chuck kottke

Anything can get you, so don't go phobic on stuff! It's because of ingesting uncooked pork, which rarely, but occasionally has tiny worms like this in it.. All that's needed is to cook it properly, and remember to wash hands. But beans are safer, although beans gone bad can be dangerous too - it's all a matter of proper food prep.

:PYes, in an ironic but yet deserved twist of fate, a worm known only as muggie (owing to the bisexuality of most terrestrial earth worms, a gender-neutral name was chosen for the worm at birth from it's egg case) has been found, and after being passed through an NMR, a small but significant portion of native-born women from the island of Easter have been found spiritually inhabiting muggie's brain, causing the worm to have a counterclockwise twist, a preferred taste for nachos without cheese, and a deficiency in the element selenium. All this could have been prevented, if only the egg had decided to roll away from the serious-looking statues on the island, and search for a more spirit-neutral location among the tall native grasses on the north side of the island..

Welcome Osaka Sun to the one-and-only place for all that is Cool and Cold - Play in the known Universe outside of all those other sites! ;->

Let's see.. the global economic meltdown calls for - global reform efforts! Victory Gardens in every back yard!! Extra insulation in every attic, and new auto efficiency standards!! And the glaciers are melting.. so it's time for moving the Polar Bears! End the wars, and save the bears! Yea, that's it!! ?is it really a good thing to live through rough-and-tumble times??

Umm well, alright then! Seems to me that the Vietnam war wasn't all that wonderful, but the student movements and the music were great in the 60's and early 70's! The fall of the Berlin wall was cool too, and nobody got hurt!! Today is what we make of it; seize the moment!

:rolleyes::cool:Bike Driving is Cool Lore!!;) It saves oodles on gas, and it's recession-proof, since there's not much debt involved! I really, really wish I had my bikes back - I kept giving them away to homeless people, and then they kept having them stolen:(. I miss the fun of just pedaling down the road, carefree and full of energy... But on a better note, I'm proud to be driving an older car - 1984 Cavalier by Chevrolet; it only cost me $400 U.S., and has been running great for years. Now I need to replace the left CV joint and get the exhaust fixed, and then I'll be less of a cop magnet on the road..:laugh3: But I have to laugh at all the "high Mileage" claims I see advertised - my old jalopy gets 36-38 MPG (9.5 - 10 Miles per Liter), which is probably low by standards in Chile, but some of the new "fuel-efficient" hybrids being offered in the U.S. get 35 MPG (9.2 Miles per Liter):laugh3:. Funny how we can't even get back to the mileage standards of the 80's..

Gleetings Jenika! Keep those admissions sharp - you might like Chicago - it's a great place, and the University there is top-notch in many area, most notably Archeology. What's your field of interest?? Virginia - I lived there once, but I only know The University in Charlotte just a bit. Great Architecture - but otherwise, I haven't a clue as to their curriculum vitae. Thomas Jefferson's designs, and so it looks really neat..

:laugh3:Yes, a machine like that could be most useful! I want one too!!;) How about this: approaching the view of solar cells from a quantum-mechanical build-with-atoms perspective, and try some fairly off-the-wall ideas.. Like Bucky-balls with silicon discs embedded within them, on carbon nanotube "wires" to support the structures.. Or stacked micro cells, surrounded by electrically connected large nanotubes. Each cell tuned to a frequency, to catch the whole spectrum properly. Or how about an atomic layer that absorbs light, and emits radio-frequency energy, which is then absorbed by a micro-antenna beneath it?:inquisitive:

We live in a beautiful world.. but moving fast in it can be hair-raising at times!! Take it easy, and you know - the first snowfall or two, people are caught unaware of the dangers, so slow and gentle gets you there safe and sound.. I was working on an invention of sorts - a type of hybrid design, where a snow-mobile belt and bogie-wheels could be rapidly lowered from a position tucked-up in the underside of the vehicle, and add traction and control in case the vehicle starts to slide or needs to stop rapidly. The idea I had was to put carbide-tipped nibs on the snowmobile belt, so it could get a better grip on ice as well.. Just my imagination getting the better of me, but whatchya think about it??

Thanks, but I doubt if that will happen - I'm a consistent tortoise, and you might be a sprinting hare! Thanks for the challenge - 19 might take me years at my postage rate!

