Clipmarks | moonspirit4ever's clips

Ant mega-colony takes over world

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:09:52 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: Funny, I always thought the cockroaches would be first.

A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered.

Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another.

The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.

Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) were once native to South America. But people have unintentionally introduced the ants to all continents except Antarctica.

In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, while another in the US, known as the "Californian large", extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California. A third huge colony exists on the west coast of Japan.

Tags: insects, science

ADN Confirms: Palin's Story Doesn't Hold Up

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:38:43 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: Don't any of this woman's handlers know when to tell her to stfu?

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

In response to our questions, the Governor's office provided us with a detailed breakdown of the millions Palin has claimed has gone to defending against ethics complaints. It does list roughly $1.9 million in expenditures.

In other words, while these lawyers might have been free to do other legal work for the state, the ethics complaints have apparently not had the real world impact Palin has claimed, and didn't drain money away from cops, teachers, roads and other things.

The Anchorage Daily News did a thorough analysis and backed up the spokesperson. The ethics complaints took up time that staff could have spent doing other work, but they did not cost Alaska any money.

A large chunk of that work went into the state personnel board's "Troopergate" investigation, which Palin herself initiated on the grounds that a legislative probe was politicized. Only three of the ethics complaints are still pending, a fact that makes Palin's explanation seem even less sensible.

Tags: politics, political, palin

Scary Old School Surgical Tools

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:13:33 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: With all the problems we are having with health care today, it could be worse. So much worse.

Clip Source: www.surgicaltechnologists.net

Not much is known about this tool, but it is hypothesized that it was inserted into the wound in a contracted position, with the central shaft used to grasp the arrow. The blades, which appear to have their sharp edges facing outward, were then expanded using the scissor-like handles, thus expanding the flesh around the arrow to prevent the arrowhead from ripping through the meat as it was pulled out.

Elongated bullet extractors could reach bullets embedded deeply in the patient's body. Extractors like this one had a screw tip that could be inserted in the wound and lengthened to pierce the bullet so that it could be pulled out.

These forceps were used to grasp a hemorrhoid between the blades and apply pressure to stop the blood supply, causing the hemorrhoid to drop off.

This lithotome was used to cut the bladder in order to remove stones. The shaft contained a hidden blade that was inserted into the bladder and then released using a spring handle.

Tags: medical

Oasis Sunset

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:38:11 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: Pretty picture

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

Finally got around to rendering and posting an HDR shot I took with Trey (Stuck in Customs) last month while we were in Texas for Travus' Summer Camp.

5xp HDR rendered shot taken handheld (while steadying against the rail) of the Oasis restaurant overlooking Lake Travis in Travis County Texas.

Tags: sun

The Danger of Chasing Cheese

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:47:34 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: I like cheese fine, but I don't think I'll be trying this anytime soon )

Clip Source: www.boston.com

An injured racer is lowered down Cooper's Hill after falling during a cheese rolling race in Gloucester on May 25, 2009. (BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images) #

Top 10 reasons Palin is resigning

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:52:04 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: I was hoping she was going to defect to Cuba, but these will do nicely, too

Clip Source: www.democraticunderground.com

10. Joining the Alaska National Guard just in case Putin rears his head again.

9. Needs the extra time to buy up and shred every copy of this month’s Vanity Fair.

8. RNC accidently emailed her the speech meant for Mark Sanford.

7. Plotting revenge against Letterman is a full time job.

6. Wanted to knock all the Michael Jackson coverage off of cable news.

5. Premiering this fall: “Regis & Sarah”.

4. Finally decided to study up for the Katie Couric interview

3. Heard Biden had left the country and is hoping to be considered for the VP job again

2. Is moving to Minnesota to head up the recount for Norm Coleman

Amazing Sentence

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:17:10 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever

Clip Source: www.stumbleupon.com

The person who invented this sentence is either a Vocabulary GENIUS or is absolutely JOBLESS.

Read the sentence below carefully…

“I do not know where family doctors acquired illegibly perplexing handwriting nevertheless, extraordinary pharmaceutical intellectuality counterbalancing indecipherability, transcendentalizes intercommunications incomprehensibleness”.

This is a sentence where the Nth word is N letters long.

e.g. 3rd word is 3 letters long, 8th word is 8 letters long and so on

Gay couples forced to flee US over immigration law

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:31:44 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: Oh, come on....are we hetrosexuals so threatend by gay marriage that we drive off a politician who USED HIS OWN money to advocate for his constituents? Bring J.W. Lown back...we need more like him.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The mayor of this West Texas sheep ranching town offered a stunning explanation when he suddenly resigned: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.

They had to move, he said, because there was no legal way for them to remain together in the United States.

