Scientists discover new species in one of world’s deepest ocean trenches

Scientists discover new species in one of world’s deepest ocean trenches

I really wish I had studied marine biology instead of organizational behaviour and industrial relations in Commerce.

Harry Rosenberg

With deep sadness I wish to write that my wonderful father in law, Harry Rosenberg passed away on Dec 17th. He was beloved by all and was remembered as a gentleman.

Singing fish: Choir of electric fish makes debut in interactive 'scale' exhibit at Netherlands festival

Singing fish: Choir of electric fish makes debut in interactive 'scale' exhibit at Netherlands festival

Gotta love this.

Whale Has Super-sized Big Gulp

Whale Has Super-sized Big Gulp
surprised that 7/11 didn't sue over this headline, but it's a great story and it involves

Global warming?

It's freezing here. Torrential downpours. All the people from the plane were at the movie yesterday.


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Location:Hawaii

truly dumb

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101209113548.htm

so let's ge this straight, people stagger across the finish line and scientist study the way runners change their pace to see if they are tired?

Hawaii

So much for global warming. It's freezing here. All the people from the plane were at the moviie yesterday.

gingers aren't that different

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101209201944.htm
No, really? This is a study that was not done in the middle ages.

Landing lights for bumblebees

Landing lights for bumblebees

TRY THIS! Find a black light and take a bunch of different flowers into a dark room. Shine the light on the flower petals and see what the flowers look like under UV light. You can see what the bee sees>

Can cacti 'escape' underground in high temperatures? How a certain species will potentially handle global warming

Can cacti 'escape' underground in high temperatures? How a certain species will potentially handle global warming

Why is it that the perfect fact appears long after your deadline for a book or article? Wish I knew this last year

How people perceive sour flavors: Proton current drives action potentials in taste cells

How people perceive sour flavors: Proton current drives action potentials in taste cells

In our book on Senses we didn't write about the taste of "fat", which really think exists. My husband believes there's also the taste of electricity, but we aren't going to share where he came by that observation

Whale sharks use geometry to avoid sinking

Whale sharks use geometry to avoid sinking

Deep, deep down I know that I will need this factoid in our next book. LJ loved this story, too.

Snakes on a rope: Researchers take a unique look at the climbing abilities of boa constrictors

Snakes on a rope: Researchers take a unique look at the climbing abilities of boa constrictors

This is a nightmare. The concept of a snake that can climb terrifies me. Read this article and never sleep again.

Candlelight - The Maccabeats - Hanukkah

I think the version is better than the original!

YouTube - Adam Sandler - Hanukkah Song Part 2

YouTube - Adam Sandler - Hanukkah Song Part 2

And number 2...

The Chanukah Song (Part 3)

Here's number 3

Adam Sandler original Chanukah (Hanukkah) Song

I meant to put this up last Weds. but was too busy cooking 50 pounds of potatoes for a party

For elderly, even short falls can be deadly; Adults 70-plus three times as likely to die following low-level falls

For elderly, even short falls can be deadly; Adults 70-plus three times as likely to die following low-level falls

I haven't had the energy to blog in the last 6 weeks and this article pretty much sums up why I have been off my computer. My wonderful father in law fell the beginning of Nov and has been in the hospital ever since his tumble. He broke both arms, the left one in two places, smashed open his head and generally bashed himself up. When I asked him why he didn't use his walker, cane or the care giver who was with him he said, "I don't need any help". And so here we are 6 weeks after the fact and it's not fun.

Old folks out there= "Pride cometh before the fall", really has meaning. Use the medical devices that will prevent you from a debilitating fall!

Ocean Science Journalism Fellowship : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Ocean Science Journalism Fellowship : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Damn. We look good! This is after 8 hours at sea, major hurling, and cold waves hitting our bodies. We all look so happy because we are on dry land

Foucault revisited: Argentinean scientists show how to build a pendulum for any classroom

Foucault revisited: Argentinean scientists show how to build a pendulum for any classroom

This is something that LJ and I just HAVE to try!

