Slate: How to Win Any Climate Change Argument

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Tardigrade in Moss

Explanation: Is this an alien? Probably not, but of all the animals on Earth, the tardigrade might be the best candidate. That's because tardigrades are known to be able to go for decades without food or water, to survive temperatures from near absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water, to survive pressures from near zero to well above that on ocean floors, and to survive direct exposure to dangerous radiations.

The far-ranging survivability of these extremophiles was tested in 2011 outside an orbiting space shuttle. Tardigrades are so durable partly because they can repair their own DNA and reduce their body water content to a few percent. Some of these miniature water-bears almost became extraterrestrials recently when they were launched toward to the Martian moon Phobos on board the Russian mission Fobos-Grunt, but stayed terrestrial when a rocket failed and the capsule remained in Earth orbit. Tardigrades are more common than humans across most of the Earth. Pictured above in a color-enhanced electron micrograph, a millimeter-long tardigrade crawls on moss.

Note: Image Credit & Copyright: Nicole Ottawa & Oliver Meckes / Eye of Science / Science Source Images

Car Cams: Russian Crashes

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Update: Court Denies Parole To Pussy Riot Member

Doonesbury Flashback

Feb. 2013 - Mississippi Officially Ratifies The 13th Amendment Abolishing Slavery

Recipe: Warm Spinach Dip in Bread Bowl

Warm Spinach Dip in Bread Bowl is a warmed-up version of the traditional spinach dip that is always a crowd-pleaser. Stouffer's Frozen Spinach Soufflé makes it easier than ever to prepare. Serve warm with bread pieces for dipping.



Estimated Times:

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

 

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (9 ounces each) STOUFFER'S Spinach Souffle, prepared according to package directions
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (about 3 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise,
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions,
• 1 pound round bread loaf,

 

Instructions:

PREHEAT oven to 400° F.

COMBINE spinach soufflé, cream cheese, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and green onions in large bowl.

SLICE top off bread loaf; carefully remove soft bread from inside, leaving 1/2-inch-thick shell. Cut top piece and soft bread into bite-sized pieces. Spoon spinach mixture into shell; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Wrap loaf in foil, leaving filling exposed.

BAKE for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through. Serve warm with bread pieces for dipping.

A.A.(P.) Sabbatical

Automotive Acne (Productions) is currently on hiatus.

Thanks for visiting.

Sincerely,

"Allan Smithee"

Record Store Day LP: Stephen Malkmus performs Can’s Ege Bamyasi

Matador Records: 3500-copy limited edition on green vinyl for Record Store Day, April 20, 2013. (Domino will be releasing it on red vinyl in Europe.) The hand-printed silkscreened sleeve was designed by David Shrigley, who also designed the poster for the event, inspired by the original artwork for Ege Bamyasi. It is being printed in Germany by Slowboy.

Intro: The Phillies New Phenom

The Curious Case Of Sidd Finch by George Plimpton (Sports Illustrated)

He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd Finch's deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball.

The phenomenon  is a 28-year-old, somewhat eccentric mystic named Hayden (Sidd) Finch. He may well change the course of baseball history. On St. Patrick's Day, to make sure they were not all victims of a crazy hallucination, the Philadelphia Phillies brought in a radar gun to measure the speed of Finch's fastball. The model used was a JUGS Supergun II. It looks like a black space gun with a big snout, weighs about five pounds and is usually pointed at the pitcher from behind the catcher.

A glass plate in the back of the gun shows the pitch's velocity—accurate, so the manufacturer claims, to within plus or minus 1 mph. The figure at the top of the gauge is 200 mph. The fastest projectile ever measured by the JUGS (which is named after the oldtimer's descriptive—the "jug-handled" curveball) was a Roscoe Tanner serve that registered 153 mph. The highest number that the JUGS had ever turned for a baseball was 103 mph, which it did, curiously, twice on one day, July 11, at the 1978 All-Star game when both Goose Gossage and Nolan Ryan threw the ball at that speed.

On March 17, the gun was handled by Phillies Pitching Coach Rich Dubee. He heard the pop of the ball in Carlos Ruiz's mitt and the little squak of pain from the catcher. Then the astonishing figure 168 appeared on the glass plate. Dubee remembers whistling in amazement, and then heard Ruiz say, "Don't tell me, Rich, I don't want to know..."

 

The Phillies front office is reluctant to talk about Finch. The fact is, they know very little about him. He has had no baseball career. Most of his life has been spent abroad, except for a short period at Harvard University.

Note: Click Title Link for Complete Sports Illustrated Article