The
Sun will be temporarily down today
for scheduled
maintenance."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2012 May 
Annular Solar Eclipse
Image Credit & Copyright: Mikael Svalgaard
"Researchers at Harvard say red wine can slow the aging process. They say if you drink red wine, it can help you look younger. And you can look even younger if you get the other person to drink it." -Jay Leno
While I was working in the men's section of a department store, a woman asked me to help her choose a white dress shirt for her husband. When I asked about his size, the woman looked stumped at first, then her face brightened. She held up her hands, forming a circle with her forefingers and thumbs. "I don't know his size," she said, "but my hands fit perfectly around his neck."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Japanese monkey enthusiast in suburban Tokyo has been named the world's fastest human runner on four legs after developing a style of running based on the movements of the African Patas monkey. Kenichi Ito has been developing the running style for over a decade.
The record of 18.58 seconds over 100 meters was set by Kenichi Ito at Setagaya Kuritsu Sogo Undojyo, Tokyo, Japan.
That's why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us disarmed.
Food for thought, when next we consider gun control.
Image Credit & Copyright: Mikael Svalgaard
Explanation: Tomorrow, May
20, the Moon's shadow will
race across planet
Earth. Observers within the
240-300 kilometer wide shadow track will be able to witness an annular solar eclipse as the Moon's apparent size is presently
too small to completely cover the
Sun. Heading east over a
period of 3.5 hours, the shadow path will begin in southern China, cross the
northern Pacific, and reach well into North America, crossing the US west coast
in southern Oregon and northern California. Along the
route, Tokyo residents will
be just 10 kilometers north of the path's center line. Of course a partial eclipse will be
visible from a much larger
area within North America, the Pacific, and eastern Asia. This safely filtered telescopic picture was taken during the
annular eclipse of January 15, 2010 from the city of Kanyakumari at the southern tip of
India.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rex Barker here with, "Keep Aiming
Higher"
Always aim higher than you believe you can reach. So
often, you'll discover that when your talents are set free by your imagination,
you can achieve any goal.
If people offer their help or wisdom as you go through life, accept it gratefully. You can learn much from those who have gone before you. But never be afraid or hesitant to step off the accepted path and head off in your own direction if your heart tells you that it's the right way for you.
Always believe that you will ultimately succeed at whatever you do, and never forget the value of persistence, discipline, and determination.
You are meant to be whatever you dream of becoming.
This is Rex Barker, reminding you to always focus on growth, at any age. It is why we are here.
If people offer their help or wisdom as you go through life, accept it gratefully. You can learn much from those who have gone before you. But never be afraid or hesitant to step off the accepted path and head off in your own direction if your heart tells you that it's the right way for you.
Always believe that you will ultimately succeed at whatever you do, and never forget the value of persistence, discipline, and determination.
You are meant to be whatever you dream of becoming.
This is Rex Barker, reminding you to always focus on growth, at any age. It is why we are here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smithsonian Magazine Online
Julia Child's Recipe for a Thoroughly Modern
Marriage
A Tasting Tour of Salts Around the
World
Food writer Ruth
Reichl looks at the impact of the famous chef's partnership with her husband
Paul
 |
Food critic Mimi
Sheraton samples the different kinds of the world's most ancient and essential
ingredient
|
|
Food critic Mimi
Sheraton samples the different kinds of the world's most ancient and essential
ingredient
|
Food critic Mimi
Sheraton samples the different kinds of the world's most ancient and essential
ingredient
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First of all, DO NOT
LOOK AT THE SUN with the naked eye, or through an unfiltered telescope
or binoculars. Your eyes will essentially act like little magnifying glasses,
but instead of an ant catching on fire it will be your retina. Only view an
eclipse through a certified solar filter or via a secondary viewing technique.
Photographing an
eclipse is much harder than simply observing it. You need a special filter for
your camera like this, and lots of practice. I would recommend
finding some local experienced solar and astronomy photographers to make sure
you do it safely.
But t you can also construct
some pretty simple DIY viewing setups. Here’s some based
on a pinhole camera design. Here’s another, involving a couple of boxes. Lastly, if you don’t live in
the narrow window of Earth that will be able to see it directly, don’t
despair!You can watch it online via the
SLOOH Space Camera!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bryson
Andres performing violin on the streets of Portland
Oregon
Violin
Cover Portland - Bryson Andres - # 2
Violin Cover Portland - Bryson Andres #
3
Uploaded by jdyzy on Nov 28, 2011
Bryson is Trying to go on tour this year across the US but he
needs your help. If you watched this video and it touched you please click the
link below and donate if you can. Or if you are one of the people hundreds of
people who commented about how much you would give if you saw him playing now is
your chance to put your money where your mouth is and Bryson could be playing in
your town in no time at all. Here's the link to get him on the road.
http://www.gofundme.com/lfg70
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
QUOTE:
"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the
ways in which you yourself have altered."
HINT: (1918-). South African politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
HINT: (1918-). South African politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
ANSWER:
Nelson Mandela.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7 stories to read this weekend
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sex Position
Roulettehttp://www.naughtybits.us/2012/05/18/sex-position-roulette/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Clem was only 10 years old when he ran away to
win the Civil War. (“It was necessary that the Union should be preserved,” he
later wrote, “and my help was obviously needed.”) Rejected by Michigan’s 22nd
infantry regiment, he tagged along anyway as a drummer boy and rode into
Chickamauga seated on a caisson and carrying a musket sawed off to match his
size. When a Confederate colonel rode up and yelled “Surrender, you damned
little Yankee!” Clem shot him, winning instant fame as “the drummer boy of
Chickamauga.”
He went on to fight at Perrysville, Murfreesboro,
Kennesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, and Atlanta. After the war Ulysses Grant,
now president, appointed him second lieutenant; when he retired as a brigadier
general in 1915 he was the only Civil War veteran still on duty. “There is no
more popular officer in the army,” wrote the New York Times. “Colonel
Clem is the son-in-law of a Confederate veteran, and this fact he often cites in
conversation with friends as proof of the fact that he is the most ‘united
American’ extant.” He died in San Antonio in 1937.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RANDOM
TIDBITS
Work on St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, began in 1506. Construction took over a century, reaching completion in 1612.
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt are the four US presidents whose faces are carved on Mt. Rushmore.
There are 403 steps from the foundation to the top of the torch in the Statue of Liberty.
The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1630 by Shah Jehan to honor his wife Mumtaz, who died in childbirth.
The official name of the St. Louis Gateway Arch is "The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial." The Gateway Arch looks taller than it is wider, but it is exactly 630 feet by 630 feet.
The only one of his sculptures that Michelangelo signed was the "The Pieta," completed in 1500.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work on St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, began in 1506. Construction took over a century, reaching completion in 1612.
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt are the four US presidents whose faces are carved on Mt. Rushmore.
There are 403 steps from the foundation to the top of the torch in the Statue of Liberty.
The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1630 by Shah Jehan to honor his wife Mumtaz, who died in childbirth.
The official name of the St. Louis Gateway Arch is "The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial." The Gateway Arch looks taller than it is wider, but it is exactly 630 feet by 630 feet.
The only one of his sculptures that Michelangelo signed was the "The Pieta," completed in 1500.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Merida's Architectural History - Video
Visitshttp://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=15399
Check out a clip from Video Visits Merida's Architectural History where you will get an inside look at Mrida's architecture from the Colonial period from the 18th century and 19th century that is still standing in the centro historico of the city.
Check out a clip from Video Visits Merida's Architectural History where you will get an inside look at Mrida's architecture from the Colonial period from the 18th century and 19th century that is still standing in the centro historico of the city.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lego tower reaches 104 feet, 8
inches tall
SEOUL
-- Lego officials in South Korea announced the crown prince of Denmark placed
the final brick on the world's largest Lego tower, measuring 104 feet, 8 inches
tall. Lego Korea said the tower, which was built in Seoul during the weekend by
4,000 young contest winners (with lots of time on their hands), was planned to
mark the 80th anniversary of the Lego group. The final brick defeated the
previous world record of 103 feet, 8 inches, which was set in France.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breasts,
penises and humping couples...
They're
all part of snack time at a middle school in Australia. At least they were.
The
Australian school official who handed out chocolates shaped like private parts
and copulating couples to children resigned.The
parents of students at Woodberry Public School in Woodberry, north of Sydney,
said they were shocked when they spotted the provocatively shaped candies at a
Mother's Day event at the school. "I
had to do a double-take," said Cassandra Lacey, whose two sons attend the
school. "Every single chocolate was to do with sex. This was in the school hall,
on the school grounds and in school time."
A Department of Education and Communities spokesman said the chocolates were not provided by school officials. "The school says that the gifts were prepared by parents, for parents, and the school had no knowledge of them until some of the mothers complained," he said. So the parents were shocked because the naughty candy was supposed to be for them, not their children. Makes sense.
A Department of Education and Communities spokesman said the chocolates were not provided by school officials. "The school says that the gifts were prepared by parents, for parents, and the school had no knowledge of them until some of the mothers complained," he said. So the parents were shocked because the naughty candy was supposed to be for them, not their children. Makes sense.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Son-in-law finds lost ring after 43 years
CHAPMAN,
Ala. -- An Alabama woman who lost her class ring more than 40 years ago said she
was shocked when her son-in-law found it after less than 10 minutes of
searching. Betty Black said she thought she would never see the Georgiana High
School class ring again after she lost it while playing softball in Chapman 43
years ago, but her son-in-law, Wendell Watkins, decided to take another look at
the plot of land, which he now owns. "I walked out on the land and tried to
figure out how the softball field was laid out," Watkins said. "I found the
pitchers mound and then figured out where the backstop was. I was out there for
10 minutes and I saw something that looked out of place in the dirt. I yelled to
my kids, I found it. They were like, 'no way, not that fast.'" However, Watkins
said he brushed the dirt off the ring and soon positively identified it as his
mother-in-law's long-lost keepsake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be proud of your
geekitude and take the Geek Test now available in the world famous 'What's On
the Web?' section of this wonderful publication.
I am quite the
geek. Some people believe that being a geek or having geek tendencies is a
negative thing. Quite the contrary.
Hey, if you enjoy mythology, the Rubik's Cube, computers, Star Wars, Star Trek, going to conventions, technology, movies, television, science fiction, J.R.R. Tolkien, comic books, Harry Potter, graphic novels, online gaming, the Force, Firefly, MST3K, Anime, the Weather Channel, The Matrix, Tron, lightsabers, chess sets, trivia games, exotic animals, vampires, superheroes, wizards, numbers, words, playing RPGs, LEGO, Weird Al Yankovic, Dr. Demento, Fantasy Football, cartoons, vintage clothing, my shirt tucked into my underwear, bugs, trains, and robots... you are like me, a geek.
Hey, if you enjoy mythology, the Rubik's Cube, computers, Star Wars, Star Trek, going to conventions, technology, movies, television, science fiction, J.R.R. Tolkien, comic books, Harry Potter, graphic novels, online gaming, the Force, Firefly, MST3K, Anime, the Weather Channel, The Matrix, Tron, lightsabers, chess sets, trivia games, exotic animals, vampires, superheroes, wizards, numbers, words, playing RPGs, LEGO, Weird Al Yankovic, Dr. Demento, Fantasy Football, cartoons, vintage clothing, my shirt tucked into my underwear, bugs, trains, and robots... you are like me, a geek.
The Geek
Test
http://www.innergeek.us/geek-test.html
Take this thorough exam to determine the rank of your geekiness. I've got the geek at approximately 20.1107%. Not too shabby.
Take this thorough exam to determine the rank of your geekiness. I've got the geek at approximately 20.1107%. Not too shabby.
My test results
~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Researchers at Harvard say red wine can slow the aging process. They say if you drink red wine, it can help you look younger. And you can look even younger if you get the other person to drink it." -Jay Leno
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumb crook of the day — sits and waits
A man
suspected of swallowing a $20,000 diamond is being held in custody in Windsor,
Canada, until it passes through his system, police say. Richard Matthews
allegedly swapped the gem for a fake and ate the real one. The incident occurred almost a week ago but
the stone has not appeared despite numerous visits to the bathroom. Mr Matthews, 52, was initially being
fed fibre-rich foods, but is now eating whatever he wants in order to speed the
process, Sgt Brett Corey said… The suspect is
eager to get the ordeal over with, Sgt Corey added, and is
co-operating with police. The 1.7 carat jewel was taken from Precision
Jewellers in the Canadian province of Ontario. Mr Matthews has been charged with theft and
breach of court conditions. He is also wanted on warrants in
Toronto.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At age 10, Nob Yoshigahara won the grand prize in a newspaper competition
with this puzzle:
Given a sack of sugar, an unbalanced scale, and two 5-pound weights,
measure exactly 10 pounds of sugar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A new study found that most people can't go 10 minutes without lying. But since the study took 20 minutes nobody knows what to believe." -Jimmy Fallon
"A new study found that most people can't go 10 minutes without lying. But since the study took 20 minutes nobody knows what to believe." -Jimmy Fallon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fiat Photobombs
Volkswagen on Google Street View
That’s not a Beetle, but a Fiat. And it was parked
right in front of the headquarters of Volkswagen’s Swedish division as a Google
Street View car drove by.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magic Meerkat Moments
While
shooting footage for the series Planet Earth Live, BBC
cameramen had to put up with the shenanigans of the wildlife itself. -via
The
Daily What
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pleonasms
Sex With the Hulk
Cards Against Humanity is the perennially sold out, CC-licensed card-game that turns madlibs into an anti-social exercise. They're sold out, but you can put your name down for future runs and expansion packs, or download and print a set.
You can find out how he got it (and what he did with it) at the Daily Mail, or at Archie McPhee's Endless Geyser of Awesome. Photo credit wildlife photographer Han Bouwmeester.
The word is new to me: pleonasm, a phrase that
uses more words than necessary to get a point across. Here are examples you’ve
probably heard:
1. Nape of the neck. There’s only one nape, and it’s the back of your neck. It’s possible we get confused by the “scruffs” of animals’ necks since there are other scruffs out there. If you’re ever talking about a nape, though, you can drop “of the neck.”2. False pretense. This is one we all should have known before. Although pretense technically means any “claim or implication,” the vast majority of the time, our usage of “pretense” already implies falsehood. For example: when’s the last time you thought something was both pretentious and genuine?3. Frozen tundra. “Tundra” comes from the Russian word for Arctic steppes, and tundra is generally characterized by permafrost, frozen subsoil. Technically, there is non-frozen Alpine tundra, so-called from lack of vegetation, not temperature. Still, the vast majority of tundra is frozen. So, whether you’re talking about northern Siberia or poking fun at North Dakotan winters, this phrase is generally redundant.
One common in my area is “Where are you located
at?” which could be two words shorter. Mental_floss has more, with
dozens more in the comments. Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Man Dives Down 8-Story Garbage Chute
in Doomed Effort to Escape Girlfriend
Well, who among us hasn’t tried this
approach? Unfortunately for this Russian man, he got stuck three floors down:
“An eyewitness reported to the regional rescue service that there was a man in
the chute … The rescuers’ crew found a man, who was stuck at the fifth floor, in
the garbage disposal,” a spokeswoman for the emergency services said. Pictures
released by the emergency services showed the glum-looking man sitting
helplessly in the chute before he was cut out. It was not immediately clear what
prompted the man to make such a desperate attempt to flee his girlfriend.
Link |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sport of Camel
Jumping
If you’re in the Zaraniq tribe of Yemen and you
want to show off, jump over a camel. Or better yet, three camels at the
same time. According to a tribal legend, the practice began generations ago as a
dare between two men. Now it’s a sport of demanding athleticism.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A camel covered
with elaborate patterns waited to be judged in
a camel haircut competition at an annual festival in Bikaner, Sunday."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celebrating Moms:
The
Best Animal Mom, Studying Modern Motherhood and Unconventional Mother's Day
Marketinghttp://ebm.cheetahmail.com/c/tag/hBPr7F-ArQQLoB8i855NskGYV.ArQQZD8q/doc.html?utm_source=smithsoniantopic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=201205-MothersDay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disassembled
Marvel comics
characters cause inadvertent chaos in this animation by Junaid Chundrigar. -via
Metafilter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is It
Ethical To Pay Drug Addicts To Get Sterilized?
The organization Project Prevention offers
drug addicts (mostly women) $300 cash if they agree to sterilization or
long-term birth control. Founded in North Carolina, the program has expanded to
the UK and hopes to work in Kenya, Ireland, and Haiti.
