Toasted pine nuts

Ah, the diabolical pre-diabetic dimensions of yuletide sugar consumption. How it irks me and yet how I love it so.
The weather back on the island is clear and sunny - perfect for staying inside and lurking in the damp recesses of catacombs and the like. I've been battling with the water tank on our roof since the buoyancy of the regulator has gone on a bus tour of every conceivable level of hell. I managed to slow down the problem using an ancient handball, a ball of string, 4 planks of wood, a bouncy squeak toy the cats play with, and 50 square (or rather hypercubic considering what I had to do to it) centimeters of bubble wrap. Hopefully someone who actually knows what they're doing will grace our rooftop after the holidays.
Visited the cliffs on the western coast of the island on Saturday with camera in hand. Sadly, I left my USB cable of righteous transversion back at uni, so acquisition must occur before I can upload.
Went over to a set of adjacent-in-laws yesterday and witnessed the singing (howling) of Christmas carols ( Mogul battle cries) to celebrate (profane) the birth in the manger. But it was nice. Very warming after a few bowls of punch.
Today's been quiet. Checked my pseudoregulator on the roof which has transformed itself into some form of communication device which mysteriously beeps now and then like the musical tie I got for the Christmas party. As long as it helps the situation I'm not touching it.
Anyhow, I have a date with a pot of salt and a calf skull.
Adieu readers...

Multiply

Multiply - looked good so I set up a site, check it out and join the network if you're into this sort of thing, the interface is rather user friendly and it gives a high degree of case by case control over what is public and what isn't .

Check it out: http://multiply.com/

And my site: http://thebooje.multiply.com/

Enjoy!

Told you so....

hehe, neural upgrades anyone?
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/brain/dn8317

How to Change Guitar Strings

http://wiki.ehow.com/Change-Guitar-Strings

In case you ever wondered....

Printers to produce life-saving organs

Now isn't this just sweet. Running out of ink would be a serious bummer though: http://www.physorg.com/news8960.html

A team of American scientists is studying the potential of printers being developed to produce life-saving organs, reports Wired.com. They believe that any organ, a skin graft, a new trachea or a heart patch for example, can be created using special printers. The team has already discovered the required ink and paper for the project.

Demons of Christmas

Easily one of the scariest damnable phenomena lurking in Bremen this demonic giant Santa Claus (the biggest in Europe apparently, like we really needed 3 stories of hohohoing monstrosity) was something that lit up my Christmas explorations in the city. The thing had glowing eyes for crying out loud - stick that to a deep, satanic voice and gnarled hands that brought back images of trolls ripping apart livestock for fun.
They really know how to make it special for kids here. To top it off they lit it with GREEN - the effect was less than jingle bells shall we say.
::
I've recently been picking up my explorations of the sleep-wake barrier and have discovered some odd things about this and that take on reality. Yes it does get funky and not there are no psychedelics involved. In one session not too long ago I was taught how to change a tyre on a large rig in the fog by a gnomish mechanic, figured out that if you look at the wrong thing in the right light conditions the GAPING holes in reality become all too apparent (which gives one a new appreciation for how unknowingly brave everyone really is), and also that monks get slightly irritated and start forbidding seeing the relics of buddhas when you astrally invade the cracks in monastery floorboards. There was more but words don't really make it.
Anyhow back to exams...oh sweet reprieve how I long for thee!

 

BBC NEWS | Americas | Amazon nun's killers are jailed

And the follow up...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4517868.stm

BBC NEWS | Americas | Brazil nun 'shot in self-defence'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4513874.stm

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Biodiversity: The sixth great wave

Just a short reminder on how undeniably screwed we are. Extinction of species is sad, I know, but not all that unnatural. Human exploitation of the biosphere is accelerating this process greatly and naturally that produces some sectors of our population who want to save this or that...but mostly its the wrong thing they want to save.
As Lord May says in this article:

Most conservation effort goes into birds and mammals - creatures like the panda, a dim, dead-end animal that was probably on the way out anyway...Yet arguably it's the little things that run the world, things like soil microbes. They're the least-known species of all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3667300.stm

Microwaves

It's been a while eh? Well, the end of the semester rush is beginning with all the assignments, exams, and other forms of torture that are supposed to make us better
human beings (or societal fodder, whichever way you want to look at it).
On November 18th the Buddhist club (officially run by me, in reality we just sort of sit around without running) hosted Tibetan Buddhist chantmaster Ani Choying Drolma (see picture) in the campus Interfaith House. It was a cool concert and we managed to raise a chunk of funds for the charity foundation she represents.
Remembering the skill of chanting, yesterday I vocally resonated with the microwave in our floor kitchen while heating up some hot chocolate. The syncronization and delocalization of sound has a rather interesting effect of expanding the awareness of self and gives the potential for tripped out dissolution. Very cool, thought I. And so transcendental mind surfing finds no enemy in modern conveniences, fear not your microwaves!