and most women in the US know there is a cake called the Mississippi mud cake.
Recipe HERE.
and they list some similar recipes for your dieting pleasure:
FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Mud, take three
and most women in the US know there is a cake called the Mississippi mud cake.
Recipe HERE.
and they list some similar recipes for your dieting pleasure:
Happy Happy Hippos
for the clueless, it refers to this beautiful song.
Turn up speakers and join in the chorus!
Gift item of the day
Your very own Marie Antoinette Barbie doll.
which can be bought here.
They also have an Elizibeth I Barbie doll. more HERE.
headsup TeaAtTrianon, who has a novel defending Marie, who was libeled and demonized by the liberals of her time for political reasons.
-----------------------
I predate Barbie but I did have a collection of dolls with fancy dresses...but I preferred to play war with the boys...usually I was the one who "bandaged them up" when they got "wounded"...
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Chicken soup recipes
My "chicken soup" recipe when I had boys was to brown a chicken with onions, celery, carrots and then add water and boil. If I was working, I would place it into a slow cooker to stew all day...and when I got home it was done, so I would either add "minute rice" or flat noodles and cook until these were done (five to 10 minutes)...
Don't ask me the recipe...I added spices and salt for taste.
But other folks are more organized:
Yum...creamy chicken sopas RECIPE HERE
or how about Korean Chicken vegetable soup using udon noodles...LINK
Cooking with Alia has a recipe here that uses chickpeas, called Chicken chorba. She has a tutorial on how to cook it on YOUTUBE.
if you want to make the noodles by hand, check out the tutorial at LAFUJIMAMA
a typical Pinoy chicken soup is Tinolong chicken with papaya and ginger.
the reason that it doesn't include rice or noodles in the soup is because here we traditionally dish the ingredients and some of the soup onto a huge mountain of rice on our plate, and if any broth is left over, we drink it after we eat.
and yes, we use either pots or a huge wok for cooking here in the Philippines, not frying pans.
Don't ask me the recipe...I added spices and salt for taste.
But other folks are more organized:
Yum...creamy chicken sopas RECIPE HERE
or how about Korean Chicken vegetable soup using udon noodles...LINK
Cooking with Alia has a recipe here that uses chickpeas, called Chicken chorba. She has a tutorial on how to cook it on YOUTUBE.
if you want to make the noodles by hand, check out the tutorial at LAFUJIMAMA
a typical Pinoy chicken soup is Tinolong chicken with papaya and ginger.
the reason that it doesn't include rice or noodles in the soup is because here we traditionally dish the ingredients and some of the soup onto a huge mountain of rice on our plate, and if any broth is left over, we drink it after we eat.
and yes, we use either pots or a huge wok for cooking here in the Philippines, not frying pans.
Stuff below the fold
Here in the Philippines kids are "planking" to protest school funding cuts....
the Stateless in Kuwait are protesting by flying "freedom balloons" and using twitter:
more photos HERE.
Tehran24 has photos of kids attending a water gun festival.
because not everything is politics....
the Stateless in Kuwait are protesting by flying "freedom balloons" and using twitter:
more photos HERE.
Tehran24 has photos of kids attending a water gun festival.
because not everything is politics....
Lies, damn lies and statistics
From Freakonomics:Killer Cars: An Extra 1,000 Pounds Increases Crash Fatalities by 47%
Translation: If you have a big car that collides with a smaller car, the small car folks are toast.
Reminded me of this:
My rant here at BNN.
As for our family: yes, we have a small car for local trips, a pickup truck for when we shop or have small deliveries, and a 2 ton truck for the farm.
And for shopping in town, I hire a tricycle, or walk...
--------------------------------
Related item: car accidents are more common after NASCAR is shown on tv, but not the same day but five days later, a fact that the authors claim is
alas, one comment noted the obvious flaw:
Translation: If you have a big car that collides with a smaller car, the small car folks are toast.
Reminded me of this:
My rant here at BNN.
As for our family: yes, we have a small car for local trips, a pickup truck for when we shop or have small deliveries, and a 2 ton truck for the farm.
And for shopping in town, I hire a tricycle, or walk...
--------------------------------
Related item: car accidents are more common after NASCAR is shown on tv, but not the same day but five days later, a fact that the authors claim is
alas, one comment noted the obvious flaw:
Most NASCAR races are on Sundays. 5 days after a Sunday is a FRIDAY......
Friday, July 29, 2011
Insomnia downloads of the week
Librivox has Butler's Lives of the saints, and the Rule of St. Benedict for your listening pleasure.
they also have
or if you prefer lighter fare, how about some books by Mary Robers Rinehart?
and for short stories, they have
they also have
or if you prefer lighter fare, how about some books by Mary Robers Rinehart?
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Amazing Interlude, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Bat, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Breaking Point, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Case of Jennie Brice, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Circular Staircase, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Confession, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Man in Lower Ten, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Street of Seven Stars, The" · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Why I Believe in Scouting for Girls" (in "Girl Scout Collection") · (readers)
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. "Window at the White Cat, The" · (readers)
- Gallun, Raymond Z.. "Planet Strappers, The" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "All Cats are Gray" (in "Short Science Fiction Collection 019") · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Defiant Agents, The" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Gifts of Asti, The" (in "Short Story Collection Vol. 012") · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Key Out of Time" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "People of the Crater, The" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Plague Ship" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Star Born" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Star Hunter" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Storm Over Warlock" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Storm Over Warlock, Version 2" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Time Traders, The" · (readers)
- Norton, Andre. "Voodoo Planet" · (readers)
and for short stories, they have
- 45 matches (43 completed) in 'Short Science Fiction Collections'
Stuff below the fold
Vote stealing in the Philippines...
now that we have electronic voting, it will be easier, if they can figure out how to do it...
-------------------------
the shops are again out in the street in front of our new Palenke...some kind of problem with the building...
---------------
Alas, Azkals lose to Kuwait.
-------------------------
Trojan Asteroid stalks earth....
---------------------------
Galaxy, with a twist:
Image :ESA/NASA/Caltech
-----------------------------
Was Jiroft another lost Bronze age civilization?
headsup Harappa
-----------------------------------
SunkenCivilizations also posts about the mineret at Jam, and recommends Rory Stewart's book....no I can't get that here in the Philippines, but Stewart does give a talk HERE.
-------------------------------------
Men and dogs...the relationship may go back 100 thousand years...
link to buy this for your dog HERE.
and no, I'm not buying one: George our killer watchdog would have it in shreads in about ten seconds...
.
.
.
now that we have electronic voting, it will be easier, if they can figure out how to do it...
-------------------------
the shops are again out in the street in front of our new Palenke...some kind of problem with the building...
---------------
Alas, Azkals lose to Kuwait.
-------------------------
Trojan Asteroid stalks earth....
more HERE.
Trojans are asteroids locked in stable orbits by a gravitational balancing act between a planet and the Sun. They have previously been discovered accompanying Neptune, Jupiter and Mars.
---------------------------
Galaxy, with a twist:
Image :ESA/NASA/Caltech
The Milky Way is feeling kinky.
New images from the ESA Herschel Space Observatory show a mysterious shape to the dense ring of cold gas and dust that circles the center of our home galaxy. The ring appears as a yellow loop twisted into a figure eight....
-----------------------------
Was Jiroft another lost Bronze age civilization?
headsup Harappa
-----------------------------------
SunkenCivilizations also posts about the mineret at Jam, and recommends Rory Stewart's book....no I can't get that here in the Philippines, but Stewart does give a talk HERE.
-------------------------------------
Men and dogs...the relationship may go back 100 thousand years...
link to buy this for your dog HERE.
and no, I'm not buying one: George our killer watchdog would have it in shreads in about ten seconds...
.
.
.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Factoid of the day
comes from a post on a slightly different subject by Father Z: about "limes", as in Limes Germanicus, not the fruit:
Wikipedia: Limes Germanicus.
interactive map HERE
An aside about limes, the boundary between the Romans and the northern barbarians. The limes was roughly the Rhine and Danube. You can visit quite a fee archeological sites and museums about the limes if you are traveling by car in Europe. It is worth the effort. On of them, if memory serves, is at Xanten, where St. Norbert was from and where there is a partial reconstruction of a legion’s castra. In any event, the limes marked a real border of enduring cultural differentiation. For example, on one side, the peoples still tend to cook more with butter or olive oil and on the other lard. One side used wine and the other beer. One side remained Catholic while the other went Protestant. Some of these differences depend also on climate, but the ancient Roman limes marks a rough cultural boundary even to this day.
Wikipedia: Limes Germanicus.
interactive map HERE
Headlines below the fold
In the US, it's hard to see what's going on with the all the political posturing by both sides, but the economists seem to like the Boehner plan but the ideologues on both sides don't...(earth to Obama: You are the president of all the people: stop playing politics with the country: in the words of LBJ: Half a loaf is better than none...)
------------------------------
In the meanwhile, in the Philippines, the scandal of the day is that some cops admitted switching ballot boxes for Gloria.
Since our lovely ex president is in the hospital having neck surgery, the solons promise to go easy on her for the next few weeks.
-----------------------------------------
The rains were heavy for two days and it's now clear and fresh outside..., but the streets were flooded, and there were deaths in the more mountainous regions there have been floods.
from the Manila Bulletin:
Boggy Geguia pedals his bicycle with his pet dog ‘B1’ – donning sunglasses and Philippine flag-inspired attire, along the rain-drenched Dela Paz Street in Pandacan, Manila July 26, 2011. (Photo by JACQUELINE HERNANDEZ)
----------------
Polar people have bigger eyes and brains (the better to see in the dark)...
the study is of only 55 skulls that were 200 years old (i.e. before electric lighting might counteract the influence of light and darkness) and from 12 different populations, and since brain size doesn't correlate with IQ (which depends on gyrations making the "surface" of the brain larger) I'm not sure they can figure that out...and it's not noted if they used traditional hunter/gatherer types who lived there for thousands of years, or if they included the latecomers, i.e. Viking types who moved north only 2000 years ago.
------------------------
A podcast from a book on Africa's globalization.
key paragraph:
yes, even Sister Euphrasia's convent in rural Mashava now has a cellphone...
-----------------------------------
An old Chinese proverb is "a mother can care for ten children, but ten children can't care for the mother".
In the days when everyone works and the one child policy, this means nursing homes are being opened in China....most are "assisted living" homes...
and they note a similar shift to nursing homes occurred in the US in the 1940's...
but in both countries, of course, most elderly still are cared for by family and friends at home.
-----------------------------
Frankenfood news: A blight resistant cassava that will eliminate need for toxic fungicides.
no we don't eat a lot of it here, but it is widely used by 800thousand people in some parts of Africa and South America...
-----------------------------
Environmental history podcast this week is about the Ukraine:notes that the Ukraine was once a steppe with nomadic herders, and was transformed into the breadbasket of today 200 years ago.
(headsup Anneisaman)
related factoid: it was the Russian Mennonites who brought the strain of wheat that enabled Kansas to also become a breadbasket.
more here.
-----------------------------
Good news: The Cod are back.
----------------------------
fyi: it's hot in Lake Woebegon
--------------------------------
Yes, the political news from Iran is full of bad stuff, but TehranLive reminds us:
kids still enjoy GoCart Racing in Tehran
because not everything is politics and spin....
.
------------------------------
In the meanwhile, in the Philippines, the scandal of the day is that some cops admitted switching ballot boxes for Gloria.
Since our lovely ex president is in the hospital having neck surgery, the solons promise to go easy on her for the next few weeks.
-----------------------------------------
The rains were heavy for two days and it's now clear and fresh outside..., but the streets were flooded, and there were deaths in the more mountainous regions there have been floods.
from the Manila Bulletin:
Boggy Geguia pedals his bicycle with his pet dog ‘B1’ – donning sunglasses and Philippine flag-inspired attire, along the rain-drenched Dela Paz Street in Pandacan, Manila July 26, 2011. (Photo by JACQUELINE HERNANDEZ)
----------------
Polar people have bigger eyes and brains (the better to see in the dark)...
the study is of only 55 skulls that were 200 years old (i.e. before electric lighting might counteract the influence of light and darkness) and from 12 different populations, and since brain size doesn't correlate with IQ (which depends on gyrations making the "surface" of the brain larger) I'm not sure they can figure that out...and it's not noted if they used traditional hunter/gatherer types who lived there for thousands of years, or if they included the latecomers, i.e. Viking types who moved north only 2000 years ago.
------------------------
A podcast from a book on Africa's globalization.
key paragraph:
The massive amount of under-utilised agricultural land in Africa has also drawn buyers from the United States, East Asia, and Middle East. Globalization has also led to opportunities, as infrastructure is developed and mobile-phone based technologies revolutionise the way Africans live and work. Growth rates in many countries in this new, outward-looking Africa are high enough to make even the Chinese jealous.
yes, even Sister Euphrasia's convent in rural Mashava now has a cellphone...
-----------------------------------
An old Chinese proverb is "a mother can care for ten children, but ten children can't care for the mother".
In the days when everyone works and the one child policy, this means nursing homes are being opened in China....most are "assisted living" homes...
and they note a similar shift to nursing homes occurred in the US in the 1940's...
but in both countries, of course, most elderly still are cared for by family and friends at home.
-----------------------------
Frankenfood news: A blight resistant cassava that will eliminate need for toxic fungicides.
no we don't eat a lot of it here, but it is widely used by 800thousand people in some parts of Africa and South America...
-----------------------------
Environmental history podcast this week is about the Ukraine:notes that the Ukraine was once a steppe with nomadic herders, and was transformed into the breadbasket of today 200 years ago.
(headsup Anneisaman)
related factoid: it was the Russian Mennonites who brought the strain of wheat that enabled Kansas to also become a breadbasket.
more here.
-----------------------------
Good news: The Cod are back.
Cod and other groundfish populations off the east coast of Canada are showing signs of recovery more than 20 years after the fisheries collapsed in the early 1990s, according to research published today in Nature.
----------------------------
fyi: it's hot in Lake Woebegon
--------------------------------
Yes, the political news from Iran is full of bad stuff, but TehranLive reminds us:
kids still enjoy GoCart Racing in Tehran
because not everything is politics and spin....
.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
mythology take two
a somewhat comprehensive course on classic mythology is this one...the entire course is found on itunes U
http://itunesu.missouristate.edu and open Missouri State on iTunes U. Navigate to the Complete Courses section in iTunes U to find all the videos for this course.
http://itunesu.missouristate.edu and open Missouri State on iTunes U. Navigate to the Complete Courses section in iTunes U to find all the videos for this course.
Video of the day
I am listening to a lot of podcasts and lectures on ancient history, which includes classic mythology.
What does Jason or Hercules have to do with today's world? Well, here's a parallel in Rudy...
well, anyway, it's the final act of Rudy, one of the classic scenes in film.
What does Jason or Hercules have to do with today's world? Well, here's a parallel in Rudy...
well, anyway, it's the final act of Rudy, one of the classic scenes in film.
Headlines below the fold
another day, another storm
it's only signal 2 (moderate wind and rain) but it's been raining heavily all night. The usual landslides (often from areas with illegal logging) and Manila streets are flooded again so no school there, but our house is on high ground, and the main worry is that some of the lowlying rice fields, with the young rice plants, will not drain and ruin the crop.
-----------------------
More on the coffee scandal.
------------------------------
NYTimes has a good article on men who lose a loved one (usually a spouse).
Very true...sigh.
---------------------------
Interesting article on scores of short tunnels found in southern Germany...are they escape tunnels from medieval castles, or were they places of pagan worship?
-----------------------------------
Stop the presses!
Kim Kardashian has psoriasis
I'm not sure who she is, but she claims
it's only signal 2 (moderate wind and rain) but it's been raining heavily all night. The usual landslides (often from areas with illegal logging) and Manila streets are flooded again so no school there, but our house is on high ground, and the main worry is that some of the lowlying rice fields, with the young rice plants, will not drain and ruin the crop.
-----------------------
More on the coffee scandal.
------------------------------
NYTimes has a good article on men who lose a loved one (usually a spouse).
Very true...sigh.
---------------------------
Interesting article on scores of short tunnels found in southern Germany...are they escape tunnels from medieval castles, or were they places of pagan worship?
-----------------------------------
Stop the presses!
Kim Kardashian has psoriasis
I'm not sure who she is, but she claims
"When I gain a pound it's in the headlines. Imagine what the tabloids would do to me if they saw all these spots!"
