Blog Heap of Links for the day 16 September 2016

…scientists have just announced new world records for distance and duration of single lightning flashes… The distance champ… leapt to life just south of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the middle of a long line of midafternoon thunderstorms on 20 June 2007 and then shot westward nearly to the Texas border—a distance of …almost 200 miles… In addition to its cloud-to-cloud travels, the discharge also sent at least 13 bolts down to the ground,…

…The idea is simple: If you want a book, you take a book and leave another in its place. It's a nice, sweet idea that has worked out remarkably well, considering how many folks out there are Grade A jerks.

Speaking of jerks, however, the government is cracking down on such book sharing. Because of course it is.

…The L.A. Times followed up last week with a trend story:…"Crime, homelessness and crumbling infrastructure are still a problem in almost every part of America, but two cities have recently cracked down on one of the country's biggest problems: small-community libraries where residents can share books," Michael Schaub wrote.

…This, ladies and gentlemen, is why we can't have nice things.

Edward Albee, the author of dozens of bitingly funny and scabrously caustic dramas, and one of the most important American playwrights for much of the last fifty years, died September 16 at age 88. He passed away peacefully at his home in Montauk, NY, following a short illness, according to his longtime personal assistant, Jakob Holder.…

Listen to the oldest melody in the world — 3400 years old.
"The hymn was discovered on a clay tablet in Ugarit, now part of modern-day Syria, and is dedicated the Hurrians’ goddess of the orchards Nikkal...."

The clay tablet text, which was discovered alongside around 30 other tablet fragments, specifies 9 lyre strings and the intervals between those strings – kind of like an ancient guitar tab..... The notation here is essentially a set of instructions for intervals and tuning based around a heptatonic diatonic scale.…

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released the largest, most detailed map yet of the Milky Way. It pinpoints the 3D positions of 1.1 billion stars, almost 400 million of which were previously unknown to science.… suggests that the Milky Way is slightly bigger than previously estimated…

Notorious runaway robot that has escaped lab twice has been arrested by police at political rally…
Police even tried to handcuff the device after a member of public called authorities to complain about the electronic device…

Russia, U.S. seek to prolong Syria truce but aid blocked, violence spreads…
Pakistan: Suicide bomber kills dozens in Mohmand mosque.…
Italy braces as 235,000 migrants on Libya’s coast wait to cross the Mediterranean to Europe…

According to the United Nations’ envoy to Libya, 235,000 migrants are poised to emigrate from there to Italy, and will make the Mediterranean crossing as soon as it becomes feasible. This will be in addition to the 128,000 migrants who have already arrived in Italy this year.

In other news, due to security concerns in Turkey, both Britain and Germany have temporarily closed their embassies in Ankara.…

…My reply was that voters may be hoping that it’s an advantage that Trump hasn’t been a politician. He may have out-of-the-box (i.e., out-of-D.C.) ideas that actually work. The response? A reiteration that Trump is stupid.…

American Power: Christine Amanpour Claims Media Coverage Of Hillary’s Health Is Sexist…
Shark Tank: Rubio Condemns TSA, Obama Administration Over Air Marshal Lie…
This Ain’t Hell: Vote Fraud Is “Insignificant”, Eh?…

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity…
Hillary Throws Stones From Her Glass Castle…
First female soldier in Green Beret training fails to complete the course…

The stupidity, it burns…
Hope?…
Van Gogh drinking problem rather than mental health issue?…

…On this day in 1920 a bomb in a horse wagon exploded on Wall Street in front of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City killing 38 and injuring 400. This bombing was never solved but NYC police thought it was carried out the Galleanists, a group of Italian communist anarchists, who had been responsible for a series of bombings the previous year.