Our tax dollars at work. (Technologically it’s really amazing, humanly it’s really disgusting and from a bean-counters standpoint, it’s inspiring.) And, on the plus side, less collateral damage.

The Economist: Military technology – magic bullets.

Iowa

It was weird to watch the caucuses from outside the state this year. And a relief; no media attention, no attack ads, reading about something other than fucking politicians in the newspaper every day. (It was also really weird to hear about my beloved home state everywhere in the news—including international news outlets.) Just glad it’s all over.

Think you know everything you need to about “Iowa”? Think again. (NSFW):

AKA “You Don’t Know Shit About Iowa” on CollegeHumor.

Super PAC

This next item — from the New York Times — had me howling with laugher. Entitled “How Many Stephen Colberts Are There?” is hilarious and fantastic. I usually find Colbert’s act to be grating and harsh (though sometimes quite enjoyable), but this article his the nail on the head in it’s behind-the-scenes look. Some select quotes:

He has one of those too — an organization that can accept unlimited amounts of money from corporations without disclosing their names and can then give that money to a regular PAC, which would otherwise be required to report corporate donations. “What’s the difference between that and money laundering?” Colbert said to me delightedly.

and

In late December, in an op-ed for a South Carolina newspaper, Colbert sweetened the deal to $500,000 if the Republicans would reconsider, join the Democrats in appealing the ruling and give him his naming rights and the referendum question. “Call it a Christmas miracle,” he wrote. “I’ve already filled out the check, and to prove it’s no joke, I’ve written `No Joke' in the memo line.”

I watched Leverage today (spoiler alert), finished the first season, and started the second. At the end of season one, all the characters walk away from each other (again) for a while.

In the supposed six months between season one and season two, each person returns to their old, solo, existences; stealing stuff, cracking computers and busting heads. In other words, they “reverted to type again.”

I found myself wondering: why didn’t they spend the time to read books, or travel, or write? Why did one, in her own words ‘steal the Hope diamond & put it back again, because I was bored’? Because each character does what they were ‘born’ to do. (I don’t believe in destiny, per say, and I won’t debate nature v. nurture here, but it seems to me that some people naturally ‘fit’ in certain places. And fit so well that they are orders of magnitude better at a given activity than anyone else. Maybe it isn’t fit, maybe it’s just hours)