FBI man who nicknames bank robbers

Along with 2008's near-record number of local bank robberies—276 at current count, and delayed reports could still bring the total close to 2006's tally of 284—arose an unusual problem: coming up with all those nicknames.

With so many robberies to sort through, christening each serial robber—those wanted for at least 3 heists—with a unique and memorable name was more of a challenge than usual, said Chicago FBI spokesman Ross Rice, who assigns the names.

"It's actually one of the more trying parts of the job," Rice said.  ... For the first time, he was forced to resort to sequels. After two unrelated bank robbers chose a Kangol hat as their distinguishing characteristic of choice, the second was saddled with the derivative moniker of "The Kangol Bandit 2."

A memorable nickname draws media and public interest that helps the FBI identify and track the wanted parties, Rice said. Last summer, Michael Staadt —known as the Groucho Bandit for wearing a fake mustache during robberies —was arrested outside a bar after employees recognized him from a Tribune article.

But finding an appropriate nickname is sometimes easier than explaining the robber's choice of disguise.

"Most robbers don't want to get caught," Rice said, "and there are some disguises that are more effective than others. But what the process is to come up with some of these disguises, I couldn't even begin to answer that."

via Could you put a handle on them? -- chicagotribune.com.

Who could forget the thong th thong thong thong bandits?  (Photo added above)

Terrorists could use 'insect-based' biological weapon

Jeffrey Lockwood, professor of entomology at Wyoming University and author of Six-legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War, said such Rift Valley Fever or other diseases could be transported into a country by a terrorist with a suitcase.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think a small terrorist cell could very easily develop an insect-based weapon."

He said it would "probably be much easier" than developing a nuclear or chemical weapon, arguing: "The raw material is in the back yard."

He continued: "It would be a relatively easy and simple process.

"A few hundred dollars and a plane ticket and you could have a pretty good stab at it."

Governments, he advised, needed to have robust "pest management infrastructure that's able to absorb and respond to an introduction" of infected insects, he said.

Trying to stop everything coming in at the border would not work, he said.

Rift Valley Fever is an east African disease which "can cause severe disease in both animals and humans, leading to high rates of disease and death" according to the World Health Organisation.

However, WHO says that "the vast majority of human infections result from direct or indirect contact with the blood or organs of infected animals." - telegraph

You are more likely to be killed today by someone texting on the freeway than by a terrorist insect. LMAO. TTYL.

AFP: India hands evidence on Mumbai attacks to Pakistan

India on Monday handed to Pakistan what it said was evidence linking the country to the Islamic militants who attacked Mumbai in November, India's foreign minister announced.

The government also said it was launching a major diplomatic offensive to maintain international pressure on Islamabad, which has so far rejected New Delhi's demands to extradite a list of terror suspects.

"We have today handed over to Pakistan evidence of the links with elements in Pakistan of the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on 26th November," Pranab Mukherjee told reporters.

"What happened in Mumbai was an unpardonable crime. As far as the government of Pakistan is concerned, we ask only that it implement the bilateral commitments that it has made at the highest levels to India, and practises her international obligations," he added.

Mukherjee's deputy, Shivshankar Menon, passed the evidence to Pakistan's high commissioner (ambassador) in New Delhi and later pointed a finger of blame at the country's "establishment."

"It's hard to believe that something of this scale that took so long in preparation... could occur without anybody anywhere in the (Pakistan) establishment knowing," he told reporters.

Islamabad confirmed that it had received the dossier, and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani again said he would take action if "credible evidence" was provided.

The material includes details of the interrogation of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman -- also known as Mohammed Ajmal Kasab -- who was the lone surviving gunman and who India says is a Pakistani national.

It also details the militants' communications with "elements" in Pakistan during the attack, recovered weapons and other equipment, retrieved global positioning system data and satellite phones.

"It is our expectation that the government of Pakistan will promptly undertake further investigations in Pakistan and share the results with us so as to bring the perpetrators to justice," Mukherjee said.

via AFP: India hands evidence on Mumbai attacks to Pakistan.

I was not aware of it at the time of the attacks, but an ex girlfriend from Sacramento, CA is visiting India and is in the area of Mubai.  Friends tell me she had booked a room for her mother at the hotel which was attacked and that she canceled the reservation afterward. I also understand that a movie theater she attended was destroyed by a terrorist bomb in a separate incident. We have not talked for a long time, but I hope she returns safely and that the situation is resolved peacefully by both governments.

Still sick, infection moving in to eye and lungs

Unfortunately the breathe right strips opened the path from my throat up to my eye. Now I understand why nature plugs your sinuses when you have a sore throat. It is to protect your eyes. My left eye feels like sand paper and has a thick white puss, and now I also have a painful cough. I started Azithromycin today, which is only fatal in extremely rare case. ;-) Not posting much at present, but as with 2008, I expect to be posting a few of the world's top strange news items each day in 2009, so check back.

Lef Eye, Pink Eye

Pinkeye can be caused by many of the bacteria and viruses responsible for colds and other infections, — including ear infections, sinus infections, and sore throats ... - kh

Eyelids stuck shut when you wake up.... Uncomfortable, thick yellow or green discharge (often a bacterial infection)

... Antibiotic eyedrops or ointments may be prescribed, as well as ocular decongestants, anti-allergy medicines, or anti-inflammatory medicines.

wash your hands thoroughly and often.
Wash and change sheets and pillowcases every day.

