Walk Around The Lake

... in just a few million footsteps.

On April 29 2010, Kate Crowley & Mike Link, veteran naturalists, set off via foot & kayak to circumnavigate Lake Superior.

145 days later they'd gone full circle.
It was 1555 miles. (2503 km)
That's quite a walk.

They took video, and collected valuable data on water quality, invasive species, ecology, geography, and human impacts all along their hike. So it was a scientific venture as well as a personal adventure.

link to their interactive map

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Their trek struck a chord with me because my family traveled to see Split Rock lighthouse, one of their landmarks, when I was a child. The shore was rocky, the lake was clear, cold & endless.

And I was chilly after only a few minutes.
Can't imagine how bone-cold you'd be after 5 months.

They saw these moose tracks along the shore...

...and maybe it went in circles around them but
I bet it didn't go as far as they did. :)


For TT's 'Full Circle' day
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Seasons of the Moon

Our moon never seems to change...
Its fissures, craters and other formations look permanent, frozen except for a few small indents here and there.



We know the moon didn't always appear like this...
And now, thanks to NASA, we get to watch its history:

NASA's 'Evolution of the Moon'


Credit goes to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter group - thanks to their hard work we can all experience the 'seasons' of the moon.

And without having to wear a spacesuit,
or even an anti-meteor helmet. ;-)


For ThemeThursday's: 'Season'
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Walk the Wicked Way

And ponder this perilous pathway.

Filming all the way, this guy hiked the most hair-raising section of the disintegrating El Camino del Rey gorge trail.



El Caminito del Rey (The King's little pathway) is pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge near Málaga, Spain.

It was built in 1901 for workers at the hydroelectric dam at Chorro Falls, and was one meter (39 inches) wide, complete with a handrail. Now its obviously in a highly deteriorated state, with all those large gaps bridged only by narrow beams. They did install a safety-wire alongside the path, but several people still fell off in recent years, so the local government closed it about 10 years ago.

But apparently they don't patrol it.
Can't blame them - who'd volunteer?
I mean, besides ^ that guy ^.

btw, this inspired me to look up 'scary' words:
frightening, terrifying, alarming, bloodcurdling, chilling, creepy, eerie, hairy, horrendous, horrifying, intimidating, shocking, spine-chilling, spooky, unnerving, perilous, risky, treacherous, uncertain, unhealthy, unsound, wicked... I think they all apply here.

A late entry for TT's 'stairs' day. Happy New Year!
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Fowl Weather Gear

Just in time for winter...

For the past several months, a small group of knitters in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, have been knitting sweaters for featherless hens rescued from British poultry farms.

The group has even staged two "knit-ins," in which members assemble at a local needlecraft store and craft sweaters -- known in England as "jumpers" -- en masse.

"In the winter, the hens need a little bit of help keeping warm," said organizer and store owner Amy Leader.

The two knit-ins have attracted considerable media attention, which is why several weeks ago she received a phone call reminiscent of an old Monty Python sketch.

"I heard that you're knitting chicken jumpers," the woman said, explaining that she represented a charity that rescued farm chickens. "Would you give me some of them?"

"Do you have a daughter?" Leader asked.

The woman replied that she did.

"It's you I'm making them for!" Leader cried.

The knit-ins have been as good for just about everybody involved. For Leader, they've meant attention for her shop and a chance to incorporate beginners into the circle.

"What's really lovely about a chicken jacket is it doesn't have to be perfect, because -- come on -- it's for a chicken."

There are plans for future knit-ins -- what with the cold weather and holidays coming in -- and that leaves open the possibility of seeing chickens running around England wearing red and green jumpers.

"Maybe we can make little Santa hats for them," Leader said. "The possibilities are endless, aren't they."

It would appear so...

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Meanwhile, check out the 'Chicken Police' !

A bit hare-brained, yes?
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Spin In The Wind

Actually, its an indoor windmill.
Made out of a cardboard box.
(a model for a later design)
So it will sit, but not even spin.

And for you observant types...

'Yes', it is a box from a case of Chablis.
(sigh) 'No', there isn't any left, (sorry)
But since its Friday...
'Yes', later we'll go get another. ;)

As its my only art for the day,
it becomes my 12th day of art, of 30.
this November's 'Art Every Day' month
See the other's art bits via twitter #aedm2010

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To see a livelier windmill, watch her go:

And she did it with no scrapes, I'm impressed!
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Boffo Bout of Blokus

Rediscovered this little gem just in time for ThemeThursday's 'game day'.

The only rule? Your color pieces may only touch your same color ones on the corners.

` Blokus, shown on iPad


Plus, you can test-drive it. (opens in new window) On their page go to the lower right and pick 'Play As A Guest' option. Blokus Online

And look, even a bird-brain can play: {30 sec, new window}

So in just a bit, you'll be a Boffo Blokus Blogger.

Just like Lucy and ...

Have Fun, TTers!
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Powder Pups

- Tired of winter? This'll help:

Notice that 'catcher' who falls backward?
Lucky its a tiny hill... ;-)

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Bottle Buds

Keeping with this musical week.

Plus they fit with TT's 'Bottle' theme.


- The amateurs:


The credits are longer than the tune.

And for that we're all grateful...

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- The perky pals:

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- The 'pros':


Notice how many folks put $$ in their hat.

Plus its a job requirement to drink
- must get their instruments in tune!

I think I'm in the wrong line of work.

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Prequel Of The Rings

When over 8 hours of LOTR just isn't enough...

Kate Madison, 31-year-old British amateur actress, was so inspired by director Peter Jackson's big screen version of the classic J.R.R. Tolkien tale that she decided to make her own movie.

