Category Archives: Uncategorized

Jelly Bean Art

I saw this on The Chive, a tribute to Kristen Cumings who makes are from jelly beans.  Very impressive.  If I tried it, I would end up eating up my supplies…

Artist Kristen Cumings painstakingly assembled these amazing paintings with an assortment of Jelly Beans. You can check out more of her arthere or like her facebook if you’re in to that sort of thing.

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Ten Mysteries That Are Unexplained

I found this a quite interesting article from StumbleUpon, originally Listverse.  As an officianado of enigmas, mysteries and bizarre stuff, I was surprised not to have heard of several.  The animals found inside rocks alive is pretty hard to believe.  I will have to do some research on these.  Here they are as originally posted:

10 More Enigmas That Defy Explanation

by , January 14, 2010
What is it about the bizarre and mysterious that piques our curiosity? It entertains our sense of wonder and excites our imagination, for sure. Luckily for us, history is marked with strange, logic-defying occurrences to amuse us. Here is a list comprised of 10 more unexplainable and interesting phenomenon and incidents that we crave so much. This list is made up of a mixture of two submissions to the Christmas competition which shared some items, so it seemed a good idea to combine the two to give us ten things never before shown on the site. Also note, this list is in the newly created category “Mystery” and all of our lists involving mysteries can now be found under that category in the archives or on the mystery category page.

10

Ice Woman

Female Frozen Body

Nature performs many astonishing feats, yet it is a different matter altogether when we human beings push past the boundaries of normal. It was a viciously cold morning in Lengby, Minnesota, when a man discovered his 19-year old neighbor, Jean Hilliard, lying in the snow. Her whole body was frozen solid from the night before, when temperatures dropped twenty-five degrees below zero. Apparently, Jean was trying desperately to reach her neighbor for help when her car skidded off the road. When her body was discovered she was immediately sent to the local hospital, where her condition stunned the doctors. One of the nurses said that Jean was “so cold, it was like reaching into a freezer” and that “her face was absolutely white, just this ashen, death look.” Jean was also seriously frostbitten, and none of her limbs would bend or move.

The hospital staff did everything possible, yet the situation was dire. Even if Jean were to regain consciousness, she would more than likely have severe brain damage, and she was frostbitten to the degree that both her legs would have to be amputated. Her family gathered in prayer, hoping for a miracle. 2 hours later, Jean went into violent convulsions, and regained consciousness. She was perfectly fine, mentally and physically, although a bit confused. Even the frostbite was slowly disappearing from her legs to the doctors’ amazement. She was released 49 days later without losing a single finger, and sporting only minor scars.

9

Iron Pillar of Delhi

Iron-Pillar

Iron, the king of metal, is used for just about everything from the skeleton of your house to the chains on your bike. Unfortunately, iron can never escape its destiny to slowly transform into rust – with the exception of this phenomenal structure: meet the Iron Pillar of Delhi! Standing in at 7 meters tall and weighing more than six tons, this iron giant has managed to defeat corrosion for over 1600 years! But how can something that is 98 percent iron withstand decaying for over a millennia? Scientists have found the answer to that question, but how ancient ironsmiths discovered the fact so long before us still amazes archeologists today.

8

Carroll A. Deering

Screen Shot 2010-01-14 At 12.50.47 Pm

Approximately 50 years after the mysterious disappearance of the crew of the Mary Celeste, a similar event occurred when the schooner Carroll A. Deering was spotted around the coast of North Carolina on January 31, 1921. When rescue ships finally reached her, they discovered, to their shock that the Deering’s entire crew was missing. Though evidence in the galley suggested that food was being prepared for the following day, nothing else was found of the crew. Eerily enough, no personal effects, no ship logs, no traces were left behind, much like the case of the Mary Celeste. Theories have pointed to paranormal activity, due to the fact that the Carroll A. Deering was in the region that is today known as the Bermuda Triangle. Others have concluded it was the work of pirates, or of Russians attempting to steal their cargo.

7

Hutchison Effect

Hutchison Effect 350

The Hutchison Effect refers to the number of eerie phenomena that occurred when inventor John Hutchison attempted to replicate a few of inventor Nickola Tesla’s experiments. Some of the strange events witnessed include levitation, fusion of objects completely different in matter (such as wood and metal), and disappearances of some smaller objects. Even stranger is that after his experiment, Hutchison was unable to repeat the project again with the same results. This experiment was so popular it even sparked the interest of NASA and the Military, both whom have failed to produce the Hutchison Effect.

6

Faces Of Belmez

Belmez-Faces

Is it just me or doest that stain on the wall look like a person staring at you? Yup, its one of the many faces of Belmez that the Pereira family home is used to having. For over twenty years, the faces that appear can resemble males or females. They also arrive with different expressions every time. Strangely, the faces only stop at the house for a quick visit before disappearing. Investigations have been preformed upon the house to discover what was causing the faces to spontaneously pop up. One investigation exhumed and removed a human body from under the house, but that still didn’t stop the faces from making round trips. Several hypotheses have been formed to help explain this strange reoccurring phenomenon, but overall, no conclusions have been come to.

