Facebook Funnies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrlSkU0TFLs

Another great YouTube video. :) About Facebook. Really -very funny. :)

swirling colors

holla-hooping heaven on halloween ...

More beautiful photos ...

This is wildlife photography at its best. Honestly. Wow.

This is just a quick filmstrip of a few winners ...

This is a link to all of the winners, including the children's category.

For the picture you see here, check out the description from the photographer: 'I was in north Sulawesi, Indonesia, and didn't wash my clothes for days so I could pick up the smell of the troop and be accepted as a follower. One day, a curious young adult came and groomed me. That close, I could see every eyelid flicker, every wrinkle. With a wide-angle lens and the knowledge of what a respectful distance was, I got the portrait I wanted.'

HE WAS GROOMED BY THE FREAKING BABOON!!! Amazing. Just amazing.

More randomness ...

Umbrellas you want during the next hurricane. (click on the link, then click on "outdoor" on the left to watch the super cool video. I totally want to be the guy in the goggles!)

The planter you WANT to get on your next birthday

And of course, a plug for my friends at TuVida - buy local in Baltimore (or just buy from this AWESOME store) http://www.tuvidaonline.com/ - yeah jewelry and announcements and scarves by yours truly! :) (so really this is a plug for myself too I guess... :))

Also, to the guys who tried to steal my pink bike.

#1 - It's a pink bike. What are two grown men going to do with a pink bike.
#2 - Broad daylight outside my office. I don't know how you got as far as you did (almost cutting completely through my braided steel "super secure" cable), but thankfully somebody stopped you (then left me a note).
#3 - IT IS A PINK BIKE! STEAL FRAME! HEAVY! BEAT UP! WHY ARE YOU STEALING IT!?!?!

Idiots ...

Nikon Small World Contest

I know! I know! I'm behind! I'm behind!

Oi!

Couple things. First of all - love the photos on this website! Wow. Talk about some amazing photography!





http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/gallery.php?grouping=year&year=2008&imagepos=35

Terribly Confused

So for some reason I got a very odd piece of mail at work today. Posted from Alexandria, Egypt, I received book entitled A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam. Odd. The front has a picture of Mecca, lit up beautifully, and the Koran, circling around the world and flying towards me. Another flyer, "Seekers of the Truth" was also included as well as a small card from Dr. Muhammad S. Oraby encouraging me to think about the path my life is on.

2 comments here:

1- Who pulled the prank and got this stuff sent to me?

2 - Is is funny that the first thing that crossed my mind when I opened this were: "Bad cover design for the booklet but the pamphlet has a really nice paper stock!!"??

Yeah. I'm a dork.

BUT if you are curious about Isalm, feel free to visit http://www.islamic-message.net/English/index.htm which is the parent site of C.I.M.S. Corp. in Alexandria, Egypt - the people who posted this lovely packet of materials to me. C.I.M.S.= Conveying Islamic Message Society.

Irony: the book, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, was ironically printed in Texas in 1997 and even has its own Library of Congress number in front. So this little booklet traveled all the way to Egypt from Texas (don't mess with Texas!) just so it could get put BACK into the mail and get sent to me in the states.

PS I don't know what to do with this stuff as throwing it away would probably just be wrong of me (I always feel guilty throwing religious stuff away, even when it has been handed to me by the most raving of zealous lunitics on the street). So - any takers??!?!?

UPDATE: as of today, 10/30/08, four other people in my office have received the same thing. AND I am also now suddenly subscribed to VOGUE and it is arriving at my office. No, I don't read VOGUE. No, I don't like fashion magazines. And NO I didn't pay for it. I work at a university. Sure - I get free subscriptions to fundraising magazines - but VOGUE? Really? Evidently somebody somewhere is telling me I need to convert and learn to dress better. Obviously the answer to all my problems ... :)

UPDATE #2 (12/19/08): Thank you to all the people who have commented here/emailed me. Turns out people literally around the country - mostly at Universities - are receiving these things. Random! Anybody else?!? Let me know! AND - if anybody comes up how/why these are coming to us - let me know!! :) Happy Holidays!!!

