…into your life it will creep. The Daily Mail reports on a, shall we say, breathess report from the New Scientist (which could better be described as the Old Conspiracy Theorist, but we digress).
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction – beetles, rats and sharks turned into cunning spies courtesy of a brain implant or two.
But such scenarios are fast moving from fantasy to fact, with laboratories around the world hatching a new breed of spy.
Moths, beetles, rats, pigeons and sharks have been installed with electrodes, batteries and even video cameras in an attempt to create the ultimate spook.
This week's New Scientist reports: "The next time a moth lands on your window sill, watch what you say.
"It may look like an innocent visitor, irresistibly drawn to the light in your room, but it could actually be a spy – one of a new generation of cyborg insects with implants wired into their nerves to allow remote control of their movement.
"Be warned, flesh-and-blood bugs may soon live up to their name."
And less than half a century ago they were promising hovercars. Damn them. The man keeping us down all over again, man. As usual, the New Scientist has it all wrong. We here at Blue Crab Boulevard have had this technology for ages.
A new species of beetle that appears as if wearing a tuxedo has been named in honor of the late rock 'n' roll legend Roy Orbison and his widow Barbara.
Entomologist Quentin Wheeler of Arizona State University announced the discovery and naming of the beetle, now dubbed Orectochilus orbisonorum, during a Roy Orbison Tribute Concert on Jan. 25.
The ending of the species name, "orum," denotes it was named after a couple. If the beetle were just named after Roy it would end in "i," and for just Barbara, the name would end in "ae."
Barbara Orbison, who attended the concert along with Orbison's sons Wesley and Roy Kelton Orbison Jr., remarked on her appreciation for the new species name. "I have never seen an honor like that," she said.
To mark the occasion, Wheeler presented Barbara with an original work of art titled “Whirligig." Completed by ASU scientist and artist Charles J. Kazilek, the painting included nine images of a whirligig beetle on cotton watercolor paper.
Well, it certainly is unusual. One wonders when the first album will be in stores.
People have spent decades searching for Bigfoot and never seem to be able to get any indisputable proof that they exist. Now, thanks to the magic of the internet, we know why: They moved to Mars:
Does this photograph really prove that we are not alone in the universe?
Images beamed back from Mars would suggest so – although to sceptics, it could just be a strange rock formation.
Nasa's Mars Explorer Spirit sent back images from the surface of the Red Planet four years ago, and there was initial disappointment among scientists that they lacked any signs of life.
But space and science fiction enthusiasts are convinced there is more than meets the eye, and after years of studying the images, have found what appears to be an alien figure walking downhill.
The discovery of the life-like figure ambling across the surface of the planet is likely to further boost intrigue in our nearest neighbouring planet.
An earlier rock formation, dubbed 'the face of Mars' showed what appeared to be a human head staring into the night sky.
The pictures, found on a Chinese website, are now creating a stir of excitement on the internet.
Of course, one can simply download the original, massive image file directly from NASA. Then one can figure out, pretty quickly, that the bigfootish-looking object in the internet photo is not on the original. In other words, the image is a fake. But they are obviously circulating this image to hide the real truth.
[R]eaders of Blue Hampshire — about 800 a day, a relatively small but consequential group that includes party activists and state Democratic leaders — recommend "diaries" that visitors should read. Yesterday, four readers who created new accounts and recommended pro-Clinton postings were traced back to Clinton's campaign. And those readers, Blue Hampshire noted, didn't disclose their relationship with Clinton. In the blogosphere, there's a word for this frowned-upon behavior: "sock-puppeting."
WaPo links to the relevant post at Blue Hampshire, which shows the ineptitude of the puppetry:
Recently, we admins noticed this comment thread on a recommended diary, and the oddities it posed made us look a little deeper than we normally would.
As the comment thread revealed, users pinballwizard, elf, shley24, MTAY all registered in succession to recommend the diary. A further look by us revealed that:
* they had registered within minutes of each other, including another user a bit later, janbaby, who was not among the recommenders,
* the same IP address was used by all of them, and is registered to the Clinton campaign,
* two other recommenders, blues and kmeisje, also registered from the same IP address.
Between her campaign stops having more plants than the average commercial greenhouse and the sockpuppets, it's getting a bit crowded over in Hillaryland. We can see this causing problems for Clinton in the future.
