Ogre Gunner suggests calling them the Vatican Holy Rollers.

Posted by: Ace at 10:58 AM | Comments (21)
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Think global, oppose local doesn't work for Kennedy and his other millionaire buddies:

The state's highest court on Monday upheld a decision permitting construction of transmission lines to bring electricity from the Cape Wind project to shore.

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a May 2005 decision by the state Energy Facilities Siting Board that was challenged by a group opposing the Cape Wind project.

...

If it receives needed federal approval, Cape Wind would become the nation's first offshore wind farm - a unique status that has presented local, state and federal jurisdictional questions during five years of government reviews.

...

Opponents fear the environmental and economic effects on Cape Cod's tourist and fishing industries, warning the turbines would pose navigational and radar hazards. They also say the turbines could hurt the views of some multimillion-dollar oceanfront homes.

Thanks to yls.

Posted by: Ace at 10:57 AM | Comments (28)
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"At times" since his brain surgery.

Sen. Tim Johnson has been conscious at times since his emergency brain surgery last week, his spokeswoman said Monday. But he is currently being sedated so he can rest.

The South Dakota Democrat has made it through the first 72 hours since the Wednesday evening brain surgery, spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said, a benchmark that doctors consider a good sign for recovery. The senator remains in critical but stable condition, she added.

Fisher said the next ``target'' for doctors is to watch his progress over the next week.

The senator showed some signs of recovery late last week, responding to voices, opening his eyes and moving his limbs. But his long-term prognosis is still unclear.

Johnson's sudden illness has raised questions about the Democrats' one-vote majority in the upcoming Senate session. South Dakota's Republican governor, Mike Rounds, would appoint a replacement if Johnson's seat were vacated by his death or resignation.

A Republican appointee would create a 50-50 tie and effectively allow the GOP to retain Senate control because of Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote.

There is ample precedent for senators to continue to hold office while incapacitated.

I can't help but notice that Johnson's minor interaction with the world is enough to keep him in the Senate, but such wasn't enough to keep Terry Schiavo alive.

Now, no one's claiming Johnson is brain-dead, of course. But still, the Democrats seem to have a newfound respect for an occasional opening of the eyes.

Posted by: Ace at 10:06 AM | Comments (65)
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Well, not as well as a dog, but students were able to track the "light" scent of chocolate along ten meters.

Okay, that's not very far. But they could do it, and got better at it with practice.

Just like canines, many humans are able to sniff the ground, pick up a faint scent and successfully track it.

The surprising discovery, made by researchers in the United States who are trying to figure out the mystery of why mammals have two nostrils, suggests that people have a much more highly developed sense of smell than is commonly thought.

The researchers found that about two out of three people given the kind of task that would be the joy of any hound managed to find and follow a scent trail spread on a grass field -- a very pleasing scent to humans: a faint whiff of chocolate spread along 10 metres.

A paper published in the January issue of Nature Neuroscience also found that humans get better with sniffing out a scent trail over time, which suggests that with lots of practice people may be capable of the kind of tracking previously thought to be the exclusive ability of other animals.

The researchers were the first to admit that having a group of 32 people, comprised mostly of university students, crawl across a field with their noses to the ground carried a whiff of the absurd.

"It seems a little wacky at first glance," said Rehan Khan, a senior scientist at the University of California Berkeley neuroscience department who worked on the project. "It's a very strange task for a human, but it's the most natural task in the world for most mammals."

He said the tracking test was part of an effort to figure out why mammals have two nostrils, something that isn't as readily apparent as the obvious utility of having two eyes, which give depth perception, and two ears, which allow for a more accurate sense of where a sound is coming from.

"All mammals have two nostrils, so we were interested in why is this? Nobody really had an answer to this question," Mr. Khan said.

People rely most heavily on their sense of sight, leading them to under-appreciate their olfactory abilities. "Because we do have this domination in our perception of vision, we don't think of ourselves as particularly good at smelling things compared to a dog, but that doesn't mean that we're terrible," Mr. Khan said.

They found (science!) that two notrils were better than one for this task.

Of course, humans can never beat dogs at this game. The scent-pathways of dogs' noses, if drawn out straight on a line, would stretch to the planet Saturn and back three times.*

* Well, I may have made that up. Still, I'm sure it's pretty far and shit.

Posted by: Ace at 09:52 AM | Comments (18)
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I told you-- strangling's not my style. I just don't have the hand strength.

— Police hunting a suspected serial killer following the murders of five prostitutes in eastern England arrested a 37-year-old man on Monday and cordoned off a group of houses.

The man was arrested at his home in Trimley St. Martin, near the port of Felixstowe, Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull said in a brief statement to reporters. He declined to say where the suspect was being held.

“He has been arrested on the suspicion of murdering all five women,” Supt. Gull said.

News reports identified the suspect as Tom Stephens, who was quoted in the Sunday Mirror newspaper as saying he knew all five women, and that he had been interviewed four times under caution — meaning that he was regarded as a potential suspect — by police investigating the slayings.

“From the police profiling it does look like me — white male between 25 and 40, knows the area, works strange hours. The bodies have got close to my house,” Mr. Stephens was quoted as saying.

“If new information, coincidental information, crops up, I could get arrested,” Mr. Stephens was quoted as saying. He added that he was confident he would not be charged.

It's not like he's giving off a Jamie Gumb vibe or anything:

Posted by: Ace at 09:42 AM | Comments (23)
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Interesting, provacative theory, by which I mean that some people will start blowin' shit up in honor of Shakey the Prophet.

Thanks to cutaway.

Posted by: Ace at 09:40 AM | Comments (37)
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AP just can't help lying.

The woman supports Ward Churchill. This was found by Dan Riehl, doing a Google search of her name, and turning up an editorial she wrote supporting Churchill.

The AP is either too incompetent to do the same or (more likely) chose to suppress this in an effort to create another "folk hero" of the pro-terrorist left.

Posted by: Ace at 09:35 AM | Comments (12)
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Heh.

Nifong is facing true justice -- he'll soon be the one facing a multi-year legal action and the utter destruction of his career and reputation.

Posted by: Ace at 08:55 AM | Comments (23)
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So says Patterico, breaking out the big bold face, after having spoken to Marc Danziger.

Confederate Yankee notes no one's saying which way this is going to be blown open.

Although, judging by Patterico's enthusiasm, I have a feeling. I don't think he's getting all giddy at the prospect of vindicating Kathleen Carroll.

Posted by: Ace at 08:53 AM | Comments (3)
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Well, thanks to you guys, I edged out Michelle Malkin and Captain Ed for runner-up in the blogger awards.

I appreciate it. Thanks.

Posted by: Ace at 08:48 AM | Comments (19)
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