Incredible Crepuscular Rays
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Sunbeams Caught On Camera
Biggest Full Moon Of 2012 Occurs This Week
Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend. The moon will officially become full Saturday, May 5. And because this month's full moon coincides with the moon's perigee - its closest approach to Earth - it will also be the year's biggest.
The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon.
Eight Lesser Known Crowded Islands From Around The World
Loch Ness monster ordered to leave Wisconsin river
The Loch Ness monster is on vacation in Wisconsin - and state
officials want the legendary lady to leave.Department of Natural
Resources spokesman Dan Baumann says a sculpture of Nessie is illegally
obstructing the Chippewa River in Eau Claire and must be removed by the
person who placed it there.The sculpture's creator remains a mystery,
although ...
The Secret Restroom
There’s an entire website about the “Secret Restroom” located to the side of Carnation Plaza at Disneyland. It’s not so much a secret anymore, but it is a fully-accessible one-holer tucked away as to not be noticeable. It’s also cleaned every half-hour. From the FAQs:
Why is the Secret Restroom better than other Disneyland restrooms? For a variety of reasons. For example, it is the only restroom in the entire park that is entirely handicapped accessible, full of cutting-edge technology, and against park policy for discussion by any cast member.The site has full pages dedicated to every amenity and fixture of the restroom here.
When was the location of the Secret Restroom first publicly revealed? Although Disneyland goes out of its way to avoid publicizing the Hidden Restroom, a photograph of it (seen at right) was printed in a “Disneyland Secrets” article in the Orange County Register in 1986.
Scenes from a Cactus Shop in Japan
Due to Technical Difficulties ...
... we here at Carolina Naturally are publishing several old pieces to clear out the inbox.
They follow below.
They follow below.
Low-caste Indian boy 'killed over high-caste man's name'
A low-caste Dalit boy has been killed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for sharing a name with a man of a higher caste, police say. They said Neeraj Kumar's father Ram Sumer had been asked to change the names of two sons as they were the same as those of Jawahar Chaudhary's sons. The body of Neeraj, 14, was found on 23 November in a field. Two friends of the Chaudhary family have been arrested.
Mr Chaudhary denies the involvement of his family in the murder. He says the family is being framed by police. Dalits, formerly known as "untouchables", are at the bottom of the Hindu caste system in India. Although caste discrimination is illegal, biases remain in many areas.
The latest incident took place in Radhaupur village in Basti district. Both Ram Sumer and Jawahar Chaudhary have sons named Neeraj and Dheeraj and that has long been an issue between the two families, Sub-inspector Praveen Kumar said. Mr Chaudhary, who belongs to a higher caste, had given several warnings to Mr Sumer to change the names of his boys.
On 22 November, Neeraj left home after dinner to watch television at a friend's house. His body was found the next day. Police said he was strangled. Mr Chaudhary's sons - Neeraj and Dheeraj - are missing, but police have arrested two friends of the family who they say had a role in the murder.
Robber gave man his wallet back after he started to cry
A man was robbed while he walked up the stairs of his apartment building in San Francisco's Telegraph Hill neighbourhood on Thursday night, but when the victim started to cry, the suspect decided to give him his wallet back, police said.
The thief wasn't totally good-hearted though-he kept the cash that was inside the wallet, as well as the man's cellphone. The robbery was reported at about 10:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of Grant Avenue, according to police.
The 29-year-old victim was walking up the stairs of the building when a suspect approached from behind and demanded his belongings, police said. The victim complied, handing over his cellphone and wallet.
He then burst into tears, leading the suspect to give him his wallet back while keeping the cash, according to police. The suspect, a man in his mid to late 30s, then fled and had not been found. The victim was not injured in the robbery.
Man who tried to hold up a bank that closed 17 years ago is jailed
A German man who tried to hold up a bank that closed 17 years ago has been jailed for seven years. The regional court in the western city of Osnabrueck said the defendant, identified only as 57-year-old Siegfried K., arrived at the bank branch, now equipped only with cash machines, with a toy gun in May.
