Fred Langa: "What comes next?"

You just don't want to piss off some customers.

2012-01-29T10:59:00.001-05:00

Full story:

http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/

Helioviewer - Solar and heliospheric image visualization tool

2012-01-29T10:35:00.001-05:00

via helioviewer.org

Pick any day, zoom in and out...

Hence, the long neck.

2012-01-29T10:30:00.001-05:00

via stiknord.tumblr.com

Colorful-Aurora-Borealis-in-Finland | Flickr

2012-01-28T11:28:00.001-05:00

via flickr.com

Like Space? Got an extra $75K?

2012-01-28T11:18:00.001-05:00

via Jay Poole

Russian Soyuz grounded again, SpaceX Dragon may be next to ISS | DVICE

2012-01-27T19:39:00.001-05:00

via dvice.com

Plus, SpaceX has just posted an interior 360-degree panorama inside the Dragon capsule.

http://www.spacex.com/panorama/index.html

DARPA Funding a $50 F-Bomb. No, really! (It's a disposable computer.)

2012-01-27T18:13:00.001-05:00

"At the Shmoocon security conference, researcher Brendan O'Connor plans to present the F-BOMB, or Falling or Ballistically-launched Object that Makes Backdoors. Built from just the disassembled hardware in a commercially-available PogoPlug mini-computer, a few tiny antennae, eight gigabytes of flash memory and some 3D-printed plastic casing, the F-BOMB serves as 3.5"-by-4"-by-1" spy computer."

More: it.slashdot.org

50 Great Russian Rocket Launch Photos

2012-01-27T11:30:00.001-05:00

Russian Cargo Ship Dazzles in Launch to Space StationCredit: Russian Federal Space AgencyA dazzling view of the Oct. 14, 2009 (Eastern Time) launch of the Progress 35 cargo ship to the International Space Station was provided live via the Russian Federal Space Agency.

via space.com

Spectacularly clear air lets you see the effects of decreasing atmospheric pressure as this rockets ascends to very high altitude.

Political Cartoon from Tom Toles

2012-01-27T08:59:00.001-05:00

via washingtonpost.com

Doing great! Doing great! Doing great!...

2012-01-26T18:10:00.001-05:00

Is anyone really surprised?

2012-01-26T17:08:00.001-05:00

Those who bay loudest about local control and rugged individualism are actually the biggest beneficiaries of Big Government.

Interesting series of Light Paintings from American photographer Brice Bischoff, taken at the Bronson Caves, Los Angeles.

2012-01-26T12:49:00.001-05:00

via bloodyloud.com

http://www.bloodyloud.com/bronson-caves-light-paintings-brice-bischoff/

How to respond to a literary critic

2012-01-26T12:18:00.001-05:00

In 1791, riled by a recent review that criticised a supposed abundance of "obscure language" and "imperfect grammar" in his poetry, celebrated Scottish poet Robert Burns channelled his anger and wrote the following magnificent letter to the critic responsible.

It really is a thing of beauty.

Click through to read the letter.

via lettersofnote.com

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/thou-eunuch-of-language.html

World's longest experiment now on webcam (still going slowly, since 1927) | DVICE

2012-01-25T13:34:00.001-05:00

via dvice.com

http://dvice.com/archives/2012/01/worlds-longest-1.php

Martian Wind's Handiwork - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

2012-01-25T13:30:00.001-05:00

via jpl.nasa.gov

Beer Can Camera Captures Amazing Time-Lapse #Photo of the Sun... on Twitpic

2012-01-25T12:34:00.001-05:00

via twitpic.com

NASA Releases Stunning 8K x 8K Pixel High Resolution Blue Marble Image of Earth

2012-01-25T12:32:00.001-05:00

via sciencenewsblog.com

Article:http://www.sciencenewsblog.com/blog/12520121

"You can see an amazing huge 8000x8000 pixel version of the Blue Marble image on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6760135001/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Click on the link "original" on the top right of the page to see the giant image."