YouTube - Celebrate Science - A Sciencefest in Support of The Canadian Children's Book Centre

YouTube - Celebrate Science - A Sciencefest in Support of The Canadian Children's Book Centre

The First ever Canadian Children's Writers Festival Video

To punish or not to punish: Lessons from reef fish and saber-tooth blennies

To punish or not to punish: Lessons from reef fish and saber-tooth blennies

A title with the words, "saber-tooth blennie", simply must be put in a blog, don't you think? The concept that fish "punish" is really interesting. Think that blennnies have a time out room?

Brain's ability to selectively focus, pay attention diminishes with age, study finds

Brain's ability to selectively focus, pay attention diminishes with age, study finds

Thought about blogging this yesterday, but I forgot.

Mimic Octopus In Action

Mimic Octopus In Action

This will really blow your mind!

our.windowfarms.org | Home

our.windowfarms.org | Home

I would love one of these except my dog would probably eat his way through my crops. He devoured all my tomatos this summer

Mystery of 'alien pod' solved: Colony of freshwater bryozoans

Mystery of 'alien pod' solved: Colony of freshwater bryozoans

Meant to blog this on Halloween, but forgot. Alien pods in lakes.

Mandatory curbs on food salt content 20 times more effective than voluntary curbs, study finds

Mandatory curbs on food salt content 20 times more effective than voluntary curbs, study finds

Haven't done a "duh" post for a while, but this is certainly a good example of dumb. Let's see..... if you make something a law people will follow it, rather than just suggesting that a company limit salt. Imagine what would happen if you did the same thing with speed limits..... It would be nice if you drove less than 50 miles per hour, and we suggest that you keep under that limit, but we really can't make you drive at that speed. How many motorist would voluntarily drive 50 mph?

World's largest, most complex marine virus is major player in ocean ecosystems

World's largest, most complex marine virus is major player in ocean ecosystems

It's nice when research from UBC makes it into the international headlines. It's especially nice when the research is something I can use in a book.

New discovery: Plaice fish are spotted (on the inside)

New discovery: Plaice fish are spotted (on the inside)

Imagine what we would look like if we had colored insides? Perhaps this creature thinks it has a reversible skin.

Newly discovered gene enables fish to 'disappear'

Newly discovered gene enables fish to 'disappear'
In a previous blog I posted a video of an octopus changing color and texture. Now for the science.....

Tiny brained bees solve a complex mathematical problem

Tiny brained bees solve a complex mathematical problem

they are probably better at math than i am

When vertebrae cross dress: How sloths got their long neck

When vertebrae cross dress: How sloths got their long neck
A plug for a book by the wonderful Kari-Lynn Winter- read Jeffery and Sloth

Underwater robot to explore ice-covered ocean and Antarctic ice shelf

Underwater robot to explore ice-covered ocean and Antarctic ice shelf

Again, something I wish I had known several weeks ago when I was in Woods Hole

'Burpless' Grass Cuts Methane Gas From Cattle, May Help Reduce Global Warming

'Burpless' Grass Cuts Methane Gas From Cattle, May Help Reduce Global Warming
Less methane and more milk. Think there's an ad campaign in this? Got Gas?

Don't blame dairy cows for (greenhouse) gas emissions, new study shows

Don't blame dairy cows for (greenhouse) gas emissions, new study shows
Read this blog, then the next one on cow farts. The fact that scientists get money to study this blows my mind

Surgeons With Video Game Skill Appear To Perform Better In Simulated Surgery Skills Course

Surgeons With Video Game Skill Appear To Perform Better In Simulated Surgery Skills Course
Just what the doctor ordered- or not. It's better I suppose than a surgeon who played with "Operation"

Top 10 quirky science tricks for parties

Top 10 quirky science tricks for parties
i can't do this with kids, but it is so cool

eating newton's apples

It's a best kept secret- at the University of British Columbia there's a grove of trees grown from a cutting of the famous apple tree that sat outside of Sir Isaac Newton's room in Cambridge. He is said to have been hit by a falling apple which inspired him to write about gravity.

Ventriloquism In Motion: How Sound Can Move Light

Ventriloquism In Motion: How Sound Can Move Light

And this is something we will need for our next book which has a sound component.

