Duck Goes Moo!

from SMBC

You know, I’ve always viewed Keith Olbermann as an overly sanctimonious and loquacious demagogue, but his words in this speech really resonate with me. It has all the trappings of a Knox College Political Science essay, but I think it very well sums up and counters the rather obvious attempts by some opportunistic politicians who are looking to exploit xenophobia and fear to get votes, or a certain news network’s attempts to get more viewers.

Bravo, Mr. Olbermann. Maybe I’ll watch your show sometime.

In California scientists are filled with curiosity by a series of rocks which in Death Valley which seem to be slowly migrating aimlessly across the desert floor.  Dubbed “Sailing Stones”, they are more specifically found in the dried out lake bed known as the “Racetrack Playa” (and no, that’s not the name of a rap artist).

The rocks careen about in a seemingly random pattern, rocks very rarely moving in parallel. The exact causes are not known and remain a bit of a mystery to this day, though many scientists do have theories.

Wind and ice both are the favored hypothesis for these mysterious sliding rocks. Noted in Don J. Easterbrook’s “Surface Processes and Landforms”, he mentioned that because of the lack of parallel paths between some rock paths, this could be caused by the breaking up of ice resulting in alternate routes. Even though the ice breaks up into smaller blocks, it is still necessary for the rocks to slide.

from wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_stones

http://boingboing.net/2009/02/19/obama-sushi.html