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Paleontologists Unearth Giant Fossilized Penguin
Ponca City, We Love You writes "The BBC reports that scientists have discovered the 36-million-year-old fossil of a penguin nearly five feet tall and almost twice the weight of an Emperor Penguin, the largest living species. 'The heavier the penguin, the deeper it dives,' says Julia Clarke, a palaeontologist at the University of Texas. 'If that holds true for any penguins, then the dive depths achieved by these giant forms would've been very different.' The bird, named Inkayacu paracasensis, or water king, lived during the late Eocene period and had a long, straight beak, much longer than that of its modern relatives. But, most surprisingly, the giant penguin's feathers were brown and gray, distinct from the black 'tuxedo'"
Reader SpuriousLogic notes that it's also getting easier to keep an eye on modern penguins, since Google has extended Street View to Antarctica.
We need to clone it. We need 5ft killer penguins with long beaks and mean attitudes in our fight against proprietary software.
...before we start seeing pictures of Jesus riding one of these?
Why aren't there giant penguins around today? It must be due to global warming...
While rossdee was clearly trolling with his comment, his subject line actually does hit the nail right on the head. The reason why giant penguins aren't around today is precisely because the climate has changed to one that isn't suitable for them.
Imagine cleaning up after a Beowulf cluster of those...
When they analyzed that penguin's DNA, they found that it contained a Linux kernel.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
But, most surprisingly, the giant penguin's feathers were brown and gray, distinct from the black 'tuxedo
Why is that surprising? It was 36 million years ago. There were big furry elephants and lizards the size of houses in prehistoric times.
Tired of being "punished" by the Slashdot $rtbl since 2002. I'm now over at http://soylentnews.org/ .
Finally, I have reason to point out that despite this being slashdot, I didn't choose this name because I like linux (although I do, the name came from before I started using it or signed up for slashdot), I chose it because I like penguins!
I have a degree in geology but never took any paleontology courses... I knew I should have, then I'd be able to comment on this important scientific discovery... er... make that, this important... linux development? I'm confused.
Looks like we horribly miss-calculated the year of the penguin!
It's all related, man. Penguins... Tux... Linux... Linus.... The government doesn't want you to know The Truth. There's some bizarre shit going down with the penguins of the world. I think - based on years of academic research - that the REAL Atlantis was actually the Penguin Homeland. I think Linus knows, too. I think he was sent into the future - OUR TIME, MAN - to teach the world the firm-but-loving discipline of Penguinism. The Singularity will only be possible because of Linux. THINK ABOUT IT. Penguin-powered Singularity. News stories like this are just preparing the world to accept the fact that our planet was once dominated by Penguin Overlords. Haven't you ever seen the MEN IN BLACK? Don't they look like penguins?! They're coming back, man. MEN IN BLACK = TUXEDOS = TUX. They are the Penguin Overlords' invasion force. Ever see that episode of Star Trek Voyager "Distant Origin?" It's like that! But instead of dinosaurs, it's penguins. They're coming back, man. There's a distant planet filled with penguins and they are just waiting to come back and
Lets face it, Apple with a bite out of it might be a clever logo but it is hardly going to get "Awh's" from the girls is it. And the windows logo? Most people don't even know what it is. Those who know fear to mention it afraid of any linkage between broken windows, the fragility of glass and MS software.
But Linux, we got the tuxedoed one. And every single time penguins are in the news, we can link it to linux. And giant killer penguins are awesome things!
Oh yeah, I forgot the BSD people. A naked underaged devil. Least said...
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
It's the easiest way to put a picture of a penguin in the summary. Why put a special picture of a penguin in when linux automagically gives you a penguin picture?
No, not Linux.
This is just a cover story. For beyond the giant penguins resides the Plateau of Leng, the long-forgotten city of the Elder Things.
Beware! BEWARE!!!
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune