tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71449958850664538722024-03-05T08:19:21.622-05:00Weird Weekly WikiJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-45903014882865979542011-11-19T12:25:00.001-05:002011-11-23T20:34:40.193-05:00The Monty Hall Problem and The Birthday Problem<div><b>The Monty Hall Problem</b><br /><br />The Monty Hall problem is a probability puzzle loosely based on the American television game show Let's Make a Deal and named after the show's original host, Monty Hall. The problem, also called the Monty Hall paradox, is a veridical paradox because the result appears odd but is demonstrably true. The Monty Hall problem, in its usual interpretation, is mathematically equivalent to the earlier Three Prisoners problem, and both bear some similarity to the much older Bertrand's box paradox.<br /><br />The problem was originally posed in a letter by Steve Selvin to the American Statistician in 1975. (Selvin 1975a) (Selvin 1975b) A well-known statement of the problem was published in Marilyn vos Savant's "Ask Marilyn" column in Parade magazine in 1990 (vos Savant 1990):<br /><br />Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1 [but the door is not opened], and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?<br /><br />Vos Savant's response was that the contestant should always switch to the other door. If the car is initially equally likely to be behind each door, a player who picks Door 1 and doesn't switch has a 1 in 3 chance of winning the car while a player who picks Door 1 and does switch has a 2 in 3 chance. The host has removed an incorrect option from the unchosen doors, so contestants who switch double their chances of winning the car.<br /><br />Many readers refused to believe that switching is beneficial. After the Monty Hall problem appeared in Parade, approximately 10,000 readers, including nearly 1,000 with PhDs, wrote to the magazine claiming that vos Savant was wrong. Even when given explanations, simulations, and formal mathematical proofs, many people still do not accept that switching is the best strategy. The Monty Hall problem has attracted academic interest because the result is surprising and the problem is interesting to formulate.<br /><br /><b>The Birthday Problem</b><br /><br />In probability theory, the birthday problem or birthday paradox pertains to the probability that, in a set of n randomly chosen people, some pair of them will have the same birthday (month and day). By the pigeonhole principle, the probability reaches 100% when the number of people reaches 366 (every day of the year). However, 99% probability is reached with just 57 people, and 50% probability with 23 people. These conclusions are based on the assumption that each day of the year (except February 29) is equally probable for a birthday. This is to say, if you take just 57 people you are 99% likely to find two people with same birthday, contrary to the common conclusion it would take near 365 to reach that likelihood.<br /><br /><i><b>Note From Josh</b><br />See the Wikipedia links at the bottom for the mathematical explanation of these problems. You can also see visual descriptions for each, respectively, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhlc7peGlGg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16zXXmSX2v0</i><br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem</a></div><br />
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<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejOssPXMWioKb5Ggg6o_XGFrw0a4I7ayTOtlVUyFhltzHHUWxhewPGie7nmZf1RAJ0SRtOvA4DT60-vR4IAtgoeDxGPhFYoi1pKVxt6AtTYMRI-OU9hN8HO-sPzDeBm0UgWTPRiL5KE7Q/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 362px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 309px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676759312484195010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejOssPXMWioKb5Ggg6o_XGFrw0a4I7ayTOtlVUyFhltzHHUWxhewPGie7nmZf1RAJ0SRtOvA4DT60-vR4IAtgoeDxGPhFYoi1pKVxt6AtTYMRI-OU9hN8HO-sPzDeBm0UgWTPRiL5KE7Q/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><br />
<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4VOFVB6RS0ZixEEZ5dpEAmRuy4mMe6FWXMa6w6zin9t58-s6x5ln2_AUWW5jLGvGgtHk_v4uN6qRnS0z82TMTs4tHOYynVJcYdAtz5mwdHWO1Fz4yYro9fr-TDQBwBOm6uPkCxBmaLrr/s1600/04.gif"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 246px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676759308785558322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4VOFVB6RS0ZixEEZ5dpEAmRuy4mMe6FWXMa6w6zin9t58-s6x5ln2_AUWW5jLGvGgtHk_v4uN6qRnS0z82TMTs4tHOYynVJcYdAtz5mwdHWO1Fz4yYro9fr-TDQBwBOm6uPkCxBmaLrr/s400/04.gif" /></a></div></div></div>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-55415520037356913112011-11-18T18:29:00.002-05:002011-11-18T18:31:15.131-05:00CastratoA castrato (Italian, plural: castrati) is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.<br /><br />Castration before puberty (or in its early stages) prevents a boy's larynx from being transformed by the normal physiological events of puberty. As a result, the vocal range of prepubescence (shared by both sexes) is largely retained, and the voice develops into adulthood in a unique way. Prepubescent castration for this purpose diminished greatly in the late 18th century and was made illegal in Italy in 1870.<br /><br />As the castrato's body grew, his lack of testosterone meant that his epiphyses (bone-joints) did not harden in the normal manner. Thus the limbs of the castrati often grew unusually long, as did the bones of their ribs. This, combined with intensive training, gave them unrivalled lung-power and breath capacity. Operating through small, child-sized vocal cords, their voices were also extraordinarily flexible, and quite different from the equivalent adult female voice, as well as higher vocal ranges of the uncastrated adult male. To prevent the child from experiencing the intense pain of castration, many were inadvertently administered lethal doses of opium or some other narcotic, or were killed by overlong compression of the carotid artery in the neck (intended to render them unconscious during the castration procedure).<br /><br />The training of the boys was rigorous. The regime of one singing school in Rome (c. 1700) consisted of one hour of singing difficult and awkward pieces, one hour practicing trills, one hour practicing ornamented passaggi, one hour of singing exercises in their teacher's presence and in front of a mirror so as to avoid unnecessary movement of the body or facial grimaces, and one hour of literary study; all this, moreover, before lunch. After, half-an-hour would be devoted to musical theory, another to writing counterpoint, an hour copying down the same from dictation, and another hour of literary study. During the remainder of the day, the young castrati had to find time to practice their harpsichord playing, and to compose vocal music, either sacred or secular depending on their inclination. This demanding schedule meant that, if sufficiently talented, they were able to make a debut in their mid-teens with a perfect technique and a voice of a flexibility and power no woman or ordinary male singer could match.<br /><br />In the 1720s and 1730s, at the height of the craze for these voices, it has been estimated that upwards of 4,000 boys were castrated annually in the service of art. Many came from poor homes and were castrated by their parents in the hope that their child might be successful and lift them from poverty. There are, though, records of some young boys asking to be operated on to preserve their voices<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrato">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrato</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-URYBMrkSki7McCsL-4B7JZrIutlTyvB2bBbbl420Xh5xhq3ZIbqm6bDM82jEt8jw3hIre925YfiP3i_cn8zpSAcucVCMqpO86pZnyMyGh_hwRa9MsvvW0sBFRAYaVLMYoLn8jezKCL7z/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 341px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676482173447077410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-URYBMrkSki7McCsL-4B7JZrIutlTyvB2bBbbl420Xh5xhq3ZIbqm6bDM82jEt8jw3hIre925YfiP3i_cn8zpSAcucVCMqpO86pZnyMyGh_hwRa9MsvvW0sBFRAYaVLMYoLn8jezKCL7z/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZPevBlJes9Rup_DZHChJizNxM_4VR-FHA-uLIL-5oWRYGdatRTNkRIWLhUQdnOovqaWfkls-qoTLZTKGU3-n7CnqgZ7pnJP09C5Plt1hymJSQHFcLjWOhfx2SQupbRQLMCLKjzTNiTAt/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 155px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 250px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676482171447800258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZPevBlJes9Rup_DZHChJizNxM_4VR-FHA-uLIL-5oWRYGdatRTNkRIWLhUQdnOovqaWfkls-qoTLZTKGU3-n7CnqgZ7pnJP09C5Plt1hymJSQHFcLjWOhfx2SQupbRQLMCLKjzTNiTAt/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5K9_Hd9eHUtj4j5bRm-bjHCagRYxPIklrg0p4skvhXlQNIZtiWUS4QwFVLAVUPaAQJ9WRsIjFps6v2hAVij3sLpNJPtWdk6g3kDOMphmVtbE_t59q3tmSDFDDmq3rgRVJSkU1J06LvW9/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 281px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 340px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676482169527755490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5K9_Hd9eHUtj4j5bRm-bjHCagRYxPIklrg0p4skvhXlQNIZtiWUS4QwFVLAVUPaAQJ9WRsIjFps6v2hAVij3sLpNJPtWdk6g3kDOMphmVtbE_t59q3tmSDFDDmq3rgRVJSkU1J06LvW9/s400/03.jpg" /></a> <br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGe8YfTatxBEQXC6oKz9ZhIQLqFeJmnzjeUZQxIMQ3uk3wryOgcI32BS2Iihl6oDJfW-8aoJ1822kwajTiT1QQe42bNvmsFaXrOfUIgn6uOBqswJYM64iOCNqire3jLHEJ73ziNGcWdNS2/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 316px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676482165423628722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGe8YfTatxBEQXC6oKz9ZhIQLqFeJmnzjeUZQxIMQ3uk3wryOgcI32BS2Iihl6oDJfW-8aoJ1822kwajTiT1QQe42bNvmsFaXrOfUIgn6uOBqswJYM64iOCNqire3jLHEJ73ziNGcWdNS2/s400/04.jpg" /></a></div></div>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-91378566814783451332011-11-10T20:43:00.002-05:002011-11-10T20:45:43.361-05:00Joan Pujol GarciaJoan Pujol Garcia (14 February 1912 – 10 October 1988), was a double agent during the Second World War who was known by the British codename Garbo and the German codename Arabel. He had a key role in the success of Operation Fortitude, the deception operation intended to mislead the Germans about the timing and location of the invasion of Normandy towards the end of war. The false information Pujol supplied helped persuade German intelligence that the main attack would be in the Pas de Calais, resulting in a decision by the German government to deploy the main body of troops there instead of in Normandy.<br /><br />Born in the Catalan city of Barcelona, Pujol developed a detestation of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union after his experience of fascism and communism during the Spanish Civil War. He decided around 1940 that he must make a contribution to the war by helping Britain which, with its Empire, was Germany's only adversary at the time. He initially approached the British but they showed no interest in employing him as a spy. So he resolved to establish himself as a German agent before approaching the British again to offer his services as a double-agent.<br /><br />Operating initially in Lisbon, he pretended to the Germans that he was in Britain. He fabricated reports about shipping movements based on information gleaned from the library in Lisbon and from newsreel reports he saw in cinemas, and successfully convinced the Germans that he was reporting real information. He claimed to be travelling around Britain and submitted his travel expenses based on fares listed in a British railway guide. During this time he created an extensive network of fictitious sub-agents living in different parts of Britain.<br /><br />Eventually, he offered his services to British intelligence again. The British had become aware that someone had been feeding the Germans misinformation, and realised the value of misinformation after the German navy wasted resources hunting down a non-existent convoy reported to them by Pujol. This time he was accepted. He was relocated to Britain in the spring of 1942, and operated as a double agent under the aegis of the XX Committee. His spymaster was Cyril Bertram Mills, whom he knew only as 'Mr. Grey'.<br /><br />On occasion he had to fabricate reasons why his agents had failed to report easily available information that the Germans would eventually know about. For example, he reported that his (fabricated) Liverpool agent had fallen ill just before a major fleet movement from that port on the north-west coast of England. The illness meant that the agent was unable to warn the Germans of the event. To support the story of the illness, the "agent" eventually "died" and a notice was placed in the local newspaper as further evidence to convince the Germans, who were also persuaded to pay a pension to the agent's "widow".<br /><br />In order to maintain his credibility it was decided that Garbo, or one of his agents, should forewarn the Germans of the timing and some details of the actual invasion of Normandy, although leaving it too late for them to take effective action. Special arrangements were made with the German radio operators to be listening to Garbo through the night of 5/6 June 1944, using the story that a sub-agent was about to arrive with important information. However when the call was made at 3am, no reply was received from the German operators until 8am. Turning this piece of bad luck on its head, Garbo was able to add more details of the operation to the message when finally sent and increase his standing with the Germans.<br /><br />On June 9 (3 days after D-day), Garbo sent a message to German High Command saying that he had conferred with his agents and developed an order of battle showing 75 divisions in England (when in reality there were only about 50). His message pointed out that units of the First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG) (a fictitious unit which was part of the British deception) had not participated in the invasion and therefore the first landing should be considered a diversion. A German message to Madrid sent two days later said "all reports received in the last week from Arabel [Garbo's German code-name] undertaking have been confirmed without exception and are to be described as exceptionally valuable."<br /><br />In late June Garbo was instructed by the Germans to report on the falling of V1 flying bombs. Finding no way of giving false information without arousing suspicion, and being unwilling to give correct information, Mills arranged for him to be 'arrested'. He returned to duty a few days later, and forwarded an 'official' letter of apology from the Home Secretary for his unlawful detention.<br /><br />The Germans paid Garbo (or Arabel, as they called him) US$340,000 to support his network of agents, which at one point totaled 27 fabricated characters.<br /><br />For his efforts in aid of the Allies Garbo received an MBE from the British; in an ironic twist of fate, following the war he ended up encountering one of his German handlers, who gave him the Iron Cross for his contribution to the German war effort; the Nazis never realized that Garbo had fooled them, and thus he earned the distinction of being one of the few people during World War II to receive decorations from both sides.<br /><br />After World War II ended, Pujol faked his death and moved to Venezuela, where he lived in anonymity. Mills believed Pujol to be dead, and Pujol had been told that Cyril Mills, or 'Mr. Grey' as he knew him, had been killed as well. However, in 1982 they were emotionally re-united at Mills' home in London. Pujol lived in Lagunillas, Zulia, Venezuela, where he ran a bookstore called 'La Casa del Regalo'. He subsequently moved to Caracas, where he died in 1988. Juan Pujol is buried in Choroní, a town inside Henri Pittier National Park by the Caribbean sea.