Gleanings of the Week Ending December 29, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Daphnia micrograph - a stacked image of a water flea

12 Things to Know about Mistletoe

2013: Hello. Goodbye. - from Richard Watson. How many things on the goodbye list are already gone for you?

6 top health benefits of kale

Top 25 Photographs from the Wilderness #3 - my favorite is the next the last one - the backlit leopard

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #32 - the first one is my favorite

Is Your Fridge Eating your Savings?

The Joy of Salt Licking: Contest Turns Farm Animals into Fine Artists - Cows and their salt licks

Geography in the News: Lake-Effect Snow - from National Geographic

Characteristics of US Science and Engineering Doctorates Detailed in New Report

2012: The year in space - My favorite is the Space Shuttle Endeavor making its final journey across the US

2012: The year in weather - from around the world. My favorite picture of this group is the mother of pearl clouds in Scotland 

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 22, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

National Park Photography - From National Parks Traveler. There are links to the photographers’ sites.

The Birds of Paradise - video from New Guinea forests of these unusual birds

Flood tools - enter an address, find out the risk of flooding

Why Owls Are So Hoot Right Now - 10 fun facts about owls

Insulin's Role in Body and Brain - infographic

The Scientist’s 2012 Geeky Gift Guide - ideas for the scientists in your life….at the last minute

Blood vessels of a healthy mouse retina - it could be abstract art!

Top Ten Weirdest Stories of 2012 - from National geographic

Life Up Close: The Year’s Best Microscope Views of Biology - my favorite is the second place image of red algae

NASA's Night Photos -photos of the Earth from space at night - the black marble

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 15, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Tasty and Gluten Free - consumer tests done as part of the EU project GlutenFree….appetizing and nutritious alternatives

The Next 100 Years Bring New Challenges to Rangeland Science

Why Is the Flu More Common During the Winter Season?

Strange, Beautiful and Unexpected: Planned Cities Seen From Space - Washington DC is the one in this series of photos from the US

Seven Myths of Performance Management - mistakes may prevent benefits

The catfish that strands itself to kill pigeons - (watch the video)

Top 25 Photographs from the Wilderness #2 - my favorite is the cheetah cubs

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #31 - my favorite is the Goliath Heron

Lion Numbers Plunge as African Wilderness Succumbs to Human Pressure - no good news for lions

Easy microwave fudge - I am going to try the butterscotch pumpkin spice fudge

5 top health benefits of blueberries - one of my favorite foods

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 8, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Quinoa Craze Inspires North America to Start Growing Its Own - I use quinoa in the place of rice almost all the time now

Exploring Crabtree Falls In The Blue Ridge Parkway - One of those potential places to fit in a spring road trip

Exploring The Parks: Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail - another destination to add to the list for a spring road trip

Cannibal Lobsters - behavior noted in captivity is observed in the wild too

Top 25 Photographs from the Wilderness #1 - from Africa - my favorite photo is the elephants and the setting sun

3-for-1 Match for Internet Archive Donations - since I enjoy so many books the Internet Archive has made available online, it is something I support with a donation

12 Healthy Holiday Recipes - from Marlo Thomas

Boucher’s Birding Blog: Winter Birding – The Irruption Begins! - this year is an irruptive year for  birds that are normally in Canada and northerly states in the winter. That means there are already sightings of these in the mid-Atlantic and even some southern states....and a continuation of interesting bird watching through the coming winter

Environmental First Lady Honored by USPS with Forever Stamps - we are still benefiting from her efforts to clean up cities and highways

Stained Glass Cookies - looking for a holiday craft project? These look beautiful

How (Not) to Photograph Prairie Dogs – Part 2 - narrative and photos from The Prairie Ecologist

Gleanings of the Week Ending December 1, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Benefits of gratitude -infographic

Lens, retina and optic nerves of a Daddy long-legs - image that bridges science and art

Who (and Where) is Happy? - Richard Watson’s highlighting of a ‘Happiness Planet Index’ graphic originally reported in New Scientist in June

Actin filaments - fancy biological photography

Mesa Verde Park Guide - from National Parks Traveler

Ancient Butterball - domestication of the turkey by the Mayans

Iris of the human eye - photo showing fibers that open and close the pupil

Medical Society Approval for Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing - replacement for amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling?

