No, that’s not how you do it!

Using compressed air to blow eraser shavings, or the simpler equivalent of blowing them off one’s desk… only move eraser shavings to the ground, where they will remain until you vacuum the floor. I don’t call that cleaning.

In the case that you don’t have a breadcrumb-type, portable handheld vacuum, try following my advice.

My solution: lint rollers

Yes, these things.

Roll one gently across the surface of a desk, and they’ll clean up eraser shavings as well as some of the dust. Peel off the sheet when you’re done and the eraser shavings will follow, into the trash, where they belong.

Another neat cleaning application

You can also use your favourite lint roller to remove dust and particles from your mousepad!

Rick Perry’s worst marks

Trigonometry (D), organic chemistry I (D), organic chemistry II (F!), organic chem lab (D), Shakespeare (D), economics (D), Keats (D), “writing for professional men” (D)…

How did he ever get a Bachelor’s degree in animal science?

Drawing connections

It’s no surprise Governor Perry denies evolution (“a theory that’s out there”) and global warming (“a contrived phony mess”). The lack of training in economics might also explain his ridiculous stance towards the role of an independent Federal Reserve and its chairman.

Given his educational record, one might speculate that his lacklustre efforts in university translate to his cost-cutting approaches to public/higher education in the state of Texas. 61.3% of high school students graduate? That’s terrible! One shudders to think of what might occur if he were president.

Organic chem must have been a requirement for his program of study. One wonders why he didn’t switch to a program a little more appropriate for his aptitudes.

Dawkins’s rebuttal

Elegantly and poignantly written:

There is nothing unusual about Governor Rick Perry. Uneducated fools can be found in every country and every period of history, and they are not unknown in high office. (Richard Dawkins, emphasis mine)

Dawkins is the author of several titles, such as The Greatest Show on Earth and The Selfish Gene. Part of his rebuttal to Perry’s mis-characterization of evolution as “just a theory” is an observation that is unfortunately true: while the United States is home to millions of intelligent beings, some of whom are undoubtedly the geniuses of today, some voters inexplicably seem to prefer unqualified, anti-intelligent candidates!

New York Times editorial

Krugman of the New York Times points out in “Republicans Against Science” that “the G.O.P. [...] is becoming the ‘anti-science party.’” I highly recommend reading this article, if only for the brilliant realization at the end: (recall that The Wall Street Journal is a conservative media outlet operated by Murdoch’s News Corp, which is also responsible for Fox News)

Lately, for example, The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page has gone beyond its long-term preference for the economic ideas of “charlatans and cranks” — as one of former President George W. Bush’s chief economic advisers famously put it — to a general denigration of hard thinking about matters economic. Pay no attention to “fancy theories” that conflict with “common sense,” the Journal tells us. Because why should anyone imagine that you need more than gut feelings to analyze things like financial crises and recessions?

Now, we don’t know who will win next year’s presidential election. But the odds are that one of these years the world’s greatest nation will find itself ruled by a party that is aggressively anti-science, indeed anti-knowledge. And, in a time of severe challenges — environmental, economic, and more — that’s a terrifying prospect. (emphasis mine)

Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?

Originally I said: Sorry, Rebecca. You’re too young to be making up this kind of BS. Hire a better publicity agency next time — and don’t try justifying the stupidity of the lyrics.

EDIT: Apparently this is satire. The fact that so many of us were so ready to believe in Rebecca Black’s stupidity says something.

I ran into this puzzling CAPTCHA today. Although I clicked the refresh button to get a new image, I’ve been wondering whether I should have just typed in

\sum\limits^\infty_{m=1} \text{Itithe}

For those of you unfamiliar with LaTeX: that code is rendered as

“…introducing Bing: the better way to Google”; also known as “the easiest way to Google since Yahoo!”

via TechCrunch

If you have any interesting videos, leave a comment. (And in response to certain people, I will not rickroll anyone! Don’t try to rickroll me either.)