Clipmarks | Caleythia's clips

New Contender for World's Worst Poem

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:48:46 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: It is pretty horrid.

A Tragedy by Theophile Marzials

Death!
Plop.
The barges down in the river flop.
Flop, plop,
Above, beneath.
From the slimy branches the grey drips drop...
To the oozy waters, that lounge and flop...
And my head shrieks - "Stop"
And my heart shrieks - "Die."...
Ugh! yet I knew - I knew
If a woman is false can a friend by true?
It was only a lie from beginning to end--
My Devil - My "friend."...
So what do I care,
And my head is empty as air -
I can do,
I can dare
(Plop, plop
The barges flop
Drip, drop.)
I can dare, I can dare!
And let myself all run away with my head
And stop.
Drop
Dead.
Plop, flop,
Plop.

The 1873 collection of verse in which it was published, The Gallery of Pigeons, was once highly praised. But - in picking Marzials as one of the new entries for its website today- the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says the poem is now claimed as the worst ever written. It quotes the last line as an example.

Theophile Jules-Henri Marzials:

Tags: poetry

Sabretooth Had Surprisingly Weak Bite

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:42:53 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The sabretooth tiger may have looked a fearsome sight with its massive canines but its reputation takes something of a knock with a new piece of research.

Scientists who have studied the extinct creature's skull in detail say it had a relatively weak bite - compared with, say, a modern lion.

While it would have been a ruthlessly efficient hunter of big game, it was simply over-engineered for taking small prey - and that would have made it extremely vulnerable when times got hard.

A model of a modern lion (Panthera leo) was developed for comparison.

The beast's predation strategy has long been a matter of contention, with some arguing that it leapt at prey with fangs bared; others that it used its sabres like ice-picks to climb on top of other animals; and some who argued that it would inflict grievous injuries by slashing out with its canines.

Tags: nature, paleontology

Religion in Space

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:21:37 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: This raises some interesting questions. i can't say I've seen these sort of problems addressed in any of the sci-fi books I've read. How people of all faiths solve dilemmas like this will be interesting to watch for.

Clip Source: www.wired.com

A Muslim Astronaut's Dilemma: How to Face Mecca From Space

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor has a problem. Two problems. The first is that Mecca keeps moving.

He's a devout Muslim and when he says his daily prayers he wants to face Mecca, specifically the Ka'aba, the holiest place in Islam

That's where the trouble comes in. From ISS, orbiting 220 miles above the surface of the Earth, the qibla (an Arabic word meaning the direction a Muslim should pray toward Mecca) changes from second to second. During some parts of the space station's orbit, the qibla can move nearly 180 degrees during the course of a single prayer. What's a devout Muslim to do?

Questions like these will continue as more and more religious astronauts travel into space. When is sunset in low Earth orbit if you're experiencing a dozen sunrises and sunsets in every 24-hour period? When does Sabbath begin on the moon, where the sun sets once a month? When is the first sighting of the crescent moon if you're on Mars?

Tags: religion, space

European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:53:56 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: I'm interested to see what you all have to say about this. Do you think this would work on a larger scale, or is this the sort of thing that is only feasible in small communities?

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

Are streets without traffic signs conceivable? Seven cities and regions in Europe are giving it a try -- with good results.

European traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and directives. They want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way, as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of the head and eye contact, without the harassment of prohibitions, restrictions and warning signs.

A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs. Ejby, in Denmark, is participating in the experiment, as are Ipswich in England and the Belgian town of Ostende.

The utopia has already become a reality in Makkinga, in the Dutch province of Western Frisia

"The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman,

Tags: society, traffic

Bomb Sniffing...Bees?

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:35:26 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: This is really bizarre.

Clip Source: blog.scifi.com

Imagine, if you will, a world where your mother tells you to stay still when a bee flies up not because she's worried about you getting stung, but because the bee is on a mission. A mission to search you all over for bombs, contraband, what have you — anything it can sniff out.

