Watch it.

Apparently there are a whole collection of these ‘Literal Video Versions’ of famous music videos. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life.

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I suspect that C. Van Carter and I were brothers in an earlier life.

Joel Spolsky turns into a Grumpy Old Man.

When I was a kid, I learned to program on punched cards. If you made a mistake, you didn’t have any of these modern features like a backspace key to correct it. You threw away the card and started over.

Heck, in 1900, Latin and Greek were required subjects in college, not because they served any purpose, but because they were sort of considered an obvious requirement for educated people. In some sense my argument is no different that the argument made by the pro-Latin people (all four of them). “[Latin] trains your mind. Trains your memory. Unraveling a Latin sentence is an excellent exercise in thought, a real intellectual puzzle, and a good introduction to logical thinking,” writes Scott Barker. But I can’t find a single university that requires Latin any more. Are pointers and recursion the Latin and Greek of Computer Science?

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The author of ‘Talk Like A Pirate Day’ displays his genius once again.

It seems a bit strange to me that the media carefully warn about and label any content that involves sex, violence or strong language — but there’s no similar labelling system for, say, sloppy journalism and other questionable content.

I figured it was time to fix that, so I made some stickers.

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The pictures follow Sir Elton’s decision to perform at Limbaugh’s wedding to his fourth wife Kathryn Rogers, 33, in June, reportedly for a $1 million (£690,000) fee.

Ah, the dulcet sounds of blue-state heads exploding on both Left Coasts.

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Perfect wedding ring for engineers.

Per Freeberg.

Now that’s comedy.

Actually, this is a good test of how people react to unexpected changes in circumstances. All you have to do is look at the door you came out of and ask yourself how come a meeting room opens onto a port-a-pottie, and you have to realize that All Is Not As It Seems. But most people don’t think that quickly.

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In recent years, most research in the field of regenerative medicine has focused on the hope that stem cells, immature cells that give rise to any specific type of cell needed in the body, can somehow be trained to behave as normal adult cells do. Nature’s method of regeneration is quite different in that it starts with the adult cells at the site of a wound and converts the cells to a stemlike state in which they can grow and divide.

The Stanford team has taken a step toward mimicking the natural process. “What I like is that it’s built on what’s happening in nature,” Dr. Blau said. “We mammals lost this regenerative capacity in order to have better tumor suppression, but if we reawaken it in a careful way we could make use of it in a clinical setting.”

Freeberg has a gift.

A Frumifesto is a manifesto written down by a liberal jackass pretending to be a conservative, crying into his beer grape juice that “today’s” conservatives aren’t acting like “real” conservatives, which means like liberals.

And that about sums up everything you need to know about David Frum. Quite elegantly, too.

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A Darwin Award nomination waiting to happen. But it’s still pretty cool.

Watch it.

I’d love to know more about this process.

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Q:  Doctor,  I’ve heard that  cardiovascular exercise can prolong life.   Is this true?   A: Your heart  only good for so many beats, and that it…don’t waste on exercise.   Everything wear out eventually.  Speeding up heart not make you  live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster.   Want to live longer?  Take nap.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat
and  suffer fewer heart attacks than  us.

2. The  Mexicans eat a lot of fat
and  suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

3. The  Chinese drink very little red wine
and  suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

4. The Italians drink  a lot of red wine
and  suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

5. The  Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of  sausages and fats
and suffer fewer heart  attacks than us.

Read it.

The X2 will definitely need that kind of control, as the designers want it cruising at over 285 mph by the time they’re done. That’d be over 100 mph faster than, say, an Apache attack chopper, which tops out at around 175 mph.

This would be a very cool alternative to flying commercially. Put a chain gun on that puppy and I’m in.

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Like insurance for the very tickets that jack up your actual insurance, TF’ll cover the cost of nearly any violation you incur while driving (for a reasonable annual fee), so you can finally go too fast without getting all too furious.

I am not making this up.

Best. Commercial. Ever.

Makes up for that stupid chav lizard. Not totally, but a lot.

Watch it.

Read it.

OMG! We’re going to be overrun by self-reliant, hardworking pacifists!

Somehow I can’t bring myself to see that as a problem.

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Lawyers and Judges having a good time.

Mostly judges. Lawyers have jobs that they can be fired from.

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Marines. When you care enough to send the very best.

Watch it. Join in if you know the song. If you don’t know the song, you have been badly brought up.

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As the desert landscape unfolds ahead, the jet fighter pilot glances to his right. Spotting an enemy target, a sensor attached to his helmet relays the information straight back to his flight controls, allowing him to fire immediately without turning his aircraft.

U.S. defense company Raytheon Inc. is giving the first glimpse of its Scorpion helmet technology for F-16 and A-10 combat jets on a simulator at the Farnborough International Airshow after this week announcing a $12.6 million contract with the U.S. Air Force.

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We have the technology.

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Underneath West Virginia is a series of underground chambers.  They constitute an emergency shelter for the entire United States Congress, a hideout and bolt hole in case of nuclear war, hidden away beneath a benign-looking hotel.