Pinkeye (viral conjunctivitis) usually goes away in 10-14 days, but symptoms may last for up to 6 weeks.

Damage to the cornea (the clear covering over the iris) may occur if infections are not treated.

If your infection is bacterial, your doctor may prescribe antibiotic eyedrops as pink eye treatment, and the infection should clear within several days. - mao

Bacterial Conjunctivitis is caused by certain bacteria that have made their way to the eye. Examples of bacteria include staphylococci and streptococci. - ecs

Pilots call for handheld laser ban + lasers for healing

Airline pilots have called for some handheld laser pointers to be banned after a number of pilots were dazzled while landing at Dublin airport.

IALPA's Captain Adrian Hinkson of said the planes were hit with the laser lights at a critical time and pilots could be left temporarily blind by the beams.

Captain Hinkson said the lasers should be classified as weapons making it illegal to possess one except under license.

The Irish Aviation Authority has said ten such incidents have taken place since September and that gardaí have used aerial support to try and pinpoint the laser sources.

Aer Lingus has said six of their flights have been targeted with laser light beams in recent months.

A spokesperson said the pilots advised air traffic control of the incidents immediately, who then informed gardaí.- rte

I have mine for therapeutic uses: Shine your laser pointer on one of those shallow white mouth ulcers for 1 minute and the next day, it will be much healed, if not all healed with a thicker but normal looking skin in its place.

Worked for me in the past when I didn't have a bacterial throat infection anyway. But I lost my laser pointer. Just got another one today (650 nm +/1 10, <5m W), so I'm trying it again.

WARNINGS: Be careful! Don't shine a laser pointer at your eye even for an instant. You can cause permanent eye damage. I wouldn't even risk shining one on a closed eyelid. Watch out for mirrors too. You can hit your eye by accident in a room with mirrors!

Photobiomodulation, also known as low level laser therapy (LLLT), cold laser therapy, and laser biostimulation, is an emerging medical and veterinary technique in which exposure to low-level laser light or light emitting diodes might stimulate or inhibit cellular function possibly leading to beneficial clinical effects.^[1] The technique is also known by the more ambiguous terms phototherapy and laser therapy, which may also be used to describe other medical techniques. Rationales for suggesting particular combinations of wavelength, intensity, duration and treatment interval is somewhat arbitrary and sometimes controversial for different diseases, injuries and dysfunctions; these methods are still being explored and increasingly published by the academic community.

... Certain wavelengths of light at certain intensities (delivered by laser, LED or another monochromatic source) will aid tissue regeneration, resolve inflammation, relieve pain and boost the immune system.^[4] The exact mechanism is still being explored and debated but it is agreed that the mechanism is photochemical rather than heat-related.

Observed biological and physiological effects include changes in cell membrane permeability, up-regulation and down-regulation of adenosine triphosphate and nitric oxide. The factors of wavelength, effective dose, dose-rate effects, beam penetration, the role of coherence and pulses (peak power and repetition rates) are still poorly understood...- wiki

Bush 41: Jeb Bush for President

Former President George H.W. Bush said his son Jeb should run for president and blasted the New York Times for its grossly unfair criticism of another son, President George W. Bush. - foxnews

Jeb "Martial Law" Bush for president? Let's not.

Mag 7.6 quake hits Papua Indonesia

Quake map: USGS web site

Officials and witnesses say a series of powerful earthquakes have killed at least two people in remote eastern Indonesia.

A 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 a.m. local time (1943 GMT) about 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Manokwari, Papua, at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Agency said. It was followed by a strong 7.5 aftershock. - ap

... a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake has struck the North coast of Paua, Indonesia.  A local Tsunami warning issued.

EQ 7.8 Manokwari, Irian Jaya, Indonesia -np

Magnitude 7.6 - NEAR THE NORTH COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA ... (Saturday, January 03, 2009 at 11:43:54 AM (PST) - Pacific Standard (Vancouver, Los Angeles, Tijuana))

Dry eyes fixable with Tea Tree Oil eyelid scrubs?

I have an article about dry eye syndrome I wrote years ago. Someone named Matt wrote in today saying:

...i found the solution...it was demodex and i was completely! cured after 4 weeks of lid scrubs with tea tree oil...just to let you know.. :-)

I've had Blepharitis for years. I've always hated my red eyelids in pictures, now I have something to try, which might also relieve my occasional dry eye symptoms (for which I've been taking 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil daily for years).  I quickly found confirmation:

CONCLUSION: Demodex potentially causes ocular surface inflammation, meibomian gland dysfunction, and lash abnormalities. Lid scrub with TTO can effectively eradicate ocular Demodex and result in subjective and objective improvements. This preliminary positive result warrants future prospective investigation of Demodex pathogenicity. - nih

Demodex mites cause ocular surface inflammation, MGD and lash abnormalities. - revoptom

What are Demodex? Here they are:

Demodex is a genus of tiny parasitic mites that live in or near hair follicles of mammals. About 65 species of Demodex mites are known; they are among the smallest of arthropods. Two species living on humans have been identified: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, both frequently referred to as eyelash mites. Demodex canis lives on the domestic dog. Infestation with Demodex mites is common and usually does not cause any symptoms, although occasionally some skin diseases can be caused by the mites. ...

