Senior NoGators World Political Correspondent Ear O’Corn provides today’s story about a guy out of work, unemployed, and living with his mother.

We keep hearing about the Harken deal and what may or may not have been insider trading. Nothing will come of it, of course, and perhaps rightly so. But Christopher Caldwell in the New York Press has something to say about the pattern of opportunities Shrub enjoyed, and how that is potentially much more troubling than his fortunately-timed stock sale:

What kills the President is that every time Harken comes up, Democrats get to retell the story of how he made his money. And this, basically, is the story of the spectacular unfairness with which moneymaking opportunities are lavished on the politically connected. It is the story of a man who has been rewarded for repeated failures by having money shot at him through a fire hose. It is the story of a man who talks with a straight face about having “earned” a fortune of tens of millions of dollars, without having ever done an honest dayâs work in his life.

(Link)

I’ve just discovered One Thousand Blank White Cards, an improvisational card game. Check it out here and here and especially here. I have this feeling this is going to happen at my house sometime soon.

I’m not sure I can follow all of this guy’s ideas, but some bits are weirdly compelling.

So I rebuilt most of the site, including the Heathen templates, mostly to divest myself (finally) of some awful cut-and-paste code I started using before I had a clue about stylesheets. The HTML under all this should actually make sense now. Feedback encouraged.

No, really.

Which is to say not jokes about comic geeks, but jokes for comic geeks.

This whole site is great, but it’s this one that really kills me.

This whole site is great, but it’s this one that really kills me.

First, this: I had a great weekend. My brother got married. I was best man. It was a fantastic, wonderful, incredible experience, and I couldn’t possibly be happier about it. My new sister-in-law just rocks, and she makes my brother happier than I’ve ever seen him. It’s great.

BUT: Last night, at their fabulous enormous beautiful reception at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, their band did not show up. No calls. No messages. Nada.

So, if you happen to be in the market for a Motown/R&B act in the Mississippi/Alabama area, there are a number of fine options. However, you should avoid at all costs a group called 24-7, whom Aubrey’s father reserved through Frasco Entertainment in Jackson.

Did I mention that my little brother and most of his friends are attorneys?

Anyway, we all still had a good time, but good GOD, to not even SHOW UP to a wedding gig. . . wow.

Thai officials have their collective knickers in a twist over an advertisement for a bar in Philadelphia.

This article from Business 2.0 has been passed around a bunch lately, but it’s really worth reading. The Columbian cartels have apparantly gotten tech-savvy, and have IT infrastructures that would make most Fortune 500 firms jealous. And of course: they’re in an intensely competitive business with high regulatory pressure and absurdly complex supply chains; their business domain is an IT consultant’s dream because they’ve also got a license to print money.

Stop for a moment and think about how much taxpayer money is being used to fight these guys, and how futile that is. Not because the Columbians are rich, but because the market wants their product despite decades of this “War on [Some] Drugs.”

Overheard in a mail forwarded to me yesterday:

This nation has come a long way from its origins, 226
years ago today, when our rights were being violated
by an unelected, mentally deficient, hereditary dictator
named George.

Fly your flags proudly!

In the wake of Bush’s selective condemnation of those responsible for the recent spate of corporate meltdowns, it’s come to light that he himself has some skeletons in that same closet.

The Supremes are at it again.

Hunter Thompson is my hero.

But my brother might.

So the girlfriend has moved to Houston, and we like this a lot. We’ve found her an apartment, and she just bought a car — coming as she did from DC where they have wild things like subways, she didn’t need one before. Wacky.

The vehicle of choice turned out to be a Hyundai Elantra, brand spankin’ new — it had like 12 miles on it when we rode away from the lot. In the past, I might have cast aspersions on Hyundai, but after driving the Elantra against the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla, I’d say Japan Inc. needs to seriously re-evaluate their low end. The Elantra is nicer, better equipped, more powerful, and has a better warranty than either of the other two cars, and does so for thousands less. Also, at least with the dealers we spoke to, the Hyundai folks are decidedly less weasely, and that’s always a plus.

Anyway, it was during this process that I overheard the most amazing conversation. Erin needed insurance before we could leave — Texas state law and her lienholder agreed on that — so she phoned the Allstate agent known to the salesman. As best I recall, this is how the side I heard went:

Erin: “Yes, I’d like to get a quote for some car insurance.” “A new Hyundai Elantra.” “No, I didn’t have a car before this, so I don’t have any insurance.” “Because I just moved here last week from Washington, DC.” “No, not Washington state; Washington, District of Columbia.” “No, it’s not a state, it’s the District of Columbia, but it’s like a state.” “It’s not another country. It’s part of the US. It’s the capital. Congress meets there.” “Just put DC in the state blank, okay?”

By this point, the car dealer and I were in stitches; Erin would have been, too, if she hadn’t been so horrified. Sigh.|*|

The Justice Department is arguing that US citizens it decides are “enemy combatants” have no right to an attorney or even a hearing, and that the courts have no authority to review these determinations. Police state, here we come!

Charlotte’s Goat, part two: The NYT has a nice long piece on transgenic goats that give spider silk in their milk, and what can be done with it. Fascinating stuff.

but that in no way detracts from the coolness of Powersof10.com.

Mikey the Shiv brings us Triumph the Insult Dog’s take on Attack of the Clones.

Reuters reports that the most popular paper in Bejing is running an Onion story as actual fact.|||||*|

This guy has it covered.

Hey, let’s make a gauss rifle at home!

My Tivo captured “El Vaquero de la Ciudad” for me last night. I’m not sure what algorithm is at work there, but it certain believes I’m game for watching 20-year-old Spanish-dubbed Travolta vehicles. I guess it would help if I’d do some thumb-voting, but it’s more fun to see what random stuff it’ll capture.

Joe Blow Glassworks. For all your ray-gun needs.

I just want to remind everyone that I don’t make these up, I just point them out. It’s sort of a cultural commentary role.

Samsung Means To Come.

This is without a doubt my favorite activist group.

There’s a lot to love about this diagram.

The labor implications of this are, of course, dire for those who make their living plucking chickens.

Villain Supply.

I’m a car nut. Sue me. But sometimes, those magazines have really fantastic reviews.

I’m really not sure what I can say about this, except that sometimes ad campaigns blend ideas in scary ways.

Electronic Quarterback on your Palm.

Electronic Quarterback on your Palm.

Help ’em figure out What’s Better.

“ Abor, Two Cold Stroh’s”

This satellite photo clearly shows the path of an F-5 tornado. Scary, but also cool.

It’s nowhere near done — I’m currently using version 0.2.7 — but Chimera is rapidly becoming my favorite browser on Mac OS X. It’s a true Unix back-end wed to a pure Cocoa front end, and it’s fast. Check it out.

I guess if ice dancing and synchronized swimming are sports, then wife carrying must be, too.

Skippy has a list.

Surely it’s not exactly a shock to discover that evil drugs may not be evil after all, right?

Pierced Nipples!

This chronology pretty much speaks for itself.

Somebody in the photojournalism camp is having a bit of fun.

I’ve just been informed that John Ashcroft will be singing on the Letterman show tonight, Wednesday, April 17.

That is all.

It seems “trying to learn” is now against the rules in Introductory Computer Science at that esteemed Atlanta institution. Way to go, guys.

These doctors have a pretty good sense of humor about their work. Don’t skip the intro, but once it’s over don’t miss the map. There’s sound.