Random Bytes

'Uncontacted tribe' sighted in Amazon
CNN.com, May 30,2008


May 28, 585 B.C.: Predicted Solar Eclipse Stops Battle
By Randy Alfred
Wired.com
May 28, 2008


Curriculum Designed to Unite Art and Science
By Natalie Angier; NYTimes.com, May 27, 2008


Sharks swim closer to extinction
By Richard Black
BBC.com
May 22, 2008


Glaciers in Antarctica May Be Releasing DDT Through Meltwater
By Henry Fountain; NYTimes.com, May 27, 2008


The Claim: Dust Mites Make Allergies Worse
By Anahad O'Connor
NYTimes.com
May 27, 2008


A 9,000 Year Old Hoard of Flint Blades was Exposed at the Movil Junction
Israeli Antiquities Authority Press Release


Dunkin' Donuts yanks Rachael Ray
Boston Globe,
Boston.com
May 27, 2008


Gold Toothpick-Earwax Spoon Found
NationalGeographicNews.com, May 20, 2008


Five Things Humans No Longer Need
By Laura Spinney
ABCNews.com,
May 22, 2008


Lab agrees to test Shroud of Turin for new theory
By Electa Draper; ChicagoTribune.com, May 20, 2008


Religion is a product of evolution, software suggests
by Ewen Callaway
May 27, 2008
NewScientist.com

Neuroanthropology News

There's a nice spotlight this month at ND Works about Dan Lende's efforts with students on the Neuroanthropology blog. As stated in the article -- "Within the first week of posting all eight projects on the blog, Lende not only had seen his students reach thousands of viewers, but two projects had been picked up and posted on other blogs."
Pretty sweet!

Teaching beyond the term paper
By: Gail Hinchion Mancini
Date: May 28, 2008

The Gang's All Here (Almost)

Hop-a-log Ullinger is back in town, big foot cast in tow. Apparently said cast scared Lemur, because he didn't seem to remember that she helped rescue him from a life on the mean streets of suburban Granger (is there a 'downtown' Granger??). Shannon's due in tonight too. Lesley follows shortly thereafter, as do the NSF students. Summer vacation is over.

PS -- I realize the image to the right somewhat resembles the logo for "Jackass: The Movie"...but I would never DREAM of making such an analogy!

Three Amigos

I mistakenly left the windows open last night, and it was quite cool. This is the image I woke up to this morning. A kitty totem...sharing warmth among themselves and me. Pretty cute, tho' I felt guilty when I touched their little ear "cubes."

Negotiations

Very interesting discussion today on NPRs "Talk of the Nation" about whether we should negotiate with Iran et al. The representatives from both sides managed to contradict themselves more than once, but it was quite interesting (albeit frustrating much of the time) to hear the arguments.

Should the U.S. 'Talk with the Enemy'?

Tuckered Out

Donna and Faith have headed back to Seattle. VERY fun visit!! Leaving in their wake some very tired kitties. This was Lemur (in the monkey chair) about 10 minutes after they left -- he hasn't moved for the past 3 hours.

More Faith-filled Moments

Here are the pictures off of Donna's camera. A few shots of Faith at the lab -- a shark's jaw, and mummies. Were the mummies a hit? Not so much... The last shot is of our train ride around the zoo. Didn't see a single animal on said "safari", but the conductor did nicely point out the buildings that housed the animals ;-)

Fun With Faith

We've had an action-packed 2 days. Shopping, mummies, ice cream, BBQs, the zoo, driving a car, cat tormenting, reading, more shopping. Pictures abound. The 1st is of Faith holding a 5,000 yr old foot bone, followed by a shot of her driving the rental car in the lab parking lot (note to self, never buy a rental car). Odds are on: "Michael, I got to drive a car" being the first words to her brother when she gets home.


This morning began with a pedicure, to match her new "fashion" sandals purchased yesterday at Target. The first picture is Faith with the 'beautician', the second demonstrates Wiley's interest in said activities, and the final is a comparison of our new toes, compliments of Donna (who shouldn't quit her day job...)


Then to the Potowatomi Zoo. They opened a new butterfly house that we spent a long time exploring. Some really cool specimens, a fun addition.


And below are some of the 'friends' made during the day. The final picture is one of the many inventive ways Faith tried carrying her sneakers. She wanted to wear the 'fashion' sandals, but Donna knew her feet wouldn't last 10 minutes in them. So the bargain -- wear the sandals but carry the sneakers (which admittedly she did put on several times). The catch - if the sandals went with us, she had to take care of both sets of shoes. And so, the attempted pocket solution seen below. The irony - it was Aunt Sue's sandals that were the unwise footwear option.


And finally, helping make some dinner in a crockpot for tomorrow night. Not so easy to do when you're only 3 feet tall...a high counter top comes in handy.


Click on any of the above for a 5x7 size picture.

Memorial Day Weekend

Early to Bed

I found the cure for insomnia!! An adorable 6 year old. My niece is about the cutest thing ever (an unbiased view), and has the energy of 3 people. Indeed, tonight we had her show us how fast she could run...20 times around the back yard. She flew...and it didn't make a dent. This was after a 12 hour day with no nap. She's kept the cats (and her aunt) totally entertained. Tomorrow, to the zoo and a BBQ.

