my stomach will never be the same

this is one of the worst things i've ever seen -- at least for someone who's afraid of heights. as for the rest of you -- go on, sit on top of a snowy ledge in the wind.

hamsterfuge

did you see this funny video about the hamsters? apparently they are the smallest, fastest of the breed. at any rate, watch the video -- it's really funny. and you have to wonder how they keep from being dizzy.

lovely things

very cool. literally. i mean, if you can't have snow, you can look at pictures of it. but what i really liked was looking at the video at the bottom of the article -- beautiful visuals and wonderful music!

this is so cool! i'm tellin' ya, people love music and dancing!!

this is pretty darn interesting. i've never given much thought to mountain climbing. i mean, you climb up, probably with a rope and you climb down. sometimes you fall down. so? you have to not be afraid of heights, but ... so?

well, after clicking on the little green boxes and seeing what is actually at person-level on these wide, flowing rivers of snow and ice, i am actually pretty intimidated. climbing is not the world for me. i mean, it takes energy and stamina. i mean, at first you think ... hmmm, so? but clicking on those little boxes is an eye-opener.

check it out. but only if you have at least half an hour to spend.

see it in lithuania

this is the strangest structure. it's hard to imagine anything being inside it, yet apparently it was a prison. there don't appear to be any windows or doors, either. and what are the rooms like, and do the floors slant? it just makes no sense and i would be curious about it, but .... not enough energy.
 
here's the article.

nature can be mysterious

these are beautiful pictures of various gorgeous places around the world. oh how i wish i could visit them all. especially the lowest point of the u.s., badwater salt flats. i'm curious if it would have any effect on my left-over lymphedema.

let's go for a drive. NOT!

OMG! OMG! OMG! you have to see this. it is hilarious/scary/unbelieveable!

do NOT go to russia and drive. or be anywhere on or near a street. or walk anywhere outside your house.

reasonable speeds hold no interest for these people. nor do obstructions. nor do people or animals.

these people are devoid of vision, as well as judgement.

i have NEVER seen such a collection of human initiative before in my whole life. and it's surprising how quickly 12 minutes goes by!

looking out for your sib

big sister helps little brother grow up.

prime playground for bad guys

hey criminals, have i got a hot tip for you. you can do anything you want (rape, murder, robbery, drugs, etc) and the most jail-time you can get is 21 years! in luxury! because they think they can rehabilitate  you. hahahahaha.... isn't that the funniest thing you ever heard?!

'where' you ask? norway, of course. just a-hop-and-a-skip away and the country is yours to bedevil anyway you like. i encourage you to leave this country and get over there as fast as you can. it'll all be gravy!

ice crystals

have you ever heard of a fire rainbow? i've never heard of one, let alone seen one, and this article says they are relatively common in the u.s.; the picture in the article is pretty and was taken in scotland.

today, class, we're going to make aspirin....

make your own drugs with a 3-d printer. it's becoming a reality, but i don't think drug companies are going to give up their power. that's another reality.

get in there and play!

3-d interactive art. interesting to do, once anyhow.

life imitates art ....

banksy. yes, there is an artist who's name is readily recognizable. and he's being copied for real. see this.

spain

so. you want to go to the beach, but you can only find one road.

well, that's okay. surely it will take us to the beach even if this road looks like it's going to peter out ....

oh. the beach isn't quite where i thought it would be.

pretty, though.

nicely done!

this is absolutely the coolest video. did i already share this? it's neat enough to share again, if i did. this cute guy and gal showed her pregnancy the whole way through -- in 90 seconds. i wish they'd do another one of the little girl's first year. kudos to them for being excellent!

50 years at the same job

um, well, i just read about a couple of 69-year old prostitutes. they're from amsterdam and have been doing this for 50 years. they seem very salt-of-the-earth which is a good thing to me. strange though ...

i've been working on the raaaaaailroad, aaaaall the live-long daaaaaaaay

too many things to do and no time to sit down and blog. but i did want to say that the husband and i particularly enjoyed our lunch last thursday! he picked me up from work and said, 'do you want to go watch them lay railroad ties?' and i said, 'yes' and he said, 'really??' and i thought 'silly boy'.

so we drove over behind the caboose (a noon-time eatery) and watched while the railroad gang laid the ties. pretty interesting. and nothing like you'd imagine if you were thinking 1850s chain gangs. there were quite a few strange-looking machines on the tracks, a number of them ahead of our view, and we got in at the point where one machine was going along laying ties beside and perpendicular to the tracks. then two other machines came along (one behind the other) and they seemed to sort of play leap-frog with the ties as they each picked up a tie and stuffed it into the empty space where one had been jerked out earlier (but not all the way in). that whole stuffing sequence was bizarre.

then the next couple of machines came along and fitted the tie the rest of the way in the designated space. in the meantime a worker person came along and laid down a small metal rectangle on the end of the tie.  then another machine came along and sort of made sure the tie was lined up right, or something.  then another three machines came along (in tandem), raised their section of the rail, scooted the metal plate under the rail, and hammered in the spikes. and yes, these machines all worked independently on their own task.

about that time an hour had gone by and we had to leave. it was fun to watch. but there was a LOT of downtime. that was not fun. still ... i always think you should stop and watch any kind of construction that is happening.

omg

no, thank you. i don't need to use the restroom.

the old soft shoe, er ... shell.

so. there's something new on the market in the bicycle field. a new kind of helmet so that you don't have to wear the hard helmet all the time. this thing is a scarf you wear around your neck and it inflates if it detects some wild gyrations. see it here.