Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

• Microbiology Trading Cards (Well, "study cards", but inspired by trading cards.)
• A suggestion about whom to send to war, written sometime before the focus mysteriously shifted to Iraq, that reminds me of a particular Kipling poem about who's deadlier...
• A suggestion for a blimp project
• Scientists to drill into the core of killer volcano -- looks like very dangerous but fascinating work. "The aim is to study how the liquefied rock begets menacing gas buildup, said team leader Setsuya Nakata, of the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute. 'Gassing is important because it controls the explosivity of eruptions,' Nakata said after Thursday's launch party. 'The results can be expanded to anti-disaster research.'"
• The Canadian Apology To The United States from This Hour Has 22 Minutes
• In case there's anyone left who hasn't seen this linked from someplace else yet: The Saddam and George show
• Another popular link (newspaper site -- I don't know whether articles are available indefinitely there or not): police field complaint about busty snow woman
• The elephant idea is a cliche, but the execution in this image is especially well done. (Warning for folks who prefer to be warned of such things -- there's anatomy in the photo. I can't think of a more accurate "warning" that's still useful -- there's nothing sexual about the image, so I can't say, "Warning: sexual content"; there's no clothing, but the subject still isn't nude, so I can't say, "Warning: nudity"; the classic "not work-safe" rather depends on where one works; and so on. I think the image is artistic and tasteful, but I can't predict what your cow orkers might think.)
• Story from Ananova: "A play called Sex that lasts 27 hours has been shocking theatre audiences in Spain..."
• A Boskone report that includes Coke poured on David Brin's head. Use your browser's "search within this page" function to look for the string "there was also the other thing" to skip right to that section. (I thought there was a way to include a search string in a URL, but I can't seem to get it to work. Has that feature been removed from the specification?)
• Not every action that worries me is done by my government: Oscars blacklist stars in bid to prevent peace protest speeches (from scotsman.com)
• I was amused by this commercial (7MB MPEG file) for what appears to be some sort of instant noodles. Invokes a cliche, aims for an easy target, but I like it anyhow. It reminded me that some friends started a mailing list several years ago to discuss the link between two different endorphin-producing pleasures. (I found the link on the L.I.S.A. web site.)
• Some amusing professor-quotes

On Monday my back felt better than it did on Sunday. Tuesday it felt better still. Wednesday, my back was a mess (and it still is, in the wee hours of Thursday). If things go according to plan, this afternoon I'll get a massage. Yes, I do plan to go see a doctor and have my auto insurance pay for it; no I haven't done so yet. I dread dealing with doctors, including the "schedule the appointment" step. So I have to sort of nag myself inside my head until I finally go ahead and do it. *grumble* I figure I'd better have at least temporary relief before Saturday, 'cuuse Saturday is going to be a loooooong and physically stressful day, and I need to be able to move when I'm performing.

(Any other genre, and I'd have the option of playing standing still. But not this. Not for Celtic trad dance tunes, playing rhythm guitar. Not on a Scottish reel or an Irish polka. I'm going to have to be able to move without hurting myself much on Saturday.)