The thousand post club

[MargaritaMc]

thank_you_margarita.jpg

The 500 club welcomes:

1) MargaritaMc at 5.45 posts per day

Gadzooks - I didn't know there was a 500 club!
Nor that I am such an embarrassingly energetic poster...

Talkative? Me? What EVER gives you that idea?

Margarita

[Beyond]

Margarita, you'll be happy(?) to know, that according to the official rules laid out by RJN... once an Asterisk*ian reaches 500 posts, said Asterisk*ian is judged to be officially insane.
Welcome to the club

[MargaritaMc]

Margarita, you'll be happy(?) to know, that according to the official rules laid out by RJN... once an Asterisk*ian reaches 500 posts, said Asterisk*ian is judged to be officially insane.
Welcome to the club

It is so good to have that officially confirmed!

Where are these rules? I can't find them - probably a further sign of mental incompetence ...

village_idiot.jpeg

Edit - duh... Found 'em... Who in their right minds would think of looking in the Rules and Handbook, posted by RJN? I mean, that is really sneaky hiding info away.
Margarita

[Beyond]

Isn't this a fun place

[orin stepanek]

A Happy 500 day club member to Boomer & MargaritaMc

[neufer]

A Happy 500 day club member to Boomer & MargaritaMc

This is really more like DAY care than a DAY club.

[MargaritaMc]

A Happy 500 day club member to Boomer & MargaritaMc

Thank you, orin

This is really more like DAY care than a DAY club.

Margarita

cat_in_her_her_chair_and_dotage.jpeg

[geckzilla]

It's not post count that makes a title. It's character. Sometimes it's difficult to come up with a title when people zoom up in the post counts so quick but we don't really know them.

[Beyond]

When geckzilla said -title-, what came to mind for me, was "Wheeler Dealer". Because Margarita's into everything! It's as though she's a human black hole trying to suck up information from everywhere, about everything. Almost makes my head hurt

[orin stepanek]

Wow!I guess I screwed that up. Didn't I! I should have wrote 500 post instead of 500 day! It must be the old farts syndrome!

[MargaritaMc]

It's not post count that makes a title. It's character. Sometimes it's difficult to come up with a title when people zoom up in the post counts so quick but we don't really know them.

So titles are conferred?
I'd think I'd need to be here at least a year before I'd want to change my current designation. I really like being 'commander'!
Beyond suggested something like 'black hole' - but, you don't know if, just like a black hole, I might disappear from sight...

Margarita

[neufer]

It's not post count that makes a title. It's character.

Sometimes it's difficult to come up with a title when people zoom up in the post counts so quick but we don't really know them.

I'm thinking that we somehow know MargaritaMc at 5.45 posts per day
more than we know Boomer12k at 0.23 posts per day .

[Beyond]

It's not post count that makes a title. It's character. Sometimes it's difficult to come up with a title when people zoom up in the post counts so quick but we don't really know them.

So titles are conferred?
I'd think I'd need to be here at least a year before I'd want to change my current designation. I really like being 'commander'!
Beyond suggested something like 'black hole' - but, you don't know if, just like a black hole, I might disappear from sight...

Margarita

See You're just tooooo busy I didn't suggest anything about a black hole for a title. Go back and read it again.

[MargaritaMc]

I didn't suggest anything about a black hole for a title. Go back and read it again.

Noun 1. wheeler dealer - a shrewd or unscrupulous person who knows how to circumvent difficulties

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wheeler+dealer

In the UK there is a TV series about restoring vintage cars called "Wheeler Dealers"!

Margarita

[Beyond]

I wasn't thinking of the "unscrupulous" part. Just that you're into so many things, that you have to have a fast set of wheels to deal with all the ground you cover.
Actually, IF you wanted a different Title than Commander, you can pick one out yourself. The rules say -within reason- but if we are already declared officially insane... what does -within reason- really mean

[MargaritaMc]

I wasn't thinking of the "unscrupulous" part. Just that you're into so many things, that you have to have a fast set of wheels to deal with all the ground you cover.

the_wheely_dealer.jpg

Actually, IF you wanted a different Title than Commander, you can pick one out yourself.

Nah! You've already picked the best title! If I can ever think of one that will get me joining you in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, THEN I'll change from 'Commander'!

Margarita

[Beyond]

The Wheely Dealer. That's wheely good See, i told you you were fast

[geckzilla]

It's not post count that makes a title. It's character.

Sometimes it's difficult to come up with a title when people zoom up in the post counts so quick but we don't really know them.

I'm thinking that we somehow know MargaritaMc at 5.45 posts per day
more than we know Boomer12k at 0.23 posts per day .

