I love this letter from the reader page of the Economist:
SIR – Please do not ever mention George Bush. And Winston Churchill in the same sentence again, even if you must break all the rules of grammar to do so.
I love this letter from the reader page of the Economist:
SIR – Please do not ever mention George Bush. And Winston Churchill in the same sentence again, even if you must break all the rules of grammar to do so.
Listening to a podcast talking about Bonobo chimps (you know, the ones that do the sex all the time). The researcher working with them told a story about collecting fecal samples from 4 female chimps. She started with just one, which quickly got the idea and started bringing her a sample each day so that the researcher didn’t have to bother, um, ‘obtaining’ one. The researcher understandably thought this was great, and wondered if she could get the others to be so cooperative. This turned out to be no problem, as the first chimp taught the others what to do without the researcher having to do anything.
Funny enough, but four years later the researcher walked into a different zoo where the daughter of the original chimp now lived. The daughter, who had never had to supply a sample for the researcher or anyone at her current zoo, saw the researcher, wandered off, and came back with a sample.
I’m not a huge fan of taxes, but as a good liberal I acknowledge that I like many of the things that they buy, so I understand the need for them (though a few less bridges to nowhere might increase my enthusiam).
Now it appears that we’re going to get back some of that money, because of a legal case addressing the ‘luxury’ tax on long-distance phone calls. Now however much I dislike taxes, it is as nothing compared to my dislike of getting taxes back. A few years ago we got a tax rebate from the State, which meant that we effectively gave them $110, they took $10 for unnecessary admin, postage, etc., and sent back $100. This is, it would seem, the definition of stupid waste, a pointless recycling of cash.
But now not only do we get the money back less collection and reimbursement costs, but we actually have to fill in vile, loathsome forms to get it! Please, please keep the money. All of it. Lower some other tax, buy everyone in the government a latte, or even, heaven forbid, get the rest of the troops in Iraq the body armor they should have had for the last 3 years. But please don’t waste both my money and my time!
After more than 6 years in our house we’re finally getting air conditioning as a condition of the sale. That means we’ll get to enjoy blessed climate control for two whole weeks before moving out. Capricious Gaia has arranged for temperatures to hit 94F on Sunday (before we get the A/C installed), which will probably translate to 100+F in our bedroom. By the time it’s installed on Wednesday temps are forecast to drop to the comfortable mid-70s. Happily (kinda) that’s still enough for high 80s in the bedroom (hello vicar!) so it’s worth it I guess.
A new dinosaur from the pachycephalosaur family has been announced, named Dracorex hogwartia in honour of the Harry Potter books. This led to the following IM conversation:
Me: There’s a new dinosaur called Dracorex hogwartia
Wife: Interesting – has it always had that name?
Me: No, I think its mates called it Jeff