Or at least that is the sort of riveting storyline that sells craptastic Quiznos subs these days.

Tales of Mere Existence is a fairly popular YouTube animated comic strip that I follow from time to time. Here’s a newly released episode…

From my new favorite internet show… Supernews!

A study featured in New Scientist this week showed that average people have a spectacular capability for short-circuiting their own judgment when in the presence of an expert.

This new data happens to fit perfectly into TMR’s 85% Theory. The theory states that since a large majority of professionals and advice-givers are incompetent, people should always take advice with a grain of salt and do their own due diligence before making decisions.

So, while I temporarily have the support of the scientific community on this one, let me preach for a moment: Don’t listen blindly to doctors, lawyers, accountants, politicians, brokers, astronauts, or clergy (or scientists). These people are just as fallible as anyone else. They are just as self-serving as anyone else. They are just as complacent and mistake-prone as anyone else.

Expert status is just as much a function of good publicity as it is of real practicable wisdom. You are almost always the most qualified advocate on your own behalf . And you always know yourself better than anyone else ever can.

In the words of Emerson,

“No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition, as if every thing were titular and ephemeral but he. I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions.”

Image via Kim Richter.com

Flickr User Techthis, seems to be on a roll. Another excellent periodic table. Though I would nitpick here and mention that I’m pretty sure Intellivision was distinct from Colecovision. As such, it fails to get a mention.

Link to larger image.

UPDATE 3/28: Hi there. Welcome to our little podcast/blog project. Due to last night’s BoingBoinging, we seem to have a lot of new visitors. So after you read about our shot across the bow of AIG, you might wanna check out some of our other features, like one of our 100+ podcast episodes. Here’s a good sample to start with.

Anyway, thanks for visiting. Feel free to leave comments and feedback and let us know how we can improve the Emu. END UPDATE

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For those of you, like myself, who aren’t particularly compelled by March Madness, here are some alternative bracket pools that you can follow:

Mentalfloss is running a “Tournament of Genius.” Einstein is, of course, the prohibitive favorite there. Keep an eye out for my sleeper pick, Nikola Tesla and fan favorite, Stephen Colbert.

On the flipside, HolyTaco is currently running the 2009 National Douchebag Tournament. You’ve got to think that A-Rod is in the driver’s seat here. While Bernie Madoff, Rush Limbaugh, and the Notorius AIG all have compelling cases, I’m holding out hope for Dane Cook to pull it out.

Here is a fascinating, gripping, and yet oddly disturbing lecture by Mythbusters co-host, Adam Savage.

I can’t match the level of obsessiveness it takes to devote one’s life to the fetishizing of these various objects and props. But hey, I’m sure something had to fuel Da Vinci and Newton, and Carrot Top.

The well known Xinhua Province Television Network is reporting that the Chinese government is cracking down on online gamers.

Government tactics include random internet disruptions for citizens under 30, rationing the national supply of Cheetos and Dr. Pepper, and distributing free samples of heroin.

Other news outlets are reporting that a mammoth Chinese government project is underway to create an MMORPG-wide-government-sponsored gank group. The gank group, run by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would be designed to “grief” addicted gamers to the point of forcing them to either quit gaming or throw their computers out the window.

Not to be outdone, the Americans are working on their own elite team of griefers:

Found an internet ally against the Twits. Go Supernews! (Though their embed link appears to be finnicky).