Did You Like "Pinky and the Brain"?

Then you might...or might not...want to see this video, done with Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, where the Brain finally snaps.

Narf. Poit.


[WARNING: NOT FOR KIDDIES.]

What's As Nerdy As Climate Change?

The Governor

Nothing. Especially climate change in Florida, whose governor, Rick Scott, has publicly tried to disclaim any knowledge of climate science - and therefore any responsibility for climate-change policy.

I'd like to point to the suicidal recklessness here. The two BIGGEST, MOST IMMEDIATE, MOST LIKELY effects of global warming are increased storm activity and sea level rise resulting in coastal flooding. Most of Florida is nothing BUT coast, and if a hurricane lands anywhere in the US, it hits Florida first. A governor from Utah might shine on questions of climate policy - but for a Florida governor to do so reflects a level of meat-headed thinking that's exceptional.

What his state will look like

So a trio of Florida climatologists offered to sit down with Governor Doofus - sorry, Governor Scott, slip of the key there - and explain the science, why it leads where it leads, and just how strong the evidence is.

Scott gave them 30 minutes.
They took it.

Mind the Adjectives

Every now and then you read a "think piece" that goes right down the rabbit hole. I ran across this op-ed on Politico, saying that Mitt Romney might still have a presidential shot in 2016. The guy who wrote it was a Romney staffer, so my quest for context could have ended right there. But no, I had to read it. It started off by comparing Romney to Richard Nixon...and that's when things got really crazy.

You see, I thought Emil Henry had written the piece because he was a Romney loyalist. Turns out that what he is, is a Nixon loyalist. If you want a real index of just how far the GOP has wandered, how deep the Mad Cow Disease has eaten into the party's brain, this is it. Nixon isn't a vicious ratfucker who clawed his way to power and almost destroyed this nation's core institutions; he is a "mighty warrior" who is "tenacious" and "warm, charming...even gentle."

Now let me be perfectly clear...Nixon had some impressive achievements (ending Vietnam, establishing the EPA, rapprochement with China), but he was also, most importantly, an amoral criminal. A traitor, too: In 1968, while a private citizen, he tried to persuade the South Vietnamese government to abandon President Lyndon Johnson's ceasefire negotiations with the North in order to boost his own chances as a presidential candidate.

If GOP loyalists actually believe Nixon was a good president, there's nothing left to discuss.

Ah, the Discordians!

I'd forgotten about them.
io9.com just ran a nice little primer.

Has Anyone NOT Contemplated This From Time to Time?

Coffee Update #1

So, about a month ago I bought myself an old-timey, Mad Men-esque coffee percolator to see if it really was superior to Mr. Coffee and his brown, bitter brethren.

THE OFFICIAL VERDICT...is still out. Sorry.

There's definitely a little more body to the coffee, a little more of the aromatics, especially if you let the coffee brew in the percolator for a few minutes, instead of pouring it out as soon as the indicator tells you. But it isn't the coffee-nova-taste-explosion I was retro-anticipating from my religious experience at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen).

The percolator is also definitely a more complex beast than Mr. Coffee. You have to watch the grind more carefully (it's a coarse grind, like a French Press); you have to deconstruct and reconstruct the percolator assembly inside the machine for each batch; and you have to be sure the water's cold before you pour it in, and the tap water in my apartment is tepid at best. All of this becomes almost automatic over time, but it's a definite thing. And of course, cleanup is more complicated, too. On the plus side again, you can let the coffee set in the percolator for longer than it would in the drip machine without it becoming undrinkable.

It's been a worthwhile experiment so far.
We shall see...

MARVEL VS. DC

This pretty much says it all.

You Can Make a Joke About Anything

I've said this for a long, long time, but since I went to a notoriously "That's Not Funny!" campus of the PC variety, many of my former classmates disagree with me.

Well, here's the proof that I'm right, and they're wrong...says the Jew.


ETA: Sorry - It looks like the eedjits at EPIX ended the clip right before Patton gets to his point of exactly why the Germans are so completely humorless...which is, of course, the point of this blog post.

I'm not going to reveal it. Try and catch the routine on Comedy Central. It's at the very end of Oswalt's Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time standup...as all edgy material generally is.

Washington, Jefferson, Satan

So, y'all might remember how the Satanists struck at the Oklahoma legislators who didn't quite understand the concept of the Separation of Church and State.

Well, they're taking it to the next level, and hitting the Hobby Lobby religious exemption where it hurts.

We now live in a country where the most innovative guardians of the founding principles of our nation are Satanists.

One day, I drank a good cup of coffee.

Like, a REALLY good cup of coffee. We're talking coffee so rich that, without sugar and only a hint of milk, it tasted like coffee ice cream; coffee that took my nose, my soft palate and my tongue on a mellow voyage to Colombia. And it was served, of all places, at a California chain restaurant notorious for defiling the very concept of pizza with things like pineapple, guacamole, and chipotle jalapeños.

Astounded, I interrogated the server. Was this Jamaica Blue Mountain I was drinking, for only $2.50 a cup? Nope, she replied. Was there some special roasting process? She shrugged. Undaunted, I waited for my chance and sauntered behind the serving island to check out their coffee process, and I saw it. Giant machines with glass tubes and glass knobs on top, bubbling, steaming...

Percolators. The coffee was perked.

I've just ordered a percolator from Sears. I've read up on perc prep (clear water, coarse grind). And I will let you all know if it's truly just that good.