| Writer's Block: Book review |
[Nov. 18th, 2009|10:30 pm] |
What I think should be banned from school libraries is out of date and inaccurate science texts. Last time I visited the middle school I attended as a kid, I found a few that dated to the mid '60s when I was there...
Granted, by the time it gets into print most science is no longer current, but at least there should be basic texts replaced every few years... |
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| World's Biggest |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|02:39 pm] |
Billed as the world's largest excavator, and I shouldn't wonder if they're right, I gotta admit it's the scariest looking piece of digging machinery I ever saw...
( ... )
Spotted on Shangrala's World's Largest Things page. |
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| Mememania... |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|01:35 pm] |
OK, most of the folks who know me are probably aware that I only recall keeping two New Year's resolutions. One, of course, was to not make any more New Year's Resolutions; the other (obviously made earlier) was to never forward chain letters. This of course extends itself into email because I don't want to spam anybody, especially my friends.
However, this doesn't mean I can't post the meme from one to my LJ and this one Leslie Fish forwarded to me* IS kinda cute. Feel free to play with it:
Answer me first on this question, then forward to your friends. Wait until you see the responses...it's hilarious! The Question is: If you saw ME in the back of a police car what would you think I got arrested for? Reply to me, alone, then fwd this on** and see how many crimes you get accused of. Don't forget, answer me first then forward it on. Have fun!
* Tracking back to "ladywriter" who may have originated it.
** In your LJ or something, otherwise the crime you get accused of first will justifiably be spamming. :> |
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| Light Sails! |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|07:43 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | space | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | Oh goodie! | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Lord of the Rings (City of Prague Philharmonic) | ] |
Let's hear it for the Planetary Society!
Setting Sail Into Space, Propelled by Sunshine By Dennis Overbye
Peter Pan would be so happy.
About a year from now, if all goes well, a box about the size of a loaf of bread will pop out of a rocket some 500 miles above the Earth. There in the vacuum it will unfurl four triangular sails as shiny as moonlight and only barely more substantial. Then it will slowly rise on a sunbeam and move across the stars.
LightSail-1, as it is dubbed, will not make it to Neverland. At best the device will sail a few hours and gain a few miles in altitude. But those hours will mark a milestone for a dream that is almost as old as the rocket age itself, and as romantic: to navigate the cosmos on winds of starlight the way sailors for thousands of years have navigated the ocean on the winds of the Earth.
“Sailing on light is the only technology that can someday take us to the stars,” said Louis Friedman, director of the Planetary Society, the worldwide organization of space enthusiasts.
(here for the rest of the article) |
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| More pictures |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|02:52 pm] |
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On Earth this time - and fair warning, it's a large page because there are 97 of them, mostly on a theme of nature reclaiming abandoned human works. I particularly like the meadow behind the "No Trespassing" sign. |
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| Mars!!! |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|11:51 am] |
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I forget who pointed this page out to me, but The Big Picture put up this page of 31 Martian landscapes from the HiRISE camera on the Martian Orbiter on Nov 6 that is impressive to say the least. It's got links to more information on each too! |
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| Writer's Block: Who will you be? |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|08:50 pm] |
I've already been to a Halloween party as a jogger zombie - dug out the rattiest old t-shirt I own, added a pair of running pants and shoes, and slathered myself with makeup and fake blood.
To hand out candy, I'll probably do my usual - put on along black khaftan and a witchy hat and hand candy out from a plastic cauldron. |
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| More Cute |
[Oct. 21st, 2009|08:22 pm] |
Ok, Ok, another one from baaaaabyanimals (courtesy ladycrim this time around), kittens! Two of them!
In other news, finally got both address and active computer connected to the net at the same time, and made a contribution to the National Association of Free Clinics. Link is to donation page. This courtesy Keith Olbermann who started bringing this up a week or so back and has been getting steadily more surprised looking as enough contributions have already come in via same to fund several one-day clinics including one in New Orleans. The NAFC does those one-day visit things you hear of where they see everybody who can make it during the time period, thus helping people who otherwise have only the choice of the emergency room and no treatment at all. Check these folks out. |
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| Cuteness! Cuteness! |
[Oct. 20th, 2009|04:30 pm] |
From a post by altairastar to baaaaabyanimals.
It appears a hedgehog gave birth behind a curtain in a five star hotel, the Prestonfield in Edinburgh. They received five star treatment too, courtesy of the Scottish SPCA's Middlebank Wildlife Centre in Fife. Seven weeks later, the family is due to be released into the wild shortly. Wonder if she'll recommend the Prestonfield to her friends? |
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| This Little Piggie |
[Oct. 10th, 2009|06:26 pm] |
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Someone has bred pigs whose piglets compare in size with a large but not fledged duckling. Cute! |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 9th, 2009|06:13 pm] |
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Now THIS is what we need more of in Congress... |
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| Writer's Block: The one that got away |
[Oct. 9th, 2009|05:36 pm] |
Define "soulmate". If it's the old "everybody has, guaranteed, a perfect partner out there", I'd hesitate to say that. Experience does tell me two people can mutually fall in love with each other, and spend the rest of their lives learning that it only gets better as you go on. If that's what you mean, I have met "the one" and married him 31 years ago. :) |
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| Walked into a planet |
[Sep. 27th, 2009|07:47 pm] |
Walked out of church, tripped over my own feet, fell, sprained my right wrist and cut a big gash in my forehead. How was your day?
I seem to be ok after being stitched up and stuff. More when I can type with two hands. |
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| Desktop meme |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|10:59 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | meme | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | oooh! whatta view! | ] |
Bagged from woulfcat.
☞ Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper. ☞ Explain in no more than five sentences why you're using that wallpaper! ☞ Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on.
( I see a hand reaching down from the stars... ) |
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| Now this is interesting... |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|01:41 pm] |
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OK, this is probably not what we're going to get from the Disney acquisition of Marvel comics, but what the hey... :) |
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| Snerk! |
[Sep. 21st, 2009|08:07 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | amused | ] | If you've got the time and the popcorn (and a reasonably high speed connection or a tolerance for waiting for comments to finish loading), LJ Announcements have done it again... :) |
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| Ok, that was interesting. |
[Sep. 20th, 2009|10:11 pm] |
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I host my church's website, and for long drawn out reasons we only recently were able to get access to the domain we really wanted, http://www.vdrcc.net (VDRCC for Vista Del Rey Christian Church). Anyway, it became available so I registered it today. When I got onto Hare Link to register, I discovered something interesting. It is no longer the case that I have 5G of website space; instead I now have 10G. Since even with my site, the church site, and Fred's site, I'm only using a few Meg at the moment, this is entertaining. Mind you, this is the cheap account - the next one up uses 150G. And there's one more after THAT. |
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