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Top 9 comments made by NBC sports commentators during the Olympics

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:00:05 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Howl-arious!

1. Weightlifting commentator: "This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing."

2. Dressage commentator: "This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother."

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: "I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father."

4. Boxing Analyst: "Sure there have been injuries,and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious."

5. Softball announcer: "If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again."

6. Basketball analyst: "He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces."

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: "Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew."

8. Soccer commentator: "Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."

Tags: nbc, commentators, humor, olympics, sports, comedy

When being the Best is Wrong

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:42:39 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.newstatesman.com

In a semantic mess, wanting the best has become "elitist"

"Elite" and "elitism" as terms have transformed into political slurs in Britain and the United States. Simply defined, elitism is a belief in government by the few, while elite means "the best". But the conflation of their meanings, born of not a little ignorance and slovenly language, has produced somewhat different strains of anti-rational toxin in the past few decades.

The political definitions of both elite and elitism in the US are now being broadened to include knowledge itself.

To escape the charge of elitism, a US candidate may now be required to display not only a beer belly, but also a preference for ignorance over expertise.

Republicans are slapping the elitist bullseye on Barack Obama, though his is a story of earned privilege through scholarships, hard work and brains.

Tags: elite, elitism, language, mediocrity

Child Labour Then and Now

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:38:10 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.historyplace.com

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Clip Source: www.childlaborphotoproject.org

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Clip Source: www.childlaborphotoproject.org

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Clip Source: www.unicef.org

An estimated 158 million children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labour - one in six children in the world. Millions of children are engaged in hazardous situations or conditions, such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery. They are everywhere but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, labouring behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations.

What a Way to Look at Things

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:12:04 GMT

clipped by: vandamonium
clipper's remarks: I must admit, I was rather moved by this sequence of drawings

Clip Source: www.sonnyradio.com

I Spy With My Little Eye

Amazing Perspective In A Sequence of Drawings*

These images are from the book Zoom by Istvan Banyai

The story begins here and ends below.

Scroll downward slowly and enjoy...

“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth.

I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth.

I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.”

- Neil Armstrong

Tags: perspective, drawings, zoom, book

Unchain your dogs

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:38:23 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: Lots of information at the source. Photos that will break your heart.

Unchain your dog, please.

Clip Source: www.unchainyourdog.org

What is meant by "chaining" or "tethering" dogs?

These terms refer to the practice of fastening a dog to a stationary object or stake, usually in the owner's backyard, as a means of keeping the animal under control. These terms do not refer to the periods when an animal is walked on a leash.

Why is tethering dogs inhumane?

Dogs are naturally social beings who thrive on interaction with human beings and other animals. In the wild, dogs and wolves live, eat, sleep, and hunt with a family of other canines. Dogs are genetically determined to live in a group.

A chained animal is caught in a vicious cycle; frustrated by long periods of boredom and social isolation, he becomes a neurotic shell of his former self—further deterring human interaction and kindness. In the end, the helpless dog can only suffer the frustration of watching the world go by in isolation—a cruel fate for what is by nature a highly social animal.

Tags: animals need love and protection

Dogs have a sense of right and wrong

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:25:07 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: How much is that doggy in the window?!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Dogs have a sense of right and wrong

Dogs have become more intelligent, and even learnt a sense of right and wrong, through spending time with humans, a study shows.

Although still controversial, recent research is beginning to support the view that an owner is perfectly correct when they pat their pet and coo "who's a clever boy then?"

Because of the way owners have selected smarter and more empathic dogs down the generations, these pets now appear to have a limited "theory of mind", the capacity that enables us to understand the desires, motivations and intentions of others, New Scientist reports today.

A decade ago, most scientists would dismiss the claims of dog owners that their precious pets could experience pain, excitement and other "human emotions" as sentimental claptrap that anthropomorphises the abilities of animals.

"Dogs show some aversion to inequity," she says. "I prefer not to call it a sense of fairness, but others might."

"Domestication seems to have shaped dogs

Tags: dogs, pets, intelligence, animal kingdom, bizarre, canine, iq

The Male Brain, Explained

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:16:38 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: "We have been assuming that the ways in which emotions are organized in the brain are essentially similar in men and women," but they aren't. Parts of the limbic cortex, which is involved in emotional responses, are smaller in men than in women. Additionally, scientists at McMaster University have found that guys have a smaller density of neurons in areas of the temporal lobe that deal with language processing.