The adult mites are only between 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm long, with D. brevis slightly shorter than D. folliculorum.[1] They have a semi-transparent elongated body that consists of two fused segments. Eight short segmented legs are attached to the first body segment. The body is covered with scales for anchoring itself in the hair follicle, and the mite has pin-like mouth-parts for eating skin-cells, hormones and oils (sebum) which accumulate in the hair follicles. The mite's digestive system is so efficient and results in so little waste that there is no excretory orifice. The mites can leave the hair follicles and slowly walk around on the skin, at a speed of about 8–16 cm/hour, especially at night; they try to avoid light.[1]

Female Demodex folliculorum are somewhat shorter and rounder than males. The total lifespan of a Demodex mite is several weeks. ...

The six-legged larvae hatch after 3-4 days, and it takes about seven days for the larvae to develop into adults. The dead mites decompose inside the hair follicles or sebaceous glands.Older people are much more likely to carry the mites; estimates range as high as a 96-98% infestation rate in aged people. The lower rate of children may be due to the fact that children produce much less sebum. It is quite easy to look for one's own demodex mites, by carefully removing an eyelash or eyebrow hair and placing it under a microscope.

The mites are transferred between hosts through contact of hair, eyebrows and of the sebaceous glands on the nose. Different species of animals host different species of demodex; and demodex is not contagious between different species.

In the vast majority of cases, the mites go unobserved, without any adverse symptoms, but in certain cases (usually related to a suppressed immune system, caused by stress or illness) mite populations can dramatically increase, resulting in a condition known as demodicosis, characterised by itching, inflammation and other skin disorders. Blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids) can also be caused by Demodex mites.  - wiki

Yuck. Let's kill em. Awesome! I could have normal non itchy eyes again! I'm very excited about this.

How to stay warm: The ancient Tibetan secret of Tumo revealed?

How possible is it to survive by growing food underground? Are there any stored foods now that would still provide nutrition 100 years from now? What human knowledge should I save on my hard drive in case I have to help rebuild civilization? These odd questions  have been floating through my mind as I watch the swarm of quakes at Yellowstone, the site of a potential super volcano.

What will be needed most are simple instruction manuals for providing first aid, finding and purifying water, scavenging and storing food, keeping warm, and instructions for growing enough food to survive in extreme cold and with limited sunlight.

First, how to stay warm. Knowing the ancient Tibetan secret of Tumo would help!

Wim Hof, of the Netherlands, stands up to his neck in ice for 72 minutes, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008, outside the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, during a successful attempt to break his previous world record for immersion in an outdoor ice bath. Known as "The Iceman," Mr. Hof controls his body temperature by the tantric practice of tumo and is the only non-Tibetan in the world to have mastered this art.

Tumo is described this way:

By means of breathings and of a formula connected therewith, the practitioner generates a warmth which flows all through the body by means of the channels from the tsas (Tibetan for the three Sanskrit nadis) -- roma, kyangma, and uma. Thus the practice of tumo falls under the category of hatha yoga.

Here is another:

According to Alexandra David-Neel, tumo "is also the subtle fire with which warms the generative fluid and drives the energy in it, till it runs all over the body along the subtle channels." - answers

None of these explanations explain how it works, however.

... the  neophyte  must  practice breathing exercises, self-hypnosis, how he visualizes fire originating in the region of his solar plexus and gradually extending to all parts of his body. But she also states that the method of generating "tumo," as this mysterious heat is called, is a closely kept  secret and  cannot be learned unless one is personally trained by an adept. -katink

If the human race is going to be plunged into an icy world due to a super volcano blotting out the sun for years, then I think it is time that this secret should be revealed.

Wim Hof may be the only non-Tibetan master of Tumo, but another person has discovered the primary secret, it seems.


One westerner's experiments suggest that our bodies, in proper health and with good nutrition, have the ability to be shocked into a special metabolic state. Dr Mayne R. Coe claims to have found Tumo without self hypnosis. Special breathing didn't seem as important at low altitudes, but deep breathing was part of his body's natural response.  Being naked or clothed only in thin cotton garments was important. The breakthrough came when Coe wrapped  an ice-cold wet woolen blanket around himself. He writes:

Then it dawned on me that I actually was goading my body to more and more heat production with the chill wet blankets on my skin. My pores were alternately closing and opening as I was chilled and then warmed by the flush of my skin and the insulating properties of the wet wool which confined the heat to my hody and the air inside the blanket surrounding me. I knew I had the answer. I had gone about the whole thing backwards. Instead of ex­posing the body nude to the air for extended periods of time to generate the mystical tumo you shock the body into heat produc­ion.  The ice-cold blankets shock the body to a warm glow and don't conduct the heat away as outside  air or immersion in wa­ter would. It is quite easy to sit this way for an extended time at a very low temperatures. I had succeeded in stimulating my metabolism in this way. One night when the tempera­ture dropped to 180 1 applied the freezing wet blanket eight times to my naked body. I rewet the blanket at 1~minute intervals over a period of two hours. I noticed that my respiration  auto­matically became very deep, which meant my body was demanding more oxygen to main­tain my body heat at normal temperature. I became warm as toast and remained delightfully warm, naked in the freezing air each time I resoaked the blan­kets.

