Who's on First?

(clickabiggen)

Call the doctor.

(credit originals - Smithsonian)

Shopping

Got french fries? Answer me!

Katie Couric shouldn't drink.

Statement from Tiger Woods

As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore.

This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again.

This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

Kutch! coutchacoutchacoutchacoutcha Kutch!

Family Fun

Malia wait, let's name him first. Um, how bout: "Taxpayer"? OK, ready?

inspired by kc's comment

Not to be Outdone

Hearing that VP Joe Biden pardoned a yam for Thanksgiving, the President decided to get in on the act:

After three failed attempts to turn it into
wine, President Obama "pardons" the turkey.

Drop Your Work

Jump - not a time waster, I swear it. This is, um, educational.

Danger Above

Danger below... then, aw I give up.

The Scientific Method

First graph via Junk Science:


Second one: modified method used at CRU. Note that the CRU method is much simpler, though it sometimes includes an intermediary "manufacture, distort, and misrepresent" step.

Mike’s Nature Trick

This snippet from our Global Warming Overlords has generated a bit of interest:

“I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd (sic) from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline.”

Defenders of the warmist camp have been patiently explaining to us uneducated hicks that the term "trick" is an innocent reference to a "clever solution" and instruct us, with a pat on the head, to get back to our NASCAR and Budweiser.

OK, but now that there's been time to look further into the leaked programs, we see evidence that sometimes a "trick" is actually a "trick". The link explains at least one instance of the trickery, and sums it up nicely:

But here’s what’s undeniable: If a divergence exists between measured temperatures and those derived from dendrochronological data after (circa) 1960 then discarding only the post-1960 figures is disingenuous to say the least. The very existence of a divergence betrays a potential serious flaw in the process by which temperatures are reconstructed from tree-ring density. If it’s bogus beyond a set threshold, then any honest men of science would instinctively question its integrity prior to that boundary. And only the lowliest would apply a hack in order to produce a desired result.

also---click here for a pretty good compilation of programmer's notes.

Bohemian Rhapsody

We're Muppets, this is how we roll.

Andrew Sullivan Backtracks

Andrew Sullivan backtracks. Somehow he thinks this wasn't pointing the finger at conservatives:

It's possible, I suppose, that anger at the feds in general could make a drug dealer murder a census worker. But the most worrying possibility - that this is Southern populist terrorism, whipped up by the GOP and its Fox and talk radio cohorts - remains real. We'll see.

No see, Andrew was just commenting on the possibility. But why is the Fox/GOP explanation the "most worrying"? What if the census worker was murdered by a gang led by the flaming, floating, disembodied head of Ernest Borgnine? Wouldn't that be the most worrying? Tell you what, It'd worry me more. Or what if it was a roving band of khat chewing Harajuku Girls, out to kill those who don't dress flamboyantly enough? Maybe Sullivan suffers from an anemic imagination; I can think of lots more worrying scenarios.

No, what Andrew was saying was that the GOP whips up Southern populist terrorism. He might be stupid and really believe that. I mean it's a real, very real, possibility that he's that stupid. But I think his agenda is to silence the opposition. "Shut-up you guys. Every time you call for smaller government, someone in Alabama blows up a post office." Or of course, he could be that stupid; it's a possibility, a very real possibility.

Hide the Decline

via

BTW- Sorry for the light blogging but I've been spending a lot of time reading the climate "scientists" e-mails. Much of it is pretty boring but It's also pretty enlightening.

They'll argue the interpretation of the most damning quotes showing up on the web (what else could they do?) but one thing is for sure -- nobody can read the files and claim, with a straight face, that these were just scientists pursuing the truth.

Unexpected data should be exciting for a scientist; because it might just lead to new knowledge. But not to these guys. Unexpected and contrary data sent them scurrying to cover up, and explain away. They might have been scientists once, but they somehow devolved into advocates. (or maybe a better word is zealots)

Paula Dean Ham-Whacked

This would never happen to Oprah; she would have eaten the ham before impact. I'm just sayin:

ATLANTA – Celebrity chef Paula Deen got an unexpected serving of ham — across her face.

The Food Network star was helping unload 25,000 pounds of donated meat for an Atlanta food bank on Monday when someone threw one of the hams like a football and accidentally smacked her.

Deen tells WGCL-TV: "I thought it busted my lip, but it didn't."

Though smiles and laughter, Deen added: "I'm OK. It just knocked me for a little bit."

You want my advice Paula? Put butter on that.

Best Protest Sign

What a great sign: "Listen to us, and do what we demand, because
we're pretty much the most uneducated people in the country."

via

Real?

I don't know if this is real or not, but it's way cool. Probably impractical, prone to damage, and cool.

