Rentasmo's New Writeups

Gas, grass or ass, nobody rides for free (idea)

2001-01-23T11:32:35Z

Once upon a time there was a space hippie who lived in an intergalactic VW bug. It was a small ship but he had plenty of room to take his half-wolf dog Zion along and give a ride to the occasional hitchhiker thumbing his way across the galaxy. One day Ganz (as he called himself) was driving as he normally did across the Orion arm of the galaxy when he came upon an individual on the side of the road. Being the brotherly type, Ganz pulled over to give the young lady a ride. She was a slim girl with nappy-assed dreads that just drove Ganz crazy. She smelled slightly of body odor and patchouli and it was all Ganz could do to keep from drooling. Zion took to her immediately and proceeded to do just what Ganz was fighting not to do. Zion had very active saliva glands. The young lady didn't mind however, and even managed to keep the stupid mutt in hand as they pulled away from the side of the stellar byway.

"Gas, Ass, or Grass" Ganz quipped, only half…

DayQuil (thing)

2001-01-23T05:58:25Z

"The daytime, non-drowsy, congested stuffy head, sore throat, coughing, aching, fever so you can get through the day medicine."

That's what Vicks, the maker of DayQuil, says.

I say:

DayQuil!
Orangy colored liquid joy!
You stop the hacking!
Painful wracking
Of the lungs!
NO!!!
I do not get sleepy!
So the children on me do not chew!
New Larger Size!
So I'm not bereft
Of the liquid that sustains!
I pour this libation
Nectar of the gods
Foodstuff of greatness
Oh lighter sister of NyQuil
Lacking the sinister green glow
Thank you!

Technical stuff:

Active Ingredients:
Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride
Acetaminophen
Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide

Inactive Ingredients:
Citric Acid, Flavor (What is it? I do not know! Top secret mystery…

Bioremediation (idea)

2001-01-16T09:31:17Z

The use of living organisms to degrade or transform hazardous wastes. Scientists are currently working on engineering bacteria capable of breaking down nuclear wastes (see Deinococcus radiodurans ) and have also encountered some success engineering bacteria with the ability to break down crude oil into less harmful substances.

Deinococcus radiodurans (thing)

2001-01-16T09:29:05Z

Capable of withstanding doses of radiation ten thousand times the strength of that which would kill a human, Deinococcus radiodurans is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's toughest bacterium. First isolated in the 1950's in cans of meat which had spoiled despite being irradiated, D. radiodurans has been found living everywhere from Antarctica to the inside of nuclear reactors. This bacterium has lent fire to the theory that life first came to the Earth aboard meteors, as only a bacterium that can withstand interstellar radiation could survive such a trip. D. radiodurans has also given hope to scientists interested in creating bacteria capable of degrading nuclear waste, part of the process of bioremediation.

Partial credit to:
Kids Discover, vol. 10 issue 10
Science News Online, www.sciencenews.org

Signing Exact English (thing)

2001-01-14T07:46:43Z

Signing Exact English (a.k.a. SEE1 or SEE sign) is a sign language that follows the structure of the English language exactly as opposed to American Sign Language which has its own unique syntax. SEE sign was developed in response to the problems that many deaf people had learning and reading English: important skills for interacting with mainstream society. Another reason for the development of SEE sign was that hearing parents of deaf children had many difficulties teaching communication skills to their children. Learning an entirely new language fluently prior to a child reaching the optimal language acquisition ages is generally not an easy task. Although SEE sign utilizes approximately 75% of the same vocabulary as American Sign Language, it is also composed of signs that are unique to it. In addition to utilization by the deaf community, developmentally disabled individuals who lack or have inhibited speech capabilities also use Signing Exact English.

Signed English (thing)

2001-01-14T07:07:30Z

Prior to the development of gestural languages which followed the structure of English, many members of the deaf community had difficulty learning, understanding, and reading English. In addition, many hearing parents of deaf children had problems teaching communication skills to their children as both the parent and the child were new to the language and syntax of American Sign Language. In 1969 a group composed of friends, family, teachers, and members of the deaf community met in southern California to compose a method to represent English in a gestural language. From this meeting arose three published languages: Seeing Essential English (SEE1), Linguistics of Visual English (LOVE), and Signing Exact English (SEE2). Many of the signs for these languages were borrowed from ASL, however a good proportion of vocabulary is unique to each of these languages. Signing Exact English is probably the most common Signed English language today.