Playlist

Okay, I'm going to do something a little different today. I'm not quite ready to talk about what's been going on lately, so I'm going to put down the lyrics for the songs that I have been listening to a lot, and are descriptive of how I'm feeling.

The Loudest Sound - The Cure
Side by side in silence
They pass away the day
So comfortable, so habitual ...
And so nothing left to say
...
And side by side in silence
Without a single word...
...
It's the loudest sound I ever heard


Underneath the Ice - Assemblage 23
I can feel the violence
Spill across the floor
My eyes have grown too clouded
To see it anymore

Fading into nothing
Turning into steam
Left in desparation
With nothing to redeem

Underneath the ice I find
A place to rest my weary mind
The cold deep water numbs my pain
Until I can face myself again

Waiting for redemption
That never seems to come
Hands reach beneath the surface
But I don't know where from

I'm not ready to return yet
I just need a moment more
So I can try to remember
What it is I came here for

Underneath the ice I find
A place to rest my weary mind
The cold deep water numbs my pain
Until I can face myself again

Sinking Fast
Too dark to see
The buzzing din
Envelopes me
Too late now
Nowhere to go
I'm sinking in
The undertow


Cooling - Tori Amos
Maybe I didn't like to hear
But I still can't believe
Speed Racer is dead
So then I thought I'd make some plans
But fire thought she'd really rather be water instead
...
And I've heard every word that you have said
And I know I have been driven like the snow
This is cooling
Faster than I can
This is cooling
Faster than I can
...
So then love walked up to like
And said I know that you don't like me much
Let's go for a ride
...
And I've heard every word that you have said
And I know I have been driven like the snow, but
This is cooling
Faster than I can
Hey yes, faster than I can
Hey, this is cooling
This is cooling

Love Will Tear Us Apart -Joy Division
When routine bites hard,
And ambitions are low,
And resentment rides high,
But emotions won't grow,
And we're changing our ways,
Taking different roads.

Then love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

Why is the bedroom so cold?
You've turned away on your side.
Is my timing that flawed?
Our respect runs so dry.
Yet there's still this appeal
That we've kept through our lives.

But love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.

You cry out in your sleep,
All my failings exposed.
And there's a taste in my mouth,
As desperation takes hold.
Just that something so good
Just can't function no more.

But love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.


Signal To Noise - The Cure
Nothing I do makes much sense
Say you don't really get me anymore
I wonder if you ever did... if you ever did at all?

Nothing I want means a lot
Say you don't understand me like before
I'm not sure if you ever did... if you ever did at all?

Nothing I think has a point
Say you don't quite believe me anymore
I wonder if you ever did... if you ever did at all?

Gets hard to guess the best way through
The thing to do if none of this is true
I wish I knew how to undo
The doubt I hide inside
I grew in you...

The knot I hide inside I tied in you...

Nothing I am shows the way
Say you don't seem to know me like before
I'm not sure if you ever did... if you ever did at all?

No nothing I do makes much sense
Say you don't really get me anymore
I wonder if you ever did... if you ever did at all?

Gets hard to guess the best way through
The thing to do if none of this is true
I wish I knew how to undo
The knot I tied in you...
When more or less the yes and no
Is all for show it isn't really so...
Look high and low where did we go?
You moved too fast or maybe I just moved too slow?

There's so much noise...
All the signal seems to fade away
Too much noise...

Or could be this is how it always sounds
With nothing left?


Northern Lad-Tori Amos
Had a northern lad
Well not exactly had
He moved like the sunset
God who painted that
First he love my accent
How his knees could bend
I thought we'd be ok
Me and my molasses

But I feel someting is wrong
But I feel this cake just isn't done
Don't say that you Don't
And if you could see me now
Said if you could see me now
Girls you've got to know
When it's time to turn the page
When you're only wet
Because of the rain

He don't show much these days
It's gets so fucking cold
I loved his secret places
But I can't go anymore
"you change like sugar cane"
Says me northern lad
I guess you go too far
When pianos try to be guitars

I feel the west in you
And I feel it falling apart too

Don't say that you Don't

And if you could see me now

Said if you could see me now
Girls you've got to know
When it's time to turn the page
When you're only wet
Because of the rain
When you're only wet
Because of the rain


Cocoon - Assemblage 23
Even though I know it's only chemical
These peaks and valleys are beginning to take their toll
Try to convince myself that all it takes is time
But the most derisive voice I hear is mine

It opens all the scars on me
It leaves me shaken in my belief
It takes my hand just to drag me down
It makes me a stranger in the crowd

Give me isolation just for now
I feel a hard rain coming down
I promise that I will be back soon
But for now I'll return to my cocoon

There is thunder in the distance and the sky grows gray
There is lightning in the clouds in search of prey
It's not a matter of if as much as when
The clouds will break and the rainfall will begin

It opens all the scars on me
It leaves me shaken in my belief
It takes my hand just to drag me down
It makes me a stranger in the crowd

Give me isolation just for now
I feel a hard rain coming down
I promise that I will be back soon
But for now
I'll return to my cocoon

Cracks in the chrysalis spread out like tiny snakes
That hiss a litany of rumors and mistakes
But I'm afraid their cause is fraught with futility
There is nothing more that they can take from me
It opens all the scars on meIt leaves me shaken in my belief
It takes my hand just to drag me down
It makes me a stranger in the crowd

Give me isolation just for now
I feel a hard rain coming down
I promise that I will be back soon
But for now I'll return to my cocoon








Comments:

____________________________________________________________
Xombii
05/16/06 01:01 AM

I understand, but I believe that we will be alright. I believe in you, I believe in me, and I believe in us. I have played this song over and over, It says what I am feeling almost perfectly (especially the parts I have highlighted). Remember that I love you, and that I will always love you.

-Buttercup

Tell her not to go
I ain't holding on no more
Tell her something in my mind freezes up from time to time

Tell her not to cry
I just got scared that's all
Tell her I'll be by her side, all she has to do is call

Tell her the chips are down
I drank too much and shouted it aloud
Tell her something in my heart
Needs her more than even clouns need the laughter of the crowd

Tell her what was wrong
I sometimes think too much
But say nothing at all
Tell her from this high Terrain, I am ready now to fall

Tell her not to go
I Ain't holding on no more
Tell her nothing if not this; all I want to do is kiss her

Tell her somthing in my mind
Freezes up from time to time


_______________________________________________________


Patience
05/17/06 9:28AM

Hey baby. I'm sorry that you're hurting right now. I wish I could be there to give you a huge hug... I will be in a couple of days and even if you can't come to my mama's house, I will try to get over to your house - even for an hour - just so I can give you a hug.

