Pangloss

If you have the last reply in a thread, and you post again, the system merges your new post to the previous one. Unfortunately any delay in the system during that time can cause the user to wonder if the system has recognized their input, and during this time they may click on the Post button again. An example of this may be seen in the 3rd and 4th quote-and-reply sections of this post. I've played around with this a bit and found that it's very easy to reproduce the behavior. It's perfectly understandable because the system doesn't give you a lot of feedback that it's processing your request, and we're a pretty board so it does fall behind from time to time. Best advice we can offer is to be patient, and when you've posted go back and check to make sure you posted what you think you posted.

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. The Senator's soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. "Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you." "No problem, just let me in," says the Senator. St. Peter says, "Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity." "Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the Senator. "I'm sorry, but we have our rules", replies St.Peter. And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the Devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises. The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. "Now it's time to visit heaven," St Peter says. So, 24 hours pass with the Senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and the 24 hours in heaven passes by and St. Peter returns. "Well, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now which will you choose for your eternity?" St Peter asks. The Senator reflects for a minute, then he answers, "Well, I never would have thought it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be happier and better off .. In hell." So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The Devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. "I don't understand," stammers the Senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?" The Devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning.. Today .. You voted."

Not really political humor per se, but since it's related to political figures I thought I'd post it here. I noticed this picture over at Politico, and the first thing that came to mind was that apparently all Palins are born with the ability to see Russia from their house. (grin)

Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedThe President spoke tonight at the annual White House Correspondent's Dinner. mmm4UJgfrfg

Good article from today's LA Times overviewing the recent history of American relations with Haiti, including the policies of the previous two US presidential administrations. http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-haiti-ex-presidents20-2010jan20,0,6934198.story

trudeity has been suspended for a week due to rules violations.

Good idea, I'll sticky this. Excellent series on Game Theory with Yale's Ben Polak: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6EF60E1027E1A10B

I'm reading Shogun by James Clavell. Next up on my list is the new Stephen King, Under the Dome. I like to try to do some fiction/entertainment reading this time of year. I'm definitely checking out that Google book, though -- just sent myself the first chapter via Kindle. I do all my reading on Kindle (for iPhone) now. Amazon apparently sold more Kindle books on Christmas Day than real books. That's partly due to people who were opening new Kindles that morning, of course, but I think it's a sign of the times. The Washington Post ran an interesting story today about a big battle in the publishing industry taking place over e-books, and it suggests that publishers are really just getting in the way and not providing either authors or readers with any value. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR2009122403326.html Apple's upcoming tablet may boost this kind of reading even further, especially if it runs iPhone apps out of the box.