Photographs from the Arkansas State Prison, 1915-1937

Penguin couples spend their lives apart from each other and meet once a year in late March, after traveling as far as 70 miles (112 km) inland - on foot or sliding on their bellies! - to reach the breeding site.
Once there, penguins look for their mates by making a bugling call. Male penguins generally stay in one place, lower their head to their chest and call out to the females. Once they find one another, they would stand breast to breast, repeatedly bow to each other and sing (okay, “bugle”).
Now, onto the mating itself: Like in most birds, penguins have no external genitalia. That’s right, male penguins don’t have penises and the females don’t have vaginas. The male’s sperm is produced in the testes and stored in his cloaca (kind of an all purpose orifice for defecating, urinating, and reproduction). The female also has a cloaca that leads to the ovaries. The female penguin lies flat on the ground and the male penguin presses his cloaca onto hers and passes the sperms through.
Once the egg is laid, the female Emperor Penguin transfers it very carefully to her mate (if the egg touches the ice, it would freeze and die), who then keeps the egg warm by tucking it under a large fold of skin until it hatches. The female penguin immediately returns to the sea to feed, leaving the male without food for about two months. The male penguins would huddle together in large groups to conserve body heat in the cold and harsh environment, where winds can reach up to 120 mph (200 km per hour). When the female returns, she finds her mate (and chick) by listening to one particular bugle over thousands other.

Believe it or not - Amazing Pictures

Retro Toys

If you grew up in a certain time frame, the items at Feeling Retro may cause a twinge of nostalgia. They've got a nice list of toys, games, food and music from the 60's and 70's. You can even share your favorite memories. Nice.

According to tradition, the first engineer to build a bridge across the Tiber in Ancient Rome was given the name Pontifex, meaning "bridge builder." The Pontifex was seen as someone who "connects" people, and that symbolism was so powerful that Roman high priests--including Julius Caesar--later adopted the title Pontifex Maximus. During the Roman Imperial age, the emperor was always the Pontifex Maximus. The title eventually passed from Roman emperors to the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Today, the Pope still carries the title Pontifex Maximus.

**
Acupuncture was first used as a medical treatment in 2700 BC by Chinese emperor Shen-Nung. **
Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.
At the height of its power, in 400 BC, the Greek city of Sparta had 25,000 citizens and 500,000 slaves.

**
Bock's Car was the name of the B-29 Bomber that dropped the Atom Bomb on Nagasaki.

**
Britain's present royal family was originally named Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The name was changed in 1917, during WW1 because of German connotations. The name Windsor was suggested by one of the staff. At the same time the Battenberg family name of the cousins to the Windsors was changed into Mountbatten.

***

Berliner (1851-1929), an immigrant and a largely self-educated man, was responsible for the development of the microphone and the flat recording disc and gramophone player. Berliner's other interests included his crusade for the pasteurization of milk and other public-health issues, philanthropy, musical composition, and poetry.

Coffee Trivia

1.52% of Americans drink coffee.
2.A acre of coffee trees can produce up to 10,000 pounds of coffee cherries. That amounts to approximately 2000 pounds of beans after hulling or milling.
3.A scientific report form the University of California found that the steam rising from a cup of coffee contains the same amounts of antioxidants as three oranges. The antioxidants are heterocyclic compounds which prevents cancer and heart disease. It's good for you!
4.Adding sugar to coffee is believed to have started in 1715, in the court of King Louis XIV, the French monarch.
5.Advertisements for coffee in London in 1657 claimed that the beverage was a cure for scurvy, gout and other ills.
6.After the decaffeinating process, processing companies no longer throw the caffeine away; they sell it to pharmaceutical companies.
7.After they are roasted, and when the coffee beans begin to cool, they release about 700 chemical substances that make up the vaporizing aromas.
8.An arabica coffee tree can produce up to 12 pounds of coffee a year, depending on soil and climate.
9.Australians consume 60% more coffee than tea, a sixfold increase since 1940.
10.Beethoven who was a coffee lover, was so particular about his coffee that he always counted 60 beans each cup when he prepared his brew.
11.Before roasting, some green coffee beans are stored for years, and experts believe that certain beans improve with age, when stored properly.
12.Before the first French cafe in the late 1700's, coffee was sold by street vendors in Europe, in the Arab fashion. The Arabs were the forerunners of the sidewalk espresso carts of today.

Unseen America.Photographs. 'Participants include Polish asbestos removal crews, Filipino nannies, Chinese garment and restaurant workers, homeless senior men, migrant workers in Long Island, domestic violence victims in the Bronx, Local 32-B janitors and doormen, and students from throughout the city. '

'What's it like to give birth?'

Even tho I have been blessed with having 2 children i still enjoyed reading this.If you are male I think you will get a pretty good idea what a woman goes through. Emotionally as well as physically.

A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law 1965-71.Photographs of Sixties America.'Lisa Law's photographs provide glimpses into the folk and rock music scenes, California's blossoming counterculture, and the family-centered and spiritual world of commune life in New Mexico. They are moments that she lived, witnessed, and recorded on the frontier of cultural change.'

~~Mariah Made Less Sexy ~~

Mariah Carey Album Covers in Saudi Arabia.

Eskimo Folk-Tales.(1921)

The Oddities of Household Magazine 1952.'This is a lovely magazine, full of the wonderful images of the early 1950s. Let's enjoy the oddity that was 1951!

~~Star Wars Nesting Dolls~~

Here’s some cool Star Wars product that probably will be sold out for quite a while (how come Star Wars products always get attention?). There are currently six to collect and they show the evolution of their character. Darth Vader opens up to reveal Episode III Anakin, who in turn opens up to reveal that annoying twerp from Episode I; Alec Guinness era Obi Wan opens up to reveal the bearded Jedi from Episode III, who in turn contains the fresh faced young apprentice from Episode I, and so on! Funny stuff. Yours for $14.95.
Star Wars Chubbies

Small Houses
This makes the old Whole Wheat Radio 12 X 12 cabin seem downright spacious: Small houses challenge our notions of need as well as minimum-size standards.
The stainless-steel kitchen, gleaming next to the natural wood interior, is outfitted with customized storage and built-ins. From his bed, Shafer can gaze into the Northern California sky through a cathedral window. In his immaculate office space, a laptop sits alongside rows of architectural books and magazines -- many featuring his house on the cover. And from the old-fashioned front porch, he can look out on a breathtaking setting: an apple orchard in full bloom.
But in an era when bigger is taken as a synonym for better, calling Shafer's home a dream house might strike some as an oxymoron. Why? The entire house, including sleeping loft, measures only 96 square feet -- smaller than many people's bathrooms. But Jay Shafer's dream isn't of a lifestyle writ large but of one carefully created and then writ tiny.
Get yours here: Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. A complete set of designs costs about $1,000.

Radio Chippie
A very comprehensive history of the two-way radios used by the California Highway Patrol.

~~Einstein Or Monroe?~~

Up close, this looks like a picture of Albert Einstein. But back away from it and you'll see Marilyn Monroe.It's from an article on hybrid images in New Scientist magazine (subscription required).

Smart Coffee Machine

The Intelligent Coffee Machine uses artificial intelligence (AI) to monitoring coffee drinking patterns and then whipping up the perfect cuppa joe for each individual person.
And of course the machine will be wired so a simple phone call can alert it to your latest desire, and a hot cup will be waiting for you when you wake up or return home. The super automatic coffee machine will use artificial intelligence to churn-up a delicious cup of coffee based on their owner’s thoughts. The machine works by learning the drinking patterns for the first several weeks and then it adapts itself to the drinking preference of its user.

Here's Some Interesting Friday Links

The Arrow of Time. Family takes a picture of themselves every year for 30 years.