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ18eyGMS8kavOJizM2mQRy0sFMSjezdmfnYEe4y-fuNkrtyJOEonPkJLRFV6aflrTdhKiH60wCKY-s70gt4b-VG7UC2YRF6F9JuH6FdQ2LBpxpsPHAeMk263PHp7k5xLLha7TxOLdxct3/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 158px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 199px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673548122743496834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ18eyGMS8kavOJizM2mQRy0sFMSjezdmfnYEe4y-fuNkrtyJOEonPkJLRFV6aflrTdhKiH60wCKY-s70gt4b-VG7UC2YRF6F9JuH6FdQ2LBpxpsPHAeMk263PHp7k5xLLha7TxOLdxct3/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2xOEOw8VKBLq1JahPlYkXb3o_CIyChVMHSksmhSbzSRBW_4Hol6UvH7vZeXF1NSYtEGCdZ_SOWxinLRC4im8cXFTDgOpFrnJTHFDslXic-Gvjks_kkv8mAQsfTlLMac5NcdhVGc2iz16/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 322px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673548119117657122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2xOEOw8VKBLq1JahPlYkXb3o_CIyChVMHSksmhSbzSRBW_4Hol6UvH7vZeXF1NSYtEGCdZ_SOWxinLRC4im8cXFTDgOpFrnJTHFDslXic-Gvjks_kkv8mAQsfTlLMac5NcdhVGc2iz16/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfuVfM_btbBQzdwhxJnqSvnlL2aEdcbjaC93fsvs2ob97ulR2w6WQXxBvdpoXp9S_SdRwuGqGYvpnYFInaqoId3Ih-CWBWfnvsmkcKMUzQ6_cO6XMw7XaDreHiPC8oXvaAcYOE_icw6KZ/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 340px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 340px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673548119553781650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfuVfM_btbBQzdwhxJnqSvnlL2aEdcbjaC93fsvs2ob97ulR2w6WQXxBvdpoXp9S_SdRwuGqGYvpnYFInaqoId3Ih-CWBWfnvsmkcKMUzQ6_cO6XMw7XaDreHiPC8oXvaAcYOE_icw6KZ/s400/03.jpg" /></a></div></div>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-14439247335400209782011-11-05T13:25:00.002-04:002011-11-05T13:27:21.794-04:00Lunokhod ProgrammeLunokhod (Russian: Луноход, "Moonwalker") was a series of Soviet robotic lunar rovers designed to land on the Moon between 1969 and 1977. The 1969 Lunokhod 1A was destroyed during launch, the 1970 Lunokhod 1 and the 1973 Lunokhod 2 landed on the moon and the 1977 Lunokhod was never launched. The Lunokhods were primarily designed to support the Soviet manned moon missions and to be used as automatic remote-controlled robots to explore the surface and return pictures. The Lunokhods were transported to the lunar surface by Luna spacecraft, which were launched by Proton rockets. The moon lander part of the Luna spacecraft for Lunokhods were similar to the ones for sample return missions. Not until the 1997 Mars Pathfinder was another remote-controlled vehicle put on an extraterrestrial body.<br /><br />During its 322 Earth days of operations, Lunokhod 1 traveled 10.5 km and returned more than 20,000 TV images and 206 high-resolution panoramas. In addition, it performed twenty-five soil analyses with its RIFMA x-ray fluorescence spectrometer and used its penetrometer at 500 different locations.<br /><br />Lunokhod 2 operated for about 4 months, covered 37 km (23 miles) of terrain, including hilly upland areas and rilles, and currently holds the record for the longest distance of surface travel of any extraterrestrial vehicle. It sent back 86 panoramic images and over 80,000 TV pictures. Many mechanical tests of the surface, laser ranging measurements, and other experiments were completed during this time.<br /><br />For comparison, the similarly sized NASA Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity had, by their fifth anniversary in January 2009, traveled a total of 21 km (13 mi) and transmitted over 125,000 images.<br /><br />According to a French documentary TV film "Tank on the Moon" by Jean Afanassieff, the Lunokhod design returned to limelight 15 years later due to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. The East German made remote controlled bulldozers available to Soviet civil defense troops weighed dozens of tons. Too heavy to operate on the remaining parts of the partially collapsed reactor building roof. Human laborers could not be employed effectively to shovel debris, since work shifts were limited to 90 second intervals due to intense ionizing radiation.<br /><br />Lunokhod designers were called back from retirement, and in two weeks rovers used nuclear decay heat sources for internal rack climate control, their electronic systems were already hardened to resist radiation. This benefit allowed the 1986 designers to quickly devise a derived vehicle type for nuclear disaster recovery work. Eventually two rovers were delivered to the Chernobyl accident zone and proved useful for clearing debris, earning awards for the designers. Due to extremely high radiation levels, all rovers eventually failed, and human workers (later named liquidators) were called in.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunokhod_programme">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunokhod_programme</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeWzBynk32Z69a-9X8M_S4WCZ2E6i59_CoI1VVIP0I7JXF1XtyJNgS9Cdd3BbmgjKCHo_hdKdYz7aVm5y95E_DUAVLMt9bM5cPmWPhOZZRvg6p6A2wz0fM_waMWnCY0QVLL-aCnqdkmcq/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 373px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671564279197470434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeWzBynk32Z69a-9X8M_S4WCZ2E6i59_CoI1VVIP0I7JXF1XtyJNgS9Cdd3BbmgjKCHo_hdKdYz7aVm5y95E_DUAVLMt9bM5cPmWPhOZZRvg6p6A2wz0fM_waMWnCY0QVLL-aCnqdkmcq/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3k5sd70iXEhYzBsxL4-avSQa53_edZmSqAKvkiaQVYHDE03BLyESmVAwY4gwkGseRXkSlcicDevsP9y3Hxbk_A_tvUjGaFX6xpl2o3Hk3PXwBnOkuC19KwNUDH08ChRfrXQovyH4VjQV/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 324px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671564272862176050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3k5sd70iXEhYzBsxL4-avSQa53_edZmSqAKvkiaQVYHDE03BLyESmVAwY4gwkGseRXkSlcicDevsP9y3Hxbk_A_tvUjGaFX6xpl2o3Hk3PXwBnOkuC19KwNUDH08ChRfrXQovyH4VjQV/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aakFzkHbzDXElsRZiKxXBrR7UthJ3dJ1JyNgXyY_5yQZfRq9SGFQOnvC9AvgdT6o627p3qNcRKmtmCzG5I2wdMDsrWibzTgHNGMVJ0E2Wi67ztaWxGS2oXqEzQNWPTYxDtJ57UvQBLgJ/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671564274472413298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aakFzkHbzDXElsRZiKxXBrR7UthJ3dJ1JyNgXyY_5yQZfRq9SGFQOnvC9AvgdT6o627p3qNcRKmtmCzG5I2wdMDsrWibzTgHNGMVJ0E2Wi67ztaWxGS2oXqEzQNWPTYxDtJ57UvQBLgJ/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYs4d4DZrDoFbRmuA-AyFTk6-7vkjDDMEz4wNeJ-tEAOpYelhlvUcXC7YrUNJDABQuX5SIbmIkl5R9yhRcSPHGj2T7PNUACJ5In2QuxU2GVRWAZeNFy4pA9W2qh9Xy3Pe554DVzWYT7siL/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671564274985326178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYs4d4DZrDoFbRmuA-AyFTk6-7vkjDDMEz4wNeJ-tEAOpYelhlvUcXC7YrUNJDABQuX5SIbmIkl5R9yhRcSPHGj2T7PNUACJ5In2QuxU2GVRWAZeNFy4pA9W2qh9Xy3Pe554DVzWYT7siL/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJ7X0ftqZW8S0hKoCeSflLytgSaZn_dEKi4RlzQJpBjd7h3R5mOYjqHqcwgbth4wnf_V8f_Eokqsn6MQTc6Ak2nLSOz9zqmqkYUbf7m8hn2a48BCzxoI_sFRzdlmyp3xi1S2WAKVur56N/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 301px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671564269879720002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJ7X0ftqZW8S0hKoCeSflLytgSaZn_dEKi4RlzQJpBjd7h3R5mOYjqHqcwgbth4wnf_V8f_Eokqsn6MQTc6Ak2nLSOz9zqmqkYUbf7m8hn2a48BCzxoI_sFRzdlmyp3xi1S2WAKVur56N/s400/05.jpg" /></a>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-2064877156350966292011-10-22T09:46:00.003-04:002011-10-22T09:48:30.754-04:00Cesare Bonizzi<div>Brother Cesare Bonizzi, also known as Frate Cesare and Fratello Metallo ("Brother Metal") - which was also the name of his band, is a Capuchin friar belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, who was known as a heavy metal singer.<br /><br />Bonizzi was born in 1946 in Offanengo, Italy. He entered a monastery in 1975, and subsequently carried out missionary work in the Ivory Coast. After returning to Italy he was ordained a priest in 1983. Since 1990 he has been interested in using music as a means of contemplation and spiritual devotion, and he has released numerous albums in various styles from new age to rock. After seeing Metallica in concert, however, he became passionate about heavy metal as a musical vehicle. According to him, "Metal is the most energetic, vital, deep and true musical language that I know." He currently lives in the convent of Musocco, a district of Milan. In late 2009, he announced that he would no longer perform.<br /><br />Although his full transformation to heavy metal is only found on Fratello Metallo's 2008 release Misteri, Bonizzi has recorded numerous albums in various musical genres. He cites Megadeth and Metallica as major inspirations on his transformation to metal. With his new style of music, which he calls "Metrock" as a combination of metal and rock, he was the opening act at 2008's Gods of Metal, Italy's largest heavy metal festival.<br /><br />Bonizzi performed in full Franciscan habit. Although he was frequently mistaken as making the sign of the horns in concert, he actually extended his thumb along with the index and pinkie, which is the handsign for "I love you" in the American Sign Language.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Bonizzi">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Bonizzi</a></div><br />
<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrSN-3QAvtE-98gactSnaLhfcG09M8rqFS0MgaJT5i71LSP6o5p2-WquIW8cQaaLwDmEqnz7CRSIo5gDGOL4yU-JvEWK-ulldiHFAnnyEcGp_Xwk8uShL0cMOP-2IvRhckHKywtDJg9Sr/s1600/01.jpg"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666312736580335410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrSN-3QAvtE-98gactSnaLhfcG09M8rqFS0MgaJT5i71LSP6o5p2-WquIW8cQaaLwDmEqnz7CRSIo5gDGOL4yU-JvEWK-ulldiHFAnnyEcGp_Xwk8uShL0cMOP-2IvRhckHKywtDJg9Sr/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9l1lqNlL-AadB73XsbAInA6IV4unrCkca-wN3gmnHTZ6r5dlhvf-kE1UmROf7h7FWBOBJlsa90z1P-ZHK_j_f2BT-CeDiB1eAxeFJsF2UdMts4YljO7QRmdP7wWd3txdzmCtaJsFxqC7/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 301px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666312732645644882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9l1lqNlL-AadB73XsbAInA6IV4unrCkca-wN3gmnHTZ6r5dlhvf-kE1UmROf7h7FWBOBJlsa90z1P-ZHK_j_f2BT-CeDiB1eAxeFJsF2UdMts4YljO7QRmdP7wWd3txdzmCtaJsFxqC7/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjjbLjSt8Zhnc_sPbpKwN8klU48bgIAZoYZGVLbPGNrrZE2CxgwZhCBMczKugS_55yLa_fB8kf-i1DSlE_CxUUzA160zoVfQRb4QrB3RAi2Hr0sziKHwBWBKrvMLSyn2P4kQQUyvrGeV_/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 260px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 195px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666312725488755202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjjbLjSt8Zhnc_sPbpKwN8klU48bgIAZoYZGVLbPGNrrZE2CxgwZhCBMczKugS_55yLa_fB8kf-i1DSlE_CxUUzA160zoVfQRb4QrB3RAi2Hr0sziKHwBWBKrvMLSyn2P4kQQUyvrGeV_/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLX0BWmX9kkdswOLfFwjh_LT_SYO5kHGEuFcuYHOwhJNfUvZkvhCRGRK15hHY_4csA_Hg6bXnCU0w4UvUUGY0cQDt2VbMAN8oFRSMrhpT8ZYBaoizIx1p2l5nqySJeBSYRbIx-E5cvUoR9/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666312726784733586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLX0BWmX9kkdswOLfFwjh_LT_SYO5kHGEuFcuYHOwhJNfUvZkvhCRGRK15hHY_4csA_Hg6bXnCU0w4UvUUGY0cQDt2VbMAN8oFRSMrhpT8ZYBaoizIx1p2l5nqySJeBSYRbIx-E5cvUoR9/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6A-Q-kP_kE_24fuC4yI9v-k7d9M19LPQ1UQtwYz5p1BTIQPel8l1Is29DU_R-MRRJN8FjJFXtUtuXJz0tpEKi4VdDCkn9O6UGD2onOr1zaZAHbJyMTLNEUlzE_Kty6QZnWSGDBxTIhWRP/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 276px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666312724211413570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6A-Q-kP_kE_24fuC4yI9v-k7d9M19LPQ1UQtwYz5p1BTIQPel8l1Is29DU_R-MRRJN8FjJFXtUtuXJz0tpEKi4VdDCkn9O6UGD2onOr1zaZAHbJyMTLNEUlzE_Kty6QZnWSGDBxTIhWRP/s400/05.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-17734111059887873082011-10-13T20:49:00.002-04:002011-10-13T20:50:45.844-04:00Lucy Temerlin<div>Lucy Temerlin (1964–1987) was a chimpanzee owned by the Institute for Primate Studies in Oklahoma, and raised by Maurice K. Temerlin, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and professor at the University of Oklahoma and his wife, Jane W. Temerlin.<br /><br />Temerlin and his wife raised Lucy as if she were a human child, teaching her to eat with silverware, dress herself, flip through magazines, and sit in a chair at the dinner table. She was taught American Sign Language by primatologist Roger Fouts as part of an ape language project and eventually learned 140 signs. She appeared in Life magazine, where she became famous for drinking straight gin, rearing a cat, and using Playgirl and a vacuum cleaner for sexual gratification. Around that time, the Temerlins introduced her for the first time to a male chimpanzee, and she was frightened and did not relate to him, let alone find him attractive. Fouts has written that when he arrived at Lucy's home at 8:30 every morning, Lucy would greet him with a hug, take the kettle, fill it with water, find two cups and tea bags, and serve the tea. The experiment was to test nature versus nurture; that is to say, would a chimp retain chimp behaviors if raised as a human or would she think of herself as a human being.<br /><br />By the time she was 12, Lucy had become very strong and was very destructive in the Temerlin house. Eventually, she was shipped to a chimpanzee rehabilitation center in Gambia, accompanied by University of Oklahoma psychology graduate student Janis Carter. For years, Lucy was unable to relate to the other chimps in the rehabilitation center, and never reproduced, displaying sexual attraction only to humans. Lucy showed many signs of depression, including refusal to eat, and expressed "hurt" via sign-language. Though her adopted Temerlin parents stayed with Lucy for only a few weeks in Gambia, Janis Carter remained at the Center for years, devoting much of her life to helping Lucy assimilate to life in the wild.<br /><br />Several years after leaving Lucy, Carter returned with some of Lucy's belongings. Lucy and a group of chimps greeted her, and Lucy embraced her, and then left with the other chimps without turning back, which Carter interpreted as Lucy having assimilated to life as a chimpanzee. One year after that, Carter returned and found Lucy's skeleton with hands missing and head separated from the rest of the body, and no sign of skin or hair, from which Carter concluded that Lucy had been poached. However, others who were intimately involved in Lucy's rehabilitation question this possibility, because the skeleton, in its advanced state of decomposition, could not provide evidence of poaching over some other cause of death.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Temerlin">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Temerlin</a></div><br />
<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5yoXPnRUQoAcz5_udw7bHiy8_xx0uCrGevAMaPDJWeh1_LuV82iudCDumVwVITGi2u2vzKsdIM0XJSGhuJWUzSibOSEp_9gW87jJBRA7hTLSXYwhiA-OjruP1_N1wSuMBsGYPFfJneKm/s1600/01.png"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 347px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663143746935881570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5yoXPnRUQoAcz5_udw7bHiy8_xx0uCrGevAMaPDJWeh1_LuV82iudCDumVwVITGi2u2vzKsdIM0XJSGhuJWUzSibOSEp_9gW87jJBRA7hTLSXYwhiA-OjruP1_N1wSuMBsGYPFfJneKm/s400/01.png" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6YB7yRY4bHmv2kHTaRkEfhrLzIk0AvT7CGH0Kfx-C6_dhnIcXLbg7nUX8Y7bxNDjM-auwNqVOT8cTsBd_Xr7ZQFdXW-i-jantdakN17o5RB-WDDDClQSJR3Yal6NfxcM4f0u-SnlmYYR/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 273px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663143740703012946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6YB7yRY4bHmv2kHTaRkEfhrLzIk0AvT7CGH0Kfx-C6_dhnIcXLbg7nUX8Y7bxNDjM-auwNqVOT8cTsBd_Xr7ZQFdXW-i-jantdakN17o5RB-WDDDClQSJR3Yal6NfxcM4f0u-SnlmYYR/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRr7S63373oiLrsAyBNqOxYIPmQ8gWH6mS2E3AX5zv02o6DwV-l9r4IjIAp9f6Cnn804yFPDF1OL04Z-8YDARrXiJxgLGIKOzlW-Vdkn0fSlh4rvEf8P23BZbOqT5L4BD59qV3xze5Xiv/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 361px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663143738562845986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRr7S63373oiLrsAyBNqOxYIPmQ8gWH6mS2E3AX5zv02o6DwV-l9r4IjIAp9f6Cnn804yFPDF1OL04Z-8YDARrXiJxgLGIKOzlW-Vdkn0fSlh4rvEf8P23BZbOqT5L4BD59qV3xze5Xiv/s400/03.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-81131553417624410752011-09-21T22:18:00.004-04:002011-09-21T22:24:58.293-04:00Numbers StationNumbers stations (or number stations) are shortwave radio stations of uncertain origin. In the 1950s, Time magazine reported that the numbers stations first appeared shortly after World War II. Numbers stations generally broadcast artificially generated voices reading streams of numbers, words, letters (sometimes using a spelling alphabet), tunes or Morse code. They are in a wide variety of languages and the voices are usually female, although sometimes men's or children's voices are used. Evidence supports popular assumptions that the broadcasts are used to send messages to spies. This usage has not been publicly acknowledged by any government that may operate a numbers station.
