My pal MrCoffee recently joined the ranks of licensed drivers, or re-joined, as he had been licensed in the past as he'd managed to let his license lapse (people who don't live in New York City have a hard time believing how easily one can survive without one), and we were up at our buddy Devicer's when it was proposed we take a drive so he could practice driving his rented Jetta. I'm not going to try and recreate what happened next, since I didn't see it, and Devicer's description of what he saw in his rear-view consisted of a lot of "oh-nos!" Basically MrCoffee hit a gravel patch and ended up skidding across the (thankfully empty) oncoming traffic lane managing to come to a halt in the opposite shoulder without hitting the sheer rock wall it abutted. Far from being an indictment of his car, which I think was most guilty of being shod with crappy stock tires, this incident serves as quite a testament to German engineering, as before he managed to come to a halt, MrCoffee managed to total a street sign and (get this) a 25-foot tall tree, while emerging shaken, but completely unharmed, with the Jetta suffering from little more than a couple of scratches and some lost minor plastic bits. As we assessed the situation and it became apparent that this was a far more minor accident than it appeared at first, I walked over to see what the sign that was knocked over was supposed to be telling people, which was, naturally, 'no parking or stopping at any time.' Doh!

Play Time: This guy's got moves!!! Flash required. Thanks Brendan Reville.
Story of the Day: Police hunt 'criminal' chimp. Thanks Uncle Skeeby.
Story of the Day II: NPR Button Loose Lips, Again. Thanks Zdim.
Wild Science: Laser propels plane. Thanks BigDog.