In Science News

From various feeds:

Did an eco-disaster spawn complex life? Same topic: Greatest mass extinction gave oceans a face lift.

The genetic make-up of humans can vary more than previously thought.

Research article I am not nearly awake enough to do more than flick my eyes over: Algorithmic Self-Assembly of DNA Sierpinski Triangles.

Crustacean and her 425-million-year-old eggs. Pretty!

"It seems that for some people, love and intimacy might not just be undesirable but downright toxic" "His therapist apparently believed that no one could genuinely prefer solitude and that there must be a psychological block preventing this patient from seeking intimacy." Something tells me his problem wasn't intimacy, but the pressure to be someone he wasn't.

The search for truth serums. The fact that this mentions a physician called Dr. House amuses me so much. "Everybody lies."

Secrets of Hessian crucible makers--"A 500-year old mystery surrounding the centre-piece of the alchemists' lab kit has been solved by UCL (University College London) and Cardiff University archaeologists."

Patterns of visual math.

Icelandic volcano caused historic famine in Egypt. And today there's a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil....

"A lavishly illustrated "Atlas of Creation" is mysteriously turning up at schools and libraries in Turkey, proclaiming that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is the real root of terrorism." Did somebody say "Turkey"? I'm getting hungry again.

Happy Black Friday!

tlttlotd and lyssabard went off hunting for bargains a few hours ago, so I've been here relaxing and enjoying the mellow music my Launchcast station is playing for me. Now that I've said that, of course, the algorithm will decide I need to hear some of the more obnoxious tracks from Alice in Chains or Nine Inch Nails. Still, Suzanne Vega "Caramel" followed by Ella Fitzgerald "Get Out of Town" followed by Harold Budd "The Room of Ancillary Dreams" certainly qualifies as mellow in my world.

Huh, the algorithm decided not to jolt me too much yet--it's playing The Corrs' "Irresistible" as I type.

Anyway, some language silliness with daisydumont prompted me to look for any MegaHAL poems in my Yahoo account with the word "daisy" in them. (Ooh, Eva Cassidy doing "Autumn Leaves." Launch has decided to lull me with more mellowness.) Ahem, anyway, here's the poem I found:

There was a man, a face through a paradise.
only a poor, poor shadow
stirring his coffee with his life
i part the sea
and on i went, though the dogs were spent and aged
things
a daisy equal to a stop while her understanding

keeps making november difficult
than joshua's harsh measures,
they dance together then till dawn
and we fairies, that do run
the face of fear
may also be abnormalities in the caves!
they are still,
save for something it had to do
keep the peace i was tucked
up at the window-pane,
a trip to the customer
who sleeps all day... Like mine!

To begin with, Daisy and I are agreed that "stirring his coffee with his life" is a striking line. I also like the shadow & cave imagery here, which reminds me that I ought to refresh my memory of Plato someday soon. It's a pity I don't remember enough Greek to reread him in the original. "And we fairies, that do run / the face of fear / may also be abnormalities in the caves!"

(New U2 playing now.) Parting the sea and going on "though the dogs were spent and aged things" resonates for me too. And on the day after Thanksgiving, sleeping all day, perhaps while tucked up at the window-pane, certainly sounds appealing. Whether or not you have any leftover turkey, may you all have a beautiful Friday!