Random thoughts

[rbkwp]

Why Did the Crab Cross the Road?
Christmas Island is a 35 square mile (152 km^2) island in the Indian Ocean, about 350 miles (580 km) south of the Indonesian island of Java. (Here's a map.) Given that it's pretty remote, you shouldn't be surprised to learn that there are only about 1,500 people who live there.

But those fifteen hundred people aren't alone. They're surrounded by about 35 million of these guys.

That's a Christmas Island red crab, a species indigenous to the island, as its name would suggest. They live in the islands' forests -- usually. Once a year, typically in November or December, the crabs migrate to the island's beaches to breed. The male crabs tend to return to the forest after about a week; the female crabs remain with the eggs for a bit longer, but ultimately, they go back to the forest as well.

So that's why the crab crossed the road: to get to the beach, in order to procreate and keep the species going. And if that's not a very fun answer, don't worry -- the title of today's article is, in a sense, the wrong question. The right question should be "how did the crab cross the road?"

The annual crab migration is a major event for the island and a point of local pride. (Imagine 35 million crabs taking a coordinated walk to the sea.) But when crabs cross the road, bad things happen. The crabs themselves are obviously at risk to cars zipping by -- in most cases, a multi-ton vehicle is going to win a battle against a tiny crustacean passing underfoot (or underwheel, to coin a word). And apparently, the crabs can cause harm to humans; the crabs' Wikipedia entry notes that the crabs "sometimes cause accidents due to their tough exoskeletons which are capable of puncturing tires."

Shutting down roads is an option, but not a great one -- people still need to get from point A to point B. Underpasses are a better solution, and there are as many as 30 such crab tunnels around the island. But the boldest way forward is a bridge, as seen below.

The crabs' path from the forest to the beach is predictable -- as one official told ABC News Australia, the creatures "take the most direct route possible from their burrows in the rainforest terraces down to the coast." As a result, it's possible to build pathways that are virtually guaranteed to get foot -- er, claw traffic. According to the Telegraph, authorities place a total of 20 km of plastic barriers up, re-routing the crabs to the underpasses and the bridge above.

And for the 1,500 or so people who live on the island, the bridge is an investment that they may recoup financially. The annual crab migration is already a big tourism draw and the constant stream of hundreds of crabs flowing over the bridge only enhances the experience. A Christmas Island marketing manager told ABC News Australia that "Sydney can have its Harbour Bridge, and San Francisco its Golden Gate bridge, but it's our crab bridge which is currently wooing tourists from all over the globe."
Super Comfort. Super Science.
Bombas socks are so comfortable, you may think they’re magic. But unlike Santa’s sleigh, their power can be explained by 2 years of R&D and innovations in sock tech. Which, if you think about, is still pretty magical.

 

[rbkwp]

like'
the article
- smile
sharing
for those that may,be interested
not,forcing anything on anyone
DW a German media service seems to have decent articles, i think


everyone has there view/followersright/wrong
we dont know
ultimately hsve no say in the final decision

Opinion: Extinction Rebellion — nothing matters to this doomsday cult
Extinction Rebellion founder Roger Hallam has downplayed the Holocaust. The statement disqualifies him as a spokesman and casts an unflattering light on his entire organization, says DW's Martin Muno.

"Just another f--kery in human history" — that was how Extinction Rebellion founder Roger Hallam described the Holocaust in a recent interview with German weekly newspaper Die Zeit. He downplayed the event by saying genocide had been repeatedly committed over the past 500 years of human history. His flip and disrespectful words are reminiscent of those uttered by Alternative for Germany (AfD) chairman Alexander Gauland, who infamously stated that the Nazi era was merely "a speck of bird shit in over 1,000 years of successful German history."

Opinion: Extinction Rebellion — nothing matters to this doomsday cult | DW | 21.11.2019

 

[rbkwp]

With opioid overdoses on the rise, the U.S. should consider one proven safety measure:

Cannabis might help curb chronic pain, reducing the need for opioids



Cannabis could play a bigger role in chronic pain management than researchers once thought.

The best way to strip paint off a fighter jet? Laser-wielding robots.

