No more visits?

It's another Sunday.

And I'm left wondering one thing-

Why haven't there been any visits from Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons?

Usually, they'll come every couple of weeks, but since the beginning of the year I have not encountered any.

Have they come at an unusual hour as of late? Do they know that I am an atheist? 

Whatever. I usually attempted to avoid all confrontation from them anyway. Most of the time, I don't want to talk to them and just accept anything they're going to give me to make them go away.

Reminds me of this Lio strip from a while back...

Twitturgy

A combination of the words Twitter and Liturgy. Click here to see what I mean (and to check out a new NY Times blog which I already enjoy for reading value at the very least)... 

Pastors who build a network of Twitter followers in their congregations now try to reach them all week long. The phenomenon makes e-mail devotions seem so passé.

Really? This from a person who decides that a 2000 year old book is still 100 % relevant. 

From the Depths

Haven't posted in a while. But have not forgotten this blog. 

I've always had a fear of finding myself in the middle of a large body of water (such as an ocean), only to come face-to-face with an inhabitant of the water worthy of being called Goliath- A whale.

Do you know how horrified I would be? Do you know how perplexed I'd be trying to figure out why for the life of me I would be there in the first place? What could be worse?

Oh, right. This could be much worse. Fortunately I'm 150-million years too late to worry about him.

Click here for the article on this leviathan. 

Winston Cigarettes

Just discovered this interesting ancient commercial advertisement including The Flintstones. 

Watch, and see how out of place thatWinston cigarette pack is. Failing to do some research, I do not know whether this is a legit ad. But, even if this is some joke, it's still pretty bizarre and amusing.

Decided that I should adopt an internet display name, since everybody else is doing it.

I rather like the name BARN STORMER, even though I am not one (of course), and it fits with my blog's name.

I like it.

An Interesting News 'Bite'

Apparently, in 16th century Venice, there was an accepted belief in vampires.

But sure, this is a corpse believed to be buried during the 16th century, a time when people didn’t know any better but to believe in vampires. People wouldn't believe this nowadays...

Am I right?

No. A quick Google search points to the contrary. I wonder if I search hard enough, would I find a group of people out there who believe that Twilight is actually a memoir. I cringe at the thought.

Of Ice and Water

Finding ice on Mars is one thing. It means that the temperature on the planet is low enough to freeze water, not allowing for any liquid water. This limits the chance of some life form to possibly exist on Mars. But, according to a team of scientists connected to the Phoenix Mission, this may not be the case.

A team of scientists believes it has found strong evidence of liquid water on Mars, a discovery that would greatly increase the likelihood that some form of life may exist on the Red Planet.

The findings are controversial because there is disagreement among researchers over the evidence, which came from the Phoenix Mars lander's mission last year to the planet's north pole.

Fair enough. If the discovery is one of merit, this is an astounding day for science indeed. This is only if the findings can stand up to scrutiny.

Now, nearly two dozen scientists connected with the Phoenix mission, including lead scientist Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, have signed on to a research paper: "Physical and Thermodynamical Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars." It will be presented at the 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference on March 23 in The Woodlands, Texas, north of Houston.

The evidence offered for liquid water is a series of photographs of globules on one of Phoenix's leg struts. Advocates say the globules were splashed up on the strut during the landing on May 25, 2008. The authors point to pictures that they say show the globules moving and merging over time.

So, we’ll have to wait until March 23 to see what the 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference has in store for the topic at hand. Perhaps the finding will result in a greater acceptance of the possibly of liquid water on Mars. Perhaps not…

Another Phoenix scientist, Michael Hecht of the Jet Propulsion Lab in La Cañada Flintridge, is skeptical of his colleagues' assertions. The photographic images are grainy and unconvincing, and the globules are probably particles of ice, not water, he said.

Quite a skeptical one, I’m afraid I have to back up Michael Hecht’s assertions. Let’s not openly accept that Mars indefinitely has liquid water present before the data and evidence can hold up to intense scrutiny.

But it is still quite possible, he added, that water could exist in liquid form on Mars, in a brine, even at very cold temperatures, because salt lowers the freezing point of ice. "That's one of the exciting things" about Phoenix's discovery of salty soil, he said.

Any thoughts?

Regulatin' Genes.

I just saw this video on YouTube, and I must say I'm impressed...

Who knew that you can have mad rhyming skills AND a satisfactory understanding of Evo Devo?

Sunday...sunday...

I don't know what it is about Sundays. The day is usually nice. Quiet, even. Today, the sun is hitting just right, and the wind is soothing. 

While on a stroll, I encountered an elderly woman in a wheel chair waiting at a stop light. Or, so I thought she was waiting. I waited for the light to turn green, to continue on. When I reached the other end of the street, I turned around.

She was probably waiting to cross at the other light.

But she didn't.

She just sat there. Sitting. Perhaps thinking. Thinking about her life. Or how beautiful the day seemed. Maybe we shared a thought.

Maybe she thought, Look at him. Going somewhere. Having a destination. Why can't he stop and enjoy what he has. Enjoy the moment, because it wont last forever. It wont last forever..

Maybe she was waiting.

Waiting for everybody else to slow down, and wait.

Whoah!

Time flies.

It's been a few days since I last posted, and I hadn't even noticed it.

It must have been because I posted twice in one day, somehow my internal blogging clock must have become confused. Either way, it doesn't matter. I've decided that I'll blog whenever I feel like blogging. So, if I feel like making 4 posts today, so be it. Or one this week, I'll do it.

Wait. Isn't that what I've been doing all along? So I guess this post was useless.

I just wanted to write something.

The Mysterious Stranger

I don't understand why I feel obliged to share this, but what the hell, what is a blog for if you can't share? Am I right? Hopefully.

Anyway, I recently shared a video commercial for a shockingly scary doll that laughs hysterically, and leaves you wondering why anybody in their right mind would buy it for their child. Perhaps I left you wondering why anybody in their right mind would share it on their blog. For shock value, of course. Sometimes it's nice to take a little break from the status quo and entertain yourself. But, recently I was browsing videos on YouTube, and ran across another gem of... shall we say, "disturbing" television events aimed at children. This one, however, may hit a bit closer to home.

It's from a cartoon titled The Adventures of Mark Twain. This particular scene is based off Mark Twain's, apparently, unfinished work of the same title.

(And don't think I'm only using this as an excuse to add another video to my "Holy Shit..." category...)

Is it March already?

Time flies when you're blogging, doesn't it? Well, at least it did for me.

 I aspired to at least post twice more before the end of February, forgetting that the particular month ends earlier than the rest. And here I stand, with 13 posts total for February. I feel cheated, but that's what I get for not taking notice of the calendar often. Anyways, here's to a brand new month.