The Oldest Living Things in the World by Rachel Sussman

2012-01-25T11:31:00.001-05:00

via laughingsquid.com

underground forest #0707-10333 (up to 13,000 years old; pretoria, south africa

More: http://laughingsquid.com/the-oldest-living-things-in-the-world-by-rachel-suss...

this isn't happiness™ (Instructions: 1. Stare at the red dot on the...)

2012-01-25T11:26:00.001-05:00

via thisisnthappiness.com

Instructions:
1. Stare at the red dot on the girl’s nose for 30 seconds.
2. Turn your eyes to a plain surface (your ceiling or blank wall).
3. Blink repeatedly and quickly.

Obama Risks Alienating Republicans By Using Facts

2012-01-25T11:12:00.001-05:00

"Mr. Obama stirred controversy throughout the speech with his relentless references to facts, data, and things that have actually happened, all long considered the third rail of American politics."

more: borowitzreport.com

Winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx's feather color determined

2012-01-24T11:42:00.001-05:00

"If Archaeopteryx was flapping or gliding, the presence of melanosomes [pigment-producing parts of a cell] would have given the feathers additional structural support," said Ryan Carney, an evolutionary biologist at Brown and the paper's lead author. "This would have been advantageous during this early evolutionary stage of dinosaur flight."

via physorg.com

Sustainably ahead of the unsustainable sustainability index.

2012-01-24T11:36:00.001-05:00

via xkcd.com

PhotoBlog - Auroras spark awe across the north

2012-01-23T16:27:00.001-05:00

via photoblog.msnbc.msn.com

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10217788-auroras-spark-awe-ac...

Borowitz Report: Concerned White House Aides Say Obama Has Not Stopped Laughing Since Saturday Night

2012-01-23T12:03:00.001-05:00

The aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they heard “unusual howls” coming from the Oval Office just after the seven o’clock hour on Saturday evening, causing them to rush to the President to ascertain the cause of the uproar.

“It was weird,” one aide said. “He was just watching cable news.”

via borowitzreport.com

More: http://www.borowitzreport.com/

Two Faces of Titan's Dunes - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

2012-01-23T11:15:00.001-05:00

via jpl.nasa.gov

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm

The Funky Craters of Mars

2012-01-23T11:05:00.001-05:00

via astroengine.com

http://www.astroengine.com/2011/12/the-funky-craters-of-mars/

Good hair turns out to be a poor science educator : Pharyngula

2012-01-23T10:58:00.001-05:00

"The requirements to be a TV weather presenter are fairly slack: an undergraduate degree with some training in meteorology is preferred, but not required, and the main skills seem to be looking presentable with nice hair, being able to dance with a green screen, and being glib and cheerful. So I guess it's not surprising that the "scientists" leading the charge against global warming are climate-denier TV weathermen. That link takes you to a long list of quotes from various television weather personalities — including a couple from Minneapolis — who all deny reality and use their position as frontmen pretending to be scientists to delude the public. Take a look and see if your local television station has a conspiracy nut doing the weather."

via scienceblogs.com

Top THAT, AARP!

2012-01-20T09:39:00.001-05:00

A Tribute to Artists In The Form of Decorated Sandwiches

2012-01-20T08:34:00.001-05:00

via laughingsquid.com

iPad gains cunieform font!

2012-01-19T22:52:00.001-05:00

Canadian customers get lumps of clay instead of iPads

via tuaw.com

live video, 15 min to Delta 4 rocket launching the WGS 4 military communications satellite.

2012-01-19T19:21:00.001-05:00

via spaceflightnow.com

In honor of Newt’s very bad day

2012-01-19T10:38:00.001-05:00

In case you haven’t heard, he’s about to have one. Seemed an appropriate moment to repost a cartoon from 1995:

Click to engorge.

posted by Tom Tomorrow at 11:31 AM | link

via thismodernworld.com

Blogger sneaks into missile factory near Moscow - NY Daily News

2012-01-19T09:46:00.001-05:00

via nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogger-sneaks-missile-factory-moscow-gallery-1.10...