I love you Trish!

Patience

Doing the right thing sucks

It sure as hell doesn't make a hard thing any easier because you know it's right.



I think perhaps that's really all I have to say right now.

*Thinks about it for a minute.*

Yup, it is.

Damen Station in Chicago - Digitally Created Art

Damen Station on the Blue Line of the Chicago Transit Authority

This is really impressive! Close ups are avalible on the website.

Never Brush Your Teeth Again? or, War Tech That Changed Life

Inventions that Began on the Battlefield Thrive in the Home

There's a new product in development that could change your nightly ritual forever.

The Wrigley Gum Company has paired up with the U.S. military to create an anti-bacterial chewing gum that actually cleans teeth so soldiers wouldn't have to stop what they're doing to brush their pearly whites.

If the military signs on to it, there's a good chance it will end up in your medicine cabinet one day.

Other military inventions that we now use daily include:
-The steam engine

-The microwave oven

-Many hiking boots are made from the same materials. as the military's stealth jet technology.

-The Medevac helicopter

-The "trench coat" got its name from soldiers in World War I who wore the military jackets in the trenches.

-And of course, what one Pentagon officials dubbed the "Intergalactic Network." Which is what became the internet.

Time To BBQ

After the long months of cold and winter, we will soon be coming up to summer, and BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking, as it's the only type of cooking a real man will do; probably because there is an element of danger involved.

When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:


Routine...
1) The woman buys the food.

2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.

3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.

Here comes the important part:
4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

More routine....
5) The woman goes inside to organize the plan and cutlery.

6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals with the situation.

Another Important part:
7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

More routine.....

8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces and brings them to the table.

9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off."

Upon seeing her annoyed reaction, he concludes
that there's just no pleasing some women....








Comments:

Xombii
05/05/06 12:17 PM

PH33R MY L337 PH00D BURN!NG SK!LLZ

Silent Hill

Going to see it today finally! Hell yeah!

Things that I'm thankful for today explained

Okay, before I get rolling on posting this Thankfulness thing I've been doing, I probably aught to tell you what it is. After reading this Psychology Today article titled Make a Gratitude Adjustment, I decided to give it a try and keep my own 'Thankful List'. (Scroll down to read a couple of excerpts from the article.) I decided that I would write down at least 3 things that I am thankful for each day. Why 3? I don't know, it just seemed like a good number at the time. Most days I exceed 3 items even! A lot of it is little things, like having tacos, but it's still something I am feeling particularly thankful for that day. It may be at least partially because it's warmer, and we have more daylight right now, but it seems like it really has made me feel generally happier, and better about life. So at any rate, this is the reason behind all these 'Things that I'm thankful for today' posts that are coming soon to a blog near you!

Make a Gratitude Adjustment

Gratitude is a sentiment we'd all do well to cultivate, according to positive psychologists, mental health clinicians and researchers who seek to help everyone create more joy in life. Feeling thankful and expressing that thanks makes you happier and heartier not hokier.

The biggest bonuses come from experiencing gratitude habitually, but natural ingrates needn't despair. Simple exercises can give even skeptics a short-term mood boost, and "once you get started, you find more and more things to be grateful for," says Robert Emmons, a leading gratitude researcher at the University of California at Davis.

Gratitude needn't be directed at another person to hit its mark. Take just a few minutes each day to jot down things that make you thankful, from the generosity of friends to the food on your table or the right to vote. After a few weeks, people who follow this routine "feel better about themselves, have more energy and feel more alert," Emmons says. Feeling thankful even brings physical changes, studies show. List-keepers sleep better, exercise more and gain a general contentment that may counteract stress and contribute to overall health.

For people who want to activate their gratitude, but feel slightly silly about the exercises, Peterson advises, "fake it until you can make it." Say "thank you" enough, he reasons, and your mind will fall in line with your words. Think you don't have anyone to thank? Gratitude "doesn't depend on circumstances," Emmons says.

You can be grateful for just about anything that you've received in part because of someone or something else. You may feel grateful to your neighbor for a car pool, to luck for meeting your spouse, to nature for a scenic view or to fate or a higher power for your safety. Thankfulness helps you see that you're an object of love and care. Says Emmons: "Your self-esteem is bolstered when you say, 'Hey, people have done things for me.'"

Traumatic memories fade into the background for people who regularly feel grateful, Watkins's experiments show. Troublesome thoughts pop up less frequently and with less intensity, which suggests that gratitude may enhance emotional healing. Thankfulness helps the brain fully process events, Watkins speculates. Grateful people achieve closure by making sense of negative events so that they mesh with a generally positive outlook.

When individuals start a daily gratitude journal, they begin to feel a greater sense of connectedness to the world. "The differences are noticed by others," Emmons says. "People who know them say they're more helpful." Thankfulness may launch a happy cycle in which rich friendships bring joy, which gives you more to be grateful for, which fortifies your friendships once again.

How dodgy are you?

How dodgy are you?

Dodgy

Alright geezer! Fancy yourself as a bit tasty? It may be against the law, but what they don't know won't hurt 'em eh? We know your heart's in the right place but watch out or that place may be a 3 to 5 stretch in Pentonville with 'Mad' Frank, Harry the Horse and 'Wristy' Rich Richardson.

Based on your answers, we have calculated the maximum penalty for your crimes*:

Years in prison: 17.5 Potential fine: 2000 pounds

*Please note this is just a fun quiz so don't be alarmed by your score! The maximum penalty has been taken for each crime and no consideration for scale of crime committed.

"I look like"... this one is funny-

This is amusing. Google the phrase "(Your name) looks like" and find the best one from the first page of results. Don't forget to put it in quotes, otherwise it won't work.

(I got this from my bulletin board, but there were just too many funny one's to put just one, so it's going here. I'm going to leave some of the other people's on here because some of them are really funny!)

1. "Jason looks like total crap." -- thanks google, thanks.

2. "PJ looks like he'd be down to whoop some ass anytime"-- i think that google is scared of me.