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Another day, another earthquake
this one a mild one nearby, and no, I didn't notice it...
and prayers for our lovely ex president Gloria, who was taken to the hospital last night.
and the next tropical depression is due to hit tomorrow...not yet a typhoon... but heavy rains expected tonight...
and prayers for our lovely ex president Gloria, who was taken to the hospital last night.
and the next tropical depression is due to hit tomorrow...not yet a typhoon... but heavy rains expected tonight...
Stuff below the fold
I checked the news and it's full of political fingerpointing...so here are some stories you might have missed.
Auriga's wheel:
caused by "a galactic collision in which a smaller galaxy plunges nearly straight through the center of a larger galaxy."
Hoag's Object Credit: HST
so where does that name come from?
------------------------------------
Measles epidemic in central Africa affected 100thousand plus, and killed almost two thousand.
This sounds a bit low to me, since often after they recover from measles, the kids die a few weeks later, either because their TB exacerbates or because the illness on top of malnutrition means they die of malnutrition (probably malnutrition related cardiomyopathy).
there is also cholera in the area. Sigh.
------------------------
Is it real whiskey or fake counterfeit whiskey? There's now a new quick test to tell.
----------------------------------------------
The Iceman's "girlfriend" has been found.
---------------------------
PNoy's address yesterday said he will root out the culture of "Wangwang" (abuse of power by bigshots) and noted one example:
FYI: PhilRice is now on facebook
Auriga's wheel:caused by "a galactic collision in which a smaller galaxy plunges nearly straight through the center of a larger galaxy."
Hoag's Object Credit: HST
so where does that name come from?
alternative explanation: it was the slave who drove rich Romans around in their biga (chariot).
In Greek mythology, Auriga is identified as the mythological Greek hero Erichthonius of Athens, the chthonic son of Hephaestus who was raised by the goddess Athena. According to the anonymous writer of the composition Catasterisimi, Erichthonius was generally credited to be the inventor of the quadriga, the four-horse chariot, which he used in the battle against the usurper Amphictyon, the event that made Erichthonius the king of Athens. Erichthonius then dedicated himself to Athena and soon after, Zeus raised the Athenian hero into the night sky in honor of his ingenuity and heroic deeds[3]
------------------------------------
Measles epidemic in central Africa affected 100thousand plus, and killed almost two thousand.
This sounds a bit low to me, since often after they recover from measles, the kids die a few weeks later, either because their TB exacerbates or because the illness on top of malnutrition means they die of malnutrition (probably malnutrition related cardiomyopathy).
there is also cholera in the area. Sigh.
------------------------
Is it real whiskey or fake counterfeit whiskey? There's now a new quick test to tell.
----------------------------------------------
The Iceman's "girlfriend" has been found.
Italian workers building an addition to a kindergarten have unearthed a well preserved female skeleton who might be relatively contemporaneous with Ötzi, the Iceman mummy discovered 20 years ago in a melting glacier in South Tyrol.
The "Lady of Introd" or "Ötzi’s girlfriend," as the skeleton was nicknamed in Italy, was found in the tiny Alpine village of Introd,
---------------------------
PNoy's address yesterday said he will root out the culture of "Wangwang" (abuse of power by bigshots) and noted one example:
“In Pagcor, the previous management apparently spent P1 billion on coffee alone. At P100 per cup, that would be 10 million cups of coffee over the last several years,” the President said in one of the portions of the speech alluding to purported anomalies in the past administration.
“Where did all that coffee go? Who drank it? Perhaps we can find the people who consumed all that coffee and ask if they have been able to sleep in the last few years,” he added in Filipino, drawing laughter among legislators and VIP guests in the gallery
.
--------------------------------FYI: PhilRice is now on facebook
Family news
Here in the Philippines, we had the "state of the nation" address yesterday by PNoy, and lolo was impressed.
I was too busy to watch...at 4 pm we let George, the killer Labrador, run around the garden for an hour...
Another day, another low pressure area...
more rain scheduled...
we had rolling brownouts all night, which meant getting up and lighting candles, then getting up and blowing them out... I have two battery driven lamps, so I put one in the window to light up the central garden and then used the smaller flashlight/emergency lamp to go around and light candles...at which point, the electricity came back on...
This happened three times...there was no moon last night, and there were clouds, so it was really dark, and George, our killer watch dog, is afraid of the dark...
and the generator is smoking and had to be turned off (the smaller backup generator is only for lights and fans, not strong enough for aircon).
The good news is that the clouds keep it from getting too hot so we don't need to run the aircon...
Ah the joys of living on a tropical island.
I was too busy to watch...at 4 pm we let George, the killer Labrador, run around the garden for an hour...
Another day, another low pressure area...
more rain scheduled...
we had rolling brownouts all night, which meant getting up and lighting candles, then getting up and blowing them out... I have two battery driven lamps, so I put one in the window to light up the central garden and then used the smaller flashlight/emergency lamp to go around and light candles...at which point, the electricity came back on...
This happened three times...there was no moon last night, and there were clouds, so it was really dark, and George, our killer watch dog, is afraid of the dark...
and the generator is smoking and had to be turned off (the smaller backup generator is only for lights and fans, not strong enough for aircon).
The good news is that the clouds keep it from getting too hot so we don't need to run the aircon...
Ah the joys of living on a tropical island.
Billy Bass post of the day
remember the singing Bass?
well, when you finally tire of his happy song, but don't want to throw him out, what do you do?
well, when you finally tire of his happy song, but don't want to throw him out, what do you do?