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #30 - Which is your favorite? Mine is the black-headed heron.

Wildlife with Marvelous Mustaches

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 24, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Studying Granite At Yosemite National Park - a video from Steven Bumgardener about the dominant rock in Yosemite

Willow the White Whale - video of a white humpback whale

The Big Apple's Mayor Makes a Very Scary Video - Bloomberg’s video to help us understand the magnitude of our Carbon Dioxide emissions

harvest pumpkin scones - a recipe from King Arthur Flour

There’s More To Space Than Freeze-Dried Ice Cream - a panel discussion of why space exploration is important

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #29 - my favorite images in this group are the malachite kingfishers and the robin (reminded me the arrival of flocks of robins that always signal spring in our area).

Four Family Cultures of America Identified - From a 3 year study by the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture: the Faithful, the Engaged Progressives, the Detached, and the American Dreamers. A key finding: American parents from all four family cultures want their children to become loving, honest and responsible adults of high moral character (i.e. no ‘death of character’ trend).

Can You Move It And Work It On A Treadmill Desk? - It may not work for a whole day - but what about for part of the day?

Pumpkin Cheesecake - sounds yummy

Women in IT: How deep is the bench? - Not as much as you would think. In 2011 women made up 57% of the US professional workforce but held just 2% of the jobs in professional computing occupations. Women graduates feeding the pipeline for computing professions peaked in 1985 at 37%; in 2010, it was down to 18%.

Birds from my Office Window

My office looks out over the roof of a covered deck and then trees - a maple on one side of the yard, pines on the other, and a tulip poplar at the fore of the forest that lies beyond. One morning this past week was cloudy and the color from the leaves had already faded. Suddenly there seemed to be a lot of birds. I managed to photograph some through the window. The window glass and the amount of magnification required makes them look like they were taken on a foggy day but it was simply cloudy. I saw

Doves in the maple,

A woodpecker on a neighbor’s roof,

A flicker looking around the base of a pine,

And blue jays - there seemed to be a flock of them - in the leaves.

I saw a cardinal and a chickadee - but they were too fast for me to catch with the camera.

The birds had distracted me from what I should have been doing - but I celebrated seeing them for the rest of the day. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 17, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish - Something a bit different to do with cranberries this year. I already blogged about it earlier this week….great recipe

What we die of - data is from the UK…interesting data and way of presenting it

Preschoolers' Counting Abilities Relate to Future Math Performance - counting….not just rote memorization of numbers

Do we only use 10% of our brains? - a medical myth

Face-Washing Tips for Healthier-Looking Skin - from a dermatologist. Sometimes we do too much.

The Bifurcation of Bling - spending shift from ostentatious product to ones less visible to the world as individual/people get richer

Earlier End of Life Care Discussions Are Linked to Less Aggressive Care in Final Days of Life, Study Shows  

In Australia, A Total Solar Eclipse - video from 11/13

Second Most Common Infection in the U.S. Proving Harder to Treat With Current Antibiotics - Urinary tract infections from resistant bacteria increased over 30% between 1999 and 2010….high levels of antibiotic overuse in the southeastern part of the US during the same time period.

Answers to the Fall 2012 eBird/Swarovski Photo Quiz - you can take the quiz or just look at the pictures and read the notes about the clues to identify the bird

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 10, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Genetic Roulette - The Gamble of our Lives - 1.5 hour video about GMOs….even if you want to dismiss the issue as unimportant to you, you should understand why many people and countries are not.

Non-GMO Shopping Guide - Even without labels…you can

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #26 - Which one is your favorite? I like the painted sandgrouse this week although the great blue heron is always a favorite too.

Eight National Park Lodges Join Historic Hotels of America - Don’t all of the sound inviting…for themselves and where they are located.

Are Facebook and Internet Addictions Affecting Our Minds? - infographic

Golden stollen - wonder how one could make a gluten-free version of this

9 New Tree-Loving and Endangered Tarantula Species Discovered in Brazil - includes pictures of 6

Five Parks Where Winter Is Anything But Off-Season - Acadia, Biscayne, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite

The most important education technology in 200 years - What will the surge in free instruction online do to the education business?