3. "Katie looks like recycled cat food" Ouch

4. "Michael looks like he's playing naked" (OMG do they like have a camera inside the screen or what!!!!!! Who knew??)

5. "Troy looks like a pretty white boy. Deep down he is an angry black man"

6. "Jesse looks like he is fighting off a case of down's syndrome" What-Eva Google!!!

7. "Katie looks like a humpback when pics are taken from behind."....but the doctor said no one would notice

8. "Ashleigh looks like my brother".... Great... was it the boobs?

9. "Marie looks like she could pull your heart out of your chest with her bare hands." -yaaay! haha. Indeed. Watch out!

10. "Sarah looks like she is about to recieve something in her mouth...hmmm ..." Ha, I love it.

11. "Jeremy looks like the number one right-hand man to the Dark Lord ..." WOW....that's all i can say.....WOW!

12. "Keith looks like death warmed over,but he still has style.."
hmmm... confused... good and bad at the same time..

13. " Patrick looks like he is ready to battle Tron."
Disney can't step to me, bitches.

14. Carrie looks like she has balls when she is walking. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha....

15. "Niki looks like an albino its amazing how screwing a million guys can actually make u look good!" ---That's sooo not nice!

16. "Chris looks like something i would need eventually." <~~~ I hear that alot :-)

17. "Laura looks like shes about to breastfeed those pups"

18. " Roxanne looks like she is giving "invisible man" a blow job... with a cracker...."

19. "Candace looks like she spends many a Friday night getting drunk with friends in a Hardee's parking lot..."

20. "Emily looks like trouble." --- oh if you only knew...lol

21. "Rob looks like hes plotting something"....How did they know? ;)

22. "Gary looks like David Hassellhoff" I am speechless... I thought my wife loved me for me not cause I look like the German hero....

23. "Sandra looks like you're being shafted more ways than one you sad slut you....."

24. "I wont mention the fact that Stephanie looks like shes been rode hard and put away wet."

25. "Keven looks like Sir Martin. Sir Martin is handsome and macho."

26. "Julie looks like a crack whore..." thanks Google

27. "Rosemary looks like a cheap vegas showgirl"... WTF??

28. "Kristen looks like some lame ass girl at a white trash high school who might be popular because she drives a '97 Camaro" fuck google

29. "Nicole looks like such a dirty teenage boy..." harsh.

30. "Stephanie looks like Jose Canseco. She gives me the creeps." ... I get that alot

31. "Melissa looks like a piece of plain, trailer park trash in desperate need of a tan" Nice!

32. "Jillian looks like she's gonna start fires with her eyes" i like the sound of that . . .

33. "Michael looks like he's (justifiably) about to wet his pants."
Right On!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

34. "Jessie looks like Mary Poppins"

35. "Carrie looks like a trampy little slut there and i *LOVE* it!"

36. "Sean looks like the Olympic representative from Planet of the Apes."

37. "Kyle, looks like you're responsible for another death." Yeah, i know its not a thing, but i thought it was pretty damn funny

38. "Amy looks like a Tesco checkout girl with a drink problem."

39. "Carly looks like a busted trans." lmfao

40. "Jeff looks like he's hiding something" ~~~ I'll never tell

41. "Jessica looks like she's expelling demons out of her mouth when she sings." Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!

42. "Chris looks like he's furious, like there's a hundred things he wants to say. He settles for "What the holy fuck is going on in your head. ..."

43. "Sara looks like trouble just waiting to happen. ..."

44. AWESOME. "Dave looks like Ron Jeremy" love it. "Dave looks like a beached sea god" was a DAMN close second place.

45. "Anna looks like she has a clarinet up her nose!"

46. " Leah looks like Amanda Bynes' older, larger breasted sister"- Oh yeah! You know it!! :)

47. "uh oh Aeryn, looks like you've been hit by the filapino jeep?"
"Aeryn looks like she's going to bite off Bin's nipples"
" Aeryn looks like such an innocent girl, ... "
"Aeryn looks like a nice lady, but they still don't have any parking OR Golden Retrievers.
"Aeryn looks like a donkey that has not eaten for many months"
"Aeryn looks like Twisted Evil" OMG, too fucking funny!
"Aeryn looks like a porcelain doll."
"Aeryn looks like a very lovely woman."
"Aeryn looks like a Million bucks and shows off her sexiness." Um, sure, if you say so Google!



_____________________________________________________________
Comments:

Patience
04/27/06 8:31 AM

"Patience looks like weakness and surrender."

I supposedly have a life, I got 56

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 80 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 200 movies on this list. Put your score in header and repost:


() Rocky Horror Picture Show
() Grease
() Pirates of the Caribbean
() Boondock Saints
() The Mexican
(x) Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
Total: 2



(x) The Princess Bride
() AnchorMan: The Legend of Ron Burgandy
() Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
() 50 First Dates
Total: 2

(x) Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
(x) American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total: 3

(x) Harry Potter
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil I
() Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
() The Village
() Lilo & Stitch.
() Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch
Total: 4


(x) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
() Signs
() The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() Thirteen Going on 30
() I, Robot
Total: 1

() Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
() KingPin
() Never Been Kissed
() Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
Total: 5

() A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
() Dumb & Dumber
() Dumb & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
Total: 2

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
() Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
() Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
Total: 0

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
() Sixteen Candles
() Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
Total: 3

() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
(x) Se7en
() Ocean's Eleven
() Ocean's Twelve
() Identity
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
TOTAL:1


(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
() My Boss' Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
() Frailty
Total: 4

( ) Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She's All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
Total: 2

() X-Men
() X2
() Spider-Man
() Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
()The Others
() Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
(x) Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
Total: 1

() Swimfan
() Miracle
() Old School
() The Notebook
() K-Pax
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
()Walk to Remember
( ) Boogeyman
Total: 3

() Hitch
(x) The Fifth Element
(x) Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace
() Star Wars Episode II Attack of The Clones
() Star Wars Episode III Revenge of The Sith
(x) Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Episode VI Return of The Jedi
() Troop Beverly Hills
() Swimming with Sharks
Total: 5

() Air Force One
() For Richer or Poorer
(x) Trainspotting
() People Under the Stairs
(x) Blue Velvet
(x) Sound of Music
() Parent Trap
() Parent Trap Re-make
() The Birds
(x)The Terminator
(x) Terminator-2
(x) T-3
Total: 6

(x) Empire Records
(x) SLC Punk
() Meet Joe Black
(x) Nightmare Before Christmas
(x) The Silence of the Lambs
() Sleepy Hollow
()I Heart Huckabees
() 24 Hour Party People
() Blood In Blood Out
Total: 4

() Thirteen
() Manic
(x) American History X
() Deep Blue Sea
() George of the Jungle
() Canadian Bacon
() Big Black Titties
() How High
() The Jacket
() My litte pony 1986
Total: 3

() Road to Perdition
() Jesus Christ Superstar
() Rent
(x) Mulan
() Mulan 2
(x) Lion King
() Lion King 2
() Legally Blonde
(x) Legally Blonde 2
() Pink Panther
Total: 3


Okay, I got 56, however, alot of the movies I've seen aren't on this list. I'm sure that if I added all the movies I know I've seen, it would be well over 100!

