] (Researcher Daniel Riskin) placed each bat inside a cage
] about the size of an elongated shoe box with a customized
] treadmill as the floor. At first, the bats strolled
] along. When Riskin sped up the treadmill to more than 0.5
] meter per second, he was startled to find that bats
] started bounding, pushing off with their powerful
] forearms. The maximum speed clocked was 1.2 m/s.

[ They look like really weird frogs... -k]

Boing Boing: Running vampire bat

] The damage to the bones of this diminutive being %u2014
] named Homo floresiensis and nicknamed hobbit by
] scientists %u2014 is so extensive that it will limit
] scholarly research on the species, say members of the
] Indonesian Center for Archaeology-based discovery team.
]
]
] Considered the most important discovery in human origins
] in five decades, the remains are marred by broken jaws
] and smashed bones.
]
]
] "The equivalent in the world of art would be somebody
] slashing the Mona Lisa and then trying to fix it with
] chewing gum," says paleontologist Tim White of the
] University of California-Berkeley, who was not on the
] discovery team.

[ "Dude! You borrowed my Xbox and then destroyed it!"

"No way, it was fine when i boxed it up, i swear..."

"But there's soda *inside* the case..."

You know, only worse than that. -k]

USATODAY.com - Fresh scandal over old bones

] The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without
] bumpin' and grindin' cheerleaders. Legislation filed by
] Rep. Al Edwards would put an end to "sexually suggestive"
] performances at athletic events and other extracurricular
] competitions.
]
] "It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way
] they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it
] down," said Edwards, a 26-year veteran of the Texas
] House. "And then we say to them, 'don't get involved in
] sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out
] there' and yet the teachers and directors are helping
] them go through those kind of gyrations."

[ And that filthy DANCING, too... no more of that. And ROCK AND ROLL music... it's a dangerous influence! ]

Can we pass a federal law that prohibits lawmakers from wasting valuable legislative resources on crap like this?

[ Agreed. Welcome to the new "moral" america, where sexually suggestive dancing is evil, but cutting benefits for the poor is good fiscal policy. Jesus Christ would be proud. -k]

Do No Harm?

] Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), once nicknamed "Terminator"
] for his 2003 comment that the recording industry should
] be allowed to remotely destroy the computers of
] file-sharers, was named today to head a new Senate
] subcommittee on intellectual property.
]
] While Hatch backed down slightly from that comment the
] next day, saying, "I do not favor extreme remedies --
] unless no moderate remedies can be found," he has
] remained a staunch ally of the entertainment industry.

[ Super. -k]

Technology News: Politics: Hatch To Lead Senate Panel on Intellectual Property

] The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a Republican plan
] to allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife
] Refuge (ANWR).
]
]
] The drilling measure, attached to the Senate's version of
] a federal government budget resolution, still faces
] opposition from Democrats and several legislative hurdles
] before it could become law.

[ Given that oil prices are at a record high right now, I figured this would get thru easily, but the vote was 51/49 as it happened. I'm still not convinced that drilling ANWR is all that useful. Yeah, there's about 2/3 of a years worth of easy oil up there, but we won't see that for a decade, and there are other ways to deal with our oil problems. We'll see. -k]

Reuters AlertNet - Key facts about ANWR's land, oil, wildlife

] In a world with millions of refugees, numerous war zones
] and huge areas devastated by natural disaster, aid
] agencies and militaries have long needed a way to quickly
] erect shelters on demand.
]
]
] Soon, there will be such a method. A pair of engineers in
] London have come up with a "building in a bag" -- a sack
] of cement-impregnated fabric. To erect the structure, all
] you have to do is add water to the bag and inflate it
] with air. Twelve hours later the Nissen-shaped shelter is
] dried out and ready for use.

[ Sweet! -k]

Wired News: Need a Building? Just Add Water

] Many readers have written to point out that AOL's new
] Terms of Service for AIM "include the right for AOL to
] use anything and everything you send through AIM in any
] way they see fit, without informing you. A sample
] passage: '...by posting Content on an AIM Product, you
] grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns,
] agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual,
] worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform,
] distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium.
] You waive any right to privacy.'"

[ I'm no lawyer of course, and I'm always wary of nerds yammering about legal stuff, but it's still a little disturbing. I mean, I never assumed that anything i sent through AIM was especially private, but I don't really like the idea of AOL using it for whatever they want either. Then again, they aren't charging me for the use of their servers either, so to some extent, I guess I don't have lot of bitching room. -k]

Boing Boing: AIM contract takes your privacy

] Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith was
] interviewed by CBS' 60 Minutes and says the third and
] final prequel will not likely receive the PG rating the
] previous five films have received.
]
] "I don't think I would take a five- or a six-year-old to
] this," says Lucas, "It's way too strong."

[ Note that just because a movie is PG doesn't mean it has to be childish and silly. Eps 1 and 2 were, in fact, both of those things, and I don't believe that's gonna be totally missing from this. But maybe the PG-13 rating means it'll have some deeper elements. I'm not gonna hold my breath, but maybe it'll suck less.

For all my bitching, I'm obviously gonna go see it, if only for closure. -k]

Ep III to be PG-13 (gasp!)

] A man cooking in his kitchen was shot after one of his
] cats knocked his 9mm handgun onto the floor, discharging
] the weapon, Michigan State Police said.

[ Leaving loaded guns around is a good call. -k]

Yahoo! News - Cat Shoots Owner

] I secretly love Wonkette. I still think back fondly on
] the extremely brief email exchange we had last year about
] how George Stephanopolous resembles a little yappy puppy
] dog. (Sigh.) Anyhow, she was at this panel at the Freer
] Gallery held by The Week Magazine with the Aspen
] Institute. I decided in honor of my blog-crush on
] Wonkette, I would live-blog the event, except that those
] tools at the Smithsonian haven't hooked up the Internets
] inside the museums. Unthinkable.

[ A little amusement for your dreary mid-week... -k]

The Liquid List: Politics: Semi-Live Blogging a Completely Random Panel Just Because Wonkette's Here