Monday, August 27, 2007

Hmmm

Have you seen the show on Animal Planet called "Meerkat Manor?" We have a show produced in our backyard that could be called "Hummer House." All summer we've had these resident hummingbirds that frequent a feeder hanging by our deck. And when I say frequent, I mean that they visit every few minutes.

Here's some closeups of a single female: (click on a picture to see a larger version)



She has a lovely green back that's really brought out by the sunlight.




Below, one chases another away from the feeder:


Here are three at the feeder, looking at each other warily:


Here's the same three in a rare moment of peace:


I've seen as many as five at one time, but was unable to get them all on film at once!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Guns don't kill people, preschoolers kill people



Note: I was raised (safely) in a house with several firearms.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Exsqueeze me?

I'm currently looking for a job and have been posting my resume everywhere I can find. I signed up on one website, www.CareerBuilder.com, that scanned my resume and uses a "patent-pending recommendation engine" to suggest jobs that match my profile. It doesn't seem to work very well. They send me an email about once a week with a list of jobs. Keep in mind that I have a PhD and have worked in the oil industry for 5 years as a nuclear physicist. This week's job selections include:

  • pharmacy technician

  • polymer chemist

  • psychiatrist/psychologist

  • registered nurse

  • nurse practicioner

  • photo lab and retail sales associate (my favorite)

Also included are jobs "similar" to the ones above:

  • blood bank supervisor

  • driver

  • paramedic

  • loan processor

  • dispatcher/transportation

  • microbiology technician

  • molecular biologist

  • food production supervisor - entry level

  • dental hygenist

It seems I'm qualified for more jobs than I thought!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Hail, hail


We had some unusual weather here recently. First we had a severe thunderstorm, which produced the marble-sized hail pictured. As you can see, the hail beat up the new growth on the trees and also many of my potted plants. A few nights later, it got down to 28°F. The poor plants didn't know what hit them (no pun intended). The leaves on one of our Japanese maples out front weren't so happy with the cold weather and have all wilted. I'm assuming the tree will put out some more leaves, or at least I hope it will. It's right in the middle of the bed and will be an eyesore all summer otherwise. Maybe I will go speak some encouragement to it.

Note the curious shapes of some of the hail. Most of them were smooth, some with white centers, but some of them had jagged edges. I'm not sure how that happens - do pieces of hail sometimes run into one another and break off pieces? If so, what does that imply about the conditions inside the storm cloud?

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Metabolizing carbohydrates just for me

Who else but Weird Al would write a song about his pancreas? My favorite part, because the physics reference was so unexpected, is

My pancreas attracts every other
Pancreas in the universe
With a force proportional
To the product of their masses
And inversely proportional
To the distance between them

But you have to love the bits about lipase, amylase, and tripsin, too.

On the same album (Straight Outta Lynwood), his "White and Nerdy" is absolutely brilliant, although a little too close to home!

Monday, March 26, 2007

Catching some rays


This picture is from last October, on the morning of the first heavy frost. The frost was burning off as the sun rose, producing a rather local example of crepuscular rays.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Every sperm is great

Q. What are some of the underappreciated attributes of sperm?

A. I’m fascinated by how determined they are. Sperm — each one seems an individual in the way they move. When they change from one motion to another, it’s fascinating.

Moreover, they have the ability to do much more than most other human cells: they crawl long distances in a short period of time, they can sense their surroundings. In fact, they have molecules that are much the same as olfactory receptors in our noses.

As you watch them under a microscope, you get the sense that they are going somewhere, or at least “think” they are. They surround an egg and vigorously try to fuse with it. They don’t give up until they run out of energy.

Interview of David E. Clapham of Harvard Medical School
from the Science section of the New York Times, January 23, 2007


Plus, they're great at karaoke.