I'm back in the US now. So, with that exciting news out of the way:

Due to the usual idiocy, foreign doctors (and everyone else with talent) are finding it harder to practice medicine in America, or to stay once they get here. This hurts the poor more than anyone else. Big surprise. Go CONGRESS! And I mean, leave.

There is supposedly a cat who can predict the deaths of people at his nursing home. CAT PLAYS FURRY GRIM REAPER, read the headline. I hoped it meant animals were trying to reclaim their turf from those damn furries.

There is a new study purportedly showing that the more independent you are, the harder it is for you to understand others' viewpoints/needs. So of course it praises collectivist societies and disses Americans. Nevermind that we try to take care of the rest of the world...then again, look how that's turning out....

Also, if you are currently engaged or married, (and I am the former! Hahah! 我愛你,家寧!), you might like to know the secret to successful marriage: it turns out it's saying, "thank you." I hope only the scientists involved needed a study for that - I'd think the rest of us might've suspected already.

Finally, re-introducing wolves to Yellowstone has helped the aspens there greatly. They can grow now, instead of being eaten by elk/deer. Good news.

As cities grow, rainfall diminishes.


Also, a former Marine killed a bear - by throwing a single piece of wood at it.
He was also ticketed for not securing his campsite properly.

And, as further proof that Chinese people will eat just about anything, especially if someone says it's medicinal, they dug up dinosaur bones...and ate them.

I'm back from my unannounced vacation!

And, no relation at all (probably), it turns out that, if you are clever, you can figure out how to make people do useful work while playing.

Also, a well-known and influential, not to mention bizarre, coder is accused of murdering his Russian mail-order bride, who apparently was having an affair with his bisexual, sado-masochistic (murderous?) buddy. Sounds like a bad movie.

This guy thinks we may soon have high-speed rail available in America (or at least, it would be possible and a good idea, which is new).

That's it for now.