Build your own Lamborghini. Really.

Thought you couldn't afford a Lambo? Think again. One man designed and built is own Lamborghini frame, documenting the build with plenty of photos along the way. Although it may not have the ridiculous horsepower under the hood, it has the sexy body. Check out the creator's other builds and don't miss the entire photogallery.

Okay, it doesn't have to horses under the hood, but no one's really going to look past the extra cool skin anway.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 08:37 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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For the last few years, I've opined that McCain cannot get elected president. Most of that time, though, I had assumed- wrongly- that Hillary! would be the Democratic nominee. And now with the young, handsome Mr. Hope-ity Change-ity as the opponent, Mr. Maverick Melanoma looked like dead meat, especially since some conservative/liberatarian types (okay, ME) will not be voting for him.

Recently, though, I've started to see cracks in the Obama campaign. Once again, the Democrats look like they might have gone with the pretty choice instead of the smart choice. And while I still won't be voting on the McCainiac ticket, I have to admit that the thought of seeing all the leftists in a catatonic stupor the first Wednesday in November does bring a smile to my face.

Anyway, I'll give Karol Shenin the last word:

The thing they [Democrats] all have in common, and have since, oh 2002, is that they all think the Democrat is going to win and they can't wait to tell me so. They were all completely shellshocked when Bush was re-elected in 2004, obviously, but nothing will compare to the devastation if Obama loses. There is a uniform smirk that they all have these days, almost like "silly Republican friend of a friend, can't you see Obama can't lose?" I mostly nod and smile and tell them that I consider Obama a 4 on a 1-10 scale and McCain a 5 so, y'know, I'll live. Blue states should have smelling salts and anti-depressants on hand if somehow, some way, John McCain pulls this thing off.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 01:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It was legal for 18 year olds to drink (beer, anyway) back when I was 18. I've long advocated lowering the drinking age or, barring that, repealing the amendment which gives 18 year olds the right to vote, trying 18-20 year olds as juveniles and increasing the age of registration for selective service to 21. If you can't treat someone like an adult in one little facet of his life, then fuck it: treat him or her like a child. Completely.

Anyway, the Instamonster links to an article which states:

"College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth, and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age to 18 from 21, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus."

Can I get a No Shit from everybody?

Update: Mike and Jeff weigh in on the subject. I'll leave you with some of Jeff's words:

After the Orioles won the World Series in 1983, Storm Davis, a then-20-year-old starting pitcher for the Birds, who played an integral role in BaltimoreÂ’s success, could not partake in the post series champagne and beer celebration.

Mother Against Drunk Driving would likely counter such a seemingly arbitrary and incongruous segregation among teammates by noting that the ritual of celebrating with alcohol “glorifies” drinking, and so should itself be eliminated.

– And at that point, it should become clear that MADD is no longer worried about drunk driving per se, but is rather become a neoprohibitionist organization trafficking in emotional arguments to convince cowardly politicians to force change upon the culture — “change” that has the effect of taking away individual freedom and responsibility, along with the role of parents in teaching young adults how to handle certain freedoms, in exchange for a government run mandate, complete with police powers of the state or municipality, that presumes to usurp those responsibilities by a kind of 3/5 rule on adulthood.

Exchanging white hoods for big buttons and a lot of emotional appeals merely suggests a change in rhetorical strategy from those who seek to build society to match their own personal hobby horses.

Update: Holy fucking shit! Excerpt:

Unfortunately, there is considerable precedent for such pre-emptive measures. In 2005 a Pennsylvania court rejected an appeal from a man whose driver's license was revoked by the state after he told doctors he knocked back more than a six-pack of beer a day. State law requires doctors to report any of a patient's physical or mental impairments if the doctors think it could compromise his ability to drive safely. Keith Emerich hadn't gotten in any legal trouble, related to drinking, driving, or anything else, and his job attendance was as exemplary. Yet a three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was justified in taking away Emerich's license-not because he had driven while intoxicated but because he might.

Hell, I haven't been arrested for being a leather-faced, chainsaw-wielding maniac, but that doesn't mean I couldn't become one. I guess that I should get the chair, pronto. Who knows how many scantily clad Jessica Biels might be in danger.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 03:09 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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To pretend that their "scientific consensus" is anything more than inserting And then a miracle occurs into their work to try and prove that we're melting the planet.

Let me be frank: dickwads like those referred to in this article are setting science back hundreds of years. Maybe their next paper will be on the discovery of the Philosopher's Stone, and it will be published in Ye Olde Timme Alchemy and Sorceries of Transmutation.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But I'll take what I got.

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But it makes me laugh. Check out the Ultimate Showdown below the fold:

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Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Interesting little calculator here, which tells me how much of my favorite drink I would have to consume before the caffeine dose would become lethal.

You could drink 349.57 cans of Diet Dr Pepper before croaking.

If you didn't know, Diet Cheerwine is one of the top ten caffeinated diet soft drinks on the market. Consequently, I can't drink quite as much:

It would take 297.97 cans of Diet Cheerwine to put you down.

So now you know. Check out your favorite beverage to see how much it will take to have yoy pushing daisies.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Bill Quick has finally decided to vote for McCain. He's not happy about that decision, either. In fact, I'd say that Bill is the complete opposite of happy. Excerpt:

I have often publicly worried about the threat of some sort of biowar attack against the United States, and also worried about things like airborn Avian Flu. I still worry about such things, and I consider them to be major, even potentially existential threats to the survival of the United States.

