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2013 February
Solar System Portrait
Image Credit: Voyager Project, NASA
Image Credit: Voyager Project, NASA
Explanation: On another Valentine's Day (February 14, 1990), cruising four billion miles from the Sun, the Voyager 1 spacecraft looked back to make this first ever family portrait of our Solar System. The complete portrait is a 60 frame mosaic made from a vantage point 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. In it, Voyager's wide angle camera frames sweep through the inner Solar System at the left, linking up with gas giant Neptune, at the time the Solar System's outermost planet, at the far right. Positions for Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are indicated by letters, while the Sun is the bright spot near the center of the circle of frames. The inset frames for each of the planets are from Voyager's narrow field camera. Unseen in the portrait are Mercury, too close to the Sun to be detected, and Mars, unfortunately hidden by sunlight scattered in the camera's optical system. Small, faint Pluto's position was not covered.
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2013 February 
Reflected Aurora Over Alaska
Image Credit & Copyright: Todd Salat (AuroraHunter); Sky Annotation: Judy Schmidt
This video is great if you grew up in the 50's and if you didn't it's still good!
Instead of "ice cream" Just put yogurt in a waffle cone and freeze and when its done top it with fresh fruit or even some nutella or natural peanut butter.
'It's a guy thing, Regardless of Species.'
All cruelty springs from weakness. --Seneca
A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice. --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man
It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them. --Confucius
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"According to a leaked report from an upcoming U.N. study on climate change, solar activity may play a greater role in global warming than previously thought. The sun may be involved in global warming. It's always the last place you'd think, isn't it?" -Jay Leno
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"Anybody in town for the Westminster Kennel Club's dog show? The winner of the dog show gets a beautiful blue ribbon and a toilet full of champagne." -David Letterman
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1st Prize Contemporary Issues Single - Micah Albert/USA/Redux Images - April 3, 2012, Nairobi, Kenya. Pausing in the rain, a woman working as a trash picker at the 30-acre dump... wishes she had more time to look at the books she comes across. She even likes the industrial parts catalogs. “It gives me something else to do in the day besides picking [trash],” she said.
Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never play cards with a man called Doc. - Edward Abbey
"Solar peach walls" were developed by nineteenth-century fruit growers of Montreuil (France):
There are women whose thoughtful husbands buy them flowers for no reason. And then there's me. One day I couldn't stand it any longer. "Why don't you ever bring me flowers?" I asked.
"What's the point?" my husband said. "They die after about a week."
"So could you," I shot back, "but I still like having you around."
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An elderly couple came back from a wedding one afternoon and were in a pretty romantic mood. While sitting on their loveseat, the elderly woman looked at her companion and said, "I remember when you used to kiss me every chance you had."
The old man feeling a bit obliged leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek.
Then she said, "I also remember when you used to hold my hand at every opportunity."
The old man again feeling obligated reached over and gently placed his arm around her shoulders.
The elderly woman then stated," I also remember when you used to nibble on my neck and send chills down my spine."
This time the old man started to get up off the couch. As he began to walk out of the livingroom his wife asked, "Was it something I said, where are you going?"
The old man looked at her and replied, "I'm going to the bathroom to get my teeth!"
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The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.~ George Bernard Shaw
My goodness!" complained the wife to her husband, "I come home with a little cum in my hair and right away you jump to conclusions."
Do you have an amethyst-lined geode on a bookcase shelf? This immense one is currently on display at The Crystal Caves near Cairns. Here are the FAQs.
http://www.webpronews.com/george-ferris-gets-a-google-doodle-for-valentines-day-2013-02
In 1817, Karl von Drais, a German baron, invented a horseless carriage that would help him get around faster. The two-wheeled, pedal-less device was propelled by pushing your feet against the ground, The machine became known as the "draisine," and led to the creation of the modern-day bicycle.
The term "bicycle" was not introduced until the 1860s, when it was coined in France to describe a new kind of two-wheeler with a mechanical drive.
Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who built the first flying airplane, operated a small bike repair shop in Dayton, Ohio. They used their workshop to build the 1903 Wright Flyer.
Fred A. Birchmore, 25, circled the globe by bicycle in 1935. The entire trip, through Europe, Asia, and the United States, covered forty thousand miles. He pedaled about 25,000 miles. The rest was traveled by boat. He wore out seven sets of tires.
Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX), an extreme style of bicycle track racing, became a sport in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Maris Strombergs, of Latvia, received the gold medal for Men's BMX, and Anne-Caroline Chausson, from France, took home the gold in the first Women's BMX Olympic event.
Americans use their bicycles for less than one percent of all urban trips. Europeans bike in cities a lot more often-in Italy 5 percent of all trips are on bicycle, 30 percent in the Netherlands, and seven out of eight Dutch people over age 15 have a bike.
http://
Pagans and Wiccan have Sabbats or Religious holidays celebrating the Seasons here are the 8 Sabbats and other holidays
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A woman walks up to an old man sitting in a chair on his porch. "I couldn't help but notice how happy you look," she said. "What's your secret for a long, happy life?"
"I smoke three packs a day, drink a case of beer, eat fatty foods, and never, ever exercise," he replied.
"Wow, that's amazing," she said, "How old are you?"
"Twenty-six."
Q: Why did the blonde like the car with a sunroof?
A: More leg-room!
Q: How can you tell that a blonde sent you a fax?
A: It has a stamp on it.
"Last night runners from around the world competed in the annual race to the top of the Empire State Building. But there's already a scandal brewing. It turns out one of the competitors tested positive for elevator." -Jimmy Fallon
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An anthropologist shows off his priceless trove of treasure to his saintly grandmother. "What's that?" she asks, pointing to an oddly shaped item.
"Uh..." stammers the anthropologist, "it's a phallic symbol."
"Oh," says his grandmother, nodding her head. "That's good, 'cause I hate to tell you what it looks like."
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On my 40th birthday I waltzed out of my bedroom dressed in an old outfit I dug out of the back of the closet.
"I wore this on my 30th birthday! I guess that means my wardrobe is ten years old," I said to my husband, hoping he'd take the hint and buy me some clothes as a present.
"Or," he offered instead, "it means when you were 30 you had the body of a 40-year-old."
"There are a terrible lot of lies going around the world, and the worst of it is half of them are true."
- Sir Winston Churchill
"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live."
- Mark Twain
"Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working."
- Pablo Picasso
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You can observe a lot just by watching.--Yogi Berra
The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.--Edward Bernays
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When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.--Thomas Paine
"This weekend a couple from Connecticut will have the longest marriage ever recorded in the U.S. They said the secret to their long-lasting marriage is love, compromise, and the fact that neither one of them has been able to hear a word the other one has said in more than 30 years." -Jimmy Kimmel
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Image Credit & Copyright: Todd Salat (AuroraHunter); Sky Annotation: Judy Schmidt
Explanation: Some auroras can only be seen with a camera. They are called subvisual and are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. In the above image, the green aurora were easily visible to the eye, but the red aurora only became apparent after a 20-second camera exposure. The reason is that the human eye only accumulates light for a fraction of a second at a time, while a camera shutter can be left open much longer. When photographing an already picturesque scene near Anchorage, Alaska, USA, last autumn, a camera caught both the visual green and subvisual red aurora reflected in a lily pad-covered lake. High above, thousands of stars were visible including the Pleiades star cluster, while the planet Jupiter posed near the horizon, just above clouds, toward the image right. Auroras are caused by energetic particles from the Sun impacting the Earth's magnetosphere, causing electrons and protons to rain down near the Earth's poles and impact the air. Both red and green aurora are typically created by excited oxygen atoms, with red emission, when visible, dominating higher up. Auroras are known to have many shapes and colors.
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Portland On The Web: Gallup, Gadling, New Voices & more
Happy Valentine's Day Portland! Haven't bought your sweetheart a gift yet? Want something that says 'I love you and you will feel extremely guilty if we ever break up'? The Oregon Humane society is currently adopting out 70 dogs rescued from the state's largest case of neglect and they all have eyes that make you weep like this guy.
Surprising no one, the latest Gallup poll on the most and least religious states puts Oregon in the top ten for least number of church-going folk. That would explain all the hellfire (aka geothermal energy aka really hot rocks) bubbling just beneath our fine state's surface.
Here is a round up of the goings-on in Portland this week:
Gallup: Mississippi maintains hold as most religious state
KATU: Interactive map shows Oregon's geothermal potential
Oregon Humane Society: Rescued Marion County dogs up for adoption
New Voices: The Abayudaya people meet Portland, Ore.
Gadling: Adventure Guide 2013: Portland, Ore.
OregonLive: Large barometer at Portland State University could be largest in the world
Portland Monthly: Park Blocks of Portland & D.C.
Happy Valentine's Day Portland! Haven't bought your sweetheart a gift yet? Want something that says 'I love you and you will feel extremely guilty if we ever break up'? The Oregon Humane society is currently adopting out 70 dogs rescued from the state's largest case of neglect and they all have eyes that make you weep like this guy.
Surprising no one, the latest Gallup poll on the most and least religious states puts Oregon in the top ten for least number of church-going folk. That would explain all the hellfire (aka geothermal energy aka really hot rocks) bubbling just beneath our fine state's surface.
Here is a round up of the goings-on in Portland this week:
Gallup: Mississippi maintains hold as most religious state
KATU: Interactive map shows Oregon's geothermal potential
Oregon Humane Society: Rescued Marion County dogs up for adoption
New Voices: The Abayudaya people meet Portland, Ore.
Gadling: Adventure Guide 2013: Portland, Ore.
OregonLive: Large barometer at Portland State University could be largest in the world
Portland Monthly: Park Blocks of Portland & D.C.
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Book Porn on Reddit
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Katie The Prefect
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about our plans to take our daughters -- particularly our nine-year-old Elizabeth -- to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in Orlando. I worried, I suppose, that nothing surprising and magical would happen. Well, as it turned out, something surprising and magical did happen.
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The new nun goes to her first confession. She tells the priest that she has a terrible secret and he tells her that her secret is safe in the sanctity of the confessional.
She says, "Father, I never wears panties under my habit."
The priest chuckles and says, "That's not so serious. Say five Hail Marys,
five Our Fathers and do five cartwheels on your way to the altar.
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She says, "Father, I never wears panties under my habit."
The priest chuckles and says, "That's not so serious. Say five Hail Marys,
five Our Fathers and do five cartwheels on your way to the altar.
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Like wrestling or not... You gotta love this strategy.
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UPDATE ~ Interview
People of Timbuktu save Manuscripts from Invaders
The Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research in Timbuktu, Mali, holds a collection of 30,000 of the world's most precious ancient manuscripts. Or it did until recently. On January 23rd, al-Qaida-linked extremists, who invaded Timbuktu almost a year ago, ransacked the library and set it on fire. The fire raged for eight days straight. What the extremists did not know was that only about 2,000 of the hand-written documents had been moved to the new library building.
However, they didn't bother searching the old building, where an elderly man named Abba Alhadi has spent 40 of his 72 years on earth taking care of rare manuscripts. The illiterate old man, who walks with a cane and looks like a character from the Bible, was the perfect foil for the Islamists. They wrongly assumed that the city's European-educated elite would be the ones trying to save the manuscripts, he said.
So last August, Alhadi began stuffing the thousands of books into empty rice and millet sacks.
At night, he loaded the millet sacks onto the type of trolley used to cart boxes of vegetables to the market. He pushed them across town and piled them into a lorry and onto the backs of motorcycles, which drove them to the banks of the Niger River.
From there, they floated down to the central Malian town of Mopti in a pinasse, a narrow, canoe-like boat. Then cars drove them from Mopti, the first government-controlled town, to Mali's capital, Bamako, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from here.
"I have spent my life protecting these manuscripts. This has been my life's work. And I had to come to terms with the fact that I could no longer protect them here," said Alhadi. "It hurt me deeply to see them go, but I took strength knowing that they were being sent to a safe place."
So last August, Alhadi began stuffing the thousands of books into empty rice and millet sacks.
At night, he loaded the millet sacks onto the type of trolley used to cart boxes of vegetables to the market. He pushed them across town and piled them into a lorry and onto the backs of motorcycles, which drove them to the banks of the Niger River.
From there, they floated down to the central Malian town of Mopti in a pinasse, a narrow, canoe-like boat. Then cars drove them from Mopti, the first government-controlled town, to Mali's capital, Bamako, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from here.
"I have spent my life protecting these manuscripts. This has been my life's work. And I had to come to terms with the fact that I could no longer protect them here," said Alhadi. "It hurt me deeply to see them go, but I took strength knowing that they were being sent to a safe place."
It took two weeks in all to spirit out the bulk of the collection, around 28,000 texts housed in the old building covering the subjects of theology, astronomy, geography and more.
The 2,000 documents that were in the new library were digitized, so the information survives even if the parchment does not. Link -via Metafilter
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Baking powder and baking soda are pantry ingredients that don’t always have a high turnover. If you bake irregularly, chances are good that you’ll have that box of baking soda on the shelf for a very long time. Even if you bake regularly, it takes a while for a container of baking powder to get used up – not to mention that it is easy to lose a partially used container in the back of a crowded pantry.
Chemical leaveners, like baking powder and baking soda, can lose their potency over time. This is especially true when they are not stored in airtight containers. Impotent baking powder or baking soda can be the cause the cause of flat cakes, dense cookies and baked goods that simply don’t rise as much as they should. Fortunately, there is a very simple test that you can do to see if that nearly-forgotten box of baking soda is still good enough to bake with. In fact, try this test with fresh baking powder and baking soda so you’ll know what to look for in the future:
- To test baking soda: Put a few tablespoons of white vinegar into a small bowl and add a teaspoon of baking soda. It should bubble up furiously, and the foaming should take several moments to subside. The more bubbles, the more potent the baking soda. If there is no reaction, or you only end up with a handful of small bubbles, you need to replace you baking soda.
- To test baking powder: Put a few tablespoons of warm water (warm tap water is fine, but cold water is not) into a small bowl and add a teaspoon of baking powder. The mixture should make a fizzing noise and, after a moment, the baking powder will begin to fizz and the water will become very cloudy with tiny bubbles. The more bubbles, the fresher the baking powder. Baking powder reacts with liquids and heat, but does not react as well with cold water (even fresh powder won’t fizz much in ice water), so do not use it for this test.