Not so fast, say critics, including Niamh Eastwood of Release, a drugs law organization in the UK. “By encouraging sterilisation, Project Prevention is taking away reproductive rights for women at a point when they are not able to make a clear decision about such an important issue,” Eastwood wrote in a lengthy editorial. “Harris’s retort is that, if they are not able to make an informed decision about their health, they are not able to look after a child. However, it is not that simple. As a society, we must protect the fundamental human rights of every person, including their sexual and reproductive rights.”There are accusations that Harris focuses specifically on black women, and others who say that Harris views all addicts as “eternal victims,” and doesn’t seem to give a care what happens to these women as long as unwanted babies are not born.
Other critics question the wisdom of giving cash
to drug addicts at all. The project’s founder, Barbara Harris, has adopted
drug-addicted babies and says most of the women contacted have already had
children and know what they’re doing. Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Polar Bear Dance
Parties take the Country by Arctic Storm
On April 28, 2012, hundreds of
people around the nation came together for Polar Bear Dance Parties – we danced
to celebrate the Arctic and protect the Polar Bear Seas from oil
drilling.
Our dance parties brought people together from across the country to celebrate the Arctic. Together we made the World Record for "Largest Group of People Dressed as Polar Bears While Dancing in 24 hours!"
Our dance parties brought people together from across the country to celebrate the Arctic. Together we made the World Record for "Largest Group of People Dressed as Polar Bears While Dancing in 24 hours!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sprite
Beach Shower
On a Brazilian beach, the ad agency Ogilvy a shower
that looks like a giant soda fountain. Would you like to get drenched in Sprite?
This is your chance. Or it’s water. The ad is kind of vague about what’s coming
out of the shower. Content warning: NSFWish swimwear images. Link -via
That’s Nerdalicious!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, At
Least She’s Honest
You’d think Siri’s programers would have thought about this one ahead of
time. I mean, it might sound a little silly for Siri to say the iPhone 4 was the
best smartphone ever, but that’s better than promoting your competitors.
Link Via Geekosystem
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The kernel, the soul – let us go further and say
the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human
utterances – is plagiarism."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Six hours' sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and
eight for a fool," Napoleon famously prescribed. (He would have scoffed at
Einstein, then, who was known to require ten hours of sleep for optimal
performance.) This perceived superiority of those who can get by on less sleep
isn't just something Napoleon shared with dictators like Hitler and Stalin, it's
an enduring attitude woven into our social norms and expectations, from proverbs
about early birds to the basic scheduling structure of education and the
workplace.
This myth that early risers are good people and that
late risers are lazy has its reasons and merits in rural societies but becomes
questionable in a modern 24/7 society. The old moral is so prevalent, however,
that it still dominates our beliefs, even in modern times. The postman doesn't
think for a second that the young man might have worked until the early morning
hours because he is a night-shift worker or for other reasons. He labels healthy
young people who sleep into the day as lazy – as long sleepers. This attitude is
reflected in the frequent use of the word-pair early birds and long
sleepers [in the media]. Yet this pair is nothing but apples and oranges,
because the opposite of early is late and the opposite of
long is short.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12-year-old Jasmine Clarke covers Whitney Houston's "How Will I
Know".
This cat demands service every week.
Maurice Sendak on life and death.
Huge 30,000 Nintendo themed falling dominoes.
Stunt flight over Arizona recorded with HD HERO2.
This cat demands service every week.
Maurice Sendak on life and death.
Huge 30,000 Nintendo themed falling dominoes.
Stunt flight over Arizona recorded with HD HERO2.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is a
Cat?
Cats do what they want.
They rarely listen to you. They’re totally unpredictable. When you want to play,
they want to be alone. When you want to be alone, they want to play. They expect
you to cater to their every whim. They’re moody. They leave hair
everywhere.
Conclusion: They’re tiny women in
little fur coats.
What is a
Dog?
Dogs spend all day sprawled on the
most comfortable piece of furniture in the house. They can hear a package of
food opening half a block away, but don’t hear you when you’re in the next room.
They can look dumb and lovable at the same time. They growl when they are not
happy. When you want to play, they want to play. When you want to be alone, they
want to play. They leave their toys everywhere. They do disgusting things with
their mouths and then try to give you a kiss.
Conclusion: They’re tiny men in little
fur coats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A charming all-ages picture book
about the endless dance between idea and execution.
The question of where good ideas come from and how creativity works has long fascinated artists and scientists alike, but the most
believable and useful of
answers often seem to spring from experience
and intuition. Last week, the 99% Conference explored not just how ideas originate but also what it takes to
make them happen through an admirable roster of speakers,
including Australian designer and illustrator Rilla
Alexander, who presented Her
Idea — a story within a story
about a girl named Sozi, who loves ideas but can never seem to finish them.
Despite the delightful children’s aesthetic, the parable is really an allegory
for procrastination and the frustrations of the creative process all too familiar to us alleged
adults.
Hmm, maybe later
Not today anyway
It’s such a big task
And she’d much rather play
Not today anyway
It’s such a big task
And she’d much rather play
With its all-ages appeal, Her
Idea is a fine addition to these
timeless children’s books for
grown-ups, and its clever cover joins the rank
of these die-cut books to die for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Resin is a chemical that oozes out of various trees.
It is known as a secretion rather than an excretion. Excretions are purely waste
products whereas, although the reasons behind resin are still a little obscure,
most scientists believe that it has some sort of purpose or function. No one
knows for absolute sure why some trees secrete resin. However, with the aid of some marvelous
macrophotography, although the mystery surrounding this subject cannot be solved
for certain, its beauty - at times deadly - becomes evident.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If it disagrees with experiment, it is wrong.”
Richard Feynman — Nobel-winning physics icon, curiosity champion, graphic novel hero, bongo drummer, wager-maker, no ordinary genius — would have been 94 today. To celebrate,
here is one of Feynman’s most beloved classics, a 1964 lecture in which he
distills with equal parts wit and wisdom the essence of the scientific method:http://youtu.be/b240PGCMwV0
In general, we look for a new law by the following process: First we guess it; then we compute the consequences of the guess to see what would be implied if this law that we guessed is right; then we compare the result of the computation to nature, with experiment or experience, compare it directly with observation, to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment, it is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It does not make any difference how beautiful your guess is, it does not make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is — if it disagrees with experiment, it is wrong.
Here, Feynman corroborates beautifully what Stuart Firestein pinpointed
nearly six decades later as the most important driver of science — ignorance, or the capacity to be wrong.
The excerpt comes from the 1993 PBS Feynman biography, The Best
Mind Since Einstein, available below in its fascinating
entirety.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cards Against Humanity is the perennially sold out, CC-licensed card-game that turns madlibs into an anti-social exercise. They're sold out, but you can put your name down for future runs and expansion packs, or download and print a set.
To start the game, each player draws ten White Cards.
One randomly chosen player begins as the Card Czar and plays a Black Card.
The Card Czar reads the question or fill-in-the-blank phrase on the Black Card
out loud.
Everyone else answers the question or fills in the blank by passing one
White Card, face down, to the Card Czar.
The Card Czar shuffles all of the answers and shares each card combination
with the group. For full effect, the Card Czar should usually re-read the Black
Card before presenting each answer. The Card Czar then picks a favorite, and
whoever played that answer keeps the Black Card as one Awesome Point.
After the round, a new player becomes the Card Czar, and everyone draws
back up to ten White Cards.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Father Daughter Dance
Medley Is Super Cute
Mike Hanley and his daughter Jessica decided to show
the Bat Mitzvah crowd how they get down, in an adorable dance medley that covers
many different genres of music.
It’s fun to watch, and genuinely heartwarming despite
the fact that they clearly practiced the routine quite a few times before the
show. Next stop-America’s Got Talent!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A man phones a mental hospital and asks the
receptionist if there is anybody in room 27. She goes and checks, and comes back
to the phone, telling him No, the room is empty.
"Good," says the man. "That means I must have really escaped."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Good," says the man. "That means I must have really escaped."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What's the difference between women and men?
One has morning sickness, the other has morning stiffness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One has morning sickness, the other has morning stiffness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Did you ever get to thinking that maybe you are
just an android, placed on Earth by an advanced civilization of huge radish-like
aliens who are studying your every move?"
"No."
"Me neither."
-- Dogbert, Dilbert, Dogbert
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"No."
"Me neither."
-- Dogbert, Dilbert, Dogbert
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a Golden Eagle wielding a knife
You can find out how he got it (and what he did with it) at the Daily Mail, or at Archie McPhee's Endless Geyser of Awesome. Photo credit wildlife photographer Han Bouwmeester.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A video for those who like to try to
ponder the imponderables of the universe.
Created and narrated by philhellenes. Music from John Murphy's The Surface of the Sun (see also my post on the movie "Sunshine.") Via Zepfanman, where there is a longer version of the video, and a transcription of the text.
Created and narrated by philhellenes. Music from John Murphy's The Surface of the Sun (see also my post on the movie "Sunshine.") Via Zepfanman, where there is a longer version of the video, and a transcription of the text.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Experience one
(spectacular) day in orbit around Jupiter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Student Builds Fully
Functional Portal Turret
YouTube user kss5095 decided to get creative and show his
love of video games at the same time with his final project for Advanced
Mechatronics at Penn State, so he built a fully functioning turret like you’d
find in the video game series Portal.
The turret is so sweet that it even has a soothing voice
recording, which lures you out of hiding so it can blast you with laser guided
NERF missiles.
This guy has a long career ahead of him in either
animatronics or engineering weapons for the military, but for now he has the
ultimate home defense system at his disposal, that is once he upgrades to live
rounds!
–via Geekologie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The clock shows not only the time and date, but
also information re tides and horoscopes. Note that it also depicts the sun
revolving around the earth. The filming of the video is a little annoying
(tilted Hampton Court, unnecessary zooming), but the pre-Copernican part was
something I hadn't thought of before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Four Rocking Horses
of the Apocalypse
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name
that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto
them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and
with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Carrin Welch’s Four Rocking
Horses of the Apocalypse project brings childlike glee into the end of the
world. You can find pictures of Death., War and Famine at the link. Welch has
yet to unleash Pestilence.
In March 2012 I launched a
Kickstarter campaign to get funding to finish the project. Being unemployed for over 7
months, I was worried I would have to put the project aside (again). Thanks to
the generous donations from backers the campaign was successful! I am proud and
so very grateful to these donors, I literally would not be able to complete this
without them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well-appointed Internet cafes have signs that
remind users to log out of any applications before leaving. Not everyone pays
attention, including as two robbers at one in Colombia: It happened in the
neighborhood of Calima, north of the city of Cali, Colombia. Two men arrived to
an internet cafe, rented two computers, did their thing for a bit and, as they
pretended to be paying, they took out guns and got all the money. One of the two
robbers forgot to log out of his Facebook account. Police used it to trace his
home address. Link
(Google Translate) -via Gizmodo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fellow 1 : “Now my grandfather, he knew the exact day
of the year that he was going to die. It was the right year too. Not only that,
but he knew what time he would die that day, and he was right about that,
too.”
Fellow 2 : “Wow, that’s Incredible. How did he know
all of that?”
Fellow 1 : “A judge told him.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MVRDV designs The Cloud for Seoul’s Yongsan
Dreamhub
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Dalai Lama’s
Greatest Fear: Sharks
Last year, he was warned that Chinese agents had
trained women to kill him using poison-laced scarves. So it would be
understandable if his greatest fear would be being assassinated. But no, that's
not the Dalai Lama's greatest fear.
Here's the Dalai Lama's greatest fear: His great
fear, though, is of flying and of sharks. “Long flights, those I really feared,
but now I’m used to them,” he says. “The fear now is that I never learnt to swim
so if the plane crashes on water, I would immediately go deep under the sea and
be enjoyed by a shark. That I really fear.” Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Egyptian Man Wakes
Up at His Funeral
Here’s a sure-fire way to ruin a perfectly good
funeral: wake the corpse up. It happened last week in Egypt. Hamdi Hafez al-Nubi
of the village of Naga al-Simman suffered a heart attack while working as a
waiter. Hospital officials pronounced the 28-year-old man dead.
His family says grieving relatives took him home
and, according to Islamic tradition, washed his body and prepared him for burial
Friday evening. A doctor sent to sign the death certificate found it strange
that his body was warm. At closer observation she discovered he was still alive.
His mother fainted upon hearing the good news.
But the funeral was not a waste- the family turned
it into a celebration of al-Nubi’s survival. Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tesla
Gun
Awesomely terrifying or terrifyingly awesome? Mad scientist (or is it Mad Engineer?) Rob Flickenger has created a Tesla gun: [Rob's] Tesla gun,
inspired by graphic novel The Five Fists of Science, is essentially a hand-held
spark gap Tesla coil powered by an 18V drill battery. When fired, it produces
anywhere from 8 to 24 inches of lightning and 100,000 volts of electricity.
Flickenger is adamant about the fact that it's much more an art piece than a
real weapon: "if you hit somebody over the head with it I’m sure it would hurt,"
he says. The Verge has the video clip: Link | Interview over at Make Magazine
See more: Tesla: Master of Lightning
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
60,000 Dominoes Falling
Over
FlippyCat assembled 60 walls, each consisting of 990
dominoes, and an additional field of 600 dominoes. The project took 65 hours
over 8 days and some painful failures along
the way. But when he finally pushed it over at 0:55, he made a beautiful cascade
of color and sound. -via Daily Caller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A 9-Year-Old
Psychopath?
All kids scream and throw tantrums every now and
then, but Michael is different. When he was 5 years old, the boy developed a
disturbing ability to switch between full-blown rage to calm rationality in a
blink of an eye.
After years of trying to diagnose Michael's
condition, her parents were referred to Dan Waschbusch of Florida International
University, who came up with "callous-unemotional" syndrome. Basically, Michael
was diagnosed as a psychopath ... at age 9. For this intriguing article over at
the New York Times, Jennifer Kahn visited the family.So, can you call a
9-year-old a psychopath? Read this intriguing article over at the New York
Times: Link - via
Boing Boing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100,000 LED Spheres
Floating Down a River in Japan
At last weekend’s Tokyo Hotaru festival, 100,000 little balls with LEDs
inside floated down the Sumida River. From a distance, they look like a blur on
the river. Close up, they look like fireflies dancing on the surface of the
water. You can view more pictures at the link.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Yuppie was sent a ransom note saying that he was to
bring $50,000 to the 17th hole of the country club at 10 o’clock the next day if
he ever wanted to see his wife alive again.
He didn’t arrive until almost 12:30. A masked man stepped
out from behind some bushes and growled, “What the hell took ya so long ? You’re
over two hours late.”
“Hey ! Give me a break.” whined the Yuppie. “I have a 27
handicap.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes when I feel like
killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I'll go over to the
person's house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I'm
gone, but you know what I've left on the porch? A jack-o-lantern with a knife
stuck in the side of its head with a note that says "You." After that, I usually
feel a lot better, and no harm done
-- Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I place four balls in a hat: a blue one, a white
one, and two red ones. Now I draw two balls, look at them, and announce that at
least one of them is red. What is the chance that the other is red?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Calico lobster
From MSNBC's PhotoBlog, via The Soul is Bone. Photo
credit: Tony Lacasse / New England Aquarium via AP.
"This
photo provided by the New England Aquarium in Boston shows a rare calico lobster
that could be a 1-in-30 million, according to experts. It was caught off
Winterport, Maine, and was discovered by Jasper White’s Summer Shack and is
being held at the New England Aquarium for the Biomes Marine Biology Center, a
science center in Rhode Island."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Lord Dawson was not a good
doctor. King George V himself told me that he would never have died had he had
another doctor.” — Margot Asquith, to the young Lord David Cecil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How That Hand Stand was
Done
Back in 2007, we posted a photograph that Marcy Light took of her son Daniel
doing a one-fingered handstand at Four Corners. There was a spirited discussion
on how the picture was taken, and we even posted one blogger’s theory. Now we have the definitive
answer. Marcy posted the procedure at her blog, (Don’t Be) Too Timid and
Squeamish. Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This 1997 Australian commercial
realistically simulates a pedestrian getting killed by a car and describes in
detail what happens to a human body that undergoes this.
Here are some more recent ad campaigns from
the Transport Accident Commission (TAC).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Octopus Needed a New
Home
You probably already knew that octopuses are smart and
are known to use tools, but did you know that they also enjoy mobile homes in
the form of tin cans? Just lugging this thing around seems beyond tiring, but he
certainly seems reluctant to give up his can. Via io9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seven
classes of weirdo customer identified in the
wild
A study of
so-called “customer service sabotage” found there are certain groups of people
with the frustrating ability to spoil any shopping trip, flight or restaurant
meal regardless of how enjoyable it ought to be.
