Posts tagged as:

factoids

August 21, 2010

Next PNR trend: mutant robotic zombie cockroaches!

Okay, not really. But the headline got your attention for today’s fun fact, right? (ha!  You’d thought I’d forgotten about the factoids, didn’t you?) And today’s fact is courtesy of my daughter, Catherine. Did you know that scientists have actually performed brain surgery on cockroaches? Honestly, I should just stop there, because the best way [...]

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March 5, 2010

Obsolete Jobs

This from NPR about jobs of yesteryear. I think the one that intrigues me the most is the lector. I could do that. Just sit on a stool and read to people as they rolled cigars…. Showed this link to the rugrats, both of whom were amazed. Of course, today C asked me how they [...]

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February 23, 2010

Simon’s Cat-App Review

You need this app. No. Really. Trust me. It’s going to put a smile in your face. And with the app, you can link through to this vid and others. Mostly, though, it’s about the game. Purrfect Pitch . The game is addictive. You can either play as “memory” (you play what the cat plays) [...]

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February 21, 2010

Alligators-no bad breath worries!

Okay, that’s not really true, but that was my first thought when I read the news in the current issue of Smithsonian Magazine, that a recent University of Utah study reveals that an Alligator’s lungs are unidirectional. Sounds like they don’t exhale, doesn’t it? But that’s not what it means. It means there’s a continuous [...]

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February 20, 2010

NASA, John Glenn, and the really Right Stuff

Today in 1962, John Glenn, Jr. became the first American to orbit the earth. Even in the world we live in, that makes me shiver, and not only because of what it represents with regard to science (and, back then, the cold war fears surrounding the space race), and not even because of where it [...]

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February 12, 2010

Platypuses…no, really

Egads! So much for that daily thing, eh, but things got crazy. (Deadlines and colds and house emergencies of the septic tank variety…don’t even ask…AND this was scheduled to post yesterday, but didn’t, and I didn’t notice until, ahem, 11pm…). But here’s a fact I ran across doing today’s reading with Isabella (we’re doing Australia [...]

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February 5, 2010

You drink 8 glasses per day of WHAT?

I recently heard Neil deGrasse Tyson (an astrophysicist) on a NOVA podcast. His topic was water, and its use as fueling stations for space travel, if/when identified on other planets, moons, etc. In trying to find more details or a transcript of that podcast for a Daily Factoid blog post, I ran across this, which [...]

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January 31, 2010

Little Lizard Muse

It astounds me how new species are being found all the time (and it saddens me to hear how short their potential lifespan is, what with the decreased rainforests and other environmental issues). National Geographic had this cute little guy on its website the other day — a scaly-eyed gecko (Lepidoblepharis buchwaldi) . Isn’t he [...]

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January 29, 2010

Lego Ergo Sum

LEGO building blocks are, truly, some of the coolest toys out there. Now, I don’t qualify as a major geek (I can’t write machine code, and I don’t own a Wii), but I definitely appreciate the several stories tall Lego creations that you can find in cool places like the Times Square Toys R Us [...]

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January 28, 2010

An Old-Fashioned, Please!

They have the coolest art!

It’s all my husband’s fault. He’s the one who downloaded the first episode of Mad Men on iTunes, watched it, and liked it so much he told me I had to watch it. I admit to being reluctant at first–why did I want to watch a show about some angry guys?(*)–but then he told me [...]

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January 27, 2010

You nimrod, you!

So, for years and years, I assumed nimrod was just another slang insult. Something you tossed out at your friends when they did something idiotic. “Did you see Doug Dufas? He just snorted milk through his nose to get Pansy Popular’s attention.” “Won’t work. Pansy knows he’s a total nimrod.” Ah, but it’s not so [...]

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January 26, 2010

Parrot Fish: Proving that Whole Fish Without a Bicycle Thing

Here’s an interesting fish that must certainly have a unique perspective on transgender issues.  I first heard about it when I was on a homeschool outing to Corpus Christi with my daughters and other families from our local homeschooling group.  We toured the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus. During feeding time in the largest exhibit, [...]

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January 26, 2010

Want Fascinating Yet Essentially Useless Info? You’ve Come to the Right Place!

I’ve been homeschooling my girls for a few years now, and one of the things I’ve discovered is how much cool information I run across, either in their books (yes, it’s fun being a second grader again!) or just while we’re out and about. And, of course, once you open your eyes to cool, yet [...]

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January 25, 2010

Welcome!

I’m so excited that the J.K. Beck website is now up and running! And, yes, I’m on Facebook and Twitter, too (see the cool thingiemabobbies in the sidebar? Click away!) (Thanks to the fabulous Michelle at Friendly Web Consulting for helping me launch this puppy!) If you’re not sure who I am, click on the [...]

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