What American city are you?

You Are Boston



Both modern and old school, you never forget your roots.
Well educated and a little snobby, you demand the best.
And quite frankly, you think you are the best.

Famous people from the Boston area: Conan O'Brien, Ben Affleck, New Kids on the Block

What American City are you?

What kind of weather are you?

***You Are Lightning***

Beautiful yet dangerous
People will stop and watch you when you appear
Even though you're capable of random violence

You are best known for: your power

Your dominant state: performing


What Type of Weather Are You?

Things that I'm thankful for today

-The beautiful weather
-Having a BBQ in the tiny front yard with everyone.
-That Mike likes to grill
-Having enough lawn chairs for everyone to be able to sit down.
-Colleen's hella tasty jerk chicken with lime.
-That I have gotten the chance to get to know Colleen better recently.

Things that I'm thankful for today

Things that I'm thankful for today:

-Having a job that I can wear my Captain Morgan's t-shirt to.

-Getting the seat I prefer on the bus.

-Billy making me a kick ass mix CD.

-Having an imagination!

-Becoming aware of what complaining sounds like to other people. Now I can hopefully be more aware when I do it, so that I can stop! (Look at that, I even found a positive to having to deal with someone who is always bitching about something!)

-This little exercise that has helped me focus on the positive things in my life.

Things that I'm thankful for today

-Xombii cleaning the kitchen.

-Xombii cooking an amazing, fabulous dinner, and dessert.

-Xombii cleaning his cooking dishes as he went.

-Xombii taking care of the dinner stuff before going to bed.

(notice a theme here? *L*)

Things that I'm thankful for today

-Having some 'me' time.
-Warm, cuddly kitty first thing in the morning
-That the big OS re-install was successful

Apple Offers Free Computer Take-Back Program

Apple Offers Free Computer Take-Back Program


Apple today announced an expansion of its successful recycling program, offering free computer take-back and recycling with the purchase of a new Macintosh system beginning in June. US customers who buy a new Mac through the Apple Store (www.apple.com) or Apples retail stores will receive free shipping and environmentally friendly disposal of their old computer as part of the Apple Recycling program. Equipment received by the program in the US is recycled domestically and no hazardous material is shipped overseas. Earlier this week, Apple was named a Forward Green Leader, one of the top ten environmentally progressive companies recognized by the Sierra Club and its investment advisor, Forward Management.
Apple's free take-back program will extend Apple's existing US recycling program, which has recycled more than 90 percent of electronic equipment collected since 2001. Apple also operates a free drop-off recycling location at its headquarters in Cupertino for used computer systems and selected home electronics.
Information on Apples recycling programs and industry-leading environmental policies is available online here.




Go Apple! This is yet another great reason for me to make the switch to a Mac.

Things that I'm thankful for today

-League night/ Being able to hang out with my friends mostly every week.
-That Socom still rocks, even after playing it for a few months.
-That the weekend is here!
-That the Silent Hill movie is finally out.
-Getting a decentish night's sleep last night.
-Misty, foggy mornings where everything looks surreal & Silent Hill like.
-Modern plumbing, especially showers!
-That I got everything I needed for work together last night.
-That the leaves are starting to unfurl.

Fucking co-workers

Really, I'd love to know how some people have the mental capacity to keep breathing! How fucking stupid can you get? I'm quality checking a little stack of copies about 300 pages thick. I should have been done already. I'm about a quarter of the way through it. If there is anything you can do wrong while making a damn photocopy, this person did it. How can you not notice that you just sent 5 pages stapled together through the document feeder? Or that your copies are so light that you can't read them? Or how could you not know that you should take the post-it notes off the paper before you copy it? Maybe it would be a good idea to copy it on a different page? Maybe the client might actually want or even need to see the text the post it note is covering? Or really, best of all, WHY WOULD YOU STAPLE A SINGLE SHEET? What are you stapling it too? Maybe an invisible sheet of paper? I guess I had best remember to bring my fucking invisible glasses to work tomorrow, hadn't I? That way I'll be able to see that it's more than just one bloody page with a staple in it!
Oh, and Asshole, no I don't want to train New Girl, especially with this particularly irritating bit of miserable shit I'm working on! If I wanted to train people, I would have stayed in my management position at fucking Kinko's, you retard. One of the (many) reasons I took this job is because I am not a good teacher, & I hate trying to train people. That's why you're the supervisor, you hapless bastard.

clockwork

Like two clocks

out of sync

we try to wind

ourselves together

somehow

no matter

how hard we try

to meet in the middle

we always end up

with our hands

pointing in

opposite directions

(04-18-06)

Is this cow a human-animal hybrid?