5

Disappearing Lake

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On May 2007, a lake in Patagonia, Chile, literally disappeared, leaving behind a 30 meter deep pit, icebergs and dry soil. However, this wasn’t a small lake or pond – it was an astonishing 5 miles long! The last time geologists saw the lake in March 2007, they detected nothing strange about it. However, something happened during the 2 month span that not only caused the lake to vanish, but reduced a river that flowed from the lake to a tiny stream. Geologists were puzzled as to why a lake of that size would simply cease to exist. Perhaps, they suggested, an earthquake drained the lake, yet there were no reports of any quakes in that particular area during spring. Meanwhile, UFO enthusiasts concluded that a spaceship drained the lake. The mystery is unsolved to this day.

4

Raining Blobs

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The townspeople of Oakville, Washington, were in for a surprise on August 7, 1994. Instead of their usual downpour of rain, the inhabitants of the small town witnessed countless gelatinous blobs falling from the sky. Once the globs fell, almost everyone in Oakville started to develop severe, flu-like symptoms that lasted anywhere from 7 weeks to 3 months. Finally, after exposure to the goo caused his mother to fall ill, one resident sent a sample of the blobs for testing. What the technicians discovered was shocking – the globs contained human white blood cells. The substance was then brought to the State Department of Health of Washington for further analysis. With another startling reveal, they discovered that the gelatinous blobs had two types of bacteria, one of which is found in the human digestive system. However, no one could successfully identify the blob, and how they were connected to the mysterious sickness that plagued the town.

3

The Black Helicopter

Black Helicopter-779486

In May 7, 1994, a black helicopter chased a teenage boy for forty-five minutes in Harrahan, Louisiana. Unable to run any further, the terrified boy explained that the occupants descended from the vehicle and pointed weapons at him. To this day, the boy has no idea why he was targeted by the helicopter, or why, mysteriously, they let him go. One week later, people traveling in a car near Washington had a similar experience when they too were pursued by the helicopter. Unable to escape, they witnessed men in black uniforms coming down from a rope ladder bearing weapons. However, the drivers were let off free, much to their confusion. Black helicopters feature much in UFO-lore and while there are simple explanations for some appearances, others (such as the two above) remain unsolved.

2

Animals within Stone

Toad

There are several documented cases where frogs, toads, and other small animals are found concealed within solid stone – alive. There are other instances too, where workers would cut down trees, and find hoards of frogs within the interior. Weirder still, people have found creatures within not just natural formations such as rocks and trees, but manmade establishments. In 1976, a Texas construction crew was breaking up concrete they set over a year ago. To their disbelief, the crew found a live green turtle within the concrete, in an air pocket that matched the shape of the small reptile. If, somehow, it got in when the concrete was poured a year earlier, how did it manage to survive during that time? After all, there were no signs of holes or cracks in the concrete through which the turtle could have entered.

1

Donnie Decker

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Dubbed the Rain Boy in 1983, Donnie Decker was visiting his friend’s house when he abruptly went into a trance-like state. Immediately after, the ceiling began to drip water and a mist filled the room. His friends immediately called on the landlord who was alarmed by what he was seeing. Some time later, Donnie was at a restaurant with other companions when rain started pouring down their heads. The restaurant owner immediately forced him out. Years later, due to a petty crime, Donnie was put into jail where he caused chaos when rain started to pour down in his cell. After angry inmates complained, Donnie explained that he could make it rain when he wanted to, and proved his point by dumping rain on the jailor on duty. Eventually, he was released from jail and found a job as a cook at a local restaurant. His present whereabouts is unknown – as is the cause of the mysterious rain.

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Future Internet/Smartphones/Ipads

The future of internet, pads and smartphones may look like the following:  (pretty amazing stuff)

  • Future of Internet Search: Mobile version
  • Part1: Looking Glass Concept
    This is what I wish the internet search will be able to do with a mobile device in the NEAR future. Touch screen, built in camera, scanner, WiFi, google map (hopefully google earth), google search, image search… all in one device. Like this way, when you can see a building through it, it gives you the image search result right on the spot.
  • Part2: Future of Mobile Internet Search: Applications

    Many applications like these will be developed that have never been possible.Indoor guide

    Works in a building, airport, station, hospital, etc.

    Automatic simultaneous translation
    Search keyword
    Helpful when you want to find out a word from a lot of text
  • Part3: Look at What You Don’t See Through Glass

    You can even see flowers that are not actually blooming.

    There are a lot more ideas drawn in my Moleskine, so I’ll introduce them later.
    Also visit other posts of this gadget.

  • Part4: Future of Mobile Search for Diet


    Mainly because I don’t usually care about nutrition when I eat, this kind of function would be helpful for people like me.
  • Part5: Future of Mobile Search- Search Beyond Time

    Getting data of a weather forecast, maybe this might be possible.

    When you wonder what the scene you’re looking at was like in the past, you can see it.

    It would be nice if it could work in sync with Google Maps like this.
  • Part6: Future of Mobile Search- Power of Visualization

    Visual aid for any book. It means any book can be a picture book.

    If it could be wirelessly in sync with your mobile phone or other mobile devices, visualized data exchange could be done like
  • Looking Glass for iPhone

    petitinvention.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/looking-glass-for-iphone/
  • Part7: Future of Mobile Search: Virtual Shopping #1

    I’m pretty sure companies like Ikea would quickly start to use this device this way if it became really available.
  • Part8: Speech Balloons for the Hearing-Impaired

    Speech balloons in comic books show very well how the characters speak. If we could instantly visualize how people speak, wouldn’t it be nice for the hearing-impaired? It means they can SEE our voices.

