buffoonery

Bill Murray Hosted Tour of Moonrise Kingdom

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:03:20 -0700

Bill Murray Hosted Tour of Moonrise Kingdom

Before there were pedals, there was the ‘draisine’. - TUBULOCITY

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:27:29 -0700

Before there were pedals, there was the ‘draisine’. - TUBULOCITY

Report: Easyjet A319 at Belfast on Jan 6th 2011, taxiway de-icing prompts evacuation

Mon, 21 May 2012 23:18:16 -0700

Report: Easyjet A319 at Belfast on Jan 6th 2011, taxiway de-icing prompts evacuation:

Buffoonery.

Extremely Slow and Incredibly Deep

Mon, 21 May 2012 15:25:59 -0700

Extremely Slow and Incredibly Deep:

science:

Scientists are interested in extremes. The biggest and smallest, slowest and fastest tend to tell us more about the ultimate rules and limitations that govern all of life than the middle-of-the-road. During a recent trip with the research vessel R/V Knorr, scientists found something remarkable. Drilling sediment cores from the bottom of the North Pacific Gyre, a huge system of currents between North America and Asia, they found bacteria living life as slowly as possible.

Normally, oxygen penetrates only a few centimeters or decimeters down into the seabed. These bacteria, however, were living off oxygen more than twenty meters below the seafloor. There’s very little of either oxygen or organic material for the bacteria to live off, so in order to survive, they must live so slowly that they’re barely alive at all. The researchers measured carbon oxidation and assumed that this corresponds to the bacteria’s oxygen comsumption. By counting the number of cells and measuring the oxygen concentration, they could calculate roughly how slowly the bacteria metabolize. This tapered off at 10^-3 femtomoles per cell per day, which equals only seven oxygen molecules per second. That is unbelievably slow. The results were consistent over many core samples from varying conditions, suggesting to the researchers that “these microbial communities may be living at the minimum energy flux needed for prokaryotic cells to subsist.”

The reason the oxygen penetrates so deep is that the sedimentation process is very slow. The bacteria in the deepest layers packed a lunch box while dinosaurs still roamed Earth, and they’re still living off it, as new organic material is unlikely to have entered their realm since then. Since they live so slowly, it’s probable that individual cells are really, really old. This is obviously interesting because life wears down the living, and so the bacteria might have quirky adaptations to be able to repair themselves. It should be noted that no one has studied these bacteria directly, though, so we don’t know (yet) exactly how they work.

Can we please have a SNL sketch of this? Mike Meyers is the...

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:35:00 -0700

Can we please have a SNL sketch of this? Mike Meyers is the obvious casting for Chris Hansen. Darryl Hammond could be Hizzoner Mealymouth McGinn. Comedian/Actor Rob Huebel could play Dow Constantine.

God Bless America Trailer

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:10:12 -0700

God Bless America Trailer

eliotshepard: Source

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:28:04 -0700

eliotshepard:

Source

(via 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962 - In Focus - The...

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:26:44 -0700

(via 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962 - In Focus - The Atlantic)

Aerial view of the Space Needle and surrounding area in Seattle in 1962. The Century 21 Exposition, also called the Seattle World’s Fair, was held from April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962. This year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary, the iconic Space Needle was once again painted in its original “Galaxy Gold”. (AP Photo)

(via 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962 - In Focus - The Atlantic)

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:25:40 -0700

(via 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962 - In Focus - The Atlantic)

The nearly tragic story of how Toy Story 2 was erased.

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:54:12 -0700

The nearly tragic story of how Toy Story 2 was erased.

oosik: Imagine the giant pancakes you could make on Alaska — if...

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:48:16 -0700

oosik:

Imagine the giant pancakes you could make on Alaska — if it existed in relative size to all the rest of these.

The Wisdom of our TV Mothers (video)

Sat, 12 May 2012 20:48:53 -0700

The Wisdom of our TV Mothers (video)

Bumbershoot 2012 3-day pass purchased. Not super excited about the music lineup this year, but...

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:04:00 -0700

Bumbershoot 2012 3-day pass purchased. Not super excited about the music lineup this year, but they’re still adding acts, and there’s always enough comedy acts to draw me in for all 3 days.

Humans of New York

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:25:06 -0700

Humans of New York

DSCF6749 (by locaburg)

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:40:58 -0700

DSCF6749 (by locaburg)

Helga and Clara Estby begin walking from Mica Creek, Spokane County, to New York City on May 6, 1896.

Sun, 06 May 2012 09:39:30 -0700

Helga and Clara Estby begin walking from Mica Creek, Spokane County, to New York City on May 6, 1896.:

Helga and Clara had to battle extreme weather: snow in the mountains, heat in the plains, flash floods, and washed out bridges. An encounter with a persistent tramp near La Grande, Oregon, led Clara to shoot him in the leg, a story Helga relayed to a reporter at the Minneapolis Tribune. This incident gave rise to their press image as tough women of the Wild West. However, although basic facts often varied in newspaper accounts, each described mother and daughter as articulate, well-educated, intelligent women who expected to be given $10,000 if they reached New York by a specified date.

Oh yes. Blood orange san pellegrino. Available at World Pizza.

Sat, 05 May 2012 14:24:24 -0700

Oh yes. Blood orange san pellegrino. Available at World Pizza.

I drive past this company’s Seattle office all the time...

Thu, 03 May 2012 23:26:00 -0700

I drive past this company’s Seattle office all the time and have always wondered about the logo.

It’s the Apis bull, one of the sacred animals of ancient Egypt.

The Novo Nordisk logo

Did You Know

Thu, 03 May 2012 21:46:14 -0700

While in the Army, Edgar Allen Poe received the highest rank that an enlisted man could achieve: Sergeant Major. Normally it would take 20 years to reach the rank of Sergeant Major; Poe received the rank in 19 months.

Howard Schultz Gave Out $3.50 Starbucks Gift Cards: An Insider's Notes On The Shabby Death Of The Seattle SuperSonics

Thu, 03 May 2012 20:07:15 -0700

Howard Schultz Gave Out $3.50 Starbucks Gift Cards: An Insider's Notes On The Shabby Death Of The Seattle SuperSonics:

They don’t sell gift cards for under $5. He had ones specially made that barely (don’t) cover a drink. Jackass.