9 Varieties of Nutrient-Rich Winter Squash

Sandy Superstorm Development Animation - From University of Delaware using 800 infrared images from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 03, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

The Diet-Proof Holiday Meal: Seven Ways to Stay On Track This Season - Tips for the holidays…in time for Thanksgiving

10 Predictions about Information Technology - from the Gartner Symposium

11 stats that suggest our world may not be as globalized as we think - Text and video from TED

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #25 - Which one is your favorite? I like the peacock in flight

How to use a paper towel - TED talk

Intercontinental Insect Migration - You’ve probably heard about Monarch butterfly migration but there are other insects that migrate: painted lady butterflies and dragonflies.

How to Stop Winter from Weathering Your Skin: Top Ten Tips for Preventing 'Winter Itch' - Not too early to have you plan for winter!

On Saturn, Cassini Observes Huge Storm, Causing Incredible Temperature Spike - complete with a short video

Self-Medicating Animals - even woolly bear caterpillars fight parasitic flies

How to Make Droplets Levitate on Water - I watched the YouTube version of the video (link in 5th paragraph of article

3 Free eBooks - October 2012

The Internet is chock full of good reads…and many of them are free. I’m going to start a monthly post highlighting three book length items. In some ways the post is similar to the weekly ‘Gleanings’ in that the items are found as part of my normal continuous learning habits; the items are different because they are longer, have more depth, and sometimes were published as books previously (sometimes long enough ago that they must be read with their vintage in mind). 

• Hibberd, Shirley; Hulme, F. Edward. Familiar Garden Flowers. London: Cassell; 1879. Available from: http://archive.org/details/cu31924051745945 - Note the date. Just as in the Egyptian Birds book, the color prints are the draw for this book. How many of the flowers do you recognize? It is surprising how many are still ‘familiar’ to us. I found that I spent more time on the ones I didn’t recognize - trying to figure out why they had fallen out of popularity (or maybe just never became ‘familiar’ in North America). Looking the puzzling ones in Wikipedia sometimes provides an explanation.
• Irwig L, Irwig J, Trevena L, et al. Smart Health Choices: Making Sense of Health Advice. London: Hammersmith Press; 2008. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63638/ - This book provides a strategy to enable meaningful conversations with your healthcare providers. Chapter 5 is the keystone of the book (entitled Smart Health Choice Essentials). The “Useful sources of health advice” section right before the glossary points to databases and websites that provide current information about treatments as well.
• Whimper, Charles. Egyptian birds for the most part seen in the Nile Valley. London: A. and C. Black; 1909. Available from: http://archive.org/details/egyptianbirdsfor00whym - Note the date - well before a lot of excavation and the dam at Aswan. The colored pictures are what make this book worth the look. They are well labeled on the opposite page and include the surroundings. I particularly liked when the author included the hieroglyph or the bird as depicted in ancient Egyptian art. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 20, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

5 Remarkable Recycled Homes - creative use of a grain silo, shipping container, an old church, bottles, etc.

Demystifying the ENERGY STAR Rating

A false colored scanning electron micrograph of caffeine crystals

Technology Trends - a list from a tech trends debate reported by Richard Watson. The panelists were challenged to come up with trends that were not obvious today and would create explosive growth in about 5 years time.

Mammogram humor from Marlo Thomas

Gabon Expedition: Oil Rigs Are a Haven for Marine Life - a win-win for conservation

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #24 - Which one is your favorite? Mine is the first - the rainbow lorikeet

The Best of the 2012 Labbies - The Scientist’s annual multimedia awards. I like the luna moth antennae taken by a high school teacher from Rochester, New York

Good Milk/Bad Milk - a video about why milk is popular and healthy for some people…and makes others sick. This was one of the Honorable Mention Labbies.

Super-cheap health tests, a blood test made of paper - And why are we not seeing these being rolled out in the US and not just targeted to poor countries of the world?

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 22, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Another Way to Think about Learning - from Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the One Laptop per Child Foundation

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #22 - from the Wild Bird Trust

Antlion  - otherwise known as doodlebugs…find out what the ‘bug’ at the bottom of that conical pit really looks like?

Antietam 'Death Studies' Changed How We Saw War - 1862…. photography of the aftermath of the battle at Antietam

Does cracking your knuckles cause arthritis?

