Reagan and Tip O'Neil at a comedy show...

Reagan and Tip O'Neil at a comedy show...  My CCPOAA mom passes this along, saying that she's sure I'll love this.  She's right.  I think I've posted this clip before, but it's worth doing it again.  It fills me with nostalgia – for old-fashioned “clean” humor, and for politicians that were actual real people (and citizens)...

This probably isn't what MSNBC expected...

This probably isn't what MSNBC expected ... when they commissioned this poll:

Rosetta is spiraling in toward the comet...

Rosetta is spiraling in toward the comet...  The photos are getting more and more spectacular!  Next week it will be orbiting just 16 kilometers (10 miles) away from the comet...

Yet another study debunks the sodium/blood pressure connection...

Yet another study debunks the sodium/blood pressure connection...  This study found no statistically significant influence of salt on blood pressure.  The first hints of this came from studies two or three years ago, now there are dozens of them.  There's an entire industry built up to produce low-sodium foods, and Michelle Obama is trying to ban salt shakers in schools.  Naturally the government, FDA, CDC, and AMA (not to mention Michelle Obama) have not yet reacted to the news that their advice of the last 20 or 30 years is complete bullshit...

Killing two birds with one stone...

Killing two birds with one stone...  This proposed device would simultaneously collect drinking water and produce power – from clouds.  It's a fascinating idea, and if the group is right about the feasibility, it's a game-changer for some areas...

Big data meets humanity...

Big data meets humanity...  Interesting article, and the book it refers to might be interesting too.  The introduction is a discussion of these two self-explanatory charts (click to embiggen):

Dick Cheney is still right...

Dick Cheney is still right ... and Obama has been wrong all along...

Some more attractive high-tension towers...

Some more attractive high-tension towers...  I don't recall ever seeing high-tension towers that were anything other than strictly utilitarian, but here's a collection of apparently real towers that are...

Caught in the act...

Caught in the act...  This doesn't surprise me at all, but it should be a clarifying moment for anyone naive enough to believe that the Attorney General of the United States (Eric Holder) is operating in good faith.  Yesterday his aide accidentally called Congressman Darell Issa's staff and asked for help spinning some more bad news about the IRS.  Issa is currently investigating the IRS.

The Obama administration isn't unique in its corruption; we've had at least a dozen corrupt administrations since George Washington's time.  But it may be the most blatantly corrupt administration, ever.  It's like they're not even trying to hide it any more...

Cool pencil drawings...

Cool pencil drawings...  Click to embiggen.  More here...

Rain in Paradise...

Rain in Paradise...  Yesterday evening I captured this screenshot of our local weather radar (click to embiggen) – rainstorms approaching.  Paradise is where the circle with a cross in it is, northeast of the Great Salt Lake.  By the time I went to sleep, we had lots of black clouds, but it hadn't rained yet.  At 2 am we had a big thunderstorm pass by just to our south, with lots of spectacular lightning and thunder – and then it opened up and poured.  It's been drizzling steadily ever since, with the occasional intense storm cell passing overhead and dumping on is.

Our field to the south, in alfalfa, was just mowed three days ago.  The windrows were tall and fluffy, but when the storm hit they were completely flattened.  I walked out this morning and the nearly-dry hay is now sopping wet.  It's probably going to take a week or more for this to dry out now...

Magic show...

Magic show...  Cute, despite being French.  Via reader Simi L...

Barn: ready for walls...

Barn: ready for walls...  The last concrete cuts were made this morning, and the concrete has been washed and swept off.  All the lumber needed for the four exterior walls has been delivered.  Tomorrow morning, the framing begins!

All about circuits...

All about circuits...  Electronics texts and references...

Time-waster of the day...

Time-waster of the day...  An in-browser two-dimensional gravity simulator.  You can create objects (“particles”) with an optional speed vector, and get them to collide, orbit, etc.

He ate what?

He ate what?  This year's winners in the veterinary X-ray contest.  The X-ray at right shows a tiny toy alien eaten by a kitten...

McIntyre the merciless...

McIntyre the merciless...  The original hide-the-decline...

An ice-leaf...

An ice-leaf...  More here...

2059 Headlines...

2059 Headlines...  Somehow my brother Mark has obtained a copy:

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest Country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.

White minorities still trying to have English recognized as the third language.

Spotted Owl plague threatens Northwestern United States crops and livestock.

Baby conceived naturally!  Scientists stumped.

Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.

Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica. No other country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation!

Last Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.

George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2060.

Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.

Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.

85-year $75.8 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.

Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for third consecutive year in Mexifornia and Floruba.

Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.

Abortion clinics now available in every High School in United States.

Senate still blocking drilling in ANWR even though gas is selling for 4532 Pesos per liter and gas stations are only open on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.

Supreme Court rules any punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

A Couple Finally Had Sexual Harmony: They had simultaneous Headaches.

Average height of NBA players is now nine feet seven inches with only 5 illegitimate children.

New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2060.

IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.

Floruba voters still having trouble with voting machines.

He ends on this note:

I love this country! It's the government that scares me! Stop organized crime - re-elect no one.

Friends in Paradise...

Friends in Paradise...  Yesterday evening, two new friends of ours in Paradise (Bruce and June N.) brought me a present: two locally grown melons.  One was an enormous cantaloupe, the other a Crenshaw.  This morning I cut the cantaloupe in half, intending to eat one half and have the other tomorrow – but when I got finished with the first half, I couldn't resist eating the other as well.  It was so good!

So now I'm planning to have the Crenshaw tomorrow.  If it lasts that long :)