I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Friday, June 22, 2018

Linkee-poo for a Friday

"A plain, single-story structure housing the new Maple Museum of Geauga County in Burton Village provides no indication of the plethora of historical treasures presented within." People around these parts are awfully proud of their tree sap. Growing up syrup on pancakes used to give me headaches, until I had the "Real Thing™". No more headaches.

"Just in time for the hot, humid, bug-bite-riddled summer, here's another disease to worry about: Researchers from the University of Florida have confirmed a new mosquito-borne virus has made the jump from infecting only animals to infecting humans in a study published earlier this month." Life finds a way.

"Two common herpes viruses appear to play a role in Alzheimer's disease… The viruses, best known for causing a distinctive skin rash in young children, are abundant in brain tissue from people with Alzheimer's, a team of scientists reports Thursday in Neuron. The team also found evidence that the viruses can interact with brain cells in ways that could accelerate the disease." But it's not certain if it's a casual or a causal relationship.

"At least 33 children and three adults have been transported to hospital after they fell sick at a summer camp in Lake Placid, Florida, officials say."

"Bedrock under Antarctica is rising more swiftly than ever recorded — about 1.6 inches (41 millimeters) upward per year. And thinning ice in Antarctica may be responsible… That's because as ice melts, its weight on the rock below lightens. And over time, when enormous quantities of ice have disappeared, the bedrock rises in response, pushed up by the flow of the viscous mantle below Earth's surface, scientists reported in a new study." See Northern NJ as an example.

"While many residents fear the monthly rocket launches that pepper the region with debris, others see in it a unique opportunity. Resourceful scrap dealers wait for the announcement of rocket launches and then watch the sky with binoculars. They track the paths of debris and ride out on jeeps and even on horses to the crash sites. With little protective gear other than welding masks, they use blowtorches to strip the wrecks of their valuable light metals, alloys of titanium and aluminium, as well as other useful components like copper wire. Visitors to the region have reported seeing the roofs of chicken coops and sheds built with rocket parts still showing the original Proton insignia. Even farm tools and sledges for children have been built out of the fragments of rocket hulls." Life on the Altai where precious materials rain form the sky and bring prosperity, death and disease. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

"A Canadian mining firm says it will move forward with plans to mine minerals from land that was previously part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah." That was fast. Usually companies wait until the public has forgotten about their dick moved before moving in on the kill.

"Depictions of dinosaurs often show the animals baring their teeth with their tongues outstretched like lizards. However, a study published in the journal PLOS ONE indicates that this image may be inaccurate because dinosaur tongues were probably stuck to the bottom of their mouths, much like those of crocodiles and alligators today." So, besides making fun of the T-Rex's short arms you can now taunt them by sticking your tongue out at them. It'll be funny right up until the time they chomp your head off.

More in the "just how dumb are we"? "Stonehenge was designed using a complex mathematical formula some 2,000 years before the equation was even established, it has been revealed." You know before Fibonacci came along, everything progressed by adding 1 to the previous number, leaves were symmetrical and spaced evenly, and… well, you get the point. Dudes, seriously, the pyramids were built following Pythagorean geometry because here's the thing, you can make an right-angle triangle out of sticks or with a knotted string and use that to do your rough calculations and on-site planning. It's not that fucking hard. Also, as you may have learned in 9th grade geometry, the science was based on observing patterns existing in nature. These things didn't suddenly appear because come yokel wrote "a^2 + b^2 = c^2…" POOF! Viola. Please don't ever show these precious ones a roofing/speed square, it will blow their freaking minds ("but it's not a square!").

And then we have this. "One of the enduring mysteries of biology is why so much of the DNA in our chromosomes appears to be simply junk. In fact, about half of the human genome consists of repetitive bits of DNA that cut and paste themselves randomly into our chromosomes, with no obvious purpose." No, we call it "junk" because we don't understand what it does. Hint to everybody, I know it appears that we know a lot, and people in white coats love to make you think they're the All Powerful Wizard of Oz, but basically we don't know fucking squat. Or as my anatomy professor liked to tell us, "Medicine, it's the best lies we know." It wasn't that long ago (civilization wise) that humans "believed" in "spontaneous generation" of lower life forms (actually that's not completely correct, but only in the same way people thought the Earth was flat, which by the time of Columbus nobody really thought that). This is why science is great.

"The court ruled 5-4 in favor of South Dakota's law to require certain out-of-state sellers to collect the tax on sales to South Dakota customers."

"The wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted Thursday on fraud charges, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported… Prosecutors allege that Sara Netanyahu committed systemic fraud by directing staff at the prime minister’s residence to order meals totaling 360,000 shekels, or roughly $99,000, from gourmet restaurants between 2010 and 2013."

"Right-wing extremists are making their presence felt in mainstream American politics. Whether they are running for high-profile offices themselves, or aligning themselves with candidates in races around the country, members of the extremist right – and their racist, anti-Semitic views – are experiencing more exposure today than at any time in recent history." Fuck, Nazis. Fuck Nazis. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

Apparently FLOTUS wore a jacket from Zara that has the phrase, "I really don't care, co u? printed on the back. This was as she went to tour the children's detention centers. "Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, when asked about the message said, 'It's a jacket. There was no hidden message. After today's important visit to Texas, I hope this isn't what the media is going to choose to focus on.'" Oh you precious Summer child.

There are some rumors that the First Lady's trip yesterday wasn't to an actual detention center, but just a staged photo op. "Melania Trump visited a church-run shelter and staged a photo-op for the press while canceling the visit to the real detention center." So far I haven't found much collaboration of this story, so I'm not going to link to it, but it was enough to say there are rumors that yesterday's trip wasn't all it was supposed to be.

"In the latest chapter of “Sinclair Spews Conservative Propaganda on Hundreds of Television Channels,” the media conglomerate forced its networks to air a segment claiming that the outcry over the Trump administration’s practice of separating children from their families and placing them in detention centers was largely just liberal histrionics." This is the world they want, this isn't an unfortunate accident of circumstances. (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)

"White House senior adviser Stephen Miller was called a fascist earlier this week while dining at a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., according to the New York Post… The incident occurred just a few days before activists similarly interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's dinner at a Mexican restaurant, resulting in her leaving the restaurant." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

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