According to this Space.com article, "A pair of NASA scientists told a group of space officials at a private meeting here Sunday that they have found strong evidence that life may exist today on Mars, hidden away in caves and sustained by pockets of water.

The scientists, Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, told the group that they have submitted their findings to the journal Nature for publication in May, and their paper currently is being peer reviewed.

What Stoker and Lemke have found, according to several attendees of the private meeting, is not direct proof of life on Mars, but methane signatures and other signs of possible biological activity remarkably similar to those recently discovered in caves here on Earth."

This Cleveland Scene article discusses some of the more clever tribute bands including the all-female AC/DShe, the all-dwarf Mini-Kiss, and the all-naked Nudist Priest.

According to this BBC article, last December's tsunami may have uncovered the remains of an ancient port city off the coast of southern India.

In this Salon article, Eric Boehlert asks, "How can a reporter using a fake name and working for a fake news organization get press credentials from the White House, let alone curry enough favor with the notoriously disciplined Bush administration to get picked by the president in order to ask fake questions?"

Neal Stephenson discusses science, his novels, and post-9/11 America in this Reason interview.

The History of the Heavy Metal Umlaut.

This New Yorker article describes how the U.S. Army's officers are adapting to the war in Iraq. According to the article, "Whatever else the Iraq war is doing to American power and prestige, it is producing the creative and flexible junior officers that the Army’s training could not."

One reason for this success is that the younger officers "grew up with the Internet, and have created for themselves, in their spare time, a means of sharing with one another, online, information that the Army does not control. The “slackers” in the junior-officer corps are turning out to be just what the Army needs in the chaos of Iraq. Instead of looking up to the Army for instructions, they are teaching themselves how to fight the war. The Army, to its credit, stays out of their way."

Deep Throat was the anonymous source used by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during the Watergate scandal. His identity has been a secret for more than 30 years. But according to former White House counsel and Watergate conspirator John Dean Deep Throat's identity may soon be revealed. In this LA Times column, Dean writes, "Bob Woodward, a reporter on the team that covered the Watergate story, has advised his executive editor at the Washington Post that Throat is ill. And Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of the Post and one of the few people to whom Woodward confided his source's identity, has publicly acknowledged that he has written Throat's obituary."

"'War daddy' is the rare bit of football jargon that somehow manages to be both ubiquitous and obscure." Josh Levin explains what it means in this Slate article.

This Washington Monthly article discusses the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). "Over the last decade, INR has frequently arrived at more prescient conclusions than the CIA and other intelligence agencies about the nature of threats to the United States. In 2001, when U.S. intelligence agents intercepted a shipment of aluminum tubes bound for Iraq, CIA analysts concluded they were for uranium enrichment, proof that Saddam Hussein was building a secret nuclear-weapons program. The INR, working from the same body of intelligence, concluded (rightly, it turned out) that the tubes were more likely intended for conventional, not nuclear, weaponry."

The Smoking Gun has collected the backstage riders from 197 acts. Their list includes everyone from the Foo Fighters (This rider is comprised of the things that make the band rock you like a proverbial hurricane!) to Luciano Pavarotti (There must be no distinct smells anywhere near the artist.)

This site lets you compare your height with the heights of famous people, everyone from Abraham Lincoln (6'4") to Woody Allen (5'5").

This Times Online article discusses an attempt by the Herculaneum Society to reexcavate an ancient Roman villa buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. They believe they may find a library of ancient books in the villa. According to the Society, “We can expect to find good contemporary copies of known masterpieces and to recover works lost to humanity for two millennia. A treasure of greater cultural importance can scarcely be imagined.”

Despite getting NBC's worst rating ever, the American version of the Office premiers on Tuesday, March 22 at 9.30pm.

In rememberence of Johnny Carson, who died this week of emphysema, the New Yorker posted this profile of Carson from 1978. Here's Johnny.

This New Scientist article discusses new research and theories on black holes. "Researchers on the quest for a more complete understanding of our universe are finding that black holes are not so black, and perhaps not holes either. Furious debates are raging over what black holes contain and even whether they deserve the name."

This NPR interview with Daily Show Senior Correspondent Stephen Colbert shows why he is the fake newsman's fake newsman.

Now that President Bush has been inaugurated for the second time, the Bush presidency is more than half over. To find out how much longer Bush will last, go to Backwards Bush, The Official George W. Bush "Days Left In Office" Countdown.

In this New Republic article, Peter Beinart asks "Why is President Bush having more trouble (so far) trying to partially privatize Social Security than he had cutting taxes in 2001?" Although Beinart see several possibilities, he explains why he thinks, "It may be that the GOP's victories in last November's elections, the very victories that Bush says give him the "political capital" to push through partial privatization, are actually making the effort harder. By killing off the Democrats most susceptible to his influence, Bush may have created a political dynamic that works for his opponents, and against him."

The Free Fall Research Page tells the stories of people who have survived a fall of thousands of feet without a working parachute. The page includes information on Free Fallers, Wreckage Riders, Unlucky Skydivers, and other Amazing Stories.

The three Free Fallers are perhaps the most amazing. These three men were all World War II airmen who fell at least 18,000 feet without a parachute and survived.