He seized a female "hostage" in the lobby of the building to demand a 10,000-euro ($13,483) ransom from bank employees. "This plan failed however due to the fact that the building has not held a bank for more than a decade but rather a physiotherapy practice," the court said in a statement. The bank had moved out 17 years ago.
"After the defendant recognised the situation, he changed his plan and demanded a passer-by withdraw money from the cash machine," the court said. "She withdrew 400 euros and the defendant made off with the cash in a car he had stolen."
He later abandoned the vehicle but left the plastic pistol, covered with his fingerprints, between the seats. The court said Siegfried K. had confessed to the robbery and judges handed down a seven-year sentence on Tuesday due to 22 previous convictions over the last 40 years.
A natural dye obtained from lichens may combat Alzheimer’s disease
A red dye derived from lichens that has been used for centuries to color fabrics and food appears to reduce the abundance of small toxic protein aggregates in Alzheimer’s disease. The dye, a compound called orcein, and a related substance, called O4, b…
How To Help Earth and the Economy
- Build jobs, save money, and do the planet good - easy ways to occupy 2012.
Read more
Walnut Industry May Crack Under Climate Pressure
- Forestry researchers warn walnuts face tough times ahead.
Read more
Memories..........Enjoy
'Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.
'All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. !
'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer
serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.
But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if
I figured his system could have handled it :
Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf
course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card.
In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The
card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck.
Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.
My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we
never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds,
and only had one speed, (slow).
We didn't have a television in our house until I was 5.
It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. and there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.
I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.'
When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off,
swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still
the best pizza I ever had.
We didn't have a car until I was 4. It was an old black Dodge.
I never had a telephone in my room.
The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line.
Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't
know weren't already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at 6AM every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.
Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies.
There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to
share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't
blame me if they bust a gut laughing.
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?
MEMORIES from a friend :
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and
he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a
stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old.
How many do you remember?
- Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
- Ignition switches on the dashboard.
- Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.
- Real ice boxes.
- Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
- Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
- Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.
Older Than Dirt Quiz :
Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about.
Ratings at the bottom.
1 Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with table side juke boxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines on the telephone
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were
there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels [if you were fortunate])
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H green stamps
16 Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers
If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!
I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best parts of my life.
'Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'
'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.
'All the food was slow.'
'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'
'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. !
'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'
By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer
serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.
But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if
I figured his system could have handled it :
Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf
course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card.
In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The
card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck.
Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.
My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we
never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds,
and only had one speed, (slow).
We didn't have a television in our house until I was 5.
It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. and there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.
I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.'
When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off,
swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still
the best pizza I ever had.
We didn't have a car until I was 4. It was an old black Dodge.
I never had a telephone in my room.
The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line.
Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't
know weren't already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at 6AM every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.
Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies.
There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to
share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't
blame me if they bust a gut laughing.
Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?
MEMORIES from a friend :
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and
he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a
stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old.
How many do you remember?
- Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
- Ignition switches on the dashboard.
- Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.
- Real ice boxes.
- Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
- Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
- Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.
Older Than Dirt Quiz :
Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about.
Ratings at the bottom.
1 Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with table side juke boxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines on the telephone
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were
there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels [if you were fortunate])
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H green stamps
16 Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers
If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!
I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best parts of my life.
Coal-Friendly Agency Turns Fossil Fuel Foe
- An international agency makes an impassioned plea for renewable energy to help stop global warming.
Sierra Leone's Gola Rainforest becomes national park
A statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security says that the Gola Rainforest has been identified as a "Biodiversity hotspot" and is of global importance because of its rich variety of plants and animals.
Flesh-eating banana fears hit Mozambique
Rumours of flesh-eating bananas in Mozambique have sparked a plummet in the sale of the fruit, prompting the health minister Friday to reassure people of its safety. "From the work conducted by the Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Trade and Industry, it was concluded that there is no record of entry of any infected banana in the country," according to a joint statement.
