FN Five-Seven

Here's one of the guns used by Hasan yesterday, purchased legally. I'd hate to think he killed an injured all those people with an illegally-purchased weapon.

The one shown here has an optional light, for nighttime operations -- which could be very handy.

Records indicate Hasan bought the FN 5.7 at store called Guns Galore in Killeen, Texas, well before the attack that left 13 people dead. The pistol has been dubbed a "cop killer" by those who have tried to stop its use.

More at Wikipedia.

The Five-Seven is supplied with 20 round magazines, or 10 round magazines where restricted by law. A 30 round magazine (or 10 round magazine extension) is also available, protruding 1.75 inches from the base of the weapon. The Five-Seven magazine is constructed of polymer and contrary to conventional pistol magazines, feeds from double feed lips similar to the magazine of a submachine gun such as the Heckler & Koch MP5. This makes it very easy to load individual cartridges into the magazine.

That's a very pretty gun. I wouldn't mind getting one. Any idea how much they cost?

Periodic Table

Here's periodic table table.

I’m A Banjo Hangout Thread Stopper

A few days ago, I made a comment in a Banjo Hangout thread that caused the thread to be closed. The topic was Genesis. It started like this:

Being a big fan of R. Crumb, both as an artist and as a musician (I love the Cheap Suit Serenaders), I've been really anxious to pick up a copy of his recently published take on the book of Genesis. I got it last night, and I'm really enjoying it.

This morning, partly because it's what I listen to, and partly because it's what R. Crumb listens to, I started thinking of old time tunes that relate to the book of Genesis.

A few people contributed, including myself. Then I had a clever brainstorm and posted a second comment:

And then there's one tune that summarizes the entire book: "Fly Around My Pretty Little Myth."

It's only funny if you're familiar with an old-time tune called "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss." In any case, nine minutes later, a moderator closed the thread.

The Banjo Hangout doesn't allow religious posts, unless they are pro-religion. As an example, take a look at this one, about a tune called Baptist Shout. The original poster asked about the origins of this tune. The first reply was:

I love this tune as well. Great melody line and as believers in CHRIST, theres alot to "shout" about concerning this new life and the one to come.

I made this reply, and was accused of being intolerant:

C'mon Rob. Save it for church. I come here for banjos, not religion.

The Banjo Hangout is a great forum, but they sure don't enforce the rules consistently.

Problem With Paper Money

This could change everything: Paper Money Violates All Ten Commandments.

1. Paper money debt enslaves you to something other than God.
2. Valuing paper money is an act of idolatry.
3. "In God we trust" takes the Lord's name in vain.
4. The sabbath debt forgiveness times are ignored.
5. Lack of honest standards dishonors our parents.
6. Paper money has funded mass murder; two world wars.
7. Lenders, usurers, are committing spiritual adultery.
8. Paper money and banking is institutionalized theft.
9. Paper money requires a mountain of false testimony.
10. Paper money is supported by greed and covetousness.

So sayeth Jason Hommel who, coincidentally enough, deals in gold and silver.

Would you trust someone who wears an orange tie with a green shirt?

Lovely Flowers

From a listing of a home for sale in Michigan:

(via There, I Fixed It)

The Weekend Open Mic

It's a weekend.

Noodles Length Measured And Added

Did you ever wonder how many feet of noodles are in a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup? Now you know. It's part of a billboard campaign to celebrate 75 years of chicken noodle soup.

"We wanted to remind people how the soup they love more than any other is full of the stuff they love most," Eric Christianson, business director- Campbell's condensed soups, said in a statement.

Stone Stuff

By a sculptor named Robin Antar: Things we eat, but can't.

Here's one of her creations, which can be yours for $36,000:

The bag of Oreo Cookies is carved out of Marble and hand painted. The oreo cookies are cast in resin and hand painted. Price includes a custom build pedestal with a rotating base and a lucite cover case for public display. Does not include, crating, shipping and sales tax.

If that's too expensive, perhaps you'd like this nice limestone boot (only $9,500):

Teacher Won’t Fingerprint

In Texas: Teacher claims fingerprinting is 'Mark of the Beast'.

