It's been awhile: an article about sex in space

 

I haven't seen an article about sex in space for awhile, and I usually note it here when I do.  So I had to get this Daily Mail article up and mentioned just about as soon as I could. 

Sex in space 'dolphin-style' is the new frontier as scientists call for snuggies, straddling and Velcro

"More than 675 people have traveled to space, but according to NASA, none of them have had sex in the final frontier.

Experts believe this will soon change as more civilians pay commercial spaceflight companies, such as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, to venture into space—albeit for a hefty price."

Frankly, I'm somewhat surprised that Bezos himself hasn't booked a honeymoon launch to be a pioneer on the high frontier.

Of course, James Bond reportedly already achieved docking a few movies ago. Without Velcro.

 

Lighthouse of the Week, December 29, 2024 - January 4, 2025: Sturgeon Bay North Pierhead Light, Wisconsin, USA

 

I'll keep this short and simple:  

Happy New Year from the Sturgeon Bay North Pierhead Light in Door County, Wisconsin.

More on this one next week. I was surprised I hadn't featured it yet.

This is actually a great idea

 

If you hadn't heard, in the last minutes of the budget battle that took place just before the holidays, Washington D.C. was given control of the RFK stadium site.  This had been opposed (partly because of a totally wrong price tag Elon Muskrat put on it -- in fact, it didn't cost anything), but a couple of deals at the end of the process got it done.

So the city can try to get the Washington Commanders to play at a new stadium that they'll eventually hope to build there. And they want to make it a multi-sports venue.

Enter cricket.

Cricket in D.C.? Team owner lobbies city for stadium at RFK site.

"The approximately 4,000-seat facility would be temporary while development plans for the site are worked out, team officials say, but they hope eventually to build a permanent one if Congress approves legislation to hand over the land to D.C.

In efforts to reach that goal, Sanjay Govil, who owns Washington Freedom, has hired a lobbying firm with ties to the D.C. government entity that oversees the RFK site."

(Washington Freedom is the name of the cricket team. Very quietly, they won the championship of the league they play in. But as the article explains, they don't play in Washington D.C., despite the name.)

If it looks like this, I'd be stunned. But this is a concept picture of what it could look like.

Aging sucks (in some ways)

 

The Daily Mail recently had an article featuring photographs of actress Erin Gray, found by paparazzi going about regular daily activities. 

She became famous mostly because she played Wilma Deering (that's Colonel Wilma Deering, of course) on the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. And she made the hearts of many young and impressionable boys, myself included among them, go pitter-pat, pitter-pat, rather fast.

And now she's older, and showing what getting older does (though the article has a picture of her in 2015 dressed and glammed up for an appearance, and judging by that, she is still a fine-looking woman.

The years go by and we all change. But it's still OK to remember what we, and she, once were.

Michelle Keegan is in the mommy way

 

Michelle Keegan just used Instagram to announce, in a very nice way, that she and husband Mark Wright did what many romantically-coupled couples do, which is, they conceived a child together. You likely know the traditional way that gets accomplished.

Good for them. Hard to imagine that these two wouldn't eventually pass on their impressive genetics to progeny. 

Michelle Keegan and husband Mark Wright told family their baby news weeks ago before announcing their pregnancy with photo from secret shoot in their favourite place

North Carolina is a model for anti-democracy

 

North Carolina has been practicing anti-democracy, aka one-party rule, for several years now. And they aren't stopping, come hell or high water (and they had some of that recently).

North Carolina Republicans Push to Seize Power From Top Democrats

The state’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a sweeping bill that would erode the power of the Democratic governor and attorney general and hand the G.O.P. more control over elections.

This is absolutely ridiculous, by the way. But get used to it, because the GOP has been doing this in several states, and they keep exploring nefarious new ways to dominate politics, democracy be damned.

"The legislation would also significantly restrict the governor’s ability to fill vacancies on state courts, including the Supreme Court, by limiting the options to candidates offered by the political party of the judge leaving the seat. And it would curtail the ability of the attorney general — currently Mr. Stein, and next year Jeff Jackson, another Democrat — to challenge laws passed by the legislature.

Phil Berger, the top Republican in the State Senate, told reporters after the vote on Wednesday that Republicans’ passage of the jumbo bill was “all within the rules,” adding that they sought to restructure the election board to “have balance.”

