An undeniable truth (2/27/2011)

There is no such thing as too much peanut butter.*

* Those with allergies, of course, are the exception to the rule.

On parenting...

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Short film: "Silencer"

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Protesting Wisconsin teachers getting fake doctors' notes when calling in sick

It's usually the students who skip school and turn in fake excuse notes to avoid getting in trouble. In Wisconsin, it's the teachers...



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Doomed to repeat

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New Road Runner cartoon from Warner Bros.

Louisiana swamp monster?

I'm sure it's a Photoshopped image, but I've always loved a good Bigfoot/Loch Ness-type creature sighting.

Why is the letter W pronounced "double-u" instead of "double-v"?

It has to do with its function, not its appearance. From The Origins and Development of the English Language, by John Algeo:

The history of the curved and angular forms of u -- that is, u and v -- was similar to that of i and j. Latin consonantal and vocalic u came to represent quite different sounds early in the Christian era, when consonantal u, hitherto pronounced [w], became [v]. Nevertheless, the two forms u and v continued to be used more or less interchangeably for either vowel or consonant. As its name indicates, w was originally a double u, although it was the angular shape v that was actually doubled, a shape we now regard as a different letter.

Tailgating cop rear-ends car; driver now faces prison time

Brian Hitchcock, driving home from work, was stopped at a red light. As the light turned green, motorcycle cop Anthony Parente pulled in tight behind Hitchcock's convertible and turned on the siren. Hitchcock instinctively hit the brakes, sending the tailgating Parente head-over-heels into his back seat.

Now, everyone knows who's at fault in these types of accidents: It's always the inattentive driver who rear-ends the car in front of him. But in this case, "Hitchcock was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of reckless driving and one count of reckless driving with injuries resulting. If convicted on all three, the writer, who is recently widowed, faces three years in jail."

You really have to read the full story to believe it.

Jack Daniels explains the deficit