TWS146: A Special Kind of Christmas Cracker
Bumper: Arkle from Geek of All Trades
Promo: FiT’s a Geek Christmas Story
CQ: Most would consider embedded non-original parts to be part of a person, but would you ever consider external non-original parts to be part of them? Possibilities here range from eye glasses to backup memories (and intelligent software agents) stored on remote servers.
On the show this week:
- Surprises Bound Up With Bows
- Talking Suffers
- Uncurled Curling Ribbon
Full list of 68 articles after the jump!
- Surprises Bound Up With Bows:
- “It’s not mine,” declares Jesus.: BBC – ‘Jesus-era’ burial shroud found
- Some people just can’t stand to see a jolly fat man with abundant whiskers. They’ll be after me soon enough..: Ananova – Santa’s a ‘bad role model’
- After all: it’s not like he crosses customs legally..: Ananova – Santa the security risk
- Did Merry knock off Father Christmas?: The UK Telegraph – Father Christmas ‘buried in Ireland’
- Nothing but a Ho, Ho, ho..: The Palm Beach Post – Boynton Police charge “Merry Christmas” with obstruction
- I thought it was “through snow and sleet and hail and rain”, not “causes snow and sleet and hail and rain”..: The Irish Times – Postman not dreaming of a white Christmas – he is predicting one
- Don’t think of them as killing their enemies, so much as dressing them up for their funerals.: BBC – Australian bees ‘mummify’ their beetle enemy alive
- Givent that New Year’s Eve is a Blue Moon, this could get interesting..: Sydney Morning Herald – Hospital study shows full moons werewolf effect
- All I want for Christmas is immortality.: The Huffington Post – Does Death Exist? New Theory Says ‘No’
- Granted, the cow was aiming for the moon..: The UK Telegraph – Cow jumps six feet on to roof
- It sounds cute until you think: computers are likely next.: New Scientist – Octopuses use coconut shells as portable shelters
- Another good reason to take up jumping as a hobby for cows..: The UK Daily Mail – Farmer calls for ban after ‘killer’ Chinese lantern fells another cow
- As long as they don’t start making monkey-poo nunchaku, or teaching them Advanced Coconut Sheltering..: Ananova – Kung fu monkeys turn tables on trainer
- (EXTRA) This may have been why the cow jumped.: Yahoo!/SkyNews – Wild Dogs Turn Green From ‘Toxic Waste’
- (EXTRA) Fire up the cloning tank – let’s make unique fossils obsolete!: Paleontology News Blog/RIA Novosti – Unique Siberian mammoth specimen insured for 1 million euros
- It’s like Earth, but without all that pesky “land” stuff.. and Kevin Costner.: The UK Guardian – Waterworld planet is more Earth-like than any discovered before
- Like ornaments on the Christmas galaxy.. or something..: The UK Telegraph – Three new planets found orbiting star similar to Sun
- So 2010 is now the year we *ended* our regular visits to space? WTF!?: New Scientist – 2010 preview: The space shuttle’s last ride
- How do they know it’s life? Because it said so?: DNA India – Indian scientists detect signs of life on Moon
- Are they practicing to take down Big Jolly?: Discover Magazine/Bad Astronomer – Another Russian rocket spiral lights up the sky
- So Santa struck this deal with the aliens for protection from the Russians… Good racket..: Exopolitics News – Norway light spiral — missile failure caused by UFO/ET intervention?
- The question is: did it turn counter-clockwise?: Stuff/The Timaru Herald – NZ sightings of spiral ‘UFO’?
- I’m going to set up a DMZ to read the Word (!) document covering the UFO instructions. But how advanced can they really be, in *Word*?: UFOHowto.com – UFO HOW-TO
- I was just getting around to it, hold yer horses!: io9 – Why Aren’t You Building Your Own UFO Yet?
- All I can hope is that they are bullet-proof reinforcements..: The Examiner – Second UFO landing reported in Texas with multiple ‘beings’ on the ground
- Only bold (or stupid) aliens would think that Texas would the place to finally meet mankind.. : The Examiner – UFO lands in Texas, two ‘creatures’ on the ground
- Once is a coincidence; twice a conspiracy; three times a trend..: The Gralien Report – Rash of UFO Sightings in Texas: Wave or a Wipe-Out?
