Clipmarks | Brimstone's Comments

Why Too Much Praying Is A Bad idea

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:25:29 GMT

clipped by: Jorjor
clipper's remarks: It seems to me that a lot of praying, instead of achieving its intended purpose of praise and glorification instead reduces a deity to a petty servant.

Internet evangelist Stuart Shepard issued a call to pray that Barack Obama's planned speech in a stadium in Denver gets rained out. That goes beyond petty into the realm of the ridiculous and juvenile.

Clip Source: members.comics.com

Tags: religion, humor

Viruses can catch colds, says study that redefines life itself

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:06:46 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Prof La Scola and his colleagues were surprised to spot a smaller type of virus attached to the virus-making factory inside infected cells. The new virus - Sputnik - was unable to infect cells by itself but seemed to hijack the larger to achieve its infectious aims.

By regulating the growth and death of plankton, giant viruses - and satellite viruses such as Sputnik - could be a major influence on ocean nutrient cycles and climate.

"These viruses could be major players in global systems," Nature is told by Prof Curtis Suttle, an expert in marine viruses at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

viruses can apparently get sick.

Even better, they're made sick by another virus.

Viruses are the ultimate example of KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Nothing but a core of genetic material in a protein shell, they may not be able to do anything but replicate (and even then only with a host cell), but they also outnumber us umpty-billion to one.

Their simplicity also makes them hard to kill

Researchers at the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) have now discovered a virus, named "Sputnik" for its extreme simplicity, which can hijack the viral factory of another pathogen and insert its own code into the program.

The double-victimised cell now manufactures Sputniks, and copies of the original virus which do manage to be made suffer from damage and imperfections because of this second-super-sub-cellular-sabotage.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

the discovery of a giant virus that itself falls ill through infection by another virus seems to suggest they too are alive

Tags: virology, biology, molecular biology

Invisibility is near.

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:58:05 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: A marvelous example of how that which seemed to be a Sci-Fi / Fantasy fiction; becomes real now.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

University of California scientists bend light to create the invisible

The art of invisibility, which enabled Harry Potter to wander unseen around Hogwarts, may be just around the corner, scientists believe.

Researchers funded by the Pentagon have managed to make material that has the potential to bend light around objects to make them invisible.

By diverting light around an object scientists expect to be able to make tanks, buildings and even individual infantrymen disappear from view.

In tests carried out in the United States, researchers were able to construct a prism that bent light “the wrong way” and so would make an object appear to vanish.

will be published this week in the journals Nature and Science, but the full papers were released early online last night.

Similar techniques using microwaves, which are much easier to control, were demonstrated two years ago, but this is the first time that they have been successfully carried out in three dimensions with visible light.

Tags: science, light, invisibility

27 Aquatic lifeforms you never caught while fishing

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:14:21 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Fascinating.

Clip Source: sasthamcotta.wordpress.com

Robot Fish

Deep-sea glass squid

Snaggletooth

Axolotl

Mudskipper

Slander Lanternfish

Deep-sea stargazer

Giant Hatchetfish

Dumbo Octopus

Eelpout

Black-lip Rattail

Humpback Anglerfish

Coelacanth

Northern Seahorse

Longhorn Cowfish

Leafy Sea Dragon

Lumpfish

Atlantic Wolffish

Lionfish

Deep-Sea Lizardfish

Fangtooth Fish

Black Chimaera

Clown Triggerfish

Longlure Frogfish

Prehistoric Frilled Shark

Black Swallowe

Mantis Shrimp

Tags: marine life

Brown Tape Art

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:22:55 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: www.designverb.com

Who says ya can’t make something cool with translucent brown tape. Mixed media artist Mark Khaisman layers several pieces of tape on Plexiglas panels to create these mesmerizing rustic illuminations with textures much like a knife painting with broad wide strokes. Very cool, time lapse like retro, and mysterious… I’ll have to make some myself. (I love tape).

Born 1920-1979? Congratulations...

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:20:44 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: No one was able to reach us all day.And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer! s, no Internet or chat rooms.......

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just wal

Clip Source: sandiego.craigslist.org

Born 1920-1979? Congrats...

