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Reptiles coming in with the floods

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 05:00:10 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Update October 16, 2006: This clip is dedicated to bignosemousie

Second update: Thanks to Sohil for digging and finding this archaic clip.

Clip Source: www.hindu.com

Now, it's crocodile after floods

CROC SEARCH: Workers clearing bushes at Muthu Nagar in Lalgudi on Tuesday. — Photo: M. Moorthy

TIRUCHI: After floods, it is time for hunting stray crocodiles along the banks of water courses in Tiruchi district. The Forest Department got the season's first call on Monday night after a reptile was sighted off a swamp at a colony off Lalgudi.

With the locals claiming to have sighted as many as three crocodiles, Forest officials and sanitary workers of the Lalgudi special panchayat launched a hunt to track down the reptiles on Tuesday morning.

The scare has forced residents of Muthu Nagar, Shanthi Nagar and Thiru Nagar, tread with caution on the muddy lanes of their colonies. These colonies were inundated after the nearby Kuvalaiyar, a drainage channel from where the crocodile is believed to have strayed, overflowed during the recent floods.

Tags: india, floods, crocodiles

How a Lunar Eclipse Rescued Columbus

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:17:04 GMT

clipped by: Kore7
clipper's remarks:

Such a dramatic episode didn't escape the attention of novelists, who later used eclipse occurrences in a similar way to further their own plots. You'll find the device in H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and even in Hergé's Tintin adventure Prisoners of the Sun.

In some cases, the event is a solar rather than a lunar eclipse. And the details of the eclipse aren't always astronomically correct, especially in the movie versions of the books.

But it worked for Columbus.

Clip Source: www.sciencenews.org

Ivars Peterson

Columbus had observed a lunar eclipse on an earlier voyage and had noticed discrepancies between the predictions made by Zacuto and those contained in the Ephemerides. Moreover, he had no reliable way of determining the correct local time of this particular projected eclipse. The times provided by Regiomontanus for its start and end were for Nuremberg, Germany.

Despite these uncertainties, Columbus was desperate enough to take a chance. On the day before the predicted eclipse, he summoned the leaders of the native inhabitants and warned them through an interpreter that if they did not cooperate with him, the moon would disappear from the sky on the following night.

The natives for the most part were unimpressed; some even laughed. Columbus nervously awaited the outcome of his gamble. Could he rely on tables that had been compiled several decades earlier and that predicted the positions of celestial bodies only for the years between 1475 and 1506? How large were the errors?

Amazingly, the prediction proved correct. As the full moon rose in the east on the appointed night, Earth's shadow was already biting into its face. As the moon rose higher, the shadow became larger and more distinct until it completely obscured the moon, leaving nothing but a faint red disk in the sky.

The natives were sufficiently frightened by this unexpected occurrence and by Columbus's uncanny prediction to beg forgiveness and appeal to him to restore their moon to the sky. Columbus responded that he wished to consult with his deity. He retired to his quarters, using a half-hour sandglass to time how long the eclipse would last. Some time later, when the eclipse had reached totality, he emerged to announce that the moon, in answer to his prayers, would gradually return to its normal brightness.

Tags: eclipse, lunar, moon, earth, columbus, christoper columbus, astronomy, science, history, predict, preiction, navigation, jamaica, new world

Douchebag (couldn't resist...tried, but couldn't)

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:45:17 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Pretty spot on if you ask me

Clip Source: media.spikedhumor.com

Tags: douchebag, funny, humor

FullBooks.com - homepage index

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 10:01:57 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.fullbooks.com

Tags: fullbooks, ebooks, full text, reading, library, my library, index, alpha

FullBooks.com - homepage index

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 10:01:57 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.fullbooks.com

Tags: fullbooks, ebooks, full text, reading, library, my library, index, alpha

Convert to Islam or we'll rape you

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 13:22:02 GMT

clipped by: adamskinner
clipper's remarks: Somehow, this isn't surprising.

Clip Source: wnd.com

Teen escapes from Muslim kidnappers in Egypt

Girl had been abducted from public bus to be 'converted' to Islam

The teen, living in El Mahala Al Kobra, about 60 miles north of Cairo, disappeared from a public bus on Oct. 2, when a team of Muslims drugged her and threatened her with rape if she refused to embrace Islam, described by its supporters as a "religion of peace."

