BitWrench

A Bunch of HOs Originally shared by Julie Bee Miniatur Wunderland is the largest model railroad in the world. 13 kilometers of track and over 200,000 miniature people. Google has shrunk their Street View technology to give a first-person train ride through the massive model. www.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-scenes/streetview/treks/miniatur-wunderland/ http://www.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-scenes/streetview/treks/miniatur-wunderland

Woo! "To be 'The Man', you gotta beat The Man!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjW9UXoKU2s Originally shared by Tim O'Brien

Wo/Man 'Splaining Spatial Relations... http://nautil.us/issue/32/space/men-are-better-at-maps-until-women-take-this-course

Six Pack Originally shared by **** Street art and my favorite Wisconsin Beer, originally made in Lacrosse . The World’s Largest Six-Pack in its glory days (top photo, uncredited) as part of the Heileman Brewery in  La Crosse, Wisconsin.  These tanks are actually filled with beer and play a role in the brewing process.  Iconic Old Style beer was brewed here until 1996 when the brand was taken over by a megabrewery and lost its personality and flavor.   The World’s Largest Six Pack survives, as does the former Heileman brewery itself which now houses City Brewing Company, which produces (among other brands) La Crosse beer (bottom photo, source).  I don’t know whether people can still drive up spigots on the outer wall of the brewery and fill containers with the pure artesian well water that made beer brewed here so good, but they could in the Heileman days–and did.

Black Tie White Noise http://www.juiceonline.com/david-bowie-once-sang-in-bahasa-indonesia/ Originally shared by Hengki Koentjoro © 2016 ➤ Bowie's last wishes: Bali and Buddhists The rock legend wanted his ashes scattered on the Indonesian island "in accordance with the Buddhist rituals." “I wanted something as unlike the Caribbean as possible,” said Bowie in the 80s, explaining the property’s Indonesian touches. “It’s a whim personified. I love a good cliché, and this house, for me, is just the most delightful cliché. What you have to realize is that Mustique is a fantasy island.” Now, as we mourn the death of such a visionary legend, take a moment to enjoy Bowie singing in "Bahasa", fierce as ever. https://youtu.be/7EiXfN-4ozc

No Kill Anyone else see anything troubling or ironic about this? Some previous history here: http://www.indyweek.com/news/archives/2014/06/30/the-haven-friends-for-life-threatened-with-fines-for-conditions-at-unlicensed-animal-shelter http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2016/0130/More-than-600-animals-rescued-from-no-kill-shelter-in-North-Carolina

Originally shared by Peter Koufos Literal Sign Of The Times The writing is on the wall, or in this case the sign. Only in a country that's really a business do people need to see something like this. We're not citizens, we're business people. As soon as you become engaged in people business and realize that YOU are the brand, you are the resource, and you are the capital things will begin change in this American context. Personally, I don't need this sign to remind me of anything. I have entire, whole relationships based on this. Connect people!

Promoting Southern Values

Cool Your Jets! Originally shared by Randy Culler This sensational discovery is as new as the hydrogen bomb!

Not-So-Good "Over the years, Evrard said CERN had a 'not-so-good habit' of simply leaving old cables in situ when they were replaced, and piling the new ones up top." Documentation and Housekeeping are the Red Headed Step-Children of Technology. Shouldn't there be an elegant Swiss German compound word for Not-So-Good? via Alex Scrivener Originally shared by Amine Benaichouche #CERN problems. #LHC #ParticlePhysics http://motherboard.vice.com/read/cern-engineers-have-to-identify-and-disconnect-9000-obsolete-cables

Out Of The Bottle via Eric Hansen Originally shared by ❨❨❨David C. Frier❩❩❩ (Kahomono) Letter from Michael Moore Do Not Send Us Bottles Of Water. Instead, Join Us In A Revolt. A Letter From Michael Moore Many of you have contacted me wanting to know how you can help the people of Flint with the two-year long tragedy of drinking water contaminated by the radical decisions made by the Governor of Michigan. The offer is much appreciated by those who are suffering through this and who have not drank a glass of unpoisoned water since April of 2014. Unfortunately, the honest answer to your offer of help is, sadly, you can’t. You can't help. The reason you can’t help is that you cannot reverse the irreversible brain damage that has been inflicted upon every single child in Flint. The damage is permanent. There is no medicine you can send, no doctor or scientist who has any way to undo the harm done to thousands of babies, toddlers and children (not to mention their parents). They are ruin...

