ECU Pirates

Today, my East Carolina Pirates will upset the No. 17 Virginia Tech Hokies. Of course, I’ll be watching the game at my in-laws house — because I canceled cable. A slight miscalculation.
The game starts at noon on ESPN. I’ll be eating chicken wings and celery dipped in ranch dressing. Ah, college football! Ah, humanity! (Obscure reference.)
Impressive speaker
Now, I’m not endorsing anyone. But watch this clip:
Not sure how anyone can claim Palin was a bad choice for McCain.
3 electoral votes
In the article on McCain choosing Palin for VP, this is telling couple of paragraphs:
Republicans said that McCain hoped to blunt Obama’s message of political change with his pick, and it appeared likely she could remove all doubt about her home state in the fall campaign.Obama has targeted Alaska and its three electoral votes, one of several he hoped to turn competitive in the fall despite its long tradition of voting Republican.
The fact that either candidate is concerned with Alaska and its three electoral votes portends a close contest this November.
Woot
How is it that I’ve just learned of Woot? The etailer’s schtik — they sell one new item every day. Nothing more, nothing less. Today it’s a 2 GB MP3 player for $20. Not a bad deal.
Lunar conspiracy
Mythbusters are taking on the moon-landing conspiracy:
Ever since man went to the moon—and still today as America plans to go back (via DIY, NASA or the next president) —there have been those who said we never actually made it there in the first place. Instead, they say, the whole moon landing was a massive conspiracy perpetrated by NASA using elaborate sets and special effects. And they support their claims with what they believe to be irregularities in photography and film taken on the moon.
Sounds like a case for MythBusters and special-effects gurus Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, who take on the most popular lunar conspiracy theories tonight at 9 pm on the Discovery Channel with the help of a vintage NASA camera, a purpose-built rig and an airplane.
This is great — I’m amazed at how many of my students believe that we didn’t really go to the moon. It’s not really a fringe belief anymore. Apparently, some documentary aired a few years back about the fake moon landings. Perhaps this episode of Mythbusters will help straighten a few people out.
From the Atlanta newspaper:
“Gwinnett County police seized nearly $7 million worth of cocaine during a Monday afternoon traffic stop on I-85.An officer stopped a 2001 Jeep Cherokee for a traffic violation near Lawrenceville Suwanee Road, and discovered that the driver, Roberto Hernandez-Avila of Lawrenceville, didn’t have a valid license, Gwinett police Cpl. David Schiralli said.
Note to self: When traveling with $6.7 million worth of cocaine, make sure driver’s license is valid.
Good thinkpeace from Dan Drezner about the fallout of the Russian move into Georgia.




