Clipmarks | Elfrida's Pops

Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

Clip Source: maint.veoh.com

""Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war" ~ "Julius Caesar." "Vi veri veniversum vivus vici "- "By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.""

Clip Source: www.winecommonsewer.com

Clip Source: www.allthingseastinc.com

Clip Source: boards.bravotv.com

Clip Source: comicology.i.ph

Clip Source: www.postcardsfromla.com

Tags: dogs

The girl in the window

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:31:38 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Rescuing Dani

Clip Source: www.tampabay.com

Dani, 9, has a new family now, and a new chance at life thanks to her brother William, 10, and parents Diane and Bernie Lierow.

Part One: The Feral Child

A little girl, pale, with dark eyes, lifted a dirty blanket above the broken glass and peered out

The girl looked young, 5 or 6, and thin. Too thin. Her cheeks seemed sunken; her eyes were lost.

child abuse investigation. Someone had finally called the police

No one has any way of telling what lies behind Dani’s big brown eyes and vacant stare.

"Unbelievable

The worst I've ever seen.

When he bent to lift her, she yelped like a lamb. "It felt like I was picking up a baby," Holste said. "I put her over my shoulder, and that diaper started leaking down my leg."

She was almost 7 years old.

Part Two: Becoming Dani

Part Three: The Mother

A special multimedia report: A video slideshow about Danielle’s progress, including speech therapy sessions.

Is she okay?

She has learned to

let herself be held

chew ham

swim

She knows her name is Dani.

Star tickling and communicating with aliens.

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:43:28 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: The Cepheid Galactic Internet

Clip Source: www.universetoday.com

If an alien species wanted to communicate with Earthlings, or any other civilization that might be out there, how might they do it?

why wouldn't aliens just use the internet? The Cepheid Galactic Internet, that is.

a sufficiently advanced civilization could use Cephied variable stars as beacons to transmit information throughout the galaxy and beyond

any technologically advanced civilization would likely observe Cepheids as distance markers

Cepheids and any other regular variable stars should be searched for signs of phase modulation and patterns which could be indicative of intentional signaling

something akin to a T1 line that is already established? All that would need to be done is to "tickle" the star, as the scientists call it, or tweak the Cepheid, to send a message

"tickling" the star, with the delivery of a relatively small amount of energy via neutrinos or other forms of power pulses

could trigger the Cepheid to a specific variability, and a message could be encoded

50 Great Free Online Libraries

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:44:51 GMT

clipped by: einbar

Clip Source: www.fotolia.com

Clip Source: www.attiaspace.com

50 Great Free Online Libraries

1. California Digital Library

2. The Online Books Page

3. Free Books

4. Project Gutenberg

5. Research Assistance

6. BookRags - E-Books and Book Notes

7. All Bookstores.com

8. FreeTech Books

10. Free E-Books.net

12. The eBook Directory

13. University of Virginia's E-Book library

14. BizzyDays Ebook Publications

15. Web Source

16. free-ebooks-4u.com

18. Free eBooks and Best Sites

19. Free Electronic Books

20. CIW Free E-Books

21. My Free EBooks

22. Free E-Books

25. EBookstand

26. Bibliomania

27. Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts

28. The eText Archive

29. Free Books 5000

33. Page by Page Books

34. bartleby.com

35. Free Books 4 Doctors

37. Chapter-a-Day - Free Books in Your E-Mail!

38. Free-Book.co.uk: The directory of free online books

39. FreeBooknotes.com - Free study guides for over 250 books

42. BeyondBooks.com

46. eBooks4free.net - Download free books and manuscripts

48. Free Joke Books

56. Be Successful!

57. Daily Literature

58. Bookyards: library to the world

4shared.com

ReadPrint.com

Opening Minds

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:44:31 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: "Those who teach our children science have a duty to reveal the workings of nature – even if it means challenging their faith"

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Should science teachers in Britain challenge their students' religious beliefs? Is it their right? Is it even their duty?

I say yes. This is (amongst much else) what education is for; to teach children how to think for themselves. And thinking for yourself is challenging, especially if your previous beliefs were based on dogma and ancient books.

In his recent TV series, The Genius of Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins visited a London secondary school, took a mixed bunch of kids out fossil hunting on the beach, and then came back to the school to talk to them and their teachers.

Some of what he discovered in his travels was truly shocking

science teacher who honestly believes that the world was created by God a few thousand years ago

Once you get it that's that! How can you go on believing that God created humans in his own image when you can see, because you really understand the principle, that nature's cruel and wasteful selective process can create all that design without him?

Frog Blog

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:52:27 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Videos available at site

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

A team of researchers is in Costa Rica attempting to track down some of the world's rarest frogs to aid their conservation.

The country used to be teeming with amphibians, but numbers have plummeted in recent years - largely because of a deadly fungus.

This species was rediscovered last year

Science reporter Rebecca Morelle joins the University of Manchester and Chester Zoo team as they head into the rainforest.

2 SEPTEMBER: AMPHIBIAN HAVEN

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The splendid leaf frog

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The lemur frog

The Costa Rica Amphibian Research Center is one of the few areas in Costa Rica where frog populations thrive.

10 Most Expensive Paintings in the World

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:55:51 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: blog.knowyourmoney.co.uk

10. $78,100,000. Pierre-August Renoir – Le Moulin de la Galette.

9. $80,000,000. Jasper Johns – False Start.

8. $82,500,000. Vincent van Gogh – Portrait of Dr. Gachet.

7. $86,300,000. Francis Bacon – Triptych, 1976.

6. $87,900,000. Gustav Klimt – Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II.

5. $95,200,000. Pablo Picasso – Dora Maar au Chat.

