'Langostino lobster' at Long John Silver's

Maybe you've seen Long John Silver's latest ads, and wondered why they mumble the word "Langostino" before the word "lobster" when describing their new product. Here's the news.

Langostino "lobster," while technically accurate according to the FDA, is actually a Chilean prawn that's also called a "squat lobster." They're much easier to catch than Maine lobsters.

Well, on behalf of my Maine lobsterman cousin, here's a site with some good info on this fraud. I know we all expect better from fast-food seafood joint, but sometimes life is unfair.

Non-U.S. citizens in the U.S. military

The United States has citizens of other states in its military. Do most people know this? I'd say probably not. Do other states have similar policies? I'd think probably not, but I am curious.

When I was in the Marines, a good friend of mine was an Irish citizen, and several other friends were Mexican. Thousands of U.S. sailors are Filipino, because of a special agreement between the Phillippines and the U.S. Navy. (Puerto Ricans are also heavily represented in our military, but Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, so maybe that's different.)

You don't see these facts in the news too often, so I was glad to see the following:

The Washington Post has an article about a Canadian First Nations citizen who was recently killed fighting under the U.S. flag in Iraq. ("First Nations" is the term for the aboriginals or Native Americans of Canada.)

So check it out.

Meanwhile, in Ohio and Kentucky...

Here's what you need to know:

"Severing parts from roadkill is illegal in both Ohio and Kentucky without a permit...

Apparently it's becoming more common, as you can see in this Cincinnati Enquirer article about "Roadkill poaching."

'Freedom fighter' or 'terrorist,' this is their assault rifle

The AK-47 is turning 60 years old next year, so of course someone wrote a book. For a shorter version, the Washington Post has an article by the same author.

It's pretty wild that these things have been around, and effective, as so many other aspects of warfare have changed. In the same 60 years, the United States has moved through the following long arms:

M-1 - Second World War and Korean War
M-14 - used until Vietnam; wood stock; still used today as a sniper rifle
M-16 - used through 1980s; mostly plastic; fully automatic; jammed a lot
M-16A2 - used until about 2003; jams less; 3-round burst instead of auto
M-4s - more compact than A2, more accessories

But meanwhile, the "other team" stayed with the AK-47 and its knock-off variants. And for obvious reasons.

Consider the cost difference: A civilian version of an M-16 will cost you at least $500. If you want omething similar to the M-4s that our folks are carrying in Iraq today, you'll pay more than $1,000. However, you can get a civilian rifle similar to an AK, called an SKS, for around $200 - with grenade launcher attachment.

What are the downsides? AK-47s are bigger and bulkier than more advanced arms, and don't have as much range: M-16s and M-4s can engage targets at 500+meters, but AKs are only accurate to 300 meters.

I do love M-16s - they're not as delicate as some people make them out to be. I've seen them go through hell and still fire fine.

But the amount of money the U.S. and other states spend on their infantry long arms reminds me of this joke about NASA:

When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity.

To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300ºC.

The Russians used a pencil.

p.s. this is how I party on a Saturday night.

Student getting Tasered vs. Kramer's tirade

Maybe both of these videos are old news, but:

Which is more disturbing? This lengthy video of a UCLA student being repeatedly Tasered (because he refuses to "stand up"?), or this video of Michael "Cosmo Kramer" Richards making some angry racist statements while his comedy act (career?) nosedives into a smoldering pile of fuselage?

I'm not saying the UCLA police are right or wrong, but it's still a jarring video.

I basically stole this post from Dan Drezner, but what can you do. What a mess.

My Marine unit in the NY Times

The NY Times' CJ Chivers has apparently been hanging out with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines - my old battalion. A battalion is about a thousand guys.

But more specific than that, one of is his articles is about Fox Company (a few hundred guys), and the platoon is third platoon, my old platoon! What are the odds? (Chivers also wrote a story on Golf Company of 2/8 - pronounced "two eight" - and I was in Golf Co. for a few months.)

Anyway, there's a photo slide show with audio, too. Pretty amazing.

I didn't see any guys I was in with. I went through all the names... nope, nope, nope. The sergeant in the story probably joined shortly after I got out. Different names, but everything else sounds the same.

I can't believe 2/8 is in Iraq again. They went in in 2003, during the initial invasion, then went to Afghanistan for their next deployment. It's hard to tell from the news coverage, but I think they were in Iraq at least one other time (before this one) as well.

That's got to be hard as hell on the families.

Hats off, guys.

p.s: the article makes a pretty signficant point out of the fact that a Marine didn't know who Rumsfeld was. When I was 19 (and a Marine), I knew who the SecDef was, but I am pretty sure most folks did not. Like the article says, it doesn't matter who's in charge that high up. And like the old poem says, "theirs is not to reason why..."

Semper fi.

'The Onion' gets even better

The Onion has had CARTOONS for a few weeks now, and has been putting out a "Weekender" and "The Onion Magazine" (think the NY Times Sunday magazine) for a few months. The two magazines are only the covers.

Most of the cartoons either have the grim reaper or the Statue of Liberty - crying a single tear. At least one cartoon has both.

Here's a cartoon and mag cover. Note: This is satire.





Now get back to work!

Your external validity is not relevant here.

A quote from Lew Wallace, the governor of New Mexico Territory from 1878 to 1881:

“Every calculation based on experience elsewhere fails in New Mexico.”

Found in this NY Times article.