a not-so-realistic simulation of the WTC on 9/11

I saw a link to what was sarcastically called one of the best “Democratic Underground” posts ever, and while I don’t know about that, it’s definitely silly.  Some guy took some chicken wire, concrete blocks, newspaper, and kerosene to “simulate” the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11.  His conclusion, since the newspaper and kerosene didn’t burn down the chicken wire and cause the concrete block to fall, then obviously the Twin Towers couldn’t have fallen due to a fire from jet fuel and the structural damage caused when the plane crashed into it.  Here’s his words :

“What I conclude is that a fairly flimsy steel structure does not distort and bend and collapse very easily from a simple hydrocarbon fire. And thus, it is not clear why the much stronger steel columns in the WTC towers weakened so much from fires that the towers underwent global collapse.”

Click here for the pictures and the rest of the story.  This has to be the most ridiculous item of the day…  Well, that and the fact that some people think President Bush is responsible for taking down the WTC.

An excerpt from one of the comments :

Here you have someone without any apparent engineering background making very coarse analogies and drawing sweeping conclusions. Stop me if you’ve heard this: extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. You have someone positing a conspiracy of staggeringly vast size and audacity, based on an experiment that would fairly rate a failing grade as a high school science project. He then gets on the internet samizdat machine and declares that NIST, the military, the President and everyone else are engaged in some sort of bizarre conspiracy.

obesity… it’s a bigger issue than we thought

I have a quote of one of my friends saying this about being overweight:

I may be fat, but it’s not because of eatin’… ~ Mobo, 9/11/03

I thought it was just plain randomness (and it probably was), but now WebMD says there are a lot of causes of obesity, including things like not getting enough sleep.  (That one must be my problem!)  They also cite air conditioning and pollution as possible causes.  They also think there could possibly be a “fat-inducing virus”.  I tell ya, WebMD is losing credibility in my eyes (considering the recent post on hypnotherapy helping with bowel problems).

whats your favorite childhood game?

I was reminiscing today about my childhood & some of the games that I played as a child.  I was wondering what games were your favorite?  I remember this one game I played all through childhood, where my parents would take me to the park or circus or someplace for the day… they’d drop me off then they would leave… the game was for me to find my way home again, and when I eventually did my parents would ‘act’ all surprised & to’up, feigning shock…  it was  hilarious…  then we’d go somewhere else & play again the next day… my brothers & sisters were probably all jealous of me cause they never got to play…          ahh…          the memories…             ~Thomas Wayne

making golf less boring

Golf is boring to watch, but does it have to be?  What (humorous) suggestions could be applied to the game to make it more entertaining to everyone?