NASA achieves zenith of achievement, dorkiness in same moment “JPL engineers played Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out” in the control room as they watched new images confirming that the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit successfully rolled off its lander platform early Thursday morning.” From: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html Too funny to be left uncommented upon.

Blue crush! Heterochromia iridium It’s when you have two irises of differing colors. Actress Kate Bosworth sports this. She’s in Blue Crush. I’m watching it right now. The story is pretty so-so, but the surf photography is out-standing. Iris is the ancient Gr∑∑k word for rainbow. Addendum Movie features the Tahitian Hula, always a pleasure for the eyes. Grade of movie just went up one letter. Movie features Fiji, also known as Mount Fiji, formerly of the gorgeous ladies of wrestling (GLOW). I may have to look into buying this. Oh crap, a big sappy romantic moment where she thinks she can’t chase her dream and the guy comforts her and stuff and makes her go on with her dream.

Wednesday was just another day, but the world lost a visionary, a pioneer. One of the most important and seminal scientists of our age, Francis Crick, died on Wednesday. Crick and his colleague, James Watson, are credited with the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid, a substance that we, today, casually refer to as “dee-enn-ay” (DNA) . How much richer is our understanding of the world, our understanding of science with this acronym in our collective lexicon? Any biologist can tell you that - Crick and “DNA” defined the boundaries, the terms, the task of biology in the 21st century. But let me ask, “How much richer are so many non-scientific disciplines with only the mere idea of this substance?

Often attributed to Kepler is a statement of the nature of the following. I don’t seem to have a copy of the Mysterium Cosmographicum handy, so I’ll parrot what I found at goldennumber.net: “Geometry has two great treasures: one is the Theorem of Pythagoras; the other, the division of a line into extreme and mean ratio. The first we may compare to a measure of gold; the second we may name a precious jewel.” –Johannes Kepler I’ve always been a fan of Kepler since I was in Holland and studied 16th century science. As Sagan said, he was the last of the mathematical astrologer or the first astronomer.

I am a strong proponent of the separation of church and state. Occasionally, I have met those who have appealed to the founding fathers and asserted that owing to their Christianity, God blessed these United States, and thus we are a Christian nation. I shall let those who founded the country speak for themselves: “The government of the United States is in no sense founded on the Christian Religion.” ~ George Washington “I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature.” ~ Thomas Jefferson “The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my religion.” ~ Abraham Lincoln “A just government has no need for the clergy or the church.

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/02.08/99-hau.html Mad respect to Dr. Lene Hau who slowed light, stopped light, sped it up, turned it to matter, moved it, and then turned it back into a wave. In short, she has found the key to the formation of matter post-Big Bang and the preliminary tools whereby to unravel the formation of our Universe. Stand back, she’s going to try SCIENCE!

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427306.200-was-our-oldest-ancestor-a-protonpowered-rock.html Stunning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequentative Hm, the Frequentative is interesting. To kissle and huggle one’s beloved is more than an affectionate diminuation. It’s grammatical too.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0730/Monkeys-hate-flying-squirrels-report-monkey-annoyance-experts Until such time as we are free of the oppression of the simian, keep the revolution strong, my brothers and sisters.

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-dogs-see-with-their-noses-alexandra-horowitz"

http://www.sci-news.com/genetics/science-arhgap11b-big-brain-gene-humans-neanderthals-02547.html Astounding discovery the gene that makes gray matter fold upon itself which allows some primates (like us) to have bigger cortices.

This is some great science! https://www.sciencealert.com/the-tardigrade-genome-has-been-sequenced-and-it-has-the-most-foreign-dna-of-any-animal

Why is it that priordial origin stories are so similar across times and places? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-trace-society-rsquo-s-myths-to-primordial-origins/

Spiders use their webs as a sort of external memory device. So spiders kill prey for interrupting their train of thought? Can identify. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-017-1069-7

http://www.nature.com/news/japanese-man-is-first-to-receive-reprogrammed-stem-cells-from-another-person-1.21730 In Japan they’re testing using stem cells to repair eyeballs. In America we’re making coal great again.

Claude Shannon seems to be having a moment and I’m glad to boost the signal (snicker). For an introduction to the beautiful magical mathematical mystery that is signaling check out this “Nautilus” article. I’m reading, at present, the book cited at the bottom as well. http://nautil.us/issue/51/limits/how-information-got-re_invented

[https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/16/indigenous-australian-storytelling-records-sea-level-rises-over-millenia][1] I’ve always wondered about what was going on in the mythological texts which define most of modern religions’ practice. The oral tradition of Australia’s native population has fascinating properties, including error correction. Basically story “owners’” families check that they’ve memorized the tale with proper fidelity. This prevents the “telephone” phenomenon. Fascinatingly, the natives recall a rapid sea rise overtaking ancestral lands ~ 7,000 years ago. I’ll wager that what we call the Flood myth in the Abrahamaic religions was actually sea-rise occasioned by the melting of the glaciers. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/16/indigenous-australian-storytelling-records-sea-level-rises-over-millenia

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/polar-bear-starving-arctic-sea-ice-melt-climate-change-spd/ So glad that global warming is “just a Chinese hoax” per the 45th president.

https://www.sciencealert.com/there-s-a-dangerous-measles-outbreak-in-an-antivax-hotspot-in-portland Infected at Costco and a Portland Trailblazers game. JFC. Die in your compounds or get vaccinated. Leave civilization out of your lunacy.