Scientists at Sandia National Labratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico have simulated some of the effects of a neutron star. This appears to be an off-shoot of their fusion experiments. The photo shows the reactor in action, with arcs of electricity crossing over the surface of a pool of water. You can read more about the place here. When I was in school, I took a tour of the place. I volunteered to wear the radiation detection badge for the group, and was told during the briefing that I’d get back a full report on how much radiation we were exposed to. Seven years later, I’m still waiting…

The cat brought a live chipmunk into the house last night. Oh, the excitement! I’ve discovered that at 3:30 in the morning, my chipmunk-catching abilities aren’t what they ought to be. It’s still in there, locked in the most cluttered room I’ve got. When I got dressed for work, he was sitting in the windowsill sunning himself, but then chirped and ran off under some boxes.

You don’t need a physics degree to understand the humor here (especially in the “Exclusive features” section), but it might help. Acme Klein Bottles -- where yesterday’s future is here today!

A bear. An elephant. Knock-knock jokes. Need I say more? (Not for the easily offended.)

Bob Rivers’ Twisted Tunes is the nearest thing Weird Al has to competition. He’s added a bunch of songs since my last visit. I suggest “Dark Side of Naboo” just to hear Yoda’s rant at the end, but you’ll find many more quality songs here.

The apple sauce I had for breakfast gave me the urge to visit applesauce.com, where I found directions for making several variations of apple sauce plus recipes that use apple sauce. Several years ago, I got the idea to make apple butter. I went a bit overboard on the apples and ended up with several gallens of the stuff before I was done. The apartment had the wonderful smell of apples and cinnamon for weeks.

I wrote down below “Now that [Amazon.com is] associated with GiveQuick, all the more reason to stick with them.” I’m afraid I’ve got my charitable organizations messed up. I meant to say GreaterGood.com, who donates a percentage of your on-line purchases through a number of businesses (including Amazon) to charities. The current featured charity is the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a group I support completely. I’ve edited the post below to correct my error.

From the BBC: _A dangerous new type of e-mail virus emerged on Tuesday which reveals the potential to wreak havoc on computers by simply looking at an e-mail. It breaks one of the long-standing rules that you have to open an e-mail attachment to become infected._ It’s easily stopped, but most users’ default settings in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer will let this slip right on through. Yowsers!

My Experience withBarnes&Noble.com;, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Amazon

Last week after seeing a page of B&N; on-line coupons linked on Robot Wisdom, I decided to try them out. I’d never used B&N.com; before, so I thought this was a cheap way to see how they stack up. I found a coupon that read $10 off a $10 or more purchase. Great! I found the audio version of The Onion’s Our Dumb Century listed for $9.60 plus shipping, so I placed my order, used the coupon, and was told to wait for a confirmation e-mail.

The next day, the email arrived. It showed the book cost $9.60, shipping was $0.40, and that my credit card was going to be charged $13 and change. No mention of the coupon, and no explanation for the odd total. I sent an email to their customer service people asking for an explanation of the total and what happened to the coupon. I stated that even though the coupon didn’t say so, if the $10 minimum didn’t include shipping, I’d be happy to add a book to my order to meet the minimum.

The next day, I received an email stating that the shipping was listed wrong, and that the total really was $13 plus change. No mention of the coupon, so I called the customer service 800 number. The man that answered the call was very nice, but right after he took my order number he said his computer was acting up. I waited while he waited. Eventually, he said his computer was down and said he’d transfer me to someone else. After a short while, he came back on and said the entire system was down, and that I’d have to call back later.

The next day, I was able to get through. My order had not been shipped yet, and I could not use the coupon because the base order was not over $10. The lady could not add a book to my order, and instead cancelled the order and told me to place it again.

I re-ordered Our Dumb Century and resisted the urge to add a $1 book to my order. Instead, I ordered a $5 book on how to reduce clutter in my life. I know the book’s destined to add to the clutter on my bookshelf, but that’s another matter. Both books were listed as in stock, shipped within 24 hours. The confirmation email came a few hours later, and with shipping, minus coupon, my total cost was just under $10. I waited for my books.

The next day, I received an email stating that the clutter book was indeed out of stock, and that it was not known when it would be in. They were shipping my Our Dumb Century anyway, and would let me know when the other was coming.

The next day (yesterday), Our Dumb Century arrived. It was shipped to the billing address instead of the shipping address I had given them. My bank card was charged about $5. Now, I’ve used Amazon.com many, many times, and have not had a lick of trouble. Once, last year, they sent the wrong item, and when I called, they said to keep it and rushed the correct item to me. Now that they are associated with GreaterGood, all the more reason to stick with them.

Remember those Russian “nuclear suitcases” that were in the news a while back? Robot Wisdom pointed me to this NY Post article that raises the possibility that some of those missing suitcases areburied in locations throughout the US. Just one more reason why you should call before you dig…