August 20, 2006, 6:32 AM CT

The Abbot's Compassion

So Ferocious you are,

King of the forest;

As a killer, you are merciless;

It has become legendary;

Your fierceness and cruelty,

Everyone is well aware;

How ruthless a tiger is;

But with a heart of love and care;

I tend for you, gently and bit by bit;........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 9:08 PM CT

Loss Of Just One Species Makes Big Difference

Researchers at Dartmouth, Cornell University, and the University of Wyoming have learned that the removal of just one important species in a freshwater ecosystem can seriously disrupt how that environment functions. This finding contradicts earlier notions that other species can jump in and compensate for the loss.

Brad Taylor, currently a research associate in the department of biological sciences at Dartmouth, and his colleagues studied a fish called the flannelmouth characin (Prochilodus mariae) native to South American rivers. This particular fish eats detritus, the fine organic matter on the river bottom, and because of this, it plays a critical role in regulating the breakdown and transport of carbon in the rivers.

"This fish species is a popular food source; it is harvested regularly, and in some cases, it's overfished," says Taylor, the lead author on the study that was published in the August 11 issue of the journal Science. "We learned that removing this particular fish greatly altered the metabolic activity of the river ecosystem. Other fish species did not compensate for the lack of Prochilodus, an effect consistent with observations from other rivers where they have been excluded much longer by dams".

The researchers used a heavy, plastic divider to split a 210-meter stretch (a little more than a tenth of a mile) of Rio Las Marías in Venezuela into two separate river sections. On one side, they removed only Prochilodus, and on the other, all the fish remained. The team then took a series of measurements upstream and downstream to quantify the transport of particulate organic carbon (POC).........

Posted by: Beverly      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 8:50 AM CT

New Species Of Sea Urchin For Acution At Ebay

You can get almost anything at eBay. Now it seems you can even discover a new marine species at ebay.

Sea Urchins are a member of the Phylum Echinodermata, Class Echinoidea. Rather then having arms or legs the sea urchin actually has long spines as a substitute. These spines are used primarily for camouflage, locomotion, and defensive purposes. The sea urchin feeds on sea grasses, algae, and decaying organic matter. One can see their close relationship to the sand dollar and starfish by looking closely at their underside, near the middle, where the familiar 5 pointed star pattern can be found. Its body is enclosed in a rigid shell, or test, made up of ten double rows of immovable plates firmly joined in a regular pattern. Sea urchins reproduce sexually by discharging either eggs or sperm into the sea, where the eggs are fertilized. This animal, which feeds primarily on vegetation and small organisms, can easily repair damage to its shell, spines, tube feet, and pedicellarieae by regenerating new parts. Sea urchins live on undersea rocks, ledges, boulders, or coral reefs.........

Posted by: Beverly      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 7:59 AM CT

AMIGA Playing Cards

An AMIGA card game (52 cards) is available made under licence of AMIGA. The pictures show 13 different Amiga models plus three different Jokers such as the BoingBall. On the back of the cards it's the original AMIGA logo. The card game has been developed on Amiga computers only.

These playing cards feature pictures of departed Commodore Amiga personal computers,........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 7:54 AM CT

Ryanair threatens government over airport security

Ryanair today threatened to sue the government for compensation unless airport security measures are returned to normal within seven days.

Michael O'Leary, the outspoken chief executive of Ryanair, described the new restrictions as "farcical Keystone Cops security measures that don't add anything except to block up airports", as he issued the ultimatum.

At a news conference in London, Mr O'Leary, described as "nonsense" the increased body checks and the new carry-on restrictions.........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 7:48 AM CT

Create Dorodango Hikaru

Step 1: Create the Mud.

In a clean container, add water to the dirt. The ratio of water to dirt will vary depending on the type of dirt. Start by adding a small amount of water, mix, and slowly add more water until the mud reaches an even consistency, similar to dough.

Step 2: Create the Core:.

Grab a handful of mud and begin to shape it into a sphere with both hands, squeeze out as much water as you can. Eliminate irregularities from the mass by gently shaking it. The vibration removes voids, increases surface moisture, and facilitates compaction. As you shape/shake the mud, clayey particles will migrate to the surface, forming a slip layer that will make it easier to smooth the mass into a sphere. Proceed to Step 3 when the ball becomes tacky to the touch.........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 7:42 AM CT

Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work

I'd seen "Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work" around the net here and there for several years, always as a low-resolution scan of a copy that was clearly the product of dozens of generations of photocopies. As a comics fan and occasional artist who absorbed what little drawing skill I have by copying and tracing comics when I was a teenager, I found the juxtaposition in Wood's piece telling. Here was a working artist distilling his craft into 22 panels that could be used to teleport across the occasional creative wasteland, yet each example was dashed off with effortless skill. I live by very few maxims, but there's at least one I've found useful: Fake it 'til you make it. In Wood's piece I could see an artist who had clearly made it but hadn't forgotten the practicality of the occasional shortcut.

A few months ago my friend Felipe Li showed me yet another copy of "22 Panels," offhandedly mentioning that the original paste-up was for sale at Gotham City Art, with the dubious price of "Make Offer."........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 7:24 AM CT

Lung Cancer Alliance Hails Court Decision

The Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) hailed yesterday's court decision in United States v. Philip Morris USA, Inc. After a lengthy trial, a federal court in Washington, DC found that major tobacco companies engaged in racketeering and conspiracy for decades in a massive scheme to addict people to smoking "without regard for the human tragedy or social costs" that resulted.

Laurie Fenton, president of Lung Cancer Alliance, hailed the court's decision as, "An important step toward correcting decades of stigmatization of lung cancer patients as not worthy of compassion, and the deliberate underfunding of the disease of lung cancer as not deserving of public health research dollars".

"For years, the public health establishment has justified its underfunding of lung cancer research and early detection on the willful behavior of smokers," continued Fenton. "Now we have the DC District Court recognizing that, for 50 years, the tobacco companies lied, misrepresented and deceived the American public, including smokers, and the young people they avidly sought as 'replacement smokers.'".

While the court's ruling placed new marketing restrictions on tobacco companies, the court read a previous appellate court decision to rule out stiff monetary remedies.

Said Fenton: "We urge the federal government to appeal on the scope of remedies available under the RICO statute, all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary, to make these companies accountable for the tragic results of their deliberate, decades-long conspiracy to deceive the public about these lethal products".........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 7:07 AM CT

Andre 3000 denies rumors of OutKast split

It's been years since they have been in the same video, and there are no plans for them to perform together in the near or distant future, yet the members of OutKast maintain they have not broken up. Andre 3000 phoned "MTV News" on Tuesday night to clear up the rumors.

"Yesterday I got a phone call from Big Boi, and he said that on some hip-hop Web sites that the headlines were reading something to the effect of, `It's Official: OutKast Is Broken Up,' or something like that," Andre said. "And man, we're looking at it like, `Where is this. coming from?'".........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

August 19, 2006, 6:47 AM CT

Ending AIDS Epidemic Is A Multi-Front War

The scientists, health workers and activists fighting AIDS long ago gave up the idea they could kill the global epidemic with a single blow. But they are beginning to think it might be possible to bleed it to death with a thousand cuts.

That was among the things on the minds of 26,000 delegates to the 16th International AIDS Conference as they headed home and the huge, biennial, multi-ring circus struck its tent yesterday.

There are two large studies underway testing whether -- and by how much -- circumcision reduces a man's chance of becoming infected with the AIDS virus.........

Posted by: Ethen      Permalink         Source

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