In his 2006 State of the Union address President Bush slipped in a call for a ban on "human-animal hybrids." It's probably a phrase that brings thoughts of centaurs, fauns and harpies to some minds.
But, despite the President's stern disapproval of mixed-species clones, we may soon find food products derived from them not just in our research labs, but on our kitchen tables within the next year.
A Dutch biotechnology company called Pharming has genetically engineered cows, outfitting females with a human gene that causes them to express high levels of the protein human lactoferrin in their milk. According to Pharming's website, the proteinwhich is naturally present in human tears, lung secretions, milk and other bodily fluidsfights against the bacteria that causes eye and lung infections, plays a key role in the immune system of infants and adults and improves intestinal microbial balance, promoting the health of the gastro-intestinal tract.
Scientists have tested the toxicity of the proteinisolated from the cows' milkon rats. They found thateven at the high level of 2,000 mg recombinant human lactoferrin per kg body weightorally consumed human lactoferrin has no adverse effects to complement all the supposed benefits already mentioned.
Pharming has, therefore, filed a notification with the FDA asking that their lactoferrin be labeled "Generally Recognized As Safe" (GRAS). If the FDA approves this product, human lactoferrin derived from these cloned cows could be in America's yogurt, popsicles, sports drinks and snack bars within months.
To create human lactoferrin-lactating cows, Pharming's scientists introduce human DNA coding for the protein's production into the nuclei of fertilized bovine eggs. The cells that successfully incorporate the foreign DNA or "transgene" are then selected, and each is fused with a second egg cell that has had its nucleus removed. The fused cells are then implanted in a surrogate cow's uterus. If all goes well, the cow becomes pregnant with a transgenic calf that, upon maturity two years later, will produce milk containing human lactoferrin. Despite that one component of its milk, the calf is all bovinebut technically remains an example of the dastardly human-animal hybrid.
The "humanness" of the protein may be both its strongest selling point and the label that will delay and possibly squash its eventual release to the marketplace. Surveys consistently show that Americans are wary of using genetically modified animals, specifically cloned animals, for food. In fact, a 2005 survey by the Pew Initiative On Food And Biotechnology found that only 23% of American consumers believe that food from cloned animals is safe, while 43% believe it is unsafe.
Despite the public sentiment, the FDA is still working out its official policy on transgenic animals. The agency currently asks that any company looking to introduce transgenic animals into the food supply contact the Center for Veterinary Medicine for instructions on how to prepare an investigational file. It has not yet approved any food from transgenic animals, but according to Singh, the organization has approved a handful proteins made through mammalian cell culture technology, where cells are cultured in a synthetic environment.

"The Federal policy on transgenic animals is under discussion at the White House level," said an FDA spokesperson via e-mail. "Those discussions will ultimately produce a seamless interagency approach to the regulation of genetically engineered animals."
Products from transgenic animals have seen no real success in passing through any approval agencies, thus far. According to the BBC, in February, the European Medicines Agency turned down an application to license Atryn, an anti-clotting agent collected from the milk of transgenic goats, because of insufficient scientific research into its safety and benefit. California-based Ventria Bioscience filed a GRAS notification on human lactoferrin produced in rice back in December, 2004. The status of the application is still listed as pending—every other notification from 2004 was closed by mid-2005. Singh isn't worried that his human lactoferrin protein will face a similar fate.
"Regulatory agencies both in the US and Europe have not said to companies who are working with this sort of technology that they have any issues with the technology itself," Singh said. "There are different uses and different applications; I think this is a relatively straightforward application. If there aren't any issues with the protein itself, I would expect the regulatory agencies would not have any serious concerns."
As for the President's State of the Union remarks, the FDA had no comment. Singh said he'd received feedback from others in the biotechnology industry that Bush was not talking about these sort of transgenic animals but rather about animals created purely for human organ harvesting, such as mice capable of growing human ears on their backs.
Even though Pharming has run multiple tests on their protein to ensure it is safe, and the FDA's claims that it's open to transgenic technology, human lactoferrin from transgenic cows faces an uphill climb from the lab in the Netherlands to the shelves at your local grocery store. The people at Pharming are just hoping that regulatory agencies recognize that transgenic milk does a body good. Very good.

Read It? Watched It? Swap It

For Heather Perlmutter, a 41-year-old investment portfolio manager in Manhattan, the Web site with the whimsical name made perfect sense. Like many Americans, she found herself awash in CD's, DVD's and VHS tapes that were seldom if ever played anymore. They just took up valuable space in the Upper West Side apartment where she lives with her husband and two young children.
Then a friend of a friend told her about Zunafish, a new Web site that matches people with discs and tapes to trade and video games and paperback books, too.
"You feel like you're getting something special, that you're getting the better part of the deal," Ms. Perlmutter said. "Wow, somebody wants your stuff. I guess it's one man's trash is another man's treasure."
That was certainly the thinking of Dan Elias and Billy Bloom, the unlikely founders of Zunafish.
In a highly competitive era, independent tinkerers who are convinced they have a big idea can face big problems getting the idea to market. Even video games, once famous for whisking their creators from makeshift workshops to fast fortunes and expensive cars, are mostly made today by corporate teams of designers and programmers in sprawling office parks.
But Mr. Elias, a television news anchor in western Massachusetts, and Mr. Bloom, the owner of a volleyball league in New York City, both self-described amateurs at creating a digital service and company, spawned Zunafish, a singularly simple-to-use media trading site.
"We have no background in technology," said Mr. Elias, a 45-year-old native New Yorker who now lives in Northampton, Mass. "I think we always thought from the start that it was a big idea. There are hundreds of billions of dollars of idle media materials sitting in people's homes."
Mr. Bloom, 47, said of the company's humble origins, "If we lived in the country, it would have literally been created in one of our garages."
The site, which looks remarkably similar to a prototype Mr. Bloom sketched on notebook paper four years ago with Mr. Elias, trades only one-for-one items within the same category CD's, DVD's, VHS tapes, video games, audio books or paperback books. No item (for example, a seven-disc DVD set of the first season of the television series "24") is worth more than any another (say, a DVD of Peter Jackson's "King Kong").
Traders using the site determine the relative value of an item by choosing to swap or not. No one is ever forced to make a trade, Mr. Elias noted.
Each trader pays Zunafish $1 through credit or debit card for each trade. The site then calculates the postage costs and creates addressed mailing labels that can be downloaded and printed out. Each trader, Mr. Bloom said, is responsible for paying the postage and mailing the item promptly.
Like buyers and sellers on eBay, the traders on Zunafish rate each other, providing a confidence index for future transactions.
One notable feature is how easy it is to post items on Zunafish to be traded.
Mr. Bloom said Zunafish used a database that was updated weekly. Type in the name of an item or its universal product code (usually found near an item's bar code) or the I.S.B.N. number for books and the database pulls up a full description of the item and a digital photograph of its cover. If the match is correct, the user clicks O.K. and the item is posted.
There are other online trading sites, including Peerflix and BarterBee, which started last summer, that offer trading in similar categories. But other sites tend to offer a more limited range of items, or they use more complicated systems, requiring points and memberships to execute trades.

