On the lighter side of things: penguins

There are so many traits about penguins that are awesome. They bond for life. They propose using stones. They adopt children. They have same-sex families. They know about community and solidarity. They are wonderful creatures. They are also wonderfully stupid sometimes, you can literally have the blind lead the blind if you do it right. Nonetheless I love these little beasts! Which is why I was so stoked when I came across this article from I f****** love science:

......I was hooked. And you know you are too! Who doesn't want to know reasons that penguins are kind of like humans when it comes to communication? I mean really? It's definitely fascinating! Verbal languages crude as it is but it's nice to know we aren't the only animals that use it on Earth. Anyways, I'm rambling, continue reading for more info.

Update!: Science is coming your wayyy and T-rex sex too (gotcha with the title)

So I came across a new science journal today (technically last night, but that was 2am so double technically it WAS today....nvr mnd), AWEscience, and it is AMAZING! I found out about it last night while stumbling and reading and just perusing the internet when I found that page on liquid oxygen. The rest is short-term history! But I am getting sidetracked (which is fun also) so here's the point: I want to present a BUNCH of articles from their website. SO HERE WE GO!


Article #1 starts us off: One solar tower to rule them all!

Twice the height of the Empire State – EnviroMission plans massive solar tower for Arizona

Hell yeah, solar energy, now you've just gotta construct Sauron's solar tower and you can begin

to rule 3rd-rock-from-the-sun-Earth (calling it 'middle Earth' was just wayy too impractical) and 

destroy the ELVES and realm of free men. Just kidding. But seriously...

I think it's a wonderful idea, and if it helps cut energy costs who would oppose it 

(energy conglomerates...duh) 

this sucker will sit at 2625 ft tall and is projected to produce 200-megawatts of power generation and will reliably feed the grid with enough power for 150,000 US homes. Here's the best part: Once it’s built, it can be expected to more or less sit there producing clean, renewable power with virtually no maintenance until it's over 80 years old! (boomshakalaka)

Here's a rundown of how it works (quoted from article)

"Enviromission’s solar tower is a simple idea taken to gigantic proportions. The sun beats down on a large covered greenhouse area at the bottom, warming the air underneath it. Hot air wants to rise, so there’s a central point for it to rush towards and escape; the tower in the middle. And there’s a bunch of turbines at the base of the tower that generate electricity from that natural updraft."

more info on the tower here (orig article)

Moving on...... (continue reading for about 4 more articles involving badassness)