A Few Links

1)  Never realized naval mines were so effective

(The story focuses on Chinese vulnerability to naval mines, though I suspect Taiwan isn't much better off.)

2)  China arming Islamofascists in Iraq & Afghanistan via Iran

The weapons were described as "late-model" arms that have not been seen in the field before and were not left over from Saddam Hussein's rule in Iraq

[...]

The arms shipments show that the idea that China is helping the United States in the war on terrorism is "utter nonsense," [a defense department] official said.

3)  America preparing for possible cyber-war with China

(Favorite quote:  "The Chinese foreign ministry rejected [last month's Pentagon] report as 'brutal interference' in internal affairs and insisted that Beijing's military preparations were purely defensive.")

A hat tip to the Drudge Report for items 2 & 3

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UPDATE (Jun 17/07):  The ten worst jobs in science, according to Popular Science Magazine.  Lowlights include:

#10: Whale Feces Researcher

[Whale feces pioneer Rosalind Rolland] began taking along sniffer dogs that can detect whale droppings from as far as a mile away. When they bark, she points her research vessel in the direction of the brown gold, and as the boat approaches the feces—the excrement usually stays afloat for an hour after the deed is done and can be bright orange and oily depending on the type of plankton the whale feeds on—Rolland and her crew begin scooping up as much matter as they can using custom-designed nets.

#5:  Coursework Carcass Preparer

Remember that first whiff of formaldehyde when the teacher brought out the frogs in ninth-grade biology? Now imagine inhaling those fumes eight hours a day, five days a week. That’s the plight of biological- supply preparers, the folks who poison, preserve, and bag the worms, frogs, cats, pigeons, sharks and even cockroaches that end up in high-school and college biology classrooms.

#3:  Elephant Vasectomist

What’s one foot across and sits behind two inches of skin, four inches of fat and 10 inches of muscle? That’s right: an elephant’s testicle. Which means veterinarian Mark Stetter’s newest invention—a four-foot-long fiber-optic laparoscope attached to a video monitor—has to be a heavy-duty piece of equipment to sterilize a randy bull pachyderm.

Hat tip to Instapundit.

UPDATE #2:  Rock / Pop group Fountains of Wayne with a wry description of life on the road.  A sample:

Anyway, about a week ago, we started our first tour in several years in typically grand fashion, playing at a computer store in New York City. We had to cut down on the pyro effects for this show, due to the low ceilings. But I think it was a nice way for people to get to see us up close and check their e-mail at the same time. We played a short set which was billed as "acoustic" because at least one of us played an acoustic instrument. The after-show debauchery included intense discussions with the sales staff about the upcoming release of the Apple phone.

[...]

And then we have a short break from "the road" before heading off for a few shows in Europe, which has become overrun with Europeans in recent years.

Hat tip to The Corner.

UPDATE #3:  Never knew that Jude Law had a Rorschach tattoo.  And that he really covets the role of  Ozymandias.

(Rorschach and Ozymandias images from Weird Space.)

Comments

[Michael Turton]

Dude, you are so in the Taipei Times today, Sunday. Hehehehehe. They'll be needing that Elephant Vasectomist to do you, man.

Michael

[The Foreigner]

*
*
Expected to get some rest after getting back super late this evening, but after seeing your note I just had to flip though my copy to see what the heck you were talking about. Thanks for the mention in that letter to the editor.

For other folks who are interested, here's the link:

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/06/17/2003365648