As the sun begins to slip below the western horizon, the cicadas, which have been shrilling during the heat of the day, gradually slow down. A discordant clanking arises for a moment as the Green Tree Frogs (Hyla cinerea), impatient for the night, start up and then dies down. The high pitched trilling of [...]
In this area of Washington there are many native americans and many still retain a vestige of their land. I pass through some of this land almost every day, and every time that I do am faced with a dissonance…something that rankles, something that is an apparent contradiction. Many of us are familiar [...]
I’m getting into my trip mode now. I leave Sunday for Texas (a reverent pause) for a 26 day visit that I make every summer. I’ve been making this pilgrimage every summer since 1980 come hale or high water. I get to see my father, mother, brother and sister and all their numerous family [...]
A surfer riding a wave finds the best position in order to most efficiently move along with the wave knowing there is a fine line here between success and failure. In thinking of various human activities, I think there is often an area where two conflicting endeavors come together to create an area of tension, where one [...]
Have you ever read something about a subject and found it hard to follow? There are some papers and articles that leave me totally confused and somewhat chastened. When it is about a subject that I know nothing about I assume that my confusion is simply due to ignorance, but when the article is [...]
I just saw a study claiming that the common perception of women talking more than men is false. The study said they talk about the same amount. I simply don’t believe this. Although I have known a few garrulous men in my time, when I think about the talkers that I have known they have [...]
For a long time I have been wanting to start some sort of water garden in two half whisky barrels that I have. Unfortunately the water always fills up with mosquito larvae. In fact it’s almost impossible to go outside in the evening at my home for any length of time because of the [...]
Some teachers stand out above the rest. I’ve already written of my geology professor, Dr. L. F. Brown, but there was one other teacher that had a lasting effect upon my life. I have to give credit to my second grade teacher, Mrs. Baird, for the following: A lifelong interest in Conservation. A through knowledge [...]
Talking about Iron Pyrite in yesterday’s post got me interested in its origins. I came across this interesting article in Astrobiology Magazine that said that some forms of iron pyrite may have acted as a template that led to reactions that led to the formation of amino acids, proteins and other ingredients of life. [...]