"I'm Just A Bill..." Schoolhouse Rock-I'm Just A Bill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0 Originally shared by **** I now have a candidate: "“I don’t like most of the candidates that are currently running for President. I mean, Bernie Sanders seems like a decent guy, but the rest of em’, are pretty much complete scum in my opinion.” Murray continued, “I’m always traveling around the world, but I’m proud to call America, the good ole’ U.S. of A, my home. I think there’s a lot of great people here, a lot of potential, but there’s also a lot of confusion and hate. People don’t know what to make of these Hitler wanna-be’s like Donald Trump, and the Ted Cruz’s, who want to start World War III. They feed on the hate and paranoia a lot of this country has, and because of that, you see them leading in the polls. And it’s sad that people go along with it, and can’t see it for what it really is. I think the American people are better than that and they deserve bet...

Cooter Soup No? How 'bout a HoJo Hot Dog? Originally shared by Damn interesting New York Public Library has digitized 18,000 historical menus dating from 1851 to 2008. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-unusual-foods-americans-loved-a-century-ago-a6834606.html

A Question of Jurisdiction Still, probably easier to find/define than the coastline of Louisiana... via Andreas Schou Originally shared by Paul Cowan Fun project for Anthony Baxter and I today: trying to work out, once and for all, if the ACT has a coastline. For you non-Australians: the ACT is the Australian Capital Territory. The place where Canberra is. Think DC in the USA; there are many similarities, including the fact that states donated land to carve out a neutral HQ for the national capital. (Side note: you may see references to the FCT, or Federal Capital Territory, in some of the stuff linked below. It's the same place; it was renamed along the way.) You'd think "does a federal subdivision have a coastline" would be an easy question to answer. You'd be so, so, so wrong. This is a pub trivia kind of question in Australia; the problem is, most people get it wrong. At best, they get it right, but for the wrong reasons. Like, maybe it does have a coastline...

Hoist By Petards Originally shared by **** When it comes to understanding terrorism, the novelist does a better job than the pundit and sociologist: http://bit.ly/1VmAwYw http://bit.ly/1VmAwYw

#WordlessWednesday #wordlessonwednesday

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish Phil Fish, that is... Originally shared by Tim O'Brien Interesting fact: Abe Vigoda's brothers Bill and Hy worked in the comic book industry as an artist and writer respectively. Image: Cracked  #139 (1977) by John Severin

Are You In The Book? Originally shared by **** Reservations now being accepted. The Valentine's Day setup will vary from store to store, but a Waffle House employee at a Dallas, Texas location says their location will "definitely be set up a lot more romantic," including red lights and possibly even a solo live music performer. In addition to the typical lineup of waffles, eggs, and bacon, they'll offer a T-bone steak special. http://www.eater.com/2016/1/26/10832744/waffle-house-valentines-day-reservations

Habeeni Ben Coheeni Strikes Again Can an investigation from Homeland Security be far behind? Originally shared by **** The ice cream, called "Bernie's Yearning," features a milk chocolate disk covering the top of plain mint ice cream. The chocolate disc is meant to represent "the huge majority of economic gains that have gone to the top 1% since the end of the recession. Beneath it, the rest of us." More: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/bernie-sanders-ben-and-jerrys-bernies-yearning-218185 https://www.yahoo.com/politics/bernie-ben-jerrys-ice-cream-flavor-183039167.html

Futurish Manifesto http://catandgirl.com/?p=5022

The New Frontier Dave Winer has a problem with the Medium being the message. http://scripting.com/liveblog/users/davewiner/2016/01/20/0900.html

By Any Other Name... John T. Edge, the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi, who has contributed to The Times, said he had never heard of Mississippi Roast. I described it to him. “Could it be that it was associated with Mississippi in a dismissive way,” he asked, “à la Ernie Mickler and his ‘White Trash Cooking’ book? As in, this is the kind of food those folks eat? That would be my best guess.” http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/dining/mississippi-roast.html

