DeaneBarker.net

I go back and forth on the death penalty issue these days, but for people like this, it’s tough to consider anything but.

Prosecutors say Paul Kraft encountered an undercover Secret Service agent last March in an Internet chat room called “baby and pre-teen sex.”

In an online exchange, Kraft offered to rape his 3-year-old daughter live on the Internet if another person would do the same so Kraft could watch, prosecutors say. The agent contacted Hamilton County sheriff’s deputies, who arrested Kraft at home.

Very few things on the Internet shock me anymore, but I had to read that second paragraph two or three times before my mind stopped reeling.

This is an interesting article about a 21-year-old Marine Corps sniper in Iraq. His accuracy is apparently amazing.

During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds — hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death.

He has 20 confirmed kills and 40 probables.

This is absolutely hysterical. I loved Thor.

Superheroes weren’t always super. See what they were like in high school in this spoof on Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

This is a great interactive graphic from Slate entitled “Who Hates Who in the Middle East.” It’s a table which shows the relationships between a dozen or so groups and countries — they’re Friends, Enemies, or It’s Complicated. You can click on each cell for a concise explanation of why the relationship is how it is.

Here is a 13-minute documentary about Al Gore made by Spike Jonze. He traveled to Carthage, Tennessee and spent the day with Gore and his family. The result is really heart-warming. Al Gore seems like a heck of a guy.

[...] like the rest of the country, I didn’t really know who Al Gore was. So I suggested that what I could offer would be to simply go down and get my impressions of Al Gore. And I just went with my video camera by myself, and just tried to gather, in a small unobtrusive way, a sort of video portrait- a day in the life, just to get to know who he is.

[...] I think that Al and Tipper have to be good people and good parents to have created a family that’s so solid. They look out for each other, and you can feel it. I mean, it’s really obvious when you’re around a dysfunctional family and it’s also obvious when you’re around a really functional family.

This trailer for the upcoming documentary “The Bridge” has totally freaked me out.  Some guy set up cameras on the Golden Gate, and apparently captured a lot of footage of people committing suicide.  Even the preview is hard to watch.

[...] the most popular suicide destination in the world, and the unfortunate souls drawn by its siren call. Steel and his crew filmed the bridge during daylight hours from two separate locations for all of 2004, recording most of the two dozen deaths in that year (and preventing several others). They also taped more than 100 hours of interviews with friends, families and witnesses, who recount in sorrowful detail stories of struggles with depression, substance abuse and mental illness.

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen done with a ukulele. Good Lord. It almost made me cry.

This is really remarkable.

People who took an illegal drug made from mushrooms reported profound mystical experiences that led to behavior changes lasting for weeks [...]

Many of the 36 volunteers rated their reaction to a single dose of the drug, called psilocybin, as one of the most meaningful or spiritually significant experiences of their lives. Some compared it to the birth of a child or the death of a parent. [...]

Even two months after taking the drug, pronounced SILL-oh-SY-bin, most of the volunteers said the experience had changed them in beneficial ways, such as making them more compassionate, loving, optimistic and patient. Family members and friends said they noticed a difference, too. [...]

From a CNN article: Mystic mushrooms spawn magic event

I’m driving home tonight, heading south on Cliff Ave, just past Lincoln High School. I look ahead of me about 100 feet to the stoplight, and I see something big, wide, and red drifting into the turning lane.

I quickly realize it’s a Ferrari, but what kind? I know a chiropractor in Sioux Falls with a 360 Modena, but as I get closer, it’s too wide for that. The fenders are too raked. As I pull up alongside, I see the slant of the front fender over the wheel, and realize I am in the presence of the Holiest of Automotive Holies: a Ferrari Enzo.

While I don’t personally care too much for how they look, an Enzo is rare even by Ferrari standards. Only 400 or so have been built, and only a fraction of those made it over to the U.S. I saw a Lamborghini Gallardo driving around town the other day, and I was impressed. But this — this is something else.

What in God’s name is an Enzo doing in Sioux Falls?

I noticed that the had “Premier Motorcars” plates on it, so it’s either for sale, or someone just bought it. The driver is a 40-ish male — he coulda been an accountant. I roll down the window.

Me: “Is that an Enzo?”

Him: “It is.”

Me: “How much?”

Him: “$1.3 million.”

Me: “Are you crazy driving that around town?”

Him: “Yeah, probably.”

And then the light turned green and we both drove away.

Further investigation finds that it is indeed for sale at Premier Motorcars right here in Sioux Falls. I’ll be fascinated to see how that goes. I think the odds of it selling to a Sioux Falls resident are about zero, but I’m sure they know this. I imagine it’s common for things in this price range to get shipped all over the place. Buyers for this type of car don’t grow on trees.