The Shutdown Continues, Day 8: John Boehner says he "isn't drawing any lines in the sand," whatever that means. From Politico:

“All we’re asking for is to sit down and have a conversation,” Boehner said. “There’s no reason to make it more difficult to bring people to the table. There’s no boundaries here, there’s nothing on the table, there’s nothing off the table. I’m trying to do everything I can to bring people together and have a conversation.”

In Totally Unrelated News: It turns out American adults are poorly educated idiots compared with other nations, according to a new study. "The United States ranked near the middle in literacy and near the bottom in skill with numbers and technology," says the New York Times.

Seattle City Council Passes New Pot Rules: Dominic notes that they've managed to "effectively ban medical marijuana dispensaries."

Arizona Representative Brenda Barton Calls Obama "De Fuhrer" on Facebook: Because she's mad that the national parks are closed? Or something? Wonkette congratulates her on "her shiny new nomination for Wonkette’s coveted Legislative Shitmuffin of the Year Award."

Cook Your Chicken Till It's Dry and Stringy, Please, Salmonella's on the Loose: An outbreak of salmonella linked to Foster Farms facilities in California has sickened 278 people; most of the chicken has been sold in California, Oregon, and Washington. While the USDA inspection process is still running through the shutdown, the CDC researchers who look into multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks are not working.

All the Cool Kids Are Signing Up for Obamacare: Washington's benefit exchange reports that more than 9,400 people have signed up for insurance and 10,000 applications are still pending. Washington has around a million residents without insurance.

God Wins the Nobel Prize for Physics! Well, at least his particle does.

Just Another Reason to Ban Cars, Right? New study says driving Seattleites spend an average of $625 repairing their car after driving our roads, 45 percent of which suck. (Forty-five percent of the roads, not drivers. Although, well...)

Have You Ever Heard of the "National Radio Quiet Zone"? It's a 13,000-square-mile area in West Virginia with no cell phone service or wi-fi and almost no radio. NPR goes for a visit.

"Radcliffe couldn’t open a movie without a wand in his hand": Harry Potter tries to prove the haters wrong. He sounds really, really awesome.

Speaking of Radcliffe, Here's His Best Work: