Stalking Venus

Every now and again, I come across someone who doesn’t believe in global warming. They say it’s hype or some sort of scientific conspiracy to um… well, to do something or other. Maybe get funding or recognition or something.
Well, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so check this out. These are [...]

This is a photograph of the concrete dome on Runit Island. The island, which is part of Enewetak Atoll was fitted with its unusual concrete cap because of the simple small fact that beneath it lie 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive soil and debris from the Bikini and Rongelap atoll nuclear tests.

The dome covers the [...]

There’s an interesting article over at The Silicon Alley Insider that states the New York Times could buy every single subscriber an Amazon Kindle e-book reader and it would still cost them only half of their existing publishing costs.
From the article:
According to the Times’s Q308 10-Q, the company spends $63 million per quarter on raw [...]

Reuters reports that London is snowed under, with much of the public transport system ground to a halt due to the 15 centimetres of snow covering tracks and roads.
Heathrow Airport reported “significant delays” in their flights and London City Airport said they were “closed until further notice”.
The London Met Office reports that “so far, this [...]

Deutsche Welle has an interesting article on what they say may one day dethrone plastic. The substance, dubbed liquid wood is a special formula of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose – natural components of wood.

“The lignin is not needed in papermaking,” says ICT team leader Emilia Regina Inone-Kauffmann.

“Our colleagues mix that lignin with fine natural fibers [...]

Well, it’s not the warmest Christmas I’ve ever experienced. At 9.25 a.m. it’s only 25 degrees centigrade. Still, it’s warm enough  that we’re having a cold Christmas lunch today, putting the lilo in the pool and wearing shorts and teeshirts.
Well, I guess that’s the southern hemisphere for you. Not so good for these folks in [...]

Coz I’ll choon you right back, “Moenie kak praat, bru. Tsekkit the Vennis, ou pel.”
Once again, the Big Picture astounds and amazes us with pictorial news from the big wide world: “The recent “acqua alta” (high water) in Venice, Italy reached a depth of 1.56 meters (5 ft, 1 in.) on Monday – the deepest [...]

Okay, so that was funny, but I’m not going to fuck about here. Smoking kills people. All independent surveys show that it’s one of the leading non-natural killers in the world. People do it because it’s addictive.
Nobody enjoyed their first cigarette. I had to choke mine down. It tasted fucking awful and made my head [...]

Once again, Boston.com’s Big Picture feature has some of the most incredible photographs I’ve ever seen. This time the feature is on an exhibition of photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s work, which will be on display in New York soon.
The exhibition is called Earth From Above and is stunning. Here are just a few. Be sure to [...]