The answer: the Billy Bass Adoption Center.
A southern Cajun restaurant, the Flying Fish opened in 2002, a year when the Big Mouth Billy Bass was still pretty popular, a year when most people probably weren't yet ready to part with their fish. But Shannon Wynne knew they would grow old fast, so she came up with the idea to retire the toys by hanging them on the walls of the Flying Fish - with a name like that, it seemed like the perfect place. Now, more than 300 of the Billy Bass fish decorate the walls - and even hang from the ceiling - at the restaurant. ...
“Almost all of them are brought by women,” one Flying Fish owner told the Lone Star Outdoor News. “Most of them ask us to please get this out of their attic or garage or house, and they all tell us, 'If he comes looking for it, don’t tell him it’s here.'" K
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Way back machine
Remember six months ago....
Snow in 49 States: Snow in 49 out of 50 States
By Lindsay Christ on January 12th, 2011
Snow Depth Map as of Jan. 12, 2011 Courtesy National Weather Service
Since Tuesday the National Weather Service has reported that 49 out of the 50 states in the country has snow on the ground.
The only state without snow is Florida. Even Hawaii has seven inches of snow atop Mauna Kea. A little over 70 percent of the United States is currently covered in snow...
Stuff below the fold
In our prayers: those who lost loved ones in the Oklahoma city type attack in Norway.
----------------------------------------
Allowing science information to be free...
I know it is annoying when I want to read a single paper, and have to pay for it...I don't have access to a medical library, and even in the US, it meant looking up the paper and asking for some organization set up for our clinic to send it to me (2 to three weeks).
That discourages research by grass roots doctors...
-----------------------------
Bill Gates prize to invent a decent toilet for the poor?
Well, if you insist that it turn " waste into energy, clean water or nutrients." you have a problem...why not let it go back into compost?
Headsup Chaosmanor.
----------------------
Ten most walkable cities...actually I agree.
The problem? These cities invest in the center city so rich yuppies have a place to walk, while slums nearby are ignored.
--------------------------------------
That much touted "bullet train" in China had a major crash over the weekend...
it's the corruption stupid: kickbacks to certain officials who looked the other way at the shoddy workmanship...
---------------------
a new virus in the Philippines.
--------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Allowing science information to be free...
I know it is annoying when I want to read a single paper, and have to pay for it...I don't have access to a medical library, and even in the US, it meant looking up the paper and asking for some organization set up for our clinic to send it to me (2 to three weeks).
That discourages research by grass roots doctors...
-----------------------------
Bill Gates prize to invent a decent toilet for the poor?
Well, if you insist that it turn " waste into energy, clean water or nutrients." you have a problem...why not let it go back into compost?
Headsup Chaosmanor.
----------------------
Ten most walkable cities...actually I agree.
The problem? These cities invest in the center city so rich yuppies have a place to walk, while slums nearby are ignored.
--------------------------------------
That much touted "bullet train" in China had a major crash over the weekend...
it's the corruption stupid: kickbacks to certain officials who looked the other way at the shoddy workmanship...
---------------------
a new virus in the Philippines.
--------------------------------
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Beware the Burp
Your headline of the day:
Mass Extinction Caused by Deadly 'Earth Burp'
They are still arguing over the cause of the Permian extinction, an extinction that was a lot worse than that which killed the dinosaurs.
a couple years ago, Like Kivu released methane and killed a bunch of people. That is why some are worried that plans to "mine" tropical lakes for methane will cause a similar release of methane.
The previous explanation was the release of lava in Siberia (a "flood basalt eruption").
Mass Extinction Caused by Deadly 'Earth Burp'
They are still arguing over the cause of the Permian extinction, an extinction that was a lot worse than that which killed the dinosaurs.
Micha Ruhl and researchers from the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have found that the mass extinction of half of Earth’s marine life over 200 million years ago was likely the result of a giant release of carbon methane in the atmosphere.
more here:
In an article published in the September issue of Geology, Gregory Ryskin, associate professor of chemical engineering, suggests that huge combustible clouds produced by methane gas trapped in stagnant bodies of water and suddenly released
a couple years ago, Like Kivu released methane and killed a bunch of people. That is why some are worried that plans to "mine" tropical lakes for methane will cause a similar release of methane.
The previous explanation was the release of lava in Siberia (a "flood basalt eruption").
Factoid of the day: Bug wars
TiaMaria sent me an email claiming listerine would stop mosquitoes.
Well, yes and no... according to Snopes:
on the other hand, if you want to get rid of the slugs in your garden the good news is that you can use cheap Budwiser, which works better than the expensive imported beers...
no report if Filipino slugs like Bud better than SanMig
Well, yes and no... according to Snopes:
spraying Listerine around your home or outdoor areas isn't an all-purpose mosquito preventive. It may kill some mosquitoes on which it is directly sprayed, but it won't serve to keep knocking mosquitoes dead for hours and hours afterwards.
on the other hand, if you want to get rid of the slugs in your garden the good news is that you can use cheap Budwiser, which works better than the expensive imported beers...
no report if Filipino slugs like Bud better than SanMig
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Leia
why dress up your Barbie doll like an old fashioned blond bimbo...dress her up like Leia or Padme
More HERE.
and more advice about dressing for your next geek party:
sigh.
no way I could dress up like that, but I could dress up like Leia's mom, Grandmom Mazur...
Miscellaneous links
Why astronauts in spacesuits can't whistle
More trivia at FTBlog
---------------------------
One of the links, however, is scientific illiteracy: Why aren't people living longer? There are more "old/old" people but not many who live more than 110 years.
