Well I'm glad I don't live in the UK at the moment

Say what you will about the terrible diet of Americans, but at least when we eat a burger, it consists of the right type of meat. There has been a bit of a problem in the UK concerning its burgers and... well... horses.

Tests conducted by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) in conjunction with Britain's Food Standards Agency have determined that beef burgers sold by Tesco, Iceland, Lidl, Aldi, and Dunnes Stores across the UK and Ireland contained at least trace amounts of horse DNA. The most egregious offender by far was the Tesco Everyday Value Beef Burger, which was said to consist of nearly 30% horse meat. All contaminated beef burgers were supplied to the supermarkets by three processing plants: Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods in Ireland, and Dalepak Hambleton in the UK.

Considering that horses are fairly similar animals to cows, I don't know why this grosses me out so much but it does. It is also rather shocking that the companies were rather unaware that horses were somehow finding their way into the meat. Perhaps they need a sign that shows them the difference between cows and horses.

This does continue to push the stereotype that the British have terrible food. If I ever go on a trip over there I'm just drinking the beer.

(If this post makes you want to join PETA... well I don't blame you if you buy this t-shirt.)

NFL Lip Reading

I came across this video and since the Seattle Seahawks season is over I needed something else to consume time time.

And then I found NFL Lip Reading. It's HILARIOUS!

Check out this edition:

Epic Photo: Mt. Rainier

Here'a photo that Casey took of Mt. Rainier from his work. Apparently he works at a scenic painter or something.

How to deal with grief (for Seahawks fans)

The Seahawks lost a heart breaker, and since Americans treat their football teams like a child, many Seattle fans were in a state of shock and sadness after the Falcons knocked them out of the playoffs. Here's a few tips to get past the grief...

1. Stop Drinking - It was fine when you were drinking during the game, or even after it. It's Monday now, however, and I would imagine the boss would be quite angry if he saw you drinking out of your limited edition Shaun Alexander flask. Your name isn't Marshawn Lynch, you can't get away with making poor drinking decisions.

2. Find a way to sell that $200 worth of Seahawks gear you bought this week - Word on the street was that all the Seahawks gear shops were sold out in Seattle. That would seem like "Hey! Seattle has the best fans in the world" but what it really means is "Hey! There were a bunch of bandwagon fans that hopped on at the last second!" so... in order to escape credit card debt, you might want to consider pawned that Lime Green Footsie.

3. Move on to watching the NHL - Wait, this is a joke. The NHL isn't a real thing anymore.

4. Remember you have a young quarterback, awesome defense and Marshawn Lynch - In other words, you will be okay next year.

5. Don't get pissy about the refs - That's really stereotypical of Seahawks fans, so please avoid stereotypes.

6. Remember you have a family that loves you - Even though you haven't seen them on Sundays since August...

7. Get ready for the Mariners' spring training to start - And all those free agents they got in the offseason will be making headlines in no time... oh wait... they got Jason Bay? Crap.

Meme Monday: Grumpy Cat Meets Journey

If you're between the ages of 20-45, you probably love Journey. If you don't, you're communist or a grumpy cat.

(Buy Journey's greatest hits here.)

Could the Sonics be back?

Could it be? Are the Sonics coming back?

News broke yesterday that a possible deal by the Chris Hanson investment group to buy the Sacramento Kings is in the works. The Kings have had their own arena problems, have royally sucked the past few years and the Maloof brothers are ready to sell. So much so that the Sonics could be back in the Key Arena for the 2013-14 season.

There is, however, the old business of stealing another cities team that Sonics' fans will have on their minds.

In Seattle, there was excitement that the NBA might return after its exit five years ago. In Sacramento, there was despair among fans and defiance from public officials, punctuated by Mayor Kevin Johnson vowing to fight to keep the team in town.

"It's a significant day for the community because it appears it's the first day that the Sacramento Kings are for sale," Johnson said at a news conference.

