Life of Smiley

There's a party. Happy Mardi Gras! Check out the live web cams: http://www.nola.com/

Global Warming Fuels Speedy Evolution The wood frogs show how resilient and adaptable frogs can be, he says. Contrary to popular portrayals of frogs as the environmental canaries in the coal mine, most frogs are "fairly bullet proof," he said. That's why when the frogs disappear, as they are in places like the Monteverde Cloud Forest of Costa Rica, there's all the more reason to be concerned about how drastic climate is changing, he said. Previous post: It's not easy being green

First-annual Atrocious GM Summit This is some really excellent satire from the Sports Guy.

Notafinga! Darren McGavin, an Emmy-winning actor who worked almost constantly in television for almost 50 years and made an enduring mark on popular culture as the grizzled has-been crime reporter in the 1970s series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," has died. He was 83. McGavin, who also is remembered for portraying the curmudgeonly father in the 1983 film "A Christmas Story," died of natural causes Saturday at a Los Angeles-area hospital, his family said. Full story

My name is Bob Smiley, and I'd like to register a complaint. Check out the hidden video in Part 2 of this story to see some of Jeb Bush's deputies on their finest behavior.

Wintry Weather Causes 50 Car Pile-Up On Interstate Near white out conditions Saturday created major problems on area roads, WMUR reported. Interstate 93 in Londonderry was shut down for hours after a 50-car pile-up in the afternoon near exit 4. Interstate 93 Accident Photo Gallery Rescue workers transported about 10 people to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Crews told WMUR that the accident stretched about half a mile down the interstate. Police were able to re-open the road at about 5 p.m.

By Joe Santoliquito Special to ESPN.com On June 18, 2005, as A.J. looked on, his father, Andrew Detwiler, shot his mother, Suzanne, and then turned the gun toward the boys. Moments later, in self-defense, his brother Corey shot twice at his father, killing him. Full story

Geena's Commander Takes Early Leave Apparently Americans are still not ready for a female President, not even a fictional one. Commander in Chief, which had a promising start with 16 million viewers tuning into its September premiere, has been experiencing a decline in ratings since November and then took a dramatic plunge with the arrival of FOX's rival ratings powerhouse American Idol. Is this show the heir apparent to The West Wing ? No, the writing isn't even close. But it's still an entertaining show. Geena Davis has a charming yet commanding presence, and I'd put Mackenzie Allen near the top of my list of fictional characters whom I'd rather see President than the current real-life Commander in Chief. Plus, Donald Sutherland! The saddest part of this story is that apparently ABC feels it can earn higher ratings with George Lopez and According to Jim . It's times like these that make me really proud to be an American.

Woman survives driving car into Dorchester Bay A woman escaped from the frigid waters of Dorchester Bay this afternoon after she missed a turn in her speeding car and flew into the water near the University of Massachusetts at Boston campus. Witnesses said the woman, who escaped the car on her own and partially swam to shore as a student and UMass police officer swam to help her, was driving at a high rate of speed before the accident, so fast that her car flew airborne more than 30 yards before landing in the water . Video

Um, are these ads for or against drugs? abovetheinfluence.com

Execution halted after anaesthetists walk out Prison officers at California's San Quentin prison were forced to halt the execution of a man convicted of the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl when two anaesthetists backed out for ethical reasons. ... The American Medical Association, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the California Medical Association have all opposed the doctors’ participation as unethical and unprofessional. Prison officials rescheduled the execution for this evening, and said that they would employ a different technique: administering a fatal overdose of barbiturate in lieu of the three-drug cocktail typically used in lethal injections. Morales’s lawyers had successfully argued that the three-part lethal injection cocktail used in California and 35 other states would violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment if he were not fully sedated. ... At his trial, Morales was convicted of having attacked Winchell from behind ...

