After testing the luxe Numi, one man is charmed by its self-rising seat and stereo speakers.
Also: 
Friday, October 14, 2011
Marble sells fo $4,500
Debris of comet approaches
The moment long feared by conspiracy theorists will likely be much ado about nothing.
Also: Comet Ice May Have Fed Earth's Oceans
103P/Hartley 2 is believed to come from the Kuiper belt beyond the orbit of Neptune. Scientists think asteroids and comets may have subsequently crashed into the Earth, transporting water in the process.
Kraken or Krakpot?
Of all invertebrates, the octopus is considered the most intelligent, and sadly, rather underrated. They’ve been caught on video wrestling sharks to death like sea-dwelling honey badgers, using tools and opening twist-cap bottles. And according to at least one paleontologist, their ancestors may have been bigger, smarter, scarier and perhaps even a bit artistic.The Triassic World
During the Triassic Period, a creature we call Ichthyosaur swam the seas, chowing down on whatever it wanted–it was the size of a school bus and had a mouthful of jagged teeth, and until Monday, paleontologists assumed it sat at the top of its watery food chain. But a stash of nine interestingly arranged, fossilized icthyosaur bodies discovered in Nevada have long confounded researchers, who haven’t been able to determine how they died. Formerly, it was believed the seas were shallow in that location and the giant proto-whales fell victim to an algae bloom. But evidence from the surrounding rocks indicate the seas were still deep at the time of their demise, leaving science with something of a mystery.
That’s where Mount Holyoke College paleontologist Mark McMenamin comes in. “Charles Camp puzzled over these fossils in the 1950s,” said McMenamin. “In his papers he keeps referring to how peculiar this site is. We agree, it is peculiar.” See, the bones of these ichthyosaurs are etched differently from one another, indicating that they didn’t die at the same time. But since they’re all buried together, something interesting had to have happened. And McMenamin thinks that “something” is the work of kraken.
Deliberate Burial
McMenamin believes that the midden-building and predation behaviors observed in modern octopuses–specifically that of the famous Shark vs. Octopus video, wherein an unassuming dog shark gets totally pwned by a seemingly mild-mannered cephalopod–support the theory that gargantuan prehistoric kraken were terrorizing the ichthyosaur population, “either drowning them or breaking their necks.” Suspiciously twisted necks and many broken ribs from the ichthyosaur dig seem to support the idea, as fantastical as it is. But weirdest of all is how the bones came to be buried together, and why their arrangement seems bizarre: “I think that these things were captured by the kraken and taken to the midden and the cephalopod would take them apart,” and rearrange them into what McMenamin believes is “the earliest known self portrait.”
In the fossil bed, some of the shonisaur vertebral disks are arranged in curious linear patterns with almost geometric regularity, McMenamin explained.The proposed Triassic kraken, which could have been the most intelligent invertebrate ever, arranged the vertebral discs in double line patterns, with individual pieces nesting in a fitted fashion as if they were part of a puzzle.To illustrate, the bones are arranged like this:
That’s not even a little bit creepy.
Or is it Pareidolia? Soft-bodied animals, by virtue of definition, have nothing to leave in the fossil layer, so McMenamin’s tentacled beast will likely never turn up even if it did exist. And this presents something of a problem for the theory, since many researchers are “highly skeptical” of his “evidence.” Roger Hanlon, a marine biologist at the Marine Biological laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, says,”There’s nothing in the scientific literature that suggests that modern-day cephalopods do anything like this.” And according to Dr. Hans-Dieter Sues, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, the Nevada site “essentially represents a mass burial ground for ichthyosaurs in a shallow sea.” Speaking to Christian Science Monitor, Dr. Thomas Holtz Jr. of the University of Maryland declares that McMenamin’s approach to understanding the ichthyosaur peculiarities “is too many steps away from the evidence to call it science.”
But that doesn’t mean that McMenamin is universally scorned: science writers and kraken enthusiasts are rooting for McMenamin and his Triassic tentacled leviathan. Rebecca Boyle of PopSci is sympathetic, hypothesizing that “the hypothetical kraken was just lonely, and, unable to clone itself [as some modern jellyfish can], it made an artistic rendering of an imaginary friend? It seems possible, although maybe less possible [than] the imagined kraken.” But if moral support is what McMenamin needs, Cyriaque Lamar at io9 has got it in spades: ”[T]he possibility of finding that which is essentially a gargantuan mollusk’s macaroni illustration? That’s the kind of glorious crazy you hope is reality.”
What do you think, guys? Is McMenamin’s idea a little too crack-pot to hold water, or is there maybe something to this whole self-expressive kraken thing?
Sources:
- GSA Press Release: Giant Kraken Lair Discovered
- Did an Ancient Kraken Create Its Own Friends? What About a Modern Jellyfish?
- Giant prehistoric krakens may have sculpted self-portraits using ichthyosaur bones
- Kraken monster ruled ancient seas? Scientists wary of new theory.