The Air Force hopes to expand a program that’s faster and produces less hazardous waste than the traditional approach.

Our best bet against tick infestations might be fire

If done right, regular, planned fires can manage tick populations in the Northeast.

 

[rbkwp]

will say
never became ill,consuming what i considered a best green watercress type plant often
when in China 79
it was growing in the numerous village ponds scattered thruout China
ponds that had a direct drop of waste

my family cooking it often, becase it was my favourite,well
they never said a word
smile

A History of Human Waste as Fertilizer
Read more...

A History of Human Waste as Fertilizer | JSTOR Daily

 

[1345864]

will say
never became ill,consuming what i considered a best green watercress type plant often
when in China 79
it was growing in the numerous village ponds scattered thruout China
ponds that had a direct drop of waste

my family cooking it often, becase it was my favourite,well
they never said a word
smile

A History of Human Waste as Fertilizer
Read more...

A History of Human Waste as Fertilizer | JSTOR Daily

Nothing wrong with human waste as a fertilizer. It may sound unsavory to most, but the pathogens don't get transmitted to the crop, only the nitrogen and nutrients.

If I'm not mistaken, rice paddies in Southeast Asia have been using it for many centuries.

 

[rbkwp]

mmmm meat chicken
mmmmmmmm

Across the country, farmers say banks are dropping them for growing hemp

Hemp could be a multi-billion-dollar boon for farmers. But banks like Wells Fargo won't back them to farm it. The combination of cancelled accounts and regulatory confusion has farmers shocked, angry, and scrambling to recover their investments.

By Sam Bloch | Read more

American lamb producers are beefing with New Zealand over—what else?—meat labeling

The war of words illuminates broader struggles within our domestic market for lamb, the tasty-but-forgotten middle child of meat.

By Jessica Fu | Read more

Two years after the start of a salmonella outbreak in turkey, CDC says new cases are still being reported

A new report highlights “industry-wide contamination,” an unusual type of food poisoning outbreak.

By Jesse Hirsch | Read more
Thinly sliced

Sweet life. Scientists have long puzzled over how sugar, one of life’s building blocks, first made its way to earth. The answer, as it turns out, might be written in the stars. Researchers in Japan recently analyzed two meteorites that landed on Earth in 1969 and in 2001. They discovered that both contained a sugar called ribose, a critical ingredient in RNA, which is a molecule present in all cells. The findings are significant because they add weight to the theory that life on earth commenced thanks to a bombardment of meteorites. Newsweek has the story.

The hand that feeds. How do we end hunger? Easy: Pay people more. That’s according to a survey of nearly 300 food banks, who say that earning a living wage has the greatest impact on food insecurity. That seemingly obvious discovery means food banks, as a political entity, might start backing movements like Fight For $15, Food Bank News reports. Which would put them at odds with their big supporters—companies like Walmart and Safeway, “whose interests are keeping wages low,” author Andy Fisher tells Fast Company. (Read Fisher's piece on food banks for New Food Economy here.)

It doesn’t get more local than this. Kroger will launch indoor hydroponic farms in two Washington state grocery stores this month, in a play for environmentally-conscious shoppers who might want to shrink the distance between where their food is grown and where they buy it. The grocery chain is partnering with Infarm, a German company whose modular indoor farming systems can grow a wide range of produce, Supermarket News reports. Vertical farms may not necessarily be as green as the veggies they grow—having faced criticism for lacking the nutrients of food grown in soil and for the amount of energy required to power their fancy LED lights. Hope Kroger’s ready for next month’s electricity bill.

They grow up so fast. The iconic infant on jars of Gerber baby food is a real person! And she just turned 93. People magazine reports that mystery novelist and retired teacher (and generally cool human) Ann Turner Cook still has essentially the same cherubic face as her mythical portrait. The brief profile includes some sweet trivia, like that Cook’s identity was kept secret until the 1970s, and that she initially was given the honor after her neighbor submitted a charcoal drawing of her baby face for a Gerber contest … in 1928.