Man Ticketed For Changing Red Lights To Green

A Longmont, Colorado man has been ticketed $50 for suspicion of interfering with a traffic signal, but he says he really enjoyed using it.
Jason Niccum told The Longmont Times-Call that he bought a device that let him change traffic lights from red to green, called an Opticon, on eBay for $100.
He told the newspaper the device "paid for itself" in the two years he had it, helping him cut his time driving to work.
Niccum was cited on March 29 after police said they caught him using the strobe-like device to change traffic signals. Police confiscated the Opticon, and informed Niccum it was illegal to possess it.
"I'm always running late," police quoted Niccum as saying in an incident report.
An Opticon shines a strobe light on the optical sensors set atop some traffic signals, causing lights to jam.
City traffic engineer Joe Olson said traffic engineers plan to update the city's system this year to block unauthorized light-changing signals. He estimated that a new system, which would be able to block out all unauthorized light-changing signals, will cost taxpayers about $75,000.
The Opticon devices, which are becoming more commonplace, are marketed through many different avenues. Dealers are instructed to sell only to "authorized users" such as volunteer first responders, doctors and security personnel, but it is easy for anyone to buy the devices online.

12 Volunteers to Start Getting HIV Vaccine

12 Volunteers to Start Getting HIV Vaccine

Human volunteers this week began signing up for an experimental HIV vaccine developed at Atlanta's Emory University.
Twelve people are expected to take part in the trial at four participating research centers.
Volunteers should begin getting shots any day now, said Don Hildebrand, the chief executive of GeoVax Inc., the Atlanta biotechnology firm that licensed the vaccine.
It's a phase one trial, in which healthy, uninfected volunteers are given low doses in a check for safety and immune response, Hildebrand said Friday.
A second, higher-dose trial _ with 36 people _ is expected to begin in a few months.
If these trials are successful, future trials will be done to see if the vaccine actually prevents the virus from causing AIDS, he said.
The GeoVax product is one of more than 30 preventive AIDS vaccines in early stages of human clinical trials in approximately two dozen countries, according to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, a not-for-profit organization devoted to AIDS prevention.
One of the furthest along is a Merck & Co. vaccine, which tries to build immunity using a modified cold virus. About 3,000 people are being enrolled in Merck's phase two trial of the vaccine.
The GeoVax vaccine is administered in four doses, spread over the course of about two months. The first two doses contain fragments of HIV DNA, which prime the patient's immune response system. The second two doses contain an altered poxvirus designed to boost the immune system, Hildebrand said.
It was developed by a scientific team led by Harriet Robinson of Emory's Yerkes National Primate Research Center. Emory researchers began working on the vaccine in 1997. It worked in rhesus macaques, protecting 22 of 23 vaccinated monkeys from AIDS for more than 3 1/2 years.
In 2003 and 2004, the DNA component of the vaccine was tested in 30 HIV-negative volunteers in Birmingham, Seattle and San Francisco. It was deemed safe, Hildebrand said. The new trials are testing both the components, he explained.

Orangoo spell check

Orangoo spell check

This little application lets you spell correct from any system or computer that has Internet access. Spell check is avalible in 28 languages.


I have to say, I find spell checking in 28 languages pretty impressive, although I doubt ever needing to spell check in anything but english.

Science-Astronomy-The Sky Really Is Falling!

Large Chunk of Ice Falls From Sky in California

A chunk of ice dropped out of the sky and left a huge hole in the ground this weekend at Oakland's Bushrod Park in California, and not even astronomy experts know where it came from.
Jacek Purat, a witness to the falling ice, grabbed a piece and is storing it in his freezer. He says it came out of the southwestern sky, slammed into the ground and exploded into pieces.
It burrowed about two-and-a-half feet into the ground, where Oakland firefighters retrieved it.
"They just pulled it out and threw it on the sidewalk and it broke into pieces," Purat said.
Ron Wilson, an aviation consultant for ABC7/KGO-TV in San Francisco, said it probably didn't come from an aircraft. He believes the only possible way it could have come from an airplane is if the plane's valve for freshwater had leaked at a high elevation.
The other possibility is that it is a chunk of ice from space.
"It's very unlikely for a piece of a comet to make it down to our surface, mainly because of the shock waves it encounters as it's entering our atmosphere," said Ryan Diduck at the Chabot Space and Science Center.
If the ice contains chlorine, it more than likely came from an airplane's freshwater tank. If not, scientists would like to see if it contains impurities from space that make up the solar system, like dust and dirt.
"It produced some little bit of inflammation, sensation of the tips of your fingers as if it had a little bit acid maybe or something like that," Purat said.
So far, no one has asked to analyze Mr. Purat 's chunk of mysterious ice.



Falling ice perplexes scientists
Theories abound after 2 chunks land in state in a week.

The skies are raining big chunks of ice, and experts ranging from scientists to federal investigators are scrambling to learn what's going on.
For the second time in a week, California was the victim of an aerial, icy assault, the latest being early Thursday when a chunk of ice the size of a microwave oven plunged out of a cloudless sky into the San Bernardino County town of Loma Linda. The ice punched through the metal roof of a recreation center, leaving a hole up to 2 1/2 feet wide, then fragmented into opaque, brilliant white chunks, one as big as a bowling ball. No one was hurt.
The simplest, least controversial hypothesis is that the ice was dropped from airplanes, but there's little direct support for that view. A few experts who study such phenomena have suggested that similar occurrences around the world owe more to exotic causes, perhaps even global warming.
In both cases, the ice was clear or whitish -- not bluish, as one would expect of ice that had leaked from an airplane's restroom, for instance.
Legends about plunging ice go back for centuries. They didn't begin to receive serious scientific attention until a few years ago, however, when Spain and other countries were pelted by the mystery intruders.
Possible explanations range from the mundane to the bizarre.
One theory is that ice is somehow forming on the outside of aircraft, perhaps in areas that aren't protected by deicing equipment, said David Travis, a climatologist at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Last year, he and 11 others co-wrote an article on the ice-fall mystery in the Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry.
Lead author Jesus Martinez-Frias of the Planetary Geology Laboratory in Madrid and his colleagues have collected reports of 40 cases around the world since 1999 of puzzling falling ice, or "megacryometeors," as they call the strange objects.
Martinez-Frias hypothesizes that the ice forms in the upper atmosphere by a process similar to the formation of hail inside thunderstorms but without a thunderstorm. But how can ice fall from a cloudless sky? Martinez-Frias speculates that global warming is causing the lower part of the atmosphere -- the troposphere, where we live -- to expand and rise. This means that the tropopause, which is the so-called roof of the troposphere, is forced to a greater height, where it cools more than normal.
Thus, he suggests, the new, steeper temperature difference between warm and cold air in the upper atmosphere generates turbulent up-and-down winds that repeat the hail-formation process, without a thunderstorm.

