http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 ... holes.html

Maybe we need a "cool science/geek news" thread?
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

The Inquirer: http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/ ... utters-tip]Han Solo ties the knot as Chewbacca, Obi Wan Kenobi look on

(Follow the link to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1955054 ... world.html]the Telegraph story for a photo and more details.)

Sorry, folks - you're geeks.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

...I have no words to describe
the awesome.

--Sam

"How the hell did I do that?"

Is the Steve Jackson website down (www.sjgames.com)? I haven't been able to access it in over 6 hours, and a new turn
on the Ultracorps game is coming up.

I hope it is just a temporary problem with their site rather than something with my service provider. For some reason, I haven't been able to access a
certain Potter fan site in six months (www.siye.co.uk), despite the fact that others can access it just fine.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

ETA2: Thanks to all y'all who donated money to support the ride. It was a fantastic event with
around 1700 riders, raising close to $2 milllion!

ETA: Just a reminder to all of you who said "That's a good cause, I'll do that...
later" that the ride is in 2 weeks and I'd really, really, really like to meet my goal before then. Thanks.
-Z

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with MS. That's why I registered for the Bike MS Ride, a 150 mile ride from Boston to
Provincetown, and why I'm asking you to support my fund raising efforts with a tax-deductible donation.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to creating a world free of MS but they can't do it without our help. It's faster and easier than
ever to support this cause that's so important to me. Simply click on the link at the bottom of this message. If you prefer, you can send your
contribution to the address listed below.

Any amount, great or small, helps to make a difference in the lives of people with MS. I appreciate your support and look forward to letting you know how I
do.



If you would like more information about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, how proceeds from MS Bike Ride are used, or the other ways you can get
involved in creating a world free of MS, please visit www.msnewengland.org.

Support MS Research.
Sponsor My Ride.

Why We Fight MS

Having multiple sclerosis means that you may suddenly have blurry vision. Or that your memory will fail you for no apparent reason. Or that
you may not always be able to walk, let alone ride a bike. The symptoms of MS are different, and devastating, for everyone - the only certainty is that it will
affect yet another person every hour of every day.

Why I Ride

I've registered for the MS Bike Ride because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed - and because I want to do
everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis
occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

Why You Should Sponsor Me
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Central New England Chapter will use
funds collected from the MS Bike Ride to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living
with MS today. Because we can fight this disease by simply riding a bike, because we have chosen to help thousands of people through a contribution to the MS
Bike Ride, we are now getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, "You have MS."
-Z, Post-reader at Medium
----
If architects built buildings the way programmers write programs, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.

No, but it's about the coolest thing ever.

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

Epsilon

My inner eight year wants one.

What the heck was happening Tuesday night (5/13/08) to pull 48 people in all at once?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

I had this little Harry Potter altiverse idea not long ago, and in recently thinking about it, I thought I would use it as the basis of an experiment. The idea is a mere seed, a "what if" that dates back to some of the oldest scenes we see in the books -- what I'd like to do is throw it out, and let people develop the course of the alternate history it spawns, by suggestion, debate and consensus. And maybe along the way we can find a story to tell in that altiverse.

Sound interesting or fun? Good.

Okay, here's the seed:

Young Severus Snape falls in love with Petunia Dursley, not Lily.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

Not content with proclaiming that if aliens existed, they would have souls, the Vatican Astronomer has now proclaimed that it is in fact possible, and not
contradictory to scripture, for aliens to exist.

Quote: The Pope's chief astronomer says that life on Mars cannot be ruled out.

Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space.

Father Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory near Rome, is a respected scientist who collaborates with universities around the world.

The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God.

The official Vatican newspaper headlines his article 'Aliens Are My Brother'.

'Free from sin'

Just as there are multiple forms of life on earth, so there could exist intelligent beings in outer space created by God. And some aliens could even be
free from original sin, he speculates.

Asked about the Catholic Church's condemnation four centuries ago of the Italian astronomer and physicist, Galileo, Father Funes diplomatically says
mistakes were made, but it is time to turn the page and look towards the future.

Science and religion need each other, and many astronomers believe in God, he assures readers.

To strengthen its scientific credentials, the Vatican is organising a conference next year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the author of the
Origin of Species, Charles Darwin.

I just ran across this and couldn't help but think that it might come in handy as a reference for you in some story or other....

http://home.nc.rr.com/tuco/looney/tunes.html - Looney Laughs, Lists & Lyrics. Includes the complete Acme catalog and the lyrics to all the songs featured
in the Warner cartoons.
-Z, Post-reader at Medium
----
If architects built buildings the way programmers write programs, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.