It's my life, you're just along for the ride!

97-year-old Hal Lasko, aka Grandpa, has spent the majority of his life working as a graphic artist. After Lasko retired his family introduced him to Microsoft Paint from Windows ’95. Despite suffering from wet macular degeneration, Lasko is able to spend ten hours a day moving pixels around his computer paintings. Lasko’s prints are available online for purchase here.

via The Pixel Painter – 97-Year-Old Makes Incredible Art Using Microsoft Paint [VIDEO] | Most Watched Today | The Best Online Videos.

360 degree turning electrical outlets have been around awhile, alongside pivoting and flexible outlet extension accessories, all addressing the issue of granting power and access to awkwardly situated outlets. But this design from Japan may be the most elegant and space efficient design Ive seen yet…MetaPhys of Japan has improved upon the traditional electrical outlet in every way.First, theres the handsome soft-edged square faceplate design, with a subtle LED light glowing underneath revealing when power is on and available. The dual grooves face looks great, but the utility the design offers is more impressive: dual prong plugs for electrical devices can fit in from every angle, offering the capacity of a powerstrip. 

via Node Power Outlet Allows Users to Plug In At Every Angle | Apartment Therapy.

Former President George H. W. Bush shaved his head this week in support of a young boy named Patrick, the 2-year-old son of a member of Bush’s security detail suffering from leukemia.

Other members of Bush’s Secret Service detail also shaved their heads in solidarity. Jim McGrath, Bush’s spokesperson and speech writer, tweeted a picture of the former president with Patrick on Wednesday afternoon.

via George H. W. Bush Shaves Head to Support 2-Year-Old With Cancer.

Five hundred years ago in June, the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon started his journey back to Puerto Rico from Florida after becoming the first European to land on mainland America. After exploring the east coast of Florida, he circled the peninsula and explored the west coast, including modern-day Charlotte Harbor (see map), most likely the location he chose for his second voyage.

According to legend, the explorer set out in search of the fountain of youth, a fabled stream that would extend the life of anyone lucky enough to drink from it.

Thanks to the myth of Ponce de Leon’s trip, Florida—known for its large population of retirees—is now awash in “fountains of youth.” Dozens of bodies of water claim the title of the one legendary fountain, from mineral springs to deep-water wells, not to mention water from a variety of sources that is piped into various built structures.

Only one, however, is known to be radioactive. And, oddly, it might be actually extending life.

In Punta Gorda, a town on Charlotte Harbor, a blocky, green-tiled fountain abuts an empty lot near the harbor. A spigot juts out near the top to release water from the artesian well below. Each of the four sides features a picture of a ship, a tribute to Ponce de Leon.

On the side facing away from the street, a public health notice warns that the water “exceeds the maximum contaminant level for radioactivity.”

The water from the well is also heavy in sulfates, which give it a distinctive smell of rotten eggs. This hasn’t stopped the locals from drinking from it regularly.

“I drank out of that well every day,” said Gussie Baker, a resident of Punta Gorda for all of her 78 years.

Baker used to live down the road from the Hotel Punta Gorda, whose guests would frolic in a pool filled with water from the same aquifer. Baker learned to swim in the pool and passed the fountain on her way to school.

“I love artesian water,” she said. Baker doesn’t live as close to the fountain anymore, but says she would drink it if she were nearby.

Punta Gordians proudly declared the existence of a rejuvenative fountain as far back as 1894. In 1926, they mounted a collection drive to pay for the stout little structure that stands to this day. At the height of its popularity, in the mid-20th century, the handle on the tap had to be replaced every six months.

via Florida’s Radioactive Fountain of Youth May Prolong Life.

If you think these images from the North Pole look more like a lake than the snow-covered expanse youd expect, that because it is is—the North Pole has melted.Its not, perhaps, quite as dramatic as it sounds. April saw the ninth heaviest snow cover on record measured in the Arctic, covering the Pole in more of the white stuff than its seen in a long ol time. But by May, temperatures increased and almost half the cover melted.Throughout July temperatures have been uncharacteristically high—up to 1-3°C higher than usual on July 13th, for instance—and the result has been an abrupt thaw of the snow cover that was left. These images, acquired from the North Pole Environmental Observatory, show the thaw in progress, between June 30th and July 25th.RELATEDÍgy lett alig 4 hét alatt hatalmas tócsa az Északi-sarkbólA 444-en olvastam, hogy pár nap alatt jókora tó keletkezett az Északi-sarkon. Akirály kolléga több forrásra hivatkozva azt írja, hogy Read…Its worth pointing out that this isnt the first time theres been a meltwater lake at the North Pole, nor is it the worst its also worth pointing out that this is just at the pole, and not across the entire ice cap. And we certainly shouldnt draw climate change conclusions from what is realistically one data point. But it should at least make us think about what were doing to the planet. [444 via Cink]

via The North Pole Is Now a Lake.