Blonde + Bentley + Monaco = Ferrari - Aston Martin - Porsche. The price of beauty is high. The price of beauty behind the wheel of an expensive luxury car driving down the streets of Monaco is quite a bit higher. "Like the fist of an angry god..."

Iowahawk: The end is nigh, and yeah, they shall tweet about it. I'd have no problem forcing policy wonks to live by their own wits, precisely because of the predicted outcome. And who knew the number 4 would make a good shiv?

Another day, another new technique to make submarines invisible. Covering something in a mesh that leaves water completely undisturbed after an object passes is all well and good, but if it only works for sugarcube-sized objects barely moving at all, I'm not sure how practical it will be. Still, gotta start somewhere.

A woman who refuses to pay more than $400 in fines because a cop found the plastic testicles hanging from her car obscene has set the blogosphere a-chattering. I think they're funny because they gross Ellen out. I'm classy that way.

Slashdot has a whole set of links regarding new research that attempts to predict gender based on twitter posts. I've got a much simpler rule: they're all male federal agents.

Well, thank you, but I already have a foil hat that fits better than this one. Maybe you should think about using it yourself?

Scientists have announced the discovery that several of the most massive volcanic eruptions on Earth in the past 250 million years share the same magma source. Better still, this source seems to be made up of primordial material that's essentially unchanged since the planet was formed. If further investigations hold up the conclusion, it will fundamentally change how geologists look at the composition of the planet.

Now the White House is accusing the GOP of trying to cancel Christmas. Really? It's come to this? I get that Obama yelled, "shit!!!" and the press jumped up, dropped trow, and asked, "what color sir?!?", but cancelling Christmas? Geeze. If they're this frantic now, we'll have to hospitalize them all next year.

Via Instapundit.

Scientists have discovered the first known "Trojan" asteroid in Earth's orbit. Its inclination (if I'm using that term correctly) is too steep to make it a valid target for near-future exploration, but if there's one, there likely will be more.

Sure, it's a few months old, but if you don't smile at least a little at this story of sailors rescuing stowaway kittens, you need help. Bonus: enough cute pix of "teh kittehs" with their sheepish rescuers to make Ellen's head explode twice.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, "L33t" translates as "elite."

Archeologists have announced the discovery of an apostle's tomb in south east Turkey. I'm not familiar with St. Philip, but (being a heathen) I guess I shouldn't expect to be. I'm always surprised at how many ancient Christian sites of such importance end up being completely lost to history.

A Chinese couple has allegedly sold all three of their children to finance their on-line gaming addictions. Mine's known her own address for years now, so I never seriously considered the possibility.

A new scientific study is proposing to boot Archeopteryx from the base of the bird family tree and replace it with a previously unknown chicken-sized dinosaur. Everyone seems to concede the idea has merit, but needs more data and examination. While women and minorities will of course be hardest hit by this revelation, Archeopteryxes (Archeopteryxii?) are expected to continue being important to science.

It looks like at least one regulatory agency has gotten its collective ass together and is getting on with it. Progressives and liberals, take note: I actually support this sort of thing 100%. I strongly believe there are a whole bunch of people who should be on trial right now over the 2008 fiasco who are instead still yukking it up on Wall Street. In an expanding, innovative economy like we usually have when grownups are in charge*, I don't think we can prevent bubbles from happening. I do think we can stop them from happening again, and this is how it's done.

----
* I.e., not right now.

I'd always known porta-potties were not particularly healthy places. I had no idea they could actually explode. Considering the article itself mentions a Mythbusters de-bunking of this very occurrence, I'm suspicious that perhaps more than just methane gas was involved. In other words...

Boom.

Scientists have found evidence that dark winters caused humans living in higher latitudes to evolve larger eyes. Brain size, presumably to process the extra optic information, also increased. Unfortunately the article doesn't specify by just how much, but, since humans have lived in such high latitudes for a comparatively short period of time, it does show how elastic our genes can be when confronted with new environmental pressures.

French Guiana will soon see Soyuz launches from its Ariane 5 launch complex. The location will allow the rockets to loft nearly twice as much payload as their normal launch pads, located much further north in the former USSR. Go for the brief, stay for the mangled description of why this is so ("spin is felt")?

Ok, even I admit a news quiz question about how many pieces a body was cut into is a pretty shocking thing to find on a news site. I would've expected something like that on Fark. Which is, of course, where I found it. Classy!

