Good question (refering to the title of the blog)

Lots of things. Two inch pine tree was found in a guy's lung. An artist implanted his own DNA into Petunias. The Minnesota Wild fired their GM. The Obama administration unveiled memos from the Bush era that give instructions sounding awfully close to torture. Gay marriage was legalized in Iowa. And I'm going to Ireland. Yes, lots of things going on, but I'm rather short on time.

It's over! Well, actually not yet.

Image from: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/13/minnesota-court-declares-franken-leading-vote-getter-senate-race/

State judges officially declared Al Franken the winner of the highly contested/way too long senate race. However, Norm Colman can appeal the ruling and he says he is going to. So Minnesota probably won't have a second senator in place for a while yet. I'm getting rather tired of the whole thing, it has been a very long, very bitter campaign. I'd think that they would finally decide it has gone on long enough and call it quits. But then again, both Franken and Colman have spent a large amount of money, time, and effort on this seat. If either of them gives up and they are giving up on a senator's salary, cameras and press people, and the chance to help decide in which direction the nation will move. Perhaps those things are too appealing and alluring to give up, and so the battle will continue as long as there is the slightest chance that Colman can win back the seat.

. . .

That last post was one of the most boring anybody could've possibly thought up.

On a happier note, Columbus Crew is playing Real Salt Lake tonight in the MLS. Columbus won the championship last year.

Happy April Fool's Day!

Tobacco could help fight HIV???

(image from: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/31/tobacco-hiv-drug.html)

Possibly. According to a Discovery News article, some scientists have modified some tobacco places to produce a large amount of a drug that helps prevent the HIV virus from colonizing the vaginal lining. The problem with the drug is that it's insanely expensive. However, growing the drug in the tobacco plants would make it way cheaper. It's a interesting idea. Hope it works. Though the article was very sparse on details.

Michigan is:

• currently broke and worse than broke because the economy relied heavily on auto sales and the auto makers are . . . not lookin' so great
• the 8th most populous state in the US
• where I was born. Ann Arbor to be exact
• named after Lake Michigan. The word 'Michigan' is a French version of the Ojibwe term mishigama (large water or large lake).
  
• possessed of a university that thinks they are the greatest, and whom everybody else hates
• also possessed of a very nice arboretum within said university
  

Bald Eagles in Hudson WI

We were just in Hudson Wisconsin picking up some application materials from Cathy. On the way back home, we stopped by a tributary to the St. Croix and saw lots of bald eagles sitting on the ice. There were also several flying around. It was a very cool sight. Some were juvenile with dark heads, but there were a couple mature adults with white heads. It was really cool to see wild birds so close.