When Bunnies Attack

From a post on Digg.com, dlan4327 writes:

“It’s been a long hard journey but I finally feel we’re near the climax. Gay marriage has definitely received a lot of stiff resistance however I think in the end we just need to grab the idea with both hands and just really work it. We can do it people. With a little bit of an open mind and some forward momentum we can really bring this big boy home. I’m convinced that America can come from behind and realise that accepting gay marriage is a huge step forward & that all the hostility just needs to be put behind us.”

Magnets can also protect the health of animals. Cows are susceptible to a condition called traumatic reticulopericarditis, or hardware disease, which comes from swallowing metal objects. Swallowed objects can puncture a cow’s stomach and damage its diaphragm or heart. Magnets are instrumental to preventing this condition. One practice involves passing a magnet over the cows’ food to remove metal objects. Another is to feed magnets to the cows. Long, narrow alnico magnets, known as cow magnets, can attract pieces of metal and help prevent them from injuring the cow’s stomach. The ingested magnets help protect the cows, but it’s still a good idea to keep feeding areas free of metal debris. People, on the other hand, should never eat magnets, since they can stick together through a person’s intestinal walls, blocking blood flow and killing tissue. In humans, swallowed magnets often require surgery to remove.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/magnet4.htm

Well, OK on February 11 apparently there was a tiny sunspot that appeared, but it might be part of the last cycle, “Cycle 23″. So we have this wonderful little photo:

According to Popular Science:

For about 50 years from roughly 1650 to 1700, the Sun took a break from its typical sunspot activity. That phase of solar rest coincided with what we now refer to as “The Little Ice Age” — a period of cooling on the Earth that resulted in bitterly cold winters, particularly in Europe and North America. Scientists attribute the Little Ice Age to two main causes: increased volcanic activity and reduced solar activity.

http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-01/whats-happening-sun?page=6

http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/

Whoa!

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/ATV/SEMSB76EJLF_0.html