Swine Flu / H1N1 Virus Giant Microbes – $7.95
With all the commotion over swine flu, who knew that the culprit – H1N1 Influenza Virus – could be so … cute? Here’s the popular Giant Microbe plush toy based on cause of the global flu pandemic. Get yours before the second wave of the pandemic hits!
Featured Item: every order will get a Free Mystery Bonus. It’s for a limited time only, so get yours today!
From the Neatorama Shop: H1N1 Swine Flue Virus Plush Toy | Other Giant Microbes | Swine Flu: Bacon’s Revenge T-Shirt
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Katherine Harmon writes in Scientific American that pharmacology researchers are developing a drug that could diminish the pleasurable effects of cocaine. Taking the drug might help addicts detoxify with greater success:
The vaccine itself does not destroy cocaine molecules, rather it induces antibodies that bind to it, making the opiate lose its ability to pass through the blood–brain barrier—and thus unable to trigger a high.
To test the vaccine’s effectiveness in humans, researchers (with some help and financial backing from Celtic Pharma) enlisted 94 subjects who had enrolled in a methadone treatment program for opiate addiction—and who also regularly used cocaine—for a placebo-controlled, double-blind study. (They decided on this group because methadone programs historically have better retention rates than programs for cocaine abuse only.) One group received a placebo, another a low dosage of vaccine, whereas a third was administered a high dosage over a series of 12 weeks with five total injections.
More than half of the subjects in the high-dosage group (53 percent) appeared to have laid off the cocaine for more than half of the trial period, the researchers report after tracking traces of the drug in urine samples collected three times a week. Just less than a quarter of subjects with the low dosage had the same track record, according to the results published online yesterday in the Archives of General Psychiatry. A drop in cocaine usage across all groups may also be attributed to a curb in opiate drug consumption from the methadone treatment.
Link | Image: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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When scientist Pat Gaines heard a scream of a hawk while at Bonny Lake State Park in the Colorado and Kansas border, he looked up to see this amazing spectacle: a kingbird relentlessly attacking a red-tailed hawk several times its size!
Gaines had focused his camera on one red-tailed hawk because the bird had been screaming. As he followed the hawk across the sky, a kingbird dive-bombed the hawk.
The hawk, which is not a predator of the kingbird, flew as fast as it could from the kingbird. For a moment it appeared the kingbird had stopped attacking. But then it began the pursuit again and — to Gaines amazement — landed on the hapless red-tail’s back.
“He rode the hawk for 25 yards. The hawk was not trying to fight back — it was just trying to get out of there,” said Gaines.
As the kingbird rode bareback on the hawk, it pecked away at the hawk’s head.
“They (the kingbirds) are not afraid of anything,” said Gaines. “Until this happened, I had never seen one perch on a hawk’s back.”
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From Crystal Pepsi to Pepsi Samba to Pepsi Ice Cucumber, one thing is assured: these sodas are gross.
Whether you prefer Coke or Pepsi really doesn’t matter in this day and age. The soda market is flooded with variants by the two giants and lesser known companies that are trying to penetrate consumers’ refrigerators. But no matter you preference, any soda drinker can agree that these flavors that Pepsi put out are downright awful. From the classic Crystal Pepsi fiasco to the more recent Pepsi Jazz, prepare to be amazed and surprised at products marketing executives actually thought would work out.
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The web is full of online tools, but I bet that you just use a handful of them every day. Indeed, the hardest thing about using online tools is finding them – sometimes you have to wade through a lot of mediocre tools to find the one that suits your need.
Well, here’s my list – a set of 10 online tools that I use daily (or almost daily) to blog. For example:
Ta-Da is a very useful, easy to use – and best of all, free – online to-do list by the folks at 37signals. I use it every day to jot down tasks and ideas. You can even share your list with other people or make it public.
Link: 10 Most Useful Online Tools Ever! over at Cluebert.
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PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.
Designed by a team at the National University of Singapore, PhotoSketch is the latest and greatest in image creation systems. The full description of how it works can be found here, but the basic process is this:
Draw a basic object, name it and repeat this for any other objects you want in your picture, then name the background. PhotoSketch then searches the Internet for images that match the descriptions given, and after a bit of sorting out, you have all the elements necessary for seamless stitching. The possibilities seem endless. Check out the video!
This is getting so much buzz, the link is down as of 10/06/2009 1945 hrs EST.
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Yes, you read the title right. This is a link to Baby Center’s visual guide to baby poop. Go ahead and giggle, but let’s face it new parents are obsessed with their kids poop.
Most new parents find baby poop quite surprising! It has so many shades and consistencies that even experienced parents may not have seen them all.
This photo guide to baby poop will give you a good idea of what’s normal and what’s not as your newborn grows, drinks breast milk or formula, and starts eating solids. You’ll find out when not to worry and when it’s wise to be concerned.
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Angry farmers took to the streets to protest low food prices in Brussels, Belgium. They dumped milk into the streets and threw eggs. One pictures shows a farmer aiming streams of milk directly from a cow’s udder onto policemen.
The protest organizers, the European Milk Board, said that more than 1,000 tractors and 5,000 people took part on behalf of “more than 80,000 dairy farmers”.
The group said milk prices are below 75 percent of production costs. Another European farm union organization, Copa-Cogeca, says that milk prices have plummeted 30 percent in a year and that dairy producers will lose up to 14 billion euros before the end of the year if nothing is done.
See the awesome full version of this cropped picture at the New York Times. Link -via Buzzfeed
(image credit: Georges Gobet/Agence France-Presse)
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Digital painting by Randis Albion
Randis Albion is an artist whose work is all over the place thematically, but constantly awesome. As a conceptual concept artist working heavily in Adobe Photoshop, he has designed works for video games and other media.
It’s extremely tough to pick just one example of his work, but the Pikachu piece “Gonna Catch ‘em All”, above, is one of his newest. More to see at the slightly NSFW link.
Link (Scroll down) More, smaller images at DeviantArt here.
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Photo by Flickr user MelitaThis dreamy cave is Modra Spilja, The Blue Cave, located off the coast of Croatia. One of those hard-to-get-to locales, it is very much worth the effort to see the Bisevo/Balun Cove. The effect is caused by sunlight filtering in through an underwater opening from the sea, and reflecting off the limestone floor.
It has been there for ages, but wasn’t always accessible by raft:
Though Croatian fisherman have known of the blue cave since ancient times, it wasn’t until 1884 that a (relatively) easy entrance was blasted out with dynamite. Before this small hole in the side of the rock was opened, the only entrance into the cave was to dive underneath the rock wall in just the right spot.
Link with video.
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Victoria’s Way Indian Sculpture Park is home to over 14 amazing pieces respresenting the spiritual progression to enlightenment. These statues were created by craftsmen in Mahabalipuram, India. I love the fact this amazing Indian Sculpture based is in County Wicklow, Ireland! The results speak for themselves.
Link – via babycreativeblog
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Creative Cloud has a collection of newspaper scans with the biggest headlines of the past 100 years. Here you have a chance to see the news the way people saw it on the days (or the day after, in most cases) many world-changing events happened, from the sinking of the Titanic to the election of the latest president of the United States. Link -via the Presurfer
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Police in Gunbalanya, Northern Teritory, Australia arrested and detained a two meter long female crocodile. The charge? Loitering!
Police said they found it loitering near a fence, trying to look innocent.
Brevet Sergeant Adam Russell said intrigued residents had gathered around to watch the arrest – but any dreams he had of nabbing the gnasher in style were promptly voted down.
“I wanted to jump on it Steve Irwin style,” he said. “But (the rangers) wouldn’t let me.”
After three days in the clink, during which the croc endured a hosing-down every few hours, the prisoner was turned over to a crocodile farm. Link -via Arbroath
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Businesses all over look for memorable names. Many go with puns, since a funny play on words will stick in your mind. Tanks A Lot is a blog full of punny business names, like restaurants named Beau Thai, Thai Ranosaurus, Thai Foon, or Tongue Thai’d (wonder what kind of food they serve?) or eyeglass stores named Specs Appeal or You and Eye. Link
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October is Adopt A Shelter Dog month and since I can’t adopt a new pup (my loving ex-shelter dog is sitting right beside me as I write this) I opted to do the next best thing and help promote the celebration. What better way to bring attention to the great qualities of shelter pets than to share some famous dogs who were either adopted from the shelter or saved from the streets?
