Albino Pygmy Monkey Twins Born

Posted by MikeyMike at 02:01 PM on September 3, 2006 in Congrats!, Kawaii, Wild.

Photo in the News: Albino Pygmy Monkey Twins Born

Too cute!! ^^

September 1, 2006—Looks like someone's been makin' Wookiee.

Resembling nothing so much as Chewbacca's children, two of the world's tiniest monkeys debuted recently at the Frösö Zoo in Ostersund, Sweden.

Shown here shortly after their birth, these pygmy marmosets are exceedingly rare. It's not because they're twins though—pygmy marmosets are typically born in pairs—but because they're albinos, deficient in pigment.

The world's smallest species of monkey, this tree-dwelling marmoset makes big noise, contributing clicks, whistles, and squeals to the cacophony of their home habitat, the western Amazon rain forest of South America. Adults grow to about 5 inches (13 centimeters) in length and weigh about 6 ounces (170 grams).

Sadly, one of the twins didn't get any bigger than it was in the photo.

"We were so sorry when the twin died," zoo owner Ake Netterstrom told London's Daily Mail. "We put in all available resources to save him, but that did not help.

"It is likely he had a lower immune defense because he was albino."

—Ted Chamberlain

11 Yeah Baby!s

Princess Kiko gives Birth to Male Heir

Posted by MikeyMike at 10:40 PM on September 5, 2006 in Congrats!, Geographica.

Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko chat as they send off Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, unseen, at Tokyo International airport in Tokyo in this May 7, 2005 file photo. Princess Kiko gave birth to a boy early Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006, producing the royal family's first male heir to the throne in more than 40 years, the palace announced. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, File)



Mmmm.... and they where talking about changing the rules, so that women could "rule" till she got pregnant again. Since Mikey's influence only makes girls, good thing I stayed out of it! ^^

4 Yeah Baby!s

Court rejects suit over right to sex

Posted by MikeyMike at 03:47 PM on September 6, 2006 in Geographica.

You'd think that she'd at least get money for batteries, and such! ^^



Thu Aug 31, 8:29 AM ET

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese court has rejected a woman's claims for compensation for her sex life, which was ruined when her husband was injured in an accident, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday.

Wei Suying, 31, whose husband has suffered from erectile dysfunction since a 2003 workplace accident, filed suit in a Shanghai court asking for 220,000 yuan ($27,650) in compensation from the shopping center where the accident occurred, it said.

The compensation included claims for mental anguish and for her purchases of products such as vibrators.

"I was not even 30 years old when my husband had the accident, which deprived me of my right to enjoy sexual life," the newspaper quoted Wei as saying.

But the court ruled that Chinese law does not define an individual's sex life as a protected right. Relatives can only ask for mental anguish compensation when a victim dies, the report said.

Wei's husband, Zhang Chengxiang, stumbled and hit his genitals on the corner of some audio equipment when an iron bar fell from a vent and knocked his head while he was working in a shopping center, it said.

The shopping center had paid Zhang 130,000 yuan ($16,340) in compensation in a previous lawsuit.

In pre-communist China, sex was less a taboo than it became under former leader Mao Zedong, when it became a matter of doing one's reproductive duty for the state.

Since then, the government has embarked upon a stern family planning policy to control a booming population -- the world's largest -- but official attitudes toward sex remain puritan, though they are changing slowly.

2 Yeah Baby!s

Motorist jailed for blowing up speed camera

Posted by MikeyMike at 11:59 PM on September 8, 2006 in Rants, Geographica.

I'd like to get one of them too! ^^ The are just being introduced here in San Diego. My main feef is that the yellow light seem to change to red in about 2 seconds now(!) And since the city makes so much money off them, you have to suspect they maximize the number of people caught. I have to drive past one every work day going home. So, I slow way down even getting close to it, so as not to have to slam on the brakes for that super-fast yellow to read light... Grr

Thu Sep 7, 8:29 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - A British motorist who blew up a road safety camera which had caught him speeding was jailed for four months Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police said.

Craig Moore, 28, took his revenge on the camera, which had flashed him in the Hyde area of Manchester, in August 2005.

Although the camera itself was badly damaged, images of him speeding and returning to destroy the evidence were stored in recording equipment in its unscathed base.

