Friday, February 5, 2010

Jon Stewart on The O'Reilly Factor

This is the full interview, not the heavily edited piece of crap that Fox actually aired. One thing that is patently clear from this full version is that O'Reilly confirms unequivocally that he is a rank shit-eating, moronic fucktard amateur and is way out of his league.

Watch it here.

Animal Farm Friday II - A boy and his 24 year old cat

http://i.imgur.com/jdiuY.jpg

From this post.

One night my wife dreamt she was grooming it and found a zipper under its belly fur. She pulled it and saw a light inside. Staring at this light she became aware she was being drawn into the cat.

She wandered around the house as a cat, not as an old one but in the prime of life, leaping around the furniture, chasing dust motes and running out the cat flap making it bang open, then up along the fence, balancing on the narrow uprights then a leap up into the tree, walking out onto the branches to rest and look down on everyone. It was wonderful having a cats agility and balance, leaping up onto tables spinning after her tail, investigating movements in the air. She dreamt she lept up onto her favorite pillar and was being stoked by humans, she could tell what they were like by the energy their strokes gave her. A nice woman stroked her and it was a lovely warm feeling.

That morning we found the cat in its usual position on the bed at her feet. It was unable to move. It was the weekend so we both went down the vets. She went easy. After we had a short discussion with the vet she just allowed her paw to be shaved and injected. It was all over in a minute, she slipped out of or lives as quietly as she slipped in. I admired that. We wrapped her in a blanket and buried her in the Garden and planted lavender over her. I think of her still. We haven't owned a cat since.


Animal Farm Friday - Japanese Cats Rule!

From Warming Glow:
Man, what a great day this is. A cat who’s a Japanese businessman! You just know all his colleagues are jealous that he can lick his own genitals.




Monday, February 1, 2010

Kickstarter Monday: Liquid Glass, a Spray-on Miracle

Wow. This "liquid glass" sounds like one of the most amazing - and useful - scientific inventions ever!
It sounds too good to be true: a non-toxic spray invisible to the human eye that protects almost any surface against dirt and bacteria, whether it is hospital equipment and medical bandages or ancient stone monuments and expensive fabrics. But true it is. The spray is a form of "liquid glass" and is harmless to living things and the wider environment. It is being touted as one of the most important, environmentally-friendly products to emerge from the field of nanotechnology, which deals in objects at the molecular end of the size scale.

These are some of the possible - and actual - uses for the stuff:
Nano invention: Macro possibilities

Agriculture

Wood treated with liquid glass was found to be resistant to termite attacks in tropical climates. This led to tests on vines showing that treated plants are more resistant to a fungus that attacks the grapes. Seeds coated with liquid glass are less likely to be be attacked by fungal spores and germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, probably because they do not waste energy fending off the microbes. Wine corks treated with liquid glass may also be protected against "corking", when contaminants in the cork taint the flavour of the wine.

Stone monuments

Stone surfaces coated with liquid glass are protected against the weather and easier to clean, especially if grafittied. For 18 months, scientists in Turkey have been running trials on the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara and a 15th-Century mosque. They report continued water protection and no discolouration. Talks are taking place about the possible use of liquid glass in Britain to protect memorials and war graves.

Domestic bathrooms

Millions of homes use cleaning agents and bleach. Tests by food processing companies in Germany have shown that sterile surfaces treated with the liquid glass can be cleaned with plain hot water and have levels of sterility seen on surfaces washed in bleach.

Its uses in the fashion industry

The liquid glass produces a highly flexible, invisible barrier to liquids and dirt. It cannot be seen by the naked eye and yet it allows fabrics to "breathe", according to its manufacturers. Expensive fabrics could be treated to make them stain resistant and at least one maker of upmarket handbags and coats is understood to be conducting negotiations about treating its products before they leave the factory.