The scientific answer is probably the Hayflick limit: every time a cell divides, the Telemeres get shorter, so they are limited in dividing only up to 60 times or so.
-------------------------
A quick read on why Catholics allow all that pagan stuff like statues and sacraments and see Mary as the mother of God.
It comes down to the question if religion means rejecting materiality, or if you believe creation is good, the body is good, and if God uses ordinary things to point to the eternal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
gift item of the day: A sandless beach towel.
----------------------------
More trivia at FTBlog
---------------------------
One of the links, however, is scientific illiteracy: Why aren't people living longer? There are more "old/old" people but not many who live more than 110 years.
The scientific answer is probably the Hayflick limit: every time a cell divides, the Telemeres get shorter, so they are limited in dividing only up to 60 times or so.
-------------------------
A quick read on why Catholics allow all that pagan stuff like statues and sacraments and see Mary as the mother of God.
It comes down to the question if religion means rejecting materiality, or if you believe creation is good, the body is good, and if God uses ordinary things to point to the eternal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
gift item of the day: A sandless beach towel.
----------------------------
Insomnia downloads of the day
Rhymed recipes.
" ROCKS "
Like, but oh! how different.
— Wordsworth.
Most people think that rocks are stones
And never meant to eat,
But if you'll make the ones I mean,
You'll find them quite a treat.
One cup of powdered sugar take,
Two-thirds of butter add,
And cream together soft and smooth —
The work will make you glad.
Two eggs, well beaten, go in next,
Then 'tis the flour's turn.
One cup, and half a cupful more —
But any extra spurn.
A teaspoonful of cinnamon.
And one of powdered clove,
A pound of walnuts chopped with pound
Of raisins that we love.
These add with soda — well dissolved
(A teaspoonful — that's all!)
In water hot, to keep the " rocks "
From an untimely fall.
On buttered tins the mixture drop
From spoon — 'twill oddly form —
Bake in an oven not too cold,
Nor yet again too warm.
Taste one when done, and you will own.
Before you are much older.
The only fault with such a rock
Is that it's not a boulder.
" ROCKS "
Like, but oh! how different.
— Wordsworth.
Most people think that rocks are stones
And never meant to eat,
But if you'll make the ones I mean,
You'll find them quite a treat.
One cup of powdered sugar take,
Two-thirds of butter add,
And cream together soft and smooth —
The work will make you glad.
Two eggs, well beaten, go in next,
Then 'tis the flour's turn.
One cup, and half a cupful more —
But any extra spurn.
A teaspoonful of cinnamon.
And one of powdered clove,
A pound of walnuts chopped with pound
Of raisins that we love.
These add with soda — well dissolved
(A teaspoonful — that's all!)
In water hot, to keep the " rocks "
From an untimely fall.
On buttered tins the mixture drop
From spoon — 'twill oddly form —
Bake in an oven not too cold,
Nor yet again too warm.
Taste one when done, and you will own.
Before you are much older.
The only fault with such a rock
Is that it's not a boulder.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Vikings are coming! the Vikings are coming!
Wired has an article on ancient artifacts, and how moderns learn about them by examining/recreating them.
The photo is from 2007, when 65 men and women piloted a reconstruction on a 1,000 mile voyage from Denmark to Dublin, Ireland, using a reproduction of a 100 foot long Viking ship.
not mentioned was when some local Filipinos rebuilt and sailed a reproduction of a Malay type balangay ship. Story here. Yeah, SEAsia tends to get overlooked in a lot of history books.
And then there is this factoid: Maybe the reason that there are so few stone tools in SEAsia was because man learned to make knives etc. from bamboo...
headsup Archeoblog.
Factoid of the day
Webecoist discusses Japan's famous sand dunes. I didn't even know that there were huge sand dunes in Japan.
Another factoid: Ironically, they are being endangered because of reforestation...
(this photo via oddity central, was taken by Sasha, who has even more great photos at his Livejournal)
The reason this startled me is that one of the books I brought with me to the Philippines is Woman of the Dunes, by Kobo Abe, which is the story of a man caught at the bottom of a sand pit with a local woman. (it was one of the books I brought here to the Philippines). Silly me, I always thought the dunes were allegorical, not a well known spot in Japan...
It was made into a film that got a lot of awards. (you can watch it on Veoh...try not to fall alsleep)
I always assumed the dunes were in some vague foreign land, and a metaphor was about the desert of modern life (which is, of course, a common popular "theme" in the circles of the intelligencia)
However, the (left wing) UKGuardian discusses the "class warfare" background of the plot.
Check out this discussion of Japanese SciFi/fantasy that mentions Abe's stories.
and a Philippine interpretation can be read HERE, is more insightful:
The Tottori Sand Dunes have existed for approximately 100,000 years. They were formed by sediment from the Sea of Japan washing up onto shore and being blown into the dunes. Strong winds constantly rearrange the sand deposits, creating incredible desert-like formations that can reach heights of 90 meters. The unusual dunes draw an estimated two million visitors each year.
Another factoid: Ironically, they are being endangered because of reforestation...
(this photo via oddity central, was taken by Sasha, who has even more great photos at his Livejournal)
The reason this startled me is that one of the books I brought with me to the Philippines is Woman of the Dunes, by Kobo Abe, which is the story of a man caught at the bottom of a sand pit with a local woman. (it was one of the books I brought here to the Philippines). Silly me, I always thought the dunes were allegorical, not a well known spot in Japan...
