mcdspot

Oceans of liquid diamond, filled with solid diamond icebergs, could be floating on Neptune and Uranus, according to a recent article in the journal Nature Physics.

This is a fascinating house.

This is amazing. According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.

Zoe and Doyle make interesting wedding rings.

The next time I hear Republicans sputtering about the increased deficit, I’m just going to hand them a copy of this piece by David Axelrod.

In response to Robertson’s stupid quote about Haiti, Satan has prepared a response.

The Kunyu Wanguo Quantu or “Map of the Myriad Countries of the World” was made in 1602 and shows an astounding grasp of geography, unheard of in that age. This is one of the most significant maps in existence.

..in so many ways.

More U.S. military personnel have taken their own lives so far in 2009 than have been killed in either the Afghanistan or Iraq wars this year, according to a Congressional Quarterly compilation of the latest statistics from the armed services.

You heard it here first, folks. A Biblical scholar has determined that the date of the rapture is now May 21, 2011.

“From the snow-topped Matterhorn to the Paris skyline, the best views from around the globe.”

Also see this article: 31 Places to Go in 2010.

This is definitely the best page on Wikipedia.

If anyone else has been disgusted by the development along the rim of Alabama’s Little River Canyon, you’ll be happy to learn that The Nature Conservancy has bought 2,186 acres adjacent to the canyon which will provide a permanent buffer to development.

I love a good debate over religion. Watch Robert Wright, author of “The Evolution of God,” and Christopher Hitchens, author of “God Is Not Great,” debate religion’s moral effect here

Oh, this is too, too rich. The moft excellent comedie and tragical romance of Two Gentlemen of Lebowski, by Adam Bertocci.

Rise, and speak wisely, man—but hark;
I see thy rug, as woven i’the Orient,
A treasure from abroad. I like it not.
I’ll stain it thus; ever thus to deadbeats.

Your favorite director: Alan Smithee

I would have bought one of these when I was 14 and loved it.

Waysof reading.

The Texas Freedom Network has a great year-end feature highlighting the best/worst quotes of the religious right in 2009:

With the new year approaching, it’s worthwhile to remember what we’ve heard from the religious right in 2009. We will start today where we began the year: with the religious right’s efforts to undermine science education by watering down instruction on evolution in public school science classrooms.

A good example:

“While state legislatures haggle over the words science, theory, and weaknesses, American schoolchildren continue to rank poorly in science education among the nations of the world. Pouring more money into the status quo of evolution-based science education isn’t the answer. Teaching the truth is.”

– Henry Morris III, a prominent evolution denier and CEO of the Dallas- based Institute for Creation Research, which has sued the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for refusing to grant the organization approval to offer master’s of science education degrees in the state, U.S. News and world Report, February 2, 2009