10/1/07 Black White and Red All Over

Question: What's black, white and red all over?

Answer: It's in Australia.

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Science factoid of the day: One teaspoon of a neutron star weighs a billion tons.


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When I fly, my mind wanders. Part of it is the solitude. Part of it is the altitude. And part of it is whatever is in the recycled air. I swear to you, the second the air comes on, I am completely relaxed and sedated. My dad thinks I hold the record for the number of times someone has fallen asleep before a plane takes off. This last trip I took, instead of sleeping I started writing down whatever was coming to mind on the sudoku page of the airline magazine. Here's what I have that I care to share:

• Out of the 3 sudoku puzzles in the magazine, the easiest of the three was 2/3 filled in. The number 7 was written in twelve times.
• Have you ever flown over an agricultural area? Why are the fields in circles instead of the entire square? By my calculations, you're losing 21.5% of your total field area (pi*r^2 compared to 2r*2r). There must be a reason to waste that much space.
• SkyMall magazine is just ridiculous. The stuff is ridiculous. The prices are ridiculous. And, most of all, the models and their poses are ridiculous. The slanket? The travel pillow? The bumper boat? I don't care how many drugs they pump through the air system... There's no way those items have any appeal.
  
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  I should have made my baseball announcement 3 or 4 weeks ago when I first decided. Since my team rolled over and died in May, I have my American and National League followings for the playoffs. Go Angels and Phillies! (I must like red). For more on the end of the season, I suggest Jason Starks' article. My favorite part is halfway down - It's the "Mathematical impossibility division" For example:
  
  • Oakland's Kiko Calero, July 12 in Minnesota: 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 pitch.
  
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  Radiohead is awesome and brilliant. That's a given. Mike confirms this. Radiohead is letting you decide how much you want to pay for their new album. Seriously. Pay what you think it's worth. Take that RIAA, scumbags.