I haven't tried this, but when I get over this flu, I'd like to. I believe we may all have this ability because I've been amazed by my own body acclimatizing to heat when I worked in agriculture for a summer. Notes on heat acclimatization may apply in the other direction as well, since Coe worked at it for some time.

... exercise science has shown us that heat acclimatization can be attained by 10-12 days of exercising in the hot, humid conditions for 1 hour per day, there are numerous antecdotal reports that more total heat exposure is required. Many people who have worked in extreme heat (roofers, steel mill workers, etc) will say that you can never afford to cool off....that you must stay hot all the time or your tolerance will be reduced. In fact Arthur Lydiard, the great New Zealand running coach, said that in order to run in heat and humidity that one must never stay or sleep in an air conditioned environment. -maxbal

As a tall person with not much body fat, I may not do well at this, but I'm still curious to try.

The short arms and legs of large people from cooler regions, for example Eskimos, helps reduce heat loss.  ... Major examples of geographic acclimatization to cold are the indigenous people of the African Kalahari, the Australian desert, and Tierra del Fuego in Southern Chile. Many sleep outdoors nearly naked in freezing temperatures. - scuba

Beyond the super volcano survival tricks, imagine the country wide energy savings if Americans could all learn to sleep nearly naked in the cold.

For each lowered degree, you'll save one to three percent off those heating bills. At night, turn down the thermostat to 60 degrees: It's much healthier, you'll feel better when you awaken, and you'll save money. If you go away for a weekend or more, lower thermostat to 55 degrees. - businessknow

Ultimate Disaster Planning: The Backup Planet

To survive the future, learn from the past. The discussion about the Yellowstone super volcano, brought about but a swarm of recent quakes there, has had me thinking of plans to restore humanity.

What tools, supplies and skills would we need in the first weeks, the first months, the first years, the first decades?

Canned food will run out and cannibalism is disgusting.  What foods can be grown underground or with minimal light? How do you find water in a land covered with ash?

I believe the impulse to plan for disaster is an ancient one, and thus, if ancient advanced civilizations previously existed on Earth, we might today find some amazing time capsules on the Moon or Mars.

Plato's Timaeus relates the true story of how one Solon (638-559 b.c.), a famous "Athenian traveler, poet, and lawgiver"³ was visiting the Temple of Neithe, in the district of Sais, near the Nile Delta in lower Egypt. He had gone there as a cultural ambassador to converse with the leaders of the Egyptians about Greek history and culture, seeking to impress them with the accomplishments of the Greeks, as well as to gain similar knowledge from them about the history of Egypt, and of the world.

An old Egyptian tells

There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes.

Obama’s View on Power Over Detainees Will Be Tested Early - NYTimes.com

Just a month after President-elect Barack Obama takes office, he must tell the Supreme Court where he stands on one of the most aggressive legal claims made by the Bush administration — that the president may order the military to seize legal residents of the United States and hold them indefinitely without charging them with a crime.

... Many legal experts say that all of the new administration’s options in Mr. Marri’s case are perilous. Intelligence officials say he is exceptionally dangerous, making deportation problematic.

Trying him on criminal charges could be difficult, too, in part because some of the evidence against him may have been obtained through torture and would not be admissible.

And staying the course in the Marri case would outrage civil libertarians.

via Obama’s View on Power Over Detainees Will Be Tested Early - NYTimes.com.

Obama is taking an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, right? This "exceptionally dangerous" thing is absurd. Ordinary courts and max security prisons have worked in the USA for years to contain the most vile of mass murderers. Stop torturing people and uphold the law. And let Marri try a singing career instead? Watch out John Oates, this extremely dangerous guy with extra wide photoshopped cheeks is trying to horn in on your 1980's look.

Hurts to swallow

3:32 AM: throat pain from  hell wakes me.

After several days exposure to second hand smoke, I got a sore throat.

My theory: unavoidable prolonged exposure to airborne poisons combined with a dash of seasonal stress and the wallop of a looming foreclosure lead to a viral infection.

I had  a fever for a few days, bloody phlegm and now pain with every swallow for the last 3 days + swollen glands, painful eyes (bloody sty for at least 4 days),  and congestion. I haven't seen a doctor for a Strep test yet.

Some info here, and here:

It feels as though someone's holding a lit match at the back of your throat. That raw, burning sensation seems to radiate to your whole head. And you know what that means: at least a few more days of discomfort, as your sore throat takes it course.

A sore throat is often the earliest symptom of a cold or the flu. But you can also get a sore throat for a lot of other reasons--from viral or bacterial infections, dry air, smoking, exposure to irritants or too much cheering at a hockey game.

A persistent, recurrent or severe sore throat, or one accompanied by fever, needs medical treatment. But many sore throats can be soothed by the simple remedies given here and should disappear within a week. - mothernature

Sleep,  salt water gargles, drinking water constantly and breathe right strips help the most. Throat coat tea,  Airborne,  good food (no loss of apatite)  help somewhat, but ouch, it still ouch, hurts every ouch, time I swallow.

