NewScientist does a weekly column "highlighting extraordinary animals" in the form of a blog called Zoologger.
This week they examine the Lion's Mane Jellyfish, which if you include the tentacles, can stretch to over 30 meters long! (That's roughly the same size as a blue whale.)
I'm usually the first to shrug off Star Wars related nerdaphernalia as lame and/or overdone, but this one struck me as pretty funny.
Don't bother watching the intro (starts with a twitter post), but definitely check out the clip offered up on the site. It seems nerds around the world were pretty hard at work on this.
A striking galaxy buzzing with energetic star formation takes center stage in a new photograph that showcases an unusual "superwind" of out-flowing gas, researchers say.
The starburst galaxy NGC 4666, located about 80 million light-years away from Earth, is a hotbed of intense star formation, which is thought to be caused by gravitational interactions between NGC 4666 and its neighboring galaxies, one of which is visible in the lower left of the new photo.
Heavy drinkers outlive non drinkers.
People who have 1-3 drinks a day outlive those who drink 4+ drinks a day and the 4+ a day drinkers outlive none drinkers. It's time to get our drink on.
Darius McCollum has been arrested for stealing a bus in New Jersey and driving it to JFK international airport.
The story gets better though, apparently Darius started his love affair with transit crime at the tender age of 15, when he commandeered a subway train and drove it to the World Trade Center. Since then, he has accumulated 26 more arrested, most of which involve impersonating transit officials.
It is believed that McCollum may suffer from autism or Asperger's syndrome.
Choice cuts from the article:
"Elizabeth McCollum said she moved to North Carolina 20 years ago with her only son, who would pick up and leave for New York because he missed the trains.
....His mother said that by the time he was 8 he had memorized the city subway system, by far the biggest in the country, and could direct a person to any point on it without consulting a map or guide."
Criminal acts, mental disorders, and public safety aside, I do applaud this guy for following his dreams.
An article on how money was wasted during the rebuilding effort in Iraq.
In summary:
1. Don't bother rebuilding till the fight is over because security for your rebuilding effort adds 30% to the cost.
2. Ask the Iraqi people if they really need that bridge to nowhere before you build it.
One of my favorite comments at the end of the article was... 'we're wasting it over there so we don't have to waste it over here'.
A guy by the name of Glen McCracken is trying to reach level 70 with a single kill. He is leveling up rather by securing flags in Domination, but also plays Demolition and Team Deathmatch as well. Right now, Glen is level 11, with 272 deaths and zero kills.
"I've already hit Prestige five times. I thought it would be something interesting to do," Glen told Game Informer. "It definitely gives you a different perspective on the game, and it's fun and challenging."
"Some of the most elegant cars of this class, and which are of a capacity to accommodate from sixty to eighty passengers, and run with a steadiness hardly equalled by a steamboat in still water, are manufactured by Davenport & Bridges, at their establishment in Cambridgeport, Mass."
Seventy years ago, in 1940, a popular science magazine published a short article that set in motion one of the trendiest intellectual fads of the 20th century.
Sure, the speech-thought debate is usually relegated to the land of linguistics, neuroscience, anthropology, and dense Continental philosophy (who doesn’t love to curl up with some Derrida tome after a long day at work?), but the question is more than a mere intellectual fad. This example highlights the “everydayness” of this question:
Suppose I say to you in English that “I spent yesterday evening with a neighbor.” You may well wonder whether my companion was male or female, but I have the right to tell you politely that it’s none of your business. But if we were speaking French or German, I wouldn’t have the privilege to equivocate in this way, because I would be obliged by the grammar of language to choose between voisin or voisine; Nachbar or Nachbarin. These languages compel me to inform you about the sex of my companion whether or not I feel it is remotely your concern.
"...if different languages influence our minds in different ways, this is not because of what our language allows us to think but rather because of what it habitually obliges us to think about."
And it talks about geographic language for 2-3 pages, which is an interesting topic but can be explained in fewer words.
I thought this article was concise, well-written and inspiring.
"We are social animals; we crave connection and community; we crave a wide, encompassing identity that connects us with all of humanity – not just our friends and family, not just our city, our country, our species – but every living being on Earth: plant, animal, human."
It is similar to Jung's idea of the collective unconscious but also acknowledges our society's tendency to be selfish.
