Palau – Page 12 – Prog Gold

Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, washed the t-shirt 23 times, threw the t-shirt in the ragbag, now I'm polishing furniture with it.

http://cloggie.org/proggold

Rare Isotopes, The Future of Hiphop

Published on June 19, 2009

Oh no. Not more physics rapping. Where will it all end?

She’s baaack! AlpineKat (a.k.a., Kate MacAlpine), that is, who gave us the Large Hadron Rap last year — currently viewed by over 5 million people on YouTube, and still counting. This time, she busts a rhyme over the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a new project of the DOE being bult at Michigan State University in East Lansing. MSU hosted an event this past week to celebrate the future of rare isotope research, and AlpineKat was on hand to debut her new rap in full HD version: three elevated screens 14 feet across, augmented by a cutting-edge sound system.

Via Twisted Physics

Comment of The Day: Redacted Holiday Fun

Published on June 19, 2009

From The Guardian comments pages –

UpsideDownCakeEater
19 Jun 09, 1:02am (about 6 hours ago)

Seen the claim from the PM and the Speaker when both attended â–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆ in â–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆ paying Â£ â–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆ.â–ˆâ–ˆ just to watch two â–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆ. Both claimed Â£ â–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆ.â–ˆâ–ˆ as though they actively took part ?
Shocking.

What’s â–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆ ? We might well ask.

If it weren’t for the Daily Telegraph’s uncensored leaks, for all we’d know of it â–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆâ–ˆ could have been anything, from a Harrods rocking horse to a box of man-size Pampers to an Agent Provocateur gimp mask.

At least if you’re on holiday and it rains this week there’s no need to be bored; you can always play redaction bingo and insert your own words. All those blacked out spaces leave lots of scope for the imagination and reading censored expenses claims is much more entertaining that way. Holiday fun for all the family!

How Many Bad Apples Can One Barrel Hold?

Published on June 14, 2009

Unlimited amounts, apparently:

More than 300 elite Scotland Yard detectives are suspected of defrauding the taxpayer of millions of pounds by abusing their corporate credit cards, the Observer can disclose.

Auditors who have examined the American Express accounts of 3,500 officers involved in countering terrorism and organised crime have reported almost one in 11 detectives to the Metropolitan Police’s internal investigators.

A senior officer appears to have spent Â£40,000 on his Amex card in one year, without authorisation. Items bought by others without permission include suits, women’s clothing and fishing rods.

[…]

Sources have told the Observer that some detectives had fallen into the habit of withdrawing hundreds of pounds at a time from cashpoints. Other officers appear to have filled in blank receipts from restaurants to account for cash payments.

And that’s only tip of the iceberg. The slightly less blatantly corrupt emerge unscathed :

Only detectives suspected of overcharging by more than Â£1,000 have been referred to the DPS. Its investigators are believed to be examining hundreds of files.

What’s really shocking is that this news isn’t today’s main headline or even a subsidiary one. It barely even made the front page.

Selling Pooh Sticks With Style

Published on June 13, 2009

At first I was like all, WTF? when I saw this ad for the Comfort Wipe post-defecation self-cleaning device at Consumerist. But on further viewing I find this commercial a masterpiece of allusion and understatement.