Breaking ball too good to be true: Illusion behind batters' perceptions of 'breaking' curveballs and 'rising' fastballs

Breaking ball too good to be true: Illusion behind batters' perceptions of 'breaking' curveballs and 'rising' fastballs

The next time we update Sports Science, this will really have to be in the book!

Ocean acidification poses little threat to whales’ hearing, study suggests

Ocean acidification poses little threat to whales’ hearing, study suggests

one more thing I need to know if I want to write a book about sounds in the Ocean. Wish I had known this about 3 weeks ago,.
S

CM Magazine: Scary Science: 25 Creepy Experiments.

CM Magazine: Scary Science: 25 Creepy Experiments.
You have to love a great review, especially one not done by anyone you know. Thanks U of M!

TeachingBooks.net Book Reading | Bathtub Science

TeachingBooks.net Book Reading | Bathtub Science

YouTube - Shakespeare sketch - A Small Rewrite

YouTube - Shakespeare sketch - A Small Rewrite

No offense to any of my editors, but..........
Leslie and I once had a editor we called the "vampire" because she sucked the life out of anything we sent to her. Then there was the editor who put exclamation marks after every sentence.

B.C. group connects children's authors with their audience

B.C. group connects children's authors with their audience

Children's book authors take literacy online

Children's book authors take literacy online

Vancouver Sun Digital

Vancouver Sun Digital

Vancouver Sun Digital

Vancouver Sun Digital

When it comes to reading, the goal is to capture them young (The Vancouver Sun, 29 Sep 2010, Page A13)

---

When it comes to reading, the goal is to capture them young
BY GERRY BELLETT gbellett@vancouversun.com
The Vancouver Sun
29 Sep 2010

Since 2007, 4,500 children have participated in Surrey Libraries’ Storytimes to Help Learn English program, which is funded by The Vancouver Sun’s Raise-a-Reader Program and CIBC’s Legacy Grant. How good is the program? Well, there have been calls from...read more...

Tech Tags: The Vancouver Sun newspaper RAISE- A- READER

Vancouver Sun Digital - The Vancouver Sun - 23 Sep 2010 - B. C. group connects children’s authors with their audience

Vancouver Sun Digital - The Vancouver Sun - 23 Sep 2010 - B. C. group connects children’s authors with their audience

Thank you Vancouver Sun for the lovely piece. Hire an author or illustrator today!

B. C. group connects children’s authors with their audience (The Vancouver Sun, 23 Sep 2010, Page A13)

---

B. C. group connects children’s authors with their audience
BY TRACY SHERLOCK tsherlock@vancouversun.com
The Vancouver Sun
23 Sep 2010

As children’s author Shar Levine will tell you, writers are real people. “ They live down the street, they’re in front of you in the supermarket lineup,” Levine said. “ You may not realize that your favourite book was written by the lady standing in...read more...

Tech Tags: The Vancouver Sun newspaper WESTCOAST NEWS

Woods Hole - fellows

And here we are at the end of a very long day in the boat. For the record, in the last 10 years times 10 jounalists a year no one has hurled until last week. As everyone knows I can't swim, am terrified of the open ocean, I can't stand boats smaller than a large ferry and am not good in enclosed space and I am prone to motion sickness. I put on a scopalamine patch and it worked a charm. One of the other journalists was puking off the end of the boat meaning I was not the one whogot sick.

Conscious Media Network - Featured Video

Conscious Media Network - Featured Video

Now if this really worked it would be amazing!

Shar Levine

Shar Levine: "Shar Levine has written more than 70 books with ..."

And the diet starts tomorrow

New Light Shed On Marine Luminescence

New Light Shed On Marine Luminescence
You would think that I'd had enough of the ocean after a week at Woods Hole, but no, I'm still in love with all things in the sea. I am, however, too tired to blog. Nothing like getting up at 3 am Vancouver time and getting in around 8 pm PDT that night to make a write a little woozy.

