Only 1/3 of the animals you killed were ENDANGERED YOU JERK WAD

Nice work butthead -- 2 of the 6 Sea Lions you shot were endangered Stellar Sea Lions. Way to display your ignorance and thoughtlessness. I mean, who cares if your grandkids will never get to see one in the wild, right? Jerk.

Bp

[photo via KATU.com]

Ska

That graphic of the "absconding" fugitive below reminded me of The Specials, which reminded me of Ska, which reminded me how much I like the below song -- Mirror in the Bathroom, by The English Beat.



Enjoy stream of consciousness posts, especially when they lead to high school flashbacks by the author,

Bp

The Bees absconded!!

I went up on the roof to check on the bees today. I did it nervously, because one of the hives didn't appear to have any activity. Sure enough, it was empty -- empty of a queen, or any live bees. My $75-worth of bees had decided they didn't like the digs I provided, nor the conditions they were unceremoniously dumped into (quite literally) and they bailed on me.

As Stu said when I told him what happened, "Yeah, I figured we would have some expensive lessons this first year." Very true. Ruhl Bee Supply isn't taking any more package bee orders this year, so I was put on a (long, apparently) waiting list, in case someone flakes out on picking up their bees. Not super likely. I also got on their swarm list, meaning they'll call me to deal with swarms in the East Portland area. There are plenty of other bee keepers on the list, but maybe something will come my way.

The other hive is doing well. The first comb they developed, however, was in an unsustainable spot, so I had to snap it off and hope they'll start one on a top-bar like they're "supposed to." Harsh measures, but I'm assured that once they start building comb on the bars in the right direction, they'll continue to do so. You just have to keep an eye on them in the beginning to make sure they take your cue of pre-set beeswax in the top bars.

I'm going out soon, hopefully, with Glen Andresen to watch him gather a wild swarm. There is a huge demand for gathering swarms, and I intended to learn how to do that anyway, this event just pushed up my time table a bit. I had a third hive set aside for a wild swarm, now I just have two.

I cracked up when I found out that the official bee-keeping term for a queen and her workers bailing out on you was called "absconding." Same word as when criminals take off... too funny.

Enjoy your F.O.F.G.'s, even when they're costly,

Bp

[image Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.]

Cougar removal at Yosemite and its implications

Here is a fine article on Discovery News that gives an overview of the effect of removing a top predator from an ecosystem. Nicely done, with a mix of pictures and video.

As a side example, when you remove the mega predators from an ecosystem, the songbird population takes a complete dump. Why? Because the meso predators such as oppossum, skunk, mink, weasel, fox and raccoon no longer have as much control on their populations and eat up a bunch of birds and eggs.

Enjoy learning about the web that binds, pull on one string and its hard to predict what else will move,

Bp

Tony Robbins -- the guy we love to hate

I was turned on to this talk by Tony Robbins -- yes THAT Tony Robbins, the motivational speaker guy, by Stu. I, like many others I suppose, have stuck this guy in a bin with any number of other popular-but-wacko-and-lacking-depth personalities over the years. I won't make a list, because I don't want to offend. But most folks I know detest this type of thing, and at the least look askance at Mr. Robbins. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I watched this video.

As a side bonus, there is an absolute classic moment where he banters with Gore in the audience, and a one-liner that you will be able to keep forever. Just hilarious.

Worth your 22 minutes. I'm not going to run out and buy his tapes or anything, but it's a good watch, I assure you.



Enjoy getting past unfounded prejudices,

Bp

Nothing to see here, move along please.

I'm sure Passive Cellular Triangulation doesn't have any horrifyingly Orwellian applications whatsoever.

Really.

... Srsly.


Enjoy just relaxing, and a little hummed tune of "lalalalalalal" with your fingers over your ears, like I'm doing now, for instance,

Bp

[via dailywireless.org]

Dude, you're missing the big book sale!

PSU Library's annual book sale is happening right now, for 3 more days. Details as per their website:

Don't miss the thousands of bargains at the Library's Spring Book Sale, May 1 - May 4, 2008.

Hardcover books $2 - Paperbacks $1 - Records, sheet music, cds, tapes, videos, maps, and magazines are priced from 25 cents to $2.

HOURS

Thursday, May 1, 12 Noon - 9 pm
Friday, May 2, 7:30 am - 7 pm
Saturday, May 3, 10 am - 7 pm
Sunday, May 4, Noon - 9 pm

[don't worry, if you aren't here right away all you'll miss is the pushy professional book buyers, with their blank stares and laser bar code readers and attitude.]

Enjoy your trip to the campus to fulfill your bibliophilic desires,

Bp

Senioritis: a reality even two decades later

Senioritis has hit. My graduation date is only two months away, if that. I had a rough round of first tests, so a sparkling clean 4.0 this term seems impossible (thought might not be), which aggravates my symptoms.

Wikipedia states that some of the symptoms of senioritis include:

slowness, procrastination, apathy regarding school work, a feeling of entitlement or privilege and a tendency toward truancy, increased drug use, malingering or feigning illness in order to avoid presence in a school setting, cognitive impairments, and changes in sleep patterns.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Enjoy recognizing those things that change, and those things that stay the same,

Bp

Amazing building design, Singapore

This bitchin' building is an art school within Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Here is a quick writeup of the building with more pictures -- too cool.

