The good, the bad, and the ugly

[magid]

Or perhaps that should be "the interesting, the bizarre, and the monster".

''People are not molecules,'' said Tomer Toledo, a research associate at the ITS lab (quote from this Globe article). Apparently, this lab at MIT models traffic, including tailgaters, slow drivers, the works. It sounds like they're trying to get to a point where there could be traffic reports that predict the bad spots for the next few hours, or other ways to avoid/ameliorate the horrible traffic... Wow.

From today's Houston Chronicle, there's a story about pet accessories. We're not just talking plaid overcoats for dogs, or pearl-studded collars (for when they're invited to a wedding, don'tcha know), but little cars for hamsters to zoom around the house in, chicken and beef flavored toothpaste (also doggy breath mints) to avoid dog breath and dental decay, and *home-pet spas* which "can be outfitted with soothing 'pet tunes,' aromatherapy sprays, catnip tea bags, bacon- and barbecue-scented bubbles and drinking fountains."
Oy.

And then there's the monstera, a fruit I saw for the first time Friday, in the newly renovated Broadway Market. This is an interestingly-shaped fruit, to say the least. There is a very interesting technical description and photo, which includes such information as the fruit tasts of banana and pineapple, eating an unripe one can cause mouth and throat irritation, and it is a multiple fruit (like blackberries, for instance). Of course, this is not what we noticed first. No, we noticed that the surface is covered in a pattern of hexagons, and looks remarkably dildo-shaped (er, "textured for her pleasure"?). I almost burst out laughing today when one site describe it as having the shape of an ear of corn; that's a much more acceptable description, I suppose.

And, absolutely free of charge, as a bonus for reading now, you also get some really short takes.

Grape tomatoes can be hazardous to eat at work. Apparently there is enough moisture around a tomato seed to make col-erase pencils have more intense, thick color, though.

I was walking somewhere last week when I heard a small girl's voice calling out the window. I was the only one outside, so she had to be hailing me. I returned her greeting, and waved, and soon her younger brother had appeared. They continued saying hi until the hedge and a bend in the road took me out of sight.

Fireflies are an excellent thing, reminding me of how mysterious the world can be.

Comments

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

You're clearly not the first one to notice the similarity! The palomar.edu (http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph14.htm#monstera) website says it's in the same family as "the giant, stinking Amorphophallus titanum....Doesn't sound like something I'd like to meet in a dark alley.