Friday, October 28, 2011
Health problems you can fix
To soothe a minor burn, cool water and milk should do the trick — but never apply ice.
Also: New York City man pleads guilty to brokering kidney
A New York man pleaded guilty Thursday to brokering the sale of black-market organs in what prosecutors said was the first ever federal conviction for illegally selling human kidneys for profit.
Thirteen Horror Movies and the 'True Stories' They're Based On
Some of the most over-the-top horror films are based on real-life stories, though you wouldn’t know it to watch them. For example, the story in The Exorcist was based on the exorcism of a 12-year-old boy named Robbie Mannheim.According to the attending priest, the boy attempted to contact his late aunt using an Ouija board, after which paranormal activity started in the home including unexplained noises and an occurrence of a poltergeist-like event involving blankets flying around of their own accord. Robbie then began to show signs of possession, speaking in tongues and blisters and cuts appearing. He was taken to a mental institute in St. Louis where he was treated both mentally and spiritually. It was here that a group of priests started to perform various exorcising rituals to try and extract the demon. After a staggering total of 30 attempts, the priests were satisfied that they had successfully banished the demon from Robbie’s body.Each of the 13 horror stories has a video clip from the film, and many have documentary clips from the stories that inspired them.
After the ceremony he went on to have a very normal life, including a successful career at NASA. If my mother only knew that demon possession could lead to working for NASA, I’m positive that she would have made me play with Ouji boards every night.
Giant Lego Man may soon be released
Fourteen Punctuation Marks That You Never Knew Existed
Do you know what a solis is, or a asterism, a sheffer stroke, an interrobang?
They are punctuation marks you never knew existed.
Alternate Alternative Fuel for Robots of the Future
In what seems like the perfect solution to everything (or an episode of What Could Possibly Go Wrong?!), a pair of prototypes hint at a future in which robots eat bugs for fuel. Forget charging batteries or docking in your very own R2D2 — these autonomous, self-feeding droids could easily run along happily without us. The secret lies in two developments, both of which mimic the Venus flytrap’s prey-catching method:Recreating this method means finding materials that can not only detect the presence of an insect but also close on it quickly. At Seoul National University in South Korea, Seung-Won Kim and colleagues have done this using shape memory materials. These switch between two stable shapes when subjected to force, heat or an electric current.It’s an interesting premise, the bug-eating robot. I’d personally never thought of feeding a machine anything other than electricity (or sunlight for the solar-powered variety).
The team used two different materials – a clamshell-shaped piece of carbon fibre that acts as the leaves, connected by a shape-memory metal spring. The weight of an insect on the spring makes it contract sharply, pulling the leaves together and enveloping the prey. Opening the trap once more is just a matter of applying a current to the spring.
Mohsen Shahinpoor at the University of Maine in Orono took a different approach. His robot flytrap uses artificial muscles made of polymer membranes coated with gold electrodes. A current travelling through the membrane makes it bend in one direction – and when the polarity is reversed it moves the other way.
Bending the material also produces a voltage, which Shahinpoor has utilised to create sensors. When a bug lands, the tiny voltage it generates triggers a larger power source to apply opposite charges to the leaves, making them attract one another and closing the trap (Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, DOI: 10.1088/1748-3182/6/4/046004).
“We should be able to benefit enormously from these flytrap technologies,” says Ioannis Ieropoulos of the Bristol Robotics Lab in the UK. He and colleagues previously developed Ecobot, a robot that can digest insects, food scraps and sewage to power itself. Ecobot uses bacteria to break down a fly’s exoskeleton in a reaction that liberates electrons into a circuit, generating electricity.
If you built a robot, which fuel source would you design it to run on?
A Cosmic Halloween Gallery
What does astronomy have to do with Halloween? You’d be surprised!Halloween is coming, and while people are out trick or treating or enjoying a costume party, the Universe will continue to go about its business.Bad Astronomy Blog has a gallery of creepy astronomy pictures that appear to have sprung from our nightmares, but are actually things that exist in our universe. The picture here is of the flaming skull of Perseus: actually Perseus A, a huge galaxy that blasts out x-rays.
