Eclectic junk from the four corners of the ‘Net. And pictures too!
From the months of April to October you can sneak a peek at what the weather is like at the north pole. It may not be the most varied of landscapes but if your living in a place where the temperature gets to be well over 100 everyday it can be a nice break.
I was watching TV and just saw that something called "ECW" is coming to the SciFi channel soon. Now, not knowing what ‘ECW" was, I looked it up and much to my dismay I discovered that it’s "an alternative brand of wrestling suited to fit the SCI FI Channel’s commitment to fuel the imagination". Huh, howzat? The page goes on:
Research tells us that there’s a healthy appetite for wrestling among SCI FI viewers," said Bonnie Hammer, President, USA and SCI FI Channel. "With ECW, we’re able to deliver to those fans unique action with a twist that’s perfect for SCI FI.
What research is this? What does wrestling have to do with science fiction? Is this some sort of bid for yet more programming that is aimed at the lowest common denominator? That’s right you stupid suits, aim for the ground because it’s hard to miss. I can’t think of ANY people that enjoy science fiction that also get hot for wrestling. The only staged fighting that most science fiction fans like is between robots. This new ‘alternative programming’ is sure to provide maximum suckage and proof that SciFi will soon go the way of TechTV.
The Russian space agency is planning, for sure, to send a mission to Mars. Stage one will be a sample and return mission to the moon Phobos. Now this plan isn’t a new one, the Russians have been sending probes to Mars and it’s moons for some time now. Back in 1988 the Phobos probes were launched but failed to complete their missions to study the moon Phobos. There have also been a number of landers but most have either failed in route or lasted only moments on the surface. Some orbiters have, however, brought back volumes of photos of the surface. This new mission will try to bring back samples of Phobos in order to find out more of how the solar system was created answer other scientific questions about Mars. The program hopes to have stage one launched by 2009 and a lander on Mars by 2011.
In 2002 Dave Undis started a non-profit group called LifeSharers. The idea behind it was that if you join the club you agree to donate your organs or tissues to members after your death If upon your death no club members need your organs, or there isn’t a match, they are offered to non-club members. Sounds like a darn fine idea to me. Every year thousands of viable organs are disposed of in graves and hundreds of people that need new hearts, livers, lungs die because there aren’t any matches to them or they are too far down on the list. The club is free, so it’s not exclusive. Rich and poor get the same chance, if your a member. Mr. Undis realized that there wasn’t enough incentive to get people to donate their organs. Many people feel that a program like this is unfair to people but to them I say join the club. If more people agreed to give the gift of like after their deaths then a program like this wouldn’t be needed.
It might sound ghoulish to want to join a club like this but I look at it as being like free insurance. No, not insurance, because that’s a sure thing. Something gets broken, you file a claim, you get money. This is more like an inside tip on a race. It isn’t 100% certain that your going to win (a suitable donor still might not be there for you when you need it) but it lowers the odds that your not even going to place. I’ve never thought too much about transplants because like everyone else I figured I’d never need one. Heck, I haven’t even known anyone that’s needed an organ transplant. I’m sad to say that this has changed. My mother in law has been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to the side effects of a medication that she was taking. She is waiting on a suitable liver to become available for some time now. I only hope that one becomes available soon.
For more information becoming an organ or tissue donor:
For more information on LifeSharers, visit www.lifesharers.org or call 888-ORGAN88.
To register as an organ donor, call 800-94DONOR and make your wishes known (from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services):
1. Indicate your intent to be an organ and tissue donor on your driver’s license.
2. Carry an organ donor card. (http://www.organdonor.gov/signup1.html)
3. Most important, discuss your decision with family members and loved ones.
[via Physorg]
British pop star turned actress Billie Piper has officially announced that she will not be returning to her role as Doctor Who‘s traveling companion Rose in the third season. She was quoted as saying
"It has been an amazing adventure and I can confirm it comes to an end, for now at least, as series two climaxes… Rose and I have gone on the most incredible journey over the past two years, I am truly indebted to Russell and to all the Doctor Who fans old and new who have been so supportive."
Male fans everywhere are in mourning.
Now this sounds like fun:
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the San Francisco Bay area and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are competing to design the nation’s first new nuclear bomb in two decades. Scientists at both facilities are working around the clock on plans that will be presented to the Nuclear Weapons Council, a federal panel that oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons. The council will choose a winner later this year.