My bloody esophagus curses you, smokers who don't keep it to yourselves and over appraisers.

Sorry to hear about John Travolta's son Jett. ... and here are the uncensored  lyrics to that song that has been stuck in my head.

To me, Poison Rationality is anything that makes no sense to me, but apparently makes lots of sense to someone else out there. For instance, the fact that drug companies spend so much money putting out commercials for prescription drugs makes no sense to me, but obviously it makes enough sense to someone to spend millions of dollars doing it.

Poison Rationality. ...

Ok... the song's words are a little bit different. "Poison Rationality" is actually Poise and Rationality but the actual words do not match what I am trying to blog about here. Plus, whenever the song, I hear Poison Rationality. - ericshepard

Australia tells US it won't accept Gitmo detainees + a modest proposal

Australia's Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the United States has been told for a second time that Australia will not resettle detainees freed from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.

Gillard says U.S. President George W. Bush's administration was told on Friday that a second request made in early December to resettle an unspecified number of detainees had been rejected.

She says the detainees did not meet Australia's stringent national security and immigration criteria.

She says her government had similarly rejected a resettlement request from the Bush administration in early 2008.

via The Associated Press: Australia tells US it won't accept Gitmo detainees.

There's a big ranch in Texas... Let them do yard work for you, W. It's not like they were treated poorly after all, because, as you said, the US does not torture. They wouldn't feel any resentment at being held without a trial for years. Oh, and give a few hundred of them to Cheney too. He probably has a ranch or something, right? The USA should give some of them to each of the Neocons, as a parting gift.  No, no, we insist. You made them the fine psychologically normal gentlemen they must be today.  Have fun with your new employees.

*If there is evidence they committed a crime, then give them a speedy but fair trial and the correct consequences for what they did to get into Gitmo: murder, attempted murder, being of the wrong religion, having facial hair like a terrorist, or whatever.

China's Baigong pipes, "alien" anti-clogging technology or natural formations?

This story is from 2002, but I missed it then and it is still mysterious and interesting.

Were anti-clogging pipes created and embedded in a pyramid leading to a nearby lake by an advanced civilization in one of the planet's most inhospitable locations thousands of years before modern human smelting methods were developed? Or is this some curious geological phenomenon?

The pipes were first discovered by a group of U.S. scientists on the trail of dinosaur fossils, who reported them to the local authorities in Delingha. They were ignored until a report, possibly one of six made, by Ye Zhou, appeared in the "Henan Dahe Bao" in June of 2002. - wiki

The widespread news of mysterious iron pipes at the foot of Mount Baigong, located in the depths of the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, has roused concern from related departments.

Some experts believe that these might be relics left behind by extraterrestrial beings (ET), for the site, with its high altitude and thin, crisp air, has long been held as an ideal place to practice astronomy.

Three caves are found at the foot of Mount Baigong. Two of them have collapsed and are inaccessible. The middle one is the biggest, with its floor standing two meters above the ground and its top eight meters above the ground.

This cave is about six meters in depth, a little like a cave dug out by human beings, with pure sand and rock inside.

What is astonishing is inside for there is a half-pipe about 40 centimeters in diameter tilting from the top to the inner end of the cave. Another pipe of the same diameter goes into the earth with only its top visible above the ground.

At the opening of the cave there are a dozen pipes at the diameter between 10 and 40 centimeters run into the mount straightly, showing high fixing technique.

About 80 meters away from the caves is the shimmering Toson Lake, on whose beach 40 meters away, many iron pipes can be found scattered on sands and rocks. They run in the east-west direction with a diameter between 2 and 4.5 centimeters. They are of various strange shapes and the thinnest is like a toothpick, but not blocked inside after years of sand movement.

More strange is that there are also some pipes in the lake, some reaching above water surface and some buried below, with similar shapes and thickness with those on the beach.

via Rense

Aliens or not, notice the shape. The "pipe" is not round. Speculation: Could this be on purpose? Is this odd "throat" shape an ancient secret to keeping pipes form clogging? The way I see it, if the big part of the passage got plugged, the flow would still go through the smaller two groves and this would eventually wear down the clog, automatically unstopping it. Built in self-healing?

A few important facts are missing from the article. How straight is the "pipe", for example? How smooth? Is it all solid iron? Are there fasteners connecting different lengths?

Where are the pictures? The photos included here are the only two I could find with a Google image search on 1-2-09.

Ah, just had to search in some other places ... but still, this is the only other photo I can find. Does anyone have a link to this video?