Her parents were notified via text message that, "The girl is not accepting easily, but she will embrace Islam for sure." Another said, "Take the rest of your daughters and leave the city, or you will lose them one by one."

She fled while the terrorists were taking a break from a Ramadan fast, the report said. She was able to contact authorities, but was told then that if she did not deny the kidnapping had occurred, she would "never see her parents again."

Voice of the Martyrs said the kidnapping of Christian teenage girls in Muslim nations has reached epidemic proportions. Other times, the girls themselves are lured away with promises of material wealth.

Tags: islam, hegemony, shari'a, news

Since I get my 15ms of fame today - here are the heirs

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 02:45:16 GMT

clipped by: RecordSage
clipper's remarks: I didn't have a Razr when I was 4 Oh well, I'm glad they get to play with all of this. This is Ben (2) and Rita (4) - the 2 main reasons for my existence.

For those who don't know - RecordSage is actually a name of one of my computer creations. All Clipmarks members get to use it for free - here are the details.

@skwirlinator - check out the new report (under the Basic pane), it's along the lines of what you asked for - let me know if it's helpful.

Clip Source: img15.imgspot.com

Tags: kids, recordsage, shopping cart

To Be Married Means to Be Outnumbered

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 04:39:21 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

To Be Married Means to Be Outnumbered

Married couples, whose numbers have been declining for decades as a proportion of American households, have finally slipped into a minority, according to an analysis of new census figures by The New York Times.

The American Community Survey, released this month by the Census Bureau, found that 49.7 percent, or 55.2 million, of the nation’s 111.1 million households in 2005 were made up of married couples — with and without children — just shy of a majority and down from more than 52 percent five years earlier.

Tags: marriage, survey, american

Clipmarks Rollcall

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:50:40 GMT

clipped by: sohil
clipper's remarks: After skwirl and mousie have argued that we need a Roll Call. I thought I'd make one. But given I'm too lazy, I've left it upon the community to build one. Every REAL Clipper POP this so that we know you exist (Yes Mr. Daniel you must POP this too).

So POP away.

Clip Source: www.clipmarks.com

Interesting things
found on the web

Tags: clipmarks, ideas for clipmarks

Sites for bookworms: News, reviews, sharing

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:22:37 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: ReadySteadyBook, Book Fetish and Shelfari. Three sites for book worms. The first two are full of fresh book reviews and news. The latter is similar to Library Thing.

Clip Source: www.readysteadybook.com

ReadySteadyBook - a literary site

Latest Book Reviews

Latest Articles & Interviews

October's Books of the Month

	Everything Passes Gabriel Josipovici
	Auschwitz Report Primo Levi

-- View archive

Clip Source: www.bookfetish.org

From frightful fun to just plain frightful, the staff of Book Fetish has gathered a collection of old and new for this season of thrills and chills. We'll be updating this list throughout the month of October, so check back often.

The Cellar: Richard Laymon
10.13.06
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding: Edited by P.N. Elrod
10.06.06
Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios
10.02.06
Happy Hour at Casa Dracula: Marta Acosta
08.14.06
I'm the Vampire, That's Why: Michele Bardsley
08.10.06
Live Girls: Ray Garton
07.31.06
Off Season: Jack Ketchum
07.07.06
A House Divided: Deborah Leblanc
06.12.06

Clip Source: www.shelfari.com

The problem with our large bookshelves is that they are buried in our home where only a subset of people can see what we have read. Now with Shelfari you can show off that book collection to your friends and the world!

Tags: books, reading, reviews, collections, news, social network, web2.0

Girlfriend becomes Wife

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 07:28:45 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.funtoosh.com

Tags: girlfriend becomes wife, funny, menstown

Oh. that's right, i'm in america.free speach?

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:29:46 GMT

clipped by: pokepam
clipper's remarks: i thought we were guaranteed free speech. Oh, sorry, thought i was in america.

Clip Source: www.theinquirer.net

Teen Myspace 'terrorist' faces FBI wrath

Pulled out of class for word with feds

Pulled out of class for word with feds

By Nick Farrell : Monday 16 October 2006, 07:14

A 14 year old was yanked out of her biology class by FBI agents who interrogated her, without her parents knowing, over the contents of her Myspace web page.

Julia Wilson posted a picture of President George Bush with a dagger stabbing his hand with the words 'Kill Bush' scrawled over it.

Later she pulled it back after learning in her eighth grade history class that such threats are a federal offence.