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<br />It has been reported that the United States uses numbers stations to communicate encoded information to persons in other countries. According to the notes of The Conet Project, which has compiled an impressive number of recordings of these transmissions, numbers stations have been reported since World War I. If accurate, this would make numbers stations among the earliest radio broadcasts.
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<br />It has long been speculated, and was argued in court in one case, that these stations operate as a simple and foolproof method for government agencies to communicate with spies working undercover. According to this theory, the messages are encrypted with a one-time pad, to avoid any risk of decryption by the enemy. As evidence, numbers stations have changed details of their broadcasts or produced special, nonscheduled broadcasts coincident with extraordinary political events, such as the August Coup of 1991 in the Soviet Union.
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<br />Although no broadcaster or government has acknowledged transmitting the numbers, a 1998 article in The Daily Telegraph quoted a spokesperson for the Department of Trade and Industry (the government department that, at that time, regulated radio broadcasting in the United Kingdom) as saying, "These [numbers stations] are what you suppose they are. People shouldn't be mystified by them. They are not for, shall we say, public consumption.
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<br /></i>These stations still operate and exist in numerous countries around the world. You can listen to samples from The Conet Project here: <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/ird059">http://www.archive.org/details/ird059</a>. Addionally, many websites are dedicated to finding and sharing these stations. Check them out if you have some radio equipment. - Josh</i>
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<br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station</a>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfga8i62qL0NICByPNF0o16lPloAhplvQX7JDPYFAbE6l4C_rH8uxeQBO-7NiV__wm1Cp-eYzPi5u5hzs9T_BJL62n_LwJtR5hGe59eU5lpaP2Vh09z3A1A5ozwbuivcjhkpnuNbD8Ic9/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 392px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 288px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655002692256928738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfga8i62qL0NICByPNF0o16lPloAhplvQX7JDPYFAbE6l4C_rH8uxeQBO-7NiV__wm1Cp-eYzPi5u5hzs9T_BJL62n_LwJtR5hGe59eU5lpaP2Vh09z3A1A5ozwbuivcjhkpnuNbD8Ic9/s400/01.jpg" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkQxawC4ofWavJcBWOzKeI-3861coh0miI3yKI_Yv5GDxi2vInf_lP8_Z9ndCBu1FYwqpA-IMEYobT7riv2HBg5zdRvieK5Y3Hl0_8SBF7RAGbC1u6w2vFMLb4wYcaxQDO1f8WL2EYB4t/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 203px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655002688820797362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOkQxawC4ofWavJcBWOzKeI-3861coh0miI3yKI_Yv5GDxi2vInf_lP8_Z9ndCBu1FYwqpA-IMEYobT7riv2HBg5zdRvieK5Y3Hl0_8SBF7RAGbC1u6w2vFMLb4wYcaxQDO1f8WL2EYB4t/s400/02.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-580689008005467152011-09-13T17:07:00.002-04:002011-09-13T17:09:03.856-04:00Narrative of the Life of James Allen<div>Published in 1837, there is hardly a more curious treasure in the Athenæum Library than a little volume, bound in what seems a grayish leather, curious not only in itself, for it is the deathbed confession of a highwayman (robbing late travelers on the highways), but more curious by reason of its binding---in the skin of its author. Known as anthropodermic bibliopegy (the practice of binding books in human skin), was not unknown at the time.<br /><br />Peter Low, had come to Boston from London, where his father and grandfather were in the book business. Here he was engaged in bookbinding, for the Old Corner Book Store and other clients. The skin used for binding Walton's book came from Massachusetts General Hospital on the very day of his death. Walton was a Jamaica mulatto, and the skin, taken from his back, had been treated to look like a gray deer skin. Peter Low had not realized at first the precise nature of the material placed in his hands. By the time his day's work was done, however , he was in great distress of mind and, and nightmares filled the night that followed.<br /><br />Because of its age, the book is in the public domain and is freely available on the Internet: http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/192<br /><br />Upon special request, the book is viewable at Boston Athenæum Library.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative_of_the_Life_of_James_Allen">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative_of_the_Life_of_James_Allen</a> </div><br />
<br /><div>And: <a href="http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/191">http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/191</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg599wxmmsYV6UVRWj7iGyonRtWgRtefxUqZs3Izm36AjAmwU27ezWm2qRmDhTLqMPpowjOH29XsOAAlGM94m4qhyphenhyphenk5EQEVprFzWD-gfy4b5qYGhMGpsw5wLq6GihOaSVu_8WG-FPVhuqfY/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 259px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651953971077356994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg599wxmmsYV6UVRWj7iGyonRtWgRtefxUqZs3Izm36AjAmwU27ezWm2qRmDhTLqMPpowjOH29XsOAAlGM94m4qhyphenhyphenk5EQEVprFzWD-gfy4b5qYGhMGpsw5wLq6GihOaSVu_8WG-FPVhuqfY/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOOMSr4EzFiyfis7NR70knk2zFZLEmv9pv2cXRfEEqCYQOQ7n9SEMkxSLHbj5CLVU95wwzT4ZOtJioqcINeFtn8w0GgxGdPWaRX5B7HGOP0PmFpshzWSgL8zc6SXOXxSiNnd6UOrdtB2Y/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 248px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651953964262412946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOOMSr4EzFiyfis7NR70knk2zFZLEmv9pv2cXRfEEqCYQOQ7n9SEMkxSLHbj5CLVU95wwzT4ZOtJioqcINeFtn8w0GgxGdPWaRX5B7HGOP0PmFpshzWSgL8zc6SXOXxSiNnd6UOrdtB2Y/s400/02.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-8861262513057847252011-09-05T13:40:00.001-04:002011-09-13T17:08:59.063-04:00Indiana Vacation!<div>Well, it’s finally that long-awaited time of year for me. I’m on vacation this week so as a result I’ll be taking a break from sharing and weird and interesting article from Wikipedia. It seems most of you subscribers live in Indiana so I lieu of that weekly article here are some random Indiana curiosities. While the following aren’t Indiana vacation destinations, they are certainly weird or interesting and worth checking out if you have the chance.<br /><br /><b>Medical history Museum - Indianapolis</b><br />The museum maintains a collection of scientific artifacts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in a completely authentic setting. Constructed in 1895 and inaugurated in 1896, the nineteen-room Pathological Department Building, as it was then called, is equipped with three clinical laboratories, a photography lab, teaching amphitheatre, autopsy room, and library. The most notable part of their collection is the room full of preserved human brains in jars. The brains come from patients suffering from various mental illnesses.<br />From: <a href="http://www.imhm.org/">http://www.imhm.org/</a><br /></div><br />
<br /><div><b>Our Lady's Chapel in the Meadow - Edinburgh</b><br />The chapel is located at camp Atterbury. The interior is painted with frescoes and is only the size of a small bedroom. Camp Atterbury was created in 1941 and was used to train US forces before being shipped to Europe during the war. The camp later served as a POW interment camp for 10,000 German and Itiallan POWS. Upon request, the POW’s were given permission on build a chapel on the grounds. Due to the shortages during the war, the prisoners could only use materials scrounged up in the immediate area. The chapel fell into disrepair in after the war, but was restored in 1987<br />From: <a href="http://www.italianheritage.org/">http://www.italianheritage.org/</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><b>The LST Ship Memorial (LST-325) - Evansville</b><br />An LTS (Landing Ship, Tank) is a is a ship that was designed to land on beaches. The flat bottom design allowed easy offloading of tanks and other armored vehicles. The LST-325 measures 300 feet long and is the It is the only remaining operational WWII LTS out of the original 1000. This particular LTS was part of the invasion on the beaches of Normandy. Later, it was donated to the Greek navy until a group of retired military men vied to have the ship returned to the US and relocated to Evansville. It now serves as a floating museum on the Ohio river.<br />From: <a href="http://www.lstmemorial.org/">http://www.lstmemorial.org/</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><b>Crown Hill Cemetery - Indianapolis</b><br />The historic 555 acre Indianapolis cemetery is largest non-government cemetery in Indiana and the third largest in the United States. It is estimated that 82% of those who lived in Indianapolis prior to 1825, and who stayed here, are now buried at Crown Hill. Among those buried are many notable historic figures: John Dillinger, Charles Fairbanks, Benjamin Harrison, Caroline Harrison, Col. Eli Lilly, Thomas Marshall, James Whitcomb Riley, Booth Tarkington, and others. Daily tour are offered.<br />From: <a href="http://www.crownhill.org/">http://www.crownhill.org/</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><b>The Blue Monkey Sideshow </b><br />The Blue Monkey Sideshow is a Indianapolis-based traditional vaudeville sideshow with a modern edge and a humorous twist. Complete with authentic sideshow banners, live music, platform and sound. They feature contortion, knife throwing, juggling, sword swallowing, glass walking, and other sideshow favorites – all with a lovely and humorous presentation. I highly recommend checking out one of their shows when they are in town.<br />From: <a href="http://www.bluemonkeysideshow.com/">http://www.bluemonkeysideshow.com/</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><b>Providence Health Care Center - Jasper</b><br />The shrines on the grounds were constructed with tens of thousands of geodes from a small farm in Helton, IN. The construction was lead by Father Tad Sztucko in the 1960s and took almost a decade to complete. Father Thad wanted re-create the peaceful, spiritual setting of Loures. The care center was a home of the mentally handicapped at the time (these individuals were typically otherwise neglected by society). The entire project was made without blueprints, "just inspiration". On a side note, Father Thad participated in wedding me to my lovely wife.<br />From: <a href="http://www.providencehome.org/">http://www.providencehome.org/</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><b>Shoe Tree - Milltown</b><br />Since the early 1960's , people have been tossing old pairs of shoes into this tree. There is no agreement as to how the<br />tree started, but the collection of shoes has certainly grown over the years. The tree survived a lightning strike a few years back, although some of the shoes were melted to branches.<br />From: <a href="http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2679">http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2679</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><b>The Blue Flash - Bruceville</b><br />Bruceville,IN resident John Ivers built his own personal rollercoaster from scratch in his backyard in 2001. It’s 188 feet long, 20 feet tall, and is the world’s only self-built 360 degree corkscrew coaster in the world. "I'm not engineer educated," John said. "A lot of it was trial and error. I just thought one day, 'Man, a roller coaster coming down the side of that shed would be pretty neat." John said that the project was simply, "something fun in the backyard for the kids". And, yes, you can ride if you ask.<br />From: <a href="http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29694">http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/29694</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><b>Ropkey Armor Museum - Crawfordsville</b><br />Fred Ropkey's museum created from his private collection is home to a multitide of military tanks, fighter planes, aterially boats, jeeps, combay boats, motorsycles, and cannons from WW1, WW2, Korean way, Vietnam was, and desert storm. He even has a shuttle module from a NASA space flight. All of his collection is in working order. He even leases parts of his collection out for movies. You may have seen some of his collection. Tn The Blues Brothers, Tank, The Siege, or Mars Attacks.<br />From: <a href="http://www.ropkeyarmormuseum.com/">http://www.ropkeyarmormuseum.com</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br />* Additional information for these entries was provided by “Indiana Curiosities”: http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-Curiosities-3rd-characters-roadside/dp/0762754184<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAowEEkOp3GwrNHxSQR-L1d8Iqyk9hV4E1W7mpwe3VZz-TBXaY58guWDOi7FcM41lkKOAX657O3QiGZ1ZiQVMy6JQ7mXNAey-r18ipoVauXd0REco9z4YdERwaihZ3Ol0AMRCYgJvyEU0P/s1600/01.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 310px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648932159571730706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAowEEkOp3GwrNHxSQR-L1d8Iqyk9hV4E1W7mpwe3VZz-TBXaY58guWDOi7FcM41lkKOAX657O3QiGZ1ZiQVMy6JQ7mXNAey-r18ipoVauXd0REco9z4YdERwaihZ3Ol0AMRCYgJvyEU0P/s400/01.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapqomX4-OfKVYjT6kcdQLyIcJC-6ygNKbWKgqIdbpmtd_hVJynb6wv-O8nsTwGLBB3ODvWzjN4mTWWTB5YKTqUZt-aefCrzeV3ngsyaJ849uoeqPbwFe7Z5NlSE2ik2UJbnu2xTHS6foW/s1600/02.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 269px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648932150027004178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapqomX4-OfKVYjT6kcdQLyIcJC-6ygNKbWKgqIdbpmtd_hVJynb6wv-O8nsTwGLBB3ODvWzjN4mTWWTB5YKTqUZt-aefCrzeV3ngsyaJ849uoeqPbwFe7Z5NlSE2ik2UJbnu2xTHS6foW/s400/02.