    Stressed words are rendered larger than those spoken less loudly.Arrows of the balloons show from where it’s spoken (of course).

    A scream is shown in a balloon with jags.

    Imitation sounds are also rendered, but with other colors than spoken words.

    When spoken to from out of the screen, it shows the words with the direction the voice is from.


    A pair of glasses with the same functions could replace the device if we could figure out a good way not to block visual information.

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Human Ear Made by 3D Printer

3D-printed ear created in lab

By Tanya Lewis

Published February 21, 2013

LiveScience

  • 3d-printed-ear1

    Mechanical engineer Larry Bonassar holds a fabricated ear printed with a 3D printer in his lab at Cornell University’s Weill Hall. (Lindsay France/Cornell University Photography)

  • 3d-printed-ear2.jpg

    A 3D printer fabricating an ear. (Lindsay France/Cornell University Photography)

With 3D printing, it seems the things you can make are limited only by your imagination. The latest innovation: a 3D-printed artificial ear. 
SUMMARY

Ear looks and functions like a normal human ear

Created by squirting a gel made of living cow ear cells and collagen into an injection mold

Current replacement ears often made from a patient’s harvested rib — a difficult and painful process

 

The ear, which looks and functions like a normal human ear, was created by squirting living cells into an injection mold. Over the course of three months, each ear grew cartilage in the shape of its mold. These ersatz ears could replace the ears of children with congenital deformities, researchers report online today (Feb. 20) in the journal PLOS ONE.

“A bioengineered ear replacement like this would also help individuals who have lost part or all of their external ear in an accident or from cancer,” co-lead author Jason Spector, a plastic surgeon at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, said in a statement. If the ears prove safe and successful, it could be possible to implant one in a human in as few as three years, Spector said.

Children with a deformity called microtia have an intact inner ear but an external ear that fails to develop fully, causing hearing loss. The prevalence ranges from slightly fewer than one to as many as four babies per 10,000 births, depending on the country. [The 9 Most Bizarre Medical Conditions]

The artificial ears were made by producing a digital 3D image of a child’s intact ear and feeding that into a 3D printer to produce an ear-shaped mold. Then the scientists injected a gel made of living cow ear cells and collagen (a substance used to make gelatin) into the mold, and out popped an ear.

The whole process took less than two days: half a day to design the mold, a day to print it, half an hour to inject the gel, and 15 minutes to allow it to set.

Then the researchers implanted the fabricated ears on the backs of rats, where the ears grew for one to three months. Creepy as it sounds, it isn’t the first time scientists have grown ears on rodents, as a model for naturally growing ears.

In medicine, current replacement ears are made from a Styrofoam-like material or by an Eve-like genesis out of a patient’s harvested rib. The latter is difficult and painful, and rarely produces an ear that works well or looks natural.

The advantage of 3D-printed replacement ears is that they could be made-to-order, using molds from the patient’s normal ear (if they have one) or from one of a person of similar size. The researchers are now working on growing human ear cartilage cells in the lab, which would reduce the chances of tissue rejection.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/21/3d-printed-ear-created-in-lab/?intcmp=features#ixzz2LbJH8CJ2

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3D Pen – Draw 3D Art!

The world’s first 3D printing pen: Yours for just $75

The 3Doodler, 3D printing pen

Come September, if everything goes to plan, the world’s first 3D printing pen will go on sale for $75. The pen, called the 3Doodler, essentially allows you to lift your flat sketches off the paper — or, if you wish, to actually draw in three dimensions.

3Doodler is a Kickstarter project, and in under 24 hours it has obtained more than $500,000 in pledges — significantly more than its $30,000 target. As you can see in the video below, the inventors have already created an impressive prototype — and now it’s time to bring the 3Doodler to market. The target price is $75 for a September 2013 release. The inventors say they have already located a Chinese manufacturer who is capable of meeting these targets. The final device should 24mm (1in) thick and weigh less than 200g, with an external power brick that accepts 110-240V.

In essence, 3Doodler is a standard 3D printer, but your hand controls the print head instead of a bunch of computer-controlled motors. (See: What is 3D printing?) Inside the 3Doodler is a filament feeder (which accepts ABS or PLA plastic), a heating element, and an extruder — and that’s about it. The melted plastic comes out of the extruder and very quickly sets. As far as we can tell, the plastic oozes out of the extruder at a set rate — so depending on whether you want a thin (weak and flexible) or thick (strong and rigid) line, you move the 3Doodler quickly or slowly. For strength and flexibility, you just go back and forth over the same section, building up a web of plastic tendrils (like in the Eiffel Tower above).

Judging by the massive support for 3Doodler on Kickstarter, it’s safe to assume that people are really excited at the concept of a freehand 3D printer. It’s not hard to see why, though, if you were a child who dreamt of drawing sketches that literally jump off the paper. The actual reality of freehand 3D printing might be a little more complex than most users bargain for, but to that end the inventors have teamed up up with professional artists to provide 3Doodler backers with templates/stencils that you can simply fill in. The Kickstarter page also seems to lack any evidence that 3Doodler is capable of drawing straight lines, but hopefully it’s just a matter of using a ruler.