Three reasons.

2012-01-19T09:35:00.001-05:00

Coming soon, next October!

2012-01-19T08:33:00.001-05:00

via laughingsquid.com

The Milky Way and Storms over Africa [video] | ISS

2012-01-18T20:25:00.001-05:00

via flickr.com

What are SOPA and PIPA?

2012-01-18T12:14:00.001-05:00

What are SOPA and PIPA?

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (PROTECT-IP Act) are very similar pieces of legislation that both want to kill off illegal file sharing and music downloading. While the intention is good, the way they go about doing it is extremely dangerous and can be easily abused.

good overview here: twitpic.com

We'll all be relieved.

2012-01-18T10:55:00.001-05:00

Palettes of Famous Painters | Retronaut

2012-01-18T10:07:00.001-05:00

via retronaut.co

above: Paul Gauguin's.

More: http://www.retronaut.co/2011/01/pallettes-of-famous-painters/

What the SOPA blackout really looks like | Poynter.

2012-01-18T09:50:00.001-05:00

via poynter.org

Leaders of tomorrow. Sigh.

2012-01-18T09:10:00.001-05:00

via laughingsquid.com

A fiction blackout would hurt more.

2012-01-18T09:08:00.001-05:00

https://twitter.com/#!/BorowitzReport/

A Costa Concordia view you aven't seen before --- from space.

2012-01-18T08:40:00.001-05:00

via bbc.co.uk

BBC News - Costa Concordia: Satellite image

WTFWiFi: collection of unusual wifi ssids

2012-01-17T19:36:00.001-05:00

via wtfwifi.com

http://wtfwifi.com/

Borowitz: Romney Under Pressure to Prove He Was Manufactured in US

2012-01-17T14:53:00.001-05:00

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (The Borowitz Report) – Controversy swirled at the Republican debate in South Carolina last night as Mitt Romney’s rivals pressured the GOP frontrunner to prove that he was manufactured in the United States.

The other candidates for the Republican nomination repeatedly pounded the former Massachusetts governor on the issue throughout the night, demanding that he produce a label proving that he was made in the U.S.A.

full text: borowitzreport.com

Recyclable, too!

2012-01-17T10:57:00.001-05:00

via thedoghousediaries.com

Underwater Photography - Barbara Cole | Bloodyloud!

2012-01-17T09:26:00.001-05:00

via bloodyloud.com

Finally, a style magazine for me!

2012-01-16T21:02:00.001-05:00

When art and science blend

2012-01-15T14:02:00.001-05:00

via s3.amazonaws.com

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/picture-of-the-day/

http://radars.uit.no/sousy/

(Image: Vincent Fournier)

Details: Russian space probe crashes into Pacific

2012-01-15T13:28:00.001-05:00

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's Defense Ministry says a failed probe designed to travel to a moon of Mars has crashed, showering debris over the southern Pacific, according to news reports.

The ministry said the fragments fell Sunday 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) west of Wellington Island.

more:hosted.ap.org

Phobos-Grunt is down

2012-01-15T13:14:00.001-05:00

Early reports say "Pacific," not Atlantic.

John Steinbeck on Falling in Love: A 1958 Letter | Brain Pickings

2012-01-15T12:29:00.001-05:00

12 JANUARY, 2012
John Steinbeck on Falling in Love: A 1958 Letter

“If it is right, it happens — The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”

full letter text: brainpickings.org

LIVE: Phobos-Grunt now in likely final orbit

2012-01-15T11:37:00.001-05:00

Likely impact: Atlantic Ocean, off the shoulder of South Ameruca.

via forum.nasaspaceflight.com

too stupid for words

2012-01-15T11:33:00.001-05:00

An unbelievable Phiadelphia Inquirer sports column that starts with the anti-Tebow backlash (which Tebow entirely brought on himself with his aggressive religious grandstanding) and ends with 9/11 and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism.
This. Is. Insane.
Who hired this moron?
http://articles.philly.com/2012-01-13/news/30624129_1_tim-tebow-christianity-...

