...or substitute Hitler...

Headline makes me think there is special kind of d-12 for musicians.

Padma Lakshmi was wearing something like this on "Top Chef" last night. It looked pretty good, on her. Although anything would....

It's likely that a significant percentage of that 34% have an old gun that was given to them from a deceased relative or something, never shoot it, and don't even have ammo for it. Or they got it when they were going to be a hunter 20 years ago, went once, and discovered what a pain in the ass it is to actually hunt and put it away in the closet. These are the same people who would probably not blink twice, (or perhaps only twice) were their gun to become illegal and were asked to turn it in, or wouldn't care if it became increasingly difficult to get ammo, or whatever method ends up (note the implication there...) being the way they deal with making guns a little more difficult to get in this country.

What I'm saying is that it's not the case that 34% of Americans are loony gun nuts who go bezerk when their constitutional right to participate in a militia is threatened.

As to the connection between owning a gun and being happy, my guess is that there is some poor statistical correlation at work. Something like an increase in the sale of ice cream leading to more deaths by drowning.

(they only SEEM related because they are both caused by hot weather...)

Thus the comment by #3 about how expensive they are could play a factor, since guns are expensive, people with guns probably have more money, and yes Virginia, there is an actual statistical correlation between having more money and being happy. I read it a couple days ago in the NYTimes. Thus it is a fact.

Happy Hunting!

Jim

Seriously - does anyone know if it is legal to actually buy those current tax stamps for weed, etc?

I have often thought about calling to ask but don't need the hassles if they trace it back or something.

No, I don't NEED one, but the whole idea of making a law that you can't follow (thus making something "doubly illegal") really rubs me the wrong way. Heaven forbid you sell your illegal weed without a tax stamp AND within 5000 feet of a school (ie: pretty much everywhere in any city) - that's triply illegal.

Misidentified photo -

They're all watching an atom bomb explode.

No - gadgets like this will just force the goons to confiscate our glasses.

The best part about this story is the NY Times headline:

"Possible Nazi Theme of Grand Prix Boss’s Orgy Draws Calls to Quit"

How does anyone see that headline and NOT click it?

It's a virtual spit take generator.

re: #9, 12, 13, 18 -

lol out loud!

Charles Schulz had a completely different worldview - now that would be a fascinating difference to explore.

You could emulate "Excalibur" and hang all your kids Rescue Heroes from a dead tree.

For added realism, you could add a bird pecking their eyes out...

They're kind of like modern-day knights, really.

Jim

Her eyes and head move to follow the cursor - so if you wiggle it really fast, the illusion is broken because she moves too fast. But that could be "fixed" I suppose.

But yes - "whoa!" about sums it up.

That was priceless. "...and 24 plates of chips" was the clincher.

That was priceless.

There is an article on this in the latest Scientific American (the one with "Plants from Outer Space" on the cover) which also has a man who regrew his fingertip. It doesn't mention pig bladders, but instead focuses on something that salamanders have that can make entire limbs grow back.

It is an interesting article, and appears to suggest that the ability for us to re-grow limbs is possible and perhaps likely in the not too distant future.

If the transporter effect bead curtain were available for sale (with Kirk and/or Spock) at a reasonable price, I would buy one.

The original sounds like it took several weeks to construct....

Very, very cool.

The tattoos actually serve as a really good warning to other people about the likelihood that the person possesses adequate judgment, rationality, etc.

When I was younger, it seemed to me like tattoos were a signal that the person had really poor judgment.

Now that they are so much more popular, my opinion has changed a little. I still think they are a bad idea. Given the studies about people not possessing their full capacities until their early 20's, perhaps we should change the age when people can permanently alter their appearance from 18 to 21?

I think it's a reasonable question.

KHONSU wrote:

"You just can't have that kind of doublethink--either you believe that the Bible is dead wrong about slavery, gays, women's lib, et al. or it's absolutely right."

