Quite possibly the most amazing scaled image I have ever seen!

I recently stumbled across this the other day from the following website. It is a graphic that is drawn to scale showing the features of the planet from the highest point on Mount Everest down to the lowest point of the Oceans. It is meant to depict how deep the Deep Water Horizon drilling rig was actually drilling for oil before its accident. That in its self is pretty incredible, but this graphic also has lots of facts and bits of information about the rest of the planet. I think it’s fascinating.

TIP: Try saving the image, opening it up in a separate window, zoom out on the image and view it all at once. That really puts the incredible extremes of our planet into perspective!

I think this also sets a personal record for me… physically the LONGEST blog post EVER!

What is happening to the NFL!? Here comes a lil' dose of inner rage!

Packman Jones... Plaxico Burress... Michael Vick... Marshawn Lynch...

NFL players turned criminal!?

PLAXICO!!??? How the hell do you shoot your self in the leg with your own gun, turn your self in... then plan to plead "not guilty" to possessing said firearm? WTF!? So glad to hear the Giants are shelving this guy. I hope they outright release him by the end of the season... if he's not in jail (which he should be).

No doubt these guys are good players on the field. That's why they are making the millions that they are. But you would figure that with those millions they could afford to get involved in some lawful activities off the field as opposed to something completly off the wall like, oh, I don't know... dog fighting!

Is it my imagination, or is the Fox NFL pregame show sounding more and more like an episode of America's Most Wanted as they have to spend increasing amounts of time running down the list of player fines, suspensions and tangles with the law?

Honestly... what the hell is wrong with you people?

Spreading like wild fire all over the web today...

This clip was originally posted at youtube. Take a listen. What do you think about this?

Suze Orman is an iddiot...

I have been meaning to blow off some steam regarding the recent near catastrophic meltdown of our nation's economy. I am not going to sugar coat it... things are bad. Things are very bad... for our country and banks. Not necessarily for every average American though. Admittedly we are all paying more for food and gas. It could be worse... 35% unemployment rate and actual soup lines (as in the Great Depression). But if you are smart about your money, you understand how to make financial sacrifices and be disciplined during tough times... do you really need that big screen LCD HDTV that you will be putting on your high interest credit card?

What ever you do, resist the urge to listen to "experts" like Suze Orman. She made an appearance on Lary King and said this (emphasis added):

King: Is this a good time to get into the market?

Orman: No. It's not a good time to get in with brand-new money. I would let these markets kind of wash themselves out. On the other hand, if you're investing in a 401k every month with small amounts of money, that's OK as long as you don't need the money for 10, 15, 20 years. If you just got an inheritance and you have $50,000, should you be putting it in the stock market now? Are you kidding? These are the markets that you just sit on the sidelines and wait on the sidelines and stay away from them until everything works out.

I am no CNN expert, but I do know this... even during the Great Depression the stock market posted an overall gain. And typically in the long term, the stock market delivers a 11% rate of return. So anytime is a good time to get in the stock market... so long as you are going to keep your money there for a while... not until tomorrow, or next month, or even next year. Try 5 to 10 years... or even better a 401k that you are not going to touch for 20 years! And if your 401k has lost a big chunk of its value due to the recent market troubles, and you were hoping to retire in a few years... FIRE your fund manager because they are too stupid to know that your investments should not be in such volatile places when it's so close to your retirement!

As I mentioned I am no CNN economic expert... actually, I am a chemist. But all you need to do (and these CNN experts should do the same) is learn a little history and basic economics.

Watch this video here and get some real advice about what to do about your economic situation. I have been reading this guy's blog for a while. Smart guy... he's no CNN expert though. I( think that's a good thing.)

Breathe in... breathe out... just be smart... everything is going to be alright.

There's no better way to celebrate yourr nation's independence than by blowing up a small part of it! (With fireworks of course)

So I am averaging about one post per month. Those stats are not so good! I have had some requests from friends to keep posting the random adventures and experiences we have been having. With the summer months upon us, my continued training for the marathon and my new job it's hard to find time to write.

Recently I had to say goodbye to my friends Erin and Tim who left Rochester to search for jobs in Boston. I wish them the best luck in that. Now I have more reason than ever to post since a few more friends are now out of town.

Today I just want to wish everyone a happy Independence day and encourage you all to reflect upon the great country that our courageous founding fathers have created 232 years ago today. I certainly hope you don't take on the unamerican attitude of this bastard who to my amazement published this article in a Philadelphia newspaper.