Gone viral this AM: Neil deGrasse Tyson on intelligent design

2012-01-15T11:06:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

phobos-grunt +/- 3 orbits away from final decay. Live coverage links.

2012-01-15T10:46:00.001-05:00

Reentry +/- 12-1PM EST

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27593.0 (skip to last msg for latest)

http://www.spaceflight101.com/phobos-grunt-re-entry-information.html

Odd "related search" result for Phobos-Grunt

2012-01-15T08:29:00.001-05:00

Think Steve Jobs was a hero? Bill Gates has saved 5.8M human lives.

2012-01-14T17:59:00.001-05:00

Microsoft co-founder saves 5.8M lives

"...an awesome infographic details the impact that Bill Gates’ philanthropic efforts have had on the world.... The infographic estimates that Gates — through donations to global health causes — has saved an estimated 5.8 million lives."

http://www.geekwire.com/2012/bill-gates-modernday-batman-microsoft-cofounder-...

LIVE, MOVING-MAP, REAL-TIME SATELLITE TRACKING: PHOBOS-GRUNT

2012-01-14T17:48:00.001-05:00

via n2yo.com

Doomed Russian probe tracked in its final hours - splashdown estimates change

2012-01-14T17:47:00.001-05:00

via msnbc.msn.com

"...the 14-ton spacecraft filled with fuel is expected to fall on Sunday and may crash in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile.

"Russian space officials pegged the potential crash time as occurring at about 4:51 p.m. ET Sunday, although major uncertainties still remain. There is a chance the spacecraft could fall earlier in the day, or on Monday."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45998627/ns/technology_and_science-space/?ocid=tw...

Hitler Hears About "Google Search Plus Your World" | Digg Entertainment

2012-01-14T08:13:00.003-05:00

via digg.com

Hitler Hears About "Google Search Plus Your World" | Digg Entertainment

2012-01-14T08:13:00.001-05:00

via digg.com

Clear skies tonight? Planets Venus & Neptune to Appear Side-by-Side

2012-01-13T17:49:00.003-05:00

via space.com

Clear skies tonight? Planets Venus & Neptune to Appear Side-by-Side

2012-01-13T17:49:00.001-05:00

via space.com

Where Children Sleep: James Mollison’s Poignant Photographs

2012-01-13T09:24:00.001-05:00

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/08/08/where-children-sleep-james-mollison/

samples:

Tool Using Crows: Clever Crow Uses Lid to go Roof Tubing

2012-01-12T18:49:00.001-05:00

via sciencenewsblog.com

Pilgrimage: Annie Leibovitz Catalogs Meta-Cultural Iconography | Brain Pickings

2012-01-12T18:21:00.001-05:00

via brainpickings.org

A glass negative of a multiple-lens portrait of Lincoln made on Feb. 9, 1864, by Anthony Berger at the Brady Gallery in Washington, D.C.

more:
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/11/08/pilgrimage-annie-leibovitz/

Sleeper in Metropolis by Nikolaus Gruenwald | InspireFirst

2012-01-11T18:45:00.001-05:00

via inspirefirst.com

Looks Like Failed Russian Mars Probe May Crash in Indian Ocean Sunday

2012-01-11T18:43:00.001-05:00

The failed Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt is predicted to crash back to Earth between Jan. 14 and Jan. 16, 2012. The spacecraft will fall somewhere between 51.4 degrees north latitude and 51.4 degrees south latitude, as shown in the diagram.
CREDIT: Russian Federal Space Agency
View full size image

A doomed Russian Mars probe that's been stuck in Earth orbit for two months may finally come crashing down Sunday (Jan. 15) over the Indian Ocean, Russian space officials say.

The 14.5-ton Phobos-Grunt spacecraft should fall back to Earth sometime between Saturday and Monday (Jan. 14 to Jan. 16), Russia's Federal Space Agency, known as Roscosmos, announced in a statement today (Jan. 11).

