brighid2010-blog - Tumblr blog

[brighid2010-blog]

NASA's Kepler spacecraft is one of the most powerful tools in the hunt for extrasolar planets. The Kepler team's computers are sifting through the data, but we at Planet Hunters are betting that there will be planets which can only be found via the remarkable human ability for pattern recognition.

This is a gamble, a bet if you will, on the ability of humans to beat machines just occasionally. It may be that no new planets are found or that computers have the job down to a fine art. And yet, it's just possible that you might be the first to know that a star somewhere out there in the Milky Way has a companion, just as our Sun does. Fancy giving it a try?

[brighid2010-blog]

I saw the gif of the otters chasing the butterfly and wanted the video.  Here it be.

[brighid2010-blog]

Nu Ryu - Forest |  Under the water. Pastels on fabric, 28x44inches (2008)

[Tumblr Monday with artandopinion]

[brighid2010-blog]

Imagine a world where people don't think 'lesbian' means "a cis woman who only dates other cis women, and hates and is completely disgusted by penises"

“…or male identified female bodied people”

[brighid2010-blog]

A green-eyed dragonfly perches on the back of a frog. Picture: Luis Carlos Barriuso/Solent News & Photo Agency

[brighid2010-blog]

Her name is Lana Sator and she snuck into one of NPO Energomash factories outside of Moscow. Her photos are amazing, like sets straight out of Star Wars or Alien. Now the Russian government is harassing her.

It was easy to get in. She just went there, jumped over the fence and got right into the heart of the complex through a series of tunnels and pipes, which was very surprising. After all, this is an active industrial installation that belongs to one of the top manufacturers of liquid-fuel rockets in the world. Their engines power the modern Soyuz, the Zenit 3SL, and the Angara and Baikal launch vehicles. Heck, their RD-180 engine powers the first stage of the Atlas V, an American rocket. More importantly, they have specially strong ties to the Russian military.

[brighid2010-blog]

Unda by Faun

[brighid2010-blog]

Grumpy owl.

Four-week-old Cherub, a baby White Faced Scops Owl, has a furry guardian in Kiera the German Pointer.

Photo by Richard Austin

[via NYDailyNews.com]

[brighid2010-blog]

De Guzman, 41, took this photo on a night dive at the Anilao Pier in Batangas, Philippines. "I was scanning the seafloor when something shiny glittered in the distance," he says. He swam over to find a discarded, broken soda bottle with an octopus curled up inside.

[brighid2010-blog]

A screencap from Golems of Amgarrak showing a ghostly blue dwarf looking down.  Behind him is his brother who is fleshy.

Dwarves really need to drop the whole golem thing.  It never ever ends well for them.  My Warden is a wee bit peeved that this has happened again.

[brighid2010-blog]

A beach in California is covered in worn glass, making it terribly colourful.

[brighid2010-blog]

The title of the image is Voices, in smaller font it says: You know that ringing sound that you will perceive when you are in a very quiet area?  Some people say this is an auditory-illusion brought about (sic) the ear's inability to detect frequencies below the threshold of the human senses.  This is completely wrong.  That ringing covers up something else altogether.  If you are quick, patient, and maybe a little lucky, you will be able to hear past the ringing.  What you will hear are voices whispering to each other.  They will silence themselves quickly but with practice, you will become more adept at catching and interpreting what they are saying.  You will hear things of the past, the present, and the future.  However, you must be careful.  Because there is no such thing as a voice without a body.  And when you start noticing them, they will start noticing you.

Then they start rushing just out of your vision, just enough for you to catch motion but by the time you twist they're gone.  All I have been able to perceive are shadows racing across the carpet.  I am also really suspicious about the sounds in my roof.  The wee beings living there have a remarkable ability to make lots of cracking noise when I try to sleep.  Only then.  If I get up and move around the house, it stops.  It doesn't matter what time of the day or night I'm trying to sleep.  (They're kind enough not to crack about in the ceiling when I genuinely need to sleep.)

Hush all, I've never admitted that I believe in fey, faeries, sprites, whatever you like to call them (believe is not truly the right word.  This is one of those I know there are beings out there that we call fey, I just don't know the particulars about their nature.)

[brighid2010-blog]

Highways, office blocks, faces and street signs are perceived as if they were elements in a malfunctioning central nervous system.

J.G. Ballard

[brighid2010-blog]

This is a screencap from the sign up page for Stumbleupon.  It gives the standard binary options for gender: male and female.  Below the option, it explains why it asks for this information.

This helps us find the best content for you

My mighty junk!  Defining the things I am interested in (and my identity) since before my conception.  I quiver before it's mighty power.

[brighid2010-blog]

A photo of a happy dog.  She's up on my legs, tongue hanging out and eyes wide.  She has golden brown fur on most of her, a white belly and neck and a black muzzle.  She's a lovely dog, being very patient and affectionate with the wee ones.

[brighid2010-blog]

Please, please be nice to retail workers, especially around this time of year. Everything is hectic and confusing and overwhelming, and oftentimes we’re just as frustrated as you are when the lines are long and the store is crowded. And if you can’t find something, or...