In a list that
resembles the cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, researchers said that
problematic customers fall into seven categories: dopey, grumpy, smelly, pushy,
stubborn, inconsiderate and rude.
People with these
qualities, collectively described as “weirdos”, are dreaded by waiters and
hostesses because there is little they can do to prevent them ruining other
customers’ experience…
The research was
carried out by Joel Anaya…The most common were people who swear loudly, followed
by customers who become irate or complain at the slightest grievance and those
who have poor personal hygiene.
The list also
included people who stubbornly insist on behaviour which puts other customers
out – such as paying entirely in pennies at a shop counter while a queue forms
behind – and people who break rules, for example by pushing to the front of a
queue.It was rounded off by inconsiderate
parents who fail to control
their misbehaving children, and slow-witted customers who monopolise staff’s
time by asking a barrage of questions and keep others
waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What do you call a woodpecker without a beak?
A headbanger
A headbanger
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On The Wild Side: eNature
Do Whales Have Wax In Their
Ears?
It’s a question that only a school kid might think to
ask.
Many whale species do have earwax. And it does more than
provide a fun question to pose to your science teacher. It can also tell a
whale’s age.
Alligator Versus Crocodile:
How To Tell The Difference?
Both the American Alligator and American Crocodile have make
remarkable comebacks over the past few decades.
There are now over two thousand crocodiles and hundreds of
thousands of alligators in the southern US, which has led to increasing numbers
of encounters with these large reptiles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bryson Andres
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 Ways
the IPO Will Change Facebook Forever
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two British faggots were standing on Circular
Quay looking out over the harbour. One of them pointed to a ferry and asked,
"Elton, what's that?"
"That's a ferry-boat, George my love," answered Elton.
"Oooh!" Squealed George, "I knew there was a lot of us, but I didn't know we had our own navy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That's a ferry-boat, George my love," answered Elton.
"Oooh!" Squealed George, "I knew there was a lot of us, but I didn't know we had our own navy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Say Goodbye to Walking and Hello to the
UNI-CUB!
Scoot over, Segway (I mean, you have to stand on it?
Come on!). Here's a device that looks like it was plucked straight out of
Wall-E: the Uni-Cub by Honda. Representing the evolution of the U3-X personal
mobility device that Honda announced in 2009, UNI-CUB features Honda's
proprietary balance control technology and the world's first omni-directional
driving wheel system (Honda Omni Traction Drive System). These technologies
allow the rider to control speed, move in any direction, turn and stop, all
simply by shifting his or her weight. Since the rider can freely move forward,
backward, side-to-side and diagonally, he or she can quickly and easily maneuver
among other people.It remains to be seen whether the Uni-Cub can handle
American-sized riders. via Accordion Guy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While I was working in the men's section of a department store, a woman asked me to help her choose a white dress shirt for her husband. When I asked about his size, the woman looked stumped at first, then her face brightened. She held up her hands, forming a circle with her forefingers and thumbs. "I don't know his size," she said, "but my hands fit perfectly around his neck."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if
you do not care who gets the credit." - Harry S. Truman
"I won't take my religion from any man who never works except with his mouth." - Carl Sandburg
"The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up." - Mark Twain
"I won't take my religion from any man who never works except with his mouth." - Carl Sandburg
"The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up." - Mark Twain
Let thy words be few. --Ecclesiastes 5:2 from Words of
Wisdom
The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be. --Horace Bushnell
Life has no smooth road for any of us; and in the bracing atmosphere of a high aim the very roughness stimulates the climber to steadier steps, till the legend, over steep ways to the stars, fulfills itself. --W. C. Doane
The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be. --Horace Bushnell
Life has no smooth road for any of us; and in the bracing atmosphere of a high aim the very roughness stimulates the climber to steadier steps, till the legend, over steep ways to the stars, fulfills itself. --W. C. Doane
Go confidently in the direction of your
dreams. Live the life you have imagined. --Henry David Thoreau
Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. --Leon J. Suenes
Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. --Leon J. Suenes
No great man ever complains of want of
opportunities.~ Ralph Waldo
Emerson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wandering
in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger
appears and says to me: ‘My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to
find your way more clearly.’ This stranger is a theologian.” —
Diderot
Welcome to
Life
Sometime in the future, your
consciousness may be salvaged after your body dies and stored digitally in
cyberspace. What could possibly go wrong? Tom Scott speculates on the computer
world called “Life.” The subtitle is “the singularity, ruined by lawyers.”
Link -via Metafilter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the past 12 months, Google
doubled its staff, tinkered with its search engine to speed up results, and now
answers more queries than Microsoft and Yahoo! combined. But there's one query
that still had to be answered: How does Google work?
What you need to do is to go the site and press 'Start the Search' then follow the five steps. In each step, it has been simply explained what happens when you type in your search item.
What you need to do is to go the site and press 'Start the Search' then follow the five steps. In each step, it has been simply explained what happens when you type in your search item.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Animator Mike Ko produced
this nice little piece of film called 'iPhone Diorama.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zookeepers Drank
Elephants’ Alcohol
The elephant keepers at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad,
Pakistan, ordered a supply of alcohol each of the past twenty years -for the
elephants. They said the alcohol was necessary to calm the elephants down during
mating season. The orders were filled each year, and listed under the elephant’s
food expense budget. But the elephants never drank the liquor.
The bills amounted Rs80,000 at maximum and minimum at
Rs40,000. Locally-manufactured liquor would be supplied to the zoo and the cost
would be added to the food expense.Veterinary doctors while speaking to Express
News said that alcohol cannot be consumed by elephants. Once that fact came to
light, an investigation was opened. Two of the zookeepers have been suspended.
Link (related
video) -via
Arbroath
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trip Out On Pics From ROFLCon
2012
Well, ROFLCon 2012 went off without a hitch on May 4th
and 5th in Cambridge, Massachusetts so the interwebs is safe for another year.
Double Nyan Cat rainbows were spotted in the sky, cat breading and LOLz were
enjoyed by all in attendance, and Rage Faces Mountain became a popular tourist
destination. The future of internet humor rests squarely in the hands of these
fantastically funny people, and Scott Beale from Laughing Squid has the pictures
to prove it. ROFL on and on!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Kind of Sorcery is
This?
This thing moves and makes all kind of crazy noise.
What the heck is going on here? Well, there are worse vibrating things he could
be barking at, so at least there’s that. Via I Can Has Cheezburger
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Getting down to the nitty
gritty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There
are two ways to live your life.
One
is as though nothing is a miracle.
The
other is as though everything is a miracle."
-
Albert Einstein ...
Guess which way I want to see the world?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TURN
THE SOUND OFF!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Schrödinger's Cat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tis the season for
swimwear (at least, here in the south), so why not brush up on the History of
the Bikini.
“From fabric rationing to g-strings, swimsuits have come a long way,
baby”
A guide to
facial expressions and emotions, and the feelings people may
really have …
The Scientific American looks at 12 Events That Will Change Everything … right? And if you’re seen this before, there’s a new element – it’s interactive!
A fascinating and slightly terrifying read: Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?
From the Department of Why Not: Just one of those weird interactive internet things to mess around with. A blog, a spider web, color blocks, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Scientific American looks at 12 Events That Will Change Everything … right? And if you’re seen this before, there’s a new element – it’s interactive!
A fascinating and slightly terrifying read: Can You Call a 9-Year-Old a Psychopath?
From the Department of Why Not: Just one of those weird interactive internet things to mess around with. A blog, a spider web, color blocks, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Plans are
under way in England to build a laser they say is powerful enough to tear apart
the fabric of space. Well, what could go wrong there?" -Jay
Leno
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tippi Hedren had
a lion. The star of The Birds kept a full-grown African lion as a house
pet in the 1970s.
“My mother and
stepfather went to African in 1972 and found themselves stricken by the plight
of animals there,” remembered Melanie Griffith, her daughter, in When I Was
a Girl. “There was a prediction that by the year 2000 there would be no
more wild animals. My stepfather made a movie about it, and my mother decided
that we should get a real lion — that way, we could experience what living with
wildlife was like.
“So we made
friends with this guy Neil. He had a full-grown lion on his ranch, and we’d go
out and visit him. Eventually we got a lion cub of our own. His name was Casey,
and he was our first cat. Eventually we started to get more and more. The police
would come to our door, and I’d take the lions, jump over the fence into this
vacant lot, and hide there with the cats while the police searched the house. It
was a wild thing to do.”
Hedren went on to
found a California wild animal preserve that, among other things, is now home to
Michael Jackson’s two Bengal tigers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Do
Strawberries and Petri Dishes Have In Common?
Lots,
surprisingly! Just think of
this: If you bite into a juicy strawberry this summer, chances are you're eating
something that's actually been grown in a petri dish.
NPR's Dan Charles
of All Things Considered tells us the secret life of strawberries:
That
strawberry you just bought at the supermarket traces its ancestry to a
microscopic particle of plant tissue that somebody cut from the tip of a growing
strawberry stem five years ago. That tiny bit of strawberry stem went into a
little glass petri dish and grew into a new plant. Then it sent out dozens of
little daughter plants called "runners." "Those runners are basically clones of the
mother," explains Daren Gee, owner of Daren's Berries in Santa Maria,
California, whom I caught in the middle of his peak harvest time. "And then they
plant those, and take the daughters off of that one, and do it again and again
and again." The whole
process takes years. The plants are multiplied first in carefully controlled
greenhouses; then in fields in the heat of California's Central Valley. Finally,
the plants are trucked up into the mountains along the California-Oregon border.
It's cold up there, which is crucial. Somehow the cold gets these plants primed
for maximum production. "And then they'll dig up these mother
plants, and all the daughters, and they'll throw the mothers away and they'll
send me the daughters," says Gee. It's those daughters that produce California's
monster strawberry crop. Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Organic Food Turns You Into a
Jerk
Love organic
food? Then you're a jerk ... at least according to research.
Pschologist
Kendall Eskine of Loyola University in New Orleans showed that people exposed to
organic food are more judgmental and volunteer less than those exposed to
comfort food:
When it
came to helping out a needy stranger, the organic people also proved to be more
selfish, volunteering only 13 minutes as compared to 19 minutes (for controls)
and 24 minutes (for comfort food folks). "There's something about being exposed to
organic food that made them feel better about themselves," says Eskine. "And
that made them kind of jerks a little bit, I guess." Why does eating better make us act worse?
Eskine says it probably has to do with what he calls "moral licensing."
"People may feel like
they've done their good deed," he says. "That they have permission, or license,
to act unethically later on. It's like when you go to the gym and run a few
miles and you feel good about yourself, so you eat a candy bar."
Link
Previously:
Are
Urban Bicyclists Snobs?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Turkey
Dubstep
This is short
and nonsensical but oh, so funny. Because they’re TURKEYS! -via The Daily What
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silly
Gecko, Even You Can’t Stick to Teflon
Geckos are known for
their sticky feet and Teflon is known for its non-stick surface? Put the two
together and who will win? Unsurprisingly, the gecko loses, but at least he
gives it the old college try.
Via BoingBoing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 20
Most Ridiculous Zoo Signs
Don’t burn your fingers! Or do
they mean the tortoise might be stolen property? Or do you suppose it is a
commentary on its sex appeal? You have to wonder about the incident at the
Pittsburgh Zoo that caused this warning to be necessary. It’s part of a
collection of creative and funny zoo signs at Environmental Graffiti. Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Electric Harp Performance Of A Game
Of Thrones Theme
This idyllic
music video looks like it was filmed in a fantasy forest, and stars two
beautiful harpists, Camille and Kennerly, who appear to be of Elvish
ancestry.
And when the
soothing sound of twin electric harps playing the theme to A Game Of
Thrones sweeps over you, you’ll believe that dragons can fly and feel the
magic in the air. Or, maybe I had a few too many drinks with
dinner…
–via Nerd
Bastards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We
have seen this kind of story before. But apparently there are still people out
there who think it is safe to get cosmetic medical procedures done in somebody's
basement. This
incident happened in Philadelphia where a transgender woman nicknamed the "Black
Madam" has been ordered held for trial, charged with illegal butt-enhancement
procedures.
Bail was kept at $750,000 for Padge Victoria Windslowe, 42. She faces charges of aggravated assault. At the hearing, an exotic dancer said she paid Windslowe $1,000 each for four injections of silicone in her rear end.
She said she got the first on New Year's Eve 2010 when another dancer, nicknamed "Back Shots," hosted a party for the procedures. Three months ago, the dancer said she got another shot even though a woman who traveled from Britain to Philadelphia for the procedure had died. She said Windslowe told her the dead woman had been on cocaine when she had the procedure and did not drink enough water afterwards. And everybody should know that cocaine and silicone don't mix.
Investigators say Windslowe injected silicone and then used glue and cotton balls to close the wounds.
Sounds safe to me.
Lee Graber of Tallmadge, Ohio, USA, endured the weight of the heaviest bed of nails on his body. He was sandwiched between two beds of nails, with a weight of 752.5 kg (1,659 lb) placed on top for a total of 10 seconds on June 24, 2000. The weight was loaded on top of him using a crane.
England's John Evans achieved the world record for heaviest car balanced on head after he balanced a 159.6 kg (352 lb) Mini on his head for 33 seconds at The London Studios, England, on May 24, 1999.
Cyclist Wolfgang Kulovman from Germany set a world record after riding 2.6 miles (4.1 kilometers) in 3 and a quarter hours under the sea on a lead bicycle.
Russian athlete Omar Khanapiyev, 38, set a new world record for pulling weight with his teeth. He towed a Kuban oil tanker for 36.3 feet in a shipyard. The vessel's weight was 1,100 tons.
Bail was kept at $750,000 for Padge Victoria Windslowe, 42. She faces charges of aggravated assault. At the hearing, an exotic dancer said she paid Windslowe $1,000 each for four injections of silicone in her rear end.
She said she got the first on New Year's Eve 2010 when another dancer, nicknamed "Back Shots," hosted a party for the procedures. Three months ago, the dancer said she got another shot even though a woman who traveled from Britain to Philadelphia for the procedure had died. She said Windslowe told her the dead woman had been on cocaine when she had the procedure and did not drink enough water afterwards. And everybody should know that cocaine and silicone don't mix.
Investigators say Windslowe injected silicone and then used glue and cotton balls to close the wounds.
Sounds safe to me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BIZARRE PHYSICAL ACTS -----------+
Lee Graber of Tallmadge, Ohio, USA, endured the weight of the heaviest bed of nails on his body. He was sandwiched between two beds of nails, with a weight of 752.5 kg (1,659 lb) placed on top for a total of 10 seconds on June 24, 2000. The weight was loaded on top of him using a crane.
England's John Evans achieved the world record for heaviest car balanced on head after he balanced a 159.6 kg (352 lb) Mini on his head for 33 seconds at The London Studios, England, on May 24, 1999.
Cyclist Wolfgang Kulovman from Germany set a world record after riding 2.6 miles (4.1 kilometers) in 3 and a quarter hours under the sea on a lead bicycle.
Russian athlete Omar Khanapiyev, 38, set a new world record for pulling weight with his teeth. He towed a Kuban oil tanker for 36.3 feet in a shipyard. The vessel's weight was 1,100 tons.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Watt Is Love
If you hate puns, you're definitely not Jung at heart. Via Know Your
Meme.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Top 4 gardening myths
busted!
Over the years
I’ve found that many people are following gardening information that simply
isn’t true! One of my favorite parts of being a naturalist at National Wildlife
Federation is having the opportunity to educate folks on wildlife gardening.
Have you fallen for one of the top gardening myths?
Myth #1: Wildlife will destroy my food garden.
Have you fallen for one of the top gardening myths?
Myth #1: Wildlife will destroy my food garden.
- False. Use strategic fencing to protect special plants from deer, rabbits or groundhogs and netting to protect fruit from birds. Or just plant extra to share the bounty. Many vegetables actually require bees and other animal pollinators to produce.
- False. Many species, like birds and butterflies, are easy to attract since they are so mobile. If you have a smaller space, just think in smaller scale. For example, instead of a bird bath, simply fill a small dish with water.
- False. Many native plants are ornamental and commonly available in garden centers, including colorful flowers, trees, shrubs and grasses. Just a little simple maintenance can help you keep a very neat and tidy looking garden that attracts wildlife and contributes to the local ecosystem.
- False. It takes a minimum of about a week for
the metamorphosis from egg to winged adult mosquito to be
completed, so emptying your bird bath or other water source every few days eliminates the chance of creating
a mosquito nursery.