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4TpxUvLTD2Ut36dGTeHkqe2mZyEYJwaZlDC-nNY_3YkgB1xuK8QCUZmSennnS_dHUjg8oeE-gbtIBVC1xDrIiycfu4Ba0qtuTt6fAMpPJJ7efgcM29gIxGUa5FuM1uxHkhfWd-srHOq0/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648932140108682194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4TpxUvLTD2Ut36dGTeHkqe2mZyEYJwaZlDC-nNY_3YkgB1xuK8QCUZmSennnS_dHUjg8oeE-gbtIBVC1xDrIiycfu4Ba0qtuTt6fAMpPJJ7efgcM29gIxGUa5FuM1uxHkhfWd-srHOq0/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtENiAuIeV43kD2o8LBYE_GL_GtBgQPOSAGBWQafZUfyfG_HKGspm9AhYrRzqzTr9n69MQvoAjW_DRDiF1l6_8JcQGG07W0hy-KkLcxE8QMO8eQkcLdlxhuG89f-ZeB52hgZ-Lgo1ktbo3/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 273px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648932138191705170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtENiAuIeV43kD2o8LBYE_GL_GtBgQPOSAGBWQafZUfyfG_HKGspm9AhYrRzqzTr9n69MQvoAjW_DRDiF1l6_8JcQGG07W0hy-KkLcxE8QMO8eQkcLdlxhuG89f-ZeB52hgZ-Lgo1ktbo3/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRgI9PEFXTda-lzKCkWV8YlGtgZC4xahJW433A0BlCZVy_qt2Necdkd7sFjwrIXbw6FHgS-BBe-fjQwGvzDh5ltzLAcWVnTXnLZGRe4Bb5QPtvvhioIuH4J6rl8uFfX2LJA4Bj36rxQcw/s1600/09.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 354px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648932133360785074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRgI9PEFXTda-lzKCkWV8YlGtgZC4xahJW433A0BlCZVy_qt2Necdkd7sFjwrIXbw6FHgS-BBe-fjQwGvzDh5ltzLAcWVnTXnLZGRe4Bb5QPtvvhioIuH4J6rl8uFfX2LJA4Bj36rxQcw/s400/09.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NXXl8NwNmy7htgSmJat-BSU2nbmV3P_Fvk5WQ9r41BnGG_4SFxi29nI3J-glNry5NogeIa-MNSmPxTpWBJkGDIF2tLM66feXm67UD9W8oboIrv1M2GyDFF2csjHhkYtuaE0TLb4TK_ru/s1600/05.1.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 294px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648931995699843170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NXXl8NwNmy7htgSmJat-BSU2nbmV3P_Fvk5WQ9r41BnGG_4SFxi29nI3J-glNry5NogeIa-MNSmPxTpWBJkGDIF2tLM66feXm67UD9W8oboIrv1M2GyDFF2csjHhkYtuaE0TLb4TK_ru/s400/05.1.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLPhrbsM0b1qD81OCrwzZHZq3sHluogStY033GqmDe8WDQVeEGHpFYRh9jdkBNz8ZFQbBg3E5biiaRVRKPqKtrpJ1kd1ZTtLZLRnyZe7W8q6ZbZs5ZRGZEs2SCZ07JOEAxW2ae3vm1sky/s1600/05.2.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 294px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648931986282878834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLPhrbsM0b1qD81OCrwzZHZq3sHluogStY033GqmDe8WDQVeEGHpFYRh9jdkBNz8ZFQbBg3E5biiaRVRKPqKtrpJ1kd1ZTtLZLRnyZe7W8q6ZbZs5ZRGZEs2SCZ07JOEAxW2ae3vm1sky/s400/05.2.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-dAJU2DfWsx_XAPDsJS8kvAyUPhKZoYPF6Ooyh6s8NG7rBwictwaliHvnT0MtEIwGzt-TM6sUQbgkOxcIc71Dn5JuBIeKXeL_D1EfjLrXcPdvcxv_QTYM14aU1Z1e8wDG25-D5uD-qOW/s1600/06.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 280px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648931978453724978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-dAJU2DfWsx_XAPDsJS8kvAyUPhKZoYPF6Ooyh6s8NG7rBwictwaliHvnT0MtEIwGzt-TM6sUQbgkOxcIc71Dn5JuBIeKXeL_D1EfjLrXcPdvcxv_QTYM14aU1Z1e8wDG25-D5uD-qOW/s400/06.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUY98or0FNuudYuvVdFVTAlkmRvtW0s0naZT0DIpTO7tTq506IZV4iLvmTsCvmu23qS1rYUhlMKqZs5y4wExA6ZhD3bh8P_FCR_F__NnuAuggWMHVzf1P45ET9BORutTqImI-5D5zOopL/s1600/07.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 317px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648931974279044226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUY98or0FNuudYuvVdFVTAlkmRvtW0s0naZT0DIpTO7tTq506IZV4iLvmTsCvmu23qS1rYUhlMKqZs5y4wExA6ZhD3bh8P_FCR_F__NnuAuggWMHVzf1P45ET9BORutTqImI-5D5zOopL/s400/07.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBWsys7Kd-M6JWJPmDhXx6bhjaXdASjVIjPyi95qVe8YP9PoT6trx1saUKLT-Nw3k2j39Nf_9pj_bm_eJo0LHzhJWG6GrGnlAFgC-bULPPASwLHSTzEhWhn8b75nvCgwxrn71a1Zd2jRN/s1600/08.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648931969410536370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBWsys7Kd-M6JWJPmDhXx6bhjaXdASjVIjPyi95qVe8YP9PoT6trx1saUKLT-Nw3k2j39Nf_9pj_bm_eJo0LHzhJWG6GrGnlAFgC-bULPPASwLHSTzEhWhn8b75nvCgwxrn71a1Zd2jRN/s400/08.PNG" /></a> </div>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-64873663190524583262011-09-03T17:10:00.000-04:002011-09-03T17:11:25.989-04:00Linnaeus' Flower Clock<div>Linnaeus' flower clock was a garden plan hypothesized by Carolus Linnaeus that would take advantage of several plants that open or close their flowers at particular times of the day to accurately predict the time. He called it specifically the Horologium Florae (lit. "flower clock"), and proposed the concept in the 1751 publication Philosophia Botanica. He may never have planted such a garden, but the idea was attempted by several botanical gardens in the early 19th century, with mixed success. Many plants exhibit a strong circadian rhythm, and a few have been observed to open at quite a regular time, but the accuracy of such a clock is diminished because flowering time is affected by weather and seasonal effects. The flowering times recorded by Linnaeus are also subject to differences in daylight due to latitude: his measurements are based on flowering times in Uppsala, where he taught and had received his university education.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnaeus'_flower_clock">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnaeus'_flower_clock</a> </div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbJYFT2t32Au0e3uyhIZ2TWyBT-uBP0hLVF5ZdIlO9h-720bX4pSVrn-ijukt1RTU620oRR7ormt34zz1pllYZDMd-1fsEhJ7Nnwh_cP0-qLefrjD_IUX-NV4fHAcrgIqYBs13mDjbjP6/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 349px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648243797743476178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbJYFT2t32Au0e3uyhIZ2TWyBT-uBP0hLVF5ZdIlO9h-720bX4pSVrn-ijukt1RTU620oRR7ormt34zz1pllYZDMd-1fsEhJ7Nnwh_cP0-qLefrjD_IUX-NV4fHAcrgIqYBs13mDjbjP6/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz61aR7C7zPq0vcQnOFBqNos2LNYEqUHSQL8s3gMnMy1R7rGKNLjkJPRrRiKVG-smswehz576iFunBDSTxXQ484Y4XBYtWvpTChfsopgBw3cUOQsvpUxvYmtjIIvMtGoGi4PLBWYq3g9r/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 394px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648243787861393890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz61aR7C7zPq0vcQnOFBqNos2LNYEqUHSQL8s3gMnMy1R7rGKNLjkJPRrRiKVG-smswehz576iFunBDSTxXQ484Y4XBYtWvpTChfsopgBw3cUOQsvpUxvYmtjIIvMtGoGi4PLBWYq3g9r/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0YQIjeSFwtix0j8GhWPLnBJQFqs-odZPN8evKH5n-nKhBOg2AB1C6webEA3TT1F0RzXfQY2PRbnZz-op_KqyYmfR3cjUg595PZget__B8ZGTNAmB41CrDjVjfGCr-gxDB44AHIfCAwxo/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 286px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648243781877570034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0YQIjeSFwtix0j8GhWPLnBJQFqs-odZPN8evKH5n-nKhBOg2AB1C6webEA3TT1F0RzXfQY2PRbnZz-op_KqyYmfR3cjUg595PZget__B8ZGTNAmB41CrDjVjfGCr-gxDB44AHIfCAwxo/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdttrbj13ogHkD1c8WYvIk3R5u2WMoanVOTbwDRdswDyT2gU5mLcXxPoEXXDCl9nN48SejHtnoBXA56yEV2ET6Ks2JKeAHDucmt9b77Z5-26_HvvR6omviPtZ_LByle1e48mE_hYJjqxM9/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 331px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648243772497838370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdttrbj13ogHkD1c8WYvIk3R5u2WMoanVOTbwDRdswDyT2gU5mLcXxPoEXXDCl9nN48SejHtnoBXA56yEV2ET6Ks2JKeAHDucmt9b77Z5-26_HvvR6omviPtZ_LByle1e48mE_hYJjqxM9/s400/04.jpg" /></a>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-62215770264610300532011-08-25T21:12:00.000-04:002011-08-25T21:13:46.634-04:00Bicycle Infantry<div>Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on (or, usually more correctly, between) battlefields using bicycles. Though their use has waned over the years in many armies, they continue to be used in unconventional armies such as militias.<br /><br />Numerous experiments were carried out to determine the possible role of bicycles and cycling within military establishments because bicycles can carry more equipment and travel longer than walking soldiers. To some extent, bicyclists took over the functions of dragoons (mounted infantry), especially as messengers and scouts, substituting for horses in warfare. Bicycle units or detachments were formed at the end of the 19th century by all European armies and the US armed forces.<br /><br />The United Kingdom employed bicycle troops in militia or territorial units, but not in regular units. In France, several experimental units were created. In the United States, the most extensive experimentation on bicycle units was carried out by a 1st Lieutenant Moss, of the 25th United States Infantry. Lt. Moss and his troops carried out extensive bicycle journeys covering between 500 and 1,000 miles. Late in the 19th century, the United States Army tested the bicycle's suitability for cross-country troop transport. Buffalo Soldiers stationed in Montana rode bicycles across roadless landscapes for hundreds of miles at high speed.<br /><br />The first known use of the bicycle in combat occurred during the Jameson Raid, in which cyclists carried messages. In the Second Boer War, military cyclists were used primarily as scouts and messengers. One unit patrolled railroad lines on specially constructed tandem bicycles that were fixed to the rails. Several raids were conducted by cycle-mounted infantry on both sides; the most famous unit was the Theron se Verkenningskorps (Theron Reconnaissance Corps, a Dutch unit led by the scout Daniel Theron, whom British commander Lord Roberts described as "the hardest thorn in the flesh of the British advance." Roberts placed a reward of £1,000 on Theron's head—dead or alive—and dispatched 4,000 soldiers to find and eliminate the TVK.<br /><br />During World War I, cycle-mounted infantry, scouts, messengers and ambulance carriers were extensively used by all combatants. Italy used bicycles with the Bersaglieri (light infantry units) until the end of the war. German Army Jäger (light infantry) battalions each had a bicycle company (Radfahr-Kompanie) at the outbreak of the war, and additional companies were raised during the war bringing the total to 80 companies, a number of which were formed into eight Radfahr-Bataillonen (bicycle battalions).<br /><br />In its 1937 invasion of China, Japan employed some 50,000 bicycle troops. Early in World War II their southern campaign through Malaya en route to capturing Singapore in 1941 was largely dependent on bicycle-riding soldiers. In both efforts bicycles allowed quiet and flexible transport of thousands of troops who were then able to surprise and confuse the defenders. Bicycles also made few demands on the Japanese war machine, needing neither trucks, nor ships to transport them, nor precious petroleum. Using bicycles, the Japanese troops were able to move faster than the withdrawing Allied Forces, often successfully cutting off their retreat. The speed of Japanese advance, usually along plantation roads, native paths and over improvised bridges, also caught Allied Forces defending the main roads and river crossings by surprise, by attacking them from the rear.<br /><br />Bicycles continue in military use today, primarily as an easy alternative for transport on long flightlines. The use of the cycle as an infantry transport tool continued into the 21st century with the Swiss Army's Bicycle Regiment, which maintained drills for infantry movement and attack until 2001, when the decision was made to phase the unit out. The Tamil Tigers made use of bicycle mobility in the fighting in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan army also has a bicycle unit. They are mainly stationed and deployed in high security zones in the capital city Colombo.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_infantry">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_infantry</a> </div><br />
<br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtGUy9Jp2VS_nyAK7Iefn2Y1N9WbfDVRZrR5lPTarPHVBA3L4St-aSICy0oQK30deiDIKwqYP7wbiDD0v0VHgJsAcF0H4ZIOaLoYusvtFdZIGT_RaU0OKpk2_P31a9dfAeLgHQKSGrtnT/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 253px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644966406154563346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjtGUy9Jp2VS_nyAK7Iefn2Y1N9WbfDVRZrR5lPTarPHVBA3L4St-aSICy0oQK30deiDIKwqYP7wbiDD0v0VHgJsAcF0H4ZIOaLoYusvtFdZIGT_RaU0OKpk2_P31a9dfAeLgHQKSGrtnT/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNOZd-xX_adbVEHWFP3GpACUb6CRBlIf3RADF_bQkPDUsEv_VJvub-sgq3VqdL7ZEpKyHYB4r3qoW1TvQS7Y_ShE9iricvm1Uv-roORV1i_E-XQYw5tydq1RAyBJlhUYXvOShxky9j-Un/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 362px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644966401451655010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNOZd-xX_adbVEHWFP3GpACUb6CRBlIf3RADF_bQkPDUsEv_VJvub-sgq3VqdL7ZEpKyHYB4r3qoW1TvQS7Y_ShE9iricvm1Uv-roORV1i_E-XQYw5tydq1RAyBJlhUYXvOShxky9j-Un/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8P8ymlE0TVPj9-nRM9tHxDa3NhbokfiegNqw34CnFLCx665Fb38orA5DQtFBusvKPbmC-X-0zn3X-5Ck1gadtLN7Sox4PlnlJ_9ORl_B_uUVsSaIpgU-HMq3nTppIopcO8wovBOzkBGH/s1600/03.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 287px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644966398077867938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8P8ymlE0TVPj9-nRM9tHxDa3NhbokfiegNqw34CnFLCx665Fb38orA5DQtFBusvKPbmC-X-0zn3X-5Ck1gadtLN7Sox4PlnlJ_9ORl_B_uUVsSaIpgU-HMq3nTppIopcO8wovBOzkBGH/s400/03.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1e0e5kV2IFhrvnS4v13dp5P93HH8lmpXR5Zoc-_JmuW21WOaBK3kTgyh3GqdCLQB9sV6BAcPDVKjuiv39mmNTQ2eCr6_xoy2KGndYwBbWCH6BsRaxaN7XUR-v88ls5csad7EeZHGwIqP/s1600/04.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644966393982904050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj1e0e5kV2IFhrvnS4v13dp5P93HH8lmpXR5Zoc-_JmuW21WOaBK3kTgyh3GqdCLQB9sV6BAcPDVKjuiv39mmNTQ2eCr6_xoy2KGndYwBbWCH6BsRaxaN7XUR-v88ls5csad7EeZHGwIqP/s400/04.