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Pumpkin Spice Almond Butter 
The Ingredients:
2 cups raw almonds
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp molasses
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsbp coconut oil (you may decide to add more)
The Directions:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Spread the almonds on parchment, on a baking sheet. Pour on 2 TBSP maple syrup + 1 TBSP molasses. Stir.
Roast for 30min, stirring once every 10 minutes.
Take out of the oven and let cool for about 30 minutes. Dump into your food processor and turn on.
Process + scrape down bowl as needed, until it butterizes. About 15 minutes. [Past the stage where it has formed a large ball of dough]
Add in 1/2 TBSP molasses, 1 TBSP maple syrup, 1 1/2 TBSP coconut oil, all spices and salt. Process again until smooth consistency is met. For another 5 - 8 minutes.
Seriously --- this is sooo good this jar will not last long.
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The Ingredients:
2 cups raw almonds
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp molasses
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsbp coconut oil (you may decide to add more)
The Directions:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Spread the almonds on parchment, on a baking sheet. Pour on 2 TBSP maple syrup + 1 TBSP molasses. Stir.
Roast for 30min, stirring once every 10 minutes.
Take out of the oven and let cool for about 30 minutes. Dump into your food processor and turn on.
Process + scrape down bowl as needed, until it butterizes. About 15 minutes. [Past the stage where it has formed a large ball of dough]
Add in 1/2 TBSP molasses, 1 TBSP maple syrup, 1 1/2 TBSP coconut oil, all spices and salt. Process again until smooth consistency is met. For another 5 - 8 minutes.
Seriously --- this is sooo good this jar will not last long.
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A guy goes up to this girl in a bar and says, "Would you like to dance?"
The girl says, "I don't like this song, but even if I did, I wouldn't dance with you."
The guy says, "I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood me, I said you look fat in those pants."
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The girl says, "I don't like this song, but even if I did, I wouldn't dance with you."
The guy says, "I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood me, I said you look fat in those pants."
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What do you call a prostitute with her hand down her skirt?
Self-employed
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Self-employed
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The congregation was sitting and waiting for the preacher to began his sermon when two masked men burst into the church and said "Whoever is not willing to take a bullet for Jesus better leave now." More than half of the congregation jumped up and ran out the door.
The two men took off their masks, sat in the front row and said, "Okay, Reverend, you can preach now. All the hyprocrites are gone."
The two men took off their masks, sat in the front row and said, "Okay, Reverend, you can preach now. All the hyprocrites are gone."
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Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones,
Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm!
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones,
Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm!
Down goes the first one, down goes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
Up comes the first one, up comes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
Up comes the first one, up comes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
I bite off the heads, and suck out the juice,
And throw the skins away!
Nobody knows how fat I grow,
On worms three times a day!
And throw the skins away!
Nobody knows how fat I grow,
On worms three times a day!
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones,
Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm!
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones,
Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm!
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I just love percussion instruments.
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Subject: Great 50's Video.....guaranteed, you will love it...I sure did
In those days there was no sugar added. Check out the shape the kids were in.
This video is great if you grew up in the 50's and if you didn't it's still good!
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Birthday Surprise
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Thunder Struckhttps://
Werewolf Alcide Herveaux
From HBO's True Blood.
From HBO's True Blood.
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20th Annual Hillsdale Brewfest
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This brecciated limestone, quarried near Florence, has a curious property: When it’s polished it produces the image of an ancient city.
“One is amused,” wrote Parisian naturalist Cyprien Prosper Brard, “to observe in it kinds of ruins; there it presents a Gothic castle half destroyed; here ruined walls; in another place, old bastions; and what still adds to the delusion is, that in these natural paintings there exists a kind of ærial perspective, very sensibly perceptible. The lower part, or what forms the first plane, has a warm, and bold tone; the second follows it, and weakens as it increases in distance; the third becomes still fainter, while the upper part presents in the distance, a whitish zone, and finally, as it reaches the top, blends itself, as it were, with the clouds.”
In his 1832 Introduction to Mineralogy, John Comstock wrote, “At a certain distance, slabs of this marble so nearly represent drawings done in bistre, on a ground of yellowish brown, that it would be difficult to convince one to the contrary.”
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On Dec. 7, 1968, Richard Dodd of Winamac, Ind., returned a book to the University of Cincinnati medical library, noting that it was overdue.
It certainly was. The book, Medical Reports of Effects of Water — Cold and Warm — as a Remedy in Fever and Febrile Diseases, Whether Applied to the Surface of the Body or Used Internally, had been checked out by Dodd’s great-grandfather in 1823. It was 145 years late.
Dodd, whose grandfather and great-grandfather had both attended medical school at Cincinnati, had received the book as part of an inheritance. The library decided not to fine him, which is a good thing — librarian Cathy Hufford calculated that the fee would have come to $22,646.
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Owl
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I love his heart posts ~ especially the moving oneshttp://www.aheartaday.com/
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Manhattan of the Mind
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Why did the ghost cross the road?
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Yogurt cones
Instead of "ice cream" Just put yogurt in a waffle cone and freeze and when its done top it with fresh fruit or even some nutella or natural peanut butter.
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“I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine.” — Kurt Vonnegut
“No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library.” — Samuel Johnson
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“Nothing more completely represents a nation than a public building.” — Benjamin Disraeli
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As if we didn't have enough holidays this week, today is Inventor's Day. Celebrated on different dates in different countries, the date of February 11th was selected in the U.S. in 1983 as National Inventor's Day because it is the birthday of Thomas Edison. In honor of the occasion, Edison's company GE sponsored this Buzzfeed video narrated by Ze Frank. -via Viral Viral Videos
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Crazy Sally went to her gynecologist when she got her vibrator stuck inside of her.
"To remove that vibrator," said the doctor, "I'm going to have to perform a very long and delicate operation."
"I don't think I can afford that," said Sally. "Could you just replace the batteries?"
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"To remove that vibrator," said the doctor, "I'm going to have to perform a very long and delicate operation."
"I don't think I can afford that," said Sally. "Could you just replace the batteries?"
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WE DON'T SERVE WOMEN HERE!
(you have to bring your own)
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(you have to bring your own)
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All libraries have rules: bring your books back by the due date, and keep your voice down because people are trying to read. But some libraries have extra rules that obviously have a story behind them. No chewing on the headphone cords! No shampooing your hair in the restroom sink! And for gosh sakes, don't let the bats in! Read about these rules and more at mental_floss. Link
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That's One Slooooooow Ride
Photographer Nordin Seruyan captured this amazing photo of a frog hitching a ride on a snail. Hope he's not going anywhere soon, that's one sweet but sloooooow ride! View it over at 500px: Link - via Twisted Sifter's FB page
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Santas Diversion
Santa was delivering gifts as usual, when at one house a beautiful young woman was awaiting his arrival. She begged him to stay and cuddle with her on the couch. Santa declined, saying "Ho-ho, gotta go. Gotta deliver these presents, you know."
Trying again, the lovely young thing removed her clothing down to her underwear. "OH Santa, won't you please stay?" she begged. Taking a long look, Santa sighed and delivered a not too believable, "Ho-ho, gotta go. Gotta deliver these presents you know."
Not to be denied, this gorgeous female stripped off every stitch of remaining clothing, smiled and said in the sexiest voice imaginable, "Oh, Santa, please reconsider? Stay with me?" With a very pained look on his face, Santa groaned and said very slowly, "Ho -ho, gotta go. Gotta deliver these presents you know."
And with that, he turned and left. Two minutes passed, and Santa reappeared, plopping himself down on the couch next to the beautiful girl.
"Santa! You decided to stay!" she exclaimed gleefully.
Santa grinned and said "Hey - hey, gotta stay. Can't get up the chimney THIS way!"
Santa was delivering gifts as usual, when at one house a beautiful young woman was awaiting his arrival. She begged him to stay and cuddle with her on the couch. Santa declined, saying "Ho-ho, gotta go. Gotta deliver these presents, you know."
Trying again, the lovely young thing removed her clothing down to her underwear. "OH Santa, won't you please stay?" she begged. Taking a long look, Santa sighed and delivered a not too believable, "Ho-ho, gotta go. Gotta deliver these presents you know."
Not to be denied, this gorgeous female stripped off every stitch of remaining clothing, smiled and said in the sexiest voice imaginable, "Oh, Santa, please reconsider? Stay with me?" With a very pained look on his face, Santa groaned and said very slowly, "Ho -ho, gotta go. Gotta deliver these presents you know."
And with that, he turned and left. Two minutes passed, and Santa reappeared, plopping himself down on the couch next to the beautiful girl.
"Santa! You decided to stay!" she exclaimed gleefully.
Santa grinned and said "Hey - hey, gotta stay. Can't get up the chimney THIS way!"
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Penguins got highways! This crossroad sees a lot of traffic, most of it running smoothly. Don't get lost, little guys! Melissa Brennan shot this footage in Antarctica on her quest to visit all seven continents before she turns 21, which is documented at her blog meanderingmel. Link-via Arbroath
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Why Male Elk Have Long Antlers
'It's a guy thing, Regardless of Species.'
Sometimes you just gotta scratch'em.'
Ty Mike
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Everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the face. --Mike Tyson
All cruelty springs from weakness. --Seneca
A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice. --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man
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A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts. --Seneca
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It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them. --Confucius
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"Valentine's Day is weird. A nude flying baby that shoots arrows isn't a holiday. It's a horror movie." -Jimmy Kimmel
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"According to a leaked report from an upcoming U.N. study on climate change, solar activity may play a greater role in global warming than previously thought. The sun may be involved in global warming. It's always the last place you'd think, isn't it?" -Jay Leno
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"Anybody in town for the Westminster Kennel Club's dog show? The winner of the dog show gets a beautiful blue ribbon and a toilet full of champagne." -David Letterman
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She wishes she had more time to read
1st Prize Contemporary Issues Single - Micah Albert/USA/Redux Images - April 3, 2012, Nairobi, Kenya. Pausing in the rain, a woman working as a trash picker at the 30-acre dump... wishes she had more time to look at the books she comes across. She even likes the industrial parts catalogs. “It gives me something else to do in the day besides picking [trash],” she said.
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Brothers Celebrate Lottery Win by Blowing Up House
Two unnamed brothers in Wichita, Kansas, won $75,000 in the lottery. They purchased marijuana and meth to celebrate their good fortune.
The brothers were in a house in the 100 block of North Nevada Court, near Douglas and West Street, about 7 p.m. Friday, Watts said. One of the brothers went to the kitchen to refuel the butane torches they planned to use to light their bongs. He emptied a couple of large cans of butane lighter fluid, leaking butane into the air.
“The butane vapor reached the pilot light in the furnace, and as you might expect, ka-boom,” Watts said.
The victim was wearing a lottery T-shirt during the explosion.
“The butane vapor reached the pilot light in the furnace, and as you might expect, ka-boom,” Watts said.
The victim was wearing a lottery T-shirt during the explosion.
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An Irish man went to the courthouse to change his name legally changed. When he replied, the desk clerk asked
"Can i help you sir?"
Our man said "Yes, I would like to change my name."
"What is your current name?" asked the clerk.
"Martin Arsehole," replied the man.
The clerk laughed, and said "I can see why you want a change. What would you like your new name to be?"
"Tim."
"Can i help you sir?"
Our man said "Yes, I would like to change my name."
"What is your current name?" asked the clerk.
"Martin Arsehole," replied the man.
The clerk laughed, and said "I can see why you want a change. What would you like your new name to be?"
"Tim."
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The fire was out of control, but at least they got a good art project out of it.
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This is probably the only time you'll see a video of a plane crash narrated by a passenger here, but in this instance no one was injured, aside from bumps and bruises. How tragic it would have been for the guy to record "I'm not worried" and "I know we'll be just fine" if the flight had ended like you'd expect a crash to end! This was uploaded yesterday, and there is no information about where it happened. -via Daily of the Day
Update: The crash happened on February 2nd in Wellsville, Utah. Thanks to Sean Turvey, who found a story on it.
Jonathan and Kara Fielding were aboard a family's friend plane Saturday afternoon, marking Kara's birthday, along with their seven-month-old baby and Kara's mother. It was Kara's first trip on an airplane.
Jonathan documented the trip on video as the plane cleared the Wellsville Mountains, and shared his experience with CBS Affiliate KUTV. "We are just over the top of the overpass," he narrated. "We are told that there's carburetor ice, so this is kind of exciting. I'm not worried. I think we're going to be just fine."
Jonathan documented the trip on video as the plane cleared the Wellsville Mountains, and shared his experience with CBS Affiliate KUTV. "We are just over the top of the overpass," he narrated. "We are told that there's carburetor ice, so this is kind of exciting. I'm not worried. I think we're going to be just fine."
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"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one." -- Voltaire
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Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never play cards with a man called Doc. - Edward Abbey
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"Solar peach walls" were developed by nineteenth-century fruit growers of Montreuil (France):
Their secret lay in the construction of a honeycomb of solar walls. As Suzanne Freidberg writes in Fresh, the Montreuillois enclosed rectangular plots “in walls of plaster — a material that absorbs heat much more effectively than brick — and oriented them all north-south, so as to capture the most sunlight.”
This gridiron of sun traps were surprisingly effective, according to Freidberg:
This gridiron of sun traps were surprisingly effective, according to Freidberg:
Indeed, both day and night the gardens were warmer than their surroundings by several degrees Celsius. In this microclimate Mediterranean fruits thrived. Peaches ripened a month before others on the market, when prices were still sky-high. In addition, the villagers trained their espaliers to stretch out across the east-facing walls like giant fans cradling each peach in a perpetual sheltered sunbath.
More details at Edible Geography.
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For over 55 years, the World Press Photo contest has encouraged the highest standards in photojournalism. The contest is judged by leading experts in visual journalism who represent various aspects of the profession and the composition of the jury is changed from year to year. The prize-winning images are assembled into an exhibition that travels to 45 countries over the course of a year and over two million people go to a hundred different venues to see the images. The winners themselves uphold the foundation's simple mission statement: We exist to inspire understanding of the world through quality photojournalism. A sampling of the winning images follows. You can browse more amazing content on World Press Photo. -- Paula Nelson ( 18 photos total)
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Ten Ostrich Chicks Hatch at Zoo Basel
http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2013/02/ten-ostrich-chicks-hatch-at-zoo-basel.html
The Ostrich herd at Switzerland’s Zoo Baselhas grown significantly with the hatching of ten chicks since December 20 to mother Manyara, age 21, and father Baringo, age 20. Manyara and Baringo shared the job of incubating their eggs, with the male taking the night shift and the female brooding during the day. Their efficient system has been perfected over years of practice: Manyara and Baringo have produced more than 110 chicks since 2000. All the chicks were brooded and hatched naturally, with no incubators or human assistance.
