"Mr. McCain is running the absolute most pathetic campaign I have ever seen in my whole life," Stein said in his unmistakable monotone delivery. "His campaign is just heartbreakingly pathetic. He is a very impressive guy. He is a brave guy, but he is running the most lackluster campaign I have ever seen in my entire life. I would have thought Bob Dole's campaign would have set a record for poor campaigns, but this one is even worse. I mean it is shocking."

Thus Stein's answer to turn it around is Rove -- architect of Bush's back-to-back presidential victories -- who he describes as "about the smartest in the country in terms of politics."null

Except... how can you have Rove and not lose as Bush 2.0?

Preston on Politics: Bueller? Bueller? -- McCain needs Rove - CNN.com

Course Description
This class will study the behavior of photovoltaic solar energy systems, focusing on the behavior of "stand-alone" systems. The design of stand-alone photovoltaic systems will be covered. This will include estimation of costs and benefits, taking into account any available government subsidies. Introduction to the hardware elements and their behavior will be included.

MIT OpenCourseWare | Special Programs | SP.769 Photovoltaic Solar Energy Systems, Fall 2004 | Home

As a retired Navy Search and Rescue Swimmer, I think I can help!

During training, we used to swim 50 meters -wall to wall under water. Easy, right?! Now do it again... and again... and AGAIN!

The key is going as deep as you can. That will help greatly.

You are actually exersising your lungs. Do it as often as you can, and you will see an improvement. Good luck!

Yahoo! Answers - Hold your breath for a long time?

So, I'm just going to lay this out very simply, even though in the linked video, Olbermann appears to consider this too distasteful to do more than just touch upon (and indeed, there are bigger fish to fry first).

An "interview" is supposed to be a question and answer session between a reporter and the interviewee, right? So that the reporting is basically saying, "the reporter asked this question, and the person being interviewed gave this particular answer to that question", right?

So, in what lunatic alternate dimension does this become "an interview is a creative reinterpretation of what we think we'd like this person to have said in response to these questions" and make Katie Couric's interview session with John McCain, as aired not a massive breach of journalistic integrity because basically, what they aired showed McCain giving an entirely different answer to the question asked about the troop surge.

In short, what CBS aired was decidedly fiction and "news" is supposed to be non-fiction.

McCain has problems with facts and timelines. Kinda like Reagan in his second term, after Alzheimer's started to effect him.

So, doesn't CBS believe in 'journalistic integrity'?

I wrote: "I can't think of a nicer place to sit this spring over a glass of rosé and watch the boys and girls in the street outside smiling gaily to each other, and wondering where to go for a nosh." It appeared as: "I can't think of a nicer place to sit this spring over a glass of rosé and watch the boys and girls in the street outside smiling gaily to each other, and wondering where to go for nosh."

There is no length issue. This is someone thinking, "I'll just remove this indefinite article because Coren is an illiterate cunt and i know best."

Well, you fucking don't. This was shit, shit subediting for three reasons.

...

3) And worst of all. Dumbest, deafest, shittest of all, you have removed the unstressed "a" so that the stress that should have fallen on "nosh" is lost, and my piece ends on an unstressed syllable. When you're winding up a piece of prose, metre is crucial. Can't you hear? Can't you hear that it is wrong? It's not fucking rocket science. It's fucking pre-GCSE scansion. I have written 350 restaurant reviews for The Times and i have never ended on an unstressed syllable. Fuck. fuck, fuck, fuck.

Very funny letter by Giles Coren to his sub-editor about the removal of 'a' from one of his sentences in an article.

'I have never ended on an unstressed syllable!' | Media | The Guardian

Theory of Poker by David Sklansky discusses theories and concepts applicable to nearly every variation of the game, including five-card draw (high), seven-card stud, hold'em, lowball draw, and razz (seven-card lowball stud). This book introduces you to the Fundamental Theorem of Poker, its implications, and how the theorem should affect your play. Other chapters discuss the value of deception, bluffing, raising, the slow-play, the value of position, psychology, heads-up play, game theory, implied odds, the free card, semibluffing, and much more.

Many of today's top poker players will tell you that this is the book that really made a difference in their play. That is, these are the ideas that separate the experts from the typical player. Those who read and study this book will literally leave behind those who don't, and most serious players wear the covers off their copies. In many ways, this is probably the best book ever written on poker. (276 pages; ISBN #1-880685-00-0...$29.95, Retail customers visit our order form to see our special Two Plus Two Forums price)

If you read one book on poker, this should be it. Not focusing on one game, this book will teach you how to think about poker if you want to understand the game well enough to win. Makes the game much more fun.

Two Plus Two Books

Bait and switch

I feel badly for the airline industry. They are caught in a never-ending price war due to online websites and their own commodification. Pick the cheapest flight to get from here to there...

The natural short-term solution is bait and switch. Advertise the lowest price you can imagine and then require add on fees so you can actually make a profit.nullnullnull

Seth's Blog: Bait and switch

He isn't running on a "one man, one robot" policy yet but he is running.
Rufus For Mayor

I like Rufus as a person, but this in no way constitutes a political endorsement :)

Rufus For Mayor

WEDNESDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Eating half a serving of soy food a day lowers sperm concentrations and may play a role in male infertility, particularly in obese men, Harvard University researchers report.

The reason for this relationship between soy and sperm count isn't clear. However, researchers speculate that soy increases estrogen activity, which may have a negative affect on sperm production and also interfere with other hormonal signals.

Kinda funny how people switch to Soy Milk for health reasons.

Soy Linked to Low Sperm Count - MSN Health & Fitness - Men's Sexual Health

Introduction

Costa Rica is not known for offering tremendous size in its waves, but rather, consistent head-high surf at any time of the year. Many people think that the best way of surfing in Costa Rica is to rent a car and try to follow the surf. This, with very few exceptions, is the best way to spend a lot of unnecessary time in your car and miss the waves. Costa Rica's surf areas are defined by location and seasons which make surfing in Costa Rica very user friendly.

Costa Rica Surfing: Recommendations