Enjoy innovative design, especially when it's eye-catching,

Bp

[via Criddle]

Pandora online radio

Weeks, or maybe months ago my good friend Catherine the Great suggested I try out Pandora.com, knowing what a music freak I can be. I checked in with it, and it didn't really catch my attention. Today is another day, however, and in the computer lab while I was wrestling with printers, I logged back in. Now I'm crazy about it.

Pandora is personalized online radio, connected to the Music Genome Project. Whatever algorithm they use to choose music based on what you've told the stations you like, it's good -- real good. Consistently I get songs and musicians coming up in my theme stations that I had forgotten to add voluntarily.

Enjoy yet another online media choice that is customizable,

Bp

Poor bees, more bad news for the Pacific N.W.

Apparently, West-side Washington bee hives are being lost at a catastrophic rate according to this article in The Oregonian. Stud Farmhand turned me on to this article, and since his hives are out in Walla Walla I'm betting he is unaffected. My hives, however, are in the strike zone. Yikes.

Nationally, a third of the food supply depends on bees for pollination, from melons to cranberries to carrot seed, according to National Research Council. Native pollinators, from wasps to bumblebees, are not present in the numbers needed for industrial agriculture -- and those pollinators are also in decline.

You know, most of the apocalyptic talk in the last few decades involves nuclear bombs, or nuclear waste, or anarchist loss of societal control... but what about the bees. The simple bee -- who would have thought such an enormously disastrous effect would happen through a domesticated insect of all things.

Get those backyard gardens rolling folks, looks like it's going to be a bumpy flight.

Bp

Beautiful paintings of irradiated bugs

No kidding, check out these amazing watercolors by Cornelia Hesse-Honegger. Click around on the words and you will figure out how the navigation works.

You will see in the comments on Boingboing where I originally found the link that there is some heated debate as to whether these are truly deformities caused by radiation or not. There is also a scientific paper by the artist, who turns out to be a scientist as well, that supports the idea that the mutations are caused by the radiation.

Jury's out, but cool stuff nonetheless.

Enjoy art and science mixing as it did in the days of yore,

Bp

[art credit in first linked web page]

An important reminder for me today

" The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men."

-- George Eliot



I've been reading up on public school inequalities, re-segregation of schools, and school reform. It gets depressing to think of what kids are up against. This was a timely quote for me.

Enjoy getting back off of your duff and doing something for the better,

Bp

Righteous moth predicted, and found, in Madagasgar

Here is a great video clip about the Darwin's Comet Orchid, and its requisite pollinator. When he first encountered this bizarrely formed orchid, Darwin predicted a pollinator, probably a moth, with a 12" proboscis. Yet again, he was right.




[via my Canukistani operative Yuri, under the title MMOOTHRAAAAAAA, hehe]

Enjoy ginormous aerial pollinators, and the predictive capacity of science,

Bp

Songs Stuck in my Head Series: Modest Mouse -- Missed the Boat

You know, when I was watching a bunch of MM videos to figure out which one was the song that's been stuck in my head for the last two days, I really saw how good these guys are. I don't listen to much guitar pop -- hardly any actually, but I may have to get a bunch of MM. Everything I came across was good. I don't know what it is about their songs -- his voice, or the simplicity, the interesting cadences, or the elaborate lyrics -- but they're really catching my fancy this morning.

Here's the one that's been haunting me lately.





Enjoy identifying which of the ghosts that have been prying on your brain,

Bp

Can't stop laughing at the new xkcd comic

It's just killing me...


Enjoy a good laugh,

Bp

[via xkcd.com]

Al Green, slaying it

Here's another prime 1974 musical performance -- Mr. Al Green rocking the house with "Tired of Being Alone."

Again, need I mention the outfits -- oh, and check out the rings too. Fantastico, simply fantasico.



Enjoy talent -- silver, be-dangled, over-the-top, nearly-shirtless talent,

Bp

Bee Crazy

I'm getting a lot of behind the scenes interest in Backyard Bee information, so I wanted to post a list of some of the sites I've found the most helpful:

First and foremost, www.biobees.com, because the emphasis there is on Top-Bar hives. Once you read some articles there, you may come to the same conclusion about that hive style as I did -- this is as much about having healthy bees as it is getting tons of honey.

Next, for the P-town folks, is Ruhl Bee Supply. They have everything you need outside the top-bar hive itself. I bet, very soon, they'll start carrying top bar hives if the demand is there.

Here's a cool article by The Peace Corps on Small Scale Beekeeping.

Here's another top-bar oriented site: backyardhive.com.

Washington State Beekeepers association has a ton of good information.

For that matter, here is the Oregon State Beekeepers Association.

Remember too how to use "labels" in blogger blogs. Scroll down this page and look on the right hand side, eventually you will see "topic labels for easy cruising." There is a "back yard bees" label, and although I have only just begun posting about them, all my posts regarding the bees are there.

Enjoy helping out a belaboured caste of unappreciated workers,

Bp

Getting the bees into the hives

My Dad took pictures as I unpackaged the bees. The sky was ominous and I would have preferred warmer weather for the little ladies, but you do what you have to. The packages arrived, so we install the bees.

I'm just using a European bee jacket instead of a full suit here. Considering that de-packaging bees is probably the most disruptive, violent thing I'll be doing with them, and I didn't have a smoker yet, but I didn't get stung -- I'd say it's going to be easily sufficient for my needs. Oh were the girls pissed when I removed their queen and then had the audacity to shake them out of their cage to boot. Such an angry hum, I can't tell you.



