Thomas Allom’s “China in a Series of Views” is an impressive and highly desirable 19th-century illustrated account of Chinese scenery and architecture. This particular tome features illustrations and descriptions of iconic locations including: PooToo Temple at Chusan, or Zhoushan Valley Bridges Ancient tombs at Amoy, or Xiamen Ting-Hoo, Tripod Lake Chin Chew River and Bay …
Month: March 2025
Ireland’s Ice Crystal Clouds
Joanna Donnelly of Met Éireann had the answer, and it was no less fascinating than the sight itself. The iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by low winter sunlight bouncing off small ice crystals in the clouds and scattering the light to create a pattern similar to rainbows, although in a more unusual form. …
Biggest Black Hole Ever Found, JWST, etc
Our Solar System vs. the Biggest Black Hole Ever Found Well, this is humbling! TON 618, the largest known black hole, is 66 billion times the mass of our Sun and a diameter 30–40 times wider than our entire solar system. To put that into perspective, if our entire solar system (including the distant Oort …
The Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) dataset
Cheatgrass? Medusahead? Sandberg bluegrass? The Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) dataset, released by EROS, maps invasive species, such as cheatgrass and medusahead—and one native perennial bunchgrass, Sandberg bluegrass—across the western United States. Why is it important to know where exotic annual grasses grow and have expanded? They increase the intensity of fires, decrease rangeland productivity, and outcompete native plants. …
Genetically Modified Horses, Tang Dynasty
Argentinian scientists have created the world’s first genetically modified horses using CRISPR-Cas9, incorporating speed-enhancing genes from the legendary mare Polo Pureza to produce faster polo horses. The five modified foals were born in October and November last year. Biotech firm Kheiron altered muscle-related genes to boost explosive speed while maintaining the champion horse’s elite traits. …
Horse Data
No surprise, it’s why I live in Woodford County, and there are more barrels of Bourbon aging here than people also. Alan Dorton Not surprised either. Everybody seems to have horses here. Many can’t seem to take care of them. No shelter. Enclosures too small and I don’t know what they do with them. I …
Chinese Hornet Farms
More Some odd stuff goes on in China. And then there is the wine.
Mongolia, UV Snakes
In Mongolia the effects are stark. Among other consequences, deep freezes like the one that killed Zandan’s herd—known as dzuds—have been growing more frequent and intense. They used to occur about once every 10 years, but there have been six in the last decade or so, according to the United Nations. On the Mongolian steppe, …
Harpy Eagle’s Feet.
Harpy eagles, one of the largest and most powerful birds of prey, are known for their massive talons. These formidable tools can grow up to 5 inches in length, similar in size to a grizzly bear’s claws! With such impressive weapons at their disposal, harpy eagles are able to hunt and capture large prey, including …
Buckethead
It was another sleepless night and I was down the music rabbit hole again. The algorithm listed something called Buckethead. Buckethead??!! I looked and it was some guy doing a guitar solo with a KFC bucket on his head. OK, that is different! I struggled to remember if I had heard of him and just ignored him due to what looked like a …