Meet Alex, the toddler who will never grow up.

The only primordial dwarf in the UK.

Weird people, impostors, hoaxers

10 Most Bizarre People on Earth

Village girl's unusually large feet

Twins and triplets - a photoset on Flickr~~~~

Introducing Chicken, Alaska POP. of 17

Why Do They Call it "Chicken?"
Good Question. In the late 1800's, early miners traveled far in search of gold. Food was sometimes scarce, but a particular area near the South Fork of the 40-Mile River was abundant in Ptarmigan, now the state bird which bears a resemblance to a chicken (Ah the foreshadowing is thicker than steel.) The miners kept themselves alive with the help of the Ptarmigan (if you consider being eaten as helping.)
In 1902, Chicken was to become incorporated, the second town in Alaska to do so. The name "Ptarmigan" was suggested. Many people liked the name, but felt the quotation marks were too presumptuous. The name was shortened to Ptarmigan.
The only problem was that nobody could agree on the correct spelling. They didn't want their town name to be the source of ridicule and laughter, so they decided on "Chicken." (The irony is thicker than the foreshadowing.)~~~What to Do:~~Downtown Chicken has a bar, giftshop, cafe, and salmon bake. If you arrive in the morning, try some of Sue's famous Cinnamon Rolls -these things are incredible. Say hi to Sue. She's always there and she'll snicker at you if you call her by name.

Weird Death

Francis Bacon:One of the most influential minds of the late 16th century. A statesman, a philosopher, a writer, and a scientist, he was even rumored to have written some of Shakespeare's plays.How he died: Stuffing snow into a chickenOne afternoon in 1625, Bacon was watching a snowstorm and was struck by the wondrous notion that maybe snow could be used to preserve meat in the same way that salt was used. Determined to find out, he purchased a chicken from a nearby village, killed it, and then, standing outside in the snow, attempted to stuff the chicken full of snow to freeze it. The chicken never froze, but Bacon did.

Do "beer goggles" really exist?
For those of you unfamiliar with the party scene, "beer goggles" refers to how people often appear more attractive to you after you've had a few drinks. For a long time, it was just a convenient excuse a person used to explain "regrettable amorous encounters." However, according to a study at the Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews, beer goggles (or "brew gogs" as they're known in certain fraternal circles) are very real. It's no secret that excessive drinking leads to poor judgment behindthe wheel. Well, it can also lead to poor judgment at your local pub. According to the afore-mentioned study, what constitutes "attractive" changes drastically after a few drinks. In other words, while you may think you're hitting on a 10, there's a chance you're actually picking up someone in the lower-single digits.The reasons behind this phenomenon have to do with alcohol stimulating the nucleus accumbens, aka "the part of the brain which is used to determine facial attractiveness." In the 2002 study, male and female students were shown pictures of members of the opposite sex and asked to rate them on a scale of 1-7 (sounds cruel, I know). The more students drank, the higher they rated the photographs.We hope this sobering study helps encourage more responsible drinking. Remember -- if you're looking for love and don't want to wake up disappointed, you're better off at an ice-cream social than a keg-stand contest.

Things You Hated As A Kid And Still Do

Eat this, it's good for you !"

Eat this it's good for you.

Being nagged.

Being powerless most of the time.

chores, chores, chores.

Cleaning my room.

fingernails scratching the chalkboard.

girls who get mad when you look up their dress.

Humorless people with no imagination.

Idiots, numbskulls, jerks, fools, lawyers, brats, polliticians, schmucks, & twits!

Just getting started on a road trip and having to take a leak.

Seeing your mom naked.

Using the bathroom after your dad.

Being too smart to fit in w/ the cool kids, too cool too fit in with the smart ones.

Flossing my teeth.

Going to the doctor.

