24
Aug
Pluto is no longer a planet.
The IAU has been toying with this for a while but they finally did it, establishing three major guidelines in order to define what a planet actually is. The third guideline is what did Pluto in.
24
Aug
When even the rightists like Joe Scarborough are beginning to question the mental acuity of Bush, things are definitely on a downward plunge.
Last week Scarborough had a piece on his news mag asking if Bush is an “idiot”. I more or less already knew the answer to that question — but it was rather surprising to see this kind of coverage coming from someone who is arguably well-placed in the conservative camp.
24
Aug
This one came through Seed. It’s slow-motion video of trap-jaw ants, whose mandibles close at more than 100 MPH. What’s great is the videos of the ants flinging themselves through the air; the “bouncer defense jump” in particular looks like someting a stunt junkie would do.
23
Aug
CalorieLab posted a graf on Kansas’s decision to emulate Arkansas — and this time in a good way. Turns out AR has been battling fatassery in its kids by using BMI to more objectively measure how plump the little toadstools have become. KS might decide to do the same thing.
I’ve been naughty again.
This is actually something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.
You might wonder why I seem to hate McDonald’s, but the truth is that they’re just the biggest target out there right now. They’re the food equivalent of a Hummer — big, wasteful and iconic.
What drives us to such excesses? I think I might have an idea.
18
Aug
While I was shovelng up pineapple, melon and strawbwerries in the cafeteria’s newly-installed fruit bar this morning (and adding some granola and yogurt to the fare), I noticed some packets of honey on the bar’s sides.
I’d never actually been able to find honey in the cafeteria before then, and mentioned it to the checker at the register, who pointed it out to me. It’s normally hidden on the cereal cart in the corner. (Duh. Sadly I’ve been to that cart frequently in search of bran cereals; I managed to overlook the honey, which I like in my tea, every time.)
Now here is an interesting little story. (Via Seed) It seems infants are able to notice simple arithmetic differences, tested in this case by showing the babes puppets and then seeing how long it takes them to realize that 1 + 1 != 1. Evidently it’s not just show either; scans of brain activity seem to indicate the kids, as young as 6 months, are in fact seeing the introduced arithmentic errors.
Well, all right, sadly not — but he would be.
According to Reuters, not only are there storks who’ve settled down into same-sex relationships, but some of them are raising chicks. (Wait for the commercial to play out to see the video story.)
Presumably at least one of the birds is an adoptive parent.
17
Aug
Take a look at this image and tell me if you think there’s anything grossly wrong with it:
Apart from the munging of the phone number (deliberate) and the — ahem — unfortunate resemblance to a recent superhero movie (tragic), is there anything that stands out to you as being troubling?
16
Aug
I came back mostly because of the latest horror being perpetrated on the US by McDonald’s, in the form of a Happy Meal that includes, as its free “prize”, Hummers.
No, no, no, it’s not that kind of Happy Meal. I’m talking about the SUV here, not the felony. Little toy Hummers in McDonald’s Happy Meals.
Oh goody.