National Wildlife Federation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Half
Dome
“Half Dome Antique” – Yosemite Valley, CA –
Thomas Peck – Featured Photographer
Remember that thing called film? How many of
you still use it? Disposable cameras don’t count so put your hands down. Well if
there are any diehards left out there then Thomas is your guy with a twist. You
see he put together a great panorama of “Half Dome” and then added the antique
look from Silver EFX
Pro. I thought it came out
rather nicely. Merging the old with the new to create an even older look is
pretty darn creative. Way to go Tom! Please read his story below and then follow
the link to his fun blog.
Thanks, Ed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you recycle?
Do
you conserve water? Have you reduced your consumption of meat? Have you written
your congressperson demanding energy alternatives? It may sound cruel, but if
you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. And
what is the problem?
According to the new, 2012 Living Planet Report, produced by the World Wildlife Fund, humanity is outstripping the Earth's resources by 50 percent; essentially using the resources of one and a half Earths every year.
According to the new, 2012 Living Planet Report, produced by the World Wildlife Fund, humanity is outstripping the Earth's resources by 50 percent; essentially using the resources of one and a half Earths every year.
The
world's biodiversity is down 30 percent since the 1970s, according to a new
report, with tropical species taking the biggest hit. And if humanity continues
as it has been, the picture could get bleaker.
Colby Loucks, the director of conservation sciences at WWF, compared humanity to bad houseguests.
"We're emptying the fridge, we're not really taking care of the lawn, we're not weeding the flower beds and we're certainly not taking out the garbage," Loucks said.
But humanity is essentially in debt to Mother Earth, conservationists find. As of 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, humans were outstripping Earth's biocapacity by 50 percent.
Biocapacity is the amount of renewable resources, land, and waste absorption (such as sinks for carbon dioxide) the Earth can provide. In other words, it takes the planet 1.5 years to restore what humanity burns through in a year.
Colby Loucks, the director of conservation sciences at WWF, compared humanity to bad houseguests.
"We're emptying the fridge, we're not really taking care of the lawn, we're not weeding the flower beds and we're certainly not taking out the garbage," Loucks said.
But humanity is essentially in debt to Mother Earth, conservationists find. As of 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, humans were outstripping Earth's biocapacity by 50 percent.
Biocapacity is the amount of renewable resources, land, and waste absorption (such as sinks for carbon dioxide) the Earth can provide. In other words, it takes the planet 1.5 years to restore what humanity burns through in a year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A blonde texts husband on a cold winters
morning: "Windows frozen."
Husband texts back: "pour some luke warm water over it."
Wife texts back: "computer completely f***ed now."
Husband texts back: "pour some luke warm water over it."
Wife texts back: "computer completely f***ed now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Product
placement?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you
ready to fly with the Green Fairy?
Absinthe is an
alcoholic drink made with an extract from wormwood (Artemisia
absinthium). It is an emerald green drink which is very
bitter (due to the presence of absinthin) and is therefore traditionally poured
over a perforated spoonful of sugar into a glass of water. The drink then turns
into an opaque white as the essential oils precipitate out of the alcoholic
solution (louche).
Absinthe was once
popular among artists and writers and was drunk by Van Gogh, Baudelaire, and
Verlaine, to name a few. It appears to have been believed to stimulate
creativity. However, in the 1850's, there began to be concern about the
results of chronic use. Chronic use of absinthe was believed to produce a
syndrome, called absinthism, which was characterized by addiction,
hyperexcitability, and hallucinations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100 Cars
for Good
Toyota
is giving 100 cars over 100 days to nonprofits that could really
use a new set of wheels. And voters like you help decide which one gets a new
ride every day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amazing 121-megapixel shot of Earth – time lapse
video
Need something to put things into perspective on a Monday
morning? Our suggestion: The largest single-shot photo of Earth ever taken.
Eclipsing NASA’s updated “Blue Marble” shot, which is a
composite of many satellite images, thesr images are single-shots taken from
22,369 miles away by Russian weather satellite Elektro-L No.1.
The colors on the 121-megapixel photo are quite different
from the ones on NASA’s photos of Earth. To capture the image, the satellite
combines visible and infrared wavelengths of light. Infrared light is used to
see plants, which is why the parts of the Earth that would normally be green
are seen as rusty brown.
Too bad NASA isn’t up for anything like this
anymore.
Thanks, Ed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW MOON in Gemini + SOLAR ECLIPSE + Pleiades
Alignment May 20th, 2012!
Wow. May 20, 2012. This date/event was signaled out
by the ancient Maya as a great cosmic event where the earth, sun, moon and
Pleiades will aligned! Not only that but we will have a ring of fire Solar
Eclipse and the New Moon in gemini! Powerful transformative forces at work. I
gathered all the downloads so we can all tune in to this potent
time!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pic of the Day
Photographer Tony Beck snapped this shot of northern map
turtles all gathered on a sun-catching log in Lake Opinicon, Ontario,
Canada.
Thanks, Ed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Cars Men Lust After Most
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Secret Service issued new rules of conduct for
agents Friday. They can no longer get drunk, procure hookers or go to strip
bars.
The rules say that from now on, if agents feel
compelled to engage in such behavior, they can run for public office like
everyone else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$225,000 Lamborghini Gallardo racing through turn on
Chicago suburb street doesn’t end well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How do you pronounce
Hermès? Or Stella Artois, Kinerase, Saucony, Adidas, Porsche? A company's name
should be a lot of things: unique, catchy, memorable... but what about
pronounceable? Be it due to a language barrier or just bad planning on the
company's part, many people go around mispronouncing high-profile brand names.
Think you're immune to phonetic slip-ups? Here's a list of some of the most
commonly mispronounced brand names.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Eyes Have
It is a game by Yoni Alter. How fast can
you find all famous characters in the dark? Beware, a wrong guess and using the
flashlight will add seconds to your time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Japanese monkey enthusiast in suburban Tokyo has been named the world's fastest human runner on four legs after developing a style of running based on the movements of the African Patas monkey. Kenichi Ito has been developing the running style for over a decade.
The record of 18.58 seconds over 100 meters was set by Kenichi Ito at Setagaya Kuritsu Sogo Undojyo, Tokyo, Japan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So as not to be outdone by all the redneck,
hillbilly, and Texan jokes, somebody had to come up with this:
You know you’re from California
if…1. Your coworker has 8 body piercing’s and none are
visible.
2. You make over $300,000 a year and still can’t afford a house.
3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.
4. Your child’s 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower.
5.. You can’t remember . . . is pot legal or illegal?
6. You’ve been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.
7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.
8. You can’t remember . . . is pot legal or illegal?
9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.
10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.
11. Unlike anywhere else in the world, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.
12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.
13 You can’t remember . . . is pot legal or illegal?
14 It’s barely sprinkling rain and there’s a report on every news station: ‘STORM WATCH.’
15 You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cell phones or pagers.
16 It’s barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.
17 HEY!!!! Is pot legal or illegal????
18 Both you AND your dog have therapists, psychics, personal trainers and cosmetic surgeons.
19. The Terminator was your governor.
20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver’s license. If you’re in the United States illegally, they give you one … Californians
2. You make over $300,000 a year and still can’t afford a house.
3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.
4. Your child’s 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower.
5.. You can’t remember . . . is pot legal or illegal?
6. You’ve been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.
7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.
8. You can’t remember . . . is pot legal or illegal?
9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.
10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.
11. Unlike anywhere else in the world, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.
12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.
13 You can’t remember . . . is pot legal or illegal?
14 It’s barely sprinkling rain and there’s a report on every news station: ‘STORM WATCH.’
15 You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cell phones or pagers.
16 It’s barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.
17 HEY!!!! Is pot legal or illegal????
18 Both you AND your dog have therapists, psychics, personal trainers and cosmetic surgeons.
19. The Terminator was your governor.
20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver’s license. If you’re in the United States illegally, they give you one … Californians
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ig® Nobel Limericks: Promotion,
Ignition, Spaghetti
by Martin Eiger, Improbable Research Limerick Laureate
by Martin Eiger, Improbable Research Limerick Laureate
The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first
make people laugh, then make them think. For details of all the Ig Nobel
Prize–winning achievements, see each year’s special Ig Nobel issue of the
magazine, and also see a list at the website.
2010 Ig Nobel Prize in Management
The prize was awarded to Alessandro Pluchino,
Andrea Rapisarda, and Cesare Garofalo of the University of Catania, Italy, for
demonstrating mathematically that organizations would become more efficient if
they promoted people at random.
[REFERENCE: “The Peter Principle Revisited: A Computational
Study,” Alessandro Pluchino, Andrea
Rapisarda, and Cesare Garofalo, Physica A, vol. 389, no. 3, February 2010, pp.
467-72.]
We had competent people.
We canned ’em.
We promoted our dumbest in tandem.
It worked out not so good.
It turns out that we should
Have done all our promotions at random.
We canned ’em.
We promoted our dumbest in tandem.
It worked out not so good.
It turns out that we should
Have done all our promotions at random.
1996 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The prize was awarded to George Goble of Purdue
University, for his blistering world record time for igniting a barbeque grill:
three seconds, using charcoal and liquid oxygen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baby Raccoon in the Tub
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MUST WATCH: A Lioness Adopts a baby antelope.
A short documentary that will open your eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pirates of Silicon
Valley!
If you float it, they will come.
That’s the lesson of Blueseed, a brave new utopia for
startups that will be anchored in international waters, 12 miles off the coast
of the San Francisco peninsula — aka Silicon Valley — sometime in the second
half of 2013…
Blueseed is funded by Peter Thiel, the billionaire
co-founder of PayPal and early investor in Facebook. Famous for his libertarian
views, Thiel is eager to create more havens for startups that are free from all
government regulation — indeed, from all laws…
As laughable as it may sound to some, startups are
flocking to fulfill Thiel’s vision. Blueseed has released the details of a
survey on its website, which shows 133 international startups willing and eager
to get on board. A plurality are from the US, but there’s also a lot of interest
from India, Australia, Canada, Europe and practically every other area of the
world:
What’s the draw? Well, partly, it’s the fact that no U.S. passport or visa would
be required to live and work on board the vessel…
Mostly, according to Blueseed’s survey, it’s the
proximity to Silicon Valley, less than half an hour away by helicopter or
somewhat more by shuttle boat and bus. But we wonder if the startup founders
have been also tempted by the Googleplex-like array of amenities promised:
high-speed wifi across the ship, 24-hour cafes, a full-service gym, concierge,
medical services – and a post office.
What a crock! I mean – pirate radio works
and pirate venture capital could work – if no one becomes accessible by landing
onshore to go shopping for the latest in gamer gear. Landing without passports,
without clearing TSA or TCE. Har!
This clownshow will be busted as soon as the
IRS gets irked enough to pay attention to their helicopter and shuttle
fleet.
Leave it to a conservative Libertarian
nutball to think he’s above paying taxes.
Thanks, Ed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corn That Looks Like It Came From Candy
Island
This heavenly rainbow of kernels is from a variety of corn known as Glass
Gem Corn, and it looks like it would make the most fun batch of candy corn
ever!
This unusual variety is grown by “Seeds Trust, a family seed company,
got the seeds for glass gem corn from Greg Schoen who got his seeds from his
“corn-teacher”, Carl Barnes, an 80ish year old part-Cherokee man, in
Oklahoma.”
I can’t help but wonder if this corn tastes as good as it looks? Either
way, it would make the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner table decoration, or string
them up at your next farm themed rave and watch everyone in attendance trip out
on the colors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“One hundred years from now, the role of
science and technology will be about becoming part of nature rather than trying
to control it.
So much of science and technology has been about
pursuing efficiency, scale and “exponential growth” at the expense of our
environment and our resources. We have rewarded those who invent technologies
that control our triumph over nature in some way. This is clearly not
sustainable.
We must understand that we live in a complex system
where everything is interrelated and interdependent and that everything we
design impacts a larger system.
My dream is that 100 years from now, we will be
learning from nature, integrating with nature and using science and technology
to bring nature into our lives to make human beings and our artifacts not only
zero impact but a positive impact to the natural system that we live
in.”
-Joi Ito, Director of MIT’s Media
Lab
Read this and the visions of other great minds as part
of Steelcase’s 100-year anniversary look at the century
ahead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In science, paradigm
(
/ˈpærədaɪm/) describes distinct concepts or thought
patterns in any scientific discipline or other epistemological
context.
/ˈpærədaɪm/) describes distinct concepts or thought
patterns in any scientific discipline or other epistemological
context.
A Paradigm shift (or revolutionary
science) is, according to Thomas Kuhn in his
influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), a change
in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the
ruling theory
of science.
Since the 1960s, the term has also been used in
numerous non-scientific contexts to describe a profound change in a fundamental
model or perception of events, even though Kuhn himself restricted the use of
the term to the hard sciences. Compare as a structured form of Zeitgeist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interesting slant on things
AMERICA'S HUNTERS --- Pretty Amazing!
The world's largest army... America 's hunters!
I had never thought about this...
A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of states and arrived at a striking conclusion:
There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of Wisconsin .
Allow me to restate that number:
Over the last several months, Wisconsin's hunters became the eighth largest army in the world.
More men under arms than in Iran .
More than France and Germany combined.
These men deployed to the woods of a single American state, Wisconsin, to hunt with firearms, and no one was killed.
That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan's700,000 hunters,
all of whom have now returned home safely.
Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.And then add in the total number of hunters in the other 46 states. It's millions more. The point?
America will forever be safe from foreign invasion with that kind of home-grown firepower.
Hunting...it's not just a way to fill the freezer.
It's a matter of national
security.
AMERICA'S HUNTERS --- Pretty Amazing!
The world's largest army... America 's hunters!
I had never thought about this...
A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of states and arrived at a striking conclusion:
There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of Wisconsin .
Allow me to restate that number:
Over the last several months, Wisconsin's hunters became the eighth largest army in the world.
More men under arms than in Iran .
More than France and Germany combined.
These men deployed to the woods of a single American state, Wisconsin, to hunt with firearms, and no one was killed.
That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan's700,000 hunters,
all of whom have now returned home safely.
Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.And then add in the total number of hunters in the other 46 states. It's millions more. The point?
America will forever be safe from foreign invasion with that kind of home-grown firepower.
Hunting...it's not just a way to fill the freezer.
It's a matter of national
security.
That's why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us disarmed.
Food for thought, when next we consider gun control.
Even if the numbers are close - pretty remarkable.
Also, all the
private aircraft, 4WD's, boats, ATV's, motorcycles, snowmobiles, owned by the
people of this country are potential
military-use vehicles, that far outnumber the mechanized military of any
country, including the U.S.A.
Overall it's true, so if we disregard some assumptions that hunters don't possess the same skills as soldiers, the question would still remain...what army of 2 million would want to face 30, 40, 50 million armed citizens.(IF YOU AGREE, AS I DO, PASS IT ON, I FEEL GOOD THAT I HAVE AN ARMY OF MILLIONS WHO WOULD PROTECT OUR LAND AND I SURE DON'T WANT THE GOVERNMENT TAKING CONTROL OF THE POSSESSION OF FIREARMS)
For the sake of our freedom, don't ever allow gun controlor confiscation of guns.
Overall it's true, so if we disregard some assumptions that hunters don't possess the same skills as soldiers, the question would still remain...what army of 2 million would want to face 30, 40, 50 million armed citizens.(IF YOU AGREE, AS I DO, PASS IT ON, I FEEL GOOD THAT I HAVE AN ARMY OF MILLIONS WHO WOULD PROTECT OUR LAND AND I SURE DON'T WANT THE GOVERNMENT TAKING CONTROL OF THE POSSESSION OF FIREARMS)
For the sake of our freedom, don't ever allow gun controlor confiscation of guns.
Thanks,
Richard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Time
magazine has a controversial new cover. They put it out for Mother's Day. It's a
real mom feeding her 3-year-old son. Don't look at it as the source of future
humiliation for the boy. Try to look at it as the event that helped shape him
into history's most fearsome cage fighter." -Jimmy Kimmel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fringe Science
This listing is for the entire series of Fringe science experiment inspired iconography art prints. “Warning: An Experiment of Great Importance in Progress.” Collect all your favorite Fringe science posters and show your friends and family that you believe in the future.
I may just need to
build another wall in my house or lab or mad scientist den so I can hang all
these up.
Support cool science
art and click on the Etsy link!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is the difference between boogers and spinach?
You can't get your kids to eat spinach.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In February, according to police in Windsor, Ont.,
Daniel Kolta, 27, and Randy Taylor, 33, died in a head-on collision, thus
earning a tie in the game of chicken they were playing with their snowmobiles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A clever bit of advertising gimmickry from Guinness: these pint glasses bear QR codes than can't be read when the glass is empty, nor when it is filled with amber-colored beers. But when filled with black, murky Guinness, the revealed QR code can finally be scanned: "it tweets about your pint, updates your facebook status, checks you in via 4 square, downloads coupons and promotions, invites your friends to join, and even launches exclusive Guiness content."