A collection of 3Doodler objects

Moving forward, this could be a very exciting stepping stone for inventors and hobbyists alike. While 3D printers have revolutionized rapid prototyping tool, the 3Doodler is even faster; it adds a whole new dimension (!) to back-of-the-napkin brainstorming. To begin with, I suspect it will be quite hard to create meaningful sketches with a 3Doodler, but in time — and with a whole range of usability tweaks and add-on accessories that I’m sure will follow — the 3D printing pen might become as ubiquitous as the 2D Bic ballpoint. (See: 3D printing: a replicator and teleporter in every home.)

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$68,000 Whale Vomit

You might not realize it, but solidified whale vomit, also known as “ambergris” which sounds better, is a very valuable element in making perfumes.  In fact, so valuable, that an island in Belize is named Ambergris Caye, all the way back to the old West Indies pirate days.  The wonderful town of Whale Vomit.  Even today when this rare element washes ashore, those lucky enough to find it, and who can recognize it, can be overnight much more wealthy.  The problem is, it is very rare, often looks like a variety of rocks, and most people don’t go near it when it smells bad.  Here is one such example of a lucky whale vomit gatherer…

BRITON FINDS ‘RARE WHALE VOMIT’ WORTH $68,000

THE DAILY DISH  PawNation

By AFP Jan 31st 2013

LONDON, (AFP) – A British man has been offered 50,000 euros for a strange-smelling rock his dog found on a beach, which is likely a rare form of whale vomit used in perfumes, the BBC reported Thursday.

Ken Wilman was walking his dog Madge in the coastal town of Morecambe in Northwest England when she began “poking at a rather large stone” with a waxy texture and yellowish color. At first he left it on the beach, but “something triggered in my mind”, Wilman said, prompting him to go back and retrieve the object, which he believes is a piece of ambergris, a substance found in the digestive systems of sperm whales.

Whales sometimes spew up ambergris, which floats on water and has been highly prized for centuries. It is used in perfume-making for the musky fragrance it acquires as it ages — but newer ambergris is foul-smelling.

“When I picked it up and smelled it I put it back down again and I thought ‘urgh’,” Wilman told the BBC. “It has a musky smell, but the more you smell it the nicer the smell becomes.”

He is waiting for tests to confirm his find is ambergris, nicknamed “floating gold”, but says he has been offered 50,000 euros (£43,000, $68,000) for it by a French dealer.

“It’s worth so much because of its particular properties,” Andrew Kitchener, principal curator of vertebrates at the National Museum of Scotland, told the broadcaster. “It’s a very important base for perfumes and it’s hard to find any artificial substitute for it.”

The substance gets a mention in the classic 1851 whaling novel Moby Dick, where author Herman Melville writes: “Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale! Yet so it is.”

Unfortunately, digging dogs don’t always find prizes worth thousands of dollars. Most of the time they just make a mess. Canines dig for a variety of reasons such as boredom, high energy levels and hunting instincts. As an owner, to curb digging you can either redirect your dog’s energies to something else or remove the elements that encourage it to dig. Some dogs will continue to dig anyways, and may require training, fences or a digging pit. Go to our partner petMD to learn more.


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Snow in Arizona!

I live in Phoenix, Arizona;  where the annual rainfall is barely 8 inches per year, and we have sunny skies over 300 days per year.  A few days ago I was in my convertible with the top down and it was a nice 78 degrees.  Don’t tell me its global warming lol.  But in a freakish weather system, the following has occurred:

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More Secret New York Locations

My earlier post on the hidden subway station in New York was very popular, so I decided to do another expanded version of secret locations for your interest.  I found nycgo.com and think you will like it:

  • New Yorkers love to think they know everything about their city—where to find the best street-meat cart, how to avoid paying full price at museums, what route to take to skip traffic down Broadway. But New York City can reveal new treasures to even its most grizzled veterans. Beyond the city where we work, eat, play and commute every day lies a hidden New York: mysterious, forgotten, abandoned or just overlooked. We’ve compiled a list of New York City’s coolest secret spots, ones you’re not likely to read about in any guidebooks. You’ll just have to get out there and discover them for yourself. Anna Balkrishna
    • Another underground masterpiece is even more secretive: The Underbelly Project is a clandestine “gallery” consisting of street art installed on the walls of an abandoned subway station, the whereabouts of which had been unknown to everyone but the artists and the attendees of the gallery’s one and only open night (which happened over the summer of 2010). Though rumors have circulated that the station is above the G train’s Broadway stop in Williamsburg, don’t try to see for yourself—not only is it dark and dangerous, but it is also illegal; there have been at least 20 arrests of trespassers trying to visit the space. Erin O’Hara 

 

  • whisperinggallery_v1_460x285.jpg
    Photo: Alex Lopez  

    Whispering Gallery in Grand Central Terminal
    Grand Central Terminal has many secrets (just for starters: Franklin Delano Roosevelt had his own underground passageway that led to the Waldorf=Astoria hotel), but the Whispering Gallery is its most romantic. This unmarked archway, located in front of the Oyster Bar & Restaurant, possesses a mystifying acoustic property: when two people stand at diagonal arches and whisper, they can hear each other’s voices “telegraphed” from across the way. According to rumor, jazz legend Charles Mingus liked to play under the arches. Today, though, the Whispering Gallery is more popular for murmured marriage proposals. Just don’t confess anything that you don’t want strangers to overhear! —AB

