Snow on the roof ...

Snow on the roof ... and sunshine means icicles!  We've got them all around the house.  The biggest one is around 5' long, but I couldn't get close enough to it to take a photo.  This four-footer is right next to our front door, so I got it instead :)  Click to embiggen...

Decadence in Paradise...

Decadence in Paradise...  So it's lunchtime, and we're hungry.  We have no particular plans for a meal.  What to do?

We started with some Crumb Brothers black pepper Parmesan bread, lightly toasted.  Slathered it with Duke's mayonnaise.  Sliced some Utah non-hydroponic hothouse Beefsteak tomatoes, slapped them onto the bread.  Cooked up some Dailey's fresh applewood-smoked bacon, chopped it up, sprinkled it on top of the tomatoes, thickly.  Chased that down with a big glass of ice-cold Rosehill Dairy Creamline milk.

I don't know how it gets any better than that!

What is this “Superbowl” thing I keep reading about?

What is this “Superbowl” thing I keep reading about?  :)

What on earth is this?

What on earth is this?  Well, it's not on Earth – it's on Mars, recently imaged by the Curiosity rover.  What do you suppose made those oddly-shaped bumps?  I'm guessing viscous lava eroded after cooling...

Why bad science papers live on...

Why bad science papers live on...  Good science isn't as friction-free as we'd like it to be.  This explains why so many thoroughly debunked climate science papers (as well as from other branches of science) have never been retracted...

Don't be too impressed ...

Don't be too impressed ... with that fancy safe you bought.  Most of the safes sold to consumers (all of them selling for under $1,500 or so) are pretty much useless as a deterrent to theft.  “Mr. Locksmith” demonstrates how easy it is to open one particular model (a popular Sentry electronic safe) in the video at right.  They're not much better at fire protection, either.  The old school hole-in-the-ground is better for both, if a tad less convenient :)

A while back I read an interview with a successful home burglar (here successful means he didn't get caught).  He told the interviewer that when he saw a safe in a home he just smiled – because he knew that (a) the homeowner had stuff valuable enough to need protection, and (b) within minutes he'd have that safe open.  When he was asked what the best way to protect valuables from someone like himself was, he said the best protection was adequate insurance.  Second best: creative hiding.  All the usual methods of hiding he knew very well, even details like what the fake hollowed out books looked like.  But someone who hid their valuables in a unique way that they invented – that would likely work, as he wouldn't spend the time to search for it.

Road train...

Road train...  A somewhat different (and, I suspect, much less expensive) alternative to convoys of autonomous trucks – and this alternative is already in use!  These “road trains” are in Australia, but there are plenty of places in the western U.S. where I would think they would be just as useful – but I never heard of them being even considered here.  I wonder why?