I was cruising the Intertubes and found a better use for your right to vote than an election.  You can't be trusted with choosing government officials, so try this instead.  You'll have to create an Amazon account if you haven't already, but you can handle that can't ya sparky?

I've vetted the entrants, and despite the fact that Gary Trudeau also finds it funny, I suggest voting for Belle Plaine.  It's the only one that made me squirt scotch out of my nose.  Normally that's a bad thing, but it was Scott's booze so who cares?

Too cheap to go "full HD"? Well, crank up Photoshop and get yourself a monster cable to attach (with tape or something) to your crappy SD-TV, and before you can say "placebo effect" you'll have yourself convinced the picture is much sharper, at least according to some Dutch guys. Spend the extra dough on ice cream.

Sixty people in turn were shown the same video clip on the same television. Half were told to expect clearer, sharper pictures thanks to HD technology: an impression backed up by posters, flyers and the presence of an extra-thick cable connected to the screen. The other half were told to expect a normal DVD image.

Questionnaires revealed that the people who had been led to expect HD reported seeing higher-quality images. "Participants were unable to discriminate properly between digital and high-definition signals," says Lidwien van de Wijngaert at the University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands, who carried out the study with colleagues from Utrecht University...

Turns out, the 1976 Viking lander on mars was only 3.5" from hitting ice. How much does that suck?

As part of its science program, the Lander dug a trench about 6 inches deep. The new model predicts that if it had gone an extra 3.5 inches — a bit longer than a credit card — it would have hit ice....

It goes to show that sometimes scientific discoveries can come down to a few inches and some luck, even on the surface of a planet hundreds of millions miles away.

Ok, I realize this guy's really dead, but it's hard not to laugh...

According to Sheriff Oliver Boyer, deputies responded to 4307 Rock Valley Court in Imperial, Missouri on Friday for an accidental shooting. According to the investigation, 40-years-old James Looney was teaching his girlfriend firearm safety.

...According to witnesses, Looney was going to take his girlfriend to the shooting range the next day, but insisted on firearm safety the day prior. ... Authorities said alcohol was a factor.

Really.  I understand trying to show off for your girlfriend drunk, but don't do it with firearms, guys.