They’re sweet, seedless, easy to peel, and for a couple more days, you can buy a case and get another free at Safeway.

Some people mix them with other fruits, and otherwise fancy them up, but trust me, they’re dandy all by themselves.

When a marble is dropped into a container of loosely packed sand, an amazing thing happens. The upward jet of sand grains acts very much like a fluid, albeit a dense one.

While this experiment had been done back in 2001, the current conclusion was reached by Univesity of Chicago physicists after studying extremely high- speed X-ray radiography of the subject.

The camel refused to work along with the other animals, but the Djinn in charge of All Deserts had a plan.

From Wikipedia, a definition and history.

Wikipedia itself is in the news today.

In the Pacific Northwest, you wouldn’t have to wrestle the tree atop the car, then lash it securely enough so that wintry blasts won’t force you to the shoulder. You place a call, and the tree comes to you. For a pretty good fee, naturally. And when the tree has run its course, another call will have it removed by the same folks. For another fee.

Or Con Te Partiro, which is so sad that I have lost the ability to do my online Christmas shopping. It’s a lovely piece, of course.

Or is it the thought of all those things I have to do that is getting me down. There’s a grim set to the jaws of many women at this time of year. I saw them yesterday with their many colorful shopping bags in downtown SF.

It will be at its most magnificent on the 9th. Details and info on other sky happenings for Dec. and Jan. via Natural History magazine and Joe Rao.

From the link, go to ‘this month’s issue’, then to ‘the sky in December and January’.

Children born with this condition have facial features that bring to mind the exaggerated makeup of Japanese theater actors. They have highly arched brows, broad noses, prominent ears, and long openings for the eyes. Other symptoms include heart, spine, and hip abnormalities. The children suffer from learning disabilities as well.

A cause has not been found, although a genetic defect could be the culprit.

A Welsh bus driver had his hair dyed a bright holiday red with a holly design shaved in. But that’s not the half of it.

Woven into his hair is an artificial Christmas tree complete with ornaments and lights.

After her car hit a power substation that contained a hive, the woman died from thousands of stings. Her husband survived, but had kidney failure due to the toxin levels, and is now on dialysis.

Dozens of homes were destroyed, and children reported to be buried in the debris.

Instead of giving the usual bottle of wine, you could show up on your host’s doorstep with a puzzle in a wine bottle. Choices of Manet, Degas, Thiebaud, Van Gogh, and Cezanne.

Middle-aged men who love the competitive, macho, highly strenuous nature of recreational hockey are in for a rude shock when their heart rates routinely soar past cardiac danger zones.

Scrubbing doesn’t remove all the microbes that could cause harm, according to health officials. Some can be absorbed into the skins and cells of the food itself, as contamination occurs from animal or human feces during the trip from field to kitchen.

How the engineers defeated the forces that challenged their bid for speed with a steady smoothness.

So far, up 24% over 2004.