N.Y. Times: Saving a Squirrel by Eating One

Saving a Squirrel by Eating One
(New York Times, 1/7)

While some have difficulty with the cuteness versus deliciousness ratio — that adorable little face, those itty-bitty claws — many feel that eating squirrel is a way to do something good for the environment while enjoying a unique gastronomical experience.

With literally millions of squirrels rampaging throughout England, Scotland and Wales at any given time, squirrels need to be controlled by culls. This means that hunters, gamekeepers, trappers and the Forestry Commission (the British equivalent of forest rangers) provide a regular supply of the meat to British butchers, restaurants, pâté and pasty makers and so forth.

Washington Post: Tom Toles Cartoons

Here's a great archive of political cartoons from Tom Toles of the Washington Post.

Tom Toles Cartoons

The Onion: I Have an iPod -- IN MY MIND!

I Have An iPod–In My Mind
(The Onion, 8/20/03)

I hear those little things carry up to a month's worth of music. Well, so does my mind. I can call up any song I've ever heard, any time I want. And I never have to load software or charge batteries. There are no firewire cords or docks to mess with. I just put my hands behind my head, lean back, and select a tune from the extensive music-library folder inside my brain.

Thirty gigabytes? So what? I know 7,500 songs, maybe more. Some songs, I forget I even have until they come around on shuffle. Why, just the other day, my mind started playing David Naughton's "Makin' It," a song I hadn't heard in years. And the sound quality was great!

Easy downloads? You don't know the meaning of the word "easy." And I don't have to know the meaning of the word "download." You may get MP3s off the Internet, you smug scenester, but I can get music off the television, the radio, even a passing ice-cream truck. If I don't want to waste the memory space on a high-fidelity copy, I just don't pay very close attention. Now, that's what I call convenience.

Photo Source

L.A. Times: Gambling Runs Dry in Mesquite

Out in Nevada desert, gambling runs dry

(Los Angeles Times, 1/3)

Locals and travelers passing through have long kept Mesquite's casinos afloat. But like the spent mines that have busted many Western towns, Mesquite's source of wealth ran out. As the economy soured, tourists hoarded their cash, and the town's gross gambling revenue plummeted 11%. Visitor volume fell 7.4% last year; the average daily room rate fell 35.4%.

N.Y. Times: Portrait of Anthrax Suspect

Portrait Emerges of Anthrax Suspect’s Troubled Life (New York Times, 1/3)

Dr. Ivins, who had helped develop an anthrax vaccine to protect American troops, had spent his career waiting for a biological attack. Suddenly, at 55, he was advising the F.B.I. and regaling friends with scary descriptions of the deadly powder, his expertise in demand.

One recipient of his e-mail message, however, a graduate-school colleague, looked at the photograph of Dr. Ivins and leapt to a shocking conclusion.

“I read that e-mail, and I thought, He did it,” the fellow scientist, Nancy Haigwood, said in a recent interview.

N.Y. Times: Divorcing Couples Now Battle Over Who DOESN'T Get The House

"With homes worth less than their outstanding loans, some divorcing couples are battling not to get the house."...

In Housing Fall, Breaking Up Is Harder to Do
(New York Times, 12/30)

Separated at Birth? - Glenn Campbell and J.K. Simmons

This blog entry (Less Than Successful, 12/28) claims I look just like actor J.K. Simmons (Juno, The Lady Killers). This has never occurred to me before, but now I see a resemblance. You decide.