Her own addition to the mythology of Middle-earth was based on two paragraphs Tolkien included in the appendix to his Lord Of The Rings books, which mentioned the adventures of Arathorn and Gilraen, the parents of Aragorn.

She did a 70 minute movie on 2 paragraphs?

Imagine if Tolkien had written 2 pages on them! ;-)

Anyway, here's the trailer - its only 80 seconds:



Go here to watch 'Born of Hope' online.
*remember, its over an hour long...

link: full Daily Mail article about it.

btw: Anyone find those two paragraphs? I'll post them.

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Theme Thursday

Its early, but are you in the mood for Thursday yet? Not me, I have a meeting that I'm not going to enjoy...

So here are a few places to give us all a bit of Thursday to look forward to: new topics you can write or do an artistic bit about to match.

One theme this week: 'Mirror' .
*I'm going to try it - we'll see everyone's Feb 11th.

Another theme for T-day: Pink & Black.

twitter: a portfolio themethursday tweet.

unique: Theme Thursday 4 gadgets?

And: video/CGI 'theme days'

This 'Ghost Eye' has an interesting effect.
Is it a real eye 'CGI'-ed onto a spiral?...

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Now we've got something to look forward to.

Besides the weekend, of course. ;-)

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Pretty Fly

so fun: Video from onboard a toy airplane.
so fly: Letting kids shoot fireworks at it.

Didn't know you could aim bottle rockets that well.
btw, get ready to duck; the kids get amazing close.

link: 5 minute 'music video' version

An Amazing Trek

... into Spock's mind, among other places.

A farmer fan used GPS technology to build this 32-acre 'York Maze' in Yorkshire, UK as a tribute of sorts to the 40th year of 'Star Trek'. You can get lost running around Saturn, the Starship Enterprise, in Mr Spock's brain, or into a "Borg cube" that's being zapped right next to Picard's head.

*''See? Spock's brain is green too.''

Fun for the entire clan...

Bring food, H₂O, pointy ears & a GPS.

Daily Mail: York Maze.

Horny in New Orleans

Introducing the Big Easy Rollergirls. On Saturday they rolled through the streets of the French Quarter hitting people with foam bats.

The first year's festival... 250 people turned out. In 2008, the number grew to more than 600. This year, organizers are hoping for more than 1,000 runners, including out-of-towners... "They've been instructed to hit hard, " O'Donnell said. "Every year people complain that they weren't hit hard enough."

Watch and see New Orleans on the run!

Pamplona, eat your heart out.

Tall Trees Anyone?

This ad popped up yesterday:


Brings whole new meaning to 'tree huggers'...

just knew I'd find it on yourubes

more for shaving enthusiasts: chest, back,
hard way: guy shaves back w/ golf club.
not least: humor vid set to song 'short dick man'

Lets Make A Splash

I know its an obnoxious prank...

...but it always makes me LOL.


*Definitely worth a minute & 1/2 of your time...

Primate Goes Postal

Small silver-suited SpaceApe, speedily sent!

This little guy has traveled so far, to space and back (plus 400 miles on a mail truck), that I figured it was time he got a break. So I let him relax on the coast of Maine. But he still looks stiff! Must be E's fault; she put that too-tight shiny suit on him before she stuffed'm in that envelope for the trip to my place.*

*So tell the ASPCA&PP(& plastic pets) that the guilty party can be found here: Erin's earnestly evocative exchange empire
j/k Thanks to Erin for the jolly junk mailout. ;-)

- *The film that killed my space monkey's oscar chances...{30 sec}

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July update:

Tell Me The Tooth

High-tech dentistry... using plasma flares?

from the Economist:

(in a root canal) "... it is common for some of the bacteria to survive it and therefore for infections to re-emerge...

The surviving bacteria are often gathered in the form of what is known as a biofilm. Bacteria in such a film are embedded in a polymer matrix, which makes them harder to kill than isolated individuals. High temps can destroy biofilms, as can chemicals, but neither is safe to use inside... a human tooth. However Chunqi Jiang, a physicist at the USC, and her colleagues have come up with a possible alternative: a dental plasma torch.

...Dr Jiang reckoned that a cold plasma, particularly one rich in oxygen ions (which are notoriously destructive of organic materials), would be enough to do the job of breaking up a biofilm without harming the patient.

(my aside) 'Much'.

I'm praying this isn't the same kind: Here's a youtube video of one cutting a motorcycle outline in less than 30 seconds... out of quarter-inch steel plate.

I like my dentist, but wouldn't trust him with this!

Hairless Ewok Speaks!

Any video watching Mom could love...

They showed her the 1977 one.

Love her garage sale and Darth Vader lines.

*Happy Mother's Day to US, Canada, NZ & Aussie Moms.
(any place else celebrate Mom's Day in May?)

Hot Crispy Buns

Swedish boys do the Crisp Bread Dance...



...and its a recipe for success, yes?

Thanks to Mrs. C. for inspiring me to dig up this English-subtitled version, thus proving Sweden's Got Talent. Or at the very least, 'showmanship'. Here's hoping they bring home the dough. ;-)

Out of Step

Mediocre editing, yet another bugaboo of TLW.
If you saw Ep 607 you know what I mean...

That's why its interesting to see unpaid fans remix the scenes that IC's clumsy yet paid editors & director have chopped apart. Here a fan restored some flow to a dance sequence that had been roughly intercut with 2 other storylines in the aired version of the ep.

* credit for this 607 remix goes to beakerJT
{1 min}

Makes quite a difference. Too bad the amateur editors employed by TLW didn't know the golden rule of editing video - if your audience has never seen it before, don't cut away. Put another way, if its something unique, you need to let your audience have a chance to savor it. If it was a cola ad? - feel free to do as many cuts as you like, but the only choreographed dances in TLW deserved better.
(Direct youtube link to the same video)