The Great Separation

What are the Odds of Being Struck by a Meteorite?

That's got to hurt - Well for Gerrit Blank those odds were pretty high. Talk about oddities.

Boy Hit by Meteorite

A 14-year old German boy was hit in the hand by a pea-sized meteorite that scared the bejeezus out of him and left a scar.

"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road," Gerrit Blank said in a newspaper account. Astronomers have analyzed the object and conclude it was indeed a natural object from space,

If you're wondering what the odds really are,The Harvard Crimson says the odds of being struck by a meteorite during this century are three in one hundred.

I guess that makes Gerrit one down and two to go.

Is That a Railroad Tie on Mars?

Is this the depot? - Here's an oddity for you. This is a shot from the Mars Rover that seems to feature a rock that looks strangely like a railroad tie.

Here's the link to the full picture on Nasa's site.

Odd Links: Robot with Organic Brain and Dead Big Foot?

Say what? - I've not had a lot of time lately for Internet reading. But this morning, due to inclement weather I find myself back in my chair and looking over the news.

Here's two news items that I find interesting and odd.

The first is more interesting and somewhat scary.

A 'Frankenrobot' with a biological brain:

Stitched together from cultured rat neurons, Gordon's primitive grey matter was designed at the University of Reading by scientists who unveiled the neuron-powered machine on Wednesday.

Their groundbreaking experiments explore the vanishing boundary between natural and artificial intelligence, and could shed light on the fundamental building blocks of memory and learning, one of the lead researchers told AFP.

Creepy, but it seems to be the course science is plotting when it comes to super computing. Probably because they can't seem to find a way yet to beat God's super computer, the brain.

Speaking of creepy here's another news item that is definitely an oddity.

Claim: Dead Bigfoot stored on ice:

Hunters in northern Georgia, claiming to have found Bigfoot and stored him in a freezer, are promising to release telling pictures and DNA evidence of the creature.

Can we spell, Hoax?

Quick Link: Most of Jazz Musician's Brain Shuts off When...

Toned out. - This is neat oddity that fascinates me.

ScienCentral has a report on a doctor who apparently discovered that when a musician plays improve, ie not using sheet music but going with the flow such as in a jazz session, that a good portion of his brain shuts off.

Here's the report:

Your Brain On Jazz.

News Links of Note.

Click. Wow. Click. Uh. Click. Groan. - The last couple of days have presented me with a number of news items that I've found interesting and worth passing along to you my readers. These all touch on subjects that I have posted upon in the past.

The first is in relation to bees. Here's the link: UM’s “Bee Whisperer” Tells of Honeybees’ Military Potential.

I found it because I continue to monitor the Colony Collapse Disorder (a subject that is addressed in the article) that many bee keepers are faced with in the world today. It's a news item that has a, "Wow", factor. You see, a man has found a way to train bees to find land mines!

This next item is related to my post yesterday, "I am Bone Weary of America's Licentiousness.

A study has shown that more of the tweens group are engaging in sexual behavior. Here's the link: Younger adolescents involved in sexual activity.

Here's a news item that was encouraging to me: Planned Parenthood fails to open doors. Here's a snippet:

A state law that requires abortionists to inform women – before an abortion – that the procedure "will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being" apparently has done what no other pro-life protest has been able to accomplish – the closure of Planned Parenthood's abortion facility.

Here is yet another example of the fallout from the Court in California making same-sex marriage legal. Christian therapist under fire for email response.

This therapist is under fire because she voiced her Christian beliefs to fellow therapists. I applaud her for not hiding her faith.

Here's another item out of California. Academia to high schools: No God allowed.

Arguments were heard today in a federal district court case to determine whether a state university system can dictate that private Christian schools in the state teach their college prep courses from exclusively secular, Bible- and God-free textbooks.

Here's the final item in my list today. PBS documentary denies inerrancy of scripture. There's apparently a forth coming Nova program that argues things such as the story of Abraham being fictious.

Seeing some of the news items sure does make it hard to understand how some people continue to operate under the false belief that Christianity isn't under attack in America today.

The Great Separation continues.

Vaccine Contains Remnants of Aborted Babies.

Quick Link - This is just shocking to me:

Pro-life group warns of vaccine's contents.

A newly licensed vaccine for several illnesses contains tissue from aborted babies.

Pentacel is a combination vaccine for five diseases approved by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. The vaccine is to be added to the immunization schedule for children.

If I had children, I would certainly be making sure that they did not get vaccinated with this drug.

Did You Know a Black Hole was Racist?

I bet there's a mad scientist behind it. - This bit of news proves that either the educational system is toast in America or that the mindset of being a victim is forever a trump card. Or maybe it's both.

Good grief!

Here's the nuts-n-bolts (I hope that cliche doesn't offend) of the whole box of chocolates.

In a government meeting in Dallas, one official complains about paper work being lost in a particular office by comparing said office to a naturally occurring feature of known space, a "black hole". To which another government official takes it as a derogatory racist remark. To which another government official (a judge none-the-less) chimed in decrying the remark as racially insensitive and demanding an apology.

Good grief!

Click here to read the account: SciGuy: Is "black hole" a racially insensitive term?

It's a wonder to me that our local, state, and federal governments are able to get tie their shoes. Oh, wait, they probably all use velcro.

Scientists Need Women Volunteers for Chocolate Study.

This line could get long. - Hey, wait just a minute what about the guys?

Here's an oddity item for you that you may want to try and sign up for.

Ananova is reporting that a group of scientists are looking for 150 women to eat one chocolate bar every day for 365 days.

Sounds like a winner to me.

Here's a snippet on the reasoning:

The aim is to test the theory that chocolate can help women with type 2 diabetes ward off heart disease after menopause.

Experts say flavonoids, plant compounds found in cocoa and soy, have been shown to reduce heart disease risk factors.

Fire Alarm with Silent Alarm.

Smell this - Here's a cool device that some Japanese lab coats are working to wake hearing impaired people in the event of a fire.

It looks like this could actually be a pretty good fire alarm. But I wonder how the scent is changed in the presence of an actual fire?

A New Way to Kill the Cold Virus?

Turn the music up. - Ok. Here's another quick medical link that I certainly found intriguing. Some scientist type folk are experimenting with resonance and frequency as a means to kill viruses. Be it the HIV virus, the cold virus, you name it. If it's a virus it could meet its end by being shaking to death.

New Way to Kill Viruses: Shake Them to Death:

Scientists may one day be able to destroy viruses in the same way that opera singers presumably shatter wine glasses. New research mathematically determined the frequencies at which simple viruses could be shaken to death.

It's interesting and one I'll file away.