Squirrelly little guy flew with the dinosaurs | Chicago Tribune A furry, squirrel-sized creature that soared through prehistoric skies–possibly even sharing the lofty view with birds' first ancestors–suggests that mammals took flight nearly 70 million years earlier than scientists had thought. The evidence comes in the form of a squashed skeleton found in Inner Mongolia that belonged to a tree-inhabiting creature born with a built-in hang glider–a fold of furry skin that stretched between its front and hind legs. This news item sent me Googling around to chase down an old, old memory from college: a professor of evolution who…
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This is an example of the kinds of things we're going to be moving from Holy Moly to St Nicholas. It's one of the Stations of the Cross that was made by one of our parishioners, and I think it represents Jesus falling the first time on the long walk to Calvary. If you look closely, you can see two honkin' big wood screws going right up His robe. Also, it's really battered and like all the rest, really dusty and cobwebby. The ladies from the Altar Guild no longer dust these, because they regularly got pulled from the wall…
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My little Episcopal parish, Holy Moly, is closing at the end of this month. I'm part of the lay leadership; I'm involved in this process. If you had told me 5 years ago when I reluctantly agreed to be on the Bishop's Committee that I'd be part of the stubborn remainder that had to come to this decision and actually deal with the physical and emotional and spiritual challenges that come with closing a church, I'd have said "no way. Not gonna do it." Well, here I am, in at the death. In my time, I've attended probably 50 normal…
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Bloomberg.com: U.K. Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) — A prostitute who was one of five suspected victims of a U.K. serial killer gave a television interview four days before she vanished. Paula Clennell, 24, was filmed on Dec. 5 as she continued to walk the streets in the red light district of Ipswich, in the eastern English county of Suffolk, even though the body of one local prostitute had already been found and another was missing. "I need the money,'' Clennell told regional broadcaster ITV Anglia. "I am a bit wary about getting into cars.'' Clennell was last seen on Dec. 9.…
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NPR : Rumsfeld Makes Farewell Visit to Troops in Iraq This photo from NPR, via Getty Images, tells an untold story. Donald Rumsfeld, grinning widely, gets a last photo op with "the troops" that he was so instrumental in placing in harm's way. The female Marine at lower right seems to be smiling politely. Maybe she's thinking "My mom/husband/kids will see me" and is happy at the prospect. The other Marines in the photo all look stonily and grimly at some other focal point. The one guy standing on the right looks directly into the camera. I can't…
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Wessex Archaeology And Flickr: How We Use Web 2.0 – 24 Hour Museum – official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage Wessex Archaeology is one of the largest commercial archaeological practices in the UK, employing over 160 people. We are a registered charity with educational objectives and play a vital role in helping people learn about their past. In September 2005, we decided the Wessex Archaeology gallery (on the web) was looking a little long in the tooth. It was using a proprietary ASP gallery script and the process of uploading new photos was a…
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A Bishop for Chicago – Home This looks a lot like a blog, except no comments.
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Bits & Pieces: Fender skirts and steering knobs On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes.In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure. This is what has now been done with Mom's house. The hardwood floors under the living room carpet were in fairly good shape, except for the entry way that Mom sorta ruined by putting down self-stick vinyl flooring. The floors in the dining room weren't the same quality, as it was formerly a garage, so new flooring was…
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Law firm rampage has officials puzzled | Chicago Tribune Police said they were trying to reconstruct how the man got through security and up to the 38th floor of the building at 500 W. Madison St. The security guard who was held at gunpoint left immediately after the shooting, took a train to Indiana and had to be tracked down by authorities, according to a police source. I'm thinking the "security guard" isn't going to be one much longer. I can't blame him for complying for as long as a gun was held to his head. But running off…
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BBC NEWS | South Asia | Condoms too big for Indian men A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men. The study found that more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms. It has led to a call for condoms of mixed sizes to be made more widely available in India. The two-year study was carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Over 1,200 volunteers from the length and breadth…