Beast sighting investigated POLICE have been called out to investigate another sighting of the Beast of Bexley. Officers from Bexleyheath police station went to Upton Road, Bexleyheath, after a teenager reported seeing the giant black cat in undergrowth by Bexleyheath Golf Club. Tom Shinners, 15, of Farnham Road, Welling, was on his way home from a friend's house at around 10.30pm on July 12 when he saw the cat. He told News Shopper: "I heard a rustling in the bushes as I was walking past and as I looked through the metal fence, I saw this giant black cat trotting across the grass. "I only saw it for a few seconds before it disappeared again into the undergrowth." He added: "I didn't know what to think, so I rang the police." A spokesman for Bexleyheath police confirmed officers did visit the scene but found nothing. http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/display.var.615128.0.beast_sighting_investigated.php

that book is lovely....let's hope the curse is broken! thanks, cheryl. am gonna add the beast of bexely to sitings in springark. interesting!

I DO wish I could see that book. I know theirs is better than my ages old paperback version. As for that large cat... Wolfie do add it to the strange and wonderful springark topic dealing with such. I have so much to add to this topic if anyone considers it worth reading. Madoc has surfaced again as a progenitor of the Melungeons and others in Appalachia, and there is at least one new book about a King Arthur conspiracy (isn't it always a conspiracy?!)...

Hey Mike !! SO good to see you online. How is the radio telescope going?

Finally I got my email changed everywhere on Spring so it is correct. *whew* I remembered how!

King Arthur seems to be involved with the Da Vinci code too!

OH MY word !!! I guess that made Arthur a templar too? DB has written a long paper debunking Welsh writings in the continental USA. It is so frustrating when people are determined to be fooled.

yes, but it is interesting fodder! truly, for me, who cares if Jesus was married? ok, it doesn't matter TO ME. and trying to find out about any children they might have had does one thing---bragging rights.....as far as i'm concerned, i'm already related to Him. people are looking for something to touch in order to make their faith tangible, y'know? if i can show you that Jesus was real because we have a bloodline, then i'm not crazy for believing it.....all it means is that people are LOSING their faith when they reach out for any "new" version of their truth.

Hi Macia! No work on the telescope lately - been working on some microwave communications gear but now with school in session, I need to focus on the books. Glad to see all the postings on Geo as of late. Mike r-c-i

Oh dear, I had quite forgotten the book and exam grind. Good luck to you, Mike! You have an enthusiastic cheering section in Geo if you need them. What kind of courses are you taking this semester? How strange no matter where my life leads me I am in walking distance of a college. I love that !!

Wolfie, you have the exactly correct concept of the DaVinci Code and Holy Blood Holy Grail information. It does make for interesting reading, though. I love history and this is just one more way to make it pallitable.

Please try this - and read the answers http://www.newstarget.com/gullibility.html I am a learner, though I suspect if I could have spent more time at it, I'd have done a bit better.

Hi Marcia, Wolfie, and Geoites Taking some computer project process courses right now - mostly stuff about how do a computer project from start to finish. This is a bit of a switch from the coding scene. Been keeping track of the thread on the DaVinci Code - that was one book I need to get to read (or actually put in queue to read) but first currently slogging through Gravity's Rainbow and also a new Noam Chomsky book which is a good thought provoking read so far. One of my favorite times when I lived in Austin was being near the University so I could go to all the foreign films at the Union, plus the used record and book stores to goof off. 73 de Mike r-c-i

Ah another fan of bookstores. I have to be hauled from them bodily, almost kicking and screaming. I'd appreciate a quick critique of Holy Blood Holy Grail (fact) vs The DaVinci Code (fiction) and should I bother to read the latter.

I'll have to look back through the thread to get the context (plus, really, read the two to make an educated critique). So, will do that then try to make a lucid post.... Also, it is sooo cool to be going to the recent posts and seeing all your entries! 73 de Mike

Thanks Mike. It is fantastic to see all of you coming out of the fissures of Geo. It sounds like the crack of doom on Mordor - but that is yet another good book.

I think we were just missing our GeoNymph to get things rolling. BTW, what thread was the DaVinci code discussion going on so I can get a context? From what previous posts I have read reminded me of a book I bought long ago that was on of many conspiracy books: The Gemstone Files which traces back alot of the evil secret conspiracies that took place in the 60's and 70's in the US govt and world political stage. There were some add on sections one of which was titled 'Tales of the Vatican Crypt' with all kinds of secret conspiracies as well. Of course, there was a section by Robert Anton Wilson who wrote the greatest conspiracy fiction (or fact???) book: The Illuminatus! Trilogy So, there are all kinds of shadows, cliques and cults, and dark secrets going on behind the scenes. ooo, scary. ;-) But fun reads none the less. Also, wanted to mention I was reading some of the other posts in the screwed section and really enjoyed the geoguy's one - will have to reactivate THAT one as well. 73 de Mike rci

My dad was a Freemason as were both grandfathers and on back - and they are supposed to have been conspiring about something. They and the Knights Templar are favorite targets of conspiracy theorists. I sometimes miss Art Bell... but not all that much. The internet is full of robust blogs debating theories. DB is currently writing learned papers for learned journals critiquing the claims. It is amazing what some people believe, but it is no more interesting than REAL science! *SIGH* GeoNymph is back *;) (not everyone here knows I have another alias!)

Howdy howdy I treat alot of that stuff as 'file under interesting to an extent but dont let it overwhelm' These past couple of days, I have come to the conclusion that real science is enough of a pursuit as there are tangible results/research to be found. I have even come to some conclusions about what to focus my finite energies on including radio (not the ham/astronomy radio but broadcast) that even that is going to take a back seat. If I do anything like that it might be a podcast for kicks. Yep, you are right about the REAL science and along with my school studies, there will be a bit of time to dedicate to astronomy, microwave propagation, and of course, the VLF and ELF signals of the earth. And read books, photography, etc. etc.... 73 de Mike r-c-i

i got "free thinker" on that little gullibility test! there was a thread on DVC? my father recommended it...but he likes to read and discuss controversial things....still, i plan to. marcia, i'm with you on being dragged out of bookstores kicking and screaming...i am absolutely fascinated with them.....i love being around books, having them on my bookshelves, flipping through them, whatever. and i HATE leaving a bookstore empty-handed! sad to say, but the AM is the first one to moan and groan when we're running the streets and i say, hey, let's run into B&N! (he forgets that ours has a starbucks inside and that's my alterior motive--they put something in that coffee, i'm telling you).... and i'm with mike on this place being empty----i would come in here and become sad because you, marcia, hadn't been around (not that the others posting weren't good company).....it's hard to keep momentum when the person spinning the wheel is absent....*HUGS*