     

  • rockefellergarden_v1_460x285.jpg
    Photo: Timothy Vogel (via Flickr)  

    Rooftop Gardens at Rockefeller Center
    Some of the most beautiful gardens in New York are hidden—hundreds of feet above the ground. Rockefeller Center maintains five spectacular roof gardens originally designed by English landscaper Ralph Hancock between 1933 and 1936. The gardens have been closed since 1938, but three can be spied from the Top of the Rock observation deck. And there’s a chance you’ve seen at least one close up: the garden atop the British Empire Building appears in a scene from the 2002 filmSpider-Man—AB

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  • Photo: Michael Bodycomb  

    Bowling Alley at the Frick Collection
    The Frick Collection, a mansion on the Upper East Side formerly owned by 19th-century industrialist Henry Clay Frick, is an architectural beauty in its own right. But did you know that the building also contains an underground bowling alley? Commissioned by Frick in 1914, the antique alley is a real tycoon’s playground, with mahogany-paneled walls, immaculate pine-and-maple lanes and a custom-made set of balls that remain in working order. After Frick’s death in 1919, the bowling alley was abandoned (except briefly, when it served as a library storage space in the 1920s). The Frick Collection restored the alley to its former glory in 1997 but keeps it under tight lock and key. —AB

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    Photo: Alex Lopez  

    Berlin Wall Remnants in Paley Park
    Nestled in a small Midtown plaza at 520 Madison Avenue is an unexpected piece of history. Five sections of the Berlin Wall, in total measuring 12 feet high and 20 feet long, have been on display here since 1990. The wall’s western-facing side is covered with dazzling work by German artists Thierry Noir and Kiddy Citny. The eastern side, meanwhile, remains a blank slab of concrete—a reminder of the oppressive political regime in the former East Germany. At first glance, this artifact appears to be just another public mural; it goes largely unnoticed by the office workers who sit in the park on their lunch break.—AB 

  • bowerycemetery_v1_460x285.jpg
    Photo: Alex Lopez 

    Cemetery Behind the Bowery Hotel
    Bowery Hotel guests who gaze through the lobby’s back window often admire the tranquil green lawn located behind the building. But few realize that they’re actually glimpsing a hidden cemetery. (Part of the confusion: the deceased are interred in underground marble vaults marked by plaques, not tombstones.) Founded in 1830, the New York Marble Cemetery, located in what is now the East Village, is the City’s oldest nondenominational public burial ground—and also one of the hardest to find. The cemetery gate is located at the end of a narrow alley leading from Second Avenue; it’s unlocked to visitors only for a few hours on the fourth Sunday of each month from April to October. —AB 

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    Photo: Kaitlyn Tikkun (via Flickr)  

    Staten Island Boat Graveyard
    One of the spookiest places in town is the Staten Island Boat Graveyard. Located far from the urban bustle in Rossville, Staten Island, this swampy patch of the Arthur Kill Road waterway is the final resting place for dozens of rusting, decomposing and abandoned boats of all sizes. The rotting ship hulls, protruding from the watery depths, are oddly majestic and beautiful (but also kind of gross; we recommend wearing long pants, not shorts, and sturdy shoes if you go). The gravesite can be found via a makeshift path off Arthur Kill Road near Rossville Avenue, about 13 miles by bike or car from the ferry terminal. It’s a truly forgotten corner of the City. —AB

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  • Photo: Malcolm Brown  

    Old Atlantic Avenue Subway Tunnel
    For more than a century, the lost Atlantic Avenue subway tunnel in Brooklyn was a thing of legend: The New York Times printed a story about tunnel-dwelling pirates in 1893, and sci-fi author H.P. Lovecraft portrayed it as a vampire den in a 1927 short story. The tunnel’s actual history is not so fanciful but still interesting: Cornelius Vanderbilt built it in 1844 to reroute Long Island Rail Road trains that were accidentally mowing down pedestrians. The tunnel was abandoned in 1861 and only rediscovered in 1980. (A steam engine is reputedly still buried somewhere inside.) At one point, New Yorkers and visitors could see the tunnel for themselves, but tours of the underground space are no longer available. —AB

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  • Photo: Alex Lopez
    Saint Augustine’s Episcopal Church Slave Galleries

    Within the simple walls of Saint Augustine’s Episcopal Church on the Lower East Side lies an unlikely reminder of racial segregation in New York. Cramped staircases lead to two concealed rooms, located behind the balcony, where African-American worshippers could hear church services without being seen. The rooms were informally known as the “slave gallery,” even though slavery was outlawed in New York by the time they were built in 1828. Fugitive 19th-century politician Boss Tweed reportedly hid in the gallery to attend his mother’s funeral. Ignored and branded for decades as a shameful part of Saint Augustine’s past, the space was recently restored and opened to the public in 2009. —AB

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  • Photo: John Marshall Mantel 

