Swiss glaciers 'in full retreat'

By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco



Swiss glaciers are melting away at an accelerating rate and many will vanish this century if climate projections are correct, two new studies suggest.

One assessment found that some 10 cubic km of ice have been lost from 1,500 glaciers over the past nine years.

The other study, based on a sample of 30 representative glaciers, indicates the group's members are now losing a metre of thickness every year.

Both pieces of work come out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

"The trend is negative, but what we see is that the trend is also steepening," said Matthias Huss from the Zurich university's Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology.

"Glaciers are starting to lose mass increasingly fast," he told BBC News.

Read the full article.

Meanwhile, our intrepid Renee is freezing her, er, buns off in Chicago. Funny thing about global warming. It's never around when and where you need it.

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Mar-goyle

Currently staying at my brother Paul's place in Chicago. Here's his cat, Marble, posing next to a little gargoyle statue.



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Border Walls Keep Out Mary and Baby

by Maryada Vallet12-18-2008

She walks the trails until her ankles swell and her back pulsates with pain. Her abdomen, swollen with eight months of pregnancy, slows her down, and with each step she cannot help but think, “Will I be left in the middle of nowhere to give birth among the dirt and desert pines? Does anyone out there care to take me in, give me shelter?

Similar questions were certainly asked by Mary, the brave young woman who carried Jesus across borders trying to please the mandates of the Roman Empire. Only this time, “Mary” does not have a partner or a donkey to help, and there definitely is no pleasing the empire.

Read the full article.

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It's Kitten Time

Kittens are good for the soul. Check out more kittens at The Daily Kitten

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DID YOU FEEL A LITTLE LUNEY LAST NIGHT?

Last night the moon came closer to the Earth than it has all year.
It was 14% bigger and 30% brighter! Did you notice?

Here's a photo I managed to get...



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Black hole found in Milky Way

The BBC reports the results of a sixteen-year study, which show conclusively not only that super massive black holes exist, but that in fact one resides at the center of our very own galaxy.

Not to worry, though. Rather than a ravinous monster, our four million solar mass black hole may be benign, even helpful according to one researcher quoted in the article.

According to Dr Robert Massy, of the Royal Astronomical Society, the results suggest that galaxies form around giant black holes in the way that a pearl forms around grit.

Dr Massy said: "Although we think of black holes as somehow threatening, in the sense that if you get too close to one you are in trouble, they may have had a role in helping galaxies to form - not just our own, but all galaxies.

It has long been suspected that black holes form the center of many if not most galaxies, and the idea that they aid in galaxy formation is not totally new either. This study solidifies these concepts, bringing home to us the reality that creation and destruction are inextricably intertwined.

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Weekend Open Thread

There's a new site in the "I can has cheezburger" family of blogs, called "Once Upon a Win". That's where I found this:


more epic win

The included this excerpt from the Wikipedia article about Ross.

Bob Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter and television host.

With his calm, patient nature, Ross came to prominence as the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, a long-running television program on public broadcast stations in the United States. When asked about his laid-back approach to painting and eternally calm and contented demeanor, he once commented: “I got a letter from somebody here a while back, and they said, ‘Bob, everything in your world seems to be happy.’ That’s for sure. That’s why I paint. It’s because I can create the kind of world that I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it. Shoot, if you want bad stuff, watch the news.”

I miss Bob Ross. He was awesome.

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Open Thread

more animals


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CELESTIAL THREAD: Moon, Venus, Jupiter

World A.I.D.S. Day

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"Submarine Service"

This was one of the posters on the wall where we ate our Thanksgiving buffet--a restaurant near the airport with a World War II theme. The caption on this particular poster reads, "He volunteered for submarine service".

As I was standing in line for the buffet, I heard the man standing behind me comment that "submarine service" sounded like a euphemism for something dirty. I giggled, and made a mental note to share that funny line with Demetrius. But then the man continued to speak, and I turned around, realizing that it *was* Demetrius saying something funny. But I hadn't been aware of him getting up to go to the buffet immediately after I got up, so I really did think I was hearing a quip from someone else at the restaurant.

I guess it's reassuring to know that there are at least a few entertaining compensations when one's mind begins to go... ;)

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Friday Open Thread

more animals

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JOY! JOY! JOY!





The test Ally took today came back:

There is NO living Neuroblastoma in Ally!

She kicked that tumor's butt!

Time to celebrate and give Thanks!!

Gee, and Ally's Grammie Sue hasn't even blown out her candles yet!
Tomorrow will be a very special Thanksgiving Birthday!!

If you like, come by and light some candles in celebration! :-)
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=ALLYS

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Tuesday Open Thread

more animals

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Monday Open Thread

see more pwn and owned pictures

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Weekend open thread

Hat tip to Alan for sending me the picture.


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Friday Open Thread

more animals


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Wednesday Open Thread

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Tuesday Open Thread

more lol celebs!

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