Paper cuts, that’s right, you’ve had them, but why do they hurt so much? Check out paper cuts on Wikipedia. “A Moment of Science” by Indiana University Bloomington has a article about paper cuts. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article you can have it read to you or click here. (You need RealPlayer, but I’d recommend Real Alternative) Also Carbonless.org is a site about the evils of carbonless copy paper. They also have photos of paper under an electron microscope.

So as I was looking around the net I noticed there were a few things today, more than usual, that people have pet peeves about.

Some are:
• The plural of the word ‘virus’
• The proper usage of apostrophes
• It’s or Its (a simple explanation of each is here) and
• To who or whom it may concern.

• More people reading and writing blogs.
• More sites and a variety of projects using wikis.
• More people using RSS for blog syndication, getting podcasts, getting torrents.
• More cross-site integration.
• More mashups.
• More people listening to and creating podcasts.
• More vidcasts.
• More people using Flickr for sharing photos.   My Flickr Photos
• More people using BitTorrent for all kinds of content, free and legal content licensed under Creative Commons.
• A broader user-base for all of these.
• More hardware hacking fun.   To learn more about it go to Hack-a-Day, Make Magizine

Science is cool and now even more fun! link

3D printing is pretty cool, but when you print Escher’s art in 3D, that’s awesome! link and Beyond Escher For Real

This guy made a bag you carry with a shoulder strap out of a gas can! Crazy, no? link

Wired has an article called ‘The 50 Best Robots Ever.’ It was interesting to read about some of the lesser known ones. link

In ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ Charlie Brown mentioned aluminum Christmas trees and I was wondering what he was talking about. I searched on Google for ‘Aluminum Christmas Trees’ and found AluminumChristmasTrees.net. It explains what they are and they sell them too. More information about Chirstmas trees is on Wikipedia.

I just attempted to take a power nap. At first I tried to take a 15 minute one, but right when I was almost asleep my dog, Mindy, who was in my room, started barking! Ahh! Then I tried to go to sleep again for 20 minutes. I didn’t ever really fall asleep, well, I don’t think so. It was peaceful at least.

I did this because I am tired and I read about it at Life Hacker. The article referred to an article in Men’s Journal intitled ‘Snooze, You Win.’ The article said that there are five stages of sleep. By only sleeping only 20 minutes you stay in the light, but restful stage and arn’t groggy when you wake up.

I believe that this would work if I had followed the other rules for good power naps listed in the article. Such as napping in the morning or just after lunch and not drinking a sugared drink right before trying to nap. Another article just about sleep in general, including what sleep is, sleep patterns, how much sleep most people need of different ages. It’s called ‘Sleeping Well’ and it’s over at Royal College of Psychiatrists

Power Naps link
Sleeping Well link

Ahhh, It’s Snowzilla!!!

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — With the help of his kids and neighbors, Billy Ray Powers built more than just a snowman — they’ve dubbed his 16-plus-foot-tall creation “Snowzilla.” link

Red Stars In Europe Sign Of Oppression

I did not know that red stars were outlawed in eastern Europe. link

Largest Baby Born In Oklahoma Hospital, 14 Pounds, 3 Ounces

McALESTER, Okla. – Hospital officials at McAlester Regional Health Center say a 14-pound, 3-ounce baby delivered there is the largest ever born at the hospital. Lillian Elizabeth Ross was born Friday to Adrienne and Anthony Ross. link

Police Called To Convince German Lottery Winner

BERLIN (Reuters) – A lottery company had to call the police to convince an elderly German woman that she had hit the jackpot, police said Tuesday. link