My Favorite Show

Cast of Spongebob does the classics:



via

Found Around

CSI for Bugs

Science fair project gone wrong

Stereo!

True Horror Story

From the Dailymail, the headline:
Patient trapped in a 23-year 'coma' was conscious all along
Which, of course, I clicked on -- thinking here we have epic ingenuity; a guy willing to fake being in a coma for 23 years just to avoid going to work. (nurse leaves the room, on goes the TV, and out comes the contraband snacks) But no, it wasn't that at all:

A man thought by doctors to be in a vegetative state for 23 years was actually conscious the whole time, it was revealed last night.

Student Rom Houben was misdiagnosed after a car crash left him totally paralysed.

He had no way of letting experts, family or friends know he could hear every word they said.

'I screamed, but there was nothing to hear,' said Mr Houben, now 46.

Doctors used a range of coma tests, recognised worldwide, before reluctantly concluding that his consciousness was 'extinct'.

But three years ago, new hi-tech scans showed his brain was still functioning almost completely normally.

Sheesh, what a horror that must have been. Even worse, what if he had been "allowed to die"? The inner dialog would never have been heard, but even imagining it, yikes.

***Update:
Oh man, this may be a hoax. Turns out the man can only type through a "facilitator", who guides his hand over the keyboard. So this might be a new horror: a cruel trick on the family by a sick person seeking notoriety. Watching the video, it sure looks to me like the "helper" is doing the typing.

As God is My Witness,

I thought polar bears could fly.

Via Watts Up With That? CGI polar bears are seen in an anti-CO2 PSA. It's not real, but pretty realistic:



The original WKRP in Cincinnati had the same sense of horror without being nearly so graphic.

There’s a famous scene in a 1978 episode where Mr. Carlson, “the Big Guy” (the general Manager) sets up a helicopter promotion to give away live turkeys at a Cincinnati shopping mall parking lot. He launches them from the helicopter into the crowd below. The event is reported by newsman Les Nessman ala the Hindenburg disaster. It is one of the funniest moments in television ever. Here’s the ending.

See the whole episode on Hulu.

Atheist

Via AP: "Atheist student groups flower on college campuses":

"A lot of people on campus either don't know we exist or are afraid of us or hate us," says Bodnar, president of the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society. "People assume we're rabble-rousing, when we're one of the gentlest groups on campus."

Don't know you exist, Ms Bodner? No, I know you don't exist. In fact, your existence has been so not proven to me that I think I'll have to start believing in unicorns just to put something in the space in my brain that I would have used to catalog your existence.

Large Hadron Collider

After almost a year spent on repairs, CERN technicians
slide the last detector into the Large Hadron Collider.

Chicken Joke

A man studied the menu long and hard, and finally turned to the waiter for help.

”Well,” said the waiter, “today our special is chicken on a bed of wild rice with green beans almandine and a nice side salad.”

”That sounds great. How is your chicken prepared?”

“We break it to him very gently and tell him it’s nothing personal.”

University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit Hacked

It's a bad day to be a AGW huckster. A ton of data has been stolen from a CRU computer. I haven't had time to go through much of it; but this excerpt from an e-mail gives you an idea of the kind of problems they've got ahead of them:

Just sent loads of station data to Scott. Make sure he documents everything better
this time ! And don't leave stuff lying around on ftp sites - you never know who is
trawling
them. The two MMs [McIntyre and McKitrick] and have been after the CRU station data for years. If they ever hear
there
is a Freedom of Information Act now in the UK, I think I'll delete the file rather than
send
to anyone. Does your similar act in the US force you to respond to enquiries within
20 days? - our does ! The UK works on precedents, so the first request will test it.
We also
have a data protection act, which I will hide behind.

Isn't that lovely: The data must be kept from scientists who might disagree with our work. "I'll delete the file rather than send it to anyone."

From a quick perusal of the files one thing is clear. These guys aren't scientists so much as advocates. Good that some Russian teenager has strung out their laundry for all to see.

In the Court of the Crimson King

har, deserves to be up front. thanks Talnik

Forgetful as Gary Busey

I can't believe I forgot to post this.. it's been several days and I never posted that Foxfier (formerly Sailorette) had a little bitty baby. Sheesh. And I've had several fewer head injuries than Gary Busey. Congrats kid.

ET

The Dog Show

Beach Ninjas

They speak Japanese, they do whatever they please.

After the carnival closed, the politician made a pact with the insane clown vampire.

Customers Also Bought...

via

Good News

The Prez has decided to be very close to making a decision regarding troop levels in Afghanistan. This is much better than the situation last week, when he wasn't sure that being close to making a decision was the exact best thing:

BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday he is "very close" to a decision on boosting troop levels in Afghanistan and would make an announcement "in the next several weeks."

