Exit, pursued by a bear.

The USA has Mickey Mouse. We have Stephen Conroy.

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:05:37 GMT

Via donttrythis: Seen on the whiteboard in the EFF offices... on Twitpic

Mini-Gnus: the filthy monkey, it plans

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:48:55 GMT

Crouching tiger hidden...monkey | The Sun |News:

THIS Chinese monkey trainer was floored when a group of his apprentices turned on him in a vicious revenge attack. Entertainer Lo Wung, 42, taught the group of monkeys some basic taekwondo moves to entertain shopping centre crowds.

But when Wung took a tumble one of his pack turned and decked him with a kung-fu kick to the head. The turncoat gang then swarmed all over their master — with one even grabbing his stick and cracking him over the head with it.

I want - no, I need - a troop of monkeys that will do this. Preferably not to me, however.

(And the photos are hilarious).

Lolcats: your attention, please

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:44:02 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

How the real Goddamm Batman works

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:56:37 GMT

Funny the things that come back to you from movies.

Flass: I never knew! I swear to God!
Batman: SWEAR TO ME!

I think that one scene was the point where I decided Christian Bale was going to be an awesome Batman. I should watch this again.

Jaws.

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:10:15 GMT

On the bright side I (theoretically) get my tooth fixed tomorrow. Assuming the labs have made all the parts correctly this time and Round Two is a success. I was almost hoping that it would be delayed until after Christmas so I wouldn't have a huge bite taken out of my bank balance before then, but it will be nice to finally have the proper crown in place so I can use both sides of my mouth again.

Well it made me laugh

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:35:40 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Lolcats: you can go about your business

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:17:12 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Lolcats: I think Basement Kitteh has been through my workplace...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:38:35 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Yes! We have Nosferatu...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:35:44 GMT

... we have Nosferatu today!

Also note: NO. SPARKLING.

Berlusconi - an honest mistake

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:34:31 GMT

It was clearly an honest mistake - have you seen the photo?

Anyone who goes out looking that much like a zombie is going to get brained by someone.

If it's the thought that counts, what are they really thinking?

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:09:04 GMT

Ah, the glamorous life of software licensing. The software vendors are really digging deep this year to show their appreciation and spread some Christmas cheer.

Our haul so far: one chocolate mobile phone.

To share amongst a team of four.

And it looks like someone jumped on it in transit.

An exercise in "reasonable doubt"

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:11:23 GMT

Fair-mindedness says I should actually read and/or watch Twilight and its degenerate ilk rather than continue to rubbish them sight unseen. Having applied similar logic to The Da Vinci Code, experience screams otherwise.

This isn't getting old yet

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:34:26 GMT

The Dumb Side of the Force

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:06:06 GMT

Mini-Gnus: it's that whole Tree of Knowledge thing all over again.

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:09:34 GMT

Animal transplants imminent:

AUSTRALIA has lifted its five-year ban on the transplantation of animal cells and organs into humans, allowing hospitals to use pig cells to treat diabetes, Parkinson's disease and strokes within months. The National Health and Medical Research Council made its decision despite pleas from animal rights activists and transplant specialists that the procedure had not been proven safe and could result in the creation of deadly viruses.

If God hadn't wanted us to mix human and pig genes, he wouldn't have given us the National Party as proof of concept.

Lolcats: Clint Eastwood's cat

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:50:01 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

An inconvenient question?

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:48:19 GMT

Al Gore talks about global warming, those e-mails, and his new book. - By John Dickerson - Slate Magazine:

What do they think happens when we put 90 million tons [of carbon dioxide] up there every day? Is there some magic wand they can wave on it and presto!—physics is overturned and carbon dioxide doesn't trap heat anymore? And when we see all these things happening on the Earth itself, what in the hell do they think is causing it?

Companion pieces on poltical disillusionment

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:33:54 GMT

Labor Party | Ben Chifley | Light On The Hill |:

The Labor Party is no longer the party of Ben Chifley's light on the hill.

"I try to think of the Labor movement, not as putting an extra sixpence into somebody's pocket, or making somebody prime minister or premier, but as a movement bringing something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people. We have a great objective — the light on the hill — which we aim to reach by working the betterment of mankind not only here but anywhere we may give a helping hand. If it were not for that, the Labor movement would not be worth fighting for."

Robert Menzies | Liberals Versus Conservatives:

Liberals have betrayed the Menzies dream

I am one of the poor bastards who is a liberal Liberal, not a conservative. I'm a lifelong member of the Liberal Party now feeling like I don't have a party any more. I feel like a child who has been left on the footpath alone because his mother and father had a fight and were so full of each other's anger and vindictiveness that they stormed off in opposite directions completely oblivious that they had left me standing on the footpath inches from whizzing traffic.

The seas aren't rising, the earth is just sinking.