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4Y_dXtIQBCM8us0UF48mJG7EAhKlKiNPOGsudVhyphenhyphenDY6e0DVWZr2dyztKG3M3o9cu932j0HnMoxGuVqvn52qNmsZEV-fzAlE-fwArT8lNuzg5WIV6rv_BhlhbkQ_aBnnFTAu9DiK7zNjA/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 272px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5644966381592699602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4Y_dXtIQBCM8us0UF48mJG7EAhKlKiNPOGsudVhyphenhyphenDY6e0DVWZr2dyztKG3M3o9cu932j0HnMoxGuVqvn52qNmsZEV-fzAlE-fwArT8lNuzg5WIV6rv_BhlhbkQ_aBnnFTAu9DiK7zNjA/s400/05.jpg" /></a> </div>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-11421001259479405962011-08-20T11:30:00.002-04:002011-08-20T11:31:32.575-04:00Pica<div>Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive (e.g., metal, clay, coal, sand, dirt, soil, feces, chalk, pens and pencils, paper, batteries, spoons, toothbrushes, soap, mucus, latex gloves, ash, gum, lip balm, tacks and other office supplies, etc.) The name of the condition originates from the Latin word for magpie, a bird that is reputed to eat almost anything. Pica is seen in all ages, particularly in pregnant women, small children, and those with developmental disabilities. Pica is more common in women and children. Pica can also be found in animals and is most commonly found in dogs.<br /><br />The scant research that has been done on the causes of pica suggests that the disorder is a specific appetite caused by mineral deficiency in many cases, such as iron deficiency, which sometimes is a result of celiac disease or hookworm infection. Often the substance eaten by someone with pica contains the mineral in which that individual is deficient. More recently, cases of pica have been tied to the obsessive–compulsive spectrum, and there is a move to consider OCD in the etiology of pica; however, pica is currently recognized as a mental disorder by the widely used Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)..<br /><br /><b>Examples:</b><br />Coprophagy: <i>Consumption of feces</i><br />Geophagy: <i>Consumption of soil, clay, or chalk</i><br />Hyalophagia: <i>Consumption of glass</i><br />Mucophagia: <i>Consumption of mucus</i><br />Odowa: <i>Consumption of soft stones eaten by pregnant women in Kenya</i><br />Pagophagia: <i>Pathological consumption of ice</i><br />Self-cannibalism: <i>Rare condition where body parts may be consumed; see also Lesch-Nyhan syndrome</i><br />Trichophagia: <i>Consumption of hair or wool</i><br />Urophagia: <i>Consumption of urine</i><br />Xylophagia: <i>Consumption of wood or paper</i><br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder</a>) </div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma9gAorRXHov6YvQQ2_8VjkCw4jeGYzftcTgb4jxH8zz4rXearQU4w_IWsSITmW0kmElcmkV4P4vk4oQkA8qMq1j2LL1uezUj-zKzUE3TQyvX8Rm3PjvOsW3c9VdwSqaDq1_GrxMTVOhL/s1600/Glore_Stomach_Display.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642961022555046962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma9gAorRXHov6YvQQ2_8VjkCw4jeGYzftcTgb4jxH8zz4rXearQU4w_IWsSITmW0kmElcmkV4P4vk4oQkA8qMq1j2LL1uezUj-zKzUE3TQyvX8Rm3PjvOsW3c9VdwSqaDq1_GrxMTVOhL/s400/Glore_Stomach_Display.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9tYTj6CLTzT-Vc6_CNBdjEdasrAgr9LhRL-duE1weYFNFdhG2Kea7vtCk6rW-EAIovN6q9I7xU8VNqUU7UMUvGlcjnhT9_5r8V06HdnQoJxH18xNZsDfwaHUDy3G6M8fYEMbIU23Tn8Y/s1600/pica_bands.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 371px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642961010689160930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9tYTj6CLTzT-Vc6_CNBdjEdasrAgr9LhRL-duE1weYFNFdhG2Kea7vtCk6rW-EAIovN6q9I7xU8VNqUU7UMUvGlcjnhT9_5r8V06HdnQoJxH18xNZsDfwaHUDy3G6M8fYEMbIU23Tn8Y/s400/pica_bands.jpg" /></a>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-78292503362298878912011-08-11T19:14:00.002-04:002011-08-11T19:16:36.423-04:00One Red Paperclip<div>The website One red paperclip was created by Kyle MacDonald, a Canadian blogger who bartered his way from a single red paperclip to a house in a series of online trades over the course of a year. MacDonald was inspired by the childhood game Bigger, Better, and the site received a considerable amount of notice for tracking the transactions.<br /><br />MacDonald made his first trade, a red paper clip for a fish-shaped pen, on July 14, 2005. He reached his goal of trading up to a house with the fourteenth transaction, trading a movie role for a house. This is the list of all transactions MacDonald made:<br /><br />1. On July 14, 2005, he went to Vancouver and traded the paperclip for a fish-shaped pen.<br /><br />2. He then traded the pen the same day for a hand-sculpted doorknob from Seattle, Washington, which he nicknamed "Knob-T".<br /><br />3. On July 25, 2005, he traveled to Amherst, Massachusetts, with a friend to trade the Knob-T for a Coleman camp stove (with fuel).<br /><br />4. On September 24, 2005, he went to San Clemente, California, and traded the camp stove for a Honda generator.<br /><br />5. On November 16, 2005, he made a second (and successful) attempt (after having the generator confiscated by the New York City Fire Department) in Maspeth, Queens, to trade the generator for an "instant party": an empty keg, an IOU for filling the keg with the beer of the holder's choice, and a neon Budweiser sign.<br /><br />6. On December 8, 2005, he traded the "instant party" to Quebec comedian and radio personality Michel Barrette for a Ski-doo snowmobile.<br /><br />7. Within a week of that, he traded the snowmobile for a two-person trip to Yahk, British Columbia, in February 2006.<br /><br />8. On or about January 7, 2006, the second person on the trip to Yahk traded Kyle a cube van for the privilege.<br /><br />9. On or about February 22, 2006, he traded the cube van for a recording contract with Metal Works in Toronto.<br /><br />10. On or about April 11, 2006, he traded the recording contract to Jody Gnant for a year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona.<br /><br />11. On or about April 26, 2006, he traded the one year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona, for one afternoon with Alice Cooper.<br /><br />12. On or about May 26, 2006, he traded the one afternoon with Alice Cooper for a KISS motorized snow globe.<br /><br />13. On or about June 2, 2006, he traded the KISS motorized snow globe to Corbin Bernsen for a role in the film Donna on Demand.<br /><br />14. On or about July 5, 2006, he traded the movie role for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip</a></div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoBBLCtmUfp6dO2R3H9Z4AmJmu0gs37neBh_vye8g18kThP-jGbPfsvJQQMk8GuUmS-pw4a9VPSVfGVbYiOq31Jv3ThbLn-ktOQ74pbjRy6ySEUwtclgVykBASt1DKTa67QG_RiRL9Aki/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639741014136209826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoBBLCtmUfp6dO2R3H9Z4AmJmu0gs37neBh_vye8g18kThP-jGbPfsvJQQMk8GuUmS-pw4a9VPSVfGVbYiOq31Jv3ThbLn-ktOQ74pbjRy6ySEUwtclgVykBASt1DKTa67QG_RiRL9Aki/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquoFLxnh-9l3TbR23tRtaoTDFgiPFBwG6yMkUtJQy8Od31-sGz9iaGV-No5kknUo-Y8HwssN46m30OIqdlayky23gdr3idlPSzFKGnYKbYFpvAyWj0PLd8lv4YfyGnyo2j0R1zpwkSlSY/s1600/02.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639741004539108466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquoFLxnh-9l3TbR23tRtaoTDFgiPFBwG6yMkUtJQy8Od31-sGz9iaGV-No5kknUo-Y8HwssN46m30OIqdlayky23gdr3idlPSzFKGnYKbYFpvAyWj0PLd8lv4YfyGnyo2j0R1zpwkSlSY/s400/02.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uyvjaLxW8Zg1QmmVdby339Uu6Y5x_cqAsQ5YRGXxyIHnpemmgFbkJGiyw_WDxnw9IQVRP26ggVqhCLIrJuO8Y2pp6h4tMj0VQuvI0xike1jBolpagWKGKOAS42ic9m4nBrf5aXy4tWFs/s1600/03.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 302px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639740992143852770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uyvjaLxW8Zg1QmmVdby339Uu6Y5x_cqAsQ5YRGXxyIHnpemmgFbkJGiyw_WDxnw9IQVRP26ggVqhCLIrJuO8Y2pp6h4tMj0VQuvI0xike1jBolpagWKGKOAS42ic9m4nBrf5aXy4tWFs/s400/03.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1o5Gq6gSJFT6FhGesFXJ3F1tVoepB0eZubbeyHuoMz4Vs8oVUNMuAQs1lTfcGq5JeHg9p6KBzLHc90CmlScIn0EtXjiZQx_qzA7kluJ5xQX_A9bF5e8omf2V3fP1HvF1xgVSXfXLv_Npx/s1600/04.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 312px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639740967744532098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1o5Gq6gSJFT6FhGesFXJ3F1tVoepB0eZubbeyHuoMz4Vs8oVUNMuAQs1lTfcGq5JeHg9p6KBzLHc90CmlScIn0EtXjiZQx_qzA7kluJ5xQX_A9bF5e8omf2V3fP1HvF1xgVSXfXLv_Npx/s400/04.PNG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsD_2E7TfzUdcGZGW03MIYCyKcX3ZLrLG9wqO3g-BkupiXWyiJ2xmXxV4RCoeVJ5yKepXqEsBFdKso1sKoqIjH0BQ82LMoSHYpM-61PqsoQc7-_G3Xl72WVanQAah-9cxiggofjjvEMG8J/s1600/05.PNG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 302px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639740958320767138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsD_2E7TfzUdcGZGW03MIYCyKcX3ZLrLG9wqO3g-BkupiXWyiJ2xmXxV4RCoeVJ5yKepXqEsBFdKso1sKoqIjH0BQ82LMoSHYpM-61PqsoQc7-_G3Xl72WVanQAah-9cxiggofjjvEMG8J/s400/05.PNG" /></a>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-81371694268797618202011-08-04T20:05:00.000-04:002011-08-04T20:07:24.221-04:00Rogue Taxidermy<div>Rogue taxidermy is the creation of stuffed animals which do not have real, live counterparts. Many taxidermists do not consider this true taxidermy. They may represent unrealistic hybrids such as the jackalope and the skvader, extinct species, mythical creatures such as dragons, chimeras, griffins, unicorns or mermaids, or may be entirely of the maker's imagination. Some are made from parts of more than one kind of animal, or they may be artificially created. Rogue taxidermy is often seen in sideshows and dime museums among genuine freak animals.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_Taxidermy#Rogue_taxidermy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_Taxidermy#Rogue_taxidermy</a></div><br />
<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvUlv1xJUx4trCiXmUtMuuuPa_2vYuSCbPXyU1Zh3op9NBD-yDM-z3SNvllJ7SmJiz3zWJaN8J-2ic49MPWD35Rut-0FvIBWDxE-m5HZnYj0TaWLMwWXIq4sI64p8QD6W4vDsSb3ZjKPD/s1600/01.jpg"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156589056951378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvUlv1xJUx4trCiXmUtMuuuPa_2vYuSCbPXyU1Zh3op9NBD-yDM-z3SNvllJ7SmJiz3zWJaN8J-2ic49MPWD35Rut-0FvIBWDxE-m5HZnYj0TaWLMwWXIq4sI64p8QD6W4vDsSb3ZjKPD/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7qXaDqaZOld2wRI7beHWKb_iw_b_GgDK2JXq32BxiD4tLOkMSVr3ayqUgIcYm-CXwFgioJt3lpNfApm39Coz0phTZc8XaA6IGadEaio6MOPKteomxKqixulR3ARohk1j_l9R5uflSORo/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156588998870242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7qXaDqaZOld2wRI7beHWKb_iw_b_GgDK2JXq32BxiD4tLOkMSVr3ayqUgIcYm-CXwFgioJt3lpNfApm39Coz0phTZc8XaA6IGadEaio6MOPKteomxKqixulR3ARohk1j_l9R5uflSORo/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0C30wzMfhQI8UGVCFZ3x9rosWzqvm5704SP_d13pHgOA2oNuN34-pYFOEHaPQ1eC9Qer4ubPISDHG2PtB8FGh8_PrVY-k2m7TQCYZerPt7pn2YOPuztOkTJg9mvWe7cXsSSi88nw1LNtV/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 316px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156580222994450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0C30wzMfhQI8UGVCFZ3x9rosWzqvm5704SP_d13pHgOA2oNuN34-pYFOEHaPQ1eC9Qer4ubPISDHG2PtB8FGh8_PrVY-k2m7TQCYZerPt7pn2YOPuztOkTJg9mvWe7cXsSSi88nw1LNtV/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghe3JzkgFzaVYf9H_c_w0sGaWWHmT3bfXPwkniSmgtunb28k3RDcv_-R-pvjcI_gNVVYzpHZur44fbRfwP1fMoQ3sVky-bDuSjy15JLaqyCfv-_frNAODM_8FCA6yfZl_EyGij7FNkaBv/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156572506691346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjghe3JzkgFzaVYf9H_c_w0sGaWWHmT3bfXPwkniSmgtunb28k3RDcv_-R-pvjcI_gNVVYzpHZur44fbRfwP1fMoQ3sVky-bDuSjy15JLaqyCfv-_frNAODM_8FCA6yfZl_EyGij7FNkaBv/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVK2zlQxrBeejmXsI52rIHv_zQztgeGEFJ_qr4-gUbcMivHAIBc-6ESzp-GansZorr0jLenN0i4yCQXtuCwKaRpVuQHEDuN18rEkYMoydiB8SX_y3Tk5AwwlaFh7Xn8PKrKYEw4tdakuH/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156567718077090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVK2zlQxrBeejmXsI52rIHv_zQztgeGEFJ_qr4-gUbcMivHAIBc-6ESzp-GansZorr0jLenN0i4yCQXtuCwKaRpVuQHEDuN18rEkYMoydiB8SX_y3Tk5AwwlaFh7Xn8PKrKYEw4tdakuH/s400/05.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-67936238177394377122011-08-04T20:04:00.001-04:002011-08-04T20:07:18.755-04:00Rogue Taxidermy - Bonus Pictures!<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo5RFpLiC5i3vlj3NrEz9jGw3zLYTBFOJ79UqHtnu0z_mq4VFQfHMh1j1o5mG6yUnDzeSjIbC3EU6klYsMDcXMTj4wBRBsUthAy9ptNl00ZAiMBgbVSnsHZbIWM61IcZqL78qbIWcotDY/s1600/06.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156241862748946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUo5RFpLiC5i3vlj3NrEz9jGw3zLYTBFOJ79UqHtnu0z_mq4VFQfHMh1j1o5mG6yUnDzeSjIbC3EU6klYsMDcXMTj4wBRBsUthAy9ptNl00ZAiMBgbVSnsHZbIWM61IcZqL78qbIWcotDY/s400/06.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQp32Ul5rsxc4qgH1gjaJkTdH-0NlJ55lDSYdjCN3IAtDcv734bgAAm0fykIE62f5Eki07_LBQ_SqpqYoc5k-qcBXot4EVQ8R1zc0iqGtTMEUyWzZuthoNGC-OQAKmuIv2HFEA5EQW9g4/s1600/07.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156235288122562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQp32Ul5rsxc4qgH1gjaJkTdH-0NlJ55lDSYdjCN3IAtDcv734bgAAm0fykIE62f5Eki07_LBQ_SqpqYoc5k-qcBXot4EVQ8R1zc0iqGtTMEUyWzZuthoNGC-OQAKmuIv2HFEA5EQW9g4/s400/07.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziJ3b1wV-RkRvjBiUmDiXsdlwJsq0M4KiJZ5W8Z1kDaTVVd0lYJH47C3WDw1bLx_obPsXl7OjaBhJ9R4FA3Wo1vHYhjViCIT_KQ9HxkQMZUICPGbJLNRTNnJIbTesFFJU0Rm2JqaX00Km/s1600/08.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 272px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156229306387298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhziJ3b1wV-RkRvjBiUmDiXsdlwJsq0M4KiJZ5W8Z1kDaTVVd0lYJH47C3WDw1bLx_obPsXl7OjaBhJ9R4FA3Wo1vHYhjViCIT_KQ9HxkQMZUICPGbJLNRTNnJIbTesFFJU0Rm2JqaX00Km/s400/08.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjy3IYTMbZU8YFVuOv6t9yzNIj6ucVd6gcaDMgWM1RIBRMlZi-2JTKALWNV8woDcs0RyOBFOEnUaP5fPFySubcgx4lpnWZXSw6-tB9P6wj4KifUEDC9LxNaPVBX8bPMaJJtm-a7Fqvza6/s1600/09.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156220067925682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjy3IYTMbZU8YFVuOv6t9yzNIj6ucVd6gcaDMgWM1RIBRMlZi-2JTKALWNV8woDcs0RyOBFOEnUaP5fPFySubcgx4lpnWZXSw6-tB9P6wj4KifUEDC9LxNaPVBX8bPMaJJtm-a7Fqvza6/s400/09.