Republicans have had a stranglehold on the North Carolina legislature since 2011, and they have pursued similar power grabs in recent years. After Mr. Cooper was elected in 2016, the legislature sought to limit the number of state employees the governor could hire, shift some of his responsibilities to the lieutenant governor and require Senate confirmation for cabinet positions.

During the 2021 redistricting process, the North Carolina legislature drew a congressional map with 11 of the state’s 14 House seats favoring Republicans — a striking advantage in a state that is almost evenly divided politically."

Have some more reindeer

 

What could be more festive during the holiday season than sautéed reindeer?

I first heard about this dish during the introduction to one of Stephen Colbert's (The Late Show) "Meanwhile" segments.)

So, here's how to cook the Lapland specialty, Poronkäristys.

"As confirmed by the Nordic Recipe Archive, Poronkäristys is traditionally cooked by sautéing the [thinly sliced] reindeer meat with a small slab of reindeer or pork fat over high heat until the fat evaporates, and then simmering the meat in butter and water until tender. Though reindeer meat is not too gamy to begin with, taking the time to braise it in fat ensures an elegantly succulent result. Finally—if you want to be really authentic—only a spattering of salt is added to the meat. Of course, these days, the cooking process is much more individualized."

More here, including the full recipe: Eating Rudolph? A Look at the Finnish Dish Poronkäristys

Enjoy. Just don't tell the kids what they're having for dinner. And don't forget the lingonberries.

A few moments with Nienke

 

Let's take just a couple of moments to contemplate Nienke van Schijndel, aka (on Instagram) nienke.fitness, model from The Netherlands.

Water moving faster in the Pacific

 

One factor affecting global climate change has been noted in the Pacific Ocean, an acceleration of the equatorial current system.

Acceleration of Pacific Ocean circulation is impacting global weather

Significant acceleration in the upper-ocean circulation of the equatorial Pacific Ocean over the past 30 years is impacting global weather patterns, according to a new study.

 

"The study is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.

Researchers used data collected between 1993–2022 from satellites, mooring buoys and ocean surface drifters.

They reanalysed wind data and satellite altitude measurements to create a high-resolution gridded map of ocean currents over time.

Among the findings is the roughly 20% acceleration of westward near-surface currents in the central equatorial Pacific."  (The blue swatch south of the Equator.)

Not discovered until this century!

 

It is somewhat amazing that a place not far from where lots of people live can go undiscovered until the 21st Century. But that's the case for this place. 

It is called the Chartreuse Arch (Tour Percée), and it is located in the Chartreuse Mountains of France. It is a double arch, incredibly photogenic, and not discovered until 2005. 

So first I'll use maps (again) to show where it is, and you can see that it isn't very far from populated places. 

Location

Location (zoomed out)

Location (zoomed further out to show Lyon, Grenoble, and Annecy)

Now just two pictures out of many, and a long video (but the first part is the best part). 

Don't breathe this stuff (if you can)

 

A recent medical study linked particulate matter of 2.5 micron size or smaller, which is not something that you should breathe if you can avoid it, to increased incidence rates of head and neck cancer.

Here is one of the articles discussing the study.

Air pollution linked to head and neck cancer risk

"Study overview

A recent study investigated the link between air pollution and rising HNC rates, using lag models over periods of 0 to 20 years to account for the time lapse between exposure and disease onset.

Data came from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2002–2012) and county-level PM2.5 exposure data (1981–2016). Researchers adjusted for demographic and lifestyle factors like smoking and alcohol consumption to isolate the impact of PM2.5.

Key findings

Increased HNC Risk: Higher PM2.5 levels were consistently associated with an increased risk of HNC across all lag periods. The strongest link was found at a 5-year lag, with a 24% higher risk. Zero and 20-year lag periods showed 16% and 15% higher risks, respectively."

So, don't breathe it. And it would be a very good thing if we could move people that live near where it is thickest away from it. That would be environmental justice.

Lighthouse of the Week, December 22 - 28, 2024: Dixon Hill, The Bahamas

 

This week's lighthouse is on the Bahamian island of San Salvador, which is the traditional (and I think, still the most likely) location that Cristoforo Colombo made his first landfall in the "New World".  There are a few people living on this island, and it has a lighthouse (though I must add, many of the lighthouses in the Bahamas are in a state of disrepair, or worse). 

