Palate Cleansing

So, I almost forgot that I needed to update this thing. Oh how scattered my brain is when I take a sick day off.
Okay, so I have a few things I have to share to clear my palate of a few things that have been hanging around during my quiet period last month. I know that link dumps are not a favorite of my readership, but it's what I need to look at everything with fresh eyes tomorrow. Oh, and I won't be posting any sort of weird April Fool's joke tomorrow either. Just so you know.

First off I want to delve into the realms of robotics. I found two specimens last week, each invoking different responses. First off, one that for some reason scared me. Here we have Big Dog. Military pack/utility robot. Nothing about the function of this device is inherently scary, but watch the movie, what the movements of this beast... pay specific attention to when it walks down hill and slips on ice. It's too... natural, I think. It's an awesome device, but something about it is just unsettling for me.
In stark contrast to this is ApuriPoko. This little device that talks to you, ask questions, remembers infrared signals and the voice commands connected to them as well as the ability to do them for you, is just too adorably cute, and useful, and frankly, I want one now.

The next few links I have are from scientists. There really isn't a whole lot that I can add beyond their general description. These videos must be seen to be believed and speak for themselves.
First, we find that the world is in fact flat and that the sun circles us. Wait... this all sounds familiar for some reason.
Next we find out where our next threat to our society is REALLY coming from. Those insidious Polar Bears.
This last one is actually a favorite of mine. Doomsday scenarios. This stuff sounds like it belongs in a B-rate science fiction novel... I may just have to write these down for later use. Strangelets... awesome!

My final bit of cranial catharsis is in the form of the Quantum Sleeper. This is freaking hilarious. For those that simply have to have the bullet/water/poison gas/fire/kidnap/nuclear winter proof bed.

So, got lots to go over today. I'll try not to leave it as just a link dump, but that's basically what we have here.
First of all, we look into the world of schooling. Things are much different in school than I remember. First of all, we find that one school set up a Teenage toilet cam. And the kicker? The principal says he knows who set it up, but they won't punish them, even though they acted completely out of line. I'm sorry, but I think any teacher should be fired for pulling this crap.
Also, you all may remember how they down graded Pluto and did a bunch of other crap concerning our solar system, no containing 11 planets and dwarf planets. So that means that a new planet mnemonic is in order.
And finally it just seems that some people watch way too many movies and anime when a 39 year old man thinks he can infiltrate a school dressed like a school girl. To him I say High School is not a cosplay competition.
You may remember that a few days earlier I reported on the ruins in Peru turning out to be just a sandstone formation. Well now it seems that there are more Peruvian ruins that have popped up. Good for them for staying active in finding lost stuff. I wonder if they can next excavate my old house keys.
So... there was going to be more, but after staring at the screen for an hour... I figured this is enough. I'm off to bed. More tomorrow.

Late Link Dump for 01/31/08

Good morning everyone. Lots of ground to cover today and not a lot of time. I apologize for the lack of update yesterday as my actual job kept me rather busy. So, here's the best for January 1st.

Looks like life is pretty dull for Paleontologist these days. Not a lot left to be found to go around, I guess. Speaking of enough to go around, turns out Domino's Pizza has an interesting definition of the word "unlimited".
In the realm of things that are quite limited, recent news lets us know that Gas prices are on the rise again and the final Bush Budget might leave people feeling a little skim on the homelands. We may want to look for alternate power before too long. Someone might drown.

As a gamer, I felt it was time to vote on the issues at hand. Important news in the gaming world... I'll leave Halo and Smash Bros. to everyone else to cover. I'm talking about two old friends.

I have depressing news, and because I don't like to end with this crap, I'm putting it here in the middle.

So we'll follow that with a Random Stat. Again, I love the Brits.

In science and health news, a shot might not be enough, and someone needs to remember to turn the heater off when they leave for the day. Spider volcano Strange things are being sent back to us from the surface of Mercury.

Life is becoming interesting for school kids these days. Quickfire link line: Quiz show classroom, Rove routed, Green Eggs and Ham revival, awesome kid critic, and the great Mc-diploma idea in Britain.

In the realm of human rights, waterboarding has become a hot topic. And people, remember, there are easier ways to research what people are talking about.

Entertainment news raps us up for the day with a quick look at what is theater, and what shouldn't be.

And one last thing...
Isabella Rossellini freaks me out

Link Dump 01/29/08

I really don't want to be just another Blog in the sea of Blogs on the Blogosphere who is just a Blog of regurgitated Blogs. I do want to see how many times I can put the word Blog in a single sentance and have it still be 1) a real sentance, 2) accurate usage of the word, and 3) not overly annoying.

That having been said, there are quite a few things that I find in my daily readings, that are steadily growing every day, that while I may find interesting, have been discussed well enough by those who did it. Thus, link dumps to pass them along to you.

First we start the day off with a story of a little lost shooting star. That sort of incident makes one thing that perhaps New York should rethink some of their current policies. I'm just saying.

Potential good news for cronic pain sufferers. Thanks to the ugliest little rodent in the world. However, it's been my experiance that feeling pain is usually healthy. Feeling pain lets you know that, "Gee, I cut my foot on that rock and am now bleeding out. I should do something about it." But that's just me.

On the scientific front, we find that our design capability far surpasses our power limitations. Well, usually.

In movie news, a great new campy monster film has been bought up by Slamdance to be released. I'm excited.

Parents, rejoice! There is now less reason than ever to spend time with your kids. While your at it, don't forget to leave them a picture of you so they can remember what you looked like.

Random Stat.

A reminder to Big Brother. He has missed his time frame by 24 years. Give it up. Please. Either that or the human race will have to work on alternate forms of communication. Hey, I bet we'd cut the amount of Spam that way.

To close out the dump, one final "OOPS" for you science geeks to chuckle about and a heartwarming story about a super little guy who just wanted to see the world.

That's your link dump for Tuesday, January 29th, 2008