The New York Times says:
“The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”
Perhaps it’s time to rethink the way our prison’s operate:

Jake Long is a real man. In attending the University of Michigan he has thrived in Michigan’s rich history, where JFK’s vision for the Peace Corps and Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine were announced, where we have an alumni charter on the moon, and you know the rest. In recognition of Long’s greatness, he will be […]

The Ann Arbor News publishes Ann Arbor area restaurant inspections. The worst offenders (only major offenses listed):
Harvest Moon: Employees were observed handling ready-to-eat food with bare hands (corrected).
Prickly Pear Cafe: Several pieces of cooking equipment and food containers needed to have old food cleaned off of them (corrected). An employee was observed handling ready-to-eat food […]

Happy Earth Day everyone. Wired Science, whose staff probably wakes up before noon, beat me to the punch, but regardless, enjoy some satellite images of our beautiful Earth.
Alluvial Fan:

The Bogada Mountains:

Mississippi River Delta:

Richat:

Terkezi Oasis:

Looking forward to seeing Ben Stein’s new movie on the demerits of evolution? Yeah, neither was I. But hey, at least there was the launch of this website that treats the movie as the piece of rubbish that it is: Expelled Exposed. While you’re at it check out this two part series that rips some […]

From the Washington Post and ACHAMP:
“We’ve seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it.” - Barack Obama, Pennsylvania Rally, April 21, 2008.
“It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise among children, the […]

The mainstream media covering the Dalai Lama in Ann Arbor:
April 20:
Dalai Lama highlights individual’s role in preserving the environment during Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability - The Ann Arbor News
Dalai Lama’s U.S. tour arouses protest in Michigan - China View
Dalai Lama calls for greater focus on inner contentment and compassion - The Detroit Free […]

After Canada is to became the first country to label bisphenol A, a basic building block for polycarbonates that make up things like Nalgene bottles, Nalgene decides they will no longer make their water bottles out of polycarbonates. For their new plastic of choice, say hello to Eastman Tritan copolyester:

 1st image taken by Flickr user […]

Did you notice a rumbling in the ground earlier this morning? It was an earthquake (that i slept through!!!)!!
Earthquake Safety Elmo brought to you by Flickr user kalavinka under a Creative Commons License. 

The Dalai Lama is in Ann Arbor. That is all.
Image taken by Flickr user Elton Melo under a Creative Commons License.