"Of the world's six largest economies, three currently have budget and public debt positions that if allowed to fester will push those nations into bankruptcy (the seventh largest, Italy, also has a budget and debt position that is highly vulnerable, but its problems appear chronic rather than acute). Given the proclivities of modern politicians for delaying pain and avoiding problems, it is likely that festering is just what those positions will do. So which major country, the United States, Japan or Britain, will default first on its foreign debt?"
- Morton Fox
from Bookmarklet
Should the UK default, you'll find the anger simmering away at our system of government will likely explode into open fighting. However, I'd say the US finances were in far worse shape than ours. Your debt is much, much bigger since a good chunk is hidden not only with fanny mae and freddie mac, but within the military. Huge chunks of the mineral and resource rich lands have been sold...
more...
- alphaxion
not to mention how the US manufacturing base has been eroded away too.
- alphaxion
"Tired of your lunch being stolen by your roommates and co-workers? Instead of hiding your snacks, get serious about security with the fridge locker. Essentially, it's a polyurethane cage full of goodies that you store in the fridge and secure with a combination lock (included). Of course, there's nothing preventing thieves from stealing the entire cage and working on it later with a hacksaw, but that's a lot of trouble to go through for a can of Beefaroni and a bottle of Mtn Dew. [Perpetual Kid via RGS via OhGizmo]"
- CW™
from Bookmarklet
Can I just take the entire cage and saw it open? ETA: oops, clearly I didn't read far enough
- Baroness Von Cut-A-Bitch
If you want to waste all that energy on some Diet Coke and a Spam Sandwich I say go for it.
- CW™
from IM
""The most widely accepted cosmological theories predict that matter also clumps on a larger scale in the so-called 'cosmic web,' in which galaxies, embedded in filaments stretching between voids, create a gigantic wispy structure," Tanaka said. These filaments are millions of light-years long and constitute the skeleton of the universe: Galaxies gather around them, and immense galaxy clusters form at their intersections, lurking like giant spiders waiting for more matter to digest."
- Sean McBride
from Bookmarklet
"The filament is located about 6.7 billion light-years away from us and extends over at least 60 million light-years. The newly uncovered structure does probably extend farther, beyond the field probed by the team, and hence future observations have already been planned to obtain a definite measurement of its size."
- Sean McBride
i hope that my usual, "whoa, that's pretty" came through in the above eek. it's just, you know, a spider. not a fan of spiders. :D
- pea ♥ fierce as a woozle
yes. very creepy and very cool. also: i envy your mad lampworking skillz.
- tiffany
Oh yes, I totally understood your eek. You should be warned there will be another photo as soon as I put it on a necklace. And Tiffany, thanks and I hope you loose the sneezy moniker soon :D
- Shannon
"Scientists with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) have said in a new report that a global ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing is justified. ICCAT meets in November to decide if they will follow their scientist's recommendations. ICCAT scientists estimated that the Atlantic bluefin tuna's spawning biomass is less than 15 percent of its original stock before industrial fishing. The decline is steep enough for the tuna to fall under Appendix 1 of Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). The scientists also stated that a total suspension of fishing is the only way for the species to no longer meet Appendix 1 of CITES in ten years time."
- John (a.k.a. dendroica)
from Bookmarklet
There are several fish that badly need protection. Orange Roughy is one that really bugs me. I guess they have really long lifespans (longer than some humans, 70-80 years) and it takes them years to reach a desirable size. I just wonder how it can really be enforced. Overfishing is so stupid.
- Kamilah Gill
I don't know how well restrictions or bans can be enforced. It requires a lot of cooperation among countries with fishing industries, and it only takes one or two holdouts to make the restrictions useless.
- John (a.k.a. dendroica)
if they got me on camera, they will edit me out of that footage post-haste. i was not in a great mood last night. p.s. robert took this picture right before they came back on to redo a song. He was not supposed to!