The business of DEATH, that is. Black holes will continue to tear apart stars and gorge themselves on the tasty, gooey insides; galaxies will erupt with high-energy radiation, blasting out killer rays for hundreds of thousands of light years; giant clouds of gas will collapse, form stars, and promptly have their interiors eaten out from within.
Archaeologists discover rare statues at Angkor Wat
Archaeologists at Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat temple complex say they have unearthed the largest Buddhist statues there in eight decades.
Probable WWII submarine found off Papua New Guinea
Raccoon barbeque in car park leads to meth maker’s arrest
Police say a man roasting a raccoon in a Memphis, Tennessee parking lot on Monday led them to a meth lab that landed his brother in jail.
Officers found the man grilling the raccoon in the back parking lot of a midtown apartment complex. In addition to the cooking raccoon, he also had several large knives.
Investigators called in the department's meth task force to help after they also discovered buckets of an unknown material. Police ended up arresting the man's brother, 26-year-old Adam Eubank, after entering the apartment the two share.
Police say Eubank had purchased cold medicine used to manufacture methamphetamine nearly three dozen times in the past year. Eubank's charged with promoting the manufacture of meth. He's being held on $75,000 bond.
Officers found the man grilling the raccoon in the back parking lot of a midtown apartment complex. In addition to the cooking raccoon, he also had several large knives.
Investigators called in the department's meth task force to help after they also discovered buckets of an unknown material. Police ended up arresting the man's brother, 26-year-old Adam Eubank, after entering the apartment the two share.
Police say Eubank had purchased cold medicine used to manufacture methamphetamine nearly three dozen times in the past year. Eubank's charged with promoting the manufacture of meth. He's being held on $75,000 bond.
Giant Prehistoric Amoeba the Size of Your Hand
During a July 2011 voyage to the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench, the deepest region on the planet, Scripps researchers and National Geographic engineers deployed untethered free-falling/ascending landers equipped with digital video and lights to search the largely unexplored region. The team documented the deepest known existence of xenophyophores, single-celled animals exclusively found in deep-sea environments. Xenophyophores are noteworthy for their size, with individual cells often exceeding 10 centimeters (4 inches), their extreme abundance on the seafloor and their role as hosts for a variety of organisms.
The Frogfish
Frogfish generally do not move very much, preferring to lie on the sea floor and wait for prey to approach. Once the prey is spotted, they can approach slowly using their pectoral and pelvic fins to walk along the floor
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:
From time to time, you go through what could be called a 'Velcro phase' -- when you feel a strong need to stay close (physically and emotionally) to the people you love the most.
But right now, you may feel yourself detaching from folks.
Do not fear this change of attitude, because going off on your own for a while is perfectly healthy and normal.
A little bit of solitude can be good for the soul -- and it won't harm the strong attachments you've made.
But right now, you may feel yourself detaching from folks.
Do not fear this change of attitude, because going off on your own for a while is perfectly healthy and normal.
A little bit of solitude can be good for the soul -- and it won't harm the strong attachments you've made.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Bogota, Bogota, Colombia
Liege, Liege, Belgium
London, England, United Kingdom
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Tromso, Troms, Norway
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Medemblik, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
Pontianak, Kalimatntan Barat, Indonesia
As, Askershus, Norrway
Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Woking, England, United Kingdom
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Bogota, Bogota, Colombia
Liege, Liege, Belgium
London, England, United Kingdom
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Tromso, Troms, Norway
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Medemblik, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
Pontianak, Kalimatntan Barat, Indonesia
As, Askershus, Norrway
Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Australia
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Newbury, England, United Kingdom
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland
Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Woking, 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 Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and more!
and in cities across the United States such as Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and more!
Today is:
Today is Thursday, October 27, the 300th day of 2011.
There are 65 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
Cranky Co-Worker's Day
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
Ranger dies on 14th deployment
Kristoffer B. Domeij enlisted in July 2001 and served in Iraq and Afghanistan over and over.
Also: The Hate Jar
Well, that explains the repugicans - always opening up and looking into their own 'hate jars'.
Next time ...
