sources: e-mail

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In astronomy libration (from the Latin verb libro -are “to balance, to sway”, cf. libra “scales”) refers to the various orbital conditions which make it possible to see more than 50% of the moon’s surface over time, even though the front of the Moon is tidally locked to always face towards the earth. By extension, libration can also be used to describe the same phenomenon for other orbital bodies that are nominally locked to present the same face. As the orbital processes are repetitive, libration is manifested as a slow rocking back and forth (or up and down) of the face of the orbital body as viewed from the parent body, much like the rocking of a pair of scales about the point of balance.

In the specific case of the Moon’s librations, this motion permits a terrestrial observer to see slightly differing halves of the Moon’s surface at different times. This means that a total of 59% of the Moon’s surface can be observed from Earth.

There are three types of libration:

• Libration in longitude is a consequence of the Moon’s orbit around Earth being somewhat eccentric, so that the Moon’s rotation sometimes leads and sometimes lags its orbital position.
• Libration in latitude is a consequence of the Moon’s axis of rotation being slightly inclined to the normal to the plane of its orbit around Earth. Its origin is analogous to the way in which the seasons arise from Earth’s revolution about the Sun.
• Diurnal libration is a small daily oscillation due to the Earth’s rotation, which carries an observer first to one side and then to the other side of the straight line joining Earth’s center to the Moon’s center, allowing the observer to look first around one side of the Moon and then around the other.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Story that accompanies the headline (from the Daily Record):

BATTLING taxi driver Alex McIlveen faced down the Glasgow Airport terror suspects … and his courage cost him his favourite pair of trainers and a £30 parking fine.

Dad-of-two Alex punched and kicked the two men after they crashed a Jeep Cherokee loaded with gas canisters into the door of Terminal One.

The 45-year-old booted one of the suspects, whose body was covered in flames, as hard as he could between the legs.

But the man didn’t appear to feel the blow, and a police doctor told Alex later that he’d damaged a tendon in his foot.

After the drama, police confiscated Alex’s trainers for forensic tests.

And when he went back to the airport to pick up his cab, he was stunned to find that he’d been given a parking ticket.

Alex said: “The police took all the clothes I ‘d been wearing so I lost my Nike trainers. They’re a good pair too.

“I didn’t get out of the police station until late on Saturday night and I found the parking ticket on my cab next day. I couldn’t believe it.”

Alex, of Glasgow, was one of several hero Scots who took on the men who targeted the airport on Saturday afternoon.

He punched and kicked the passenger from the Jeep, believed to be Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla.

Then he went after the driver of the vehicle, even though the heavily-built man was in flames after apparently turning himself into a human torch.

Alex was dropping off a fare at the airport when the attack began.

He said: “I noticed a 4×4 sitting in the middle of the road. Then, as my passenger was paying and getting out, the Jeep rammed into the airport entrance right next to us.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“The guy in the passenger seat was wearing a white T-shirt. He got out carrying what looked like a petrol bomb and seconds later the Jeep was in flames.

“Then he kicked and punched a man to the ground before punching a policeman square in the face. That’s when I saw red. That sort of thing just isn’t on.

“I told my passenger to run for her life, then I went for the man in the T-shirt and managed to skelp him in the face. I followed it up by booting him twice.

“By that time some other people had joined in and it seemed like the T-shirt guy was trying to get back into the Jeep.

“Then the driver got out of the car. He was already in flames. It was obvious he was the real psycho of the pair.

“Someone was hosing him down but the flames seemed to jump up again just as it looked like they had gone out.

“It was obvious the driver wanted into the boot of the Jeep for something and I was worried about what it was. I thought it must be a gun.

“He was going crazy, just lashing out at everyone and babbling p*sh in a foreign language the whole time.

“I’ve heard people say since that he was shouting ‘Allah!’ but I didn’t hear that. It just sounded like a lot of c**p to me.

“I ran for the guy and punched him twice in the face with pretty good right hooks.

“Then I kicked him with full force right in the balls but he didn’t go down. He just kept on babbling his rubbish.

“I couldn’t believe that he was still standing. I know I would have been floored by that kind of kick.”

Alex continued to take on the man, who was lashing out with his fists. He recalled: “He was a big guy and I’m not really a fighter, but his punches were wild and I managed to dodge them and make some good strikes myself.

“Luckily, more people joined in and we managed to beat the guy down. The police apparently caught the other man.

“I don’t think the policeman I saw at the scene drew his baton during the whole thing. He should have given it to me - I’d have leathered those guys with it.”

Alex added: “After the two guys were restrained, my memory gets a bit blurred. I think I got hit with some of the CS spray the police were firing at them.

“The next thing I knew I was waiting in a room at the airport for an ambulance with another member of the public. He’d been badly beaten by the guy in the T-shirt and he had a broken leg.

“But the paramedics still treated the burned guy first. He was being held by police in the next room .”

Alex spent hours at a Paisley police station telling detectives everything he could remember about the fight.

He said: “It was only after getting there that I really began to think about what had happened. I started shaking like a leaf.

“A police doctor looked me over and said I had damaged a tendon in my foot as a result of the kick I gave the second guy.

“I’ve got a few pains in my back as well but apart from that I’m unscathed.

“I didn’t get out of the police station until late on Saturday night.

“An officer eventually took me home but the police insisted on taking away all the clothes I had been wearing.”

Next day, Alex returned to the airport to pick up his red Skoda Octavia.

He said: “I couldn’t believe it when I discovered a £30 parking ticket on my cab. Considering I got it while trying to save hundreds of people, I would hope it will be cancelled.”

Alex’s wife Lynn, 40, said: “He risked his life because he thought people were in danger. He is an absolute hero.

“If he hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened.”

Lynn, a catering assistant, added: “The first I knew about what had happened was when I phoned Alex to find out why he was late to pick me up.

“I’d been shopping and he was supposed to meet me, but when I called his mobile he said he was at the police station.”

The many things that make this story manly:

1. He�??s a cabbie in Scotland.

2. He didn�??t just kick a man in the balls, he kicked a TERRORIST�?�who was on FIRE�?�.in the balls.

3. He kicked so hard, he tore a tendon.

4. He was quoted as saying, �??I�??ve heard people say since that he was shouting �??Allah!�?? but I didn�??t hear that. It just sounded like a lot of crap to me.�??

5. Also quoted as saying, �??I don�??t think the policeman I saw at the scene drew his baton during the whole thing. He should have given it to me - I�??d have leathered those guys with it.�??

6. His shoes were taken as evidence.

7. He punched the first terrorist twice in the face before kicking him in the balls.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I don’t know what this says about me, but I love getting Rick Rolled. It rarely happens, but, every now and again, some tricky internet foe pulls one on me. I end up wasting about 4 minutes of my time because I can’t leave until I am done watching the video.

Incase you don’t know who Rick Astley is here is some information to help, including the famous video
(which now has almost 7 million views on YouTube):

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

From Amazon.com (You can buy the book here) -

Since its emergence from the bowels of the internet, the Chuck Norris Fact has roundhouse kicked its way into the world�??s consciousness with all the vim and verve of its namesake. Singing the praises of his unequaled toughness, his mighty kicking feet, his indestructible beard, his frightening virility, and his ability to stop time by thinking about pineapples, The Truth About Chuck Norris is the one book brave enough to go behind the beard and reveal the real Chuck.

Ian Spector, webmaster of the site which started the meme and survivor of a real-life encounter with Chuck himself, has selected the 400 most kick-ass facts from his library of thousands, as well as illustrations as awesome as the man himself. This death-defying volume includes such awe-inspiring observations as:
�?� A cobra once bit Chuck Norris�??s leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.
�?� Chuck Norris can charge a cell phone by rubbing it against his beard.
�?� When an episode of �??Walker, Texas Ranger�?? aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.
�?� Chuck Norris was the first person to tame a dinosaur.
�?� Chuck Norris once visited The Virgin Islands. Afterward, they were renamed The Islands.
�?� Every piece of furniture in Chuck Norris�??s house is a Total Gym.

A must-have paean to the archetypical American male and a bible of all things Chuck, The Truth About Chuck Norris is easily the most important book of all time.

A few more Chuck Norris facts:

�?� If you have five dollars and Chuck Norris has five dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you.
�?� There is no ‘ctrl’ button on Chuck Norris’s computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.
�?� Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song.
�?� Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.
�?� Chuck Norris can eat just one Lay’s potato chip.
�?� Chuck Norris is suing Myspace for taking the name of what he calls everything around you.
�?� Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because he only recognizes the element of surprise.
�?� Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.

sources: 1, 2, 3

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

The stakes escalated when Sarah Silverman featured Matt Damon in a music video she made to tell Jimmy that she is “Fucking Matt Damon.”

Not to be out done, Jimmy decided the only way to get revenge on Matt Damon for taking something he loved was to take something that Matt loved from him. So, for the sake of revenge, Jimmy Kimmel immediately turned gay and started “Fucking Ben Affleck”

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Listen to it here:

[See post to listen to audio]

download it here

The original for comparison (and yes, he does really make all those weird sounds):

sources: 1, 2, 3

Remember, if you aren’t ready to properly care for a child you shouldn’t have one to be begin with. These are examples of bad parenting. What is the best way to avoid unwanted pregnancies? Take some family planning advice:

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10