I think we all know how this movie ends...

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Scientists see the softer side of Tyrannosaurus rex.
When paleontologists find fossilized dinosaur bones during a dig, they usually do everything in their power to protect them, using tools like toothbrushes to carefully unearth the bones without inflicting any damage. However, when scientists found a massive Tyrannosaurus rex thigh bone in a remote region of Montana a few months ago, they were forced to break the bone in two in order to fit it into the transport helicopter. This act of necessity revealed a startling surprise: soft tissue that had seemingly resisted fossilization still existed inside the bone. This tissue, including blood vessels, bone cells, and perhaps even blood cells, was so well preserved that it was still stretchy and flexible. A scanning electron microscope revealed that the dinosaur blood vessels, which are 70 million years old, are virtually identical to those recovered from modern ostrich bones. The ostrich is today’s largest bird, and many paleontologists believe that birds are the living descendants of dinosaurs. Scientists may be able to confirm this evolutionary relationship if they can isolate certain proteins from the recently discovered T. rex tissue. These proteins could also help solve another puzzle: whether dinosaurs were cold-blooded like other reptiles or warm-blooded like mammals. Does this discovery of soft dinosaur tissue mean that scientists will soon be able to clone a Tyrannosaurus rex? Probably not – most scientists believe that DNA cannot survive for 70 million years. Then again, before this discovery, most scientists believed that soft tissue could not survive for 70 million years either.
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Now my Bride just has to learn to play the half-empty liquor jug

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Fiddling Critter In an attempt to further scar the Critter's poor vulnerable young psyche, we have enrolled her in first mandatory music class. Suzuki violin. The teacher at Queen's school for girls looked like her crumpet was going to come back up on her when I called it a "fiddle". Hey, what do you want from me, lady? I pretend at culture, but I still think salted & boiled peanuts constitute haute cuisine. When I bought the violin for the Critter, she had to be 'sized.' We ended up with a "1/16th," which is the smallest violin they make - 1/16th of what, I asked? It's not 1/16th the size of a normal violin. More like 1/4. The guy at the store (which specializes in "orchestral instruments," which left me wondering - how many french horns does one have to sell to make a living?) didn't know why they called it that. Mm-hmm. Some expert. Whatever the reason, the thing is practically a toy - so tiny! Set next to my banjo, it looks like something scaled down for an oompa loompa. Which is about right, I guess, for a 4 year old, who likes chocolate. The Critter's first proper class isn't until tomorrow, but she insisted on "practicing" tonight. So I showed her my impression of how to hold it (based pretty much on a guess and what I remember seeing on The Beverly Hillbillies), and she had at it. She actually made violin like noises, too. But not before she made my Bride leave the room, and shut the door. She needed "peace and quiet" to concentrate on practice, she said. She has also told us that she wants to take ballet, more swim classes, and, after catching a recent Bruce Lee marathon on the telly, the deadly art of jeet kune do. I wonder what face the teacher will make when I ask her if she knows "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".
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