    Cold War Bomb Shelter in the Brooklyn Bridge
    In 2006, City inspectors stumbled upon a hidden chamber inside theBrooklyn Bridge, located just under the bridge’s Lower Manhattan entrance ramp. The room was stockpiled with decades-old military provisions for surviving a nuclear bomb attack: blankets, medicine, water containers and around 352,000 crackers. Supply boxes stamped with the dates 1957 and 1962 indicate that the bunker was used during the height of the Cold War, then later sealed up and forgotten. For security reasons, City officials have kept the exact location of the chamber a secret—most of the 150,000 pedestrians who cross the bridge each day have no idea that it even exists. —AB

    And that’s not the only secret space inside the belly of the bridge; located within its base, a series of vast rooms known as the Brooklyn Anchorage was used for music and theater performances, readings and art exhibitions for nearly 20 years. Each of the eight impressive rooms has brick walls and a 50-foot-high ceiling. The space was closed for business after 9/11 for security reasons and, unfortunately, will not be open again anytime soon. —EO

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  • Photo: Mira John (via Flickr)  

    Tunnels Under Columbia
    Below Columbia University‘s Morningside Heights campus, a series of underground tunnels connects various school buildings. Tunnels below Buell Hall are just a few feet wide and are thought to date back to the insane asylum that once sat in its place, while the tunnels below Pupin Hall were a meeting place for scientists during the beginning stages of the Manhattan Project. While not entirely off-limits—students and faculty are technically permitted to use some of the tunnels to travel between buildings—security for the forbidden tunnels has increased in recent years in response to rogue tunnel explorers. Still, Columbia’s tunnels are everything a City secret aspires to be: dark, difficult to find and brimming with history. —EO

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  • Photo: Sony Stark (via Flickr)  

    Pomander Walk
    Twenty-seven buildings resembling Tudor homes with colorful doors, shutters and timber frames grace this gated street that’s tucked away on the Upper West Side, nearly completely out of view to passersby. Originally conceived as a temporary property that was to be knocked down and replaced with a hotel, Pomander Walk—which is modeled after an old London street and the set of a stage play, both of the same name—earned landmark status in 1982. Surrounded by buildings that tower hundreds of feet above its rooftops, this pedestrian-only lane of residences is a peaceful respite from the people and cars that hustle and bustle past its wrought-iron gates every day, unaware of the sanctuary within. You can’t access the hidden haven unless you have a key or know someone who does, but the picturesque spot is still worth a peek through the gate. —EO

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  • Photo: Curious Expeditions (via Flickr)  

    Pneumatic Tubes
    Pneumatic tubes are a lingering ghost of New York’s past. Once upon a time, they were used to shuttle mail (and, on one occasion in the late 19th century, a cat—don’t worry, it survived) around the City and often across the Brooklyn Bridge. Nowadays they’re scarce, but you can still see them in action if you know where to look. At the New York Public Library, slips of paper bearing book requests are still shot via tube seven floors down to the stacks, where the desired book is found and sent up on a Ferris wheel–type apparatus. Meanwhile, Roosevelt Island, a small residential isle between Manhattan and Queens in the East River, uses extra-large pneumatic tubes to transport all of its garbage directly from buildings to the transfer facility, where it’s automatically separated and compacted for pickup.  —EO

     

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Top 10 single-malt scotch whiskies

Ok, my favorite adult beverage is single malt scotch.  Scotch basically takes like blended whisky without the sweetness.  Single malts from different regions have very distinct tastes.  People are usually off put by scotch because they try cheap scotch.  Cheap scotch tastes like battery acid.  I would not recommend any scotch below the quality of Dewers or Glenlivet.  Below that they taste bad.

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Scotch has soared in price because when it was laid down to age, there was much less demand.  If you are buying 12 year old scotch, they had to guess demand 12 years or more ago.  Scotch consumption is through the roof, so you have more people chasing a limited supply.  Recently, single batch bourbon has experienced the same fate.  Makers’ Mark (another of my favorites which I stocked up on) has not changed its recipe ever.  However, restaurants are running out.  So they recently changed it to 82 proof (41% alcohol) from its standard 100 proof (50%) alcohol.  By diluting it, they hope to increase production by at least 8% and they “say” it won’t change the trademark taste…  We will see.

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So we come to top scotches…  I found this list online and I have had the fortune to be able to taste all but two.  In fact, I have bottles of Balvenie 12 Year Old Double Barrel, Glenkinchie, Macallan and Glenmorangie in my cabinet right now.  I will tell you hands down my favorite single malt scotches – ever!

1.  The Balvenie 12 Year Old Double Barrel is the very best I have ever tasted.  So smooth, rich and flavorful that when I let people sample it, they give me that look like Santa Claus brought them their favorite toy.  In fact, most cannot believe it is scotch, because it is so good.  When I first started buying this you could get it for $40, now if you can find it, expect to pay upwards of $80.

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2.  Johnny Walker Blue – This very limited batch Johnny Walker retails at around $500 now.  Ok, it is not single malt, it is actually a blend based on an original recipe.  It is aged 18 to 25 years old before bottling.  It is by far the smoothest and lightest on the tongue of scotches, with a rich after taste and scent.  When my daughter was married I paid for her honeymoon trips to Catalina Island and for a cruise of the Caribbean.  I asked her to pick me up a bottle at the duty free shops, and she did.  It was about $150 per bottle then.