If Phobos-Grunt comes down at the "central point" in that window — 5:18 a.m. EST (1018 GMT) on Sunday — it will fall over a stretch of empty ocean west of the Indonesian island of Java, according to a re-entry projection map Roscosmos published with the update.

But these projections are far from set in stone. The predicted time and place of re-entry may change as engineers continue to track the spacecraft's decaying orbit, officials said. All that's known for sure is that Phobos-Grunt will come down somewhere between 51 degrees north latitude and 51 degrees south latitude. [Photos of the Phobos-Grunt mission]

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Falling back to Earth

Phobos-Grunt launched Nov. 8 on a mission to collect soil samples from the Mars moon Phobos and return them to Earth ("grunt" means "soil" in Russian). However, the probe's main engines failed to fire as planned to send it toward Mars, and the craft got stuck orbiting Earth.

Russian officials still aren't sure what caused the failure. They recently raised the possibility that some form of sabotage may have crippled Phobos-Grunt and doomed its $165 million mission.

The spacecraft has been spiraling lower and lower for months, on an inevitable collision course with Earth's atmosphere. The minimum altitude of Phobos-Grunt's orbit as of today is about 106 miles (171 kilometers), according to Roscosmos.

The huge probe is carrying about 7.5 tons of toxic hydrazine fuel, prompting some observers to worry about potential environmental impacts of the probe's looming re-entry. Russian space officials have repeatedly dismissed those concerns, however, saying that the fuel — which is encased in an aluminum tank — should burn up high in Earth's atmosphere.

Most of Phobos-Grunt should meet that same fate. Experts predict that just 20 to 30 pieces, weighing a maximum of 440 pounds (200 kilograms) in total, will actually hit the Earth.

Phobos-Grunt's demise comes close on the heels of two other uncontrolled satellite falls recently. NASA's 6.5-ton UARS climate satellite re-entered over the Pacific Ocean in September, and Germany's 2.7-ton ROSAT satellite crashed over the Indian Ocean a month later.

Both the UARS and ROSAT re-entries were expected, however, and the two satellites had long since completed their primary science missions. No one on the ground was hurt in either instance.

A series of Russian space failures

Phobos-Grunt's failure was just one of a series of embarrassing setbacks for the Russian space program in 2011.

On Feb. 1, for example, a Rockot launch vehicle failed to place an Earth-observing satellite in the proper orbit. On Aug. 18, a Proton rocket similarly underperformed, delivering a $300 million communications satellite to the wrong orbit.

Less than a week later, on Aug. 24, the unmanned Progress 44 supply ship crashed while hauling cargo to the International Space Station. Progress 44 was done in by a problem with its Soyuz rocket. Russia uses a similar version of the Soyuz to launch astronauts to the space station, so manned flights were put on hold until the problem with the rocket could be identified and fixed.

Finally, a Soyuz-2 rocket crashed just after liftoff on Dec. 23, destroying a Russian military communications satellite.

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

via space.com

http://www.space.com/14215-phobos-grunt-mars-probe-crash-indian-ocean.html

Rick Perry addresses his supporters.

2012-01-11T18:37:00.001-05:00

via newsweek.tumblr.com

Mars Science Lab Trajectory Maneuver Happening Now

2012-01-11T18:26:00.001-05:00

via jpl.nasa.gov

An engine firing on Jan. 11 will be the biggest maneuver that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft will perform on its flight between Earth and Mars.

The action will use a choreographed sequence of firings of eight thruster engines during a period of about 175 minutes beginning at 3 p.m. PST (6 p.m. EST or 2300 Universal Time). It will redirect the spacecraft more precisely toward Mars to land at Gale Crater. The trajectory resulting from the mission's Nov. 26, 2011, launch intentionally misses Mars to prevent the upper stage of the launch vehicle from hitting the planet. That upper stage was not cleaned the way the spacecraft itself was to protect Mars from Earth's microbes.

more:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-004

Time to revise the Drake Equations upwards... way, way upwards

2012-01-11T14:07:00.001-05:00

via hubblesite.org

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2012/07/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation

Headline o' the morning:

2012-01-11T10:05:00.001-05:00

Fiercely Independent New Hampshire Voters Pick Guy Everybody Thought Would Win

Yes, it's the Onion. The rest of their story isn't nearly as clever, though:
onion.com/AhQIBC

Quality Assurance needs work.

2012-01-11T08:39:00.001-05:00

via thisisnthappiness.com

Oooooo. Look how clear the text is!

2012-01-10T20:57:00.003-05:00

Oooooo. Look how clear the text is!

2012-01-10T20:57:00.001-05:00

City Lights at Night from Space

2012-01-10T17:04:00.001-05:00

via businessinsider.com

Today in NH...

2012-01-10T11:49:00.001-05:00

... there's also a Democratic Presidential Primary, with 14 --- 14!--- candidates.

This is a sample/facsimile of the actual ballot (and note especially the last one; no joke!):

Yes, let's ditch the EPA. Great idea.

2012-01-09T14:49:00.001-05:00

Photos: What America looked like before the EPA

More:
http://tinyurl.com/7qfqjgn

Still more:

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/a-photographic-blast-from-the-past

And still more:
http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/environment/documerica-topics.html

via Grist, thepoliticalcarnival.net

Oh, dear. 'What Women Really Want (Hint: It's Not Brains)'

2012-01-09T08:12:00.001-05:00

via livescience.com

http://www.livescience.com/17798-women-sexually-attractive-partners.html

It's subtle, but I think Gary Trudeau might not be a Gingrich fan.

2012-01-08T09:26:00.001-05:00

via doonesbury.com

Sugar pills vs ...er...Sugar pills.

2012-01-08T08:49:00.001-05:00

@bengoldacre @SLSingh

(Ben Goldacre: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Goldacre)

pic.twitter.com/TVIa7ByG

Lessons in causality.

2012-01-07T15:25:00.001-05:00

The Pledge of Allegiance was originally written as part of a magazine's campaign to sell flags to schools

2012-01-07T10:42:00.001-05:00

via mentalfloss.com

Yup --- it was a shamelessly commercial gambit by a self-described "Christian Socialist."

GOP heads should explode.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/112677

Higher and deeper.

2012-01-07T09:09:00.001-05:00

Or not.

2012-01-06T14:25:00.001-05:00

Tip of the Tongue: The 7 (Other) Flavors Humans May Taste | Kokumi, Piquance & Coolness, Metallicity, Fat & Carbon Dioxide |

2012-01-06T13:01:00.001-05:00

via livescience.com

http://www.livescience.com/17782-sixth-taste-flavors.html

(The excess calcium in dark green vegetables may explain why so many find them unappealing.)

Siri, why are my phone bills so high?

2012-01-06T12:52:00.001-05:00

"iPhone 4S users consume 2x as much data as iPhone 4 users."

But in a magical way, of course.

via slatest.slate.com

http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/01/06/siri_icloud_increase_iphone_4s_data...

amazing amateur video of the last days of the doomed Phobos-Grunt probe

2012-01-06T11:19:00.001-05:00

A tech tour de force, a French amateur astronomer captured amazing video of Phobos-Grunt as it passed over Nice. Watch how the perspective clarifies and changes as the satellite passes overhead.

http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/phobos-grunt.html#

Symantec confirms hacker theft of Norton anti-virus source code | ZDNet

2012-01-06T08:47:00.001-05:00

Has Symantec done anything *right* with the Norton stuff since they bought out Peter, years ago?

Man, oh, man.