This has really been the longest 24 hours. It's hard to believe that we had our first lecture yesterday as my brain is already fried today. I probably wouldn't feel like death warmed over were it not for the fact that the room was freezing today and I spent 50 bucks on flu medicine at rite aid right after we got out of the last session. now with drugs I feel a little better.
There's so much to take in and so many ideas for projects. in the middle of the second presentation i sent out a book proposal based on the information that the scientist was presenting. No idea if it will sell, but it was a fabulous idea. Even Leslie loved it.
It's interesting spending time with world famous journalists. They want to write books. I want to be a writer. Guess it's like actors who want to be directors.
As for lobsters , we have started a tally. 24 hrs, 4 down. 5 more days to go.
and for the guilty admission: I was sitting in the front row, close to a video screen that had been lowered from the ceiling. On the screen were photos of the open ocean which waved back and forth in the air conditioning. I got sea-sick...on land....sitting in a chair. A new record even for me. Can hardly wait until Weds when I spend the day on water. Thank heavens for drugs.



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Location:woods hole

Flying fish glide as well as birds, researchers find

Flying fish glide as well as birds, researchers find

Previously known as animal-only pigment, bilirubin now confirmed in Bird of Paradise flower

Previously known as animal-only pigment, bilirubin now confirmed in Bird of Paradise flower

Love this flower! We have a large one growing in a pot in our livingroom and someday I hope it will bloom. Right now the only thing that seems thriving on it are fruit flies.

Insect brains are rich stores of new antibiotics

Insect brains are rich stores of new antibiotics

This is soooo zombie. Brains may be good for you. Ok, that's not what the article says, but it does tie in nicely with the Scary Science Book we wrote.

Melting rate of icecaps in Greenland and Western Antarctica lower than expected

Melting rate of icecaps in Greenland and Western Antarctica lower than expected

Funny thing. Maybe not that funny. I think I said this at a recent seminar and my comment was met with raised eyebrows and rolled eyes. hmmmmmmmmm

Brainy worms: Scientists uncover counterpart of cerebral cortex in marine worms

Brainy worms: Scientists uncover counterpart of cerebral cortex in marine worms

Building World's Largest Neutrino Telescope At South Pole

Building World's Largest Neutrino Telescope At South Pole

And just a bit more about IceCube. Truly a story that will appeal to the science geeks. And I am one of those kinds of people.

IceCube neutrino observatory nears completion

IceCube neutrino observatory nears completion

LJ and I are working on a new book- Winter Science. This tidbit won't work in the book, but you gotta love the name of the facility.

Wonder of the natural world: Key to Christmas Island's red crab migration discovered

Wonder of the natural world: Key to Christmas Island's red crab migration discovered

It's odd to think about crab migrations. And red crabs on Christmas Island seems appropriate.

Scientists bring new species of turtle out of its shell

Scientists bring new species of turtle out of its shell

Turtles without shells. Who knew? .... Just kidding. Read the article not not headline.

Secrets of the gecko foot help robot climb

Secrets of the gecko foot help robot climb

I love the geckos in Hawaii and am obsessed with taking pictures of them. They are considered to be good luck and they also cut down on bugs in your house.

'Dry water' could make a big splash commercially, help fight global warming

'Dry water' could make a big splash commercially, help fight global warming

An article about "dry water", must be in the same category as "military intelligence" and "jumbo shrimp".... or not

Baby's first full diaper can reveal mother's smoking

Baby's first full diaper can reveal mother's smoking

obviously smoking is bad for you, that goes without saying. don't start. don't do it. obviously what a mother does while she is pregnant affects her unborn baby. That also goes without saying. But scientists who study baby diapers really deserve a prize. YUCK!Somewhat reminds me of studying entrails of beasts for clues to the future.

YouTube - Video of rare 'Fire Tornado' seen in Brazil

YouTube - Video of rare 'Fire Tornado' seen in Brazil

This is remarkable footaage. Wish I knew more about the causes

A surfboard gets an onboard computer

A surfboard gets an onboard computer

Now, what do you think would happen if a shark took a bite and swalled this computer? Just curious.

Entrepreneurs Enter the Commercial Space Race - NYTimes.com

Entrepreneurs Enter the Commercial Space Race - NYTimes.com

Let's go on a mission!

groucho

And following the last post-an old one from Groucho Marx
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's dark.

Dogs may not be' man’s best friend' during hay fever season

Dogs may not be' man’s best friend' during hay fever season

So why is it that dogs love to stick their heads out of the car and have the wind in their faces, but try blowing on a dog's face, it will go crazy?