The Ostrich herd at Switzerland’s Zoo Baselhas grown significantly with the hatching of ten chicks since December 20 to mother Manyara, age 21, and father Baringo, age 20. Manyara and Baringo shared the job of incubating their eggs, with the male taking the night shift and the female brooding during the day. Their efficient system has been perfected over years of practice: Manyara and Baringo have produced more than 110 chicks since 2000. All the chicks were brooded and hatched naturally, with no incubators or human assistance.
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A man walks into a jewellers shop, unzips his trousers and places his tool upon the counter. The lady serving says: "I'm sorry Sir, this is a clock shop not a cock shop."
"Well, put two hands and a face on this." replies the man.
Photo: Tom Purdy
Source not given, but the photograph was apparently taken somewhere in Thailand. Via Nothing To Do With Arbroath.
This is what a million dollar pond looks like.
Meteorite explodes in the sky above Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Volkswagen Beetle convertible.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield aboard the ISS sings a collaboration with the Barenaked Ladies.
Writing on water.
Street artist plays Hallelujah with crystal glasses.
How did trains standardize time in the United States?
HD footage of various nuclear tests.
Sculpting a female face in clay.
3D Particle Test: A cool visualization of electronic music.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Be yourself.
Meteorite explodes in the sky above Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Volkswagen Beetle convertible.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield aboard the ISS sings a collaboration with the Barenaked Ladies.
Writing on water.
Street artist plays Hallelujah with crystal glasses.
How did trains standardize time in the United States?
HD footage of various nuclear tests.
Sculpting a female face in clay.
3D Particle Test: A cool visualization of electronic music.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Be yourself.
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You get the feeling this is a regular lunch stop for the groundhog. He doesn't look like he's missed too many meals! What sold me on this video is the part where he tries to jump in the guy's lap, misses, and looks around to see if anyone witnessed his faux pas. -via Say OMG
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…the beauty of a sunset, in all of its varieties and variations, is only enhanced the more you know about it.
Sunsets grab our eyes and our interest. They change colors, dominate the horizon, and sometimes we even see a flash of green or blue, if we're lucky. Sunsets even come with their own optical illusions. Cosmologist Ethan Siegel explains why sunsets are so magical.
You may not even realize it, but by time you’d see a sunset like the picture above, the Sun has already technically set, it’s only due to the fact that the atmosphere bends light that we’re still seeing it like this.
This is why, if you time a sunset, it will take longer than the expected 120 seconds to go from the moment it touches the horizon to the moment it dips below, even during the equinox at the equator, where it rises and sets as close to completely vertical to the horizon as possible. The Sun appears to linger due to the refraction of our atmosphere.
The explanations of this and other sunset phenomena comes with some awesome pictures at Starts With A Bang. Link (Image credit: R Nave of Hyperphysics)
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From reader soubriquet's blog Grit in the Gears comes this delightful video. The musicians are Ali Farka Toure -
Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré (October 31, 1939 – March 7, 2006) was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues. The belief that the latter is historically derived from the former is reflected in Martin Scorsese’s often quoted characterization of Touré’s tradition as constituting "the DNA of the blues". Touré was ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and number 37 on Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
-and Abdoulaye Diabaté. I don't know what proportion of this piece is traditional Malian. The language (Tuareg) certainly, the melody and rhythms probably. But what fascinates me is how the incorporation of modern instrumentation and electronic modulation makes the music more "accessible" to my ear.
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C SEED 201 Is A Giant TV For Your Backyard
When CE Pro first touted Austria-based C SEED Entertainment Systems GmbH as having "the world's largest outdoor LED TV," the video was a computer-generated version that showed the unit rising from the ground, opening and activating.
Now, there is an actual installation to tout, complete with a James Bond theme.
The C SEED TV is a 201-inch screen built jointly with Porsche Design Studio. The unit rotates 270 degrees, has an adjustable height of 15 feet, an array of 15 speakers and takes about 40 seconds to fully deploy.
The installation is at the Palais Schoenburg in Vienna, Austria and the video includes a Bond-style actor pulling up to the palace in his Porsche (of course) and settling in with a "Bond girl" to watch the new trailer for the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall. (Editor's Note: After the release of the film, the Skyfall trailer was removed from the C-SEED video and replaced with scenes of old sailing ships, horse racing, etc.)
Now, there is an actual installation to tout, complete with a James Bond theme.
The C SEED TV is a 201-inch screen built jointly with Porsche Design Studio. The unit rotates 270 degrees, has an adjustable height of 15 feet, an array of 15 speakers and takes about 40 seconds to fully deploy.
The installation is at the Palais Schoenburg in Vienna, Austria and the video includes a Bond-style actor pulling up to the palace in his Porsche (of course) and settling in with a "Bond girl" to watch the new trailer for the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall. (Editor's Note: After the release of the film, the Skyfall trailer was removed from the C-SEED video and replaced with scenes of old sailing ships, horse racing, etc.)
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A man walks into a jewellers shop, unzips his trousers and places his tool upon the counter. The lady serving says: "I'm sorry Sir, this is a clock shop not a cock shop."
"Well, put two hands and a face on this." replies the man.
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http://vimeo.com/57395065This delightful animation is from Dina Velikovskaya of the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK). A child can't understand why her weird grandfather spends so much time picking up trash from the beach. Then his secret is revealed! It's lovely when children finally realize how wonderful it is to have strange grandparents. -via Metafilter
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From Time magazine, "Numbers" section:
$5 million:
Estimated annual cost for a 10-year program that would identify large asteroids most threatening to earth.
$75 million:
Budget for "Deep Impact", a film about the devastation caused when a comet hits earth.
$5 million:
Estimated annual cost for a 10-year program that would identify large asteroids most threatening to earth.
$75 million:
Budget for "Deep Impact", a film about the devastation caused when a comet hits earth.
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Did you know that it costs forty-thousand dollars a year to house each prisoner?
Jeez, for forty-thousand bucks a piece I'll take a few prisoners into my house. I live in Los Angeles. I already have bars on the windows. I don't think we should give free room and board to criminals. I think they should have to run twelve hours a day on a treadmill and generate electricity. And if they don't want to run, they can rest in the chair that's hooked up to the generator.
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Anti-Piracy Website Pirates The Pirate Bay
(L) The infamous The Pirate Bay (R) Finnish anti-piracy group CIAPC's website
(L) The infamous The Pirate Bay (R) Finnish anti-piracy group CIAPC's website
Grab some popcorn, it's about to get good: To show the torrent site The Pirate Bay that piracy is wrong, Finnish anti-piracy group CIAPC set up a website that pirated The Pirate Bay website's iconic look and feel.
When The Pirate Bay got mad and threatened a lawsuit, millions of irony detectors were set off and the CIAPC reveled in the attention and welcomed the lawsuit as a way to identify the people behind the torrent site:The Pirate Bay, generally quite supportive of copy-pasting, is not happy with CIAPC’s apparent infringement and plans to take legal steps against the anti-piracy group.“We are outraged by this behavior. People must understand what is right and wrong. Stealing material like this on the internet is a threat to economies worldwide,” a Pirate Bay spokesman told TorrentFreak.“We feel that we must make a statement and therefore we will sue them for copyright infringement,” the spokesman adds.
TorrentFreak has the story: Link
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"Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other." -- Ann Landers --
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Photo: Tom Purdy
In 1927, Werner Heisenberg came up with the Uncertainty Principle, a peculiar aspect of quantum mechanics that asserts that the mere act of measuring the position of a particle disturbs its momentum. Therefore, the more precisely you try to measure its position, the less you know about how fast it's moving, and vice versa.
Thus far, the effect of the Uncertainty Principle has been material in very, very small particles (like electrons). Until now:
In recent years, however, physicists have been pushing the limits on which scales the principle appears in. To that end, Purdy and his colleagues created a 0.02-inch-wide (0.5 millimeters) drum made of silicon nitride, a ceramic material used in spaceships, drawn tight across a silicon frame.They then set the drum between two mirrors, and shined laser light on it. Essentially, the drum is measured when photons bounce off the drum and deflect the mirrors a given amount, and increasing the number of photons boosts the measurement accuracy. But more photons cause greater and greater fluctuations that cause mirrors to shake violently, limiting the measurement accuracy. That extra shaking is the proof of the uncertainty principle in action. The setup was kept ultra-cold to prevent thermal fluctuations from drowning out this quantum effect. [...]The results of the recent experiment are novel in that they show both classical and quantum mechanics operating on the same scale, said Saurya Das, a theoretical physicist at the University of Lethbridge in Canada, who was not involved in the study."Half a millimeter is like something which we can actually hold in our hand," Das told LiveScience. "Obviously classical mechanics is valid, but they make quantum mechanics relevant at that size."
Tia Ghose of LiveScience has the story: Link
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What the Heck Is Blue Raspberry?
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Arnold Bennett:
"The best cure for worry, depression, melancholy, brooding, is to go deliberately forth and try to lift with one's sympathy the gloom of somebody else."
"The best cure for worry, depression, melancholy, brooding, is to go deliberately forth and try to lift with one's sympathy the gloom of somebody else."
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To get beyond cuteness and learn more details on the life of "rain frogs," see David Attenborough's segment from Life in Cold Blood.
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The Formula for Love
What is love? It's 5 + (-sqrt(1-x^2-(y-abs(x))^2))*cos(30*((1-x^2-(y-abs(x))^2))), x is from -1 to 1, y is from -1 to 1.5, z is from 1 to 6.
No, really. It is. -via It's Okay to Be Smart
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Uncle John's Bathroom reader Ol' Jay's Brainteasers and Flubbed Headlines.
Mr. Game Boy, courtesy of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
The Annals of Improbable Research Script an Astronomer, Then Reach for the Stars.
The Annals of Improbable Research Script an Astronomer, Then Reach for the Stars.
10 Ruthless Rock Managers from mental_floss magazine.
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In The Oregonian, a Meier and Frank department store advertisement for women's bras and panties reads:
The perfect gift for that special woman in your life, or great to keep for yourself.
The perfect gift for that special woman in your life, or great to keep for yourself.
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"Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs."
-- P. J. O'Rourke --
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-- P. J. O'Rourke --
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Mike and Keith are playing golf one hot Sunday afternoon. While approaching the sixteenth hole, they notice an old golfer teeing up by himself. The two friends stop and wait for the older golfer to finish his hole. After the old man drives the ball a considerable distance down the fairway, he collapses on the green. Mike and Keith run up the fellow to help.
After feeling the old man's pulse, Mike tells Keith to run to the club house and call 911.Keith leaves and returns about two minutes later after making the call. Upon returning Keith, sees the old man naked and bent over a nearby bench. Meanwhile, Mike is screwing the unconscious man vigorously.
Keith in astonishment says, "Hey, What are you doing? I thought you were going to give him CPR."
Mike replies, "Well, it started off that way."
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This video answers its own question as we meet Bill and Glad, who have been married fifty years. Bill considers it a privilege to care for his wife, because he loves her. It's that simple. -via Buzzfeed
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Build Vocabulary. Read up on some computer magazines and pick out all the jargon and new products. Use it freely when in conversation with bosses. Remember: They don't have to understand what you say, but you sure sound impressive.
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In the latest installment of Ze Frank's True Facts series, we learn about the mantis. If you known anything about mantises, I don't need to warn you that this contains insect sex and gore. Stay after the credits for pictures of posing mantises. -via Laughing Squid
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Why do they bury lawers 26 feet underground?
Because deep down, they are really nice guys.
Because deep down, they are really nice guys.
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Source not given, but the photograph was apparently taken somewhere in Thailand. Via Nothing To Do With Arbroath.
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On the nothern edge of Norway, far above the Arctic Circle, sits the Cathedral of the Northern Light. This new church building in the town of Alta features a 47-meter tall belfry clad in titanium sheeting that reflects the aurora borealis. You can view photos at the link.
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An American tourist is visiting China. After visiting all the tourist attractions he decides to inquire about the people and askes his guide:
"How large is the population here?"
"Around 1.5 billion" -- the guide answers
American, After a short pause: "So, what else do you do here?"
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"How large is the population here?"
"Around 1.5 billion" -- the guide answers
American, After a short pause: "So, what else do you do here?"
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There are women whose thoughtful husbands buy them flowers for no reason. And then there's me. One day I couldn't stand it any longer. "Why don't you ever bring me flowers?" I asked.
"What's the point?" my husband said. "They die after about a week."
"So could you," I shot back, "but I still like having you around."
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An elderly couple came back from a wedding one afternoon and were in a pretty romantic mood. While sitting on their loveseat, the elderly woman looked at her companion and said, "I remember when you used to kiss me every chance you had."
The old man feeling a bit obliged leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek.
Then she said, "I also remember when you used to hold my hand at every opportunity."
The old man again feeling obligated reached over and gently placed his arm around her shoulders.
The elderly woman then stated," I also remember when you used to nibble on my neck and send chills down my spine."
This time the old man started to get up off the couch. As he began to walk out of the livingroom his wife asked, "Was it something I said, where are you going?"
The old man looked at her and replied, "I'm going to the bathroom to get my teeth!"
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The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.~ George Bernard Shaw
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A man invites his friend back home for dinner. The wife pulls him into the bedroom and hisses at him, "I haven't fixed my hair, done my make-up, I haven't even done any housework much less cook any dinner! Why the fuck did you invite him around for?"
"Because he's thinking about getting married."
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"Because he's thinking about getting married."
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Topless activist bares chest after court
NEW YORK - A New York performance artist and activist for women's topless rights shed her shirt outside of the courthouse after having charges against her dismissed. Holly Van Voast, 46, who was arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct and pot possession after she went topless inside St. Patrick's Cathedral Jan. 30 of last year, had the charges dismissed Wednesday and took off her shirt upon exiting the courthouse, the New York Daily News reported Thursday. Ron Kuby, Van Voast's lawyer, said the conditional dismissal also included two other shirtless arrests, one on the D train May 7 for occupying multiple seats and one June 7 on the L train for interfering with passenger movement, disorderly conduct and occupying multiple seats. The dismissal "covers all of Ms. Van Voast's outstanding busts," Kuby was quoted as saying. Van Vost, who had a drawn-on black mustache during Wednesday's court appearance, said she kept her breasts covered inside the courtroom because she's "not an exhibitionist." It is legal for women to go topless in New York City.
