The sign at one of the entrances in North Carolina to the Great Dismal Swamp.

Well, of COURSE it’s dismal. You can’t get a good martini there.

From AFP, “Scientists discover deadly secret of Komodo’s bite”

SYDNEY (AFP) — The world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, has a snake-like venom in its bite which sends victims into shock and stops their blood from clotting, according to Australian research.

It had been widely believed that deadly bacteria in the carnivorous lizard’s mouth helped kill its prey.

But magnetic resonance imagery has for the first time uncovered venom glands containing a shock-inducing poison which increases blood flow and decreases blood pressure, scientists say.

What a good opportunity post a link to one of Bob and Ray’s best bits, the interview with Komodo Dragon expert.

If you were in the vicinity of our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C…..you would take the kiddos to the National Zoo, and there you would see two Komodo dragons….the world’s largest living lizard. There is a stuffed Komodo dragon in the lobby of the Royal Hotel in Katmandu, Nepal.

There’s a video version here, but it’s not as good. So here’s one of their beer ads instead, a hockey-themed spot courtesy Archive.org.

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As ‘Fun, Watchable’

The CPSIA run amok? Toxic ink forces recall of all U.S. dollars, not just for kids.

Treasury Department Issues Emergency Recall Of All US Dollars

The maw of the 24-hour cable news beast opens wide and finds, less filling.

In The Know: Situation In Nigeria Seems Pretty Complex

Prague’s Franz Kafka International Named World’s Most Alienating Airport

Yeah, just try booking a flight to the Penal Colony.

Alas. This item is not on the website, so for historical purposes, we’ll post it.

The Post also solicits input:

We welcome reader feedback on these changes. Please call 202-334-7320, e-mail businesscomments@washpost.com or write to: Business Section, The Washington Post, 1150 15th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.

Continued thoughts….(8:45 a.m.):

Don’t worry. We’ll always have Steven Pearlstein. His column today, “California’s Wipeout Economy,” addresses a favorite topic around here, which we cast as California’s hostility to business as evidenced by high taxes, ever-increasing regulations, rampacious unions, environmental utopians and the apotheosis of these all, Jerry Brown.

Following  a trip to California, Pearlstein identifies the macroeconomic trends that have laid the state low:

It is hard to overstate how reliant the Southern California economy has always been on population growth to drive its economic growth — in oversimplified terms, building houses for the next wave of home builders. In the beginning, the early developers could be pretty confident that if they built it, they would come — from the Northeast and Midwest, and then from all corners of the globe. But in recent years, this perpetual growth machine has pretty much run out of steam as residents old and new confronted the realities of two-hour commutes, bad air, a shortage of water and a backlash against illegal immigration.

Moreover, without the steady growth in tax revenue that came with population growth, the Ponzi scheme that passes for public finance in California was suddenly and painfully revealed. Much of the blame lies with public employee unions and a handful of other special-interest groups that have essentially hijacked political control of state and local governments. Now, despite decades of high taxes and rapid growth, state and local governments find that they not only don’t have the revenue to provide even basic services, but are saddled with hundreds of billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities and infrastructure needs.

It’s “the backlash against illegal immigration” that people are reacting to? The backlash? What a strange comment.

Investor’s Business Daily also examines California’s woes today in its editorial, “California’s Hefty Union Dues“: “Organized Labor: The state that led the way in giving labor push-button power to organize against private-sector taxpayers now stands — if you can call it standing — as a cautionary tale.”

Ah…to end on at least one positive note about California, here’s John Doe singing “Golden State” from last year’s South by Southwest festival.

Geeks on tour do, that’s who.

Afterthought: Why is it Spectre and not Specter? She’s American!