Paving 'slabs' that clean the air

Paving 'slabs' that clean the air

Give the heat that comes off concrete, this is an interesting idea

nightmares

I learned something about sleep last night and my husband suffered for my discovery. Right before bed I had seen a scary show with terrible images of violence. The images were so vivid that they snuck into my dreams, and I remember screaming loudly in the dream. Turns out I was also screaming loudly in real life. I woke up my husband with my screaming and he started shaking me to wake me up. So the lesson is: don't watch scary things as they really might give you nightmares

woods hole

WOW. I will be in the company of some pretty amazing journalist next month. Check out who else is coming to Woods Hole.

And as for keeping in touch, the wonderful Daniel Stone, now the sr fancy pants reporter for Newsweek, just called. It's great to hear from journalists who were on previous fellowships and see what they are doing. Daniel has moved to the White House beat. Voytek is at MIT doing a 1 year journalism fellowship. And Victoria and Chandra now know each other at National Geographic.

2010 WHOI Ocean Science Journalism fellows:
Jennifer Barone
Jennifer, news editor at DISCOVER magazine, coordinates coverage of current
research from across the sciences and oversees fact‐checking at the magazine,
where she has previously worked as a reporter and as associate editor. Before
joining DISCOVER, she taught high school physics. She also spent two years sailing
and teaching aboard Sea Education Association’s tall ships.
Brooke Borel
Brooke is a freelance science writer, editor and researcher based in Brooklyn, NY.
She writes regularly for the print and online editions of Popular Science, COSMOS
and G: The Green Lifestyle Magazine, covering topics ranging from vegetarian
spiders to the worlds biggest laser to the latest green tech gadgets. She is also a
research editor for Science Illustrated.
Clarke Canfield
Clarke has been a professional journalist for 30 years, working as a writer and
editor at daily newspapers, magazines and on the Internet. For more than 20 years,
his primary focus has been marine‐related topics and issues as a reporter and editor
at the Portland Press Herald, a commercial fishing magazine, a commercial fishing
Internet site and, for the past nine years, at The Associated Press. Clarke works in
Portland, Maine, and lives with his wife and 12‐year‐old son outside of the city.
Emily Gertz,
Emily is a freelance journalist covering the environment, technology, science and
sustainability. Currently a correspondent for OnEarth Magazine, Emily also works
on social media outreach and strategy for the magazine and web site, OnEarth.org.
Her professional memberships include the Society of Environmental Journalists,
where she volunteers for the SEJ Freedom of Information Task Force. Journalistic
claims to fame include: "Naughty by Nature: Ever thought about the toxins in your
sex toys?" for Grist; touring a coal‐fired power plant for Scientific American online;
being a founding blogger of Worldchanging.com and contributor to the wellreceived
and decently selling book, "Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st
Century" (Abrams); covering the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks for OnEarth.org,
and as a special correspondent for Oxfam America.
Shar Levine
To paraphrase the old feminist line about how Ginger Rogers did everything Fred
Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels, Shar does everything all science
journalists do, only she makes it understandable for children. Shar is an
international award‐winning and best‐selling author of 70 hands‐on science books
for children, as well as a designer of science toys. Her books have sold millions of
copies and been translated into ten languages. Ten of her books are on the
recommended list of the National Science Teachers Association and two were shortlisted
for the AAAS Subaru Award for science‐activity books. Books by Levine and
her writing partner, Leslie Johnstone are used in schools and libraries around the
world.
Erik Olsen
Erik is an award‐winning video journalist with the New York Times, specializing in
science and the environment. He shoots, writes, edits and narrates complete video
stories for nytimes.com and other outlets. Prior, he worked for ABC News producing
news for broadcast and the Internet. He has reported from and/or lived in Thailand,
India, Spain, Haiti and Chile. He’s also is an avid kayaker and guitarist.
Frank Pope
After working for six years with Oxford University's Maritime Archaeological
Research Unit, Frank became a project manager on the Hoi An excavation in the
South China Sea, one of the biggest and deepest underwater excavations ever
attempted. The experience pushed him to write a book, Dragon Sea, which
eventually led to a position as the world's first ocean correspondent for a national
newspaper, The Times of London.
Mindy Todd
Mindy, host The Point on WCAI, examines critical issues for Cape Cod and the
Islands. She brings 30 years of experience in radio and television to the job. After
starting her broadcasting career as a midday DJ at WARE in Ware, Ma., she quickly
advanced to host of the morning drive show, which in 1981, made her one of the few
women in broadcasting to anchor her own morning show. Mindy’s career has
covered nearly all aspects of broadcasting and taken her across the county. She has
been a radio disc jockey, a traffic reporter, a television news anchor and reporter, a
program director, talk show host, and even a ski reporter. Her television work as a
reporter and news anchor brought her to Northern New England, Indianapolis, IN
and Nashville, TN. She has received numerous awards, most recently an Associated
Press Award for Public Affairs and a National PRNDI (Public Radio News Directors
Association) award for best Call‐in program in the country.
Jennifer Weeks
Jennifer is an award‐winning writer specializing in nature, energy and
environmental issues. She has written for more than 40 newspapers, magazines,
and web sites, including the Washington Post, Boston Globe Magazine, Popular
Mechanics, Audubon, National Wildlife, Grist, Daily Climate, National Geographic
Kids, Plenty, Backpacker, Environment, High Country News, Preservation, New
Scientist, Columbia Journalism Review, and Newsweek. She also has fifteen years of
experience as a Congressional aide, lobbyist, and public policy analyst. Weeks
graduated from Williams College and holds master’s degrees from the University of
North Carolina (political science) and Harvard University (environmental policy).
Allison Winter
Allison has been a reporter with E&E Publishing since January 2003. E&E is an
environment and energy news source with four daily publications on its website,
daily content on the New York Times website and periodic stories on Scientific
American. Mrs. Winter works from the Washington, DC office, where she covers
oceans, fisheries, wildlife and agriculture, with particular emphasis on Congress and
federal agencies. Her work has also been published in The Washington Post and The
State newspaper in South Carolina. She graduated in 1999 with an English degree
from the South Carolina Honors College at the University of South Carolina. She and
her husband are expecting their first child in late November of this year

