Things to Keep You Entertained Whilst I'm Away

Oy.  It's early morning, my body thinks that early-to-bed stuff was all just a slightly extended nap, and my intrepid companion won't be up for hours.  What else can I do but surf the intertoobz and present you, my darlings, with a jumble of links that should keep you occupied until my return?

I mean, it's not like I can knit or anything.

Besides, the folks I devotedly follow on Twitter have found some fascinating bits.  Chris Rowan, aka Allochthonous, discovered a post revealing the best exposure of the K/T boundary evah!

Wait - Paleogene?  ZOMG WTF???  Who went and changed the name of the Tertiary, for fuck's sake?  And Paleogene?  Hey, name guys - couldn't you have come up with something a little snappier?  I mean, K/Pg Boundary?  It doesn't bite, it doesn't sting, it doesn't have that ring!  The death of the dinosaurs needs to be marked with something short and sharp that cracks like a whip on the tongue, not this "Gee" stuff.

Looks like I shall have to get my geology degree after all, then get myself on the International Commission of Stratiography, because they definitely need a writer in the house.

Still - awesome boundary!

Orac found this gem.  Got some Celtic sea salt and some fermented morning dew?  Then you, too, can become an alchemist!  But be careful with that Philosopher's Stone!

It allegedly turns lead into gold: one milligram of the Stone can turn 20 pounds of lead to gold. But you are warned to be careful: 

 …the alchemists warned that you must be careful not to transmute too much gold at once, or it will become radioactive and the radiation will harm you and eventually kill you. And selling gold is considered a trite waste of the Stone in alchemy. You will feel like a **** if you make all your money selling a product of alchemy and disgracing and defiling the Holy Art.

Nonononono.  Ur doin it rong!  You not only warn them off with the radiation and stuff, you have to tell them that if your mind is not pure, your silly stone won't work.  That way, y'see, when the sea salt and water completely fail to do anything to lead at all, it's not alchemy's fault!  The alchemy would've worked just fine if it wasn't for the icky impure brain of the idiot trying to use it.

Ye gods.  The woomeisters have gotten so overcome with their own woo that they're forgetting the first rule o' woo: make sure that if the woo won't work, the practitioner rather than the woo gets the blame.  Maybe I should start selling Philosopher's Stone just to show 'em how it's done.

In pollytickal news, Rep. Ed Markey ripped climate change denialists a new one, complete with the kind of high-quality snark you usually only get from Barney Frank.  Rand Paul isn't denying the Aqua Buddha.  Even "moderate" Cons are now jumping on the anti-14th Amendment bandwagon.

And with that, I'm off to brave the occasional thunderstorm in order to bring you a mountain.  Stupid @#!$% Washington weather....