Hard to tell if this is perfectly round. More data needed. One geologist writes:

"It is likely that the 'pipes' are hydrothermal or other groundwater deposits of an iron mineral(s). While I have not researched it thoroughly, that is my sense of these phenomena, given decades of training and experience as a geologist. I would like to see a more detailed chemical assay of the formations. Of course, additional pictures and maps would add extra dimensions to the info." - su

Here is another summary of the pipes:

The Baigong Pipes are a series of pipe-like features found on and near Mount Baigong about 40 km southeast of the city of Delingha, in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. The Baigong Pipes are reported to be associated with a “pyramid” about 50 to 60 meters (160 to 200 feet high) built on Mount Baigong. The front of the “pyramid” is reported to contain three caves. The mouths of the two smaller caves have collapsed. Only the largest cave, which is 6 meters (18 feet) high, can be entered. Two Baigong Pipes have been reported from the largest cave. One of these is described as being 40 cm (16 in) in diameter and preserved as a reddish-brown “half-pipe”. Within the same cave, another pipe-like feature of similar diameter was also found. “Dozens” of upright pipe-like features, about 10 to 40 cm (4 to 16 inches) in diameter, were also found protruding from Mount Baigong above the largest cave. - krb

Lonely planet has a very nice write up that seems objective and has more details:

... According to the Xinhua news, results of preliminary rock and metal analysis show the pipes are 30 per cent ferric oxide, with high content of silicon dioxide and calcium oxide; eight per cent of the sample's makeup was categorized "unidentifiable". Engineer Liu Shaolin from Xitieshan Smelting Plant who carried out the analysis says the levels of silicon dioxide and calcium oxide point to the pipes being on the mountainside for a long time - although his estimate was significantly more recent than the U.S. scientists' original theory that the iron was 300,000 years old. Liu found that it was 5000 years old; impressive, considering modern human smelting methods date back a mere 2000 years.

"The results have made the site even more mysterious," says Qin. Then again, counters Lanzhou journalist Ye, he would say that. "The Delingha government is billing it as tourist attraction," he says. "There's already a road sign pointing the way to the E.T. relics, and they've got it in their investment and tourism guides."

Thinking of going to see the pipes? Good luck. Delingha county is closed to foreigners. (Sept 2005 comment) And besides, the area is so cold and the air is so thin that nothing supposedly lives within 500 miles of it (?)

Here is the lake from space (NASA/USGS photo). You do see the huge Grey alien head under the water with the two blue eyes at the top of the image, right? ;-)

Qinghai Lake one of the largest salt-water lakes in the world.

France's New Year's Tradition: Car Burning, More than a thousand cars torched

Update: The French press reported that the Interior Ministry released a final "verified" count of 1 147 vehicles burned in France over New Year s Eve. The number is up 30.64 from last year s total 878.

REUTERS - At least 445 cars were torched over the night of New Year s Eve in France a 20 percent rise on last year but there were relatively few clashes with police the Interior Ministry and police said on Thursday. Car burnings are regular occurrences in France but the registering the New Year s Eve total has become something of a tradition since they achieved symbolic status in the violent rioting that shook many of the country s poor suburbs in 2005. With riots in Athens heightening worries that the economic crisis might spark a resurgence of the violence seen in the run-down "banlieues" then 35 000 police were mobilised on New Year s Eve some 7 000 more than last year. Officials were also on guard against possible attacks after five sticks of dynamite were left in a Paris department store just before Christmas by a so-far unidentified group demanding a withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan.

An Interior Ministry official said that as of 6:00 a.m. 0500 GMT 445 car burnings had been registered against 372 at the same time a year before and police had made 288 arrests compared with 259 on Dec. 31 2007. "There were few contacts with police gendarmes and fire services but an increase in the number of burnings for which we don t have an explanation at the moment " the official said. There were around 50 burnings in the eastern city of Strasbourg where police made 17 arrests including four people caught while setting fire to cars. In the southern city of Toulouse 12 cars were burned in areas at the edge of the city limits while in Nantes around 10 cars were torched although police in the western city said New Year s Eve had been "pretty calm".

via France 24 | More than a thousand cars torched on New Year's Eve

French pyro weirdos. In the US, we'd have the bead on ya from the crib window and we'd pop a grip of rock-salt in yo lame pyro ass if you tried to flame our ride. Word.

The man who can drink a bottle of ketchup in just 39 seconds

Speed is the word for Guinness Rishi as he powers his way through a giant 490 gram bottle of ketchup in just 39 seconds.

Guinness believes he holds the fastest time for drinking the world's favourite condiment, which he sups through a straw.

His brand of choice is a toss up between Maggi or the more traditional Heinz.

And 67-year-old Guinness, from Delhi, India, doesn't confine his talents to the world of tomato sauce.

He claims to hold 19 world titles and even changed his name - from Har Parkash to Guinness Rishi - in a bid to win over official record-keepers.

But so far none of his bizarre stunts have been recognised in the Guinness Book of Records.

Guinness puts his motivation down to the need to stand out in a country of over 1 billion people.

'People consider me an extraordinary person, not an ordinary person,' he said.

His records include 'taking on the world's oldest adoptee', after he legally took custody of his 61-year-old brother-in-law.

Guiness also built the tallest sugar cube tower in the world, which stands at 64 inches.

He took his new name in 1991, after keeping a motor scooter in continuous motion for 1,001 hours for another bizarre record.

via Pictured: The man who can down a huge bottle of ketchup in just 39 seconds | Mail Online.

Thoughts on Newdow's lawsuit, forgotten gods, first Christian State

Atheist Michael Newdow is suing to remove the reference to God from Obama's upcoming inauguration.

... It’s a lawsuit against using religion at all in a presidential inauguration.

In 2005, Newdow sued for the same reasons and the courts rejected his suit. I think it is important to note that we didn’t always have prayers in the Inauguration ceremony and they began with Franklin Roosevelt in 1937.