- Kraken Versus Ichthyosaur: Let the Battle Commence
Surfer tells of standing on shark
Doug Niblack was trying to catch another wave before going to work, when his longboard hit something hard as rock off the Oregon Coast and he suddenly found himself standing on the back of a thrashing great white shark.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:
In movies, the good guy always wins.
But you learned long ago (through personal experience) that real life is a lot different -- all too often, the good guy ends up losing out.
But today an underdog will triumph -- and it'll be just like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster.
Get ready to be inspired by the true story of someone who battled the odds and came out victorious.
And know that you can win your battle, too.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Moscow, Moskva, Russia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Crawley, England, United Kingdom
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rio De Janiero, Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Berne, Bern, Switzerland
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Seoul, Kyonggi-Do, Korea
Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Morini, Morini, Comoros
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Moscow, Moskva, Russia
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cork, Cork, Ireland
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Crawley, England, United Kingdom
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rio De Janiero, Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Berne, Bern, Switzerland
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain
Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Seoul, Kyonggi-Do, Korea
Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
as well as Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Austria, Norway, Georgia, Mexico, Peru, Kuwait, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Afghanistan, Belgium, Tibet, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Paraguay, Sudan, Vietnam, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Qatar, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland
and in cities across the United States such as Bourbonnais, Deltona, Fitchburg, Markle and more.
and in cities across the United States such as Bourbonnais, Deltona, Fitchburg, Markle and more.
Today is:
Today is Thursday, October 13, the 286th day of 2011.
There are 79 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
There isn't one.
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
Thorough Thursday
Angry Birds In Real Life
Most iconic U.S. drives
From leisurely byways to roller-coaster mountain roads, these classic routes were built to impress.
Also: 
What The OWS Protests Are About
A pretty good summary, with lots of charts: Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About.
So, what are the protesters so upset about, really? Do they have legitimate gripes? To answer the latter question first, yes, they do. They have very legitimate gripes.
And if America cannot figure out a way to address these gripes, the country will likely become increasingly "de-stabilized," as sociologists might say. And in that scenario, the current protests will likely be only the beginning.
The problem in a nutshell is this: Inequality in this country has hit a level that has been seen only once in the nation's history—at the end of the 1920s. Unemployment has also reached a level that has been seen only once since the Great Depression.
Top facts on richest 1%
Occupy Wall Street's target has a bigger share of U.S. income than at any time since the 1920s
Also: State capital files for bankruptcy
Americans like jobs bill
A new poll suggests a majority of people disagree with the Senate about the president's plan.
Also: A winning elevator speech
Sell yourself to an interviewer succinctly by following five essential rules.
Also: 
Six Things They Say Hurt Careers
(That Statistics Say Help)
It turns out that many of the ways we intuitively believe we're improving our success in the workforce are totally wrong. If you want to get ahead, you'd be better advised to just let yourself go.What not to say to your boss
Sharing office gossip with your supervisor can backfire in a big way.
Also: The Boss' Favorite
In a bid to discover more about workplace relations, a human resources consultancy conducted a study aimed at discovering more about employers' attitudes towards their staff.
Tips on retiring abroad
You need to think about whether you want to live in an English-speaking country or not.
Also: 
Stuttering student told not to speak
Officials at a community college in northern New Jersey declined to say Wednesday whether they disciplined an adjunct professor who asked a stuttering student not to speak, but acknowledged that the professor acted improperly.
Eight people killed in California hair-salon shooting
A man is arrested after eight people are killed and one is critically wounded, police say.
Also: Tennessee Gun Guy Arrested
In Tennessee: Sponsor of guns-in-bars bill arrested for DUI with gun.
A Tennessee lawmaker who sponsored a controversial bill to allow handguns to be carried in bars was arrested Tuesday for driving under the influence and possessing a handgun while under the influence.
Police said that Tennessee state Rep. Curry Todd (R) was pulled over at around 11:15 p.m. in Nashville, according to WSMV-TV. Officers found a loaded Smith & Wesson .38 Special hidden between the driver’s seat and center console.
An affidavit charged that the lawmaker was “almost falling down at times” and “obviously very impaired and not in any condition to be carrying a loaded handgun.”
Here's his mugshot.
Drug smugglers get creative
Ingenious use of parking spaces and 16 tunnels running under the border stuns the local mayor.
Also: Expensive BMW painted purple for inconsiderate parking
House painters in Russia’s central city of Veliky Novgorod avenged a driver of a inconsiderately-parked expensive BMW by painting his silver-colored car purple.
A witness said that an unknown driver parked his BMW on Sunday on one of the central streets of the city near a building, where house painters were working. The parked car occupied a considerable part of the sidewalk posing inconvenience for pedestrians and obstructing the work of the house painters.
At first, the house painters tried asking the residents of the house, who was the owner of the car, but after getting no information they used their paint rollers to apply purple paint on the vehicle and wrote a swear-word on the rear window.