"It wasn't a decision that any U.S. citizen should have to make," former Mayor J.W. Lown said in an interview from Mexico. "I left a home. I left a ranch. I left a promising political career."

During his tenure, Lown transformed the $600-a-year, part-time job from a mostly ceremonial position to a hands-on office. He actively appeared at thousands of community functions and went to Washington to lobby for the West Texas town — spending his own money after a few residents complained about taxpayers footing the bill.

1,500 animal species practice homosexuality

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:33:24 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever

Clip Source: www.news-medical.net

Homosexuality is quite common in the animal kingdom, especially among herding animals. Many animals solve conflicts by practicing same gender sex.

"One fundamental premise in social debates has been that homosexuality is unnatural. This premise is wrong. Homosexuality is both common and highly essential in the lives of a number of species," explains Petter Boeckman, who is the academic advisor for the "Against Nature's Order?" exhibition.

Homosexuality is a social phenomenon and is most widespread among animals with a complex herd life

Animals that live a completely homosexual life can also be found. This occurs especially among birds that will pair with one partner for life, which is the case with geese and ducks. Four to five percent of the couples are homosexual. Single females will lay eggs in a homosexual pair's nest. It has been observced that the homosexual couple are often better at raising the young than heterosexual couples.

Gay penguin couple adopts abandoned egg in German zoo

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:40:05 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: Penguins rock

Clip Source: www.cbc.ca

Two male Humboldt penguins cautiously guard the entrance to their cave in the zoological park in Bremerhaven, northern Germany, where they are foster dads to a six-week-old penguin chick. (Focke Strangmann/Associated Press)Keepers at Germany's Bremerhaven zoo couldn't get two penguin parents to take care of their egg, so they're trying an experiment — they gave the egg to a gay male penguin couple.

So far, the experiment has been a success. The two foster dads incubated the egg for 30 days until it hatched and have continued to care for the newborn chick.

The behaviour is not considered unusual because homosexuality has been well documented in the animal kingdom.

A similar experiment was performed at New York City's Central Park Zoo in 2004. Two male chinstrap penguins named Roy and Silo incubated an egg together and raised the chick, called Tango, when she hatched.

Tags: politics, penguin, adoption

Bee swarm traps workers in NY game store

Sun, 24 May 2009 16:49:26 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: Ok, since when have we had police bee specialists???? Do we also have one for spiders??? And how does one get such a job - I LIKE spiders and snakes and creepy crawly things )

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

NEW YORK – Thousands of bees swarmed outside a New York City game store, trapping employees inside for hours.

Worried employees looked out the window of the Manhattan store while talking on the phone as the bees clustered Saturday afternoon. A sign in the window warned: "Look! ... closed due to bee infestation."

Eventually, police bee specialist Tony Planakis arrived in protective gear and used the scent of a queen bee to collect the rest of them.

The store has reopened. The bees are being taken to hives upstate.

Tags: bees, police

Up to 11 wounded in fight in Vienna temple

Sun, 24 May 2009 16:47:31 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

VIENNA – Groups of rival worshippers at a Sikh temple in the Austrian capital pulled knives and at least one handgun in a mass fight Sunday, police and ambulance staff said. At least 11 people were wounded.

Witnesses said the fight erupted after a dispute over the sermon, given by a man identified by the Austria Press Agency as Shri Guru Ravidas Sabha. Police said at least six men, one wielding a gun and the others knives, attacked the preacher. Others rushed to his aid, resulting in the melee.

Tags: religion, violence

Joe The Plumber Slurs Gay People: I Would Never Let "Queers" Near my kids

Tue, 05 May 2009 17:39:33 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, sat down for an lengthy interview with Christianity Today to discuss his views on the future of the Republican party. Wurzelbacher took the opportunity to speak out against gay marriage, which he says is wrong. The unlikely conservative spokesman went so far as to say he doesn't allow openly gay people "anywhere near" his children.

The word "queer," Wurzelbacher noted, "means strange and unusual."

Tags: politics, gay, gay marriage

SKorean experts claim to have cloned glowing dogs

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:26:06 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: The things I find out about on Twitter lmao

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases. The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" — a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" — look like typical beagles by daylight.

But they glow red under ultraviolet light, and the dogs' nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye.

Seoul National University professor Lee Byeong-chun, head of the research team, called them the world's first transgenic dogs carrying fluorescent genes, an achievement that goes beyond just the glowing novelty.

Yahoo! Search

Tags: dogs

The Children of Iraq

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:01:19 GMT

clipped by: moonspirit4ever
clipper's remarks: I don't know if some or all of these pictures were staged. I don't care. No matter how positive a spin anyone might try to put on the situation in Iraq, the children are suffering the most. We need to remember that.

Clip Source: www.zonaeuropa.com

Tags: children, iraq