I was FINALLY lucky enough to get caught up in a Super Cell storm in Dumas Arkansas!

My first tornado up close!

Olivia, Scott and his Dad, Tom. We don't get to see everyone as much in Arkansas as we would like, but we had a great time! Caverns, unlimited private pool, SONIC, tornadoes! It was great!

"AMCGLTD," we hear you ask, "I know those Smurfs are up to something, I'm just not sure what. Is there anything that can help me decide just what those little monsters are out to accomplish?"

Fear not, friendly child show paranoiac! AMCGLTD is here to help! Presenting The Smurf Conspiracy, your one-stop-shop to all speculation about the nefarious machinations of everyone's previously-thought-to-be-harmless kid show stars! If you've ever wanted proof that pushing crazy as far to one side as possible just means you meet crazy coming from the other direction, here it is.

Scientists have discovered a fossil crocodile which looks, and probably lived, more like a wild dog than a swamp king. I'm pretty much fine with this thing being extinct.

CNN has a short feature clearly demonstrating something I've known for awhile: foreigners don't own most of the US government's debt. Now if we could just get a set of politicians who can actually work together constructively, things would be fine. Hope springs eternal!

NASA lunar probes have discovered evidence of an unexpected type of volcano on the far side of the Moon. Unlike the well-known basaltic volcanoes found on the near side, these silicate types reveal the Moon is home to more complex geology than was previously believed.

Congratulations to Scuderia Limoni for bringing home the biggest margin of victory in Lemons history! The second-ever Alfa winner brought home a victory with a 50 minute lead over the next place.

Barring a critical failure or massive penalties, an Alfa Milano is on its way to winning the latest lemons race, the Boston Tow Party. Yes, lemons, not LeMons. Just about everyone, included the principles, are surprised at how popular and reliable our big-bootied box is in this series. Go, Scuderia Limoni, go!

This Japanese delicacy known as odori-don or “dancing squid rice bowl” is a variation on traditional squid sashimi and uses soy sauce to create the disturbing illusion of bringing a dead squid back to life.

This is the reason why they have a fetish with tentacle porn.

SFW!! The link brings you right to the article...not to tentacle porn. We are not that disgusting.

Last time we were here?

2004!

A few humming birds up at Blanchard Springs today!

This year's Alfa Owner's Club convention was too far away for us to make, but a nearby Alfa parts warehouse made it and the pictures make it seem just about as much fun as last year's. Without the 95+ degree temperatures. Those stayed in Virginia. Woot?

Vacation Day 1!

We're heading out to Arkansas for vacation, and Olivia's rather excited...

A new look at some very old footprints is providing even more evidence that our ancient ancestors walked in a way nearly identical to our own. The evidence for bipedalism has been pushed back so far now it's my understanding some scientists are mulling over the idea that the ancestor we share with chimpanzees may have had this ability, and part of the chimp's evolution was its loss.

While this article on "why my father hated India" provides a first-hand explanation of why, and how, Pakistan became the real problem in Asia, I can summarize it more succinctly: always remember the primary motivator behind any major government or military decision made by Pakistan has the singular objective of kicking India in the balls. All other priorities, incentives, or reasons take a distant back seat to this motivation.

It seems a private company with a clever take on car rentals is doing a great job "greening" the automobile. Private enterprise doing good work. Ah, geeze. I hate it when the left side of the peanut gallery has their heads explode all at once. It's really hard to keep the walls clean when they do that.

There's a lot we don't know about Jupiter, and all of it's cool. I personally like the idea that, somewhere in the interior, is a monstrous sphere of diamond. Pressure, heat, carbon. What else is needed?

Leave it to Scaled Composites to create an actual, working, flying car in just four months. Without a hint of sarcasm, I can say that in my opinion the part of the space program Scaled is in charge of really is in the best of hands.

Glenn pulled a nice quote out of this riposte on a lefty criticism of "anti-Star Trek", but I have a better one: It is better to starve in the name of justice, then to dine in the shadow of prosperity. The outrage this quote generates on the left side of the peanut gallery proves I'm onto something. Well, when it's not greeted by blinking incomprehension, at any rate.

This just in: vibrations caused by a Tae Bo workout caused the evacuation of an office tower in South Korea. Fitness nuts Ellen and Suzanne call that "vigorous." I tried Tae-Bo once, but I don't have the balance or coordination. I gave up on aerobics the third time one of Ellen's videos told me "you'll look great in your summer dress!" Biking, that's my ticket.

