January 2010
32 posts
Remember, there are only a few fundamental rules that apply. The rest is bullshit.
Just witnessed two crows chasing a hawk, who is now perched on a church steeple, the crows having broken off their pursuit. He seems rather unconcerned about the situation. The predator knows that there will be a next time, and surely the crows do as well.
Pylon
What is the nature of time? →
Mosquito
I’m thoroughly enjoying Craig Childs latest book, The Animal Dialogs: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild. It’s a book of essays, each devoted to a single animal, its environment, its natural history, its biology. In each essay Childs weaves an intriguing, vivid and sometimes very funny narrative of his encounters with wild creatures of all sorts, from bears, coyotes and mountain lions to...
Why Are We Drinking Margaritas at 2pm on a...
1 quarter of a grapefruit, muddled. 3 ounces hot green pepper infused tequila. 2 ounces Cointreau. Fresh hot green pepper garnish.
Because of the light. We’ve been looking forward to making margaritas with the hot green chili pepper infused tequila that has been brewing in the fridge for the past few days, and wanted to photograph the results. The light was perfect earlier this afternoon,...
Evolution & Metaphysics →
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Driving
One of my favorite things about longer drives is that they often become a complete experience unto themselves. During those moments the destination doesn’t even exist, and sometimes comes as a complete surprise when it suddenly appears.
“Then the singing began. Those gathered outside tents, on lawn chairs, sitting in...”
– Agony Sets In as Medics Focus on the Survivors, The New York Times
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How Did They Make Zeppelins? →
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“I have come to know peregrine falcons as perfectionists, birds constantly...”
– Craig Childs, The Animal Dialogs
Two Things
Two things I don’t want to miss this spring are the nuptial flights of the local ant colonies and the salamander migrations from the uplands to the various vernal pools that dot the landscape here.
For both of these events if I want to be an observer timing is everything. The salamander migrations occur during certain rainy nights in spring, when it’s not unusual to see hundreds of...
A Bigger Southern Resident Posse. Hurray!
It appears as if the Southern Resident population of orcas could very well be on the rebound. The birth of six orca calves is excellent news. However, their overall situation remains deeply threatened.
Is a Frozen Sea the Womb From Which We Sprang?
Was a frozen sea our birthplace? Rather than in a warm primordial ooze, did the first molecules of life form in ice?
Miller had filled the vial in 1972 with a mixture of ammonia and cyanide, chemicals that scientists believe existed on early Earth and may have contributed to the rise of life. He had then cooled the mix to the temperature of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa—too cold, most scientists had...
Minke Whale, Where Art Thou?
The minke whale is the smallest of the baleen whales, and also one of the most abundant. Research over the past 30 years, however, suggests that their numbers may be in decline. It’s a tough question to answer definitively, as the ecosystem in which the whales live out their lives is extraordinarily vast and remote, making an accurate population survey a challenging undertaking.
From the...
The Cephalopods Are Just Biding Their Time
With their high degree of intelligence, driven by a decentralized, 300 million neuron strong nervous system, problem solving and spatial reasoning skills, they are primed to take over the earth once humans leave the scene.
First, however, they’ll have to make the transition from sea to land. Who amongst the cephalopods will be brave and crazy enough to take the first tentative steps onto...
A visual guide to the scientific consensus on... →
“Intersellar travel… is essentially not a problem in physics or engineering but a...”
– Freeman Dyson