I skimmed the comments and saw this gem: "How many times have you watched Avatar?"
Just another reason why women should be taking birth control....
Scientists from Austria's Salzburg University took high resolution images of the brains of 14 men and 28 women, half of whom were on the pill and found that women on the pill had about 3 per cent increase in brain size relative to women not on the pill. Enlarged neural areas included the brain's "conservation hub" and areas essential to memory and social skills.
After 2 years of rumors and clues of Resistance 3, there has finally been an officially announcement. The release date is set for TBA 2011.
While Resistance 2's multiplayer was crapola, the single player was fun and the story was a pretty good follow up to the original. I'll keep my expectations high for the continued story and hope they get their head out of their ass for online play this time around.
A set of 21 papers addressing global food requirements and what needs to be done in terms of food production technology were published today by the Royal Society.
This article gives an overview of many of the findings, as well as UK Chief Government Scientist John Beddington's outlook on a hungry future.
One study suggests one of my personal favorite solutions to world hunger: growing artificial meat in a giant vat. Why not? I'd happily chow down on a faux piggy if it meant more efficient food production, less reliance on fossil fuels and a perfected crunch in my BLT.
Paul B. Farrell analyzes David Stockman's "Four Deformations of the Apocalypse"
Stockman was one of Ronald Reagan's big dogs. He wrote a piece for the New York times describing how the GOP's financial tactics have lead to the inevitable failure of the US economy.
OKCupid data has determined that iphone users have more sex. The methodology is suspect but the results don't surprise me. The study more likely reveals that people who are susceptible to suggestions that something has more value than it actually does have sex more often. It might also be a self confidence thing. Maybe girls that are more likely to feel better about themselves because they have the iPhone are the same girls who feel better about themselves if they get as many dicks in them as possible.
A flight attendant from jetBlue, irate at a passenger who refused to apologize for accidentally hitting him in the head with his luggage, has lived the American Dream.
From the metropolis article:
"Slater demanded an apology from the passenger, the official said, but the passenger refused. The two argued before the passenger told Slater to “f— off”, the official said. The official said that Slater then got on the plane’s PA system and directed that same obscenity at all the passengers and added that he especially meant it for the man who refused to apologize.
Slater is alleged to have then activated the plane’s inflatable emergency slide, grabbed two beers from the galley, then slid down the chute, the official said."
These are the stories that keep me going each and every day.
I'm usually the first to shrug off Star Wars related nerdaphernalia as lame and/or overdone, but this one struck me as pretty funny.
SUPERWIND!
Heavy drinkers outlive non drinkers. 
Darius McCollum has been arrested for stealing a bus in New Jersey and driving it to JFK international airport. 
The Arcade Fire's video for "We Used To Wait" is an interactive web browser based experiment. 
We are soft-wired NOT for aggression, violence, self-interest & utilitarianism but for empathy, sociability, attachment, affection & companionship. 
Mark Zable has entered his version of deep fried beer in a state fair in Texas. 
A guy by the name of Glen McCracken is trying to reach level 70 with a single kill. He is leveling up rather by securing flags in Domination, but also plays Demolition and Team Deathmatch as well. Right now, Glen is level 11, with 272 deaths and zero kills.
Scientific American is celebrating 165 years in print! To celebrate, they have made their very first issue available as a pdf. They have also 
Seventy years ago, in 1940, a popular science magazine published a short article that set in motion one of the trendiest intellectual fads of the 20th century.
Research shows that plants are releasing chemicals to attract predators of animals/insects that are feasting on their leaves. 
Just another reason why women should be taking birth control....
After 2 years of rumors and clues of Resistance 3, there has finally been an officially announcement. The release date is set for TBA 2011. 
Paul B. Farrell analyzes David Stockman's "Four Deformations of the Apocalypse" 
OKCupid data has determined that iphone users have more sex. The methodology is suspect but the results don't surprise me. The study more likely reveals that people who are susceptible to suggestions that something has more value than it actually does have sex more often. It might also be a self confidence thing. Maybe girls that are more likely to feel better about themselves because they have the iPhone are the same girls who feel better about themselves if they get as many dicks in them as possible.
A flight attendant from jetBlue, irate at a passenger who refused to apologize for accidentally hitting him in the head with his luggage, has lived the American Dream.