Johnson, a former NBA player, said that if the report is true, it marks an opportunity for his city to find local buyers to keep the team in Sacramento. Indeed, the team's owners, the Maloof family, have never stated publicly the team is for sale, instead pursuing options in the past to secure a new arena or move the team themselves.

Keep in mind that a new arena in Seattle hasn't even started to be built, and that it will suck up $200 million in public funds. There is also several groups in the city opposing it being built (including the Mariners). While it will get paid back from revenues from the arena... isn't Seattle already paying for other sports venues for other professional teams?

While this should be time to rejoice, nothing it set in stone yet. There's a lot of tape to go through and a lot of obstacles still to overcome. If they do move here... does the Kings' team history come with them, because how many NBA fans rooted for the Kings when they faced the Lakers in players in the early 2000s? And how many Doug Christie jokes can we make?

(If you want to get ready, buy some Sonics gear here.)

WAZZU fans are kidding themselves

(Buy a WSU hat here.)

Deadspin just released their story on the alleged abuse that Mike Leach and his coaching staff unleashed on his players. Looking through it, I can't say that anything is illegal or can be considered abuse, but if I were a parent or player - I definitely wouldn't go to WSU. Why? Leach treats his players like crap. Simply put.

Example one...

Sources and documents obtained by Deadspin recount clashes between training staff and coaches over player safety, and physical—and nearly physical—altercations between coaches and players. They describe "dangerously excessive" workouts used as punishments, including an episode in which coaches supposedly sprayed players in the face with water from a hose while making them exercise in a sandpit in cold weather.

Sure that isn't abuse but it's the kind of workout you probably don't even see in a boot camp. I can get past tough workouts in the sandpit, however, it's the treatment of injury that really disturbs me.

The father of a player in good standing with the football program told Deadspin that the conflict between the old training staff and the new coaches had to do with how aggressive the coaches were about influencing players to return from injuries before they were ready.

"I think this staff is definitely more aggressive in that sense," he said. Players who got hurt, he said, were placed at the bottom of the depth chart when they returned, where they risked missing up to half a season trying work their way back up. "There was this sense of being punished for being hurt, for sure," he said, "so naturally a kid doesn't want to lose his starting spot to hide his injury because he doesn't want to lose his spot."

The source said he knew Drake had a great reputation as trainer "only through my own kid's experience due to my kid getting hurt a fair amount of times. Talking with Bill, he was always an outstanding guy and I always felt like he had the best interest of the athlete in mind."

Another parent said coaches had been trying to cut injured players from the team in the spring, even if the injuries were not severe. The efforts to convince players "their careers were over" were a source of contention with the old training staff, the source said.

Again, not abuse, but it shows no real consideration for the student-athlete. Throw in that WSU's head football trainer sent a letter of complaint to Bill Moos, the athletic director, and that WSU completely threw Marquess Wilson under the bus... I just don't see why athletes would want to come to this school. I understand that tough practices are something that happen all across the nation on football teams - but this has almost a "We don't care about our players" attitude that won't exactly attract five-star recruits.

Looking at the comment section and Facebook, lots of WSU fans were saying "well case closed, nothing found by anyone, clean program" but what they're ignoring is that everybody has now seen how Leach treats his players. It's all over the internet. When he goes out to recruit players, they're going to bring this up.

"So you want me to come to the smallest football program in the Pac-12, one that hasn't had a winning season in god knows when and you're going to treat me like that?"

Yeah good luck Cougs.

I'm not saying any of this is illegal or anything like that, but what I am saying is that Leach now has a bigger image problem and so does WSU. It may be just a philosophy change, but you're really ignoring the fact that parents will be concerned where they're sending their kids and they'll pile over all this info. Sure if WSU is a kid's only choice he'll go, but good recruits are usually courted by several different schools.

If Leach doesn't get the on-field product turned around - good lord, WSU is in serious trouble.

