Welcome to the meltdown

No gay dogs allowed?

There are just too many levels of stupid in this story… Not the least of which is, so what if the dog is gay?

'Gay Dog' Refused Entry To Australian Restaurant

An Australian restaurant has been forced to apologize and pay compensation after refusing to let a blind man enter because they thought his dog was gay.

In May 2009, Ian Jolly, 57, was attempting to dine at the Thai Spice restaurant in Adelaide, when he was refused entry after staff misheard his female companion, and thought his "guide dog" was a "gay dog."

"The staff genuinely believed that Nudge was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog," the owners said in a statement to South Australia's Equal Opportunity Tribunal.

Jolly is now set to receive a written apology and $1,400 compensation.

The perfect cup

Rob's perfect morning cup of coffee:

One healthy, oversized scoop of coffee per cup, brewed with cold water.

Two moderate teaspoons of sugar. Two oversized teaspoons of Coffeemate non-dairy creamer.

Oh, and cat must be fed before coffee, or enjoyment of coffee is a moot point.

Americans are fed up with political incivility

A new poll shows that Americans are fed up with political incivility. Maybe stop waving the guns around? Just a thought.

A new study by the Center for Political Participation at Allegheny College finds that Americans overwhelmingly say civility is important to democracy and possible to achieve, even when people disagree.

Ah, but who's willing to be more civil? Apparently, not conservatives.

There were significant differences by ideology, however. Liberals by 59%-36% favored the ability to compromise. Conservatives' views were a reverse of that: By 60%-34%, they preferred a willingness to stand firm.

Literally too cool for words

It's the pentatonic scale, yo.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Where's the tyranny?

I'm trying to figure out all these cries of "tyranny!"

During the campaign, Obama said he wanted to reform health care and the financial system. A majority of Americans then voted for him, sending him to the White House. 

So where's the tyranny?

The only four chords you'll ever need

All people are insane

As we pause to remember an act of domestic anti-government terrorism 15 years ago today, this quote from a character in a Vonnegut novel seems appropriate: "All people are insane. They will do anything at any time, and God help anyone who looks for reasons."

The Purpose of Life

Most people believe in God. I'm in a very small minority. That's fine. Maybe I'm the crazy one. And I don't think there's any metaphysical, mysterious Purpose for our lives. I think we have to make our own. And mine's this: Love whoever's around to be loved. And be really good to animals, because they're pure.

Kick-Ass, well, totally OWNS.

 Five asses out of five!

Kick-Ass is an absolute winner that hits on every joke and every action sequence, with spot-on and completely appropriate nods to the 1960's Batman TV show, Big Bang Theory, and not at all a small nod to Quentin Tarantino. Every performance, from the bit parts to the leads, from the heroes to the heavies, scores in completely realistic fashion. And there's a sweetness hidden at the center of all the comic-book and nerdy high school action.

Heads up: Despite the comic-book nature of the plot, it is very violent. The violence is not sanitized cartoon-fashion, and has very real, and real-life, consequences.

2nd heads up: While there are terrific performances from everyone, the movie is unquestionably and irrevocably stolen by an 11-year-old girl. Chloe Grace Moretz gives an iconic performance that will register for a decade.

Hell yeah, count me in for the sequel.

(Bonus heads up: The trailer for The A-Team scored with the audience. I have to confess -- I was not a fan of the TV show, but I'll be in line for this one.)

Cat summit

Taxes are at their lowest levels in 60 years

Taxes are at their lowest levels in 60 years. "The relation between what is said in the tax debate and what is true about tax policy is often quite tenuous," said Tax Policy Center co-director William Gale. "The rise of the Tea Party at at time when taxes are literally at their lowest in decades is really hard to understand." Nearly 47 percent of Americans will pay no federal income taxes for 2009 because either "their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability."

The only thing that makes me want to buy an iPad

Tom Tomorrow

Click to embiggify and read.

Some real music

Greg Lake, from 1971 or thereabouts, with "The Sage," part of Emerson Lake & Palmer's "Pictures At An Exhibition.

I carry the dust of a journey
That cannot be shaken away
It lives deep within me
For I breathe it every day

You and I are yesterdays answers
The earth of the past come to flesh
Eroded by times rivers
To the shapes we now possess.

Come share of my breath and my substance
And mingle our streams and our times
In bright infinite moments
Our reasons are lost in our rhymes.

The nuclear outrage

Jon Stewart covers all the right wing outrage over President Obama's plans to reduce our nuclear arsenal that are eerily similar to that other liberal, weak-willed, bow-down-to-our-enemies president, Ronald Reagan.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Big Bang Treaty
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Save money by changing your font

I would have never thought of this.

Here's a way you might save $20 this year: Change the font in the documents you print.

Because different fonts require different amounts of ink to print, you could be buying new printer cartridges less often if you wrote in, say, Century Gothic rather than Arial. Schools and businesses could save thousands of dollars with font changes.

Data on the subject from Printer.com, a Dutch company that evaluates printer attributes, persuaded the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to make a switch. Diane Blohowiak, coordinator of information-technology user support, has asked faculty and staff to use Century Gothic for all printed documents. The school also plans to change its e-mail system so it uses Century Gothic.

"The feedback we've gotten so far has been positive," she said. "Century Gothic is very readable."

The school of 6,500 students spends about $100,000 per year on ink and toner cartridges. Although students and staff can change the default font to something more ink-intensive, Blohowiak said the university expects to save $5,000 to $10,000 per year with the font switch.

When Printer.com tested popular fonts for their ink-friendly ways, Century Gothic and Times New Roman topped the list. Calibri, Verdana, Arial and Sans Serif were next, followed by Trebuchet, Tahoma and Franklin Gothic Medium. Century Gothic uses about 30 percent less ink than Arial.

Ratcheting up the racist hate

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Let them eat fake