bombardier beetles and the argument of design
that's a pretty cool argument to present the next time a creationist starts jabbering about how evolution of complex creatures is impossible. the author starts leaning toward ad hominem-type attacks on creationists near the end, but the meat of the paper is quite good. the bombardier beetle is also being studied by aerospace engineers, who are trying to base jet engine design off of its combustion chamber.

stupid stupid people
while standing outside the dark horse today, waiting for travis to meet me for lunch, i noticed that the new jetta parked in the handicapped space in front of the building not only didn't have a handicapped plate or permit (the handicapped logo on the pavement was covered by snow), but it had a cute little floppy-haired shih-tzu-type dog inside -- and the windows were all rolled up! i asked a table filled with potential suspects (people who looked like they might own that kind of dog) inside if they were responsible, but no dice. i then told a waitress, who said she'd ask around. no idea what happened after that, but the car was gone by the time we were done with lunch. i hope the dog was okay.

i seriously considered slashing the bastard's tires, but i figured that the dog would just have to spend more time boiling in the car while its owner called triple-a to get a tow or change his (or her) tires. keying the car would have been fitting, as well, but travis keeps reminding me that the cost of repairing paint on a new car such as that drives that particular offense up to a felony. of course, animal torture is also a felony, so... i suppose if policing were still left up to private citizens (as described in that paper i mention in my previous post), i could have arrested the offender inside the dark horse myself.