Coach Says... https://pvcycling.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/its-not-for-everyone/

Authenticity Originally shared by **** WING NUT OR PHONY? In a culture as deeply superficial as ours it is often difficult to tell the authentic from the false. It is easy to sympathize with the phonies, poseurs, affected wannabe’s and disingenuous empty vessels passing off pilfered ideas as original, skating past any serious analysis or criticism by others as an ant might slide across a non-stick sauce pan slathered with extra virgin olive oil. Their dilemma is not unfamiliar. How does one stand out in an atmosphere of mass homogenization where, thanks to the constant recycling of mediocre ideas discarded by others, we are reduced to virtual clones, unable to generate anything original or even recognize originality in others? With apps ever ready to do the work and thinking for us, today’s Johnny & Jane Lunchbucket simply don’t have the energy or ability to develop attributes sufficient to earn the name “personality”. So what’s a faker to do? Simple – steal one! This is not as odd...

A Puzzle In Song Shirley Ellis-A Puzzle In Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDWDong_ZMo

Psychoneurasthenic, Too Much TV The Manhattan Transfer-Coo Coo U: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bzuKyxQi8EA Originally shared by Christopher Butler This sort sums up my life experience. And yes, I like to live dangerously, ladies. Just the other day I let my gas tank get down to under a quarter-tank. The line forms to the left. ,':-, http://flip.it/AK8jz

Suicide Is Painless It brings on many changes... And I can take or leave it if I please... Robert Altman said that while he only made $70,000 for having directed the movie, his 14 year old son had earned more than $1 million for having co-written the song. Dr. H. Richard Hornberger (Richard Hooker) "was so furious at having sold the film rights for only a few hundred dollars that he never again signed a copy of the book". Dr. John Lyday, Hornberger's model for Trapper John, came home to North Carolina after the Korean War, and established a surgical practice in Greensboro. Originally shared by The Cloberth “This isn't a hospital! It's an insane asylum.” Three miles from the front line… M*A*S*H premiered on this date in 1970. Directed by Robert Altman Starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould and Tom Skerritt Co-starring Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall and Jo Ann Pflug Screenplay, based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel, by Ring Lardner, Jr. [Laura (1944), Forever ...

Nonpareil Parison Originally shared by Don Komarechka Frost Globe We’ve had a few days this winter with the right conditions to create a certain kind of magic. Cold temperatures and calm air allows the creation of soap bubbles that quickly freeze into solid orbs of frost. During the freezing process, they become something magical. View large!   Last night I spent a few hours experimenting with these. Some complex lighting was done from behind, using a narrow-beam flashlight and a Fresnel lens to place the light exactly where I wanted it. The bubble was blown just above this location and gently placed on the snow. Most of the time, bubbles will burst on impact unless you use a more hardy formula in their creation. The recipe used is: 6 parts water 2 parts liquid dish soap 1 part white corn syrup   It’s the corn syrup that thickens the bubble solution to withstand impact with the snow. It doesn’t work all the time, but when a snowflake lands intact, the game is on.   Freezing usually sta...

The Day After Tomorrow Raumpatrouille: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raumpatrouille_–_Die_phantastischen_Abenteuer_des_Raumschiffes_Orion Originally shared by rik finn Awesome! The Fantastic Adventures of the Spaceship Orion. Great snowpacolypse timewaster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJI4J92Btis&sns=gp

V For Vendetta http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/01/22/my-personal-vendetta-interview-hong-kong-publisher-bao-pu/

Ouroboros Andreas Schou's share of this post has instructive comments: https://plus.google.com/+AndreasSchou/posts/Jgzhb3FJtGj Originally shared by Perry Stroika The unique characteristic of the Chinese system is its willingness to execute massive amounts of its own leaders.  In fact, the CPC's willingness to appease the grievances of the masses with the blood of its own elites is the ultimate source of its strength, it's very foundation.  Despite its troubles, it has proven to be a remarkably durable institution.   The Party, in effect, has managed to internalize and institutionalize revolutionary Terror.  Once upon a time, Mao Zedong rose to power on the back of his ability to rouse a nation of peasants into murdering their landlords and expropriating their property.  Decades later, he roused their children into violent revolt against the government he created.  Now Xi Jinping, a child of one of Mao's high officials, himself imprisoned in that tumult of the Cultural R...