It was made into a film that got a lot of awards. (you can watch it on Veoh...try not to fall alsleep)
I always assumed the dunes were in some vague foreign land, and a metaphor was about the desert of modern life (which is, of course, a common popular "theme" in the circles of the intelligencia)
However, the (left wing) UKGuardian discusses the "class warfare" background of the plot.
Check out this discussion of Japanese SciFi/fantasy that mentions Abe's stories.
and a Philippine interpretation can be read HERE, is more insightful:
The freedom that is presented in Woman in the Dunes is an allegorical ascent from physical to spiritual freedom. It portrays the gradual transformation of the main character, Jumpei, from the psychological process of denial to acceptance and, finally, from finding value and meaning amid his awful condition.
In doing so, he has discovered and found himself and his humanity, and his capability to care and love the very people who denied and took away his own physical freedom....
Planning to go to Hogwarts?
Then bring your checkbook: Centives blog gives you the estimate of expenses by listing various items you would need, and sums it up:
The total cost for the first year at Hogwarts comes out to £26,816 or US$42,752 at today’s exchange rates. This of course is the bare minimum and doesn’t consider the cost of pets, Quidditch robes and other incidentals that every student invariably faces. Nor does this analysis account for the premium paid for magical items.
Stories below the fold
The pious and intelligent Dr.E. at Persian Paradox notes the real meaning of the end times 12th imman (messiah) and why the president there is wrong to use the idea for political purposes...
this is resulting in him being opposed not only the reformers but the conservatives in Iran...
Hmm...sounds like he wants to be Darius the Great, not the 12th imman...
except that Darius actually helped the Jews reoccupy Jerusalem
----------------------------
Sigh. UN wants atrocities in Southern Sudan to be investigated.
The good news is at the end of the article: Ethiopia will send in peacekeepers.
---------------------------
Huge Somalian famine threatens the population.
UN is worried about this one, and then there is the Man-made famine in North Korea.
-----------------------------------
FYI: Kudlow backs the economic plan proposed by the "gang of six"...
well, if you say so.
------------------------
Racist who murdered to revenge 911 was executed in Texas.
His victims were South Asians who ran convenience stores.
-------------------------------------------------
Charlie Sheen to return to TV playing the Jack Nicholson character in Anger management?
Type casting I presume.
---------------------------
How to tell if your email has been hacked.
----------------------------------
Reston Ebola (the non human type) found in local bats...which is probably how those pigs got it last year.
-------------------------------
The Philippines has a rugby team? Who knew? Actually, they are the kids of immigrants who live in commonwealth countries, and their use in ads for skivvies is raising eyebrows here.
PHOTO
---------------------------
Feminists quote of the week:
see more Historic LOL
this is resulting in him being opposed not only the reformers but the conservatives in Iran...
Hmm...sounds like he wants to be Darius the Great, not the 12th imman...
except that Darius actually helped the Jews reoccupy Jerusalem
----------------------------
Sigh. UN wants atrocities in Southern Sudan to be investigated.
The good news is at the end of the article: Ethiopia will send in peacekeepers.
---------------------------
Huge Somalian famine threatens the population.
UN is worried about this one, and then there is the Man-made famine in North Korea.
-----------------------------------
FYI: Kudlow backs the economic plan proposed by the "gang of six"...
well, if you say so.
------------------------
Racist who murdered to revenge 911 was executed in Texas.
His victims were South Asians who ran convenience stores.
-------------------------------------------------
Charlie Sheen to return to TV playing the Jack Nicholson character in Anger management?
Type casting I presume.
---------------------------
How to tell if your email has been hacked.
----------------------------------
Reston Ebola (the non human type) found in local bats...which is probably how those pigs got it last year.
-------------------------------
The Philippines has a rugby team? Who knew? Actually, they are the kids of immigrants who live in commonwealth countries, and their use in ads for skivvies is raising eyebrows here.
PHOTO
---------------------------
Feminists quote of the week:
The "concern" from both the left and the right over Bachmann's health seems more like a dog whistle on the whole gender issue. What's next? Investigating whether she can lead when suffering from PMS?
see more Historic LOL
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Headlines below the fold
Hmmm...Garci (of "hello Garci") might talk...more here.
this scandal was made known after an illegal wiretap was publicized...
-----------------------------------
Illegal wiretaps/monitoring phone calls was done to expose not only the shennanigans of our lovely ex president Gloria, but also the climategate fraud, Wikileaks, Watergate, and of course the fact that Sarah Palin is honest.
and then there is the UK/Murdoch scandal.
And, of course, someone looked the other way and allowed a well known left wing activist to try to assault him with a pie...Luckily, Murdoch's wife intervened.
In Australia,TimBlair notes:
---------------------
and the "EuroGeneral" has been arrested...
this scandal was made known after an illegal wiretap was publicized...
-----------------------------------
Illegal wiretaps/monitoring phone calls was done to expose not only the shennanigans of our lovely ex president Gloria, but also the climategate fraud, Wikileaks, Watergate, and of course the fact that Sarah Palin is honest.
and then there is the UK/Murdoch scandal.
And, of course, someone looked the other way and allowed a well known left wing activist to try to assault him with a pie...Luckily, Murdoch's wife intervened.
In Australia,TimBlair notes:
Chinese women, however, are celebrating Wendi Deng’s smashmouth takedown of a man 16 years her junior:which is why you should always chose your trophy wife carefully.“The image of Chinese women just got a lift,” noted a post on the Weibo microblog by Toubenxingfu111.
“This adds value to the image of Chinese wives,” said another under the name Jihua. “They have previously proved their ability to cook and run a business. Now, they can add bodyguard.”
Others noted that Deng – a volleyball player in her school days – had not just spiked the pie-thrower, she had also lifted the share price of News Corporation.