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:26:55 GMT

I think one of the most interesting things about the very vocal AGW contrarians and denialists (I'm avoiding the term skeptic here, because I always tend to consider that a genuine skeptic approaches a subject in good faith and with a willingness to learn) is the underlying assumption that there's a vast conspiracy directing a global campaign that, essentially, is geared towards reducing the amount of toxic crap humanity pumps into the atmosphere. With the very notable exception of Nick Minchin*, very few of the contrarian/denialist contingent actually give any indication of what sinister goal they believe this conspiracy is actually working towards.

On the other hand, if you apply the old crime fiction adage "follow the money", it's not hard to see where a substantial chunk of the contrarian/denialist arguments may be coming from once you start to look at some of the political, industrial and national interests represented in their ranks. That's not to seriously suggest there is a conspiracy to preserve the status quo until it collapses in on itself (although I'd certainly consider it more plausible than the Minchin proposition), but I'm sure it says something about the mindset of this group that they're so willing to see a threatening conspiracy on the other side of the debate but appear oblivious to the shadows they themselves cast. I'm not entirely sure what it says, but it's not difficult to come up with unflattering yet plausible suggestions.

Unsurprisingly, I lean towards the idea that anthropogenic global warming is real, and that something needs to be done to address it. It seems like simple prudence: if the science is right, then the longer the world delays doing anything, the harder, more painful and less effective it's going to be. If it subsequently turns out that the science is wrong or incomplete, then at worst mechanisms have been put in place to reduce the amount of pollution and toxins that our societies churn out with cheerful abandon, and we leave future generations with a cleaner, more energy-efficient world.

It's simple risk mitigation; it really doesn't seem like it should be such a hard choice to make.

* "For the extreme left it provides the opportunity to do what they've always wanted to do, to sort of de-industrialise the western world. You know the collapse of communism was a disaster for the left, and the, and really they embraced environmentalism as their new religion." Four Corners 9/11/2009.

Because environmentalism and communism are obviously entirely interchangeable. This extreme left of which Minchin speaks presumably includes the nominally left-leaning Rudd Government which, if it was any further to the right, would trip over the trail of exsanguinated corpses left over from efforts to keep Philip Ruddock and Brownyn Bishop up and mobile.

What would Gomez do?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:18:00 GMT

For cynthaea :

(I never thought I'd say this about something I threw together but, goddammit, I really want this on a t-shirt!)

Mini-Gnus: frankly I'm surprised it took this long

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:26:33 GMT

Australian funeral home launches webcast service | News.com.au:

THE internet has touched virtually every aspect of our daily lives. Now the worldwide web has extended its reach into the afterlife as well. In an Australian first, funeral director Tobin Brothers yesterday launched a new service offering families the option of webcasting their loved one's funeral.

The only way mine is getting webcast is if it's allowed to involve explosives.

The Last Temptation of Christ. With Oompah Loompahs.

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:06:30 GMT

You know ... I'd actually go to see that.

see more Lol Celebs

Lolcats: yeah, it's a re-run, but this one doesn't get old

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:04 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

The washing machine of the Beast

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:16:12 GMT

For sale: Scary washing machine, can make kids cry | The Australian:

A WASHING machine so violent that it scares children has won top spot as New Zealand's most viewed online auction.

Kiwis apparently loved the humour of the advertisement which described the thunderous 1980s machine as a frightening beast that "makes guests scared and children cry".

"Once, while washing a load of towels, it got a bit out of balance and so out of control for a minute I swear I actually saw a porthole [sic] to another dimension open above it and, just for a second, there were dinosaurs on the other side and they looked scared too," wrote the owner.

The listing went on: "On heavy duty spin cycle it sort of sounds a bit like the tortured howls of 1000 undead writhing in the sulphury pits of hell mixed with a train with carriages full of scrap iron sliding down the road with no wheels, on fire, into a bell factory".

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

He said if "you're either completely deaf or hate your neighbours this baby is for you".

The proceeds would be used to pay for counselling, the owner said.

Lolcats: thigns a dog wouldn't do for you.

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:37 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Exit, pursued by a bear.

The USA has Mickey Mouse. We have Stephen Conroy.

Mini-Gnus: the filthy monkey, it plans

Lolcats: your attention, please

How the *real* Goddamm Batman works

Jaws.

Well it made *me* laugh

Lolcats: you can go about your business

Lolcats: I think Basement Kitteh has been through my workplace...

Yes! We have Nosferatu...

Berlusconi - an honest mistake

If it's the thought that counts, what are they really thinking?

An exercise in "reasonable doubt"

This isn't getting old yet

The Dumb Side of the Force

Mini-Gnus: it's that whole Tree of Knowledge thing all over again.

Lolcats: Clint Eastwood's cat

An inconvenient question?

Companion pieces on poltical disillusionment

The seas aren't rising, the earth is just sinking.

What would Gomez do?

Mini-Gnus: frankly I'm surprised it took this long

The Last Temptation of Christ. With Oompah Loompahs.

Lolcats: yeah, it's a re-run, but this one doesn't get old

The washing machine of the Beast

Lolcats: thigns a dog wouldn't do for you.

How the real Goddamm Batman works

Well it made me laugh