If you really want, I could remove all post counts and statistical information from the forum.

-Evil Admin, Killer of Fun, Slayer of Laughter

[Beyond]

Beware the power of the mighty gecko

[Ann]

Click to view full size image

NGC 4146. Source: http://www.galaxyzooforum.org/index.php ... 73743.3105

Beyond, you're moving pretty fast yourself, so I think you'll soon overtake me. Right now, and before Geckzilla removes the information, you have 4146 posts. That makes you a handsome galaxy with a bar (the bar is the oblong yellow thing crossing the nucleus). A number of galactic friends seem to be coming to your bar. Will you serve them a few cold ones?

Ann

[Beyond]

WOW I had my own bar (hic) and didn't even know it. Shucks, i missed out on (hic) freebies. Whens the next (hic) bar due to come along Then we can all have (hic) freebies

[neufer]

If you really want, I could remove all post counts and statistical information from the forum.

-Evil Admin, Killer of Fun, Slayer of Laughter

Beware the power of the mighty gecko

"scientists will need to humanely euthanize the animals in order to get the data they need"

Russia launches [15 geckos] into space on one-month journey
By Miriam Kramer, April 19, 2013

<<An intrepid critter crew of geckos, mice and gerbils and other animals launched into orbit Friday (April 19) to begin a month-long Russian experiment to study how space travel affects living creatures. The space mission, scientists assure, will return the animals to Earth alive.

The new animal astronauts launched into orbit at 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT) atop a Russian-built Soyuz 2 rocket that lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in Central Asia. The rocket carried the Bion-M1 space capsule, which is filled with enclosures for 45 mice, eight Mongolian gerbils, 15 geckos and numerous other species. They are expected to spend a month in orbit, flying 357 miles above Earth while scientists on the ground monitor the health of the capsule's passengers. [See photos of the Bion-M1 space animals mission]

"There has been a long history of this kind of biological research over the past 40 years, and NASA and the Russian side have been collaborating for that entire time, which is pretty remarkable. But each mission kind of brings a unique focus, be it the actual duration of the mission or the specimens being flown," Nicole Rayl, project manager for NASA's portion of the mission, told SPACE.com. While the project is run by Russia's Federal Space Agency, also called Roscosmos, an international team of scientists is overseeing the mission's many experiments.

Bion-M1 is Russia's first mission dedicated to launching animals into space in 17 years. The last Bion mission carried rhesus monkeys, geckos and amphibians into orbit for 15 days in 1996. And while there have been other animal-centric launches since that time, the Bion-M1 mission is the longest flight of its kind in the Russian science program's 40-year history. For this reason, Bion-M1 is designed to help scientists understand how long-duration human spaceflight might affect astronauts, Rayl said. "The unique nature of this mission is that it's a 30-day mission, so it's longer than a lot of the other animal and biological missions we've flown," Rayl said. "The big importance for us is that we get to compare data from this longer mission with better analytical tools that we have today, [compared] to the missions we've flown in the past that were similar but not exactly the same."

Scientists will monitor a wide variety of health metrics for the animals while the creatures are on board. The spacecraft will beam down information about the health of the animals and the conditions inside the capsule. Researchers are interested in understanding the many different ways spaceflight might change a mouse, for example, because the data could help scientists understand what humans need to be wary of on long-term trips. One of the NASA experiments focuses on how microgravity and radiation affect sperm motility in mice. If humans are going to visit other planets on long flights, Rayl said, it's important to understand if people will be able to procreate from sex in space. Some missions could take decades, so space-based reproduction could be a necessity. Although one of the NASA scientists will examine the mice for sperm motility, there is no chance that the animals will reproduce while in the spacecraft. Only male mice were selected for this journey, Rayl said.

Other experiments take the wide view, looking into how different body systems are connected and changed during spaceflight. "We often have very targeted scientific experiments where we have one investigator looking at, say, 'cardiovascular system function.' This [Bion-M1] is different because we have nine investigators [in] total looking at a whole organism approach to spaceflight," Rayl said. "That's a very exciting development for us, that we're able to bring so many investigators to the table to really maximize the scientific return from this mission."

After a month in orbit, the Bion-M1 spacecraft will fall to Earth and scientists will collect the animals and run tests.

While the mice, gerbils, geckos and other creatures should survive their plunge through the Earth's atmosphere, scientists will need to humanely euthanize the animals in order to get the data they need, Rayl added.>>

[geckzilla]

Clearly, geckos are the future of space exploration.

[neufer]

Clearly, geckos are the future of space exploration.