A 22-year veteran kindergarten teacher in the Texas Bible Belt could lose her job for refusing, on religious grounds, to give fingerprints under a state law requiring them.

The evangelical Christian, Pam McLaurin, is fighting a looming suspension, claiming that fingerprinting amounts to the "Mark of the Beast," and hence is a violation of her First Amendment right to practice her religion. Her case is similar to a lawsuit by a group of Michigan farmers, some of them Amish, challenging rules requiring the tagging of livestock with RFID chips, saying the devices are also the devil's mark.

More:

Her attorney, Scott Skelton, said his client believes that the computerized fingerprinting, in which her fingerprints will be stored in a database, is the mark addressed in Revelation. The teacher does not believe that it is merely coincidence that Revelation says only those with the ‘mark on his forehead or on his hand' will be able to buy or sell, since only those teachers who comply with fingerprinting requirements will keep their jobs, he said.

Einstein’s Head

Found at If Charlie Parker...

This visage is the mask of the Albert Einstein robot developed by Hanson Robotics.

Watch a video of Einstein the robot.

Blog Heat Map

Here's a heat map of this blog, prior to posting this post. It's from Feng-GUI.

Find out how people see your website, photo or ad and which areas are getting most of the attention. This artificial intelligence service simulates human vision during the first 5 seconds of exposure to visuals

Movie Names

Movie names, said by actors in the movie.

(Thanks Mart)

Free Ottmar Liebert Album Download

Download Under The Rose, by Rahim AlHaj, Ottmar Liebert, Jon Gagan & Barrett Martin.

Very nice music. Donations are accepted.

All proceeds from this CD will be donated by UR Music to Direct Aid Iraq -  - in support of its heroic efforts to restore hope for the tens of thousands of Iraqi children whose lives have been devastated by violence, whether through the loss of home or family or through injury and disability.

(Thanks Curtis)

Bigfoot Dewar

What's a Bigfoot Dewar?

It's a device used by the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

Bigfoot Dewars are Alcor's primary patient care system. Dewars are stainless steel vacuum-insulated containers that hold liquid nitrogen (named after their inventor, Sir James Dewar, in 1885). Alcor's Dewars are called "Bigfoot" because of the large casters at the bottom. Each Bigfoot can hold four wholebody patients, or 10 neuropatients in each space that would otherwise be occuppied by a whole body patient.

A neuropatient, I think, consists of only a head.

Patients are maintained at a steady temperature of -196 degrees Celsius, immersed under liquid nitrogen, with no need for electricity. Approximately 15 liters of liquid nitrogen per day evaporates from a Bigfoot Dewar, which must be periodically replenished.

From their FAQ:

Q: Is it moral to deprive children of their inheritance?

A: A couple with two children that chooses cryonics is splitting their wealth four ways. A couple that chooses to have four children instead of cryonics is still splitting their wealth four ways. Since there is no moral outcry against couples having four children instead of two (thereby depriving their eldest children of a larger inheritance) there should be no moral concern about families choosing cryonics.

Q: What happens to the soul?

A: Humans have been successfully cryopreserved and revived as embryos. The state of the soul of a cryopreserved person would seem to be one of quiescent waiting.

Q: What is the Christian view of cryonics?

A: Cryonics is strongly consistent with the pro-life views of Christianity and other religions that value the sanctity of human life.

Devil Is Afraid Of You

This just in. An exorcist says: The devil is afraid of you.

Mgr John Esseff, retired exorcist of the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, told an audience of 400 students at Bowling Green State University, Ohio that the power of Jesus within them was "enormous".

He said: "The devil is afraid of you - if you would just awaken to who you are."

Mgr Esseff said that each baptised person was united to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. He read passages from the Gospels in which Jesus exorcised demons and then sent his disciples to do the same.

He said that Jesus ultimately defeated Satan through his death and Resurrection and then sent the power of the Holy Spirit to his Apostles at Pentecost.

"When God looks down, he sees Jesus in you," Mgr Esseff said. "Your soul is a battlefield because there is also someone who hates you," he said. "That one is the devil."

It's amazing how people just make stuff up. Even more amazing is the fact that others believe them.