UPDATE. Even the Guardian is understandably impressed by Wendi Deng:
Such was the force of her shot that the foam directed at her husband’s face landed on a police officer and on her own blue-painted toes.
Witnesses believed that if it wasn’t for that officer she would have continued round the table to finish the man off.
---------------------
and the "EuroGeneral" has been arrested...
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Philippine Choir wins Pavorotti trophy
Yes, there is some good news for the Philippines: For the second year in a row, a Philippine choir won the Pavorotti trophy in competition in Wales. Last year, it was the singers of Univ SanTomas, this year it's the Phil Adventist University Choir.
Cousin MadMaddie getting her hands dirty
Madeline just got back from a chuch youth group stint helping in Jamaica.
Photo on her facebook page HERE.
Bringing in the light
A report that LED lights are now getting cheaper.
-----------------------------
and this report is actually something that is cheap and useful (not too expensive for most people, as most "green" projects tend to be)
heh. We already "light" our main home by clear plastic roofing, which streams from the raised part of the roof (like most traditional houses, the center of the roof is raised to let hot air out, and light in). through glass panels on the ceiling...but the glass is heavy and expensive, and it makes the house hot.
but the tin roofs of poor houses don't have holes (too much rain) so this is a good idea, and cheap enough for normal folks.
(headsup BoingBOing)
-----------------------------
and this report is actually something that is cheap and useful (not too expensive for most people, as most "green" projects tend to be)
heh. We already "light" our main home by clear plastic roofing, which streams from the raised part of the roof (like most traditional houses, the center of the roof is raised to let hot air out, and light in). through glass panels on the ceiling...but the glass is heavy and expensive, and it makes the house hot.
but the tin roofs of poor houses don't have holes (too much rain) so this is a good idea, and cheap enough for normal folks.
(headsup BoingBOing)
Tobacco curing disease?
Transgenetic tobacco producing HIV medicine?
Wikipedia article discusses how these monoclonal antibodies are produced now from animal cells and human cells:
The hope is that producing them in tobacco will make it cheaper and easier.
more on transgenetic plants HERE.
.
.
.
They already use these antibodies, usually in treating certain forms of cancer or autoimmune problems but they are very very expensive.The active ingredient is an antibody called P2G12 – it recognizes proteins on the surface of HIV to block infection. More specifically, it’s a monoclonal antibody made from immune cells for one specific role. It was discovered by private Austrian biotech Polymun.
Wikipedia article discusses how these monoclonal antibodies are produced now from animal cells and human cells:
The hope is that producing them in tobacco will make it cheaper and easier.
more on transgenetic plants HERE.
.
.
.
Send in the Indian
Heh. Bishop Chaput is going to Philly to settle the mess there.
Having worked with the IHS, I am familiar with him, since he was active with the Kateri conferences (for Native American Catholics) for years, even before he became bishop of Rapid City.
NCR interview here...a 1997 interview here comments on his spirituality:
First Things has a list of his secular articles HERE.
“There's a great convergence between my Franciscan vocation and Native American spirituality,” Archbishop Chaput said, explaining that both traditions have a great reverence and natural humility before God and creation, a willingness to sacrifice for the community and respect for elders and others.
Chaput on the role of organized religion in the US:
Religion has also played another key role. Individuals, on their own, have very little power in dealing with the state. But communities, and especially religious communities, have a great deal of power in shaping attitudes and behavior. Churches are one of the mediating institutions, along with voluntary associations, fraternal organizations, and especially the family, that stand between the power of the state and the weakness of individuals. They’re crucial to the “ecology” of American life as we have traditionally understood it.
And that’s why, if you dislike religion or resent the Catholic Church, or just want to reshape American life into some new kind of experiment, you need to use the state to break the influence of the Church and her ministries.
Keep him in your prayers...anyone who takes on the NYTimes for misquoting him is not going to be popular in today's media...
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Stuff below the fold
Zahi Hawass, the "Indian Jones" of Egypt, has been fired. more HERE.
photo from his blog...(headsup Boingboing)
---------------------
Geoff Fisken has died. the number one ace of the British Commonwealth in WWII has died.
He spent most of his life as a sheepfarmer.
photo and more at wikipedia
-----------------------------
Heh. Most Non Africans have Neanderthal genes....not that there's anything wrong with that.
more HERE.
-----------------------------
another "boomer generation" book.
Drugs, sex, rock and roll, and the rest of the cliches here.
Sorry, fellahs, I was too poor and hardworking to be part of that group.
maybe someday someone will want to write a book about the rest of us....
----------------------------------------
The Baby no body want remains in jail in Kuwait.
Question one: DNA tests weren't done?
Question two: why did the mother "collapse" at a court hearing and die?
-----------------------------------
MoJo discusses fuel efficient cars: Which is best for you?
Here, the "best" is a diesel pickup, or the efficient BMW for trips we don't need to haul stuff.. we walk or take a "tricycle" for shorter jaunts.
No infrastructure for plug ins except in parts of Manila.
----------------------------------
see more Must Have Cute
more HERE.
--------------------------------------------------
Stuff below the fold
Everything you wanted to know about Dwarves but were afraid to ask.
factoid of the day: Dwalin has head tatoos...
well, that's one way of being bald and cool...
desktop HERE
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twenty to fifty percent of the files on your computer are junk.
-------------------------------
Happy 75th birthday Wienermobile...
via Davebarry
------------------------------
the news is bad, as usual, and I agree with Instapundit:
IN DIFFICULT TIMES LIKE THESE, what the world really needs is cute kitten videos.
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