Seems laughable, but... "geckos don't need much special training because of their particular way of life."

Russia readies geckos for space voyage: report

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

"Some astronauts experienced a flattening of the eyeball"

<<Russian authorities plan to put geckos in space, claims a report from the Russian news agency Interfax, the latest twist in a wild and whacky week for the famously space-conscious superpower. The reptiles, unique to the lizard world due to their chirping abilities, are to "undergo a tough selection process before departing with the Bion-M satellite, which is set to be launched toward the end of 2012," Russia's Institute of Biomedical Problems spokesperson said, according to The Moscow Times.

"[T]here will also be no place for those which are easily excited or aggressive," the spokesman added, perhaps a bit severely.

But Britain's The Sun was quick to put the move in context, noting that fruit flies went into orbit in 1947. But the "most famous creature cosmonauts were Rhesus monkey Albert II, who went up in 1949," The Sun said, "and Laika the dog who tragically died after being sent up by Russia in 1957."

Satellites are to carry a total of fifteen lizards into space, where they will be observed alongside a corresponding group on Earth, the Moscow Times said. Why were geckos singled out? Is it their impressive ability to scale walls or, in some cases, walk on water? "Geckos don't need much special training because of their particular way of life," the Biomedical institute spokesman explained, saying that "under effects of unusual gravity changes, you see that they don't care where they run, on the floor, wall or ceiling."

Seems laughable, but scientists this week announced that human astronauts sent into space for long periods of time came back with weird eyeball issues due to unforeseen extraterrestrial affects on the brain, according to the report published Tuesday in the journal Radiology. The New Scientist reported that scientists found some astronauts experienced a flattening of the eyeball while others may even develop blindness, results it said "could jeopardise long-haul missions into space." Turns out the Russian reptile experiment may, in fact, be something we should all keep an eye on.

An intrepid critter crew of geckos, mice and gerbils and other animals launched into orbit Friday (April 19) to begin a month-long Russian experiment to study how space travel affects living creatures. The space mission, scientists assure, will return the animals to Earth alive.>>

[neufer]

Code: Select all

bystander          11003  / 4.52 ppd since Mon Aug 28, 2006  / Apathetic Retiree
neufer              9244  / 4.80 ppd since Mon Jan 21, 2008  / Abstruse Allusion Artificer
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Chris Peterson      6972  / 3.04 ppd since Wed Jan 31, 2007  / Abominable Snowman
owlice              6939  / 2.18 ppd since Wed Aug 02, 2004  / Guardian of the Codes
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Ånn                 4230  / 3.96 ppd since Sat May 29, 2010  / Color Commentator?
Beyond              4170  / 2.84 ppd since Tue Aug 04, 2009  / Milliways Pundit
Orin Stepanek       3900  / 1.38 ppd since Wed Jul 27, 2005  / Resident Geezer
BMAONE23            3164  / 1.08 ppd since Wed Feb 23, 2005  / Commentator Model 1.23
Harry               2881  / 1.06 ppd since Fri Nov 18, 2005  / G'day G'day G'day G'day
geckzilla           2546  / 1.24 ppd since Wed Sep 12, 2007  / Ocular Digitator
makc/ckam           2102  / 0.73 ppd since Tue Oct 12, 2004  / Best Title in the Universe (171)
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APOD Robot          1315  / 1.06 ppd since Thu Dec 03, 2009  / Otto Posterman
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RJN                 1156  / 0.38 ppd since Sat Jul 24, 2004  / Baffled Boffin
emc                 1129  / 0.54 ppd since Tue Jul 17, 2007  / Equine Locutionist 
The Code/swainy     1091  / 0.87 ppd since Sat Mar 09, 2009  / Cosmic Skeptic (187)
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NoelC                868  / 0.32 ppd since Sat Nov 19, 2005  / Creepy Spock
Nereid               832  / 0.35 ppd since Thu Sep 28, 2006  / Intrepidus Dux Emeritus
dougettinger         632  / 0.55 ppd since Wed Mar 17, 2010  / Curious Querier
DavidLeodis          611  / 0.24 ppd since Wed May 01, 2006  / Commander
ta152h0              597  / 0.19 ppd since Sun Aug 28, 2005  / Commander
MargaritaMc 	      589  / 5.35 ppd since Wed Jan 09, 2013  / Commander 
JohnD                587  / 0.20 ppd since Wed Feb 16, 2005  / Commander
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Moonlady             547  / 1.47 ppd since Fri Apr 13, 2012  / Commander
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iamlucky13           515  / 0.20 ppd since Thu May 25, 2006  / Commander
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