Andrea Brambila/sacbee:
Cosmetic surgeons blame hard times for slump in elective procedures:

Despite the economic downturn, the $12.4 billion plastic surgery industry is expected to grow, driven by the growing popularity of nonsurgical options. The ASPS predicts that by 2015, plastic surgeons will be performing more than 55 million procedures a year, up from almost 12 million in 2007.

Sonofabitch it's hard out there. Imagine the pain of walking around bald, getting wrinkles as you grow older, or (god forbid) realizing your couture-covered ass has grown by a staggering quarter-inch. Pauvre petit vache.

Catherine Lucy/philly.com: Obama to pony up street money in November:

The path to winning elections in Philly includes street money, cash doled out to ward leaders who use the money to pay party committee people to work their voting divisions on Election Day, and sometimes for other expenses like meals or transportation or to hire extra workers.

Jesse Faulkner/Times-Standard: Motorist injured, car totaled, bear killed:

An unidentified victim was northbound on U.S. Highway 101 near Trinidad at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when he struck the bear as it ran in front of his Nissan Xterra. The car then went off the road and struck a tree. .

Six words, full story, well done.

Colbert, Stewart viewers more well-informed than those watching O’Reilly, Dobbs

Co-dependency is such a terrible thing to watch. As part of the greater left-wing-conspiracy whose entire existence flows from the greater right-wing-conspiracy, I gotta say they're both fun to watch. Not that either is responsible for other than "setting the record straight" for the other, but still, ping-ponging data points is a tried and true method of site-driving. After all, wasn't one of the biggest selling games in history made of such simple concepts? Exactly so.

Emily Singer/TechReview: A Blueprint to Regenerate Limbs:

PEJ Report: Tracking the Economic Slowdown:

The economy has been a bigger story in older media—print, the three network evening newscasts and traditional news radio—and a noticeably smaller one in the newer—the more opinion-oriented platforms of cable TV and talk radio.

Turns out the "old" media actually has the power to influence public opinion - sort of. Click 'n joy.

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose
Lyric © Paul Simon

:: :: ::
Well children, there the candidates are: the new guy and the old guy. According to the still-being-written modern updates to ancient legends, one of them walks on water, the other is a master at 'parting' it; one asks for care and comfort for the "least of these"; the other throws heavy stone tablets at people just wanting to party, and keeps babbling about 'righteous messages' from a talking plant.

Think I'll stick with the youngster.
:: :: ::
[Talking Doll Image © One2Believe.com]
[Also see: Lyrics to the Resurrection Shuffle]

Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

GNU Licensed Image by Roger McLassus

Veruca Salt fairly defines the "green" movement: I want it NOW. Never mind the facts, just build the damn thing. Legislating a 20% renewable requirement for our utilities out here in the West is a good idea, but we taxpayers will end up paying the bulk of the expenses - greenwashed through Congress - in the form of subsidies and tax breaks. And that triple-dip-in-the-money-trough-earmarking is different from others because?

My personal preference is to get electricity generation down to the house level, and eliminate major utilities altogether. Not holding my breath, given the inane method chosen by default for enabling that type of long-term transition: paying too much for something of limited value that will be obsolete within two years of installation. To wit:

Rachel Barron+Jennifer Cho/greentech: Federal Lab Breaks Efficiency Record With 'Mismatched' Solar Cell:

NREL says it has created a solar cell that can convert a record 40.8 percent of the sunlight that reaches it into electricity. Centrotherm, Oerlikon and the DOE also are taking steps toward more solar innovation.

And what is the average conversion efficiency in today's much-hyped, government-subsidized state-of-the-art systems? Somewhere south of 15%. Typical of the incremental gains described as "revolutionary", one company managed to increase conversion efficiency by a 'whopping' 4%. Yawn, and so much for your newly-purchased $30,000, 14% efficient PV system (and attendant pile of space junk to spin the meter backwards).

Pass. Think I'll wait for the lease option to become available for residential units, and leave the out-of-pocket cash 'n carry plan to the Veruca-people. They can afford it.
:: :: ::
Photo © Corbis in NYMag.com

Declan McCullagh/CNET: Wanted: Writers for D.C. tech lobby group, secrecy mandatory:

There's one problem with this chronology. King may not have been the actual author. Instead, a secretive lobbying organization in Washington, D.C. called the LawMedia Group--hired by Comcast--did some or all of the writing. Comcast acknowledges that it "has a relationship" with LMG.

"(K) Street" crime by proxy.