Coffee and Provocation

 

Elephant Poop Coffee

If coffee that has been run through the rectum of a civet is too refined for you, then perhaps you might try Black Ivory Coffee from Thailand. "Trumpeted as earthy in flavor and smooth on the palate, the exotic new brew is made from beans eaten by Thai elephants and plucked a day later from their dung.... Black Ivory Coffee is not just one of the world's most unusual specialty coffees: At $500 per pound (or $50 a cup), it's also among the world's priciest."

 

Snake Oil That Works

Dr. Peter Martin, director of the Institute for Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University says "If you drink [a lot of coffee], it's not going to do you any harm, and it might actually help you. A lot." How? It could reduce your chances of developing diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, depression …and the list goes on.

 

Piss on the Brain

Human stem cells harvested from urine may one day be used in therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

 

Lightning Deaths are on the Decline
Why? Because people are spending less time outdoors.

 

The Parsi are Going to Bring Back the Vultures

They need them to eat the human dead. Read about vulture poisoning from an earlier blog post.

 

Most Famous Wolf in the World Shot Dead

The most famous wolf in the world was shot dead by a hunter, even though it was wearing a radio collar. Yellowstone wolf 832F almost never left the park, but the one time it did leave was one time too often now that there are wolf hunting seasons in effect in Wyoming and Montana.

 

I Want This Castle

It's a real 30,000 square foot castle, in New York, and it's only $1 million dollars, which is pretty damn cheap.  More pictures here and even better ones here.  I would buy it too, if only I could get the woman's olympic volley ball team to move in with me.  How hard could that be?

 

Scroogenomics

Remember how Cass Sunstein was supposed to be the tip of the spear of a secret Obama Administration plan to end all hunting? I called bullshit early on, and time has proven me right. So what’s Cass Sunstein writing about now? He has declared a “war on Christmas” by suggesting that maybe people should think a bit more before spending money they do not have on gifts other people do not need.  Bastard.

 

The Obama's are Replacing Baby Jesus with Satan's Dog

Yes they are. Bastards.

 

Dogs of War
Sometimes throwing rocks at Afghan dogs is the nicest thing a Marine can do.

 

We Spared the Rat and Tested Your Clone Instead
In the future, we may not test drugs on natural animals, but on lab-created heart-beating living human tissue.

 

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Want your house to smell like a college dorm room? Here's the ticket.

 

Now We Know for Sure

DNA tests show that the Romani (aka the Roma, the Gypsies, the Travelers) came to Europe and America from India.

 

Saw-Whet Owl Tagging Makes it to The New York Times

Apparently, all the cool kids do it now.   Right.  You know I am cool, but really this is so last month.

 

Releasing Genetically Modified Mosquitoes in Florida

Hundreds of thousands of genetically-modified Mosquitoes are about to be introduced into the Florida Keys in order to eradicate dengue fever. The GMO mosquitoes are designed to pass along a birth defect that will kill baby mosquitoes before birth. 
 

Text Can Now Be Sent to Your Contact Lens

James Bond meets Star Trek… or something.

 

Drones Save Live
Here’s a map showing the location of every single bomb dropped during the blitz. Next time someone rants and raves about the horror of new and improved drones and guided missiles, show them this and ask them how much collateral damage (destroyed homes and dead children) the old unguided drones and bombs caused. 

 

Whatever Happened to Bubbles?
Bubbles the chimp, Michael Jackson’s former pet, is now the 29-year old alpha male of a group of seven at a Florida chimp sanctuary, and you can buy his paintings at $1,500 a pop. He shares his digs with other abandoned performing apes that have had shattered and miserable lives.

 

Five Fishy Presidents
Barack Obama is one of five politicians who have had their names attached to newly discovered species of fish. Along with Etheostoma obama, there are species named after Teddy Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore. All five of the fish are newly discovered darters native to the rivers and creeks of northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee.  Barack Obama also has a small carnivorous dinosaur named after him (Obamadon gracilis), as well as a lichen (Caloplaca obamae), and a worm (Paragordius obamai).

 

Manufacturing Coming Back to the U.S.?
Manufacturing is coming back to the U.S., but maybe without too many jobs. The reason: $30,000 robots are even cheaper than foreign employees, and dealing with all the shipping, brand-name knockoffs, theft, and other sourcing problems that come with overseas production is a pain in the ass. And yes, the robots are Made in America and no, they do not require complex programing.
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