The Sound of One Shoe Dropping — Scrivener's Error on U.S. v. Apple, Inc., et al., the shiny new lawsuit alleging ebook price fixing. (Disclaimer, Macmillan, my own publisher via my Tor relationship, is a defendant in this lawsuit.)

Airplane Lavatory Self-Portraits, in the Flemish Style — Hahaha. (Via willyumtx.)

I remember you — Roger Ebert on the meaning of death.

Why Scientists Are Fooling Animals With Virtual Reality — New technological developments in virtual reality allow researchers to study the neurological basis of decision making in insects, rodents, and other animals. But do roaches truly think the simulation is real, or are they just playing a video game? It's the Matrix! (Snurched from @DavidBrin1.)

Computer Scientists Build Computer Using Swarms of Crabs — Logic gates that exploit the swarming behaviour of soldier crabs have been built and tested in Japan. The future is here, and it has claws…

Bits of the Future: First Universal Quantum Network Prototype Links 2 Separate Labs — Physicists demonstrate a scalable quantum network that ought to be adaptable for all manner of long-distance quantum communication.

'Universal' cancer vaccine developed — A vaccine that can train cancer patients' own bodies to seek out and destroy tumour cells has been developed by scientists. (Via shelly_rae.)

Closer to using aspirin for cancer prevention — Not that it helps me now… (Via bravado111.)

Saving Lives in a Time of Cholera — (Via tillyjane.)

Now This Is Interesting: A Climate Prediction From 1981 — Hey. Guess what. They were right. Amazing, how those facts just line up against the conservative worldview over and over again. (Snurched from Slacktivist.)

Born This Way — The new weird science of hardwired political identity. Speaking of yesterday's post. (Via AH.)

Which Way Does Your Blog Lean? — An analysis of political discourse online. The practices of the left are more consistent with the prediction that the networked public sphere offers new pathways for discursive participation by a wider array of individuals, whereas the practices of the right suggest that a small group of elites may retain more exclusive agenda-setting authority online.

Allen West: I've 'Heard' 80 House Democrats Are Communist Party Members — Tell me again that conservatives aren't bugfuck crazy?

Tennessee “Monkey Bill” Update — Speaking of bugfuck crazy. Ah, conservatives. Ruining education for all of America's children, not just their own. Yet another reason I can never be a conservative. I just don't have it in me to force such massive intellectual inconsistency and deep counterfactuals on generations of young minds.

Ann Romney takes to Twitter to defend herself — Take a public stance, deal with the public response. Just be glad you'll never get the Hillary treatment from Your Liberal Media, Ann. As a conservative, you're immune to that level of investigation and harassment. Nancy Reagan and both Bush first ladies proved that in spades.

Santorum stands down — Ah, Senator Frothy Mix, we hardly knew ya'.

Remembering Rick Santorum: Obama’s Secret Weapon

Re-Election Would Allow Obama to Ignore the Left More Than He Already Does — The conservative idea that somehow Obama's "inner leftist" will be unleashed is just another one of their bizarre fixations. I'm one of those people who voted enthusiastically for Obama from the left last time around, and has been repeatedly disappointed ever since. Trust me, he's no leftist.

?otd: Are you out of your brain on the train?

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4/12/2012
Writing time yesterday: 1.5 hours (3,000 words on Their Currents Turn Awry)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 6.5 (solid)
Weight: 239.6
Currently reading: The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling