the mustache: a thing of mystery

Once upon a time David tried to grow a mustache. It was very short lived. It died at the end of September 2010. The mustache was a bit sparse, to say the least, and grew very slowly. I hated it. So did he. He grew it for 4 or 5 weeks. The last couple weeks of growth occurred while I was in Seattle and so I arrived home to find this:

He looks like a deadbeat in the 2nd photo, which somehow seems appropriate. We cherish these photos, because DH probably won't ever have another mustache:)

I posted this video on my blog over a year ago, thanks to my friend Rachel. But it still rocks and should be revisited. I asked DH to contribute his own thoughts on what it is to have a mustache (so he can be cool like the dudes in the video). It goes like this--DH: "having a mustache is like ah.. driving a Ferrari. Um..its less comfortable than you would think"

Apparently Indian police officers get paid more if they have a mustache. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3392809.stm

The end.

It's official. DDC says so. Pluto is no longer a planet.

While playing around with the geographic heading information for the Dewey Decimal Classification System, I discovered something totally interesting:

So remember in 2006 when there was a heated discussion among scientists about whether Pluto should be a planet or not? Pluto lost and was demoted to "dwarf planet". Several events followed this resolution.

First, a new facebook group was created, called "When I was your age, Pluto was a planet". I joined, naturally.

Second, we all contemplated an existence without Pluto. What would become of those memorization aids for learning the planets? My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us NOTHING. That's what. No pizza for you.

And third, the Dewey Decimal Classification System was updated. The classification "Pluto and transplutonian planets" was altered to "Trans-Neptunian objects". Thus all those books about Pluto are now technically about "Trans-Neptunian objects." How depressing.

And that is it. There is no hope for Pluto now. DDC is the final word.

The end.

a killer ride

I once knew this girl. I met her at a math/science summer camp just before my freshman year in college (I know, I'm way nerdy).

There were 21 girls in that camp. (Also known as ACCESS.) Near the beginning of the summer, we all sat in a circle and played a getting to know you game. We were all supposed to name our dream car and why.

I only remember two things about that day. I remember what I said, and I remember what one other girl said.

I said my dream car was a Saturn. This had nothing to do with the car itself, and everything to do with the name. I wanted to be an Astrophysicist, after all. But mostly, I just didn't know anything about cars beyond the world of Pontiac and Oldsmobile that my parents supported.

Then there was the other girl. She was into meteorology. She was goth. And she said her dream car was a Hearse. You know. A Hearse. I forget if she said why. But we all sort of looked at her closely in that moment, wondering if she had some internal conflict or teen rebel moment going on. No one made any comments.

Then this morning (8 years later) I saw this article on sfgate.com. Apparently, lots of people own Hearses. You could probably live in one. Or die in one.

My favorite line is at the end of the article, when the author says this: "When the time comes, it's going to take me for that last ride."

Event Horizon: Do Not Cross

Beware of falling into black holes. Some critics say this is a dangerous pastime, since "what goes into a black hole, stays in a black hole."

Cern will be turning on the "Large Hadron Collider" tomorrow. But by the time you read this, it will have already happened. And you might just be reading this from inside a black hole.

Or not.

PS. My take on this matter, is that we should worry as much about being eaten up by a black hole as we should worry that the Yellowstone Caldera Supervolcano will erupt. And if any of you saw that movie, yeah. I don't think so.

never leave me

Look, it's still there.

things worth knowing

1. The Museum of Bad Art. Someone is keeping track of all the bad art. I think this is very important. I enjoy bad art as least as well as good art, possibly more.

2. Web Pages that Suck. Someone else is keeping track of all the worst web pages out there. Unfortunately, said person notifies web-site owners when they win the "Worst Web Page in the World" award...and as a result many of them have been improved. But a few have not been improved..and these are my favorites:

This page has a brilliantly tiled background. I've never laughed so hard by myself at the computer, ever. (I do not mean to imply that I have laughed as hard with another person at the computer, nor do I imply that I have laughed as hard by myself away from the computer. Although, these two cases may very well have occurred. Furthermore, it is likely that I have laughed as hard with another person (or more) away from the computer.)

This one is..well..what it is.

This one is a game...can you move the cursor across the screen without activating a pop-up box? Apparently not. Tricksy.

3. The Bad Cookie. The bad fortune cookie, to be precise.

I shall sleep better tonight knowing such websites exist.

there are no words...

Watch this.

This post was brought to you by Libby.

stupid earthquake

So, I studied earthquakes during my undergrad. I move to california. I put in my time. And then when the earthquake finally happens (evening of August 2--epicenter in the east bay), I'm on an airplane in the middle of nevada, 1 hour away from landing. And it was 4.4 magnitude...there's no way I wouldn't have felt that one. I'll just have to go on living I suppose...

Worst Weatherman in History

Some kids putting on a news program, with the most awkward weatherman ever. Don't miss this report.

white men can't jump

Jump time, 4:39:13 am pacific time, thursday. Creative? Yes. Effective? No. Confused? Look here and here.

Maybe next week, everyone on the planet can hold their breath at the same time. That way, we can preserve oxygen and slow the buildup of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. In fact, this method may prove so effective, it will become a daily regimen. I'm brilliant.

On a less sarcastic note...
the end.

a sock?

A sock. With expression. Hmm.

The day of towels

I think it very important to observe that today is towel day. Yes, towel day. A day to celebrate the existence of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy plus two (although, personally, I didn't particularly like book 5), as well as to celebrate Douglas Adams (who died on may 11, 2001). Lets celebrate (his life). Douglas Adams also wrote a lesser known pair of books, which are by no means less worthy. The second of these is entitled, "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul," featuring a man named Dirk Gently. As you might have guessed...he was in the first book too. I would like to point out that my neighbor's name is Dirk. I would also like to point out (which I am certain most will miss) is that the footnote on this page (So long, and thanks for all the fish) is the title of the third installment in the Hitchhiker trilogy. This is, in fact, a farewell from the dolphins (who eat fish). Intrigued? I thought so. Yay for towels. On another note, I would like to say the world has not ended.

Exit Mundi.

So..long ago, I discovered a lovely site..called Exit Mundi. Perhaps not so oddly enough, even though I generally loathe and avoid the inaccurate and overdramatized end-of-the-world movies, I like this website that lists even more far-fetched end world scenarios. But the main point of this paragraph, is an introduction to this cartoon, which I think is especially marvelous.