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants &children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we we re back when the streetlights came on.

The Wearable Motorcycle

Sat, 31 May 2008 00:41:04 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: devicedaily.com

Riding a motorcycle is really cool and the adrenaline is a really nice feeling. Well, somebody thought to change the way that the motorcycle will transport you. Jake Loniak, a student at the Art Center College of Design, has came up with a system that will act as an extension of your body.

His idea came from Biomechatronics and he dubbed his concept as the Deux Ex Machina and will consist of an vertically parking motorcycle that will be managed by 36 pneumatic muscles with 2 linear actuators. The Deus Ex Machina is Yamaha-branded and it will be worn as an exo-skeleton and the helmet will be pneumatically attached.

The in-wheel motor will be able to power the motorcycle from 0 to 60mph in 3 seconds and it will have a maximum speed of 75mph. The Deus Ex Machina is electric and it can cycle one hour with a recharge time of 15 minutes.

husband divorces wife over virginity

Sat, 31 May 2008 22:02:54 GMT

clipped by: boozich
clipper's remarks: gawd!! this would have to be the stupidest ruling i've ever come across...right after divorcing based on "lack of penis size"

Clip Source: www.news.com.au

FRANCE plunged into a heated debate about its marriage laws today after learning that a court had annulled the union of two Muslims because the husband said the wife was not the virgin she had claimed to be.

Politicians, feminists and human rights activists denounced the verdict, handed down last month

"It is profoundly shocking that, in our country, a marriage can be annulled on the basis of non-virginity before the marriage,"

courts should defend Muslim women, not pressure them.

"The end result will be that some Muslim girls will rush to hospitals to have their hymens sewn back together

Sex Ed Teacher Answers Student Questions on Masturbation, Parents Seek Criminal Charges

Sat, 31 May 2008 22:05:51 GMT

clipped by: digitalsistere
clipper's remarks: This type of fear based mentality on the side of parents and school administrators is a large part of the reason teens struggle with sexual issues. Parents don't want to talk about it...prosecute teachers who try to answer the students questions...and yet we ask "Oh my! What has happened to our youth? Where have we gone wrong?"

These parents need to be sued for utter stupidity. Don't attack a Sex-Ed teacher for trying to answer legitimate questions!

If they want to control the minds of their children...HOME SCHOOL them in a church basement somewhere and mind the shackles please, they tend to come loose with time and age.

Clip Source: www.sltrib.com

A group of Herriman parents who claim a middle school health teacher gave students information about sex that isn't allowed under state law are working with a lawmaker to seek criminal penalties for such behavior.

Wimmer said he decided to act after hearing this week from parents about an incident at Fort Herriman Middle School

investigating allegations that a seventh- and eighth-grade health teacher violated the sex education statute by responding to questions from students about topics beyond the core curriculum, including homosexual sex, oral sex and masturbation.

the teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave, probably through the end of the school year.

Thursday morning, students put up signs at the school supporting the teacher that read, "We were the ones asking her questions."

"I'm really angry right now. I want someone to apologize to those kids and say 'I'm sorry this is not part of the curriculum,' " said Sara Dewitt, a parent

50 parents has unofficially organized

Tags: sex, teen, school, education, children, teacher, masturbation

Tricking The Tongue

Wed, 28 May 2008 12:19:27 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

CARRIE DASHOW dropped a large dollop of lemon sorbet into a glass of Guinness, stirred, drank and proclaimed that it tasted like a “chocolate shake.”

Nearby, Yuka Yoneda tilted her head back as her boyfriend, Albert Yuen, drizzled Tabasco sauce onto her tongue. She swallowed and considered the flavor: “Doughnut glaze, hot doughnut glaze!”

They were among 40 or so people who were tasting under the influence of a small red berry called miracle fruit at a rooftop party in Long Island City, Queens, last Friday night. The berry rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors for an hour or so, rendering lemons as sweet as candy.

The miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum, is native to West Africa and has been known to Westerners since the 18th century

The cause of the reaction is a protein called miraculin, which binds with the taste buds and acts as a sweetness inducer when it comes in contact with acids

jet pilot gets close for a photo

Thu, 29 May 2008 01:20:44 GMT

clipped by: boozich
clipper's remarks: closer...closer...closer...SMILE!!

