Show Notes for TWS130: Go In to Go Out

On the show this week:

• Life-Sized
• Staycation, Playcation, Graycation
• Forgotten Luggage (EXTRA)

This week’s Challenge Question:
It’s easy to be cynical and snarky; what one thing do you do or reflect on to avoid the snark?
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Full links to all stories covered and many more after the jump!

• Theme Song: Caffeine by Grubspoon from The Podsafe Music Network
• Promo: How To Grow Your Geek — Useful tips on how you can raise your kids to have an appreciation for all things geek! Or how to corrupt — er, “hack” — er, “enlighten” other people’s kids on the joy of geekery. 😉
• Promo: The House Of Grey — A story of a typical teenaged life: going to high school (albeit the most exclusive high school in the world), living life (albeit with scars both physical and emotional), dealing with growing up (albeit with no memory of who you are except frightening visions of a power you don’t understand), meeting girls (albeit some of the most beautiful and mysterious girls on the planet) and doing homework (albeit some of it is magical training). A story revealing layers both mundane and supernatural in the life of Monson Grey, sole survivor of the attack on Barity Bridge.
• Life-Sized
  • If we can manage to create primitive analogues for life, why not set up our own long-term experiment? We can take a barren world and populate, then lose track of it, only to discover, when we get space travel, that they have evolved and suspect we are stealing their cowlips! – ScienceDaily: Simple Chemical System Created That Mimics DNA
  • EXTRA: An incredible creation, aside from that little thing of needing an electron microscope to manipulate it.. – Science Daily: World’s First Controllable Molecular Gear At Nanoscale Created
  • I, for one, welcome our new bacterial overlords.. – New Scientist: ‘Resurrection bug’ revived after 120,000 years
  • EXTRA: Something about mammoths wandering across the UK strikes me as a very funny image.. – BBC: Mammoths survived late in Britain
  • Or, they can at least get used to anticipating regular changes. From an AI standpoint, this isn’t really all that complex. Granted, it is doing it via evolution in real-time. – Science Daily: Scientists Show Bacteria Can ‘Learn’ And Plan Ahead
  • I wonder if a variation of this gene is responsible for cliques in high school.. – ABC: ‘Gangsta Gene’ Identified in U.S. Teens
  • It’s not that they are better at specific problems, but that they are better in general that makes this most interesting.. – Science Daily: Autistics Better At Problem-solving, Study Finds
  • What price would you pay for intelligence? Would you give your left foot? How about your potential life span? – Science Daily: Cancer In Humans: Cost Of Being Smarter Than Chimps?
  • See, people have no idea how hard social situations can be! Remember: the geek has re-purposed that brain for other, more important things.. – Science Daily: Social Competition May Be Reason For Bigger Brain
  • Presumably, this isn’t a hoax, because cute-n-cuddly ABC news is covering it.. – ABC: Doctors Baffled, Intrigued by Girl Who Doesn’t Age
  • EXTRA: Didn’t we, like, get rid of this? What is this, the century rollover reset? – BBC: Bubonic plague reported in Libya
  • I think people can be forgiven for airy language when describing things which are not only physically intangible, but philosophically intangible.. – Science Daily: ‘Life Force’ Linked To Body’s Ability To Withstand Stress
  • EXTRA: Should there be any surprise to a dominant hearing side, given that we are a bilaterally-divided organism? Really? – Science Daily: Need Something? Talk To My Right Ear
  • EXTRA: The greatest story that I missed out on. I have no excuse, because it was night at the time, and I was supposedly in my prime. Perhaps it was dread for the morning? – Science Daily: Morning People And Night Owls Show Different Brain Function
  • EXTRA: Turns out, sleep may not be the great organizer.. Wait.. this is new? People actually thought that memories were only made while you *sleep*? Next, they’ll be telling us that the stomach is *not* the seat of intelligence! – Science Daily: Memories May Be Formed Throughout The Day, Not Just While Sleeping
