It's not that sad

nwkarchivist: 30 Years Ago Today, Sally Ride Blasts Into Space...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:20:10 -0400

30 Years Ago Today, Sally Ride Blasts Into Space & History

From a systems-engineering standpoint, it is easy to identify the point where Sally K. Ride began to leave the rest of the world behind. A flow chart of her life would show the crucial decision coming one day in 1977, when — as a 25-year-old astrophysicist winding up her doctoral work at Stanford University — she spotted an announcement in the campus newspaper about openings in the astronaut program, a career she had never even contemplated for herself. In what once would have been called an epiphany — but she herself would probably describe as a go/no-go decision node — she was up and out of the room before she had finished reading the notice, one of more than 1,000 women and nearly 7,000 men to apply for what would ultimately be the 35 slots in the astronaut class of 1978. Not everyone’s life resolves itself so neatly into yes- or-no decisions, taken in an instant and never looked back upon or regretted, but, if Sally Ride’s life proves anything, it is that the very smart are different from you and me.

Newsweek June 13, 1983

npr: postgraphics: High heels can be a pain in the feet Often...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:06:59 -0400

npr:

postgraphics:

High heels can be a pain in the feet

Often painstakingly selected to complete outfits, high heels put stress not just on feet, but on ankles, knees and backs, contributing to the approximately $3.5 billion spent annually in the United States for women’s foot surgeries, which cause them to lose 15 million work days yearly.

Ouch.

Show this to every asshole who asks why you don’t wear heels more often (I’m probably the only person who’s asked that frequently, but still, screw ‘em).

Saturn Hurricane: Acquiring its first sunlit views of far...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:48:23 -0400

Saturn Hurricane: Acquiring its first sunlit views of far northern Saturn late last year, the Cassini spacecraft’s narrow-angle camera recorded this stunning image of the vortex at the ringed planet’s north pole. The false colour, near-infrared image results in red hues for low clouds and green for high ones, causing the north-polar hurricane to take on the appearance of a rose. Enormous by terrestrial hurricane standards, this storm’s eye is about 2,000 kilometres wide, with clouds at the outer edge traveling at over 500 kilometres per hour. The north pole Saturn hurricane swirls inside the large, six-sided weather pattern known as the hexagon.

"I do not trust people who don’t love themselves and yet tell me, ‘I love you.’ There is an African..."

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:20:22 -0400

“I do not trust people who don’t love themselves and yet tell me, ‘I love you.’ There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.”

- Maya Angelou (via littleblips)

OMFG maya angelou dropping truth bombs gat damn

(via queerhausmaus)

Damnnnn

(via grobslynn)

Yeah asshole

(via angryandinlove)

scienceyoucanlove: Mysterious death of Yuri Gagarin, the first...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 10:43:03 -0400

scienceyoucanlove:

Mysterious death of Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space, possibly solved after 45 years.

The mysteries surrounding the death of Yuri Gagarin — the first human to ever travel into outer space — may finally have been solved thanks to fellow Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov. Gagarin’s death in 1968 was the result of a plane crash, but just how he came to crash has been subject to conspiracies and speculation for decades. Previous theories have suggested that while piloting a test flight Gagarin made a poor maneuver or blacked out. But according to Russia Today, Leonov was there that day, and he’s finally spoken out to say that he believes a supersonic jet knocked Gagarin’s plane into a tailspin that he couldn’t recover from.

Why Leonov didn’t speak until now underscores why the cause of Gagarin’s crash was covered up. According to RT, the military jet was supposed to be flying quite high in the air — over six miles up — but it was instead incredibly close to land, only about one-third of a mile high. The slip up may have been an embarrassment that the government didn’t want publicized, especially following the death of an important national figure. Leonov was only recently given clearance to see the original incident reports, finally allowing him to put together what actually happened. RT reports that between Leonov’s memories, some computer simulations, and peer review, this account could be the final word on Gagarin’s death.

http://theverge.com/2013/6/15/4434176/first-astronaut-yuri-gagarin-death-mystery-solved

source

why Yuri still considered the first person in space

rainbowrowell: Jon Stewart vs. People Who Don’t Understand How...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 10:07:25 -0400

rainbowrowell:

Jon Stewart vs. People Who Don’t Understand How Birth Control works

devonbanks: this is still my favorite tweet of all time

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 10:05:46 -0400

devonbanks:

this is still my favorite tweet of all time

thepeoplesrecord: Connecticut on its way to enact the “Homeless...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:46:18 -0400

thepeoplesrecord:

Connecticut on its way to enact the “Homeless Bill of Rights”
June 12, 2013

Connecticut is on the cusp of enacting a major new law to protect people who are homeless from discrimination.

Last week, Connecticut lawmakers passed the “Homeless Person’s Bill Of Rights” at the literal 11th hour — 11:30pm on June 5th, one half hour before the legislative session ended. The bill, SB 896, a landmark piece of legislation to protect homeless individuals’ rights, adds homeless people as a protected class who can’t be discriminated against in employment, housing, or public accommodations. It also includes protections for homeless people to move freely in public spaces, such as parks and sidewalks, without being singled out for harassment by law enforcement officers.

Here are the bill’s seven protections:

(1) Move freely in public spaces, including on public sidewalks, in public parks, on public transportation and in public buildings without harassment or intimidation from law enforcement officers in the same manner as other persons;

(2) Have equal opportunities for employment;

(3) Receive emergency medical care;

(4) Register to vote and to vote;

(5) Have personal information protected;

(6) Have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her personal property; and

(7) Receive equal treatment by state and municipal agencies.

