Ugh.

Ana had the plug in for her ipod, but it wasn't plugged quite all the way in. In the middle of the night a bobby pin managed to fall right on the pins of the plug with sparks and a loud bang, waking everybody up downstairs, and now we are all reluctant to use that plug, which is visibly altered.

So I was going to go out today to get a new one for her. I couldn't do it yesterday because we had a raft of doctor and dentist appointments. (One child had amazingly clean teeth, and the dentist was amazed at how sparklingly clean they were and came out to tell me. Thank goodness that one went first, because the other one had amazingly awful teeth and the dentist came out to give me the toothbrushing lecture because he was so amazed at how bad they were.) These appointments took up the entire day because they had to have a blood draw and the lab for that closes at 2, and then they had to be evaluated for ADD and that is always scheduled after 5:30 in case it runs over. Our appointment was at 5:45, and we weren't seen by the doctor until just after 6:30. If their office complains that the girls used up several pairs of gloves and tongue depressors playing doctor on the doll, I will point out it would never have happened if we hadn't had to wait that long in the exam room.

Anyway, we got home well after 7, and there was no way I was making dinner that late, so we got pizza. Except I forgot that every time I have pizza I have intestinal difficulties the next day (it's the combination of all that cheese and the red pepper flakes), and it probably is best to stay by a toilet until noon. So I guess I will have to pick up this charger tomorrow instead, because I can't seem to find them at our local drugstore, I have to stop at a Duane Reade.

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Doctor Who visited Star Trek, and the crossover showed up in our reality as a macroscopic acoustic tractor beam. The newly-developed acoustic tractor beam can pull objects six orders of magnitude — that's a million times! — larger than any previous experiments.

http://space.io9.com/sonic-tractor-beam-1572283309/

Tennessee Republican compares Obamacare to the Holocaust, and means it

http://bit.ly/1fPmte7

If you live on a rotating planet or have ever heard Bill Withers, you know solar power has its limits. We need electricity even after clouds roll in or the sun goes down (unless you’re a goth and enjoy total darkness).

Which is why an award-winning solar project in Spain is so awesome. The Gemasolar plant can store 15 hours’ worth of heat, which means it’s regularly able to produce energy around the clock. The plant delivered energy 24/7 for 36 days straight in 2013.

http://bit.ly/1jdN3NS

Study: Less Than 1 in 5 Public-School Teachers Are Nonwhite

http://time.com/87095/nonwhite-teachers-education-diversity/

WHO sounds alarm on spread of polio

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/05/health/who-polio/index.html

To Kill A Mockingbird is a fine example of how copyright is failing us all

http://bit.ly/1iryL7h

Free Speech and the Means of Communication

I have to say, that's a perspective I hadn't thought of before

http://bit.ly/1qe53MU

Air Force to award ‘Space Fence’ contract to track orbital debris

http://wapo.st/1o6oQM6

U.S. businesses are being destroyed faster than they’re being created

http://wapo.st/1imuiXI

Which groups do criminals target? Not who you might think.

Unless you think poor people are most likely to be victims of crime, in which case you are exactly right! Good job!

http://wapo.st/SzSgpn

More Chinese than Europeans identify themselves as environmentalists

Survey finds Chinese environmentalists more socially conservative than liberal American and European counterparts

http://bit.ly/1qe7COW

Microbeads could be harming the environment, scientists say

http://cbsn.ws/1uAhwdB

Nation’s Older Population to Nearly Double in the Next 20 Years, Older Population Growing More Diverse

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/58826/

From Brain Injury to Math Genius

http://www.techsonia.com/from-brain-injury-to-math-genius/196161/

Peter Hart was taken away from his older sister nearly 60 years ago in Gallarate, Italy, when their mother died shortly after childbirth and he was sent to an orphanage. The siblings reconnected last week, thanks to a former Pentagon intelligence analyst who helped hunt Hart down. ‘It’s the missing piece,’ Hart said.

http://nydn.us/1kXdKFM

Morocco wind farm, Africa's biggest, starts generating power

http://yhoo.it/1jAoRF9