Overnight Open Thread (genghis)

Your grab-bag of non-topic topics (or whatever else is on your addled minds):

Item #1: Amsterdam city officials have started putting up signs alerting park-goers when they’re about to enter areas well-known to be frequented by gays cruising for sex and having a bit of the old “in/out in/out” on the spot. (the article is originally from AFP, but the one linked here is to Australian Broadcasting Corporation.)

”A park near Amsterdam has unveiled information signs pointing out spots where officials say gay men are known to have sex, so visitors are not taken by surprise. The signs "clearly indicate what is happening in each zone; also those where gay men are known to practice 'cruising'," municipal spokeswoman Manon Koffijberg said.”

”The sexual activities of cruisers, she said, kept mostly to the bushes in the park, and the new signs sought to ensure that they stayed there.”

"Things are arranged so that each group can relax in their own area without intruding on each other."

Item #2: Meanwhile, in Seattle, the former head of UN gang to plead guilty. I immediately started doing the “Snoopy Dance” over this fabulous news. It’s about time they took this man and the rest of his criminal gang out of circulation and let 'em cool their heels at the Graybar Hotel for a few years.. Maybe they can condemn and demolish that international crack house they worked out of in Manhattan. Er…or maybe not. (article is from The Seattle Times.)

Item #3: Finally, CNN has an article about a couple of astronomers in Colorado who’ve created a virtual description of what you might encounter if you were sucked into a black hole. (the scientists aren’t actually astronomers, but rather an astrophysict and a physicist, but why quibble.)

”Dare to fall into a black hole and you would get vaporized in what is probably the most violent place in the universe. But the journey would yield some amazing sights, though you might need three eyes for the best view of what's going on, new research suggests.”

“Hamilton and Gavin Polhemus, a physics teacher in Fort Collins, Colorado, set out to visualize what an "infaller" might see if he or she were swallowed by the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The results are described in a recent paper and shown in a simulation that took more than 100,000 lines of computer code to create.”

Tonight’s overnight thread is sponsored by: the Tarsier.

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips to xgenghisx@gmail.com. Otherwise send tips to Ace.

PS: starting tonight I’m gonna’ put this “permission slip” under the fold to save some space on the main page.

posted by xgenghisx at 10:28 PM

| Access Comments