Random

This and That

Brianne Bilyeu, 805 Comments

I got nothing.

Stephanie and JT have posted some thought–provoking posts about men, women, flirting, sex, harrassment and safe spaces at conferences and conventions, and that’s taken up a lot of brain space over the last 24 hours. Add in the 9-to-5 job, grocery shopping, hanging out with a friend who’s going through a rough patch and that hasn’t left me with much in the way of original thought (also, last night I was tricked – tricked I tell you! – into watching a show on the History Channel called Pawn Stars and that killed any brains cells that may have still been functioning). Also I’ve just read/browsed through about 100 posts in my Google reader and I feel like none of the thoughts in my brain are my own.

But I am excited about my masochistic garden project (why do the things I love always die!? *sniff*). The seedlings are actually doing alright this year. I brought a few pots and potting soil in today and will be transplanting them later tonight.

Nasturtium, Nemophilia, Viola, Cynoglossum (Firmament), Impatiens, Sweet Basil, Catnip, Scallions, and more Nasturtium

 I have more soil in the trunk but was too lazy to go out and get it for the photo.

This and That
{advertisement}

Random Fun Stuff

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 1,395 Comments

What if all the Avengers characters posed like female superheroes?

Seen on Twitter.

Awesome USB drive

Thanks for the tip, Paul!

Pro-Vaccination Billboard

Photographed by moi on southbound 94 in Wisconsin

This billboard on southbound 94 in Wisconsin made me happy. There are so many church signs and pro-life billboards along this route that I could have cried upon seeing a rational, science-based message. Vaccinate Your Baby is an awareness campaign that was launched by Every Child By Two, an organization devoted to raising awareness of the critical need for timely immunization and to foster a systematic way to immunize all of America’s children by age two.

Porn and Pancakes

Thanks to Louise for the tip!

Sign says: PORN AND PANCAKES – A morning filled with straight talk about porn and the issues surrounding porn. From the people who get it. XXXchurch pastors, porn industry insiders and people who have struggled without hope. The breakfast is open to men and boys in junior high and up.

Louise had this to say about the poster: “I was really excited when I first saw this. You know 2 of my favorite things until I realized I couldn’t go nor did they show porn. Boo!”

Random Fun Stuff

Where’s the Sun?

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 1,095 Comments

Happy Grab Bag Random Lazy No Prepared Post Monday!

photo source

1)Is it June?  I could have sworn it was June already.  That means it’s the summer time and I want sunshine!  The average June temperature in Minneapolis ranges from about 63-83°C in June and 2010 seems to be on the lower end of that scale, but can I at least have some sunshine?  Brrrr….I wore a coat yesterday!  In June!

Whatevs.

2)  Happy Flag Day!

Wikipedia sez:

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

Cool poster from June 14th, 1917:

3)  On last week’s Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe I heard about the unfortunate side-effect of a brand of mumbo-jumbo being exacerbated by the South Africa World Cup in the story “Vulture Threatened by Pseudoscience”.

Apparently there is a type of South African traditional medicine called muti which relies on natural products from trees and other vegetation.  Some South African cultures integrate other natural products into their treatments, namely, body parts.  The body parts may come from animal or even human sources.

In the case of this story, the body part in question is the brain of South African vultures, an animal that is already in danger of extinction (7 of 9 South African vulture species are classified as endangered).  Gamblers are smoking the dried vulture brain in hopes of foreseeing the winner of the World Cup.  From Scientific American:

In addition to dreams of winning lotto numbers or sports teams, practitioners say the practice can give users an edge on taking tests or help their business attract more clients.

Photo Source

Don’t eat me, I’m a pretty African White-backed Vulture that eats icky dead things so you don’t have to deal with them!

Where’s the Sun?

Where's the Sun?

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 816 Comments

Happy Grab Bag Random Lazy No Prepared Post Monday!

photo source

1)Is it June?  I could have sworn it was June already.  That means it’s the summer time and I want sunshine!  The average June temperature in Minneapolis ranges from about 63-83°C in June and 2010 seems to be on the lower end of that scale, but can I at least have some sunshine?  Brrrr….I wore a coat yesterday!  In June!

