What the?!?!?!?

OK, so I’ve been on something of a forensics/profiler/behavioral sciences kick lately.  The book I’m currently reading, The Evil That Men Do, references a forensic medicine book.  Thinking I’d look in to the options for this, I do an Amazon search for ‘forensic medicine’ and look over the list.  As I am looking at one offering, Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine, Volume 1-4 (Hardcover), I notice this odd little pairing Amazon gives me for the “Better together” option:

forensics.jpg

I never would have guessed one could get more enjoyment from a forensics encyclopedia by purchasing it with the March of the Penguins DVD.

[tags]Forensic medicine, Better together, Amazon[/tags]

OK, so it might be a little tough to read

I just saw this at ahajokes while looking at their funny picture of the day. This poem was listed in their funny form of the day. Try to read the whole thing out loud. It’s long, and continues after the break, so don’t think you’ve made it just because you clear a couple of paragraphs.

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Continue reading “OK, so it might be a little tough to read”

New link standard

Not to long ago, I asked if visitors wanted new windows to open for links, or for everything to stay in the same window and links to immediately go to another page.  I only got one response, which was for new windows for all links.  After reading up more on usability guidelines and visiting more sites which use one of the two ways, I’ve decided I want to at least try leaving all links leading away in the current window.  For the next few days, some articles will have new windows, and some will use the existing window.  This is because news I’ve written and future dated hasn’t all cleared the pipeline yet.  As this clears, there will be more and more articles with in-window links.  I’m not settled on either choice yet, but I want to try not opening new windows and see how the site does.  Also, I’m looking for a plug-in for my blogging software which will allow visitors to chose which style they like, so this problem may go away.  If you feel strongly about one way or the other, please leave a comment to this post and let me know.

Astronomy picture of the day – 2006-08-03

astronomy-potd-20060803.jpg

M27: Not A Comet
Credit & Copyright: Rick Krejci (RicksAstro Astrophotography)
Explanation: While searching the skies above 18th century France for comets, astronomer Charles Messier diligently recorded this object as number 27 on his list of things which are definitely not comets. So what is it? Well, 20th century astronomers would classify it as a Planetary Nebula … but it’s not a planet either, even though it may appear round and planet-like in a small telescope. Messier 27 (M27) is now known to be an excellent example of a gaseous emission nebula created as a sun-like star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core. The nebula forms as the star’s outer layers are expelled into space, with a visible glow generated by atoms excited by the dying star’s intense but invisible ultraviolet light. Known by the popular name of the Dumbbell Nebula, the beautifully symmetric interstellar gas cloud is about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. This intriguing color composite view was recorded through narrow band filters sensitive to emission from hydrogen atoms (shown in red) and oxygen atoms (shown in blue/green).

And while I consider myself quite an authority on gaseous emissions (heheheheh), I hadn’t ever heard of this style of nebula before.  Click the image for a full size view.

[tags]Astronomy picture of the day, POTD, Gaseous emission[/tags]