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFIXRIN0n8D9dCR5QPcObvlWLuSSQ1MwXle1aIzyivXolDjSgmgbQanEuby8_bKlIVk39q1iPxmloCMxBzFLnQc6EiIo9oIiyug9TMiWDJthHME7tR8aI6fvKah1JWjG5YoZ68gaBJ6EL/s1600/10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 260px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637156212977172338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFIXRIN0n8D9dCR5QPcObvlWLuSSQ1MwXle1aIzyivXolDjSgmgbQanEuby8_bKlIVk39q1iPxmloCMxBzFLnQc6EiIo9oIiyug9TMiWDJthHME7tR8aI6fvKah1JWjG5YoZ68gaBJ6EL/s400/10.jpg" /></a> </div>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-48965646745964121632011-07-27T19:56:00.000-04:002011-07-27T19:58:10.889-04:00Milbenkäse and Casu Marzu<div><b>Milbenkäse:</b><br /><br />Milbenkäse ("mite cheese"), called Mellnkase in the local dialect and often known as Spinnenkäse ("spider cheese"), is a German specialty cheese. Today it is produced exclusively in the village of Würchwitz<br /><br />Milbenkäse is flavoured with salt and caraway is shaped into small balls, cylinders or wheels, and dried. Then it is placed in a wooden box containing rye flour and inhabited by Tyroglyphus casei cheese mites for at least three months. The digestive juices of the mites diffuse into the cheese and cause fermentation; the flour is added because the mites would otherwise simply eat the whole cheese instead of just nibbling away at the crust as is desired. After one month, the cheese rind turns yellow, after three months reddish-brown. Some producers, however, allow the cheese to ripen for up to one year, until it has turned black. Mites clinging to the cheese rind are also consumed.<br /><br /><b>Casu Marzu:</b><br /><br />Casu marzu (also called formaggio marcio, "rotten cheese") is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese, notable for being riddled with live insect larvae. It is found mainly in Sardinia, Italy.<br /><br />Derived from Pecorino, casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called lagrima, from the Sardinian for "tears") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, about 8 millimetres. When disturbed, the larvae can launch themselves for distances up to 15 centimetres. Some people clear the larvae from the cheese before consuming; others do not.<br /><br />Casu marzu is considered to be unsafe to eat by Sardinian aficionados when the maggots in the cheese have died. Because of this, only cheese in which the maggots are still alive is usually eaten. Because the larvae in the cheese can launch themselves for distances up to 15 centimetres when disturbed, diners hold their hands above the sandwich to prevent the maggots from leaping. Those who do not wish to eat live maggots place the cheese in a sealed paper bag. The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound. When the sounds subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be eaten.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_Marzu">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_Marzu</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milbenk%C3%A4se">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milbenk%C3%A4se</a></div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVbcBBsYQnAP6hrSAPhpxg9oOsQsTaMwXRijVkSDVMBoKUvfU_fhXURoWmquRDd6SHWoMEOxX7X-MlLjubD1d8i324KvMa3S4OyZe6lgSMN2B_Jwt-liDYrAllNlXuRkz7qI2oaAl1TX6/s1600/01.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 224px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634185370769798546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVbcBBsYQnAP6hrSAPhpxg9oOsQsTaMwXRijVkSDVMBoKUvfU_fhXURoWmquRDd6SHWoMEOxX7X-MlLjubD1d8i324KvMa3S4OyZe6lgSMN2B_Jwt-liDYrAllNlXuRkz7qI2oaAl1TX6/s400/01.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeLmeSlOqASYVFeIHxclmQiViCq850yPqeSef30L1_4w38azJBKBWrkc-JRuXoPGb4X7bXOeBpikPXCt2evmGyTF7XeWgYEU9YdIqswpAxv_P-dgVPLFniER1pw5Ap8YLOeedm3vFSpir/s1600/02.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634185362374015330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeLmeSlOqASYVFeIHxclmQiViCq850yPqeSef30L1_4w38azJBKBWrkc-JRuXoPGb4X7bXOeBpikPXCt2evmGyTF7XeWgYEU9YdIqswpAxv_P-dgVPLFniER1pw5Ap8YLOeedm3vFSpir/s400/02.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5l9OQJ1C5OFpDgtBvzlFK6yw-qh1SGevXLFTBwoE3hHwBxmIuM3mxZ0OxnZY9GxM2HZt6mEmQjVVT4knMqovGA9xGSgUqwPwSnFfkXcLq455MdnYmEcKocZTYVNmnPCMItgm8U55aTKL/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634185357713250210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5l9OQJ1C5OFpDgtBvzlFK6yw-qh1SGevXLFTBwoE3hHwBxmIuM3mxZ0OxnZY9GxM2HZt6mEmQjVVT4knMqovGA9xGSgUqwPwSnFfkXcLq455MdnYmEcKocZTYVNmnPCMItgm8U55aTKL/s400/03.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-48691906696762258432011-07-20T21:34:00.000-04:002011-07-20T21:36:01.419-04:00Saint Guinefort<div>Saint Guinefort was a 13th-century French dog that received local veneration as a saint after miracles were reported at his grave.<br /><br />Guinefort the greyhound belonged to a knight who lived in a castle near Lyon. One day, the knight went hunting, leaving his infant son in the care of Guinefort. When he returned, he found the nursery in chaos – the cot was overturned, the child was nowhere to be seen and Guinefort greeted his master with bloody jaws. Believing Guinefort to have devoured his son, the knight slew the dog. He then heard a child crying; he turned over the cot and found his son lying there, safe and sound, along with the body of a viper. Guinefort had killed the snake and saved the child. On realizing the mistake the family dropped the dog down a well, covered it with stones and planted trees around it, setting up a shrine for Guinefort. Guinefort became recognised by locals as a saint for the protection of infants. It was alleged by contemporary commentators that locals left their babies at the site to be healed by the dog, and sometimes the babies would be harmed or killed by the rituals involved:<br /><br />The local peasants hearing of the dog's noble deed and innocent death, began to visit the place and honor the dog as a martyr in quest of help for their sicknesses and other needs. When they got there, they offered salt and certain other things, hung the child's little clothes on the bramble bushes around, fixing them on the thorns. They then put the naked baby through the opening between the trunks of two trees, the mother standing on one side and throwing her child nine times to the old woman on the other side, while invoking the demons to adjure the fauns in the wood of "Rimite" to take the sick and failing child which they said belonged to them (the fauns) and return to them their own child big, plump, live and healthy.<br /><br />The cult of this dog saint persisted for several centuries, until the 1930s, despite the repeated prohibitions of the Catholic Church.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Guinefort">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Guinefort</a></div><br />
<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQVW4IfbXKdxHUlWkm2HUUHC8reRW5ujBAv81ilKW72tqYO8UcGA2VO9abCb1CIUqea9sG2rWFJariCfS1oGou5zS-v_Z4pYMyRngSUBTdbyzcMIZRp_xyuYn4_NKKGbDeAhKr5AVXLkR/s1600/01.jpg"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631613113748899042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQVW4IfbXKdxHUlWkm2HUUHC8reRW5ujBAv81ilKW72tqYO8UcGA2VO9abCb1CIUqea9sG2rWFJariCfS1oGou5zS-v_Z4pYMyRngSUBTdbyzcMIZRp_xyuYn4_NKKGbDeAhKr5AVXLkR/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSA1FfukEtH0datJlxTqlHQAqks3EI86fh9W-3cWdauUcB3pylJ-XtmzbMXh8jRM_QMQCnSLVDMRW-in5_zV1m7QS78dDupza3Kcdib_Qgh-9o4t20PXPa_rMnHMAYsyZr7pMkKfwsvSm/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 311px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631613111138959714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSA1FfukEtH0datJlxTqlHQAqks3EI86fh9W-3cWdauUcB3pylJ-XtmzbMXh8jRM_QMQCnSLVDMRW-in5_zV1m7QS78dDupza3Kcdib_Qgh-9o4t20PXPa_rMnHMAYsyZr7pMkKfwsvSm/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0kU98gH_tiu-GxBWskGHAShQ2VCmeZEHjNAgvCZ3eoIbzBTghXZh4hCith_J6M3-Eie05R8U2JL3Mn9jQT_zUvuJuUPaBleZQkycjmtYfO_vo-DM-Fxvr2BgII2hKrK3CeTs7qK0DQvp/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 161px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631613102166949122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0kU98gH_tiu-GxBWskGHAShQ2VCmeZEHjNAgvCZ3eoIbzBTghXZh4hCith_J6M3-Eie05R8U2JL3Mn9jQT_zUvuJuUPaBleZQkycjmtYfO_vo-DM-Fxvr2BgII2hKrK3CeTs7qK0DQvp/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwA-YudP7s44TKm5ZS12MH2UnIwnQEffjcNCpqsY9r2wx_Oj_m_LGtgaCQMWfK7SPCM3kmGwaM4e8n6pNw5tMlT1vzXTyAzXgKblcp1QDdDZhrByJwD_Dum78aVJz0ufweht4w5AegvfK/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 265px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631613097350822754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwA-YudP7s44TKm5ZS12MH2UnIwnQEffjcNCpqsY9r2wx_Oj_m_LGtgaCQMWfK7SPCM3kmGwaM4e8n6pNw5tMlT1vzXTyAzXgKblcp1QDdDZhrByJwD_Dum78aVJz0ufweht4w5AegvfK/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8oaVfXfZbKkdq3rVl3uWYVAgeFcb2vlQG8LWmRrAqNHGE6Q1hkE13WcqOreX5Prvu0MZbsf_2xh7T3xr1oiNseesyyIRa4JefF4rGR6KVUrvvpt7UnL7XhY55AUEjJshyfL6TyhnTNpJZ/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 387px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631613090536136002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8oaVfXfZbKkdq3rVl3uWYVAgeFcb2vlQG8LWmRrAqNHGE6Q1hkE13WcqOreX5Prvu0MZbsf_2xh7T3xr1oiNseesyyIRa4JefF4rGR6KVUrvvpt7UnL7XhY55AUEjJshyfL6TyhnTNpJZ/s400/05.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-8823637509095689482011-07-14T19:55:00.000-04:002011-07-14T19:56:57.653-04:00Erika Eiffel<div>Erika "Aya" Eiffel, is an American woman who famously "married" the Eiffel Tower in a commitment ceremony in 2007. She is founder of OS Internationale, an organization for those who develop significant relationships with inanimate objects (objectophile).<br /><br />An objectophile has a pronounced emotional and often romantic desire towards developing significant relationships with particular inanimate objects. Object-sexual individuals also often believe in animism, and sense reciprocation based on the belief that objects have souls, intelligence, feelings, and are able to communicate. Contrary to sexual fetishism, the object to an OS person is viewed as their partner and not as a means to an end to enhance a human sexual relationship.<br /><br />She first encountered the Eiffel Tower in 2004, and felt an immediate attraction. Her love for the Eiffel Tower and long standing (20 years) relationship with the Berlin Wall are the subjects of numerous newspaper articles and television documentaries. Regarding the attraction of herself and other similar people to inanimate objects, she is reported by ABC News as saying that she and others "[...] feel an innate connection to objects. It comes perfectly normal to us to connect on various levels, emotional, spiritual and also physical for some."<br /><br />After serving enlisted in the US Air Force, Erika earned a congressional nomination to the US Air Force Academy in 1993 where her training to become an officer was interrupted by a sexual assault in which she defended herself with a Japanese training sword. Her case was cited as having thorough evidence to prosecute as her assailant admitted the assault to Air Force investigators. However, Erika was given a medical discharge for PTSD due to her unwillingness to give up sleeping with the sword that had protected her.<br /><br />Her object relationship with Lance, her competition bow, helped her to become a world-class archer. Archery started for Erika in 1999 while living in Japan and she won various national tournaments. Due to citizenship restrictions, Erika returned to the US in 2003 to vie for a spot on the US World Archery Team. In her US debut, she participated in qualifying national team tournaments shooting compound bow and won first place in both the FITA and Olympic rounds at all three 2003 National Cup tournaments: Arizona Cup, Texas Shootout, and Gold Cup. Following her sweep she went on to win gold and break the FITA team record with Team USA at the 42nd World Target Championships in New York City.<br /><br /><em>Occupation: Archer<br />Known for: Archery, marriage to the Eiffel Tower, relationship with Berlin Wall<br />Partner: Eiffel Tower (m. 2007–present)</em><br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Eiffel">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Eiffel</a></div><br />