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My goodness!" complained the wife to her husband, "I come home with a little cum in my hair and right away you jump to conclusions."
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Anyone can play it but none can win it? What is it?
An instrument.
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Mosh Pit Physics
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Cornell graduate student Jesse Silverberg observed mosh pit activity at a heavy metal concert, and was inspired to study the movements of the dancers. Those movements turned out to be a lot like how gas particles move.
To investigate, the team simulated a mosh pit with a few basic rules: the virtual moshers bounce off each other when they collide (instead of sticking or sliding through each other); they can move independently; and they can flock, or follow each other, to varying degrees. Finally, the team added a certain amount of statistical noise to the simulated moshers' movements – "to mimic the effects of the inebriants that the participants typically use", says co-author Matthew Bierbaum.
They found that by tweaking their model parameters – decreasing noise or increasing the tendency to flock, for instance – they could make the pit shift between the random-gas-like moshing and a circular vortex called a circle pit, which is exactly what they saw in the YouTube videos of real mosh pits. Their simulation is available online.
"These are collective behaviours that you wouldn't have predicted based on the previous literature on collective motion in humans," Silverberg says. "That work was geared at pedestrians, but what we're seeing is fundamentally different."
"The fact that human beings are very complex creatures, and yet we can develop a lifeless computer simulation that mimics their behaviour, really tells us that we're understanding something new about the behaviour of crowds that we didn't understand before," says co-author James Sethna.
Read more about the research at New Scientist. Link -via Dangerous Minds, where you can see a video of mosh pit dancers acting like gas.
The "Empress of Uruguay"
Do you have an amethyst-lined geode on a bookcase shelf? This immense one is currently on display at The Crystal Caves near Cairns. Here are the FAQs.
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Flubbed Headlines
These are 100% honest-to-goodness headlines. Can you figure out what the writers were trying to say?
Man Eating Piranha Mistakenly Sold as Pet Fish
Nuns Forgive Break-in, Assault Suspect
Man with One Arm Cheats on Other Half
Home Depot Purchases Wallpaper, Blinds Retailers
Nation Split on Bush as Uniter or Divider
Man is Fatally Slain
Utah Girl Does Well in Dog Shows
Smithsonian May Cancel Bombing of Japan Exhibits
Poll Says 53% Believe That Media Offen Makes Mistakes
Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction
Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad She Hasn't Seen in Years
A Reason for Odor Found at Sewer Plant
Judges Appear More Lenient on Crack Cocaine
William Kelly was Fed Secretary
TV Networks Agree to Police Violence
Autos Killing 110 a Day, Let's Resolve to Do Better
Dealers Will Hear Car talk at Noon
Bush Planning Mars Trip
Arafat Swears in Cabinet
Nuns Forgive Break-in, Assault Suspect
Man with One Arm Cheats on Other Half
Home Depot Purchases Wallpaper, Blinds Retailers
Nation Split on Bush as Uniter or Divider
Man is Fatally Slain
Utah Girl Does Well in Dog Shows
Smithsonian May Cancel Bombing of Japan Exhibits
Poll Says 53% Believe That Media Offen Makes Mistakes
Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction
Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad She Hasn't Seen in Years
A Reason for Odor Found at Sewer Plant
Judges Appear More Lenient on Crack Cocaine
William Kelly was Fed Secretary
TV Networks Agree to Police Violence
Autos Killing 110 a Day, Let's Resolve to Do Better
Dealers Will Hear Car talk at Noon
Bush Planning Mars Trip
Arafat Swears in Cabinet
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say
Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees
Sewer District Plans Emergency Backup
Man Accused of Shooting Neighbor, Dog Held for Trial
Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees
Sewer District Plans Emergency Backup
Man Accused of Shooting Neighbor, Dog Held for Trial
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Turkish Man Cured of VampirismAn unnamed man in Turkey was diagnosed two years ago with vampirism, dissociative identity disorder, major depressive disorder, alcohol abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD, and possibly the alcohol abuse, were attributed to the crimes he committed due to the vampirism.
A 23-year-old married male (3rd of 6 siblings) presented with a 2-year history of ‘addiction’ to drinking blood. He used to cut his arms, chest, and abdomen with razor blades to collect the blood in a cup and to drink it. The initial interest in drinking his own blood had subsequently turned to that of others’. These ‘crises’ were characterized by a strong urge to drink blood immediately, ‘as urgent as breathing’. He enjoyed the smell and taste of blood despite finding this ‘foolish’. He also enjoyed biting wounds of others to taste flesh. He was arrested several times after attacking people by stabbing and biting them with the intention of collecting and drinking their blood. He forced his father to obtain blood from blood banks.
The man had suffered from several traumatic incidents before turning to blood. Doctors believe he has now been cured of his "blood addiction." Read the rest of the story at Smithsonian. Link
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"Oh yes, for dinner we had an amazing meal which consisted of coagulated cholesterol cooked in a mixture of cholesterol and cholesterol, covered in ground cholesterol and cooked, then served with a cholesterol sauce and a sprinkler of cholesterol in the middle of the table in case it's not heavy enough. You could feel your arteries closing up just looking at it."-- Peter Gutmann, in alt.sysadmin.recovery
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Hanging With Smart Friends Can Raise Your Kid's GPA
Is the secret to improving your kids' grade be as simple as who they're friends with? Maybe so, according to a new study by high school students Deanna Blanksy and friends:
In the grade point study, researchers took to the classroom to see whether academic achievement might be as contagious as obesity. They asked 158 eleventh-graders to go down a class roster and point out their pals. Then they checked everyone’s report cards at the time of the survey, and again a year later.
The researchers found that those students whose friends were outshining them academically tended to improve their grades over the year. Whereas those who were hanging out with academic underachievers let their grades slide. Link
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Scientists Create Crash-Proof Computer Using Chaos and Randomness
Computer crashes may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to new research by University College London computer scientists Peter Bentley and Christos Sakellariou. They've created a crash-proof computer by introducing chaos and randomness:
OUT of chaos, comes order. A computer that mimics the apparent randomness found in nature can instantly recover from crashes by repairing corrupted data.Dubbed a "systemic" computer, the self-repairing machine now operating at University College London (UCL) could keep mission-critical systems working. For instance, it could allow drones to reprogram themselves to cope with combat damage, or help create more realistic models of the human brain.Everyday computers are ill suited to modelling natural processes such as how neurons work or how bees swarm. This is because they plod along sequentially, executing one instruction at a time. "Nature isn't like that," says UCL computer scientist Peter Bentley. "Its processes are distributed, decentralised and probabilistic. And they are fault tolerant, able to heal themselves. A computer should be able to do that."
Paul Marks of The NewScientist explains how: Link
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Don't try this at home or anywhere! Professional free runner Ronnie Shalvis knows what he is doing -I think.
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"Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor.
It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel."
--- Bella Abzug
--- Bella Abzug
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Alabama Lemur Held for Ransom
Gizmo, a ringtail lemur kept as a family pet, was taken from his home in Mobile, Alabama, during a burglary in January.
After Gizmo's owner offered a cash reward for the stolen lemur, investigators got a tip from someone who had seen the lemur in Welborn's possession. Investigators say Welborn thought he could ransom the animal, and had contacted its owner with information on Gizmo's whereabouts. But before Welborn's plan could pay off, authorities moved in and made an arrest.
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Meteorite hits Russian Urals:
Fireball explosion wreaks havoc, up to 1,200 injured (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
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An asteroid can ruin your whole day -- I have nothing to add to this clip of my interview with NBC's "TODAY Show" from this morning. -NDT
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A naughty thought is a terrible thing to waste.
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George Ferris Gets A Google Doodle For Valentine’s Day
Google has begun showing a doodle on its home page in parts of the world where it’s already February 14th. The doodle honors George Ferris, an American engineer famous for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition.
February 14th is, of course, Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated in many countries around the world. And what says love like a ride on the Ferris Wheel?
The doodle is interactive, as they often are. You can push the heart button over and over again to match up different animals who appear to be going out on different kinds of dates. This video Simon Rüger sent us shows some of the different match-ups, as well as the animation:
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Junk food is typically defined as foods with little nutritional value that are high in calories, fat, sugar, salt, or caffeine, and it is a staple in the American diet. Healthy or not, we love our junk food!
Random Facts:
Doughnuts most likely originated in Germany and were brought to New York by Dutch settlers who called them olykoeks (oily cakes). The hole in the center was developed by the Pennsylvania Dutch perhaps because the shape provided easier dunking in coffee or made it easier to fry the donuts more thoroughly. Dunkin Donuts sells 6.4 million donuts per day (2.3 billion per year).
In 1979, in what has become known as the 'Twinkie Defense,' Daniel White said he killed San Francisco mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk because he ate too much junk food, such as Twinkies, candy bars, and cupcakes, which caused a chemical imbalance in his brain. He was still convicted and, in 1981, Congress outlawed the 'Twinkie Defense.'
Random Facts:
Doughnuts most likely originated in Germany and were brought to New York by Dutch settlers who called them olykoeks (oily cakes). The hole in the center was developed by the Pennsylvania Dutch perhaps because the shape provided easier dunking in coffee or made it easier to fry the donuts more thoroughly. Dunkin Donuts sells 6.4 million donuts per day (2.3 billion per year).
In 1979, in what has become known as the 'Twinkie Defense,' Daniel White said he killed San Francisco mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk because he ate too much junk food, such as Twinkies, candy bars, and cupcakes, which caused a chemical imbalance in his brain. He was still convicted and, in 1981, Congress outlawed the 'Twinkie Defense.'
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QUOTE: "Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired."
HINT: (1874-1963), American poet, highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.
ANSWER: Robert Frost.
HINT: (1874-1963), American poet, highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.
ANSWER: Robert Frost.
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QUOTE: "Don't find fault. Find a remedy."
HINT: (1863-1947), American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production.
ANSWER: Henry Ford.
HINT: (1863-1947), American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production.
ANSWER: Henry Ford.
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In 1817, Karl von Drais, a German baron, invented a horseless carriage that would help him get around faster. The two-wheeled, pedal-less device was propelled by pushing your feet against the ground, The machine became known as the "draisine," and led to the creation of the modern-day bicycle.
The term "bicycle" was not introduced until the 1860s, when it was coined in France to describe a new kind of two-wheeler with a mechanical drive.
Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who built the first flying airplane, operated a small bike repair shop in Dayton, Ohio. They used their workshop to build the 1903 Wright Flyer.
Fred A. Birchmore, 25, circled the globe by bicycle in 1935. The entire trip, through Europe, Asia, and the United States, covered forty thousand miles. He pedaled about 25,000 miles. The rest was traveled by boat. He wore out seven sets of tires.
Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX), an extreme style of bicycle track racing, became a sport in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Maris Strombergs, of Latvia, received the gold medal for Men's BMX, and Anne-Caroline Chausson, from France, took home the gold in the first Women's BMX Olympic event.
Americans use their bicycles for less than one percent of all urban trips. Europeans bike in cities a lot more often-in Italy 5 percent of all trips are on bicycle, 30 percent in the Netherlands, and seven out of eight Dutch people over age 15 have a bike.
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The scandal about horsemeat showing up in school meals, restaurant dishes, hospital food and even supermarkets around Europe has really highlighted our dependence on meat as a dietary staple.
I admit that I love a good steak every now and then, but it is true that meat production has the worst environmental record. It requires 13 pounds of grain and a staggering 2,500 gallons of water (estimated, of course) to produce a 1-pound steak.
Then there is the land usage, the waste produced, not to mention health issues like the use of bovine growth hormones.
The good news is that cutting down on your consumption of meat is not only better for the environment, it is better for you! There are volumes of scientific evidence pointing to the health benefits of a heavily vegetarian diet. In fact, there is a whole category called 'super foods' which are known for their high nutritional value, antioxidant, anti-cancer and even anti-aging properties, and wonder of wonders they are almost all vegetarian.
I won't be hypocritical and suggest that you become a vegetarian, but if you substitute even some of your meals including meat for meals prepared with some of the super foods I have listed for you here, you will not only reduce the demand (and therefore production) of meat, but you will be doing something great for your body.
Just imagine the culinary delights you could create with some of the ingredients below!
Super Foods
Spinach, kale, watercress, parsley, and broccoli sprouts
Fresh raw green leafy vegetables like these contain high doses of chlorophyll, easily digestible proteins, enzymes and a wide range of vitamins and minerals. These vegetables act as mini-transfusions for the blood, a health tonic for the brain and immune system and a cleanser of the kidneys.
Walnuts
Just 14 walnut halves provide more than twice your daily dose of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat that's been shown to improve memory and coordination.
Avocados
Their healthy fat keeps you satisfied and helps you absorb other nutrients. For a new twist, brush a halved avocado (pit removed) with olive oil and grill 1 minute. Serve with red onion, sliced grapefruit and balsamic vinegar.
Salmon
You'll get all the heart-smart omega-3s you need in a day from just 3 oz.
Beans and Lentils
A great source of meat-free protein, and they're loaded with folate and flavonoids.
Sweet potatoes
Half of a large baked sweet potato delivers more than 450 percent of your daily dose of vitamin A, which protects your vision and your immune system.
Flaxseed
Not only is flaxseed loaded with plant omega-3s, it also has more lignans (compounds that may prevent endometrial and ovarian cancer) than any other food. Store ground flaxseed in your refrigerator and sprinkle on yogurt, cold cereal or oatmeal.
Coconut
Young coconuts are one of the highest sources of electrolytes in nature. Electrolytes are ionized salts in our cells, that transport energy throughout the body. Coconut water is a much better alternative to commercial sports drinks laden with artificial sugars and colors. The molecular structure of coconut water is identical to human blood plasma, which means that it is immediately recognized by the body and put to good use. Drinking the juice from a young coconut is like giving your body an instant blood transfusion.
Bee pollen
Bee pollen is collected by bees from flowering plants and formed into granules. Bee pollen is the most complete food found in nature and has five to seven times more protein than beef. Research shows that pollen counteracts the signs of aging and increases both mental and physical capability.
I admit that I love a good steak every now and then, but it is true that meat production has the worst environmental record. It requires 13 pounds of grain and a staggering 2,500 gallons of water (estimated, of course) to produce a 1-pound steak.
