Friday, March 28, 2014

Twerking In A Nuclear World

     



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180 pounds

I have heard it said time and again (and again just last night) that unrestrained nuclear war would result in the destruction of the Earth. But after thinking about that for a time I realized that this statement is incorrect. In my opinion, the Earth itself would not be destroyed even by detonation of all existing nuclear weapons. While it's true that biological life could probably be eradicated, be completely wiped off the Earth by nuclear explosions and their after-effects, the physical Earth, the actual planet, (its deadliest and most rapacious enemy having been eliminated) would most likely remain.

And I am not so sure that such a result would necessarily be a bad thing, especially from the point of view of the rest of the inhabitants (if any exist) throughout the universe.

Do I really mean that?

Well . . . I am, of course, a self-admitted curmudgeon.

What do you think?



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Did You Know . . .?

Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain were best friends and mutual fanboys.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

At 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, the worst accident in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry began when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings, and the core began to dangerously overheat. By early morning, the core had heated to over 4,000 degrees, just 1,000 degrees short of meltdown. In the meltdown scenario, the core melts, and deadly radiation drifts across the countryside, fatally sickening a potentially great number of people. At the height of the crisis, plant workers were exposed to unhealthy levels of radiation.

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WORD FOR TODAY

nuclear
adjective
1.  pertaining to or involving atomic weapons: nuclear war.
2.  operated or powered by atomic energy: a nuclear submarine.
3.  (of a nation or group of nations) having atomic weapons.

The word is pronounced NOO-kleer, and even though many people (including former president George W. Bush) pronounce it noo-kyoo-luhr, this pronunciation is incorrect.

Do you like to laugh? Below is the link to a 27 second Youtube video that makes most people at least  chuckle.

Nuclear or nukyouuluhr

Does it matter how a word is pronounce as long as the audience knows what you mean by the word?

Probably not.


By the way, the Oxford English Dictionary has added a new word:

twerk

Definition of twerk: Dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.

Miley Cyrus Popularizing Twerk


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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS


(born March 28, 1970)
Vince Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian and activist. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers. He has since appeared in a number of films, including Rudy, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Return to Paradise, Old School, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Wedding Crashers, The Break Up, Fred Claus, Couples Retreat, The Watch and The Internship. 



(born March 28, 1943)
Conchata Ferrell is an American actress. She is best known for playing Berta the housekeeper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2005 and 2007.



(born 28 March 1981)
Gareth David-Lloyd is a Welsh actor best known for his role as Ianto Jones in the British science fiction television programme Torchwood.



(born March 28, 1986)
Lady Gaga is an American recording artist, activist, and actress. Gaga is recognized for her flamboyant, diverse contributions to the music industry. As of November 2013, she had sold an estimated 24 million albums and 125 million singles worldwide and her singles are some of the best-selling worldwide. She was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Outside of her musical career, she is a prominent LGBT activist.

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Re: nuclear:
Besides Bush, at least three other presidents -- Eisenhower, Carter, and Clinton -- have mangled the word.
--William Safire

NASA TV

   

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