... the phrase “so help me God” isn’t a historic precedent, either. Newdow writes that the first verifiable use of that phrase took place in “1881, ninety-two years after George Washington’s initial ceremony” — when “Chester A. Arthur took the oath upon hearing of President James Garfield’s death.” - thelang

American atheists are currently outnumbered, but if Newdow is around in 2042, he'd probably win then:

Polling data from the 2001 ARIS study, described below, indicate that: 76.5% (159 million) of Americans identify themselves as Christian. This is a major slide from 86.2% in 1990. Identification with Christianity has suffered a loss of 9.7 percentage points in 11 years -- about 0.9 percentage points per year. This decline is identical to that observed in Canada between 1981 and 2001. If this trend has continued, then: By about the year 2042, non-Christians will outnumber the Christians in the U.S. - religioustolerance

I'm not saying Christianity will ever go completely extinct ( unless our species does), yet I find it interesting that most gods humans have ever worshipped are now little known. They include: Aken, Aker, Am-Heh, Ament, Ammit, Amun and Amun-Re, Anat, Andjety, Anqet, Anubis, Anuke, Anuket, Apep, Arensnuphis, As, Astarte, Aten, Atum, and Auf ... and those are just the Ancient Egyptian gods... just the one's that start with the letter A.

Well, you've probably have heard of Anubis from some mummy movies. Did you know that "Anuke" was a god of war? Coincidence, time travel? ;-)

At the core of issues of religious tolerance is the reality that each group privately believes the other's beliefs are absurd. Respect for those who reach vastly different conclusions when presented with the same (you assume) evidence, takes serious effort, on both sides.

Yet we continue to coexist.

After death, will evil persons of all religions be greeted byAment and then be devoured by Ammit? Will Christians be shocked to meet Ptah, the creator, with his punt beard? Yes, Ptah, the god of stone based crafts, reincarnation, and lord of the underworld. Will their hearts be heavier or lighter than the feather of Ma'at? Will they then be able to get past the evil demons armed with knives guarding the 15 or 21 gates and then exist in pleasure for all eternity in Aaru,  a series of islands  covered in "fields of rushes"?

Odd beliefs? Perhaps, but they persisted for more than 3,000 years.  Christianity has lasted at most 2000 years now.

Armenia was the first country converted to Christianity. This was done, some claim, by St. Gregory the Illuminator in 301. He supposedly converted people from their pagan beliefs. Others see things a bit differently:

... A letter of Bishop George of Arabia to Jeshu, a priest of the town Anab, dated 714 (edited by Dashian, Vienna, 1891), contains an independent tradition of Gregory, and styles him a Roman by birth.

In spite of legendary accretions we can still discern the true outlines and significance of his life. He did not really illumine or convert great Armenia, for the people were in the main already converted by Syrian missionaries to the Adoptionist or Ebionite type of faith which was dominant in the far East, and was afterwards known as Nestorianism. Marcionites and Montanists had also worked in the field. Gregory persuaded Tiridates to destroy the last relics of the old paganism, and carried out in the religious sphere his sovereign's policy of detaching Great Armenia from the Sassanid realm and allying it with the GraecoRoman empire and civilization. He set himself to Hellenize or Catholicize Armenian Christianity, and in furtherance of this aim set up a hierarchy officially dependent on the Cappadocian. He in effect turned his country into a province of the Greek see of Cappadocia. This hierarchical tie was soon snapped, but the Hellenizing influence continued to work, and bore its most abundant fruit in the 5th century. His career was thus analogous to that of St Patrick in Ireland.

And so, I find myself at the start of 2009 spending hours and hours researching the history of Jesus Christ.  I''ve barely scratched the surface. Once again, however, the same evidence leads different people to vastly different conclusions.  It is my belief that an objective reality does exist, that some people are right on some counts, and wrong on others.

If you had proof that Jesus Christ was an invention of a Roman writer, who created him a century after he supposedly existed as a way to control the local Jewish people, would you personally choose to make that fact known? You could destroy the hope and faith of millions. Or perhaps remove one of the major causes of war. Would making this known be a good or a bad thing to do, if it were the truth? I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

BART officer fatally shoots man at Fruitvale station

A young man allegedly involved in a fight aboard a BART train was shot to death by a BART police officer on the platform of the Fruitvale Station early New Year's Day, in the midst of a brawl between two groups of young train passengers. ... While witness accounts reported by news organizations indicate Grant was on the platform and handcuffed when he was shot, BART spokesman Jim Allison said the victim was not restrained when the gun discharged. - sfgate

I wonder if there are surveilance tapes. The London Underground has everything on video. Answer: There are cameras, but they say there is no tape. At some stations they have tape, at others a guard monitors the situation.

I doubt Oscar Grant should be dead. This is a sad accident, probably. He did, it seems, choose to be in gang brawl on a train, which is damn stupid. Or was it just a verbal argument?

Yellowstone Supervolcano may lead to nuclear disaster

Update 1-6-09: Only 1 quake today. It seems the super volcano god has been appeased ... for now.

Update: Small quakes at Yellowstone continue, I count 13 so far...no, make that 14 today.

An eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano could cover 1/2 of the USA with ash, and cause extreme global cooling. The disaster might be unmatched in known history, but worse, it may trigger  nuclear melt downs according to Tom Lakosh at newsblaze. Ash may cause a few decades of damage, but nuclear meltdowns due to ash-clogged cooling systems could cause damage that lasts hundreds of years, Tom warns.

As I looked at the maps, I noticed that the states most damaged may be those that previously supported Bush. Just an odd coincidence, I'm sure.

According to this educational link, most of California could eat dust too.

We have learned some things about cleaning up volcanic ash. Wet sawdust helps, for example.

The Yellowstone eruption damage predictions range from billions dead around the world to no casualties at all because we will have decades, even centuries of warnings, and plenty of time to prepare.

The mega-eruption, if it happens, could be *hundreds of thousands* times bigger than Mount St. Helens. The last super volcano was 75,000 years ago. Light was blocked out all over the world. 35 centimeters of ash fell *2500 miles* away. The global temperature plunged 21 degrees. Mankind was almost extinguished, cut back to only a few thousand. This one...could be *ten times bigger*.

... The Toba eruption is generally thought to have been larger than any of the Yellowstone eruptions. The largest Yellowstone eruption was pretty close, though. Source: [armageddononline.org] - slashdot

Here is more information on the nuclear meltdown danger:

It's not that there's been ~ 300 quakes since Saturday or even that they're all within a mile or two of each other, the worrisome part is that they are all within a few hundred yards of each other vertically, extending from the surface down to 7.2 km potentially defining a single "chimney" under high pressure causing hydraulic fracturing along its entire length, (link).

The National Park Service reports the magma chamber is as shallow as 8 km and if the major chamber is that close to the chimney reaching to 7.2 km, we may be in for an eruption.  ...

The safety of containment of radioactive materials is threatened because nuclear power plants will not have sufficient clean water reserves to maintain extended cooling of reactor cores and spent fuel pools after ash deposition contaminates all surface waters. All downwind plants will have to immediately suspend operation of their secondary cooling loops to prevent disabling erosion of all moving parts and piping by the ash in their normal water supply.

The remaining ~7% of reactor thermal output retained in the latent heat of radioactive decay in fuel rods will require use of reserve water supplies for emergency core blow downs that were never intended to supply enough water for the extended periods of time that ash could fall and otherwise contaminate surface cooling water from rain runoff.

Moreover, these reserve water pools are already providing cooling for spent fuel rods which could also melt if their water is consumed for blow down steam replacement. The use of ash-contaminated water for primary loop cooling poses the same problems of pump and pipe erosion and accumulation of sediments in the core would cause water circulation problems that could lead to fuel assembly overheating. The air filtration systems in containment buildings were also not designed to stop release of nuclides under near continuous and extended blow down circumstances.

It is imperative that the NRC immediately coordinate with DHS/USCG for emergency acquisition of all available water tankage to store uncontaminated water, or settle and filter contaminated water, for extended use by nuclear facilities. DHS should also consider seizure of all drilling equipment, (operation of any engine in ambient ash will be limited), to supply ground-filtered water to power plants and the public, (ash is so fine that filtration of any type will be very limited, particularly where air and water filter replacement will be limited).

This will also necessitate insuring that all required tank trucks, transport trucks, barge tugs and tank vessels have sufficient spare air filters, water pumps and pump impellers. While prior lack of planning may be excused due to the improbability of such an event, the ongoing events at Yellowstone Lake demand immediate attention to this potential catastrophe beyond anything experienced in recorded history, which could be devastatingly compounded by our failure to stockpile sufficient clean cooling water for reactors. ... - newsblaze

Unrelated to the nuclear threat, here are some recommendations from the army  regarding what you should do at home in the event of an ashfall:

YOUR HOME

• Close doors, windows and dampers. Place damp towels at door thresholds and other draft sources; tape drafty windows.


• Dampen ash in yard and streets to reduce resuspension.


• Put stoppers in the tops of your drainpipes (at the gutters).


• Protect dust sensitive electronics.


• Since most roofs cannot support more than four inches of wet ash, keep roofs free of thick accumulation. Once ash fall stops, sweep or shovel ash from roofs and gutters. Wear your dust mask and use caution on ladders and roofs.


• Remove outdoor clothing before entering a building. Brush, shake and pre-soak ashy clothing before washing.


• If there is ash in your water, let it settle and then use the clear water. In rare cases where there is a lot of ash in the water supply, do not use your dishwasher or washing machine.


• You may eat vegetables from the garden, but wash them first.


• Dust often using vacuum attachments rather than dust cloths, which may become abrasive.


• Use battery operated radio to receive information.

- army.mil

Wet ash is heavy! Got a ladder and a shovel for your roof? Battery powered radio? (I just got this one because it can charge my cell phone from solar or the crank in addition to battery power, short wave, am, fm, etc.).

A Yellowstone super volcano eruption could make us wish for the good old days when terrorists destroying a few big buildings in New York was our biggest problem. Then again, it may not happen for a million years. No one knows.

New York City Times Square Ball Drop

Ah here it is: watch 2009 live. Just made it. I tuned in at 33 seconds to go.



The 2009 cam isn't showing anything ... it should be 10 minutes from New York ball drop time because it is 8:50 PM here in CA. Anyway, here is the 2008 ball drop: