It's important to nap. The science is settled. BBC:

In a study published last year, researchers found that both nocturnal and daytime sleeping improved memory consolidation for unrelated word pairs – like 'pepper' and 'elbow' – suggesting it can help if you're trying to learn tricky-to-remember concepts.

So if someone bursts into you sleeping chamber and shouts WHERE'S THE PEPPER? you will snap awake and grab your elbow 40% faster than non-nappers. The story also says that tiny little catnaps here and there aren't as effective as a good solid block of sleep - which should be obvious to everyone who has nodded off for a few minutes on a plane only to wake up when your chin suddenly hits your sternum. By the way, the article is called "How to Nap like a Pro." There's a secret the experts don't want you to know! Well, no. The article doesn't mention white or brown noise, which is crucial. Pink noise less so. Too hissy.

SPACE At the Hubble's website, anyone looking for the largest possible recent shot of Andromeda will find a Caution icon on the page and the following text: "FILE DOWNLOAD WARNING: You are attempting to access an image with an extremely high resolution. Please read on before downloading any of these images or return to other image format options.

This page is accessible only if you click the "highest quality resolution options" on the main page for the image. It's the High-Definition Panoramic View of the Andromeda Galaxy, and contains a few sizes. This is "small."


Source: Hubblesite.org

Bad Astronomer has more, and if this sort of thing interests you, well, there will be goosebumps.

Avoid the comments unless you're curious how long it takes before a discussion of distant galaxies turns into a political flame war. (Hint: not long.)

TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO ROCK YOU TONIGHT This site has the 20 minute pitch for the Spinal Tap movie. You're thinking that 20 minutes is too impossibly long. But it's split into two ten-minute segments! Sorry, ten minutes is too long. Okay, how about three minutes of their first ever appearance, in 1979? It's not a song from the movie.

What? THREE MINUTES IS TOO LONG? I understand. So, courtesy of a thread on io9 about Spiderman . . . this.

Of course Japanese Spiderman had a giant transforming robot. Not sure about the lyrics, though. Eyes sparkle with a flash of anger? How could you tell?