Los Angeles trainer Frank Inn was a true animal lover who was always taking in animals from shelters to save them from euthanasia. When he couldn’t train them, he would work to find them a home with his friends or fans. He found Higgins in the Burbank Animal Shelter. Higgins was only a puppy at the time, but Inn saw a world of potential in the little critter.
His first role was in “Petticoat Junction,” where he appeared in six of the show’s seven total seasons. During that time, he also made guest appearances on “Green Acres” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Directors and co-stars quickly noticed his ability to convey broad range of facial expressions and his aptitude at learning new tricks on a regular basis. Inn said he was the most talented dog he ever worked with and that Higgins could learn a new routine every week. Some of his tricks included climbing ladders, opening mailboxes, and yawning and sneezing on cue. He was such a capable animal actor that he was featured on the cover of TV Guide and won the Picture Animal Top Star of they Year (Patsy) award in 1967.
In 1971, he starred in “Mooch Goes to Hollywood” with Zsa Zsa Gabor and Vincent Price. He retired after this movie, but he came back at age of 14 to star in “Benji,” his best known role. His daughter, also trained by Inn, continued his legacy in the following “Benji” films.
It may not be the most distinguished of titles, but Pabst, the current holder of the “World’s Ugliest Dog” title was also once a shelter dog. Notably, he was the first mixed breed winner of the competition in the last seven years –most of the past winners have been pedigree Chinese crested hairless dogs. Some of his stunningly ugly features include a prominent under-bite, a scrunched face and floppy ears.
Before winning $1,600 in prize money for his owner, Pabst was rescued from a shelter in Citrus Heights, California. He was also awarded a modeling contract with House of Dog –not bad for an ugly shelter mutt.
Source Image Via AP Photo/Noah Berger
Animal trainer Frank Weatherwax found Spike in a Van Nuys, California shelter. He was very young at the time and soon became Weatherwax’s star pupil. His first big role was also the one he was most famous for –”Old Yeller.” After that, he starred in “A Dog of Flanders” and he periodically played in the TV show “The Westerner.”
Jake was adopted when he was only 10 months old. His owner, Mary Flood, found him abandoned on the streets with multiple injuries, including a broken leg and dislocated hip. After he recovered from these injuries in 1995, Mary trained him to rescue humans and he ended up being one of the most famous search and rescue dogs from both September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. He served as a rescue dog for almost 10 years when he had to retire due to cancer in 2006.
Chanel was only around 6 weeks old in 1988 when she was adopted from a Newport News, Virginia shelter by Denice Shaughnessy, a soldier in the U.S. Army. In her older years, Chanel had to be transported in a stroller because he had difficulty walking around and she also had to wear special goggles for her cataracts.
In 2009, Denice’s husband noticed there was no Guinness Book of World Records listing for the World’s Oldest Dog, so he sent in records verifying Chanel’s age to the organization. The dog was awarded a certificate announcing her official title at her 21st birthday bash in Manhattan. In the next few months, she because a major celebrity and appeared on The Today Show and Live! With Regis and Kelly. She died a few months ago on August 29.
Mr. Winkle’s unique, teddy-bearish appearance has made him a minor celebrity. No one really knows what his mix is, but some claim he seems to be a Pomeranian and Chihuahua cross. Before he started appearing in newspapers, magazines and TV shows like Sex and the City, he was living on the streets.
Fortunately, magazine photographer Lara Jo Regan found him as a stray and adopted him. She immediately fell in love with his quirky look and began photographing him in various costumes, settings and poses. It wasn’t long before she started publishing calendars and books with Mr. Winkle and soon enough, he was scouted out for a wide array of media appearances.
When Willy was only a puppy, he was found abandoned in a cardboard box, suffering from severe spinal injuries and a cut throat. He was rescued and treated for his injuries, but he was rendered a paraplegic and was left unadopted for over a year. Eventually, pet groomer Deborah Turner heard that Willy would soon be euthanized if no one adopted him, so she took him home.
At first, Deborah had to carry Willy everywhere, but she was determined to find a way to help him move on his own. One of her attempts included attaching helium-filled balloons to his rear end and then placing him on a skateboard. Her efforts were met with little success until she read an advertisement for K-9 Carts, a wheelchair designed specially for dogs. Willy took to his chair immediately, and the curiosity he attracted by those who saw him eventually led to news coverage, then appearances on Animal Planet. Eventually, he became the subject of two bestselling children’s books, where he was nicknamed Wheely Willy.