Science- Why is the sky blue? Facts you should know

Why is the sky blue? Facts you should know

Scientists offer 10 basic questions to test your knowledge.

Think you know you know your science? Recently, several science gurus -- Nobel Prize winners, institute heads, teachers and others who spend most of their time thinking about science -- were asked, "What is one science question every high school graduate should be able to answer?"

Take their quiz and see how you do.

1. What percentage of the earth is covered by water?

ROBERT GAGOSIAN, WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE

2. What sorts of signals does the brain use to communicate sensations, thoughts and actions?

TORSTEN WEISEL, ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE, NEW YORK

3. Did dinosaurs and humans ever exist at the same time?

ANDREW C. REVKIN, NEW YORK TIMES SCIENCE REPORTER

4. What is Darwin's theory of the origin of species?

JONATHAN WEINER, 1995 PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR

5. Why does a year consist of 365 days, and a day of 24 hours?

LESLIE SAGE, NATURE MAGAZINE

6. Why is the sky blue?

ROY GLAUBER, 2005 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER; HARVARD UNIVERSITY

7. What causes a rainbow?

KIM KASTENS, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

8. What is it that makes diseases caused by viruses and bacteria hard to treat?

HELLE GAWRYLEWSKI, JOHNSON & JOHNSON (AND THE AUTHOR'S MOTHER)

9. How old are the oldest fossils on earth?

PAUL NURSE, 2001 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER; ROCKEFELLER INSTITUTE

10. Why do we put salt on sidewalks when it snows?

ARTHUR KNUDSEN, BRIDGETON, N.J., SCHOOLS

Extra credit: What makes the seasons change?

If this quiz wasn't as easy as you thought it would be, you're not alone. According to a recent National Science Board survey, 90 percent of Americans are interested in science, but only 15 percent consider themselves well-informed. In high schools, only 60 percent of students complete a general biology class, while only 40 percent complete a general chemistry class and a scant 27 percent complete a physics class, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Answers:

1. About 71 percent of the earth's surface is covered by water.

2. The single cells in the brain communicate through electrical and chemical signals.

3. No. Dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago. Modern humans did not appear until around 200,000 years ago.

4. Darwin's theory of species origination says that natural selection chooses organisms that possess variable and heritable traits and that are best suited for their environments.

5. A year, 365 days, is the time it takes for the earth to travel around the sun. A day, 24 hours, is the time it takes for the earth to spin around once on its axis.

6. Solar radiation sunlight is scattered across the atmosphere by a process called diffused sky radiation. The sky is blue because much more short-wave radiation -- blue light -- is scattered across the sky than long-wave radiation -- red light.

7. Rainbows can be seen when there are water droplets in the air and the sun is shining. Sunlight, which contains all colors, is refracted, or bent, off the droplets at different angles, splitting into its different colors of red, yellow, blue, etc.

8. Influenza viruses and others continually change over time, usually by mutation. This change enables the virus to evade the immune system of its host so that people are susceptible to influenza virus infection throughout their lives. Bacteria mutate in the same way and can also become resistant if overtreated with antibiotics.

9. About 3.8 billion years; they're bacteria-like organisms.

10. Adding salt to snow or ice increases the number of molecules on the ground surface and makes it harder for the water to freeze. Salt can lower freezing temperatures on sidewalks to 15 degrees from 32 degrees.

Extra credit: Seasons occur because the earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees. At certain times of year the top half of the earth leans to the sun and therefore gets more sun and has summer. When that same half of the earth leans away from the sun it gets less light and has winter.

Science-Enviroment- Giant Deep-Sea Volcano With "Moat of Death" Found

Giant Deep-Sea Volcano With "Moat of Death" Found


Beneath the waves of the South Pacific lies a volcanic realm nearly as strange as that featured in TV's hit drama Lost.
But instead of a mysterious island, scientists have found a bubbling submarine volcano whose weird features include a swirling vortex, a host of strange animals, and a fearsome zone of toxic waters dubbed the Moat of Death.
The volcano sits within the crater of a gigantic underwater mountain rising more than 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) from the ocean floor near the island of Samoa.
The seamount, called Vailulu'u, is an active volcano, with a 2-mile-wide (3.2-kilometer-wide) crater. The cone rising within it has been dubbed Nafanua, for the Samoan goddess of war.
Five years ago Hubert Staudigel of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, and his colleagues mapped the mountain using remote-sensing techniques.
When they returned to the site in 2005 for a more thorough study with submersible vehicles, the scientists found that the seamount had grown a new, 300-meter (1,000-foot) lava cone, a sign of renewed volcanic activity.
The peak of the cone, 700 meters (2,300 feet) below sea level, turned out to be teeming with life.
"It was just full of eels," Staudigel said. "When we sent the submersible down, we found hundreds of eels scurrying out of the rock. Normally you'd see one or two."
Moat of Death

The moat lies between Vailulu'u's encircling crater and the rim of the cone inside it.
It's an extremely toxic environment, Staudigel said, where oxygen levels are dangerously low and volcanic vents fill the water with iron soot "almost like underwater smog."
The volcano is also spewing liquid carbon dioxide, which combines with seawater to make a deadly acidic mix.

