07 February 2018
High-school basketball story
I think I probably posted the original story years ago but can't find it now. Doesn't matter - there's enough backstory in this video to explain the signficance.
Muslims accused of planning to "infiltrate" the Minnesota Republican party
Two Minnesota Republican state lawmakers and a local GOP official are facing scrutiny after they reportedly shared a Facebook post accusing Muslims of preparing to “infiltrate” the party’s caucuses this month.
State Reps. Kathy Lohmer and Cindy Pugh, shared the post created by Dave Sina, chairman of the Fourth Congressional District GOP, this week, according to the Star Tribune. Sina has since taken it down, but not before the Star Tribune captured a screenshot.
In the post, Sina said a friend of his had attended a caucus training session held at a mosque by the Muslim American Society. MAS is a nonpartisan organization that promotes civic engagement among American Muslims with local chapters across the U.S.
Sina claimed that Muslims are trying to “infiltrate our republican caucuses on Feb. 6” and that “they didn’t talk about the general election but I am sure they are ahead of us in that as well.”More at the Huffington Post and the links.
Lobsters vs. crayfish
I found the above photo on The Guardian as a SkyPixel aerial photography competition winner. The caption reads "A [lobster] farm in Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen province, central Vietnam."
The photo got me thinking about what defines a "lobster." I couldn't imagine any of the bottom-dwelling lobsters I once enjoyed at the West Street Cafe having come from such floating farms. As I researched "lobster farming" I found video like this intriguing one:
I thought "he calls them lobsters, I call them crayfish." But perhaps I'm provincial and too restrictive in my vocabulary, since prawns and scampi are classified as lobsters. Maybe it's the freshwater vs. seawater habitat that is the distinguishing characteristic. No time to pursue it further. Good photo and video. You learn something every day.
About that federal budget
It was another crazy news week, so it's understandable if you missed a small but important announcement from the Treasury Department: The federal government is on track to borrow nearly $1 trillion this fiscal year - President Donald Trump's first full year in charge of the budget.This is a bipartisan fuck-up. We desperately need some adults in Washington.
That's almost double what the government borrowed in fiscal year 2017.
Here are the exact figures: The U.S. Treasury expects to borrow $955 billion this fiscal year, according to a documents released Wednesday. It's the highest amount of borrowing in six years, and a big jump from the $519 billion the federal government borrowed last year.
Treasury mainly attributed the increase to the "fiscal outlook." The Congressional Budget Office was more blunt. In a report this week, the CBO said tax receipts are going to be lower because of the new tax law.
The uptick in borrowing is yet another complication in the heated debates in Congress over whether to spend more money on infrastructure, the military, disaster relief and other domestic programs. The deficit is already up significantly, even before Congress allots more money to any of these areas.
A marble run incorporating a dozen antigravity mechanisms
It's set up on a tilted table, which helps explain the sometimes puzzling physics.
Via everywhere.
Hookworm as a souvenir of your beach vacation
Hookworms infect 740 million people worldwide, mostly in poorer countries with subpar sanitation. But they can show up anywhere. The Dominican Republic certainly has them, as does most of Africa, South and Central America, and Asia. And until the early 20th century, large swaths of the United States had them too. In fact, parts of rural Alabama still play host to hookworms...More at Popular Science.
You’ll probably find plenty of information about the vaccines you should get (mostly hepatitis A and B, rabies, and yellow fever). There will be warnings about the dangers of dengue, schistosomiasis, and malaria. But you're unlikely to spot anything about hookworms.
This might be because you can’t actually prepare for hookworms before you go. As a traveler, all you can do is wear sandals on the beach, sit on towels, and wash off with soap and water after you touch sand. But if no one tells them in advance, the average person (from a non-hookworm-plagued country) won’t think to wear shoes on the beach. Most American seasides are free of hookworms, so we’re not trained to think about these things before we hit the waves.
"Dining with strangers"
The Star-Tribune carried a story this week about restaurants setting up "communal tables" where diners can sit with strangers.
Dropping their chilly, arm’s-length practices, complete strangers are now willingly sitting next to one another — and testing the boundaries of their well-guarded personal space — as they enjoy a meal.
With solo diners, couples and groups all gathering around mammoth tables and counters at restaurants across the metro area, Twin Citians seem to be catching up with the way the rest of the world dines.
