Watching the World Cup game between Portugal and the Netherlands tonight with some friends, and we had an idea for a way to make soccer even more exciting.

Ten guys on each team have nothing to do with their hands all game long, right?  So let’s give every player two small balloons filled with either water or (possibly, depending on local preferences) beer.

No one can replace their balloons, but every player is allowed to throw either or both balloons anytime they want during a match.  So there’s some strategy involved.

Guy breaks in on goal, and you can’t quite get back to defend him?  Might be time for a balloon.  Or maybe you’re coming in on goal, and there’s just one man to beat.  SLOOOSH!  GOOOOOOOOOOAL!

Or, then again, maybe you’re just not that into the game.  In which case, hey, two beers.

Soccer Plus will clearly need some workshopping on the collegiate level.  If anybody tries this, let me know how it goes.

This happened much earlier this week.  But let’s never forget this.

Pretty soon, he’ll be running for president.

Let’s not ever forget this.

In the last week, Prisoner of Trebekistan
has picked up two incredibly kind new blurbs from people I’m sure you’ve
heard of, and we’re getting feedback from buyers from major retail
stores that is just amazingly positive.  And I’m not even scratching
the surface of the good news. 

I mention this for two reasons: (a) to brag like a howler monkey in
mating season, and (b) because, curiously, I find that

Since the eyes of the world are on Germany, what with this whole incredibly riveting World Cup and all, this was sent in by a reader who wondered if pudus can speak German.

If by "speak," one means look up with a mildly-quizzical expression when spoken to, and then go on about the business of chewing on leaves, then ja, ausgezeichnet.

I have about a half-dozen things I want to post, but a full day ahead.  More shortly.

PS –no, these aren’t actually pudus in the pic.  But I bet they speak German just as well.

OK, I’m sort of reading that into things.  But see if that’s not far from your own understanding:

New Scientist magazine just posted a thing about a study that finds that overconfident people are more likely to (a) wage war and (b) muck up the ensuing battles completely.

Say, now. . . really?

They found this result by setting up wargames with a bunch of volunteers, who had the ability to either negotiate or attack their opponents, all while wearing Clockwork Orange-style brainwave scanners* and genital strain gauges** and guys in labcoats tracked their strategies and progress.  Et voila: