Glow-in-the-dark cats and other amusements

I have a few random stories/videos to share that I found last week: Glow-in-the-dark cats This was interesting: South Korean scientists clone cats whose genes have been altered so that they glow in the dark. Because of the red fluorescence protein in their skin cells, these cats look reddish under ultraviolet light. View reports via […]

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Lazy man’s Thanksgiving dinner for two

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, now is an excellent time to share my official lazy (read: efficient) man’s Thanksgiving dinner for two (on a budget). It works for Christmas dinner too! Aren’t able to get home to see the family this year? Don’t really want to leave the house? Too busy to spend all […]

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betterPropaganda and weird music videos

Just want to mention this: betterPropaganda‘s already excellent website has been improved quite a bit over the past month. I’d say it may now be the best place to listen to indie music, find new favorites, and download mp3s for free. It’s like a quality college radio station without all the dead air, mumbling, and […]

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California rolls, cat battles, 300 revisited

I think this will be a short post in celebration of the weekend finally arriving. This was the longest four-day workweek ever. Sometimes there’s just no better lunch on a Friday afternoon than brown rice California rolls, with wasabi and pickled ginger (one of the few “pickled” items I enjoy). A delicious treat every now […]

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Brix, Inland Empire, coconut for cats, South Park

Here are a few random notes to round out what’s been a busy month of August: Check out this cell phone concept, called Brix, courtesy of Yanko Design. Brix modular cell phone can expand into a large-screen display. It’s cool, but probably unrealistic for the mainstream. SciFi.com published a related article this week: “Top 10 […]

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Fertility phones, planting yellow plums, save as PDF

I have four things to share today. Ready, set, go: 1. Here’s some interesting technology news from Engadget Mobile: Samsung has filed a patent application for a fertility-measuring phone. The phone is capable of tracking a woman’s fertile periods. Oh, yes, it’s true . . . by measuring eardrum distance and body temperature. I enjoyed […]

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Body Worlds 3 at OMSI (plus Newport dining)

The past couple of weeks have been filled with regional tennis tournaments and traveling. What’s been great is that the weather in the Willamette Valley this summer (so far) has been very cool and mild. It’s been much more pleasant than last summer (and apparently most of the rest of the country). I had family […]

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Independence Day: Hot dogs and melons

First, I have some, uh, breaking news: Today, at the Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Nathan’s Famous at New York’s Coney Island, the meatstick consumption title was brought back to America. That’s right, the mustard yellow belt of champions has returned to the land of obesity where it belongs. A skinny […]

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Beaver baseball National Champions again (and pepino)

Congratulations to the Oregon State baseball team! The Beavers swept through the College World Series, winning all five of their games. In the best-of-three finals, they beat the North Carolina Tar Heels for the second straight season. OK, you know how I love random trivia, so here are some CWS facts: The Beavers (49-18) trailed […]

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125-year-old whale killed (plus personal watermelon)

My favorite story this week is the one about the 19th century bomb lance fragment found lodged in a recently killed bowhead whale’s neck and shoulder blade. Here’s a quote regarding the weapon found in the 50-ton bowhead whale (which is a conservation dependent species) that was killed by an Eskimo in May: An old […]

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