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Showing posts from July, 2009

The Toba Catastrophe

What I find is wild is Stephen J. Gould's idea that evolution is like a battlefield: long periods of boredom followed by periods of panic and action. Just 75,000 years ago, homo sapien's breeding pool was knocked down to 1,000 to 10,000 people. This created a genetic bottleneck. Also, all of the race's came from diversification after this event. More interesting: some of the pre-cursor species (H. ergaster, H. erectus, and possibly H. floresiensis., etc.) could have existed upto this time. If the Toba Catastrophe happened just 75,000 years ago, that's really recent. It underlines that evolution is fluid and it can flow fast. With the current environmental stresses, we could be entering into an evolutionary bloom of new species (or die off of the unviable-- I'm looking at your, Mr. Tibetan Suicide Monkey). My inner geek thinks about the BSG idea of reducing a population to very few survivors. Or the Lord of the Rings idea that Middle Earth existed in our far past. Or

It's not a Schwa-- it's a monorail for bikes

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This from IO9.com : ( Edit , to draft , Top , Slurp ) Copy this whole post to another site Slurp cancel select site advertising consumerist deadspin defamer fleshbot gay fleshbot gawker gizmodo idolator io9 jalopnik jezebel kotaku lifehacker valleywag artists gawkershop I'm still waiting for the day when humans navigate cities by being sucked through pneumatic tubes. But in the meantime, New Zealand's bicycle- monorail mash-up, known as the Shweeb, might be the next best thing. The Shweeb is a human-powered transit system that employs a recumbent cycle to move a clear passenger tube along a rail. Currently, the only operating Shweeb is located Agroventures Adventure Park in Rotura, New Zealand, where for $45, you and your friends can engage in Shweeb racing. But the inventors

Happy Monday! - NSFW videos

A collection of ads from Europe. Combine non-English with cleverness and voila! NSFW ads on European TV:

Conserve Water If You're Not In The Government

Are you curious who has to shoulder the burden of water conservation in the CRD? If you're a home owner, you're limited to a small amount for lawn care. If you're a public authority or considered as such, you don't have to be so thrifty: The Capital Regional District Water Conservation Bylaw No. 1, 2003 (Bylaw 3061), allows operations classified as a Public Authority " may water lawns and Boulevards on any day, but no more than two days per week ". Due to the extensive grounds they have a multitude of zones and so it may appear to the public that they are watering all of the time. As with any large facility, it can be difficult to water the entire grounds in one cycle and keep exclusively between the schedules hours of 4-10 am and 7-10 pm, as described in the Stage 1 Watering Schedule.

Vennison En Route

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three_bucks Originally uploaded by triviaqueen It looks like the neighbour has some vennison bait... mmmm...

Zombie Lawn Ornaments

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Have your very own Zombie Lawn Ornament! Worry neighbours, scare off rabbits, twist children and most of all, decorate your lawn! Get yours today!

Craigslist Culling

So I wonder if this post: http://victoria.en.craigslist.ca/web/1269289980.html is for these guys: http://www.vitp.ca/content.aspx?id=1856 ( secondary link -- psst, guys: if you're IT, you need a website or some SEO). If so, I have to think that this is what Equity gets you. It could be for these guys : (" website "). Again: same rule as above. Step one of a web company: have a web site-- something, anything-- even a "coming soon". Step two: get office space.

Quick Thought on Tanning Beds

On the same day they ban trans-fats can they roll in legislation to ban tanning beds? Hit both sides of the bell curve and prevent both segments from hurting themselves.

Cross this Hotel Off Of Your Olympic Trip Planner

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Below is a moment from Vancouver's Eastside. What I like is how chaotic this scene must have been -- people bleeding and fighting. A woman takes off down the stairs on a bicycle only to get it jammed in a door frame. On our last trip into Vancouver we accidentally went through the Downtown Eastside. It wasn't surprising, but it was amazing. Wifey's favorite was a guy at a bus stop who had pieces of bread in front of him as he spoke tenderly to one special bun in his hands: Police say Vancouver woman attacked by machete-wielding man in serious condition By THE CANADIAN PRESS – 10 hours ago VANCOUVER, B.C. — Vancouver police say a woman is in serious condition after being attacked by a man wielding a machete. Const. Jana McGuinness said Thursday that the 39-year-old woman had major surgery after the machete sliced through her shoulder and into her collarbone. McGuinness said the attacker went after the woman after he'd been slashed in the forehead in an altercation

Michael Jackson Stages Getaway!

Enjoy!

America prepares to get flavor saved

These are amusing videos because of how much rancor they've drawn in their comments sections. Is America preparing for a plague? Are they ready for The End in 2012? I have a different thought: these are LARGE containers. I think after Labour Day, FEMA is going to twist their legislation and then have all of the really fat people in America killed then stuff their chubby carcasses into these big Rubbermaid bins and bury them. I applaud FEMA for its forward thinking: in 60 million years these former fatsos will be fossil fuels for the insectoid overlords who will have overtaken the world by then. This is also long term planning on the part of the Republicans. No? What party do you think insectoids would vote for?

Live Tweets from Michael Jackson Funeral

12:33PM PST: OMG: MJ is rising from his casket! 12:41PM PST: HOLY: The troops are trying to keep MJ at bay with flamethrowers. He's unstoppable! 12:45PM PST: Thank God! Obama has just dropped in from Marine-1 with a 50-cal firing silver tipped bullets! 12:46PM PST: Obama just shot LaToya! The crowd is cheering! Now that's a funeral!

Funny Connect-The-Dots Moment

I like to cruise around the local Craigslist. I saw this post: When was the last time you were genuinely excited about the HIGH ENERGY and GROWTH POTENTIAL of your workplace? Web Designer (In House) Start Date: July, 2009 Detail: Full Time Position, 40 hours per week Career opportunity now available as in-house Web Designer in extremely successful, growing support services company in the fast-paced internet marketing industry, based in Victoria. The successful candidate must have prior success in standards based HTML and CSS. You must have solid graphic design skills, which include active experience with Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Exceptional organizational and interpersonal skills, and a working knowledge of Internet trends and technologies are helpful. VERY IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY: 1) This position is 100% web media - if your talent/experience is with print media please do not apply for this position; 2) This is an in-house position - if you a