AdamSmith

...almost too much temptation?

Haven't you ever wanted to do that?

We live to serve...

Expert: King Tut's mask can be restored after epoxy used Sarah Lynch, Special for USA TODAY 4:38 p.m. EST January 24, 2015 (Photo: Mohamed El-Shahed, AFP/Getty Images) CAIRO — Egypt sought Saturday to calm concerns that King Tutankhamun's famous burial mask had been permanently marred after its beard broke off and was glued back on with epoxy. German restoration specialist Christian Eckmann told reporters at a news conference at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo that the mask is not endangered, adding it can be properly restored after the glue is removed. "It is a delicate operation," Eckmann said. "It has to be done very carefully, but it is reversible." The beard fell off in August when the mask was touched during an attempt to adjust the lighting in its case, Eckmann said. The mask was then transferred to the restoration desk. After an unsuccessful attempt to re-secure the piece, it was decided that epoxy resin should be used. The news of the marred mask didn't come to light until this week, but quickly ignited concern and outrage among Egyptologists and conservationists. "It's ridiculous," said Egyptologist Monica Hanna, who saw the mask Friday on display at the Egyptian Museum. The beard "has been glued back in a very bad manner. One centimeter of glue can be seen." A close-up of the burial mask of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun on display at the Cairo museum on Jan. 23, 2015. (Photo: Mohamed El-Shahed, AFP/Getty Images) The mask, which is more than 3,000 years old, is an icon of Egypt's Pharaonic history. Made of gold and inlaid with stone, faience and glass, it was placed over King Tutankhamun's face at the time of his burial. After a groundbreaking discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922 by archaeologists Howard Carter and George Herbert, the mask was found in the burial chamber. The tomb had been left almost entirely intact, unlike many others that had previously been looted. The mask's beard was loose when Carter discovered it and was re-affixed to the mask in 1941, Eckmann said. In the nearly 100 years since its discovery, the mask has been on display at the Egyptian Museum, located in the heart of Cairo. Speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for professional reprisal, museum conservators told the Associated Press that an inappropriate material was used and that orders were given to fix the beard quickly "Unfortunately he used a very irreversible material — epoxy has a very high property for attaching and is used on metal or stone, but I think it wasn't suitable for an outstanding object like Tutankhamun's golden mask," one conservator said. It isn't just damage to the beard that has prompted concern: Another museum conservator told the Associated Press that a colleague used a spatula to remove epoxy that had dried on the face of the mask, causing scratches. On Saturday, Eckmann said he found one scratch on the mask, but added it was unclear whether it was ancient or new. Egyptologist Hanna said the measures taken to reattach the beard are a symptom of a system that lacks proper accountability. Among other concerns, stolen Egyptian artifacts have appeared in foreign auctions and an increased number of ancient sites have been looted since Egypt's four-year old uprising, which led to prolonged political unrest and a drop in security. "No one has been held accountable," Hanna said. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/01/24/egypt-king-tutankhamen-mask/22274967/

A Whale Blasted an Ungodly Amount of Ass Ham All Over Some Divers http://www.vice.com/read/a-whale-blasted-an-ungodly-amount-of-ass-ham-all-over-some-divers

Update... The Future Is Now Several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), technology companies, and universities already have pilot projects under way or on the launch pad to test varying levels of self-driving capability. A number of near-term rollouts have been reported or announced. For example: Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz now sells a system that can pilot a car on a freeway, but its design requires the driver to keep a hand on the wheel. By 2016, the company plans to introduce Autobahn Pilot, which will allow hands-free highway driving with autonomous overtaking of other vehicles. Tesla Motors plans to offer hands-free highway driving in its Model S electric sedans in 2015. General Motors will offer Super Cruise in a new 2016 Cadillac sedan. The system will allow the car to automatically keep its lane, autonomously trigger braking, and control speed. Volkswagen’s Audi unit intends to roll out technology to enable autonomous driving in urban traffic around 2016. Also in the 2016 time frame, Mobileye plans to launch, with two partner OEMs, the first hands-free-capable driving at highway speeds and in congested traffic situations. More at: http://www.engineering.com/AdvancedManufacturing/ArticleID/9357/Self-Driving-Vehicles-a-42-Billion-Market-by-2025But-a-Death-Knell-for-Auto-Manufacturing-In-an.aspx