From Daily Kos' David Waldman via Twitter:
Next time I hear about how vets fight to protect our rights, I'll remember the one they shot in the head for actually exercising them.The Oakland Police are reportedly doing a preliminary review of whether it was appropriate to shoot an Iraq war vet in the head with "non lethal" ammunition that has him in critical condition. I hope they also explain why it was necessary for one particular officer to throw an explosive device at a small crowd of protesters trying to administer first aid to the wounded vet. Absolutely sickening what the city of Oakland has done.
Politician admits that only wingnuts are permitted to protest with guns
At least they finally admitted it. When wingnuts bring guns to political protests, the cops don't bat an eye. When liberals do it, it's time to smash their brains in, literally.
In Atlanta, [Mayor] Reed said the last straw came Tuesday, when he said a man with an AK-47 assault rifle joined the protesters in Woodruff Park. On Wednesday, after all protesters who had been arrested were released on bond, some said the man with the assault rifle — who was carrying it legally under Georgia law — was not part of their group and should not have been a factor in shutting them down. “We don’t even know that guy,” said Candi Cunard, 26.I don't think anyone should be permitted to bring a gun to a political protest - or walk around in public brandishing one, period - but it is interesting that wingnuts were permitted to bring guns to Obama rallies, with impunity, but now when a gun is supposedly reported at a liberal protest, that's the final straw for the authorities.
Growing Old Goth
Most people grow out of their teenage lifestyles, but for some, growing up goth means growing old goth.Louise Tickle wrote a fascinating article over at The Guardian about how goths teens are more likely to grow up as goth adults, and still be productive members of society:
Continuing with education and getting a decent job while staying involved isn't as hard for goths as it may be for those involved in other youth subcultures, some of which promote disengagement with school to the point that academic failure is all but inevitable.
"It's a relatively middle-class subculture, so despite … all the going out and being into the music, goths have always had a fairly positive view of people who are also achieving academically."
It means goths may have better career options than an outsider might expect. Succeeding in their chosen career had, Hodkinson observes, become increasingly important to those he interviewed as they moved into their late 20s and 30s, and he was surprised by how much participants in his study were willing to adapt their look to fit in at work.
American Dream at risk?
Unemployment and inequality are making many Americans lose faith in the future.
Also: The Rich Gets Richer
The Poor not so much
According to a newly released report on real (inflation-adjusted) average household income in the United States by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the answer is almost three times as rich:
For the 1 percent of the population with the highest income, average real after-tax household income grew by 275 percent between 1979 and 2007 (see Summary Figure 1).The Top One-percenters also have the lionshare of the growth of total market income:
As a result of that uneven growth, the share of total market income received by the top 1 percent of the population more than doubled between 1979 and 2007, growing from about 10 percent to more than 20 percent. Without that growth at the top of the distribution, income inequality still would have increased, but not by nearly as much. The precise reasons for the rapid growth in income at the top are not well understood, though researchers have offered several potential rationales, including technical innovations that have changed the labor market for superstars (such as actors, athletes, and musicians), changes in the governance and structure of executive compensation, increases in firms’ size and complexity, and the increasing scale of financial-sector activities.But is bemoaning the good fortunes of the super-rich the right thing to do? After all, the second part of the proverb "the poor get poorer" is actually incorrect: for the bottom 20% of the population, the average real after-tax household income increased by 18% over the past three decades. It seems like the poor also got a little bit richer.
Perhaps we should change the proverb to "the rich get richer and the poor get a little bit richer"?
Source: Trends in the Distribution of Household Income Between 1979 and 2007 [PDF] by the Congressional Budget Office
Who will get a 2011 pay raise
Workers in these fields are the most likely to see above-average salary increases.
Also: 
US economy grew 2.5% last quarter
We're not out of the bad economy but it's still reasonably good growth all things considered.
US economic growth increased at its fastest in a year in the third quarter as consumers and businesses set aside fears about the recovery and stepped up spending, creating momentum that could carry into the final three months of the year.
At the same time, slightly fewer people sought unemployment benefits last week, though level remains elevated above 400,000.
Though part of the increase came from the reversal of temporary factors that had restrained growth, the expansion was a welcome relief for an economy that looked on the brink of recession just weeks ago.
Year-end moves to cut taxes
Paying some key 2012 expenses by December 31 could slash your 2011 tax bill.
Also: Money mistakes to avoid
Get control of your spending by giving yourself an allowance for the little stuff.
