Huh. Neat:

City workers were conducting a regular structural inspection of the bridge last Wednesday when they came across the cold-war-era hoard of water drums, medical supplies, paper blankets, drugs and calorie-packed crackers — an estimated 352,000 of them, sealed in dozens of watertight metal canisters and, it seems, still edible.

[link]

I'm wondering if it's possible to create an aerogel-like substance that has no air molecules spaced in between its atoms. And if that's possible, would it be lighter than air?

Unlikely. Take the air out, and the structure collapses. Plus, the molecular skeleton is still heavier than air, and if you collapse it, it'll be a lot less buoyant. It'd be a lot like taking the air out of an air mattress.

City workers were conducting a regular structural inspection of the bridge last Wednesday when they came across the cold-war-era hoard of water drums, medical supplies, paper blankets, drugs and calorie-packed crackers — an estimated 352,000 of them, sealed in dozens of watertight metal canisters and, it seems, still edible.

My ex brought home a can of those crackers one time, when our town cleaned out an old fallout shelter. (She was working for the town at the time.) They make great dog biscuits.

Things that are wrong with today:

• headcold. Something is trying to escape my right sinus and not in a good way.

• had to get up early to drop car off at mechanic's for oil change and general once over

• mechanic: $$$. Never fails.

• 20 minute walk in 30 degree weather with a headcold

• and the kicker? NO HOT WATER. I had to take a soup pot shower. I feel scummy. I am sick. I really needed a long hot shower.

Please excuse me while I cancel today.

Darn it! I totally meant to watch the Grey's Anatomy Nightline. Did anyone? Was it good?

calorie-packed crackers — an estimated 352,000 of them, sealed in dozens of watertight metal canisters and, it seems, still edible.

Is now the time to mention that, during World War II, MREs still came with water-and-flour crackers in them? They were the exact same recipe as hardtack, which had been a staple of Civil War rations.

during World War II, MREs still came with water-and-flour crackers in them?

Except that they were called K-rations, not MREs.

The hell, Michigan? Signed by the Democratic governor, no less.

I guess now was not the time to mention it, then.

I changed face washes over the weekend. It feels supremely weird. But not necessarily bad.

Goths grow up to be dentists and PR people

This Guardian article, written by a former goth, makes the case that goths disproportionately grow up to be high-earning professionals -- and includes a 10-point quiz to help you figure out if your boss is a closet/reformed goth.

Visitors to the Archangel dental surgery in west London are confronted by a goth dentist, Didier Goalard, who says: "I've got goth friends who are doing quite well. There's a dentist in Lyon, a couple of solicitors, a Church of England priest."

"Goths are like masons," I have been told. "They're everywhere." But rather than blaming some sinister conspiracy, let us look at the reasons people become goths in the first place. According to Choque Hosein, formerly of goth band Salvation but now running a record label, "Goths tend to be the weirdo intellectual kids who have started to view the world differently." Cathi Unsworth is now a successful author, but she remembers that her own dark gothic past gave her an outlet for alienation. "I loved the bands, especially Siouxsie and the Banshees, but it wasn't a pose - I felt authentically depressed," she says. Unsworth was a teenager in Great Yarmouth, where she felt that "people didn't like me. It got to a point where I wanted to stop fighting against being different and embrace it."

Guardian article: [link]

I have seen the future - and it's goth

We mocked their make-up and giggled over their gloom. But the goths are taking over the country.

...

"Most youth subcultures encourage people to drop out of school and do illegal things," she says. "Most goths are well educated, however. They hardly ever drop out and are often the best pupils. The subculture encourages interest in classical education, especially the arts. I'd say goths are more likely to make careers in web design, computer programming ... even journalism."