Random Bytes

6 Tribes of Bacteria Found to Be at Home in Inner Elbow
By Nicholas Wade
NYTimes.com; May 23, 2008


Betting Site Lays Odds on Battlestar's Final Cylon
By Lewis Wallace; Wired.com; May 22, 2008


Early Life Exposure To Cats May Reduce Risk Of Childhood Allergies And Asthma Symptoms
ScienceDaily.com
May 22, 2008


Einstein Letter on God Sells for $404,000
By Dennis Overbye; NYTimes.com; May 17, 2008


The Yellow Liquid Diet: Is it a good idea to drink urine when water is scarce?
By Chris Wilson
Slate.com; May 21, 2008


Harrison Ford Elected to AIA Board
AIA.com; May 16, 2008


Dead Sea Scroll Put on Rare Display in Israel
by Matti Friedman;
NationalGeographic.com; May 13, 2008


The lost Ark: are the Germans on its trail?
by Roger Boyes; May 13, 2008; TimesOnline.com


Inca Skull Surgeons Were "Highly Skilled," Study Finds
by Scott Norris; National Geographic News.com; May 12, 2008


Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain
By Sara Reistad-Long
NYTimes.com
May 20, 2008

Subversive Aryan Neo-Nazi Conspiracy Exposed!!

The image to the left used to be the icon for my "Skeleton Action Figures" group on Flickr.com. Seemed kinda whimsical, while showing a skeleton "in action"...so to speak.

Today I got a message from a guy who was offended because he thought it looked like a swastika. Really.

I thought about responding with "It's a freakin' skeleton taking a crap, you schmuck!", but opted instead to point out that mayhaps he was being a smidge overly sensitive...nevertheless, rather than be construed as anti-Semitic, I would change the icon.

It's now Lesley's ND Fighting Irish skeleton. More appropriate anyway. At least until the "are you saying all Irish are drunken dwarfs?!" emails start coming in...

OOOpps

Well, today I've been a cleaning fool, because my sister and niece are coming for a visit. Wouldn't want them to see how I REALLY live...

So about 5pm I called her to see where they were in their journey, and got a very confused sister on the phone. Where are you I asked?? "Teaching my class" was her answer. I just sat there, trying to do the math about the time difference in Seattle, and unclear about how they were going to make it to my house by 7:30. She must've heard the wheels turning, cuz next came "We're coming tomorrow. Bye."

So...turns out they're coming tomorrow. As their flight itinerary clear says.

I'm feeling a bit 'blonde' at the moment.

Nice Wake-Up Call

Jaime and I have been finishing up preparations for our summer NSF-REU program in Biocultural Anthropology. Not the most fun way to spend the first week after graduation (even worse for her since OSU is on a quarter system and she's still got classes).

But yesterday I got a few emails from the incoming Fellows that broke me out of my old stodgy put-upon professor mood and reminded me why we do this job. They were sooooo enthusiastic about starting the program next week.

Nicely timed wake-up call before the weekend. My family is coming in for a short visit during which I'll lounge and enjoy their company, then next week, back to setting up for what should be another interesting summer.

I Asked For It

I almost never get phone calls anymore in my office/labs -- everything seems to be via email and/or my cell phone. So, not too long ago, I put a message on my office phone saying that I only check it about once a week because no one calls me anymore (sniff).

Ed M. apparently rang me yesterday, laughed at my message, and said: "Sue, I call you (stuff) all the time...just not to your face."

Lack of Sleep

My father reprimanded me for not writing yesterday or yet today. I had TERRIBLE insomnia Saturday & Sunday, didn't sleep a wink. No matter what, couldn't turn off the brain. Even a long day of heavy yard work didn't help. Then yesterday about 8 am I felt so lousy I laid down...and got up today. Slept like the dead.

More yard work this afternoon, a visit with Michael D. who is off to Uganda tomorrow, a meeting with my retirement advisor, and hopefully back to a normal sleep schedule (in shallah).

Interesting program on insomnia (coincidently) on NPR this afternoon, learned some tricks.

Can't Sleep? Neither Can 60 Million Other Americans

Found It!

I've been in search of the perfect shade of yellow because I want to get my house painted (it's overdue by a year or two). I've been collecting paint cards here and there, some too bright, some too dull, none just right.

This morning I realized I didn't have enough food for the cats' dinner, so had to make a PetsMart run. On the way home, I took a slightly different route and there it was! Like a yellow vision ;-). I pulled up to the house and found the owner out front. His wife will be writing back later to tell me the specific color (his definition: "yellow", which we agreed didn't help much ;-) Turns out he works in the building next to mine, and is the keyboard player for the Oblates of Blues. Works with my theory of 2 degrees of separation of all people from Michael Driscoll ;-)

Happy Graduation Domers!

Graduation Weekend

This morning we had the departmental soiree for graduating seniors. Packed. And in the crowd, Joe Montana. He has 2 daughters here at ND, the eldest is an anthro major.

Afterwards I came home and did yard work. A nice reminder of muscles that didn't get used for some time. Nice to see things take shape tho', long long overdue. We are having exceptional weather, sunny and in the low 70s.

Random Bytes

Oldest known bust of Caesar found
BBC.com
May 15, 2008

Platypus Looks Strange on the Inside, Too
By John Noble Wilford; NYTimes.com, May 8, 2008

Teeth Offer Clues to Human Diet Evolution
By Melissa Lutz Blouin
LiveScience.com
09 May 2008

Weird Shrimp Has Astounding Vision
ScienceDaily; May 15, 2008

Legend of the Crystal Skulls
by Jane MacLaren Walsh
Archaeology
May/June 2008

Climate clues in ice
By Sid Perkins; Science News.com; May 14th, 2008