Dogs' physical traits controlled by small number of genetic regions, researcher finds

Dogs' physical traits controlled by small number of genetic regions, researcher finds

The other night I was walking Cry and Havoc when we met up with another American Eskimo. My dogs are generally friendly with most other strange dogs, but when they turned and saw an Eskimo, the bolted towards him, jumping and wagging their tails. They reacted like this was a long, lost friend.

Building muscle doesn't require lifting heavy weights, study shows

Building muscle doesn't require lifting heavy weights, study shows

Drop those heavy weights, but lift lighter ones until your arms want to drop off. Now there's an idea whose time has come. I wonder if anyone has done research on lifting weights in a very hot room..... like Bikrams Yoga temperature. Wonder what that does to your muscles.

Gallery - Picture of the day: the smallest monkey in the world - Image 1 - New Scientist

Gallery - Picture of the day: the smallest monkey in the world - Image 1 - New Scientist

This falls into the "way too cute" category of posts. Aaaaah, look at the cute monkey.

Children's vegetable intake linked to Popeye cartoons

Children's vegetable intake linked to Popeye cartoons

Cartoons can make cold spinach in a can tempting for kids? Good luck. One taste of that stuff will kill their appetite for good. Try doing something interesting with veggies and kids will love them. Frankly, ants on a log aka raisons, cheese whiz and celery was a sure fired way of getting something green into my kids. And endive with something yummy also worked.

Ancient Hawaiian glaciers reveal clues to global climate impacts

Ancient Hawaiian glaciers reveal clues to global climate impacts

I will have a better appreciation of the mountain every time I look out my kitchen window

Emotions help animals to make choices, research suggests

Emotions help animals to make choices, research suggests

I once had a dog who thought that he had more rights than my new-born daughter because he was there first. He would express his displeasure with her by pooping on my bed.

Habitat of elusive Northern squid documented

Habitat of elusive Northern squid documented

Guess my family aren't the only ones who love to dine on squid. A very long time ago when my son was about 3, I told him that if he put the calamari rings on his fingers and ate them, they would turn into chocolate in his stomach. For years he actually believed this. I also gave him a bowl of invisible fish to keep him quiet at a dinner party.

