Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
He may look like a panther, but he’s all jaguar. A rare black jaguar cub was born a couple of months ago at the Huachipa zoo in Lima. The unnamed youngster is the third of this endangered species to be born in capitivity in Peru. You can see his faint jaguar markings in another picture at Green Expander. Link -via Fark
Correction: Jess left a comment and told me something I did not know:
I had always thought a panther was a black leopard only, but Wikipedia says Jess is right!
Correction: Jess left a comment and told me something I did not know:
Black jaguars are panthers. Any jaguar, leopard, or cougar who is born black can be called a black panther.
I had always thought a panther was a black leopard only, but Wikipedia says Jess is right!
Legoland Windsor in Berkshire, England has the world’s largest Lego tower ever! The tower, shaped like a Viking longboat, was completed just a couple of days ago with the help of park visitors. Children built 20 cm sections, which were hoisted in place by crane.
The official record is held by a 96-foot tower built in Toronto last year. Link -via Gizmodo
The park's special events manager, Penny Jenkins, said: "We are thrilled to bring the World Record to Legoland Windsor after four days of hard work, not to mention nearly 500,000 bricks, and it now stands at nearly 100ft.
"It has been a great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lego bricks." The record attempt is awaiting official verification by Guinness World Records.
The official record is held by a 96-foot tower built in Toronto last year. Link -via Gizmodo
See how Americans report spending their economic stimulus checks, and submit your own report at the blog How I Spent My Stimulus. Doug in Ohio sent this picture in, saying:
"I bought 25 yards of mulch which included a back ache. Fun, Fun, Fun!"
http://www.howispentmystimulus.com/ -via Cynical-C
Beauty is an Alaskan bald eagle whose beak was shot off several years ago. She was found in 2005, unable to properly hunt or eat. She was taken to a refuge, but her beak did not grow back. Now she will get a new one!
The nylon-composite beak will be glued on, so it won’t be strong enough to rip flesh like a normal eagle, but will allow her to drink normally and eat food she is given. Link -via Digg
"For Beauty it's like using only one chopstick to eat. It can't be done" said biologist Jane Fink Cantwell, who operates a raptor recovery center in this Idaho Panhandle town. "She has trouble drinking. She can't preen her feathers. That's all about to change."
Cantwell has spent the past two years assembling a team to design and build an artificial beak. They plan to attach it to Beauty next month. With the beak, the 7-year-old bald eagle could live to the age of 50, although not in the wild.
"She could not survive in the wild without human intervention," Cantwell said.
The nylon-composite beak will be glued on, so it won’t be strong enough to rip flesh like a normal eagle, but will allow her to drink normally and eat food she is given. Link -via Digg
User-generated content on the internet can reach more people than high-budget films. How long will it be before Hollywood comes up with a completely user-generated film? Darius Monsef of COLOURlovers has written an article for Cineleet that looks at examples that show how close we are getting.
See video evidence in the post. Link -via Digg
Spike Lee doesn’t think we’re too far off. He has teamed up with Nokia to direct a film made with mobile phone footage from every day people. “You are seeing first hand the democratization of film,” Lee said in a statement on Thursday. “Aspiring filmmakers no longer have to go to film school to make great work. With a simple mobile phone, almost anyone can now become a filmmaker.”
See video evidence in the post. Link -via Digg
The Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will test your knowledge of TV situation comedies of the 80s (and there were a lot of them). I only scored 60% today, because back in the 80s I didn’t think to ask if there would be a test on this material. Ha! http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/14627
A goldfish named Comet has been trained to play soccer, basketball, and even dance the limbo! He can also fetch and swim a slalom around tiny poles in his tank. Comet’s owner, Dr. Dean Pomerleau used the technique of positive reinforcement by rewarding Comet with food.
The two-year-old fish has been called the world’s most intelligent goldfish. Link -via Fark
Dr Pomerleau insisted there was nothing fishy about his claim, saying anyone can teach their pet to perform similar tricks.
"There is mounting evidence that fish are more intelligent than people give them credit for," the fish training expert said.
"With the correct tools and the basic promise of a food reward, fish can very quickly learn complex tricks - like the limbo, slalom or playing fetch.
"Now people in the market for a dog might want to consider a fish instead."
The two-year-old fish has been called the world’s most intelligent goldfish. Link -via Fark
(YouTube link)
People who have lost the ability to move have been using “gaze technology” to communicate by computer for years, but the technology has been too slow to operate in virtual worlds, until now. A team led by Stephen Vickers of De Montfort University, Leicester, UK has developed new software that allows the eyes to select functions and temporarily turn off tracking just by the movement of the gaze.
"Even though a user in, say, Second Life might look as if they are able-bodied, if they can't operate and communicate as fast as everyone else, they could be perceived as having a disability," he told New Scientist, adding that there is a privacy issue for players who may prefer not to reveal their disability in the virtual world.
The developments are "hugely important", according to Mick Donegan, who works with severely disabled children and adults at Oxford-based charity and COGAIN partner, SpecialEffect.
"Enabling someone to express themselves and engage with people in ways that they can't do in real life – because they are restricted to a wheelchair or a bed – can have a really positive effect on their self-esteem and motivation," says Donegan.
Link -via Geek Like Me
The aim of the game is to escape from the pig pen using a combination of fart skill and aviation techniques and stay airborne for as long as possible.
Start by using the left arrow. Then all you need is the up arrow for fart power, but don’t fly too high. Keep an eye on the fartometer! Collect beans to replenish it, and avoid the white doves. http://www.panlogic.co.uk/zed/fart_game/ -via the Presurfer
Brenda Owen was walking her golden labrador retriever Penny by the Elwy River in St. Asaph, Wales when she spotted a wheelchair on the shore and a body in the water.
The victim, who had been reported missing from a nearby home, was taken to a hospital for treatment. Owen is proud of her ten-year-old dog.
Link -via Arbroath
“I shouted: “Are you all right love?”
When there was no answer, Brenda shouted: “Fetch! fetch!” and instinctively Penny jumped into the torrent.
Brenda said: “The current was quite fast. It was obvious that the woman was unconscious and myself and the man went to help Penny who had dragged the woman back to the riverbank.
“The woman was unconscious for about five minutes and had injured herself.”
The victim, who had been reported missing from a nearby home, was taken to a hospital for treatment. Owen is proud of her ten-year-old dog.
“Penny is a very obedient dog and we’ve had her since she was a pup. She’s a local dog but this is the first time that she’s saved anybody’s life‘,” added Brenda.”
Link -via Arbroath
Elephants are expensive to feed and care for, and many of India’s elephants earn their living with years of hard work. Then after the elephants are too old for labor, they are often neglected or cast aside due to their maintenance costs. But a new retirement home is opening on a thousand-acre preserve at Kottur, Kerala. The government will pay a nominal fee to buy elephants too old for work and provide them with room to roam and proper veterinary care.
The first 30 elephants are scheduled to move in this month. Link -via Fark
"We want them to enjoy their last years after being such good workers without worrying where their next meal will come from," said V.S. Verghese, Kerala's chief wildlife warden who is in charge of the scheme.
"They'll get special treats like big slabs of rice, a course sugar called jaggery, and honey. And vets will be on hand."
The first 30 elephants are scheduled to move in this month. Link -via Fark
Abdolhadi Mirhejazi of Dubai has built a one-horsepower vehicle, but it’s not your average horse and buggy! This fully-enclosed cart has the horse in back, walking on a treadmill. The treadmill not only powers the car, it charges a battery which can take over when the horse is tired.
Mirhejazi also discovered the horse can power two LCD advertising screens mounted on the sides of the Naturmobil
"Bearing in mind the originality and uniqueness of the idea, Naturmobil was designed and built to achieve the maximum level of attention from its audiences," said his marketing manager, F. Minooeifar.
Mirhejazi plans to exhibit his Naturmobil in Pittsburgh, California in June. http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/dubai/20007183.html -via Arbroath
Nitpick compensates for his limited fighting ability by pouncing on points that are only marginally relevant to the discussion. For example, if his opponent in a sports forum conflict casually mentioned the Cubs' 4-2 victory in the 1908 World Series, Nitpick would quickly counterattack with something like, "4-2 !? Any moron knows the Cubs won the Series 4-1! Someone so ignorant about baseball history can't possibly know anything about salary caps!" Even if the minor point is conceded by his opponent Nitpick will return to it whenever the battle turns against him. Though weak, Nitpick is very tenacious and will never admit defeat. Nitpick is a close ally of Artful Dodger.
Illustrator Mike Reed began caricaturing the personalities that forum users display during flame wars some years ago, and the collection has expanded over time. There are now 89 distinct warriors! Surely you will recognize some of these from your own experience. Flame Warriors should be required reading for all users before participating in any online forum. http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/index.htm -via Everlasting Blort
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