Pascal's Wager for the Paranoid Prankster

Falling Water

A tour of one of Pennsylvania's most beautiful homes.

In defense of the "fat tax"

New York is proposing an 18% tax on sugary drinks and non-diet soda to combat the trends of increasing obesity among children and adults as well as the shift from drinking milk, water, and fruit juices towards sugary drinks like soda. According to recent polls, the public opposes the tax, but State Health Commissioner Richard Daines has created a video to talk about the shift and explain why he supports the tax.

Is this just another way the government is becoming a nanny state and trampling on personal freedoms or is it important legislation that addresses a public health issue that costs billions every year?

How does this compare with the Pennsylvania public smoking ban?

Discuss.

'The upside of downward mobility'

An insightful look into the current status of the American economy and the American Dream. Matt Miller assesses the situation and what that might mean in the short-term and long-term for the USA and challenges the way we look at the roles and responsibilities of the individual and the government. He cites three problems with the way we think and how we can change.

"The U.S. now offers its citizens a smaller chance of rising from their economic status at birth than do France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Germany."

Bill O'Reilly revisited

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Shamelessly taken from Gunn'y

"Please excuse me for being late to class, I was busy preventing heart disease"

New research has shown that hours spent sleeping has a direct correlation to risk for coronary artery disease. For each additional hour of sleep, the risk of calcification of the coronary arteries decreased by 33 percent -- an outcome equal to reducing blood pressure by 16 point elevations. This held true even when confounding factors, such as age, race, cholesterol level, and other possible risk factors were controlled. So, the next time you get in trouble for oversleeping, I'd say that this is a pretty good excuse.

American suburbia abroad

As the domestic real estate market slumps, American architects and urban planners are being hired overseas to create American-style suburbs in parts of Asia and countries like Egypt and Azerbaijan. Some places it's hard to tell you aren't in Southern California. They have tree-lined streets, sidewalks, parks, and shops. The American Dream has been exported.

Why?

Wouldn't Usonai, Prairie School, and Organic Architecture have been nicer exports?

XKCD: Google Trends

"Obama has been writing Lincoln/Obama erotic fan fiction on his secret live journal. Excerpt: Lincoln lay back on the bed, nude save for his trademark stovepipe hat. 'Tell me,' he purred seductively, as he and Obama formed a more perfect union. 'When you come, is it 10% ethanol?'"

RNC candidate distributes "Barack the Magic Negro"

RNC Candidate Chip Saltsman distributed a 41-track CD full of satirical songs including "Barack the Magic Negro," which was featured on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. The song was written by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, played to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon" and sung in Shanklin's impression of Al Sharpton. The song was first played on Limbaugh's show in March 2007.

From the song:

“See, real black men, like Snoop Dog, or me, or Farrakhan, have talked the talk, and walked the walk, not come in late and won”

Warning: beware of... snow globes?

Hallmark stores have recently recalled thousands of over-sized snow globes because they have received several reports of the 17" tall globe acting as a magnifying glass and igniting things around the globe. Wow. I can't decide if this is really freaky or really awesome. I'm going to go with awesome.

Ho Ho (h)Obama

Shoe resistance inspires art

Now you too can get shoes worthy of chucking at a President

The Baydan Model 271 was the shoe that an Iraqi journalist threw at President Bush last week, and now, the Istanbul based company has decided to rename the shoe "the Bush shoe" and demand is off the charts.

In this time of great international economic strife, at least this Turkish company has been able to tap into the Zeitgeist and instigate demand. In fact, Baydan has hired one hundred new staff members to cope with a sudden surge in novelty demand.

In other news, the brother of the shoe lobber is angry he says that Baydan and others are trying to capitalize on the situation and that his brother's shoes were in fact made in Iraq.

Meh.

Fill your tank . . . at Burger King

Forbes investigative journalism on the prowl:

For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.

Love handles can power a car? Frighteningly, yes. Fat--whether animal or vegetable--contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel.

Speed camera pwnage

Students at one Maryland high school have been printing up fake license plates with numbers of teachers or peers that they have it out for, attaching said "plate" to their car, and then speeding through camera traps. The mark gets a $40 fine in the mail.

The practice has brought into public discourse the problems of the photo system and its accuracy. Looks like high school students have once again found a way to pwn the system. Here's to creativity, and license plate fonts for the fifty nifty United States.

Bristol Palin's mother-in-law-to-be arrested

Bristol Palin's baby dady's momma was recently arrested on drug charges. The warrant resulted from an "undercover investigation" that "had been going on for a while."

Apparently you can throw a stone in Alaska and hit a meth lab.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's office "won't have any comment" as "this is not a state government matter."

Photo borrowed without intent to return from CNN.

XKCD: 11th Grade

"And the ten minutes striking up a conversation with that strange kid in homeroom sometimes matters more than every other part of high school combined."

Well that would certainly explain the headache...

Benign brain tumors are fairly common in newborns. Usually it requires surgery in the first few days of life, and is actually fairly simple- open up, remove tumor, close up. In newborns, most tumors are made up of undifferentiated, disorganized stem cells. In the case of this child, however, the cells seemed to be quite organized. Organized into a foot. That's right, this baby had a foot in it's brain. Doctor's have not yet confirmed whether this foot is an extremely rare, highly differentiated stem cell tumor, or if it belonged to the baby's twin who just did not fully develop and was engulfed (another very rare incidence) by the fully developed baby. Either way, I would have liked to see the face of the neurosurgeon who opened up the brain when a foot popped out. For those of you who are concerned, the child is recovering well from his foot-ectomy.

Fotógrafos

Because only 5 posts are tagged with "Art."

A little photography submitted for your perusal.

Of police and pot brownies

A cop stole confiscated marijuana and cooked brownies with his wife. Shortly thereafter they believed they were overdosing and so called 911. Neither the cop nor his wife were charged, but the police department was gracious enough to allow him to resign.

Cop Eats Pot Brownies, Freaks Out, and calls 911