No, not really a punch line, a related one-panel comic.

More on the Virgin spaceship:

[link]

This craft is the first of a fleet of six or seven that are expected to be built. This one has been dubbed the VSS Enterprise - in a nod to the famous sailing ships of old as well as the fictional starship of the "Star Trek" saga. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Branson's daughter, Holly, are to do the official christening this afternoon.

...

VSS Enterprise is emblazoned with an image of "Galactic Girl," a mascot who is modeled after Branson's mother as she looked in the 1940s, floating in zero-G. Eve Branson, who admits to being near her 90s, stopped by while we were there to look at her likeness, which was painted by a grandson, Ned Rocknroll.

"These are your belly-dancing days," Richard Branson joked.

"Could have made the boobs a little bit bigger," his mother said, grinning all the while.

"Never satisfied, never satisfied," the son replied.

Eve Branson said she was indeed satisfied, calling the likeness "marvelous" and congratulating her grandson, the artist. "Hey, if you put your grandmother on the side of a spaceship, you're all good," Ned Rocknroll said.

a related one-panel comic.

Or two panels.

No, not really a punch line, a related one-panel comic.

Like Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. Which it reminds me of, a bit.

I am constantly getting zapped by static electricity. I feel like a puppy getting bopped on the nose, except I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be learning. Not to leave my house, maybe.

My skirt is all staticked up. I forgot it can pretty much only be worn with panty hose.

I seem to be vacillating between being cold and overheating. And my head hurts like a bitch. I really want to go home. I wonder if I should call it a day early today and make it up during the rest of the week.

Garden Noam Chomsky

Featured in The Nation's charity auction, this Garden Noam Chomsky sculpture, of a run "probably limited to less than 100".

OMG, is there anything more sleepy-making than a sleeping cat on your lap? I vote no.

Nerds in the Wild update. Politics has come up. After a few riffs on Sarah Palin and Tina Fey on SNL, they're talking about George Bush and Will Ferrell.

Nerd 1: Well, if Bush was on, someone would throw a shoe, and he'd duck.

Nerd 2: Whatever else you might say about him, Bush has good reflexes.

Nerd 1: He has to. He had a vice president who shot people in the face.

is there anything more sleepy-making than a sleeping cat on your lap? I vote no.

I vote for the pattering of rain dripping onto broad leaves. Knocks me right out. And I don't just say that because the cat will steal your soul as you sleep.