UPDATE #3 (3/11/09): So interestingly enough I found some more answers this week. When I originally got the packet, months ago, I got curious and visited their website (the one listed on the mailing materials), and then sent an email to the listed contact email address on the site. Months and months later and finally - I received a response! The body of the email that was sent to me is copy and pasted below:

Assalaamualaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakaatuhu,

First of all we are very sorry for taking this time for reply but a technical problem happened in our email database which make some emails fall from the data and your email was one from them , we are very sorry again

We know that you may surprise in who you get these books , we have a project called ( know Islam ) its just a peace project which we want by it to let the people know the true meaning of Islam as we try to

We are an Islamic society that are tired of the one-sided information about Islam in the media and the ignorance in most societies about Islam. We would like everybody, man and woman, young and old, to take a look themselves and read a book about Islam. We are not out to convert anybody to Islam, we only want people to read for themselves what Islam is about, to clear away all the misunderstanding and misconception there is among so many people about Islam.

You may live in a Christian part of the world, where most people call themselves Christians. But most Christians do not really know their own religion, and wrongly think Islam or Judaism is a very different religion than their own. Not so. We invite you to our books. This will lead you to the true concept of Islam and Muslims, and not least help bridge the gap between those major religions.

We have so many free books for you to read on many subjects. We are sure these books will lead you to greater understanding of Islam and what it means to be a Muslim. Only God can lead a person to faith, we just want to make books available and to reduce the tension and misconceptions about these subjects among non-Muslims.

So make contact or go to our web place to download our books in PDF format, or ask that we send you some books by mail. Please tell us what your primary interest is.

Best Regards
Conveying Islamic Message Society
http://www.islamic-message.net/

Steep and Cheap!!

http://www.steepandcheap.com/

How can you not love a website that sells outdoor wear for REALLY CHEAP!??!?!? I'm in love. {sigh}

This is an addicting website, so buyer beware. I have to tear myself away from the refresh button, constantly seeing what is on sale next.

YIKES!

:)

Here comes the Sun!

So I took a brief break here since classes started and my life turned crazy, but, I had to share this. Super cool. In collaboration with scientists at the NASA Space Science lab at UC Berkeley,Britis artists Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt have turned the sun's "hot spots" into soundwaves, creating a 10 minute video that is - well -very cool. Take it for what it's worth - a video of sun flares leaping off the sun with sound attached - not a BlockBuster from MGM. But for any astronomy nuts like myself out there - the video footage alone is wicked. :) Yes - I am in fact a super nerd.

http://www.veryshortlist.com/science/daily.cfm/review/637/Web_video/brilliant-noise/?vp

Preacher with 86 wives gets court reprieve

ODDLY ENOUGH from Reuters makes me laugh daily. This is just another such instance.

------------

LAGOS (Reuters) -A Nigerian court has granted temporary reprieve to an 84-year-old Muslim preacher with 86 wives after local leaders threatened to force him to leave the area unless he divorced all but four of them.

Mohammed Bello launched a legal challenge after local chiefs and Muslim leaders in Bida, a town in central Niger state where he lives with his wives and some 170 children, gave him until Sept 7 to comply with Islamic sharia law, which allows a man to have no more than four wives at a time.

The Islamic preacher said in his petition that the threats violated his right to life and personal liberty.

"Leave is hereby granted to the applicant to enforce his fundamental human right to personal liberty, life and to freedom of movement," state news agency NAN quoted Abuja High Court judge G. Kolawole as saying.

The ruling gives Bello temporary protection from banishment while the court decides whether his rights have indeed been violated. The judge adjourned the case to September 18.

Bello has received a number of death threats in the last few weeks after the Nigerian media began reporting on his unusual marital situation, his spokesman said.

