This morning, SirTechnocracy proposed to his girlfriend LadyTechnocracy on reddit with two albums of images. The first was a series of image memes. That's nice, if kind of run-of-the-mill these days. But then the proposal switched to a second album of images, 21 artworks commissioned from various DeviantART members that depicted the couple in a variety of styles.
"It would be far more romantic to her than just taking her to a restaurant," SirTechnocracy wrote in response to someone criticizing his post. "Especially with all the pictures I commissioned for this (getting all those together took months and a couple thousand dollars)."
She accepted his proposal …with an advice animal. Read the whole story with links at the Daily Dot. Link
The Discovery Channel kicked off their annual Shark Week week last night with Megalodon: The Monster Shark That Lives. The last two words of that title were particularly telling. See, Carcharocles megalodon was a giant shark -but it is extinct. The show was a "mockumentary" that raised the possibility that C. megalodon may still be alive. Brian Switek at Laelaps puts that idea to rest:
The fossil record for C. megalodon peters out in sediments about 2 million years old. The only teeth so far found in younger deposits have been reworked from older strata. Furthermore, there are no giant, fresh teeth littering the seafloor, no whale carcasses with distinctive bite marks washing up on shore, and no tangible evidence whatsoever that the shark exists. And all the stories… are just stories. Tales such as those Stead shared are not evidence that C. megalodon or other monster shark lives.
Here’s what I don’t get, Discovery: Megalodons were real, incredible, fascinating sharks. There’s a ton of actual science about them that is well worth a two hour special. We’ve discovered their nursery grounds off the coast of Panama, for example. Their bite is thought to be the strongest of all time—strong enough to smash an automobile—beating out even the most monstrous dinosaurs. The real science of these animals should have been more than enough to inspire Discovery Channel viewers. But it’s as if you don’t care anymore about presenting the truth or reality. You chose, instead, to mislead your viewers with 120 minutes of bullshit. And the sad part is, you are so well trusted by your audience that you actually convinced them: according to your poll, upwards of 70% of your viewing public fell for the ruse and now believes that Megalodon isn’t extinct.
And Wil Wheaton thinks Discovery should apologize to its audience.
And then I realized why I was (and am) so angry: I care about education. I care about science. I care about inspiring people to learn about the world and universe around us. Sharks are fascinating, and megalodon was an absolutely incredible creature! Discovery had a chance to get its audience thinking about what the oceans were like when megalodon roamed and hunted in them. It had a chance to even show what could possibly happen if there were something that large and predatory in the ocean today … but Discovery Channel did not do that. In a cynical ploy for ratings, the network deliberately lied to its audience and presented fiction as fact. Discovery Channel betrayed its audience.
These two are putting the "play" back in cosplay with Indiana Jones and the boulder that chases him in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. They were seen with camera operators in Manhattan's Central Park, making a video we will probably see soon. Link -via reddit
The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad featuring Sherman Oliver Holmes, a mysterious crime solver and great-great-grandson of Sherlock Holmes. Can you solve the crime?
Sergeant Wilson hated stakeouts. Here he was, stuck alone in a first-floor apartment, photographing the comings and goings at the home of a suspected hit man across the street. And it was a beautiful day outside, which just made things worse.
Wilson heard the door to his own apartment building close and glanced outside to see Dr. Weber's regular Tuesday patient leaving. 11:58, he noted on his watch. Time for the elderly psychiatrist to watch his half-hour game show, and then make himself lunch. When he concentrated, Wilson could hear the TV upstairs in the doctor's living room.
At 12:35, the whistle of a teakettle announced the doctor's lunch preparations. Three minutes later, the kettle was still whistling furiously. Wilson abandoned his stakeout and hurried one flight up to see if anything was wrong.
When his knocking produced no response, Wilson walked into the unlocked apartment. The doctor lay on the kitchen floor. A fruit knife lay in his right hand. A bloody steak knife lay imbedded in his back.
Wilson did his own whistling. "Wow."
"Wow is correct, dear fellow."
The sergeant turned to find Sherman Holmes standing behind him in the doorway. "This murder just happened," Wilson gasped. "How do you do it? You're like a vulture."
"Thanks awfully," Sherman said and quickly perused the scene. The noisy teakettle sat on a low flame. On a cutting board were an open can of tuna and a sliced apple, its flesh already turned brown. The TV was on in the background. "Someone interrupted his lunch."
"That much seems clear," Wilson said. "There are two other tenants in this building who stay home during the day. Let's talk to them."
The following is a Whodunit by Hy Conrad featuring Sherman Oliver Holmes, a mysterious crime solver and great-great-grandson of Sherlock Holmes. Can you solve the crime?
No one knew where Sherman Oliver Holmes came from or how he'd gotten his money. One day, Capital City was just your run-of-the-mill metropolitan area. The next day, a short, rotund millionaire in a deerstalker cap began showing up at crime scenes, claiming to be the great-great-grandson of Sherlock Holmes and offering his expert opinion.
Sergeant Gunther Wilson of the Major Crimes Division was irritated by how often this eccentric little man with the southern drawl would appear within minutes of a grisly murder and stick his nose into official police business. What disturbed Wilson even more was the fact that this eccentric little man was nearly always right.
"The loony should be committed," Wilson had been heard to say on more than one occasion. "He always has some outlandish theory. I'd sign the commitment papers myself — if I didn't have a soft spot for him." But Wilson didn't have a soft spot. What he did have was a phenomenal record for solving cases, thanks in large part to his "loony" friend.
To his credit, Sherman wasn't much interested in taking credit. As far as the public was concerned, the Capital City police were simply doing a better job than ever before. So Sergeant Wilson decided to swallow his pride and befriend the exasperating, unique little gentleman who had nothing better to do than pop up like a fat rabbit and do the work of an entire detective squad.
