Gleanings of the Week Ending August 16, 2014
/The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.
Two items about women mathematicians this week: A Woman Has Won the Fields Medal, Math's Highest Prize, for the First Time about Maryam Nurzakhani and When Snails Lose Their Way from Vi Hart (she’s a web math geek!).
Two items about Tucson (where my daughter is): Place-based development and streetcar transforming downtown Tucson (something to ride from the University to downtown next time I visit) and Fire and Water Exact Tolls on Saguaro National Park (hope the part is not too damaged this season)
Photo Tampering throughout History - This was a web site referenced in a Coursera course (The Camera Never Lies). This page shows examples of ‘doctored’ images starting with an 1860 picture of Lincoln to the present.
How Sleep Changes as You Age, and Why You'll Need Even More of It - When my daughter was a baby it seemed like she was in REM sleep almost all the time and then it wasn’t quite as often. The table in this article starts with age 20 but shows that the decline continuing throughout life. Check the references at the end of the article of tips to improve sleep at any age.
Excavation of ancient well yields insight into Etruscan, Roman and medieval times - Lots of finds from one small place - bronze vessels, carved wood, gape seeds. Evidently in Etruscan religion, throwing items into a well filled with water was an act of religious sacrifice.
13 Things You Probably Don’t Know About the U.S. Water System (But Should) - I assume there will be a lot more ‘water education’ for the general public going on in the next few years. At some point we’ll need to do more than education. It is disappointing to find out that leaky water pipes are so common.
Just How Bad Is California's Drought? - Looking at the state from 2011 to now graphically. The whole state is now in severe to exceptional drought status.
Natural light in office boosts health - I know that I rejoiced when I had a window office during my career…too bad there are a lot of office buildings that have a lot of interior offices with artificial lighting. Employees in ‘big box’ stores or warehouses have the same problem. Now that my only office is at home, I choose a room with lots of natural light (and good scenery).
5 Easy Ways to Use Tomatoes - I have lots of tomatoes….and am always on the lookout for new ideas. So far - I’m keeping up with the CSA bounty of tomatoes via salads, soups, topper to a stir fry, salsa….and tomato sauce to freeze as a last resort.
The Earth Looks like A Living Creature in This Amazing NASA Video - The film is just a little over a minute and depicts 7 days in 2005 of the earth and its clouds.