“In California, it’s the norm,” said architect David Shea of Shea Inc. in Minneapolis, which designs restaurants all over the country. “Up and down the East Coast, too. In New York, it’s a given that we’ll include a social table. It’s all about socializing, about talking about the food you’re eating and the drinks you’re drinking. I’ve been pushing socialization as a part of dining for as long I’ve been at this, and that’s 40 years.”This newfound acceptance is part of a larger trend, where dining out is becoming more and more casual.
I remember 50 years ago having dinner in Boston at Durgin-Park and being seated at an immensely long table with a checkered tablecloth with strangers next to me. I hope that tradition continues there. Can any readers confirm?
Photo credit anthony.souffle@startribune.com
Optical illusion
The two photos are identical - even though it appears that the tracks are more vertical in the right photo and more slanted in the left one.
Similar in concept to the Leaning Tower of Pisa illusion.
Via within the crainium.
Reposted from 2009 to add this even more dramatic pairing:
Remember, the two photos are exactly identical.
Almost as awesome as this one. If you enjoy these, note you can access this blog's 62 posts about optical illusions from the categories section in the right sidebar.
Excerpts from "A History of the Past: Life Reeked with Joy"
(culled from a lifetime of grading college student papers)
During the Middle Ages, everybody was middle aged. Church and state were co-operatic. Middle Evil society was made up of monks, lords, and surfs. It is unfortunate that we do not have a medivel European laid out on a table before us, ready for dissection. After a revival of infantile commerce slowly creeped into Europe, merchants appeared. Some were sitters and some were drifters. They roamed from town to town exposing themselves and organized big fairies in the countryside...Much more at The Wilson Quarterly.
The bubonic plague is a social disease in the sense that it can be transmitted by intercourse and other etceteras. It was spread from port to port by inffected rats. Victims of the Black Death grew boobs on their necks. The plague also helped the emergance of the English language as the national language of England, France and Italy...
The Middle Ages slimpared to a halt. The renasence bolted in from the blue. Life reeked with joy. Italy became robust, and more individuals felt the value of their human being. Italy, of course, was much closer to the rest of the world, thanks to northern Europe...
An angry Martin Luther nailed 95 theocrats to a church door. Theologically, Luthar was into reorientation mutation. Calvinism was the most convenient religion since the days of the ancients. Anabaptist services tended to be migratory. The Popes, of course, were usually Catholic...
Louis XIV became King of the Sun. He gave the people food and artillery. If he didn’t like someone, he sent them to the gallows to row for the rest of their lives...
Great Brittian, the USA and other European countrys had demicratic leanings. The middle class was tired and needed a rest. The old order could see the lid holding down new ideas beginning to shake. Among the goals of the chartists were universal suferage and an anal parliment. Voting was done by ballad...
World War I broke out around 1912–1914. Germany was on one side of France and Russia was on the other. At war people get killed, and then they aren’t people any more, but friends. Peace was proclaimed at Versigh, which was attended by George Loid, Primal Minister of England...
According to Fromm, individuation began historically in medieval times. This was a period of small childhood. There is increasing experience as adolescence experiences its life development. The last stage is us.
Scum
Porch cam documents man stealing a family's dog.
"Our family dog was stolen from our front yard in Denver, CO. Her name is Zoe and she is the sweetest, most playful dog on the planet. She was outside by herself, but her Dad works from home with a window facing the front and the temperature was in the high 50s today. She is extremely loved and spoiled at home and her family desperately wants her back. Please keep an eye out for this person and this truck, and let us and the police know if you have any information about where she is. And please share this video so others who might know where she is can see it. Thank you."I didn't wade through the cesspit of YouTube comments to see if this case was resolved. I stopped after "WTF would you let her out in the front yard by herself? just asking for it..."
Pirates' earrings
"Seamen proudly sported earrings as a mark of their travels and voyages. Earrings were given to young sailors to commemorate their first crossing of the equator, or when they rounded the treacherous waters of Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America... earrings made of silver or gold were worth enough to pay for a sailor's funeral if his body washed ashore. Some seamen even engraved the name of their home port on the inside of the earring so that their bodies could be sent to their families for a proper burial... wearing hoop earrings did serve one truly beneficial purpose for living sailors. "Pirates, especially those who fired the ships' cannons during close combat with the enemy, dangled wads of wax from their earrings to use as earplugs," Doug Lennox writes in "Now You Know Big Book of Answers.""I would bet a dollar to a doughnut that if someone found a pirate's body washed ashore with a gold earring, that gold wouldn't be applied to funeral expenses.