is free thinker smarter then learner? I bow to your superior wisdom. OH dear !!! I promise never to leave again. It was like part of me was missing. A very large and nice part. YOU !!! Imagine this house ... here in Louisville. I had arrived late at night from far too many years where mildew and cockroaches eat what the termites didn't of your library. This is an old house here. Little windows and LOTS of blank walls. Each and every wall has bookcases lining them floor to ceiling. There is one room that has a library table in the middle and his old books are in there. It smells glorious !!! The bed upstairs is in the middle of the room (under dangling Dracula) because we need the walls for more books. My laptop is on a table in another room beside the desk that holds the large pc. I am in the middle so the bookcases can line the walls. yet daily more books arrive. Some written by the master of the house and some as reference for the next volume. I absolutely love it here. AND, these are all books I want to read! Interestingly, what I sent of my library fits in nicely even if there is not room for it. Mine is cultural anthropology (history, archaeology etc) under the guise of just about anything on the planet that interests me. Yup, if heaven exists, I hope it has a BIG library !!!

I stopped (long ago actually) doing what did not interest me, Mike. If you have a source of modest income you can do pretty much what you want to do and read the books that fascinate you, Btw, we call it "lunatic fringe" archaeology - that stuff with Welsh speaking Amerindians and space people building Stonehenge. They seem never to run out of the fanciful, so I created a topic just for such discussions as ley lines and crop cicles. I think it is Geo 28, but anyone is welcome to post a comment wherever he are inspired.

Wolfie, I scored in the "free thinker" range too. Maybe that's how we both ended up here at Geo?

I created Geo because I am and will always be a "learner" who keeps company with free thinkers to learn new things *;) It works for me !

Hi all Can I join the free thinker club too?? I took the test and found the discussions behind the answers as interesting as the questions. All this time I just thought I was a jaded cynic. 73 de Mike r-c-i

THAT very quality of the test is why I posted in in Geo. I learned more from the discissions than I knew going in. That is always worthwhile. Am currently "helping" prepare a paper on grave houses. Are there any out there you'd like to share?

Hi Marcia and Geo Folk Im interested (tis the season, after all...) in the thread on grave houses or rather what they are and in what culture are they referenced. Aside from the traditional cemetaries, crypts, etc, I have read some articles about neolithic, iron age, bronze age, etc barrows, grave sites, etc - the most interesting articles were in a UK publication 'Ley Hunter' (no, not a mazazine for pickup lines for singles bars...) but rather a serious scientific and learned discussion on ley lines, ancient sites, folklore, traditions, and so on. One article dealt with death roads and spirit paths which included many interesting examples of European and UK isle sites and legends. Once again, an interesting web site to research - alas, the paper publication no longer exists. 73 de Mike r-c-i

Gravehouses: They are structures built directly above inground interments. They do NOT contain human remains. They are constructed to protect graves over with they are erected. Gravehouses have been reported in Indian settlements on the upper peninsula of Michigan - L'Anse and Vieux Desert Indian Reservation in Baraga County. Other examples (all are associated with Indian tribes) in the western Great Lakes area are known. (Thank you DB) Further photos and information: http://www.tngenweb.org/darkside/index.html If you scroll down on the above link you come to a citation of the resident archaeologist :) "OBSERVATIONS ON THE FORM AND FUNCTION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE GRAVEHOUSES", Donald B. Ball, Tennessee Anthropologist, Tennessee Anthropological Association II(1):29-62. 1977.

boy am i glad you posted a definition because i was getting kind of scared--as in, how do i know if i'm living in one *laugh* free thinker means, i think, that we have a healthy dose of realistic cynicism....besides, one of the things good about being in the military and being able to talk to all of you (and having my dad, the philosopher) was learning that i could look at something from around it rather than just being spoonfed stuff.....but, if i had taken the test in my youth, i'd be a dumb-arse, because i was so naive. thank goodness for you guys and documentary type tv channels that help me learn! there isn't anything wrong with being a learner...i never want to stop learning! i love the sound of your house, marcia! the AM thinks bookshelves are clutter......my bookshelves are covered in books, papers, collectibles and everything is spilling over because i only have 2! but, i did draw up a plan to put a wall-size bookshelf framing my windows in the computer/hobby/office/catch-all room....wonder if the AM will actually make it for me or if i have to do it myself *frown*

oh, and for us 3 free-thinkers, how many more would it take to make up 5% of the population? did you guys notice that little statistic? oh, and this is soooo off-topic, sort of, you need to take the color quiz--this thing is accurate (at least it had me down to a tee)....http://www.colorquiz.com (follow the directions and don't think too hard)

now that i've gone to look at the gravehouse link, it reminds me of mosoleums (sp) except that the body is buried in the ground...any pictures of ones that are still standing or did i not dig enough (oh, there i go with the puns....y'know, i don't even think about them, i don't do it on purpose)

mausoleums.

Hi all Not quite geo related but free thinking related - go to the Democracy Now website and download the interview with Studs Terkel (Chicago historian, writer, speaker, and all around good guy) which took place today (10-5). Most excellent. I hope I can achieve a 10th of that level of observational analysis and clarity. 73 de Mike r-c-i

Can you copy and paste the url for us short attention span types?

www.democracynow.org

I'm not sure where to put this but Dan Johnson was my son's best man. He called me "mom" and we will all be the poorer for his untimely death. Wednesday, October 5, 2005 - Page updated at 10:58 AM Washington state seismologist dies in log truck accident The Associated Press HUMPTULIPS � Washington state seismologist Anthony Qamar was one of two men killed in a log truck accident on winding U.S. 101 north of Hoquiam, officials said. Qamar, 62, research associate professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington, died in the crash along with Daniel J. Johnson, 46, a University of Puget Sound geophysics professor, UW seismology spokesman Bill Steele said. Qamar and Johnson were on their way to the Olympic Peninsula to collect instruments and data concerning the "slow-slip" quake that recently occurred off the coast, Steele said. The scenic road between Hoquiam and Humptulips on the western Olympic Peninsula was closed in both directions for about 8 1/2 hours after the crash. State Patrol investigators wrote that because of an apparent equipment failure, logs fell off a trailer being pulled by a northbound 1992 Kenworth truck. Johnson, who was driving a 1998 Saturn, went off the road to try to avoid the hazard but the car was still hit by some of the logs and shoved into timber and brush. Johnson and Qamar were pronounced dead at the scene. The truck was totaled but the driver, Garland Eugene Massingham, 40, of Centralia, escaped injury. Steele said Qamar, who joined the Washington faculty in 1983, had been a key scientist among those at the university who study earthquakes and volcanoes. Steele called his death a "huge loss" that has devastated colleagues. "He was always cheerful, always helping anyone ... always the first to volunteer to take stuff on," Steele said. Copyright � 2005 The Seattle Times Company

Some of those gravehouses (talk about seasonal and items far too close to home) are small and are nothing but roofs with lattice work around the sides. The wooden ones are falling into ruin since the people who erected them have long since gone. That is, despite the custom of picnics at graveyards to tidy up the ancestors' resting places. It is a rather nice tradition. I thought it was bizarre until I went the first time. Now on my 4th year, I am also a family memeber and can see right where I will rest for eternity. The astronmizing from there should be spectacular !!It's called Shady Grove but there is not a single tree there. Grave houses abound however in adjacent cemeteries. I was born a learner. If I ever lose my curiosity, just nail down the lid. I would have to be dead. Keep at it, Wolfie. If you don't use it you might lose it and that simply would NOT do.