This is no symbolic victory, Michael Stoops, Director of Community Organizing at the National Coalition for the Homeless, explained. “Homeless people are regularly discriminated against in employment and housing,” Stoops told ThinkProgress.

Nate Fox, Project Supervisor for Faces Of Homelessness Connecticut, a group that advocated for the bill, hailed its passage. “Currently, there are certain civil liberties that could be automatically wiped out when you walked into a homeless shelter,” Fox told ThinkProgress. This bill not only fixes that unintended side effect of shelters and other homeless services, it’s also “changed the conversation on how to protect homeless persons’ rights,” Fox said.

The bill now awaits Gov. Dan Malloy’s (D) signature before it can take effect at its scheduled date of October 1, 2013. It will not only play a major role in preventing discrimination against homeless people; it could also have an effect on municipalities like Hartford which currently have anti-loitering and anti-panhandling ordinances.

If it ultimately becomes law, Connecticut will become just the second state in the nation to enact a Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights. Last year, Rhode Island became the first state to do so. Illinois could increase the number to three if Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signs a bill which passed the legislature recently, and other states like Oregon and Delaware are considering similar legislation.

Source

A Homeless Bill of Rights is also pending in California. Last month the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee approved the legislation but the Appropriations Committee put it on hold until January 2014.

With the regular harassment homeless people in California (especially those living on Skid Row) & in other states face, this kind of Bill of Rights legislation could help protect basic human rights like the freedom of movement, healthcare & employment.

chekov-chan: nominee84: yanagoya: meandmylittlevoices: allout...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:59:11 -0400

chekov-chan:

nominee84:

yanagoya:

meandmylittlevoices:

alloutorg:

URGENT: today in Russia, a terrible bill passed in the Russian parliament’s lower house that censors all things considered “gay”. It’s our local partners’ worst nightmare and we need your help.

This vote comes off the back of two brutal anti-gay murders in Russia, and the trial of a major LGBT rights organisation today.

Tell world leaders to STOP the crackdown, add your name:
www.allout.org/russia-attacks

REALLY IMPORTANT

This really is happening, and it’s scary as hell.

“Update June 12: the situation is worsening. Russia has just passed a new anti-gay law makes it illegal even to say the word “gay”. People in Russia standing up against the crackdown are urging All Out members to keep growing the petition to help draw the attention of world leaders and the media.”

spread this like the plague

Photo

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:13:09 -0400

17 year old female coder wins the Boston Hackathon

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:09:15 -0400

womenrockscience:

17 yr old Jennie Lamere was the only woman to present a complete idea at this years Boston Hackathon; she beat out professional developers sent by Klout, ESPN and the Echo Nest but to name a few. Her winning idea? A Chrome extension for twitter that blocks out spoilers called Twivo.

Read More

I felt like destroying something beautiful.

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:06:36 -0400

I felt like destroying something beautiful.

"Exploit sexual attraction and profit."

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:09:25 -0400

“Exploit sexual attraction and profit.”

- choice advice from Tampa socialite Katherine J James (via angryandinlove)

If you want to set a story in the US, you’d have to have some general idea of the...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:22:00 -0400

If you want to set a story in the US, you’d have to have some general idea of the region/state/even city and allude to it and have it influence the story and characters in some way. But if you want to set a story in Africa it’s just AFRICA.

"I find working in a group not only an enjoyable and enlightening experience, but have also realized..."

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:21:19 -0400

“I find working in a group not only an enjoyable and enlightening experience, but have also realized that I perform better as part of a team.”

- me lying horribly on a job application

visualizingmath: “A torus consists of a central axis with a...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:13:13 -0400

visualizingmath:

“A torus consists of a central axis with a vortex at both ends and a surrounding coherent field. Energy flows in one vortex, through the central axis, out the other vortex, and then wraps around itself to return to the first incoming vortex. The simplest description of its overall form is that of a donut, though it takes many different shapes, depending upon the medium in which it exists. For example, a smoke ring in air or a bubble ring in water are both very donut shaped. And yet an apple or an orange, which are both torus forms, are more overtly spherical. Plants and trees all display the same energy flow process, yet exhibit a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Hurricanes, tornadoes, magnetic fields around planets and stars, and whole galaxies themselves are all toroidal energy systems. Extending this observation of the consistent presence of this flow form into the quantum realm, we can postulate that atomic structures and systems are also made of the same dynamic form.” Source.

Image Source.

thelingerieaddict: vintagegal: Eartha Kitt c. 1950s Love...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:09:54 -0400

thelingerieaddict:

vintagegal:

Eartha Kitt c. 1950s

Love her.

goldenclitoris: why would i want a thigh gap anyways what are u gonna do look at another girl...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:09:05 -0400

goldenclitoris:

why would i want a thigh gap anyways what are u gonna do look at another girl through it i dont think so

Photo

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:01:24 -0400

anxiouspineapples: just because a television show doesn’t actively address a specific issue doesn’t...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:00:07 -0400

anxiouspineapples:

just because a television show doesn’t actively address a specific issue doesn’t mean they’re actively avoiding it either. you know what happens when you try to stuff every possible social debate under the sun into one show?

you get glee.

that’s what happens.