In other news, there are snakes that jump from trees and can glide as much as 100 feet in the air in search of prey. I remember watching a documentary about these things eons ago, but I'm pretty sure this is the first really systematic look at them I've ever seen.

A mass grave found in Germany is finally yielding insights into just what the Justinian Plague actually was. It's far less well known than its fourteenth century counterpart but may very well have killed more people in its day. It certainly helped create those darkest of the dark ages.

New technology has allowed scientists to sequence the DNA of the remains of an 8000 year-old man. The findings, as with most things of this nature, confirm some theories, invalidate others, and also pose new questions. Because SCIENCE!

This just in: The norks have conquered the sun. I'm sniffing either a hoax or a mistranslation, but it is North Korea. They're pretty much capable of any wacky thing as far as I'm concerned.

A simple change in filter rules has turned a dud into a success. Me, I'd think that particles traveling at energies a hundred times greater than the LHC would be a bit, well, "explodey." But I Am Not a Particle Physicist.

It really was only a matter of time: Google glass seems to have acquired it very first "adult themed" app. Maybe I'm just weird, but to me one of the points of grown-up fun is admiring one's partner, with perhaps the occasional glance in a mirror to see two people having a lot of fun. That said, there is the whole "Jersey Shore" angle. Bah. If you want to watch yourself doing your significant other while you're both wearing goofy-looking glasses, knock yourselves out.

Touch typist? Think QWERTY is your weapon of choice? You probably don't know it as well as you think. MY speed is up there, but I'm not sure about the accuracy. Regardless, I probably couldn't draw or assign the keys correctly either. Too busy typing.

Scientists have announced the discovery of a canyon underneath the antarctic ice that dwarfs the Grand Canyon. I can't help but think this would probably end up filled with water, a-la Loch Ness, and so not be all THAT deep. Then again, who am I to stand between an editor and his juicy headline?

It's come to this: One man's nostalgia for his childhood in the '80s has him chronicling all the different ways businesses are re-using old Pizza Huts. I got my first job at a Pizza Hut back in (I think) 1985. I just checked Google's Satellite view and it appears to still be there, red roof and all.

A new paper is finally detailing the rear portion of what's being called one of the most important fossil finds in the past decade. The creature, known as a "titkaalik," is a member of an extremely rare group called "tetrapodomorphs," creatures who are part of the transition from fins to legs. As usual, there's plenty of unexpected things that were found on the back end of this not-quite-fish.

Captain obvious in the vet clinic: Cats think people are just bigger cats with better food. People also provide a warm space to be a flying maniac at 3 am when they're young, and a convenient place to puke when they're old.

And in the "so this is a thing" file we have men dressing up as anatomically correct female dolls. That time I said "bronies" were the most inexplicable thing I'd ever come across? Yeah, I'm gonna have to take that back.

Scientists have announced the discovery of a star that has a neutron star inside of it. The objects have been predicted since 1975 but not observed until now. The most likely scenario seems to be that the larger star swallowed it.

Is that a gun in your...waitaminute...that's not a pocket! I'd think that would at least itch a bit.

This just in: ancient critters that lived in the ocean were colored more or less the same as modern critters that live in the ocean. Because it's so weird that water has held the same properties, basically forever. Meh, I guess it would be interesting if this didn't hold true.

I guess the take-aways from this are: a) don't ride the luggage carousel, b) if you do, the cops will come sniffing around, c) get the hell out of the airport if you go for a ride.

Me, I'm going with a, but that's because I have a mortgage and responsibility and stuff.

A group of scientists has determined the presence of liquid magma is enough to trigger a supervolcano eruption. These super-massive eruptions are hundreds of times larger than any conventional eruption experienced in history. The good news is, apparently, that such an event would cause very noticeable changes in the vicinity of said supervolcano. Oh, and don't forget one of these things sits underneath Yellowstone. Sleep well!

The new Corvette will come with a nifty option that should help cafe racers all over the country. It just might be useful for putting a driver in the pokey as well, so be careful with your misbehavior.

London: great place to visit, just don't do any digging. I'd expect pretty much all European cities that have been continuously inhabited since antiquity will be like this. Paris and Rome in particular are quite well known for their catacombs.

Southerners in a snow storm:

A new type of artificial heart seems to be doing well in its first use in a human patient. Apparently it's very large, fitting only 86% of men and 65% of people in general, but it also seems like it provides more freedom. There's no mention of wires or tubes leading from the device to external machinery.