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3. Oban 32 Year – Oban is not for everyone.  Oban has a strong smoky flavor.  It is almost bourbony with its charcoal after hints, but distinctly scotch accents.  It starts, settles and finishes with three standing ovations of taste.  If you can get it, it now runs over $500 per bottle.  The 14 year is good, but just not the same.  Unfortunately, I ran out of my Oban and can no longer justify buying it at that price.  When I bought the last one it was just over $200.

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Top 10 single-malt scotch whiskies

Published February 14, 2013

Gayot

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    Gayot

Scotch drinkers like to keep things simple. Sure, you can make a fantastic Scotch cocktail, but most Scotch drinkers want to enjoy the smoky flavor unadorned except perhaps for ice, water or a splash of soda. Instead of trying to find the best mixers, Scotch drinkers are trying to find the top distilleries in Scottish towns from the Highlands to the Lowlands that produce the best Single Malt Scotch. Whether we call it Top 10 Scotch or Top 10 Scotches or Top 10 Scotch Whiskeys or Top 10 Scotch Whiskies, rest assured that our list includes whiskies from the Scottish Isles that are hard to pronounce, but these are all names worth knowing. Enjoy our selection of Top 10 Single Malt Scotch Whiskies.

Springbank 10 Year Old 100 Proof
Campbeltown
Price: $55

We start our list with an easy-to-pronounce whisky. Scotch connoisseurs are familiar with Campbeltown, Scotland, as the home of Springbank Distillery. The brand’s ten-year-old cask-strength Single Malt is a lightly peated, shining example of their craftsmanship which features a unique two-and-a half-times distillation process. On the nose it offers a complex bouquet with an array of aromas including a touch of honey, some fresh cucumber and a hint of brininess, finishing with smoke and peat along with some underbrush mixed with a sherried maltiness. Although it begins its life in Bourbon barrels, it finishes out in Sherry barrels, lending to its richness. The complexity of its bouquet compels you to anticipate a Single Malt of distinction, and it certainly delivers. The 100 proof is needed to support and balance this intense Scotch. The mouthfeel is full, luscious and a tad sweet with a lingering, long finish of smoke, peaty lemon zest and fall leaves.

Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old
The Highlands
Price: $70

It’s easy to slap the word “royal” into a product name, but this legendary Highland Single Malt really does have a royal connection. A favorite of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, this hard-to-find Scotch has long been held in high esteem in Britain, particularly for its classic flavor. Upfront you get earth, freshly cut grass, vibrant spice, a hint of sandalwood and hay. It finishes with light touches of fruit, juicy cereal barley, leather, brown sugar and a coffee maltiness. It makes for a perfect sipper to start off your evening, even if you’re engaged in non-royal activities, like playing Texas Hold ‘Me.

The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
Speyside
Price: $50

The Balvenie is one of the great distilleries of Speyside, Scotland. Founded in 1892, it is one of the pioneers of introducing various wood finishes to its malts. Their aptly named DoubleWood is a twelve-year-old Single Malt that spends most of its life in second-fill Bourbon casks prior to being transferred to first-fill Oloroso Sherry casks. There are three levels of flavor in this Single Malt. The original Balvenie imparts heather, honey and clean barley flavors. The Bourbon barrel adds vanilla, a sort of cookie-like taste, as well as marshmallow, caramel and toast. The Oloroso Sherry barrel’s influence is expressed via peach, marzipan, clover, a bit of honey and prunes. Complex and approachable, this Single Malt has a younger brother that’s actually older The Balvenie 17 Year Old DoubleWood was first released in September of 2012.

Bunnahabhain 18 Year Old
Islay
Price: $105
On the northern shore of Islay, for more than 130 years, Bunnahabhain has been carving out an extra peaty niche in Scotland’s whisky flavor landscape. Unlike many Scotch whiskies, this elegant Single Malt is not chill filtered. (Chill filtering prevents the whisky from becoming hazy, but can affect the flavor.) The nose is a perfect balance of smoke and peat at a level of impact that’s both agreeable to a novice drinker and complex enough to please the connoisseur. The hints of subtle smoke, brine, malt sweetness, fruit and nuttiness bloom on the palate. The body of this spirit requires a stronger proof to ensure balance and full palate impact. The finish lingers and demands another taste, as the acidity is persistent and the flavors enticingly rich.

Highland Park 18 Year Old
Orkney Islands
Price: $105

It’s hard to believe that Highland Park’s 18-year-old Single Malt was first released in 1997, as its great reputation belies its youth. It’s an instant classic, thanks to its balance of light toffee flavors and long, lightly smoky finish. On the nose you get honey, Sherry and peat coupled with almonds and light smoke, which makes it not just approachable but irresistible. It is simultaneously subtle and complex while allowing the consumer to enjoy a smooth and dynamic expression of the Orkney Islands’ most prized distillery. It finishes with heather and honey mixed with earth, dried fruit and nuts. Balance and brilliance are the memories this malt leaves dram after dreamy dram.