Wheely Willy now makes frequent public appearances and Turner works with him to promote disability awareness. He often attends hospitals, where he serves as an inspiration to patients and staff alike.
Source Image Via Wheelywilly.com
The original Rin Tin Tin was discovered by a soldier in WWI, who insisted his battalion check out a kennel that was bombed in Lorraine, France. Inside, Corporal Lee Duncan and the rest of the troops found the only survivors of the bomb were a mother German Shepard and her litter of five puppies. All of the dogs were brought back to camp, but Duncan chose a boy and girl pup to call his own. He named them for the French puppets given to soldiers at the time for good luck, Rintintin and Nenette. He then began training the dogs to perform the tricks he had seen the German war dogs perform.
Upon his return home to Los Angeles, Nenette died and the boy pup ended up being the only dog from the French kennel to have survived. Duncan continued to work with Rin Tin Tin and ended up bringing him to a dog show where the dog wowed the audience by jumping over 11 feet and 9 inches. After the show, a movie maker asked Duncan if he could shoot the dog in action. At that moment, the young soldier realized there might be a future for his dog in the film industry. At the peak of his career, Rin Tin Tin received up to 10,000 fan letters a week and was one of Warner Brother’s top stars. Some credit him with saving the movie studio from bankruptcy. The Rin Tin Tin legacy was continued through the years by generation after generation of his heirs.
You may have seen videos of Faith walking on her hind legs before. She’s become quite famous for her successful adaptation to only having rear legs. When Faith was born with only two rear legs and one deformed front leg, her mother attempted to smother her to death. A boy saved her from the mother and brought her home to his family. When Faith was seven months old, she had to have the deformed front leg removed all together as it began to atrophy. A lot of people, including veterinarians, urged owner Jude Stringfellow to euthanize the puppy, but Stringfellow instead taught Faith to hop by using a spoon with peanut butter as an incentive. Faith soon surprised everyone by developing a unique walk on just her hind legs.
Since then, she has appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Animal Attractions Television” and “Ripley’s Believe it or Not.” She also has been the subject of a book, With A Little Faith. She now even has her own website and MySpace.
Sitcom fans might recall the lovable, slow and bratty dog Murray that was a central character in “Mad About You.” The dog that made the show was really named Maui and was rescued from an animal shelter in Castaic, California by animal trainer Boone Narr, he was also co-trained by Betty Linn. Before his role in “Mad About You,” he acted in commercials and as a stand in for the lead dog in the movie “Bingo.”
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Photo: William Lascelles
Today’s Neatorama and Hobotopia Caption Monkey game comes via National Geographic’s The Daily Dozen (October 2009 – Week 1), the always excellent user-submitted gallery of photographs curated by photo editor Susan Welchman.
This photo was taken by William Lascelles who wrote "My parents live very close to the city airport and every other year they host an air show. This year the Blue Angels were the highlight and were flying over the house during performances. I took my father’s dog outside and made him pose!"
Your task is simple: caption the photograph above. The best/funniest comment will win a Caption Monkey, courtesy of Adam "Ape Lad" Koford. You can enter as many as you’d like below, but please only one caption per comment.
For inspiration, check out Adam’s blog. Good luck!
Update 10/7/09 – Adam has picked the winner! Congratulations to DeepForestGreen who won with this caption: Bernard was less famous that his brother, Clifford the Big Red Dog, but the locals knew that he was the best air traffic controller their town had ever seen.
Update 10/7/09 – Winner #2 (DeepForestGreen told us that he won before, and graciously offered the prize to another Neatoramanaut). Congrats to: nate who came up with this caption: Henry didn’t believe the fleas when they said “We’ll be back but in F-16’s.” He will now. Oh yes…he will now.
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Hello
everyone! I'm happy to announce that we've just launched Cluebert,
a new website about time and money-saving tips, useful news and practical
knowledge and hacks for everyday living.
We know that there are a lot of "how-to" websites and blogs on the Net. But we're confident that we can bring a unique and fun spin in this crowded field.
We'll be adding new posts daily to Cluebert - Please take a look at these:
Links: Cluebert | Cluebert's RSS Feed | Cluebert on Twitter
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