The second picture shows me holding up a top bar with the queen cage hanging from it (I used a thumb tack to secure it). At that point I had removed the cork from the cage and installed the mini marshmallow as the time-release fuse for the queen. Should take the bees a day or two to eat up that marshmallow and let her free into the hive. By that time her scent is fully ensconced in that hive and they won't bolt on you.

For more of a blow-by-blow of de-packaging bees, here is a video I found that gets pretty specific. Of course they're using commercial hives, but you do get some more detail regardless.

Tonight I also made some bee-fondant to feed the hives tomorrow. It's cooling now. It's basically a sugar syrup that's been brought up to "soft ball" temperatures, then whipped as its cooling to add a bit of air to it. For bees you add some apple cider vinegar as well, to adjust the PH a bit and possibly provide a tiny bit of nutrient. The weather is just too cold right now for them to be flying much, so even though there are blooms everywhere for them to forage, they'll starve if I don't feed them a bit til it warms up. Fondant seemed the cleanest way to do it. I'm going to put chunks into cheesecloth and hang it from string from a top bar for them to feast on.

Enjoy learning new husbandry skills,

Bp

The Bees Arrived!

So my Carniolans arrived at Ruhl Bee Supply, and I waited in line with the other bee keepers yesterday to pick up my two packages. It is such a trip to hold a box with 3 lbs. of bees in it. That's somewhere around ten to 15 thousand bees, I do believe.

The hives are up on our carport roof. The bees will get a good flyway up here and nice early and late season warmth, as well as morning sun.


I'll post more later, I'm going to hit the sheets and nurse this sore throat of mine for now.

Bp

New post over at the Fur Shark blog

Check out the new post over at the Fur Shark Chronicles. That blog is the repository for all things Cat that I write or post. I didn't want to overwhelm the rigorous and scientific focus and cadence of this blog with such frivolous material.

Stay tuned for more 70's bad hair videos.

Bp

This should be an interesting experience.

So I have two mid-terms on Monday -- Genetics and Mammalian Physiology. Mam Phys looks to be one of the harder classes I've taken yet in college. My father and step mother are visiting this weekend for the first time in a decade, and I've not studied a lick since they got here on Friday. We're having a great time.

I'm not ready for the tests, and I'm not getting ready for the tests.

There is a strange feeling building in my gut. I'm about to have an experience that is new to me, I suspect. I'm going to learn to let go of this maniacal drive for straight A's and have a different type of test day than I'm used to. I already feel like I need to write a note to the profs and explain the situation -- apologize ahead of time for my lackluster performance on this first test.

I'm nervous and getting a bit distracted. I don't know if I'll be able to resist staying up all night on Sunday to try and make up some ground at the last minute. I understand most all the basic concepts for these tests, but just haven't practiced the math . Both of these tests are math-heavy, with very little vocab and concept -- pretty much all word problems, one of my weak points.

If there is a sound track for my life, I believe right now it sounds something like Silence of the Lambs, or The Shining.

Enjoy setting yourself up,

Bp

Apocalyptica rocked the effing house

Finally finally I've seen Apocalyptica in concert. As I've mentioned before, The Wife introduced me to these guys a dozen years ago, and I've wanted to see them live ever since. It's been a long time coming, and they did not disappoint. It was a fucking fantastic show, just fantastic. I'm so glad I went, even though I know my mid-term grades will suffer. Hearing those amazing instruments blazing out live is a whole other experience than listening to a recording. The depth and resonance of the sound just makes you high.

For all the folks who don't like metal and skip these posts, I hope I still have your attention. Just watch this first video. It's a Metallica cover, and it's just beautiful -- seriously, just give it a play, for me.

This video was their first encore (they had two or three). For this song, they got rid of the drummer and singer and just laid the tune out purely acoustic. One of the few instances where I feel the remake is better than the original -- it's like this song was written for them.



In other contexts, the blazing leads played in speed metal by guitarists just leave me yawning -- we call it Guitar Gemetzel ("massacre" in yiddish, probably spelled wrong). To be honest, I don't particularly like the grand majority of the songs they play in their original form. However, those same songs with blazing leads -- played on cellos, live, with big rockstar drumming and screaming fans pumping the Corna is pure genius.

At one point Eicca said something along the lines of (we couldn't understand them through their thick accents) "we're going to play some classical, you shut up and listen now." This song is the next video down. Check out the fingerwork here kids, it was stupendous [if you want another view, different lighting so you can see, try this link]. Also stupendous -- these musicians had a whole concert of bubbas and metalheads moshing and freaking out to classical music. Does the heart good, I tell you.



Oh and speaking of genius -- if I get the info right through the accent (and a little internet research) the guest drummer was Dave Lombardo of Slayer. Now rad is that, seriously!

The guest vocalist was Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace. Not a big deal for me, but the audience loved the kid. Even with a singer, the cellists ruled the stage and made the music great.

So there's my night, screw grades lets rock,

Bp

Love songs to Condi Rice

First, here is subtle piece from ZeFrank -- a lilting melody with a dark undercurrent, appropriate for Ms. Condi -- Freaking hilarious.

And second, a tropical bootie shaker from the always fantastic Steve Earle, via Stud Farmhand.



Enjoy the amorous tributes that the Queen of War and Torture has inspired,

Bp

Gandhi quote

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is brought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"

- Mahatma Gandhi

Nuked coral reef now flourishing

This picture depicts the nuking of the Bikini Atoll in 1954 with the Bravo nuclear bomb. People avoid the island to this day, for obvious reasons. This avoidance, however, has created quite a sanctuary for the marine environment to recover in. Nearby islands are apparently seeding this coral reef, which is flourishing, according to this article in Newscientist. Some seafaring poachers approach close to the island, but no one else.