Then there is the land usage, the waste produced, not to mention health issues like the use of bovine growth hormones.
The good news is that cutting down on your consumption of meat is not only better for the environment, it is better for you! There are volumes of scientific evidence pointing to the health benefits of a heavily vegetarian diet. In fact, there is a whole category called 'super foods' which are known for their high nutritional value, antioxidant, anti-cancer and even anti-aging properties, and wonder of wonders they are almost all vegetarian.
I won't be hypocritical and suggest that you become a vegetarian, but if you substitute even some of your meals including meat for meals prepared with some of the super foods I have listed for you here, you will not only reduce the demand (and therefore production) of meat, but you will be doing something great for your body.
Just imagine the culinary delights you could create with some of the ingredients below!
Super Foods
Spinach, kale, watercress, parsley, and broccoli sprouts
Fresh raw green leafy vegetables like these contain high doses of chlorophyll, easily digestible proteins, enzymes and a wide range of vitamins and minerals. These vegetables act as mini-transfusions for the blood, a health tonic for the brain and immune system and a cleanser of the kidneys.
Walnuts
Just 14 walnut halves provide more than twice your daily dose of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat that's been shown to improve memory and coordination.
Avocados
Their healthy fat keeps you satisfied and helps you absorb other nutrients. For a new twist, brush a halved avocado (pit removed) with olive oil and grill 1 minute. Serve with red onion, sliced grapefruit and balsamic vinegar.
Salmon
You'll get all the heart-smart omega-3s you need in a day from just 3 oz.
Beans and Lentils
A great source of meat-free protein, and they're loaded with folate and flavonoids.
Sweet potatoes
Half of a large baked sweet potato delivers more than 450 percent of your daily dose of vitamin A, which protects your vision and your immune system.
Flaxseed
Not only is flaxseed loaded with plant omega-3s, it also has more lignans (compounds that may prevent endometrial and ovarian cancer) than any other food. Store ground flaxseed in your refrigerator and sprinkle on yogurt, cold cereal or oatmeal.
Coconut
Young coconuts are one of the highest sources of electrolytes in nature. Electrolytes are ionized salts in our cells, that transport energy throughout the body. Coconut water is a much better alternative to commercial sports drinks laden with artificial sugars and colors. The molecular structure of coconut water is identical to human blood plasma, which means that it is immediately recognized by the body and put to good use. Drinking the juice from a young coconut is like giving your body an instant blood transfusion.
Bee pollen
Bee pollen is collected by bees from flowering plants and formed into granules. Bee pollen is the most complete food found in nature and has five to seven times more protein than beef. Research shows that pollen counteracts the signs of aging and increases both mental and physical capability.
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A man drinks a shot of whiskey every night before bed. After years of this, the wife wants him to quit; she gets two shot glasses, filling one with water and the other with whiskey.
After getting him to the table that had the glasses, she brings his bait box. She says "I want you to see this." She puts a worm in the water it, and it swims around.
She puts a worm in the whiskey, and the worm dies immediately. She then says, feeling that she has made her point clear, "what do you have to say about this experiment?"
He responds by saying: "If I drink whiskey, I won't get worms!"
A motorway walks into a pub one day. He goes up to the bar and orders himself a drink. He just sits down when in walks a strip of tarmac.
The motorway sees the tarmac and starts to panic so he jumps over the bar and ducks down so it won't see him. The barman looks down at him and says, "What's the matter with you? Why are you hiding? You've got six lanes and two hard shoulders. Why are you frightened of a piece of tarmac?
The motorway replies, "You don't know him like I do. He's a cyclepath."
Q: What stories do the ship captain's children like to hear?
A: Ferry tales!
Q: How did Noah see the animals in the Ark at night?
A: By flood lighting!
RANDOM TIDBITS
Valentine's Day was named for two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine who were associated with romantic love in the middle ages.
St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday in 1537 when England's King Henry VIII declared it for the first time.
Elaborate handmade love messages, cards and gifts for Valentine's Day became popular during the 17th century.
The name Valentine comes from the Latin word valor, meaning worthy.
The greeting card association estimates that approximately one billion valentine's are sent annually world-wide, making it the second highest card sending holiday, behind Christmas.
February 14th was long associated with fertility and love even before St. Valentine lived. It was the day that birds traditionally chose their mates.
Valentine's Day was named for two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine who were associated with romantic love in the middle ages.
St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday in 1537 when England's King Henry VIII declared it for the first time.
Elaborate handmade love messages, cards and gifts for Valentine's Day became popular during the 17th century.
The name Valentine comes from the Latin word valor, meaning worthy.
The greeting card association estimates that approximately one billion valentine's are sent annually world-wide, making it the second highest card sending holiday, behind Christmas.
February 14th was long associated with fertility and love even before St. Valentine lived. It was the day that birds traditionally chose their mates.
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What Do You Have to Say?
A man drinks a shot of whiskey every night before bed. After years of this, the wife wants him to quit; she gets two shot glasses, filling one with water and the other with whiskey.
After getting him to the table that had the glasses, she brings his bait box. She says "I want you to see this." She puts a worm in the water it, and it swims around.
She puts a worm in the whiskey, and the worm dies immediately. She then says, feeling that she has made her point clear, "what do you have to say about this experiment?"
He responds by saying: "If I drink whiskey, I won't get worms!"
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The Motorway and the Tarmac
A motorway walks into a pub one day. He goes up to the bar and orders himself a drink. He just sits down when in walks a strip of tarmac.
The motorway sees the tarmac and starts to panic so he jumps over the bar and ducks down so it won't see him. The barman looks down at him and says, "What's the matter with you? Why are you hiding? You've got six lanes and two hard shoulders. Why are you frightened of a piece of tarmac?
The motorway replies, "You don't know him like I do. He's a cyclepath."
I have been watching The Big Bang Theory too long ~ I can just picture Sheldon's look of disdain and pithy comments about tarmac and motorways.
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Bang With Friends – A New Facebook App
Bang With Friends is a Facebook app, coded by a few college kids in a weekend, that facilitates no-risk hookups with people on your friends list. You say you’d like to bang them, and no one ever knows, unless they happen to say that they’d like to bang you, too.
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Bang With Friends – A New Facebook App
Bang With Friends is a Facebook app, coded by a few college kids in a weekend, that facilitates no-risk hookups with people on your friends list. You say you’d like to bang them, and no one ever knows, unless they happen to say that they’d like to bang you, too.
And as much as we all laughed at the idea and its shameless, frat-boy marketing, its premise of one-button interaction has struck a chord. Since launching a few weeks ago with no marketing budget to speak of, half a million users have clicked their “down to bang” button 9 million times (or about 15 times apiece). The app has facilitated as many as 100,000 hookups.
Q and A Quickies
Q: What stories do the ship captain's children like to hear?
A: Ferry tales!
Q: How did Noah see the animals in the Ark at night?
A: By flood lighting!
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I felt a great disturbance; as if a thousand fan boys screamed out at once and were suddenly silenced. At least that is what I imagine it was like when a Montana television station's regular programming was interrupted by news of a zombie apocalypse.
The Montana Television Network says hackers broke into the Emergency Alert System of Great Falls affiliate KRTV.
KRTV says on its website the hackers broadcast that, 'dead bodies are rising from their graves' in several Montana counties.
The alert claimed the bodies were 'attacking the living' and warned people not to 'approach or apprehend these bodies as they are extremely dangerous.'
I can just picture thousands of single, 30-year-old virgins in the Great Falls area scouring their parents' basement for their replica 'Highlander' swords in anticipation of decapitating some walking dead, and then sinking into a depression of disappointment when the network said there was no emergency.
The station's engineers are investigating and the hoax alert has not generated any calls to police.
The Montana Television Network says hackers broke into the Emergency Alert System of Great Falls affiliate KRTV.
KRTV says on its website the hackers broadcast that, 'dead bodies are rising from their graves' in several Montana counties.
The alert claimed the bodies were 'attacking the living' and warned people not to 'approach or apprehend these bodies as they are extremely dangerous.'
I can just picture thousands of single, 30-year-old virgins in the Great Falls area scouring their parents' basement for their replica 'Highlander' swords in anticipation of decapitating some walking dead, and then sinking into a depression of disappointment when the network said there was no emergency.
The station's engineers are investigating and the hoax alert has not generated any calls to police.
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Taiwan zoo to dissect poop as attraction
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Zoo officials in Taiwan are turning to an odd point of interest to draw visitors during the winter season: animal poop. The Taipei Zoo, seeking to capitalize on renewed interest in animals after the release of the 3-D movie "Life of Pi," directed by Taiwanese-born filmmaker Ang Lee, said it will dissect and explain the contents of animal poop three times per week for any zoo visitors interested in the smelly demonstration. The movie depicts a young Hindu boy who survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a lifeboat for 227 days. Several animals join him on the surrealist journey. As for how that translates into dissecting poop, zoo officials explained the display has a pointed demographic similar to the movie, Central News Agency said Sunday. "Somehow the poo topic is very stimulating for boys from 5 to 9 years old. They could be our target audience during winter vacation," project manager Lin Jun-lan said.
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Ear lobe bitten off in brawl
STAMFORD, Conn. - A man's ear lobe was bitten off and swallowed by his cousin during a brawl over loud music in Stamford, Conn., police said. Emilio Mendoza, 27, was charged with first-degree assault, interfering with police, forgery and disorderly conduct. After he was released from a hospital, the injured man Ruiz Clemente-Perez, 39, was charged with third-degree assault, police records said. Police were called to the apartment of Mendoza and Clemente-Perez early Monday morning. Clemente-Perez told police his cousin, Mendoza, began playing loud music, which started a fight. "It was a pretty bloody scene," said police Lt. Diedrich Hohn. Mendoza bit the left ear of Clemente-Perez and tore off the ear lobe, Holm said. Sgt. Richard Barbagallo said Mendoza, who was intoxicated at the time, told him he swallowed the ear lobe. Mendoza also showed the police fake identification when he was taken to police headquarters Monday, the Stamford Advocate reported. Mendoza is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
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If gov't is looking to save money in their "war on drugs", they should send small planes over where they have found marijuana fields and seed as much as they can with hemp seeds. That will cross-breed the hemp with the marijuana and render the marijuana harmless. -Susanne
[Brilliant, Susanne, just brilliant. Unfortunately, that plan would take several growing seasons to have any effect.]
[Brilliant, Susanne, just brilliant. Unfortunately, that plan would take several growing seasons to have any effect.]
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Black Swan Feeds His Fish Friends Daily
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Pagan/ Wiccan Holidays
http://
Pagans and Wiccan have Sabbats or Religious holidays celebrating the Seasons here are the 8 Sabbats and other holidays
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The Guild of Women Binders
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The Ten Best Reasons Why You Should NOT Eat Your Baby
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Next time remember your panties.
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A young couple were married and celebrated their first night together, doing what newlyweds do, time and time again, all night long. Morning comes and the groom goes into the bathroom but finds no towel when he emerges from the shower. He asks the bride to please bring one from the bedroom. When she gets to the bathroom door, he opened the door, exposing his body for the first time to his bride.
Her eyes went up and down and at about midway, they stopped and stared and she asked shyly, "What's that?" pointing to a small part of his anatomy.
He, also being shy, thought for a minute and then said, "Well, that's what we had so much fun with last night."
And she, in amazement, asked, "Is that all we have left?"
Her eyes went up and down and at about midway, they stopped and stared and she asked shyly, "What's that?" pointing to a small part of his anatomy.
He, also being shy, thought for a minute and then said, "Well, that's what we had so much fun with last night."
And she, in amazement, asked, "Is that all we have left?"
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In 2005, archivist George Redmonds discovered something surprising among English birth records of the 14th century: a girl named Diot Coke.
She was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1379. Researchers at Britain’s National Archives believe that her first name is a diminutive of Dionisia and her last name a variation of Cook.
She might have done worse. Popular girls’ names of the time included Godelena, Helwise, Idony, and Avice.
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The World of Everyday Experience, In One Equation
Longtime readers know I feel strongly that it should be more widely appreciated that the laws underlying the physics of everyday life are completely understood. (If you need more convincing: here, here, here.) For purposes of one of my talks next week in Oxford, I thought it would be useful to actually summarize those laws on a slide. Here’s the most compact way I could think to do it, while retaining some useful information. (As Feynman has pointed out, every equation in the world can be written U=0, for some definition of U — but it might not be useful.) Click to embiggen.
This is the amplitude to undergo a transition from one configuration to another in the path-integral formalism of quantum mechanics, within the framework of quantum field theory, with field content and dynamics described by general relativity (for gravity) and the Standard Model of particle physics (for everything else). The notations in red are just meant to be suggestive, don’t take them too seriously. But we see all the parts of known microscopic physics there — all the particles and forces. (We don’t understand the full theory of quantum gravity, but we understand it perfectly well at the everyday level. An ultraviolet cutoff fixes problems with renormalization.) No experiment ever done here on Earth has contradicted this model.
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A map of every person in US and Canada -- with each person represented by a single dot!
A map of every person in US and Canada -- with each person represented by a single dot!
There were some good bizarre stories this week. There was, of course, the Carnival cruise (or should I say 'crap') ship which was without power or toilets for five days while it was being towed back to port after an engine room fire. 4,200 people shitting in plastic bags for five days certainly puts that story in the bizarre category.
And how much more bizarre can you get than the meteor which exploded in the atmosphere above the Chelyabinsk region in Russia rocking buildings, shattering thousands of windows and injuring hundreds of people? And just to give it a cold war feel one paranoid Russian politician even said the event was not a meteor but a US weapons test.
But for my money (and since I'm the editor mine is the only money that counts) the best bizarre story of the week has to go to former San Diego mayor Maureen O'Connor who skimmed $2 million from a charity in order to help fund her one billion dollar gambling addiction.
Now ol' Maureen earned her initial fortune the old fashioned way; she married the multi-millionaire founder of Jack in the Box Burgers, who just happened to be 30 years her senior.
When her sugar-daddy went to that golden burger joint in the sky Maureen started gambling away his fortune. It wasn't all bad luck. At one point Maureen was reportedly up hundreds of millions of dollars, but apparently it wasn't enough. When she eventually gambled it all away she resorted to embezzling $2 million from her late husband's charitable foundation in an effort to win it back.
It wasn't successful.
