Mayan Light Beam Photo: Message from Gods, or iPhone Glitch?

When Hector Siliezar visited the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza with his wife and kids in 2009, he snapped three iPhone photos of El Castillo, a pyramid that once served as a sacred temple to the Mayan god Kukulkan. A thunderstorm was brewing near the temple, and Siliezar was trying to capture lightning crackling dramatically over the ruins.

In the first two images, dark clouds loom above the pyramid, but nothing is amiss. However, in the third photo, a powerful beam of light appears to shoot up from the pyramid toward the heavens, and a thunderbolt flashes in the background.

Siliezar, who recently shared his photographs with occult investigators, told Earthfiles.com that he and his family didn't see the light beam in person; it appeared only on camera. "It was amazing!" he said. He showed the iPhone photo to his fellow tourists. "No one, not even the tour guide, had ever seen anything like it before."

The photo has surfaced on several Mayan doomsday discussion forums. But was the light beam a sign from the gods — a warning about Dec. 21, 2012, the date that marks the end of the Mayan calendar cycle, and when some people fear the world will end? Or is it simply the result of an iPhone glitch?

According to Jonathon Hill, a research technician and mission planner at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University, which operates many of the cameras used during NASA's Mars missions, it is almost definitely the latter. Hill works with images of the Martian surface taken by rovers and satellites, as well as data from Earth-orbiting NASA instruments, and is fully versed in the wide range of potential image artifacts and equipment errors.

He says the "light beam" in the Mayan temple photo is a classic case of such an artifact — a distortion in an image that arises from the way cameras bounce around incoming light.

It is no mere coincidence, Hill said, that "of the three images, the 'light beam' only occurs in the image with a lightning bolt in the background. The intensity of the lightning flash likely caused the camera's CCD sensor to behave in an unusual way, either causing an entire column of pixels to offset their values or causing an internal reflection [off the] camera lens that was recorded by the sensor." In either case, extra brightness would have been added to the pixels in that column in addition to the light hitting them directly from the scene.

Evidence in favor of this explanation is the fact that the beam, when isolated in Photoshop or other image analysis software, runs perfectly vertical in the image. "That's a little suspicious since it's very unlikely that the gentleman who took this picture would have his handheld iPhone camera positioned exactly parallel to the 'light beam' down to the pixel level," Hill told Life's Little Mysteries.

It's more likely that the "light beam" corresponds to a set of columns of pixels in the camera sensor that are electronically connected to each other, but not to other columns in the sensor, and that this set of connected pixels became oversaturated in the manner described above.

 "That being said," Hill said, "it really is an awesome image!"


Courtesy of Life's Little Mysteries

Millions To Mark Rare Leap Day Birthday On February 29.

Some people devote their lives to ending world hunger, some to lifting children from poverty, and still others to getting Leap Day the respect it deserves.

The cause may seem frivolous but it is not the least bit trivial to leapers, those born on February 29, a date that appears on calendars once every four or sometimes eight years.

Leapers face a range of troubles over their birthdays, from computer snafus to police suspicion during traffic stops to hearing about delivery room negotiations to alter their birth certificate to a day earlier or a day later.

"I've had people tell me to my face, 'Who cares?'" said Raenell Dawn, who with Peter Brouwer in 1997 created The Honour Society for Leap Year Day Babies. The online club for people born on February 29 boasts more than 9,000 members.

"I'll tell you who cares. One in 1,461 of us do," Dawn said, citing the chance to be born on Leap Day. There are just over 200,000 leapers in the United States and just under 5 million worldwide, she said.

Lest non-leapers dismiss leapers' complaints, leapers point out that salaried employees are working for free this February 29 since paycheques are based on a 365-day year.

February 29 is not recognised by some computer services and software programs that power everything from banking to life insurance, Brouwer said.

"Leap year deniers claim February 29 is an invalid date," said Brouwer, who said he was told by Crown Life Insurance Co. that March 1 had to be listed on his policy because the company's computer system balked at his February 29 birthday.

Eight long years

Leap Day has tripped up Google, whose Blogger program will not allow existing users born on February 29 to update their profiles, an annoyance to leapers who use social media. A Google spokesman said the company plans to fix the glitch.

Leap years occur every four years, except those ending in double zeros, such as 1900 and 2100, said Geoff Chester, a spokesman for the United States Naval Observatory.

To confuse matters, there is an exception to that exception: Years ending in double zeros that can be evenly divided by 400, such as 1600 and 2000, are in fact leap years.

Microsoft's Excel, the world's most popular spreadsheet, doesn't realise that 1900 was not a leap year and as a result myriad other companies' programs, in order to be compatible, have had to put the error in their code. Microsoft has no plans to correct the mistake because "fixing it now would cause greater impact to customers," a company spokeswoman said.

Because there is no leap year in 2100, anyone born this February 29 who lives a long life will have no birthday from 2096 to 2104.