An email and text message hoax warning people against eating bananas for the next three weeks went viral as people feared being infected by necrotising fasciitis, or skin-eating disease. The bacteria can destroy skin, fat and tissue covering the muscles.
The messages also advised people to see a doctor if they developed a fever after eating the killer fruit. Especially bananas from KwaZulu-Natal province in neighbouring South Africa carried the virus, according to the hoax.
Banana sales in the capital Maputo fell sharply despite the fact that Mozambique does not import bananas from its neighbour. In a separate statement South Africa's agriculture ministry denounced the messages as a hoax. It strongly advised against burning the skin around the supposed infection, as suggested in the message.
Vermont inmates hide pig in official police car decal
The official crest depicts a spotted cow against a background of snowy mountains, but the inmates' version featured one of the cow's spots shaped like a pig in an apparent reference to the pejorative word for police, state police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said.
"It dishonors the memory of those past and present members, especially for those who have lost their lives in the line of duty," Dasaro said.
Vermont contracts with correctional facilities employing prisoners to make some print products, including the cruiser decals. Police said someone who works at the print shop changed the emblem from the officially sanctioned design.
A police employee noticed the prank on Wednesday and reported it. Police said the 60 16-inch door decals would be removed as soon as it was practical.
The "source and timing" of the change to the design is under investigation, Dasaro said.
"While some may find humor in the decal modifications, the joke unfortunately comes at the expense of the taxpayers," Police Major Bill Sheets said in a statement.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Anouncement
At long last we are going to be able to retrieve our computer tomorrow (5-5-12) and get CN back to it's regular schedule beginning Sunday (5-6-12).
We wish to thank all our readers who have kept faith with us these past 5 months and we promise CN will be even better than before.
Before the blowout (or in this case meltdown - literally) of a small component on the motherboard which was extremely hard to detect though easily repaired when detected, we were setting into place a more streamlined and reliable source of material from our staff of several contributors. This has been in place and will make it easier to publish this blog daily.
We wish to thank all our readers who have kept faith with us these past 5 months and we promise CN will be even better than before.
Before the blowout (or in this case meltdown - literally) of a small component on the motherboard which was extremely hard to detect though easily repaired when detected, we were setting into place a more streamlined and reliable source of material from our staff of several contributors. This has been in place and will make it easier to publish this blog daily.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Editorial Comment
Well after 5 months it all came down to a $6.00 part on the motherboard, but our computer in repaired.
Now, it is a question of timing the retrieval of the computer with this upcoming Saturday looking to be the first opportunity to do so.
Shortly thereafter CN will be back better than ever.
Now, it is a question of timing the retrieval of the computer with this upcoming Saturday looking to be the first opportunity to do so.
Shortly thereafter CN will be back better than ever.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Editorial Comment
While it has been a while since we lost the use of our mainframe and back up we look forward to having at least the main back up and running by February 20, 2012 although our posting schedule will remain somewhat light for a few days beyond as one of our critical staffers is undergoing knee replacement surgery that day and we will be at her side most of the time for the first few days after that surgery.
After all this time it looks to be that a surge in the current from the power company that zapped the power control(s) of the main and the backup. Well, that is the currently prevailing thought of our tech guy anyway. The unkown surge - as how and why we cannot fathom, there were no storms or outages for other reasons prior to the loss of computer function - has us baffled.
Now if it is only a switch problem and nothing more ... we can all be happy.
After all this time it looks to be that a surge in the current from the power company that zapped the power control(s) of the main and the backup. Well, that is the currently prevailing thought of our tech guy anyway. The unkown surge - as how and why we cannot fathom, there were no storms or outages for other reasons prior to the loss of computer function - has us baffled.
Now if it is only a switch problem and nothing more ... we can all be happy.