The lighthouse is called Dixon Hill, on the highest point on the island, which obviously isn't that high. But it's still a working lighthouse, with a lived-in lighthouse keeper's house.  I'm going to show where it is, zoomed out a bit so you can see where San Salvador is with respect to some of the better-known islands. So that would be here. Never mind that Google Maps calls it just Dixon Lighthouse.

There isn't a lot to say about this one, but I'll let the Lighthouse Directory say it.

"1887 (station established 1856). Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 22 m (72 ft) round tapered brick tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. ... The two original 1-story keeper's houses are still occupied by keepers, who also conduct tours of the tower. Located on the highest point of the island of San Salvador, on the northeastern side of the island."

 Indeed, it is white, as you will see below.

OOH la la Abbey

 

Abbey Crouch, also once and still occasionally/professionally known as Abbey Clancy, of course.

Abbey Clancy puts on a VERY racy display in £1500 red lace lingerie as she seduces husband Peter Crouch on a snooker table in Agent Provocateur ad

To get started, here's a still shot:

And below, the entire ad, which is quite warm.  View at your own discretion. 

A guy named Gor

 

From this Washington Post article:

Trump taps combative aide for top press job as Cabinet picks face scrutiny

The following quote is extracted:

"Trump has moved quickly to assemble his next Cabinet and staff. In addition to Cheung, he announced Friday that Sergio Gor, who led a pro-Trump super PAC, would direct the presidential personnel office, a lesser-known but powerful post. Gor, who also coleads a company that has published Trump’s books, will have the title assistant to the president."

I wonder if those books are anything like this (sure wouldn't be surprised, given their apparent views on women's rights)?

 

On their way out

 

The administration of President Joe Biden has been one of the best in recent memory for the environment and climate change, and that includes Barack Obama. There is a strong likelihood that the Trump disaster (already anticipated, despite not having started yet) will try to roll back a lot of what Biden accomplished. 

Hopefully, they won't be able to roll back this one.

Biden Administration Takes Historic Step to Protect Old-Growth Forest

"In an unprecedented step to preserve and maintain the most carbon-rich elements of U.S. forests in an era of climate change, President Joe Biden’s administration last week proposed to end commercially driven logging of old-growth trees in National Forests.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, issued a Notice of Intent to amend the land management plans of all 128 National Forests to prioritize old-growth conservation and recognize the oldest trees’ unique role in carbon storage.

It would be the first nationwide amendment to forest plans in the 118-year history of the Forest Service, where local rangers typically have the final word on how to balance forests’ role in watershed, wildlife and recreation with the agency’s mandate to maintain a “sustained yield” of timber."

As the article discusses, it is a complex issue and a moderately long article. This is an important step, and we'll just have to wait and see how it progresses.

Meanwhile, enjoy the old growth while there still is some.

What Is Hin Sam Wan?

 

I'm not even sure how I found this, but somehow Hin Sam Wan, known in English as "Three Whale Rock", showed up on my radar. It's a very striking rock formation in northeastern Thailand.

First a picture:

Now the geology:

It appears to be a roughly 75 million year old sandstone formation, though other sites called it metamorphic, which would make it a quartzite. That makes sense, because quartzite would enable the smoothing that creates the surface appearance. The following site has a little more about the geology (without the metamorphism part): Thailand's Three Whale Rock Formation

I'll finish with a video:

Changing apples in Maryland

 

As the climate changes, plant horticulturists and agricultural scientists are doing their best to keep up. In Maryland, they're working on creating new varieties of apple that can deal with warmer and wetter weather. No doubt this is being done elsewhere, but since I'm in Maryland and the article was about apples in Maryland, I'm noting it here.

Maryland researchers breed apples for a changing climate
Two new varieties can better tolerate hotter, wetter weather.

"Decades ago, Chris Walsh – now an emeritus professor at the University of Maryland – started researching and breeding apples in his region.

Walsh: “And I realized that the new apple varieties that we were trialing locally didn’t have the ability to stand up to the heat.”

So he started breeding apples that can. Recently, his team secured patents for two varieties – one red, and one yellow.

So far, they’re just called MD-TAP1 and 2 – short for Maryland Tree Architecture Program. But they’ll get catchier names when licensed by a commercial nursery."

