I Love The Intertubes

I couldn't be there, except in spirit. But I felt like I was there. New York City, a story on every block, a drama on every corner. Human family.

Bhangra in the East Village from Derek Beres on Vimeo.

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch

There's this thing called fusion. I dunno either, but people who do seem to think we MIGHT BE SAVED!

Successful early test shots suggest that the NIF will achieve the first ignition within the next few months, and that shot will be heard round the world.

The American Health Care System

Sometimes it helps to have a little perspective. Andrew Sullivan found this:

The truth is that the volume and complexity of the knowledge that we need to master has grown exponentially beyond our capacity as individuals. Worse, the fear is that the knowledge has grown beyond our capacity as a society. When we talk about the uncontrollable explosion in the costs of health care in America, for instance—about the reality that we in medicine are gradually bankrupting the country—we’re not talking about a problem rooted in economics. We’re talking about a problem rooted in scientific complexity.

Half a century ago, medicine was neither costly nor effective. Since then, however, science has combatted our ignorance. It has enumerated and identified, according to the international disease-classification system, more than 13,600 diagnoses—13,600 different ways our bodies can fail. And for each one we’ve discovered beneficial remedies—remedies that can reduce suffering, extend lives, and sometimes stop a disease altogether. But those remedies now include more than six thousand drugs and four thousand medical and surgical procedures. Our job in medicine is to make sure that all of this capability is deployed, town by town, in the right way at the right time, without harm or waste of resources, for every person alive. And we’re struggling. There is no industry in the world with 13,600 different service lines to deliver.

Would I be alive today without Spireva and Advair? Possibly not. Certainly not walking or breathing without assistance. They cost a lot.

Clean ALL The Things

Adult is hard.

Project Runway: Eleanor Of Aquitane Edition

Queen of France divorces King of France (how was that possible) to marry King of England, bear him eight children, create the culture of love. Oh, yeah, she fought in a Crusade, too.
Here's what we would have her wear.
Do you think she got dumpy in her old age? Wiki thinks not.

Why I Love The Intertubes

and the people who contribute to Metafilter. Because how would I ever know about this without them?
Delight for delight's sake. What is life for besides that?

'There Is No Resupply Vehicle'

Taplin has this ongoing project on what he calls the Interregnum, which is explained here.
But the last sentence is what got me.

...we are all passengers on spaceship earth, flying through the cosmos. Everything we have for the journey is already on board the ship (except sunlight for life generation). There is no resupply vehicle.

Laugh Out Loud

Obama gets BP to withhold dividends and put $20 billion — $20 BILLION — toward and independently administered damage fund, and the GOP calls it "Chicago-style shakedown."
That's it. That's all they can think of to say. Hallelujah! The GOP just fucked itself sooo big time.

Headline O' Teh Day

Scientists Study Ozzy Osourne's Blood To Find Out Why He's Still Alive

My Goodness, Indeed

The crazier woman who beat the crazy woman for the GOP Senate nomination in Nevada has inadvertently revealed the new crazyspeak for guns.

If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.

Is that crazy enough for ya?

Can They Do That?

Yes, they can.

Denmark and the Netherlands played to a scoreless tie in the first half of their World Cup matchup Monday, but a costly Danish error gave the Dutch the lead just after the second half began. Less than one minute into the new half and with the Netherlands threatening, left back Simon Poulsen attempted to clear the ball with a header, but instead he deflected it into teammate Daniel Agger's back, where it bounced into the Danish goal, giving a score to the Dutch team. The goal was credited to Simon Poulsen. Scroll down for video.

 Am I watching the WC? No.
The opening episode of True Blood was awesome. As the LA Times put it, you want werewolves? We got werewolves!

The Internet Is My Only News Source These Days

So stop me if you've heard this:

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

Or this:

Apparently, according to historian, Douglas Brinkley there is a huge federal gulf recovery act being planned by the Obama administration and by Congress that would be on the scale of Tennessee Valley Authority.

Dean's Blue Hole

Full screen advised.

Question O' Teh Day

Q: How long does it take a determined corgi dog to remove the duct tape used to repair the inevitable tear in her "indestructable" Zogoflex Frisbee?
A. About ten seconds.

Still, it lasted about six months, six times as long as other Frisbees. Add to annual budget, Frisbee: $14.50 X 2.