Marcia, thanks for clearing up exactly what gravehouses are; I thought they were mausoleums, too. Mike, I visit the Democracy Now website about three or four times per week. The Studs Terkel interview is really worth checking out. Wolfie, that is an interesting point that free thinkers are estimated at 5 percent of the population, and three of us are here at Geo!

Marcia, I'm so sorry to learn about the truck accident in Washington State and Dan Johnson's untimely death. Is your son doing okay with news? Are you doing okay, yourself?

OK I took the color test. A lot they got right. Hmmm I was considering which color pen I'd choose not what color I'd wear. I wonder if that makes a difference.

Hi all Regarding seeing where one is laid to rest, it was kind of an odd feeling when I bought a plot and saw the spot - I commented to my partner that seeing that spot kind of lends an ultimate finality to one's life. I, of course, really want a traditional viking's funeral.... 73 de Mike

It really is odd. I'd like the Viking funeral as well. I can't imagine putting someone you had held in your arms just a few days prior into the ground. A picture of my "other" son http://www.komotv.com/stories/39603.htm. Thanks for asking. The kids are doing ok though the widow asked my son to take her to the scene when they get up there. That is going to be painful beyond anything I can imagine. All I can do is grieve with him. Free Thinkers Rule!!! Only 5 %??? rarified company, indeed. Thanks for being her.

Being here... was that Freudian?!

*LAUGH* (about the freudian slip) *HUGS* am sorry to learn of Dan's death too. Please send our condolences to your son (and accept them for yourself as well). Visiting the site is going to be difficult. am going to have to go to that democracy site after my shows tonight (lost and invasion) isn't a traditional viking funeral where they send you out to sea in a burning ship? i'd rather not think about my mortality....

Looking at your grave plot is very odd indeed. Somehow I managed to think of an infinite life or at least one stretching far into my future. What is really odd is there is a headstone for DB's mother with her name on it and she is very much alive. That was oddest of all. Not sure I am ready for that quite yet but you never know. Thanks for your condolences. I will forward them to a guy who has lost his brother and best friend (he got to choose his own brother since he was an only child). These next few days will be very difficult. I draped a few little white flowers around a moai he brought back for us made from Easter Island volcanic tuff exactly like the big ones. Very difficult, indeed.

Mike, does your partner share curiousity with us? Please let him know he is very welcome at Geo even if he wanders off topic (and how can you do that when the topic is "et cetera" ??!!) Fire up the boat anchora. Winter is coming and cleaner signals! Is anyone around here involved with RACES (emergency Ham radio)? I am guessing they saved the day in the last two hurricanes again !

no, it's bad enough that i'm chained to the computer and have to tear myself away----i've seen relatively few ham operators around these parts--saw them in L.A. though.

Trio wins physics Nobel for shedding light on optics By Niklas Pollard STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Two Americans and a German won the Nobel Physics Prize on Tuesday for optical research giving extremely accurate measurements that could one day be used in deep space travel or three-dimensional holographic television. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize to Roy Glauber, John Hall and Germany's Theodor Haensch for studying light and harnessing lasers to create a "measuring stick" to gauge frequencies with extreme precision. Such precision will one day be needed for "navigation on long space journeys and for space-based telescope arrays," the Academy said, while Haensch, the youngest of the winners at 63, said it could even lead to "3D holographic television." Talking from Munich, Haensch told Reuters he was "overwhelmed, happy and speechless" but the party would have to wait: "I have no time to celebrate right at the moment. People are waiting with champagne but I have to go to the airport to go to San Francisco." Hall, 71 and from Colorado, said he might use his share of the 10 million Swedish crown prize money to endow a scholarship in science and technology. "I'm very interested in helping young people that don't have financial means," he told Reuters. CANDLES TO LASERS "We get most of our knowledge of the world around us through light," said the Academy, calling optics "the physicists' tool for dealing with light phenomena." The winning trio's research answered such questions as how candle light differs from laser beams in a CD player and how light can measure time more accurately than an atomic clock. "All three of them deserve the prize," said Peter Rodgers, editor of Physics World magazine. "The general area of quantum optics and lasers is an area in which there has been a lot of progress in recent years. This prize reflects well on progress in that area." Harvard University's Glauber, 80, said he was woken at home in Massachusetts by a call from an Academy official but he first thought it was a joke. "I could scarcely believe him," he told a news conference at Harvard. Glauber, who took part in the Manhattan Project in World War Two which developed the atomic bomb, wins half of the prize money, though he expressed surprise that there was a cash award. "Nobody mentioned money." He laid the groundwork for the Nobel-winning work by establishing the basis for quantum optics in 1963, providing a theoretical description of the behaviour of light particles. STILL A BABY Decades later, Hall and Haensch, from the University of Colorado and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University respectively, worked on determining the colour of the light with extreme precision. Haensch used even-spaced laser pulses "like the teeth of a comb or the marks on a ruler" to determine the value of frequencies and Hall refined this technique. Explaining what his and Haensch's teams of researchers had accomplished, Hall said: "Most people have been using a radio dial to scan frequencies to find the right music, we've made it possible to do the same in the optical realm." "One of the best applications is to test whether what we teach in physics is true or just approximately true," he said. Hall, retired from an organisation funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said he is also working on a project to use related laser technology to identify security hazards in airports. When asked how that would work, he would only say, "Come back in a year." "It's like a newborn baby," said Hall of laser science. "You know it has fantastic potential but it's much too early to say what it will achieve." (Additional reporting by Stephen Brown, Peter Starck and Simon Johnson in Stockholm, Philip Blenkinsop in Berlin, Patricia Reaney in London, Jason Szep in Boston and Keith Coffman in Denver) � Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-10-04T222633Z_01_YUE480773_RTRUKOC_0_UK-NOBEL-PHYSICS.xml&archived=False

Thanks Cheryl. That's amazing stuff. I don't even begin to understand what they are talking about. I'm guessing "approximately true"