More than 4,000 speed cameras are located across Britain, generating much cash and controversy. While supporters regard them as a useful tool to reduce accidents, critics see them as little more than a money-making opportunity.

While Moore's attack on a camera was not Britain's first, it may rate as the most extreme. Other aggrieved drivers have previously used axes or paint.

"Speed camera vandalism is reaching epidemic proportions, and the only solution is to scrap cameras," said Paul Smith, founder of Safe Speed campaign group which lobbies against the distinctive bright yellow devices.

"Apart from their total failure to deliver improved road safety, they push good people outside of the law every day of the week."

But the AA motoring organization said the system of speed camera enforcement in Britain was a lot fairer than other European countries where the cameras are often disguised or hidden.

"Matched against those practices, and the fact that each UK speed camera is painted yellow and sited where there is a proven road safety risk, the vast majority of prosecutions are a fair cop and cameras are supported by around 70 per cent of the population," said Paul Watters, head of roads and transport policy for The AA Motoring Trust.

Add a Comment

Giant panda gives birth at Atlanta zoo

Posted by MikeyMike at 11:16 AM on September 9, 2006 in Congrats!, Geographica, Kawaii, Wild.

Hehe! New Panda baby. The more the merrier for Su Lin's cousins! ^^




ATLANTA - After seven years of trying and hoping, Zoo Atlanta officials announced a rare giant panda birth Wednesday, one of only a few in the United States.

Lun Lun, a 9-year-old giant panda, gave birth just before 5 p.m. after 35 hours of labor. It's the first panda cub born at the Atlanta zoo and is just the fifth giant panda born at a U.S. zoo in the last six years.

The cub is hairless, weighs about 4 ounces and is the size of stick of butter. The sex will not be known for weeks.

Panda keepers will remain on watch for up to 24 hours to see whether the baby panda has a twin. Fifty percent of panda births result in twin cubs.

Lun Lun is responding normally to her new baby, holding the cub and reacting when it cries, said Dwight Larson, vice president for animal programs and science for the zoo.

The first few weeks of a cub's life are critical to its survival, Larson said. "These are small offspring and quite fragile," Larson said. "It's going to be tense for us."

Cubs typically take about 75 days to open their eyes. At 100 days, the zoo is planning a naming ceremony for the cub and to present it to the public.

After trying for seven years, the zoo successfully artificially inseminated Lun Lun at the end of March with semen taken from her male partner, Yang Yang. The father and cub are being kept separate, which is normal in the wild.

A panda cub at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., born last summer, was the product of artificial insemination. There are only 1,600 to 3,000 of the endangered species remaining in the wild today, and another 185 living in captivity.

Only three other U.S. zoos � San Diego, Memphis and the National Zoo � have pandas. Memphis has not been able to successfully impregnate a panda.

3 Yeah Baby!s

Bridget Jones' knickers to be auctioned

Posted by MikeyMike at 11:57 AM on September 10, 2006 in Rants, Arts, Performers.

lol! Who's been holding them underpants all this time??

Fri Sep 8, 4:22 PM ET

LONDON - The famously large underpants worn by film character Bridget Jones are to be auctioned off to raise cash for some of London's most famous green spaces, Britain's Royal Parks Foundation announced Friday.

The large, white underwear was worn by Renee Zellweger in her role in "Bridget Jones's Diary" and prompted the comment, "Hello, mummy!" from
Hugh Grant, who played her suitor, Daniel Cleaver.

The underwear, signed by Grant, will be auctioned off at a charity dinner next week for the foundation.

Organizers hope the dinner will raise $185,000 for the Royal Parks, which provided the setting for scenes in the second film in the series, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason." One scene in the movie took place in a fountain at Kensington Gardens; another was shot at Regent's Park.

The Royal Parks are some of London's most popular, and also include Hyde Park, St. James's Park and Green Park.

Add a Comment

What it Means to be Japanese

Posted by MikeyMike at 04:13 PM on September 11, 2006 in Tech, Rants.

Need to be shown how foolhardy racism is??

To participate in the Genographic project

From the International Herald Tribune web site:

by Ko Unoki - Published: September 7, 2006

TOKYO The other day I received the results of a DNA test administered by the Genographic Project, a joint project by the National Geographic Society and IBM, whose goal is to analyze human DNA samples and understand the route which mankind took in populating the world.

