@ted: It may be a bit of an oversimplification, but it's not a distorted stereotype of the Japanese culture.

Of course there have been "western" disasters that were calm and orderly afterward, but I don't think that's the point here. The Yakuza are a uniquely Japanese cultural institution. They may do awful things to one another and extort businesses in certain areas, but they're still fascinating and unlike any other organized crime group. Almost all of their syndicates have newsletters that quite literally have "tips" on how to be a better Yakuza member. One of the newsletters from Inagawa-kai (I believe) even had the request "Please do not inconvenience members of the public by handing out business cards while on assignment."

Another interesting fact: The Yakuza are one of two groups in Japan that buy large American cars (think Cadillacs). The other one? Dentists.

He looks like a sweet guy :3 Admittedly, if I didn't know his back story and was at a shelter, I'd probably be a bit freaked out and move on (unless he came right up to me and made an amazing impression).

Still, I'd take him in if I were nearby. I'm sure he's found/will soon find a great home.

I've seen some really interesting and cool subdermal implants (even if I'd never do it)...these are not in that category.

77%...mostly because I figure no one famous comes from WI, and all I know about Green Bay's mayor is that he looks like a crazy wolverine.

The one with the asian man looked like you could get accused of sexual harassment for being short...

Ah, my mistake. Those were steers. I didn't know any of those farms were still around that area.

r: You're thinking of feedlot beef cattle. Dairy cattle are not kept that way; they would not produce milk if they were.

I will say that the farms I've worked around in Portage county do have quite a few problems- not so much with the treatment of the cows or overcrowding, but with latent disease shedding. There was also a farm in that area that came down with brucellosis a few years back. Hope this stuff gets figured out.

It used to be known even within the medical community (at least within the U.S.) as "Dr. Strangelove syndrome"...I don't know whether the old British documentary mentioned that name, but I'd be interested to see if it did.

I call BS on the Marfa lights. It's a fascinating phenomena, and I wouldn't blame Texas for building a viewing area. But Fata Morgana inversion layer mirages (a superior mirage type) are easily replicated and fairly easily tested, and even though there are some reports of lights that wouldn't follow that kind of phenomena, there are no credible photos or videos of non-compliant visages.

Anyway, the SPS from UTexas did a lot of work on this a couple years back, and some of it is published here:

http://ajp.aapt.org/resource/1/ajpias/v77/i8/p697_s1?isAuthorized=no

It explains well why they can't be seen close-up. Personally, I'd love to see them if I were in the area...meteorological phenomena are awesome!

I would say "hey, algal blooms strike again", since that's what caused all those poisoned birds that inspired "The Birds".

But these are pretty far apart, and why would only one fish species be targeted?

Clearly, it's a pestilence directed among the most evil of species, and should therefore be taken as a sign of the coming apocalypse. :P

Hope ya don't use a laptop with that thing on! I can see how a desktop would be fine, but as someone who's had a laptop completely mucked up by a neodymium magnet, I sure hope fashion sense doesn't trump common sense for people who like this bracelet.

Though obviously pretty strong magnets, at least they don't look like they have the potential to cause blood blisters like the neodymium things on my fridge. D:

Out of my price range (and a tad overpriced, imo, but small-scale artists usually deserve a slight inflation), but I love it. Adorable. Though I'm feeling a bit Cthulhu-saturated these days. I hope he doesn't get as over-used as bacon.

"They decided to use educational attainment as a determinant of social class and tested the comparative ability of college graduates and non-college graduates"

...seriously? That might be a good thing to study regarding emotional perception, but it is NOT a determinant of social class. If anything, college graduates are more likely to be middle-class than anything. The three PhDs I know personally are nowhere near upper class. One of them is right on the line between "lower" and "middle" class, inasmuch as there is such a line. The whole study is questionable on the assertion that education=class alone.

I wondered that too, but it is in that general area...it's not really "hip", but it's not that far away.

Thanks Ms. Cass! Fourth grade basic anatomy class ftw! :D