Incredibly her lawyers have successfully used the old 'a brain tumor impaired my reasoning' defense (that's not a joke) in order to defer her prosecution for two years so she can raise the money to pay the charity back.
If that's not American justice, nothing is.
And how much more bizarre can you get than the meteor which exploded in the atmosphere above the Chelyabinsk region in Russia rocking buildings, shattering thousands of windows and injuring hundreds of people? And just to give it a cold war feel one paranoid Russian politician even said the event was not a meteor but a US weapons test.
But for my money (and since I'm the editor mine is the only money that counts) the best bizarre story of the week has to go to former San Diego mayor Maureen O'Connor who skimmed $2 million from a charity in order to help fund her one billion dollar gambling addiction.
Now ol' Maureen earned her initial fortune the old fashioned way; she married the multi-millionaire founder of Jack in the Box Burgers, who just happened to be 30 years her senior.
When her sugar-daddy went to that golden burger joint in the sky Maureen started gambling away his fortune. It wasn't all bad luck. At one point Maureen was reportedly up hundreds of millions of dollars, but apparently it wasn't enough. When she eventually gambled it all away she resorted to embezzling $2 million from her late husband's charitable foundation in an effort to win it back.
It wasn't successful.
Incredibly her lawyers have successfully used the old 'a brain tumor impaired my reasoning' defense (that's not a joke) in order to defer her prosecution for two years so she can raise the money to pay the charity back.
If that's not American justice, nothing is.
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Chubby Checker suing HP over penis app
FORT PIERCE, Fla. - A Florida lawsuit filed on behalf of Chubby Checker accuses Hewlett-Packard and subsidiary Palm Inc. of using the singer's name to sell a penis-estimating app. Attorney Willie Gary filed the lawsuit Monday in a Fort Piece federal court alleging the company's Palm APP Catalog, which sells apps for Palm smartphones, sells an app called "The Chubby Checker" designed to estimate the size of a man's penis based on his shoe size, TCPalm.com reported Thursday. The lawsuit says the 71-year-old singer, whose real name is Ernest Evans, has a trademark on the name "Chubby Checker" for use in his business interests. "Defendants' use of the name 'Chubby Checker' in its app is likely to associate plaintiff's (trade) marks with the obscene, sexual connotation and images," the lawsuit states. TCPalm did not have a comment from Hewlett-Packard or Palm Inc.
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In the southwestern corner of the desert of southern Arabia, north of the western end of Hadramaut, and approached from the little village of Sawa, is a very remarkable spot described by Wrede from his visit in 1843, whose description is reproduced in a recent number of the Revue coloniale internationale. There are here, in the waste of yellow sand, several spots covered by a grayish white dust, which swallow up every object thrown into them. One of these spots, described by Wrede, is about two miles long and a little less in breadth. It sinks gradually toward the middle and is apparently due to the work of the wind. Wrede approached it with the greatest care and sounded it with his staff. The edge is stony and falls away suddenly. When the staff was thrust into the fine material beyond the edge, almost no resistance was felt and it was as if the staff had been thrust into water. When it was passed through the fine dust lengthwise the resistance was almost imperceptible. A stone of two pounds weight or more was fastened to a cord sixty fathoms long and thrown in as far as possible. It sank at once and with increasing velocity so that at the end of five minutes the end of the cord had disappeared. The presence of Bedouins prevented any more observations. The natives believe that great treasures are buried here and are watched over by genii who pull down into the depths the unwary treasure-seeker.
– American Meteorological Journal, May 1886
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Two Caught With Pants Down On Google Street View
SAINT-JEAN-VIANNEY – Two men were caught in a wooded area in St.-Jean-de-Vianney in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the cameras of Google Street View, when they had an intimate relationship …
Since its discovery in the software, the photo spread like wildfire on social networks.
The cameras of Google Street View are installed on cars specially equipped to roam the streets of the world. If the project firm in Mountain View is useful in many respects, more feel it raises important issues of confidentiality and respect for privacy.
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disbosom
v. to reveal or confess
v. to reveal or confess
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Using a 7-quart and a 3-quart jug, how can you obtain exactly 5 quarts of water from a well?
That’s a water-fetching puzzle, a familiar task in puzzle books. Most such problems can be solved fairly easily using intuition or trial and error, but in Scripta Mathematica, March 1948, H.D. Grossman describes an ingenious way to generate a solution geometrically.
Let a and b be the sizes of the jugs, in quarts, and c be the number of quarts that we’re seeking. Here, a = 7, b = 3, and c = 5. (a and b must be positive integers, relatively prime, where a is greater than b and their sum is greater than c; otherwise the problem is unsolvable, trivial, or can be reduced to smaller integers.)
Using a field of lattice points (or an actual pegboard), let O be the point (0, 0) and P be the point (b, a) (here, 3, 7). Connect these with OP. Then draw a zigzag line Z to the right of OP, connecting lattice points and staying as close as possible to OP. Now “It may be proved that the horizontal distances from OP to the lattice-points on Z (except O and P) are in some order without repetition 1, 2, 3, …, a + b – 1, if we count each horizontal lattice-unit as the distance a.” In this example, if we take the distance between any two neighboring lattice points as 7, then each of the points on the zigzag line Z will be some unique integer distance horizontally from the diagonal line OP. Find the one whose distance is c (here, 5), the number of quarts that we want to retrieve.
Now we have a map showing how to conduct our pourings. Starting from O and following the zigzag line to C:
- Each horizontal unit means “Pour the contents of the a-quart jug, if any, into the b-quart jug; then fill the a-quart jug from the well.”
- Each vertical unit means “Fill the b-quart jug from the a-quart jug; then empty the b-quart jug.”
So, in our example, the map instructs us to:
- Fill the 7-quart jug.
- Fill the 3-quart jug twice from the 7-quart jug, each time emptying its contents into the well. This leaves 1 quart in the 7-quart jug.
- Pour this 1 quart into the 3-quart jug and fill the 7-quart jug again from the well.
- Fill the remainder of the 3-quart jug (2 quarts) from the 7-quart jug and empty the 3-quart jug. This leaves 5 quarts in the 7-quart jug, which was our goal.
You can find an alternate solution by drawing a second zigzag line to the left of OP. In reading this solution, we swap the roles of a and b given above, so the map tells us to fill the 3-quart jug three times successively and empty it each time into the 7-quart jug (leaving 2 quarts in the 3-quart jug the final time), then empty the 7-quart jug, transfer the remaining 2 quarts to it, and add a final 3 quarts. “There are always exactly two solutions which are in a sense complementary to each other.”
Grossman gives a rigorous algebraic solution in “A Generalization of the Water-Fetching Puzzle,” American Mathematical Monthly 47:6 (June-July 1940), pp. 374-375.
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Celebrate Health from Health.com http://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol2
THE LOVE-HEALTH LINK
Can your relationship affect your health? Yes, although like many things, "it's complicated." Here are 12 ways your partner can help (or harm) your sleep, weight, blood pressure, and more.http://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol25
FEBRUARY IS HEART MONTH!
Celebrate with 20 super-healthy salmon recipeshttp://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol26
27 HEALTHY CHOCOLATE RECIPES
Make your sweetie something delicious for Valentine's Dayhttp://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol27
STOP A COLD, NOW
How to fight those symptoms and winhttp://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol28
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THE LOVE-HEALTH LINK
Can your relationship affect your health? Yes, although like many things, "it's complicated." Here are 12 ways your partner can help (or harm) your sleep, weight, blood pressure, and more.http://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol25
FEBRUARY IS HEART MONTH!
Celebrate with 20 super-healthy salmon recipeshttp://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol26
27 HEALTHY CHOCOLATE RECIPES
Make your sweetie something delicious for Valentine's Dayhttp://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol27
STOP A COLD, NOW
How to fight those symptoms and winhttp://health.chtah.net/a/tBRGpE0BFYNexB8wze7CFNC1E7c/hol28
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Archie Bunker is called on to give Eulogy - a must see
Only Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker could pull this one off.
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Space Station Questions Answered
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Phugtal Gompa
I know you are smart enough to know these pointers but there will be some, where you will go "hmm I must remember that" After reading, forward it to someone you care about, never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.
1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do it.
2. Learned this from a tourist guide to New Orleans : if a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.... chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car: Kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like
crazy. The driver won't see you but everybody else will. This hassaved lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,eating
5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
a. Be aware: look around your car as someone may be hiding at the passenger side , peek into your car, inside the
passenger side floor, and in the back seat. ( DO THIS TOO BEFORE RIDING A TAXI CAB) .
b. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling
them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
c. Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/
6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot).
7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!
8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle.
Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better safe than sorry.
The Buddhist monastery known as Phugtal Gompa was built around a cave system on the sheer cliff of a Himalayan mountain in northern India. The monastery was founded around 1100 CE, although the structure itself took an awful long time to build. Now it is a tourist attraction, 3800 feet up the cliff, and still houses around 70 monks. Read about it and see more pictures at Urban Ghosts. Link
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"THROUGH A RAPIST'S EYES"
(PLS TAKE TIME TO READ THIS. it may save a life.)
It seems that a lot of attackers use some tactic to get away with violence. Not many people know how to take care of themselves when faced with such a situation. Everyone should read this especially each n every girl in this world.
THOUGHT THIS WAS GOOD INFO TO PASS ALONG...FYI - Through a rapist's eyes! A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:
1] The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun! , braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.
2] The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who's clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around to cut clothing.
3] They also look for women using their cell phone, searching through their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.
4] The number one place women are abducted from / attacked at is grocery store parking lots.
5] Number two is office parking lots/garages.
6] Number three is public restrooms.
7] The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to a second location where they don't have to worry about getting caught.
8] If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged
because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.
9] These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.
10] Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.
POINTS THAT WE SHOULD REMEMBER:
1] If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: can't believe it is so cold out here, we're in for a bad winter. Now that you've seen their faces and could identify them in a line- up, you lose appeal as a target.
2] If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell Stop or Stay back! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.
3] If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,) yelling I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.
4] If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can do it by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the upper inner thigh - HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it; it really hurts.
5] After the initial hit, always go for the groin. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it
is extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause him a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble, and he's out of there.
6] When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
7] Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts. You may feel little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.
FINALLY, PLEASE REMEMBER THESE AS WELL ....
It seems that a lot of attackers use some tactic to get away with violence. Not many people know how to take care of themselves when faced with such a situation. Everyone should read this especially each n every girl in this world.
THOUGHT THIS WAS GOOD INFO TO PASS ALONG...FYI - Through a rapist's eyes! A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:
1] The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun! , braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.
2] The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who's clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around to cut clothing.
3] They also look for women using their cell phone, searching through their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.
4] The number one place women are abducted from / attacked at is grocery store parking lots.
5] Number two is office parking lots/garages.
6] Number three is public restrooms.
7] The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to a second location where they don't have to worry about getting caught.
8] If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged
because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.
9] These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas, or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.
10] Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.
POINTS THAT WE SHOULD REMEMBER:
1] If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: can't believe it is so cold out here, we're in for a bad winter. Now that you've seen their faces and could identify them in a line- up, you lose appeal as a target.
2] If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell Stop or Stay back! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.
3] If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,) yelling I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.
4] If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can do it by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm between the elbow and armpit or in the upper inner thigh - HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it; it really hurts.
5] After the initial hit, always go for the groin. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it
is extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause him a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble, and he's out of there.
6] When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
7] Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts. You may feel little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.
FINALLY, PLEASE REMEMBER THESE AS WELL ....
I know you are smart enough to know these pointers but there will be some, where you will go "hmm I must remember that" After reading, forward it to someone you care about, never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.
1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do it.
2. Learned this from a tourist guide to New Orleans : if a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.... chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car: Kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like
crazy. The driver won't see you but everybody else will. This hassaved lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,eating
5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
a. Be aware: look around your car as someone may be hiding at the passenger side , peek into your car, inside the
passenger side floor, and in the back seat. ( DO THIS TOO BEFORE RIDING A TAXI CAB) .
b. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling
them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
c. Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/
6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot).
7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!
8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle.
Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better safe than sorry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Letter from Petrarch to Zanobi da Strada, April 1, 1352:
Let them teach who can do nothing better, whose qualities are laborious application, sluggishness of mind, muddiness of intellect, prosiness of imagination, chill of the blood, patience to bear the body’s labors, contempt of glory, avidity for petty gains, indifference to boredom. You see how far these qualities are from your character. Let them watch boys’ fidgety hands, their wandering eyes, their sotto voce whisperings who delight in that task, who enjoy dust and noise and the clamor of mingled prayers and tears and whimperings under the rod’s correction. Let them teach who love to return to boyhood, who are shy of dealing with men and shamed by living with equals, who are happy to be set over their inferiors, who always want to have someone to terrify, to afflict, to torture, to rule, someone who will hate and fear them. That is a tyrannical pleasure, such as, according to the story, pervaded the fierce spirit of that old man of Syracuse, to be the evil solace of his deserved exile. But you, a man of parts, merit a better occupation. Those who instruct our youth should be like those ancient authors who informed us in our own early age; as those who first aroused our young minds with noble examples, so should we be to our successors. Since you can follow the Roman masters, Cicero and Virgil, would you choose Orbillius, Horace’s ‘flogging-master’? What is more, neither grammar nor any of the seven liberal arts is worth a noble spirit’s attention throughout life. They are means, not ends …
Zanobi, a poor Florentine schoolmaster, was so affected by his friend’s words that he gave up teaching and became a government official. Three years later he was crowned poet laureate of Pisa, annoying Petrarch, who in 1341 had been crowned the first laureate since antiquity in Rome.
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7 Seinfeld plots that happened in real life
http://theweek.com/article/index/239861/7nbspseinfeld-plots-that-happened-in-real-life
I can't believe that only 7 plots, from arguably the best sitcom of all-time, were based on true events. What about the Soup Nazi? What about the Pez dispenser? What about the Puffy Shirt? There has to be more.
Visit: 7 Seinfeld plots that happened in real life
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http://theweek.com/article/index/239861/7nbspseinfeld-plots-that-happened-in-real-life
I can't believe that only 7 plots, from arguably the best sitcom of all-time, were based on true events. What about the Soup Nazi? What about the Pez dispenser? What about the Puffy Shirt? There has to be more.
Visit: 7 Seinfeld plots that happened in real life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jewelanche 2
http://www.addictinggames.com/puzzle-games/jewelanche2-game.jsp
"More jewels in new environments! Make match chains to disappear colorful nuggets. Buy powerful tools to bail you out of tight situations! New environments like Water, Stone, Fire and Ice!"