New Test House to Generate More Energy than It Uses - a stereotypical suburban house that can generate as much energy as it needs to run

U.S., Russia Move Closer To Sharing Their "Beringian Heritage" - Beringia National Park in Russia to be linked with Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Cape Krusenstern National Monument in Alasak

Crews Uncover Massive Roman Mosaic in Southern Turkey - 1,600 square feet of mosaic….from a Roman bath

Rx Guide for High Blood Pressure - BP medications are currently failing millions. The author of a new book on the topic says “Despite their best intentions many physicians continue to place their hypertensive patients on blood pressure medications, drug combinations or doses that may not be the best treatment available to them”

Give peace (and quiet) a chance - Is there any place to hear the early morning bird song without the backdrop of traffic?

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 8, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Stalking Sharks - researchers monitor movement of sharks off California’s coast

In Bike-Friendly Copenhagen, Highways For Cyclists  - one third of the people of Copenhagen ride their bikes to work or school…and they are extending the existing infrastructure out to the suburbs.

Birds hold 'funerals' for dead - experiments with western scrub jays

Face of America: Spirit of South Florida Montage - high energy montage of clips from Wolf Trap's upcoming Face of America: Spirit of South Florida, set to appear at Wolf Trap National Park (article at National Parks Traveler here)

Raw Veggie ‘noodle’ dishes - a step beyond spaghetti squash. If you don’t want to invest in a spiral slicer, try putting your veggies horizontally in your regular food processor and using the grating blade; the opening in my processor is large enough to make 3-4 inch ‘noodles’ this way (see zucchini and sweet potato noodles at left)

Learn the Top Native Plants for Your Backyard - beautiful and usually require less maintenance!

Grand Canyon National Park - the guide from National Parks Traveler.

Wow! NASA Video Shows 'Mind-Bogglingly Gorgeous' Solar Eruption

Green Money-Saving Tips: Cheap Ways to Be Environmentally Friendly - 10 tips (scroll over the images in the slide show to see the accompanying text). The 8th one (make your own cleaning supplies) includes of link to recipes for cleaners!

Cheers, Voyager: 35 Years of Exploration - the most distant human-made object was launched 35 years ago on Sept. 5th

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 1, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Living Against the Clock; Does Loss of Daily Rhythms Cause Obesity? - disruption of circadian rhythms considered along with diet and exercise

Dr. Gary Greenberg - The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things - TED talk looking a microscopic views of things

A Pachyderm's Ditty Prompts an Elephantine Debate - Why do we have music? Is it an evolutionary accident?

Snakes, And the Snake Wranglers Who Love Them - With more drilling for natural gas…there are more places that need to be cleared of snakes (without killing all the snakes)

RAW CHOCOLATE MOUSSE - avocado replaces butter, cream, and eggs…it sounds yummy

Google’s Self-Driving Cars Hit 300,000 Miles - how soon will these be commercially available at a reasonable price…and all over the country?

littleBits - open source, preassembled electronic modules that snap together with magnets to make larger, more complex circuits….play and create with electronics

Avocado Recipes - a collection of things to do with avocados

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs by Art Wolfe ©

What Will Change Most About Our Routine Physicals Over the Next Decade? - a perspective from 3 doctors

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 25, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

The Secret Life of a Cardboard Box - infographic

Developing Economies At Highest Risk of Climate Change Disasters - resilience outranks risk

3D-Printed Exoskeleton - Engineers at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Philadelphia used a 3-D printer to make a lightweight plastic exoskeleton for a 2-year-old girl named Emma Lavalle.

Slideshow: Echoes of the Ancients - large file but wonderful images of Mesa Verde and other Southwestern US National parks

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #20 - learning about more birds from around the world with each of these postings

Sunflower Party Time - great pictures of the plant and some insects

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano (pictures)

Easy whole grain pumpkin-banana bread - sounds yummy….but I would just double the recipe to use up the whole can of pumpkin

Make Room for (the New) Daddy - Essay and slide show from Marlo Thomas

Renewable Energy’s Growth Over the Past 15 Years - infographic

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 18, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #19 - From National Geographic

Prisoners pitch in to save endangered butterfly - Hurray for the Sustainability in Prisons Project

The Story of Stuff - a new movie (“The Story of Change”) has been posted…the others on the site are worth a look/listen too

Easiest Hot Bean Dip - Sounds yummy!