HEMA - online winkelen

HEMA - online winkelen

click on the link and watch the fun. HEMA is a Dutch department store. The first store opened on November 4, 1926, in Amsterdam. Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands .

Take a look at HEMA's product page (catalog) - just wait a couple of seconds, let the page load and watch what happens.DON'T click on any of the items in the picture; just wait..

This company has a sense of humor and a great computer programmer, who has too much time on his hands. Click on the link below:

YouTube - K.D. Lang sings Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

YouTube - K.D. Lang sings Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah

This has nothing to do with the last post, but it came up right after Jews Don't Camp, and I love this song as done by KD Lang. Something to listen to when you want a good cry.

YouTube - Jews Don't Camp!

YouTube - Jews Don't Camp!

This is for my wonderful cousin, Naomi, who really needs to listen to this today.

Interesting dolphin bubbles. [VIDEO]

Interesting dolphin bubbles. [VIDEO]

I love dolphins and did I mention that I'm going to Woods Hole?

hula for turtle release

This was not fun to upload and I think I finally managed to do this without crashing the computer. Here's the wonderful hula done in honor of the turtle release. There's nothing like authentic Hawaiian dance. Forget hotel luaus. This is the real thing.

Woods Hole

Open your windows and listen closely. That screaming you hear is me! I've been invited to be a journalism fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. This is the hat trick for me of fellowships. NCAR was more fun that I ever thought possible, and I suspect Woods Hole will be even cooler. So the woman who hates boats, water and can't swim is off to study all things in the ocean. At least I know I can swim with my watch, much like Dumbo could fly with his magic feather.
Blogging and movies from Cape Cod, here I come!

YouTube - NATURE | Behind the Scenes of "Hummingbirds" | PBS

YouTube - NATURE | Behind the Scenes of "Hummingbirds" | PBS

If you love hummingbirds, you will love this video

Mice cages can alter rodents’ brains and skew research results, study finds

Mice cages can alter rodents’ brains and skew research results, study finds

This is terrific. All psychology used to be based on undergraduate students who had to volunteer and now we find that they mice they use in lab may have been affected by their cages.

Footloose glaciers crack up: New detailed observations of what happens when glaciers float on ocean surface

Footloose glaciers crack up: New detailed observations of what happens when glaciers float on ocean surface

now this is something that Leslie and I will need to know.....any minute now.

what is this?

It's a hard disk drive back in 1956... with 5 MB of storage.

In September 1956 IBM launched the 305 RAMAC,
the first 'SUPER' computer with a hard disk drive (HDD).
The HDD weighed over a ton and stored a 'whopping' 5 MB of data.

Do you appreciate your 8 GB memory stick a little more now

Common house ants form supercolonies, prosper in urban settings

Common house ants form supercolonies, prosper in urban settings

Now, this might explain why the outside of my house is crawling with ants. Between the ants this year and the several rats that came in from the forest, my home has become a haven for wild creatures.

Tornado safety: What is the safest room in the house?

Tornado safety: What is the safest room in the house?

I had the opportunity at NCAR to hear about VORTEX, the research being done by NCAR on tornados. They just finished chasing tornados, right before I arrived in Boulder and had I wanted to, I could have gone on a 3 day mission around several states trying to catch the dangerous formations. There were a convoy of 40 scientific vehicles and researchers driving like mad when they saw a storm. They were blocked by looky-loos, who wanted to take videos and sell them. But the interesting thing was- they don't know if tornados form top to bottom or bottom to top.

Strange Hawaiian caterpillar. [VIDEO]

Strange Hawaiian caterpillar. [VIDEO]

And this one is from Josh, my son, who thought I might like it. He was right.

Giant excavated ant colony reveals marvellous wonder. [VIDEO]

Giant excavated ant colony reveals marvellous wonder. [VIDEO]

Boy. I thought I had problems with the flying ants that invaded my back yard! Wait til you see this.

Fireflies blink in synch to send a clear message

Fireflies blink in synch to send a clear message

Go outside and see if you can confirm this observation. There's nothing like a hot summer's night for a great science experiment!