Going Nuclear - Greenpeace founder changes mind, supports nuclear energy

Going Nuclear

In the early 1970s when I helped found Greenpeace, I believed that nuclear energy was synonymous with nuclear holocaust, as did most of my compatriots. That's the conviction that inspired Greenpeace's first voyage up the spectacular rocky northwest coast to protest the testing of U.S. hydrogen bombs in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Thirty years on, my views have changed, and the rest of the environmental movement needs to update its views, too, because nuclear energy may just be the energy source that can save our planet from another possible disaster: catastrophic climate change.
Look at it this way: More than 600 coal-fired electric plants in the United States produce 36 percent of U.S. emissions -- or nearly 10 percent of global emissions -- of CO2, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. Nuclear energy is the only large-scale, cost-effective energy source that can reduce these emissions while continuing to satisfy a growing demand for power. And these days it can do so safely.
And although I don't want to underestimate the very real dangers of nuclear technology in the hands of rogue states, we cannot simply ban every technology that is dangerous. That was the all-or-nothing mentality at the height of the Cold War, when anything nuclear seemed to spell doom for humanity and the environment. In 1979, Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon produced a frisson of fear with their starring roles in "The China Syndrome," a fictional evocation of nuclear disaster in which a reactor meltdown threatens a city's survival. Less than two weeks after the blockbuster film opened, a reactor core meltdown at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear power plant sent shivers of very real anguish throughout the country.
What nobody noticed at the time, though, was that Three Mile Island was in fact a success story: The concrete containment structure did just what it was designed to do -- prevent radiation from escaping into the environment. And although the reactor itself was crippled, there was no injury or death among nuclear workers or nearby residents. Three Mile Island was the only serious accident in the history of nuclear energy generation in the United States, but it was enough to scare us away from further developing the technology: There hasn't been a nuclear plant ordered up since then.
Today, there are 103 nuclear reactors quietly delivering just 20 percent of America's electricity. Eighty percent of the people living within 10 miles of these plants approve of them (that's not including the nuclear workers). Although I don't live near a nuclear plant, I am now squarely in their camp.



The original article is more in-depth, and includes some common myths & concerns about nuclear energy.

Science-Astronomy-Tenth planet turns out to be a shiner

Brilliant! Tenth planet turns out to be a shiner.

Xena, unofficially called the 10th planet, is the second-most-shiny known object in the solar system, new observations show. Scientists are scrambling to explain where Xena got its sparkle. Some suggest that it might have enough heat to belch methane, despite being in the coldest region of the solar system.
The new notion of Xena arises from Hubble Space Telescope images that were released this week. The images reveal that Xena, the most distant known object in our solar system, isn't quite the big shot that scientists had thought it was.
Researchers have difficulty determining the size of remote denizens of the solar system because a large object that reflects a small amount of sunlight looks the same as a small object reflecting a lot of light.
But for Xena, the sharp Hubble pictures erase that ambiguity.
The relatively small size shown in those images indicates that the body reflects 86 percent of sunlight. Brown says he was "thoroughly shocked" by that finding. Researchers had assumed that Xena's surface was similar to that of Pluto, which reflects 60 percent of sunlight. Saturn's moon Enceladus, recently shown to be shooting out a geyser of water vapor is the only solar system object known to have a higher reflectivity, notes Brown.


The distant sun shines on Xena, often called the 10th planet, in this illustration. Inset: The Hubble Space Telescope image that revealed Xena's size for the first time.
A. Schaller, NASA, ESA; (Inset) Brown, NASA, ESA

ARRGGGHHHH!

Will you just shut the fuck up? Really, if you can't stop being bitchy and negitive for a whole minute even, then I don't want to be anywhere near you! I am so sick of your pissy attitude. Maybe if you didn't think that everything and everyone else is beneath you, they wouldn't be so irritating to you! Oh, and I've also had enough with the whole tolerate and respect everyone's beliefs & opinions, as long as you agree with them. AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I feel better now.




________________________________________________________________
Comments:

Patience:

And breathe!

What happened?

Patience

___________________________________________________________

Aeryn:

Nothing really, just a friend/co-worker with a persestently negitive, whiney, bitchy attitude lately. Needed to vent before I spoke out of anger, that's all. Oh, and the incredulus, almost laughing "Why would you do that?" when I mentioned that I was going to church on Sunday. (And probably Friday night too.)
I knew that if I ddin't get it off my chest, I'd be likely to say something I'd regret later.

CoA - The Church of Areaology

CoA - The Church of Areaology

Come on, you know you want to join!

The Original David Bowie's Area webpage

Everest Expedition Uncovers Exotic Species

Everest Expedition Uncovers Exotic Species

Mount Everest and the Himalaya mountain range conjure images of llamas and Sherpas loaded with heavy packs. But tucked into the cold shadows of the world's tallest mountain are biologically diverse hotspots filled with poorly known plants and animals found nowhere else on the globe.

Scientists from Conservation International and Disney's Animal Kingdom recently launched a two-month scientific expedition into six regions of the Tibetan "Sacred Lands" in the mountains of Southwest China and Nepal.

Today they announced the discovery of a pocket of the world rich in extraordinary flora and fauna.
Here's a sampling of the outlandish critters:
Giant hornets so deadly locals call them "Yak Killers"


Jumping "Yeti" mice


A new grasshopper species in which the males hitch piggy-back rides on the females


Baby blue-faced golden monkeys, the region's largest primates


Hamster-like pikas that eat their own feces


A couple of new frog species, eight new insect species, and ten new species of ants to add the more than 11,000 already known.
More critters can be viewed here.

The full results of the expedition will be shared with numerous governments, scientists, and environmental and conservation organizations to develop strategies to protect the many unique species of the region.

Disney's film crew was rolling tape during the mission for a 2-hour documentary that will premiere April 15th at 8:00 PM (ET) on Discovery's Animal Planet

The Lover Style Profile Test

The Surprising Lover

59% Partner focus, 28% Aggressiveness, 60% Adventurousness

Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that:

You prefer your romance and love to wild and daring rather than typical or boring, you would rather be pursued than do the pursuing and, when it comes to physical love, your satisfaction comes more from providing a wonderful time to your partner than simply seeking your own.

This places you in the Lover Style of: The Surprising Lover.

The Surprising Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, and, like the name implies, is often filled with hidden delights and talents that might not be apparent from a surface knowledge of the person. The Surprising Lover is rather like a geode--sometimes rough on the exterior, but filled with beauty and wonder. The Surprising Lover is thus a gem to find, though it can sometimes be difficult to do so because they often tend to be humble and unwilling to reveal their inner greatness unless they're in a rewarding relationship.

In terms of physical love, the Surprising Lover really shines, often highly imaginative and utterly devoted to bringing the heights of pleasure to the one that they truly love. Given a rewarding, reciprocative relationship, and the right lover, the Surprising Lover can be a delight in bed.

Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Carnal Lover (most of all) or the Exotic Lover, or the Suave Lover.

The Lover Style Profile Test

The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test

The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test

Outcast Genius 86 % Nerd, 56% Geek, 56% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius. Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject). Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius. Congratulations!