Yeti crab cultivates food on its own arms
As reported by Ed Yong at Nature:
The yeti crab — so-called because of the hair-like bristles that cover its arms — is only the second of its family to be discovered... Writing in PLoS ONE this week, Thurber named the crab Kiwa puravida, after a common Costa Rican saying that means 'pure life'...A brief, low-res video of the "dance" is at the link, along with additional details. Not discussed there is these speculations from the Reddit thread:
The bristles that cover the crab’s claws and body are coated in gardens of symbiotic bacteria, which derive energy from the inorganic gases of the seeps. The crab eats the bacteria, using comb-like mouthparts to harvest them from its bristles.
The bacteria in K. puravida gardens are closely related to species that live in other cold seeps and hot hydrothermal vents all over the world. “It looks like the bacteria may use the seeps as stepping stones, to create this global connected population that consumes the energy coming out of seeps and vents,” says Thurber.
Thurber thinks that K. puravida waves its claws to actively farm its bacterial gardens: movements stir up the water around the bacteria, ensuring that fresh supplies of oxygen and sulphide wash over them and helping them to grow. “This 'dance' is extraordinary and comical,” says Van Dover. “We've never seen this strategy before.”
If you wondered what kind of complex life can survive major asteroid impact, full-on nuclear winter and so on, remember the humble yeti crab and his bacterial garden. Where he goes, he does not need sun. Only methane seep in the deepest darkness. Cockroaches and even radioresistant-as-hell braconid wasps have nothing on him.
A Caprine Condominium
The Goat Tower
What do you do when you own a group of Swiss Mountain Goats but there isn't anywhere for them to climb? The answer that South African farmer Charles Back -owner of the Fairview Wine and Cheese Farm - came up with was to create a domicile for his goats that would help keep them fit as well as giving them an altogether better kind class of shed: the Goat Tower.
Whistling donkey leaves Irish court in fits of laughter
A tale of a busker, bald tyres and a whistling donkey left the presiding judge, gardaÃ, solicitors and even defendants in tears of laughter in Dingle District Court as they heard of the unlikely series of events that led to three road traffic charges being brought against a man. Well known Dingle street entertainer Deaglan Ó Muiris of 7 Cuairt Phiarais, Ballyferriter, became the unintentional source of comic relief when Garda Frank Scanlon outlined the scene that greeted him when he stopped the busker for driving with four bald tyres.
Garda Scanlon told the court that having noticed the worn tyres on Mr Ó Muiris's Hiace van, his attention was immediately drawn to the inside of the vehicle, where he saw a donkey looking back at him. He proceeded to tell Judge James O'Connor how the said donkey is part of Mr Ó Muiris's renowned busking act, and is regularly seen with the defendant in Dingle.
Photo from The Irish Examiner.
When asked by the chuckling judge what the donkey did as part of the act, Garda Scanlon told him he played the tin whistle, causing an outburst of laughter in the courtroom. Solicitor Pat Mann told the highly entertained judge that his client and his donkey are a regular double act at Dingle pier and that Mr Ó Muiris is 'a very good natured man.' He said that after being stopped by Garda Scanlon, he paid €350 for four new tyres for the van.
Garda Scanlon told the court that having noticed the worn tyres on Mr Ó Muiris's Hiace van, his attention was immediately drawn to the inside of the vehicle, where he saw a donkey looking back at him. He proceeded to tell Judge James O'Connor how the said donkey is part of Mr Ó Muiris's renowned busking act, and is regularly seen with the defendant in Dingle.
When asked by the chuckling judge what the donkey did as part of the act, Garda Scanlon told him he played the tin whistle, causing an outburst of laughter in the courtroom. Solicitor Pat Mann told the highly entertained judge that his client and his donkey are a regular double act at Dingle pier and that Mr Ó Muiris is 'a very good natured man.' He said that after being stopped by Garda Scanlon, he paid €350 for four new tyres for the van.
