Photos of Interest

This is marketed as a brush to be used for shampooing dogs.  However, it is also very good for dry brushing of cats.  It is particularly effective at getting those extremely fine hairs from the undercoat.   It is also effective for removing cat hair from furniture. One nice thing about this brush, is that it encloses your entire hand.  So if the cat decides to swipe the brush with its claws, you don't get hurt.
The href="http://www.allerca.com/">Allerca hypoallergenic cat... href="http://scienceblogs.com/corpuscallosum/images/Alerca_kittens.jpg"> is a hot commodity right now.  The company claims a 15-month waiting list for the $4,000 pets.  They supposedly have many virtues: An ALLERCA GD cat's personality is very sweet and affectionate, thanks in part to our unique socialization program. Customer who now own GD cats report that they make great  family pets and are wonderful with children. "GD" stands for "genetic divergence," in case you were wondering.  Their breeding program…
The href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Panda">Red Panda has a Latin name that suggests it is a cat.  It is not, being more closely related to bears and raccoons.  They are similar to the more famous Giant Pandas, but sufficiently distinct so as to have their own family name, Ailuridae.   This photo was the Wikipedia picture of the day for November 1, 2005.  It was taken by Bernard Landgraf at the Munich Zoo.
href="http://www.latimes.com/la-bamboobikes-pg,0,860767.photogallery?coll=la-default-underdog"> The href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bamboo18jun18,0,7672267.story?coll=la-home-center">inventor hopes to see them become commonplace in the third world.  Strange, because the frame alone costs $2,700 in the USA.   However, the frames can be made with no power tools.  The material is cheaper than dirt.  (Pound for pound, compared to potting soil.)  Get a few folks who have time on their hands and a bit of skill, and they could start a business.  Presumably they would be a…
Does this... (nuclear football) contain one of these...? (alcohol analyzer) Seriously.  It never occurred to me before, but shouldn't it be required that the President stay 100% sober at all times? Apparently not... This unkind photo was published by Britain's #1 quality website, Telegraph.co.uk.  It accompanies href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/08/wbush108.xml">a story on a "stomach ailment" that troubled Bush on the last day of the G8 summit.  More href="http://www.towleroad.com/2007/06/is_bush_off_the.html">here.
This is a photo of Horseshoe Bend, in Arizona.  It was href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Horseshoe_Bend_1_md.jpg">one of the featured images on Wikipedia.  It is from a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_featured_widescreen_desktop_backgrounds">selection of photos that are good for use as wallpaper for widescreen monitors (16:10 aspect ratio).  The original is 1231 × 821 pixels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.  It was taken by href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Moondigger">Moondigger.
These are from the World Wildlife Federation News blog. Newborn: Day 3: Day 120: The full set of photos is href="http://news.worldwild.org/evolution-of-a-new-born-panda/">here.  Absolutely the most precious thing in the world.
Yet another photo from href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17644">NASA's Earth Observatory page, showing yet more evidence of what carbon dioxide hath wrought.   In the past 125 years, the Athabasca Glacier has lost half of its volume and receded more than 1.5 kilometers (0.93 miles), leaving hills of rock in its place. Its retreat is visible in this photo, where the glacier's front edge looms several meters behind the tombstone-like marker that indicates the edge of the ice in 1992. The Athabasca Glacier is not alone in its retreat: Since 1960…
href="http://inkhornterm.blogspot.com/2005/12/7-drinks-of-mankind-tea-joe-mooney.html"> class="inset" alt="The image" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/361/69/1600/pick.jpg" border="0" height="500" width="464"> It is time to pick the tea leaves.  May 2 is the traditional date to begin href="http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstPhotos/index.php?photoid=21162">picking tea leaves in Japan.
From LA Times: The San Diego Zoo's male giant panda, Gao Gao, nips at female panda Bai Yun's back. The two adult giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo mated Tuesday, zoo officials announced, raising hopes of an offspring this summer. ( href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pandas25apr25,1,4154066.story?coll=la-headlines-california">Ken Bohn / Zoological Society of San Diego) href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pandas25apr25_jh100unc,1,2512398.photo?coll=la-headlines-california"> I never can resist a good panda picture.
href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17617"> Dust Dampens Hurricane Formation face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"> I'm hardly an expert, but it appears that there is some evidence that the amount of dust in the air over the Atlantic is a factor in determining the severity of the hurricane season.  More dust = less ocean warming.  Like so many things, this is hypothetical: face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Using dust observations collected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite, they found that the Sahara…
From href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/070409-crystal-cave.html">National Geographic: April 9, 2007—Geologist Juan Manuel García-Ruiz calls it "the Sistine Chapel of crystals," but Superman could call it home. A sort of south-of-the-border Fortress of Solitude, Mexico's Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals) contains some of the world's largest known natural crystals—translucent beams of gypsum as long as 36 feet (11 meters)... Apparently a mining operation pumped water out of a cave, and this is what they found.  The story of the discovery of the caves…
Wikipedia's Image of the Day is a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Desinsertion_du_muscle_CO.jpg">photograph of eye surgery.  It is pretty cool, but only if you like that kind of thing.  I won't impose it on those who might not want to see it.
href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/photogalleries/wip-week20/index.html">National Geographic POD face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, March 13, 2007—For gentoo penguins, it's all about who's got the best rocks. Like a human offering jewelry, this gentoo male at the Edinburgh Zoo presents a large pebble on Tuesday in hopes of winning over a female. But sometimes finding the flashiest gifts isn't enough. During the mating season—which begins in March and lasts up to six weeks—males suffering from "pebble envy" will steal…
What would happen if Tux went to a famous portrait artist to get a makeover? href="http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/modigliani/">Modigliani href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botticelli">Botticelli This was done using the method href="http://scienceblogs.com/corpuscallosum/2006/07/patches_modiglianized.php">described previously.
HT to :: the Core 4 :: for the link to the newest href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08362">picture of Saturn.  The complete image file is over 35MB.  You would need a  4088x2908 monitor to see the whole thing at full resolution. This is one where you have to use your imagination. Original Caption Released with Image: Surely one of the most gorgeous sights the solar system has to offer, Saturn sits enveloped by the full splendor of its stately rings. Taking in the rings in their entirety was the focus of this particular imaging sequence. Therefore, the…
From href="http://uchiblogo.uchicago.edu/archives/2007/02/snow_days_1.html">UChiBLOGo: It' a nice car, but wouldn't you rather have a Subaru?
I am taking my time with the next big post, and happen to be on call, so I'm not getting enough sleep this week.  I know this is old, but it still amuses me.
This is the Rosette Nebula, as featured on Astronomy Picture of the Day.  Credit & Copyright: href="http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/Biography.html">Robert Gendler.  Click on the image for the full size version. It is in constellation Monoceros, which means Unicorn; just to the left of Orion.  According to Wikipedia, it is a "modern" constellation, having been named in 1613, or perhaps 1564.  I suppose in astronomical terms, 1613 really is modern.
Just so you will know what we'll be blowing to bits, if it comes to that.  These are more-or-less random photos from Flickr, tagged "Tehran." class="inset" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/387979403_f9590c6c7f_m.jpg" border="0" height="169" width="240"> class="inset" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/386617542_94e31bba03_m.jpg" border="0" height="180" width="240"> class="inset" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/125/386617843_44c5edfa50_m.jpg" border="0" height="180" width="240"> class="inset" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/…