Links and Quotes and a Question

If you have any interest at all in the future of computer technology and where we are headed, see this.

It is mind-boggling! (and you don't have to be a genius to understand it!)

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It seems like the less a statesman amounts to the more he adores the flag.

Kin Hubbard, humorist (1868-1930)

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So, tell me: do you think Michelle Obama should or should not wear sleeveless dresses? I just heard on TV that some people are making a big stink about her choice of clothing. Since her arms are nicely toned, I don't see what the uproar is about. Do you? Some woman from Chicago emailed a TV show and said something like this: Mrs. Obama needs to realize that the events she attends are serious and she should dress in a more befitting fashion. I'd like to know why she thinks that sleeveless dresses are a poor choice and not formal enough.

I have thought most of her choices were nice, and I am enjoying watching our President's wife in pretty dresses; not wearing pants suits all the time. What do you think?

Would You Fly On This?

Even though the Aeroscraft dwarfs the largest commercial airliners, it requires less net space on the ground than any plane because it doesn't need a runway. The airship takes off and lands like a helicopter, straight up and down This is not a blimp, It's a sort of flying Queen Mary 2 that could change the way you think about air travel.

It's the Aeroscraft, and when it's completed, it will ferry pampered passengers across continents and oceans as they stroll leisurely about the one-acre cabin or relax in their staterooms. Unlike its dirigible ancestors, the Aeroscraft is not lighter than air. Its 14 million cubic feet of helium hoist only two-thirds of the craft's weight. The rigid and surprisingly aerodynamic body, driven by huge rear-ward propellers, generates enough additional lift to keep the behemoth and its 400-ton payload aloft while cruising During takeoff and landing, six turbo-fan jet engines push the ship up or ease its descent. This two-football-fields-long airship is the brainchild of Igor Pasternak,whose privately funded California firm, Worldwide Aeros Corporation, is in the early stages of developing a prototype and expects to have one completed by 2010.

During the flight, passengers would view national landmarks just 8,000 feet below, or, if they weren't captivated by the view, the cavernous interior would easily accommodate such amenities as luxury staterooms, restaurants - even a casino.


I just realized that I missed noting post #666, which came 2 days ago. I don't know why I should feel the need to mention that.....lol.

We had blog friends over for dinner tonight, and the time flew by! Must have been having fun, right? I did, anyway, and I know mr. kenju did.

Calling all Scientists (and then some leftovers)

WHAT the devil is THIS???

Here's a closeup (click to embiggen). This creepy looking worm was crawling on the concrete pool surround this afternoon, so I ran to get the camera. I have never seen a worm with a head like that, have you? Please, someone, tell us what it is!!?? I didn't measure it, but I'd estimate it was about 9" in length.

You want me to pray for WHAT???


A beautiful photo (stolen from somewhere).


I SOOOOOOO need a 100% discount store!! Where can I find one?

Is that anything like awareness? or sweetness? or

Your guest? What about my guest?

Well that's a relief. Who wants homeless rubbish?

When was the last time you had a ham salad sandwich for 30 cents?

I couldn't resist posting this......LOL.

And continuing in the same vein.......I suppose the Vi*gra people would never want this light switch to be turned off.

Tribute

Don Herbert gave me and countless thousands of children hours and hours of pleasure. His programs were educational, but we didn't realize we were learning because he presented everything in such interesting ways. He made science magic! Several years ago, I discovered that his old TV programs were being shown again. I devoured them, just as I had when I was young. The Wizard is dead. Love live The Wizard!

A Scientific American

I just recently started a subscription to Scientific American (Hey - it was free). I have always been interested in science (well, after college, anyway) and I enjoy reading about new discoveries and research (even if I can only understand every third word).

The new April issue came today and I sat down to see what might be interesting, and found this:

"The Science of Lasting Happiness"

by Marina Krakovsky

The article is based on the research by Sonja Lyubomirsky, from the University of California, at Riverside. She is an experimental psychologist investigating the possibility of lasting happiness, and she "understands far better than most of us the folly of pinning our hopes on...........any good fortune that comes our way. We tend to adapt, quickly returning to our usual level of happiness. The classic example of such 'hedonic adaptation' comes from a 1970's study of lottery winners, who a year after their windfall ended up no happier than nonwinners. Hedonic adaptation helps to explain why even changes in major life circumstances - such as income, marriage, physical health and where we live - do so little to boost our overall happiness. Not only that, but studies of twins and adoptees have shown that about 50 % of each person's happiness is determined from birth. This 'genetic set point' alone makes the happiness glass look half empty, because any upward swing in happiness seems doomed to fall back to near your baseline."

Hmmmmm.....perhaps this is the reason for the saying "Money doesn't buy happiness." The fact that the saying pre-dated lotteries by many years is interesting.....LOL.

Krakovsky goes on to say " Finding out that individuals with strong social ties are more satisfied with their lives than loners, for example, begs the question of whether friends makes us happier or whether happy people are simply liklier to seek and attract friends." I happen to belive it is the latter.

"Her (Lyubomirsky's) aim is not merely to confirm the strategies' effectiveness but to gain insights into how happiness works. For example, conventional wisdom suggests keeping a daily gratitude journal. But one study revealed that those who had been assigned to do that ended up less happy than those who had been assigned to count their blessings only once a week. Lyubomirsky therefore confirmed her hunch that timing is important. So is variety, it turned out: a kindness intervention found that participants told to vary their good deeds ended up happier than those forced into a kindness rut......Why, for example, does acting kind make you happier?"

What do you think? Does it?