After submitting my DNA - obtained by simply swabbing the inside of my mouth - along with about $100, I received two months later information about my paternal ancestors.

I've always been interested in trying to find the origins of my ancestry. I am a Japanese male, born in Japan. Both of my parents are ethnically Japanese and as far as I know, all my recent ancestors for at least the past three centuries were born in Japan.

The Genographic Project, which I happened to stumble upon while surfing the Internet, gave me an opportunity to satiate my curiosity about my ancestral origins.

The results of the DNA test told me that my earliest human male ancestor was born in Africa about 50,000 years ago.

About 45,000 years ago, another male ancestor came from somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula or present- day Iran.

Five thousand years later, it seems, another ancestor was born in Central Asia. Then, some time 35,000 years ago, my most recent identifiable ancient ancestor was born in an isolated region of central China while the Ice Age was in full swing.

China, according to the Genographic Project, is where my genetic journey ends, or rather, where my most recent ancestor comes from. I now know that genetically I am related to more than half of all present-day Chinese males and that there is someone at the moment living in China with whom I share a common ancestor dating back some 1,000 years.

Despite knowing all this, however, I have no idea when or how my paternal ancestor came over to the Japanese islands. Perhaps he was a merchant who came over from China to trade with the native Japanese and decided to settle permanently in Japan.

In the city of Fukuoka, where my father's family comes from, there is an area called Tojin-machi, or Tang- Town, Tang referring to China's ancient Tang dynasty. I wonder if, many centuries ago, my ancestor came over from China and set up shop in this particular area of Kyushu.

Or maybe he was some kind of swashbuckling pirate who roamed the coasts of China and Japan and was eventually shipwrecked on Japanese shores.

I could go on and on speculating. Interestingly, the research of the Genographic Project tells us that most of the paternal ancestors of the present-day ethnic Japanese come from all over Asia. Many, however, do not have the same gene that I have which indicates an origin of somewhere aside from central China, such as Southeast Asia or the Korean Peninsula.

Some conservative elements in Japanese society take pride in the alleged homogeneity of the Japanese "race," and ardent nationalists and racists look disparagingly upon other ethnic groups. Such DNA test results should make them think twice about what they say or think about other peoples - or about themselves, for that matter.

If we employ notions of racial superiority, look down upon other ethnic groups or consider them as "others," we are in effect insulting our ancestors, who traveled far and wide over tens of thousands of years under unimaginably harsh conditions to get to where we are now.

We may be Japanese according to notions of ethnicity and citizenship, but genetics tells us beyond doubt that we are all related to the peoples of China, Korea and the rest of Asia. And, ultimately, all of us in the human race are Africans.

2 Yeah Baby!s

WikiPedia: Boffin

Posted by MikeyMike at 06:40 PM on September 11, 2006 in Tech, Rants, Geographica.

I've been seeing this word a LOT lately, mostly in a Brit World context, like in The Economist and such. I infered its meaning from the context, but WikiPedia knows the score. You really should add the WikiPedia to your FireFox browser Search Engines. Very handy!!


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Boffins)http://www.tabulas.com/~MikeyMike/
view your site

This article is about the British slang word for scientist. For other uses of the word, see boffin (disambiguation).



In the slang of the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa, boffins are scientists, engineers, and other people who are stereotypically seen as engaged in technical or scientific research. The word conjures up a stereotype of mature men in thick spectacles and white lab coats, obsessively working with complicated chemical apparatus. Alongside eccentric genius, portrayals of boffins usually highlight a naive ineptitude in social interaction. A classic and substantial English portrayal of an eccentric and obsessed boffin can be seen in The Man in the White Suit (1951).

More Here

Add a Comment

New iPods + iTunes 7

Posted by MikeyMike at 04:15 PM on September 12, 2006 in Tech, iPod.

Yum! Cheaper iPod Videos (30gb and 80gb $249/$349US) Nanos in Aluminum with colors (like Minis) plus new capabilities in iTunes version 7 (cover art free now with iTunes Music Store account). You heard it here first! ^^

Apple announces new iPods; iTunes 7; iTV by ZDNet's Jason D. O'Grady -- Apple announced upgrades to all three iPod lines (iPod, nano and shuffle), iTunes 7 with movies and gave a sneak peak at an Apple set-top box slated to ship in January 2007 at a media event at the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.

Trackback URL for this post: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/wp-trackback.php?p=284

2 Yeah Baby!s

7th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival

Posted by MikeyMike at 06:22 PM on September 13, 2006 in Geographica, Arts.

Well, it's that time of year again... The 7th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival, October 12-19th. I plan on going of course. Might even take some vacation time to be sure I can see all the films I want.



The San Diego Asian Film Festival celebrates its seventh year at the Mission Valley UltraStar Cinema at Hazard Center, October 12-19, 2006. During San Diego's largest Pan Asian cultural event, an estimated 15,000 attendees will experience over 130 short and feature films from over 15 different countries including the U.S., Canada, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Mongolia, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. This year marks the festivals most competitive year for dramatic narrative feature length films, and boasts a record-number 13 Asian American feature film selections. The complete program schedule will be released in September online at www.sdaff.org.

There is something for everyone at this years festival, which opens with the award-winning drama from Sundance, JOURNEY FROM THE FALL, chronicling a war-torn familys exodus from Vietnam to America. The festival closes with the West Coast premiere of a heartwarming Japanese film, ALWAYS: SUNSET ON THIRD STREET. Set in 1950s Tokyo, ALWAYS is the winner of 13 Japanese Academy Awards. Other films include the charming, COLMA: THE MUSICAL, the action packed samurai film SHINOBI, the dark and grisly Korean gangster film from Cannes, A BITTERSWEET LIFE, the art-house favorite THREE TIMES, anti-nuclear war documentary LAST ATOMIC BOMB, and the highly stylized Thai sensation CITIZEN DOG. Seven short film programs include our popular animation program and Reel Voices, a showcase of documentaries produced by local high school students. More

Official Selections Here

Watch the trailer for Three Times Huo Hsiao Hsien's new film (I already bought it from YesAsia!) ^^

Add a Comment

Panda bites man, man bites him back

Posted by MikeyMike at 09:13 PM on September 20, 2006 in Geographica, Wild.

What a shock to find yourself being fondled by a drunken man, as some of you ladies can attest to I bet! ^^





Wed Sep 20, 7:41 AM ET

BEIJING - A drunken Chinese migrant worker jumped into a panda enclosure at the Beijing Zoo, was bitten by the bear and retaliated by chomping down on the animal's back, state media said Wednesday.

Zhang Xinyan, from the central province of Henan, drank four jugs of beer at a restaurant near the zoo before visiting Gu Gu the panda on Tuesday, the Beijing Morning Post said.

"He felt a sudden urge to touch the panda with his hand," and jumped into the enclosure, the newspaper said.

The panda, who was asleep, was startled and bit Zhang, 35, on the right leg, it said. Zhang got angry and kicked the panda, who then bit his other leg. A tussle ensued, the paper said.

"I bit the fellow in the back," Zhang was quoted as saying in the newspaper. "Its skin was quite thick."

Other tourists yelled for a zookeeper, who got the panda under control by spraying it with water, reports said. Zhang was hospitalized.

Newspaper photographs showed Zhang lying on a hospital bed with blood-soaked bandages and a seam of stitches running down his leg.

The Beijing Youth Daily quoted Zhang as saying that he had seen pandas on television and "they seemed to get along well with people."

"No one ever said they would bite people," Zhang said. "I just wanted to touch it. I was so dizzy from the beer. I don't remember much."

Ye Mingxia, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Zoo, confirmed the incident happened but would not give any details. She said Gu Gu was "healthy."

"We're not considering punishing him now," Ye said in a telephone interview. "He's suffered quite a bit of shock."

Add a Comment

"O'zapft is"

Posted by MikeyMike at 03:07 AM on September 21, 2006 in Geographica, Arts.

mkgb talking about being in Germany right now reminded me of my time there and that it is the Oktoberfest time in Germany!! ^^



Yes, this was many moons ago and the pic is a little messed-up - as was I!!

Official Oktoberfest Page

4 Yeah Baby!s

Baby from the Dawn of Time

Posted by MikeyMike at 11:19 AM on September 23, 2006 in Tech, Geographica.

