Friday, July 17, 2015

cycling stuff, white espresso, Spinsters, ducklings

This video, comprised of 90 one-second clips taken on as many consecutive days by a National Geographics photographer, is fascinating.

The Tour De France is ongoing, and i've been enjoying following it along with the family T. We were watching it the other night, and i mentioned that i am particularly appreciative of the commentary by retired supercyclist Jens Voigt  (previously mentioned here) when Kelly AT asked if i follow his twitter feed. Looking more into that, i stumbled over another (fantastic) feed, JensVoigtFacts, which tweets blurbs (for example, "Jens Voigt expected to lap himself during attempt, first rider to ever finish before he started. . ") similar to those memes occasionally for Chuck Norris. i don't really understand Chuck Norris fandom, but can completely get behind the Jens one.

Also in cycling news, apparently Lance Armstrong has recently referred to himself as the Lord Voldemort of cycling - "  “I’m that guy everybody wants to pretend never lived,” he says. “But it happened, everything happened. We know what happened. Now it’s swung so far the other way... who’s that character in Harry Potter they can’t talk about? Voldemort? It’s like that on every level. If you watch the Tour on American TV, if you read about it, it’s as if you can’t mention him.” " Oh, dear.


Grabbing coffee the other morning, we noticed 'white espresso' listed on the menu. Looking further into this, it refers to the darkness of the roast, in this case, " The general consensus is that it is seriously under roasted coffee. " from here.

The source of human/animal tissues to use in scientific research can be a very sticky topic, but i came across this equal-parts-sad-and-inspiring article about an infant who died 6 days after birth due to anencephaly, and whose family made the difficult decision to donate his organs. These have gone to be used in various studies (at Harvard, Duke, and Penn) and his mother takes comfort in this; " "The way I see it," Sarah Gray said, "our son got into Harvard, Duke, and Penn. He has a job. He is relevant to the world." ". Yes.

As i AM a spinster, i found this satirical article mostly applicable, particularly " Q: What if I want to attract a Spinster? Are there ways I can make my home or workplace more inviting for her?
A: The best way to attract a Spinster is to seek her assistance. Successful strategies have included: asking a Spinster to help you check the air in your car’s tires, telling a Spinster that your pet seems down and you’d love it if she would take a look, mentioning that you read Rebecca Solnit’s latest book and you don’t quite get it but you want to, and explaining that you need help navigating Etsy. Make sure to clarify that there’s “no pressure” to stop by but that you are planning on making chocolate-chip cookies ". Chocolate chip cookies are always a win.

"Health Goth" apparently refers to Goths who work out. That's good, though it has hit mainstream, since i saw the term reported by HuffPost.

In other news, the CDC bids that you don't cuddle with your chickens. Despite this;
 Bryan:  i did not
now i have
cute, not sure i understand owning a duck though
 me:  it's a rescue duckling?
and, they can be pretty fierce guards
 Bryan:  all legitimate reasons to own a duck i suppose
i don't think i ever will though
 me:  i dunno
 me:  they ARE cute. i don't know if they're more adorbs than ducklings, though
 Bryan:  well, to each our own i suppose
 me:  (nods) Attack ducks, though. Can you imagine the confusion?
 me:  although, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Attack! was apparently a thing
 Bryan:  indeed

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