Do Ninjas Need Love?"

"If ninjas can be accused of anything, it's loving too much. Loving to death, as a matter of fact."

Operacion Puerto Dropped

Spanish Paper El Mundo has reported that the the doping investigation which ended Ivan Basso's season last year, and effectively ended Jan Ullrich's career, has been dropped due to lack of evidence. This investigation ended Vinokourov's chances at winning the Tour de France because too many teammates had been suspended during the investigation to field a team. This is the investigation that created the perfect storm of hysteria which lead to the contaminated and tainted doping results for Floyd Landis, the eventual winner of the Tour de France. Of over 60 cyclists implicated in this investigation, not one has been charged with doping connected to the Spanish doctors. The results of this investigation: nada. It's effects on cycling: hysteria, witch hunts, and lack of due process for the athletes. Read my immediate thoughts on the scandal here.

I've become a bit more cynical and distrustful of the doping regulators over the last year. International cycling is the most tested sport in the world, but the testing labs and techs, especially in France, are the least regulated. It is no surprise to me that false results would creep in due to the number of tests taking place, but the lack of regulation and lax practices have allowed these false positives to be reported as actual results, and reported to the media even before the athlete is notified. Until Dick Pound of WADA steps down, the inconsistent following of guidelines and the combative relationship between doping regulators and the athletes will continue.

Global Warming Caused by Heat Ray!

Hey, Atlanteans using a heat ray to cause global warming because aquatic sprawl means they need more space to build their Whale-Marts™ is about as plausible as the miniscule human CO2 contribution compared to volcanic and bio-mass sources. Why not?

The Return of Burbfoot

The legendary big-feeted loremaster of leftovers, er, Larry, has returned to the crew over at Over the Hedge. And yes, sometimes even I believe Bakersfield is a parallel dimension.

Spillin' Out of Heaven

It seems like I've been posting a lot of video here this week. Of course, I blame my bro for starting it, with posting all his super sayan level 3 geek-tastic double whammy YouTube fodder. It's even infected Helmety Goodness Fridays! So, without further ado, please enjoy Chad Vader's homage to his "Grocery Girl."

"Double coupon checkout lady, Grocery Girl."

Geek-Tastic Video

I saw this viral video a couple of weeks ago, and thought, "Heh, that's pretty cool, the guy's obviously a great engineer." Little did I know that the dude would become international news, but that's how viral videos work. Even my bro mentioned the local news coverage. Now, I don't agree with his drinking beer from a can, but the projectile calculations for a bottle would be a bit harder to crunch. Besides, domestic light beer tastes like carbonated water anyway, so the can's not really messing up the flavor. So, here it is, the beer launching fridge!

Atheist Activists Get Their Way, Sorta

Heh. I'm sure coin collectors are going to be happy picking up some of these "Godless dollars," but will this accident embolden or discourage the atheists who have been trying for years to get the deist messages off our money?

Ahhh, there's the rub!

I'm really enjoying the new Shakespug character on Get Fuzzy this week. And though they may be just some baggy old sweat pants, I appreciate the attempt at troubador trousers.

European Carbon Market Raised Energy Prices

If there were any more proof needed that carbon emissions trading is just plain wrong, how about Britain's own report that the EU carbon market raised energy prices by 72 percent in one year. I have written before that carbon trading will not have the intended effect of hurting the energy industry so that they will invest in alternative or renewable sources. The energy companies will just pass on the costs to consumers, which is exactly what happened in Europe. Now, they tell us, that under the rules of the EU carbon market, energy companies will profit from the scheme to the tune of 1.5 billion dollars a year. This is why you don't trust a free market system designed by socialists. Is it any wonder that the capitalist pig energy utilities found a way to game the system to their profit?

Poor Europe. The carbon market designed to increase energy prices worked, but the utilities just passed on the cost to the consumers. All the free credits they got to entice them to join the market, will net them profit. Most EU nations have to charge their citizens a carbon tax to prop up the value of a carbon tonne, whose price keeps falling as the countries find out they are actually emitting less carbon than they thought, and the value will keep falling as their fraction of global emissions keeps shrinking due to China's and India's increasing contribution. And people wondered why America decided not to ratify Kyoto (unanimously) on Vice President Algore's watch.