"Eight years is a long time not to have a birthday," Brouwer said in an email statement illustrated by a sad-faced emoticon.

These mathematical gymnastics have been executed since about 44 B.C., when Julius Caesar instituted the leap year system to correct a defect in the calendar that would otherwise put the seasons out of sync, said Chester, whose great-grandfather Rear Admiral Colby Chester was born on Feb. 29, 1844.

Sweet 16 at age 64

Because of their quadrennial birthdate, leapers have been known to invite people to their Sweet 16 party to mark their 64th year, Brouwer said.

"It's my 20th birthday but I'm going to be 80 years old," said Mary Ann Brown, born Feb. 29, 1932. She is founder of the Worldwide Leap Year Festival, held every fourth year since 1988 in Anthony, a town straddling the border of New Mexico and Texas.

Dawn and Brouwer's activism to right Leap Day wrongs has included lobbying calendar companies to mark it as a notable day, like New Year's, and prodding Facebook to clear the block on February 29 as a birthdate on its user profile pages.

Facebook complied, but the calendar effort has so far been largely unsuccessful, they said.

"We're not curing cancer or stopping world wars but its still is a significant thing that needs to be addressed. It does affect the whole world," Dawn said.

For most people, February 29 is a quirky extra day to enjoy life but for at least one person it's Doomsday. Arizona death row inmate Robert Henry Moormann, 63, is scheduled to be executed on Leap Day for beating, stabbing and strangling his adoptive mother and dismembering her body during a "compassionate furlough" from prison to visit her in 1984.


Courtesy of Reuters

He Is The Lord Of All Horses And Has Been My Friend Through Many Dangers.

Courtesy of Imgur

Plastic Surgeon Dad Gave Daughter Breast Implants For Her 18th Birthday, Nose Job For Her 21st.

Brittani Niccole got two presents from her dad when she turned 18 — bigger boobs.

And he performed the operation.

“I have no qualms,” said Michael Niccole, a California plastic surgeon. “I feel very comfortable in surgery, and I always have with relatives.”

His daughter, who is now 23 and working as a model in Las Vegas, says that she loves her C-cups.

“I didn’t have large breasts when I was younger, and all my friends did,” she says. “I felt very self-conscious about it.”

Judging from her Facebook picture, Niccole has gotten over that.

Father and daughter dished as part of a piece about teenagers getting cosmetic surgery.

In an earlier interview with The Orange County Register, Niccole said the day she got her breasts done was “one of the best days of my life so far.”

Asked whether she considered going to another doctor, Niccole said, “It never crossed my mind.”

Niccole also got a nose job from her dad about a week before she turned 21.

Michael Niccole, who runs the Cosmeticare Plastic Surgery Center in Newport Beach, Calif., said he has operated on other relatives.

For example, the doc said he turned the “outtie” belly button of his other adopted daughter, 23-year-old Charm, into an “innie” when she was ten.

“Who would give them the time — that extra little look during surgery more than I would?” the surgeon said.

Michael Niccole said he also gives the girls regular Botox injections to keep them wrinkle-free.

“I’m not changing their looks in any means,” he said. “They want maintenance. They don’t want to get old. They want to stay young.”


Courtesy of NY Daily News

8 Ways To Turn A Female Friend Into More.

Having a hot female friend is always a challenge. Because no matter what you do, the word “platonic” sounds a lot more like a reference to earthquakes than your attitude toward that smokin’ bod. But how can you crack the barrier and add a heavy dose of attraction to the bland, unfulfilled vat of friendship the two of you share?

8. Don’t Call

Even if you get frequent calls and texts from her, do yourself a favor and allow a little breathing space. Let her know without actually telling her, that you’re a busy guy and although you value her, you’ll get to her when you get to her.

7. Let Her Make the Effort and Come to You

Don’t always give her logistical options that provide the utmost convenience to her when planning get-togethers. This communicates that you’ll bend over backwards to be around her. You should allow her to make enough of an effort so that she doesn’t feel like she owns you, because that will put you in the friend zone faster than a bad date.

6. Give Her the Option of Joining You

Better yet, go ahead and tell her what YOU are doing and let her know that she can come along if she’d like. “I’m going for a coffee at the bookstore, come meet me if you feel like it.” This will help her to see you as a guy who isn’t asking for permission to be around her and has his own things going on and in turn, it will help her to feel more comfortable.

5. Talk About Your Dating Life Freely

Go ahead; tell her about the girls you’ve been dating. Do it in a way that paints you as the decision maker, and don’t whine about missteps and misunderstandings. Tell a funny, bad date story. This will enable her to see you as someone that has women in his life and is accepted by other women.

4. Talk About Her Dating Life Freely

Connect with your friend. See what her dating experience has been like. Feel free to make fun of some of her past boyfriends for the dumb stuff they did that she’s still totally pissed about.

