gregladen | December 12, 2008
This is the Velvet Worm, phylum Onycophora. These worms actually bear live young.
gregladen | December 12, 2008In a Playboy Magazine! (Below the fold, of course)
The details (and another photo, because you know you want to see more) can be found here.
gregladen | December 12, 2008 ... because it is hard to be a Senator from Prison. The latest from Fox News:
The FBI is reportedly investigating allegations that a Minnesota businessman tried to funnel $75,000 in campaign contributions to Sen. Norm Coleman through the senator's wife, Laurie, at the same time Coleman was going into debt because of extensive home renovations.
According to a report from MyFOXTwinCities.com, two lawsuits allege that in the spring of 2007, Nasser Kazeminy began making $25,000 payments from Deep Marine Technology, a Texas company he controls, to Laurie Coleman's employer, insurer Hayes…
gregladen | December 12, 2008Pampam and Jason kept getting huge water bills. They knew beyond a doubt that the bills weren't representative of their actual usage, and no matter how they tried to conserve, the high bills continued. Although they could see nothing wrong, they had everything checked for leaks or problems: the water meter, outdoor pipes, indoor pipes, underground pipes, faucets, toilets, washer, ice maker, etc., all to no avail.
One day Jason stayed home to do his work, but kept hearing water running downstairs. He finally got up to investigate, and stumbled onto the cause of the bills. Apparently…
gregladen | December 12, 2008
"The actions today by the Canvassing Board can only be described as confusing to us."
Coleman's chief lawyer, Fritz Knaak, has filed papers to stop 133 votes in a Franken-leaning section of Minneapolis ... mainly college students ... from being counted. Why? Because he is too stupid to understand the not so complicated situation...
"While advocates for the Franken Campaign stood outside with signs reminiscent of Florida in 2000, what we now have before us is a situation in which there now exist essentially, more than 87 different standards for how ballots will be included in the so-…
gregladen | December 12, 2008 ... and not just in his closet, but in his CABINET!
The Protestant Christian Right (and their allies) are wringing their collective hands and forecasting doom. Why? Because President-elect Barack Obama is including gay people in his administration and has vowed to work toward equality for all Americans.
The chronically hysterical Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel and a frequently cited spokesman for the Protestant Christian Right, recently wailed to the Baptist Press, "I would consider him [Obama] to be the biggest threat to religious liberty we've ever had because he will push the…
gregladen | December 12, 2008Something very interesting just happened in Minnesota.
You know about the recount, and you know that today the canvassing board is deciding what to do about a number of possibly improperly rejected absentee ballots.
At least 630, and possibly as many as 1,500, absentee ballots have been improperly rejected in the Minnesota Senate race. If they are included in the recount to determine if Al Franken or Norm Coleman should be senator, there is a pretty good chance that these will favor Franken. I would estimate that the consideration of Absentee ballots could shift the numbers by between 80…
gregladen | December 12, 2008Next week, probably over a four day period, the ad hoc State Canvassing Board will go through all the recount data and look at the 3-4 thousand contested ballots and come up with a final number in this very close Minnesota senate race. But today they are expected to make a couple of decisions that may have an even larger effect on the outcome.
One of the most important decisions they will make today is what to do about the 133 ballots that are "missing" (read: a Coleman supporter hid somewhere, most likely) in one Minneapolis district. Without these votes in a Franken-supporting area,…
gregladen | December 11, 2008The 10K birds Just For Fun Avian ID Quiz!
Videos of developmental trajectories in cortical thickening
Japan harnesses commuters' stamping for power from PhysOrg.com
Japan has found a way to harness clean energy from thousands of stamping feet that pass through one of its busiest train stations every day.
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Fear of nuts creating hysteria of epidemic proportions from PhysOrg.com
Measures imposed to reduce exposure to nuts are often based on irrational fears of nut allergies and are becoming increasingly sensationalist, according to a doctor on bmj.com today.
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Flora not…
gregladen | December 11, 2008On the eve of a key State Canvassing Board meeting on the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Al Franken presented affidavits today from 62 Minnesotans who said their absentee ballots were improperly rejected.
With Franken behind in the official Senate recount, the affidavits were the latest attempt by the campaign to increase the pressure on the board to count absentee ballots that were improperly rejected. The affidavits followed the release of a web video Wednesday by the campaign that portrayed the stories of seven Minnesotans whose ballots were improperly rejected. A campaign spokesman said the…
gregladen | December 11, 2008as in ...
The most recent issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach is now available free online. This is a special issue devoted to the evolution of eyes. Enjoy.
CLICK HERE for details.
gregladen | December 11, 2008An actor narrowly escaped death after slashing his throat on stage with a real knife, instead of a blunt stage-prop blade.
Daniel Hoevels slumped to the floor with blood pouring from his neck during a performance at Vienna's Burgtheater.
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The real-life drama happened last weekend during a performance of Friedrich Schiller's play Mary Stuart,...
Mr Hoevels's character was supposed to commit suicide and the actor used what he thought was a blunt prop weapon.
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The audience is said to have applauded what they thought was a stunning special effect, and only realised something was wrong when…