Sociotard

They found a long-lost chemistry lab designed by Thomas Jefferson. They did not use a map on the declaration of Independence. Nicholas Cage was not involved.
 
http://gizmodo.com/thomas-jefferson-s-lost-chemistry-lab-found-hidden-behi-1737335642

One of these things is not like the others . . .

Harvard Debate Team Lose to NY Inmates in Prison Competition

This is just introverted gibberish. Change a few pronouns and a few activities and the article could have been written by a woman. In fact, I've read very many, very similar articles that were written by women, except they were about societal pressures to be feminine. Which makes the point, that it isn't about masculinity - or femininity, or even gender roles, for that matter: I've also read similar screeds on being Catholic (or not, in a catholic environment). It's about how we react to social pressure to conform to a specific role (or roles, because we are all expected to assume multiple roles).
 
It's a pity. The author starts out promisingly, writing "Speaking for myself—the only person I can reasonably speak for—being a Man never seemed like an attainable goal, let alone a desirable one. This has something to do with me and who I am, certainly ..." and then goes on to ignore his own starting premise and write as though his own experience is universal. I understand his experience, because it's very similar to my own. But his conclusions and his reactions - even though entirely understandable to me, based on shared experience - are diametrically opposed to my own. So his own experience is not universal. Nor is mine – nor are the experiences of my many geek friends that run the spectrum. They are all equally valid … and only a tiny subset deal with anxiety issues. And it is a pity, because there are a few insightful comments mixed in with the gibberish.
 
So masculinity isn’t an anxiety disorder. He has an anxiety disorder about his masculinity. That’s an issue he’s going to have to solve or learn to accommodate himself. I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic, but locating the real root of a problem is the first step in resolving it. Trying to externalize it, the way he does here is actually only going to deepen his issues, because the world is not going to change to accommodate his personal problem.
 
Cheers, Mark

Iceland is putting up electric columns that are a bit more visually interesting than what you may be used to.
 

 

I think the best part is they're not all the same. The legs and arms are in different positions, the actual shapes are different, etc.  It really sells the "lots of giants carrying the lines" look they're going for.

Iceland is putting up electric columns that are a bit more visually interesting than what you may be used to.
 

 

Iceland is putting up electric columns that are a bit more visually interesting than what you may be used to.
 

 

Iceland is putting up electric columns that are a bit more visually interesting than what you may be used to.
 

 

Well, when the scientists are pointing out things that are inconvenient, then ... intimidate them into silence.

Iceland is putting up electric columns that are a bit more visually interesting than what you may be used to.
 

 

I've SEEN the Russian naval base in question, not so many years ago. I know it features prominently in discussions between armchair strategists online, but I don't think that it has the slightest interest to Putin or the Russian military at all, except as a propaganda piece. It's a tiny harbour with a few rusting corrugated iron sheds, with two cranes, one of which has rusted out, and fallen over into the harbour. When I saw it, the floating piers were derelict and there was a rusted sunken ship at one wharf. It was, in a word, desolate. The Russians are entirely smart enough to know that a small, useless harbour in an area where they cannot reliably project airpower is not a military asset on the global stage, but a liability, which is exactly why they've left it to decay. Promises to rebuild it so that it could host aircraft carriers or cruisers have so far produced bupkiss, and the current Russian buildup isn't even in the area of the port. Edit: and the Russians are actually using their access to the much better port at Limmasol in Cyprus rather more than their Syrian option anyway. I don't know what the status is now, but prior to the war, their "naval base" had a staff of 4.
 
No, Putin's interest and his whole foreign policy - which has been pretty consistent for the last decade and a half - is built around one thing: maintaining Russia's ability to intervene in global energy markets. That's it, period, finito. Every action he has taken in the past has been consistent with that goal in mind, including his intervention in Ukraine and now his intervention in Syria. Putin is irrevocably marked by the collapse of the USSR and the USSR collapsed because - like today's Russia - it was critically dependant on energy revenues for foreign exchange. When OPEC pulled the plug on oil prices in the '80s, that was all she wrote for the USSR. Putin - in his own ham-handed way - is trying to ensure there is no rerun, and for that, he wants a seat at the table in the Middle East. Syria - and the Assad regime - is the last proxy the Russians have left in the area, although they are attempting to cuddle up to Egypt again. The last thing he wants is a new government that is supported by the US or Saudi Arabia becoming dominant in Syria. And that's why the Russians are not hitting ISIS right now, instead hitting the more moderate rebels pressing the regime forces. It suits Putin just fine to have unrest in the Middle East, and ISIS is, quite frankly, useful to him at the moment. As long as they are not strong enough to tople Assad, the worst he is likely to send their way is harsh words. It's also why the Russians moved into Syria at right this moment, as soon as Turkey and other NATO members started taking a more active role.
 
cheers, Mark

Nathan Wirth is a B&W Landscape photographer.  He's taken to sticking pop culture figures in lonely landscapes. 
 

 

 

I found this oddly fascinating.  To show primitive building methods, the guy starts with nothing and builds a clay hut. The axe and fire sticks are in other videos
 

The Martian.
 
I liked the trailer and decided to read it before the images from the movie cement themselves in my head as the "correct" version. Very good, and very highly recommended.

Eliminating Hepatitis C Means Treating Prisoners

Nathan Wirth is a B&W Landscape photographer.  He's taken to sticking pop culture figures in lonely landscapes. 
 

 

 

Looks like Miss Piggy has Moved on
https://i.imgur.com/DDjznMJ.gifv

A girl was bullied for liking Star Wars (which is insufficiently girly), so the cosplay group the 501st, aka Vader's Fist, gave her a set of stormtrooper armor, and took her backstage to meet Weird Al.
 
http://io9.com/a-girl-was-bullied-for-liking-star-wars-and-was-helped-1725893704

A girl was bullied for liking Star Wars (which is insufficiently girly), so the cosplay group the 501st, aka Vader's Fist, gave her a set of stormtrooper armor, and took her backstage to meet Weird Al.
 
http://io9.com/a-girl-was-bullied-for-liking-star-wars-and-was-helped-1725893704

A girl was bullied for liking Star Wars (which is insufficiently girly), so the cosplay group the 501st, aka Vader's Fist, gave her a set of stormtrooper armor, and took her backstage to meet Weird Al.
 
http://io9.com/a-girl-was-bullied-for-liking-star-wars-and-was-helped-1725893704

A girl was bullied for liking Star Wars (which is insufficiently girly), so the cosplay group the 501st, aka Vader's Fist, gave her a set of stormtrooper armor, and took her backstage to meet Weird Al.
 
http://io9.com/a-girl-was-bullied-for-liking-star-wars-and-was-helped-1725893704

Hermione Granger And The G*dd*m Patriarchy

For those who want a bit of beefcake, (mostly safe for work, I think)
 
Incredibly Sexy Photos Of Amputee Veterans Shatter All Kinds Of Stereotypes

I don't know. The pantheon of potential geeky interests is so large, I doubt I could ever be sufficiently immersed in all their facets to be a geek to all of them. 
 
I knew who winter soldier was and so forth, but I've never read Watchmen. (I'm used to the look of modern comic art, and the old stuff grates).
 
I can name lots of cards and their abilities from an obscure CCG called Anachronism, but I've never tried Magic or Pokémon. (I can name three)
 
I've played several pen and paper RPGs, but only DnD 3.5 and after. None of the advanced. I don't know THACO.
 
Nah, Geek is a word that has lost all meaning.  the fandoms are too many and too large.