Sorry about that... I just had to inject some of my recent inner rage.

Yes... even very busy graduate students follow politics.

I second that... the democrats are destroying themselves. That's the extent of my political commentary for the day.

Thank you.

Ohhhhh... the life of a graduate student as the gears grind on.

I think I found my new favorite website to go to for procrastination. They have this amazingly funny (and sad to say... all too true!) comic strip about graduate school. I can certainly relate to much of the topics. The strip above caught my eye because I did the same thing my self!

I can also relate to these comics because RIT is in its second day of its spring break yet I have barely even noticed. All I have done on these two days is put in long full days of research in the lab just like any other day as the gears continue unrelentingly to grind onwards.

VIDEO COMPLEMENTS OF PAT CONDELL: "More demands from Islam"

I have a desire to share this. I am not going to deal with accusations of me being a hate-monger or racist so I am not going to state my opinions on this piece but I encourage you to form your own opinions.

Wow... And I thought I lacked motivation and focus!

As mentioned yesterday, I feel like I am lacking the ability to focus on some things in my life right now. But suddenly I am feeling better about my self!

Here's why. Given all of the problems with the economy, the failing housing market, increasing problems with the banking and loans industry, astronomical fuel and commodity prices and the fact that we have been at war for years you would think that congress and its leadership would be very busy addressing such issues.

Instead, they are leading an inquisition into steroid use in baseball and "Nanny" Nancy Pelosi is "greening up the Capitol" and revamping the cafeteria menu for the congressional representatives and their aids. Wow... talk about a lack of focus!

So as I look at my self, I realize it could be a lot worse... I could be a U.S. Congressman!

Yes, I do feel better about my self now. :-)

You know what... a girlfriend abroad *is* worth 16 [monogamous] weekend benders... or in my case, 7!

I recently read this article and wow... it hit the nail right on the head! I refuse to be mired in feelings of missing Emily's presence for the next 2 months. (*DISCLAIMER... remember, I do miss Emily, but I am trying not to let those feelings and thoughts overtake my day to day thoughts. I AM NOT AS TERRIBLE OF A BOYFRIEND AS YOU MAY THINK! HA HA HA.)

So anyway, this article discusses how to deal with significant others who are abroad for a summer. I am in that situation at the moment and am stuck here feeling jealous and nervous. How can that be dealt with? By one-up-ing everything it is that they are doing with your own experiences at home! How does this work? This quote from the article may put it into perspective:

"But the truth of the matter is, no matter how excruciating [his or her absence] is for you, no one will ever ask you 'so, tell me about your summer of celibacy'… Unless, and this is a big unless, you have what it takes to blow that stupid summer abroad out of the water."

So yesterday afternoon over lunch, Jon and I put together this list. I know I am already on the right track because we did this even before I read this article. Jon is fully on board because he's just that kind of crazy adventurous good friend who will do stuff like this! I can't ask for more!

1. Published my first scientific paper. The day before Emily left, I (with the help of my adviser) wrote, revised and submitted my first scientific paper for publication. I am damn proud of that! Other things in my posts recently have kind of overshadowed that. As soon as it is accepted, I will be happy to post the actual paper here.
2. I'm going to New York City! I've never been there. Andy, one of my college roommates lives there. He has a guest room. He's welcoming me. I'll be there for about 4 nights or so in the beginning of December. We're going to rip it up.
3. Hit up the driving range. Jon and I are working on our golf skills. We need to improve them a bit if we're actually take up this sport.
4. Crazy random Band of Brothers/Movie drinking day. Buy some beer and booze. Pop in some movies, mini-series, video games or something. Commence watching and drinking. Get rowdy and see where things go.
5. Wine tour. Get some friends and take some time appreciating the flavors, textures and colors of the finger lakes wines. (And maybe get sloshed too.)
6. Crazy drunken limo bus. Get some friends together. Pool our money for a limo bus and alcohol. Have a night out in the city.
7. Get something published in the Library of Congress. That would just be some awesome and random bragging rights!
8. Test drive a Porsche. Need I really explain that one!
9. RIT hockey game. I hear they are pretty crazy.
10. Play some tennis. In the interest of our wanna-be rich preppie-country club snub nosed inner child, we'll take up this activity too.
11. Find a place to learn and play some curling. 'Cause 'dem Canadians have one crazy sport, eh.
12. Make a short mocumentary film. We're accepting ideas right now for the script. We already know that this scene must be included!
13. Get my passport! When I was a teenager I equated having a car with freedom to travel. Now I equate having a passport with freedom to travel. With this document, Jon and my other friends can continue our randomness on an international scale. And when the opportunity arises for me to blow everything off here and travel abroad... I can do so without hesitation!
    

