Improve your language skills

Learn more about the f-word with this informative 3ish minute piece.

So nice, they showed it twice

Probably the best dunk I've ever seen, about a minute into this Gerald Green montage.

Now is the time to make circles with mints

do not haste any longer. My favorite fortune cookie, sharing inspired by Cowen's own enigmatic (but nearly as odd) cookie. I have no clue what it means.

Oiled Up

A short history of oil crisises from Reason.

Why do we care about oil prices so much?

157 mpg? Wow.

What country is this?

Cops torturing a small-time drug dealer for a confession. What is wrong with these people? There are probably life-and-death situations where torture is okay (the theoretical ticking bomb cliche), but this comes nowhere close to that.

End the Tyranny

The secret racket men should know about.

You can't lose what you don't put in the middle

...but you can't win much either. Derek Lowe (not the pitcher) on the need for risk-taking in business (and life, of course) (via Jane Galt). But, as the say, look down, not up. Basically, try to know what risks to avoid and which to not be afraid of embracing. I'll end this before it gets too cliched (oops, too late).

Woh

About Fucking Time!

(Likely awful) Picks

The NBA playoffs start tomorrow. Here is how I see it shaking out:
First round:
Detroit over Milwaukee, 4-1.
Miami over Chicago, 4-1.
New Jersey over Indiana, 4-1.
Cleveland over Washington, 4-3.
San Antonio over Sacramento, 4-2.
Phoenix over Los Angeles Lakers, 4-2.
Denver over Los Angeles Clippers, 4-3.
Dallas over Memphis, 4-1.
So, that's the higher seed winning every series in the opening round. Clearly Den/LAC is the hardest call, though Cle/Was is a tough one, too.
Second round:
Detroit over Cleveland, 4-1.
Miami over New Jersey, 4-3.
San Antonio over Dallas, 4-3.
Phoenix over Denver, 4-1.
Home court wins out.
Conference Finals:
Detroit over Miami, 4-2. Miami changed its roster too much and did it the wrong way, they can't beat a cohesive unit like Detroit in a 7 game series.
Phoenix over San Antonio, 4-2. San Antonio is better, but Phoenix has an easier path to the Finals, plus Duncan and Ginobili are clearly not at 100% and will be worn out from playing Dallas.
Finals:
Detroit over Phoenix, 4-2. Detroit's 3.5 All-Stars (I only half count Rasheed) and Tayshaun are too much for Phoenix, who aren't really an elite team with Amare Stoudamire out.
Here are some other Eastern Conference and Western Conference picks.

Look at the face

Would you trust this man? Really, though, even with a trustworthy face the story was pretty far-fetched.

A new NO

Tyler Cowen recommends relaxing building standards in New Orleans to encourage the reconstruction (aka, legalize shantytowns). I think he's right, as, at least for now, the only way people will move back there is if it's cheap. My idea, however, is more ambitious (it's probably been mentioned elsewhere, but as far as I remember I've never seen it, so I'm calling it my own). Make New Orleans like Hong Kong was under British rule, a tax-free zone. The tax revenue we miss out on will be dwarfed by the amount of economic activity that is unleashed. It wouldn't even cost the treasury that much in the short-term. I'd love to see it become permanent, but, if needed to get it passed, we could put a time limit on the tax exemption of around 15-20 years. That would be long enough to get businesses and individuals to move in there, but short enough to limit the losses to the treasury.

Great Name

An oldie from The Daily Show. Skip ahead to about 80 or 90% of the way through to Steve Carell's piece. Oddly reminiscent of a scene from 40 Year Old Virgin.

Learn you some skills

Use a Bic to open a beer.

Yea or Nay?

Global warming, threat or mirage?

Rare praise

Jane Galt actually likes NCLB. I don't know enough to have an opinion, but she makes a good case.

Niemoller

Ninjas are apparently a big problem to federal officials. First they came for...

You're with me, Leather

Chris Berman has mad skills.

Awful

Cops are sending attractive women to high schools to convince geeky boys to buy them marijuana. How is this allowed? Crime creation is criminal.

More added to my list

MR tells us the books that move men and women. I've only read one of them, so it looks like I've got some catching up to do.

Here we go again

Up next, Iran.

Help a brother out

Click the link, then send it to friends. For serious.

Poor Shawn

Oh, to be the Greatest White Stiff in NBA history (via TrueHoop).