No Thurs Thirteen
Sorry but this week’s thursday thirteen has been cancelled. In the meantime, here is one of my fave songs to listen to:
We lost a close friend this week, someone who even though she wasn’t related by blood was still family. This song makes me think… of all those things I’ve taken for granted and just what I’d do if it was my last day.
This week in Science
It’s wednesday, and that means Science. 🙂 I’m a self-proclaimed geek, I admit it. But I always find ideas to write in these things.
First up this week, a mini dinosaur was discovered by Canadian scientists. Hesperonychus is currently the smallest dinosaur known from North America, about half the size of a domestic cat and most likely hunted and ate whatever it could considering its size.
Also in the news of forensics, a new method has been developed to date time of death of a corpse that had not occurred under controlled natural conditions.
In the news of electronics (or spies hehe), a new flexible wireless ultra-thin chip was developed, that can be embedded for weable electronics.
The last article of the week has to do with the treatment of peanut allergies that has shown promise. This has been a big thing lately on the news so I thought I’d post a link here to a little information on this treatment.
Thursday Thirteen
13 of my most vivid memories from childhood:
1. The green carpet. At the old house on Government Road, we had green carpet. I had a small case someone gave me full of little beads to make necklaces with and without fail, I would always drop them all… spilling them everywhere and do you think we could ever find them all? oh no.
2. Learning about gravity. I used to jump up and try to stay in the air. I was little and weird… and stubborn.
3. Our cat Puss-Puss (sshhhh peanut gallery! LOL) who had kittens but one batch it didn’t go well and my dad had to help her out. They were in the bathroom I believe…
4. Mixing toothpaste and water in my little plastic toy bowls because I was convinced it was some cure all. I used to hide the dishes in this plastic Sesame Street oven.
5. A storm blew a nest of barnswallows onto the lawn. My dad didn’t realize it when he was cutting the lawn. Luckily he found one and he
brought it in for us to take care of. She slept in a box in my room the first night. I remember the next morning, being so excited that I woke early and took her out to play with her and how she messed my nice blankets. But I remember cutting up worms and grasshoppers and feeding them to her and getting her to drink with an eyedropper. When she started to fly, she’d go from shoulder to shoulder. Then we painted one summer. Though we kept the cage outside during the day, only bringing her in at night, she got sick. 😦
6. I remember not being able to sleep at the hospital. My mom would always be in the playroom sleeping and one night, I didn’t know where she was so I started wandering the halls. I got caught of course and the nurse gave me a stern lecture about staying in bed.
I never listened.
7. The bright pink wheelchair when I left the hospital in grade one for the hip surgery where they pinned my hip in place. That chair had a broken wheel and kept going into the wall. My dad bought me my first frozen yogurt from the cafeteria. It was raspberry… Mmmm. I had to stay off my leg for the whole summer… I refused to use the walker or the sling to keep my leg up. I’d hop on one foot where ever I had to (parents swear to it that I jumped faster than my brother ran… but he was younger so eh.)
8. The train ride. Very first one headed to Northbay to get my tonsils out. I had Michaelangelo the orange teenage mutant ninja turtle with me. My one toy.
9. Waking up and wandering the halls at the hospital a bit after I got my tonsils out and went to the playroom to look at hte toys while eating a banana popsicle (not sure where I got that…)
10. For one of the surgeries, I’m thinking for my leg but not sure, I remember playing with this water toy maze game right before they were about to wheel me into the surgery room… and then going in there and seeing the doctors and the sharp utensils and freaking.
11. Turning toonies into a little plasticine alien with antennae and googly eyes and giving them to my brother from the ‘toothfairy’. I was almost caught once when my mother was going up stairs to put money under his pillow. hehe.
12. My first cake I made. Oh it was a horrible mess. My brother and I wanted to make an anniversary cake for my parents. It was supposed to be a chocolate cake. My aunt got my parents out of the house so the two of us went about doing this. Well… the cake was lumpy and turned out puddingish… and… the icing was… thin and watery. We tried to disg
uise our failure by placing blueberries on it. hahaha… they rolled off.
13. One last memory is camping. Every September at the Barrie Automotive Fleamarket. My parents go every year because my dad gets parts there for his projects. I remember the donkey… at 5am every morning. And how my favourite song was the purple people eater. Good times of bonfires and such.
This week in Science…
I love science. I wouldn’t have joint-majored in it if I hadn’t. I’ve let that curiosity for science slip by after University. It is one of the reasons why wednesdays are Science days on here. To highlight what is new and exciting.
First up is an article I read about salt. We all know that too much of it is a bad thing. But here is one thing I didn’t know, and that is that salt may be ‘nature’s anitdepressant’ and how it might help to put us in a good mood.
Another interesting article is about coevolution in a microbial predator and prey environment.
Curious about anatomy lessons throughout the centuries? Look no farther than here at a brief slide show of interesting points.
Thursday 13: 3D Pavement Illusions
13 3D Pavement Illusions (found here):
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
Scientific news this week at a glance
Modern feet step back 1.5 years in what researchers say is a 1.5 million year old footprint discovered in eastern Africa, showing that a human ancestor (either Homo erectus or Homo ergaster) had modern-looking feet and walked much like people do today. You can read the full story here. This just makes me little anthropological heart squee with excitement.