This is an absolutely appalling campaign commercial from camp Clinton that just illustrates how much of a tin ear Hillary actually has. She plays Santa, gladhanding away your tax money.
Hat Tip, Hot Air. Somebody with mad video skillz has got to be working on this already. I don't have those, but I did try to help out a bit:
UPDATE: Thanks to NortonPete in comments for the idea, we now have Bad Santas.
In an exclusive score for the blogosphere, Jim Lynch, proprietor of bRight and Early, the essential coffee-fueled blog, has discovered the next sponsor for a Presidential debate. It is absolutely inspiring! None other than the Home and Garden Network!
In a cable television coup, the Home and Garden Network has landed the next presidential debate. It will be co-hosted by Martha Stewart and that irritating gardening guy with the goofy mustache.
“We heard about the large number of plants in the past two debates and realized that we would be the logical choice for the next forum,” a spokesman for the network announced.
(read it all, there's more.) But that, of course, got we inhabitants of the Crabitat thinking. So we called up our vast technical resources and brought the good folks from Magic 8-Ball Photography and Roadkill Removal, Inc. back with their patented Future Fotography® system (used so perfectly once before.) They managed to capture an image from the next debate. We're so proud.
Jim Vicevich alerts us to a few more Democratic plants at the CNN YouTube Republican candidates forum last night. Adam Florzak asked a question on Social Security. It turns out that Florzak quit his job with Caterpillar to work with Dick Durbin on Social Security reform. Then there was Mark Strauss, who pleaded with Ron Paul to run as an Independent. It turns out he's a Richardson supporter (more here). CNN must have known who Strauss is because he participated in the CNN/Youtube Democratic presidential debate this past July. It's all over now, baby blue.
There is still more over at Michelle Malkin's. We here at Blue Crab Boulevard asked our pals from Magic 8-Ball Photography and Fish Walking, Inc. to use their patented VeggieVision® filter system to find out who in the audience last night were actually Democratic plants. The results are shocking.
Brian Faughnan over at the Worldwide Standard calls it Eliot Spitzer's death wish. I think he's pretty close to the mark. It seems that Spitzer's tax people have decided to change the rules of residency for tax purposes in New York in a new and novel way – all in an effort to wring money out of Derek Jeter, the New York Yankee shortstop. The article Faughnan links to is here.
Jeter is not accused of lying about living in Florida to evade taxes, which is why the state is seeking taxes and interest, but no penalties.
Instead of arguing that Jeter is a New York resident based on the rule that he spent at least 183 days of the year in the state, tax officials contend that his ties to New York are so strong that this qualifies as his "primary residence."
The novel concept? This gem:
The state claims that Jeter "keeps certain personal items near and dear" in his $12.7-million New York City apartment, and that "he has immersed himself in the New York community," according to an administrative law judge's ruling in the case. The case is pending, with new filings due by Sunday.
Faughnan puts it this way:
New Yorkers are sophisticated enough to recognize that the city's confiscatory tax rates encourage athletes and entertainers not to make their permanent residences there. And if Jeter asserts that he intends to reside permanently in Florida once he's retired from baseball, what New Yorker will hold that against him? After all, that's a New York cliche.
Heck, it's a standard joke that the majority of people in Florida are New Yorkers. It may be an exaggeration, but it isn't much of one. The rule should be the rule. If Jeter was there more than the 183 days, he should be taxed. If not, Spitzer cannot change the rules on his whim. I am rapidly becoming convinced that Eliot Spitzer is actually not a very smart man. But I'm guessing I know the next novel expansion of tax authority Spitzer will try:
Ah, love is in the air for Rahm Emanuel tonight from the Crooks and Liars gang.
Many of you have probably heard that Rahm is backing the extreme right wing Tom Tancredo and his hateful stance on immigration. C&Lers have made their voices heard loud and clear on this issue and understand the need for good border security, but with a comprehensive—humane plan in mind. We’re human beings after all.
And so, Rahm, it is your turn to star in tonight's episode. Our condolences.
![](http://www.bluecrabboulevard.com/Images_2007/Sep_Oct/Dragon_Spy.jpg")
Foto Phun, Humor, World news | Gaius March 5, 2008 | 
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