How to give yourself elf-ears: [link]

Warning - surgery is involved. No photos of actual elf-ear surgery, but there are pictures after, while the ear is healing.

ION, first-class accommodations on the new Emirates A380 (super-jumbo): [link]

First Class "suites" offer even more privacy, burlwood trim, a large-screen video display, lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of gold-chrome trim, and a retractable personal beverage station...

Yes! Showers! Each of the 14 First Class passengers can enjoy a 5-minute shower in one of two private lounges, each of which looks vaguely like something one might expect to find in a Napa Valley golf club. Two dedicated shower attendants clean and freshen the rooms after each use, and the A380 carries an extra half-ton of water to meet the personal-hygiene needs of its First Class passengers. Very decadent.

I think first-class fare on this plane is around $13,000. Yes, more than a transatlantic flight on a Concord. No showers on Concord, though.

If I had enough money to indulge in $13,000 transatlantic flights based on the onboard showers, I think I'd just get a yacht and conduct urgent business by satellite phone instead.

Well, the $13,000 is for Emirates' Dubai-JFK route, so you're getting more than just a transatlantic flight.

Likelihood of you being FEMALE is 99%

Likelihood of you being MALE is 1%

Interesting, especially since there was no sanrio.com, zappos.com, or cuteoverload.com, which I visit somewhat frequently and I'm sure would skew female.

The International Space Station is about to get this new water purifier thing. So they'll be able to drink their own urine after purifying it:

"The engineer and scientist in me say, 'Yeah, it's no problem. It's probably purer water than most of what we drink or ever have drunk before,'" Fincke said with a laugh. "On the other hand, it's still kind of funny to know where that water's been. It's a good thing we're a close crew."

Not only that, but they'll be able to produce oxygen to breath from their urine.

[link]

second because I am so darn polite that when a random man was sleeping in my car and scared the crap out of me I said "excuse me, you are scaring me, do you mind if I exit the vehicle".

oh, Sophia, that's terrible! Have you thought about doing some self defense training? The first thing we learned was about how to be vocally assertive and it seriously changed my life. It's a big problem for a lot of women -- being polite to the detriment of their own safety.

So my question is HOW do the Trixie dresses not fit? Too small? Too large? Problems in bust? back? waist? short or long waisted?

I'm very curious about this too!

Happy Birthday Scrappy!

oh, yes, HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY, SCRAPPIEST of SCRAPPYS!

oh, Sophia, that's terrible! Have you thought about doing some self defense training? The first thing we learned was about how to be vocally assertive and it seriously changed my life. It's a big problem for a lot of women -- being polite to the detriment of their own safety.

I get UBER polite when in a dangerous situation-- but this turned out to be a drunk college student who had passed out in the wrong car, so all was actually well. Although I had to help him find his car because he didn't remember where he parked.

My office is so f*cking penny wise and pound foolish it is driving me crazy. Like, I can't pay $2.00 to have 200 copies folded, but I can fold them by hand which takes me hours. But we do things like get these very expensive folders printed that we actually have very little use for-- and we don't even price different printers because they think we can only use the one university approved printer.

I'm seen references all over the web to a new catalyst for splitting hydrogen developed by M.I.T. researchers that would dramatically reduce the cost of the process.

Inspiration for the new catalyst came from nature; Nocera studied the chain of processes that take place during photosynthesis, such as how plants use the energy from sunlight to rearrange water's chemical bonds. In a future hydrogen economy, he imagines, a house would function much like a leaf does, using the sun to power household electricity and to break down water into fuel—a sort of artificial photosynthesis.

[link]

It sounds cool, but I'm not getting too excited until there is production usage.