3. Don’t Comment on Her Looks

Don’t tell your friend how hot she is. Don’t stare at her. She probably knows already because guys communicate a hell of a lot more than they mean to more often than they mean to. Instead, tell her something she doesn’t know.

2. Poke a Little Fun at Her

What your friend probably doesn’t hear from guys is their honest opinions. Go ahead and be honest that yes, her ass does look a little fat in those jeans. But be funny about it and it won’t come off as if you’re just being a jerk.

1. Be a Good Friend That Has a Little Something More to Offer

Girls look for a lot of things in a man: trust, security, humor, adventure and their ability to fix their computer when they download half a billion viruses. Don’t sacrifice your beliefs or change who you are for her, just be mindful of what parts of your personality you show at what times and whether they will help you become the man she’s been looking for.


Courtesy of Guyism

Jeans Ad Sparks Controversy. Do Levis Models Come in Any Other Sizes?

When it comes to selling clothes, size matters. A campaign for Levis Curve ID Jeans was banking on it, until it backfired.

The line of customized shape-fitting denims boasts in a print ad, "hotness comes in all shapes and sizes." But underneath that message of empowerment, are three models with very similar, slender body types. Aside from slight differences in backside protrusions, none of the models reflect the size 14 shape of the average American woman.

Copyranter, an advertising watchdog blog that posted the magazine ad Wednesday, called it an insult to women size six and over.

"The company doesn't seem to understand what 'different' means," added Jezebel's Anna North. "See, 'hotness comes in all shapes and sizes,' as long as those shapes are minute variations on the same thin, ponytailed woman."

In a call to Levis, a spokesperson told Shine that particular ad is actually from last year. Their latest campaign takes into account the heaping dose of criticism from bloggers since the first ads launched in 2010. ("If you put the words 'Bold Curve' next to a woman, I expect her to have, um, bold curves and preferably legs that don't look like toothpicks," activist Shelby Knox wrote of one of the first Curve ID ads.)

In fact the most recent ads for Curve ID, launched last week, plays down the word "curve" and play up the toothpicks. More street art than self-help, the look of the new campaign for the 'Ankle Skinny' Curve ID jeans, buries the curves behind six long slim legs. It's hard to tell any difference at all between the three body types presented because of the way they're posing, but it's safe to say nobody's a size 14.

"By no means is the advertising representative of all women's body types across the globe," Levis rep Ibby Clifford tells Shine, adding that a more diverse gallery of "real women" exists on their Facebook page.

Levis' Curve ID brand concept attempts to eliminate the physical torment as well as the psychological baggage of buying jeans. That's probably why the campaign has historically taken so much heat, compared to every other jeans ad with a skinny model. While the line features a wide range of sizes, the focus is on the curvature of four different body types: Slight, Demi, Bold and the more recent, Supreme. The Starbucks-inspired naming convention is designed to take the stigma out of jeans sizes and celebrate the curvier figure. But ever since the line launched in 2010, its ad campaigns have struggled to portray real body types in print.

It's not the first to apparel brand to stumble while promoting equal opportunity designs. American Apparel incited critics last year when it announced a plus size modeling contest to promote their new XL line.

While advertisers struggle with the demand for larger sizes, merchandisers are embracing it. The Limited launched an entire online shopping site last year for, Eloquii, their line for women sizes 14w and over. In the UK, size 12 mannequins are storming department stores. Displaysense, one of the biggest suppliers for clothing chains, has seen a 16 percent increase in requests for curvier mannequins.

In the past year, Levis has had so much success with their Curve ID line, they've expanded the range of cuts and styles, notably adding a larger shape option called Supreme, "designed to solve the fit frustrations of the curviest women."

Despite the wider variety of sizes in stores, one size still fits magazines-and it's too small for a growing number of critics. Still, even those critical of Levis' Curve ID promotions, seem to like the actual jeans. "They've made some nicely fitting jeans, albeit jeans that still fit squarely into a body-oppressive paradigm," confesses My Body Image's Taylor Owen. "I'll admit, I bought two pairs."


Courtesy of Shine

72-Year-Old Nepalese Man Claims To Be Shortest Man.

A 72-year-old man from western Nepal is hoping to prove to Guinness World Records that he's the world's shortest man.

Chandra Bahadur Dangi claims to be only 22 inches (56 centimeters) tall. Guinness World Records currently recognizes Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, who is 23.5 inches (60 centimeters) tall, as the shortest man in the world.

Dangi's nephew Dolak Dangi said Tuesday that his uncle would meet with Guinness officials in the capital, Katmandu, in the next few days to be measured.

Guinness World Records did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Another Nepalese man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, was known as the world's shortest man, at 26.4 inches (67 centimeters), before Balawing took over the title on his 18th birthday in June.


Courtesy of AP