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03/31/2007: "Friday Night Linkapolooza"
Since Heather has gone back to Indiana for the weekend, and Dylan is on Spring Break with his dad, I’m playing SuperDad this weekend with Katelyn. She’s in bed, so I am trying to clean up some of the fun links I have been compiling for the past few weeks.
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It's Knuttz - The Taktshang Goemba (Tiger's Nest Monastery)
I’m always amazed any type of precarious position for a building. I love how the founders of this monastery isolated themselves so well. They apparently took self-sacrifice quite seriously. I’d also love to have this as a vacation home.
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Praying Mantis Eats Hummingbird (Bird Watcher's Digest)
I never realized how deadly a Praying Mantis could be. Size does matter! Plus, I never thought of those types of insects as being the type to go after large animals (that is, compared to its own size).
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Dark Roasted Blend: The Most Dangerous Roads in the World
Dark Roasted Blend: The Most Dangerous Roads in the World – Part 2
Dark Roasted Blend: The Most Dangerous Roads in the World – Part 3
And speaking of precarious positions, take a look at this mini-series of the world’s most dangerous roads. The third entry has some blurry pictures, but you certainly get a sense of the danger involved with winding mountain roads.
After all, these roads are the logistical systems for the regions they serve. As I drive along Interstate 94, I marvel at how nice it is compared to narrow rocky roads you find in third-world mountainous areas. These roads also make the rural country roads of my hometown look stellar.
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Dark Roasted Blend: Fractals For Food
Along the theme of fractals, here are more pictures of naturally-occurring fractals in nature. Self-similarity occurs in the food we eat!
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Purdue student's body found in electrical closet - CNN.com
Although this is slightly old news, I thought I would share it anyway. While I was a student at Purdue from 1987 to 1992, I don’t remember any specific instances of accidental deaths like this on campus. I think there may have been rumors of suicides by jumping off parking garages, but I cannot put my finger definitively on an incident. We did have a graduate student take his wife to Canada and murder her, but that strictly speaking was not on campus.
I found a lot of follow-up coverage in the Purdue Exponent web site.
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Behind the Name: View Name: Brian
The meaning of this name is not known for certain but it is possibly related to the Old Celtic element bre meaning "hill", or by extension "high, noble". Brian Boru was an Irish king who thwarted Viking attempts to conquer Ireland in the 11th century. He was victorious in the Battle of Clontarf, but he himself was slain.
And now you know my secret: I am the noble hill. Do you think Heather will fall for that? When Katelyn was a baby, she would try crawling over me for hours, and I would call myself Mount Daddy. Does that count too?