Computing power cracks egg shell problem

Computing power cracks egg shell problem

although I always thought it was the rooster who came first, scientist think otherwise

my favorite part of the fellowship

The absolute best thing about the NCAR fellowship was meeting Charles Knight. This scientist began working with NCAR in the 1960's and studied ice in Barrow, Alaska. He taught me how to make ice ribbons and showed me how to make ice spikes. He also did freezing with super cold water. He is the last of the old-time scientists, who makes his own lab equipment. He was doing ice spikes and was using a black and white camera set up with a note "take off your glasses", pinned to the scope. The reason he was using a film camera and not digital or video, was because, "he has to pay for his own film and NCAR won't give him a digital camera!". I kid you not. His other gem was the quote, "your model is only as good as your computer."

I loved this man! I'm sorry the rest of the journalists didn't meet him.

jolly good fellows

Here's a group photo from the fellowship. I can honestly tell you that these were the most amazing jounalists and spectacular people. I hope they come visit.

super computers at mesa lab 2

Now the really funny thing was they wouldn't let me into an empty LEED building but they would let me into the super computer lab. Go figure. The giant white containers are filled with water in case of emergencies. There's a little robotic arm that goes back and forth looking for files that are stored.

Apparently changes were made to the archival system following "climate gate" and the loss of data. No one really wanted to talk about that, tho, - can you blame them?

super computers at mesa lab

You know you have a super computer because there are only 500 in the world AND you get to name them. In an attempt to be ironic, no doubt, all IBB super computers have the word "blue" in the name. No mention if one is called "blue screen of death". The Mesa Lab as Lynx, Frost and Blue Fire.

It may not have grabbed anyone else's attention, but the clock was really interesting. I don't know if I could work with one of these kinds of clocks on my desk.

And what can do you with an old super Cray computer? Turn it into an interesting piece of furniture!

flat iron mountains and fellows

This really was a magical place. Here's one photo of some of the journalists and one deer fellow

NCAR- Mesa Lab

This is truly one of the most remarkable works of architecture. And true to the theory of fabulous works of architecture- it leaks when it rains. It is also incredibly difficult to find your way around and the floor with the board room doesn't have a bathroom. It is located 4 floors below.
It was fabulous to see. Imagine working in a place where the deer romp in the back garden and you can climb mountains or ride bikes in your lunch hour

National Energy Lab

This is the super secret lab that we had to show our passports in order to get see what I gather was a very large, empty office building. Apparently we had to submit document several days in advance to be approved. Since we couldn't go in I asked one of the jounalists to take notes and tell me what was there. He told me that the Mars Rover prototype was in the building. Of course he was joking, and it was very funny as each of the other journalists took turns telling me about all the cool things we had missed.
Honestly- I have a Nexus pass that I needed an FBI background check and a retinal scan and a fingerprint, but they won't let me in an empty building.

nailed it!

For reasons I can't explain, nothing is loading on this web site. I have some terrific video which crashes each time I upload it. The last few blog postings are of the NCAR super expesive and way cool plane. It's like a kid's toy. Scientific equipment snaps on and off the wings and nose cone. The entire plane is stripped bare and people and equipment can be strategically loaded into place. They have a room where the equipment is spray painted. Now the interesting thing was why some of the equipment was a funny puke yellow. If something is this color it means it is a prototype. We couldn't take photos of the nose of the plane as it was a secret. Not that any of the journalists would know what the equipment might be, but no photos.
It should be noted that I am a "foreign national" and so cannot be trusted to know such details.

part 3

argh!!

I have now loaded these silly pictures 4 times and each time the program crashes. Let's try this yet again

where do hurricanes come from - part one

turtle independence day- photos

Number two on my list of things to do before I die, was the Turtle Independence Day at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. The staff there work with Seaworld to save the endangered Hawaiian Green Turtle. They raise the tiny turtles for several years to give them a chance to grow large enough to survive some of the predators who want to eat them. They clean them up, put on a tracking chip and with great ceremony, release them into the wild. The chanting and dancing by a local group made the release more meaningful. Each turtle was given an Hawaiian name and was gently carried to the ocean on a stretcher held by children or Keiki.