Back to Seasonal stuff. The following article amazed and appalled us: Lament for lost grave stones Oct 6 2005 By Martin Smith City council bosses have admitted they have lost almost 50 historic gravestones from an ancient burial ground in Coventry. The blunder was revealed during the investigation into the missing gravestone of former Mayor of Coventry Thomas Luckman, as revealed by the Evening Telegraph in June. Relatives of Mr Luckman, who was mayor in 1782, have been trying to discover the fate of the one-tonne memorial since it disappeared in 1999. Story continues Continue story Now in a letter to Peter Johnson, Mr Luckman's great- great- great- great grandson, the council has admitted a "vast amount" of archaeological material has gone missing. Tony Auty, the council's head of development project, said: "....the original intention was to reuse them all [the gravestones], as paving material in the Phoenix Initiative. "At a later stage, it was decided by the Phoenix Initiative project director not to use the gravestones and those that were still on site were disposed of. "The project director and his staff no longer work for the city council so I am unable to ascertain why the stones were not reused and why no record was kept of how, when and where they were disposed of." Father-of-three Mr Johnson, of Magpie Lane, Balsall Common, who is a retired chartered accountant, said the situation was a farce. He said: "It saddens me greatly. "It is appalling that this sort of thing happens in this day and age. It is vitally important to keep these things because they show where we have been. "It seems to demonstrate the lack of care and under-standing on the part of the city council." The gravestone of Mr Luckman was unearthed in 1999 as archaeologists began digging at the site of Coventry's first cathedral, off Priory Row. Mr Luckman, a printer and freeman of the city, was buried in St Mary's graveyard in 1784 and his wife, Mary Parry, joined him 20 years later. No remains of either were discovered when the graves were dug up but members of Mr Luckman's family wanted to preserve the gravestone. http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=16217310%26method=full%26siteid=50003%26headline=lament%2dfor%2dlost%2dgrave%2dstones-name_page.html

Terry can you tell me how to access the pictures I put on http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/porch/35 Mine is not working nor are many others. I had a request for mine and I can't access it.

What's the picture url you're using?

I have no idea what it is now and that is why I am not doing ftp or posting anything graphic. I need to email you .

and keeping with the Halloween season: Prehistoric cannibalism at Yorkshire Dales New research on bones discovered in six Dales caves (Yorkshire, England) has revealed that farming in the area dates back thousands of years - and with it a history of cannibalism. Dated bones found in caves at the western edge of the limestone uplands have been taken as evidence of rituals that involved adult skulls and other body parts along with animal bones. The macabre finds included human bones which have been smashed up and the marrow removed, leading specialists to conclude they had been at the centre of a cannibalistic ritual. Excavations took place in the caves during the 1920s and 30s. Material from the finds was collected by Dales farmer Tom Lord's grandfather and has finally been the subject of precise radio-carbon dating by Oxford University. Mr Lord said: "The radio-carbon dating evidence indicates the presence of farming communities much earlier than previously thought, as early as anywhere in Britain. What is so exciting is that the dated bones were found in caves where there is clear evidence for the special treatment of human remains.The caves would not have been easy to find in the wooded landscape of that time, and are also small and generally unsuitable for normal occupation." At least four human skulls were found in a small cave in Giggleswick Scar during excavations around 1930. One surviving skull was directly radio-carbon dated and shown to date from about 3,600 BCE. Now experts are trying to work out why early farming communities sought out the caves and used them for ritualistic activities. An archaeologist and human bone specialist from King Alfred's College, Winchester, Stephany Leach, said there was evidence of adult human skulls being deliberately deposited in two caves. "By contrast, a skull was amongst the missing body parts of a man placed in a natural recess in the wall of the third cave," she said. "His jumbled up remains were mixed together with fragmentary animal bones, including domestic cattle, domestic pig and sheep. Many of the animal bones had been smashed for marrow extraction, suggesting rituals took place at the cave. The man's tibia was also deliberately smashed for marrow extraction, suggesting at least part of his body had been eaten." Some of the prehistoric artefacts which have been found, especially pieces of pottery, are datable on stylistic grounds, and are all from a much later period, often dating between about 3,000 BCE and 2,000 BCE. Source: Yorkshire Post Today (8 October 2005)

The 2005 Ig Nobel Prize Winners The 2005 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded on Thursday evening, October 6, at the 15th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre. You can watch archived video of the live webcast. AGRICULTURAL HISTORY: James Watson of Massey University, New Zealand, for his scholarly study, "The Significance of Mr. Richard Buckley�s Exploding Trousers." REFERENCE: "The Significance of Mr. Richard Buckley�s Exploding Trousers: Reflections on an Aspect of Technological Change in New Zealand Dairy-Farming between the World Wars," James Watson, Agricultural History, vol. 78, no. 3, Summer 2004, pp. 346-60. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: James Watson PHYSICS: John Mainstone and the late Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland, Australia, for patiently conducting an experiment that began in the year 1927 -- in which a glob of congealed black tar has been slowly, slowly dripping through a funnel, at a rate of approximately one drop every nine years. REFERENCE: "The Pitch Drop Experiment," R. Edgeworth, B.J. Dalton and T. Parnell, European Journal of Physics, 1984, pp. 198-200. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: John Mainstone MEDICINE: Gregg A. Miller of Oak Grove, Missouri, for inventing Neuticles -- artificial replacement testicles for dogs, which are available in three sizes, and three degrees of firmness. REFERENCES: US Patent #5868140, and the book Going Going NUTS!, by Gregg A. Miller, PublishAmerica, 2004, ISBN 1413753167. ACCEPTING: "The winner was unable to travel, and deliverd his acceptance speech via videotape." LITERATURE: The Internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, for creating and then using e-mail to distribute a bold series of short stories, thus introducing millions of readers to a cast of rich characters -- General Sani Abacha, Mrs. Mariam Sanni Abacha, Barrister Jon A Mbeki Esq., and others -- each of whom requires just a small amount of expense money so as to obtain access to the great wealth to which they are entitled and which they would like to share with the kind person who assists them. PEACE: Claire Rind and Peter Simmons of Newcastle University, in the U.K., for electrically monitoring the activity of a brain cell in a locust while that locust was watching selected highlights from the movie "Star Wars." REFERENCE: "Orthopteran DCMD Neuron: A Reevaluation of Responses to Moving Objects. I. Selective Responses to Approaching Objects," F.C. Rind and P.J. Simmons, Journal of Neurophysiology, vol. 68, no. 5, November 1992, pp. 1654-66. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Claire Rind ECONOMICS: Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to the workday. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Gauri Nanda CHEMISTRY: Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota and Brian Gettelfinger of the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, for conducting a careful experiment to settle the longstanding scientific question: can people swim faster in syrup or in water? REFERENCE: "Will Humans Swim Faster or Slower in Syrup?" American Institute of Chemical Engineers Journal, Brian Gettelfinger and E. L. Cussler, vol. 50, no. 11, October 2004, pp. 2646-7. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Brian Gettelfinger and Edward Cussler BIOLOGY: Benjamin Smith of the University of Adelaide, Australia and the University of Toronto, Canada and the Firmenich perfume company, Geneva, Switzerland, and ChemComm Enterprises, Archamps, France; Craig Williams of James Cook University and the University of South Australia; Michael Tyler of the University of Adelaide; Brian Williams of the University of Adelaide; and Yoji Hayasaka of the Australian Wine Research Institute; for painstakingly smelling and cataloging the peculiar odors produced by 131 different species of frogs when the frogs were feeling stressed. REFERENCE: "A Survey of Frog Odorous Secretions, Their Possible Functions and Phylogenetic Significance," Benjamin P.C. Smith, Craig R. Williams, Michael J. Tyler, and Brian D. Williams, Applied Herpetology, vol. 2, no. 1-2, February 1, 2004, pp. 47-82. REFERENCE: "Chemical and Olfactory Characterization of Odorous Compounds and Their Precursors in the Parotoid Gland Secretion of the Green Tree Frog, Litoria caerulea," Benjamin P.C. Smith, Michael J. Tyler, Brian D. Williams, and Yoji Hayasaka, Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 29, no. 9, September 2003. WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Ben Smith and Craig Williams NUTRITION: Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats of Tokyo, Japan, for photographing and retrospectively analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting). WHO ATTENDED THE IG NOBEL CEREMONY: Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats FLUID DYNAMICS: Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow of International University Bremen, Germany and the University of Oulu , Finland; and Jozsef Gal of Lor�nd E�tv�s University, Hungary, for using basic principles of physics to calculate the pressure that builds up inside a penguin, as detailed in their report "Pressures Produced When Penguins Pooh -- Calculations on Avian Defaecation." PUBLISHED IN: Polar Biology, vol. 27, 2003, pp. 56-8. ACCEPTING: The winners were unable to attend the ceremony because they could not obtain United States visas to visit the United States. Dr. Meyer-Rochow sent an acceptance speech via videotape. http://www.improb.com/ig/ig-top.html