More about this here, from the University of Maryland.

This is the new red apple:

Did you see this year's small wonders?

Every year there are several articles about Nikon's Small World annual microphotography contest, because the pictures are so unique and varied. One of the articles about it was from Atlas Obscura.

The 2024 Nikon Small World Winners Are Big on Wonder

You can go to that site and see what their editors selected. I went to the main site, clicked around a bit, and found this one:

Acute-stage parasites of Toxoplasma gondii in a human skin cell 

by Dr. Kseniia Bondarenko

Lighthouse of the Week, December 15-21, 2024: La Farola, Málaga, Spain

 

Funny how these things happen. I was trying to come up with a lighthouse theme or location this week, and I just said "Malaga" to myself. Now, Málaga is a port city in Spain, and I have featured a lighthouse (actually three of them) near there before. But not the actually Málaga lighthouse, which is called La Farola.

As I usually do, this is a map link to where it is located. I liked this one even more after I looked at the map; switch to satellite view and you will see that it has a 50-meter swimming pool right next to it, and also the beach. Great location.  (Zoom all the way in on the satellite view and you'll see one person swimming in it!)

So, let's consult the Lighthouse Directory for the specs:

"1817 (Joaquín M. Pery y Guzmán). Active; focal plane 38 m (125 ft); four white flashes, in a 3+1 pattern, every 20 s. 37 m (121 ft) robust round masonry tower with lantern and gallery, rising through the center of a 2-story keeper's house. 3rd order Chance Brothers Fresnel lens (1922). Entire lighthouse painted white. ... One of the oldest and most historic lighthouses of Spain, this tower has lived an eventful life. The lighthouse was damaged by an earthquake in 1898 and not completely repaired until 1913. It was further damaged by artillery during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s; it had to be extensively repaired and refurbished in 1939. In recent years GPS and radar installations have been added. It is known affectionately as La Farola, a term usually used for much smaller light towers. Floodlit at night, it is a familiar symbol of the city's waterfront. In 2023 plans were announced to develop the lighthouse as a museum; €72,600 was allocated to draw up plans for a restoration estimated to cost at least €600,000."

There are lots and lots of pictures of this one; it's picturesque and accessible in a popular location, so that makes sense.  Five examples, including a night shot, are shown below.

A quote from a Nobel-prize winning economist

 

In this column, Daron Acemoglu, 2024 Nobel Prize winner in economics, is quoted.

I think it's a good idea to listen to what he says.

Yes, America can fail

"Economic prosperity requires institutions that foster risk-taking and innovation: secure property rights that ensure people can enjoy benefits from their investment; predictable enforcement of contracts; free and fair elections that allow citizens to keep a tab on their leaders and replace them when needed. These things, in turn, require the rule of law, independent judiciaries and freedom of the press.

Unfortunately, Trump is itching to undermine all these institutions. As Acemoglu put it to me, “There are many different ways in which the United States can be hurt really badly.”

Better buckle up, it's going to get bumpy.

Just don't get cursed

 

The Field Museum of Chicago has been looking inside their mummies, to learn more about their lives.

Just as long as they don't invoke an ancient curse, I'm OK with that.

New research on mummified remains offer scientists rare glimpse behind ancient wrappings

This is the face on Harwa's coffin. You can actually see pictures of who resides inside, but I'm going to leave that to your discretion.

More about Harwa:

"The mummified individual known as Harwa has long been a favorite at the Field. Also from the Third Intermediate Period, he lived about 3,000 years ago. The scans taken have revealed that Harwa lived a relatively cushy life as the Doorkeeper of the 22nd Kingdom’s granary. Images of his spine reveal that even at his increased age (early to mid-40s) he shows no immediate signs of ailments that would come from performing repeated physical labor. Furthermore, his extremely well-kept teeth reinforce his high social status as he had access to high-quality foods.

Harwa has an extensive legacy of having a very full afterlife. Archival Field Museum publications share Harwa’s tale as the first mummified person to fly on an airplane in 1939. Upon arrival in New York City, he was welcomed with a variety of activities beyond the wildest dreams of an ancient person, including visiting a Broadway show. When his two-year stint on display at the New York World’s Fair ended, he became the first mummy to get lost in luggage, as he was accidentally sent to San Francisco rather than back home to the Field Museum."

