City officials in Aliso Viejo, California,
were so concerned about the dangers of dihydrogen
monoxide that they scheduled a vote last month on
whether to ban foam cups from city-sponsored events
after they learned the chemical was used in foam-cup
production.

Officials called off the vote after learning that
dihydrogen monoxide is the scientific term for water.

"It's embarrassing," city manager David J. Norman told
the Associated Press. "We had a paralegal who did bad
research."

Indeed, the paralegal had fallen victim to an
official-looking Web site touting the dangers of
dihydrogen monoxide. An e-mail originally authored in
1990 by Eric Lechner, then a graduate student at the
University of California, Santa Cruz, claimed that
dihydrogen monoxide "is used as an industrial solvent
and coolant, and is used in the production of
Styrofoam."

Other dangers pranksters associated with the chemical
included accelerated corrosion and rusting, severe
burns, and death from inhalation.

Ok, well if you were wondering what my reaction was like, first it was like...

wait wait....

BAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

and then after around 10 seconds it was like...Holy crap it's serious? o.O

I'm probably never going to get the blog prize that Leon thought i would for saying this, (thanks for the thought though, Leon) but, seriously....i'm not surprised XD (*hints to location*)

Ok, now that that's outta my system, (Hartley, you can go now), i'd like to blog about something that i found, at first just unbelievable. I refused to believe it, i thought it was some photoshopped effect, done by some random pros who decided to post their work on the net. I really did, ask my Cuz. But, when she told me about it i was like,

i know i've heard that term before somewhere....

Then it hit me, and even moreso because it came from Seamus Heaney's selected poems. I ACTUALLY LEARNT FROM SEAMUS HEANEY! WOW! i was so surprised, then my mind tuned back to the present and i was almost left speechless as i realised...hey....at the time Heaney wrote that poem, photoshop didn't exist....therefore, they're real o.O?

I still find it hard to believe. See why for yourself.

Aurora Borealis, northern lights

Aurora Borealis is the latin term for the spectacle we know as the 'northern lights'. A visual and conceptual beautification of the sky although temporary, that leaves a lasting image in our minds. Well, mine at least. And it's a photo o.O, can you even imagine what the real thing would be like? I mean, i'm thinking that special photographic material is needed to capture these shots, partially because the picture quality is so crap (albeit the pictures are good) and also because you're shooting charged gas particles o.O

Aurora borealis in Alaska

The scientist in me feels the need to explain how these wonderful things came about. I'll give it simple dont worry, you can uncover your eyes Kim. (Gooch, you may wanna close yours XD) ok, here we go (it's actually alot more complicated than this, but it'll suffice for a short explanation): The short answer to how an Aurora happens is that energetic electrically charged particles (mostly electrons) accelerate along the magnetic field lines into the upper atmosphere, where they collide with gas atoms, causing those atoms to emit light.

There we go, short and sweet =). But i must say, it's a phenomenon that you'd at least want to see once in your lifetime isn't it? It kind of goes back into this natural painting and all....but i wonder something, why i haven't seen any artists attempt to paint these. I mean, forgetting the fact that i dont even know how to hold a paintbrush, if i were an artist, i'd give it a shot. Maybe, they decided that no matter how they painted, their paintings would never do justice to the real thing. good theory huh?


But then again, highly unlikely. Anyway, you wanna see these? sorry, tough luck, they cant be seen in Australia (i dont think anyway) I notice that most are seen in the northern hemisphere, something to do with the magnetic lines of the earth that draw to the poles (northern in particular) So as a result, you have to go to hol- places such as Alaska, Iceland, Greenland and such to actually experience the real thing. but it's ok, i guess the photographers have done a good enough job to satisfy me....until after uni. Then i'm buying my way there just to see (and i'll drag alot of you with me XD)

*haiz* but it really makes you wonder eh. I guess, no matter how good you are at art,

can't beat God can you? (rhetorical question, of course you cant)- (but cuz could come close with some of your pictures ;p )


Ho well, i think i'll just wait for Leon to get his fighter pilot license. Then i could go there, see the lights, and be back...

just in time for dinner =)

Fin~