This show - sounds like a stock formula game show - "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx comes to mind..:P Does a duck pop down from the ceiling with the answer?:laugh3: ?Ultimate car? Like what??:thinking:

:laugh3:That's what I meant - today's music that is popular is meditative stuff like Radiohead, Coldplay, Keane, and "similar artists".. Well, it's all over the board, but it can be meditative.. but I suppose there's always been that genera of music (Pink Floyd, et. al.).. It's really subliminal or subconscious/barely conscious stuff - at that level of effect on the mind..;)

:angel:Hello Carrie:)

A Thread for all the wild creative ideas that are jumbling around in your brain.!:laugh3:

Hope you feel better! Hmm.. Sometimes people are swatting at flies:laugh3: Well, we all have challenges, both immediate and far-off.. It amazes me that we can keep it all together, considering the weight of it all.;)

Popular music today is meditative? 10:29 PM and adding fuel to Baal, the fire god.

:PGobble, Gobble! Turkey could have been our national bird, had Franklin had his way!!;) They keep roosting on the walkway railings outside my back door - and I just can't see the price tags on them!:laugh3: I'd offer to bring one into the house - you know, just to keep it nice and warm - maybe in the oven, if it's chilled a bit.. Wild Turkey is a flavorful bird by comparison, but a bit tougher and with more dark meat. One could raise the vegetables too.. but considering where the budget goes these days - adding insulation and window insulator films / new windows, door sweeps and seals, tune up the auto and drive a little slower (5 mph slower saves a minimum of ~4 horsepower required on average, and at 15,000 miles per year, that can easily total $120 dollars US; probably twice that in UK Pounds at the price of petrol). Using more efficient lighting saves oodles too - ave. US KW-Hrs. per month is around 720 (what's that compared to the UK's?). Getting the most efficient appliances, insulating the home properly, and going with energy efficient lighting can bring that down to 240 KW-Hrs., taking a bill in the 100's down to $50 or less. Vegetables? Raise a big garden! Save over a $1000 per year on food costs alone, not to mention top quality and excellent taste! One needs a good, high-efficiency freezer or food dryer, but it's well worth it, and won't add much to the electric load if it's high-efficiency. In the short-term, getting the home tightened up a bit better, getting good seals on the doors, cleaning the cooling fins on the refrigerator and freezer, and tuning up both auto and heating system can save 100's easily.. Driving gently and just a tad bit slower will save over 100 as well - all money that can be spent on things that make sense, and if a turkey goes up a little, then it's no big deal to be able to gobble during the holidays!:) Have the hot pizza and the cold beer; just not the energy bills!

Is there an energy crisis, or just a brains crisis? What trimming the waste would do for our energy needs is nothing short of incredible, yet we think in terms of production and consumption in a world awash with plenty, and only in need of common sense. The movie Mad Max was neat, but that's not really where it's at.. It's like the days of steam locomotives, with Diesel electrics just around the bend.. Or single pane windows, with double-pane insulated glass units waiting in the wings. The trouble is making the change in times of plenty, before a real difficult time emerges, or the effects from fossil fuels become very serious. If we look at just one facet, we see climate. But of great importance is mercury pollution (which is everywhere from coal burning), oil spills from the sheer quantities, digging the oil sands, and a host of other risks.. I think it's easy enough to make the changes, and with added benefits of comfort and lower long-term costs - getting the honest effective and fair incentives is the real issue..

I was just thinking how amazing it is, all those delicate neural circuits in our brains, needing just the right conditions to work so perfectly - all that we take for granted, and how important that computer upstairs is! Aand, I was considering a design for a solution to the drag inefficiencies with delivery vehicles, vans, and the like - how to get the streamlining without sacrificing their usefulness, and maintain easy access to the cargo area.. I would consider a patent, but the animal already exists (literally, how the shell of a beetle opens up, and it's shape) All the answers are contained in nature - either the nature we create, or the nature that already is.

Mellow, but not quite sleepy yet.. TNP likes pancakes with chopped walnuts, dates, and apples.

Can vegetarians eat sea cucumbers??

I will write them some new tunes if there's a danger of a breakup!:P

Thanks Justin! I voted for "Sometimes you can't make it on your own" for it's melodramatic qualities and operatic performance, similar to Coldplay's generally nuanced themes.

Welcome to the place to get your "fix" then! Which songs do you favor, and why??

The media sells airtime/ magazines, etc. based on Controversy. It's just an effective way to get people to read.. If they said something like "Gwen and Chris are perfectly happy together, and their children are happy" would that get anyone's attention? It's a formula that works to sell readership, and so you can only expect as much from the press..