So, as they saying goes, if you don't know, ask your mummy. And they did.

I saw this coming

 

Even though former Stanford basketball star Cameron Brink got hurt (torn ACL) in her first WNBA season, I expect she's got a good career ahead of her.

And there's another career she could have: swimsuit model.

I didn't think that the swimsuit industry, or Sport Illustrated, could pass up a gorgeous 6-foot-4 blonde. Clearly, they couldn't.

WNBA star Cameron Brink lands Sports Illustrated swimsuit deal

I see no problem with her pursuing this line of alternative employment. Her lines look just fine. But I hope her knee is fully healed and that she has a great WNBA career, too.

Lighthouse of the Week, December 8-14, 2024: Motta Misaki (Cape Motta) Lighthouse, Hokkaido, Japan

 

I promised another lighthouse from Japan's island of Hokkaido this week, and this is what I promised. Given the current hype around the movie version of the musical Wicked, I thought this one was quite timely. The Lighthouse Directory calls what it is wearing a dunce cap, but I think of it as a witch's hat.

This is called, apparently, several different names:  Motta Misaki, Motsuta Misaki, or just Cape Motta, which is what Google Maps has it listed as.  Here's where it is located on Hokkaido, and note Sapporo again.

Now the Lighthouse Directory tells us more:

"1937. Active; focal plane 282 m (925 ft); two white flashes every 24 s. 14 m (46 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern, gallery, and a traditional "dunce-cap" roof, attached to a 1-story concrete equipment room. Lighthouse painted white with a broad black horizontal band. 3rd order (?) clamshell Fresnel lens in use." ... "The unusual height of this powerful lighthouse gives a range of more than 65 km (40 mi). The lighthouse was restored in 2001 and the tall dunce-cap roof was apparently added at the time. At the same time the forest road to the light station was opened to the public." ... "The station commands a spectacular view of the Sea of Japan; the island of Okushiri can be seen in fair weather. Located on a high, mountainous promontory about 16 km (10 mi) north of Setana."

Enjoy the pictures below.

Get your Leinies while you can

 

Sad news out of Wisconsin;  the Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin will be closing. While craft breweries proliferate around the country, the mid-size breweries are being swallowed up (ha) by the big corporate interests, in this case Molson Coors.  And sadly, this means a loss of quality and taste and variety.

Molson Coors to close Leinenkugel’s Brewery in Chippewa Falls

Still, Leinenkugels will still be available, but just not brewed with genuine Big Eddy Springs water.

"According to Molson Coors, the company has gradually shifted production of the Leinenkugel’s brand from Chippewa Falls to Milwaukee over the years. Molson Coors says more than 75 percent of the total Leinenkugel volume is already produced in Milwaukee."

Trump in space (I wish)

 

Not really about potentially jettisoning the President-elect (as I write this) out of the airlock sans spacesuit, this is about what space policy might be like during the absolute terror of the second Trump administration.

What a 2nd Trump administration could mean for NASA and space exploration

"And with SpaceX on track to lower the cost of a single Starship flight to less than $10 million, SLS and the broader architecture of the Artemis program is deemed to get a hard look even as NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free urged the incoming administration to maintain the current plans. Historically, SLS and Orion development has received substantial funding from a broad coalition; the program supports more than 69,000 jobs nationwide as of 2019."

That job thing might make it hard to cut Artemis. 

"One concern I have is that U.S. space policy will continue to evolve to enable, even more so, the rapid occupation of Earth orbits without adequately accounting for the risks — operational, environmental, and security — associated with that growth," Aaron C. Boley, who studies orbital debris as co-director of the Outer Space Institute, told Space.com via email.

There is also a looming uncertainty about how NASA will position itself in the coming years. The space agency has notably been a non-partisan entity over the years of changing administrations and conflicting priorities.

With Musk's growing influences over the federal government, however, "the idea of sending humans to Mars could start to be itself seen as a conservative or right wing value," said Dreier, "which, even though there's no inherent reason why it should be, would induce a knee jerk rejection by the opposite party because it will be seen as a defining aspect of the right wing."

That would be strange. Spending an exorbitant amount of money to get to Mars in a budget-cutting, inflation-conscious, deficit-wary MAGA-pandering administration.

