Anyone who has been paying attention to the news here in the US knows about the current extreme drought in California and all the problems that it’s causing. My daughter who lives in Long Beach said in a message some weeks ago, “Remember back in 2010 when it rained and rained here and we had …
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Future Telephones As Envisioned in 1930
But we never got the flying cars we were promised! H/T Ace of Spades
Unique action
France has always gone its own merry way in design– in cars, think of the Citroen; in guns– well, more seem unique than those of any other country (can “more” and “unique” coexist this way in a sentence?) The first that comes to mind is the sliding breech Darne. I have had many. Carlos Martinez …
Ingenious Pigeons
Ducks may think decoys are fellow ducks; C. livia seems unimpressed. From Dan Gauss at Shot on Site comes this shot of pigeons “using decoys as tools” as he says… Probably mostly light and photoblogging til I go east to see Tom Russell’s Rose of Roscrae debut at Passim. All is well– just incredibly busy …
Quote
“Statistically, the probability of any one of us being here is so small that you’d think the mere fact of existing would keep us all in a contented dazzlement of surprise.” Lewis Thomas in Lives of a Cell (HT Skeeter Leard)
#feathersdammit#FEATHERS
Pluvi Tweets about this fantastic photo of Cassowaries, and once again damns the lizards of Jurassic Park. Early adapters can risk looking weird, but those who cling to the old paradigm too long can come to look like Flat – Earthers…
Paradigm Shifted?
From Lucas Machias comes a link to this paper on Tyrannosaurid combat and cannibalism in Science Daily, with a nice illo by Luis Rey of two big mean birds. It is not even remarked on…
Quote
On our rockstar Helen, by Jonathan Katz, an uncommon observation. “… the writer Wilfred Sheed wrote once in the New Yorker that “every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.” Sheed wasn’t being nasty, he was being honest. I loved Macdonald’s talk and a I loved her book, but I died a little tonight. …
Skeleton of Ottoman War Camel Discovered in Austria
Archaeologists in Austria have excavated the intact skeleton of a camel in a suburb of Vienna. It appears this camel was used by the Ottoman Army in the failed siege of Vienna in 1683. Detailed analysis of the remains showed that it had worn a harness and had been ridden. Additionally, it proved to be …
Neanderthal Hearing
Remember about three weeks ago when I posted about Neanderthal jewelry and said the more we find out about them, the more like us they seem? Maybe I was a little hasty. For the first time, researchers in France have been able to isolate and identify the bones from the inner ear of a Neanderthal. It …