Appreciate his naturally upbeat nature

Does he seem to be "up" most of the time? It's not your imagination: Male brains produce 52 percent more serotonin (the chemical that influences mood) than female brains, according to a study done at McGill University. And studies show that fewer men than women suffer from depression.

Remember his brain is his largest sex organ

The preoptic area of the hypothalamus is greater in volume, in cross-sectional area and in the number of cells. This area of the hypothalamus is in charge of mating behavior.

Clip Source: lifestyle.msn.com

Women have puzzled over it for years—why the heck do men do the things they do? Why do they profess their love for you one minute, then ignore you the next (say, when an Attila the Hun special turns up on TV)? Why can they not remember our birthdays? Let science explain some of these conundrums—and help you rev up your relationships!

Be patient with his memory

The hippocampus, where initial memories are formed, occupies a smaller percent of the male brain than the female brain. If on your first date he can't remember where you work, even though you told him all about it when you met, just remember that size matters … hippocampus size, that is. Don't take it personally.

Don't expect him to get hints

Have a crush on him? You may have to put it out there, because men aren't as skilled at women at reading subtle emotional cues. As Dr. Larry Cahill of the University of California at Irvine puts it,

Tags: male, romantic/sexual/behavior, read the female brain, explained

Want to know what’s really going on in your own head?

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:25:17 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: Best Online Psychology Tests

Clip Source: well.blogs.nytimes.com

Best Online Psychology Tests

Want to know what’s really going on in your own head? The mental health Web site PsychCentral offers a list of the best online psychology tests. Some of these are used to collect data for research experiments, while others are skill tests or quizzes that offer personal insights. Here are a few of the best.

1. The Stroop Test. A fun test that measures how fast and flexible a thinker you are by using color-coded words.

2. The Worst Sounds. Grab your headset and take this online sound test to find out which sounds bother you the most. You’ll hear snoring, crying babies and nails on the chalkboard.

3. Personality Test. Check out the “I Just Get Myself” personality test. It comprises just 40 easy questions but delivers a surprisingly insightful (at least I thought so) assessment of your personality traits.

6. Personal Biases.

4. Memory Test.

5. Reaction to Faces. This test allows you to rate your preference for different facial characteristics.

MIT Team Use Viruses to Build Nex-Gen Batteries

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:46:06 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Bio-battery technology could open up a whole new field of science with exotic new applications. The study was partly funded by the Army Research Office Institute of Collaborative Biotechnologies, and the Army Research Office Institute of Soldier Nanotechnologies, which suggests that the Army has some interest in this type of research. One can only imagine the strange and/or nefarious possibilities of fusing batteries into living organisms. However, Belcher diffuses any excitement over possible cyborg applications.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

If you think AAAs batteries are small, then consider this: Next-generation batteries may be half the size of a human cell and built with viruses. Now that’s small. MIT says this is the way of the future when it comes to powering tomorrow’s miniature electronic devices.

MIT engineers have developed a way to at once create and install such microbatteries. The team used a genetically modified (GM) virus to build a tiny microbattery that can power miniature electronic devices. The GM virus is called M13. The virus was designed to have negatively charged amino acids at its surface and an affinity with cobalt, a favored material for batteries.

“the resulting electrode arrays exhibit full electrochemical functionality.”

Belcher mentions, "We're also interested in integrating [the batteries] with biological organisms."

Tags: battery, virus, technology

5 Insanely Small And Inhabited Private Islands

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:55:15 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Wowie!

Clip Source: www.premier-holidays.com

5 Insanely Small And Inhabited Private Islands

Dunbar Rock, Honduras

The next time you visit Honduras be sure to pop over to Guanaja, a Bay Island 70km from the shore. The island itself is stunning and worthy of the visit, but the real eye-opener is Dunbar Rock, an absolutely stunning property

Unknown Property, Les Cheneaux Islands

This lovely house sits on a tiny island amongst the 36 larger Les Cheneaux Islands off the south coast of Cedarville, Michigan, a popular destination for boating, sailing and fishing enthusiasts.

Clingstone, Rhode Island

Sitting majestically just off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island is a beautiful mansion by the name of Clingstone - a name which makes sense as soon as the property is seen.

Just Room Enough, 1000 Islands

the world’s smallest island-house and it seems clear, to us at least, that the winner has to be Just Room Enough, this extremely cute and picturesque residence which can be found amongst the 1000 Islands

Las Isletas, Nicaragua

Lake Cocibolca

Tags: travel, islands, houses, villas, sea, sand, scenic, landscape