The deepest I’ve ever been underwater was when I rode on the Finding Nemo ride at Disneyland.
Given my minutes of underwater expertise, I find it an amazing accomplishment that James Cameron managed to dive to the deepest depths of the ocean and return home unscathed.
To put this feat into perspective, the good folks over at xkcd have released a scale drawing of not only the Marianas Trench, but also the depths of various bodies of water around the world. Along with some fascinating facts (check out what James Cameron found in the Challenger Deep), this graphics makes for an entertaining and educational read.
Click on this picture to embiggen:
Please consider this my “teachable moment” for the week…
…oh, and “Happy Friday the 13th”!
Little did I know that:
- Your brain requires 10 watts of power to operate
- Your nose can remember over 50,000 scents
- Your hearing decreases when you overeat
- The amount of saliva you produce over your lifetime could fill two swimming pools
- Memory is affected by body position
- Being right-handed can prolong your life
- ….and this:
Wow. Why didn’t anybody hip me to to this amazing fact earlier? This is life changing information…
I’m shocked that I never knew this. I mean, on its face it seems so obvious but I never made the connection. It has always been there, hiding in plain sight, but like a secret handshake or esoteric codeword it remained obscured in the periphery. But now that I’m enlightened it’s as if a veil has been lifted and I now see the world much more clearly. If only I had been made aware of this fact sooner, life could have been much bearable.
Why did no one tell about about this?
While wandering about the vast dank recesses and dusty tomes of the ‘net this past weekend I happened upon a quick mention of something called “callsign UBV-76″. The writer mentioned the unending signal of UBV-76 while waxing eloquently about the amateur radio scene of his youth. This casual, offhanded, throwaway reference piqued my interest. It seemed like a code or a secret handshake used only within the confines of a highly specialized and overlooked subset of society.
Damn it, I had to know more.
Curious, I did a bit of research and came up with the following:
UVB-76 is the callsign of a shortwave radio station that usually broadcasts on the frequency 4625 kHz (AM full carrier). It’s known among radio listeners by the nickname The Buzzer. It features a short, monotonous buzz tone, repeating at a rate of approximately 25 tones per minute, for 24 hours per day. The station has been observed since around 1982.In rare occasions, the buzzer signal is interrupted and a voice transmission in Russian takes place. Only three to four such events have been noted.
There is much speculation; however, the actual purpose of this station remains unknown.
This signal has been interrupted only three times since its discovery. At each interruption a Russian voice could be heard reciting a series of letters, numbers, and names, the latter of which possibly being a phonetic alphabet.
Some people theorize that this station is used to direct the Russian military in times of crisis, while others believe that it serves as a sort of “dead man switch” for a doomsday weapon.
I love the mysterious, the alien, and the unexplained. It’s stuff like that that makes my world go ’round (well, that and artichokes). I hope you take a moment to read up on this topic. Information can be found at the UVB-76 wiki page and a recording of the buzzer can be heard here.
This weekend Karin took the kid out to dinner to show him off to some friends. Feeling a bit lonely, I decided to google the word “alone”. This is what I found:
1. Alone
What you’re not. Although it may seem like there is nobody there who cares about you, who is like you, or can be a friend to you, there is someone miles and miles away who would like to be there with you if they knew you were calling.
This is a message to all of the lonely and depressed people out there on their computers, reading definitions of words they’re feeling in hopes to find some comfort, if only for a short while. Regardless of whether you’re reading this in five weeks or in five years, and regardless of whether I’m still browsing this site regularly or dead in a car crash, just know that tonight, I was feeling very lonely, crying out for you.
You’re not alone. I’m not alone. We’re not alone
Thanks Urban Dictionary for making me feel a little less lonely. 