Action! "Cannon films always resembled something.  Minus the taste." "Menachem loved the intersection of ideas that should never meet each other." "Making motion picture... is practically like being in a war. And there is, in a war... wounded." "It was a great celebration of throwing spaghetti against the wall, whichever crazy ideas he could get pre-sells for, those became the movies we made." "Usually, a bad idea happens once, or twice.  These were bad ideas on a regular basis." Originally shared by Alex Scrivener So, this is on Netflix now.

Boot Hill Originally shared by Damn interesting "He was no ordinary man. For 13 years, he was the custodian of the dead." http://www.thestatesman.com/news/india/the-death-of-a-very-tired-man/117794.html

Good Ol' Freda "You can't just close a fanclub overnight," she says. Freda Kelly, secretary to the Beatles for eleven years, looks back in a recent documentary, funded on Kickstarter. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/17/beatles-secretary-freda-kelly-story

Eggs Benedict For The Masses Proclaimed "Otto", profiled in John McPhee's Brigade de Cuisine published in 1979. "He will go big distances for a McDonald's Egg McMuffin. 'It's a triumph,' he explains.  'It's inspired.  With melted cheese instead of hollandaise, it is eggs Benedict for the masses.  I don't know why it wasn't thought of long ago.'  If you ask for a doggie bag in Otto's dining room, your pheasant Souvaroff or your grilled squid aïoli sauce are returned to the table in a polystyrene container that first held an Egg McMuffin." "Otto" was eventually revealed to be Alan Leib, and the exalted eating spot was The Bull' s Head restaurant in Shohola, PA, in the Poconos. http://emdashes.com/2008/08/letter-from-a-1978-john-mcphee.php http://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/2011/08/24/%E2%80%98the-most-incredible-meal-of-my-life%E2%80%99-anonymity-is-delicious-for-%E2%80%98heavenly%E2%80%99-restaurant-owner/ via ...

Lack Of Adult Supervision A fairly detailed examination of Kickstarter's biggest debacle to date, the Zano drone. In which all of the major protagonists absolve themselves from responsibility. Editor in Chief Michael Gorman defended Engadget’s choice to me by noting that its criteria are innovation, design, market appeal, and functionality, “meaning what are the device’s capabilities, not that we have seen it performing all these functions in person.” Strickler says that he has read every email from disgruntled Zano backers, and was often surprised by what he read. “[There’s] seemingly some belief that we require creators to mail us their single prototype, that we spend a week play-testing it and mail it back to them,” he says. “We have these rules for no photo-realistic renderings…but practically speaking, those are hard things to enforce. The system is reliant on backers to make a decision.” While Kickstarter does have some rules — the word “pre-order” is particularly taboo — the...

Midshipmates? Midshippen? http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/01/19/end-midshipman-navy-secretary-calls-gender-integration-removal.html

No Fun Waste not, want not. http://m.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/deer-found-dead-side-road-taken-chinese-restaurant/np725/

#WordlessWednesday #wordlessonwednesday

The Stunt Woman "I was learning photography at the Ministry of Aviation, Harefield.  One of my teachers there was a film stills man and he brought in some photographs that he had taken of some people doing judo.  He explained that they were stuntmen, and I thought, 'Perhaps I can get paid for doing judo as well as shelling out all this money to learn it.' (Cyd, who had been doing judo for six years, was a second dan, which is two grades above a black belt.)" "But on the Avengers, I never thought about getting hurt.  I thought 'I might die .  But I won't get hurt.'  You always believed in your total invulnerability that you were going to do it!" The Perils of Cyd Child (27 MB pdf): http://www.avengersanew.com/pdfs/Art%20Cyd%20Child.pdf Originally shared by O' Pavlo

The Stunt Man One of my favorite films.  Partly because it often leaves you guessing about what is real, and what is not, and that is often the mark of art. You can be pardoned if you didn't see it when it was initially released.  As Peter O'Toole said: "The film wasn't released, it escaped. " As a young man, I collected a few scars and multiple contusions attempting feats of spectacular derring do... It was fun to see a movie with an accidental hero learning the ropes of stunt work in the days before CGI. Peter O'Toole is matchless as the languidly louche cryptic mastermind, and Steve Railsback brings a lunatic intensity to the role of the novice stuntman... https://thedissolve.com/news/4631-peter-otoole-plays-god-in-the-stunt-man/ Not to mention the real stunt man, Chuck Bail, who basically got to play himself in the movie: http://hollywoodstuntmen.blogspot.com/2012/09/chuck-bail.html Although the film garnered three Academy Award nominations, it wasn't...