The background radiation, apparently, is no more than any large metropolis. The coconuts that grow on the island, however, are red-hot (metaphorically) with radiation. Because the trees concentrate fats in the coconuts, and fats accumulate and store radiation well, the coconuts are extremely toxic. This is called bioaccumulation . This is the same process which makes non-organic avocados (again, very fatty) the super-fund sites that they are.

As an added bonus, Monty Python fans need to check out the comments below the Newscientist post -- a hint, they involve the African Swallow.

Enjoy flourishing and vibrant nature wherever it happens to get a toehold,

Bp

[photo credit in linked article, article via slashdot]

Stud Farmhand scoops me on a grim subject

The subject is U.S. Torture -- grim, true, and completely illegal. A few films have cropped up and Stu presents them in the post -- they implicate some of the highest officers of our government in direct approval of torture.

Wondering what to do? Write or call the campaign of your favorite presidential candidate -- hell contact them all (even those who dropped out). Let them know this is important to you and you won't stand for Torture under our flag. You can also head over to the Condi Rice Must Go website for information about further action in that campaign. Demand that the candidates to walk their talk. We've got them a bit over a barrel while they're campaigning, good time to make noise on issues you care about.

Bp

In Space Science News: 13-year-old German Schoolboy pwns NASA

In a paper for a regional science competition, a 13-year-old schoolboy in Germany corrected NASA's calculations regarding the chances that Apophis, a "killer asteroid," could collide with earth. NASA's prediction for whether this asteroid would collide with Earth was only 1 in 450,000. The kid figured in the chances that a collision with a satellite in 2029 could alter its course, improving the chance of a collision with Earth to 1 in 450. NASA has since stated that the kid got it right.

Wonder if they sent him a job application as well.

Poor NASA, they've just had the worst press over the last few years. But I couldn't resist this one.

Enjoy statistical corrections, especially when they involve a cataclysmic event,

Bp

[image credit in linked article]

Social science classes vs. "hard' science classes

I have a social science class this term, a small class, taught in the round. There is a lot of feeling going on, and resonating, and speaking about things. Sometimes I look at the clock, wondering when class will actually start, and I realize that it did like 1/2 hour ago, and this isn't just some conversation -- it's the class.

I talked about how different it is with another science major friend of mine, and she said "oh, I love those classes -- it's like DISNEYLAND!"

Compared to the "sit down, shut up, and try to keep up with me" lectures I'm now used to, this is a completely new experience. I mean... how do I *feel* about the content of the class..... seriously?

I balked a bit at first, but now I'm enjoying it. The style is a lot more like my life outside of school. I can see it's going to be quite interesting to go full time into an education graduate program after having ground out a hard science bachelor's degree. There is going to be a lot of reflecting, feeling, and communicating going on I'm sure. So novel.

Enjoy switching gears when you're given the opportunity,

Bp

Pearl coated planes?

Imagine a pearlescent or nacreous airplane glinting in the sky. The Air Force is thinking that the same mechanisms that Oysters use to make pearl, or Abalone use to make mother-of-pearl could be used to coat various metallic surfaces. A process developed by modeling the natural ways these animals create enamels could provide an alternative to the high-temperature, toxic processes currently in use.

[via Stingite]

Enjoy the potential of garishly adorned flying machines of war,

Bp

Golden Eagle shows its power

Quick video clip showing a Golden Eagle taking a goat that surely weighs more than it does. It then flies away with it -- amazing stuff.



Enjoy learning about the unexpectedly ginormous power of animals,

Bp

Additional clip: for the more sturdy of you -- here is a quick clip of a golden eagle taking a deer in the Czech republic. It's a trained bird being used to hunt.

Crazy Uncle

Taking a long drive today, up past Seattle. On the way back I'm going to visit my dear friends and their 6 children -- The Good Reverend's House of Children (tm). The Wife and I are godparents or Crazy Aunt & Uncle to this clutch of pupating humanity.

As I was packing this morning, I showed T. the gifts I'm bringing to the kids this visit: 250 flash cards I made for Ornithology class with pictures of birds on one side and their class, order, family and some field I.D. notes on the other; and a recently-deceased cordless drill that they can dissect & tear apart. T. thought these gifts were fabulous, confirming their perfect Crazy Uncle stylings.

Gever Tully and his "dangerous things you should let your kids do" talk inspired the defunct cordless gift, I dig his perspective on the chillens.

Enjoy your day, there's a finite amount of them left,

Bp

Addendum: I just realized, the eldest of The Clutch of Chillens regularly reads this blog. Fiona... keep the gifts a secret for me would ya? I want to surprise them.

PPSS: I'm going up north for a special session with a Qi Gong instructor in our lineage to finish off my first level of Golden Shield training. Took almost a year to complete, and I'm excited to move on to the next set of trainings. Cool stuff.

Barry White on Burt Sugarman's Midnight Special

Barry White performing Can't Get Enough of your Love Babe in 1974. The outfit and the hair are, again, just superb in this video. And who can't use a little Belly Rubbing Music (tm) on a Friday eh?



Ps: Is that the Wolfman who flashes on the screen for an instant at the beginning, introducing Barry? Sure looks like it.