Help The Homeless

~~Homelessness is a growing problem in all countries. It is estimated that one billion people in the world lack adequate housing, including 100 million who are completely homeless. In the United States it is estimated that, on any one night, 750,000 Americans will be without shelter and that approximately three million Americans will be homeless at some time during the year. Services provided by homeless shelters vary greatly from shelter to shelter. Some provide strictly a place to sleep at night; others offer a full range of services, including food, clothing, transportation, referrals, medical services, and legal services. If you live in a city of any size, then there is at least one shelter that helps homeless people with meals, beds, and other services. Shelters thrive on the work of volunteers and usually have a variety of programs through which you can get involved. You might:
prepare or distribute meals
work administratively in the business office
help organize a food drive to stock the pantry
collect clothes for residents of the shelter
deliver a "brown bag" lunch directly to the homeless

Misleading signs ~~Read Carefully

Why Is It Called Scotch Tape?

SCOTCH TAPE
Believe it or not, the sticky stuff gets its name from an ethnic slur. When two-toned paint jobs became popular in the 1920s, Detroit carmakers asked the 3M Company for an alternative to masking tape that would provide a smooth, sharp edge where the two colors met. 3M came up with 2-inch wide cellophane tape, but auto companies said it was too expensive. So 3M lowered the price by only applying adhesive along the sides of the strip. That caused a problem: the new tape didn’t stick—and company painters complained to the 3M salesman, “Take this tape back to your stingy ‘Scotch’ bosses and tell them to put more adhesive on it!” The name—and the new tape—stuck.

Good Tips For Getting Things Done

http://lisamac.backpackit.com/pub/159785o Lots of reading but easily skimmed through.

Cool Mummy Link Anabis

http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/mummy.html
Anabis the God of embalming~

Chilling Advertising ~High Impact

Copy: Monday 10 September 2001 - The world can change in a day. Don't miss your daily edition of in-depth news.
It's not often that a print ad literally jumps up and throttles our attention like this one - done for local newspaper brand Cape Times - did this morning.
There are four executions. This one in reference to 9/11, another (beautifully shot) for Hiroshima 1945, the JFK assassination and the '76 Soweto riots ~~~~~~~
Using iconic events from history, the campaign highlights the fact that world-changing events often can¹t be predicted and that the course of history can, quite literally, change in a day.
Love the art direction and the hard-hitting message of these ads. Stunningly arresting.
Makes you think what the Virginia Tech campus looked like on Sunday morning.

A Novel In One Photo

See the desk next to the girl? It's not hard to imagine those scratches on the side coming from years of bored students passing the time carving their initials while trying to look attentive to the droning of the teacher. And see the ink wells and open books arranged haphazardly on each desk? It's as if the entire class just got up and walked out of the room moments before this photo was taken. And from the look on the girl's face, that's exactly what happened.

Judging from the sullen expression on her face, the unfortunate subject of the photograph quite obviously wants to be anywhere but the center of a portrait . Her friends and schoolmates are all outside for recess and she's had to stay behind forced to sit completely still for what, to a young girl, seems to be an eternity. She can hear the yells and laughter of the other kids out in the schoolyard and is doing her best to ignore the sounds and look straight ahead and "look natural" as the photographer has ordered her to do. Her facial expression has quickly turned from natural to a grumpy scowl because it's hard to look natural when you're hot and your best Sunday dress is itchy and you can feel sweat trickling down your back. And your hair is a mess even though Mother very carefully put it up this morning and ordered you to make certain it stayed that way.
After all, you were the special one chosen for the honor of being photographed with one of those new-fangled things called a camera. But no one told you it would take this long. All you want to do is kick off your shoes, hitch up your skirt and run down to the river and take a dip in the cool water. But no, you can do no such thing, at least until this silly photography business is over with.

Top 10 weird sex laws

1. Most Middle Eastern countries recognize the following Islamic law: "After having sexual relations with a lamb, it is a mortal sin to eat its flesh."

2. In Lebanon, men are legally allowed to have sex with animals, but the animals must be female. Having sexual relations with a male animal is punishable by death.

3. In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman's genitals, but is forbidden from looking directly at them during the examination. He may only see their reflection in a mirror.

4. Muslims are banned from looking at the genitals of a corpse. This also applies to undertakers; the sex organs of the deceased must be covered with a brick or piece of wood at all times.

5. The penalty for masturbation in Indonesia is decapitation.

6. There are men in Guam whose full-time job is to travel the countryside and deflower young virgins, who pay them for the privilege of having sex for the first time. Reason: under Guam law, it is expressly forbidden for virgins to marry.

7. In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her adulterous husband, but may only do so with her bare hands. (The husband's lover, on the other hand, may be killed in any manner desired.)

8. In Cali, Colombia, a woman may only have sex with her husband, and the first time this happens her mother must be in the room to witness the act.

9. In Santa Cruz, Bolivia it is illegal for a man to have sex with a woman and her daughter at the same time.

10. In Maryland, it is illegal to sell condoms from vending machines with one exception: prophylactics may be dispensed from a vending machine only "in places where alcoholic beverages are sold for on the premises."

Flashlight History

**Although a flashlight is a relatively simple device, its invention did not occur until the late 19th century because it depended upon the earlier invention of the electric battery and electric light. Conrad Hubert received a US patent in 1903 , number 737,107 issued August 26, for a flashlight with an on/off switch in the now familiar cylindrical casing containing lamp and batteries.

Invention:
flashlight in 1902
Function:
noun / flash·light, flashlight, flash-light
Definition:
a small portable battery-powered electric lamp, typically flashlight consists of a small electric light bulb with associated parabolic reflector, powered by electric batteries, and with an electric power switch
Patent:
737,107 (US) issued August 26, 1903
Inventor:
Conrad Hubert (aka Akiba Horowitz)
NOIMAGEAVAILABLE
Criteria:
First practical. Modern prototype. Entrepreneur.
Birth:
April 15, 1856 in Minsk, Russia
Death:
1928
Nationality:
American (of Russian decent)

What's Your Ideal Hairstyle?
Did you know that your hairstyle reveals something about your character? It's true, I tell you! Everyone has one particular hairstyle which perfectly matches his or her character. Find out what hairdo suits you the most.What's your ideal hairstyle?

• Performance evaluation translations:

~~A keen analyst: Thoroughly confused.
~~Accepts new job assignments willingly: Never finishes a job.
~~Active socially: Drinks heavily.
~~Alert to company developments: An office gossip.
~~Approaches difficult problems with logic: Finds someone else to do the job.
~~Average: Not too bright.
~~Bridge builder: Likes to compromise.
~~Character above reproach: Still one step ahead of the law.
~~Charismatic: No interest in any opinion but his own.
~~Competent: Is still able to get work done if supervisor helps.
~~Conscientious and careful: Scared.
~~Consults with co-workers often: Indecisive, confused, and clueless.
~~Consults with supervisor often: Very annoying.
~~Delegates responsibility effectively: Passes the buck well.
~~Demonstrates qualities of leadership: Has a loud voice.
~~Displays excellent intuitive judgement: Knows when to disappear.
~~Displays great dexterity and agility: Dodges and evades superiors well.
~~Enjoys job: Needs more to do.
~~Excels in sustaining concentration but avoids confrontations: Ignores everyone.
~~Excels in the effective application of skills: Makes a good cup of coffee.
~~Exceptionally well qualified: Has committed no major blunders to date.
~~Expresses self well: Can string two sentences together.
~~Gets along extremely well with superiors and subordinates alike: A coward.
~~Happy: Paid too much.
~~Hard worker: Usually does it the hard way.
~~Identifies major management problems: Complains a lot.
~~Indifferent to instruction: Knows more than superiors.
~~Internationally know: Likes to go to conferences and trade shows in Las Vegas.
~~Is well informed: Knows all office gossip and where all the skeletons are kept.
~~Inspires the cooperation of others: Gets everyone else to do the work.
~~Is unusually loyal: Wanted by no-one else.