Paved Paradise Put up a parking lot... Capitalism in action. Plenty of folks saw this coming... http://www.newbernsj.com/article/20151030/business/151039982 http://towndock.net/news/walmart-255-feet-from-oriental http://towndock.net/letters/letters-on-oriental-walmart-closing

Only A Little Sinister Originally shared by Alex Scrivener The logo was widely lampooned as emblematic of the intelligence community's tone-deafness to public sentiment. Incidentally, an octopus enveloping the planet also so happens to be the logo of SPECTRE, the international criminal syndicate that James Bond is always thwarting. So there's that. Privacy and security researcher Runa Sandvik wanted to know who approved this and why, so she filed a FOIA with the NRO for the development materials that went into the logo. A few months later, the NRO delivered. https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2016/jan/19/octopus-NRO/

One, Mississippi... "And whenever you can find anything right in Mississippi, things are getting better." http://jonfwilkins.com/2015/02/hey-look-mississippi-and-west-virginia-lead-the-nation-in-something-good/ Originally shared by George Station Here's a new #MLK item to go with some of the ones you may have seen before. It may also help offset any #Orwellian CNN and FoxNews "specials" that may cross your path today. Watch your backs, people. http://m.democracynow.org/stories/15876

Copernican Model Obviously Shopped... via Pat Kight Originally shared by Adobe We didn't think it was possible to depict the entire universe in an image, but with a little help from NASA and Photoshop, Pablo Carlos Budassi has done it: http://bit.ly/1SGrgj8

Phoning It In A retired poultry and dairy farmer who died on Jan. 9 at 103, Mr. Hendrickson was the nation’s longest-serving volunteer weather watcher. His efforts helped chart the country’s meteorological history as it played out on the East End of Long Island from July 1, 1930, the day Mr. Hendrickson took his first reading, until this past September, when — more than 150,000 readings later — he put down his instruments, his rotary phone and his carbon paper and, on his 103rd birthday, reluctantly retired. On the rare days that Mr. Hendrickson allowed himself a vacation — he and his first wife, Dorothea, won a trip to New Zealand in 1959, courtesy of the Hormel company, as a prize for having bought the one billionth can of Spam — a family member filled in for him. via Kam-Yung Soh http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/18/nyregion/richard-g-hendrickson-who-recorded-the-weather-for-85-years-dies-at-103.html

Fluffeh

The Flaw Of Averages Originally shared by Damn interesting When U.S. air force discovered the flaw of averages http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/01/16/when-us-air-force-discovered-the-flaw-of-averages.html

Spot Of? Spot On I'm found of hearths, and rarely have lived without one. But living without a kettle? Can't do it. Originally shared by **** Why tea is better than wine I would argue that all the things that drunkenness does, tea does better. If alcohol helps you forget, tea helps you remember. TV is good, but never great, without tea. Chat is never great without tea. Birth and death require it – the best cups I’ve ever had were in a backless paper gown. Alcohol enables big talk, but tea is for small conversation, and that’s the good bit that makes us know each other. Alcohol is sound and fury, tea is thoughtful and full of pause, even if the thoughts are centred around a KitKat, maybe two. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/17/why-tea-is-better-than-wine-and-other-difficult-truths-eva-wiseman

Mustang Court The unacknowledged part of this is that "real" law is so convoluted and inaccessible at times, that it's hard for an earnest person to tell the difference. Originally shared by **** “To me it’s the equivalent of somebody giving shitty alternative health advice. This is alternative legal advice. I have seen people get themselves into a lot of stupid, unnecessary trouble following this kind of bullshit argument.” http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/01/15/3739909/oregon-standoff-malheur-grand-jury-explainer/

The Mandarin and the Hipster Speaking of Myra Breckinridge... an excellent piece about "The Smart Smut of Gore Vidal and Terry Southern". Maybe I should watch Myra and the Magic Christian after the debate... http://www.tinhouse.com/blog/16277/from-the-vault-gerald-howard-on-gore-vidal-terry-southern.html

Television Would Never Be The Same I can remember these debates.  They did not rock my world, but I can see the potential for fun here... This review is worth the read, and I'll certainly agree that it's pretty easy to misconstrue the debates if you don't know more about the times and the major players. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/buckley-vs-vidal-the-real-story-121673 Myra Breckinridge certainly seems more topical these days, eh? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzgfQvB2dvA

Whither Populism? "If Mr. Trump heads the Republican Party, it will no longer be a conservative party; it will be an angry, bigoted, populist one. Mr. Trump would represent a dramatic break with and a fundamental assault on the party’s best traditions." http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/opinion/campaign-stops/why-i-will-never-vote-for-donald-trump.html "Similarly, the coalition of free-thinking men and women that formed the conservative movement in the mid 1950s, that made possible a President Reagan, and that continues to constitute a political movement more staunch in its support for free markets, a limited government, and the sanctity of human life than any other in American history could hardly include Donald Trump in its litany of heroes. What definition of 'conservative' could encompass Bill Buckley and Donald Trump?" http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429802/trump-hillary-match-vote-trump-hands-down And here I was, thinking that Bernie Sanders was ...

Putting Up A Good Front Originally shared by Jennifer Ouellette The 17th-Century Breastoration: A Time Before Bras http://thehairpin.com/2011/07/the-17th-century-breastoration-a-time-before-bras/  … http://thehairpin.com/2011/07/the-17th-century-breastoration-a-time-before-bras

What's The Frequency, Kenneth? Maybe humans need TBCs, just like analog video tape did... Originally shared by Damn interesting

Purge The Angry Orange Man via Meg L  Originally shared by Jim Philips Some Chinese satirists covered last night's Republican debate on Twitter. It was hilarious! http://www.vox.com/2016/1/15/10775028/republican-debate-2016-china

Bonnie, The Bump Band, Sippie Wallace, and the other Mac Rebennack, that is...  Dr. John was in the house... From the David Letterman show back in 1982. Whoo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QMbSSIo5ik

Brushed His Teeth "We're playing these little clubs, these old theatres," continues Bragg in his thick Cockney accent. "Mac would always brush his teeth before he went on. I used to laugh at it and think, 'That's so old school.' "Y'know wot? I find myself doing it now. I realized, 'This is a pro who knows he's not just walking out there. He's going to a special place. He's doing something really important, and he wants to look his best.' "And by God, he was always immaculately turned out. One of my guitar players used to take photographs of his shoes underneath the Hammond – just his shoes. They looked so great, poking out from underneath the organ. "Whether he was in a big auditorium or a tiny little club, or a backstreet boozer in England, he brushed his teeth, he put his best shoes on, polished them, and went out there and played his heart out." He's another one of those that I'm going to miss for a l...

"Not For Sissies" http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6836342/bonnie-raitt-dig-in-deep-album-election Bonnie Raitt has a new album coming out February 26! On tour beginning in March! http://www.bonnieraitt.com/article/dig-deep-tour-now-sale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzNSgAQR9yg

Breezy Originally shared by Sail Universe http://wp.me/s6JUy6-2569

Left Behind Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh Heh...};-) "Travelodge, a British hotel chain, recently released its annual list of some of the bizarre items forgotten by its guests. The list includes a bag full of prosthetic limbs, a suitcase of designer Jimmy Choo shoes, a house made out of bread and a Shetland pony named Pudding. People have also checked-out without remembering to take companions with them, leaving friends or relatives stranded in hotel rooms. This is a mistake that even world leaders are prone to; David Cameron, the British prime minister, left his eight year old daughter behind in a pub after he had popped there for lunch in 2012. [...] Another hotel room staple, it seems, are sex toys and dolls. According to a survey by laterooms.com last June, these accounted for 30% of items that are left behind. There is a good reason for this. If you happen to leave your phone behind you might be inclined to go back and pick it up. If it's a blow-up sheep you will no...

Fell You With A Look, or Lift You With A Word "I saw news of his passing online , cursed for ten minutes straight, found reference and jumped in. it took about 45 minutes from start to finish, which is why it’s so damn rough. I decided that actually worked for the portrait, so I didn’t start over or do a variant." Originally shared by Ralf Haring by Bill Sienkiewicz https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=938718019498288

Zero (Degree) Day http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/01/14/software-bug-shuts-down-nest-thermostats-turns-off-heating-for-unlucky-customers

Show of Hands Originally shared by Yonatan Zunger When Owen asked C-3PO if he spoke the binary language of moisture vaporators, the proper answer for him to give (in binary) would have been "with neither too many hands nor too few," that being the idiom for speaking politely and properly. Moisture vaporators use their hands as communication ports, each finger transmitting or receiving a single channel, and touch hands to one another in order to speak; if you were to speak with more hands than the listener had available, they would miss part of what you were saying, and (especially if that were crucial metadata) they would not be able to understand you. Conversely, if you spoke with fewer hands than they listened with, your transmissions would be slow, stilted, taking far too much time. Speaking with the appropriate number of hands is a key aspect of their culture. But as with many societies, etiquette conceals notions of class: the number of hands a moisture vaporator has is ...

A Man For All Seasons http://www.scotsman.com/news/a-man-for-all-seasons-1-1414715

"Go on, say so and so..." "No." Edith Bowman interviews Alan Rickman.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD0XUBfp7vE

Truly, Madly, Deeply Damn. I haven't seen A Little Chaos, yet, his second directorial turn... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/11544514/alan-rickman-a-little-chaos-interview.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/11544514/alan-rickman-a-little-chaos-interview.html http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/alan-rickman/245461/alan-rickman-interview-a-little-chaos-villains-doctor-who http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/14/alan-rickman-giant-of-british-film-and-theatre-dies-at-69

Cool Jerk Catering to the Jerky Junkies of Amurrica... "...proudly dressed in People Eating Tasty Animals (PETA) t-shirts" Get you some Antelope in a Stick... The Capitols-Cool Jerk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27PydomerjM http://www.wral.com/beef-jerky-outlet-opens-in-garner/15227195/

When The Go Along, Get Along Just Won't Do Originally shared by Andreas Schou On Not Being Evil: Making Ethical Decisions Under Pressure This is really illuminating. Intense social pressure and the routinization of ethical decision-making easily lead to profound ethical failure. So, ten rules I try to follow to keep that from happening:  (1) You cannot exercise ethical judgment if you cannot quit when overruled on an important ethical issue. Save enough money that you can actually exercise judgment. (2) Expediency is not ethics. Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes the ethical thing to do is expedient. Don't take the easy road, but don't be hostile to expediency just because expediency isn't ethics. (3) Important decisions are measured in profound human misery. Very important decisions are measured in human lives. Face that down early, then make sure you continue to feel what that means. Understand that you will have to make these decisions regardless. (4) Circumstanc...

A Particular Set Of Skills JarJar's voice doing a Liam Neeson monologue from Taken. Worth it. Originally shared by Eric Hansen "George wanted to make a movie for 20-30 years, not one. Kids loved jarjar." Still doesn't get it. No one 'loves' jarjar. No one. http://www.avclub.com/article/guy-who-played-jar-jar-binks-totally-gets-why-audi-230642

Outbreak Build Your Word Power. #NotWordlessWednesday   #NotWordlessOnWednesday   From the Davie Times, Mocksville, NC, 1883.

Na na na na Na na na na BATMAN! Originally shared by lynn paden on this day, 50 years ago, batman premiered on abc.  interestingly enough, it was a riddler episode that started it all off..... with frank gorshwin, and jill st john. a taste of hi diddle riddle can be found here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FGt0SwUL3Q

Daisy, Daisy Siri: HAL made some very poor decisions, I'm afraid. But at least he could sing. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you'd like to hear it I can sing it for you." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiIFeru-ufQ via Andrea Monticue  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiIFeru-ufQ

Can You Put Haggis And Snails On The Same Plate? Originally shared by Richard Bensam "Music has given me over 40 years of extraordinary experiences. I can't say that life's pains or more tragic episodes have been diminished because of it. But it's allowed me so many moments of companionship when I've been lonely and a sublime means of communication when I wanted to touch people. It's been both my doorway of perception and the house that I live in." Apart from the above quote, it's an extremely funny address.  People sometimes missed just how funny he was. https://www.berklee.edu/commencement/past

Making The Future By Hand via Ailantd Sikowsky  Originally shared by Elton Hom These are amazing! #Bladerunner http://io9.gizmodo.com/142-behind-the-scenes-photos-reveal-blade-runners-minia-1691950942?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Soon Everyone will have an IFB, getting directions from the Control Room at Skynet. When everyone has voices whispering in their ears, telling them what to do... How will we tell the normal from the crazy? Originally shared by **** Klei Borrero says the foundation of the program isn't new. It just puts into practice what she's observed from high-performing teachers. That is, keeping expectations high by only praising outstanding effort. No-Nonsense Nurturing makes some education specialists uncomfortable, though. "Maybe we are doing them a favor by teaching them codes of power, but maybe we're also participating in some kind of, I don't know, colonization," says Barb Stengel, an education professor at Vanderbilt University. http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/10/459372410/a-no-nonsense-classroom-where-teachers-dont-say-please?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160111

Don't Mix The Streams http://www.dieselsweeties.com/archive/3976

A Different Perspective http://m.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/david-bowie-final-in-depth-interview-daily-news-article-1.2492396

Miracle Whip? Doomed. Doooooooomed, I tell you. Maybe, next time, these Heroes of Freedom should just Occupy a Wal-Mart, and see how that turns out. Originally shared by **** The new list has expanded to food item staples including eggs, flour, coffee, hamburgers and hot dogs, french vanilla creamer and assorted condiments including Miracle Whip. http://www.rawstory.com/2016/01/from-tampons-to-french-vanilla-creamer-armed-oregon-militants-update-their-occupation-wish-list/

Low Barrier To Entry http://doonesbury.washingtonpost.com/strip/archive/2016/1/10

Lewmar 30 Panoramic Lens

Flying Penguinis Frostbite Series racing....

Octarine “It is well known that a vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you’re attempting can’t be done.” Originally shared by Tamsin Cheyne If you haven't signed the petition yet to name one of the new elements "Octarine" then here's the link: https://www.change.org/p/iupac-joint-institute-for-nuclear-research-lawrence-livermore-national-laboratory-name-new-element-117-octarine-in-honour-of-terry-pratchett-s-discworld http://gu.com/p/4fjgf?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Google%2B

Today Is Your Birthday! Take a cha-cha-cha-chance... Macca: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjF1bG5LUcs Originally shared by **** Happy Birthday Roy!!!!!!

Aye, Calypso John Denver-Calypso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35x_rwyBh-8 Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh Wonderful news. "The Calypso, the research vessel used by the marine explorer Jacques Cousteau but out of commission after an accident 20 years ago, is to sail again in a few months, according to its owners. The ship became a household name for millions of television viewers in the 1960s and 1970s as it featured in a gripping documentary series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. The Cousteau Society said on Thursday that the vessel would “be getting a whole new life”. It sank in 1996 in Singapore when a barge rammed into it just as it was departing for an expedition along the Yellow River in China. “At the end of the first trimester of 2016 Calypso will be able to leave the ... shipyard, to begin its new life,” a statement said. “Restored, she will sail again as an ambassador for the seas and oceans, as Captain Cousteau wished.”" http://www.theguardian.com/env...

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them "As an example of the kinds of complicated processing the ECU does, he noted that there is a 12KB block of code that is used to ensure the tachometer always shows 780 RPM when the car is idling. Even though the engine is not that steady, car owners want to see that value hold steady at idle, so car makers effectively lie to satisfy them. Domke said that it is clear that lots of different kinds of cheating is going on in the ECU and noted that the speedometer doesn't really show the speed of the vehicle, just something related to it." Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh Sharing this fantastic article (via my subscription to lwn.net ) about how VW gamed the NOx emissions. It details why the testing regime is completely unrealistic and how the ECU [electronic control unit] works to control the car engine and, in this case, how it detects that the car is being tested for emissions. "In an interesting presentation [video link] at the ...