The car remained this way all day on Sunday and by the late evening disappeared. A spokesman for the city police said there were no complaints concerning inflicted damage to the car.
A witness said that an unknown driver parked his BMW on Sunday on one of the central streets of the city near a building, where house painters were working. The parked car occupied a considerable part of the sidewalk posing inconvenience for pedestrians and obstructing the work of the house painters.
At first, the house painters tried asking the residents of the house, who was the owner of the car, but after getting no information they used their paint rollers to apply purple paint on the vehicle and wrote a swear-word on the rear window.
The car remained this way all day on Sunday and by the late evening disappeared. A spokesman for the city police said there were no complaints concerning inflicted damage to the car.
Hijacked crew saved from pirates after sending message in a bottle
The crew of the Montecristo resorted to a traditional seafaring means of communication when their ship was hijacked by pirates. They wrote a message, placed it in a bottle, and tossed it into the sea through a porthole. The bottle was retrieved by Nato warships who were nearby after responding to an earlier call for help from the Italian merchantman.
The message inside, and another written on a sheet, was clear: it was safe to board. It was the signal for Royal Marine commandos to launch an attempt to rescue the 23-man crew, who were being held by 11 suspected pirates, in full knowledge that they could do so without risking lives.
The Montecristo's crew - seven Italians, six Ukrainians and 10 Indians - had locked themselves inside an armoured area of the vessel when the pirates boarded the ship on Monday, according to Italian defence minister Ignazio La Russa. Safe from the pirates' threats, the crew continued to navigate the ship.
"The criminals managed to cut off all means of communication, but the 'prisoners' tossed a bottle with a message through a porthole explaining the situation," said La Russa. Rubber boats with British marine commandos on board circled the Montecristo, while a helicopter hovered above. "The pirates surrendered right away, some throwing their weapons in the sea, and were arrested," La Russa said.
The message inside, and another written on a sheet, was clear: it was safe to board. It was the signal for Royal Marine commandos to launch an attempt to rescue the 23-man crew, who were being held by 11 suspected pirates, in full knowledge that they could do so without risking lives.
The Montecristo's crew - seven Italians, six Ukrainians and 10 Indians - had locked themselves inside an armoured area of the vessel when the pirates boarded the ship on Monday, according to Italian defence minister Ignazio La Russa. Safe from the pirates' threats, the crew continued to navigate the ship.
"The criminals managed to cut off all means of communication, but the 'prisoners' tossed a bottle with a message through a porthole explaining the situation," said La Russa. Rubber boats with British marine commandos on board circled the Montecristo, while a helicopter hovered above. "The pirates surrendered right away, some throwing their weapons in the sea, and were arrested," La Russa said.
A year without groceries
The Hoff family avoided supermarkets for a year, and found the results delightful.
Also: 
Addicted to Diet Coke
To get her fix, one woman downed 7 pints of the no-calorie drink a day.And at what cost?
Thousands of dollars, 42 pounds on the scale, and severely compromised health.
Here's how she's trying to kick the cola habit.
Old-fashioned domestic tips
Just grab some salad oil or petroleum jelly to wipe away white rings from wood furniture.
Also: Five Safety Measures That Don't Make You Safer
What homes will look like in 2015
One familiar room will be left out of many new houses, according to builders.
Also: Pikachu Sunrise
First it was Sunsquatch, now Pikachu sunrise! Argentinian photographer Luis Argerich took this photo of an unusual sunrise over Rio de La Plata.
APOD explains that it's just low level clouds but just you wait till it attacks with the Volt Tackle!
APOD explains that it's just low level clouds but just you wait till it attacks with the Volt Tackle!
Can a Venus Flytrap Digest Human Flesh?
At some point in our lives, each of us has wondered if a sufficiently large venus flytrap could eat us. Also, is there one lurking nearby? Can they fly or teleport at will? Barry White, a scientist (specifically, an astronomer), devised an experiment to partially resolve the first issue. Can a venus flytrap digest a portion of human flesh? Due to a case of athlete’s foot, he had some to spare and fed it to the plant:After a week, the traps opened. I had predicted the skin chunks would be relatively inert and unaffected. After all, these were hard, crusty chunks of skin from the sole of my diseased feet. Surely the Venus flytraps would have no effect upon them.You can see pictures of his semi-digested human flesh at the link. Because, you know, you want to. Admit it.
Was I ever wrong! The skin chunks were almost completely digested. Worse, what was left no longer had much cohesion, but was gooey and slimy, like little boogers. Uck! Uck! Uck! And what is with the weird hue shift to bacon color?? Uck! Uck! Uck! Iä! Iä!
Ancient whale jawbone found in Antarctica
The jawbone of an ancient whale found in Antarctica may be the oldest fully aquatic whale yet discovered, Argentine scientists said Tuesday.
Researchers discover oldest fossil rodents in South America
In a literal walk through time along the Ucayali River near Contamana, Peru, a team of researchers found rodent fossils at least 41 million years old - by far the oldest on the South American continent.
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