Withdrawing one of the charges, Garda Scanlon said he was very familiar with Mr Ó Muiris and had come across him on numerous occasions, adding that he had one previous conviction for drink driving dating back a few years. Mr Mann quickly interjected, telling the court that that offence was for driving his Hiace van, and not his donkey. Garda Scanlon agreed that the tyres had been replaced, and concluded his evidence by telling the judge that the donkey has been retired for the winter. The defendant was given until May of next year to pay €300 to the court poor box to avoid a convcition for the bald tyre offences.
Animal Kindom Poetry
We work like a horse.We like to play chicken.
You can get on someone's goat.
We can be as slippery as a snake.
We get dog tired.
We can be as quiet as a mouse.
We can be as quick as a cat.
Some of us are as strong as an ox.
Some are as ugly as a toad.
We can be as gentle as a lamb.
Sometimes we are as happy as a lark.
Some of us drink like a fish.
We can be as proud as a peacock.
A few of us are as hairy as a gorilla.
You can get a frog in your throat.
We can be a lone wolf.
But I'm having a whale of a time!
Heroic dog rescued kittens dumped in bag on road
A bag of kittens were dumped out on an Iowa country road and left to die, but two kittens were rescued by an unlikely hero. The Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary says animal cruelty is far too common. About three months ago, they received a frantic call from a Madison County woman who pulled two kittens from a bag that her dog found in the middle of the road. Meet Skipper and Tipper, or as sanctuary volunteers call them, the "bag kittens." That's because they should have died in a Meow Mix sack.
“It was gruesome, quite gruesome because the kittens; there was a litter of 4 or 5 of them and you couldn't tell if there were 2 or 3 in the bag because they had been run over by a vehicle. It was not a pretty sight,” says Linda Blakely of the Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary. Tipper and Skipper were sealed into the bag, dumped on a road and crushed by oncoming traffic. It's a miracle they survived the experience. However, that's not the end of the story. Meet Reagan. He found the bag and dragged it all the way home to his owner. Reagan whined until she opened it.
“The instinct of the dog was to nurture and not kill the kittens. With all the blood some dogs would have responded to the scent. Reagan the dog is a hero,” says Blakely. Reagan's owner could hear Skipper and Tipper's faint cries from inside the bag. However, she was totally unprepared for what she found when she opened it. “When she reached in the horror of these kittens covered in blood and guts quickly revealed there was more that didn't make it.”
Video link.
The kittens were so weak; they had to be fed with a bottle every two hours. Blakely fostered Skipper and Tipper, who were traumatized by the experience. She wasn't sure they would live through the first few days. “Whether them being dumped out was an act of cruelty or desperation we will never know, but we want people to know there's better ways.” Three months later, Skipper and Tipper look like normal, healthy kittens. All thanks to loving pooch and the kindness of a few animal lovers.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2001
New Batch of Giant Alien Worlds Found
The finding of 18 distant planets boosts a theory about how planets form. Read more
Measuring a Tiny, Yet Mighty, Black Hole
Astronomers have measured the vital statistics of the black hole living in the famous Cygnus X-1 binary system to a very high precision. The mass and physical size of the black hole may surprise you... Read more
NOAA: Arctic worse than in 2005
It's not surprising, but it's also to be expected. When you have one of the two parties that can't accept science and climate change, how can you combat the problem? More melting may be the new normal for the Arctic.
The report, written by 121 scientists from around the world, said statistics point to a shift in the Arctic health in 2006. That was right before 2007, when a mix of weather conditions and changing climate led to a record loss of sea ice, from which the region has never recovered. This summer's sea ice melt was the second worst on record, a tad behind 2007.
"We've got a new normal," said co-author Don Perovich, a geophysicist at the Army Corps of Engineers Cold Research and Engineering Lab. "Whether it's a tipping point and we'll never recover, who's to say?"