However she was a bit late and the FBI decided that she was enough of a terror threat to nab her. Apparently the methods of interrogation, which was conducted without calling her parents to be present, reduced the girl to tears.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the girl said that the agents yelled at her a lot and threatened to shove her in a juvenile prison because of her terrorist threat to kill George. Wilson said that they were "unnecessarily mean."

Wilson agreed that the FBI should have questioned her over the page, but said they should have done so after school, with her parents present. Apparently requiring agents to have common sense when evaluating the level of threat to the President's life is not considered an issue.

Laws that require parents to be present when children are questioned by the FBI have never made the statute books in the US.

Wilson says she is doing another myspace page devoted to organising other students to protest against the Iraq here. µ

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Tags: gov't

Professional Farters

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:06:03 GMT

clipped by: haraya

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Le Pétomane was the stage name of the French professional farter and entertainer Joseph Pujol (June 1, 1857 - 1945).

He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him to break wind at will. His stage name combines the French verb péter, "to fart" with the -mane, "maniac" suffix, found in words like toxicomane. In English, a translation might yield "the fart maniac". His profession can also be referred to as a "Flatulist" or a "Fartiste." [1]

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Paul Oldfield, better known by his stage name Mr. Methane is a British flatulist, or "professional farter" and claims to be the only performing professional flatulist in the world. According to his website, Mr Methane discovered his ability at the age of fifteen when practicing yoga. The next day he performed twenty rapid fire rasping farts in under a minute for a group of his friends in the squash courts at Ryles Park County High School, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It became so popular he made it into a regular event. At this time he did not become a professional, but instead started working for British Rail eventually getting promoted to Train Driver (Locomotive Engineer). During a course on the Brush Type 4, aka British Rail Class 47 diesel locomotive he remembered his old talent and used it. The word of his ability spread around. In the late 1980s he was transferred to the Buxton motive power depot in Derbyshire. There he met a driver called Paul Genders who played in a Macclesfield based soul/blues cover band called The Screaming Beavers. Paul invited Mr. Methane to perform as a guest artist. The audience loved his performance, and he decided to try it as a career.

Tags: entertainment, entertainers, fart, occupation, flatulists, le petomane, mr. methane, people

Is the 'WRISTWATCH' over???

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 19:38:50 GMT

clipped by: dfiskey
clipper's remarks: I really hope not. although i think it might be true. I bought my husband a beautiful watch for our first anniversary years ago-- i think he gave it about a 6 month wear before he realized he preffered his phone to be his watch. i think watches are really 'smart' - i think they look nice on people..i'd hate to see the Blackberry/Cellphone movement knock out this market too...

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

For many, watches are behind the times

Just in time for gift-giving season, a growing stack of consumer surveys suggests fewer people are buying wristwatches.

And the reason is pretty clear: Who needs a watch with a cellphone or a BlackBerry always at hand?

The trend is especially strong among younger consumers, according to the latest survey by Simmons Research. In 2000, watch sales among 18- to 24-year-olds reached nearly $1 billion in the USA; by 2005, sales had dropped 34%. Even among 35- to 49-year-olds, who spend the most on watches, sales decreased 28% over five years, from $2.4 billion to $1.7 billion.

Mike Thompson, editor of International Watch magazine, says higher-priced watches — $400 and up — still do well. "But the bulk of watches sold are under that price," Thompson says.

So maybe this isn't the beginning of the end, Thompson says. "People enjoy wearing something that is nicely designed, mechanically interesting and collectible."

Tags: watch, shopping, time, technology

Air America Crashes into Chapter 11

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 07:02:06 GMT

clipped by: RecordSage

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Air America Radio Files for Chapter 11

The corporate parent of Air America, the liberal radio network, filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors today in federal bankruptcy court in New York. The network will remain on the air while the company, Piquant Inc., tries to borrow more money and reorganize, under the leadership of a new chief executive.

The network, which began broadcasting with much fanfare two years ago, has struggled to attract audiences and financing.

In a statement today, Air America said the bankruptcy filing became necessary once negotiations with one of its creditors over repayment of its debt broke down.

Court documents filed today paint a picture of a business under increasing financial distress. It has lost more than $13 million so far this year and a total of more than $40 million since May 2004. It also owes Mr. Franken more than $360,000.

Tags: air america, radio, liberal, bankruptcy, chapter 11