It's official

Voting Republican is bad for your health.

Just in time for holiday giving

A real time mockery of Palin's new book.

If I have time, I'll compile a more comprehensive list of this year's must-have gifts. Stand by.

Kung Fu Kuisine!

If you have any of the following attributes:

• A fondness for Chinee-movie-Kung-Fu (which, I admit, I do not possess)
  
• Enthusiasm for what looks like really good Pac-rim food
  
• Interest in do-it-yourself promotional video
  

Check out the Kill Soup Dumpling video on the website of Joe's Shanghai Restaurants. Inspired silliness, probably driven by threatened consumer lawsuits.

Remember, "never bite into a hot soup dumpling!"

Some science news

I've been slacking off on posts lately, so here are a few recent developments in the world of science, in lieu of actually writing anything myself:

• Lower Paleolithic knife skills: "(The implication is) ... that either one person from the clan butchered the group's meat in a few episodes over time, or multiple persons hacked away at it in tandem," says Prof. Avi Gopher.
  
• Dogs won't take your word for it when you say "It's OK, Spot, don't worry about the thunder!" But they do seem to like having other dogs around.
  
• Like venal psychiatrists, scientists have managed to give flies false memories of bad things happening to them.
  
• Chimps will pass the crescent wrench, when asked, but so far, not without being asked, it says here.
  
• A kakapo gets cuddly; rare parrot assaults photographer while journalist stands by snickering. (Parental discretion advised.)
  
• The solar system has a wall, perhaps to keep out riff-raff. Note that Science News can't seem to decide whether it's talking about the solar system (article) or the galaxy (headline.)
  

And an older piece that I'd meant to bring to your attention, but didn't.

• Escalation in the on-going war between hikers and bears. I love this.
  

And finally, ponder this: I saw something recently along the lines of "everything is an invasive species, at one time or another, actual damage done by invasive species isn't all that much proportionately, don't worry about it ..." Can't find the reference now, unfortunately, but in counter balance to it, this alarmingly-named article was running in a number of places just today. I think I'll keep on worrying, personally.

Full disclosure

Recently, news media have reported a new FTC ruling that requires disclosure of payments to bloggers. Since I have a life-long personal commitment to openness in communication, I feel called upon to make the following statement.

Since the early 1980s, I have been paid amounts that, in sum, are in excess of one hundred seventy-four million dollars ($174,000,000) by a number of organizations, including The campaign to re-elect Turkmenbashi, the publishers of Sarah Palin's new book, Tata Motors, and TGI Friday's Worldwide, in return for NOT talking about them.

With this post, these agreements are terminated, and I'll be returning the money.

Those who can remember the past are doomed ...

... to irrationally fear its recurrence, I suppose. Guess who opposed the re-unification of Germany?

The difference between two countries

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disappeared for a bit this week, giving rise to all kinds of rumors. He initially claimed he was visiting a secret Mossad base, then just clammed up.

Now here in America, we'd just assume he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Having gotten that obvious joke off my chest, here's a link to more info on the on-going, wierdly fascinating story of the mystery Russian ship.

If you're still driving that hybrid ...

Check the new Mercedes hydrogen car. It's coming.

More dinner pics

The photo interface here is sufficiently primitive that I've taken to putting anything with multiple images on Flikr. There's a few shots of (yet another) dinner up there now.

Sadly ...

... this establishment in the outskirts of Brimley, MI, is no longer in business. Looked like fun.