Now, from a political point of view, I think a John McCain presidency will be disastrous for the GOP in the long term, and certainly disastrous for conservative principles within the GOP. In fact, I think an Obama presidency, in which things generally proceed from bad to worse, would be better for conservatism in the long run.
...
John McCain is probably not going to do much for anything political I care about - I consider him a moderately left centrist - but he is something else, as well. He is capable of making a decision and sticking to it in the face of public opposition. He is a former navy pilot and commander who made life or death decisions on the fly, and then carried them out. So here is what it comes down to: For the sake of my own safety and survival, who do I want in the White House if Bird Flu starts killing people in San Francisco?

Posted by: Physics Geek at 04:18 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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From Xkcd:

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:39 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The GOP has a great issue- energy- that's actually working for them. So what do they do? They decide to piss it away.

It’s taken time, but Sen. McCain and his party have finally found—in energy—an issue that’s working for them. Riding voter discontent over high gas prices, the GOP has made antidrilling Democrats this summer’s headlines. . . .

Still, it was probably too much to assume every Republican would work out that their side was winning this issue. And so, last Friday, in stumbled Sens. Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Saxby Chambliss, Bob Corker and Johnny Isakson—alongside five Senate Democrats. This “Gang of 10” announced a “sweeping” and “bipartisan” energy plan to break Washington’s energy “stalemate.” What they did was throw every vulnerable Democrat, and Mr. Obama, a life preserver.

If you're response is WTF?!, be aware that an explanation does exist, courtesy of Rob:

Sound like a good deal? ItÂ’s not. So why are these Republicans on board with it? Lindsey Graham is from South Carolina. John Thune is from South Dakota. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson are from Georgia. Bob Corker is from Tennessee. Every one of these states has a significant base of agriculture thatÂ’s tied in with the ethanol industry. What these guys are doing is putting whatÂ’s best for the ethanol lobbyists, who are no doubt regular visitors to their offices, over what is best for the country.

Some day the GOP will finally realize that it's bullshit like this that has returned them to minority party status. Or maybe not. It's not like you see a lot of Whig candidates these days.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 12:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Check out the picture in this post by Gerard.

In honor of this year's Summer Olympics, some new competitions will debut. Here are a couple:

1) The Run in Front of the Tank Relay.

2) The Dissident Debate Biathalon, where one competitor states an opinion, the second competitor disagrees and the first then shoots the second. Yes, much like chess, going first in this "sport" is an advantage.

Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The Paris Hilton spoofing of McCain ended up highlighting the deficiencies of Obama's plan. Someone emailed to Jerry Pournelle what I think would be a great followup:

McCain moving to the realm of "Cool"

If Paris Hilton can mock McCain (& Obama - but the impetous is McCain) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080806/D92CVG180.html , then McCain must be moving to the realm of "cool"! To steal a march, McCain should come out with his own mock add:

Scene - McCain in a lawn chair with a beach umbrella; obviously in a 'back yard'. He's wearing swim trunks, Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops, and a sun hat. His nose is smeared with zinc oxide and he's holding a glass of iced tea. Long shot of back yard, moves in to headshot.

McCain - "Boy, I wish I had a job like this. It's got to be nice to have no responsibilities, but still dream of being president!. Ah, well, I have to think about the economy, Iran, Iraq, social security, immigration, and there's just a little thing like running for the office of President. I wish I could work on my tan more."

Camera moves in tighter to McCain as he settles back in the chair to take a nap. As the camera moves in, he opens his eyes a bit and cuts them toward the camera.

McCain - "I think I'm ready for the A-List".

Cut to closing: "McCain for A-list"

Couv

-- David Couvillon Colonel of Marines; Former Governor of Wasit Province, Iraq; Righter of Wrongs; Wrong most of the time; Distinguished Expert, TV remote control; Chef de Hot Dog Excellance; Collector of Hot Sauce; Avoider of Yard Work

That's a pretty good funny right there. If McCain were smart, he'd do it. Then again, they don't call it the party of the stupid for nothing.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Okay, actually his religion, which would be The Church of the Blessed ManBearPigGoreacle. I swear that after reading that mixed bag of a priori assumptions and begging the questions offered up as gospel, I felt an almost overwhelming urge to say 'Amen'. After all, that's what you're supposed to say in church, right?

Maybe Mr. Holdren could give the opening prayer at the trials that James Hansen wants to put us on. Or maybe he was dropped on the head repeatedly as child. Right now, it's kind of a tossup.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:52 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, Redmond decides to offer some free advice on speeding up Crapta. Funny thing, though: I didn't see "uninstall this piece of crap and install XP, Linux, Mac OS, or Dos 3.0" anywhere in the article. I'm sure that it's simply an oversight.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Watch the video here and laugh at the completely inappropriate humor. It is just so wrong on so many levels. But I'm still laughing 10 minutes later, which does not bode well for my future in the afterlife.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:10 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Pretty cool:

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Posted by: Physics Geek at 06:43 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Turns out that I learned a few words along the way, too:

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

Thanks to Ken for the link.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 07:34 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Heretofore unknown to me, Bryce Dallas Howard will take over the part of Kate in the upcoming Terminator: Salvation movie.

I thought that she was great in the movie that Emily hates so much. To be fair, Emily did say the following:

I will say that, to his credit, Shyamalan's films always have had a great premise, beautiful settings and costumes and he gets stunning performances out of some stellar actors.

I thought that Ms. Howard was exceptional in The Movie That Must Not Be Named. I'm certain that she'll be good in the new Terminator movie, so long as they completely ignore her character like Spiderman 3 did.

One more thing: did I mention that I think she's smokin' hot?

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Posted by: Physics Geek at 02:08 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Megan McArdle links to one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. Video below the fold:

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