These folks were offering tasting samples at the local Costco recently. 25 grams of protein and 100 calories in three ounces. Tasted like a syrupy fruit punch. $20 at Costco. Not quite a meal replacement, but useful for recovery after working out.

One of my favorite shows is returning for a third season, after a brilliant end to season two. Chuck‘s final line was telegraphed from the start of the last scene, and still was deeply satisfying when uttered. So glad it’s coming back.

If you haven’t seen the show yet, Hulu offers all of Season 1 and 2 for free.

I don’t very much like Schwarzenegger’s politics or his continued insistence in using “I’ll be back” as a catch-phrase, but his comment today about whether Rush Limbaugh is the de facto leader of the Republican party is a beaut.

The woefully underrated Dead Like Me—about a young woman who dies and becomes one of several Grim Reapers—was one of my favorite shows. It’s a shame it lasted only two seasons. Fortunately that means you can pick up the complete series for only $30 at Amazon. It comes from the seriously death-obsessed mind of Bryan Fuller, creator of the equally underrated Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls. Curiously, these shows also lasted less than two seasons. I guess America doesn’t like quirky, well-written shows.

The SpelBots, Spelman’s robot-programming team, competed in this year’s RoboCup in Japan, and did very well. The video shows their robots in action.

I’ve met a few of the SpelBots, and their founder, Dr. Andrew Williams, is great guy.

I don’t remember who first brought Perfect Balance to my attention, and I’m not yet sure if I should thank them for a great distraction or curse them for all the time I spent solving these physics-based puzzles. What’s great is there is more than one solution to most of the puzzles.

I’ll always prefer the 2-seater Lexus SC convertibles, but the new 4-seater IS is also a sexy—if more adult—convertible. They’re around $40,000 – $45,000, way less than the SC (starts at $67,000).

Indeed.

It essentially tells Californians that a right as fundamental as the ability to choose the marital partner of your choice is a kind of judicial lottery ticket — if you got in early, you win, but those who arrived a few days late lose. Sorry.

Also:

And it's morally permissible to carve out exceptions to constitutional rights for specific groups, as long as it's done by majority vote?

And one more:

So, if a majority of Californians voted to "carve out a narrow exception" to California's right to privacy and applied it only to Jews, would it be constitutionally acceptable? If Native Americans were accorded all the protections of the law by a ballot proposition, except the right to marry a non-Indian, would that be legal?

Seriously fucked-up:

[T]he tone of the opinion suggests that the justices themselves weren’t happy with it, but that they had to follow California’s unusual laws when it comes to amending its constitution.

My feelings exactly:

I’m reminded again that people get to vote on my rights. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.