I've been wanting to see Grizzly Man for a while now, and when Bill Simmons recently mentioned it I resolved to see it finally. Here's what Bill had to say: It's the first documentary since "American Movie" that ranks a perfect 100 on the Unintentional Comedy Scale. First of all, it's directed by Werner Herzog, who (incredibly) decided to narrate the movie even though he sounds like he's auditioning for a Hans & Frans sketch. Second, the Grizzly Man guy is an absolute maniac and can't be described even remotely. You just have to see him in action. He's surpassed Mark Byars (from "Paradise Lost") and Mark Borchardt for me, and I never thought I would say that. Third, there are so many ridiculously funny moments (like when Grizzly Man claims that he lost out to Woody Harrelson as Coach's replacement on "Cheers," or when he's playing with the bear poop) that you can't even believe it's happening as it's hap...

Google's Private Lives Its new desktop search application would make your personal files available for government searches without your knowledge. Google Desktop is one Google application I won't use. Even though I have nothing to hide, it just feels like too much of a personal invasion. But the real lesson here, as always: don't keep records (written or electronic) of your criminal activity.

Entwistle researched killing and suicide Neil Entwistle searched the Internet about ways to kill someone with a knife Apparently he didn't find my new book:

Like a spoiled child who refuses to give up his turn, NBC is once again providing exclusive television coverage of the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. I'll do my best to tell you what they're doing wrong (and occasionally right). UPDATE : One thing they're doing right: if you miss any events you can watch them on-line the next day at NBCOlympics.com . Their coverage opens Friday night with a production piece featuring majestic mountain ranges and beautiful cityscapes, all brought to me in spectacular high-definition. I'm actually getting in the Olympic spirit. Wait, what? All of a sudden I'm watching downhill skiing practice runs. Still in HD and I'm glad of that, but what is going on? Can I get some program notes or something? This is embarrassingly poor directing, and on NBC's opening night, no less. Okay, now we're at the opening ceremonies. Back on track. A bunch of theatrical stuff happens, some of it mildly interesting. At one point ...

That's right, it's not even noon on a Friday and I'm already watching videos. But honestly, Who shoves a firecracker in their ass?

  I wonder if the Herald would pay me to write this blog. Hmmm....

Embassies torched as cartoon furor grows I was going to write a sardonic post about the reaction of Muslims to the depiction of Mohammed as a terrorist in a Danish newspaper, but I think this Google Images result says it all:

The first episode of Survivor: Panama: Exile Island aired last night. This season the gimmick is they've split the 16 contestants into four tribes to start out: older women, older men, younger women, and younger men (more on this later). After each reward challenge, the losing team has to leave one member behind to spend the night alone on Exile Island. The upside to this is that supposedly there is an immunity idol hidden on the island. Anyhoo, after five years and a dozen locations, Survivor is still your best destination for reality television. Oh I'm sure a lot of production-y stuff goes on behind the scenes, but toward the end of those 39 days, the contestants are beat-up, weathered and hungry. Some look downright emaciated. That's real. But you know what would be even more real than Survivor? Survivor in HD. Since I picked up my first HDTV last summer, I've been gratified to find more and more HD programming available. Surely Survivor would be jumping on th...

I love these Hahn Premium Light commercials . How can I give them some money?

Pimping near police station a bad idea MARTINEZ, Calif. --A married couple pleaded no contest to charges they ran a brothel across the street from a Concord police station, Contra Costa County authorities said. Debra Watts, 52, will serve one year of home detention after pleading to three felony counts of pimping and pandering, prosecutor Jose Marin said Monday. Her husband, Ernest Watts, 63, pleaded to one misdemeanor count of maintaining a house of prostitution, Marin said. Investigators said the couple ran the brothel for a year in an apartment located a few hundred feet from the Concord police station and used the Internet to solicit clients. Police raided the apartment in January of 2005, six months after an informant tipped them off in exchange for leniency in a pending fraud case, according to a search warrant affidavit. So, really, pimping near the police station wasn't such a bad idea. They were doing it for a year before an informant ratted them out. Who knows how long ...