Stephen Colbert on the news that our wonderful politicians somehow managed to prevent national financial ruin:

We didn't default! I haven't been this excited about averting a voluntary disaster since the time I didn't stick my hand in a paper shredder

If he ran for president, I would vote for him.  At least you know what he's doing is meant to be a joke. #politics

Scott Adams suggests the factor that most affects a nation's economy is its lawyers-to-engineers ratio. 

Some of you will argue that education in general is the biggest predictor of success. But I think you'd agree that if everyone started majoring in English, we'd all starve to death with impeccable grammar.

Related:  MBAs vs. engineers #business

I think the question regarding instant replay in sports is not if it'll become more widely used, but how it'll be implemented.  There's no doubt that human referees make mistakes.  It's perhaps a little naive to think a mere mortal can make an important split-second decision while under immense financial and spectatorial pressure, and to do so flawlessly, every time.  I think we should accept that fact and do something about it instead of getting angry and blaming the refs for bad calls.  The way the NFL currently uses instant replay is a little annoying at times, and certain coaches appear to use it as a momentum-stopping tactic, which is smart but not what it's there for.  But at least it's there as an option to challenge the calls that are the most obviously wrong.  My prediction is that most, if not all, sports will soon adopt some sort of instant replay.  Or else they'll start utilizing error-proof robotic refs.  One or the other.  Because honestly, something like the strike zone in baseball is a scientifically measurable thing.  Nothing that's measurable should ever be left up to the opinion of a lowly human. #sports

You can't sweat like a pig, since pigs don't sweat.  That's why they wallow in mud. #nature

As Ripley's says, a musket can fire a wax candle through a barn door.  This video confirms it.  Ah, the wonders of kinetic energy.  Pretty much anything can be shot through pretty much anything if it's going fast enough. #science

Concerning the Women's World Cup (of soccer) and its sudden popularity: 

Now that they've gotten all this attention ... they're gonna start behaving more like men.  For example, US Soccer team captain Christie Rampone was busted for texting pictures of her feelings to a young intern.

Well played, Peter Sagal.  Also of note: 

Honestly, the only way it seems to make Americans care less about soccer is to offer them a free salad for watching a game.

Yay, fatness! #sports

From The Onion: 

Congress Continues Debate Over Whether Or Not Nation Should Be Economically Ruined

"It is a question that, I think, is worthy of serious consideration: Should we take steps to avoid a crippling, decades-long depression that would lead to disastrous consequences on a worldwide scale? Or should we not do that?" asked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

At press time, President Obama said he personally believed the country should not be economically ruined.

Certainly an issue worthy of debate. #politics

For a while now, there's been almost constant news coverage of head injuries in sports and the long term effects suffered by football players and other contact sports athletes.  Most of the discussion is centered around how older players are experiencing brain issues that they didn't anticipate, or simply dying young.  I think it would be wise to pause for a moment, stop the lawyer talk and even the scientist talk, and look at this logically:  If you spend the majority of your life getting hit on the head or using your head to hit things, you will experience long term head injury effects like dementia, migraines, depression, etc.  To be surprised by this is not really an option. #sports

One bad thing about how big the internet has gotten is that it's sometimes impossible to find things.  Not in an unorganized way, like you're trying to find something in the middle of a pile.  But in a language limitation kind of way.  For example, recently I was looking for pictures of mice.  I wanted the animal, not the computer peripheral.  For whatever reason, Google didn't want to show me the animal.  So I wasted a few minutes sifting through pictures of plastic white objects with buttons, before finally giving up and doing something else.  The problem isn't that the information doesn't exist, or that the algorithms used to find it are lacking.  It's that the English language isn't complex enough to handle what we're throwing at it.  It's like putting a CD on a record player. #technology

I heard a guy say the other day that complaining is the simplest form of conversation.  I thought that was pretty interesting, except that he said it in reference to his girlfriend who was complaining about the traffic on the way to the BBQ we were all at, so it was a little awkward.  He hasn't yet learned the art of "not saying dumb things to your girlfriend." #sociology