Biomes Blog

Entry #2965: Storms Over Africa

2012-01-27T09:51:29-05:00

Linda Cline, at Dancing Fish, has some phenomenal underwater photographs that are worth some time browsing through.

The Milky Way and storms over Africa, as filmed from the International Space Station.

Apparently Willard is unemployed. And he’s making a killing at it. I wish I paid 13.9% in taxes. Atrios boils it down to its bare basics.

The answer to yesterday's trivia, the leaf nests of squirrels are called "dreys". These are outside nests, as opposed to cavity hideouts.

Entry #2964: Dissing the Crankpot

2012-01-26T11:46:10-05:00

How did I miss squirrel appreciation day? I’ll try to do better next year. The article mentions their “leaf nests”, but for 5 Biomes points, what are these nests actually called?

If you’re confused (like me) about how Willard made his bucks at Bain Capital, the New Yorker has a short little primer on the economics of private equity firms.

Iowa’s ancient history, but Stewart nails the press to the wall on their weird dissing of crankpot Ron Paul.

Entry #2963: No Escape From Reality

2012-01-25T08:54:40-05:00

Tax rates paid by presidential candidates going back as far as 1987.

I couldn’t possibly care less about pro sports. My interest is down to hoping my local franchises lose so I don’t have to listen to people yapping on and on about the next big game. But if Charles Pierce is writing about the Patriots, then I’ll read the whole thing.

Hump day musical interlude: William Shatner performs Bohemian Rhapsody. And Marc Martel and this church choir do a much better job of it.

Entry #2962: Creole, Clooney and Crow

2012-01-24T08:18:31-05:00

Tuesday coonhound blogging: I don't know what this expression means, but it was taken after a long hike through the woods.

George Clooney gets it.

As far as intelligent animals go, you just don’t get more awesome than crows. Here’s one that tricks two cats into fighting each other. And it seems he does it just for kicks.

Entry #2961: Forgot to Pay the Cable Bill

2012-01-23T16:13:23-05:00

Albino Monday: Bennett’s tree kangaroo, and this one’s a true albino with red eyes (via Hans).

Pet Corner: Dog on helium. I'm thinking this dog's owner aught to either be jailed or given his own show.

Geek stuff: I’m sure I’m destroying my geek-cred, at least by The Boy’s standards, by saying I’m not, and have never been, a Dr. Who fan. Still, I can appreciate the woman who has created knitting patterns for all of the Dr. Who scarves.

Entry #2960: Ear-cleaning Parlors

2012-01-22T10:51:42-05:00

This week’s Green Thing is a koi pond observation tower. I’d guess this is one of those things (like a fish toilet) that looks great at first, but becomes an eyesore once it gets coated with algae (thus qualifying it as a Green Thing).

Ever since Japan deregulated ear cleaning practices, salons are springing up all over the country. Here’s a good quote from the story: “Some say their wives clean their ears at home, but it’s just not the same without the traditional Japanese style room and the tatami mats.”

Forty colorful birds.

Entry #2959: Is Betty White a Kenyan, Muslim Socialist?

2012-01-21T11:01:08-05:00

Today’s slide show is a series on the Doomsday Seed Vault, in Norway, the world’s repository of food crop seeds. It is designed to store two-billion seeds of 4.5 million varieties of plants, and should keep them viable for thousands of years.

Obama asks Betty White for her long-form birth certificate.

Pet parrots that have been released to the wild in Australia are now beginning to teach native birds to talk.

Entry #2958: Ampersands

2012-01-20T10:36:07-05:00

The Economist takes a look at which countries around the world are speaking English in addition to their native tongues.

Stuff you should know: Propaganda techniques used by Fox “News”.

iPod Shuffle:

Time (Hootie & the Blowfish)
On Every Street (Dire Straits)
Fakin' It (Simon & Garfunkel)
Hold On (Kansas)
Naggin' Dark (John Hiatt & the Goners)

Entry #2957: Four Degrees

2012-01-19T11:25:30-05:00

Animal of the week: The lovely owl.

Thanks to Facebook, the idea embodied by six degrees of Kevin Bacon no longer applies. We are now all just four degrees away from each other.

Play! Epic Coaster.

Entry #2956: Honey Badger Meme

2012-01-18T09:55:11-05:00

Yeah, I know everyone’s familiar with the honey badger meme, but it’s still the funniest thing I’ve seen so far this year.

The Republican scheme to support the rich (and destroy the lower-middle class). Click the infographic once, then again to embiggen.

Hump day musical interlude: The hidden beauty of pollination.