Random Information - SOS 100 years old.

1. Today (well, July 1st 2008, so depends on when I hit "publish") is the 100th anniversary of the adoption of S.O.S. as the universal symbol of distress. As is discussed in the linked article, and has been made clear in countless histories about the event, it was still a novel thing nearly 4 years later when the Titanic went down, and it appears that it was that event that truly cemented it as the standard.

2. Via Kottke, some Euro dude celebrates Euro 2008 by kicking some fine goals off random urbanscape.



I definitely appreciate the skill, the fact that he seems to enjoy screwing with the cops, and the use of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" as the background music. 5 minutes of asskicking good times.

3. In WWI history, today is the anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. As noted in the wikipedia entry:

(It) was among the largest battles of the First World War. With more than 1.5 million casualties, it is also one of the bloodiest military operations recorded.

Let us not forget.

Here I come to save the day....

Once again, it appears that the Senator from the Great State of Wisconsin is all that stands between us and the destruction of Civil Liberties as we know it.

The Russinator and Chris Dodd are planning on filibustering the FISAbomination.

As has been said here before, the idea of immunity for a price is ridiculous. Thanks to Sens. Feingold and Dodd for preserving the Constitution.

Ice, Ice Baby

Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?
[tap, tap- SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111]

Um...hey. So, yeah. I guess it's been a while.

Just wanted to do a quick rundown of what's new and exciting today.

The newly-arrived Phoenix Mars explorer appears to have discovered ice!! They can tell because some little white chunks appear to have sublimated. And salt just doesn't do that. Eagerly awaiting more robust confirmation.

Also, the 6th disembodied foot to have washed up on the shore of British Columbia in recent weeks appears to be a hoax. Thank heavens for that. 5 random feet, we can deal with, but 6? That's just crazy, man.

That's it. Talk to you in a few months.