Melange

Every now and then I get feeling all "linky" and want to pass some things on, and this one of those nows and thens. All kinds of interesting things to read about on these here interwebs...

Happy New Year
It's the year of the rat, if you're of the Chinese persuasion. There is a whole lot more Asian culture of all varieties here in Silicon Valley, so I'm working on learning more of these cultural type things. For an astronomical spin on the current celebration, I recommend Astroprof.

Terrorism
It turns out that terrorism really was born in the Middle East. Apparently, it's been proven that domesticated cats come from there. Sure, it starts with puking up bits of houseplants, but the pattern of shoe eating and furniture destruction (not to mention biological warfare including "out of the box" thinking) is pretty clear. Talk about escalation! Al Quaeda are just the tip of the iceberg, I tell you.

Something Fishy
Yes, I've mentioned it before, but I'd like to say again that I highly recommend Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish. What a great read! I learned so much, and aside from a better understanding of our planet's fauna, I can also dazzle my friends at parties. D'you know where the bones in your ear came from? I do! And you can too... In a similar vein, as recommended by my brother, I point in the direction of an interesting article on viruses.

Fundy Mental
We're expecting to spend the end of June in a place with some of the most impressive tides in the world. This is due to the impending nuptials of our good friend Job to the lovely Sarah. Not only will there be a wedding, but we can go looking at fossils and other such wonders. And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't point to a blog about the place, too.

Atheists are People Too
One of my favorite bloggers suffers from Lupus, and it stinks. I had been reading her blog for a few months before I realized she was living with this, which either says I'm very oblivious or she's a brave person. I prefer the latter, and suspect it's more true too. Anyway, after realizing that PMomma's sun sensitivity was keeping her from being with her 4 great kids in her own house, fellow blogger Berlzebub took up a collection. Happily, loyal readers have donated plenty toward getting getting some high-class UV-blocking film installed on windows. Hopefully, this will allow a really great family a bit of the normalcy of which Lupus has so unkindly robbed them. And this would not be a complete entry without mention that 3M has given a very nice discount and the gentleman doing the installing is also wonderful and kind.

That's my round-up for today. Hope you're all having a good week!