The Super Moon

Last night was the first SUPER perigee moon in nearly 20 years!!  The moon was 14% larger and 30% brighter than normal full moons!!  (Hopefully, all of these exclamation points are conveying how very exciting this is.)

I went out to observe this so-called super moon at roughly 9:00PM and I was very unimpressed.  The moon looked the same as usual and was only slightly brighter.  I went back outside at 1:00AM to take pictures of the perigee moon so that I could write a post about how lame it was.  But what I saw when I went outside wasn't what I expected...

The moon was super!  It was like a giant flashlight shining down from the heavens!  It was so bright that at first I thought someone left the porch lights on, but no, it was the moon!  Though the moon didn't seem to be much larger, it was definitely way brighter.

I took some photos of the moon, but since I do not have an expensive, professional photographer camera (only a normal one) they really don't do the super moon justice (and in a lot of the photos it looks just like a normal moon).

Me pointing to the moon

Some random girl pointing at the super moon

In reality, the moon looked more like this: 

The moon is very important to Earth and it was nice to see it at its best.  I always say that dog is to man as moon is to Earth (and this is an "analogy").  Last night was a reminder of how important and special our moon is to all of us.  If we did not have the moon, we would have to go all the way to Mars to have another place to colonize when the earth is too crowded.  Also, soon we will be allowed to go on vacations to the moon and it will be better than Disney World, maybe even better than Universal Studios.

Better than Disney World?

If you missed the super perigee moon, do not fret!  The next one will be in just 18 years!

Team name/mascot Bracket

Many people consider team mascots when making their selections for the NCAA Tournament.  Here's a bracket with team names in place of university names to make your selection easier.

*I got the Blackbirds, Golden Grizzlies, Jayhawks, and Badgers in my Final Four (so it's probably best not to make your picks this way after all)! 

The Zombie Apocalypse Nears!

It is commonly believed that the Zombie Apocalypse will be started by either a virus, government experiment gone wrong, or meteorite with alien parasites.  However, a new discovery made by some bug nerds in Brazil, has given us a more likely culprit.

I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong: The Zombie Apocalypse will NOT be caused by ants with antlers (though why is it that deer have antlers and ants don't have antlers, dumb english language).

What's on this (dead) ant's head?... It's a DEADLY FUNGUS EXPLODING OUT OF ITS BRAIN!

Entomologists have discovered four different fungus species that are capable of zombifying ants.  All four infect the ant, gain control of its brain, and use the ant to spread fungi to other ants.  In the end, the mind-controlled ant is marched away from the others where the fungi picks out a good place for the ant to die-- a place where the fungi can grow large and spread all of its spores.

Ant: "Help me!  The fungus is getting me!"

I do not like ants.  In fact, my least favorite animal is "the bug" (my favorite is the capuchin monkey).  However, ants are by far not the worst bug.

Really, Really Bad Bugs                         Bad Bugs                             Not so Bad Bugs

Cockroach                                                 Millipede                              Ladybug

Centipede                                                  Ant                                        Butterfly

Bed Bugs                                                   Moth

Spiders (they're like bugs)

Hornets

Ants definitely do not deserve to be zombified.

More important than the ants, though, are the implications for human kind.  If there's fungi that can do this to ants, what if there's a fungus that can do this to us?

Imagine this scenario: Someone wanders into a cave in some remote part of the world, a cave where the human zombie fungus has lied dormant for thousands of years.  The person leaves the cave and, now controlled by fungus, heads back to civilization and infects others.  Soon, we're living in a world where millions of people are mind-controlled zombies.  The bodies of the infected are covered in evil fungus spores and once they touch you, or once you go near a dead zombie, BAM!  you're infected and the fungus takes over your brain.  

These guys have been infected by zombifying fungus!

Within a year, 99.9% of the population is infected and you're one of the only survivors.  You team up with some really tough guys, a few incredibly hot models, and me.

The old guy might be zombified, but the others are still human.

We do our best, but we're being killed off one by one.  We end up wandering in the jungle when, suddenly and luckily, we find a mysterious spaceship.  We get in-- the ship works.  With the other remaining survivors, you and I blast off and settle on a distant world (we find one that can support human life).  Life as we knew it is over, but at least the zombie apocalypse is behind us.  It's time to begin a new human civilization on this alien planet.

This is what might happen if there is a human version of the zombie ant fungus.

no fun at BYU

Brandon Davies was kicked off the BYU basketball team for violating the BYU honor code (pretty much eliminating any chance BYU had for going far in the tournament).  His violation: Having sex with his girlfriend.

Jesus doesn't approve of this guy

I decided to take a look the honor code statement on the school's website, to find out other reasons I decided not to go to BYU.

My favorite part of the code, besides the part which forbids drinking tea and coffee (personally, I think Jesus would've been a tea drinker), is that beards aren't permitted.  You can, however, "obtain a beard exception" if you get a doctor's note saying you need the beard for medical reasons (not a joke).  If you don't want to go through the trouble of getting a note, a moustache is allowed as long as it's neatly trimmed and doesn't "extend beyond or below the corners of the mouth" (BYU doesn't want you to have a beard, but they don't care if you look like a child molester).

Pretty much, BYU is the opposite of Tisch, where sex, drinking coffee and/or tea, and having a beard, is basically a requirement.