In a transcript of the interview seen by Reuters, Obama said he did not want his successor as president to inherit the Afghan conflict, adding that a "multi-year occupation" would not serve the interests of the United States.

See how he did that? "I'm working so hard, I'm thinking the heck out of this thing. I'm thinking so much about this thing that it probably appears that I'm incapable of making big decisions. And why? Because I don't want to leave a mess for the next president (ahem!) unlike some presidents I know.

Just Can't Help Myself

from the mind of silversurfer11

Nothin He Can't Do

Arfs, Meows, Quacks

via

When You've Got Too Much Time on Your Hands

via

We May be Some Sort of Crazy

This might not end well.

favorite teacher

Best idea ever: Build a mug from bacon. Fill it with melted cheese.

via

With Christmas Around the Corner

I Can See It

Proof enough that at least one drunken post game celebration
involved the great Harry Caray hooking up with Helen Thomas.

And No Tea Cups to Wash

Tea bag, meet boiling water.

Please Avert Your Eyes

"Avert your eyes" - sounds like some kind of ophthalmic procedure, doesn't it?

Anyway, the next four pictures are of President Obama bowing to Emperor Akihito. It is not my intent to bring undue attention to the fact that the president is bowing. So feel free to skip over one or two of them.



Or as an alternative, reflect on the Abraham Lincoln quote:

No man stands so tall as when he stoops to pay honor to a foreign head of state who no other leader has bowed to and who doesn't bow back.

Another Explanation

"Good reaction time Mr President. He never would have cleared you."

(clickabiggen)

Whoops!

There's an explanation for everything.

I hate it when that happens. (clickabiggen)

or maybe it was...



OK just one more:

"Look ma, I'm riding the President!"

Last one (probably):

"I understand. It must be a terrible burden."

BTW...

In case you're scratching your head about why AARP supports the current version of health care "reform": AARP was formed as a vehicle for selling insurance to it's members. Which is ok when you're using their membership for hotel or movie discounts. But it gets in the way of AARP looking out for its members' best interests regarding cuts in Medicare.

So their support isn't a mystery. And hardly a surprising from a company who would send you that insulting card waaaay before it's time to retire. No, nothing wrong with retirement per se, but I got my card in my prime: working away, picking them up and putting them down, gettin 'er done, soldiering on..... when this card comes, saying, "Do you need help carrying those to the car, sir?"

I come home from swinging a hammer, turning nuts and driving pins, circling an ailing machine through the smoke and sparks, and making the steel do what I want. And wearily I close up the tool box, put away the meters, check the mirror to see that the grease smudge sits at a jaunty angle high on my cheek... and come home to an AARP offer of a discount for old-man pants. ("cut to fit comfortably with the belt pulled up to armpit level; leaving your arms free to wave your cane threateningly when you stand on the front porch and yell at those damn kids to stay off your lawn.")

You were already on thin ice with me, AARP. Selling out your members is just the last straw in the ointment.

We Know You Have Our DVD's

And we want them back:

From: David Thorne
Date: Sunday 8 November 2009 2.16pm
To: Megan Roberts
Subject: DVDs

Dear Megan,

Thank you for your letter regarding overdue fees. As all four movies were outstanding examples of modern cinematic masterpieces, your assumption that I would wish to retain them in my possession is understandable, but incorrect. Please check your records as these movies were returned, on time, over three weeks ago. I remember specifically driving there and having my son run them in due to the fact that I was wearing shorts and did not want the girl behind the counter to see my white hairy legs.

Regards, David.



From: Megan Roberts
Date: Monday 9 November 2009 11.09am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: DVDs

Hi David

Are you sure as our computer system indicates otherwise. Can you please check and get back to me?

Kind regards,
Megan



From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 9 November 2009 11.36am
To: Megan Roberts
Subject: Re: Re: DVDs

Dear Megan,

Yes, they are most definitely white and hairy. Viewed from the knees down, the similarity to two huge albino caterpillars in parallel formation is frightening. People who knew what the word meant might describe them as 'piliferous', although there is something quite sexy about that word so perhaps they wouldn't.

Regards, David.

And it continues. Well worth the read.

h/t: bits

Green Transportation

I only made this photo because DayLife was begging for it - they stuck the two pictures right next to each other. (query - is that Tony Orlando that Hillary's pedaling?)

Speaking of just asking for it.... I know presidents often don local garb as they travel around the world; but with all the Mao t-shirts and praise from Castro, wouldn't it be comforting if Obama didn't look quite so good in this?:

Found

forgot where I got um

Who?

Burka Abeam? Spell check strikes again, I think.

Also from: