Amazon, or the Ministry of Truth

Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle

The ironies here are obvious. Of all "books" for Amazon to erase from Kindle, it's ones by George Orwell! All I can say is thanx, George, for showing how stupid it is to buy into such a dubious vehicle for the printed word. The old ways are best, folks. Stick with the printed word. At least when they want to burn your books, they gotta go through the trouble of breaking your door down, not just click an menu selection:

...In a move that angered customers and generated waves of online pique, Amazon remotely deleted some digital editions of the books from the Kindle devices of readers who had bought them...Digital books bought for the Kindle are sent to it over a wireless network. Amazon can also use that network to synchronize electronic books between devices — and apparently to make them vanish.

Queen of Entomology

Spider Lady of the Liverpool Albert Dock’s Bugworld Experience spins web of love for eight legged friends

Here's a lady after my own heart:

...Jenny’s hungry housemates include 40 tarantuas, a clutch of huntsman spiders, 20 scorpions, a colony of Madagascan hissing cockroaches, assorted giant millipedes and six hermit crabs....“I’m the spider lady,” jokes Jenny, 26. “I haven’t been away since going on a family holiday with my family because I couldn’t ask anyone to come in and feed them. But I don’t mind. They’re my life...”

I'm in love! Jenny manages the living exhibits at "Bugworld Experience". How cool is that! She even gets to take home some of her charges, ones that need special care, when exhibits are being worked on:

...But she and her fiance – who plan to marry at Chester Zoo – chose their home with their menagerie in mind...

FIANCE! Damn, why are all the good ones taken?

Day at the Museum

Scientists study foes' ways at Creation Museum

Scientists are visiting the 'Creation Museum' in order to learn how they are portrayed:

...The real purpose of the museum visit is to give some of my colleagues an opportunity to sense how they're being portrayed," said Arnold Miller, a professor of paleontology at the University of Cincinnati, which is hosting the conference. "They're being demonized, I feel, in this museum as people who are responsible for all the ills of society...


I'm glad he used the term 'demonized'. That's the way most Dominionists and Eliminationists characterize anyone who does not subscribe to their myopic world view.

Another "Stonehenge" discovered

Huge Pre-Stonehenge Complex Found via "Crop Circles
It's hard to believe that another Stonehenge-like complex has remained hidden all these years. But aerial photography of some peculiar 'crop circles' has revealed just that:

...For such a site to have lain hidden for so long is "completely amazing," said Wickstead, of Kingston University in London. Archaeologist Joshua Pollard, who was not involved in the find, agreed. The discovery is "remarkable," he said, given the decades of intense archaeological attention to the greater Stonehenge region. "I think everybody assumed such monument complexes were known about or had already been discovered," added Pollard, a co-leader of the Stonehenge Riverside Project...

Dinosaur speaks!

Antediluvian politician Eye-of-Newt Gingrich took a moment from his 24/7 foaming at the mouth quest for power to utter this gem. From DailyKos:.

...I think this is one of the most critical moments in American history. We are living in a period where we are surrounded by paganism...

I have to hand it to the jackass, it takes a lot of scraping to get to our level of the barrel. I mean, I was starting to wonder if we had lost our relevance or something, as he's pissed-off just about every other sentient entity on this planet.

Did Alexander do it?

Skeleton 4,000 Years Old Bears Evidence of Leprosy

Where leprosy came from--and how it entered Europe--has been a mystery. Now, evidence from a bear skeleton points up a possible link with an important historical figure:

...The skeleton, about 4,000 years old, was found at the site of Balathal, near Udaipur in northwestern India. Historians have long considered the Indian subcontinent to be the source of the leprosy that was first reported in Europe in the fourth century B.C., shortly after the armies of Alexander the Great returned from India.

In addition, ancient religious texts now demonstrate some medical significance:

...The authors say their find confirms that a passage in the Atharva Veda, a set of Sanskrit hymns written around 1550 B.C., indeed refers to leprosy, a reading that had been doubted because until now the oldest accepted written accounts of the disease were from the sixth century B.C.

Burn'em all, let Allah sort them out.

Iran arrests 104 "devil worshippers": report

Now, I'm assuming this warrants the death penalty:

...The Islamic Republic, which bans alcohol and narcotics, last year said it would launch a crackdown on "indecent Western-inspired movements" such as rappers and satanists...

One Inquisitor, er, I mean investigator said:

"... a Guards intelligence unit launched an investigation into the all-male group about one year ago, leading to their arrest Sunday evening..."The group's aim was to promote irreligious behavior," Hamedi, adding they had posted footage of their parties on the Internet."

Damn that Internet!

Dragons do spit fire!

Chemicals in Dragon’s Glands Stir Venom Debate

As if the Komodo Dragon could not get any more fascinating (and terrifying), some scientists are claiming that they are poisonous:

...a provocative paper to be published this week, an international team of scientists argues that the Komodo dragon is even more impressive. They claim that the lizards use a potent venom to bring down their victims...

The fact that these lizards can bring down large prey, such as pigs and water buffalo, has been attributed to their highly infectious bite. After biting a large animal, all the lizard would have to do is play a morbid waiting game. The prey would stagger off, later to keel over sick, then succumb to infection. However, some scientists have always questioned that scenario. Recently, an examination of the heads of several Dragons that died in captivity was revealing:

...The researchers found the second set of glands in the Komodo dragon heads, and inside they found venomlike proteins. Tests showed that one protein keeps blood from clotting. Another one relaxes blood vessel walls...

These scientists are claiming that this one-two punch--rapid blood loss and drop in blood pressure--is what causes prey to collapse soon after a bite. But some scientists are not so sure, as one points out:

"...I guarantee that if you had a 10-foot lizard jump out of the bushes and rip your guts out, you’d be somewhat still and quiet for a bit,” he said, “at least until you keeled over from shock and blood loss owing to the fact that your intestines were spread out on the ground in front of you...”

Heh! Point well taken. I think the jury is still out as to whether this Dragon spits fire.

Wow, meteors from comet Halley! From SpaceWeather.com:

...Space Weather News for May 4, 2009
METEOR SHOWER: Earth is entering a stream of dusty debris from Halley's Comet, the source of the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on Wednesday, May 6th, with as many as 85 meteors per hour over the southern hemisphere. Rates in the northern hemisphere will be less, 20 to 30 per hour. The best time to look is during the dark hour before local sunrise on Wednesday morning. Visit http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and details...

In the Northeast, we are completely rained in. Maybe some of my southern readers can catch a few meteors Wednesday night!

Obama at NSA

Obama speaks before the NSA today (here's the link to his speech). Some interesting bits.

And we have watched as scientific integrity has been undermined
and scientific research politicized in an effort to advance
predetermined ideological agendas.

...We know that our country is better than this.

That is why I have charged the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy with leading a new effort to ensure that
federal policies are based on the best and most unbiased
scientific information. I want to be sure that facts are driving
scientific decisions – and not the other way around...

On March 9th, I signed an executive memorandum with a clear
message: Under my administration, the days of science taking a
back seat to ideology are over. Our progress as a nation
– and our values as a nation – are rooted in free
and open inquiry. To undermine scientific integrity is to
undermine our democracy.

In reference to the importance of space exploration and the American moon landing:

The scientific community rallied behind this goal and set about
achieving it. And it would lead not just to those first steps on
the moon, but also to giant leaps in our understanding here at
home. The Apollo program itself produced technologies that have
improved kidney dialysis and water purification systems; sensors
to test for hazardous gasses; energy-saving building materials;
and fire-resistant fabrics used by firefighters and soldiers.
And, more broadly, the enormous investment of that era –
in science and technology, in education and research funding
– produced a great outpouring of curiosity and
creativity, the benefits of which have been incalculable.

Here's a bit that will enrage flat-earthers, young-earthers, anti-evolutionists,
and the teabag crowd:

Fifth, since we know that the progress and prosperity of future
generations will depend on what we do now to educate the next
generation, today I am announcing a renewed commitment to
education in mathematics and science.

That is why I am announcing today that states making strong
commitments and progress in math and science education will be
eligible to compete later this fall for additional funds under
the Secretary of Education's $5 billion Race to the Top program.

I am challenging states to dramatically improve achievement in
math and science by raising standards, modernizing science labs,
upgrading curriculum, and forging partnerships to improve the
use of science and technology in our classrooms. And I am
challenging states to enhance teacher preparation and training,
and to attract new and qualified math and science teachers to
better engage students and reinvigorate these subjects in our
schools.

Cool. Here's the link for the full transcript.