Symantec confirms hacker theft of Norton anti-virus source code

via zdnet.com

International Space Station flies by the Moon

2012-01-05T22:34:00.001-05:00

via spaceflightnow.com

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp30/120105issmoon/

Incredible Space Imagery

2012-01-05T22:26:00.001-05:00

via darkroastedblend.com

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2012/01/most-incredible-space-imagery.html

Salman Rushdie on Christopher Hitchens (Vanity Fair, Feb 2012)

2012-01-05T19:40:00.001-05:00

On June 8th, 2010, I was “in conversation” with Christopher Hitchens at the 92nd Street Y in New York in front of his customary sellout audience, to launch his memoir, Hitch-22. Christopher turned in a bravura performance that night, never sharper, never funnier, and afterwards at a small, celebratory dinner the brilliance continued. A few days later he told me that it was on the morning of the Y event that he had been given the news about his cancer. It was hard to believe that he had been so publicly magnificent on such a privately dreadful day. He had shown more than stoicism. He had flung laughter and intelligence into the face of death.

Hitch-22 was a title born of the silly word games we played, one of which was “Titles that don’t quite make it,” among which were A Farewell to Weapons, For Whom the Bell Rings, To Kill a Hummingbird, The Catcher in the Wheat, Mr Zhivago and Toby-Dick, aka Moby-Cock. And, as the not-quite version of Joseph Heller’s comic masterpiece, Hitch-22. Christopher rescued this last title from the slush pile of our catechism of failures and redeemed it by giving it to the text which now stands as his best memorial....

more: salmanrushdie1.tumblr.com

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

2012-01-05T12:59:00.001-05:00

http://photobucket.com/nisqually_refuge

Seattle docks

2012-01-05T12:45:00.001-05:00

More:
http://photobucket.com/seattle_docks

Dexter Blood Splattered Beverage Coasters

2012-01-05T11:19:00.001-05:00

via laughingsquid.com

http://laughingsquid.com/dexter-blood-splattered-beverage-coasters/

Blind Photographer Craig Royal’s Distinctive Vision - Slate Magazine

2012-01-05T11:00:00.001-05:00

via slate.com

http://www.slate.com/slideshows/arts/craig-royal-blind-photographer.html

Personally, I wish they'd use the Code of Hammurabi. I mean, why not?

2012-01-05T10:58:00.001-05:00

New Hampshire GOP Bill Mandates That New Laws Find Their Origin In 1215 English Magna Carta

via thinkprogress.org

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/01/04/397520/new-hampshire-gop-bill-man...

The Pander Bears have returned.

2012-01-05T08:56:00.001-05:00

Fresh from Iowa, the GOP gang has descended en masse on New Hampshire.

It's put new energy into the local legislature, which is busy passing a bill removing virtually all limits on gun ownership and use. (yes! it's now OK for anyone to carry concealed, anywhere; and fine to have loaded weapons in your car! hooray for freedom!)

Another GOP group is fighting the teaching of evolution because --- get this --- it leads to Naziism and Communism.

You can almost feel intelligence draining out of the State. IQ points are dropping faster than the temperatures.

From the local paper today:

NH has a declare-on-voting policy where anyone can switch official party allegiances on voting day, and vote in either primary. I'm seriously thinking of voting for Santorum next week, just to throw more dust in the air --- he'll never make it to the general election, but a strong showing here will force Romney and the others to waste time and money in internal GOP warfare. The more they tear each other down, the better for the general election.

Of course, that will open the door to Palin to jump in at the last minute, but she's unelectable too, so that's OK.

I have never seen such a crop of wackos, losers and ignoramuses.

A different kind of time lapse:

2012-01-04T17:54:00.001-05:00

via thechive.com

Fred Langa: "What comes next?"

You just don't want to piss off some customers.

Helioviewer - Solar and heliospheric image visualization tool

Hence, the long neck.

Colorful-Aurora-Borealis-in-Finland | Flickr

Like Space? Got an extra $75K?

Russian Soyuz grounded again, SpaceX Dragon may be next to ISS | DVICE

DARPA Funding a $50 F-Bomb. No, really! (It's a disposable computer.)

50 Great Russian Rocket Launch Photos

Political Cartoon from Tom Toles

Doing great! Doing great! Doing great!...