Marcia, say it isn't so, cannibals in Yorkshire! Yikes!

I had only heard of the ones in Ireland. And the ones living in a cave in England. Very isolated cases yet horrible to contemplate. I see Yorkshire is gaining notoriety. Thanks for the ig Nobel Prizes. I lost the place they were online and was delighted to see our lady in Pittsburgh was on top of things. Exploding trousers?! The images in my mind are amazing.

More for the season to be macabre Andritsa Cave's chamber of secrets Late 6th-century finds retrieved from the Argolid cave and exhibited at theByzantine and Christian Museum begin to unfold the story of a group of peoplewho sought refuge there and slowly starved to death CHRISTY PAPADOPOULOU

more of the above information and story connected with this horrific event http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=13150&m=A29&aa=1&eidos=S

Clinton and Lewinsky names for new Chinese condoms 2005/09/21 Participants of one of the most scandalous adulteries in the modern history, ex-US president Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky suddenly became involved in sexual life of the Chinese. As China Daily newspaper reports Chinese company Guangzhou Haojian used their names as trademarks for condoms. http://www1.newsteam.ru/

China bear bile farmer eaten by own animals BEIJING: A Chinese man who raised bears to tap them for their bile, prized as a traditional medicine in Asia, has been killed and eaten by his animals, Xinhua news agency said yesterday Six black bears attacked keeper Han Shigen as he was cleaning their pen in the northeastern province of Jilin on Monday, Xinhua said. ''The ill-fated man died on the spot and was eaten up by the ferocious bears,'' it said, citing a report in the Beijing News. In practices decried by animal rights groups, bile is extracted through surgically implanted catheters in the bear's gall bladders, or by a ''free-dripping'' technique by which bile drips out through holes opened in the animals' abdomens. More than 200 farms in China keep about 7,000 bears to tap their bile, which traditional Chinese medicine holds can cure fever, liver illness and sore eyes. Bear farming was far more widespread before the cruelty involved came to light and Beijing introduced regulations to control the industry in 1993. Animal welfare groups have called on China to completely ban bear farming, arguing that traditional herbal medicines can serve the same purposes as bear bile. Xinhua said police sent to the scene of Monday's killing injected one of the bears with tranquillisers ''but failed to tame the mad animal''. Police then threw meat into the bears' pen to distract them so they could recover Han's remains, it said without elaborating. http://www.newkerala.com/newsdaily.php?action=fullnews&id=34476

Well, as far as Clinton and Lewinsky being used as names for Chinese condoms -- at least, they're names are being linked with safe sex. Okay, that stretching it. I'm going to stop before another bad pun overtakes me. The article on the find in the cave in Greece is really interesting, and especially sad.

no, pun away, cheryl! thanks for the bear post--isn't it weird how some animals eat their caretakers? there must be a phenom for this but i'm to scared to do any research on it....it's terribly ironic!

Oh this is way too funny. Eaten by bears is just compensation in my book. Oh Cheryl, you are clever beyond measure. Maybe I should have put that is the screwed topic for Geoites about the Lewinsky-Clinton safe sex stretching. It is more like truth stretching. At least they think it IS sex. And it's only safe if you don't get caught *;)

reminds me of those SNL bear skits, seen those?

Not for ages ! Have you seen the rubbish containers in Yosemite that are supposed to be bear-proof? Is Anything really bear proof?

A few things, perhaps.

Geo weather is frozen. Help! I have no idea what is the matter with it but I tried ot post twice before I noted the comment that the topic was "frozen"

same thing happened to me, it said i gave an invalid command *frown*

I just thawed it. I guess Terry turned out the lights when he left and froze it in time. Anyway it works now :)

Nope, dint turn any lights out.

must've hit some kinda switch though! hey, i can't get into restaurants at all, everytime i wait for it to load am timed out. what gives?

I'll do a reboot. Sounds like the server is sluggish.

Restaurants is very slow to the point of timing out on my server.

I tried to get here http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/browse/restaurants/all/new I got this message Internal Server Error The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@www.spring.net and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error. More information about this error may be available in the server error log. Apache/1.3.27 Server at www.spring.net Port 80

that's the same one i got and i emailed it to terry.

The peoblem still persists. We need wer to work his magic and unstick it.

yeah, the restaurant conf is still broken. i even cleaned out my cache and everything.....

It's not you. It is broken to both AOL's browser (uck) and my Netscape.