Why do I see a problem here?

This is why. 

 

Syracuse ISN'T the snowiest city in the world

 

I've been to Syracuse just a couple of times, and only in the summer. So I can't vouch for the winters, but others I met there could.  Syracuse gets snow from systems crossing both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, so this isn't a big surprise, but given the massive volumes of snow that places like Buffalo can get, I'm surprised that Syracuse is Number One.

Read for more.

The Top 10 Snowiest Cities in the World

Recently, though, Buffalo's huge snow-effect drops have given it a short-term edge.

"With an average annual snowfall of 124 inches, Syracuse is no stranger to snow. Records show that the city occasionally experiences heavy snowfall, with an all-time high of 192 inches in a single season. Statistics like these cement Syracuse’s status as the snowiest metropolitan area in the United States, a claim made possible by a combination of different geological factors: the city’s proximity to Lake Ontario and the regular dumping of snow by nor’easter cyclones.

Known as the economic and educational hub of Central New York, Syracuse is as famous for its weather as for its university’s Division I sports teams. The city consistently wins the Golden Snowball Award, a humorous accolade given to the city in Upstate New York with the most snowfall each season. Syracuse has won the award 14 times but has been beaten out by Buffalo since 2021. Fellow competitors Rochester and Buffalo qualify as the world’s eighth and ninth snowiest cities respectively."

Here's the problem, though.  After reading this article, that quote above in particular, and getting pointed to it by the Daily Mail article (quote: "Travel experts from TripSavvy named Syracuse, New York, the snowiest city in the world this year."

But let's read from the article now.

Sapporo, Japan: average annual snowfall 191 inches.
Chamonix, France: not clear, because the article makes it sound like it's the snowfall in the mountains, not in Chamonix itself.
Quebec City: average annual snowfall 124 inches, same as Syracuse.
St. Johns, Canada: average annual snowfall 131 inches.
Toyama, Japan: average annual snowfall 143 inches.
Erie, Pennsylvania: average annual snowfall 104 inches.
Aomori City, Japan: average annual snowfall 312 inches.
Muskegon, Michigan: average annual snowfall 76 inches (I don't know why they didn't include Houghton, MI).
Valdez, Alaska: average annual snowfall 326 inches.

So Syracuse isn't anywhere close to the snowiest city in the world. Somebody is confused out there, and that's confusing the rest of us.

I tried to find a picture that showed what it's like; there are quite a few (and videos too), many showing the almost-tunnel of the main road created by the snow-throwing trucks.  But I went with this one.

By the way, remember that in many cases, global warming is making heavy winter snowfalls heavier, due to more moisture in the atmosphere (mainly) and various other regional factors, like higher lake and ocean temperatures adjacent to these snow-prone locations. 

Lighthouse of the Week, December 1-7, 2024: Hiyori Yama Lighthouse, Hokkaido, Japan

 

I don't think I've visited Japan for awhile in the ongoing Lighthouse of the Week feature, so I'm back there this week. In the past, I've featured three lighthouses on the northern island of Hokkaido. This one will be the fourth, and I just found one for next week to be the fifth. You'll see why when I get there.

But back to this one.  It's the Hiyori Yama (also spelled Hiyoriyama) lighthouse, and it's officially in Otaru City, but it's not far from the somewhat better known Sapporo.  See where that is using this link.

It's well-located, but it's not notably historical, so the Lighthouse Directory entry is short.

"Date unknown (station established 1883). Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); two white flashes every 20 s. 10 m (33 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a 1-story keeper's house. Entire stucture, including the keeper's house, painted with red and white horizontal bands. ... This lighthouse stands at the end of a sharp promontory that shelters the harbor of Otaru."

Before I provide three picture, this is a link to a great picture of the location on Flickr. I thought about grabbing it and showing it here, but since it's on Flick and owned by a Pro account, I decided using the link was better. If you click the link, you can magnify the picture, but I haven't figured out how to demagnify after you do that.

My other picture finds are below.

Fifteen?

 

The Daily Mail published an article with an intriguing (to say the least) headline.

Revealed: the 15 types of orgasm and how to achieve them, by sexologist JESSICA TOSCANO

To which I immediately thought:  Fifteen?  (As you can see from the title.)