Yeah, so the last part is a bit of a nightmare.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1987, he was invited to a White House
dinner by Ronald Reagan. Few of the guests appeared to know who he was. During
dinner, Nancy Reagan turned to him and asked what he'd done with his life to
merit an invitation. Straight-faced, Davis replied: "Well, I've changed the
course of music five or six times. What have you done except fuck the
president?"
Photo Credit: Dave Rolfe/Howletts Wild Animal Park
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fornication
Copyright; Robyn Scott, From her book 'It's Just a Matter of Perspective'
Email: robyns@liscity.nsw.gov.au
SEX is a TRANSACTION,
With emotional currency,
You're either lucky or an arsehole,
If you're getting it for free,
Some are prepared to barter flesh,
For company or affection,
A house, a car, a family,
Money or protection,
When morality is attached to
Guilt can reduce the pleasure,
Whereby with uninhibited
Comes ecstasy without measure.
There are those whom believe that, SEX is just for procreation,
While there are others for whom it is, Their favourite recreation,
There are people who only have,
SEX over the phone,
And others who are happy,
To do it on their own,
There are some who really get off,
On lingerie and leather,
And those who simply prefer,
To masturbate together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright; Robyn Scott, From her book 'It's Just a Matter of Perspective'
Email: robyns@liscity.nsw.gov.au
SEX is a TRANSACTION,
With emotional currency,
You're either lucky or an arsehole,
If you're getting it for free,
Some are prepared to barter flesh,
For company or affection,
A house, a car, a family,
Money or protection,
When morality is attached to
Guilt can reduce the pleasure,
Whereby with uninhibited
Comes ecstasy without measure.
There are those whom believe that, SEX is just for procreation,
While there are others for whom it is, Their favourite recreation,
There are people who only have,
SEX over the phone,
And others who are happy,
To do it on their own,
There are some who really get off,
On lingerie and leather,
And those who simply prefer,
To masturbate together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For sculpture that's really first class
You need form, composition, and mass.
To do a good Venus
Just leave off the penis,
And concentrate all on the ass.
You need form, composition, and mass.
To do a good Venus
Just leave off the penis,
And concentrate all on the ass.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A great many people think they are thinking when
they are merely rearranging their prejudices. -- William James
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- “Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some
broken clouds, but they’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you,
and remember, nobody loves you or your money more than Southwest
Airlines.”
- “Your seat cushions can be used for flotation. In
the event of an emergency water landing, please take them with our
compliments.”
- “As you exit the plane, please make sure to gather
all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among
the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.”
- “Last one off the plane must clean
it.”
- From the pilot during his welcome message: “We are
pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry.
Unfortunately none of them are on this flight.”
- This was overheard on an American Airlines flight
into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day. During the final
approach, the captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard
landing, the flight attendant came on the PA and announced, “Ladies and
gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seatbelts
fastened while the captain taxis what’s left of our airplane to the
gate!”
- Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than
perfect landing: “We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces
us to the terminal.”
- An airline pilot wrote that on this particular
flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a
policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the
passengers exited, smile, and give them a, “Thanks for flying XYZ airline.” He
said that in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers
in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally, everyone
had gotten off except for this little old lady walking with a cane. She said,
“Sonny, did we land or were we shot down?”
- After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the
flight attendant got on the PA and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please remain in
your seats until Captain Crash and the crew have brought the aircraft to a
screeching halt up against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and
the warning bells are silenced, we’ll open the door and you can pick your way
through the wreckage to the terminal.”
- Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement:
“We’d like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you
get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal
tube, we hope you’ll think of us here at US Airways.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We all know Black Friday, the discount-fueled shopping frenzy that follows
Thanksgiving.
But there are 'Black' days for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, too. You probably wouldn't want to wake up early to wait in line for any of these.
But there are 'Black' days for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, too. You probably wouldn't want to wake up early to wait in line for any of these.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last Tuesday, a Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan, carrying an International Space Station crew into orbit. Baikonur,
Russia's primary space launch facility since the 1950s, is the largest in the
world, and supports multiple launches of both manned and unmanned rockets every
year.
With the U.S. manned space program currently on hold, Baikonur is now the sole launching point for trips to the ISS. Gathered here is a look at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, some of the cosmonaut training programs in Star City outside of Moscow, and a few recent launches and landings.
With the U.S. manned space program currently on hold, Baikonur is now the sole launching point for trips to the ISS. Gathered here is a look at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, some of the cosmonaut training programs in Star City outside of Moscow, and a few recent launches and landings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who’s in you? SciAm
introduces you to the microbes that not only outnumber the cells in your body,
but make you human (click through for interactive version).(via Scientific
American)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunny Skies over the Pacific Northwest
On May 12, 2012, clear skies allowed the Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on
NASA’s Aqua satellite an unobstructed
view of the Pacific Northwest from Washington to Utah. This natural-color image
shows the varied landscape features of that region.
Snow caps the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the
Cascades,
and isolated mountains outside these ranges. Snow cover recedes in these
mountain ranges as summer progresses, but some peaks sport ice year round, and
both the Cascades and the Rockies are home to multiple glaciers.
West of the Cascades, a well-vegetated coastal plain stretches toward the Pacific Ocean. Separating Washington and
Oregon, the Columbia River meanders through the relatively arid interior and
coastal plain, en route to the ocean. To the south, the landscape of Nevada and
Utah is especially arid, with north-south mountains separated by dry valleys. In
the southeast, the two-toned Great Salt Lake sprawls over northern Utah, immediately east of the Great Salt Lake Desert, which provides particulate matter for occasional dust
storms.
Isolated fires, indicated in this image by red dots,
burned throughout the region on May 12, some of them sending smoke plumes
northward. The cloud-free skies over the western United States proved short
lived. Within a couple days, clouds pushed eastward from the Pacific Ocean. The LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team
provides twice-daily images of this region.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map calculates Roman travel times
Crows
recognize familiar human voices
The pen that lets you draw electrical circuits
Manta rays depend on forests. Carl Zimmer on top form.
The evidence for precognition was staring us in the face all along. Hilarious
satire of psychology’s problems.
Living photography. This is as cool as it sounds
This tiny sphere is all the world’s water.
Plants…. in SPAAAAACCCCEEEEE
“Not all neurons are exactly alike. A new series on neurons
with a look into the various types of neurons.
Is the Purpose of Sleep to Let Our Brains “Defragment,” Like a Hard Drive? Great piece by the
Neuroskeptic.
“In science, if no one else can make the experiment work, it didn’t happen”
– John Hawks
Why are harps harp-shaped? What does the big curve on the top
do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is one version of Craig
Venter’s life story where he would’ve been a dutiful scientist at the National
Institutes of Health, a respected yet anonymous researcher in genetics, perhaps.
Thankfully, Venter saw that story line developing—and set about making sure it
never happened.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Punch, a magazine of humour and satire, ran from
1841-2002. A very British institution renowned internationally for its wit and
irreverence, it introduced the term 'cartoon' as we know it today. The first
edition of Punch was published on July 17th, 1841. Its founders, wood engraver
Ebenezer Landells and writer Henry Mayhew, got the idea for the magazine from a
satirical French paper, Le Charivari. The first issue was subtitled 'The London
Charivari.' At the Punch Cartoon Library you can take a look at these
cartoons.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That Baby's Bright! Javan Langur Born at Howletts
Howletts
Wild Animal Park has officially welcomed a bright new addition to their
Javan Langur Monkey group. These are the first pictures of the adorable apricot
infant, born last month and named Malang. Head Primate Keeper Matt Ford said:
"Malang is doing very well and it’s great to see her out and about with the
family group."
Javan Langurs are listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red list of
endangered species and they face the same threats as other primates in Asia,
including loss of habitat and hunting. The brightly colored primates are not
often seen in wild animal parks but Howletts and Port
Lympne are collectively home to over 50 individuals. Animal Director, Neil
Spooner said: ‘We have one of the largest collections of Javan Langurs outside
Indonesia and have had over 100 births since the early 1980’s. Our Javan Primate
Project just outside MaIang, Indonesia launched at the end of last year. The
conservation project is rescuing primates from the illegal pet trade and
rehabilitating them, so that they can be reintroduced to areas of the wild that
we protect – Malang is a very fitting name for our latest langur
birth."
Photo Credit: Dave Rolfe/Howletts Wild Animal Park
Read more about the Langur's coloring below the jump:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using the clues, find the name of the
famous singer.
- The sound of sheep
- A measure of paper
- Miss Oakley
- He flew STS-32, STS-43 and STS-57
So the solution we needed
was:
- Baa
- Ream
- Annie
- Low (Astronaut George David Low)
Barry Manilow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why are these trees made of
uranium?
Buried in the deserts of the world are fossils of trees
and animals that died millions of years ago. Those fossils are often made of
packed sediment. Occasionally, that sediment is uranium.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11 Incredible Images Of Woodpeckers
image credit
Woodpeckers are the tunneling superstars of the bird world. Lampooned as cartoon characters and often misrepresented, woodpeckers are hardworking, fascinating birds.
Woodpeckers are the tunneling superstars of the bird world. Lampooned as cartoon characters and often misrepresented, woodpeckers are hardworking, fascinating birds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever found yourself sat in a public place and
wondered what the people around you are thinking about? Turns out the general
public is thinking about some pretty odd things every day, and some people are
willing to pay to find out the answers.
63336 is a UK based company
which provides a question-answering service via text message. You can send them
any question you like and they will text you back with an answer; in fact, they
have provided over 26 million answers already. The service costs £2.50 (around
$4) per message — but despite that people have chosen to send in some bizarre,
amusing, and sometimes downright worrying questions, which the team at 63336
sometimes share on their Twitter feed. Here are 12 of the oddest questions people have been paying to
have answered this year.
1. How much Blu Tack would it take to make a life
size model of the last supper?
2. What’s the opposite of a table?
3. If I could spin round on my chair fast
enough how long will I need to spin round to move forward in time to
Friday?
4. What’s better for making shoes: French stick or
bloomer?
5. Why is my unicorn dead?
6. What insurance category would a TIE
Fighter go in?
7. Can dwarves grant wishes?
8. Can you get a squirrel up your nose?
9. If pigs could fly how much could I realistically
charge for a 10 minute ride around the farm?
10. How much energy would be required by the
Death Star to blow up Alderaan?
11. What do butterflies get in their stomach when
they’re nervous?
12. Would it be possible to mail someone in a box
from England to Australia? How many stamps would I need? The person would be
unconscious…
If you think you know the answer to any of these,
please comment — we’re dying to know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every Ship Lost by Great Britain in
WW2, hi-res - [super image]
Extreme Climbing in Moscow, pics - [urban]
Spectacular Planet System Found - [wow space]
Predictions about 2001 from 1901 - [futurism]
Forbidden Colors Can Be Seen! - [fascinating]
Wonderfully complete, high-res map of Middle Earth - [wow map]
London Futurism from 1924 - [cool video]
Extreme Climbing in Moscow, pics - [urban]
Spectacular Planet System Found - [wow space]
Predictions about 2001 from 1901 - [futurism]
Forbidden Colors Can Be Seen! - [fascinating]
Wonderfully complete, high-res map of Middle Earth - [wow map]
London Futurism from 1924 - [cool video]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These delightful boxing
felines were equipped with miniature boxing gloves and set to brawling by none
other than legendary douchebag
Thomas Edison, as a means of promoting his newfangled moving picture device in
1894.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Red-legged Seriema is one of South America's
largest terrestrial birds. While it can fly short distances, it prefers to run
on its long, powerful legs rather than use its short, stumpy wings. This two
week old chick was hatched at SeaWorld Orlando on April 30. The
current Seriema population in U.S. zoos is only 62, and the last bird was
hatched in 2009, so each hatchling is precious to the
population.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will
Smith was recently a guest on the BBC talk show
The Graham Norton Show where he
sung the rap to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme
song along with keyboard accompaniment by
Gary Barlow. via Tastefully Offensive
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ricky Brigante of
Inside the Magic
was one of the first people to participate in the Carbon Freeze Me
Experience at Walt Disney World’s Star Wars
Weekends. He shared some images with us of his visit and even better, a video of himself
getting his face 3D scanned in the “Carbon Freezing Chamber”. He expects to
receive his personalized Han Solo-style carbonite figurine in about a month.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This astonishing paper craft stop motion
animation is set to the song “Østersøen” by
the band Ödland. The animation
was directed by Vincent Pianina & Lorenzo
Papace.
via Colossal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If Stanley Kubrick was alive, I'm sure he
would approve of this Lego 2001: A Space Odyssey-referencing iPhone
charging station.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darwinian Crowdsourcing
Chances are if you went to a party at Chuck Darwin’s
house in 1868 you would have been a bit taken aback by the naturalist’s newest
hobby. Instead of discussing the finer points of natural selection and
inheritance in the light of Gregor Mendel’s recently published “Experiments in Plant
Hybridization” (which Darwin was actually
unaware of), he probably would have shown you posed 'eotion' pictures.
The popularization of early photographic techniques
in the 19th century allowed Darwin to conduct an impartial psychological
experiment on the gut reactions to human expression. It was part of his search
for universal core emotions, a debate that still goes on today (although nonhuman primates
like chimpanzees appear to recognize them). Twenty-four people were presented with photos, in order to
collect their interpretation of the expressions shown (or forced).
Last year, the Darwin Correspondence Project
invited the online world to take part in the experiment. 18,000 people
responded, and you can view the expanded results of Darwin’s strange
emotional experiment nearly 150 years after his original version.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How the seventh art went from magic
lanterns to state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery in 100
years.
When a small handful of enthusiasts
gathered at the first cinema show at the Grand Cafe in Paris on December 27,
1895, to celebrate early experimental film, they didn’t know that over the next century, their fringe
fascination would carve its place in history as the “seventh art.” But how,
exactly, did that happen? In 100 Ideas that Changed
Film, Oxford Times
film reviewer David Parkinson and publisher Laurence King — who brought
us 100 Ideas That Changed Graphic
Design and the epic Saul Bass monograph — offer a concise and intelligent chronicle of the most
influential developments since the dawn of cinema.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAY BRADBURY (2001)
This remarkable keynote address by Ray
Bradbury at The Sixth Annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea is brimming
with the kind of invaluable wisdom you wish someone had pinned to your mind in
your early twenties, so you could laminate it for the rest of your
life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Write to please just one person. If you open
a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get
pneumonia.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Psychedelic Space Redux
This is a composite of a series of images
photographed from a mounted camera on the Earth-orbiting International Space
Station, from approximately 240 miles above Earth.
Space station hardware in the foreground includes the Mini-Research Module (MRM1, center) and a Russian Progress vehicle docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment (right). Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit said of the photographic techniques used to achieve the images: "My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes. However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then 'stack' them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure." A total of 47 images photographed by the astronaut-monitored stationary camera were combined to create this composite.
Image Credit: NASA
Space station hardware in the foreground includes the Mini-Research Module (MRM1, center) and a Russian Progress vehicle docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment (right). Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit said of the photographic techniques used to achieve the images: "My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes. However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then 'stack' them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure." A total of 47 images photographed by the astronaut-monitored stationary camera were combined to create this composite.
Image Credit: NASA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What the quintessential childhood staple
teaches us about the bounds of the imagination.
The paper airplane is among the most beloved
of childhood toys — and for good reason: It seems to embody just the right
balance of function and fantasy, of hands-on practicality and
make-believability. In Little Paper
Planes, 20 of today’s most exciting
artists and illustrators — including Brain Pickings favorites Julia Rothman
(♥ ♥ ♥), Lisa
Congdon (♥ ♥), and Gemma
Correll (♥) — reimagine the
childhood staple.
“… when people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together.”
The great science fiction author
writes of the fuzzy nature of right and wrong, and how scientific theories
should not be considered incorrect as much as they should simply be considered
incomplete.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HANG on the earth is spherical?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If
you’re into studying the impending doom of our solar system and universe
(sickos), might I remind you to check out Wikipedia’s most interesting
entry: The Timeline of the Far
Future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It took 47 years to create a vaccine for polio after the microbe
behind it was identified. The measles vaccine took 42 years. The hepatitis B
vaccine was a positive sprint at 16 years. “Twenty-eight years isn’t an
inordinate amount of time,” says [Anthony Fauci, an immunologist who heads
NIAID].