Ok, Ellen, if cow urine therapy ends up on your list of magic potions, you're sleeping in the garage. I'm sure traditional medicine has it all over the Western variety. Doesn't mean I'm hopping in a tub of cow piss. Ever.

All it takes is a tomato protest to encapsulate just about everything I think the left side of the peanut gallery does wrong. To wit:

So, in this case, the alruistic Alinskyites came up with a solution: Go to produce retailers, and demand that they raise their tomato prices, so that they could then take that extra money from the customers and use it to voluntarily pay more per pound to the tomato growers, who would then take that extra money and give it to the farmworkers.

What's even more mind-boggling is the way the folks on that side of the peanut gallery are standing there with puzzled looks on their faces. Well, that, and all the poo flinging that starts when they realize we might be implying they're wrong about something. Questioning a religious faith tends to bring that out in some folks, donchaknow?

NASA's Dawn space probe is now returning new images of its first target, Vesta. The probe is expected to move closer, perhaps much closer, as time goes by before it completes this segment of its mission and moves on to Ceres. It will be the first space probe ever to move from one orbiting body to another under its own power.

Scientists have determined that some species of stick insect have gone without sexual reproduction for more than a million years. The conclusion was reached after genetically analyzing stick insect species known to reproduce via cloning. It's thought the information will provide insight into various reproductive issues. Oh, and the bugs are damned ugly, too.

Test mules for the upcoming Dodge Caliber replacement are taking their first steps toward individuality. Nobody's sure when the real deal will be for sale, or just how different it will really be from an Alfa Giulietta. Still, which sounds better... a re-badged Mistubishi, or... ?

Turn out the lights folks, the party's over: our favorite book store is officially shutting everything down. I guess Ellen will have to get her Pilates magazines from Barns and Noble now. End of an era, indeed.

This one goes out to all my pun-loving friends...

So Prince Charles's first-born marries a hottie, and now what are we told to worry about? ZOMG!!!1!!1!Eleventy!!! Hyper-psycho chicks lurv her and her sister!!! That the Middleton sisters are otherwise (seemingly) quite healthy, with Pippa recently being photographed in a bicycle race, is never emphasized. Never let chicks who are skinny due to good genes and an active lifestyle get in the way of us trying to tell them (and, by extension, you) how to live!

Scientists have announced the discovery that all non-African humans have Neandertal DNA in their genes. It's thought the admixture was created mostly in the Middle East as our ancestors made their way out of Africa. The study confirms other evidence brought to light in the years since the Neandertal genome was sequenced.

Recently Ron and Amber noted they saw an elderly version of themselves sitting at a Bob Evans. Now I've found a picture of what one of them will look like shortly after that. Or, you know, if Ron actually does manage to roll his Datsun off the edge of a cliff or something. I'm sure there are people who've had Razorback-themed funerals. I just can't find pictures of them.

Now that "planking" seems to have run its course, we now have "leisure diving." Ellen and Laura, you now have your new mission. Not sure if the belly dance costumes will handle this silliness as well.

Well, they do it on Friday, we link it up on Sunday: New Scientist's latest "Friday Illusion" should have all of you staring. It vaguely reminds me of those Godley and Creme videos from the 80s.

Yes, you're going to have to look it up. Damned kids...

Leave it to the Chinese to have a "bee wearing contest." Yes, you read that right. They wear bees. CHINA: Run away from Japan as fast as you can. You're catching it!

Ellen's favorite local new channel really hit it out of the park choosing the clipart for this story. I especially like the little bubbles. What? Well of course they'll serve beer in hell.

... and then there's the guy who couldn't quite untangle himself from the reporter's wires. Bonus: wearing a water-powered jet pack. I must admit that thing looks pretty sweet.

Ever wonder just how many different ways a live morning TV segment can go wrong? Wonder no more. Jeff gets the coveted Donald Duck no-prize for bringing us yet another example of how Australian TV is so cool.

At first I felt bad for kitteh, but he kept coming back for more (cat is wrong, but otherwise fine). Ours are too fat, old, and lazy for stunts like this anymore. Our experience fostering kittens reminded us just how much energy a cat "can has."

Well, fans of all foods Chinese and Chinese-like, it's looking like your favorites are just as bad for you as the stuff from the Golden Arches. However, I do wondering about the portions used. The stuff we get when we do takeout lasts us the whole weekend, say, three or four meals easy.