Epic Photo: Alabama, famous from "Cops"

Good to know what the world thinks of "National Champion" Alabama.

So Alabama won last night and the nation lost

So Alabama won the BCS National Championship game last night in a game so bad, many tuned out to watch "Everybody loves Raymond and not college football." The Notre Dame Irish prepared for the game by apparently drinking all week before their game and showing up s-canned at the game. That's the only thing that could explain the 28-0 margin that the Tide rolled up before halftime.

(To buy a Crimson Tide T-shirt, click here)

In other words, the Irish haven't had this bad of night since the potato famine. But don't worry folks! There were still some entertaining things you can pull from this dumpster fire of a game and postseason system. Look at this...

1. Drunk Irish fans think the refs screwed them - Of course it was the refs. Despite getting waterboarded 42-14, some Notre Dame faithful thought Alabama slipped the referee a $20 or something. In other words, Irish fans have become Seahawks fans.

2. Kate Upton makes an Irish-JETS joke - I mean its so easy right now. Did you see the Irish play? They looked like a team with a leprechaun at QB. At least they'll get Tim Tebow next season...

3. Funny Alabama fans - HONEY! WE'RE GOING TO WALMART TO GET A PHOTO WITH THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY! YEHAWWW BECAUSE THIS IS ALABAMA WHERE WE SPEND MORE MONEY ON FOOTBALL THEN BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE.

4. Brent Musburger wants Alabama QB's girlfriend - Oh come on, who didn't give Brent his meds before the game. Good gawd. Anyone want to make a guess on Miss Alabama's reading level.

5. And the SEC will get bragging rights again for college football - But then you realize, SEC fans are these people...

Meme Mondays: Unhappy Cat

I don't have a good history with cats. All the ones that have lived with me during college (roommate owned) have hated me and even plotted my demise. Now I have a wild cat problem outside of my house. In other words, this meme speaks to me...

Chip Kelly Staying at Oregon

A few moments ago my Twitter exploded with reports that Chip Kelly has turned down the NFL to stay at the University of Oregon.

Now there are a number of sources tied to this report and various reasons have been stated. But I know the real reason. He heard this song by Mat Kearney and decided to stay.

(For those who don't know Mat Kearney was born in Eugene, Oregon. You can buy his album Young Love here) 

White House petitioned to build Starship Enterprise

(Buy your own Enterprise here.)

Since the White House has set up their petition system on their website where they have to seriously look into propositions brought up by citizens with at least 25,000 signatures... the people have decided that the US should build the Starship Enterprise. American democracy at work!

The proposal was submitted through the White House's official "We the People" channel, which promises an administration response to any petition that gathers at least 25,000 signatures. Just last month, a petition to build a Death Star like the spherical spaceship in the movie "Star Wars" garnered that critical mass, and is currently awaiting its official response.

 The Enterprise proposal comes from an engineer who goes by the name BTE Dan, who detailed plans for constructing a life-size, flyable starship Enterprise on his website last year. "We have within our technological reach the ability to build the 1st generation of the USS Enterprise," BTE Dan wrote in the petition, viewable here. As of this writing, the petition had 3,335 signatures, with more than 21,000 to go.

The only issue I would assume would be cost and the fact that we haven't invented warp drive yet. But hey, whatevs...

Meme Time: Your iPad Sucks

I mean you could buy an iPad but you wouldn't be nearly as cool as Captain Jean Luc Picard.

Don't make IBM mad

(To buy 2001: A Space Odyssey, click here.)

Stanley Kubrick was never afraid to tackle controversial material that really pushed the edge of cinema. Look at "A Clockwork Orange" or "Full Metal Jacket" and you know what I'm talking about. Sure it's all done brilliantly, but you could easily be offended watching it.

But you know what worried Kubrick the most while making "2001: A Space Odyssey"? Making IBM angry for having a killer computer be the main protagonist. IBM had helped out considerably with the film in terms of technical support, and could have taken this as a danger to their brand or something like that. But this isn't sue-happy 2013, this is the 1960s and IBM was totally cool with it. 