4. $104,200,000. Pablo Picasso – Garçon à la pipe.

3. $135,000,000. Gustav Klimt – Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.

2. $137,500,000. Willem de Kooning – Woman III

1. $140,000,000. Jackson Pollock – No.5, 1948. It is claimed by the New York Times that this painting was sold by David Geffen (of Geffen Records), to David Martinez (managing partner of Fintech Advisory). However, a press release issued on behalf of Martinez states that he didn’t actually purchase the painting. So the truth is shrouded in mystery, and it can only be rumored to have sold for a record-breaking $140 million.

Tags: art

Speaking whales

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:46:43 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Uplifting is on its way...
I wonder when will us humans learn some things from the whales?

Clip Source: current.com

Japanese scientists teach whale to talk

Scientists in Japan have given a beluga whale a vocabulary of three words, the first time a marine creature has been able to link a sound to an object and then repeat the sound as a 'word'.

"Right now Nack only knows three words, but we are working on the whale recognising different people and giving them a sound as well.

After that, we want to teach it to express likes and dislikes, something that is interesting instead of boring, and be able to say if something is painful," he said.

Professor Murayama said the breakthrough is the first conversation with a cetacean and that he hoped it might lead to humans and whales exchanging greetings in the not-too-distant future.

Tags: whales, intelligence, language

Universcale: The Worlds We Measure Using Our Infinite Yardstick

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:56:50 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Pardon if this is posted already but the Flash presentation at the source is just awesome.

Clip Source: www.nikon.com

We are able to view all entities, from the microworld to the universe, from a single perspective. By setting them up against a scale, we are able to compare and understand things which cannot be physically compared.

Today, using the electron microscope and astronomical telescope, we can see the objects which we have not been aware of its existence before. Are you able to fathom, or even roughly grasp, these sizes?

See our Universcale and experience the sizes of various objects.

Tags: universe, flash

Time is money :)

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:38:49 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Next time when a close partner asks for some quality time... do know what it means....

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

When Charities Ask For Time, People Give More Money

According to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research, simply asking people a question about whether they're willing to volunteer their time leads to increases in donations of both time and money

time consumption is associated with emotional experiences, thinking about donating time reminds people of the happiness achieved through helping others

the effect cannot be explained by guilt about not donating time, since people first asked to donate time agree to donate more money and more time than other groups

Half of the participants were asked how much time they would like to donate to the foundation and half were not asked. Then all were asked how much money they would donate to the foundation. The participants who were asked to donate time eventually pledged more than those who weren't asked: $36.44 versus $24.46

people who volunteered their time and the number of people who actually followed up and did volunteer work were

higher

Tags: sociology, community

No link between autism and vaccination - yet more evidence.

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:28:16 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: blogs.discovermagazine.com

a new study shows that the measles virus RNA found in the children with autism

has nothing to do with the onset of autism spectrum disorder:

The temporal order of onset of GI episodes and autism relative to timing of MMR [Measles/Mumps/Rubella vaccine] administration was examined. We found no differences between case and control groups in the presence of MV [measles virus] RNA in ileum and cecum. Results were consistent across the three laboratory sites. GI symptom and autism onset were unrelated to MMR timing.

In other words, the vaccines had nothing to do with the autism. As the researchers say themselves, "This study provides strong evidence against association of autism with persistent MV RNA in the GI tract or MMR exposure."

This, of course, won’t stop the antivaxxers in their campaign to bring back measles, pertussis, and other horrors that have been kept under control by vaccines for decades

Their antiscientific views are having a real effect, as we’ve already seen,

Fish Or Foul

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:56:31 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The catch is that, when it comes to food, we all think of ourselves as experts. But we taste with both our tongues and our minds, and it’s easy to lead minds astray. Brownies taste better, for example, when served on china rather than on paper plates, research has shown. And we prefer wine with a pedigree, even if it’s a phony one. Sometimes all it takes is an alluring name. Until a few decades ago, Patagonian toothfish was a trash fish not worth trying to give away. Renamed Chilean sea bass, it sold so fast that it nearly disappeared from the sea.

Expectations are everything. In one recent test, psychologists asked 32 volunteers to sample strawberry yogurt. To make sure the testers made their judgments purely on the basis of taste, the researchers said, they needed to turn out the lights. Then they gave their subjects chocolate yogurt. Nineteen of the 32 praised the strawberry flavor. One said that strawberry was her favorite flavor and she planned to switch to this new brand.

No Time to Think (As We May)

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:46:52 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

No Time to Think

[Video]

March, 5 2008

Vannevar Bush's 1945 article, "As We May Think," has been much celebrated as a central inspiration for the development of hypertext and the World Wide Web. Less attention, however, has been paid to Bush's motivation for imagining a new generation of information technologies; it was his hope that more powerful tools, by automating the routine aspects of information processing, would leave researchers and other professionals more time for creative thought. But now, more than sixty years later, it seems clear that the opposite has happened, that the use of the new technologies has contributed to an accelerated mode of working and living that leaves us less to think, not more. In this talk I will explore how this state of affairs has come about and what we can do about it.

Tags: david levy, levy, vannevar bush, thinking, creativity, knowledge, technology, science, video, google

GM plants detect landmines and turn red

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:04:52 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.grahamhancock.com

SYDNEY: Genetically-modified plants that turn red when they grow in the presence of explosives are being trailed for their effectiveness to detect landmines in South Africa.

Scientists at Stellenbosch University, in collaboration with a Danish biotechnology firm, are testing a type of tobacco plant that produces the red pigment anthocyanin in the presence of breakdown products of TNT (trinitrotoluene). TNT is an explosive often found in landmines.

From Iraq

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:36:33 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: photos

Clip Source: www.boston.com