Sherman Holmes signed his name to the will and then watched as Harmon Grove signed as the other witness. "Thanks for dropping over — again," the congenial lawyer said as he slipped the will into his briefcase. "The Fielding kids can't be witnesses because they inherit."
"Not a problem," Sherman replied. This was the fourth time he had been asked over to witness a new version of Jacob Fielding's will. "You get better now, Jake," Sherman said to the frail man propped up in bed. Jacob nodded weakly and closed his eyes.
Sherman and the lawyer walked out into the hall. "This may be the old man's last will," Harmon whispered. "I don't expect he'll last the night." Solemn-faced, Anna passed them and entered the sick room.
There were three Fielding children. As their next-door neighbor, Sherman knew them well — Anna, the nurse; Brock, now a surgeon at a local hospital; and Keith, fresh out of college. All three had moved back into the family home during their father's long, difficult illness.
Harmon deposited his briefcase on the dining room table, and walked Sherman to the door. As they entered the foyer, Anna appeared at the top of the stairs. "Mr. Grove, I think...I think he's dead."
The two men joined the Fielding children who had already gathered in the dead man's bedroom. Brock checked for vital signs, then gently pulled the sheet over his father's face.
Half an hour later, as the people from the funeral home were removing the body, Sherman and Harmon once more crossed through the dining room. Harmon saw his briefcase and eyed it curiously. "It's been moved," he said, then opened the leather lid. "The new will. It's gone!"
Brackets Daily has a tournament for Shark Week. What kind of shark is the best? Your votes could determine the outcome of the tournament! The Great White is the number one seed, but I'm pulling for the Goblin shark myself. You can pull up information on each of the 16 sharks before you select.
At the end of the 24 hr period (12:00 am EST) the votes are tallied and the winners move on to the next round. The 2nd round also lasts 24 hrs as do the semi-final and the championship round. It takes 4 days to complete a bracket. After each 24 hr period, you will be able to see the percentage of the vote each item received.
Vote in the first round today. Link -Thanks, Lucas!
Volume two of the eight volume work Ancient Civilizations by French historian Charles Rollin has finally been returned to the library.
Centre College in Danville, Ky., received the 185-year-old book last week after a student intern found it while taking inventory of books in exhibit rooms at the Jacobs Hall Museum at nearby Kentucky School for the Deaf.
The book was published in 1828, but "there's no way of knowing when the book might have been checked out," according to Stan Campbell, director of library services at Centre College.
"It's been out of the library for at least 150 years," Campbell told FoxNews.com.
The only clue as to how long the book had been out is a note found in it, dated 1854. The seven other volumes of the collection are still missing -and have been since anyone can remember. Link -via mental_floss
Monarobot draws Pokémons in the style of ancient Maya art. They are called Pokémayans! Pictured at the top are Gible, Gabite, and Garchomp, with Articuno below. She'll draw your favorite on commission. Gotcha catch 'em all! Link -via WhatAnArt
This stage production by Rhett & Link follows Walt and Jesse through five seasons of Breaking Bad, complete with appropriate songs. There's also speculation on what will happen in season six, because it's a show and they had to have some kind of ending. As silly as the whole idea is, the kids have some real talent. -via Metafilter
I am all for getting kids started using a library at a young age. My local library will not issue a card to a child unless a parent is signed up to be responsible for them, and my teenagers can't check out a video at all. I don't mind doing those things for them, but some children with homebound or lazy parents are missing out on valuable library services. But that's not why this poster is notable. I hope this was a one-person printing project. -via Arbroath
Eshel Ben-Jacob of Tel Aviv University (previously at Neatorama) is an artist, alright, but is first a scientist. His fractal bacteria art grew out of serious research in which two strains of bacteria he and his team discovered were tested and measured after being exposed to different environments, which cause them to grow in different ways.
As opposed to letting the bacteria grow in uniform conditions, for scientific purposes, he might let them grow at one temperature in an incubator, take them out, expose them and then put them back in the incubator. He also, at times, added antibiotics and other treatments to the petri dishes in order to incite a physical response. The bacteria, it turned out, communicated with one another in response to these stressors; they secreted lubricants, allowing them to move, and formed elaborate patterns with dots and vine-like branches.
From the first instant he saw a colony, Ben-Jacob called it bacteria art. ”Without knowing anything, you’ll feel the sense that there is drama going on,” he says.
After many experiments, Ben-Jacob began to predict how the patterns would grow under various conditions, and used this knowledge to control the colonies in order to produce art. Read more about how it's done at Smithsonian. Link | Artist's site
What happens when you try to study viral memes scientifically? You get a parody of the song "Rock Star" by Smash Mouth, starring Dave Days. SoulPancake produced this for YouTube's Geek Week. -via Viral Viral Videos
Watch this trailer mashup in full-screen mode; you'll be glad you did. It contains nothing but the most epic clips from fairly recent movies, mostly special effects and explosions, masterfully edited by Vadzim Khudabets into a trailer for an imaginary film. There's a list of the films, and a making-of video as well. -via Metafilter
The cows are fat and happy in this 1962 Soviet agriculture poster. The text says, "The Gas Station to Abundance.” But what does it mean? Is it about feeding cows so they produce tanks of milk? Is it to encourage the efficient moving of cattle? Or could it be about ethanol? It's part of a collection of vintage agricultural propaganda posters from several different communist countries you can see at Modern Farmer. Link -via the Presurfer
This ad for a push-up bra is kind of clever, don't you think? It gets the point across. That said, it's an underwear ad from Thailand, so viewer discretion is advised. -via Daily of the Day
