Video:
That is, according to the story, the “raw” world record, meaning he didn’t wear some kind of shirt that, I take it, helps. The non-raw record is 1,076.9 pounds.
Over half a ton.
Which I can also do. Just not all at once.
I don’t think that’s what they’re really trying to say (shameless Star Trek hit-mongering edition).
Boldly Go? Can Humanity Afford ‘Star Trek’-Like Space Exploration?
The public has no shortage of enthusiasm for fictional spacefarers, as this weekend’s box-office win by the newest “Star Trek” film proves. Yet the real-life U.S. space agency finds itself strapped for cash these days. With federal budgets tightening and NASA feeling the pinch, some space advocates are asking, “Can humans afford to reach the stars?”
Here’s what I think they meant to say:
Boldly Go? Can Humanity Afford to Ignore ‘Star Trek’-Like Space Exploration?
The public has no shortage of enthusiasm for fictional spacefarers, as this weekend’s box-office win by the newest “Star Trek” film proves. Yet the real-life U.S. space agency finds itself strapped for cash these days. But even with federal budgets tightening and NASA feeling the pinch, some space advocates are asking, “Can humans afford not to reach the stars?”
Makes me glad I do my own editing.
Blogging tip: if your blog reaches 3 million hits, you should really think about sending out an email or something.
I’m looking at you, Jamie Jeffords.
And, no, I can’t quite resist, even though I should:
Don’t blame me. Blame Jamie.
So what you’re saying is: in Florida, you can just go fight a giant snake with a knife any time you want?
Is that what you’re saying? Because it seems like that’s what you’re saying:
Jason Leon was not hunting pythons but, while driving late at night recently in southeast Miami-Dade County, he and a friend spotted about 3 feet of snake protruding from the brush.
Leon applied the brakes, climbed out of the car, grabbed the visible portion of the snake, and began hauling it onto the road.
The giant constrictor responded by trying to wrap its body around one of Leon’s legs, but he was able to dispatch the reptile with a knife.
And the thing was over 18 feet long.
The cynic in me is thinking: wow, that guy’s gonna be in trouble when the animal rights people get hold of him.
The practical side of me is thinking: “when the animal rights people get hold of him?” He killed an 18-foot python with a knife. The last thing the animal rights crowd wants is to get anywhere near him.
And the cops aren’t gonna help:
Leon, meanwhile, is being praised.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued a news release, in which exotic species specialist Kristen Sommers stated:
“The FWC is grateful to him for both safety removing such a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture…With the help of people like Mr. Leon and our ongoing partnerships with other agencies, the FWC is advancing what we know about Burmese pythons in Florida.”
Meanwhile, the world wants to know: did he wait until the python was wrapped completely around him before casually removing the knife from his teeth and making sushi? Or did he, in actuality, beat the snake to death with his giant brass [redacted] and just tell people he used the knife?
More importantly: where do you find a hotdog bun that size?
For an unrecognizable celebrity, he sure is getting his picture splashed around a wide swath of the internet today.
Christian Bale…unrecognizable!
Christian Bale unrecognizable at LAX: Actor debuts bald, bearded new look
Here he is:
Good thing that photographer was in that airport, just randomly snapping pictures of strangers, when he just happened across the unrecognizable Christian Bale and…well, hell, how exactly did anybody figure out it was him? He’s unrecognizable!
I, of course, have a long history of not recognizing Christian Bale, unless he’s sitting in my office drinking coffee and listening to my probably-unfortunate-but-not-career-ending advice.
Step 1, the setup:
More than 8,000 French households’ tax bills topped 100 percent of their income in 2012, according to a French newspaper report.
Citing data from France’s finance ministry, the business newspaper Les Echos reported on Friday that in addition to those taxed at over 100 percent last year, almost 12,000 households paid taxes worth more than 75 percent of their 2011 income and that a further 9,910 households were taxed at more than 85 percent of their income.
The paper said this was due to a one-off levy imposed on the 2011 incomes of households with assets of more than 1.3 million euros ($1.67 million). The surcharge was introduced by socialist President Francois Hollande in an attempt to offset the cost of a rebate scheme and taxation cap introduced by former President Nikolas Sarkozy, the paper added.
The had to do it, see, because that bastard Sarkozy was only going to take half!
Which brings us to:
“In 2011, 5,221 households had a tax rate of more than 100 percent on their revenues, Some 6,203 households had a rate of more than 85 percent and 6,343 house holds a rate of more than 75 percent,” the newspaper said but households could take advantage of a “tax shield” introduced by Sarkozy to cap an individual’s overall taxation at 50 percent of their income.
And there’s your Step 2: making a 50 percent tax rate seem reasonable, even desirable. By comparison.
How have the French not conquered the world?
