Martial Law Plans Revealed

I think it’s pretty scary how close this Onion clip is to reality.

Top 25 Censored Stories of the Year

Project Censored has released their top 25 censored stories of the year. Usually I buy the paperback copy, but things are tight right now so I’m glad that they always post the stories online for all to read. Read the Top 25 for the year here. Past issues are also available online here.

Argentina: Where Sometimes, One is Greater than Two

I just read an interesting article today by Joe Keohane on Slate.com titled, Yes, We Have No Monedas!: Inside the world’s most annoying economic crisis. In it he explains how a coin shortage in Argentina has caused the 1-peso coin to be valued by merchants, and people in general, much more than the 2-peso note. Because of this, vendors are more hesitant to accept larger bills such as 20s and 100s as they are to accept 5s and 10s. It’s a strange situation and nobody seems to know exactly why, but as he explains, everyone seems to have a theory.

When reporting on a bird infestation…

Don’t look up.

This was posted to YouTube back in February, but it’s just too funny to not mention.

Throw-Away Society

I know it’s not Earth Day, but I’ve been rereading E.O. Wilson’s The Future of Life recently and just wanted to share a few scary statistics:

• Every three months Americans throw away enogh aluminum to rebuild the country’s entire commercial airline fleet.
• Every year Americans throw away enough disposible diapers that when linked end-to-end would stretch to the moon and back seven times.
• If every citizen of planet earth consumed as much as the average American, we would need four more planet earths to sustain ourselves.

But just so this post isn’t all gloom and doom, here’s an interesting fact about recycling:

The first instance of metal recycling in the USA occurred in 1776 when patriots toppled a statue of King George the III in NYC. The metal was melted down and made into over 42,000 bullets.

Sitting in her car, On a dark and stormy night

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Fun, Novelty Drivers License

My girlfriend’s brother made a novelty ID from a large piece of posterboard back when the Iowa drivers license actually looked like this. Throw a red or blue blanket in the background and get your own novelty drivers license.

My girlfriend gets her DL (For Novelty Purposes Only)

Cloud Pictures

A small collection of cloud photos I’ve taken in the last couple months.

Iowa City, IA 8/29/08

Iowa City, IA 8/29/08

Iowa City, IA 8/29/08

Iowa City, IA 8/29/08

Lake Otukamamoan, Ontario, Canada 7/24/08

Somewhere along Highway 151, Iowa 9/7/08

Green Beer

I recently started training as a bartender at a little bar that opens up at 7am for all the 3rd shifters and ambitious alcoholics. Yesterday I helped open the bar, and being the day after St. Patick’s Day, we didn’t get too many customers. But we did have one regular stop in who told me a little story about his St. Patrick’s Day 14 years ago.

He was drinking green beer all day at a bar in Savannah, Georgia when he decided it was time to go. He hopped on his bicycle (non-motorized) and started toward his apartment. After traveling only a few blocks away from the bar he was hit by a drunk driver. He was rushed to a hospital and operated on. The doctors had to cut open his chest for surgery.

When he came to he was in the recovery room. A nurse came in and told him that he had given all the surgeons and nurses quite a scare. She explained to him that when the doctors cut him open they found that all of his organs were dyed green. Something they had never seen before.

Today’s Theme Song

Todd Snider – Lookin’ For A Job