Via Neatorama.
Awesome child's bed
Construction plans at ThisIsWhyI'mBroke, via the incomparable vehicle blog Just A Car Guy, where there is a link to a Facebook video about the bed.
06 February 2018
Treason
“Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile”. - Theodore Roosevelt - editorial in The Kansas City Star, on May 7, 1918Via the QuotesPorn subreddit.
02 February 2018
Divertimento #145
A practical use for a fitted sheet at the beach.
In The Wizard of Oz movie, the snow in the poppy field scene was chrysotile asbestos (also the Wicked Witch's broom and the straw man's entire outfit).
A proposed sticker for Intel (because the CEO sold millions of $ of his shares before the company publicly announced a design flaw.
"Troll the ancient Yuletide carol..." explained thus: "Trolling a carol might sound like some obnoxious attempt to undermine it, but it’s actually a great way to get in the holiday spirit. According to the OED, one of the meanings of “troll,” in use since the 16th century, is “to sing in a full, rolling voice; to chant merrily or jovially.” It’s related to the sense of rolling, or passing around..." There are five other grammar lessons from Christmas songs.
Wisconsin's bald eagle population has hit a record high (1,600 occupied nests).
A logo for a the "Dairy Air" ice cream company features a cow's rear end, and has caused some controversy in a New Jersey community.
An article about the potential toxicity (or not) of silver dragées used to decorate Christmas cookies.
LED traffic lights are energy-saving. BUT... they don't emit enough heat to melt the snow that sometimes coats or plugs them.
While the Trump administration is shrinking the national park system, Iceland is heading the other direction: "National Parks, protected areas and nature monuments now cover 21.6% of the surface area of Iceland, according to the Environment Agency. This could expand dramatically in the next years..."
One opinion on which minority is destroying America.
Campbell's Soup responds to a hater.
Hungarian Mangalica pigs are so wooly they look like sheep.
Staircase modified to accommodate a small dog.
"Scientists examined the stomach contents of gulls that foraged on landfills and found most of the birds were filling their bellies with human detritus. It wasn’t just plastic, either—the birds’ stomachs were packed with glass, metal, and even building materials..."
Hair clip.
Lidar technology dramatically reveals old Roman roads in the English countryside.
"It took three weeks for Cincinnati Premier Youth Basketball League to kick out a Kings Mills area team due to their disgustingly racist jerseys with phrases like "Coon" and "Knee Grow" emblazoned on the back. "
Squirrels have lots of defense mechanisms. They can turn their feet 180 degrees, and they can heat up their tail when they confront a heat-sensing rattlesnake (but not other snakes).
"Spamnesty is a simple service: forward your spam to it and it will engage the spammer in pointless chatbot email chains, wasting their time."
The 28 shortest men in Hollywood.
"As a 19-year-old university student, Carl Størmer used a hidden camera to photograph life in Oslo, Norway from 1893 to 1897."
Northern pike attacking a grebe (video)
Totally inept arsonist (video)
Best movie adaptations (video)
High-school basketball teams wins on a last-second shot.
Engineer explains the "steam hammer" effect in pipes (similar to the more familiar water hammer).
The State of Oregon has passed a bill that allows some residents in rural counties to pump their own gas at a gas station. Many of them don't know how to do so.
Partially opened whipping cream container resembled John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
What to do with a slice of deli meat that has a metallic sheen.
"Good news everyone: Scott DesJarlais, a strident anti-choice congressman and beloved Tea Party hero from Tennessee, says God has forgiven him for having sex with his patients when he was a doctor and then pressuring them to get abortions."
How to cope with frost in the attic of your home.
Bear lays out in a dive.
Which animal can hold it's breath the longest underwater - a sloth or a dolphin? (hat tip to the elves at No Such Thing As A Fish).
The city of Houston has a program to train citizens and authorize them to issue parking citations to vehicles improperly parked in spaces reserved for the disabled.
That elaborately interwoven brick sidewalk? It's not.
The photos embedded in this post were selected from a group of 10 beautiful ceilings posted at the BBC. Locations and photo credits at the link.
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