“The mutant phenotype that we saw when we crossed the two deletions … was an inability of [fruitfly] larvae to carry out vigorous, concerted head swinging to scrape their way out of the egg shell…” So they named the gene “amontillado”.  And a mutation causing learning defects is named “turnip”, because “vegetables are not well-known for their mental acuity.”

Cartograms give more realistic election data than geographic maps, and most states are purple anyway (this is really good — if you follow only one link on this page, make this it.)  More on cartograms, and one of the world that will lead you to the conclusion that, as a first-order approximation, the whole world is Asia.

Call me a nature hater, if you must, but I’m not too thrilled about encouraging beetles and spiders to nest in my roof.

Daily cash withdrawal limits from your PayPal debit card are either $300 or $400, depending on your service level. You can see your limit by going to your “Account Overview” page and selecting “View Limits”. Remember this, because when I forgot and tried to withdraw $500, I ended up locked out of my account (presumably for the rest of the day, although I won’t know that for sure until tomorrow.)

Why was I trying to withdraw $500? To deposit into my checking account. I know it costs $1, rather than being free (as a bank transfer is), but I hate having my funds in limbo for four days, absent from my PayPal account but not yet in my bank account.

Scotland will now fine you £3,600 ($7,700) for smoking in public. How times are changed since I was there three and a half years ago, when you couldn’t escape the smoke to, as it were, save your life.