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/24/federal-judge-strikes-down-alabama-gay-marriage-ban

Truly unbelievable. Museum Curators Accidentally Ruin Priceless King Tut Burial Mask http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=61258 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/23/king-tuts-mask-worlds-most-famous-archaeological-relic-has-been-irreversably-damaged/ http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0dad9fb502094fd09de4dd263662d4d0/beard-egypts-king-tut-hastily-glued-back-epoxy

Oz!!! Wonders never cease! :) Judge Strikes Down Alabama's Gay Marriage Ban http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6535610

Plus the case now has Dershowitz rampant. How her lawyers could have let her drag him into it is one of the biggest head-scratchers about the whole business. No matter what the truth, that move will end up being far more trouble to them than it was worth. Of course who knows what goes on behind anybody's closed doors. But I know Dersh just a little bit from the decades spent living in Cambridge (including one time spotting him in his birthday suit at the clothing-optional Chilmark beach on Martha's Vineyard ), and the notion of him boffing that chick is out there beyond the Andromeda galaxy as far as I'm concerned.

Queen Elizabeth II once terrorized King Abdullah — by driving him around "You're damn right one is driving oneself." Queen Elizabeth in her Land Rover in 1987. The death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has brought considerable debate over whether he should be remembered as a "reformer" or the very opposite of one; whether his legacy will be that he preserved Saudi Arabia's future or limited its present. But as this story from a former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia makes clear, there is one thing he will never be: as much of a stone-cold badass as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles was given a private audience with the Queen when he was appointed Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 2003. At the time, Abdullah was technically still the crown prince, though he'd been de facto ruler for several years. During their meeting, she gleefully recounted the story of Abdullah's first visit to Balmoral, her castle in Scotland. It all started innocently enough, with an offer to tour the estate: After lunch, the Queen had asked her royal guest whether he would like a tour of the estate. Prompted by his foreign minister the urbane Prince Saud, an initially hesitant Abdullah had agreed. The royal Land Rovers were drawn up in front of the castle. As instructed, the Crown Prince climbed into the front seat of the front Land Rover, his interpreter in the seat behind. But then, a surprising twist! The Queen herself was Abdullah's driver: To his surprise, the Queen climbed into the driving seat, turned the ignition and drove off. Women are not — yet — allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, and Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman, let alone a queen. And she wasn't just driving, she was DRIVING, leaving Abdullah a quivering wreck: His nervousness only increased as the Queen, an Army driver in wartime, accelerated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads, talking all the time. Through his interpreter, the Crown Prince implored the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead. That's right: Queen Elizabeth basically spent an afternoon using her military-grade driving skills to haze the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Result: Elizabeth 1, Abdullah 0. http://www.vox.com/2015/1/23/7877243/king-abdullah-queen-drive

You never let on that you're in the Senate!

Climate change inaction pushes 'doomsday clock' closest to midnight since 1984 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/climate-change-nuclear-bombs-doomsday-clock-near-midnight

Damn. My ignorant ass hoped this was a new fetish. Say it with the accent on the second syllABle: de-FLAT-eh-gate

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kevorkian/aboutk/art/

Fascinating, Captain. http://www.popsci.com/have-we-found-alien-life?dom=fb&src=SOC

It was more than clear that 2 of the top execs wanted to, quite badly. But being VPs instead of CEO, they dared not.

So Costa Rican and other sources speculate one motivation of many may be Ortega's interests in deflecting attention from economic etc problems under his regime. Wikipedia says, among much else: HKND does not have any civil engineering expertise and has been accused of being a front for the Chinese government, which they deny. HKND seems not to have secured the capital needed for the project and is now asking for the land to be given to them on a 50 year credit or lease. Many things to make you go Hmm. As you said, MsGuy.

An extraordinarily apt image for any Windows-based PC!