THE NEW PHOTOSHOP CS5 provides some fun for John Scalzi, though it’s slightly creepy, semi-Stalinist fun. You can, by the way, download a trial version from the Adobe site.

AL GORE WAS “THRILLED” by his honorary degree from UT. But the award was protested by a group that included the Knoxville Tea Party and Lord Monckton.

NEXT WEEK IN MIAMI: The Cuba Nostalgia Fair.

IF YOU COULD HAVE JUST ONE BOOK TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF, what would it be? I haven’t written mine yet, but — oh, you mean a book by someone else. Tough call between The Road to Serfdom and The Singularity is Near.

PROF. JACOBSON: “The argument by extreme reflects left-wing epistemic closure, an inability to engage in meaningful discussion of the failures of big government, resulting in a series of strawman arguments and extensive hyperbole meant to marginalize those who disagree.”

WHAT’S WRONG WITH A Ding-Dong now and then?

Related: One-night stand etiquette: The importance of “politeness and dignity.”

UPDATE: Oh, celibacy is hipster-trendy now. Enjoy it, guys . . . .

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY? Hertz will rent Nissan Leafs.

IN PRAISE OF airplane wi-fi.

AT THIS PRICE, IT’S PRACTICALLY DISPOSABLE: Casio 10.1 MP digital camera for 69 bucks.

A PROGRESS REPORT from the Automotive X-Prize competition.

WELL, IT IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Virtual reality used to transfer men’s minds into a woman’s body.

AT AMAZON, it’s the Friday Sale.

POLLS: Obama’s job approval sinking in battleground states.

ANN ALTHOUSE: “I think there is a lot more evidence that Kagan knows how to please and win the favor of those with the power to advance her career than that Kagan is a socialist.”

STIMULUS: Weatherization Waste in Texas.

IOWAHAWK: Elena Kagan and America’s Rude Legacy of anti-Harvard Bigotry. It’s hard out there for a Harvard-American.

FARHAD MANJOO: Learning to love a bike you don’t need to pedal.

SHOCKER: The Health Care Reform Already Costs More than We Thought it Would. Or more than we were told it would, anyway. “Olympia Snowe’s demands to slow down the process suddenly seem a lot more reasonable. . . . We haven’t done anything yet, and we’re somehow already at least a hundred billion dollars in the hole.”

TUNKU VARADARAJAN INTERVIEWS NOURIEL ROUBINI about the economy, the future, and Roubini’s new book, Crisis Economics.

BIOLOGICAL WARFARE TAKEN PRIVATE: “A new website is selling colonies of pubic lice for the express purpose of letting you give crabs to those you hate.”

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION has been allowing drilling without permits. “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is partly responsible for protecting endangered species and marine mammals. It has said on repeated occasions that drilling in the gulf affects these animals, but the minerals agency since January 2009 has approved at least three huge lease sales, 103 seismic blasting projects and 346 drilling plans. Agency records also show that permission for those projects and plans was granted without getting the permits required under federal law.” January, 2009, eh? Little did those people with the 1/20/09 bumper stickers know that they were counting down to the opening of offshore drilling . . . .

“SMART DIPLOMACY:” Obama’s Known of Al-Qaeda Ties with Iran for a Year, but Still No Action.

U.S. SNIPERS get a new gun.

SEAWEED kills coral.

MICHAEL YON: Penguins of Afghanistan. Remember that, like Michael Totten, he’s supported by reader donations. If you like his work, consider hitting the tipjar.