  • EXTRA: No signs of intelligence here — not even a really good-looking robot. To me, it would always convey a feeling of “ewww”. – Ananova: New robot displays human emotions
  • EXTRA: Why aren’t birds as big as planes? They claim that it is because of the replenishment speed of feathers. I’m not sure I’m convinced that this idea floats.. It presumes that there is *no* biological solution that could be found to overcome this limitation, which is kinda like saying “no building could *ever* be two stories high, because no human can climb that high” before the invention of stairs.. – Science Daily: What Limits The Size Of Birds?
  • EXTRA: Really, it’s all about the missing fingers.. – BBC: New dinosaur gives bird wing clue
  • EXTRA: The interesting part of this, to me, was the reminder that such a thing as a “crop” exists, in which animals like chickens willfully store stones to grind their food. HOW IS THIS NORMAL? 😉 – Science Daily: Sands Of Gobi Desert Yield New Species Of Nut-cracking Dinosaur
  • EXTRA: If by “human” you mean “figures anything out”, then yeah.. – Science Daily: Common Fish Species Has ‘Human’ Ability To Learn
  • EXTRA: The universe may be run on love — although hate (sadly) is quicker. – Science Daily: Same-sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds
  • EXTRA: If cloning is ok in the case of heros, where’re the Bruce Lee, Ghandi, John Lennon clones? – Yahoo!/AFP: Clones of 9/11 hero dog unveiled in Los Angeles
  • EXTRA: You might say they were drawn to it… – Hindu: Microbiologists find magnetic bacteria in Lonar Lake
  • EXTRA: An interesting example of soccer applying to nature.. But the goalies get screwed.. – Science Daily: Not One, But Two Kinds Of Males Found In Invasive Round Goby Fish
  • This point is a great example of how intelligence varies in the research field.. – Science Daily: Individual Primates Display Variation In General Intelligence
  • It’s not the sie of the delivery mechanism, it’s the size of the product that counts.. – BBC: Huge sperm of ancient crustaceans
  • Even more evidence that one’s sex has less to do with who you actually are.. – Science Daily: Boy Or Girl? In Lizards, Egg Size Matters
  • EXTRA: Now, if only they could do the same for human farters.. – Phenomenica/Bureau Report: Canadian scientists breeding cows that burp less
  • EXTRA: I always wondered how talent spotters worked.. Apparently: random. – The UK Mirror: Sprinter’s talent spotted as he ran for a bus – now he’s aiming for Olympics
• Staycation, Playcation, Graycation
  • More than likely, it’ll predict a new movie.. – The UK Telegraph: Phoenix crop circle may predict end of the world
  • Isn’t that the land of the hammer and circle? – Russia Today: Mysterious circles shock locals in Russia?s South
  • The truth behind crop circles: “Because I got high.” – news.com.au/The Mercury: Wallabies get high in poppy fields, make crop circles
  • I guess this means that they keep their Covenant (and went home). – WorldNetDaily: Patriarch cops out on Ark revelation
  • EXTRA: And people sometimes say that “crop circles” are good for nothing! (Granted, this is one made by nature. Or sorta..) – National Geographic: Huge Pre-Stonehenge Complex Found via “Crop Circles”
  • EXTRA: There are storms, and then there are ARMA-FREAKIN-GEDDON storms.. – The Guardian: Black clouds turn Beijing day into night
  • See? Not everyone thinks that storms are not so good.. – New Kerala/ANI: Frog marriage solemnised for rain showers in Nagpur
  • Um.. Maybe they should’ve married buckets of water to get regular rain.. Seems like circuits got crossed there, somewhere. – The Guardian: In Japan, it’s raining tadpoles …
  • EXTRA: – Ananova: Man digs 50ft hole to fish – in his kitchen
  • – Ananova: Globe Trotter required, no experience necessary
  • – Ananova: Holidays for quarrelling couples
  • – Ananova: Luxury yachts offer pirate hunting cruises
  • – The UK Times: German pensioners ?kidnap and torture their investment adviser?
  • EXTRA: – Yahoo!/Reuters: Gimme a beer, imbecile!
  • EXTRA: – The UK Telegraph: Witches’ coven claims religious persecution after church hall ban
  • – Yahoo!/AP: Police: Man attacked in Okla. for bologna sandwich
  • EXTRA: – BBC: 2,500-year-old bird’s nest found
  • EXTRA: – Science Daily: Bird Migration: Toxic Molecule May Help Birds ‘See’ North And South
