Friday miscellaneous (5/10)

We start today's post with two side announcements.

First: I graduate from law school today.

Second, if anyone in the Lansing area is having computer problems, I strongly recommend Green PC Pros.

Ok, now for the important stuff.

Anyone interested in historical maps needs to see this.

President Obama's position on indefinite detention is becoming less and less consistent.

Dogs are showing some incredible mental abilities in tests. Cats, not so much.

One of the issues that the free market needs to work though is whether there is a limit to greed. The sort of thing that leads to million dollar military contracts for fake bomb detectors. Or Amazon's about-face on internet sales taxes.

Oh, and did you know that the Chinese release Iron Man 3 has additional footage including Chinese product placement and sympathetic Chinese characters.

And for those who want to dress like early twentieth-century century English gentry, Downtown Abby is starting a retail line.

Every once in a while (ok, strike that, pretty frequently) we find a government program that refuses to die. today's features are the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Federal Helium Program.

Despite what the headlines may indicated, gun violence has decreased in the past two decades.

Have you ever wondered what takes place behind the scenes in museums?

And here's the story of Sriracha, invented by an immigrant. I love his response when told it was too hot: "Hot sauce must be hot. If you don't like it hot, use less," he said. "We don't make mayonnaise here."

And finally, how not to collect materials for a bomb.