Yeah, I agree - it is dead wrong about those things. However, for the most part, Jesus was on the "right" side of these issues. Modern biblical scholars can identify what he probably said and lots of other stuff that was said in his name, or added by others, etc., and the latter is the stuff that makes lots of rules, oppression, etc. BTW - this drives lots of people crazy but it's the truth. I spent two years of my life going to seminary to try and figure this out.

My main point - If you look at the *gist* of his message, it is in line with what I would guess about 95% of the people who read Boing Boing think.

The problem is that organized religion doesn't really do *gist* very well.

I don't want to preach, just share the message that Jesus wanted us to love other people unconditionally, and that's not a bad thing.

Also, you don't have to believe in magic to be a Christian. I don't. For that matter, I don't really believe in God, but still consider myself a Christian.

Now I suppose I have made someone else sick...

These comments are really interesting in what they reveal about Boing Boing readership. Or at least the small percentage that bother to comment.

I could have guessed that people would take issue with #1 and #2. I am genuinely surprised at the comments regarding 3-7. In line with that percentage, I think religion on the whole is a positive force in the world. The Catholic church is to be applauded for making the attempt to update their list.

Yet one more revelation to add to the bunch.

Jim

My guess is it was a dog, or some kind of never before seen cryptozoological mystery.

One of the two.

You have two choices. Sign this meaningless piece of paper (because of course, if you were a subversive traitor intent on destroying all that is good about the State of Oklahoma or USA or whatever, you would NEVER sign it) and have no repercussions, or don't sign it and not get the job.

The sane answer is to sign it incorrectly. In other words, misspell your name, or put an incorrect middle initial, or something like that. Don't draw attention to it, just do it wrong. Then if there is some ridiculous repercussion later, you're safe. It's obviously NOT your signature. It's not your fault they didn't check it.

This is how I deal with it.

There was an episode of "House" where a guy got hit with one of these blades. Now that I think about it, the scale was all off, because the blade that hit him wasn't a great deal bigger than he was, and in reality these blades are longer than a semi-truck and about as big.

You don't get a sense of the size of these things until you drive past a *piece* of one and start to assemble them in your mind...

In reality, if you got hit by one of these pieces, you would be in pieces, and I demand that my entertainment be nothing if not realistic!

Jim

I think it would be interesting to see how many people have ever changed their minds about gun control and over what period of time. I used to be a "rabid" defender of the 2nd amendment, but have mellowed. My rationale is that it is not guns on the hand of people that makes a government tremble, it is a coherently organized group of people acting in concert which makes them worry. If you're in a position where you need a gun to keep you safe from the government, you have already lost. They will always have more and bigger guns, as well as helicopters, jets, - whatever they need.

My point is that if you have a gun in your house, you are incredibly more likely to get mad or drunk and kill someone in your family, (or have someone in your family kill you in similar fashion) than you are going to protect your family from some intruder.

I also worry about my kids going to one of their friend's house and finding a gun. They see people get shot on TV a million times, and most of the time only the bad guys get hurt. They see people get shot and live. That scares me - that they or one of their friends is going to be playing around and shoot them. Ooops!

Go to the video store and look at the rack of dramas. A huge percentage have someone holding a gun. It's so prevalent, you don't even notice it until you really think about it. It's like a totem or something that people carry around to show that they mean business - at least in the movies.

No solution. I just know how I will vote if it ever comes to that. For now I vote with my actions by not owning a gun (well, now that I think about it, actually I have a nice antique shotgun - it's an heirloom thing, so I guess I'm a hypocrite!!! (But no shells, and I've been told that if you put regular shells in it, it will explode!)) and keeping one out of my house. There are lots of nerf guns here, though. If worse comes to worse we will MacGuyver ourselves some needle darts or make some nasty nail guns or something.

I guess what I'm saying is, mellow out.

Jim

Of course, having a camera crew trailing you won't affect the way people treat you at all, will it?

Did the bug that's being buggered puke or something?

We could alleviate the oil problem to some degree by shifting to Mobil 1 synthetic oil. I'm not sure just what it's made from, but since it's synthetic, maybe they make it from dryer lint and left-over beer and soda from recycled aluminum cans.

