Heh. From a reader's email to Sullivan:

Obama And Jindal

Talking to a witty, politically tuned-in co-worker this morning about the speech and response last night. His summation:

"That was like watching Will Smith vs. Urkle ... Who do you think the American people are going to listen to?"

From Nate Silver:

Obama Joint Session (and Jindal Reply) Liveblog

If it sounds like Jindal is targeting his speech to a room full of fourth graders, that's because he is. They might be the next people to actually vote for Republicans again.

Is the text of Obama's speech online anywhere?

Have people been following the controversy over the F-22?

I think the F-22 is tough to let go of mostly out of pride. The F-15 has been in service for 35 years and has been surpassed by the latest Russian fighters and arguably by the latest French and Swedish fighters. Yeah, the air combat record of the F-15 is something like 100 victories vs. 0 losses, but it dates back to disco.

Financially the F-15 should really be replaced by the F-35, but it's like replacing your big old muscle car with a sporty compact. Sure the sporty compact does everything you need it too and costs a lot less, but it isn't nearly as cool.

For Emily.

Bree Walker was the name of the woman with the hand deformity.

I remember her from my days as a TV news transcriber in the 80s. I could have sworn she was in Denver, though. It took me forever to nail down what was odd about what I was seeing, then I had to freeze frame it several times to confirm that, yes, her hands were different. I was very impressed.

Thank you!

A billion blogs have shown this: Fish with transparent head

It's fucking freaky!

Since 1939, scientists have thought the "barreleye" fish Macropinna microstoma had "tunnel vision" due to eye that were fixed in place. Now though, Monterey Bay Aquarium researchers show that the fish actually has a transparent head and the eyes rotate around inside of it. From the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute:

(Bruce) Robison and (Kim) Reisenbichler used video from MBARI's remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to study barreleyes in the deep waters just offshore of Central California. At depths of 600 to 800 meters (2,000 to 2,600 feet) below the surface, the ROV cameras typically showed these fish hanging motionless in the water, their eyes glowing a vivid green in the ROV's bright lights. The ROV video also revealed a previously undescribed feature of these fish--its eyes are surrounded by a transparent, fluid-filled shield that covers the top of the fish's head.

Most existing descriptions and illustrations of this fish do not show its fluid-filled shield, probably because this fragile structure was destroyed when the fish were brought up from the deep in nets. However, Robison and Reisenbichler were extremely fortunate--they were able to bring a net-caught barreleye to the surface alive, where it survived for several hours in a ship-board aquarium. Within this controlled environment, the researchers were able to confirm what they had seen in the ROV video--the fish rotated its tubular eyes as it turned its body from a horizontal to a vertical position.

eta: It's confusing to look at - what looks like its eyes are not:

The barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) has extremely light-sensitive eyes that can rotate within a transparent, fluid-filled shield on its head. The fish's tubular eyes are capped by bright green lenses. The eyes point upward (as shown here) when the fish is looking for food overhead. They point forward when the fish is feeding. The two spots above the fish's mouth are olfactory organs called nares, which are analogous to human nostrils. Image: © 2004 MBARI

Researchers solve mystery of deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and transparent head

Oh msbelle, that sucks. I've had your whitefont happen to me before several times when I have a cold. Blech indeed, last thing you need.

And good luck to bon!! Bar exam needs no evil distractions, bon's body!!

the fish actually has a transparent head and the eyes rotate around inside of it.

Freaky!