Magnetic Pole Reversal Happens All The (Geologic) Time
Scientists understand that Earth’s magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times over the millennia. In other words, if you were alive about 800,000 years ago, and facing what we call north with a magnetic compass in your hand, the needle would point to ‘south.’ This is because a magnetic compass is calibrated based on [...]
Facebook finds the town too Effin rude for site
For most people adding the name of where they live on Facebook is relatively straightforward. A problem, however, arises when the place where you live is branded as offensive by the social networking site. One woman from Effin in County Limerick in the Irish Republic has so far been unable to add the village name to the 'home place' section of her Facebook profile.
Ann Marie Kennedy, who works in the department of nursing and midwifery at the University of Limerick, has now started an online campaign to to get Effin recognised. "I was born and raised in Effin and my family come from here," she said. "I am also directing a play, 'Effin Cinderella' this Christmas.
"I would like to be able to put Effin on my profile page and so would many other Effin people around the world to proudly say that they are from Effin, County Limerick, but it won't recognise that," she added. "It just won't let me add it. It just keeps giving suggestions such as Effingham, Illinois; Effingham, New Hampshire."
She said: "I'm a proud Effin woman and I always will be an Effin woman." The 47-year-old Effin native has now started an online campaign, although an attempt to set up a Facebook page called 'Please get my hometown Effin recognised' was also unsuccessful. "It came up with an error message that it was 'offensive'," she said.
Ann Marie Kennedy, who works in the department of nursing and midwifery at the University of Limerick, has now started an online campaign to to get Effin recognised. "I was born and raised in Effin and my family come from here," she said. "I am also directing a play, 'Effin Cinderella' this Christmas.
"I would like to be able to put Effin on my profile page and so would many other Effin people around the world to proudly say that they are from Effin, County Limerick, but it won't recognise that," she added. "It just won't let me add it. It just keeps giving suggestions such as Effingham, Illinois; Effingham, New Hampshire."
She said: "I'm a proud Effin woman and I always will be an Effin woman." The 47-year-old Effin native has now started an online campaign, although an attempt to set up a Facebook page called 'Please get my hometown Effin recognised' was also unsuccessful. "It came up with an error message that it was 'offensive'," she said.
More and More US Teenagers Prefer Surfing the Net to Driving a Car
Remember your first time driving? For most Americans, nothing symbolizes freedom more than the open road. But that's changing: for more and more teenagers, freedom doesn't mean a fast car. It means a fast Internet:If Ferris Bueller had a day off now, would he spend it on Facebook?Link
Recent research suggests many young Americans prefer to spend their money and time chatting to their friends online, as opposed to the more traditional pastime of cruising around in cars. [...]
But with money tight in many households, and the cost of gas and insurance soaring, some youngsters are having to choose between buying a car and owning the latest smartphone or tablet.
In a survey to be published later this year by Gartner, 46% of 18 to 24-year-olds said they would choose internet access over owning their own car. The figure is 15% among the baby boom generation, the people that grew up in the 1950s and 60s - seen as the golden age of American motoring.
Editorial Comment
Yes, we are back, albeit on a severely limited basis for the moment - we are using the facilities at our local Library to get up with the comments and to post updates until our system is repaired.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Reuters Best Photos of the Year 2011
Ganvié
It is estimated that Ganvié is anything up to five hundred years old. It has been called the Venice of Africa and like the Italian city, its original inhabitants set up home there out of sheer necessity.
For Northerners Moving South
In the South: If you run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in a four-wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't try to help them, just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store....do not buy food at this store.
Get used to hearing "You ain't from round here, are ya?"
Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later on how to use it.
Don't be worried at not understanding what people are saying. They can't understand you either. The first Southern statement to creep into a transplanted Northerner's vocabulary is the adjective "big'ol," truck or big'ol" boy. Most Northerners begin their Southern-influenced dialect this way. All of them are in denial about it.
