January 20, 2004

» Diamonds in the ... er ... dirt

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Diamonds are a cow's best friend

The suspect cow was given a strict diet of dry fodder, and an all day vigil has been launched to see if the diamonds might appear from its' rear end.

It was not long before sparkling cow dung began to be seen.

» Atkins diet helps gout makes a comeback

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Galloping gout is blamed on fad diets

Dr Snaith added that the Atkins diet could precipitate gout, because, as a high-protein diet, it burns off fat and produces lactic acid. It then joins a queue of acids waiting to be expelled by the kidneys and uric acid levels remain high. Crystallisation follows.That is what happened to 40-year-old Richard Jaques.

» Hawking: fantasy

The Armchair Empire - Action Figure Reviews: Dr. Stephen Hawking (The Simpsons)

Dr. Hawking's chair is just like its cartoon counterpart, complete with boxing glove, jet attachments, and free-spinning helicopter blades.

» Hawking: "fact"

Mirror.co.uk - POLICE PROBE HAWKING 'ASSAULT'

Hawking's three children, and nurses who have cared him, fear he may be the victim of controversial Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy in which sufferers harm others to draw attention to themselves.

» Neat!

Pepys' Diary: Monday 14 January 1660/61

neat
At this time primarily (in this context) 'simple and elegant,' the OED's definition 7:

7 Characterized by elegance of form or arrangement, with freedom from all unnecessary additions or embellishments; of agreeable but simple appearance; nicely made or proportioned.In early use the handsomeness of the thing appears to be the more prominent idea.

» Cool timelapse movie of cometary flyby

APOD: 2004 January 19 - STARDUST Flyby of Comet Wild 2

Flying past a comet nucleus is dangerous. On January 2, the robot spacecraft STARDUST became one of the first to plow through the surrounding cloud of dust and grit to photograph the very heart of a comet. Pictured above is a short movie of the encounter showing unprecedented surface details of the icy center of Comet Wild 2. The STARDUST camera pivoted to remain pointed at the nucleus as the spacecraft passed. Heavily shielded from the onslaught of cometary debris, STARDUST survived the beating in excellent condition. Surprisingly, although the nucleus appeared to be solid, the the surrounding coma appeared to be highly fragmented into several distinct streams of particles. Souvenirs captured by the spacecraft will be ejected as the spacecraft passes the Earth in January 2006.