What was all the ruckus about??

Disease underlies Hatfield-McCoy feud

If you ever wondered what caused the Hatfield and Mccoy Feud this may surprise you. Now it seems the most infamous feud in American folklore, the long-running battle between the Hatfields and McCoys, may be partly explained by a rare, inherited disease that can lead to hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts.
LINK

Make A Shiny Ball out Of Mud

# Pack some mud into your hand, and squeeze out the water while forming a sphere.# Add some dry dirt to the outside and continue to gently shape the mud into a sphere.# When the mass dries, pack it solid with your hands, and rub the surface until a smooth film begins to appear.# Rub your hands against the ground, patting and rubbing the fine, powdery dirt onto the sphere. Continue this for two hours.# Seal the ball in a plastic bag for three or four hours. Upon removing the sphere, repeat step 4, and then once again seal the sphere in a plastic bag.# Remove the ball from the bag, and if it is no longer wet, polish it with a cloth until it shines.
LINK

Thank you for our friendship

For it means so much to me,

Your kindness and understanding

And loving ways you share so free.

Thank you for being beside me

When I needed someone that cared,

And thank you for all your loyalty

For the times together we shared.

Thank you for our friendship

For it's something even money can't buy,

Thank you for holding me tightly

When there was a need I had to cry.

I would like to introduce you to a sweetheart of a lady called Chyann. Chyann has travelled a rocky road the past few years, but still takes the time to embrace others. Chyann has a heart as big as Illinois itself, and she uses it in a big way also. Chyann and I had quite a few fun times called "Slaphappy Time".Chyann and I were both night owls so kept room 15 open all night!I wish for Chyann total happiness in whatever path in life she takes~~~She deserves it~~I Love You Chyann

History Of The Baseball Glove

Glovology - The History of the Baseball Glove
21st April 2007
We used no mattress on our hands,No cage upon our face;We stood right up and caught the ballWith courage and with grace.
– George Ellard
That piece was written by one of the men who organized what is thought to be the first professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Redstockings, back in the late 1860s. It expresses a certain contempt for the impedimenta of defensive baseball, namely the glove and the catcher’s mask.
It is true that, particularly in the case of gloves, baseball technology had to overcome a good deal of “real-men-don’t…” prejudice. But, indeed, it was a member of that Redstockings team, its renowned catcher, Doug Allison, who is recorded as the first man to wear a glove in a baseball game. In 1869 he prevailed upon a saddle maker to fashion for him a crude, lightly padded glove with which to receive pitches.
LINK

Here's to the Crazy Ones
Here's to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes -

the ones who see things differently.

They're not fond of rules and

they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praisethem,

disagree with them,

quote them,

disbelieve them,

glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing that you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things.
-Apple Computer Ad, 1997

Recipe For Kindness

Fold two hands together

And express a dash of sorrow

Marinate it overnight

And work on it tomorrow
Chop one grudge in tiny pieces

Add several cups of love

Dredge with a large sized smile

Mix with the ingredients above
Dissolve the hate within you,by doing a good deed

Cut in and help your friend,if he should be in need
Stir in laughter, love, and kindness

From the heart it has to come

Toss with genuine forgiveness

And give your neighbor some
The amount of people served,will depend on you

It can serve the whole wide world,if you really want it to
~ Author Unknown~

I would like to introduce you to a wonderful young lady named Blu-La-Dee. Beckie is also a friend that I have been so blessed to meet this year.Beckie is my inspiration and is soo creative.Through Beckie I have met many awesome people. The I Like You song many of you enjoyed came to me from Beckie.Beckie is also very kind- hearted, sweet,and hillarious.Beckie has some wonderful recipes to share,and believe me ,she won't cease to amaze you. I Love you Beckie