Crepuscular Rays...

Via APOD, of course.

Here in Lawson Valley, we occasionally get nice displays of such rays at sunrise.  In our case, they're caused by the shadows of the mountain peaks to our northeast...

Lakes Entertainment Numbers: More of the Same...

Lakes Entertainment has released their 2010 Q2 results.  The Jamul Casino project is mentioned in the same way as the last few reports – they appear to just be slowly writing the thing off.  There's not an optimistic word (from their perspective) in the report.  With each such report, the prospect of an actual, physical Jamul Casino grows more remote...

Woo hoo!

The Wikipedia Song...

If you use Wikipedia, you need to listen to this.  Beautiful!

Giant Methane Bubbles Caused Bermuda Triangle Disasters?

I've no idea whether this is serious or not.

Those Were the Days...

There was a time, not so very long ago, when a boss or owner could speak his mind plainly to his employees.  Shaun Usher at Letters of Note somehow found a collection of memos demonstrating this; they make fascinating reading.  Here's one example from the collection:

Tiger Oil Company
MEMORANDUM
Date: January 11, 1978
To: All Employees
From: Edward Mike Davis (Owner)

Subject: Idle Conversation

Idle conversation and gossip in this office among employees will result in immediate termination.

Don't talk about other people and other things in this office.

DO YOUR JOBS AND KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!

Awesome.  I'm filled with envy for those earlier, more candid, less politically-correct times...

Now This is How to Quit Your Job...

This sequence of photos was emailed to her boss – and all her colleagues – by a girl announcing that she was quitting her job.  I can only aspire to such a hilarious and effective way to quit an awful job.

It's also a hoax, dang it.  But it's still funny as hell.

How to Cut the Deficit, Painlessly...

Well, painlessly for the taxpayer, anyway.  As Byron York points out, taxpayer savings of $40B to $47B annually could be generated simply by freezing government workers' pay until it comes into line with what non-government workers are paid to do similar work.  This is at least conceivable, politically – particularly if the Democrats are soundly thrashed in November.

What I'd really like to see happen, though, is that government workers' total compensation (pension included) is capped at parity to non-government worker levels – and average less – say 80% or 85%.  For the good of our economy, government jobs should be unattractive.  The only high-paying government jobs should be in the military.

Of course there's no way that any Democrat – or the vast majority of Republicans – would ever go for my proposal.  The thoroughly-entrenched bureaucratic special interests will see to that...