Hugh Laurie – psychic spoon bender

H/T Skepchic

The funniest attempt at fearmongering

As part of the Bush administration’s fearmongering over the failure of Congress to provide the telephone companies with immunity for breaking the law, the Heritage Foundation posted a clock that counted down the milliseconds until the FISA extension expired and we would all be killed by terrorists (after all, only immune telephone companies can protect us from terrorists).

And then the FISA extension expired.  And we were all killed.  So the Heritage Foundation changed to clock to one that documented the amount of time since we were all killed by terrorists (the “FISA EXTENTION CLOCK).  Eventually they decided to update it to the FISA EXTENSION CLOCK (I suppose they fell victim to the old “spellcheck doesn’t work on all caps).  But trapped, as we were, in a Groundhog Day-like state of being undead, the clock apparently resets once it hits 0 days, 23 hours 59 minutes, 59 seconds and 99 milliseconds.  (Funny, I would have thought that there were more than 100 milliseconds in a second…)

Although it’s been 1 day, 18 hours 56 minutes, 14 seconds and 83 milliseconds since the act expired, the Heritage Foundation’s clock is stuck at 0 days, 18 hours 56 minutes, 14 seconds and 83 milliseconds.  Why?  Groundhog Day. We’ve all been killed by terrorists.  We just didn’t realise it yet.

Now go and read what Kagro X had to say about it over at dKos – his take on it is actually funny.

Florida Science Standards update

Mike O’Risal at Hyphoid Logic has a detailed update on tomorrow’s vote on Florida’s science standards.  It’s definitely an interesting read.

Ed Brayton has word that a bad “compromise” might be in the cards – preface any mention of “evolution” with “theory of”.

Benefits of Science Blogging

Apparently the benefits of science blogging are substantially greater than I had ever imagined: it serves a foil against speeding tickets, accusations of being bad in bed, priests and thesis advisers!  (I wish I had known that when I was a grad student.)

H/T PZ Myers and Chris Rowan.