Visit: Jewelanche 2
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http://www.addictinggames.com/puzzle-games/jewelanche2-game.jsp
"More jewels in new environments! Make match chains to disappear colorful nuggets. Buy powerful tools to bail you out of tight situations! New environments like Water, Stone, Fire and Ice!"
Visit: Jewelanche 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taking It Out on the Driver
Martin had just received his brand new driver's license. The family troops out to the driveway, and climbs in the car, where he is going to take them for a ride for the first time. Dad immediately heads for the back seat, directly behind the newly minted driver.
"I'll bet you're back there to get a change of scenery after all those months of sitting in the front passenger seat teaching me how to drive," says the beaming boy to his father.
"Nope," comes dad's reply, "I'm gonna sit here and kick the back of your seat as you drive, just like you've been doing to me all these years."
Martin had just received his brand new driver's license. The family troops out to the driveway, and climbs in the car, where he is going to take them for a ride for the first time. Dad immediately heads for the back seat, directly behind the newly minted driver.
"I'll bet you're back there to get a change of scenery after all those months of sitting in the front passenger seat teaching me how to drive," says the beaming boy to his father.
"Nope," comes dad's reply, "I'm gonna sit here and kick the back of your seat as you drive, just like you've been doing to me all these years."
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Watch this: the chilling history behind the abandoned island in 'Skyfall'
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James Bond stunt Aston Martin made in giant 3D printer
85 Years of Oscars Poster
Artist Olly Moss has created the official 85 Years of Oscars poster. The work contains statuettes that honor each of the movies that have won an Academy Award for Best Picture. You'll need to enlarge it at the link in order to see them all -how many do you recognize? Link -via Metafilter
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Thoughts about taxi drivers
Two interesting insights from Marginal Revolution (via The Dish). The first explains one of the possible reasons why a cabbie might ask you for directions to your destination:
I learned very early on to never drive someone to their destination if it was a route they drove themselves, say to their home from the airport, or from their home to work or vice versa. Everyone prides themselves on driving the shortest route but they rarely do...That's one reason. The other, of course, is that in the U.S. they don't know where things are. I remember flying to Minneapolis and giving a cabbie an address on a major road he had not heard of. I told him it was next to Minnehaha Park - and he hadn't heard of that! (Obviously he wasn't from Minnesota. Or the United States.) Here's the second tip:
When I first started driving a cab, I drove the shortest route -always, I’m ethical- but people would accuse me of taking the long way because it wasn’t the way they drove. So, I learned to go their way ending up with a lot less grief and a lot more money. If you’ve ever wondered why a seeming professional cab driver will ask you how to get to your destination, this is why. Going your way means they’ll make more money and they won’t be accused of ripping you off.
If your car is ever stolen, your first calls should be to every cab company in the city. You offer a $50 reward to the driver who finds it AND a $50 reward to the dispatcher on duty when the car is found. The latter is to encourage dispatchers on shift to continually remind drivers of your stolen car. Of course you should call the police too but first things first. There are a lot more cabs than cops so cabbies will find it first -and they’re more frequently going in places cops typically don’t go, like apartment and motel complex parking lots, back alleys etc. Lastly, once the car is found, a swarm of cabs will descend and surround it because cabbies, like anyone else, love excitement and want to catch bad guys.
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Harlem Shake: Original Norwegian Army edition.
Eyes on the stars.
A desert chameleon's way of keeping cool.
Just a cat watching hockey...
Man comforts his best friend of 19 years.
Spider invasion.
Fastest robot in the world.
Neuroplasticity and your resilient brain.
Eyes on the stars.
A desert chameleon's way of keeping cool.
Just a cat watching hockey...
Man comforts his best friend of 19 years.
Spider invasion.
Fastest robot in the world.
Neuroplasticity and your resilient brain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Being in love is a wonderful experience! It makes us produce all kinds of nice chemicals that make the world better. Or at least look better! Now if we could just bottle up those chemicals, we've have an instant crime wave when people sneak them into each other's drinks. -via Daily of the Day
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KRTV in Great Falls, Montana, was the victim of a prank in which someone announced over the Emergency Alert System (EAS) that “The bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and are attacking the living.” The station quickly posted a message on their website that the emergency was bogus. The TV station is investigating the source of the prank, and so far say that the message did not originate at KRTV. -via Metafilter
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Help Name Pluto's New Moons
Pluto may not be a planet anymore, but it's still got moons. In fact, thanks to images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, it has two more moons than previously thought. Now, you get to partake in the fun of naming them:
By tradition, the moons of Pluto have names associated with Hades and the underworld. Beginning today, people can vote by visiting: http://plutorocks.seti.org"The Greeks were great storytellers and they have given us a colorful cast of characters to work with," said Mark Showalter, Senior Research Scientist at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. He and the teams of astronomers who made the discoveries will select two names based on the outcome of the voting.Until now, these small moons have been referred to as, simply, "P4" and "P5". Like Pluto's three other moons, Charon, Nix and Hydra, they need to be assigned names derived from Greek or Roman mythology.
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The middle aged secretary had never been married and had had enuff of work, as well as the single life. It was no secret that she was looking to get married.
As she came back from her lunch hour with another bag from the drug store, a co-worker said, "In the past 3 weeks you've bought enough birth control pills to last a year, lots of vaginal foam, flavored douches, several diaphragms and Lord knows how many condoms. And you don't even have a boyfriend. Whom are you trying to seduce ?"
She smiled slyly and replied, "The Druggist, silly."
She smiled slyly and replied, "The Druggist, silly."
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At a college with a shady reputation, the new dean responded to investigations into the basketball team by suspending any basketball player who wasn't maintaining a passing average. Furious, the coach came storming into the dean's office, followed by one of his star players.
"You can't keep him from playing!" the coach roared. "We won't win this weekend without him!"
"I don't care," the dean said. "Things have gotten out of hand at this college."
"What do you mean, out of hand?" the coach demanded.
"I'll show you what I mean," the dean said. He turned to the basketball player and said, "Tell me,how much is six times seven?"
The player thought for several seconds. Then he said, "Thirty- one?"
The dean turned to the coach and said, "I rest my case."
"Oh, come on now," the coach said. "Why are you making such a big deal of it? After all, he only missed it by one."
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"You can't keep him from playing!" the coach roared. "We won't win this weekend without him!"
"I don't care," the dean said. "Things have gotten out of hand at this college."
"What do you mean, out of hand?" the coach demanded.
"I'll show you what I mean," the dean said. He turned to the basketball player and said, "Tell me,how much is six times seven?"
The player thought for several seconds. Then he said, "Thirty- one?"
The dean turned to the coach and said, "I rest my case."
"Oh, come on now," the coach said. "Why are you making such a big deal of it? After all, he only missed it by one."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You may get drunker faster when you mix your bourbon or rum with Diet Coke instead of regular Coke:
"Alcohol, consumed with a diet mixer, results in higher (BrAC) Breath Alcohol Concentrations as compared to the same amount of alcohol consumed with a sugar-sweetened mixer," says Cecile Marczinski, a cognitive psychologist who authored the new study.
Why? Turns out that sugar slows down the absorption of alcohol from the stomach to the bloodstream...
Marczinski's study found that the average BrAC was .091 (at its peak) when subjects drank alcohol mixed with a diet drink. By comparison, BrAC was .077 when the same subjects consumed the same amount of alcohol but with a sugary soda. "I was a little surprised by the findings, since the 18% increase in BrAC was a fairly large difference..."
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What's Your Secret?
A woman walks up to an old man sitting in a chair on his porch. "I couldn't help but notice how happy you look," she said. "What's your secret for a long, happy life?"
"I smoke three packs a day, drink a case of beer, eat fatty foods, and never, ever exercise," he replied.
"Wow, that's amazing," she said, "How old are you?"
"Twenty-six."
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Q and A Quickies
Q: Why did the blonde like the car with a sunroof?
A: More leg-room!
Q: How can you tell that a blonde sent you a fax?
A: It has a stamp on it.
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Amazing Ocean Facts
Nat Geo TV published a series of comics from Dr. Byron Beekle containing interesting facts about the ocean and the creatures that live in it. As the series progressed, the "facts" became more personal and the artist progressively more unhinged, until the comic was suddenly cancelled -on April Fool's Day. You can read the entire series at the NatGeo Wild TV blog. Link -via Blame It On The Voices
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"Last night runners from around the world competed in the annual race to the top of the Empire State Building. But there's already a scandal brewing. It turns out one of the competitors tested positive for elevator." -Jimmy Fallon
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An anthropologist shows off his priceless trove of treasure to his saintly grandmother. "What's that?" she asks, pointing to an oddly shaped item.
"Uh..." stammers the anthropologist, "it's a phallic symbol."
"Oh," says his grandmother, nodding her head. "That's good, 'cause I hate to tell you what it looks like."
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On my 40th birthday I waltzed out of my bedroom dressed in an old outfit I dug out of the back of the closet.
"I wore this on my 30th birthday! I guess that means my wardrobe is ten years old," I said to my husband, hoping he'd take the hint and buy me some clothes as a present.
"Or," he offered instead, "it means when you were 30 you had the body of a 40-year-old."
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"There are a terrible lot of lies going around the world, and the worst of it is half of them are true."
- Sir Winston Churchill
"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live."
- Mark Twain
"Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working."
- Pablo Picasso
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This may look like an origami creation, but it's a tiny animal called a tardigrade or water bear. Water bears are natures great survivors, having been found alive at high elevations, deep in the ocean, dried up and rehydrated, and in extreme heat and cold. They can even survive the vacuum of space! Read about tardigrades and see some awesome photographs at Dark Roasted Blend. Link
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This is charming — an inventory of “all the properties for my Lord Admiral’s men,” taken by theatrical impresario Philip Henslowe on March 10, 1598:
Item: 1 rock, 1 cage, 1 Hell-mouth
Item: 1 tomb of Guido, 1 tomb of Dido, 1 bedstead
Item: 8 lances, 1 pair of stairs for Phaeton
Item: 2 steeples, and 1 chime of bells, and 1 beacon
Item: 1 globe, and 1 golden sceptre; 3 clubs
Item: 2 marchpanes, and the city of Rome
Item: 1 golden fleece; 2 rackets; 1 bay-tree
Item: 1 wooden canopy; old Mahomet’s head
Item: 1 lion skin; 1 bear’s skin; and Phaeton’s limbs, and Phaeton chariot; and Argus’ head
Item: Neptune fork and garland
Item: 8 vizards; Tamburlaine bridle; 1 wooden mattock
Item: Cupid’s bow and quiver; the cloth of the sun and moon
Item: 1 boar’s head and Cerberus’ three heads
Item: 1 caduceus; 2 moss banks, and 1 snake
Item: 2 fans of feathers; Belin Dun’s stable; 1 tree of golden apples; Tantalus’ tree; 9 iron targets
Item: 1 Mercury’s wings; Tasso picture; 1 helmet with dragon; 1 shield with 3 lions; 1 elm bowl
Item: 1 lion; 2 lion heads; 1 great horse with his legs; 1 sackbut
Item: 1 black dog
Item: 1 cauldron for the Jew
Item: 1 tomb of Guido, 1 tomb of Dido, 1 bedstead
Item: 8 lances, 1 pair of stairs for Phaeton
Item: 2 steeples, and 1 chime of bells, and 1 beacon
Item: 1 globe, and 1 golden sceptre; 3 clubs
Item: 2 marchpanes, and the city of Rome
Item: 1 golden fleece; 2 rackets; 1 bay-tree
Item: 1 wooden canopy; old Mahomet’s head
Item: 1 lion skin; 1 bear’s skin; and Phaeton’s limbs, and Phaeton chariot; and Argus’ head
Item: Neptune fork and garland
Item: 8 vizards; Tamburlaine bridle; 1 wooden mattock
Item: Cupid’s bow and quiver; the cloth of the sun and moon
Item: 1 boar’s head and Cerberus’ three heads
Item: 1 caduceus; 2 moss banks, and 1 snake
Item: 2 fans of feathers; Belin Dun’s stable; 1 tree of golden apples; Tantalus’ tree; 9 iron targets
Item: 1 Mercury’s wings; Tasso picture; 1 helmet with dragon; 1 shield with 3 lions; 1 elm bowl
Item: 1 lion; 2 lion heads; 1 great horse with his legs; 1 sackbut
Item: 1 black dog
Item: 1 cauldron for the Jew
Much of what we know about the business of Elizabethan theater comes from a book of accounts that Henslowe kept around the turn of the 17th century. He never mentions Shakespeare directly, but his theaters competed with the Globe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carved at the Harbin Ice Festival (another photo here). And see also the snow and ice sculptures from 2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wife, being the romantic type, sent her husband a text:
"If you are sleeping, send me your dreams.
If you are laughing, send me your smile.
If you are eating, send me a bite.
If you are drinking, send me a sip.
If you are crying, send me your tears.
I love you."
He replied:
"I'm taking a shit. What should I do?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I failed my audition as Romeo through a misunderstanding over a stage direction. In my script it clearly said: "Enter Juliette from the rear."
"The Department of Justice is trying to block Anheuser-Busch from buying Corona. So they did what everyone else does ~ got their older brother to buy it for them." -Jimmy Fallon
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"You know when it comes to organic food, the USDA is very tough. You can't have anything that ends in 'eetos.'" -Craig Ferguson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does it take to be in the top one percent of earners in the United States? How about a million bucks? But not everybody has what it takes to be a millionaire. Let's find out some helpful facts about millionaires.
Random Facts:
In the United States, approximately 7 percent of households are millionaires.
According to the book The Millionaire Next Door, only 20 percent of millionaires inherited their wealth. The other 80 percent earned their cash on their own.
Half of all millionaires are self employed or own their own business Half of all millionaires are self-employed or own a business.
Around 80 percent of millionaires are college graduates. Only 18 percent of millionaires have Master's degrees. Eight percent have law degrees, 6 percent have medical degrees, and 6 percent have PhDs.
The average millionaire goes bankrupt at least 3.5 times.