  • EXTRA: – The Star Tribune/AP: Oregon woman obsessed with rabbits arrested again after police find more bunnies in hotel room
  • EXTRA: – EIN Presswire: Study Proves Planets Impact Animal Behavior
  • EXTRA: – BBC: Evolution faster when it’s warmer
• Forgotten Luggage (EXTRA)
  • EXTRA: – BBC: The plant that pretends to be ill
  • EXTRA: – Discovery On: Water snake discovered that scares fish into its jaws
  • EXTRA: – The Malaysian Star: Did giant arapaima cause duo to drown?
  • EXTRA: – Yahoo!/Reuters: Fox steals more than 100 shoes
  • EXTRA: Sometimes, failures are caused by a flaw in the observer, rather than the observed phenomenon.. – The UK Times: Is there a Life On Mars Conspiracy?
  • EXTRA: – Science Daily: Meteorite Grains Divulge Earth’s Cosmic Roots
  • EXTRA: The problem with UFO sightings these days is not the scarcity of their reports, but the *glut* of them. It’s almost like we’re being inundated with data to make it seem like nothing but background noise, so we’ll miss the real things if they come along.. – The UK Telegraph: UFOs spotted over Lake District
  • EXTRA: Well, he needed *something* to write down all that family, phila, class, crap down on.. – Science Daily: Carl Linnaeus Invented The Index Card
  • EXTRA: Turns out: it’s good to be the queen. – BBC: The secrets of ant sleep revealed
  • EXTRA: You low-down dirty rat! You swindled me! – BBC: Rats play odds in gambling task
  • EXTRA: Nothing particularly outstanding in this, other than the beautiful and alien picture of hundreds of manta floating by.. – Still on The Trek blog: Stingray Migration
  • EXTRA: I’m sure that we can turn this into a new breed, if we wanna… I mean, some people might find these dogs rather “fetching”. (Heh) – LA Times: “Dog-kangaroos” turn heads in the Philippines
  • EXTRA: Another study seeks to disprove the untestable. – Science Daily: The Healing Power Of Prayer?
  • EXTRA: Michael Shermer attempts to point out that there is no “they”. I’m sure They told him to say that. 😉 – Scientific American: Why People Believe Invisible Agents Control the World
  • EXTRA: When does a pig-in-a-jar become a deity manifestation? How does that play out in a person’s mind? Then again, Jesus on grilled cheese.. – Phuket Gazette: Phuket porker: mutant or miracle?
  • EXTRA: It’s only morbid because we have superstitions about the dead. This is the pot calling the kettle “illogical” really.. – The UK Telegraph: Teenage girl dug up to be ‘corpse bride’
  • EXTRA: Actually, I think he was just fishing, and caught a kid. Fortunately, he decided not to throw it back. – Yahoo/AP: Cowboy uses lariat to rescue boy in well
  • EXTRA: There is a certain level of desperation and/or laziness that is almost admirable.. – Yahoo!/AP: NY man charged with impersonating dead mother
  • EXTRA: Somedays, it feels like all your money is suspicious. – BBC: Conspiracy surrounds $134bn ‘bond’ find
  • EXTRA: Not only do they disperse angry crowds, the make great BBQs! – Ananova: Hot chilli grenades
  • EXTRA: “I said, YOU’RE OUT!” – Yahoo!/AP: Umpire ejects entire crowd during baseball game
  • EXTRA: Instead of write-in votes, do they get seance-in votes? – CBC/CP: Philippine lawmaker wants officials to step in to stop the dead from voting
  • EXTRA: When you absolutely have to be the center of attention, you glory-seeking egomaniac. – Yahoo!/Reuters: Unveiling the blinking phone dress
  • EXTRA: Well, the real story is that the pilot was no longer piloting after he died. Geez, first voting rights, now licencing.. Is there nothing left for the dead? – BBC: Pilot dies flying plane to the US
  • EXTRA: Oh, ok. At least the dead get a break in *one* place.. – Yahoo!/AP: Dirt cheap: Cemetery sells 2 graves for price of 1
  • EXTRA: The first thing they leave behind is their sanity, followed closely by their dignity. – Ananova: The things students leave behind…
  • EXTRA: We should all be so lucky to have our routine announcements spiced up with funny, deep, witty or interesting.. Oh wait, that’s Twitter. 😉 – Ananova: Railway announcer’s thought for the day
  • EXTRA: Because you know what it leads to: drugs! (And libertarianism!) 😉 – Ananova: School’s pupils banned from kissing
  • EXTRA: Apparently, June 19 was supposed to be the day of maximum cheeriness. I think it was sorta “meh”. – Ananova: Reasons to be cheerful

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