Me? I prefer Indian food over Chinese.

NASA has announced the Dawn asteroid probe should begin to orbit its first target, Vesta, this Saturday. The idea is to get "close, but not too close" to perform extensive surveys of one of first asteroids ever discovered, and then move on to the slightly more famous Ceres.

They told me if I voted for John McCain the government would make sure "don't ask don't tell" stuck around no matter the cost, and they were right! Good thing the rest of you voted for Obama!

What fun would a shuttle mission be without the occasional main computer reboot? Those systems are ancient, but they do the job. Mostly. Magnetic core memory, FTW!

That guy who's wife cut his wang off and put it in the disposal? He's got more options than you think. The author must've had a specific word number to meet, how else otherwise explain the "put away the history get to the science" interlude with Osiris and Rasputin?

Hang on. I have to go get a tissue for Ellen...

Not very often we get to put Alfa links up twice in a day, but when Autoweek likes the new Giulietta, by driving it around in the US, that's something to talk about. The approximated $34k list is, I'd wager, almost certainly inflated due to exchange rates. Very neat!

Scientists have announced the development of electronic memory circuits which have "the physical characteristics of jello". The current examples are strictly proof-of-concept, but it's hoped the technology can be developed into new sorts of medical sensors and other sorts of devices which need to function in wet environments.

Scientists have announced a breakthrough treatment which promises significant protection from the HIV virus. It's hoped this will provide another alternative for third-world prevention of the disease, since various other well-known techniques have proven stubbornly ineffective in the face of such traditional societies' values.

It seems our favorite book store chain is quietly skulking toward outright liquidation. I guess the plan was to close the least profitable stores and sell the good ones to a different company. That's fallen through, so it looks like the whole thing may be going to the auction block. I think. This part of businesses, I don't understand that much.

SpaceX has officially broken ground on its new launch location for the Falcon Heavy booster. They will be renovating Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4-East to give them the ability to launch to polar orbits. This capability is critical if SpaceX is to compete in the intelligence satellite market, which is currently dominated by a single company.

A toad not seen in the wild for more than 80 years has been found again, and boy, is it urgly!. No, Ellen, you can't have one.

I don't care how silly it looks, you can bet I'd help someone parallel park a 1968 Alfa 33 racing prototype. We saw one of these at last year's Alfa convention. They kept tennis balls in the velocity trumpets to keep things from falling down into them. Really!

From the land that brought Ellen's 9 year old sister giggling outside to ask me if my dad fed me squirrels... a Manhattan restaurant is serving a "Texan" sandwich that would be unrecognizable to anyone actually living in the state. Per usual, New Yorkers manage to make something annoying yet strangely compelling at the same time.

Scientists think that a newly discovered dinosaur fossil has finally closed the "three meter gap." Seems that what we didn't learn in school was (until now) no dinosaur fossils had been found in the sediments laid down just before the KT boundary, leading many scientists to claim dinosaurs were on their way out long before the sky fell on them. Will it end the debate? Is a bear Polish?

Slow news day over at Salon, where a small restaurant's decision to ban kids triggers a 1500 word essay. We started going out with Olivia when she was still in baby carriage, and there were many times when one of us would pick her up and walk out the door with her when she got out of control. However, that hasn't happened since she was 4 or 5, maybe even earlier. Kids do learn manners, if they're taught them.

Tonight Neptune will complete its first orbit since humans discovered it in 1846. It has, of course, been doing this regularly for the past 4.5 billion years but this time it's different. This time we're watching!

The trick with fetishes is to make sure they don't go wrong. Getting careless can mean people get hurt. I think it's just as well no pictures of the principles were included.

Dang, I'm slowing down... I've only said 4 of these 9 things "you should never say to a child" to Olivia. "If you don't clean you're room I'll kill you and make another one just like you" and "if you don't go across this walkway I'm going to toss you off it" were strangely absent. Bonus points?

Yes, I agree: it's utter nonsense for people who heaped scorn and ridicule on the GOP house to suddenly find "true constitutional religion". Of course, that's not going to stop them. Hell, it's not even going to slow them down.

Olivia: Daddy! Turn it down!!!

Me, cranking the volume down: "What?"

Olivia, in her underwear on the steps: "I need tip money."

"What?"

"I need tip money for my wallet."

