Today's Internets - "He will be a child of light."

A brand-new U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan. And nobody to use it. - The Washington Post: 

"The windowless, two-story structure, which is larger than a football field, was completed this year at a cost of $34 million. But the military has no plans to ever use it. Commanders in the area, who insisted three years ago that they did not need the building, now are in the process of withdrawing forces and see no reason to move into the new facility...

For many senior officers, the unused headquarters has come to symbolize the staggering cost of Pentagon mismanagement: As American troops pack up to return home, U.S.-funded contractors are placing the finishing touches on projects that are no longer required or pulling the plug after investing millions of dollars."

Great Picture?  Or Greatest Picture Ever?

 North Carolina House Republicans sneak abortion rules into motorcycle safety bill without notice - Boing Boing:

 "North Carolina House Republicans have, without notice, inserted sweeping changes to the state's abortion rules into a motorcycle safety law. Effectively, they've reintroduced the abortion bill that Governor Pat McCrory had threatened to veto."

I Wore a Bionic Leg, And I Never Wanted To Take It Off Again: 

"This is the second time little-known company AlterG has blown our minds. Last year it was with a rather impressive anti-gravity treadmill. The Bionic Leg, however, is even more incredible. From the company's description it's "the first wearable, mobile robotic exoskeleton for lower extremity physical therapy." Using it, patients can use their leg as they did before they were injured. The Bionic Leg provides motorized assistance with extension (straightening your knee), which kicks in when you're standing up from a seated position, swinging your leg forward between steps, and going up stairs. It also provides resistance for flexion (bending your knee), so it kicks in when you're lowering yourself down to sitting, squatting, or when you're going down stairs. It enables patients to move without having to compensate in ways that would slow down their rehab or possibly cause other complications."

Florida bans computers - Boing Boing: 

"Florida tried to ban Internet Cafes that were functioning as unlicensed casinos, but may have banned smartphones and computers instead, due to language that defines slot machines as "any machine or device or system or network of devices" that can be used in connection with games of chance. I question the legitimacy of shutting down all Internet Cafes in the first place, but this is clearly an overbroad definition, as has been pointed out in a suit challenging the law, brought by an Internet Cafe owner in Miami "

Gary Player blasts America’s ‘tsunami of obesity’ | For The Win: 

"77-year-old golf legend...  Obviously I’m not an Olympic athlete in comparison but what I have done is I’ve exercised profusely for 63 years now.” 

In fact, health and fitness (and what he considers a sheer lack of it among many Americans) is a subject that stirs furious passion in Player, who says he does 1,200 crunches each morning and still manages to squat 250 pounds. “America is maybe the most unhealthy nation in the world because they live on crap,” Player said. “They’ve got the best food in the world, the best farmers and the best food but they live on crap. When [British chef] Jamie Oliver went to America he went to areas where children never had cabbage or broccoli or spinach or vegetables in their life. People giving their children a soft drink and a doughnut to go to school. No wonder academically they’re affected.”"

FML: I got a message from my brother on Facebook…: 

"Today, I got a message from my brother on Facebook that read, "They're watching you." This wouldn't have been such a big deal if he hadn't been dead for two years. FML"

The Tragic Tale of the Rocket Maker | TDG - Science, Magick, Myth and History: 

"When the history of the American space program is finally written, no figure will stand out quite like John Whiteside Parsons.  He was an unorthodox genius, a poet and rocket scientist who helped give birth to an institution that would become mankind’s window on the universe. He was also a devotee of the black arts, a sci-fi junkie and host of backyard orgies on Pasadena’s stately Millionaires’ Row.  

He was an acolyte of Aleister Crowley, an employee of Howard Hughes, a victim of L. Ron Hubbard, and an enthusiastic phone buddy to Wernher Von Braun. He was an only child, his adulterous dad booted by his angry mom. In seeking father figures and brotherhood, he became a vital link in two mighty chains in human history: rocketry and ritual magic. His science was built on intuition, and his magic on experiment. (“The Magical Father of American Rocketry,” Reason, May 2005) [He was] remarkably handsome, dashing and brilliant…Werner von Braun claimed it was the self-taught Parsons, not himself, who was the true father of the American space program for his contribution to the development of solid rocket fuel...

As for Babalon? Well, the jury is still out on the Apocalypse, but it’s worth noting that within two years of the Babalon workings, which began in 1946, the first Atomic Bomb was detonated, the Roswell crash sparked a rash of UFO sightings that continues to this day, and LSD was invented. In other words, things got a lot weirder, and they’re getting weirder every day."

Is It Time to Give Up on CNN?: 

"For several days now, CNN’s extensive coverage of the George Zimmerman trial has shouldered aside the more important Egypt story on the network’s U.S. channel. I rarely criticize CNN in public, partly out of loyalty, but also to avoid hypocrisy. No one spends 20 years in cable news and comes away entirely clean. In this case, however, I’m tempted to agree with Jay Rosen, who believes it’s time to give up on CNN. I want to add a bullet point to his list of complaints." 

42-Year-Old Pot Conviction Stops 20-Year Army Veteran From Buying a Rifle - Hit & Run : Reason.com:
"Ron Kelly, a 20-year Army veteran, recently tried to buy a .22-caliber rifle at the Wal-Mart in Tomball, Texas. He was turned away because he failed the FBI background check. He appealed the rejection, and last month he got a Justice Department letter explaining that he was legally disqualified from owning guns, after handling them in defense of his country for two decades, because of a 42-year-old marijuana conviction. As a high school student in Durham, North Carolina, he had been caught with a small amount of pot and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession, receiving a sentence of probation because he was a first-time offender. The probation lasted a year, but according to the Justice Department the ensuing loss of Kelly's Second Amendment rights lasts a lifetime."

I don't even know what's happening here.

human after all: 

"Fem! Batman Villains ♣Lolita inspired♣ All costumes designed by each of us.  From left to right. Scarecrow- ADAMANTIUM-SOUL Joker- PERILOUSSEAS Riddler- LILACINCREMENT Two Face- GALAXYSHIBA Photog- AHBUTOGRAPHY"

FML: while having a serious talk…: 

"Today, while having a serious talk with my father, he said, "Son, you're only alive because of a faulty, off-brand condom." FML"

8 Things You Didn't Know About Nikola Tesla | PBS NewsHour: 

"1. HE WAS BORN DURING A LIGHTNING STORM Nikola Tesla was born around midnight, between July 9 and July 10, 1856 during a fierce lightning storm. According to family legend, in the middle of the birth, the midwife wrung her hands and declared the lightning a bad omen. This child will be a child of darkness, she said, to which his mother replied: "No. He will be a child of light..."

4. HE DEVELOPED THE IDEA FOR SMARTPHONE TECHNOLOGY IN 1901 Tesla may have had a brilliant mind, but he was not as good at reducing his ideas to practice, Carlson said. In the race to develop transatlantic radio, Tesla described to his funder and business partner, J.P. Morgan, a new means of instant communication that involved gathering stock quotes and telegram messages, funneling them to his laboratory, where he would encode them and assign them each a new frequency. That frequency would be broadcast to a device that would fit in your hand, he explained. In other words, Tesla had envisioned the smart phone and wireless internet, Carlson said, adding that of all of his ideas, that was the one that stopped him in his tracks."