Bullshit Detector

Mall of the Americas in Miami

From Central Florida 13 News
"DEA agents found a hydroponics lab with more than 200 marijuana plants, standing 3 to 6 feet tall in the air and worth millions of dollars, in a storage area on the second floor of the mall."

First of all, that took balls. To grow that much Marijuana (which we all know is illegal!! HA!) in a public place... wow. Second, I hate reading bullshit in published material. "worth millions of dollars"?  OK. The average idiot would buy that story...  but then... Oh look!  I have found another segment ON THE SAME NETWORK that has this to say about another find in April of this year.

ALSO... from Central Florida 13 News
"LAKE COUNTY -- Deputies busted what they called the largest and most sophisticated marijuana growing operations they've ever seen."
"Inside investigators said they found an estimated 2,000 pot plants, with a street value of at least $2 million."

How do 200 plants become worth millions of dollars, when 2000 plants is worth an estimated $2 million?  Last I checked 2000 is more than 200. But correct me if I am wrong. 

I am just using this story as an example. It is important to not base your decisions on one source of information. If you read something, and think its bullshit, then look into it more (Google) and find multiple sources to make your own assessment.
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Reliable information —
"Cannot be divined.
Cannot be drawn from experience.
Cannot be deduced through analysis.
Reliable information can only be gained from people with direct knowledge."
Sun Tzu

Google's magnetic cows

I love Google. I really do. As big brother as they kinda are.. I still love them. Here was an interesting bit I found this evening and wanted to share. Apparently cows may have some sort of magnetic sense that causes them to stand in a N/S facing direction sometimes. I do that too. Sometimes. Another interesting myth/old wives tale/factoid (which you should know already.. but let me remind you like "That Guy"), is that cows sometimes lay down when it is going to rain. This isnt proven, but I have noticed it before (having grown up across the street from a farm). I just read that this could be caused by the barometric pressure causing the cows stomachs to be upset causing them to lie down. Weird. Moving on... here is why I am posting!

"German scientists using satellite images posted online by the Google Earth software program have observed something that has escaped the notice of farmers, herders and hunters for thousands of years: Cattle grazing or at rest tend to orient their bodies in a north-south direction just like a compass needle.

Studying photographs of 8,510 cattle in 308 herds from around the world, zoologists Sabine Begall and Hynek Burda of the University of Duisburg-Essen and their colleagues found that two out of every three animals in the pictures were oriented in a direction roughly pointing to magnetic north."

Click here for the rest of the article! Click here for the official release (also noted in article) from PNAS (hehe...PNAS... oh god it's like I'm 15)

"There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." Drew Carey

Another good Carey quote, that I am unable to find online was  something along the lines of  "If you need a game to enjoy drinking, then you shouldn't be drinking". It was from a stand up performance that Comedy Central plays occasionally.

The reason I bring this up is a recent TIME magazine article (see here) that references the current war on Beirut (AKA Beer Pong).  This is the one and ONLY drinking game I ever enjoyed. It actually takes some skill, sober or not, and it's fun to play. I can definitely understand why college campuses or towns might want to put a cap on the game for safety or noise violation reasons.. but come on.
 
I ALSO find it interesting that this comes up as many colleges and some states (VT) are looking to lower the drinking age to 18 again.  I personally think this could go either way...  I see the dangers, and the possible benefits of this. In reality... kids are going to drink whether or not they are told they can or cant. But I bet its more likely they will drink MORE if they are told that they cannot.  Think about these same kids showing up to college, away from their parents for the first times... free to do whatever they want.  Yeah. Drunk. MIT is a great example of this.

 Anyway, thought the article might be fun for some of you to read. Enjoy.

Cooking with the OSS

I remember watching a lot of Julia Child's cooking show when I was growing up. I think it was on PBS, along with other fav's Mr. Rogers, Reading Rainbow, and Romper Room (not to put those shows in the same category).

Before becoming the Chef that we know and love Julia was working for the United States Government's pre-CIA intelligence agency called OSS (Office of Strategic Services). Who knew that the same woman I was watching cook fantastic chicken and fish dishes once also worked for the US Government as a spy?

In the 1940's during WWII, Julia was assigned to create a shark repellent to coat the mines that the Navy planted for the German U-Boats. The curious sharks would bump into the mines setting them off, and in turn alerting the Germans as to the whereabouts of the explosives! 

I know this isnt "new" news, but it's interesting nonetheless!




"So... Julia Child and a few of her male compatriots got together and literally cooked up a shark repellent," that was used to coat the explosives, McCarthy says.

MEGA HANDHELD PARTY TIME! WHOOOO!

Ok its not really THAT exciting. Its like a mini game gear, that plays Genesis games. I dont remember how I just found this... but yeah. Its interesting! We have some solid greats here, like Sonic, ECCO, and my Fav's Golden Axe and Altered Beast. Check it out!