Connecticut River Monorail cars

will all be showing the Superbowl on sunday. They run so quiet and clean it's like they are not even really there.

The Coelacanth

Let's not forget the Coelacanth. They thought that was extinct. I think we have to now admit the Megalodon is out there in large numbers. Based on the fact that another animal wasn't really extinct.

So there.

Fossil vacation

The Travel Channel had a show last night where they went on a guided search for megalodon teeth fossils. (tooth fossils?) Looked like it would be pretty cool. These were the folks featured.

Handsome novelty

A spiny rat like critter discovered in Peru.

Also from Dave Barry

Fugitive Nuns

Somewhere in Greece. From Dave Barry.

Stonehenge

This is pretty interesting. The video is a couple of minutes long. "These are people who knew how to party."

John Batchelor

This was a great radio program. It is now into the new year and no updates on him switching to satellite or some other station. The book reviews contain many excellent book ideas for the next time you are on amazon or at the store. The links section is also chock full of useful links.

Photos

Of nuke-ular tests.

dormant chupacabra

I don't think this fellow is really dead. It's a ruse. Coasttocoast also has a photo of the widely publicised O'hare U.F.O. It's all true.

meteorite

From Coasttocoastam.com this guy takes some cool shots with a microscope.

body identity integrity disorder (BIID)

Sheesh. Via fark.

Link preview

Gator wasn't too fond of the snap preview on the links and Laura hates it. I tried to remove it yesterday and the computer kept telling me in soothing tones that what I was attempting was highly irregular. I will take it down very soon. Will have a name soon as well.

From Jimmy

The Obama Messiah watch.

Black Panther

Chases forester.

Pterosaurs alive and well

And living in Papua New Guinea?

I've got my tinfoil hat on

Otters thwart mind controlling rays.

Via Nationalreview's John Podhoretz.

From the LA times

No less. via instapundit

More from Kettletown

Kettle town state park, Southbury, CT

A few more shots from Christmas camera!!

Rock the Catspa

This is the way to scrub up a cat. That's great.
From Boortz.

Boat show

And fishing too, starts today.

Name the rhino

Baby rhino needs a name and they are asking for suggestions. Also name that cub. 18 pandas need sobriquets.

Melling Hellcat

This would be one hell of a ride. Via Mickey Kaus who is like a democrat with common sense, but I'm not so sure there is a word for that. "Blue dog" doesn't cut it.

Volcanic activity

This link leads to this group of photos of a pumice island taken on a yachting expedition. Very cool.

Hyperion

World's tallest tree? Link opens video.

Little Green Footballs

Has a nice convenient spot for Reuters video links.

In keeping with yesterday's

post on insects in food.

Nerd and Dr.Seuss

First documented use of "nerd" is from "If I Ran the Zoo."

Who knew?

Namaste

Reading a book set in India.

I see

The Clinton reference recieved two posts. That's an enormous response for this blog. I am not at a computer I feel comfortable on for several reasons but I look forward to perusing and responding to this substantial traffic this afternoon!!

Gator sends

This link to an 8th century shipwreck. I have never had carob before but it sounds interesting:

The term "carat" or the units by which diamond weight is measured, is derived from the ancient practice of weighing diamonds against the seeds of the carob tree. The system was eventually standardized and one carat was fixed at 0.2 grams.

Old Robert Ballard interview.

Ballard and the Black Sea.

Ballard didn't find this 8th century wreck but he came to mind with his work in the Mediterranean.

Gator also sent this link to a rare shark film. Another article is here. Pretty cool.

Two faced, four eyed pig

And I don't mean Hillary Clinton taking a break from her contacts. Via Dave Barry.

Swimming the Amazon

This looks like a perilous swim.

Via LGF

Miles Standish

I have been listening to the Philbrick book on the Mayflower and it is entertaining and detailed. Audible is definately the way to go about audio books. Yesterday I heard about Miles Standish killing Pecksuot. Standish was Napoleonic before Napoleon, he had to trim his saber six inches to keep it from dragging on the ground. The relations between the English and the different Native tribes are very complicated, compelling and often brutal. From Wikipedia a description of Standish killing Pecksuot who had made several vague threats involving a knife he taken off of an Englishman or Frenchman, one of a pair:

Edward Winslow quoted in Good News From New England about Standish:
Also Pecksuot, being a man of great stature than the Captain, told him, though he were a great Captain, yet he was but a little man; and said he, thought I be no sachem, yet I am a man of great strength and courage. These things the Captain observed, yet bare with patience for the present. . . On the next day he began himself with Pecksuot, and snatching his own knife from his neck, though with much struggling, killed him therewith. . . Hobbamock stood by all this as a spectator, and meddled not observing how our men demeaned themselves in this action. All being here ended, smiling, he brake forth into these speeches to the Captain: Yesterday Pecksuot, bragging of his own strength and stature, said, though you were a great captain, yet you were but a little man; but today I see you are big enough to lay him on the ground.

Grub

This subject comes up on a semi regular basis. We eat insects and droppings all of the time, plenty of info out there on the matter.