<br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7lcJs3u7K5HwJ5HACwMc6hJJKIEIu5MQHlW30ULVlezJeDYH72syUBbffd7JpTgg_zeVCa8H0OGaUFbbrbEC-hY_5DiB5AItwqw4tGsd-F91gBTJgUcXp5Sq4fqBsKUiUe3JAa9JqE2I/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629361108214250162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7lcJs3u7K5HwJ5HACwMc6hJJKIEIu5MQHlW30ULVlezJeDYH72syUBbffd7JpTgg_zeVCa8H0OGaUFbbrbEC-hY_5DiB5AItwqw4tGsd-F91gBTJgUcXp5Sq4fqBsKUiUe3JAa9JqE2I/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVj5eZrNOUUVCy0-1EuWlJCUGomIqmX-IjKEC8T3Js4dolibRkjky41lHrg8G-BpnjHdKKPQAvOYz4o01cGg-JBAtFQuiJPjE7LfZ28vCg3I3NY5EGvRfRsODoCqMefV1S57Xbx5cyLIr/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 223px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629361102455109586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVj5eZrNOUUVCy0-1EuWlJCUGomIqmX-IjKEC8T3Js4dolibRkjky41lHrg8G-BpnjHdKKPQAvOYz4o01cGg-JBAtFQuiJPjE7LfZ28vCg3I3NY5EGvRfRsODoCqMefV1S57Xbx5cyLIr/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy3uHsrdJmFm9ychNqptH4rsSovXpNWPHmrzkBK-nE3_dN012QoRRqQAnNmi8TzQXE5IsI152-hNSrUNMqOwBREhjMpBDKTVhEqmLSzTf9gusuDCk6URwlKPrwIqWd2OBKHfJwryxlj-oF/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 248px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629361090437009618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy3uHsrdJmFm9ychNqptH4rsSovXpNWPHmrzkBK-nE3_dN012QoRRqQAnNmi8TzQXE5IsI152-hNSrUNMqOwBREhjMpBDKTVhEqmLSzTf9gusuDCk6URwlKPrwIqWd2OBKHfJwryxlj-oF/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWm1BF_D5EHeKYe59VA-Z778AVVHLYV2q5AX6uppK3dSveHwKyobPwpkQXkCrkL_HqBb9LkGlbW5ejY8fpL7e1svOpKgteParL31zIwPBdS-xQ5u5etK9AmRLEo9laN4OV72RLzRW4HOb/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 255px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5629361082304359442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWm1BF_D5EHeKYe59VA-Z778AVVHLYV2q5AX6uppK3dSveHwKyobPwpkQXkCrkL_HqBb9LkGlbW5ejY8fpL7e1svOpKgteParL31zIwPBdS-xQ5u5etK9AmRLEo9laN4OV72RLzRW4HOb/s400/04.jpg" /></a> </div>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-5260488813358552452011-07-07T21:46:00.002-04:002011-07-07T21:48:11.493-04:00Lloyds Bank Turd<div>The Lloyds Bank coprolite is a large paleofeces, or desiccated human dung specimen, recovered by archaeologists excavating the Viking settlement of Jórvík (now York) in England.<br /><br />It was found in 1972 beneath the site of what was to become the York branch of Lloyds Bank and may be the largest example of fossilised human faeces ever found. Analysis of the nine-inch-long stool has indicated that its producer subsisted largely on meat and bread whilst the presence of several hundred parasitic eggs suggests he or she was riddled with intestinal worms. In 1991, paleoscatologist Andrew Jones made international news with his appraisal of the item for insurance purposes: "This is the most exciting piece of excrement I've ever seen. In its own way, it's as valuable as the Crown Jewels."<br /><br />The specimen was put on display at the city's Archaeological Resource Centre (now known as DIG), the outreach and education institution run by the York Archaeological Trust, where it delighted generations of awestruck schoolchildren. In 2003, it broke into three pieces after being dropped whilst on exhibition to a party of visitors. As of 2003, efforts were underway to reconstruct it.<br /><br /><em>Created: 9th century AD<br />Discovered: 1972, Coppergate, York<br />Present location: JORVIK Viking Centre (on display) </em><br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyds_Bank_turd">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyds_Bank_turd</a> </div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfDSVU1XQ9J9DXhFUBwiRWqr0jOW79GBrLr_UKuwIX1Hzykg7VU_bZj0TzW6-6CO7tCuq5Vc1ZnctYyvKBaBXIOiOXHnGLCbsQRT8c26wjt1Ju4Sysi01S7u5PYpicXhcogn1-1Zf3VMd/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626792033618641346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfDSVU1XQ9J9DXhFUBwiRWqr0jOW79GBrLr_UKuwIX1Hzykg7VU_bZj0TzW6-6CO7tCuq5Vc1ZnctYyvKBaBXIOiOXHnGLCbsQRT8c26wjt1Ju4Sysi01S7u5PYpicXhcogn1-1Zf3VMd/s400/1.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODrqn3OYigaEW8Y85lLe1mao0qSuhe2InHu3k0i4J522j68bAFbNIEKFxeQgq35tF_U82Q9g0GtYu8KgLxY_PALvPDjIWDHG-J4og0X_ffMJEPcxeI7UHbyWbI-oU2uQobywcnub0BMvb/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626792027146083058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODrqn3OYigaEW8Y85lLe1mao0qSuhe2InHu3k0i4J522j68bAFbNIEKFxeQgq35tF_U82Q9g0GtYu8KgLxY_PALvPDjIWDHG-J4og0X_ffMJEPcxeI7UHbyWbI-oU2uQobywcnub0BMvb/s400/2.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1p0e-8yxLRwmzIAoUfuz5XffOJkgeM_uTH6DGx2gZwyhmLB_2YbMIjDtyoQRkLxGYoDYdrvTwHFKg36JlIjyYeL7xqMAPVQ7XsQ9h3TRfGZ4NTJJMMy70eDCt9HGko7_SlRMo0miYEjQ/s1600/3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 175px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626792017446003330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1p0e-8yxLRwmzIAoUfuz5XffOJkgeM_uTH6DGx2gZwyhmLB_2YbMIjDtyoQRkLxGYoDYdrvTwHFKg36JlIjyYeL7xqMAPVQ7XsQ9h3TRfGZ4NTJJMMy70eDCt9HGko7_SlRMo0miYEjQ/s400/3.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-85785064299647425962011-06-30T19:34:00.000-04:002011-06-30T19:35:52.370-04:00Sinbad the Sea Dog<div>K9C Sinbad, USCG, Retired was a mixed-breed canine sailor aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter George W. Campbell. Sinbad holds the distinction of having been enlisted in the United States Military, serving 11 years sea duty including combat in WWII, never having an owner or master, and having been the only Coastguardsman to be the subject of a biography until the dawn of the twenty-first century.<br /><br />Sinbad's birth is not recorded, but he was first obtained by CBM A.A. "Blackie" Rother of the Campbell who intended the dog as a gift for a girlfriend. She did not take him in due to a restriction against pets in her apartment building leaving "Blackie" with the dog as he returned from liberty in 1937. He displayed the attributes of a sailor: namely drinking coffee, whiskey with beer chasers at port bars, having regular and general quarters duty stations, and generally demonstrating seamanship. Sinbad was enlisted into the service with his pawprint on enlistment papers, his own service and Red Cross identification numbers, service record, and bunk. He was subject to military disciplinary proceedings twice and was promoted and busted in rank on several occasions. Sinbad retained the rank of Chief Petty Officer - Dog, Retired (K9C (Ret)) following his retirement.<br /><br />Sinbad served aboard the USCGC Campbell throughout the Second World War. The Campbell was assigned to convoy escort duty in the Atlantic. Although publicity photos depicted Sinbad standing helmeted on the barrel of a large gun, his actual general quarters duty post was below decks assigned to damage control where his canine ears would not be damaged by the sound of gunfire.<br /><br />The Campbell 's most significant action involved combat with, and sinking by ramming of, the German submarine U-606. When the cutter suffered severe damage, becoming disabled and without power due to flooding, Sinbad was among the "essential crew" left aboard the otherwise evacuated ship to keep it afloat as it was towed to Canada for repair. It was Captain James Hirschfield's belief that nothing could befall the ship if Sinbad remained aboard. That superstition may be credited with the presence of Sinbad's statue in the mess hall of the current USCGC Campbell<br /><br />Sinbad was ultimately awarded the following : American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal and Navy Occupation Service Medal.<br /><br />Sinbad died on 30 December 1951 and was buried beneath a granite monument at the base of the light station's flagpole.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_(USCG">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_(USCG</a>) </div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PRVQ0vYIhnYr9bz8nlyr9u3awC6g1M4cwK8Nd-1NflUp-GOYJo0ymrXWWCCy_4JSojDnjusJ1pY2FS61dXona61zGiMAfn4ImCY-UDRc2eIncwPMz5Q3XOKCjxPlof4EwKydQLgNfj0w/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 331px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624160440867942498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PRVQ0vYIhnYr9bz8nlyr9u3awC6g1M4cwK8Nd-1NflUp-GOYJo0ymrXWWCCy_4JSojDnjusJ1pY2FS61dXona61zGiMAfn4ImCY-UDRc2eIncwPMz5Q3XOKCjxPlof4EwKydQLgNfj0w/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1n4UyVDzx0Wlallb6EClzIcLcq4Ng1_7-qaaY7Kr8sCnTiZivJWl6XLOjiIVK0QJS3WvD4yJFpBvTunM1d1Lk6MEANVG9jCrATTwXrKIBLDWKgJwdFNE4_wp0xMyPA2yF5abOGG9qZCZ/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 392px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624160438638494530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1n4UyVDzx0Wlallb6EClzIcLcq4Ng1_7-qaaY7Kr8sCnTiZivJWl6XLOjiIVK0QJS3WvD4yJFpBvTunM1d1Lk6MEANVG9jCrATTwXrKIBLDWKgJwdFNE4_wp0xMyPA2yF5abOGG9qZCZ/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBKb5O4Zo5mj0Cv3qjdzOGM97wUrz7DUuULvGNBGpNCRNT6t8YnDkHfPXacWFTrxQUcSyW-CI9uMpg-bbm8XSgR47RgGbyA5-eHC8RvZlp0wgjhetiwN-FWIig-5b6Jg_e8kHSNo0d7pF/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 289px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624160428198946770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBKb5O4Zo5mj0Cv3qjdzOGM97wUrz7DUuULvGNBGpNCRNT6t8YnDkHfPXacWFTrxQUcSyW-CI9uMpg-bbm8XSgR47RgGbyA5-eHC8RvZlp0wgjhetiwN-FWIig-5b6Jg_e8kHSNo0d7pF/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU_ebv3LnBlbCjvpEZOGZ_7BWEizTgW7rrixE8O8hzUmSdgfVEeE1IFAxlMv_-tUnHyjgEBiKOy-98EUNDP4AzqbPPYH0INFK_28gPYA46zNhnfp_yiL5OryWuali1OpwjXsC4Ck_fX1I/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624160416810207202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpU_ebv3LnBlbCjvpEZOGZ_7BWEizTgW7rrixE8O8hzUmSdgfVEeE1IFAxlMv_-tUnHyjgEBiKOy-98EUNDP4AzqbPPYH0INFK_28gPYA46zNhnfp_yiL5OryWuali1OpwjXsC4Ck_fX1I/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WLSJZknKJyb7ILT-T1f8m08_a2fRP32gnpb8JtNY3drI5O_iFYTTyWHCsqWtkOR-P0ysVmINJBcPJjqXxhWAP_8-3sAO14t_MLH6zUbG1Ij6TWijtpRU5s0VDisC1LS81BdcDREHzLa-/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 282px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624160412825300322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WLSJZknKJyb7ILT-T1f8m08_a2fRP32gnpb8JtNY3drI5O_iFYTTyWHCsqWtkOR-P0ysVmINJBcPJjqXxhWAP_8-3sAO14t_MLH6zUbG1Ij6TWijtpRU5s0VDisC1LS81BdcDREHzLa-/s400/05.jpg" /></a>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-47220357268384238592011-06-22T19:21:00.003-04:002011-06-22T19:24:55.776-04:00Alexis St. Martin<div>On June 6, 1822 Alexis St. Martin was working at a fur-trading post in Mackinac Island in Lake Huron when he was accidentally shot with a musket at close range. The charge of the musket-shot blew a fist-sized hole through his side and into his stomach.<br /><br />William Beaumont, a US Army surgeon stationed at a nearby army post, treated the wound. Although St. Martin was a healthy 28-year-old, he was not expected to recover due to the severity of his wound. Beaumont explains in a later paper that the shot blew off fragments of St. Martin's muscles and broke a few of his ribs. After bleeding him and giving him a cathartic, Beaumont marked St. Martin's progress. For the next 17 days, all food he ate reemerged from his new gastric fistula (an abnormal passage from an internal organ to the body surface). Finally after 17 days, the food began to stay in St. Martin's stomach and his bowels began to return to their natural functions. When the wound healed itself, the edge of the hole in the stomach had attached itself to the edge of the hole in the skin, creating a permanent gastric fistula. There was very little scientific understanding of digestion at the time, and Beaumont recognized the opportunity he had in St. Martin - he could literally watch the processes of digestion by dangling food on a string into St. Martin's stomach, then later pulling it out to observe to what extent it had been digested. Beaumont continued to experiment on St. Martin off and on until 1833.<br /><br />Alexis St. Martin did not allow the experiments to be conducted as an act to repay Beaumont for keeping him alive, but rather because Beaumont got the illiterate St. Martin to sign a contract to work as a servant. Beaumont recalls the chores St. Martin did: "During this time, in the intervals of experimenting, he performed all the duties of a common servant, chopping wood, carrying burthens, etc. with little or no suffering or inconvenience from his wound." Although these chores were not bothersome, some of the experiments were painful to St. Martin, for example when Beaumont had placed sacks of food in the stomach, Beaumont noted: “the boy complained of some pain and uneasiness at the breast.” Other symptoms St. Martin felt during experiments were a sense of weight and distress at the scrobiculus cordis; slight vertigo and dimness of vision.<br />When Alexis St. Martin died at St. Thomas de Joliette, Quebec in 1880, his family delayed his burial until the body began to decompose, in order to prevent his “resurrection” by medical men. Many of the latter were interested in performing an autopsy and there was even interest in obtaining the stomach for the Army Medical base in Africa.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_St._Martin">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_St._Martin</a> </div><br /><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEl-4M6nu4fz_-R5ag7zrLrXgDeuAs7cLrmL3ncu9LtiAQPr8JkzUd-3Lq9ezHlfDZok0IjbsZET0IdVe4fP-Ldm9xYb8BUQAm63d0_GlMuLEmlL80b7l8n08wixyjLHAO-f6q2JUhyphenhyphenYQ/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 184px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621188453109298434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEl-4M6nu4fz_-R5ag7zrLrXgDeuAs7cLrmL3ncu9LtiAQPr8JkzUd-3Lq9ezHlfDZok0IjbsZET0IdVe4fP-Ldm9xYb8BUQAm63d0_GlMuLEmlL80b7l8n08wixyjLHAO-f6q2JUhyphenhyphenYQ/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp8FEOlffPm0v2arxj3RdEwjmO-NO9r98hfWKscVGoCrWpQTY7vhXI_vAqobb5WBe7KufV2knVGVxSUwWTp2Duw-J3lL_jS4CK5Sa7shQYgZ4W6DWu-mLke8u7-WfjTd5tfwZW3SOj-i1/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 291px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621188449228657234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp8FEOlffPm0v2arxj3RdEwjmO-NO9r98hfWKscVGoCrWpQTY7vhXI_vAqobb5WBe7KufV2knVGVxSUwWTp2Duw-J3lL_jS4CK5Sa7shQYgZ4W6DWu-mLke8u7-WfjTd5tfwZW3SOj-i1/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHtRAR9PaEv873AY1eS4UDRnIYt9LYsVCvPXOJ10MYZBRHGewYeQxOjZC1Ru4BbMT6s1EciOerIbj3TGMb7goTj80eiiUYdVBGKAvCzFyXQ_J37yAjou7-miObx86xTIe5uKkK6AosTFk/s1600/03.gif"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621188442286955154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRHtRAR9PaEv873AY1eS4UDRnIYt9LYsVCvPXOJ10MYZBRHGewYeQxOjZC1Ru4BbMT6s1EciOerIbj3TGMb7goTj80eiiUYdVBGKAvCzFyXQ_J37yAjou7-miObx86xTIe5uKkK6AosTFk/s400/03.gif" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialIsRXC6suQU8R9cFd9L9eT17eXvqqWADs450thsh4Q31ikxR9vzlSNeXJpLUCWHSmmdyg-NC7HGdHH4RTopofXhY1d_m_0KHse4L2vmroLrjLnYMXvADsv3oCd4T0EFiFRqDao3ieCc6/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 297px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 354px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621188433886824386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialIsRXC6suQU8R9cFd9L9eT17eXvqqWADs450thsh4Q31ikxR9vzlSNeXJpLUCWHSmmdyg-NC7HGdHH4RTopofXhY1d_m_0KHse4L2vmroLrjLnYMXvADsv3oCd4T0EFiFRqDao3ieCc6/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifq6XiKZ9ZJqmYPLVMc1sbiYk-JfvtfCSwtcuzW1a4hl3RrG_Fmemxc_0XAvtxjzjn3t3ZpKQXXLELueDwGddyJwnU7ukt196mDTZM0GkbwwNIzdqOXq6v-nY4XV-NKwE649LucKlEpyb8/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 289px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 210px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621188432884779490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifq6XiKZ9ZJqmYPLVMc1sbiYk-JfvtfCSwtcuzW1a4hl3RrG_Fmemxc_0XAvtxjzjn3t3ZpKQXXLELueDwGddyJwnU7ukt196mDTZM0GkbwwNIzdqOXq6v-nY4XV-NKwE649LucKlEpyb8/s400/05.jpg" /> <br /><p align="center"></a>(Today they do the same thing on cows by design. They are called Fistulated Cows) </p>Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-84487403918617979832011-06-14T20:15:00.000-04:002011-06-14T20:17:42.030-04:00The Great Stalacpipe Organ<div>The Great Stalacpipe Organ is an electrically actuated lithophone located in Luray Caverns, Virginia, USA. It is operated by a custom console that produces the tapping of ancient stalactites of varying sizes with solenoid-actuated rubber mallets in order to produce tones. The instrument's name was derived from the resemblance of the selected thirty-seven naturally formed stalactites to the pipework of a traditional pipe organ along with its custom organ-style keyboard console. It was designed and implemented in 1956 over three years by Leland W. Sprinkle inside the Luray Caverns near Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, USA.