Should Doctors Treat Lack of Exercise as a Medical Condition? Expert Says 'Yes' - it would be great if doctors made this change - prescribe a gradual buildup of exercise rather than medication

An Artificial Retina with the Capacity to Restore Normal Vision - sight is often a challenge for otherwise healthy older people. This approach may be helpful. Hope the clinical trials get going and the technology/treatment becomes available sooner rather than later.

Fall Packages Make National Parks Attractive Destinations - Death Valley, Denali, Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verda, Olympic, Shenandoah, Yellowstone, and Zion….what a line up

How people spend money in America - Any surprises? Maybe the % spent on Transportation and Gasoline was a little surprising.

Andrea Marshall: An up-close look at the majestic manta ray - TED talk

Marianne North Online Gallery - North’s botanical paintings hosted by Kew Gardens; browse by country, plant group, or category

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 11, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

NASA images reveal massive forest die-off from tiny beetle - Before and after satellite pictures of Colorado

Movement Along Fault Line Threatening Cliff Palace At Mesa Verde National Park

Video Sampler Introduces You To The More Than 20 National Parks In Virginia

Zentangles - Get more out of doodling!

Black Drink: Evidence of Ritual Use of Caffeinated Brew at Cahokia - made from a holly tree that grew hundreds of miles away

10 Green Ways to Improve Our Cities

Sky-High Design: How To Make A Bird-Friendly Building - tweaks to make modern architecture better for birds

How Olympic athletes' bodies have changed over the last century - an infographic from NPR

The Bison: A National Symbol for All Americans - From National Geographic…the first post in a series about the American Bison

Chart: the world's endangered mammals - From the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The primates are faring the worst with 49% of the species being ‘threatened’ - which means that they are threatened with extinction. Overall - 21% of mammal species are in ‘threatened’ status.

Pictures: Surprising Effects of the U.S. Drought - From National Geographic

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 21, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Jared Ficklin video - (TED talk) sound visualization

Photos: Big sunspot kicks ball of energy toward Earth - views from the STEREO Ahead spacecraft and the Solar Dynamics Observatory over the past year

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #16 - from National Geographic

Brits Top Energy Efficiency Ranking; US Ranks 9th (Out of 12) - Wow! Even China is ahead of us. How can we be competitive with so many of the major economies of the world ahead of us in this arena

States Lead in Freeing the Grid for Small-Scale Renewable Energy - How well is your state doing?

New Metric for Obesity Strongly Correlated to Premature Death - A Body Shape Index (ABSI) is a combination of Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference

Web Quiz Tells You Which Presidential Candidate Best Fits Your Worldview - Interesting quiz

Cassini Spots Daytime Lightning On Saturn - Seen for the first time on the side illuminated by the sun

Green Plants Reduce City Street Pollution Up to Eight Times More Than Previously Believed - and they look good too! Green 'billboards' of vines or grass may be more effective than trees.

Storm Scents: It's True, You Can Smell Oncoming Summer Rain - Just what are you smelling before, during and after a summer rainstorm? Here are some answers from Scientific American

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 14, 2012

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

Way out in a barren Chilean desert, the biggest telescope ever made is taking shape - Photos from the construction of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array

High-Tech Tools Give Researchers New View Of Yellowstone Thermal Features - Thermal maps of popular areas within the park

Electricity Storage - Wow - there are a lot of new ways out there and the idea of ‘storage’ of electricity implies a more robust infrastructure for reliable power than we have now

12 stats that matter to digital publishing - the number of people reading electronically rather than from paper is growing….and what/how they read is changing too

Heron Cam 2012 Highlights - All 5 have fledged from the Sapsucker Woods nest!

Scientific History and the Lessons for Today's Emerging Ideas -  A look back at what was happening in the 1890-1910 time period…lots of theories…some are threads to current theories, others are on the trash heap

Bridges for Animals - All around the world…this is an idea being tried to reduce road kill on highways

The 10 most pristine places on earth - none are in the US

Yama no sachi - A Japanese book from 1765. Read it on the Internet Archive. Use page down (or up) to browse through the book. It has illustrations of flowers, insects, and animals. My favorites are the peony (at right) and the poppy.

Drought leads to declaration of natural disaster in 26 US states - That’s more than half the states!