Ok, I don't get it either. I think it was her seeing Ellen furiously calculating the tip at our last dinner out.

Me: "Nobody gives you tips. You have to earn them."

"Please???" *blink blink blink*

Me: "Nope, not gonna work. I'll tell you what. You go upstairs right now and clean your room, and I'll give you two bucks."

"TODAY?!? Today's Monday!" (chores day is Sunday, which due to circumstances got skipped)

"Yup. That's the rules. You want tips, you have to earn them."

And then my bluff got called. Olivia: *blink blink* "Okay!!!"

And then she thundered up the stairs. I thought that was that, then I realized I could hear a lot of work going on up there. Thing is, I wasn't sure I had any cash on me. Like a famous gambler once said, betting $25,000 on a deal is fine when it's the house's money. Pressure is betting $100 on a deal with your friends when you only have $50 in your pocket.

Fortunately I scrounged $2, and sure enough, she earned her tip.

Today's "ZOMG!!!!11! Teh wurld iz endin!!!" prophecy comes courtesy of (shakes big 8-ball) the planet Nibiru. Bonus: includes "but what about the CHILDREN!!!" angsting by the interviewed scientist.

Scientists have discovered tiny snails with the ability to survive a bird's digestive system and emerge intact and alive out the other side. The survival rate is still low, 15%, but represents a previously unknown method of snail distribution.

A scuba diver in Australia may have captured photos of the first known case of tool use... in fish. Banging things on a rock to make them do what you want may not constitute tool use to some people, but it represents a valuable technique for shade tree mechanics the world over.

Well, what do you see in this collection of signs and advertisements? I only see advertisements, I don't know what the rest of you are going on about. My story, sticking to it, you sickos...

Next time you walk on sand remember this!

Incredible!

Robert H. gets a no-prize plotter for bringing us this map of flickr picture locations and twitter tweet spots. I wonder why Taiwan is so flickr-rich but Twitter-poor.

Mike J. gets a no-prize he can always turn to, for the price of a dime anyway, for bringing us this "so nifty and obvious" tip for getting supermarket discounts when you've forgotten or don't have a store card. Thing is, though, Tommy Tutone's hit is nearly thirty years old now. I'm not sure how much longer this tip will work.

Congratulations to NASA & the STS-135 team for their successful final launch of Atlantis!

It seems the American flags planted on the Moon may not be faring very well. I say that calls for a historical preservation mission of the highest priority! Thing is, if SpaceX's plans pan out, we may actually be able to do that in the not-too-distant future.

Well, if Forbes is to be believed at any rate, the bailout of the financial system in 2008 may end up being profitable for us taxpayers. The authors of the article seem to be as surprised as anyone at the discovery. I still think a whole bunch more people should be going to jail than are currently going to jail.

And now, France's latest fighter puttin' the hurt on various aspects of (what I presume is) Kaddaffi's Libya. The editing is almost too clever for words, but the footage seems real enough. The ending is quite a bit over the top.

A small private aircraft spun in and crashed into a California hospital. Unfortunately, as with most plane crashes, not everyone walked away.

UK Scientists have unveiled the skull of one of the largest predators ever to swim the seas. The "Dorset pliosaur" represent a new species or even genus, and is one of the best preserved skulls of the type yet found.

A new genetic study has revealed extinct Irish bears are the maternal ancestors of all living polar bears. Article helpfully includes an "oh, hai!!!" picture of a bear.

Scientists have announced the first successful transplant of a fully synthetic organ. By using an innovative new technique to create a "scaffold" for adult stem cells, an international team were able to fashion a completely new windpipe for a patient who's original was damaged by inoperable cancer. This definitely sounds more complex than something like a bladder. Can even more complex regeneration be far behind?

A Chinese egg processing company is demanding an apology from CNN for broadcasting a slur against a traditional Chinese egg dish called "century eggs." Keep in mind real Chinese cuisine often involves stuff like scorpions and live eels.

In the, "I'm surprised it's taken this long" file we've found a full-sized and functional replica of the iconic Halo ATV, the Warthog. Something tells me if this one goes tumbling down a cliff it won't simply take rolling it right side up to get it going again. Especially since it's got a Datsun inside it.

By using sophisticated imaging techniques, scientists have resurrected what may be the world's oldest commercial sound recording. I've said it before, I'll say it again: no matter how obscure or obsolete the technology is, as long as the media survives it will always be accessible. Anyone who says differently either isn't paying attention or is literally selling something.

