A Random Assortment

Where the Hiawatha goes for the winter.

~ The horrors of long distance relationships: Pillow Talk lets you hear your partner's heartbeat (in your pillow) from far away. (via Francisco)

~ "It's Harder to Tune Out Cell Phone Talkers Than Regular Human Conversations." I agree. At a coffee shop or the airport, it's fairly easy for me to tune out a conversation unless one of the parties has a loud or annoying voice. But I have a lot of trouble tuning out a) interviews and b) cell phone calls. Why in the world is this? Do people talk louder when they're doing these activities? More annoyingly?

~ "Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks." I agree with this, too! Why is this? Aristotle on sharing good and bad news with friends:

The very seeing of one's friends is pleasant, especially if one is in adversity, and becomes a safeguard against grief (for a friend tends to comfort us both by the sight of him and by his words, if he is tactful, since he knows our character and the things that please or pain us); but to see him pained at our misfortunes is painful; for every one shuns being a cause of pain to his friends. For this reason people of a manly nature guard against making their friends grieve with them, and, unless he be exceptionally insensible to pain, such a man cannot stand the pain that ensues for his friends, and in general does not admit fellow-mourners because he is not himself given to mourning; but women and womanly men enjoy sympathisers in their grief, and love them as friends and companions in sorrow.

Possibly, though, it's a less noble explanation--people want to appear to live enviable lives, filled with engagements and weddings and babies and trips to South America. It's like performing at a high school reunion all the time--trying to make it look like you've got your life together.

~ Many years ago, from what I've heard, STL had an active cave culture. Here's one map.

~ The baby cage.

~ A photograph (from a series) about a long distance relationship (I'm getting very excited that mine is ending in just a couple of months).