HIV is one of the most elusive and quickly mutating viruses that we’ve found. Since vaccines rely on the body’s ability to recognize and inactivate a fairly constant region of the attacker, a vaccine for HIV has been the talk of pipe dreams.
HIV is one of the most elusive and quickly mutating viruses that we’ve found. Since vaccines rely on the body’s ability to recognize and inactivate a fairly constant region of the attacker, a vaccine for HIV has been the talk of pipe dreams.
Here’s an update on the closest we’ve
come and why it almost worked, from a 2009 trial.
(↬The Dish)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Con Heir
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Con Heir
In 1879 Thérèse Humbert was traveling by railway
through France when she met an ailing American millionaire named Robert
Crawford. She sought medical care for him, and he showed his gratitude with a
handsome bequest, which she kept in a sealed safe. Or so she said. Humbert and
her husband lived luxuriously in Paris for two decades, borrowing money against
Crawford’s unseen gift. When suspicious creditors finally sued her, they
discovered that Crawford didn’t exist and the safe contained a handful of
worthless papers. She was sentenced to five years in prison.
In 1897 Ohio con artist Cassie Chadwick
“confessed” to a Cleveland lawyer that she was the illegitimate daughter of
Andrew Carnegie and stood to inherit $10 million on his death. She parlayed his
sympathy into a series of bank loans and lived lavishly until 1904, when she was
unable to repay a Massachusetts banker. Carnegie, who denied her story, attended
the trial and saw her sentenced to 10 years in prison. She died two years later
in the Ohio State Penitentiary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"In an interview this weekend, 'Jeopardy' host Alex Trebek hinted that he might retire in two years. Or as he put it, 'Born in 1940, this game show host wants to sit around in his bathrobe eating ice cream.'" -Jimmy Fallon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you find yourself in
a hospital for more than a few hours, make sure you find out if you have been
admitted for inpatient care or if you are merely considered an outpatient under
what is called "observation care."
If you haven't been admitted to the hospital, the costs you may have to pay out of pocket for medical services and drugs could be considerable. You could also be denied Medicare coverage for follow-up nursing care.
Patients getting emergency department services, observation services, outpatient surgery, lab tests or X-rays, but for whom the doctor hasn't written an order of admission, are considered outpatients even if they spend the night. Even if you stay in the hospital for a few days, don't assume you have been admitted. Ask about your status!
Why are hospitals doing this? In November 2010, the American Hospital Association warned that changes in policy by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "are causing hospitals to place patients in observation status for more than 48 hours instead of admitting them."
The most unpleasant surprise for non-admitted patients is the cost of drugs. Susan Jaffe of Kaiser Health News recently documented examples of patients charged much more for common drugs than they would have paid at a local pharmacy. A patient in Boca Raton, Fla., for instance, was charged $71 for a blood pressure pill for which her neighborhood pharmacy charges 16 cents...
Naturally, an emergency patient isn't thinking about hospital status. However, being an inpatient can mean significant savings to you. So you should ask your doctor to see that you are admitted. In addition, do not hesitate to ask your insurer for assistance in appeals if you believe that the bill you received is incorrect.
If you haven't been admitted to the hospital, the costs you may have to pay out of pocket for medical services and drugs could be considerable. You could also be denied Medicare coverage for follow-up nursing care.
Patients getting emergency department services, observation services, outpatient surgery, lab tests or X-rays, but for whom the doctor hasn't written an order of admission, are considered outpatients even if they spend the night. Even if you stay in the hospital for a few days, don't assume you have been admitted. Ask about your status!
Why are hospitals doing this? In November 2010, the American Hospital Association warned that changes in policy by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "are causing hospitals to place patients in observation status for more than 48 hours instead of admitting them."
The most unpleasant surprise for non-admitted patients is the cost of drugs. Susan Jaffe of Kaiser Health News recently documented examples of patients charged much more for common drugs than they would have paid at a local pharmacy. A patient in Boca Raton, Fla., for instance, was charged $71 for a blood pressure pill for which her neighborhood pharmacy charges 16 cents...
Naturally, an emergency patient isn't thinking about hospital status. However, being an inpatient can mean significant savings to you. So you should ask your doctor to see that you are admitted. In addition, do not hesitate to ask your insurer for assistance in appeals if you believe that the bill you received is incorrect.
More at the source,
where there are several relevant links to Medicare resources. If you or any of
your family are likely to be admitted to a hospital, it may be financially very
important to you to understand the difference between "observation care" and
"admission." I think understanding the details isn't necessary - just knowing
that sleeping overnight in the hospital doesn't necessarily mean you're an
"inpatient."
This will be of interest only to readers in the United States. Those of you from other countries probably don't have to worry about this kind of administrative b*llshit.
This will be of interest only to readers in the United States. Those of you from other countries probably don't have to worry about this kind of administrative b*llshit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Which Birthdays Are Most
Common? NPR data
journalist Matt Stiles recently posted this informative infographic of the most
common birth dates in the United States. It was constructed using data compiled
by Harvery Kennedy School professor of public policy Amitabh Chandra, and later
published in the New York Times. Chandra's table relies exclusively on birth
date figures from 1973 to 1999.
The most popular birth date is September 16 (I was born on September 15). The least popular date is split between February 29 and December 25.
The most popular birth date is September 16 (I was born on September 15). The least popular date is split between February 29 and December 25.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apparently, this is some kind of fake Apple store located somewhere in
China. How awesome is that? :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My father needed to test
the ability of the black powder charge to eject the back section of the rocket.
Needless to say, i think it worked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the film
from our micro exhibition ‘Measuring the Universe: from the transit of Venus to
the edge of the cosmos’. If you can make it to Greenwich then come and see the
exhibition – its on from 1 March–2 September 2012 and its absolutely
FREE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
A Completely New Way You Buy
From Stores
Postmates is already one of the most talked about startups in Silicon Valley, but now it has a brand new app that's going to change the way you purchase goods from stores. It's releasing the Get It Now application, which will let you use Postmates to order just about anything - from food to a MacBook Pro - and have it delivered to you in under an hour. You give Postmates a credit card number, and it authorizes your account for the cost of whatever you're purchasing and gives a courier the ability to use that cash to buy the good. For now, Get It Now and Postmates are only available in San Francisco.
Postmates is already one of the most talked about startups in Silicon Valley, but now it has a brand new app that's going to change the way you purchase goods from stores. It's releasing the Get It Now application, which will let you use Postmates to order just about anything - from food to a MacBook Pro - and have it delivered to you in under an hour. You give Postmates a credit card number, and it authorizes your account for the cost of whatever you're purchasing and gives a courier the ability to use that cash to buy the good. For now, Get It Now and Postmates are only available in San Francisco.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a grocery store a cashier held up a small dairy carton and yelled to a co-worker, "How much is half-and-half?"
Without a moment's hesitation the other cashier replied, "One."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Music
Styles
JAZZ ~ Five men on the same stage all playing different tunes.
BLUES ~ Played exclusively by people who woke up this morning.
WORLD MUSIC ~ Dozen different types of percussion all going at once.
OPERA ~ People singing when they should be talking.
RAP ~ People talking when they should be singing.
CLASSICAL ~ Discover the other 45 minutes they left out of the TV ad.
FOLK ~ Endless songs about shipwrecks in the 19th century.
BIG BAND ~ 20 men who take it in turns to stand up plus a drummer.
HEAVY METAL: ~ Codpiece and chaps
HOUSE MUSIC ~ OK as long as it's not the house next door.
JAZZ ~ Five men on the same stage all playing different tunes.
BLUES ~ Played exclusively by people who woke up this morning.
WORLD MUSIC ~ Dozen different types of percussion all going at once.
OPERA ~ People singing when they should be talking.
RAP ~ People talking when they should be singing.
CLASSICAL ~ Discover the other 45 minutes they left out of the TV ad.
FOLK ~ Endless songs about shipwrecks in the 19th century.
BIG BAND ~ 20 men who take it in turns to stand up plus a drummer.
HEAVY METAL: ~ Codpiece and chaps
HOUSE MUSIC ~ OK as long as it's not the house next door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUOTE:
"Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice."
HINT: (1815-1902), American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement.
HINT: (1815-1902), American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement.
ANSWER:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I became a rocket
ship!”
The reproductive cycle of marine invertebrates is often an
effort reliant on serendipity and chance. Two floating gametes must fuse,
fertilize and feed, blindly drifting and defending, until perhaps being
deposited and developed. It’s also one that occurs with the precision of a Swiss
timepiece, with sperm and eggs often released in delicate time windows as small
as hours after a full moon.
It can also be rather messy, what one observer termed
“… a raucous orgy that will send a pink
slick of coral sperm and eggs up from the bottom of the reef and onto the
surface.” I know of a marine biologist who lost a dare, and slathered that
slick on a piece of toast.
Either way, it’s some amazing
biology.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Facebook is expected to
go public at a valuation around $100 billion. That's what Facebook is worth to
the market. But how much are you worth to Facebook? Take this quiz called the
'Val-You
Calculator,' which, based on your answers to seven questions, determines
the dollar value you represent as a user.
Before the IPO, my
profile was worth $50 in annual advertising revenues.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Matter Of
Perspective
http://ursaspawsclaws.blogspot.com/2012/05/matter-of-perspective.html
Keep Your Mind Out Of The Gutter
Keep Your Mind Out Of The Gutter
Thanks, Cindy ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RANDOM TIDBITS
When a female horse and male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny.
Whales and dolphins can literally fall half asleep. Their brain hemispheres alternate sleeping, so the animals can continue to surface and breathe.
Unlike most fish, electric eels cannot get enough oxygen from water. Approximately every five minutes, they must surface to breathe, or they will drown. Unlike most fish, they can swim both backwards and forwards.
The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.
The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July 3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog."
The Pacific Giant Octopus, the largest octopus in the world, grows from the size of pea to a 150 pound behemoth potentially 30 feet across in only two years, its entire life-span.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a female horse and male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny.
Whales and dolphins can literally fall half asleep. Their brain hemispheres alternate sleeping, so the animals can continue to surface and breathe.
Unlike most fish, electric eels cannot get enough oxygen from water. Approximately every five minutes, they must surface to breathe, or they will drown. Unlike most fish, they can swim both backwards and forwards.
The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.
The term "dog days" has nothing to do with dogs. It dates back to Roman times, when it was believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, added its heat to that of the sun from July 3 to August 11, creating exceptionally high temperatures. The Romans called the period dies caniculares, or "days of the dog."
The Pacific Giant Octopus, the largest octopus in the world, grows from the size of pea to a 150 pound behemoth potentially 30 feet across in only two years, its entire life-span.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dolphin
Experiencehttp://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=7429
In Dolphins, you will experience the warm, white sandbanks of the Bahamas where inquisitive dolphins live and play. Find out how we are unraveling the mysteries of dolphin communication. Watch the trailer for this amazing film. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Dolphins, you will experience the warm, white sandbanks of the Bahamas where inquisitive dolphins live and play. Find out how we are unraveling the mysteries of dolphin communication. Watch the trailer for this amazing film. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery
Tail — a die-cut masterpiece two
years in the making, based on a 17th-century British “trick” poem and
illustrated in the signature Indian folk art style of the Gond tribe by Indian
artist Ramsingh Urveti, who brought us the magnificent The Night Life of
Trees.
Each line of the “trick verse” builds upon the previous one, flowing into a kind of rhythmic redundancy embodied in the physical structure of the book as each repeating line is printed only once, but appears on two pages by peeking through exquisitely die-cut holes that play on the stark black-and-white illustrations. Thus, if read page by page the way one would read a traditional book, the poem sounds spellbindingly surreal — but if read through the die-cuts, a beautiful and crisp story comes together.
Each line of the “trick verse” builds upon the previous one, flowing into a kind of rhythmic redundancy embodied in the physical structure of the book as each repeating line is printed only once, but appears on two pages by peeking through exquisitely die-cut holes that play on the stark black-and-white illustrations. Thus, if read page by page the way one would read a traditional book, the poem sounds spellbindingly surreal — but if read through the die-cuts, a beautiful and crisp story comes together.
Word. Check out the whole comic at the link. So
great. If you don’t know, now you know.
(via The Oatmeal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whatever
Happened To
Two guys sat down for lunch in the office cafeteria.
"Hey, whatever happened to Pete in payroll?" one asked.
"He got this hare brained notion he was going to build a new kind of car," his coworker replied.
"How was he going to do it?"
"He took an engine from a Pontiac, tires from a Chevy, seats from a Lincoln, hubcaps from a Caddy and well, you get the idea."
"So what did he end up with?"
"Ten years to life."
Two guys sat down for lunch in the office cafeteria.
"Hey, whatever happened to Pete in payroll?" one asked.
"He got this hare brained notion he was going to build a new kind of car," his coworker replied.
"How was he going to do it?"
"He took an engine from a Pontiac, tires from a Chevy, seats from a Lincoln, hubcaps from a Caddy and well, you get the idea."
"So what did he end up with?"
"Ten years to life."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Random
Facts:
Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones.
Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recently
sold at auction for $4.6 million, this is an 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trapardoux
Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout.
It is steam-powered, achieved speeds of 38 mph, was a veteran of four London-to-Brighton runs, and participated in the world's first auto race in 1887. It got 20 miles on a tank of water.
It is steam-powered, achieved speeds of 38 mph, was a veteran of four London-to-Brighton runs, and participated in the world's first auto race in 1887. It got 20 miles on a tank of water.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reddit asks the
question. Here are some of the answers:
- I’d like to know there’s irrefutable proof of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
- A fix for anyone that has been paralyzed or lost any Sight/Hearing.
- Cryogenic freezing. Just wake up every 50 years for a year or so.
- Relatively cheap commercial space tourism.
- Hoverboard
- Renewable Energy as the standard
- Free high-speed wifi everywhere.
- Virtual realities, like the matrix. I want to live in the Pokemon world for a couple years before I die.
- Prostheses that not only perfectly mimic natural limbs, or organs, but perform better than their natural counterparts!
- Cure for diseases. World peace. … Also, the Iron Man suit.
- Serious work towards terraforming + exploring other planets for human colonization. We will die like the dinosaurs if we stay chained to this rock indefinitely.
- A cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
- I’d like the Human Race to fully realize that we’re all in the same boat and start working together, for real.
- Hologram porn.
- Cure for AIDS!
- Teleportation. I want to see transportation completely revolutionized
- All I want… Is a way to SCRATCH THAT DAMN SPOT IN MY BACK THAT I CAN’T REACH.
- Cloning dinosaurs like in Jurassic Park. I refuse to die until I can pet a velociraptor.
- Time travel would be neat.
- Flying f’ing cars. We were promised flying cars!
What do you want to see become reality
before you die?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Different Kind Of NYC Subway
Art
Artist Ming Liang Lu has a rather unique
way of creating portraits for customers that visit him in various subway
platforms and tunnels throughout New York City-he cuts up small sheets of paper
to look like his subjects, and the results are quite incredible. The cut paper
portraits are so small and delicate it’s hard to imagine that such a clear
likeness could be achieved in such a manner, but Ming has obviously been at this
for a while (this video was posted in 2010), and his skills with the scissors
are most impressive indeed. Link –via Laughing
Squid
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adorable Animated Short – Crayon
Dragon
This imaginative and visually appealing
animated short is by Toniko Pantoja, who is a second year student at CalArts
with a promising career in animation ahead of him!
Dragons are always portrayed as ornery and
bloodthirsty, so it’s nice to know that they have a cutesy, artistic side
too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One morning a little girl ran inside and said "Daddy, Daddy my
sister and the man you hired last week are up on the hay loft in the barn on all
that new hay we just bought. She has her dress up and he has his pants down. I
think they are about to piss all over that new
hay!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boob
Shirt (or Boobs and
shirt)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The International Astronomical Union has
an interesting policy for naming craters on Mercury. They are named after
deceased artists, musicians and authors. They recently approved 23 new ones,
including (interesting cultural tidbits at each link) (↬ Solar System Exploration -
NASA)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“One hundred years from now,
the role of science and technology will be about becoming part of nature rather
than trying to control it.