The proper pronunciation you learned in school is no longer proper.
Be advised that "He needed killin" is a valid defense here.
If you hear a Southerner exclaim, "Hey, y'all, watch this," you should stay out of the way. These are likely to be the last words he'll ever say.
If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store. It doesn't matter whether you need anything or not. You just have to go there.
Do not be surprised to find that 10-year olds own their own shotguns, they are proficient marksmen, and their mammas taught them how to aim
In the South, we have found that the best way to grow a lush green lawn is to pour gravel on it and call it a driveway.
AND REMEMBER: If you do settle in the South and bear children, don't think we will accept them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we wouldn't call 'em biscuits.
You know you're a cop if ...
You have the bladder capacity of five peopleYou have ever restrained someone and it was not a sexual experience
You believe that 50% of people are a waste of good air
Your idea of a good time is a "man with a gun" call
You conduct a criminal record check on anyone who seems friendly towards you
You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac and birth control pills
You disbelieve 90% of what you hear and 75% of what you see
You have your weekends off planned for a year
You believe the government should require a permit to reproduce
You refer to your favorite restaurant by the intersection at which it's located
You have ever wanted to hold a seminar entitled: "Suicide...getting it Right the first time.
You ever had to put the phone on hold before you begin laughing uncontrollably
You think caffeine should be available in IV form
You believe anyone who says, "I only had two beers" is going to blow more than a .O8
You find out a lot about paranoia just by following people around
Anyone has ever said to you, "There are people killing other people out there and you are here messing with me."
People flag you down on the street and ask you directions to strange places ... and you know where it's located
You can discuss where you are going to eat with your partner while standing over a dead body
You are the only person introduced at social gatherings by profession. (ISN'T THIS THE TRUTH!)
You walk into places and people think it's high comedy to grab their buddy and shout, "They've come to get you, Bill."
You do not see daylight from November until May
People shout, "I didn't do it!" when you walk into a room and think they're being hugely funny and original
A week's worth of laundry consists of 5 T-shirts, 5 pairs of socks,and 5 pairs of underwear
You've ever referred to Tuesday as "my weekend", or "this is my Friday."
You've ever written off guns and ammunition as a business deduction
You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, it sure is quiet tonight."
Discussing dismemberment over a meal seems perfectly normal to you
You find humor in other people's stupidity
You have left more meals on the restaurant table than you've eaten
You feel good when you hear "these handcuffs are too tight."
Editorial Comment
We were just informed today that our technical problems are finally going to be addressed shortly.
The holidays and a mutual friend's wedding have taken all the 'spare' time our tech guru has had away from his paying gig.
But now that the holidays have been over and with the friend married off yesterday, he can now look into sloving the issue.
Well, that is if his wife will let him that is - she has been a royal bitch for a year now about everything and anything when she hasn't been the center of everyone's full and undivided attention (even at the wedding she pitched a fit because her hair wasn't fixed first by the stylist doing the wedding party's hair ... and here I always thought it was the Bride who was center of attention on her wedding day, but apparently not).
So we wait patiently for the good news.
And we what to thank our reader Jimbo for the encouraging comments throughout this time of trials and tribulations with the hardware difficulties.
The holidays and a mutual friend's wedding have taken all the 'spare' time our tech guru has had away from his paying gig.
But now that the holidays have been over and with the friend married off yesterday, he can now look into sloving the issue.
Well, that is if his wife will let him that is - she has been a royal bitch for a year now about everything and anything when she hasn't been the center of everyone's full and undivided attention (even at the wedding she pitched a fit because her hair wasn't fixed first by the stylist doing the wedding party's hair ... and here I always thought it was the Bride who was center of attention on her wedding day, but apparently not).
So we wait patiently for the good news.
And we what to thank our reader Jimbo for the encouraging comments throughout this time of trials and tribulations with the hardware difficulties.
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