Enjoy musical romantic entreaties performed in velvet and rhinestones,

Bp

Water, the new oil

A quick read for folks interested in the current state of water resources and their privatization. There are many links to stories and actions one can take about the problem of corporate control of natural resources, water specifically.

[link via Estu, photo credit in first link]

Enjoy a quick morning reminder of your global citizenship,

Bp

Finally, the border fence fiasco comes into focus

According to the NY Times -- the building of the much-touted border fence with Mexico requires breaking as many as 30 laws that may impede the process of construction. Congress also stepped in to forbid courts to second-guess the secretary of homeland security's waivers of these laws.

NOW this stupid idea makes sense -- it sets precedent for the further consolidation of power, eradicates checks and balances, and shows that the power of law can be superseded at will by the government. It also is a very generous ceding of powers of congress to a new position, the secretary of the office of homeland security. Can't have a new and wasteful bureaucracy without some extra POWER now can we boys?

For a more thorough stroll down constitution-wrecking-lane, do read the linked article it's a doozy.

effing great

Bp

Bat Dog

CJ is a chocolate lab trained to find certain types of wildlife and apparently he's very good at it. In this great photoset on Durmphoto.com, my blog friend Michael Durham traveled with and shot CJ tracking down Allen's lappet-browed bats (Idionycteris phyllotis) in the Coconino National Forest in Arizona.

As usual, his photography is just superb -- the man does excellent work, check out the full photo set here. [remember to click on the pictures to get a bigger, higher resolution view -- especially that last one]





Enjoy animals helping humans help animals,

Bp

Yeah for privatization

Profit motive mixed with government need creates bizarre results. Looks like we're beating China in something after all.

Bp

And now for something completely different: fish with captions

see more crazy cat pics


Enjoy viewer-made media, or whatever you call collaborative internet stuff like that,

Bp

Deep-water tide power going in off Ireland, and a philosophical explanation

Some tide power generators are going to be tested very soon off the coast of Ireland. I'll be curious to see how the system goes -- being a deep water system, the disruption to the environment is greatly minimized.

A note here about my "green," "sustainable," and especially alternative energy posts on this blog. During a conversation with a detail-oriented friend, the need was impressed upon me to explain my overall stance on alternative power and fuels.

I don't expect any of these solutions to be able to completely compensate for the type of energy consumption that the world, and especially the Industrialized world, currently takes for granted. I'm not posting about "magic bullets" that will allow today's practices to continue ad infinitum. I am posting about technologies that hopefully will allow for diversification of energy and fuel production, and help ease the transition into a post-petroleum world.

Lifestyles and industrial practices have to change and become more streamlined, because the 'good ol days' of burning smokestacks and 110 mph speed limits are going away. Every step in the direction of efficiency of current uses, green production of future sources, and complete change of systems to those that don't use electricity at all are encouraging to me in this light.

And a quick pet peeve: the words "green" and "sustainable" are ones that now have been fully co-opted by the system and the powers that be to make projects sound better than they are. Without totally going off here, I'll just say that they are being used to label projects with the barest hint of engineering and design to make them less impactful, as opposed to being truly sustainable in any long-term sense. That definition is a whole 'nuther conversation entirely, and I have a bus to catch.

Enjoy your magic-bullet-free, closed-loop, lower carbon footprint potential future,

Bp

[tidepower article via my Canukistani Operative "Yuri", graphic credit in said article]

Spy on a Great White shark

A juvenile Great White shark that was on exhibit in the Monterey Bay Aquarium has been tagged and released into open ocean, and is being tracked in real time on this website. Apparently, he's headed to Mazatlan -- seems like a reasonable plan to me. The life histories of juvenile Great Whites aren't well known, so scientists are watching this guy with great interest.

You can check out many other satellite-tagged pelagic animals on that same site by clicking different species in the sidebar. Fun stuff.

[photo credit in linked article]

Enjoy spying on our open-ocean friends,

Bp

Bats appreciate organic coffee, so buy up

A quick article from Born Animal about how bats are important in the control of insects in organic, shade-grown coffee plantations. The plantations provide excellent hunting for crunchy bits of tasty goodness like the one depicted in the picture below.



[photo credit in linked article]


Enjoy your morning cup, and bless the bats in the process,

Bp

For anyone who has read or commented on blogs or discussion boards

T. and I are just dying over this cartoon, reading it over and over and howling with laughter in the office before breakfast. Worth a full and careful read.




[source: xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.]

Enjoy spot-on comedic writing,

Bp

Obscure Animal Alphabet: Axolotl to Zebu

Another great find by my Canukistani operative Yuri -- the obscure animal alphabet. There are plenty of animals on this list that I've never even heard of -- and some beautiful ones we don't hear of nearly enough. Great stuff.

Enjoy seeing new faces,

Bp

Jungle Boogie on Burt Sugarman's Midnight Special

Kool and the Gang kickin' it on the Midnight Special. It's Friday, shake your bootie.



Enjoy music that takes over 5 people on stage to perform,

Bp

Halliburton poisoning U.S. Troops in Iraq

Found this at the trusty Piglipstick blog. Water purification expert talks about Halliburton and Iraq.



Bp

Velvet worm attacks beetle -- in spanish

Ran across this great footage of a velvet worm hunting a bioluminescent beetle. The Spanish commentary makes it extra awesome. Watch as it puts its pistolas to use.

Some of these weird animals actually bear live young -- very trippy.



Enjoy multi-lingual Panarthropodic attacks,

Bp

Another Taser victim in Portland Oregon

Ok, I've been sometimes quietly, sometimes not, watching the Taser situation with U.S. law enforcement.