So much of science and technology has
been about pursuing efficiency, scale and “exponential growth” at the expense of
our environment and our resources. We have rewarded those who invent
technologies that control our triumph over nature in some way. This is clearly
not sustainable. We must understand that we live in a
complex system where everything is interrelated and interdependent and that
everything we design impacts a larger system. My dream is
that 100 years from now, we will be learning from nature, integrating with
nature and using science and technology to bring nature into our lives to make
human beings and our artifacts not only zero impact but a positive impact to the
natural system that we live in.” -Joi Ito, Director of
MIT’s Media Lab
Read this and the visions of other great
minds as part of Steelcase’s 100-year anniversary look at the century
ahead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neil deGrasse Tyson - “When I think of science, I think of a truly human activity”
Our desire for answers and our ability to
experiment extend far beyond the realm of the laboratory, although science is
the example we can most easily distill. Especially easy for people like me,
because I eat, sleep and breathe science prettymuch. But if we begin to look at
how a child interacts with their world, completely wide open to both the
question and the answer, immune to prejudices of observation and interpretation,
we begin to see that what we may applaud as the “beauty of science” and the
“power of technology” and the “fruits of dedicated research” are really just an
extension of what makes us human.
“Every child is a
scientist.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The awesomely insane
Heaven and Hell nightclubs of 1890s Paris
In modern times, you can find a
stray cabaret or goth club in most modern metropolitan areas. But back in the
late 19th century, your options were limited, albeit merrily deranged.
Paris of the 1890s had several supernatural
nightlife options, each of them with marvelously outlandish gimmicks. In the
1899 book Bohemian Paris of To-Day by William Chambers Morrow and Édouard
Cucuel, the authors visit several of the City of Lights darker drinking
destinations, such as the Cabaret du Néant ("The Cabaret of Nothingness") in the
neighborhood of Montmarte.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Will
you help unload the truck?" my wife asked.
"Sure," I said. "What's in the truck?"
"The new light fixtures and microwave. The salesman said we'll need an electrician to install the microwave above our oven."
"What the fu-- I mean, why did you suddenly buy all this stuff?"
"You said I could."
"Me? When the fuc...when?"
"Saturday night."
"Saturday night? What, when we were in bed?"
"Yes. You said: 'Do whatever you want.'"
"Yeah, that's because I thought you wanted to blow me, not redecorate the fucking house."
"Sure," I said. "What's in the truck?"
"The new light fixtures and microwave. The salesman said we'll need an electrician to install the microwave above our oven."
"What the fu-- I mean, why did you suddenly buy all this stuff?"
"You said I could."
"Me? When the fuc...when?"
"Saturday night."
"Saturday night? What, when we were in bed?"
"Yes. You said: 'Do whatever you want.'"
"Yeah, that's because I thought you wanted to blow me, not redecorate the fucking house."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jumping
Penguins
“Flying Penguins” –
Somewhere in Antarctica – Jim Mantock – Featured
Photographer
Thanks, ED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Health Magazine
LAST-MINUTE BEACH
SHAPE-UP ROUTINE
There's no getting around it: Swimsuit season is upon us. But it's not too late to tone and tighten! Rediscover your beach body with this easy, 15-minute sculpting routine.
There's no getting around it: Swimsuit season is upon us. But it's not too late to tone and tighten! Rediscover your beach body with this easy, 15-minute sculpting routine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Need a good risque name for your trivia team?
I guerss they’d work for your bowling team or your softball team or your
volleyball team or any other team? How about…
Animals * The Anaconda
Gaggers * Baby Seals Club * Chimpanzees Love Finger Food * Choke the Goat *
Cobra Kai * The Fighting Mongooses * The Pheasant Pluckers * A Seal Walked Into
A Club * The Squirrel Grippers * The Turkey Basters
Sexual & Shit *
Areola 51 * The Bar Stool Samples * Bag of Dicks * Balls of Nerve * The Bar
Stool Softeners * Buster Highman and the Penetrators * The Cock Goblins *
Copafilia * Crotch Waffles * The Cunning Stunts * Deaf Woman Ear Sex * Define
Statutory * Fart Jizz * Fist Is A Verb * Fisted Sisters * Fists of Justice * The
Jizz Farts * Kentucky Fried Nipples * Mass Debate * Mister Carriage * The Muff
Cuffs * Multiple Scorgasms * The Nipple Ticklers * Nuns in Bondage * Potent
Potables * Pull Out & Quiz On Her Face * Quiz On My Tits * S Team D * Sit On
My Facebook * Socks Up Pants Down * Spooning Leads to Forking * Team DVDA – All
For One & Four For Her * Team No Lube * Turds of Misery * Twisted Fisters *
I Twittered All Over Her Facebook * Uncles with Benefits * Vaginal Ecosystem *
The Well Hungarians * The 72s. (a 69 with 3 fingers up her ass) * Bukkake
Tsunami
Music/Movies * Bridge
to Tera-trivia * Crouching Woman, Hidden Cucumber * Cum On Eileen * Full Mental
Jacket * The Jedi Lite * My Harry Potter Has Hogwarts * Mystery Science Trivia
3000 * Pirates of the Cari-trivian III: At Wits End * Quizzard of Oz * Smokey
and the Bandwidth * They Who Shall Not Be Named * The Titanic Swim Team * Trivia
Newton John: Let’s Get Quizzical * Yoda’s Choadas
Pop Culture * Abusement
Park * Ebeneezer Splooge * The Greased Up Deaf Guys * I Thought This Was Cash
Cab * Jamie Lee Coitus * Nefertiti’s Cunt * The Never Nudes * Oedipus and the
Motherfuckers * Patty O’Furniture * Pirates of the Perineum * Prestige Worldwide
* The Ron Swanson Experience * Touched By An Uncle * Wacky Wailing Inflatable
Flailing Arm Tube Men! * Walking Talking Steven Hawkings * William Shatner-Face
* O’Trivia Newton John
To Be Read Aloud * The
Bill and Melinda Gate Installation Company * Fat Kids Are Harder to Kidnap * I
Found My Daughter on YouPorn * I’ll Drink To That! * I Took Anatomy in Braille *
“I Wish This Microphone Was A Penis.” * In Coitus, there’s an O! Then I comes
before U. * In One Ear and Out Your Mother * In Third Place * It’s Not Rape If
You Yell, “Surprise!” * Man-Chest-Hair United * “My Couch Pulls Out, But I
Don’t.” * No, I Said “Pianist” * “Please Evacuate The Building: This Is Not A
Test” * Season Ticket Holders to Neverland Ranch * Smell Map Who * Tempura
House: A Shelter For Lightly Battered Women * Team Stepdad: You Hate Us, We Beat
You. * Uncle Touchy’s Puzzle Basement * The Whimsical Whiskey Barrel of Love *
Cheap Horse
Quiz / Intelligence *
Actrivia! * Artificial Stupidity * Drinks and Thinks * The Ein Steins * Fact
Hunt * First as Trivia, Then as Farce * The Gee Whiz-ards * It’s My Quiz In a
Box * It’s Not Small, It’s Just Trivial * Let’s Get Down to Quizness * Mentally
Challenged * The Nation of Quizlam * The Nerd Herd * The Periodic Table Dancers
* Quiz In My Pants * Quizzers with Attitude * Sexually Transmitted
Knowledge
Not-So Current Events *
Barack Also Beats Paper * The Baracktobers * Gays for Rick Perry * Hog Wild for
Swine Flu * Hung Like Hussein * Kim Jung No Longer Ill * Michael Vick’s Kennel
Club * The Olymprics * Pregnancy: The One Thing Arnold Couldn’t Terminate *
Parasalin’ with Sarah Palin * Rock You Like a Herman Cain * SARS Allstars * The
Real Housewives of Newt Gingrich * What’s Shakin’, Haiti?
Random * Big Hair
Country * The Drunken Masters * My Brother the Hamburger * Suicide Hotline
Comedians * Your Mom Can’t Wrestle, But You Should See Her Box * Gary Busey’s
Teeth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Flemish painter Cornelius
Gijsbrechts, a painting of the back of a painting (1670):
“The Reverse of a Framed Painting was not
intended to be hung on the wall, but to be placed against it,” writes Olaf
Koerster. “The viewer would be deceived into trying to turn the picture around,
only to see the reverse of an unframed painting: Gijsbrechts had created the
paradoxical painting with two backs.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A real perpetual motion machine.
Teachers dancing behind students. (Just because I love the song)How Pixar nearly deleted Toy Story 2 before its release.
Teachers dancing behind students. (Just because I love the song)How Pixar nearly deleted Toy Story 2 before its release.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trailer For Fugu & Tako Proves
You Are What You Eat
Sometimes a hankering for some unusual
foodstuffs can result in an upset stomach, sometimes it can change your life
forever. Check out this crazy trailer for upcoming movie from director Ben West-
Fugu & Tako, you’ll never look at sushi the same way again! –via Twitch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A judge in Louisville decided a jury went "a
little bit too far" in recommending a sentence of 5,005 years for a man who
was
convicted of five robberies and a kidnapping.
convicted of five robberies and a kidnapping.
The judge reduced the sentence to 1,001
years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ideal Shape of Subway
Systems
Is there an ideal shape for a subway system?
Statistical physicist Marc Barthelemy and Camille Roth of France's National
Center for Scientific Research analyzed subways of New York, Tokyo, London and
other large cities in the world - with all their different topologies and
geographies - have strikingly similar subway structures:
With equations used to study two-dimensional
spatial networks, the class of network to which subways belong, the researchers
turned stations and lines to a mathematics of nodes and branches. They repeated
their analyses with data from each decade of a subway system’s history, and
looked for underlying trends.
Patterns emerged: The core-and-branch topology, of course, and patterns more fine-grained. Roughly half the stations in any subway will be found on its outer branches rather than the core. The distance from a city’s center to its farthest terminus station is twice the diameter of the subway system’s core. This happens again and again.
Patterns emerged: The core-and-branch topology, of course, and patterns more fine-grained. Roughly half the stations in any subway will be found on its outer branches rather than the core. The distance from a city’s center to its farthest terminus station is twice the diameter of the subway system’s core. This happens again and again.
“Many other shapes could be expected,
such as a regular lattice,” said Barthelemy. “What we find surprising is that
all these different cities, on different continents, with different histories
and geographical constraints, lead finally to the same structure.” Subway systems seem to gravitate towards these ratios organically,
through a combination of planning, expedience, circumstance and socioeconomic
fluctuation, say the researchers.
Piranhaconda
And you thought nothing could be sillier
than Sharktopus! SyFy does it again with a man-eating fish-reptile
called Piranhaconda, coming to a river, er, TV near you. -via The
Daily What
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Only two things are necessary to keep one's
wife happy.
One is to let her think she is having her own way, and the other is to let her have it.
- Lyndon B. Johnson
One is to let her think she is having her own way, and the other is to let her have it.
- Lyndon B. Johnson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of the things I love about the internet,
and specifically Twitter, is how an offhand comment turns into awesome. And it
happens within seconds.
For some reason, a super-hi-res picture of
the Earth is making the rounds right now. It’s a gorgeous pic, and lots of
people are sending me the link via email and Twitter. The thing is, I wrote about this picture back in
April, on Earth Day. But such is the
nature of the interwebz that stuff pops back up.
I appreciate that folks think enough of me to
send me stuff, in case I hadn’t seen it. But in this case I figured I’d better
stem the tide, so I tweeted about it, just basically saying thanks, but I
already wrote about it.
Right after tweeting that, I realized how
hipster it sounded. So I decided to go full hipster, tweeting:
It says, "I wrote about the Earth, it’s an
obscure planet, you’ve probably never heard of it. #BadAstrohipster". I added
the #BadAstrohipster hashtag as an afterthought; hashtags were originally meant
to be used as a way to organize and categorize tweets, but now most folks use
them as punchlines.
What happened next is internet magic. People
picked up on this immediately, and within seconds I was getting brilliant
replies using the hashtag. I retweeted some, but they started coming in so
quickly I gave up. Instead, I’ve collected a few here for you to enjoy. This
isn’t all of them, but these are the ones that made me LOL. You can search on the
hashtag to see what all the others
are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Possibly the most impressively timed shot in any
documentary ever.
Working guns made entirely from Lego.
GoldenEye 007 theme on guitar.
Dog on a bike.
Working guns made entirely from Lego.
GoldenEye 007 theme on guitar.
Dog on a bike.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
nolition
n. unwillingness
n. unwillingness
gelogenic
adj. producing laughter
adj. producing laughter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Address in
Space
"The first three digits of your space zip code would be your
orbital inclination and the last two a designator for your particular space
station..."
Node 2, Deck 5, ISS, LEO 51.603.
Zip codes in spaaaaaaaace... (Think Muppets.)
Zip codes in spaaaaaaaace... (Think Muppets.)
Thanks, Dana
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of a Kind
You’re about to roll five regular dice. Which is more likely,
rolling no sixes or rolling exactly one six?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here it is, in a nutshell: The logic of science boiled down to
one, essential idea. It comes from Richard Feynman, one of the great scientists
of the 20th century, who wrote it on the blackboard during a class at Cornell in
1964.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The once was a young girl from Norway
Who hung by her feet from the doorway;
Which worked out quite well,
'Cause when you rang her bell,
It actually turned out to be foreplay!
Who hung by her feet from the doorway;
Which worked out quite well,
'Cause when you rang her bell,
It actually turned out to be foreplay!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taste The Dark Side In Blk
Bottled Spring Water
I don’t consider thick black liquid to be a tantalizing
beverage option, unless it comes in a shot glass and contains about forty
percent alcohol, but Blk Beverages Black Spring Water claims to be more
refreshing than drinking a bottle of ink.
It doesn’t get you drunk, it gets you vitaminized, so here’s
the scoop straight from the source of the darkness:
Blk Beverages Black Spring Water’s proprietary blend of Fulvic Minerals (a derivative of plant matter) are mined from a 70 million year old source deep within the earth. Naturally black in color, Blk Beverages Spring Water’s formula binds to the molecules of Blk Beverages pure Canadian Spring Water turning it naturally black, with no artificial dyes, coloring, or additives. Fulvic Minerals are critical in growth of plant life, helping the transportation and absorption of nutrients. Fulvic Mineral’s small molecular structure allows for the fast absorption of over 77 different trace minerals and elements, powerful electrolytes, antioxidants, and free radical scavengers.
Nothing like some free radical scavengers to quench your
thirst. Mmmmmmmm!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Same-sex
marriage would have men married to men and women married to women. Well, who
complains about the credit card bill and who says, "Well, you want me to look
nice, don't you?" And who writes the thank-you notes and who just signs their
name?" -Dave Letterman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The
Octomom has finished her porn movie. The producers saved a lot of time on the
credits because nobody wanted any." -Jay Leno
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And
what was the culmination of events that led you to file this action?" asked the
man's attorney in the divorce hearing.
"All through our marriage my wife was less than responsive to my sexual initiatives," replied the husband, "but the clincher came one morning last month at the breakfast table."
"Why? What happened?"
"She announced, 'Just so you don't get your hopes up, I'm already beginning to get a headache.'"
"All through our marriage my wife was less than responsive to my sexual initiatives," replied the husband, "but the clincher came one morning last month at the breakfast table."
"Why? What happened?"
"She announced, 'Just so you don't get your hopes up, I'm already beginning to get a headache.'"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Shakespeare
is inaccurate. When I read 'Hamlet,' I was disappointed it wasn't about a little
ham." -Craig Ferguson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumb crooks of the day + Darwin Award
candidates
A suspected armed robber was killed when
explosives his gang was transporting accidentally went off in the centre of
Nigeria’s main oil city of Port Harcourt on Thursday…
The blast ripped through a minibus carrying
at least three suspected robbers, four AK-47 rifles and a large amount of
ammunition, Rivers State Police Commissioner Mohammed Abdulkadir Indabawa told
Reuters.
Two people in the bus and a woman who was
nearby were injured in the explosion, he added.
“We suspect they were armed robbers
going (on) an operation, and things went wrong for them,” said Indabawa.
Port Harcourt is at the heart of Nigeria’s
2 million plus barrel a day oil industry and has been plagued by militant groups
and criminal gangs cashing in on the money it generates.
A large economy-size oops!
Qualifying for a Darwin Award, as well.
Jeanne Powell Serendipity ~ I am listening to 'The Magic of reality' on CD
right now, and the topic right now is 'Darwin'. (and
'accidents')
Thanks, ED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antheraea polyphemus
http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2012/05/antheraea-polyphemus.html
Wonderful article about cocoons of the Polyphemus moth and the emergence of the moths.
Wonderful article about cocoons of the Polyphemus moth and the emergence of the moths.
And: How to make silk from
the cocoons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lying Isn’t The Only Way To Set Your Pants On
Fire
A woman in Orange County, California discovered that rock
collecting can be a dangerous hobby, when the rocks she’d collected from the
beach earlier that day suddenly ignited in her pocket!
Here’s the scoop: Orange County Fire Authority officials
tell the newspaper that the woman collected the rocks on a nearby beach,
returned home and “was standing in her kitchen … when the pocket of her cargo
shorts caught fire.”
