I wonder if the people at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are aware of this press release by International Rivers Network (IRN):

A report by an independent Kenya–based hydrologic engineer confirms that over–releases from two dams on the Nile in Uganda are a primary cause of the severe drops in Lake Victoria in recent years…
The Owen Falls dams have been releasing more water than allowed by the operating rule agreed by Uganda and Egypt. This “Agreed Curve” is intended to ensure that the releases through the dams correspond to the natural flow of the river before damming. The dam operators’ permits dictate allowable flows based on this agreement.

read more about this story.

Did you know that balloons, not strings, are the fundamental building blocks of matter? balloonmolecules.com shows the basic steps of making molecules using model balloons. Here’s an impressive one (emphasis mine):

This two-and-a-half-metre-model of the DNA-helix with a diameter of 1 metre shows that a lot is possible. If the PO4-units and the sugar are adjusted correctly, the helical structure will form without any pressure. For understandable reasons a construction manual is not available.

(via inkycircuis)

كل عام
و الأيام
و الأحلام
ورديه
و مستحميه
و ميه ميه

Half-hearted approaches produce half-ass results.

Don’t shoot the puppy
It did nothing to hurt you
Except waste your time

(h/t Marcus)

I love Jesus, who said to us:
Heaven and earth will pass away.
When heaven and earth have passed away,
my word will remain.
What was your word, Jesus?
Love? Affection? Forgiveness?
All your words were
one word: Wakeup.

By Anotonio Machado (translated by Robert Bly)

Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier to the cbc:

“Opening a Tim Hortons to serve our troops in Afghanistan strengthens an already superb relationship between two great Canadian institutions. I would like to thank Tim Hortons for their endless support of the Canadian Forces over the years.”

Awesome! Now, they wouldn’t mind staying a bit longer…

More videos are appearing on google about people converting to islam. This one is a documentary produced by channel 4, and posted by turntoislam.com about Texans converting. My favorite excerpt from this video is a Texan woman answering a question about whether one could be muslim and Texan at the same time — watch!

Turns out that turntoislam.com has a collection of these, including one produced by the bbc called “A muslim in the family” about converts in the UK.

The question that kept resonating in my head as I was watching is this: which islam are these people converting to / who’s teaching it to them?

Untitled
by Kabir, translated by Robert Bly.

I talk to my inner lover, and I say, why such rush?
We know that there is some sort of spirit that loves birds
and the animals and the ants–
perhaps the same one who gave a radiance to you
in your mother’s womb.
Is it logical you would be walking around
entirely orphaned now?
The truth is you turned away yourself,
and decided to go into the dark alone.
And now you are tangled up in others,
and have forgotten what you once knew,
and that’s why everything you do
has some weird failure in it.