- edythe
"What would life be like under the "Internet Freedom Act?" Well, one Reddit user created an image that depicts the "worst case scenario." John Biggs at crunchgear says, "this sort of bundling is a favorite pastime of most stream providers. For years voicemail was a privilege, not a right, and there are still grannies out there renting phones from the phone company. While month-to-month the costs might not seem like much, this sort of thing adds up to delicious profit." Over at Gizmodo, John Herman adds:"
- Brad Williamson
from Bookmarklet
is that article really claiming John McCain invented the Blackberry?
- alphaxion
"covering tools that remove click tracking and block HTTP referral sniffing on Yahoo, Bing, and Google, offering up some clever tricks to pull off with AdBlock Plus and privacy lessons along the way"
- LogEx
from Bookmarklet
I just use Ghostery to stay hidden from any media trackers. You can't believe how many there are.
- Maxamad
I use Ghostery too, though its default block list is too aggressive (it blocks several social networks and discussion systems). I also don't like having protection limited to Firefox only, so use my hosts file as the main place to address objectionable hosts.
- LogEx
What do you mean it blocks social networks and discussion systems? No site is broken for me/they all seem to work here
- Maxamad
In the (web bugs) Blocking tab of Options, FriendFeed, Discus, etc. are listed. Maybe they just need better descriptions in the block list (some expression showing what aspects of a domain are blocked. I don't think it's worth much to block tracking on sites you use by logging in anyway.
- LogEx
Flash cookies are still the most insidious since they are cross-browser (any app can potentially read that directory) and very opaque in what they are doing. For that I use the BetterPrivacy Firefox add-on to regularly clear all Flash cookies.
- LogEx
@LogEx: What percentage of folks do you think even know about Flash cookies? They are insidious little beasts that essentially dodge nearly all regular cookie countermeasures.
- AJ Kohn
AJ, exactly, not many at all. And they're tough to manage for the layperson even if he has a basic awareness of them.
- LogEx
@LogEx: Yeah ... I worked for a company that used them (for good mind you) but it was eye opening to see how they flew under the radar. The prevalence of Flash makes it far more likely that someone will use them for evil rather than good.
- AJ Kohn
I managed to track down a whole load of episodes of both Hey Dude and Salute Your Shorts :D Goes next to my complete collection of "Are you afraid of the dark" episodes too!
- alphaxion
Aw, I used to LOVE Hey Dude. I don't think I ever watched Salute Your Shorts, but I should try to find some now. Isn't Blake Sennett from Rilo Kiley on there?
- Jandy, ConcertMaven of FF
"Donkey Lips just gave that cop half the peace sign"
- Joe Pierce
I remember both (Hey Dude more vaguely), and, as far as I can remember, the title of this post is correct.
- Kamilah Gill
Salute Your Shorts trounces Hey Dude! That used to be my show back in the day! That and Are You Afraid of the Dark. So, so, SO classic.
- Mike Cavaliere
In defense of Hey Dude, I will just say: HORSES. DUDE RANCH. HORSES. SOUTHWEST. AND ALSO, HORSES.
- Jandy, ConcertMaven of FF
My kid are thoroughly enjoying this movie! Though if I have to endure another "He sounds like Yoda!" "No, he sounds like Grover!" fight, I will ban all Jim Henson products from my house. Stupid Frank Oz.
- Anika
there's supposed to be a sequal to this coming
- alphaxion
20-someodd years later, they're making a sequel? SHOOT ME!
- Anika
Seriously people... Spidra rocks my socks off... Starting around 8pm Pacific Time on Friday night she is streaming her gig at http://www.ustream.tv/channel... Do yourself a musical favor................. BE THERE OR KINDLY BE SQUARE...
Thank you for being my pimp...er, promoting my gig, Johnny! Musicians I'm privileged to be backed by on this gig are Tony Marcus [ TonyMarcus.com ], Steven Strauss [ ukebox.com ], Billy Wilson, & Jeff Sanford [ cartoonjazzorchestra.com ]. They're going to swing it.
- Spidra Webster
I want you to do well... cause I want you to make some more sweet noises to fill my ear holes... You're stuff is like a drug, and right up my alley (that's what she said)
- Johnny Worthington