Minor Malorum Duorum

Dude. I could TOTALLY stay in bed for 90 days and $17,000.

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/qa-nasa-scienti.html

No, no. Not pizza AND beer. Pizza beer. The Onion AV Club reviewed it.

This is cool:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp6/spacechronicles4.html

For those who haven't seen it yet, there is a review here that shows the canned cheeseburger in all it's reheated and eaten glory. I think the guy's faces that he makes are really excellent, but I think he's mostly just playing.

It does look a little.... wet.

I've just read this article about a museum in Sao Paulo was robbed of two paintings, one of which was a Picasso of estimated worth $50M. During the brouhaha, it was revealed that, at the time of the robbery, there was no active surveillance (security guard), the cameras didn't get a good picture (no infrared), and this might be the kicker.... there's no insurance on the collection.

I'm not a huge fan of insurance, I find it to be akin to blackmail in many cases. It's protection money. Yes, sometimes, it's good to have it. Most of the time.... However, and this is a big however, I don't have a multi-million dollar collection of fine art.

(which is why it's in my blog, instead of as a story...)

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A new species of giant spitting cobra, measuring nearly nine feet and possessing enough venom to kill at least 15 people, has been discovered in Kenya, a conservation group said on Friday.

Wired has written up a top-10 of modern snake oil preparations, products that purport to give the purchaser improved health and well-being, but which apparently do nothing at all, unless you were suffering from an unbearably heavy load of cash in your pocket.

My favorite is the 2', AU$300 extension cord.

This XKCD comic will very probably cause you to groan and laugh at the same time.

It's safe for work, unless your boss is going to ask you what it means.

The year is 2099. Modern science and medical technology have conquered senescence, and you are feeling young, spry, and (given your age) pretty wise. What implant, bodily alteration, or systemic symbiosis is it, that you've saved up all your cereal box tops to buy?

I was going to put this as a poll, but (this may be surprising to some of you) I don't actually want to violate any boundaries with this. So I'm going to just do a blog entry, and say up front that, if you personally have a policy about this, I want to know what your rationale is.

So.... I came across this article exploring the little-known horrors of sand hole death. And I had to read it, because the headline says this is more dangerous than shark attacks. A sand hole death is when someone falls in a hole in the sand on the beach, and is buried, and can't get out, and suffocates. No doubt it is a horrible way to go, and more than likely means you're going to the afterlife with that unholiest of all torments, sand in your crack.

For those of you who are not already afraid of clowns, here is one man's totally NSFW notion of just how hot a clown could be. I'm personally coming down on the side of very, very not hot.

Technically, this isn't a wrong thing, on account of me reading the headline, laughing, and saying, "Good!"

Man falls off balcony in spitting contest

In 1982, during a period of dangerous stalemate in the Middle East peace process, I gave a speech at Georgetown University about the critical need for a more engaged and balanced role for the United States in the region.

The newspapers the next day covered my handbag, my rings, and my dress. When asked about the substance of my message, one U.S. Senator said, "It's a great public relations weapon to have an attractive queen."

--Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, International Human Rights Activist

My nightmare isn't that this will happen to some kid I don't even know, of course. My nightmare about this is much more personal.