“I talked to the paramedic who treated her, and in his 27 years in responding to calls near the beach, he’s never seen this,” Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone told the Register. “The rocks were still smoking when firefighters took them to the hospital.” Now, they’re being tested. It’s possible, Stone said, that phosphorus in the stones may have caused the combustion.
“I talked to the paramedic who treated her, and in his 27 years in responding to calls near the beach, he’s never seen this,” Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone told the Register. “The rocks were still smoking when firefighters took them to the hospital.” Now, they’re being tested. It’s possible, Stone said, that phosphorus in the stones may have caused the combustion.
And they say hobbies like rock and shell collecting are a
safe and relaxing activity. Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Researchers
are developing a stay-sober pill that will prevent you from getting drunk off of
alcohol. It's perfect for the drinker who wants all the calories of alcohol but
none of the fun." -Conan O'Brien
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Police
in California just burned 34,000 marijuana plants that were growing in a state
park. The police were very angry about finding all that weed until the wind
changed direction." -Jimmy Fallon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ball’s in your court, Harvard
Baseball”
Remember the Harvard men's baseball team that
danced to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe"
while on a road trip? Well, the Southern Methodist University Women's rowing
team did one better. They wrote on their YouTube page: "Ball's in your court,
Harvard Baseball" Link [YouTube]
nAs a parent, all I can think of is: They're not wearing seatbelts!
Seatbelts!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ring of Fire Coming
Sunday
A “ring of fire” solar eclipse will be visible Sunday on the west coast of
North America and parts of Asia on Monday morning. In this weekend’s annular
solar eclipse, the moon will slide in front of the sun and block 94 percent of
its light. But because the moon is near apogee — the point in its orbit when
it’s farthest away from Earth — it appears smaller to us, and will only cover
most of the sun — leaving a ring of fiery light blasting the edges. (What, you
thought it was a Johnny Cash reference?). Of course, this ring of fire will be
so awesome we shouldn’t look at it. And it’s relatively rare; the last one was
in 1994, but strangely, we’ll have another in May 2013. Link (Image credit: Flickr user José
Ángel)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Advice in
Abundance
Unsolicited advice free and abundant:
So much of it there its often redundant.
When I was a lad and easily impressed:
I listened and nodded at the experts' behest.
Opinions they flaunted on a scale universal:
Expounding at length without forethought or rehearsal.
With style and emotion, each made a case:
Of factual content there was rarely a trace.
Middle age found me as the consummate cynic:
Quick to retort and given to mimic.
With the passage of time I relaxed my position:
Improvised wisdom doesn't require a logician.
In the twilight of life there is time for a chat:
I now render advice at the drop of a hat.
Copyright; Jay
Email: aamori@webtv.net
Unsolicited advice free and abundant:
So much of it there its often redundant.
When I was a lad and easily impressed:
I listened and nodded at the experts' behest.
Opinions they flaunted on a scale universal:
Expounding at length without forethought or rehearsal.
With style and emotion, each made a case:
Of factual content there was rarely a trace.
Middle age found me as the consummate cynic:
Quick to retort and given to mimic.
With the passage of time I relaxed my position:
Improvised wisdom doesn't require a logician.
In the twilight of life there is time for a chat:
I now render advice at the drop of a hat.
Copyright; Jay
Email: aamori@webtv.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My question:
WHY????
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think
About It!
* Money doesn't bring you happiness, but it enables you to look for it in more places.
* Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong, but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.
* Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
* Misers aren't much fun to live with, but they make great ancestors.
* Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.
* The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
* When you see the handwriting on the wall, you can bet you're in a public restroom.
* Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
* The real reason you can't take it with you is that it goes before you do.
* Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it.
* Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were.
* A closed mouth gathers no feet.
* A man (or woman) who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on.
* A modern pioneer is a woman who can get through a rainy Saturday with a television on the blink.
* The world is full of willing people: some willing to work and some willing to let them.
* Money isn't everything....there's credit cards, money orders, and travelers checks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Money doesn't bring you happiness, but it enables you to look for it in more places.
* Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong, but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.
* Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
* Misers aren't much fun to live with, but they make great ancestors.
* Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.
* The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
* When you see the handwriting on the wall, you can bet you're in a public restroom.
* Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
* The real reason you can't take it with you is that it goes before you do.
* Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it.
* Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were.
* A closed mouth gathers no feet.
* A man (or woman) who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on.
* A modern pioneer is a woman who can get through a rainy Saturday with a television on the blink.
* The world is full of willing people: some willing to work and some willing to let them.
* Money isn't everything....there's credit cards, money orders, and travelers checks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Where is the best place in a book store to find a man who is handsome,
a good lover and a stimulating partner?
A. In the pages of a romance novel.
A. In the pages of a romance novel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My father was extremely nervous about his first funeral service as a Navy chaplain, but the undertaker assured him that he would prompt him. All went well until, at the close, the undertaker whispered to him to instruct the family to come up and view the body. "Will the family now come forward and pass around the bier," said my father.
He cringed inwardly when he heard his own words. Later, as my father was leaving, he overheard two of the cemetery workers talking. "I didn't get any beer," one said. "Did you?"
"You heard the chaplain," the other replied. "It was just for the family."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Men
do less than they ought, unless they do all they can.--Thomas
Carlyle
I have spread my dreams beneath your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.--W.B. Yeats
Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.--Henry David Thoreau
I have spread my dreams beneath your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.--W.B. Yeats
Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.--Henry David Thoreau
Try
not to become a man of success but a man of value.--Albert
Einstein
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.--Henry David Thoreau
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.--Henry David Thoreau
If
you would create something, you must be something. ~
Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUOTE:
"If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience
your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius."
HINT: (1672-1719), English essayist, poet, playwright and politician.
ANSWER: Joseph Addison.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HINT: (1672-1719), English essayist, poet, playwright and politician.
ANSWER: Joseph Addison.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RANDOM
TIDBITS
An adult bedbug can survive up to one year without feeding.
Ants are social insects and live in colonies which may have as many as 500,000 individuals.
Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live as long as 15 years.
People are more likely to be a target for mosquitoes if you consume bananas.
The venom of a female black widow spider is more potent than that of a rattlesnake.
The buzz that you hear when a bee approaches is the sound of its four wings moving at 11,400 strokes per minute. Bees fly an average of 15 miles per hour.
An adult bedbug can survive up to one year without feeding.
Ants are social insects and live in colonies which may have as many as 500,000 individuals.
Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live as long as 15 years.
People are more likely to be a target for mosquitoes if you consume bananas.
The venom of a female black widow spider is more potent than that of a rattlesnake.
The buzz that you hear when a bee approaches is the sound of its four wings moving at 11,400 strokes per minute. Bees fly an average of 15 miles per hour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Was
there ever a time that you thought that you heard voices in your head... and
then it turned out that you forgot that you were listening to a book on tape?
This happens to me at least twice a week.
This happens to me at least twice a week.
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Two
atoms are walking down the street. One says, "I think I lost an
electron.
The other says, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm positive."
The other says, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm positive."
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Delightfully Creepy Vintage Science
Posters
If you love the retro-futuristic vibe of Bioshock and enjoy
brain transplants or death rays, then you’ll also love these great science
posters by Retropolis. Don’t miss the site’s homepage for even more great
vintage artwork in a very similar vein.
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Two story house
A man appears before a judge one day, asking for a divorce. The judge quietly reviews some papers and then says,
"Please tell me why you are seeking a divorce."
"Because," the man says,"I live in a two-story house."
The Judge replies, "What kind of a reason is that? What is the big deal about a two-story house?"
The man answers, "Well Judge, one story is 'I have a headache' and the other story is 'It's that time of the month.'
A man appears before a judge one day, asking for a divorce. The judge quietly reviews some papers and then says,
"Please tell me why you are seeking a divorce."
"Because," the man says,"I live in a two-story house."
The Judge replies, "What kind of a reason is that? What is the big deal about a two-story house?"
The man answers, "Well Judge, one story is 'I have a headache' and the other story is 'It's that time of the month.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What's that
Smell? --*
Mama Mole, Papa Mole, and Baby Mole all live in a little hole. One morning Papa Mole sticks his head out of the hole, sniffs the air, and says, "Yum! I smell maple syrup!"
Then Mama Mole sticks her head out of the hole, sniffs the air, and says, "Yum! I smell strawberry jam!"
Then Baby Mole tries to stick his head out of the hole to sniff the air, but he can't because Mama and Papa Mole are both in the way.
He whines, "Jeez, all I can smell is molasses!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q and A
Quickies --*
Q: What do you call a fish with no eyes?
A: A fsh.
Q: What do you call the wife of a Hippie?
A: Mississippi
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Random
Facts:
Clouds are made up of many millions of miniscule water droplets which are formed when moist warm air rises up into the sky and is then cooled down. If the cloud is very cold it means that it is made up of ice crystals. It takes somewhere between a few minutes and 1 hour for a cloud to be created.
In 1803 a classification of clouds was made up by Luke Howard (born 1772, died 1864) who used Latin words to describe their characteristics: Cirrus - tufts or whisps, Stratus - a layer, Nimbus - rain bearing, Cumulus - a heap or pile.
Clouds are made up of many millions of miniscule water droplets which are formed when moist warm air rises up into the sky and is then cooled down. If the cloud is very cold it means that it is made up of ice crystals. It takes somewhere between a few minutes and 1 hour for a cloud to be created.
In 1803 a classification of clouds was made up by Luke Howard (born 1772, died 1864) who used Latin words to describe their characteristics: Cirrus - tufts or whisps, Stratus - a layer, Nimbus - rain bearing, Cumulus - a heap or pile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Portland On The Web: Paper Magazine,
Huffington Post, USA Today & More
Despite an epidemic of shirtless frisbee overcoming the city this week, Portland still managed to protest a proposed coal export facility, be considered for a new football team and find a way around that pesky 'silence your cell phone' rule at the movies. Here's a round-up of what the internet had to say about Portland this week.
NPR: Hecklevision: Leave your phone on at this movie
OregonLive: USFL relaunching; Portland team under consideration
Huffington Post: Coal exports from Pacific Northwest could 'poison' people from Wyoming to China, warn opponents
USA Today: The Pop Traveler: Nine reasons to visit Portland, Ore.
OregonLive: Portland awarded non-stop direct flight to Washington's Reagan National
Portland Afoot: $15 to Vancouver BC (and five things you didn't know about Bolt Bus)
Paper Magazine: Pok Pok's Andy Ricker finds 'Portlandia' 'amusing'
Spin Off: LAIKA'S Travis Night discusses ParaNorman and Standing Out
----------------------------------------------------
Despite an epidemic of shirtless frisbee overcoming the city this week, Portland still managed to protest a proposed coal export facility, be considered for a new football team and find a way around that pesky 'silence your cell phone' rule at the movies. Here's a round-up of what the internet had to say about Portland this week.
NPR: Hecklevision: Leave your phone on at this movie
OregonLive: USFL relaunching; Portland team under consideration
Huffington Post: Coal exports from Pacific Northwest could 'poison' people from Wyoming to China, warn opponents
USA Today: The Pop Traveler: Nine reasons to visit Portland, Ore.
OregonLive: Portland awarded non-stop direct flight to Washington's Reagan National
Portland Afoot: $15 to Vancouver BC (and five things you didn't know about Bolt Bus)
Paper Magazine: Pok Pok's Andy Ricker finds 'Portlandia' 'amusing'
Spin Off: LAIKA'S Travis Night discusses ParaNorman and Standing Out
----------------------------------------------------
Jacques LeFevrier left nothing to chance when he decided
to commit suicide. He stood at the top of a tall cliff and
tied a noose around his neck. He tied the other end of the rope to a large rock. He drank some poison and set fire to
his clothes. He even tried to shoot himself at the last moment.
He jumped and fired the pistol. The bullet missed him and cut through the rope above him. Free of the threat of hanging,
he plunged into the sea. The sudden dunking extinguished the flames and made him vomit the poison. He was dragged out of the water by a kind fisherman and was taken to hospital, where he died ... of exposure!
tied a noose around his neck. He tied the other end of the rope to a large rock. He drank some poison and set fire to
his clothes. He even tried to shoot himself at the last moment.
He jumped and fired the pistol. The bullet missed him and cut through the rope above him. Free of the threat of hanging,
he plunged into the sea. The sudden dunking extinguished the flames and made him vomit the poison. He was dragged out of the water by a kind fisherman and was taken to hospital, where he died ... of exposure!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How Toy Story 2 Was Almost Lost
Forever
While Toy Story 2 was in production,
someone at Pixar accidentally typed in a command that erased the drives on which
the animation files were stored. Most of the film vanished in 20
seconds.
A whole year of work. Just…gone.
This is the story of how Pixar employees rescued
the movie.
-via io9
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A trip down memory lane ~ From the old blogs ~
Paws & Claws ~~ August 4, 2005
~~ Hotter than Hotter than H*** http://ursaspawsandclaws.blogspot.com/2005/08/paws-claws-august-4-2005-hotter-than.html
Ursa's Hugs & Nuzzles
This is the site where I publish my itinerary,
notes, pics, and thoughts on my Hugs & Nuzzles Tour~
~ Wish me luck on my road trip ~
~ Left Portland, OR August 9, 2005
Ursa
.jpg)
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Q and A Quickies --*
Q: Why don't mummies take vacations?
A: They're afraid they'll relax and unwind!
Q: Why is taking Viagra like an attraction at Disneyland?
A: You have to wait an hour for a two minute ride!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Native American Legends ~ The
Bear Woman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You’ve Never Heard A Music Box Like
This
The Music Box is a project in New Orleans that consists
of nine shacks made of reclaimed building materials. But they’re constructed to
create sounds, which the group of artists, musicians, and engineers who made
them call “musical architecture.”
The new instruments inside are Rube Goldberg
contraptions that bring to mind the ingenuity of Southern jug bands. There’s a
twisting staircase that pumps out tones from organ parts retrieved from a church
flooded during Hurricane Katrina; a giant stand-up bass with a weed-whacker line
for a string and a bathtub for a resonator; a tall, weather-vane–like structure
hooked up to an analog synthesizer. “It reacts to rain, sunlight and wind
velocity and uses those variables to modulate an ever-present, droning E major
chord,” explains its inventor, Quintron, a New Orleans musician who conducts
Music Box performances. The concerts attract hundreds who wait in line for a
chance to sit in a small set of bleachers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every Time
Zone
Every Time Zone might be a real handy site to
bookmark! See how your local time compares to that of other cities around the
world right now. Or any time, for that matter. Click on a bar to pull up more
information about that time, zone, or city. Link -via the Presurfer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in
Russia
In Russia, even the dogs stop and and gather to
sing when they hear the national anthem! However, as a commenter said elsewhere,
their accents are so thick I can’t make out the lyrics. -via I Am Bored
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Story of Send
The beauty of email is that seconds after you hit
"Send," it magically appears on the recipient's inbox. But what happens in
between?
Google has created The Story of Send, which
illustrates the journey made by the bits of Gmail data as it zips across "the
pipes" of the Internet: Link - via The Verge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This guy Andy had an MRI done of his brain. Then
this guy Andy had his brain 3D printed into a mold. Andy made a latex cast of
said brain, and then filled it with chocolate.
Andy ate his own brain. You can, too! Visit the
Instructables website for complete project directions from 3D printing to
latexing to chocolate noms, downloadable for free! 3D printer not included, of
course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young man walks into a singles bar with a roll of
quarters taped inside the crotch of his jeans. He looks around, then sits next
to the most attractive woman there. He was very pleased with himself after he
noticed her constantly glancing down at his crotch. "Hi, there, I'm Jerry," he
said, as he went into one of his well rehearsed routines, "and I help produce a
T.V. quiz show. Is there any question I can answer for you?"
"As a matter of fact there is," she said as she glanced
down once more toward his embellished jeans. "Do you have change for a
dollar?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A
mother mouse and a baby mouse are walking along, when all of a sudden, a cat
attacks them. The mother mouse goes, "BARK!" and the cat runs away.
"See?" says the mother mouse to her baby. "Now do you see why it's important to learn a foreign language?"
"See?" says the mother mouse to her baby. "Now do you see why it's important to learn a foreign language?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paws is now on a blog too: I am uploading
the email to a blog (thanks to Ed's gentle prodding)
http://ursaspawsclaws.blogspot.com
If you would like to be removed from the email
list , let me know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the Image Mosaic Generator you can upload an image
and click the Create my Image Mosaic button and in just seconds you’ll have your
image created out of thousands on other online images. You can download the
mosaic to your computer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ursa ~
ursarodinia@aol.com
ursarodinia@aol.com
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