Although a bit late... Happy Samhein to All! cos...

Uh huh.

Yo Cosmo! Thanks. I danced around my bone fire and ate all the candy the kids didn't claim *;) and thought of Geo

Hi Marci and Geoites Tres Cool - I had a quiet evening handing out the sweets to the neighborhood kids - I put the shortwave on some strange digital station which made weird noises and pointed my HeNe Laser out the door - the kids didnt know what to make of it. Too cold (or maybe just right) for a bonfire - hit the low 30's today and had the first snow flurries. Good night to stay inside and listen to the ray-de-oh. de Mike

Sounds like good snuggling weather. Tonight I am watching the little weather program in my laptop go to 32� F for the first time this season. It really feels cold. Yesterday at about this same time it was 73� . I am watching for our first flurries. I hear they had a few south of here away from the moderating Ohio River. Listening to the scanner ray-de-oh tonight.

Howdy howdy Marci Curious as to what excitement you hear on the scanner - up where we are and near the big city, there is plenty of activity but there is some movement up to the 800mhz area with fancy trunking radios which I dont have - still plenty of PD and business activity around 460Mhz. Also, do you still have your shortwave? You might hear alot more of the local shortwave stations in the US via groundwave propagation.

I really do need to get me another short wave radio. My old Sangean finally bit the dust. It was the only one I brought when I moved. That is on my Santa list even if I have to get it myself. Scanner traffic is huge here and I do have a trunk tracker model but confine my listening mostly to the UPS hub air traffic. I can find out about fires in other states and weather phenomena and " dog-sized rats" on the runways. Unless there are a lot of sirens going off. Then I hit the banks that hold the fire and police frequencies. Most of them don't use the trunks unless they are on a big job taking several hours, so that isn't a problem. I also listen to local ham repeaters just to keep current.

On the trail of the Borneo cat-fox The discovery of a new mammal in the Asian rainforest was greeted with excitement. But how many other mysterious creatures are lurking in the undergrowth, asks James Meek The Guardian The saddest thing about the discovery of a mysterious new mammal on the forest paths of Borneo, is that the creature itself will never know how rare, endangered and exciting to the world's media it is. If the creature, possibly a carnivore not previously known to world science, photographed loping through the darkness, advancing then retreating, its eyes glowing like carriage lamps, had been Colleen McLoughlin putting out the rubbish one night, she would probably have measured the impact of the sighting over the following days at the newsagent's. But the nameless little beast scampering through the Kalimantan leafmould is unselfconscious about its rarity and feels neither the loneliness nor the isolation which the human world has projected onto it. It just wanted to vanish back into the obscurity from which it was plucked by a World Wide Fund for Nature paparazzo. Relentlessly, one by one, under the banner of protecting the world's wide places, scientists and conservationists are stripping the mystery from these very places by exposing the last unknown mammals. The existence of what may, or may not, be the latest in a string of new mammals to have been discovered in the last decade was announced in Jakarta on Monday. As with many of the previous discoveries, the evidence is, at least at first, indirect - not the animal itself, captured or seen by a scientist, but two blurry photographs showing, first, a skinny scurrier like a wingless bat with a long fat tail, its muzzle obscured by a leaf, and second, the same creature from behind, with haunches like a monkey and a tail like a well-fed ginger tom. If past discoveries, such as the Vietnamese otter-civet or the Borneo ferret-badger are a guide, the newbie may come to be known as the cat-dog-fox-monkey-lemur. Then again, the head of the team which discovered it goes by the name of Stephen Wulffraat, so it could, in theory, end up being named after him. Dr Wulffraat's mobile in Indonesia wasn't working yesterday and his fellow mammal-hunters were, in the main, all deep in far wooded places where telecommunications are only a rumour. Ginette Hemley of the World Wide Fund for Nature, which along with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been the main organisation backing the scientists who have discovered new mammals, was cautious about the new creature's identity. "This is potentially a new species," she said. "It has not been confirmed. Doing that will require physical evidence we do not yet have." The WWF's next stage is to catch one. "We plan to set some live traps to catch a specimen, or two if we can, and use appropriate experts who know about small animals like this and essentially do measurements and analysis and take some samples." If there appears to be a degree of urgency in the WWF's mammal-hunting team, it's because time is not on their side. Earlier this year the Indonesian authorities, with the backing of a Chinese bank, announced a multi-billion-pound plan to plant oil palms in the high mountain forests where the mystery beast lives. The WWF is sceptical about the project - oil palms do not grow well at high altitude, and there are other areas of Borneo which would appear to be more suitable. The organisation suspects a grab attempt for the old-growth timber on the high ridges. "We're not opposed to an oil palm plantation being developed, as long as it's done in a way that is not going to harm biodiversity," says Hemley. Incredibly, the Borneo cat-dog-fox-monkey-lemur may be the third previously unknown mammal discovered this year. In a hunter's market in central Laos, a WCS researcher, Robert Timmins, came across a short-legged rodent with a hairy tail and a long snout, as if it started out as a rat, toyed with guinea pigness, and ended up as a squirrel. In this case, "previously unknown" is strictly a culturally relative term. The animal was on sale along with some vegetables, and was well enough known by local Laotians to have a name: the kha-nyou. Several years previously Timmins discovered a new species of striped rabbit in the same region. "Sceptics might say that if we are still discovering such amazing new animals then why are people worried about wildlife loss; but, of course, it is an indication of how little we know, and a window on to what we could be losing without ever knowing," he said at the time of the kha-nyou encounter. The notable mammal discoveries of the last decade have been made not by Indiana Jones-style mammal-hunters but by scientists who were not necessarily looking for what they found. Timmins, for instance, was working on an anti-poaching programme in Laos when he came across the kha-nyou. The discovery of 2005's third new mammal, the kibunji or Highland Mangabey, a black-faced monkey with a punky quiff which lives in Tanzania, was made independently by two groups of scientists who only became aware of each other's work when they met in a bar in Dar es Salaam and began drinking together. Tim Davenport, a British scientist working with WCS, said yesterday that since his photographs of the monkey were published in Science, he and his collaborators had obtained a specimen of the animal - a monkey killed by a Tanzanian farmer during a crop raid - and was subjecting it to DNA analysis to disprove early questions over whether it really was a new species. "There's this assumption that Africa is fairly well known, but it's surprising how little is," he said last night. "And the places where the interesting things are yet to be found tend to be these remote mountain ranges." Davenport acknowledged that "discovered for science" would be a more accurate phrase than "discovered", since a monkey which raided village vegetable gardens and had a local name had clearly been known to locals for thousands of years. He and his team first heard about the kibunji during a routine survey of village life and hunting in the areas on the fringe of the wild country they were surveying - a standard technique to enrich scientific knowledge of an area. "We started hearing about this animal," said Davenport. "This area has a lot of spirit animals and we were trying to work out which is a real animal and which is a spirit animal, which is very difficult. At first we thought the kibunji was a spirit animal and it turned out to be real. Now I take the possibility of other spirit animals turning out be to be real more seriously." One such possibility, yet to be discovered or proved fictitious, is the Rongwe tiger. "It's some sort of striped animal, and we haven't come across anything more than the description. Whether it's a striped hyena or aardwolf way out of its range, or whether it's a spirit animal, or a new species, we can't be sure. But finding these things is often the thing that gets us out of the tent in the morning". http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1660581,00.html

Cheryl that is a sensational article. Many thanks for posting it. I had not heard of this. Wow, I am at one of those rare moments of speechlessness. Again thanks.