Luckily for us, the little guys are securely taped down at the moment. A company called Inscentinel has been bribing bees with food to stick out their tongues when they detect certain smells. So far the bees have been trained to sniff out explosives, different drugs and foods as a camera keeps careful watch on whether or not their tongues pop out. Loaded onto a cartridge, the bees can be toted around in a handheld vapor detector and used in the field. If you keep looking at the picture above and worrying about the little detectors, Inscentinel reports on its site: "Bees are happy undertaking their sniffing tasks and are comfortable throughout, only healthy bees work effectively." — Kevin Hall

Tags: science

Jewish Residents Built Hatch to Escape Romans

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:16:27 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Under threat from Romans ransacking Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, many of the city's Jewish residents crowded into an underground drainage channel to hide and later flee the chaos through Jerusalem's southern end unnoticed.

The ancient tunnel was recently discovered buried beneath rubble, a monument to one of the great dramatic scenes of the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 A.D.

The channel was dug beneath what would become the main road of Jerusalem, the archaeology dig's directors, Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said Sunday. Shukron said excavators looking for the road happened upon a small drainage channel that led them to the discovery of the massive tunnel two weeks ago.

Pottery shards, vessel fragments and coins from the end of the Second Temple period were also discovered inside the channel, attesting to its age, Reich said.

Tags: history, archaeology

Forevertron: World’s Largest Scrap Metal Sculpture

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:04:24 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia

Clip Source: www.neatorama.com

From a distance, Dr. Evermor’s "park" in Wisconsin looks like a junk yardfull of twisted metals and rusted machines, but it houses one of the coolest sculptures ever: Forevertron. Standing at 120 feet wide, 60 feet deep, 50-foot tall, and weighing 320 ton, this behemoth of an artwork is billed as the world’s largest scrap metal sculpture.

All components of Forevertron are salvaged from old bits and pieces of machineries between 50 to 100 years old, and are welded and bolted together for stability. Its components include a pair of bipolar electrical dynamos constructed by Thomas Edison in the late 19th century and a decontamination chamber from the Apollo space mission. The top of the sculpture is a copper-clad glass ball, meant to be Dr. Evermor’s space capsule!

Dr. Evermor is actually artist Tom Every, 70, who used to be an industrial wrecking and salvage expert.

Tags: sculpture, art

Starch 'fuel of human evolution'

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:15:01 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: Take that, Dr. Atkins.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Man's ability to digest starchy foods like the potato may explain our success on the planet, genetic work suggests.

Compared with primates, humans have many more copies of a gene essential for breaking down calorie-rich starches, Nature Genetics reports.

And these extra calories may have been crucial for feeding the larger brains of humans, speculate the University of California Santa Cruz authors.

They discovered humans carry extra copies of a gene, called AMY1, which is essential for making the salivary enzyme amylase that digests starch.

And marginal food resources can become part of the staple diet.

"Now you can have population growth and expand into new territories."

Tags: evolution, science

3,000-year-old beehives unearthed in Israel

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:13:30 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Archaeologists digging in northern Israel have discovered evidence of a 3,000-year-old beekeeping industry, including remnants of ancient honeycombs, beeswax and what they believe are the oldest intact beehives ever found.

He said it offers unique evidence that an advanced honey industry existed in the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.

Beekeeping was widely practiced in the ancient world, where honey was used for medicinal and religious purposes as well as for food, and beeswax was used to make molds for metal and to create surfaces to write on. While bees and beekeeping are depicted in ancient artwork, nothing similar to the Rehov hives has been found before, Mazar said.

The beehives, made of straw and unbaked clay, have a hole at one end to allow the bees in and out and a lid on the other end to allow beekeepers access to the honeycombs inside. They were found in orderly rows, three high, in a room that could have accommodated around 100 hives, Mazar said.

Tags: archaeology, history

Brain to Control Games Directly, Maybe Vice Versa

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:30:33 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: More info at the source. I find this really, really cool. However, as much as I love video games, it seems like a waste. I can only imagine what they can do with this technology (aside from using it to help quadriplegics, as it explains in the article), and it just seems frivolous to use it for video games.

What do you all think?

Clip Source: www.wired.com

Your brain might be your next videogame controller.

