The mice will play . . .

Given the chaos here, it feels quite odd that I'm planning to leave the country tonight, but there it is -- a much-anticipated vacation. Otherwise I'd be very tempted to fly to Houston and get in the way try to help. Anyway, we can't completely neglect our own lives and relationships, so off I go. For those of you who need diversion next week while I'm gone, a collection of links of varying degrees of amusement or intrigue -- don't use 'em all at once! Talk to you again on September 12.

First the serious:

• A report showing the increase in US arms exports since 9/11 -- whose side are we on in all this?
  
  
• Those with annoyance to spare for the ongoing discussion of Intelligent Design should check out this excellent recent piece at Pacific Views.
  
  
• A civil attempt at rapproachment between Left and Right, as the Christian Conservative interviews Ampersand from Alas, a Blog on a variety of moral and personal matters: Parts I and II.
  
  
• Uninterested in rapproachment, Campus Progress offers a creepy piece on conservative pundits savant, explicating the right-wing strategy of having a token spokesperson for every issue or demographic subgroup.
  (via Follow Me Here)
  
  
• In a similar vein, Mithras calls the horses (a much-linked short course on the right-wing blogs).
  
  
• On a lighter note, it turns out that your parents were right: piano lessons really do change your life.
  (via dangerous meta)
  
  
• And in the good news department, a declining national bee population could be saved by the open spaces surrounding power lines.
  (via Rebecca's Pocket)
  
  
• Finally, to celebrate the approach of fall, here's an image of turning leaves.

And then the silly and random:

• Classic McSweeney's goodness: movie prequels that never really got going.
  (via kottke)
  
  
• A kid who furnished his house with furniture made out of FedEx boxes appears to be the object of an incomprehensible lawsuit as a result. Great pics meantime.
  (via The Huffington Post)
  
  
• Also in the Makes No Sense Department, this story of a man prosecuted for "pilfering" an open WiFi network. Um, what?
  
  
• Mathematics meets insomnia in the quest for perfect mattress flipping/wearage.
  (via dangerous meta)
  
  
• The rare use of coffee to slow you down.
  (via boing boing)
  
  
• Also for coffee-lovers (and others), a site which will tell you "How much of your favorite caffeinated drink would it take to kill you?"
  (via kottke)
  
  
• A vegetable orchestra -- no really; it's the instruments, not the players. You can even hear sound clips of their strange techno-space music...
  (via mimi smartypants)
  
  
• A ferrari steering wheel that's clearly a thinly disguised infant playset.
  
  
• And last, to make up for the lack of new kitten photos next Thursday, you can visit this site with shots of cats in sinks.
  (via WTF)

And, just for good measure, a little kitteny cuteness. This one should become real when we get back! [click for a better look]