I could not resist the urge to warn you all of this DIRE THREAT!

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Drunk elephants kill six people

What kind of a world do we live in where the elephants are now getting drunk and going on murderous rampages... *tisk tisk*

Al Gore v. U.K. High Court v. Alfred Nobel... and once again that queasy feeling is returning to my stomach.

OK, I am going to do something here that I did previously in my last blog post. I am going to take two pieces of information in the news and lay them next to each other and observe the effect. Now these pieces of information are not necessarily reported in the main-stream media but will be related in some way nonetheless.

1) Yesterday you probably heard about Al Gore and the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) splitting the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in spreading awareness regarding the threat of global warming. Gore has shifted his efforts from running for President to making the movie/book documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" and promoting that information on a tour tour all over the world.

2) Now ironically, a few days before the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize award, there was a court ruling by a High Court in London (click here and here for more) stating that in order for "An Inconvenient Truth" to be shown to children in classrooms a disclaimer must be announced pointing out up to 11 flaws in the science and logic reported in the movie.

Hmmm... Right about now is when a nice queasy feeling sets into my stomach and I feel kind of... well... disgusted with the Nobel. It has lost its alure to me now that someone who has essentially delivered propaganda as irrefutable scientific fact is being rewarded. It disappoints me as a scientist because it is not ethical. I have watched "An Inconvenient Truth" and done a fair share of my own research on both sides of the debate. There are flaws in Gore's documentary, and he is exploiting people's ignorance in an attempt to make them accept his opinions as irrefutable fact.

Uggghhh... not even the inner rage can make the queasiness go away with this one!


***Little known fact: Alfred Nobel the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize made his fortune from the discovery of... wait for it... dynamite! That coupled with some other explosives made him a fortune as they were quickly put to use by miners and engineers and mainly by the military. That secured his reputation with the French who called him "The merchant of death" in a fake obituary which also stated "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday." Well, turns out Al had a guilty conscience, and decided to leave his fortune to funding the Nobel Prizes to reward people who did things that had a bit more of a positive effect on society. (!!!)

A congressional double standard (again) regarding religion and the government... political corectness strikes again!

I was recently tipped off to this story this morning while listening to "The Glenn Beck" radio program. Yes, I reluctantly admit am a listener of talk radio in the mornings while I am working. I am only interested in this particular show because it is so interesting.

Here's what I learned today!

First off, it became public today that a 17 year old Ohio Eagle scout was given a flag certificate for a flag that was flown over the nation's capital to honor his grandfather. The certificate had the following statement:

"This flag was flown in honor of Marcel Larochelle, my grandfather, for his dedication and love of God, country and family."

However, when the young scout received the certificate, the word "God" was omitted because the U.S. Capital Architect feels that the word "God" is an inappropriate religious word for such certificates.

Now... at the same time this week, our congress decided to pass a resolution recognizing the Holy Month of Ramadan. ***At this point I must take a moment to laugh immaturely at the Moro Islamic Liberation Front... watch the movie "American Pie" and you will understand why it is impossible for me not to snicker at a group by the acronym MILF!***

I was happy to read further that 42 congressmen voted "present" and refused to vote yes or no. Unfortunately none of them were from NY.

What a double standard, wouldn't you say? It's kind of making me sick to my stomach. Or maybe that's just remnants of the cold I had this weekend.

And by the way... I watched every second of the Bills game last night. It was one of the best games I have ever watched. Buffalo lost but how could you not be impressed. The 32nd rated defense in the league intercepted Tony Romo 5 times (!) and really rattled the cage of the undefeated Cowboys. Even with a loss, every one of those players must have woke up this morning feeling pretty damn confident coming off of this game!

Fucking Yankees, Reports Nation | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Fucking Yankees, Reports Nation

Yeah... that about says it all! I'm not into the whole Boston/New York fan rivalry thing, but I can not believe that a team that was 14 1/2 games back at their worst point in the season is now 2 1/2 games behind and in a position to overtake Boston!

I mean WTF?

FUCKING YANKEES... they do this every year!