lol People on Twitter are getting so upset because there’s a “new” zodiac sign and it’s messing up what their sign is. I’ll let you in on a little secret: astrology doesn’t work. You were never a Sagittarius, or a Pisces, or a Cancer.

You would have been if you were born 3000 years ago, but the Earth isn’t a precise timekeeper. Zodiacs change, and will change, and is changing right now. It just takes a long time.

I read an amusing account which highlights just how imprecise the Earth is at timekeeping. A few hundred years ago, before a leap year was invented, people strictly thought each year was 365 days long. Because they didn’t use leap years, their calendars went out of sync with the seasons, and so people were starting to sow crops in the middle of the summer, instead of in spring. The pope at the time realized the problem, and instituted a leap fortnight (two weeks). Of course, people back then were as stupid as today, and thought that because October 2nd was followed by October 16th of that year, the pope stole two weeks of everyone’s lives.

It was then leap year was invented, which basically just adds that extra day every four years since a year is actually 265.25 days long.

simonsayer:

9GAG - Zombie Identification Chart

canuckmackem:

It’s a TRAP!

Today would have been Carl Sagan’s 76th birthday. He died of cancer in 1996, but even all the way to the end, he still shared his wonder about the Universe with anyone that would hear. We’re poorer now for having lost him, but so much more richer for having had him.

Happy Carl Sagan Day.

Available now on the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) website is the chance to watch the Aurora Borealis live on webcam!

A little bit of background info on the aurorae:

The aurorae are caused by highly charged particles from the Sun, called Solar Winds, interacting with the Earth’s natural magnetic field. These charged particles travel along the field until they reach magnetic north and south. When slamming into the atmosphere they lose energy in the form of light, and depending on what kind of atom it is determines the color of the light. Green and brownish-red are oxygen, and red and blue are nitrogen.

This was originally a letter to Whitney Cummings’ manager or booking agent or whomever. Sent on August 24th, 2010.

Good day Mr. Katz,

I’m sure you’ve already gotten an earful from readers of the blog “Respectful Insolence,” and I am merely one more voice.

In regards to Ms. Cummings’ appearance at the “Comedy for Kids With Autism” comedy show, scheduled for Saturday September 11, 2010, it is ran, hosted by, and organized by a group called “Generation Rescue,” a notable anti-vaccination group that disseminates misinformation about vaccinations which have, at least in part, contributed to declining vaccination rates and higher rates of pertussis outbreaks, particularly in California, compromising herd immunity, and putting vulnerable people, notably the elderly and very young, both groups unable to be vaccinated and rely on the herd immunity to protect them, at risk of preventable diseases that can cause injury and death.

Having Ms. Cummings’ name attached to such a group and effort would make it seem like she supports these anti-scientific groups in spreading their misinformation that puts people in harm’s way. Such an association would continue to give these efforts a semblance of respectability and integrity that they do not deserve.

I would like to remind you and Ms. Cummings that vaccines have not been shown to cause autism (the main claim of Generation Rescue), and, in fact, have saved countless lives. In the 20th century alone, nearly half a billion people died of smallpox, a disease now completely eradicated thanks to the efforts of a vaccination program the world over. Similar efforts are being done with polio, which tremendous effect.

While Generation Rescue’s main target is the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine, it is not limited to such. Anti-vaccination misinformation has resulted in lowered vaccination rates in some communities in the United States, and have seen preventable diseases come back, such as pertussis. Pertussis, if not treated properly and promptly can be fatal, and newborns are especially vulnerable, as they’re not old enough to receive the vaccine.

As has been said earlier, vaccinations have not been shown to cause autism. There have been numerous independent studies done worldwide, and except for one study, by the anti-vaccinationist movement’s so-called “messiah” Andrew Wakefield, none have been shown to link autism with vaccinations. The one that has, by Andrew Wakefield, now a discredited and disbarred medical doctor and researcher, was the subject of numerous ethics violations, including cooking the data, and having a financial stake in it’s conclusion that vaccines cause autism.

Generation Rescue, and other organizations like it, are public health dangers. Many times over the years, they have changed their story about what about vaccines cause autism. First it was thimerosal, then aluminum, the vaccination schedule, the frequency of vaccinations, antifreeze, ether, and most recently, ambiguous “toxins.”

Thank you for taking the time to read this and considering a change in venue for Ms. Cummings.

imeversocold:

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence and reblog
* Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST

__________________________________________

“People have all kinds of thoughts,” she said, and walked out of the room.

“This want, then, creates a class of retail-traders in our State.”

carzrafiki:

You. Are. Free.

fuckyeahpokememe:

Hello,trainers.Look at your Pokemon, now back to mine, now back at your Pokemon, now back to mine. Sadly, they arn’t mine, but if you stopped using lady scented rare candies to level them and switched to training them like a man, they could battle like they’re mine. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on the S.S. Anne, with the Pokemon your Pokemon could battle like. What’s in your hand? Back at me. I have it, it’s a masterball with two of that Pokemon you love. Look again, THE POKEMON ARE NOW SHINY! Anything is possible when you train you pokemon like a man and not a lady.

I’m on a Rapidash.