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http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/37964559/

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:03:04 -0800

The Crab Nebula

A star's spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D. Now, almost a thousand years later, a super dense object called a neutron star left behind by the explosion is seen spewing out a blizzard of high-energy particles into the expanding debris field known as the Crab Nebula. X-ray data from Chandra provide significant clues to the workings of this mighty cosmic "generator," which is producing energy at the rate of 100,000 suns. more...

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/19241740/

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:02:49 -0800

Sticky post...

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Latest fave quotes...

"Atheism, therefore, is the absence of theistic belief. One who does not believe in the existence of a god or supernatural being is properly designated as an atheist. Atheism is sometimes defined as "the belief that there is no God of any kind," or the claim that a god cannot exist. While these are categories of atheism, they do not exhaust the meaning of atheism -- and are somewhat misleading with respect to the basic nature of atheism. Atheism, in its basic form, is not a belief: it is the absence of belief. An atheist is not primarily a person who believes that a god does not exist, rather he does not believe in the existence of a god."

~ George H. Smith
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Are we atheists passionate about something? Hell, yes. I'm passionate about atheism, but atheism isn't about nothing: it's about valuing reason over superstition, about conquering unfounded fears, about facing the real world without crutches and lies to hold you up. I'm sure someone is going to sit there and dissect the letters of the word and tell me that atheism means only an absence of belief in gods, but screw that -- it's about a whole philosophy of thought that is built on materialism and naturalism. It is an idea with substance.

~ PZ Myers
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"Yes. Oh... I believe they had a device known as a... clutch.
Clutch, Captain. Perhaps one of those pedals on the floor."

~ Spocko
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[goto contraption] [random jumperizer]

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/37563396/

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:19:23 -0800

Happy Birthday, USMC. Semper Fi!

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/37439434/

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:24:36 -0800

Remember the 5th of November!

At about midnight on the night of November 4-5, Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, found Guy Fawkes lurking in a cellar under the Parliament building and ordered the premises searched. Some 20 barrels of gunpowder were found, and Fawkes was taken into custody. During a torture session on the rack, Fawkes revealed that he was a participant in an English Catholic conspiracy to annihilate England's Protestant government and replace it with Catholic leadership.

What became known as the Gunpowder Plot was organized by Robert Catesby, an English Catholic whose father had been persecuted by Queen Elizabeth I for refusing to conform to the Church of England. Guy Fawkes had converted to Catholicism, and his religious zeal led him to fight in the Spanish army in the Netherlands. Catesby and the handful of other plotters rented a cellar that extended under Parliament, and Fawkes planted the gunpowder there, hiding the barrels under coal and wood.

As the November 5 meeting of Parliament approached, Catesby enlisted more English Catholics into the conspiracy, and one of these, Francis Tresham, warned his Catholic brother-in-law Lord Monteagle not to attend Parliament that day. Monteagle alerted the government, and hours before the attack was to have taken place Fawkes and the explosives were found. By torturing Fawkes, King James' government learned of the identities of his co-conspirators. During the next few weeks, English authorities killed or captured all the plotters and put the survivors on trial, along with a few innocent English Catholics.

Guy Fawkes himself was sentenced, along with the other surviving chief conspirators, to be hanged, drawn, and quartered in London. Moments before the start of his gruesome execution, on January 31, 1606, he jumped from a ladder while climbing to the hanging platform, breaking his neck and dying instantly. more...

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/37279359/

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:30:55 -0700

Happy Halloween!

Count Dracula is a centuries-old vampire, sorcerer and Transylvanian nobleman, who claims to be a Hungarian descended from Attila the Hun. He inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. Contrary to the vampires of Eastern European folklore which are portrayed as repulsive, corpse-like creatures, Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm which masks his unfathomable evil.

In his youth, he studied the black arts at the academy of Scholomance in the Carpathian Mountains, overlooking the town of Sibiu (also known as Hermannstadt) and became proficient in alchemy and magic.

Using the black arts, Dracula returned from death as a vampire and lives for several centuries in his castle with his three wives for company. more...

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/36531853/

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:07:33 -0700

Wish you were here!

Ground control to major tom
Ground control to major tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground control to major tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may gods love be with you

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five,
Four, three, two, one, liftoff

This is ground control to major tom
Youve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now its time to leave the capsule if you dare

This is major tom to ground control
Im stepping through the door
And Im floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet earth is blue
And theres nothing I can do

Though Im past one hundred thousand miles
Im feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell me wife I love her very much she knows

Ground control to major tom
Your circuits dead, theres something wrong
Can you hear me, major tom?
Can you hear me, major tom?
Can you hear me, major tom?
Can you....

Here am I floating round my tin can
Far above the moon
Planet earth is blue
And theres nothing I can do.

Space Oddity by David Bowie

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/36112610/

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:58:27 -0700

Wolverine Returns

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/25203829/

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:20:02 -0700

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/35721531/

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:22:05 -0700

Wolfenstein Rulez!

http://Spocko.stumbleupon.com/review/35691897/

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:20:33 -0700