A penguin which escaped from a Tokyo zoo in March has been discovered prosperous, presumably doing what penguins do best. I guess Tokyo bay is either a) cleaner than I imagined it b) larger, or c) both. I imagine they'll eventually trap the escapee eventually, but it's nice to know he's able to get by just fine.

Most of Cracked's "6 things we want to be snarky about because we have to justify our journalism degrees somehow. Oh, and bullshit boobies" stories aren't worth all that much. It's when they take a crack at the politically correct version of early US history that some gold can be found. And, you know, the occasional mention of bullshit and boobies. Boobies! (SFW)

A major Italian university has announced its intention to teach most of its courses, including all of its graduate-and-above levels, in English. The stated reason is to make the university more competitive on the global stage. The move is predictably controversial, with protests and petitions already underway.

Scientists have announced the discovery of the world's oldest rock art and, you guessed it, it's a cooter. Or pac-man. You pick. On reflection, though, I'm vaguely surprised our erstwhile caveman didn't immortalize his own junk in stone. That tends to be what gets put up on the bathroom walls, even in Pompeii.

Agreed: With more and more female candidates, the Democrats’ “war on women” meme becomes sillier and sillier. That's not going to stop them from pushing it. It's just about all that's left.

Using a new surgical technique doctors have allowed a previously paralyzed man to regain the use of his fingers. The injury the 71 year-old sustained crushed his C7 vertebra, at the base of the neck. He had arm function but only got the ability to use his fingers back when doctors almost literally rewired his nerves.

Desirae H. gets a no-prize that'll definitely make people stare at her book collection for bringing us some pretty nifty book shelf ideas. Beats the hell out of a stack of rectangles. Weirdly, Ellen and I have both gone to a Kindle this year, which has zeroed our "real" book purchases. That said, I've been carrying around some of the books in my library for nearly 30 years. Why not be stylish with them?

If you set the clock back far enough on my hobby time machine, eventually telescopes come up. I've put that one on a back burner so deep I'd forgotten it was there. Those of you who're thinking about it may find this "beginner's guide" of interest. Living next door to a major airport limits our sky view at night, but the rest of you may not be as limited.

Another entry in the "why'd it take this long" file: a grad student has created a fully-functional Portal gun turret. Complete with the adorably psychopathic voice. Fortunately this one only shoots nerf darts. Cat guard? You betcha!

I won't go so far as to call them "Hydrocarbon Deniers" because, unlike them, I'm very conscious of the origin and original intent of the word "denier" in this context, and comparing a reasonable person's disagreement with something to a monumental mass murder has always struck me as rather gauche. I do, however, quite like the idea of "Energy Prohibitionists," although even I admit it doesn't quite have the same ring.

Via Instapundit.

I guess I'm happy that nobody this famous ever signed one of my yearbooks. I grew up in a small town, though. Kind of a "law of averages" sort of thing.

Oh Lord, bless this, thy Wikipedia without which I would never have known about the Dyatlov Pass Incident, a mystery so incredibly creepy to me it took three tries just to get through the "Wikipedia dry-as-dust" article. Wandering campers, radiation, mysterious injuries, and enigmatic photographs, this story has 'em all. Think Blair Witch, only real, and, you know... Russified.

Using technology originally developed for solar cells, scientists are creating eye implants which could enable blind people to see. They're still most definitely in the "do-gross-things-to-rats" proof of concept stages, but the technology does seem to be promising. It'll probably disappoint cyber-punk fans, but apparently the idea is to make them as invisible as possible.

Taking that whole "blazing speed" all wrong: a fire in an F-1 garage has the organization re-examining safety and storage procedures. An hour after their first win in almost eight years, something in the Williams garage caught fire and basically destroyed it. Fortunately nobody was seriously injured.

After decades spent fighting a homeowners association full of rich people, George Lucas has altered the deal. Georgetown, the fair definition of "limousine liberaville," kept Metro out AND kept that fact quiet for precisely the same reasons. It's all well and good to help the poor, as long as they're in someone else's back yard.

I dunno. If they managed to stop a studio from being built for twenty-five years, I can't help but think they'll make sure Consuela and her six kids aren't allowed to move in with Taqueesha and her five next door.

Making the rounds: a Chinese developer decided to upgrade an existing apartment block with an underground parking garage. And yes, even in the US it's considered a "best practice" to dig a big hole BEFORE you put a heavy building on top of it. Nope, I wouldn't want to live in a Chinese-built apartment that this was happening to, either.