<br /><br />Sprinkle created the Great Stalacpipe Organ over three years by finding and shaving appropriate stalactites to produce specific notes. He then wired a mallet for each stalacite that is activated by pressing the correct key on the instrument's keyboard. The stalactites are distributed through approximately 3.5 acres of the caverns but can be heard anywhere within its 64-acre confines.<br /><br />During its first three decades, vinyl records (both 7-inch 331⁄3 rpm and 45 RPM) of the Great Stalacpipe Organ were sold in the Luray Caverns gift shop. These early recordings featured Sprinkle at the organ manual. Later recordings of Sprinkle's performances were sold on cassette tape before organist Monte Maxwell created his own arrangements and recordings of the organ which are currently sold on CD at Luray Caverns.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Stalacpipe_Organ">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Stalacpipe_Organ</a></div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_csTkswiUt__XkQEBqMJMaUVYPBs40itAvGaKooIrBchWZNnqrKoc6q49RJ39vtMKVHfrxy7s-KZh4MxnzVZ-S8OrCaQqE26T8O6sfnaQWTgAPbzNb-9SRKblcqxcB-tH0tXmbQz1u6R/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 399px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618233916880421970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_csTkswiUt__XkQEBqMJMaUVYPBs40itAvGaKooIrBchWZNnqrKoc6q49RJ39vtMKVHfrxy7s-KZh4MxnzVZ-S8OrCaQqE26T8O6sfnaQWTgAPbzNb-9SRKblcqxcB-tH0tXmbQz1u6R/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDH3CG6kgoQyIMSZEfh-BM9OH5xuy8pKHcgUOZ3NvgFyEZ5kLkS2gMkIGUMMlWdc4_4gedwA8t4UMz-doVVeZClMKTeo4JMCLqIoZ9hWsBOTKCvCfagFh_x4Osx1-M26L2zq3kdp_UMzaw/s1600/02.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 265px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618233910955505538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDH3CG6kgoQyIMSZEfh-BM9OH5xuy8pKHcgUOZ3NvgFyEZ5kLkS2gMkIGUMMlWdc4_4gedwA8t4UMz-doVVeZClMKTeo4JMCLqIoZ9hWsBOTKCvCfagFh_x4Osx1-M26L2zq3kdp_UMzaw/s400/02.png" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4_O4DwQY-URV6NBIha1cjLbyvpFnelt25aEcy_rjm6ZET92AIrIF6UWgF_FTaLI7mBNQAcDcqd7uCF4QPMXIADpkEaQLznBfpEiTFxoPwU_MSqbdsprUPaE332NyIfsC0Kax8jhTE0_t/s1600/03.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 263px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618233901488673410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq4_O4DwQY-URV6NBIha1cjLbyvpFnelt25aEcy_rjm6ZET92AIrIF6UWgF_FTaLI7mBNQAcDcqd7uCF4QPMXIADpkEaQLznBfpEiTFxoPwU_MSqbdsprUPaE332NyIfsC0Kax8jhTE0_t/s400/03.png" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKQMbB5xDOZ2Fp8gozKHD5yHh5wolkYK9EYjAG-ngFJ2hfzGrqGRELfO1MO9qik7Gt2IfKSgeHWRI-LjymVduWymScVjo3c7wSTlJ9-1Qr1vIU1ek0YeQN4y8ckQxo6F51Wlypem5fPe3/s1600/04.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618233890968370242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKQMbB5xDOZ2Fp8gozKHD5yHh5wolkYK9EYjAG-ngFJ2hfzGrqGRELfO1MO9qik7Gt2IfKSgeHWRI-LjymVduWymScVjo3c7wSTlJ9-1Qr1vIU1ek0YeQN4y8ckQxo6F51Wlypem5fPe3/s400/04.png" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-24943676225475053542011-06-09T22:28:00.002-04:002011-06-09T22:30:52.469-04:00Kopi Luwak<div>Kopi luwak is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world.<br /><br />Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, and also in the Philippines and also in East Timor<br /><br />Kopi luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between US $100 and $600 per pound. The specialty Vietnamese weasel coffee, which is made by collecting coffee beans eaten by wild civets, is sold at $6600 per kilogram ($3000 per pound). Most customers are in Asia - especially Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak</a><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLB3ClYgPX_rIko4YABA8o2i_FMzbwc_f6d0WFO1NDKYiiRfwWF5okYbBoK5jU4B6_eg2x1lrNi3fyayFhf9IEzXMmJ6PlitnWFycsHTLPElNW0FAEzFUd44p2hOY-X-8qg3uq4uid4iq/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616412639618229778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLB3ClYgPX_rIko4YABA8o2i_FMzbwc_f6d0WFO1NDKYiiRfwWF5okYbBoK5jU4B6_eg2x1lrNi3fyayFhf9IEzXMmJ6PlitnWFycsHTLPElNW0FAEzFUd44p2hOY-X-8qg3uq4uid4iq/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkuYNblIL-AFLlSFetq5rIniS4-fNmWzaz5lg_zR8z-vQD33AHE5mWAtZWYRpMmjVSfacm-7YZ7s7o3qEwPZR44hyrKW3zS7B0STyGD2PLj8Macm5ik6PE3fUXJDxbRvMCKRQOUMGl2xr/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616412615384622562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkuYNblIL-AFLlSFetq5rIniS4-fNmWzaz5lg_zR8z-vQD33AHE5mWAtZWYRpMmjVSfacm-7YZ7s7o3qEwPZR44hyrKW3zS7B0STyGD2PLj8Macm5ik6PE3fUXJDxbRvMCKRQOUMGl2xr/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVw_9Z4CdT6rQd9JaAjqVYFJdBcJAqyn1ZZp4TX-_a5uTxRScNUKDzPBTrQJY57sGc_H20CNGDj-OiEhqtdOeI_SpJSNfnkf8XV_uwJrqdZ4Pn0ghvm9cO5xO3n-GkGA6jNeYSWahr5ja/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616412611117642146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVw_9Z4CdT6rQd9JaAjqVYFJdBcJAqyn1ZZp4TX-_a5uTxRScNUKDzPBTrQJY57sGc_H20CNGDj-OiEhqtdOeI_SpJSNfnkf8XV_uwJrqdZ4Pn0ghvm9cO5xO3n-GkGA6jNeYSWahr5ja/s400/01.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-26614747357850326392011-06-02T20:21:00.000-04:002011-06-02T20:23:19.609-04:00Fugo<div>A fire balloon, balloon bomb, or Fu-Go was an experimental weapon launched by Japan during World War II. A hydrogen balloon with a load varying from a 12-kilogram (26 lb) incendiary to one 15 kg (33 lb) antipersonnel bomb and four 5 kg (11 lb) incendiary devices attached, they were designed as a cheap weapon intended to make use of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean and wreak havoc on Canadian and American cities, forests, and farmland.<br /><br />From late 1944 until early 1945, General Kusaba's men launched over 9,000 balloons throughout the course of the project from Japan. The Japanese expected 10% (around 900) of them to reach America, which is also what is currently believed by researchers. About 300 balloon bombs were found or observed in America. It is likely that more balloon bombs landed in unpopulated areas of North America. They were found in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan, and Iowa, as well as Mexico and Canada.<br /><br />The jet stream blew at altitudes above 9.15 km (30,000 ft) and could carry a large balloon across the Pacific in three days, over a distance of more than 8,000 km (5,000 miles). Such balloons could carry incendiary and high-explosive bombs to the United States and drop them there to kill people, destroy buildings, and start forest fires.<br /><br />The bombs caused little damage, but their potential for destruction and fires was large. The bombs also had a potential psychological effect on the American people. The U.S. strategy was to keep the Japanese from knowing of the balloon bombs' effectiveness. In 1945 Newsweek ran an article titled "Balloon Mystery" in their January 1 issue, and a similar story appeared in a newspaper the next day. The Office of Censorship then sent a message to newspapers and radio stations to ask them to make no mention of balloons and balloon-bomb incidents, lest the enemy get the idea that the balloons might be effective weapons. Cooperating with the desires of the government, the press did not publish any balloon bomb incidents. Perhaps as a result, the Japanese only learned of one bomb's reaching Wyoming, landing and failing to explode, so they stopped the launches after less than six months.<br /><br />With no evidence of any effect, General Kusaba was ordered to cease operations in April 1945, believing that the mission had been a total fiasco.<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugo">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugo</a></div><br />
<br /><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQd46A_0xbZEd80qryguSp7FpBYkJoo0_eg4hw3gFppS2ga_T73t7ZyGg-rVh711z0yBrYZUNfA0Rd5VH-DmTCP-1N16KIlRDCjQJ7jY5zuEeckGRmqLzQHoeiUrU7RTkHdzCy1xB_4f5g/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 192px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613782282068983618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQd46A_0xbZEd80qryguSp7FpBYkJoo0_eg4hw3gFppS2ga_T73t7ZyGg-rVh711z0yBrYZUNfA0Rd5VH-DmTCP-1N16KIlRDCjQJ7jY5zuEeckGRmqLzQHoeiUrU7RTkHdzCy1xB_4f5g/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYSbxQnhLL-B01SKkKfaui6MmP50BkMwYrHSB9yNrwQJKY6U4OWecCuXCG1-7UJQnjKiNCS2ilr4CX5XGVKQtyMKfLMW5l7DVw74nrVEzzNTefLBqZ9WMPHfFpyHor8OOEgiGVhj1H1pX/s1600/02.gif"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 326px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613782281093086562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYSbxQnhLL-B01SKkKfaui6MmP50BkMwYrHSB9yNrwQJKY6U4OWecCuXCG1-7UJQnjKiNCS2ilr4CX5XGVKQtyMKfLMW5l7DVw74nrVEzzNTefLBqZ9WMPHfFpyHor8OOEgiGVhj1H1pX/s400/02.gif" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144995885066453872.post-26928069695158500812011-05-26T20:23:00.002-04:002011-05-26T20:25:21.339-04:00Fray Tormenta<div>Fray Tormenta (born Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, 1945) is a Mexican priest who supported an orphanage for 23 years as a lucha libre wrestler. While performing, he wore a red and yellow mask. He is largely retired from wrestling, making only sporadic in-ring appearances, but still wears his mask even in his duties as a priest. Fray Tormenta means "Friar Storm" in English.<br /><br />Father Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez had long been inspired to become a masked luchador after watching two 1963 Mexican films, "El Señor Tormenta" (Mister Storm) and "Tormenta En El Ring" (Storm In The Ring) both of which featured the story of a poor Mexican priest who supported the children of his orphanage by fighting as a lucha libre wrestler at night. At age 22 he became interested in the priesthood and was inducted into the Piarists Order. His theological training took him to Rome, and then Spain, and for a while he taught philosophy and history at Roman Catholic universities in Mexico. He later became a secular priest in the Diocese of Texcoco, where he founded an orphanage. In need of money to take care of the children, the father became the masked wrestler known as Fray Tormenta. During that time he never let anyone know of his identity as a priest, explaining "No one would have taken me seriously as a wrestler had they known I was a priest."<br /><br />In 2006, American film maker Jared Hess made another film loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta called Nacho Libre starring Jack Black.<br /><br />Finishing moves: Confessional (Figure four leglock)<br /><br />From: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fray_Tormenta">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fray_Tormenta</a> </div><br />
<br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESLiN3BLq7-K_S23PzZbFSDzh7oTbyZGWK0O0HHx8Tmoa0xBOqzzF9bQZ0RzhRh5ZRA2vdKKRLGbAe1ua_78OA1bwbOHQoUd1aqakB4zKRuz7UPDfYwXbEN65jsfr0QJg4w13RDj7pTOb/s1600/01.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 375px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611185158561495586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESLiN3BLq7-K_S23PzZbFSDzh7oTbyZGWK0O0HHx8Tmoa0xBOqzzF9bQZ0RzhRh5ZRA2vdKKRLGbAe1ua_78OA1bwbOHQoUd1aqakB4zKRuz7UPDfYwXbEN65jsfr0QJg4w13RDj7pTOb/s400/01.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrSI1dB0pVC1kgr8D-minhMIay9Kd0baeZ4CrUD6pS-iY-y__VtkY1asSkoBQ3zWBj9Sj_v4V5AxNhn0qcfc-T7oGOX3QaL7EljR_0Ma7oqn_iJ7N8H-noQ7tGegddgL4ScyMp14Et-t-/s1600/02.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611185153531477058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrSI1dB0pVC1kgr8D-minhMIay9Kd0baeZ4CrUD6pS-iY-y__VtkY1asSkoBQ3zWBj9Sj_v4V5AxNhn0qcfc-T7oGOX3QaL7EljR_0Ma7oqn_iJ7N8H-noQ7tGegddgL4ScyMp14Et-t-/s400/02.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYPrwT5ezT764387dRayOGduKQdnuFhWbL4tACObvWiErpWAPypg2HPUJJGB7KYZmwuCzJS1DGZnbiYQ_KMw44xfgXna0P4rRP55U0sjW15BvMdjKjwqSxP4FMbMRbZlcCUiO2KePbVla/s1600/03.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 219px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611185148864096738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYPrwT5ezT764387dRayOGduKQdnuFhWbL4tACObvWiErpWAPypg2HPUJJGB7KYZmwuCzJS1DGZnbiYQ_KMw44xfgXna0P4rRP55U0sjW15BvMdjKjwqSxP4FMbMRbZlcCUiO2KePbVla/s400/03.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaHpVeSQJsYV6JJh3oq9EBB9oechJWqvZpkdBFOmjhaXOMF482wxwvIgYQZvgU2b4b9dwf0SAIXcsgLm4AAbUAtvha3xINDjPMfAiYoYlAOynR9YzSb6d9-dm7VpE0UUBZGrqXLqMx-xf/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 360px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611185144446409026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaHpVeSQJsYV6JJh3oq9EBB9oechJWqvZpkdBFOmjhaXOMF482wxwvIgYQZvgU2b4b9dwf0SAIXcsgLm4AAbUAtvha3xINDjPMfAiYoYlAOynR9YzSb6d9-dm7VpE0UUBZGrqXLqMx-xf/s400/04.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhre6oQitDmAX_1iig6sBBn-c6GHGWGeNk2XrwvVMfkrMyaUr1xP4PXDzO8tLzI_ggGxVT93aVkWrnQ6mkO5PYg0EbdTG8ng5dbo4Of7Bq7GtWkeAmGIT31docg8Mud05b2PRQ_g6WaDQRN/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 260px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 390px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611185140574090994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhre6oQitDmAX_1iig6sBBn-c6GHGWGeNk2XrwvVMfkrMyaUr1xP4PXDzO8tLzI_ggGxVT93aVkWrnQ6mkO5PYg0EbdTG8ng5dbo4Of7Bq7GtWkeAmGIT31docg8Mud05b2PRQ_g6WaDQRN/s400/05.jpg" /></a> Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04863209846088260431noreply@blogger.com