During congressional hearings on the establishment of Fermilab, Director Robert Wilson was asked whether the lab’s research would contribute anything to the nation’s defense. “It has nothing to do directly with defending our country, except to make it worth defending,” Wilson said.

(source)

From the pile of things I’ve been meaning to mention…

Haikuvies summarizes movies in haiku form. Some of them are quite entertaining.

‘Tis but a flesh wound
the Black Knight claims victory
unburdened by limbs

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a useful article (with big graphs) on where your federal taxes go.

McCain’s promise to get rid of earmarks, while a good step, are quite miniscule in the grand scheme of things. The link above has the breakdown of the “everything else” block (consisting of veterans/federal retirees benefits, science and medical research, transportation infrastructure, education, etc).

I tried out muxtape tonight. It lets you define and share a playlist, basically. It’s really simple to use and well-made. HERE IS A BUNCH OF MUSIC that I chose. If you are inclined to listen to it, please let me know.. maybe I’ll try it again sometime. The songs I chose are of mixed genres, though most of them are relatively subdued (but not tiring).