From the category archives:

Random & Interesting

Aren’t you glad mosquitos don’t transmit HIV?

by Rod Edwards on May 25, 2010

From the CDC: “The results of experiments and observations of insect biting behavior indicate that when an insect bites a person, it does not inject its own or a previously bitten person's or animal's blood into the next person bitten. Rather, it injects saliva, which acts as a lubricant so the insect can feed efficiently. Diseases such as yellow fever and malaria are transmitted through the saliva of specific species of mosquitoes. However, HIV lives for only a short time inside an insect and, unlike organisms that are transmitted via insect bites, HIV does not reproduce (and does not survive) in insects. Thus, even if the virus enters a mosquito or another insect, the insect does not become infected and cannot transmit HIV to the next human it bites.

There also is no reason to fear that a mosquito or other insect could transmit HIV from one person to another through HIV-infected blood left on its mouth parts. Several reasons help explain why this is so. First, infected people do not have constantly high levels of HIV in their blood streams. Second, insect mouth parts retain only very small amounts of blood on their surfaces. Finally, scientists who study insects have determined that biting insects normally do not travel from one person to the next immediately after ingesting blood. Rather, they fly to a resting place to digest the blood meal.” http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/transmission.htm

via This has been bugging me for a while: Why is it that mosquitoes do not transmit HIV or AIDS? : science.

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The title says it all. After Katrina, Six Flags never reclaimed their park, which was built over a swamp to begin with. Its now been rusting and decaying for years, making it a fascinating subject for Urban explorers.

Uber Creepy Tour: Abandoned Six Flags New Orleans [69 Pics] | Design + Ideas on WU.

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Red Menace: Ug99 Fungus is Going to Destroy the World’s Grain

March 15, 2010

Indeed, 90 percent of the world’s wheat has little or no protection against the Ug99 race of P. graminis. If nothing is done to slow the pathogen, famines could soon become the norm — from the Red Sea to the Mongolian steppe — as Ug99 annihilates a crop that provides a third of our calories. [...]

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Liked “Good Old Fashioned Panc…

February 13, 2010

Liked “Good Old Fashioned Pancakes – All Recipes” – http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Good-Old-Fashioned-Pancakes/Detail.aspx

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Fortune Cookie: You have enoug…

February 12, 2010

Fortune Cookie: You have enough energy for two people! I’d better; I just ate enough chocolate for two people.

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Riding Association Blues!

February 12, 2010

I just joined the board of Steven Fletcher’s riding association (first meeting next week) – who knew it could get so spicy?! Citing concerns with the party's national council, as many as 17 Tories inked a resignation letter Thursday saying they can't carry out their “democratically supported mandate” under newly imposed limitations. Last week, the [...]

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178 stylish square feet: Living in NYC

February 12, 2010

Say what you will about the sanity of paying $1000/month to rent 178 square feet, Zach’s place looks pretty nice. The NYT seems fascinated by these tiny apartments – I seem to recall seeing a couple of similar articles in months past. I think its because they are humbly self-congratulatory to New Yorkers: “Yes, its [...]

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Beige Bites Back – Toyotapocalypse Pt. III

February 11, 2010

Toyota’s undeniably made some serious missteps. But I can’t help sympathize with them when they complaints like this recent series of Corolla steering issues that have bubbled up. Jalopnik explains awesomely below. Complainants have compared the movement to being buffeted by strong winds, sliding on black ice, or hydroplaning. They said that after trying to [...]

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Gillian Anderson (X-Files) on Vancouver – “pushes buttons for families”

February 11, 2010

Spoken in a voice that says “I’m financially independent…” “…it’s safe to bring kids up. I think it checks a lot of the boxes of what families feel are important qualities.” via ‘X-Files’ star uncovers Vancouver gems – CNN.com.

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With glowing hearts we kill the arts

February 10, 2010

I’m going out on a limb here and saying this is a bad thing: The Olympic are leaving an indelible mark on Vancouver and those who live here year-round. The wall on Beatty Street where a series of artistic murals featuring paintings commissioned by the Steve Nash Foundation in 2007, drawn by 16 artists under [...]

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