Hmmm. So, last night we were supposed to get a blizzard of some sort. Instead we got slushy rain and wind, and Madison apparently got over a foot of snow. Today a thin layer of snow settled on remaining ice, so Chicago is currently experiencing some pretty slick road conditions.
I will be getting up early tomorrow. Do not want.
This morning I saw someone driving a Prius with vanity plates that read “TOTORO.” I have never wanted to highfive another driver in traffic so bad, but that’s…ah…a tricky proposition. Also basically impossible in winter, what with all the closed car windows.
In actual news, a really bizarre phenomenon occurred in the sky over Norway. Consensus seems to indicate that it was a Russian rocket experiencing a partial engine failure and/or fuel leak, causing it to spin. I’m gonna call shenanigans on that, sounds like an MIB explanation to me. Swamp gas bouncing the light of Venus off a weather balloon kinda thing. I don’t buy it.
After watching the video, I deduce that some mad scientist was trying to win a last-minute Nobel Prize by demonstrating his (or her) new interdimensional portal projector system ahead of tomorrow’s awards ceremony. The timing’s just too perfect. Also, if you watch the video, two things seem odd:
- the “rocket” would seem to have been spinning at a fairly consistent altitude for several minutes (uh, gravity and aerodynamics?) while “out of control” and also
- at the end there’s a black spot that opens in the center of the spiral. Too creepy and evil-looking to be anything but the machinations of a nefarious genius bent on world domination.
In other science-y “news” the Daily Mail has quoted “rumours buzzing around the internet” (excuse me?) that solid evidence of dark matter may have been discovered. My first thought was “oh, cool! Dark matter may be real after all. That totally changes the way we look at…” and then the reference to internet rumors hit me in the face like a wet pork chop. Fucking…hello? Internet rumors? A goddamn newspaper is quoting an intern…oh, wait:
This week news leaked onto a physics blog that researchers from this Cryogenic Dark Matter Search will publish some important results in the next edition of the journal Nature.
The rumor originated on a blog run by physicists who work on these kinds of projects. So apparently some internet rumors are more credible than others…?
Fun factoid: The medical industry (?) seems to be scamming exploiting Facebook games to get people to send letters opposing health care reform. Also on the Facebook front, the site has rolled out new privacy settings today. You can read about some of the quirks – particularly with regards to data mining – of this change here.
On a lighter note, here’s a great gift idea for the special nerds in your life: Geeky Clean! artisan soaps. With dice in.