You're welcome, Marcia. I'm glad you found it sensational.

Hnmn since we have been interested in The Matter of Britain in the Books conference for a long time, AE sent this to ponder. They've been at it for far longer than first anticipated. Tools Found in Britain Show Much Earlier Human Existence By Guy Gugliotta A chance discovery on a routine field trip to England's Suffolk seacoast led to evidence that humans reached northern Europe 700,000 years ago, about 200,000 years earlier than previously thought, scientists said yesterday. To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/14/AR2005121402249.html?referrer=emailarticle

They have been there for a long time.

Happy Winter Soltice! That's Happy Summer Soltice to Geo Friends in the southern hemisphere.

Solstice and a good many religious holidays happen right about now. It seems the lack of sun and warmth in winter was a serious concern as far back as we could ponder such things: Today on SPACE.com --- Friday December 23, 2005 -- http://www.space.com/ In today's issue: Science/Astronomy: * Moon to Hide Star Christmas Morning (see below) * New Moons and Rings Found at Uranus * Mars Water Assumptions May Be All Wet * Image of the Day: Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree Spaceflight: * For Scientist and Englishwoman, Pluto Mission is Precious * Remembering the Real Space Cowboys * Ariane 5 GS Lofts Indian, European Satellites into Orbit * Congress, Pentagon Move To Rein in Space Programs * Stardust Capsule Headed For Utah Landing * Holiday Supply Ship Rockets Toward ISS * ASTRONOTES: Pluto Mission to Carry Piece of SpaceShipOne * NEW! Daily Space Trivia NEW! LiveScience.com * Top Science Stories of 2005: A Year of Incredible Impact * LiveScience Amazing Images: Upload Your Cool Pictures Now! * Intelligent Workplace: The Office of the Future * Christmas Tree's Survival Secret Discovered * Scientists Predict What You'll Think of Next * LiveScience.com: Cool Science Galleries NEW! Cool Stuff: * Comets Through Time: Myths and Mystery * Vote for the Best Cosmic Images of 2005! * Amazing Images Hall of Fame * NEW Podcast Episode! ZeroG - a Personal Journey into Weightlessness * New Gallery: Imagining Saturn and Titan * Visit Our Collection of Space Wallpapers * Get the weather from anywhere on Earth...with WeatherBug! * New! Search for Your Next Hi-Tech Job Opportunity Now! Entertainment: Movies, Television, DVD, Games and much more... * VOTE NOW: Rate Your Favorite Space Movies * NASA Astronaut to Help Build Martian Bedroom * Man Pays $100,000 for Virtual Space Station * 'Chicken Little' Throws Fowl Ball * Gallery: Walking on the Moon in 3D * New Songs Added...Explore the SpaceBox! Recent Headlines: * Japan Considers Plans for Homegrown Spacesuit * Robotic Space Spiders To Crawl Sub-Orbital Web * New Telescope to Revolutionize Asteroid Warning System * Building Blocks of Life Found in Planet-Forming Disk * Latest News and Updates on the Mars Rovers * Cassini's Journeys: Headquarters for mission news, Saturn and more Plus... * Uplink, SPACE.com TV and NightSky * Starry Night, TeamSETI ----------------------------------- Science/Astronomy: * Moon to Hide Star Christmas Morning http://www.space.com/spacewatch/051223_night_sky.html A nifty holiday gift occurs for those living in parts of western and central Canada, the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Rockies and Plains States on Christmas morning when a fat waning crescent Moon will occult the bluish 1st-magnitude star Spica, one of the brightest stars in the sky. * New Moons and Rings Found at Uranus http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051222_uranus.html Astronomers have discovered new rings and small moons around Uranus and found surprising changes in satellite orbits around the giant planet. * Mars Water Assumptions May Be All Wet http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051221_mars_dry.html The apparent discovery of ancient salty lakes or seas on Mars by NASA's Opportunity rover last year is viewed as one of the most significant developments in planetary science. * Image of the Day: Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/image_of_day_051223.html Even outer space is joining the year-end celebration with this new image of a star-forming region called the Christmas Tree cluster taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. ----------------------------------- Spaceflight: * For Scientist and Englishwoman, Pluto Mission is Precious http://www.space.com/news/051223_newhorizones_people.html It is the first ever flight to Pluto and the first planetary flyby in decades, but for its lead scientist and one Englishwoman NASA's New Horizon mission will mark a milestone for space exploration. * Remembering the Real Space Cowboys http://www.space.com/adastra/adastra_cowboys_051223.html Earlier this year, there were two events almost back-to-back. The first involved the authors of "The Real Space Cowboys", while the other featured the widow of moonwalker Pete Conrad, with her book, "Rocketman." First up will be Buckbee and Schirra. Watch for Nancy Conrad in a future story. * Ariane 5 GS Lofts Indian, European Satellites into Orbit http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051222_ariane_launch.html Europe's Ariane 5 GS rocket successfully placed an Indian telecommunications satellite and a European weather satellite into orbit Dec. 21, marking the first time the heavy-lift rocket has conducted five launches in a calendar year. * Congress, Pentagon Move To Rein in Space Programs http://www.space.com/news/051222_2005_dod.html This may be remembered as the year both Congress and the Pentagon finally lost patience with the military's trouble-plagued space programs, as lawmakers applied the brakes to new development projects. * Stardust Capsule Headed For Utah Landing http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051221_stardust_update.html NASA's Stardust spacecraft is en route to Earth, a time capsule carrying the fundamental building blocks of our solar system when it formed billions of years ago. Next month, the spacecraft is to eject to Earth a capsule filled with particles of interstellar and comet dust. * Holiday Supply Ship Rockets Toward ISS http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/051221_exp12_prog20_lnch.html A Russian cargo ship launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday laden with food, water and holiday cheer for the two astronauts living aboard the orbital laboratory. * ASTRONOTES: Pluto Mission to Carry Piece of SpaceShipOne http://www.space.com/astronotes/astronotes.html The January liftoff of the New Horizons spacecraft bound for Pluto is toting a number of items, including a U.S. flag, as well as a compact disc containing more than 430,000 names. * NEW! Daily Space Trivia http://www.space.com/php/trivia/ One of Today's 5 New Questions: Which NASA field center controlled the study of the Mars surface by the robot Sojourner (1998) ? ---------------------------------- NEW! LiveScience.com http://www.livescience.com/ * Top Science Stories of 2005: A Year of Incredible Impact http://www.livescience.com/bestimg/?cat=best2005 YOU DECIDE: Rarely have science and nature dominated daily life and generated so much debate as in 2005. Did one issue emerge as the top story? LiveScience invites you to vote on the most significant development. * LiveScience Amazing Images: Upload Your Cool Pictures Now! http://www.livescience.com/amazingimages/ Upload your cool pictures of exotic locales, nature, weather, creatures and more! * Intelligent Workplace: The Office of the Future http://www.livescience.com/technology/051223_future_office.html You spend all day there, and if the latest trends in green office architecture catch on you will soon start enjoying your workplace a lot more. * Christmas Tree's Survival Secret Discovered http://www.livescience.com/environment/051222_christmas_tree.html Christmas trees and other conifers seem to have lousy plumbing systems and should be extinct. A new study reveals how they thrive. * Scientists Predict What You'll Think of Next http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/051222_mental_brain.html To recall memories, your brain travels back in time via the ultimate Google search, according to a new study in which scientists found they can monitor the activity and actually predict what you'll think of next. * LiveScience.com: Cool Science Galleries http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/ Where Science comes to Life...Visit our Image Galleries collection. ---------------------------------- NEW! Cool Stuff: * Comets Through Time: Myths and Mystery http://www.space.com/php/siteinfo/RSSinfo.php Take a journey around the Solar System with this new multimedia adventure! * Vote for the Best Cosmic Images of 2005! http://www.space.com/bestimg/index.php?cat=best2005 We've singled out the top images. Now YOU Decide! VOTE NOW for the Best Space Images of 2005! * Amazing Images Hall of Fame http://www.space.com/amazingimages/ Upload your cool science and space-themed images now. Get your own homepage, vote for your favorites and more! * NEW Podcast Episode! ZeroG - a Personal Journey into Weightlessness http://www.space.com/php/siteinfo/RSSinfo.php All Aboard! Join us on a Zero-G weightless flight! * New Gallery: Imagining Saturn and Titan http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=3745&gid=273&index=0 Artist Kees Veenenbos used real spacecraft data to render scenes of Saturn and Titan. * Visit Our Collection of Space Wallpapers http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/downloads/wallpapers/ From the highest quality space art to intergalactic photography, find an image for your desktop every month of the year. * Get the weather from anywhere on Earth...with WeatherBug! http://www.space.com/php/weatherbug/ Type in your ZIP Code and hit "Go" to get your live local weather. * New! Search for Your Next Hi-Tech Job Opportunity Now! http://www.space.com/jobs/ Imaginova and CareerBuilder.com have partnered to bring you the best in job searching, resume posting, and online recruiting. ---------------------------------- Entertainment: Movies, Television, DVD, Games and much more... http://www.space.com/entertainment/ * VOTE NOW: Rate Your Favorite Space Movies http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/spacemovies/ Vote Now For Your Favorite Space Movie of All Time! * NASA Astronaut to Help Build Martian Bedroom http://www.space.com/entertainment/051203_astronaut_tradingspace.html A NASA shuttle astronaut is will hang up his spacesuit for a day Saturday to try his hand at interior decorating. * Man Pays $100,000 for Virtual Space Station http://www.space.com/entertainment/ap_051110_virtual_spacestation_ent.html In one of the largest sales yet of property in an online game, a Miami resident has bought a virtual space station for $100,000 and wants to turn it into a cross between Jurassic Park and a disco. * 'Chicken Little' Throws Fowl Ball http://www.space.com/entertainment/051104_ent_chickenlittle.html Disney's first homegrown computer-animated film is one of the more painful moviegoing experiences in years, a contrived bit of barnyard pat dubbed Chicken Little. * Gallery: Walking on the Moon in 3D http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=3594&gid=265&index=0 Take a sneak peek at scenes from the new IMAX movie Magnificent Desolation. * New Songs Added...Explore the SpaceBox! http://www.space.com/entertainment/spacebox/ Explore the SpaceBox! The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Music Inspired by the Cosmos! ---------------------------------- Recent Headlines: http://www.space.com/news/ * Japan Considers Plans for Homegrown Spacesuit http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/ap_051221_jaxa_spacesuit.html * Robotic Space Spiders To Crawl Sub-Orbital Web http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technovel_spider_051221.html * New Telescope to Revolutionize Asteroid Warning System http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/051221_pan-starrs.html * Building Blocks of Life Found in Planet-Forming Disk http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051220_building_blocks.html * Latest News and Updates on the Mars Rovers http://www.space.com/marsrover/ * Cassini's Journeys: Headquarters for mission news, Saturn and more http://www.space.com/cassini/