Some newspapers said last week that Bello had agreed at a meeting with local officials to divorce all but four of the women and had asked for time to return them to their families.

But his spokesman denied the reports and said the preacher intended to marry more wives instead.

His case has stirred controversy in Africa's most populous nation of 140 million people, roughly half of whom are Muslim. Many Muslim scholars say Islam allows men to have up to four wives at any given time who must be treated equally.

(Writing by Tume Ahemba; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Sami Aboudi)

Out of touch.

Took a quick break from reality to visit with friends from the other side of the world. Had a Spaniard and a Kiwi sharing my living space for the past 4 days - what a fantastically fun experience. Good food, lots of wine, site-seeing all of the places I feel like a local, great conversation and tears from laughter. Claire and Emma - you were wonderful guests. I will miss you dearly. Good luck on the rest of your travels.

That said - I have many posts to catch up on and many links to pass along. In honor of Claire and Emma though, I do want to pass this along as I find it a great way to travel and a wonderful idea. Perhaps I am an idealist, but if we all took some time to talk to people from other countries, did some global networking and even gave people who needed a couch a place to sleep for a night, this world could in fact be a better place.

http://www.couchsurfing.com/

One Hundred Push-ups!!!

One Hundred Pushups -- http://hundredpushups.com

Want to be able to do 100 pushups at one time? According to this site it is a possibility - and doable in a 6 week time frame.

Anybody want to try it?!? :)

Flesh Ingredients

Another random website for you. Fleshmap.

Somebody out there decided to do a "data visualization" of the egregious areas of the body. Fleshmap literally maps the sensitivity levels for over 700 individual points on the body. You get front and back views.

What I found to be the most amusing about the whole website though is where they map out popular music, giving you photos of body parts that are most mentioned in that genre of music.

Oh yes and for scientific purposes - if you are interested in their methodology, you can read about that here too.

Thoughts? Comments? Reactions? Is there anybody out there? Hello? Hello? Is this thing working?

Petyak Pet Pygmy Rhino

My brother and I were talking about wild animal pets this morning, and the following comment ensued ...
ryan: new favorite animal

pygmy RHINO!

WOW

me: haha

ryan: no more french bulldog

... christy and i are gettting a pygmy rhino

we will never have to worry about someone breaking in

that horn

wow

First of all, Ryan, you are NUTS.

But for fun I had to see what his finance would say. So, copy, paste, presto, change-o, I sent the IM conversation to Christy and her response had me laughing out loud at my desk. So of course, after asking her permission, I had to share! :)

On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 11:27 AM, Christy Engstrom wrote:

there are no words sometimes...however..our pygmy rhino will live at the zoo and our french bulldog will be our pet..

this is exactly why god created woman..... haha

I love these two!

(Caption for photo Creator Comments: After years of genetic engineering and testing, the first Pygmy Rhino to survive to adulthood was received last month by construction magnate J.T. Smith. The project of creating a "pet" rhinoceros was a massive undertaking by many of the world's leading minds and was financed solely by the eclectic Mr. Smith himself. "I hope to have many of the earth's large beasts recreated in this manner," said Smith. "It is my dream for every household that wants one to someday have one. I'd like to see the boring pets of today replaced by these breakthrough wonders of science and technology. These are the dogs and cats of tomorrow.")

The happy couple (minus the pet rhino or french bulldog)



Follow up conversation:
me: (check your email ... i had fun over my lunch break)

ryan: yeah ... i got it.

i want one.

and i read what christy said ... she doesnt see the big picture.

when its spiking someone that broke into our appt she would be happy!

me: haha

true

what about the dog though?

2:44 PM would the dog and the rhino get along?

ryan: of course ... roughly the same size

they would frollock together

me: the horn might be a problem

ryan: no ... only for love

we would work with him

2:45 PM me: your house is going to be a zoo

ryan: just like dogs have sharp teeth, the rhino has a sharp horn.

only use when necessary

alright toodles

me: bye

Kitchen FUN!

http://www.fusionbrands.com/

Silicone in the kitchen. FUN!!! :) And somebody in the creative department had a lot of fun with the videos for these! Kudos there.