Also: Avoiding car repairs
Buy an inexpensive air filter so you won't owe a mechanic $400 to replace a sensor.
Also: 
Why you might feel tired
Lethargy, weight gain, and irritability can mask a dangerous — and treatable — condition.
Also: 
Yoga's mental benefits doubted
A controversial new study compared the practice with stretching and how each affected back pain.
Also: Man Upset With Lack of Meat in Chalupa, Throws Bomb at Taco Bell
A Taco Bell customer in Georgia was so angry about the quality of his purchase that he tossed a fire bomb at the building.
***
Well, we know one thing for certain ... he has mental problems - he was at Taco Bell to eat in the first place
Serial killer 'victim' alive
Family members find a sibling thought to have been murdered decades ago by John Wayne Gacy.
Also: Best winter beach towns
These warm-weather shoreline retreats may be small, but they're packed with charm.
Also: Ominous storm cloud photos
Shutterbugs from around the world document ominous tempests as they form overhead.
Also: True color of Statue of Liberty
The 125-year-old landmark is getting a $27 million makeover, but she won't get a new coat of paint.
Also: Prince Charles claims Vlad the Impaler as ancestor
Cornell University releases rare images of extinct woodpecker
A snippet of film shot by an amateur ornithologist in 1956 is providing researchers and bird enthusiasts with a rare opportunity to observe the behavior of the imperial woodpecker, a giant resident of Mexico's Sierra Madre now presumed extinct.
Pirate's cannon recovered
It could take archaeologists up to eight years to crack through a shell covering the pirate's relic.
Also: Legendary 'lost fleet' found?
A historic find off the coast of Japan leads experts back to 13th-century ruler Kublai Khan.
Also: 
Six Bizarre Alien-Looking Life Forms
Life, in all its varied forms, can be described in many ways. 'Astounding', 'beautiful' and 'majestic' are just a few of the words that spring to mind while looking at some of our planet's living things. Yet watch a spider scuttle across a desk and words like 'horrific' and 'terrifying' suddenly feel far more apt. But what about those times when you come across a life form so strange-looking it seems to have come from a different planet altogether?
Here are some of Mother Nature's more bizarre creations.
Rare white wombat nursed back to health in Australia
He was found thirsty, tired and close to death by sheep shearers working on nearby property.
But the rare white wombat was taken in by a wildlife volunteer in south Australia, and nursed back to health. Now the Southern hairy-nosed wombat, who's called Polar, is on the mend.
Wildlife experts say they will now use Polar to help educate people about wombats, and in a couple of years he will be placed him in a breeding programme to produce more animals like him.
Southern hairy-nosed wombats can grow up to 100 cm (40 inches) and when fully developed they can weigh between 18 to 32 kg (40 to 68 pounds).
But the rare white wombat was taken in by a wildlife volunteer in south Australia, and nursed back to health. Now the Southern hairy-nosed wombat, who's called Polar, is on the mend.
Wildlife experts say they will now use Polar to help educate people about wombats, and in a couple of years he will be placed him in a breeding programme to produce more animals like him.
Southern hairy-nosed wombats can grow up to 100 cm (40 inches) and when fully developed they can weigh between 18 to 32 kg (40 to 68 pounds).
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:
If you're feeling distant or detached around a romantic partner or a close friend today, take it as a sure sign that you need to spend some time alone soon.
Your emotions may be telling you that aligning yourself so closely with this person, while wonderful in many ways, could be causing you to lose sight of your own objectives in life.
You don't have to isolate yourself for a week on a deserted island -- simply enjoying a quiet night to yourself may be all you need.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
London, England, United Kingdom
Arau, Perlis, Malaysia
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
Medemblik, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Tromso, Troms, Norway
Rio De Janiero, Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Pontianak, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
London, England, United Kingdom
Arau, Perlis, Malaysia
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
Medemblik, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Tromso, Troms, Norway
Rio De Janiero, Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Pontianak, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia
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 Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and more!
and in cities across the United States such as Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and more!
Today is:
Today is Wednesday, October 26, the 299th day of 2011.
There are 66 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:
There isn't one.
But it is the Perigean Spring Tides
But it is the Perigean Spring Tides
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
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