This type of thing deserves further examination. I would also encourage numerous experiments, but I can't tell you what to do.

If you read the list (obviously I encourage doing that, too), you'll see that women are highly advantaged in the different kinds of orgasm section of the sexological lexicon. 

According to this list, I've had three different kinds, and I don't think there's going to be an opportunity for any more. Certainly not cervical. 

But hey -- it's good to have goals.

This is dumb (and bad)

 

After the kangaroo, the animal that most people associate with Australia is the wombat.

NO! It's the platypus.

NO! It's the koala.

Yes! At least I would think so.  There must be a poll somewhere. Even if it's not, the koala is one of Australia's most recognized animals, and it's very cute too.

Oh yeah -- it's endangered.  Because its main source of nutrition is the leaves of eucalyptus trees. They live in forests, of course.

"Thousands of koalas died in devastating bushfires five years ago, and many populations were already in decline after a steady drumbeat of logging, housing developments, dog attacks, car strikes and other threats. In 2022, the federal government declared koalas endangered."

So to help them out, they agreed to create a sanctuary for the koalas.

" “We are committed to creating the Great Koala National Park,” New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said in an interview. “It’s a really important part of our plan to save koalas in the wild. I just ask people to be patient for a little bit longer. We’re going to do it right and we’re going to do it well.”

Great idea, right? Yes, but ...

"Although logging has been suspended in roughly 32 square miles identified as “koala hubs” — the most critical koala habitat — that means 95 percent of the state forests under consideration are still open to logging."

That is just dumb. Save the koalas -- and save the forests, too, because that's where they live.

Speaking of blondes

 

Was I speaking of blonde women?  It seems like I was. 

Well, if I was or if I wasn't, blonde (I think) Margot Robbie, who played Barbie (definitely a blonde) in the movie Barbie, celebrated the big success of the movie by seeing her gynecologist, making sure everything was working, then getting together with her husband Tom and proving everything was working by getting pregnant. 

And everything kept on working until she gave birth quite recently, which is how it's supposed to work.

Margot Robbie gives birth! Barbie star, 34, delivers healthy baby boy as husband Tom is pictured stocking up on nappies and booze

I don't think we've seen any pictures of the tot, but here's a picture of Margot with the tot on the walk.

Is this Volaire's most famous painting?

 

Not Voltaire, Volaire. Pierre-Jacques Volaire, a French painter with a penchant for volcanoes.

He painted Vesuvius erupting many times, frequently under moonlight. The painting below is currently on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is entitled "The Eruption of Vesuvius, A View of Naples Beyond".  I'm wondering if this is his most famous painting. It probably is right now, considering it's on exhibit at the Met.

However, he moved to Naples in 1769, and two years later, Vesuvius erupted. He painted that eruption -- see below. I'm not sure how quickly he painted it and how soon it went on exhibit (if it did), because if it was done soon after the eruption, people in Europe who heard about the eruption -- and who also perhaps knew their ancient Greek history -- might have wanted to see what the eruption, which should have been in the news, looked like. So maybe the painting below is his most famous work.

Given the recent reports of activity around this location, it might be useful to know what has happened there before. 

Lighthouse of the Week, November 24-30, 2024: Porthcawl Breakwater Lighthouse, Wales, UK

 

This lighthouse isn't particular tall or architecturally outstanding. It's a small one, on a breakwater in Wales, and its exact location is found here. It's fairly near Swansea and a little farther away from Cardiff.

What it does have is waves.  Big, monstrous, foamy, crashing waves.  As you will see.

First, though, you will see the short notes from the Lighthouse Directory.

"1860. Active; focal plane 10 m (34 ft); continuous light, white over the entrance channel and red or green to the sides. 9 m (30 ft) hexagonal cast iron tower with domed lantern, painted white with a black band around the base. ... This is one of the only two surviving cast-iron lighthouses in Wales. Long powered by gas, the little lighthouse was not converted to electric power until 1997. Located at the end of the breakwater on Porthcawl Point in Porthcawl, at the eastern entrance to Swansea Bay."

See, I told you it was near Swansea.

Now, about those waves:

More waves, and a couple of pictures of the lighthouse itself, appear below.

The first one accompanied this article:  Remembering the days Wales' iconic Porthcawl Lighthouse was kept lit by coins fed into a meter

Surf's up.