But really. Shouldn't cooking be fun? And having fun, collapsible cooking wear is always a bonus too.

Did I mention I LOVE GADGETS!! :)

Let's hear it for the kiwis!

Gotta love the tree huggin' kiwis! :) I MISS YOU GUYS!


http://energy-conservation.suite101.com/article.cfm/air_new_zealand_considers_jatropha

Air New Zealand Considers Jatropha

Airline Company Desires an Environmentally Sustainable Fuel Source

Jun 10, 2008

Air New Zealand is progressing in its goal to produce an environmentally sustainable aircraft fuel. Jatropha based fuel shows promise as a replacement for jet fuel.

Air New Zealand may be leading the aviation industry in its pursuit of new, environmentally sustainable fuel source. The answer appears to be fuel produced from a plant called jatropha and Air New Zealand expects to use a million barrels a year of the new fuel by 2013.

In announcing the company's plans, Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe says, "Air New Zealand is absolutely committed to being at the forefront of testing environmentally sustainable fuels for use in aviation and we are confident that our hard work with partners like Boeing together with the efforts of many of our peers will see a step change sooner than many people realize. This fundamental shift in fuel options should be embraced by the industry and we aim to see at least ten percent of our total annual needs coming from environmentally sustainable fuels by 2013."

Flight Testing of Jatropha

In cooperation with aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Air New Zealand has scheduled flight tests using a 747-400 equipped with Rolls Royce engines for later in 2008 pending regulatory approval. This will be the world's first flight test using jatropha fuel on large passenger aircraft.

Environmental Sustainability

Air New Zealand has approached its alternate fuel project with a set of three social, technical, and commercial criteria that must be met before jatropha will be used as a fuel. Socially, cultivation of the fuel source must not compete for land used to produce existing food stocks. Technically, fuel produced must be equivalent to what is currently being used. Commercially, the cost of the alternative must be competitive and supplies readily available.

Jatropha Plants

Jatropha curcus plants are described as growing to heights of three meters in difficult conditions of arid and non-arable lands. The plant produces seeds that contain a lipid oil that be used to create fuel and these seeds contain 30 to 40 of their total mass in this oil. Jatropha profile seems ideal for encouraging its use as an alternative fuel source:

• It is resistant to drought and will grow in marginal soil conditions
• The plant is easy to propagate, but will not spread invasively
• It is a very hardy, long-lived plant that can resist frost, inspect and animal damage
• Jatropha plants stabilize soils and can help combat desertification
• It does not exhaust soil nutrients or require rotation with other crops
• Plant yield high levels of oil rich seeds whose production can improve developing economies
• Seed waste remaining after oil extraction can be recycled as fertilizer
• One byproduct of jatropha oil production is an effective natural insecticide

Air New Zealand is making progress in its goal to produce an environmentally sustainable fuel for use in its aircraft. The company's commitment to this research shows a promise for identifying alternative replacements for petroleum-based fuels.

Cupcake LOVE

I dream of cupcakes like this.

All I have to say is YUM!

Only in Wellington

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSWEL11843920080819

Oh my dear Wellie, how I miss you so!

Court gives green light to "boobs on bikes" parade

Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:20am EDT

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand court has allowed a parade of topless porn stars on motor bikes to proceed on the main street of the country's biggest city, local media said Tuesday.

Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the "Boobs on Bikes" parade, scheduled for Wednesday, saying it breached a bylaw banning offensive public events.

But Judge Nicola Mathers said while opponents may find the parade offensive or tasteless, the fact that 80,000 people had gathered for a similar event last year meant a significant number of people did not agree with the critics, New Zealand Press Association said.