This morning over breakfast, a fellow student relayed a story about yet another Taser victim in Portland Oregon. This kid is not doing well, and I can't say more than that as there are lawsuits pending. The situation is seriously effed up, and having someone this close to me be hospitalized with very serious medical issues really sets the issue home.

There will be organizing around the abuse of Tasers in the near future in Portland, and I will be keeping you apprised of the situation, both of this kid and the movement itself.

Bp

Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

This amazing talk is a brain scientist explaining her experience of a stroke. But, the stroke hit in a spot on her brain where she could experience some serious epiphanies/peak experiences -- this is worth your time (18 minutes), trust me.

You may have heard of this video -- it's truly viral on the net right now. But, like me, you may have skipped it. Just give it a shot -- it's truly a trip.

[Technical Note: -- The Link has been fixed give it a try now]



Enjoy the amazing and unpredictable events by which we can learn what is true,

Bp

Forgotten English -- Uts!

First, a modern occurrence of Uts! -- it is one of the sounds I make when being awakened from a dead sleep by a profound cramp in my Psoas muscle (which I have complained about before). I make the sound to deal with the sensations I'm having (searing pain), while trying desperately to get out of bed in a timely fashion to stretch out the affected area, but not wake up The Wife. Hopping around half naked, huffing and puffing, most of the sounds are right out of old Batman fight scenes: Oof! Biff! Poosh! Kshawwwwww!

The real definition of Uts! -- "A term of encouragement to dogs, generally to incite them to fight."

[From: Jeffrey Kacirk Forgotten English 2008 Calendar: A Calendar of Vanishing Vocabulary and Folklore]

Enjoy words that are also simply sounds, and require exclamation marks as part of the proper spelling,

Bp

Charlie Brown quote

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."

- Charlie Brown, Peanuts, Charles Schulz

World's biggest particle collider may be delayed in court

There are fears that the Large Hadron Collider, near completion on the Swiss/French border, may not be safe. The safety concerns, which this article calls "Doomsday Fears," center around 3 main situations that are potentially possible at the collider: runaway black holes, Stragelets, and magnetic monopoles.

Yes, runaway black holes -- how rad is that.

Thanks to Trappin' Pat for heads up on this article -- a little early-morning science awesomeness for ya'll.

Enjoy the possibilities of ramming minute things together at unfathomable speeds,

Bp

[photo credit in second linked article]

Ya gotta love The Onion

Instructions: click on picture -- read fine print.

What more can you say, The Onion rocks,

Bp

Crop diversity and the Seed Vault

Despite the dramatic subtitle, "Around the world, scientists are risking their lives to retrieve seeds destined for a massive vault near the North Pole. Their work just might save mankind" this article on the Seed Vault and the folks working on it is well written and fascinating.

"[Loss of crop species genetic diversity] is the only world problem we know we can solve at this point in history," says Cary Fowler, the man behind the seed vault.

Enjoy global thinking, even if it tends towards the apocalyptic,

Bp

[article thanks to Yuri, photo credit in linked article]

American Drug War documentary

In case you had any questions about the connection between the U.S. Government and the illegal drug trade, here is a documentary for you.

In case you believe our government doesn't aid, abet, or outright control the illegal drug trade -- brace yourself, set aside a couple hours, and watch this video. It's not wingnut, it sticks to reputable sources, and covers over 30 years of the rise of the drug trade in the U.S.

It also makes very cogent points about drug laws, prohibition, the prison industry, class war, and "post 9/11" terrorism policy and spin.

I know it's a tall order for folks, but believe me the story is absolutely intriguing, even just taken as a narrative.

There is some seriously historic footage in here as well -- like Mike Ruppert directly challenging the head of the CIA in a public meeting in California.



Enjoy the stretch and strain associated with opening ones eyes,

Bp

Hot Chocolate: You Sexy Thing

What to say about this video -- it defies simple description.



Enjoy one-hit wonders,

Bp

Car that runs on compressed air

Looks like a truly innovative car is finally going to hit the market. The Air Car should hit markets in europe and India by next summer. It, of course, won't be sold in the U.S. Ostensibly, the reason is that the car doesn't meet safety requirements. I would like to see this company take the route some other ultra-light alternative car designs have taken and just remove a wheel and register it as a motorcycle, which have much lower safety requirements.

Now it's not quite right to call compressed air a new fuel for cars, because electric cars already exist and more than likely the fuel used to compress the air will be electricity. The technology will be a huge boon to emissions, however. This design will truly reduce emissions in India where small city vehicles are most often fueled by two-stroke diesel engines, which are atrocious from an air pollution standpoint.

Also, this style of fuel as well as the vehicle itself is very economical, which will encourage its use. I'd like to see this thing take off, and show some serious improvements in air quality in its wake. Time will tell.



Enjoy the beginnings of diversification in basic needs technologies,

Bp

UPDATE: Just barely posted this and already I've found an update that suggests within 2 years or so there will be an air car design available in the U.S. with a possible 1,000-mile range. It's still being developed, and uses a dual-fuel system but promises extreme increases in fuel efficiency and range over standard internal combustion cars.

Off to the Palouse to work on hives

I'm headed out to The Palouse Diary headquarters to visit Uncle Fester and finish up my bee hives so they'll be ready when my sets come in next month.

Today, as I have been many times this winter, I am thankful we sucked it up (with the help of Va Momma and John) and replaced our Outback with an Outback. I've driven on tons of crappy road and felt safe, slept in the car, and today loaded up all 3 hives with room to spare. Awesome.