Baby from the Dawn of time

This a really quite an amazing discovery - potientially more important than Lucy, her "cousin"...


Zeresenay Alemseged has two babies. One is Alula, who spends most of his time in his mother's arms in a cozy bungalow in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. The other is a little girl of three, who spent 3.3 million years locked in sandstone, until the Ethiopian scientist and his team discovered her remains and painstakingly teased them out of the rock. It was a long, slow second birth for a baby from the dawn of humanity.

Until now all fossils of babies this ancient could have fit in a diaper. This new arrival is not only the most complete ancient infant but arguably the best fossil of her species, Australopithecus afarensis. That's the same species as the superstar fossil called Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old adult female found in 1974. Unlike Lucy, the baby has fingers, a foot, and a complete torso. "But the most impressive difference between them," says Zeresenay (Ethiopians' first names are their formal ones), "is that this baby has a face." More Here

2 Yeah Baby!s

Hello Kitty Compound

Posted by MikeyMike at 04:35 PM on September 24, 2006 in Arts, Kawaii.

Yes, in the deepest outskirts of Tokyo lies the Sanrio HQ!

Home of.... HELLO KITTY and endless accessories! ^^

BTW - Emma is a Hello Kitty fan too!






Behind the electrified fence and countless guards, those at Tokyo’s branch of the evil Hello Kitty empire produce more and more mind-boggling merchandise; thousands of them working away whilst the phenomenally famous feline silently looks on.

6 Yeah Baby!s

Mandarin Chinese with Free Daily Podcasts

Posted by MikeyMike at 11:26 PM on September 27, 2006 in iPod, Geographica.

Learn Mandarin Chinese with Free Daily Podcasts! Sounds interesting. And they are based in Shanghai, so I guess they know their business. Can someone DL the
podcasts and tell what they think of them??




ChinesePod – almost certainly the most convenient way to learn Mandarin Chinese – has two main objectives:

1. To make learning Mandarin easier and more enjoyable.

The reasons for learning Mandarin are as numerous as the people studying the language – millions. To get closer to the people during a dream holiday in Beijing. To communicate with relatives in their native language. To capitalize on a business opportunity in the world’s fastest growing economy. Regardless of the motivation, all too often Mandarin learners lose interest long before reaching their goals. Why? Because learning Mandarin is difficult, boring and inconvenient. At least that’s what other teaching methods would have you believe.

ChinesePod offers a fresh alternative to out of date textbooks and the inconvenient classroom instruction.

Practical Focus - Our lessons are short, focused, and practical. They offer useful language, cultural insights, humorous anecdotes, and much more.

Free Daily Podcasts – Audio lessons from expert teachers, delivered automatically to your computer, iPod or mp3 player, every day. You listen whenever you wish – at the gym, on the bus, on your lunch-break, etc.

Learning Center - The online learning center expands on the language in the lessons, helping you make the leap from listening to being able to speak. Premium features include podcast review tools like transcripts, expansion vocabulary, exercises and lesson plans, and resources like flashcards, vocabulary games, glossary and word bank.

2. To inspire students to actively participate in the learning process.

Just because your teacher likes history doesn’t mean you want a lesson on Tang dynasty poetry. ChinesePod puts control of the learning process back into the hands of the student. You have complete control over your study plan. Need a little help? No problem. Access to our academic team and thousands of learners around the world is just a few clicks away.

Mixable Curriculum - Hundreds of lessons are available on ChinesePod.com. The lessons we publish are inspired by suggestions from our users. Select the lessons that interest you with guidance from our academic team. The curriculum is designed according to your needs and can change with you as your interests evolve and your fluency increases.

Community - ChinesePod.com is a meeting place for Mandarin learners around the world. Engage with a community of teachers, learners, and experts to ask questions, seek advice, and discuss issues. The social media tools integrated into ChinesePod include a Blog, Wiki and Forum.

Free Trial

The 7-day free trial let's you try a Premium subscription to ChinesePod.com, including access to the Learning Center. This includes a complete archive of our audio lessons, with all the supplementary learning materials that go with them. Premium features like My Course allow you to integrate and personalize your study of Mandarin. Sign up today.

10 Yeah Baby!s