Clip Source: muzich.blogspot.com

come closer
closer...
closer...
almost there...

say CHEESE!!!

Read this clip and try not to say WTF!!

Fri, 30 May 2008 01:49:04 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: I mean, are you kidding me!? Rachel Ray and Dunkin Donuts were offering "symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism" because she was wearing a black and white scarf. After this one, it's going to take a whole to shock me

Honestly, i just tagged this clip dunkin donuts, rachel ray and terrorism - WTF indeed!!

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

BOSTON (AP) -- Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachael Ray after complaints that a fringed black-and-white scarf that the celebrity chef wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism.

Tags: dunkin donuts, rachel ray, terrorism, wtf

was William Shakespeare a Jewish Woman ???

Wed, 28 May 2008 08:58:04 GMT

clipped by: syncopath
clipper's remarks: "The theory rests largely on the circumstances of Bassano's life, which Hudson contends match, much better than William Shakespeare's did, the content of "Shakespeare's" work."

"He is so convinced of Bassano's authorship that he formed a theater company, The Dark Lady Players, to bring out, through performance, the true meanings of the plays as, he argues, Bassano intended them."
(For more details, visit www.darkladyplayers.com.)

Clip Source: www.haaretz.com

Was William Shakespeare a Jewish woman in disguise?

Amateur Shakespearologist John Hudson is not the first to question whether the actor William Shakespeare was actually the author of the body of work we've come to know as his, but Hudson is the first to suggest that the true author was a Jewish woman named Amelia Bassano Lanier.

Of Italian descent, Bassano lived in England as a Marrano and has heretofore been known only as the first woman to publish a book of poetry ("Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum" in 1611) and as a candidate for "the dark lady" referred to in the sonnets.

Hudson is the first to argue that she's the true author of those sonnets.

Hudson has spent most of his career as a cognitive scientist, restructuring the communications industry and inventing new industry models - exactly what he is now doing with Shakespeare. So prepare to rethink everything you learned in your high-school English classes.

Clip Source: www.marysidney.com

Clip Source: img.dailymail.co.uk

Tags: shakespeare, woman, shaken, theory

5 cool photos

Wed, 28 May 2008 11:24:57 GMT

clipped by: boozich

Clip Source: muzich.blogspot.com

"Makeout Pottery"

The hippo who ditched his muddy waters to catch some sun and surf

Wed, 28 May 2008 08:20:07 GMT

clipped by: michellezm
clipper's remarks: 'Hippos don't take well to darting' Mr van Schoor explains, 'they die of stress and this one would drown if we darted her in the water, and if we tried to dart her on the beach, she would run into the water for safety and again drown when the drug takes effect.'
Hippos are usually captured using passive methods such as monitoring paths that they use regularly and setting up enclosures to lure them into.

But Mr Van Schoor says that this hippo's only hope is to stop moving South.

He added: 'If the hippo moves any further south there is huge risk, he is moving into residential areas and towards Durban where food for the hippo will become a problem'.

Hippos are considered to be one of the most dangerous and aggressive of all animals and with this one coming into contact with humans and domestic animals, it could soon become a problem.

Sadly If the hippo does not retrace his own steps and move back north, KZN says there is little hope for him.

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

They are better known for wallowing in swamps rather than their surfing skills but this hippo clearly had a whale of a time splashing around in the ocean.

Spotted in the water near the holiday town of Ballito, near Durban in South Africa, the rare sighting of a hippo catching some waves fascinated residents and wildlife experts alike.

The hippo was spotted swimming in the sea in the South African holiday town of Ballito

The hippo even strayed onto the sand to catch a few rays on the beach at Thompson's Bay and then moved into the water for the afternoon.

Lionel van Schoor from KZN Wildlife says that they have been observing this hippo further north, in Richards Bay and he says it has been moving south for the past two months.

It is thought that the lone young male hippo has wandered from its habitat in Richards Bay

'The animal walks along the beach foraging for food and when he comes across a rocky outcrop he simply goes for a swim in the sea' says Mr Van Schoor.