A must have

I can't fit one of these on Rocksy or Shivers but every dog owner needs, not just should have, but needs one of these.

Earbuds

With noise cancellation.

Happy worst day of the year!!!

According to expert "study."
Via Boortz news.

Adam

sends this link to a lifespan calculator at deadoralive. See how your age compares to the lifespans of notable departed.

Another from Boingboing

A link to Flikr and something called high dynamic range photography. Boingboing explains it here. And there is a new one of Tokyo at night.

Cool waterfall

This Jeep waterfall is very cool. Via Boingboing.net.

Tuesday's Science Times

Has bird flu, posh Hampton dolphin wrangling, gold for brass, and something neat from a 17th century botany text.

If the articles fall behind the registration wall never forget bugmenot.com. There is an extension in Firefox that makes registered periodicals almost all a right-click away.

Kids...

Via Drudge, this.

Cancer killing cheapie

From Newscientist something that is too good to be true, really. But you never know. (via instapundit but we're always over at newscientist too, no?)

Mind control article

In the Washington Post, via coast to coast. The portion about the author of "The Women of Brewster Place" was interesting. Frey did some microwave work in the early sixties. Here's some of the clothing mentioned in the Post article. The vehicle grounding strap they sell reminds me of the book The Worst Hard Time about the dust bowl. The author mentions the static electricity during dust storms being so bad people took pains not to touch one another. They also tied chains to their cars to drag along and ground them. So there.

It's good when girls are pro-gun

Mary Katherine Ham on Michelle Malkin's site. She's often worth reading.

Worms for MS

Interesting. Someone received the Nobel prize for using malaria to treat syphilis.

Einstein, tea and blood

In the news today.

Science daily

Neat.

Unexplained

From livescience a top ten.

Hydrogen from PM

PM is worth bookmarking.

M-47 Patton tank-engine car

Sort of through instapundit. Jay Leno's hotrod. And the upgrade.

Generator

Here is a site that posts all sorts of silly generators.

Too much water

Via overlawyered.com which is always ready to increase blood pressure a post regarding the woman who died drinking water in a radio contest.

Paula Abdul

Was up very late before this one. From whoisthemonkey. First link opens directly into video with sound.

Warning

Create your own warning labels. Good for downtime at work. You know you'll print up something stupid.

The BBC

Surprisingly has had people sneak video cameras into mosques in the U.K. and filmed what is preached there. LGF has links. In the comments section someone mentions Laura Mansfield. She did something similar and her homepage is here. Another service along those general lines is MEMRI.org

From newscientist

Plastics not good for mice babies.

Via Newscientist

A list of animals having a rough go.

What is up with owls lately?

From Cryptomundo more info on owls. More from prisonplanet pertaining to the reference in the comments section.

I'm hungry

And Instapundit has a link to some substantial savings at Amazon. They wouldn't help right this second though...

Posts

New post soon. May have time for several tomorrow during work...

Alrighty

Over at Mr. Completely there is some news regarding an environmental act that was strengthened.

He links to the Marten Law Group site. They mention:

"Lame Duck Congress Reauthorizes and Revamps Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act"

There seems to be new room for the feds to charge for national or "regional registration." Federal licensing for individual recreational fishing?

"Registry of Recreational Fishing. Previously, the Magnuson-Stevens Act regulated only commercial fisheries. The legislation will establish a regional registry system for recreational fishers (individuals and vessels). No fees can be charged as a result of the registry until January 1, 2011. Recreational fishers or charter fishing vessels licensed, permitted or registered through state programs may be exempt, if the data collected through the state program is sufficient for federal uses."

We'll see. They would probably just force the costs on to the state license paperwork. Typical government creep. I have zero confidence in phrases such as "may be exempt."

Worth reading

Definitely worth a stop.

Lileks

is always worth reading. I haven't read this one yet but he is consistently good.

Hmmm...

I'm no sleuth but I think that the alien implant man's other item may have a weak provenance. It's almost like they could be some kind of novelty company. Odd.

This is the way it should be

It's not pretty but the man had to defend himself. From John Lott's site. That new Castle doctrine may limit the relatives ability to sue.

'"It's self-defense. He's not going to be charged,'' said Miami-Dade Det. Roy Rutland, a police spokesman.'--Why does something so common sense have to be so refreshing?

I don't think

They will let him get away with selling it.

I could bid

But what if I win? This blog doesn't have a name yet.

Jimmy forwarded

a neat film of Saddam's cat. I'll just link to a site that has it I found on google instead of figuring the whole pasting attachment thing.

Darwin awards

for 2006.

Scary owl

Could be a problem for pets and toddlers.

Hmmmm....

from debka.com:

Two US aircraft carrier groups plus a Patriot air defense missile battalion planned for the Middle East – the Pentagon
January 12, 2007, 7:37 PM (GMT+02:00)
The US military spokesman said the carrier USS John C. Stennis will join the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower strike group will be deployed in the Persian Gulf for a period of months. The second carrier will not just be showing force, but be actively involved in combat operations and providing air support across the region.” US-Iranian tensions are mounting over Washington’s charges of Iran’s disruptive interference in Iraq, which were spelled out by President George W. Bush Wednesday. US forces detained six Iranian nationals in two raids in Irbil, northern Iraq Thursday.

