Dry Bones: Good News, Bad News

So what, one wonders, are an Iranian general and Iranian troops doing on the Golan Heights, on Israel's borders? Hmmmmm?

What, indeed. And yet the US and Europe remain steadfastly dedicated to the idea that this whole conflict is over Palestinian refugees and Jews building homes on their own land. And when you tell them that this is, and always has been, a proxy-war with Iran, they laugh at you. But I'm sure they'll just dismiss this article as fantasy since it doesn't align with their prejudices.

Click through to the article to see a Yahoo News article about this.

Piece of junk bed frame

Hospitality Bed Full XL / Queen Size Hook-On Steel Bed Rails With Three Center Supports

This bed frame is absolute garbage. Don't buy it.

In December, out bed broke. The bed is a fairly traditional design. A headboard, a footboard, two wooden rails connecting them, and three wooden planks running between the rails, with mattress and foundation on top. The frame was pretty old, and eventually, one of the wooden rails broke.

Not wanting to go through the same problem again, I thought it would be best to keep the headboard and footboard, but replace the frame with a steel frame. After some Googling, we located Bed Frame Parts and selected the frame seen above. We thought $160 is overpriced (since the steel frame we got with the mattress only cost $100), but it was the best price for something that appeared solid in the picture and its description.

We ordered it in mid-December and it arrived in a few days. Assembly was a little tricky, but nothing I couldn't handle. We put the mattresses on it and considered it done. Until last night.

What were they thinking? - Princess Elsa Pinata

Princess Elsa Pinata

Queen Elsa is more than ready to attend your upcoming Frozen themed birthday party and have a blast at the most enchanting event of the year! Pinata measures 30 inches high by 13 inches long by 13 inches deep and can be filled with up to 3lbs of candy and toys. This beautiful pinata can be used as centerpiece decoration for your food table or just fill with candy and toys and play the traditional party game!

And in the "what were they thinking" department, you can now take the star character from the most popular animated movie, fill it with candy, and then have children beat it with stick until it breaks apart. Just the thing for traumatizing pre-teens.

h/t The Devil's Panties.

YouTube: Creating glass horse the old fashioned way - Francisco Lopez Serrano

Creating glass horse the old fashioned way - Francisco Lopez Serrano

I've seen many glass sculptures made at RenFaires before, but never like this. All sculpted from one gather of molten glass without reheating. Wow!

Corning: The Glass Age, parts 1 and 2

Corning is presenting a web site entitled The Glass Age showcasing the science and technology of glass. There's a lot of interesting content here, although it somewhat resembles an advertisement as well, since Corning's products are (as expected) featured throughout the presentations.

Two fascinating video clips from this site feature Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman presenting some modern applications of glass: optical fibers, flexible "willow" glass and super-strong "gorilla" glass.

Algemeiner: Don't Want to Come to the Middle East? Stay in Europe and Kill Jews, IS Tells Aspiring Jihadis

Don't Want to Come to the Middle East? Stay in Europe and Kill Jews, IS Tells Aspiring Jihadis

Recruiters in Europe for the Islamic State (IS) organization are proposing an alternative form of service for those jihadis unwilling to venture to the Middle East, where the terrorist group has carried out gruesome massacres of Christians, Yezidis, and other minorities: stay at home and kill Jews.

Can we finally put to rest the insane myth that these Jihadi groups are only interested in Israel giving up land? It's always been a desire to murder Jews, Christians, Hindus, and everybody else, including non-radical Muslims (and even radicals who belong to other organizations.)

Word of the day: Dord

Ghost Word

Claim: For five years, Webster's New International Dictionary mistakenly included an entry for dord, a word which did not exist.

Status: True.

h/t Dinosaur Comics.

Dry Bones: The State Of Palestine Quiz

The State Of Palestine Quiz

This "Palestine Quiz" has been bouncing around the Internet for some time ...it is, of course, a reality-test challenge to anyone who has swallowed the Palestine Myth. I thought it would be fun (and timely) to dress it up as a Dry Bones cartoon.

* * *
If you know someone who actually believes that there was ever a country or state called Palestine, don't argue with them. Just slip 'em a copy of "The Dry Bones State of Palestine Quiz".

I think the text from the original page says it all. Click through to see an image large enough to read and print.

Guy claims pot made him paranoid and violent

AP: Man who ate pot candy must stand trial in killing

DENVER (AP) — A judge ordered a Denver man on Friday to stand trial in the killing of his wife, who told dispatchers moments before her death that he was paranoid and hallucinating after eating marijuana-infused candy.

Defense attorneys for 48-year-old Richard Kirk suggested during a preliminary hearing that he was so impaired by the pot that he may not have intended to kill his wife.

But Judge Elizabeth Starrs said there was enough evidence for a trial on a charge of first-degree murder because Kirk showed he had the wherewithal to remember the code to a locked gun safe and press the weapon to his wife's head nearly 13 minutes into her call with the 911 dispatcher.

I hope this defense fails miserably. I've never consumed pot, but I know enough to know that it doesn't make people paranoid and violent. There are other drugs that can do that, but (as the article says further down), Mr. Kirk had none of those drugs in his system.

This guy planned to murder his wife for the insurance money. He went and ate a bit of pot candy to use it as an excuse. I hope the court throws the book at him. I don't think Colorado has the death penalty, but if they do, he should get it.

Muntins vs. Mullions vs. Astragels

Architect's Glossary: muntin v. mullion

This distinction is often confusing for architects, not to mention contractors and homeowners.

A muntin is a small bar that separates two pieces of glass, aka "glazing bar" or "sash bar

A mullion is a bar or post that separates two window units

To add some confustion and a bit more complication, an astragel is the the same as a mullion except it sits between doors (it is the annoying fixed post you see between some pairs of doors that people often walk in to).

Watching lots of home improvement shows, I've heard these terms thrown about and it's never been quite clear what they mean. Maybe I'm the only non-glazier who cares, but it was bugging me. This article explains the terms very well. Click through to the original article to see a bit more content, including illustrations of each.