2008-08-31
The world is coming to an end ... steal BIKES!
Mystery still surrounds the Toronto bikeshop owner who was recently fingered for biketheft. Igor’s operation alone might explain most of Toronto’s reputation for being the capital of bike theft in North America. His shop was so filled with bicycles that police had to take out second floor windows and lower the bikes out them. Clearly this collection has been growing for a very long time.
His shop even had a reputation as the place to go to buy back your stolen bike - but no one knew for sure that he was the one stealing them. Rumor has it he was waiting for a big energy crisis where the world as we know it would come to an end and he could make a killing reselling the rest.
Watch this video of how easy it is to steal a bike in broad daylight in New York City.
Welcome, Rich White Oligarchs!
I love the daily show and Stephen Colbert, and this billboard strategically placed for the Republican National Convention is right on!Oligarch [wikipedia link]
Keeping it all in perspective
Several years ago, I lived in a 5th floor apt., just at treetop level, and a pair of Purple Finches made a nest on my balcony. For many weeks I watched the eggs be laid, the baby birds hatched and screaming with their open mouths for food.
One day, as I was swelling with parental pride at how large they were getting, I was horrified to see a Blue Jay pluck one of the babies from the nest!
I told my neighbour across the hall, an elderly woman who had lived there for 25 years, about the tragedy and she told me she had had a similar experience. However, she related that her own shock at the brutality of nature, quickly became muted by the fact she was eating chicken at the time!
The pictorial article after the link illustrates this poignant story of life and death.
On the inside looking in!
As you watch this video, try to convince yourself that the front half of the sphere is transparent and that the mural is painted on the concave interior of the farther side. If you succeed, the spin will seem to reverse direction and you'll find yourself inside the painting.
Dick Termes paints murals on spheres. And he does it with a unique "six-point" perspective technique that permits a remarkable optical illusion.
Just under the video is a link to another illusion video.
Honesty: The Date
Another instalment from the Honesty series. Thank goodness that we don't say exactly what we are thinking!
More on the Fat Front
Although we all wish we had a little less of it, fat is essential for managing our energy balance and helping to regulate body temperature.But there are two distinct types of fat tissue: white 'bad' fat acts as an energy store whereas brown 'good' fat helps in burning calories to generate body heat.
Now one team has shown how to promote the manufacture of "good" brown fat, so we can burn more calories, while a second team has shown how brown fat and muscle are linked, suggesting ways to interconvert the two. Both offer a new strategy to fight flab.