The Worst and the Best

I've often written about how poorly written most science and health related stories are. The main problem is that the writers don't explain the basic science concepts being presented in the story. The second problem is that the story on the research is being shoe-horned to fit whatever editorial narrative of the moment. I hadn't seen such a bad example of both of these problems outside of the climate change narrative until this morning. Geologists have discovered cracks in the Atlantic ocean floor which, they believe, expose the Earth's mantle to the water.

Now, what could have been an interesting story on the current views of plate techtonics and how exposed mantle doesn't exactly fit that view, turned into the gutter tripe at the Reuter's link. Misleading headline? Check. Forcing the story to fit the "defies conventional theories" narrative? Check. Explaining those conventional theories? Wha-huh? Explaining the wrinkle in the theory the new data might introduce? Whazzatnow? Any ecological disasters there? Nope, but thanks for asking.

So, we have a story on an expedition to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, and Reuters tried to fit the story to two current editorial narratives: scientific revolution and environmental threats. Just a little note to you journalism majors in the media - ALL basic science research tries to spark scientific revolution. The only thing I learned about the exposed mantle came from someone that's not even going: "'We know so little about it,' said Bramley Murton, a senior research scientist at Southampton's National Oceanography Center."

The expedition even had a cool new boat, but we couldn't be bothered with all that technical mumbo jumbo. We don't even know if they're going to make a documentary. They're going to the bottom of the frickin' ocean to look at the mantle! And all we get is some writer who poked around their website and made two phone calls. The worst science story I've seen all year, but the best at demonstrating the problems in science reporting at major media institiutions.

Update: Compare Reuters' gutter tripe with the AP version of the story. Much, much better. Descriptive headline? Check. Description of phenomenon? Check. Competing theories? Check. Mantle called "dark green rock?" Nice.

Hash Heist

There's been a rash of strange sword-wielding stories in the news lately, but just as strange, there's been a trend in weird heists. From teenage girls wearing sunglasses strolling into a bank with a note, to a crazy dutch heist where the traffickers crashed and burned 3 tons of hash. Cops won't admit to the possibility that it was the pet monkey driving!

"I'm in Friendster, they rerouted me into Friendster, I need a minute!"

Who Says the Swiss Are Neutral?

Nations around the world know that planning military exercises near a competitor's borders are a form of diplomatic pressure, if not coercion. But who knew that the Swiss had a diplomatic beef with Liechtenstein? Bloodthirsty marauders! They were so confident, they didn't even feel the need to load their rifles with ammunition. Big bullies!

Sarge on Forbes

You know, on Helmety Goodness Fridays, I usually have something from the popular web series Red vs. Blue, but is it really that big a deal? Well, they're big enough that Forbes did a little video piece on them. Naturally, the Rooster Teeth guys were stoked about the attention, and wanted to do a little piece to showcase the essence of the series. Unfortunately, the show really does just boil down into a bunch of bobbing helmets with interesting characters, and the characters ran away from the writers in this bit. All I will say is, if someone comes to you trying to explain SUMMS (Sarge's Unique Money Making System) to you, break out your rocket launcher and don't forget the corpse humping.

"One person making something up is a liar. A bunch of people making something up is a paradigm."

Lenovo Thinkpads Aren't for Klutzes

Lenovo says it's a bad idea to drop your computer on its corner. 'Cuz if you do, and you have a Sanyo secondary battery pack installed, the battery will overheat and do the Dell Laptop Kablooie Dance. Hmmm, maybe hybrid car designs shouldn't incorporate the current rechargeable battery technology. Kablooie dances on the interstate seem like a bad idea.

Eskimos Sue America over Global Warming

I settled in to read a finely crafted, unbiased report on this story. Disappointed, again. The money quote tells you everything you need to know about advocate journalism and advancing the main stream media's narrative on global warming: "They have scant chance of a breakthrough but still hope to score moral and political points against the U.S. and its carbon spewers." How about they sue Al Gore personally for his "carbon footprint" and the carbon offset scam industry? Honestly, paying someone else to plant a tree or invest in "alternative energy" for you is like buying brain cloud insurance. The carbon offset for the tree won't even start for thirty years, and the alternative energy company you "invest" in may go broke in five years. Just like the fiction that we can do something to "slow" warming (just last year, we could "reverse" it), carbon offsets are as tangible as vaporware.