Whatevs.

2)  Happy Flag Day!

Wikipedia sez:

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

Cool poster from June 14th, 1917:

3)  On last week’s Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe I heard about the unfortunate side-effect of a brand of mumbo-jumbo being exacerbated by the South Africa World Cup in the story “Vulture Threatened by Pseudoscience”.

Apparently there is a type of South African traditional medicine called muti which relies on natural products from trees and other vegetation.  Some South African cultures integrate other natural products into their treatments, namely, body parts.  The body parts may come from animal or even human sources.

In the case of this story, the body part in question is the brain of South African vultures, an animal that is already in danger of extinction (7 of 9 South African vulture species are classified as endangered).  Gamblers are smoking the dried vulture brain in hopes of foreseeing the winner of the World Cup.  From Scientific American:

In addition to dreams of winning lotto numbers or sports teams, practitioners say the practice can give users an edge on taking tests or help their business attract more clients.

Photo Source

Don’t eat me, I’m a pretty African White-backed Vulture that eats icky dead things so you don’t have to deal with them!

Where's the Sun?

Ahhhh, weekend.

Brianne Bilyeu, 867 Comments

I had a nice weekend.

Saturday I went to lunch with my friend Elizabeth, and afterwards we partook in my naughty pedicure indulgence.  Really, any spa treatment is a-okay by me (“Are you ready for your treatment?”  “I enjoy my treatments”)…I just wish they didn’t cost as much as an off-broadway show ticket.  Damn it, and I still haven’t seen Rent live!  Seriously, I don’t do it that often, but who the hell pays $65 to have someone rub their feet and paint their toe nails?  Oh, I do.  Did I mention that I only do it rarely?  Not that I feel guilty or anything, but…I work hard for my money and I can spend it anyway I want to and you can’t stop me!

Saturday night was a nice, quiet one.  I watched Up (the Pixar cartoon) with the Hubby, and I sobbed like a baby during the opening scene when they did the Carl and Ellie montage, and then Hubby said something cute and appropriate like “that’ll be us”…and then finished the thought with…”but you can’t die first”, which I can’t decide is sweet or mean…

Sunday I had breakfast with some friends, and then went grocery shopping at Target, which is NEVER a good idea on a weekend afternoon.  I actually stopped at Target prior to breakfast to pick up my share of the breakfast potluck (cream cheese and lox, and bagels for the gluten-eating infidels) and almost cried because the store was so wonderfully empty, and I knew that I would have to come back later in the afternoon when the crowds had invaded.

Except clueless, self-centered soccer moms racing up and down the narrow aisles, yelling into surgically attached smartphones with screaming spawn-children hanging from the carts like the cast of Jackass might rank a little higher than zombies on the scare-o-meter.

So, all in all, not a bad weekend.  I was able to get some chores done (still have to change the litterbox, darn it), read a few things, watch a few things, see a few friends and hang out with the Hubby.  Priceless (well, except for that pedicure).

Credit where credit’s due: I found the zombie horde picture at http://www.moonbattery.com/zombie-horde.jpg (but this blogger doesn’t cite a reference, so I’m not sure where it’s from originally).  Moonbattery is a conservative blog, and you know those are always good for a few zombies.  Moonbattery is actually using the zombie pic with the following caption: “San Francisco panhandlers echoing Obama’s call for change.”  I think my use of zombiage is funnier.

Ahhhh, weekend.

Status Updates Too Geeky for Facebook

Brianne Bilyeu, , 956 Comments

I can’t upload pictures to wordpress at work.  Boo.

Calibration curves are sweet in theory, but a pain to work with when you’ve got three sets of standards run on three different instruments every day for five days.

Funny Lean/Six Sigma jokes heard at my job:
“Lean – It’s like common sense, but with more paperwork”.
“Lean is like communism – it works GREAT in theory”.

The Narwhal song is stuck in my head.  Actually, this one I might put up on my facebook wall.

Status Updates Too Geeky for Facebook