As this is the plane I’ll fly on when I finally head for Japan, I’m very pleased:

This is the carbon-fiber Boeing 787 Dreamliner at 150% service load during the ultimate wing load test required for FAA certification. During the test, the wingtips underwent 25 feet of vertical deflection without failing. Engineering is awesome. [Boeing via Wired]

Boeing 787 Dreamliner : Ultimate Wing Load Test [Jalopnik]

it burns: “The Obama administration is making a big stink about Israeli settlements on the West Bank, but you know what causes a lot more radical anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world? Lady Gaga, argues Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal .” [Newser]

but Congress killed it. I love this sort of stuff: “GENEVA – The world’s largest atom smasher conducted its first experiments at conditions nearing those that existed just after the big bang, breaking its own record for high-energy collisions with proton beams crashing into each other Tuesday with three times more force than ever before.” [MSNBC]

What a maroon: “California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R) sent a letter to her supporters yesterday in honor of the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which she described as a time where ‘we break bread and spend time with our families and friends.’” [TPM]

“Carrie Prejean isn’t just opposed to gay marriage, she’s also opposed to paying more than $64,000 to the “Christian-focused” PR firm who helped her out, this according to a new lawsuit. The group — A. Larry Ross Communications — claims Prejean contacted them back in April, 2009 and logged “hundreds of hours” helping Prejean spread her “biblically correct” message.” [TMZ]

“J.D. Shapiro, the dude who wrote Battlefield Earth, issued a two-page formal apology for contributing to the barley-covered shit bomb that is L. Ron Hubbard’s Ishtar! While Battlefield Earth is Xenu’s favorite circle jerk porn, most of us had to eat every kind of anti-depressant on the market to get through the first hour. J.D. blames it all on his penis.” [D-Listed]

All of Mariah Carey’s dreams have come true, now that four types of Hello Kitty wine are set to hit the market. For who knows drinks better than a tiny cat without a mouth, eh? [Jezebel]