A team of scientists from Japan, Russia and the United States hopes to clone a mammoth, a symbol of Earth’s ice age that ended 12,000 years ago, according to a report in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun. The researchers say they hope to produce a baby mammoth within six years.

Ok, my question is this. WHY would you clone something just to keep it secret so the world cannot see?

Olivia heading to the ER (but checking out as OK): check
Hyundai packing up on I-66 and getting towed in: check
Snow on the way, guaranteeing salt on the roads: check
22-year old Italian sedan about to become a snowmobile: check

...And THAT is how you have an MLK holiday, mah friends.

Archeologists have found what may be the hilt of the infamous pirate Blackbeard's sword. Or not, since it doesn't exactly have "property of BB" carved on it anywhere. At any rate, it's the most likely candidate they've found so far. That's good for something.

Yeah, turns out even the Chinese are horrified at what their parenting customs read like, when distilled. It's tough when everyone, including the people who live next door, explain in great detail how horrible you all are. Welcome to Great Power status, here's your T-shirt. Why yes, it does say, "be careful what you wish for." And isn't THAT ironic?

Bull sharks have been spotted swimming down the main street of an Australian town 16 miles from the coast. Leave it to the Australians to decide a gigantic wall of water just isn't enough. It's gotta be a wall of water full of sharks!

They told me if I voted for John McCain, that vile Patriot Act would be renewed in perpetuity, and they were right! And, boy, that whole "ZOMG!1!!! DICK CHENEY'S A DICTATOR NOW!!!1!!!ELEVENTY!!" really came true too, eh?

Scientists have announced the discovery that a certain type of crow will sometimes use tools to explore its environment. Go for the interesting discussion. Stay for the "wtf?!? What is that? Lemme poke it. WTF?!?!" crow videos.

Formula One will, finally, be broadcast in HD next season. The hold-up never did make much sense, but I guess there are more than your average set of requirements when the studio has to be moved every one or two weeks, sometimes half-way around the world.

A group of scientists have released a study which claims Neanderthal faces did not actually have any special adaptations to the cold. This was an absolute given when I was an undergrad. If it really were this obvious, you'd think someone would've noticed before now.

Scientists participating in the Cosmos deep-sky survey have announced the discovery of the most ancient galactic cluster yet observed. It's thought the area is about 12.6 billion light years away, and represents the state of the universe when it was only a fraction of its current age.

A start-up private US space program is planning on using old Soviet-era gear as the technical core of their operation. By reputation, the Soviet stuff was crude, but it was also cheap and reliable. If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid.

BUCHAREST (Reuters Life!) - There was nothing mysterious about the death of a flock of birds in Romania last week -- they were simply drunk, veterinarians said.

Observation: Even if everyone, right now, and I mean right this second, turned everything off and zeroed our fossil fuel consumption, climate change will continue for another 1000 years.

Conclusion: LET'S DO IT!!!

No, really, after six paragraphs of pythonesque head-bonking, and one paragraph of motherly guilt on the successful kids, the author comes to the startling conclusion we must in fact do something that has already been predicted to fail. The mind boggles.

I do not deny climate change is happening. I do not doubt it is worrying. I believe we should do something about it.

I deny what motivates the green lobby is the environment. I doubt the judgment of people who think it is. I believe all the solutions currently proposed are actively harmful and will not work.

Find better solutions.

Not the CRICKETS!

Snow is now on the ground in 49 of the 50 US states. Climate change we can believe in! Quick! Raise taxes again before anyone notices!

A media guide for the journalistically challenged.

Looks like you can finally play Rock Band with a real guitar. Didn't watch the demo all the way through, but it looked like he wasn't playing actual cords there. Not sure if that's just the song, or if we've still got some developing to do before everyone's favorite party video game becomes a for-real teaching tool for the guitar.

Okay, idiots, it goes like this: God is mad that we repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell, because the more honest we allow people to be about their sexuality, the more likely they are to someday marry one another, in violation of "biblical principles." So, God decided to kill some blackbirds in the sky. He wanted to connect the bird massacre to Bill Clinton, because he introduced DADT, but he felt like killing them over Clinton, Arkansas would be too obvious. So he murdered those blackbirds in Bebee, AR, to connect them to the current governor, who connects them to the former governor.

Bat shit crazy person alert!

PHOENIX — Arizona legislators quickly approved emergency legislation Tuesday to head off picketing by a Topeka, Kan., church near the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was killed in the Tucson shootings.

Unanimous votes by the House and Senate sent the bill to Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed it Tuesday night. It took effect immediately.

Without specifically mentioning the Tucson shooting, the law prohibits protests at or near funeral sites.

Really WBC? One day an entire crowd is going to beat the living shit out of you all.

