h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah... the stupidity keeps coming.

A TSA agent at Philadelphia Int'l airport thought it would be "Funny" to stash a bag of fake contraband (baggie of white powder) in the carry-on bag of an unsuspecting passenger. She was flying to Detroit on the same carrier as the pants bomber. No, she did not think it was funny.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20100121_Daniel_Rubin__It_was_no_joke_at_security_gate.html

File this under 'You may also enjoy'...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/twitter-joke-led-to-terror-act-arrest-and-airport-life-ban-1870913.html

Thanks, that's a more detailed article than I'd previously read. I did like this:


>>The civil libertarian Tessa Mayes, an expert on privacy law and free speech issues, said: "Making jokes about terrorism is considered a thought crime, mistakenly seen as a real act of harm or intention to commit harm.

"The police's actions seem laughable and suggest desperation in their efforts to combat terrorism, yet they have serious repercussions for all of us. In a democracy, our right to say what we please to each other should be non-negotiable, even on Twitter."<<

OK... So I know that most folks here do not give a rotten fig about Conan O'Brien's trials and tribulations on NBC and the whole history of the Late Night Wars....


However, this is just too funny:

http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Conan-OBrien-The-Most-Expensive

This one's not funny at all. This one pisses me right off.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35196694/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Body piercing kittens for fun and profit. I've seen similar cruelty in the form of tattooed cats.

Hell, I want to slap every mother I see carrying around a baby girl with earrings. Now we gotta worry about people doing this to their pets?

There's a story that when Kruschev was flying into the US he looked down from the plane, saw all the swimming pools and said something like 'Now I know that Communism has failed'. Or will fail. Or something.

When I read stories like this I know that western society has failed.

Tax Stupidity:

So, this is the third night in a row I've tried to file my taxes using the new free on-line tax forms. The first time was rejected because I neglected to fill in the forms for my W2(employment earnings) and 1099 (interest). It was rejected again, so this time I figure out (hopefully I've got it right this time) that I omitted new "Making Work Pay" credit.

Now keep in mind, these new "forms" are just that. The 1040EZ is just a digital version of the pen and paper one. The only thing it does for you is the basic math once you fill in certain sections...

OK... So, back to that "Making Work Pay" doowickie. So, there's a note on that line (8) to see page 12 of the instructions. So I pull up the PDF of the instructions. That has a small section for adding up various incomes then refers you to a work sheet... get this... "On the back of form 1040EZ"...



It's an electronic form 1040EZ... there is no back to an on-line form.

Seriously, I'm not making this up. I had to google for a PDF version of the form so I could see the back.

This just in: Delusion may not save your life.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35300562/ns/health-heart_health/

I hate these types of studies. At best they confuse causality, coincidence and correspondence. At worst they give credence to the delusions. Even when these studies seem to show something, it's too easy to overlook other mitigating factors.

And speaking of delusion...
http://theoriginalgreenwichdiva.com/helmut-kichmeier-aka-hannibal-helmurto-trapped-in-trance-for-hours-after-accidentally-hypnoticing-himself-in-a-mirror/6578/

A sword swallower for the "Circus of Horrors" was practicing a self hypnosis technique he uses to help in his act* gets stuck in a trance in front of a mirror.

This is high-larious on several levels. Hypnosis is not all it's purported to be to begin with. Basically this guy believed in hypnosis so much that he convinced himself that he was "in a trance". Do a quick search for "Hannibal Helmurto" and you'll see some pics of this awesome specimen of .

*He made a spectacular debut as a sword swallower in 2007 by having to be rushed to the hospital when he slit his own throat from the inside. He's still doing it so I guess the hypnosis helps.

While watching the gubernatorial election pandering (news) yesterday evening I saw someone in an "on the street" interview decry one of the republican candidates for being "too moderate".

"Too moderate"?

Moderation is only good in small amounts.

Extremism is now the norm in this state.

Must have been a teabagger... er, I mean tea partyer

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/04/01/congressman-concerne.html

These are the folks making our laws.

The fascinating(ly stupid) story of John Parker, Lincoln's bodyguard on the night he was assassinated, who left his post to booze it up at the bar next door. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Lincolns-Missing-Bodyguard.html

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Drew Cary - "Think about how stupid the average person is, then realize that half of them are stupider than that."

Oh deary me... this is sublime.

http://www.popjolly.com/woman-says-she-became-pregnant-after-watching-porn-in-3d-365

Woman claims a 3D porn film she watched at a friend's house got her pregnant while her husband was stationed in Iraq for a year.


(The original source for this is quite suspect, but it's still funny.)

I dread to think of what the actual process actually consisted of...

Just read this headline http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/wacky/have-aliens-hijacked-voyager-2-spacecraft/story-e6frev20-1225865566982

The answer: NO.

It couldn't be a mere malfunction from a 33 year old space craft billions of miles from home in the depths of space constantly bombarded by cosmic radiation, now could it.

I just love that The Telegraph quoted an "Alien expert". How do you get a title like that? From now on, I'm calling myself an expert in sabre toothed leprechauns.

Ooh, you're just the bloke I've been looking for! Now, about this little fella with the big teeth who hangs out at the bottom of my garden... or should I just call George Noory

Billy Joel's daughter attempts homeopathic suicide. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/12/07/2009-12-07_nearly_impossible_to_od_on_drug_she_took.html#ixzz0cqQnzjCf

This is the only time I've read of homeopathic medicines having a positive effect other than that of a placebo.