From Science Daily (March 4, 2009)- Common marine sponge may provide super-antibiotics of the future.
Ok this one is just a guilty pleasure and a source of research. It’s from News Scientist and it’s about the science behind the movie Watchmen and whether the abilities can be possible.
More news that makes the archaeologist in me happy is this article about a 3,500 year old pharaonic official’s tomb in Cairo. The gomb is said to have been Amenhotep, the deputy seal-bearer for King Thutmoses III who ruled Egypt in the 18th Dynasty. Although it was discovered in 1880, it got buried under sand until a Belgian team found it again this year.
Diva Release!
WILD Marra’s body burned with desire. It was Wild time, the first week of spring, when Lynx from all over North America gathered in the Sierra Nevada foothills to mate. The time when every Lynx female went into heat. But Wild is bittersweet for Marra. She’s past the age when most Lynx find their mate. She only comes to Wild for sex and always leaves as she came: alone. Yet this year is different. A new male Lynx has come to Wild, a foreigner who will claim her in ways she only imagined… Buy it here. Read an excerpt here.
Diva Release!
Brought to Life by Dara England
Megan Hurst’s life has taken some unexpected turns: First she loses her heart to the dashing hero of a novel. And then she meets an amnesia victim who seems just like him.
The mysterious stranger needs her help to piece his past together, and the closer the two become, the more questions arise about his resemblance to a “fictional” character.
Megan’s romantic feelings and her bizarre suspicions bring her to an impossible question… Has she dreamed the Duke to life?
Thursday Thirteen: 13 things I should be doing…
My net fizzled so because I’m expecting it to be not alive when I get home, I’m at work, writing up a thursday thirteen about things I should be doing without the distractions of the net available at my fingertips.
(ETA, net came back but I’m still going to use this)
13 things I should/could be doing:
13. Cooking and baking. I’ve been craving poutines lately and sweet & sour (with a bit of honey garlic) stirfries (not together) so I could be making those for supper instead of KD or perogies. I’ve also been wanting to make peach/blueberry cobbler or just plain fruit crisp.
12. Painting. I owe my grandma a painting but I need to buy more acrylic paint and to do so, I must travel. Excuses, excuses…
11. Clean the apartment. But who wants to?
10. Go for a walk. If it wasn’t for the fact that I already walk 15 mins home each day, I probably would. I haven’t really explored my new neighbourhood yet. I seem to just want to get home and stay in.
9. Exercise. For me, this rates up there with cleaning. It’s one of those ugh things.
8. Build hedgie a new playpen. Her cage isn’t all that big but she doesn’t seem bothered. In fact, everytime she’s out, she heads straight for it again. Prolly warmer in there with the heating pad.
7. Do a few critiques/betas. I’ve been doing this on the bus ride but only the way home it isn’t enough time to get anywhere really.
6. The art of letter writing has become lost through email. I haven’t written a letter in awhile now. I really owe some… especially to my grandma.
5. Re-learn french. I used to be bilingual. All the way up to University. But six (seven?) years later and it’s gone now aside from a few sentences/words. I also wanted to learn latin and be able to read hieroglyphs.
4. Take pictures. I used to love taking pics. Of anything and everything. I haven’t in awhile. I could do a hedgie photoshoot… but last time she got grumpy.
3. Research. I have books that I need to go through. Books that will make my brain happy. I just haven’t gotten around to seriously cracking them open. The geek in me is crying that this is the truth.
2. Read.
1. Write because I’m so behind. I completely procrastinated on wed and wrote 0. Someone, kick me. I need to write. I do.
Diva Release!
“The Scroll Thief” by R. F. Long
Genre: Fantasy-SciFi
ISBN: 978-1-60504-395-1
Length: Plus Novel
Price: 6.50
Publication Date: February 24, 2009
Cover art by Anne Cain
Love is the wiliest thief of all.
A Tale of Ithian
Malachy and his sister rely on his talents as a thief to survive the dangerous streets of Klathport, former capital of the once-great kingdom of Ithian. Stealing a few papers should have been a simple job. Instead, it nearly costs their lives and throws them into an improbable alliance with a shape-shifting official, a desert tribeswoman, and a healer of enchanting beauty.
Cerys is far more than a simple healer—and the roots of her mission go deeper into the past than anyone can know. She needs Malachy’s skills to recover a stolen scroll, one that can be used to rewrite history and, in the wrong hands, release the dark powers of the Demon Realm.
Her mission was supposed to atone for a dreadful, long-ago act. Instead, it unleashes a chain of events which sees them pursued through city and desert by the fearsome Dune Witch and a killer known only as His Lordship. Romance, tragedy, and adventure blend in a tale of a magical land on the brink of war, and five unlikely allies who, by putting their lives—and their hearts—on the line, have the opportunity to finally set things right.
But at a terrible cost.
Warning: Contains scenes of graphic violence and torture, captivating magic and beauty, two dashing heroes, three gutsy heroines, several love stories and a heartbreaking sacrifice.
melsmag.wordpress.com 