- I think I saw this level in DigDug..: Herald de Paris – More from Caribbean site .. New detail images just released
- Nothing like releasing more photos that look worse than the first set..: Herald de Paris – Got ruins? Undersea archaeologists release new photos
- Obviously, it comes from our 8-bit anscestors..: Herald de Paris – Previously undiscovered ancient city found on Caribbean sea floor
- We’re already pretty sure that we can kill them, and possibly eat them, so the only question left is: can we mate with them?: New Scientist – 2010 preview: Arise, Neanderthal brother
- Talking Suffers:
- F**k that, I say..: Ananova – Russia bids to ban swearing
- Ironically, I bet this is a recording of somewhere in Thailand..: Ananova – Dial-a-beach to relieve stress
- Wouldn’t they notice the distinct lack of non-kilted people?: STV – Scots beach mistaken for Thai resort
- Hate isn’t so much a learned behaviour as it is a primal instinct growing out of fear… of robots.: New Scientist – Learning to love to hate robots
- (EXTRA) So, Minnesota isn’t going to be known as the “Swing State” ever again..: CBS News – Adultery Illegal in Minnesota (for Women)
- Something tells me they should give these out with every marriage, or even during the negotiations — er, “courtship”..: Ananova – Law firm offers divorce vouchers for Christmas
- (EXTRA) The society of Rather Busty Ladies should counter-complain for fair representation..: Ananova – Parents want busty fox sacked from puppet show
- (EXTRA) For saving the company $1.4, the least they could do was give him a day off..: Ananova – Reward for honesty is small beer
- “Psst! Hey, buddy! You want a snort of Coffee Crisp?”: Ananova – School suspends ‘crisp dealer’
- Some people will cheat an anything. I hate that.: Ananova – Drug tests to catch pie cheats
- (EXTRA) Apparently, democracy isn’t quite enough for government, they need to submit to a higher power, too..: CBS News/AP – Effort to Remove Atheist From City Council
- It’s mathematically provable! just take the height of the Pointy-Hair and the angle of the quality of the end products, and divide by the number of times they interfere.: New Scientist – Why your boss is incompetent
- We are all slightly broken and warped records – uniquely the same as everyone else.: New Scientist – Five laws of human nature
- First things first: don’t think about failing – especially because I just told you not to!: New Scientist – Foot-in-mouth syndrome: Pitfalls of the party season
- (EXTRA) Just think of it as the Vomitorium of Dr. Parnassus..: CBC News – Darwin had inherited illness: professor
- (EXTRA) After all: just ask them to tell you about the person in the mirror..: BBC – People with autism ‘have problem with self-awareness’
- (EXTRA) Does Alice really fall into an extraplanar extrapolation of complex numbers?: New Scientist – Alice’s adventures in algebra: Wonderland solved
- (EXTRA) When asked if he did it, did he say “MUHAHAHA! Uh.. No.. Why do you ask?”: BBC – Switzerland geologist on trial for ‘causing quakes’
- (EXTRA) Basically, belief in one thing is likely to begat believe in other things..: NY Times – Paranormal Flexibility
- (EXTRA) How to break in to the movies? Make one on your own.: Ananova – From YouTube to Hollywood
- (EXTRA) I half expect to hear “and those keys you lost? Sorry I dropped them in the toilet.”: CNN – Official: KGB chief ordered Hitler’s remains destroyed
- (EXTRA) A remarkably clear and remarkably fake-looking bigfoot sighting..: Bimedji Pioneer/Pioneer Press/Twin Cities.com – Bigfoot in the northwoods? Camera picks up strange image near Remer
- (EXTRA) It’s more of “Occam’s Slightly Warped Lens” than his razor..: LiveScience – New Bigfoot Image Cut Down by Occam’s Razor
- (EXTRA) I had no idea that a) dingoes were once domestic animals (the yappy dogs are next to go feral!) and memories were truly genetic..: LiveScience/Natural History Magazine – Wild Dingoes Remember Human Gestures
- (EXTRA) In which the article is boiled down to “we’re all amateurs here, and no one should trust an amateur”..: Crytomundo – Ben Blasts Bogus Bigfoot
- (EXTRA) Yes, but people don’t set off alarms when they let one go!: Ananova – Sprouts make turtles flatulent too
- (EXTRA) Personally, I want to be hearing “Another One Bites The Dust” when I’m being resuscitated..: The UK Telegraph – Nellie the Elephant helps medics administer CPR
- Uncurled Curling Ribbon:
- (EXTRA) You think that’s shocking? You should see how good they are at Rock Band..: Ananova – Skateboarding monk shocks China
- It makes me wonder: just what did the moles do that was so bad in the first place?: Ananova – Whack a Banker game hits the mark
- (EXTRA) I don’t even remember writing it..: ScienceDaily – Ancient Book of Mark Found Not So Ancient After All
- (EXTRA) Last week, I saw an article about a pig doing the same thing.. I feel a little less special as a species, now..: Ananova – Cat uses human loo
- (EXTRA) At some point, they’ll discover it was sold at a library book sale.: Boston.com/The Boston Globe – Book overdue for 99 years returned to New Bedford library
- (EXTRA) Such things are, of course, the source of many myths and legnends..: Ananova – Doctors to operate on ‘Tortoise Woman’
- (EXTRA) Yes, but: did anyone solve the mystery? (I’ve actually taken this exact trip; it’s actually quite nice — under normal circumstances..): WTSP – Man killed by dinner train in southwest Florida
- (EXTRA) A parade of bizarre spectral denizens..: Paranormal Searchers – Introduction to Ghost in Thai Culture
- (EXTRA) Um.. that’s not ectoplasm.. (Eww….): The UK Daily Telegraph – Ghosts, masturbation and weird findings
- (EXTRA) Now she knows what men go through.. (Ok, I don’t want to make light of this, not really, but I. JUST. CAN’T. RESIST!): The UK Telegraph – Woman’s life made ‘unbearable’ by insatiable libido
Podcast: Play in new window | Download