The Macallan Cask Strength
The Highlands
Price: $75

Like “The Balvenie”, “The Macallan” demands the definite article. (Bourbon whiskeys don’t, as they do not seem classier if rechristened “The Wild Turkey”.) The Macallan brand is synonymous with top-tier Single Malt Scotch, and the unsung hero of their portfolio is their cask strength. This malt hails from the Easter Elchies House of Macallan overlooking the River Spey. Like its better-known 18-year-old sibling, the cask strength has a sherried finish making it bright, rich and accessible; but this one explodes with caramel, brown sugar, toffee and vanilla so complex and intertwined it drinks like a dessert. It’s well balanced on the palate with a sweet, tawny port, cinnamon oatmeal bouquet. At this price point, we think it’s a steal. Make that “The Steal”.

Scapa 16 Year Old the Orcadian
Orkney Islands
Price: $75

Scapa is not just “the other distillery” on the Orkney Islands, having been founded as early as 1885 (more than a century before Highland Park came along!). Scapa makes legendary Single Malt in their 16-year-old “the Orcadian.” Gorgeous to look at with its golden amber hue, this malt produces prodigious, thick, slow-flowing legs down the side of the glass. The nose dances with fresh berries and light smoke as the sea saltiness washes through. Approachable with its creamy honey and broken, subtle peat mixed in with chocolate and pepper, it has a memorable palate. With its dry, peaty and rich finish, this un-chill-filtered whisky has both the personality of a classic malt and the attitude of an innovator.

Glenkinchie 1991 Distillers Edition
The Lowlands
Price: $70

Did you really think you’d make it through a Top 10 Scotch list without seeing one of the Glen’s? Glenkinchie started making world-class Scotch in 1837. This being a Scottish Lowland Malt, we expected a grassy, slightly floral and full-bodied spirit, which is what we got — both on the nose and in the glass. The palate offers a pleasant, subtle mixture of leather, smoke, vanilla, honey, Sherry and stewed red berry fruit. It finishes with surprising strength, based in nutty molasses, brown sugar, smoke and caramel apples. Such complexity is rare for a Lowland whisky, but not for an exceptional Single Malt Scotch.

Lagavulin 12 Year Old Cask Strength
Islay
Price: $90

Lagavulin is the whisky for people who revel in sucking the marrow out of life. This cask strength Single Malt needs every bit of its extra punch to support the nose and palate. The former is an intoxicating and aromatic potpourri of peat, melon-y sea foam, pipe tobacco and Alsatian Riesling. The palate is rich, plummy, sweet, peaty and burnt-rubber-y, but in a good way. This stunning special edition was so well-received that Lagavulin Distillery is producing it as an ongoing mark for its loyal followers.

Glenmorangie 18 Years Old “Extremely Rare”
The Highlands
Price: $100

The Glenmorangie 18 Years Old spends fifteen years of its life in classic Bourbon oak barrels. A portion is then transferred to Oloroso Sherry barrels for the final three years of maturation. These barrels are then reunited to create this silky Scotch, tasting of nuts, dried sticky figs, dates and vanilla. These flavors meld together on the palate in perfect harmony, leaving a nice creamy finish with a hint of fruit, floral, almonds and vanilla. The flavor profile and quality of this exceptional Single Malt Scotch live up to its name: extremely rare.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/02/14/top-10-single-malt-scotch-whiskies/?intcmp=features#ixzz2L8MHwZLY

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Biologists Create ‘Zombie Cells’

Zombies are all well and good for stories, video games, movies and TV, but in real life, they would seriously suck.  Heck, I have zombies in some of my books.  But why on Earth would scientists actually create Zombies?  No joke?  Our own scientists at super-secret Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque New Mexico have created nano-particle level duplicate zombie cells.  Why can’t anyone read science fiction and heed its warnings?  If a celestial event does not wipe us out, it is only a matter of time until our own stupid, reckless exploration of science does it.

Biologists Create ‘Zombie Cells’ In The Lab Which Outperform Living Counterparts

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 14/02/2013 12:21 GMT  |  Updated: 14/02/2013 12:35 GMT

 
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Biological researchers have created dead ‘zombie’ cells in the lab which outperform living cells.

Seriously.

A team at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico have innovated a technique whereby mammalian cells are coated with silica to form a near-perfect replicas.

The silica replicants can survive greater pressures and temperatures than flesh, and perform many functions better than the original cells did when alive.

By painting the cells with silicic acid in a petri dish, the acid embalms the organic matter in the cell down to the nanometer level.

The silica then acts as a permeable armour, according to Michael Hess at the American Office of Public Affairs.

That means the cell beneath can be used as a catalyst at far greater temperatures than normal.

Heating the silica to around 400C evaporates the protein in the cell, but leaves the silica as a three-dimensional replica of the “formerly living being”, Hess said.

“The difference is that instead of modeling the face, say, of a famous criminal, the hardened silica-based cells display internal mineralized structures with intricate features ranging from nano- to millimeter-length scales.”

The valuable biological material can thus be converted into a reusable fossil, which could have uses in fuel cells, decontamination and sensor technology, as well as commercial manufacturing.

:ead researcher Bryan Kaehr said in a statement that the research distinguishes between a mummy cell and a zombie cell.

“Our zombie cells bridge chemistry and biology to create forms that not only near-perfectly resemble their past selves, but can do future work,” he said, terrifyingly.

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