Asswipes.

Ten, fifteen years ago, a newspaper and a politician could work together to craft a narrative for the now, for the moment, using current events to leverage political power and public opinion without any reference to what happened in the past. No more. Now, tell me again, how there's no such thing as the "liberal media," and Fox News is the real enemy.

Via Instapundit.

Making the rounds: Neapolitan man survives gunshot wound and sneezes the bullet out of his nose, thereby inventing the world's first small-caliber booger.

China's new stealth prototype has made its first flight. After spending the past month looking at its profile puttering around taxiways, it's nice to at last get a look at the plan view. It took, what, twenty years for our F-22 to go from prototype to production? It'll be interesting to see if the Chinese can bring theirs forward faster than that.

Sometimes, all you need is a summary: woman celebrates the birth of her daughter after they both survived a tornado and a falling cow. Definitely not something that comes up very often on storm chasers, the whole "flying livestock" thing.

Robert H. get a no-prize that's so hot it'll melt lead for bringing us news of the latest exo-planetary discovery. The good: NASA's Kepler telescope seems to be operating exactly as advertised while searching for planets. The bad: the only two Earth-like things about this particular rock are its size and the size of the star it orbits. Everything else is hotter and denser. Oh well, gotta start somewhere.

It's deeply saddening yet strangely appropriate that the left's outrageous attempt to pin the Arizona shootings on people they hate should bring such an amazing summary of a decade's worth of political rage. Oh don't worry, I know you'll find plenty of counter-examples out there; that's not my point. My point involves glass houses, and stones.

Color me unsurprised: Scientists are noting the frenzy over "mass bird death" is less about birds and more about selling newspapers. Or, you know, online ads, that sort of thing. Our media? Fueling hysteria? Say it ain't so!

Glenn Reynolds: "To be clear, if you're using this event to criticize the "rhetoric" of Mrs. Palin or others with whom you disagree, then you're either: (a) asserting a connection between the "rhetoric" and the shooting, which based on evidence to date would be what we call a vicious lie; or (b) you're not, in which case you're just seizing on a tragedy to try to score unrelated political points, which is contemptible. Which is it?"

Fortunately, my far left friend* has taken the high road on this and is treating it as it should be treated: as a human tragedy. Would that they all acted this way.

----
*If you're wondering who that is, it's not you.

Because, wait for it... it's raining, rrm... magma! It seems the weird difference between earth rocks and moon rocks can be explained by the way certain elements precipitated out of the Earth's atmosphere after the collision with a Mars-sized body which caused the moon's formation.

And in today's issue of "Clueless Scientist Monthly," we have the idea that meat producers should switch to bug farming because of insects' smaller carbon footprint. Fortunately, this one comes to us courtesy of a Netherlands science group, so at least my tax dollars weren't used to fund this "study." Quick! To the private jets! It's time for another climate conference to discuss the implications! I hear Antigua is very nice this time of the year.

British people have the oddest sense of humor. Especially if you are getting dumped LIVE on the radio.

Heading to New Orleans anytime soon? Check out The Graveyard Rabbit for all of your cemetery needs.

Our clinic cat. He was not amused.

Russian scientists are about to sample water from a lake that has been completely cut off from the rest of the planet for 15 million years. It's thought that any critters living in the hyper-oxygenated water will provide insight into metabolic processes, as well as provide information on what Enceladus and Europa, which are thought to have a similar environment, are like.

Making the rounds: Egyptian Muslims attended Coptic Christmas services en-mass to show solidarity and act as human shields. Bullies, no matter how dangerous, succeed because people are too afraid to take them on. Once those people realize there are many more of them then there are of bullies, things begin to change.

Scientists have worked out new manufacturing techniques that promise smart clothing that can survive a washing machine. Not only that, it seems the material may also be useful as a stealth coating. That's right, the next fighter the air force buys may actually be wearing a sweater.

A bunch of busybodies have figured out how to spoof wireless, keyless entry and ignition systems to steal a car. Using a receiver and transmitter to "tunnel" the key signal a long distance is so basic I'm surprised it hasn't been thought up before now.

Turns out Bill Murray is about as laid back and fun as he seems on the screen. Although I'd think he was getting a little long in the tooth to hang out at a karaoke bar for four hours. Then again, why not?

Olivia's Xmas gift from Granpa Rich and Grandma Janet came in the mail! Belly dance wings!

Japan is making a run at taking back the "World's Weirdest Asian Country" prize from China by introducing a new urinal-based video game. Yep, you read that one right, "a pressure sensor located on the back of the urinal to measure the strength and location of your urine stream. A small LCD screen above the urinal allows you to play several simple video games including a simulator for erasing graffiti and a variation on a sumo wrestling match."