While I'm sure it's been quite obvious to people who regularly travel in the city, it's still nice for the rest of us to see such progress made at the World Trade Center site. A bit ironic that it comes from a UK news site, but hey, our bunch was busy with much more important stories, ya know?

The Mexicans mowing the lawn outside or remodeling a house next door may very well be legal. I especially like how the author is forced to note how changes in immigration law have reduced illegal immigration, but then just a few sentences later backtracks or obfuscates in an attempt to deny it. Getting them in here legally means they can be tracked and taxed. I'm fine with that.

The irony is, of course, very strong when a motorcyclist protesting a helmet law gets killed bashing his head against the ground. The motorcycle pros I know not only wear helmets, but a veritable armored suit of sweat-inducing gear. I guess that's why they're fine (so far) and this guy definitely is not. That said, as a libertarian I support this guy's right to splatter his noggin. They don't call them "donorcycles" for nothing!

A woman who thought her mother was buried fifteen years ago has been informed she is in fact alive and well in Florida. Bonus: they buried something they found in their back yard, and now don't know who's remains those actually are.

An exercise equipment company is introducing a new spin bike that will use Google Maps, and a motorized pivot, to more accurately simulate a trail ride. For all that, the price seems pretty reasonable ($1200).

An effort to firmly establish just how much money an Indian temple is (literally) sitting on has revealed a horde worth an estimated 22 billion dollars. The amount is expected to rise as other vaults under the (previously unguarded) temple are opened and inventoried.

Scientists are beginning to find evidence that the color of the lights we surround ourselves with and stare at can affect how well we sleep at night. The article is long on interesting implications we should all sit around in the dark, but short on emphasizing how preliminary the findings are. Still, it does suggest experiments anyone can do. Just shut the computer and smartphone off one hour before bed and leave them off.

Hang on. Someone go fetch smelling salts or something. Ellen just passed out at the very thought.

Details are emerging that one man, currently known only as "John," may have been primarily responsible for figuring out where bin Laden was hiding. Things like this are notoriously dim and subject to misrepresentation, but at least it's a start.

Oh, and don't forget, Obama got Osama. The economy? What economy? He got Osama! Vote for him!

Japanese surveyors have announced the discovery of huge off-shore deposits of rare earth minerals. While not as rare as their name would imply, these minerals are critical to the electronics industry and the current supply is almost completely dominated by China. Breaking that monopoly has been a goal of the Japanese government ever since China decided to rattle their cage with an embargo over a territory dispute last year. It remains to be seen if the resources can be exploited economically.

Scientists have announced a possible treatment for the remarkable, and cruel, genetic disease progeria. This disease, which causes children to develop the signs of rapid aging as toddlers and deadly age-related diseases as teenagers, is caused by exactly one genetic defect. Study and treatment of the disease holds the promise of wider applications in people who age normally.

Mark gets a no-prize with mad skillz for bringing us this video of an F-16 successfully making a dead-stick landing. Auxiliary power units are your friend!

Spoiler alert: the squirrel gets away just fine. I'm not so sure about the squirrel's tail. I think the aerodynamics of the car must've pressed him down just enough for him to be safe.

Mike J. gets a no-prize that can scale impressively in either direction for bringing us this nifty little way of putting the size of things in perspective. Still doesn't convey the scale of mess Olivia's room is in at the end of the week, s'all I'm sayin'...

Ellen, I have found your second job. The only roadblock I see to Ellen finally nabbing the "perps" who continually fail to clean up after their pets is getting the initial DNA sample. But that... that's probably just engineering.

Scientists have discovered a "monster" driving a cosmic beacon. What I grew up knowing as a quasar has now been spotted so far back in the universe's history it is surrounded by a significant amount of the gas which is thought to have constituted the universe before stars were born.

The UK roundabout is making inroads in the US. As noted in the article, the DC version is confusing and annoying, but the ones we've encountered elsewhere seem fine. And they do seem to be on the increase, even around here.

Update: Link fixed!

By using high-speed photography, scientists have figured out the secret behind Tibetan singing bowls. The discoveries may help shed light on other fluid systems, such as fuel injection. Article helpfully includes a picture of what an old Englishman can do when one of these plays.

And now, a man who claims he's innocent of rape because he thought the victim was dead. Yeah, I had to do a double-take too. There's a whole lot going on there, and none of it's good.