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Flying snakes are a small group of species of tree snakes that live in South and Southeast Asia. At rest they appear unremarkable, but on the move they're able to take to the air by jumping from the tree, flattening the entire body, and gliding or parachuting to the ground or another tree. This site is dedicated to documenting the science of these unique animals.
Video footage! They're no pterodactyls, but these little guys sure try hard.
It's always a mistake to priorize employee comfort:
But many businesses make the mistake of setting the thermostat more for the comfort of employees than for customers.
"You may have a high-end jewelry store where the staff is wearing shirts and ties," he said. "But the shoppers are wearing T-shirts and shorts, and that makes shoppers uncomfortable and decreases the time they stay in the store."
Besides, nothing moves merch like a sweaty salesman.
Hearty congratulations to Michael Berube who now has his own page in David Horowitz' Network.
Exciting news! Last night I had the pleasure of meeting Prof. Berube. He's very charming and funny and looks great in purple--but little did I know that I was grooving to electrified bouzouki with countercultural royalty. Bravo!
Elayne Riggs has HOT Berube pics! (and some nice shots of the rest of us at Julia's kickass BBQ+Greek Fest Road Trip).
In honor of Gonzalez' decision to unshroud the Spirit of Justice, I bring you what may be Western Literature's only piece of Carl Paul Jennewein-inspired erotic fanfic:
The Attorney General stood petrified as he watched Minnie Lou fondle her shiny aluminum breasts. Her nipples began to engorge as her fingers danced over them, making a crackling sound like a soda can being crushed. Suddenly there was another metallic groaning behind him, and he wheeled around to face the Majesty of Law. The statue's normally dour expression began to form a smile, and there was a prominent bulge forming under his loincloth.
"You still think Reno did this?" asked a reporter from the New York Times as the statue's loincloth parted to reveal a large aluminum erection. "Looks more like Bob Dole's work." [Anais Ninja, Law and Justice]
I'm sure we're asking the same question: Where do web-published writers of erotic political Deco fanfic fall in the Geek Hierarchy?
In capes, no less...
Baby Monkey Stolen From Primate Expert's Florida Home
MIAMI -- Three masked men in capes stole a baby owl monkey Thursday from the home of a primate expert, police said. [AP]
Via Monkeywire.
Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, said in a speech Wednesday that "liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Conservatives, he told the New York state Conservative Party just a few miles north of Ground Zero, "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."
Rove said the Democratic Party made the mistake of calling for "moderation and restraint" after the terrorist attacks. [AP/Yahoo]
Shakespeare's Sister on Rove's remarks, and Rove's reasons.
Charles on Rove, Hardball, and Downing Street.
Steve Gilliard outlines a 3-step Rove-Action-Plan: Call Forrester, call Bloomberg, call Pataki.
Digby expands on a post by Glenn Smith at BOP.
Peter Daou writes:
I'm devoting much of today's report to Karl Rove's vile comments denigrating half of the American public. My office overlooks Ground Zero, and I'm looking at the gaping footprint as I write this. My wife and I were in New York that day, on our way to the WTC for a morning meeting. A chance phone call dragged on a few minutes too long and most likely saved our lives. I lost friends in the towers, and when I walk past the site, as I do almost every evening, the pain is as real as it was on September 11th, 2001.
I spent my youth in Beirut during the height of Lebanon's civil war, and I fought the Syrian presence in Lebanon long before the "Cedar Revolution." I watched young boys give their lives and mothers cradle their dying children in blood-soaked arms. I've seen more bloodshed, war, and violence, and shot more guns than most of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists combined. I wouldn't presume to question the strength or dignity of a stranger, and I pity those who blithely push the right=strong, left=weak rhetoric. It says far more about their inadequacies than it does about the target of their scorn. Today, Karl Rove took that rhetoric to a new, filthy low. [An expanded version of Daou's post is available here.]
I thought I might save this image to illustrate a future Sunday Sermonette, but it just seemed appropos, somehow.
Via You Can't Make It Up.
Mayor Bloomberg discovers limits of own authority:
Correction: June 19, 2005, Sunday:
A report last Sunday about the wedding of Emma Beth Bloomberg and Christopher Paul Frissora included an outdated reference to the time and place of the ceremony. After the section had gone to press, The Times learned that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the bride's father, officiated on Friday at a small private marriage ceremony at Gracie Mansion. The mayor's spokesman later said the change became necessary when the mayor's office learned that Mr. Bloomberg's legal authority did not extend to North Salem, N.Y., where the mayor performed another ceremony, symbolically, on Saturday.
I'm the last person in New York to hear about this, I'm sure. Still, I'm delighted.
Is it just me, or is there something deeply icky about getting married by your own father, regardless of the scope of his authoritay?
Love In Action, Inc. is being investigated on accusations of child abuse.
Tenn. investigates ex-gay camp
Teen's blog leads to outcry, charges of abuse at unlicensed facility
By EARTHA MELZER | Jun 23, 1:53 PM
The state of Tennessee has begun an investigation in response to allegations of child abuse at Love in Action, a Memphis facility that advertises homosexual conversion therapy for adolescents, according to the state department of health.
br>K. Daniele Edwards, a spokesperson for Child Services at the Tennessee Department of Health, confirmed an investigation is underway but declined to comment on the details. She noted that she presumes the Love in Action program would require licensing by the state.
Republic of T has the full story, on Zach (the gay teen blogger who "outed" the Love In Action detention program), and on the larger investigation.
Just so you know...
Officials from Love in Action had appealed for "tolerance" of their program at a June 16 news conference.
I don't really know what to say about Shakes' post, except that it gives me chills of inverse recognition. Unlike S, I never used to be shy. I was fearless until I hit my teens. I felt like I could say anything to anyone. Gradually, things changed, first by osmosis, and then all at once.
Luckily, it's still possible to come full circle.
Thanks for a great post, S.