That might sound pretty awesome, but the prospect of brain-controlled virtual joysticks has some scientists worried that games might end up controlling our brains.

Several makers of brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs -- devices that facilitate operating a computer by thought alone -- claim the technology is poised to jump from the medical sector into the consumer gaming world in 2008.

many scientists worry that users brains' might be subject to negative effects.

For example, the devices sometimes force users to slow down their brain waves. Afterward, users have reported trouble focusing their attention.

The technology (both implanted and noninvasive versions) has been successfully tested in quadriplegics, helping patients move a cursor on a computer screen, turn switches on and off, and operate a wheelchair.

Tags: video games, tech

Human-animal Embryo Ruling Due

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:19:09 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: I'm of two minds on this. I'm all for research of this sort, especially for such a devastating disease as Parkinson's. On the other hand, this freaks me out in an Island of Dr. Moreau sort of way. Perhaps I've just read too much sci-fi.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Regulators are due to make a decision whether to allow human-animal embryos to be created and used for research.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is expected to give the plan the go-ahead in principle - but each case will still be judged individually.

An HFEA consultation showed the public were "at ease" with the idea when told it could pave the way for therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells.

If the HFEA does agree human-animal embryo research can go ahead, there would be individual hearings for these two applications, probably in November.

Tags: health, science

Super Mario Brothers Villain Auditions

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:23:16 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia

Clip Source: youtube.com

Super Mario Bros. Villain Auditions

[Video]

Tags: video games, humour

German restaurant replaces waitstaff with computers

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:21:59 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: I could see it working as a niche kind of thing, especially if you just want a quick bite at a quirky place. But, in general, I'll keep my waiters and waitresses, thanks.

Clip Source: blog.scifi.com

Bad news, waiters and waitresses: your days are numbered. You're about to become obsolete, replaced by technology that can do your job more efficiently and without requiring tips. A new restaurant in Nuremburg, Germany has replaced its waitstaff with a completely automated system that delivers meals to diners via a gravity-powered rail system.

Sure, while that might be kind of cool and cheap for the owners, are diners really ready to give up that personal interaction with servers? Can a computer really make good recommendations? Can you flirt with a cute computer? I didn't think so. Perhaps you shouldn't get worried about your job security just yet, waiters and waitresses. — Adam Frucci

Tags: tech, restaurants

Spider-man suit may soon be a reality

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:02:21 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia
clipper's remarks: And cat burglars the world over rejoice.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A "Spider-man" suit that enables its wearer to scale vertical walls like the comic and movie superhero could one day be a reality, according to a study.

Natural technology used by spiders and geckos could help a human climb the side of a building or hang upside down from a roof, the analysis suggests.

Both spiders and geckos possess tiny "hairs" that allow them to stick to surfaces.

Professor Nicola Pugno, from the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, has calculated how sufficient stickiness could be generated in the same way to support an adult human's body weight.

The Turin-based researcher proposes that carbon nanotubes could be used as an artificial alternative to the gecko's hairs.

Firstly, and most obviously, it must be able to demonstrate strong adhesive properties. Secondly, the suit must be able to detach easily from a surface after it has stuck. Thirdly, the suit must, to some degree, be able to clean itself.

Tags: technology

Astronomers Find a Hole in the Universe

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:30:26 GMT

clipped by: Caleythia

Clip Source: hosted.ap.org

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Astronomers have stumbled upon a tremendous hole in the universe. That's got them scratching their heads about what's just not there. The cosmic blank spot has no stray stars, no galaxies, no sucking black holes, not even mysterious dark matter. It is 1 billion light years across of nothing. That's an expanse of nearly 6 billion trillion miles of emptiness, a University of Minnesota team announced Thursday.

"This is 1,000 times the volume of what we sort of expected to see in terms of a typical void," said Minnesota astronomy professor Lawrence Rudnick

Tully said astronomers may eventually find a few cosmic structures in the void, but it would still be nearly empty.

Holes in the universe probably occur when the gravity from areas with bigger mass pull matter from less dense areas, Tully said. After 13 billion years "they are losing out in the battle to where there are larger concentrations of matter," he said.

Tags: astronomy, space