To the dismay of picky sci-fi fans nationwide, a combative President Barack Obama blamed Republican lawmakers Friday for failing to stop automatic spending cuts from beginning to kick in late in the day, arguing he can’t perform a “Jedi mind meld” to get Republicans to agree on a deal.
As Peter Griffin would say, “D’oh.”
University of Colorado researchers sampling the winter air in four Midwestern cities say the bacterial colonies found in Cleveland and Detroit most closely resemble that found in dog poop.
In their study, published July 29 in “Applied and Environmental Microbiology,” the researchers compared the DNA of collected bacteria to a database of bacteria from known sources such as leaf surfaces, soil, and human, cow and dog feces.
“We found unexpectedly high bacterial diversity in all of our samples, but to our surprise the airborne bacterial communities of Detroit and Cleveland most closely resembled those communities found in dog poop,” said lead author Robert Bowers, a graduate student in CU’s ecology and evolutionary biology department and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, based at CU. “This suggests that dog poop may be a potential source of bacteria to the atmosphere at these locations.”
(Denver Post file photo)
Animal Photo of the Day: Reblog Edition
Pouncing Fox by GalaxyFan (Bighorn Photography) on Flickr.
(Source: The Denver Post)
AP—This photo of the new U.S. ambassador to China, Gary Locke, carrying his own backpack and ordering his own coffee at an airport has charmed Chinese citizens not used to such frugality from their officials.
ZhaoHui Tang, a businessman from Bellevue, Washington state, snapped the photo Friday on his iPhone when he spotted Locke wearing a backpack at the counter of an airport Starbucks.
Tang uploaded the photo to the Chinese social media network Sina Weibo because he thought it was cool to run into the new ambassador at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
He didn’t expect it to generate 40,000 reposts and thousands of comments.
“This is something unbelievable in China,” said Tang, a Chinese-American citizen. “Even for low-ranking officials, we don’t do things for ourselves. Someone goes to buy the coffee for them. Someone carries their bags for them.”
(AP Photo/ZhaoHui Tang)
AP— Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann got her Elvis Presley dates all shook up during a campaign stop Tuesday in South Carolina. The congresswoman from Minnesota played the Elvis tune “Promised Land” at a local restaurant and told the crowd of 300 that she wanted to say happy birthday to the king of rock ‘n’ roll.
“Before we get started, let’s all say happy birthday to Elvis Presley today!” Bachmann said.
But Aug. 16 is the anniversary of Elvis’ death, in 1977, and someone in the crowd shouted back, “He died today!”
Bachmann didn’t respond and launched into her speech.
(AP Photo/ Richard Shiro)
AP—Most inmates are trying to get out of prison, but authorities say they caught a California parolee trying to sneak back in. Corrections Sgt. Tony Quinn says 48-year-old Marvin Lane Ussery was spotted late Wednesday night scaling the 7-foot tall, barbed wire-topped fence that encircles a large wooded area behind the California State Prison in Sacramento.
Quinn says Ussery served time at New Folsom for robbery before he was paroled in June 2009.
Officials are investigating whether Ussery was attempting to smuggle in drugs or cell phones, but say they haven’t found any contraband.
(AP Photo/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department)
This colorful duo, referring to themselves as “The Loose Stools,” are participants in the 2011 Rickshaw Challenge-Mumbai Xpress. Yes, a 14-day, 1,200 mile racing challenge using auto-rickshaws. Participants from the UK, Chile, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada will be racing the coastal parts of India. The event is to raise funds for the underprivileged.
(AFP PHOTO/STR)
(Source: The Denver Post)
A woman and her dog exercise before the Russian “Dog Frisbee” championships in Moscow on August 6, 2011.
(NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images)
(Source: The Denver Post)
AP— NASA has launched a robotic explorer to Jupiter.
The spacecraft, named Juno, blasted off aboard an unmanned rocket Friday from Cape Canaveral. It will take Juno five years to reach the largest planet in the solar system.
Juno is solar powered with three huge panels, a first for a spacecraft intended to roam so far from the sun. The total mission costs $1.1 billion.
Scientists hope to discover the recipe for making planets, by identifying Jupiter’s secret ingredients. The gas giant is believed to be the solar system’s oldest planet.
Attached to Juno are three little Lego figures. They represent the Italian physicist Galileo, who discovered Jupiter’s biggest moons; the Roman god Jupiter; and his wife Juno, for whom the spacecraft is named.
Silo and Barn at Sunset.
Alaska 2012 Images are trickling out!
Head over to www.fishphotog.com and click on Keywords then Alaska or Bristol bay...
golden hour in steamboat, colorado
Sunrise over Manitou Springs after several days of below-freezing temperatures.
Garden of the Gods
Pikes Peak, once again.
Echo Lake, Colorado