In August 1966, Kubrick wrote to Roger Caras, who was, at the time, vice president of Kubrick's production company, asking if IBM was clear on HAL's murderous sentiments. You can read Caras' full reply over at Letters of Note, but the gist was that IBM was fine as long as it was credited as just one among many consultants and that IBM was not "associated with equipment failure."

There is other slight jabs in the movie that could be seen as attribution to IBM, such as HAL being just one letter off from the acronym HAL, and several IBM logos popping up. Most people, however, would never make the connection that if you bought an IBM it would try to kill you.

Now an iPhone? That's a different story.

Seattle Seahawks Buses

Today the Seattle Seahawks' buses passed my work on their way to the airport. They even had a police escort and an airplane escort that was pulling a GIANT 12th man flag.

(Get your own seahawks flag here)

The Hawks are heading to Washington D.C. where they'll take on the Washington Redskins in the wild card round of the NFC playoffs. Go Hawks!

Here's a video and some photos that I took:

Marshawn Lynch doesn't talk

(Buy a Marshawn Lynch jersey here.)

To say Marshawn Lynch is an oddity would be an understatement. The man is famous for Skittle-guzzling, he coined the phrase "Beast Mode" for the way he plays and his grill is a road of gold. Seahawks fans love Lynch since he's everything their former running back, Shaun Alexander, was not. Hard-hitting, bruising and somebody that fights for extra yardage.

However, you won't here much from him. Or about him, for that matter. The running back is a bit of a recluse when it comes to speaking with the media and nobody is hyping him up heading into this post season despite rushing for over 1,500 yards this season and 11 touchdowns. The media spotlight seems to be brightly focused on rookie quarterback Russell Wilson and maybe that's how he wants it.

Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times wrote an article about the enigma that is Marshawn Lynch. Naturally, there are no quotes from Lynch.

Perhaps its the way he talks, since apparently he has his own language...

This story should be easier to write. Lynch is not only one of the most important players on Seattle's team, but one of the most colorful. The man who authored the third-highest season rushing total in franchise history has a gold tooth and his own distinct way of talking that can only be described as Marshawnese. "What you say, bruh?" he asked during an interview earlier this year. It was a request to repeat the question.

Although, you can't really blame him for being leery of the media. He has had a few run-ins with the law and that cost him the starting job in Buffalo. Only 26, he has found a spot in the lineup of Seattle but don't expect any wonderful ancedotes from Lynch.

Outside the locker room, the man known for breaking tackles is more apt to throw a block. In Toronto last month, Lynch was in the team's hotel when a woman approached him and asked, "Are you the Skittles guy?" "I'm Marshawn Lynch," he said. She wasn't sure what to make of that. Later, when someone else asked if he played football, Lynch just said he was waiting for his friend. If he's going out of his way to avoid interviews, it's because he's not all that interested in letting people inside. He's run the gamut of media coverage. He received credit for back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons in Buffalo. Then he was criticized during a prolonged hit-and-run investigation and an unrelated three-game suspension that stemmed from a weapons charge in California. This offseason he was arrested for DUI in California, a charge that still must be resolved.

So the reclusive, yet affable running back will talk the bulk of the carries this weekend for Seattle in their first-round playoff games. Fans will certainly be thrilled when he runs somebody over. That's how we treat guys that can carry a football. It's still an oddity, however, that a man so colorful as Lynch doesn't speak with the media. Since he's doing so well right now, people just think it's quirky. If his performance drops off, however, will people start to think its arrogant or mean-spirited?

US developed Tsunami Bomb during WW2

The US obviously developed the Atomic Bomb and our excuse for using it has been that it saved countless lives from what would have otherwise been a costly land invasion of Japan. Although if the nuke has not been so persausive, we also had another ace up our sleeves...

(To buy a book on the Japan Invasion, click here.)