Ya'll have fun, I intend to.

Soon,

Bp

Awesomeness personified: Jackie Chan stunt tribute

Having just watched a fantastically horrible movie this weekend with Doc Ock and Tony, I am good on cheesy movies again. For a minute. It's been a long, long time since I saw a movie that was so bad it was good -- but that's beside the point.

I ran across this Jackie Chan stunt tribute today, and thought I'd post it. This guy is like a Bruce Lee version of Jackass, I swear. I knew he did his own stunts, but I didn't know how little safety equipment was involved. Crazy stuff -- and out of fantastically horrible movies to boot.



Enjoy your crazy masochistic stunt heroes,

Bp

Good spam: Toyota and Ford canoe race

Received this from a few people via email, and I wanted to repost here.

It's too true, way too true -- spam or no.

_________

A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India .

Sadly, The End.

Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US , claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads.

IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE IT MIGHT BE FUNNY!!!

-----------

Enjoy the wisdom available at the level of bathroom grafitti a-la-intarweb,

Bp

How to hack RFID credit cards

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology freaks a lot of people out. It is, of course, being billed as making things easier and more secure -- and of course, can easily be seen as a means by which to further centralize power and eliminate privacy.

In my ongoing campaign to (for the purposes of humor and irony only) encourage people to hack ridiculously insecure systems such as voting machines, here is a video discussing how radically insecure RFID enabled credit cards are. It takes, apparently, a little bit of technical know how and an $8 ebay purchase to grab card info from anyone you can get close to. With the right antennae, maybe anyone within 40 feet.

Check it out [I apologize for the ad in the middle of the video, I figure the info is worth the interruption].



Enjoy knowing the true loopholes in "secure and convenient" systems,

Bp

Resonant frequencies used to create images

Little explanation is given in this video, but in general when something like this is created, there is a tightly stretched medium -- skin or rubber or plastic, then particles on top of it (in this case rice), into which sound is played.

I've always loved to see what forms arise, and to compare them with religious and sacred symbolism from around the world like the flower of life, mandalas, and other forms of sacred geometry.

They did a good job on this video, hit some serious shapes.

Thanks yet again to my Canukistani operative Yuri for sending this my way:



Enjoy repeated patterns that point to something unifying,

Bp

Earthworms non-native, introduced by European colonists

I couldn't believe this when I heard it -- there were no big fat earthworms in North America before the Europeans arrived. At least, not what we would think of as earthworms. I should know things like this!

Apparently, their introduction changed the N.E. forests forever, and although farmers and gardeners generally love them not all of the impacts of the non-native worms are good. Something else I never would have imagined -- how could worms be bad?

Thanks to Chaz at the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants for pointing this out to me.

[photo credit in "earthworm" link above]

Beekeeping Class in Portland, April 5 at Livingscape Nursery!

It's almost Bee Time -- most of the bee orders will be filled this time next month.

Anyone interested in beekeeping in or near Portland should consider This Class with local urban beekeeper and organic gardening educator extordinaire Glen Andresen. The classes will be held from 10 - 2 at the very cool Livingscape Nursery,3926 N. Vancouver Avenue(between Shaver and Fremont)503.248.0104.

For gear and information and bees, know about Ruhl Bee Supply -- a long-time staple N.W. business. The people are educated and helpful, and they'll have whatever you need to get set up.

I'm thinking that after the backyard chicken craze, Portland's next urban self sufficiency/food production movement is going to be bees. That couldn't make me happier.

I found out about this class from the lovely and talented Naomi at Concentrates agriculture supply, where we buy all our soil amendments, chicken food, and other knickknacks that we need (that come in 50 lb increments). Thanks Naomi.

Enjoy grassroots means to sweetness,

Bp

[photo credit in linked article about Glen]

Rubberband Man -- The Spinners

Some more awesome stepping -- and silver shoes!

[Personal note: survived finals, I'll be back to posting now]



Enjoy the original performance of songs that have since been devoured and shat back out by corporate culture,

Bp

Label Clarification -- Walrus dancing to Michael Jackson = totally random

Just to be clear -- the "Awesome" label is different from the "Total Randomness" label in this blog. Some examples: Stevie Wonder performing on Sesame Street is Awesome, this photo of my own uncle in the 70's (handlebar mustache and aviator glasses flyin') is Awesome; whereas this video of a walrus busting a move to a Michael Jackson song is totally random. You feelin' me here?

[Technical note: I'll be fixing labels in the blog archives to accurately represent this clarification of philosophy, but not until after finals are over. Check the labels in a week or so if you are interested in how it shakes down]



Enjoy your blog clarifications,

Bp

Ps: Brick House synched to Star Wars Scenes is both Awesome and Totally Random -- to further clarify.

Awesome -- Japanese orchestra covers "smoke on the water"

Ok, I guess it's the week of creating new labels. This video of a Japanese orchestra covering Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water demands the label "Awesome."

There used to be a blog called Your Daily Awesome that I checked all the time. I didn't want to steal his schtick. But -- that blog is down, and I think he'd be proud to have some resonance of the meme floating around in the blogosphere.

Day one of the "Awesome" label:



Enjoy bizarre covers,

Bp

[thanks Estu for the link]

More info on those Blue Ice photos

Yuri (of Canukistan) has dug up a bit more information on those ice pictures I posted below.

