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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Double Whammy

Yesterday, not only did I wake up and get a late start on my surfing of the innertubes, but the wifi got stinky in the mid-afternoon.  As a result, no blogging yesterday, and mostly catching up with news, science, humor, et cetera, today.  Yesterday's Big Picture was of scenes from the Chilean mine rescue, which I found moving- except for some of the pictures of the men in the capsule, which made me feel claustrophobic. And CNN dismissed persistent reports that "the Chilean miners would have to have their clavicles broken to fold themselves" on The Daily Show's moment of zen.

Inspiring and amazing as the rescue was, though, I think I have to give the "mind-blowing" nod to this proposed explanation for how Saturn's moon Iapetus came to have its bizarre equatorial ridge.
Unlike Saturn's other spherical or ellipsoid moons, Iapetus has a unique, slightly squashed shape with an 8-mile-high (13-kilometer-high) mountain range running around much of its middle, like the cusp where the halves of a walnut shell join.
I was dubious about the idea of damping rotational spin as I started, but by the time I finished, I was convinced it was the best explanation I've seen.  This is one strange feature, and it's going to require some strange things happening to cause it.  This seems to work... but don't assume it's the "right" answer yet. I don't doubt it'll have challengers and problems.  That's science, and that's why I love it.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Soon. Very Soon.

I'm approaching cognitive saturation for the day, and once I leave for home, I'm disconnected from the rest of the world.  No internet, and I refuse to turn on the tube. But sometime in the next hour or so, the first of the trapped Chilean miners is expected to return to the surface. The duration of the rescue phase of the operation is expected to be one to two days. The Guardian has posted a continuously updated news page, with notes added as events unfold.  There is also a live video feed. I'd like to express my admiration and good wishes for these folks, and offer gratitude to those who have worked so hard to pull off this miracle.  The only thing I can think of that rivals this for knuckle-biting suspense was Apollo 13, and I was too young to really empathize with that situation.

Followup: Almost forgot this- a nice graphic explaining the logistics and engineering of the extraction at NYT.

Tuesday Tits

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Cinnamon-breasted tit, Parus rufiventris pallideventris, from South African National Parks

"A Bit Unconventional, Out of The Box"

Sarah Palin speaks in Houston 
Sarah Palin said she would 'take on the establishment on both sides of the aisle'. Photograph: Aaron M Sprecher/EPA 

That would be Sarah Palin... I'm tempted to say "out of her mind," but like dubya, I think that misunderestimates her canniness with respect to the things in which she's interested. Obviously, the English language is not one of those things: "I just think that anyone is foolish to prematurely close any door that perhaps will be open for them." I think it would indeed be foolish to try to close a door that might (or might not) be open in the future, however, I doubt she has any real interest in running for the presidency, let alone- again noting dubya- carrying out the duties of that office.

I read recently that with his much-publicized plummet in favorability ratings, Obama stands at a miniscule 48%.  Palin's grass-roots popularity is an astronomically high 22%.  She's a shoe-in.

Snark aside, what is Palin interested in?  She's an egotistical narcissist: She wants attention. She wants the media spotlight and cash that go with attention.  I predict she will announce a run for the nomination, though she will make a lot of fuss about how the Republican good ol' boys club is sidelining her- which they will.  She will raise a lot of money and get a lot of air time- that's what she's interested in. Then, when it crumbles around her, as it inevitably will- she's not interested in doing the work to run a real campaign- she'll bow out and blame the "liberal, lamestream media."  Then go back to her job at faux news.  As an aside, if you were a candidate on the R side of the last presidential nomination, not currently holding office, and not named Mitt Romney, you are currently employed by faux news.  True story.

At any rate, let's let Sarah get the almost last word: "A nuclear weapon in that country's [Iran's] hands is not just Israel's problem or America's problem – it is the world's problem. It could lead to Armageddon. It could lead to World War III that could decimate so much of this planet."  This could be rephrased to point out that this country in SP's hands could well be much, much worse than simply reducing so much of this planet by a tenth.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Interzone People in the News

One of my Interzone friends was interviewed by KVAL for a story on National Coming Out Day.  Way to go, Kevin!  Here's the summary:
Oregon State and the University of Oregon were both recently named gay-friendly campuses by a national advocacy group, and a new program at OSU helps recruit queer students to study engineering and science.
And the closing sentence- a very powerful position in text journalism- is given to Kevin, as well: "This day is here to symbolize that people will accept themselves," he said, "and the rest of the world, whether they accept it or not - we will be gay."

So homophobes, grow up and get over it.  As I mentioned earlier elsewhere, "I promise not to worry about your sexuality if you don't worry about mine. Today is National Coming Out Day. I'm sorry we need one."

Followup: here's the video.

How to Win

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Pundit Kitchen... click for full size.

The Solution:

Oxygen has a liberal bias.

Give that time to sink in, then take whatever action you feel is appropriate. Based on a passing comment at Some Guy With a Website's fun comic this week.

Followup/clarification: some might choose a boycott.  That's entirely up to them.  Also, fresh water conforms to Islam's dietary guidelines.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

10/10/10

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(EpicPonyz) Also, according to an article in yesterday's NYT, 39,000 couples have chosen today to get married:
Sunday is the big day for saying “I do.”
More than 39,000 couples chose 10/10/10 as their wedding day — a nearly tenfold increase over the number of nuptials on Oct. 11, 2009, the comparable Sunday last year, according to figures gathered by David’s Bridal, the wedding superstore chain.
The reason for the surge is a blend of superstition and symbolism, said Maria McBride, the wedding style director at Brides Magazine. “You cross your fingers and hope it lasts a lifetime,” she said, and so “a perfect 10, times 3” suggests good luck.
Good luck and best wishes to all the newlyweds.

Sunday Funnies: Meaning of Life, Universe, and Everything Edition

It's 10/10/10. 101010 in binary is 42, so today is the answer to the question of Life, The Universe, and Everything.  Next one is in a century... I wonder if they'll remember.
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Demeur
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Sofa Pizza
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Sofa Pizza
demotivational posters - SMARTPHONES
see more Very Demotivational
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Bits and Pieces
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Non Sequitur
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Bits and Pieces
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Great White Snark
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EpicPonyz
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Bits and Pieces
Crazy Kitty Totally Looks Like John McCain
see more Celeb Look-A-Likes
funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
see more Engrish. Posted with the title, "I Can’t Believe It’s Not “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter.”"
FAITH*
see more Political Pictures
Whatcha Thinkin Bout?
see more Political Pictures
funny animal photos-HA HA HA. NO.
see more Acting Like Animals
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EpicPonyz
funny puns-The Colonel? I Thought He Was the Commander!
see more So Much Pun
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Criggo
Come, Patsy  Clip Clop, Clip Clop
see more Historic LOL
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Sober in a Nightclub
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Pygalgia... I've been meaning to get to that.
Game Over
see more Political Pictures
RESALE
see more Political Pictures
see more So Much Pun... Feel the excitement!
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Amazing Super Powers
funny puns-I'll Take That as a "No."
see more So Much Pun
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Criggo- after discussion, Iris and I think this may be a polite way of specifying "No Children Need Apply."
funny gifs - Oh So You Arent Getting Bamboo...
see more Gifs. As you may have always suspected, Pandas are jerks...
Pandas Are Jerks Gif - Pandas Are Jerks (Pt. 2)
see more Gifs
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EpicPonyz
Nancy Grace Totally Looks Like melon head cat
see more Celeb Look-A-Likes
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EpicPonyz
funny animal photos-Almost as Good as the Real Thing
see more Acting Like Animals
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Clay Bennett
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Sofa Pizza... creepy or funny? I repost, you decide.
funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
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Luke Surl
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Skull Swap
Vladimir Putin Totally Looks Like Dobby from Harry Potter
see more Celeb Look-A-Likes
Dead Rising  is a Great Game That Allows the Utmost in Self-Expression Gif - Dead Rising is a Great Game That Allows the Utmost in Self-Expression
see more Gifs. And now you know how to get through the coming zombie apocalypse.
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Blackadder
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Blackadder
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Darius Whiteplume's Tumblr
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Sofa Pizza
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Sofa Pizza
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What Would Jack Do?
Error 404: Page Not Found
see more Historic LOL
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Sofa Pizza
This can be you! ^ French Forest Legion
see more Political Pictures
celebrity pictures holy grizzail
see more Lol Celebs. My life is complete.  I can now watch this scene on continuous loop.
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Criggo. Comment on site says, "Don’t joke about that. It was a perilous journey for the three ships and their crews, in an era of unrestricted submarine warfare."
demotivational posters - SANTA'S DEAD
see more Very Demotivational
funny graphs - American Map According to Europeans
see more Funny Graphs
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How's That for a Slice of Fried Gold?
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Darius Whiteplume's Tumblr
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Sofa Pizza
funny pictures-yes, I have a drinking problem. my face won't reach the drink.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
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What Would Jack Do?
see more Funny Graphs
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Criggo
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Engrish Funny
demotivational posters - HEARTWARMING
see more Very Demotivational