The parade on Queens St., featuring leather-clad local and international porn stars, is part of an "Erotica Expo" organized by self-styled "porn king" Steve Crow.

(Reporting by Kazunori Takada; Editing by David FOX)

Ideal Bite Website

Ideal Bite - http://www.idealbite.com/

Want to be greener? Gives you easier ways to start doing so! :)

Shout out to Mark Stewart - the original GreenCampusGuy.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Oh yes - and since the below posting was, well, rather serious, I figured to follow it with a fun 'other' website. Since my friends always tell me I must be on drugs, I decided to find out which might be the best kind for me.

Drug Test - http://thelegendautogroup.com/drugs/drugs.php

So what kind of drugs should you be on?!?! :) (the website recommends LSD for me)

Hardest of Decisions

And so it's over. 23 weeks of training has come to and end, and my goal will not be achieved. At least not this year. This past weekend I made the hardest of decisions.

As many of you know I've spent the past spring and summer training for what was to be one of my greatest accomplishments - a half ironman triathlon. This was of course after I got hit by a car last August and that tri season was cut short by the wrist surgery I had to undergo (screw in the scaphoid bone - congratulations I am now .00001% titanium). So this year, screw international distance tris, I wanted to go bigger and better. I wanted to do the half iron.

So I started training like I have never trained before. Swim, bike, run. Swim, bike, run. And I loved it.

Sadly, my body didn't. Tendinitis in my elbow was first (too much rock climbing and swimming). ITBS (iliotibial band syndrome) was next, brought on by a bad pair of shoes. Many doctors and physical therapy appointments later, the knee is not imporoving. It feels like somebody is taking a knife and driving it into the side of my knee. Some days it only hurts when I try to run. Some days I can't even sit at my desk without being unbelievable amounts of pain.

So this weekend I gave it one last try. I went for a 30 mile ride hoping that, against all odds, this race might still be possible. Every time I tried to speed it up, the knee flared. So it was at this point I knew it was over. I just simply can't do this now. Before just the run bothered me. Then it was the run and the swim (kicking sometimes causes it to hurt). Now it is all three.

So no more race. No more half ironman. At least not in 2008.

I'm devastated. There was a lot riding on this race. Personally of course, as I never could have actually won it or achieved anything other than finishing it. This was just to be something that I never could have dreamed I could do. A friend from high school recently remarked how amazing it was that I could run 5 miles at a time, let alone find it feasible to do tris - she remembers my battle with asthma throughout my teens. A mile or two was hard enough back then -- 10-20 min of running straight. Now I was trying to do a race that would last 6-7 HOURS. To say the very least, I was never really considered or taken seriously as an athlete. Asthma, bad ankles, bad knees, bad lower back, arthritis in my toe and blah blah blah. My body wasn't made for sports. Now I find out I have rotational scoliosis which could probably be the underlying cause for all the problems. Go figure. Regardless. All I ever wanted was to be taken seriously as an athlete. No Olympic dreams here. No Micheal Phelp's like accomplishments. Hell I just wanted to cross the finish line of a race that maybe 5% of the population ever even try. I was going to be proving to myself, along with all of the doubting coaches and teammates from years past, that I am an athlete. Growing up, I used to laugh and say, "I am woman, hear me ROAR!" Replace "woman" with "athlete" and I guess that has turned into a new battle cry.

But like I said. It ain't happening this year. There will be no half iron finish line in my near future and before long, I will have de-trained so much that a 400 meter swim, 4 mile run and a 25 mile bike will be challenging enough. And that, my friends, is frustrating and internally devastating.

And please - I ask and beg of you - if anybody tells me one more time that it is "just a race", I might blow a gasket. Not the best idea.

So - looking at the upside - now I have 386 days to train for next year's race. Anybody want to train with me?!?!? :)

SO this is it. I am starting my very own blog. Something else I might not have time for in my busy schedule, but I want to give it a shot.

Cheers to the next couple months, kids! :)