The oversized second hand and the thin elongated spring the clock is mounted on makes it look like it might wiggle around all the time. That could be kind of cool. Or it could be aggravating.

I'm also not sure if that would have an effect on how well it keeps time. I suppose it's possible the added weight the motor has to lift going from 30-60 would be compensated by restraining it when it goes from 0-30. But maybe not.

No, I'm sure it's not a joke. You can see that they have rigged up floats and stuff so only the cord is in the water, not the sockets. They shouldn't have any problems with just the cord - it's waterproof. Now if anyone moves, or there is a slight breeze, well then that could change things considerably.

However, I'm sure they have bypassed the fusebox or taped the breaker open so it won't trip if the sockets get wet.

Regarding the heavy metalists worried about noobs, I was STUNNED when the Dead Kennedys turned up halfway through my son's Guitar Hero III. They have "blurred" or somehow censored some of the words, but the idea that I got my kid to listen and sing/play to it of his own volition is amazing.

Totally off topic, but mentioned in the article. Got DS + games for my kids from Santa, ordered NYTimes crossword "game" also for myself. Thanks to the timing feature, it would be possible to document that I have "played" probably 12+ hours in the last two days, much to the dismay of my kids, who are placated only in the fact that we also got a Wii.

It rocks! If you are into crosswords, you must get a DS with this game. The only problem is that I will eventually run out of puzzles. I am so hoping this becomes a "franchise" so there will be more in the future.

"I am slightly, and only slightly, more appalled by the Alleged Celebrity Atheist slide show linked at the bottom of the page."

What is the definition of "Atheist"?

I'm not trying to be clever, I'm genuinely curious how that list was compiled.

And I will go so far as to say that I am MORE appalled that a list of "alleged atheists" is newsworthy.

Yes, it really works. And it doesn't stain the doll. My (then) 2 year old attacked my daughter's pricey "American Girl" doll. After a web search I came across this remedy, and figured it couldn't hurt. It worked like a charm!

I wonder who thought it up in the first place?

"* Digitally sign the pattern to guarantee original authenticity"

That kind of sounds like some form of DRM to me...

If so, wouldn't this be rather forbidden on "the Boing Boing"?

Jim

Echoing Mojo - - - my enjoyment of that video was only increased by the anticipation I was feeling that at the special moment, the knife would slash down and slice that watermelon.

I suppose that says something about me. But I am comforted knowing that I am not alone...

Notice the things on the ground which are only 1 foot tall or so. Apparently the shopkeepers know EXACTLY where to put them and how high they can be so they can remain where they are without the train hitting them. I'm sure there is a learning curve that is very unforgiving...

No, you are missing the point. I have read up on this. It's a "special" inkjet printer that will handle big sheets of paper. Once the printer is finished with its "limited" run and turned off, the digital file of the image is probably gone. In order for more copies to be made, an additional digital file must be downloaded or uploaded to the printer. From what my senator has told me, that's a pretty complicated process that involves tubes.

Just saying.

On a lot of animation they have these unidimensional "cartoon characters" move around on a very nice, elaborate background. I suppose since the background stays still, they only have to draw it once and can spend some actual time on it.

Just thought it was apropos.

Jim

Since the press officer has stated that what happened to them is against policy, I'm pretty sure the bottom line is that it didn't happen.

Ridiculous. Boxing is one step removed from Gladiator. Instead of actually killing the other guy, you just try to inflict enough damage so he (or she) can't get up again, sometimes actually killing them in the process. Look what it did to Ali - one of the most articulate and entertaining men in sport. "Sweet science" my ass.

His heart is in the right place, but unfortunately, mice don't live in the wild. They will just go right back into your house or your neighbor's house or whatever. They have evolved in harmony with humans, so "wild" mice are completely different than the ones in your house. If you do manage to let them go in the wild far away from civilization, they will most likely be eaten.

On a different note, the idea of throwing a live mouse away in the trash just bugged me so much that I had to put them into a bag and smash them with a bottle or something. That was quite unsettling in and of itself, so I quit using glue traps after one experience. The old-fashioned ones that snap their necks are really the best.