The neat thing is that eventually they become outdated and are sold for cheap. Really cool if you can afford to buy one, not so much if not.

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Read it.

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And guess what? You can now bring that same frustration  enjoyment to Google Android. Available now via Market, the free, OS-wide keyboard alternative comes care of Access, who gained the rights to Graffiti following the Palm / Xerox settlement from way back in 2006. The future is the past as remembered by the present, or something like that — download away.

Read it.

How can you keep them down in Little Rock after they’ve seen Georgetown?

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Prevailing wisdom holds that elected officials work for the public good, while private individuals are motivated by their own personal goals—including selfish things like profits. But does this notion hold true in practice? Definitely not in Detroit. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that with the Motor City no longer financially capable of providing many basic services, private volunteers are filling in the gaps.

Holly Lisle, famous (well, to me, anyway) SFF author, is embarking on a new venture that deserves the support of all right-thinking people. Hit the link and do your bit.

Here’s the battlefield.

Read it.

At last — the game you’ve all been waiting for!

The biter bit.

AP is, of course, notorious for demanding payment for even thinking about one of their left-wing propaganda stories.

Read it. (Link is for reference. Complete speech below. Thanks to hogan at RedState.)

One of the most superb speeches in the English language.

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free– if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending–if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained–we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable–and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace– but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Read it.

Hm. I don’t see a pocket protector….

Watch it. Steve Martin is a believer? Who knew?

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So holds the Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago, by a 5–4 vote. The syllabus suggests that there were four votes (the five conservatives minus Justice Thomas) for the proposition that the Due Process Clause applies the Second Amendment to the states and their subdivisions; Justice Thomas concluded that it is the Privileges or Immunities Clause that does so.

I, of course, agree with Justice Thomas — as I do in most things.

Watch it.

Of course, an analogous parody dealing with a black or Hispanic ‘candidate’ would immediately trigger a firestorm in the lamestream media, with charges starting with racism and ending in possible hate-crime prosecutions. But it’s fun to dream.

And God help you if you did one about Muslims. And I mean that literally – your life would be on the line.

Just sayin’.

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What a difference 54 years makes. Of course, Schumpeter told us it would happen.

What if our government, in 1956, had been focused on saving the jobs of the people who manufactured the parts and materials in the IBM Hard Drive, rather than promoting policies which allowed and encouraged technological innovation?

You would have the current Democratic Party policies which focus on subsidizing non-economically viable union jobs in the public and private sectors for political reasons, while punishing wealth creation in the name of fairness.

Yeah, what if?

Read it.

Mr Suppes, 32, is part of a growing community of “fusioneers” – amateur science junkies who are building homemade fusion reactors, for fun and with an eye to being part of the solution to that problem.

He is the 38th independent amateur physicist in the world to achieve nuclear fusion from a homemade reactor, according to community site Fusor.net. Others on the list include a 15-year-old from Michigan and a doctoral student in Ohio.

Read it.

One example from the 1964 Radio Shack catalog is the “Moderately priced, excellent stereo system” on sale for $379.95 (pictured below). That might not seem too expensive, except when you consider that the average hourly wage in 1964 was only $2.50 (data here). When measured in what is ultimately most important—the “time cost” of goods—that 1964 stereo equipment was actually very, very expensive. At the average hourly wage of $2.50, the typical American in 1964 would have had to work 152 hours (full-time for almost an entire month) to earn enough income (ignoring taxes) to purchase that “moderately priced” stereo system.

To help understand how expensive the 1964 stereo system really was, consider that a typical American today would earn almost $3,000 working 152 hours at the current average hourly wage of $19. Now imagine what you could purchase with a $3,000 budget for today’s electronics products, and you’ll begin to appreciate how fortunate you are today compared to the consumers in previous decades like the 1960s.

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Needless to say, Texas is winning.

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Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

Stay with us here because this one isn’t obvious. Apple just launched its Find My iPhone app on the iTunes App Store — a service previously limited to MobileMe’s web interface. The App will find your iPhone or iPad or iPod touch should it be lost or stolen. So obviously, you don’t install it on your lost/stolen device, you install it on a different iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, yours or somebody else’s (try a Starbucks).

Uh, if I could afford two iPhones, I wouldn’t really sweat losing one of them all that much.

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Veteran Detroit techno producer Jeff Mills has solved the vinyl or CD conundrum with a new “hybrid” disc that plays in both. It’s a five-inch single with a CD stuck on the back.

Read it.

Forget Karate Kid. Watch Shanghai Noon. Just do it.

John Derbyshire, Patron Saint of Dyspepsia, gives us a treat.

I wasn’t aware of Larkin, though.

A misogynist, child-hater and stone atheist, Larkin was naturally a political conservative, who said that all his life he had identified liberals with “idleness, greed, and treason.”

My kind of guy.

Read it. Who knew Slate had a sense of humor?

Where White People shop.

Read it.

Hope springs eternal….

Check it out.

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An article in the Straits Times says the rich in China are increasingly fleeing home to avoid taxes, government crackdowns and rising popular resentment. Where are they going? Well, to the U.S. for one.