Oxygen

I wish we'd had cool science-based cartoons like this when I was a kid:


(via)

Christmas Deathtrap

Speaking as someone who's old man was a fire chief, taking down your Christmas tree on time is extremely advisable:

Food Poisoning's A Bitch

Either I've eaten something that no human should have or someone sucker punched me in the gut while I was sleeping; either way the posts may be a bit light for the next day or so but don't worry: I have top men working on it. Top. Men.

Inhaling Sulphur Hexaflouride

I recently posted a Mythbusters paint cannon video that was pretty cool so I thought I'd follow it up with something I'd never heard of before. As Adam demonstrates in the video, inhaling helium obviously makes your voice higher but have you ever done the same with sulphur hexaflouride? Neither have I but now I want to try it at home:

Obama Hits Back

I'm not one of those conspiracy guys who think the big oil companies are entirely evil entities; I realize that they're just businesses that are run by human beings who don't necessarily want to burn this planet down just to make a profit for themselves. And I even realize that the oil companies are not the primary cause for high oil and gas prices; the energy market is a complicated industry with dozens of different factors affecting markets and fuel prices. But you can't deny that they've been making record profits during the recent energy crunch and actually, over the last several years. And not record profits like. "Wow, we've never made so much money before." I'm talking record profits like, "Wow, no corporation or entity in the history of the human race has ever made this much money! Ever!"

So no, I can't, and don't, blame them for our recent energy problems. But our government has spent billions of dollars in the past on extensive bailouts and corporate subsidies for these motherfuckers, so when they're making more money than God while the average American can't pay their mortgage and feed their children at the same time, I have no problem with taking a little piece of that pie back for the people. Enter Barack Obama and his idea for a windfall profits tax:
And John McCain's plan to increase offshore drilling? Well, it seems to be paying off for him at least:

The Washington Post reported that McCain received $1.1 million from oil and gas industry executives and employees in June -- three-quarters of which came after he called for lifting the ban on offshore drilling on June 16.

Nozzle Rage

The message is similar to this previous post, and I'd say that the metaphor in this film is just about right:

(hat tip: Doug E)

Something I Wish I'd Said

"The median case suggests the effect on gasoline prices in 2025 will be a mere $0.02 a gallon. The immediate effect will be zero as we’ll have to wait a decade to see any oil from ANWR. If this is Bush’s and McCain’s answer to today’s high gasoline prices, it is no answer at all." -PGL, at economics blog Angry Bear

State Gas Prices

From Wired.com:

Note how similar gas prices are within individual states and how much they vary between states. Using just gas price data, you could practically draw the state lines, if they weren't already inked in for you. Look at that Illinois-Missouri border!

Northern California looks like the surface of the sun; apt, because I'm getting burned on petrol out here.