Spring is in the air. This morning my fish (comets, a type of goldfish) were swimming around like crazy, chasing each other, jumping up into the gravel of some potted plants, and, well, uh, started to get, um, “intimate.” Not exactly private space for such intimacy, but I guess certain biological imperatives override concerns for […]

This is depressing. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report concludes that human activity is “irreversibly” destroying crucial life support systems on our planet, noting especially water quality problems, “dead zones” along coasts, and diminishing fisheries. Isn’t water the source of life? Aren’t we 80% water? And shouldn’t we be protecting it? First fish, then humans. […]

File under “Only in Japan.” There is a wide variety of bizarro chewing gums in Japan, but this one takes the cake. According to this article, Bust-up Gum apparently contains phytoestrogens (estrogen mimics) derived from a species of plant called Pueraria mirifica. Phytoestrogens are a hot topic nowadays to manage hot flashes in post-menopausal […]

I often wonder about the origin and context of phrases we sometimes use without giving much thought to. Take, for example, the phrase “when the shit hits the fan.” What’s that all about? In what ways can shit hit a fan? And what kind of fan? I’m assuming we’re not talking about a “fan” in […]

We’re experiencing a healthy set of thunderstorms tonight–the first in a while. It’s approaching that season. April and May can bring tornados in the area. Now I wish Chris had finished the backfill and drainage on the wall last week when he had the opportunity under good weather. After some clearing over the next day […]

Egads. Hot off the AP Wire: Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. just bought Inamed Corp. for $2.8 billion. Why is this an “egads”? Inamed makes breast implants, so, according to this article, “it would create a one-stop shop for dermatologists and plastic surgeons.” This article notes that “the deal is pegged on the fast-growing vanity market, fueled […]

I nabbed this item from Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire, which I read regularly, so I claim no credit. It’s about Princeton professor Harry Frankfurt’s book On Bullshit, which I read about a while back:

“Bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change […]

A University of Illinois at Chicago researcher, S. Jay Olshansky, has concluded in a study that obese people will save Social Security by dying younger. Not that W’s lameass plan to “reform” Social Security needs further arguments against it, but this is good news for those who oppose W’s plan and obese people.