In the interest of education: The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. The winners are: 1. Coffee (n.) the person upon whom one coughs. 2. Flabbergasted (adj.) appalled over how much weight you have gained. 3. Abdicate (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. 4. Esplanade (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk. 5. Willy-nilly (adj.) impotent. 6. Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightgown. 7. Lymph (v.) to walk with a lisp. 8. Gargoyle (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash. 9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller. 10. Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline. 11. Testicle (n.) a humorous question on an exam. 12. Rectitude (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists. 13. Pokemon (n) a Rastafarian proctologist. 14. Oyster (n.) a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms. 15. Frisbeetarianism (n.) (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there. 16. Circumvent (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by circumcised men.

Just thought you would like to know! On Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06 That won't ever happen again ever. ( until 2106 )

it'll happen again in 2007.

Kia Ora Here is something that would have been unique. At 01:01.01AM 01/01/01 - its only 94 years, something like 8 months 25 days, 11 hours and 39 minutes (all times NZST), until it happens again. Assuming the very low probability of me still being alive then, I would be 120. Rob

You mean 2101 Rob? Next year there will be 02:03:04 05/06/07 and then 03:04:05 06/07/08 04:05:06 07/08/09 05:06:07 08/09/10 06:07:08 09/10/11 07:08:09 10/11/12 then what? 08:09:10 11/12/13 etc.

Let's see. I'll still be writing in Geo and Rob will be saving New Zealand from disasters, and Terry would still be remembering his college years and the lady in St James Court...

09:10:11 12/13/14 Yeah, her.