Is anyone really surprised?

Interesting series of Light Paintings from American photographer Brice Bischoff, taken at the Bronson Caves, Los Angeles.

How to respond to a literary critic

World's longest experiment now on webcam (still going slowly, since 1927) | DVICE

Martian Wind's Handiwork - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Beer Can Camera Captures Amazing Time-Lapse #Photo of the Sun... on Twitpic

NASA Releases Stunning 8K x 8K Pixel High Resolution Blue Marble Image of Earth

The Oldest Living Things in the World by Rachel Sussman

this isn't happiness™ (Instructions: 1. Stare at the red dot on the...)

Obama Risks Alienating Republicans By Using Facts

Winged dinosaur Archaeopteryx's feather color determined

Sustainably ahead of the unsustainable sustainability index.

PhotoBlog - Auroras spark awe across the north

Borowitz Report: Concerned White House Aides Say Obama Has Not Stopped Laughing Since Saturday Night

Two Faces of Titan's Dunes - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Funky Craters of Mars

Good hair turns out to be a poor science educator : Pharyngula

Top *THAT*, AARP!

A Tribute to Artists In The Form of Decorated Sandwiches

iPad gains cunieform font!

Canadian customers get lumps of clay instead of iPads

live video, 15 min to Delta 4 rocket launching the WGS 4 military communications satellite.

In honor of Newt’s very bad day

Blogger sneaks into missile factory near Moscow - NY Daily News

Three reasons.

Coming soon, next October!

The Milky Way and Storms over Africa [video] | ISS

What are SOPA and PIPA?

What are SOPA and PIPA?

We'll all be relieved.

Palettes of Famous Painters | Retronaut

What the SOPA blackout really looks like | Poynter.

Leaders of tomorrow. Sigh.

A fiction blackout would hurt more.

A Costa Concordia view you aven't seen before --- from space.

WTFWiFi: collection of unusual wifi ssids

Borowitz: Romney Under Pressure to Prove He Was Manufactured in US

Recyclable, too!

Underwater Photography - Barbara Cole | Bloodyloud!

Finally, a style magazine for me!

When art and science blend

Details: Russian space probe crashes into Pacific

Phobos-Grunt is down

John Steinbeck on Falling in Love: A 1958 Letter | Brain Pickings

John Steinbeck on Falling in Love: A 1958 Letter

LIVE: Phobos-Grunt now in likely final orbit

too stupid for words

Gone viral this AM: Neil deGrasse Tyson on intelligent design

phobos-grunt +/- 3 orbits away from final decay. Live coverage links.

Odd "related search" result for Phobos-Grunt

Think Steve Jobs was a hero? Bill Gates has saved 5.8M human lives.

LIVE, MOVING-MAP, REAL-TIME SATELLITE TRACKING: PHOBOS-GRUNT

Doomed Russian probe tracked in its final hours - splashdown estimates change

Hitler Hears About "Google Search Plus Your World" | Digg Entertainment

Hitler Hears About "Google Search Plus Your World" | Digg Entertainment

Clear skies tonight? Planets Venus & Neptune to Appear Side-by-Side

Clear skies tonight? Planets Venus & Neptune to Appear Side-by-Side

Where Children Sleep: James Mollison’s Poignant Photographs

Tool Using Crows: Clever Crow Uses Lid to go Roof Tubing

Pilgrimage: Annie Leibovitz Catalogs Meta-Cultural Iconography | Brain Pickings

Sleeper in Metropolis by Nikolaus Gruenwald | InspireFirst

Looks Like Failed Russian Mars Probe May Crash in Indian Ocean Sunday

Rick Perry addresses his supporters.

Mars Science Lab Trajectory Maneuver Happening Now

Time to revise the Drake Equations upwards... way, way upwards

Headline o' the morning:

Quality Assurance needs work.

Oooooo. Look how clear the text is!

Oooooo. Look how clear the text is!

Top THAT, AARP!