There's just no way to make this stuff up, people!

I'm vaguely surprised it's taken this long: Introducing a wooden chair with a flexible seat. Looks like it'd pinch, but what do I know?

A group of scientists has announced significant progress in the discovery of the cause of male pattern baldness. Ok, all those women in the peanut gallery who just rolled their eyes? It may very well have implications for female baldness as well. The wigs we save may be yours, too!

Evidence from other Martian probes has forced scientists to re-examine experimental results from the Viking landers, which has lead to the conclusion that those probes did indeed find evidence of organics on the Martian surface. Science will always provide the correct answer, until new data comes along. Then it will provide a new correct answer.

Little girls (and probably little boys, not that there's anything wrong with that) who are tweeting death threats at Selena Gomez over her, well, whatever it is, with Justin Bieber could end up in jail. Personally I don't care either way, I'd just like to see someone tossed in the pokey for being an a-hole on line.

I guess if you keep a telescope pointed at the sky long enough, cool things just sort of wander in front of it. I was happy when I managed to find a planet with mine, back in the day.

Fark's headline of the year contest is definitely worth a look. Don't believe me? How about Coup succeeds in detaining Niger president, exciting teabaggers who misread the headline.

Wow. I didn't know that much milk could come out of a nose.

It seems a Chinese automaker's first self-developed sedan is actually an Alfa Romeo clone. We never got the 166 here, so I can't say I see much of a resemblance. Well, good luck to them!

Another day, another update on that new Chinese stealth fighter. More pictures are here. With all this commotion, you'd think they'd send a few cars around to shoo away the photographers. Of course, that's assuming it's not the government taking the pictures.

They told me if I voted Republican the president would increase the carbon footprint of the White House, and they were right!! If the L.A. Times is starting to turn against Obama... well, no, nevermind. This is more easily explained as taking a few easy shots before they knuckle down to the job of getting him re-elected.

Via Instapundit.

I'm sure someone out there will care: both Britney Spears and Lady Gaga are scheduled to release new albums in early 2011. Spears has been quiet enough lately, guess that whole "leave dad in charge and keep the panties on" thing is working out. Gaga, in my opinion, was about sixty seconds away from an overexposure meltdown. We'll just have to wait and see how it all turns out, I suppose.

CNN: Hundreds of people may have been exposed to Hepatitis A during a Christmas day mass. Yeah, not the greatest gift for the season right there.

It would seem an adequate number of trumpet players has been found. Of course, "beginning of the end" is a pretty easy one to predict. Me, I'll wait until the angels start arcing across the sky, hopefully with enough time for me to yell "HA-HA!" at Joshua. And Ron.

It looks like our ancestors had to deal with more than one kind of sabretooth cat. And by "ancestor" I mean, "so far back it may have lived before the human/chimp split." Nice kitty!

Another day, another chick waking up dead from a botched plastic surgery. Yet another reason to follow the ol' "eat less, exercise more" weight loss method.

The recent failure of an Indian launch vehicle has been traced to a set of failed electrical connections. Reliable connectors have been around for a darned long time, so I'm thinking either someone just didn't connect things properly, or the wire routing is just wrong. Details are important when failure can lead to a very large "kaboom."

If you're 37-year-old Michigan telemarketer Dave Cat, you have the $6,500 rubber lady "reincarnated." Which is to say, you commission an exact replica of her to be stripped, molded and painted. And you bring her back from the freakin' dead.

Funny this is, he was in a TV show called TABOO.

Yuck.

A series of photos of Detroit.

You would think the police station would have been cleaned up a bit better. Especially the crime photos....not wait. It's Detroit.

From the Bellydance store.

Great deal, costume does need some work that I can see, but I am crossing my fingers it will be worth it!

Instapundit is featuring this large, detailed, and growing list of practical disaster preparation advice. Turns out you really can buy MRE's on Amazon. I think that pretty much makes it official: you can buy anything that doesn't have a pulse over there.

see more Wedinator

I personally think it looks like one of those cheese logs.

She broke her tibia and fibula in both legs after she was hit by a truck. It happened while she was at the BYU-Utah game on Thanksgiving weekend. She was leaving the tailgating lot where a lot of people were yelling and shoving as they were leaving the stadium. She said was forced off the sidewalk, right into the path of a truck.

The power of the human body.

It wasn't always thumb drives and SSDs. I'm pretty sure my next laptop will have a 256 GB solid state drive, which I suppose will be slightly larger than a match box.

Just when you thought Japan was the wackiest Asian country, China comes along and ups that very weird ante. Ya know, giving yourself a parasitic infection to lose weight is an idea so crazy it just might work. Not.