Linkies :)

[conuly]

There is more to the eye than rods and cones — the discovery of a third photoreceptor is rewriting the visual rulebook.

Researchers aim to resurrect mammoth within 5 years. Of course, once they have, then what? What are they going to DO with the mammoth, put it in a zoo? Great for the mammoth, right?

Tampon shortage leads to bidding war. See, this is why you want to use a reusable product. I mean, unless you're silly enough to accidentally throw out your Divacup on the boat you're set - right?

A young woman who was kidnapped as an infant has found her family.

An article on winter recess policies.

Oh, and for your daily dose of depressing, the Alabama Governor is an ass.

Comments

[steorra]

Thanks especially for the not-rods-and-cones article.

This is not the same phenomenon, but about 10 years ago, I was quite interested in colourblindness, especially total colourblindness. I read that there were two main ways that people could have essentially total colourblindness: either you can have only rods and no cones (which has other effects on vision besides colourblindness), or you can have rods and only one type of cone (generally blue-sensitive). People with rods and only one type of cone could sometimes have a slight amount of colour perception due to the difference in wavelength sensitivites between their rods and their cones.

(Okay, I know that's a bit of only vaguely related information, but I think it's interesting.)

[dragonwolf]

I love the number of people citing environmental reasons for using the o.b. brand. It would seem to me that if you had no qualms with using a tampon sans applicator, it wouldn't be a big jump to a diva cup or similar reusable product. Of course, I just went the easy route and used a birth control that stops my periods altogether. ;)

[conuly]

You know, it's strange to contemplate this, it is - I mean, if you go some places on the internet you'll think everybody uses cups or cloth pads! - but it's possible, even probable that they don't know they have other options.

[pne]

Very true.

I know that when I was younger, I only knew of pads and tampons - so it was one or the other, that's it.

[conuly]

And, not to put too fine a point on it, the truth is that nobody expects you to be that well-versed in period options.

[pne]

Is that "you" = pne or "you" = generic you (including, for example, girls during puberty)?

[conuly]

You meaning YOU, not generically... though, sadly, nobody much expects girls during puberty to know their options either given that education in this area still seems to be the preserve of the ad companies.

[dragonwolf]

Apparently, the thought of "is there something even more environmentally friendly?" or "are there other options?" (particularly when their preferred choice of tampons went out of stock), and then searching the Internet, never crossed their minds.

[conuly]

How could it? The pad/tampon industry has been very good at making sure people don't know they have choices.

[pne]

Random tangent - do you know what the "o.b." in "o.b. tampons" stands for?

(And random tangent on the tangent - English could do with a way to disambiguate questions for information from questions = "what does it stand for?" for meta-information = "do you know what it stands for? [I'm not asking for the information itself but for whether or not you possess it]". I meant the latter in this case, FWIW; I know the answer and am curious whether you do, too.)

[conuly]

I don't know, and rather assumed you meant the former. Do enlighten me! (Wait, I'll google it.)

http://www.mum.org/obger50s.htm

Is that correct?

[pne]

Yes, that's the etymology I know as well.

I found it interesting that this German-named brand would be popular in the US; usually things go from there to here rather than the other way around.

rather assumed you meant the former

*nods* Theoretically, my phrasing should be unambiguously the second meaning (since I explicitly asked "do you know" rather than "what is"), but pragmatics/discourse conventions mean that that construction is usually used in seeking-for-information contexts as well, rendering the wording ambiguous. Ah well *sigh*.

[conuly]

My mother has that same complaint with "can you" - it can mean "is it possible to do this" or "are you able to do this" or even "will you do this for me", and she says she invariably gets the wrong answer. When she means "it it possible" she gets "Of course I can, what do you think I am, stupid?" and when she means "are you capable of doing this" she gets "Why should I, I'm not your slave!" and she's given up using it at all for "will you do this" because people are just snippy all around.

[ironychan.livejournal.com]

Clearly once they have cloned a mammoth, the first thing we need to do is figure out if we can knit with its wool.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I always enjoy your links! :-)

[grammaravenger.livejournal.com]

These guys in Siberia are so ready for a mammoth (http://coldphoto.blogspot.com/2007/06/day-322-pleistocene-park.html). Basically, there are some people building a "Pleistocene Park" with a bunch of large land mammals in some preserve. Since they can't actually have a mammoth, one of the scientists there just drives a tank around and pulverizes trees to simulate the damage that mammoths would do to the landscape. These guys would be really stoked to have a mammoth. (Not that I think that would turn out well, but I bet they would take the mammoth if they had the choice!)

[conuly]

The problem is that elephants live in large groups. They *need* their complex social structure in order to thrive. We don't know about mammoths, but it's not all that unlikely that they, like elephants, aren't supposed to be solitary creatures.

[ironychan.livejournal.com]

In Prehistoric Park they got some elephants to keep Martha the Lonely Mammoth company.

Martha the Lonely Mammoth was my favourite character. ^_^