Snopes.com did a little piece on it, exposing the misnomer "frozen waves."

Here is a post talking about blue ice and how it is formed, with some great shots from Southern Patagonia. Included in the bottom of the post are the photos in question. The photographer is named as Tony, and there is a link to his Antarctic photoset, named "Dome C."

Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that the photos are from the location in Antarctica called Dome C. To finish off the intarweb research, here is the obligatory wiki entry for the location as well.

This may provide Trappin' Pat more information with which he can further explain the ice formations -- though he did a pretty amazing job already in the comments below.

Enjoy the white tips of your personal celestial sphere,

Bp

[photo source: linked UADDIT blog]

Army Sponsors 'Bring your Daughter to War' day

"Ya Gotta Love The Onion" (I'll be stealing this label title from Estu -- it's too good to pass up).


Army Holds Annual 'Bring Your Daughter To War' Day

Enjoy black humor, some days it's the only kind that really shines,

Bp

Robotic movement is way more advanced than I thought...

My geek uncle (oh, wait... that's all of them, sorry) sent me this video of the Boston Dynamics Big Dog robot. Watch long enough to see it slip around on the ice or be knocked to the side by one of the engineers. Truly amazing stuff -- way more advanced than I was expecting. Kinda freaky too.



Enjoy watching humans hobble along behind nature,

Bp

Forgotten English double-header -- muckinger, blackwork

muckinger: A pocket handkerchief.

blackwork: An undertaker's business.

No connection between these words really, just cool ones with short definitions. A muckinger is something I always carry, as well.

[From: Jeffrey Kacirk Forgotten English 2008 Calendar: A Calendar of Vanishing Vocabulary and Folklore]

Enjoy reviving archaic words into current usage,

Bp

Ice photos

Thought I'd start off the week with some beautiful photographs. The original post calls these 'frozen waves' which, though poetic, I believe is a misnomer. There are a number of other photos at the link.




[via Yuri, the Canukistani operative]


Enjoy the beauty of solid water,

Bp

Colbert interviews a Gay Lobbyist

These videos cracked me up, some of Colbert's best work. And the lobbyist, Joe Solomnese, was the perfect interviewee. I can't imagine trying to keep a straight face during something like this -- true talent.



And Part Two -- where Colbert lobbies the lobbyist:




Enjoy the culture twisting in on itself in hilarious ways,

Bp

Marvin Gaye -- Let's Get it On

The newest selection of Burt Sugarman's Midnight Special: Marvin Gaye. I nearly forgot how damn talented this guy was. And, of course, this post is not only about his talent and voice, but about his background singers -- CHECK THAT SH!T OUT!

We all need some background singers like that -- matching white suits, moves... nothing better for personal morale than white bellbottoms, gospel-inspired hand gestures, and harmony.



Enjoy the talented presentation of prurient interest,

Bp

The Two-Party Pendulum -- what's your take?

I take a slightly different tack on the analysis than this Discovery News article about how political parties flip in their hold of power in D.C. at a very consistent rate. Seems the rate is somewhere around 12-15 years per flip.

Let's say that, no matter which party is in power, they end up rife with corruption, ineffective, and disappointing to the voters. At a rate just long enough to erase the (very short) memory of the voting populace, the voters are convinced that the other party will do a better job. That party gets in power, and soon is rife with corruption, ineffectiveness, and also exhibiting the exact same lack of will to represent the issues that people are ACTUALLY worried about as opposed to the non-issues that were trumped up from nowhere during the election cycle (to artificially divide people that actually agree on many other subjects). And, as the kids so like to say these days, "wash, rinse, repeat."

Seems a valid analysis to me, what do you think?

Enjoy poking it with a stick to see if it moves,

Bp

A baby kiwi is born

There is a new baby Kiwi at the Smithsonian National Zoo -- born March 7. Always good news to hear of endangered species births. Check this Livescience.com post for more info.

Enjoy the little round ones,

Bp

[picture credit in linked article, article brought to you by my Canukistani Operative Yuri]

An open Letter to Oregon Conservatives

The blog Preemptive Karma has posted an open letter to Oregon conservatives regarding their fight to return special rights to heterosexual couples in Oregon. It's fantastic, I highly suggest you click the link.

Enjoy your fellow bloggers hitting the nail right, squarely, on the head,

Bp

The illusion of the solidity of matter

Found this quote in my old fire lookout journal:

....these high velocities make the atom appear as a rigid sphere, just as a fast rotating propeller appears as a disc. It is very difficult to compress atoms any further, and thus they give matter its familiar solid aspect.

---The Tao of Physics p. 58



Enjoy matter's "familiar solid aspect,"

Bp

Edward Norton and Tim Roth in upcoming movie!

Edward Norton and Tim Roth can do some fine fine work, and having them in the same movie sounds totally awesome -- except, the movie is The Hulk.

Enjoy wondering where the world went so desperately wrong,

Bp

Montana doesn't like the Transit Security Association

My good friend Shocho posted this a few days ago and I wanted to share it. Check out this NPR audio of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer discussing his state's opposition to the Real ID federal unfunded mandate. He's my newest favorite politician.

I shared this link with another blogger friend, who said that this guy is a "netroots darling" and very popular. Why hadn't I heard about this? Keeping a sane distance from politics does sometimes leave me in the dust about the fun stuff.

PS: Posts like this contribute to "netroots" by the way -- kinda cool really. We are messing with the established politics a bit, I love that.

Enjoy listening to refreshing obstinacy,

Bp