The tests were carried out in waters around New Caledonia and Auckland during the Second World War and showed that the weapon was feasible and a series of 10 large offshore blasts could potentially create a 33-foot tsunami capable of inundating a small city.

The top secret operation, code-named "Project Seal", tested the doomsday device as a possible rival to the nuclear bomb. About 3,700 bombs were exploded during the tests, first in New Caledonia and later at Whangaparaoa Peninsula, near Auckland.

I'm assuming that we may have started Tsunami-ing Japan has they not complied with surrender. It does make me wonder though that if 1940s technology could develop a rather sinister weapon like this - what do the world's military's have under wraps that they're not telling us about?

Mount Rainier Photo

What a beautiful January day! Here's the view of Mount Rainier from my work. Makes me want to head to the mountain and go hiking!

(Check out this book of day hikes on Mount Rainier)

Brace youself

New Years signify's the end of the holiday rush. Now there will be a long gap before we hit a real holiday of any circumstance (Remember, you don't get Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day off). This also spells the big dry desert of sports that hits at the beginning of the year. This is what you sports fans will be hit with.

1. College football is done, finished and not coming back till fall. The NFL will have fewer and fewer teams playing as they get knocked off in the playoffs.

2. The NBA is in that weird middle of the season form where the games don't seem to matter thaaaaat much.

3. Baseball is still a ways away from spring training. Since the regular season of college basketball is basically pointless because 68 teams make the postseason, so have fun with that until March.

Now just what are you supposed to do? Here are some things you can do to get past the sports withdrawals.

1. Work on your putting - Get that short game down, because we all know you're a terrible golfer. Since the weather means you're probably not playing 18 every day, you should at least try to get better on some aspects of your game.

2. Read about Ted Williams - He is perhaps the greatest hitter in baseball of all time. So instead of watching NBA players try to pretend to be Jordan, learn why Ted Williams was an absolute bad ass. And then you have my permission to watch the Red Sox in the spring.

3. Pretend you're watching College Football - With the magic of the Xbox, don't pine for the days of RG3. Live them all over again with high def graphics and some questionable play-calling by yourself. What else are you gonna do with the Xbox? Play Halo?

4. Take up Skateboarding - Granted, if you're above the age of 12, you'll look like a complete moron.

5. Go backpacking - Seriously get out of the house. Skipp Bayless is slowly eating away at your brain. Find a trail. Blaze it. Maybe even go camping for a few days.

Epic Photo of Greatness: Centralia Power Plant

On the first day of the year I headed just outside of Centralia to snap a photo of the Centralia Power Plant. It’s the only commercial coal fire plant in the state of Washington and is set to shut down in 2025 because of environmental issues. The plant’s boilers were launch in the early 1970s and most of the coal was provided from the nearby Centralia Coal Mine (the largest coal mine in the state). Since the Canadian company TransAlta bought it 2000, they’ve been slowly reducing mercury emissions at the plant. Here are some photos from the plant…

Epic thing that happened today: Emancipation Proclamation

You've no doubt heard about the movie "Lincoln" which in an era of movies where explosions and CGI are king, it's political banter is a refreshing introspect into one of our nations greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln. The movie focuses on the passing of the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery.

(Buy this book on Lincoln)

Before that though, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863 which said that all slaves in the Confederate States of America were now free. Obviously the rebellious states still kept their slaves if they could (until the end of the war) and didn't free the 800,000 slaves in the North (that would happen with the 13th Amendment), but it did make the Civil War more about the abolition of slavery than state rights. It kept England from coming into the war on the side of the Confederacy.

(Get Ken Burns' The Civil War Here.)

Perhaps the move was more symbolic, and to ensure that when the country got back together it wouldn't be like the country before the war. Slavery was going to be a thing of the past, and the Civil War was going to accomplish that.

Here's a great article from The Beast that breaks down the signing by Lincoln and just what it means in American history.