Being 45 is so much better than being 15! Here's the soon-to-be-hit song from the group Pushing 40, featured in the web series My Dad Is In A Boy Band. -via Daily of the Day
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Your baby is smarter than you'd think. A new laboratory technique allowed scientists to peer inside a baby's brain to see what's going on there while you read or talk to it:
Infants as young as 6 months are capable of making predictions based on probability, a higher level of reasoning than is commonly believed possible, researchers have found.When shown a range of facial expressions, children as young as 7 months cast the longest gaze on the fearful face, similar to adult behavior, which scientists say signals an early sign of emotional processing.And every parent knows that mimicking a baby's behavior, such as clapping hands, brings the child pleasure. Imaging technology has confirmed that this kind of play activates the pleasure center in the baby's brain, whereas engaging in a mismatched activity doesn't.
Sumathi Reddy of the Wall Street Journal has the full report: Link
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Carved at the Harbin Ice Festival (another photo here). And see also the snow and ice sculptures from 2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUOTE: "Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of those pieces." ~ Judith Viorst.
HINT: (1931-), American author, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher.
ANSWER: Judith Viorst.
HINT: (1931-), American author, newspaper journalist, and psychoanalysis researcher.
ANSWER: Judith Viorst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1980, New York patent lawyer Eric Bram correctly predicted that the city’s transit fare would increase. He explained his reasoning to the New York Times: “Since the early ’60s, the price of a slice of pizza has matched, with uncanny precision, the cost of a New York subway ride. Right now, it is impossible for any discerning New Yorker to find a decent slice of pizza for less than 60 cents. The 50-cent fare was doomed.”
He was right. In 1960, the fare was 15 cents, and so was a slice of pizza (a regular slice, mozzarella and tomato sauce, no toppings). In the early 1970s, both rose to 35 cents, and the two continued to rise together. By 2002, pizza had risen to $2 in midtown, while the fare lagged at $1.50; sure enough, the fare rose to $2 the following spring, after eight years without a change.
In 2003 the subway system switched from tokens to MetroCards, finding them more efficient in a digital age. “Who knows if the fundamentals of economics will hold?” Bram asked.
They did. As the price of pizza rose, the fare followed it, rising to $2.25 in 2009 and to $2.50 in 2011. “Don’t ask why,” wrote Clyde Haberman, who tracks all this in the Times. “It simply is so, and has been for decades.”
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RANDOM TIDBITS
The name chocolate comes from the Aztec word xocalati meaning bitter water.
Research suggests that chocolate was originally used more than 2,500 years ago, beginning in Central America.
The name 'Cacao' is a Maya word meaning 'god food' which after being introduced to Europe in the 16th century, formed the basis of the Latin name for the Cacao tree 'Theobrama Cacao' meaning 'food for the gods'. It is thought that the word 'cocoa' has come about through a misspelling of 'cacao.'
Although not scientifically proven, chocolate is believed by many, to be an aphrodisiac. The theory is supported by the fact that chocolate does contain among many chemicals the stimulants: caffeine, theobromine, and phenyethylamine.
Cocoa butter is a by-product produced from the crushing of roasted cacao beans, and although used in the chocolate making process, it is also used in a number of cosmetic products including massage oils and skin cosmetics.
A cocoa pod contains an average of about 42 beans. It takes up to 270 cocoa beans to make a pound of chocolate.
The name chocolate comes from the Aztec word xocalati meaning bitter water.
Research suggests that chocolate was originally used more than 2,500 years ago, beginning in Central America.
The name 'Cacao' is a Maya word meaning 'god food' which after being introduced to Europe in the 16th century, formed the basis of the Latin name for the Cacao tree 'Theobrama Cacao' meaning 'food for the gods'. It is thought that the word 'cocoa' has come about through a misspelling of 'cacao.'
Although not scientifically proven, chocolate is believed by many, to be an aphrodisiac. The theory is supported by the fact that chocolate does contain among many chemicals the stimulants: caffeine, theobromine, and phenyethylamine.
Cocoa butter is a by-product produced from the crushing of roasted cacao beans, and although used in the chocolate making process, it is also used in a number of cosmetic products including massage oils and skin cosmetics.
A cocoa pod contains an average of about 42 beans. It takes up to 270 cocoa beans to make a pound of chocolate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joe was complaining that he needed to buy some new clothes for a big event he had coming up.
"I need something that will make me look metrosexual, but not androgynous or effeminate. Wait a minute, is that what retrosexual is? I'm confused by what's hip and trendy now-a-days.
"Tom," he accosted me, "What do you call a hip, well-dressed, well-groomed guy now-a-days; metrosexual or retrosexual?"
"I don't know," I answered. "I'm not metrosexual or retrosexual. I'm just a poor asshole who works all the time, gets screwed out of his taxes and doesn't have any money left at the end of the month. What's the name for me?"
Joe shrugged his shoulders, "American?"
"I need something that will make me look metrosexual, but not androgynous or effeminate. Wait a minute, is that what retrosexual is? I'm confused by what's hip and trendy now-a-days.
"Tom," he accosted me, "What do you call a hip, well-dressed, well-groomed guy now-a-days; metrosexual or retrosexual?"
"I don't know," I answered. "I'm not metrosexual or retrosexual. I'm just a poor asshole who works all the time, gets screwed out of his taxes and doesn't have any money left at the end of the month. What's the name for me?"
Joe shrugged his shoulders, "American?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there was the guy who explained why he wasn't interested in visiting a topless bar: "If you've seen two, you've seen them all."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wife, being the romantic type, sent her husband a text:
"If you are sleeping, send me your dreams.
If you are laughing, send me your smile.
If you are eating, send me a bite.
If you are drinking, send me a sip.
If you are crying, send me your tears.
I love you."
He replied:
"I'm taking a shit. What should I do?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I failed my audition as Romeo through a misunderstanding over a stage direction. In my script it clearly said: "Enter Juliette from the rear."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Monopoly is getting a big makeover. They want to make the Monopoly game more modern and bring it up to date to reflect our current culture. Like, in the new version of Monopoly, the banker never goes to jail." -Jay Leno
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The Department of Justice is trying to block Anheuser-Busch from buying Corona. So they did what everyone else does ~ got their older brother to buy it for them." -Jimmy Fallon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You know when it comes to organic food, the USDA is very tough. You can't have anything that ends in 'eetos.'" -Craig Ferguson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does it take to be in the top one percent of earners in the United States? How about a million bucks? But not everybody has what it takes to be a millionaire. Let's find out some helpful facts about millionaires.
Random Facts:
In the United States, approximately 7 percent of households are millionaires.
According to the book The Millionaire Next Door, only 20 percent of millionaires inherited their wealth. The other 80 percent earned their cash on their own.
Half of all millionaires are self employed or own their own business Half of all millionaires are self-employed or own a business.
Around 80 percent of millionaires are college graduates. Only 18 percent of millionaires have Master's degrees. Eight percent have law degrees, 6 percent have medical degrees, and 6 percent have PhDs.
The average millionaire goes bankrupt at least 3.5 times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Man's main task is to give birth to himself. ~ Erich Fromm
Clatter Plot
A puzzle by Lewis Carroll:
Two travelers, starting at the same time, went opposite ways round a circular railway. Trains start each way every 15 minutes, the easterly ones going round in 3 hours, the westerly in 2. How many trains did each meet on the way, not counting trains met at the terminus itself?
The trains one way took 180 minutes, the other way 120. Let us take the l.c.m., 360, and divide the railway into 360 units. Then one set of trains went at the rate of 2 units a minute and at intervals of 30 units; the other at the rate of 3 units a minute and at intervals of 45 units. An easterly train starting has 45 units between it and the first train it will meet: it does 2/5 of this while the other does 3/5, and thus meets it at the end of 18 units, and so all the way round. A westerly train starting has 30 units between it and the first train it will meet: it does 3/5 of this while the other does 2/5, and thus meets it at the end of 18 units, and so all the way round. Hence if the railway be divided, by 19 posts, into 20 parts, each containing 18 units, trains meet at every post, and each traveler passes 19 posts in going round, and so meets 19 trains.
From A Tangled Tale, 1886.
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The usual prelude to [paradigm] changes...is the awareness of anomaly, of an occurrence or set of occurrences that does not fit existing ways of ordering phenomena. The changes that result therefore require putting on a different kind of thinking-cap'...
--Thomas Kuhn, The Essential Tension
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--Thomas Kuhn, The Essential Tension
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You can observe a lot just by watching.--Yogi Berra
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And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth, "You owe me." Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky.--Rumi
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The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.--Edward Bernays
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When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.--Thomas Paine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During the Civil War, the U.S. Treasury received a check for $1,500 from a private citizen who said he had misappropriated government funds while serving as a quartermaster in the Army. He said he felt guilty.
“Suppose we call this a contribution to the conscience fund and get it announced in the newspapers,” suggested Treasury Secretary Francis Spinner. “Perhaps we will get some more.”
Ever since, then the Treasury has maintained a “conscience fund” to which guilt-ridden citizens can contribute. In its first 20 years, the fund received $250,000; by 1987 it had taken in more than $5.7 million. One Massachusetts man contributed 9 cents for using a damaged stamp on a letter, but in 1950 a single individual sent $139,000.
In order to encourage citizens to contribute, Treasury officials don’t try to identify or punish the donors. Most donations are anonymous, and many letters are from clergy, following up confessions taken at deathbeds.
Many contributions are sent by citizens who have resolved to start anew in life by righting past wrongs, but some are more grudging. In 2004, one donor wrote, “Dear Internal Revenue Service, I have not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year’s income tax. Enclosed find a cashier’s check for $1,000. If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the balance.”
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House Call
Letter from Charles Dickens to a chimney sweep, March 15, 1864:
Dear Sir,Since you last swept my study chimney it has developed some peculiar eccentricities. Smoke has indeed proceeded from the cowl that surmounts it, but it has seemingly been undergoing internal agonies of a most distressing nature, and pours forth disastrous volumes of swarthy vapour into the apartment wherein I habitually labour. Although a comforting relief probably to the chimney, this is not altogether convenient to me. If you can send a confidential sub-sweep, with whom the chimney can engage in social intercourse, it might be induced to disclose the cause of the departure from its normal functions.Faithfully yours,Charles Dickens
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"In Great Britain the bones of King Richard III, who was killed in 1485, have been discovered under a parking lot. And you know how he died? Fighting over a parking space." -Jay Leno
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"This weekend a couple from Connecticut will have the longest marriage ever recorded in the U.S. They said the secret to their long-lasting marriage is love, compromise, and the fact that neither one of them has been able to hear a word the other one has said in more than 30 years." -Jimmy Kimmel
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How to make a Spiral Goddess salt dough Plaque
She is the Mother. Venus Willendorf , Gaia, Danu, Isis and Lilith , and also known by 1,000 other names The spiral on her belly is her womb, and it symbolizes that she gave birth to all of creation.
The Spiral is and ancient symbol of evolution, one of the oldest pagan symbols in existence. It represents the cycle of the seasons and the cycles of Life, growth and change. Although each loop of the spiral brings us back to the same place, it takes us to a higher and more evolved level at each turn.
The Spiral is and ancient symbol of evolution, one of the oldest pagan symbols in existence. It represents the cycle of the seasons and the cycles of Life, growth and change. Although each loop of the spiral brings us back to the same place, it takes us to a higher and more evolved level at each turn.
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When better punctuation is needed. Take a look
Wikipedia's most common word mapped to a country's boundary. Click to magnify.
Carl Sagan denied tenure at Harvard University because his role as a 'popularizer' was considered unimportant (discussion)
Her father was very angry when he heard that his twenty year old daughter had hitch hiked all alone, all the way from San Francisco to Washington.
"For gods sake!" he screamed, "Someone could have attacked you and raped you!"
"I wasn't ever in no danger at all", she said, trying to calm him down. "As soon as someone gave me a ride, I said I was going to Washington, because thats where they have the best treatment for sexually transmitted diseases."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spaghetti tree hoax from 1957
This is mathematics
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does a camera and a condom have in common?
They both capture that magic moment.
They both capture that magic moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 2.3% Medical Excise Tax that began on January 1st is supposed to be “hidden” from the consumer, but it's been brought to the public’s attention by hunting and fishing store Cabela’s who have refused to hide it and are showing it as a separate line item tax on their receipts.Anyone still believe Obama didn't raise taxes on the middle class?
252.98 plus
20.87 sales tax, and
5.82 medical excise tax, for a total of
$279.67 WORKS OUT TO BE 2.3 %
Thanks Mike
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her father was very angry when he heard that his twenty year old daughter had hitch hiked all alone, all the way from San Francisco to Washington.
"For gods sake!" he screamed, "Someone could have attacked you and raped you!"
"I wasn't ever in no danger at all", she said, trying to calm him down. "As soon as someone gave me a ride, I said I was going to Washington, because thats where they have the best treatment for sexually transmitted diseases."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In preamble let me say that whoever wrote this joke doesn't know much about alcohol. First; not even premium imported beer costs $10 a 6-pack, and second; drinking 18 beers a day for 15 years would probably kill a person. That being said, I have been in situations very similar to this, so I still find this joke funny.]
1st Date Conversation
Lady: Do you drink?
Man: Yes.
Lady: How much a day?
Man: 3 six packs.
Lady: How much does a six pack cost?
Man: About $10.00.
Lady: And how long have you been drinking?
Man: 15 years.
Lady: So one six pack cost $10.00 and you have 3 six packs a day which puts your spending each month at $900. In one year, it would be $10,800 correct?
Man: I guess.
Lady: If in 1 year you spend $10,800 not accounting for inflation, the past 15 years puts your spending at $162,000 correct?
Man: I suppose so.
Lady: Do you know that if you didn't drink, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 15 years, you could have now bought a new Ferrari?
Man: You don't say. So, do YOU drink?
Lady: No.
Man: Where's your Ferrari?
1st Date Conversation
Lady: Do you drink?
Man: Yes.
Lady: How much a day?
Man: 3 six packs.
Lady: How much does a six pack cost?
Man: About $10.00.
Lady: And how long have you been drinking?
Man: 15 years.
Lady: So one six pack cost $10.00 and you have 3 six packs a day which puts your spending each month at $900. In one year, it would be $10,800 correct?
Man: I guess.
Lady: If in 1 year you spend $10,800 not accounting for inflation, the past 15 years puts your spending at $162,000 correct?
Man: I suppose so.
Lady: Do you know that if you didn't drink, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 15 years, you could have now bought a new Ferrari?
Man: You don't say. So, do YOU drink?
Lady: No.
Man: Where's your Ferrari?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ursa ~
ursarodinia@aol.com
ursarodinia@aol.com
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