Debka has been way wrong in the past but has also had some info well ahead of the curve. Could just be associated with the troop "surge" but Patriot missiles wouldn't do much against IEDs.

Maybe we are leaving Iraq through Iran as people have been joking.
Probably not though.

Earthcam

Lots of odd spots to peer in on all over the globe with earthcam.

The Norwalk Maritime sealcam streams really well.

No-pasaran

This site has had many interesting posts and links over the last few years. France is looking into the teeth of some serious problems. Google's language tools can help on some of the links from this page although there are times when it works so poorly you just need to give up.

Bomb video

Via instapundit this video is a youtube video on Barcepundit which was a fantastic site after the trainstation bombings. These folks on the walkway during the recent bombing could have had a worse day.

National Geographic

Top ten videos from last year.

Via Blackfive

Which is a good spot to look around, this link.

Rhino birth cam

Via Fark, a webcam of a pregnant rhino. Click under the rhino photo.

Oops. You need to go here to actually link into the webcam of the pregnant Sita.

Not a NASA site

This may be interesting to look in on now and again.

Jimmy sends an amusing link

From scrappleface.

Spy coins?

That's odd.

via lgf which is good for bookmarking.

Ces stuff

at engadget.

Alien babies

I recieved an email mentioning several politicians and the Roswell incident. The proclivities of interstellar perverts is currently not widespread knowledge, but I am assuming they are at least as pent up as "sailors."

The essence of the email can be found in the snopes link.

This "debunking" in snopes does not account for the unknown gestation periods of mixed alien-human/other strains.

Births preceding the "incident" are a peskier matter.

Black diamonds

Are from outer-space.

Gen. Mattis

Victor Davis Hanson refers to Gen. Mattis in a post worth reading today. Here is an article on Gen. Mattis and his word choice from CNN a few years ago.

submarine tanker collision

This is a good jumping off point for info. And worth bookmarking. It is called "the stupid shall be punished."

F-22

Via defensetech.org

Not just for dogs

This is probably good to attach to children or just attach your keys to it.

This could be fun as well.

The trick is really good tea

That way it's so tasty you don't want to wreck it with milk.

This is beautiful

Neal Boortz linked to this on CNN's website. The sanity, literally, of 150 years ago is lost on us now. They truly are running the asylum.

It's brief so I will post the whole thing which is probably against the law:

New Jersey may cut 'idiot' from constitution


POSTED: 3:59 p.m. EST, January 8, 2007
var clickExpire = "01/22/2007";
Adjust font size:
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- New Jersey is to consider cutting the word 'idiot' from its constitution so that people with some mental disabilities won't be barred from voting. State Senate President Richard Codey introduced a bill Monday that would remove language from the New Jersey constitution that was designed more than 150 years ago to prevent people suffering from mental illness or handicap from casting their vote in national, state or local elections.
Codey wants to eliminate a section that says "no idiot or insane person should enjoy the right of suffrage" and substitute with a reference to "a person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting."
Codey, a Democrat who was previously acting governor of New Jersey, said in a statement the term "idiot" is "outdated, vague, offensive to many and may be subject to misinterpretation."
He said individuals with cognitive or emotional disabilities may be capable of making decisions in a voting booth, and those people should not be discriminated against.
"This is another big step toward removing the stigma of mental illness," Codey said.
The proposed changes will be included in a constitutional amendment which voters will be asked to approve in a statewide ballot in November. It must first be cleared by the state legislature.
Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Michael Yon is worth a read

Michael Yon's homepage has this pointed to by Instapundit. He is worth bookmarking. So is Noah Schachtman. From Antarctica this should be interesting soon. The last one was called 75 degrees south and it was good. I'm surprised this stalking engine is still running and being updated alot. This is a very good site from a military fellow.

So there.

Weekend

Dog sitting Cat sitting. Had a great meal at a Tex Mex place in New Haven. Still running around a bit and need to clean something to go to work without smelling like used clothes tomorrow. Well the consumer electronics jumbofestonceayear is on and I think the old reliable is the place to try and tag along.

Glenn is there as well.

I had thought there was some coverage at gadgetmadness last year but they are not on it yet. Oh Gizmo! either. Or Gizmag.

Oh well. They are each worth checking out on their own merits...

Hope this weekend went well for all.

This is just astounding

I suppose it has to be true. Never heard of the guy before.

via instapundit

Chilling Impersonation

I stopped over Abbie's last night. She knows Bigfoot and all the famous types. She did an impersonation of Chupacabra that just froze everyone in their tracks.

Groooaannn....

Typical. Just a rumor at the moment but who wouldn't believe that one?

Mooselookmeguntic

The water in some if the below photos is Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Rangeley lake was also near. We saw some people ripping around the lakes on snowmobiles and we spoke of how wise that was with the ice and the unusually mild winter.

They had some problems up there at the time it seems:

Very Sad.

Maine photos

Just returned from western Maine. Some shots with the Christmas camera, above.