Rap sheet. You’ve seen the viral videos: Cops cracking down on subway food vendors. This month—three times in New York City, and once in San Francisco—police have been caught on camera handcuffing and arresting people who sell churros and candy, or who even just eat a sandwich on a subway platform. Why now? In the Big Apple, it’s because the governor has flooded the subway system with hundreds of cops to stop farebeating. And now, Eater reports, the necessity to earn more money is turning into a old-fashioned, Broken Windows-esque crackdown on “quality of life” issues. It’s true: The law says they’re not supposed to be there, but at least one state senator says that’s irrelevant.

Is Instacart the worst of the food delivery apps?

Against a backdrop of strikes and labor unrest, emerging research calls the company's dispatch system a “despotic algorithm.”

By H. Claire Brown | Read more

 

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It is better to have loved and lost, than to have loved and gotten syphilis.

 

[rbkwp]

had Chlamydia as a late teen
but
promise i wont blame the USA todd haha

New It is better to have loved and lost, than to have loved and gotten syphilis.



LAMB CHOPS mmm
wish i had some avaiabe
remind me to buy a box of frozen ones [please mate

 

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75 percent of Florida's oranges have been lost to disease. Can science save citrus?

"Citrus greening can move with alarming speed. In Florida, the disease was first detected in 2005. Fourteen years later, orange production has fallen by more than 75 percent, and grapefruit production is down 85 percent. Backyard citrus has virtually disappeared in some areas."

"“If we don’t act quickly, we could lose all fresh citrus within 10 to 15 years,” says Carolyn Slupsky, professor of nutrition and food science at the University of California, Davis."

 

[rbkwp]

think i will go for a simple beans n bacon tonightwith rice of course mmmmmmm
plus
a boiled egg
silly
thinking of tummy 3am NZT ha

 

[rbkwp]

Dogs really are 'the best people,' and we have the photos to prove i

'Skid' (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)

There's a lot you can accomplish with peanut butter.

Photographer Belinda Richards often relies on this tasty treat to get her four-legged subjects to sit still for the camera. When dogs come in for a portrait at Frog Dog Studios in Melbourne, Australia, Richards has all sorts of tricks to get their attention.

"Noises and peanut butter are our biggest secret," Richards tells MNN. "Getting the subjects attention with a fun noise is key to getting that connection with the lens. I have what I call my tribal necklace which is some braided rope with a lot of different noise makes attached to it (bells, duck callers, squirrel callers, squeakers, whistles etc.)"

But the key is a lip-smacking gob of tasty goodness.

"Peanut butter should be in any pet photographer's arsenal. Dogs love it!" she says. "It gets them to sit still for a couple of minutes while they lick and it gets a huge variety of different facial expressions."

'Winston' (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)
In addition to her in-studio pet photography business, Richards has a popular online following on Facebook and Instagram where fans check in to find samples of her recent portraits. Her latest series is a collection of fine art portraits called "Dogs Are the Best People."

"The idea behind each shot is to capture images which emulate human portraits and elicit a connection with the observer," Richards says. "We see headshots/avatars of humans in our lives every day on our social media platforms, instant messaging applications, heck, even in video conferences we are sometimes stuck talking to a photo of someone's face. It is a form factor which we have all grown accustomed to and is a staple of the digital age."

Richards translates that to canine — and sometimes feline — form.

"We specialize in capturing animals' personalities and turning them into art," she says. "What better way to showcase that than by making fine art portraits of our best friends' faces, which not only resonate with a headshot on a screen but would feel right at home hung on a wall in a gallery."

'George' (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)
The images brim with personality, showing everything from grins and smiles to befuddlement and curiosity.

"We don't aim to capture any particular expression," Richards says. "We aim to capture the animal's unique personality, whatever that may be!"

'Henry' (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)
Richards relies on a lifetime of working with animals to help her understand her subjects.

"That experience has given me the ability to see what a dog or cat is going to do before it does it, allowing me to capture the right moment," she says.

'Hugo' (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)
Richards also depends on her husband, Tony Ladson, who wields the peanut butter and helps keep the animals in front of the camera.

"I couldn't do what I do without an assistant. I work with my husband, who is the extra set of hands you need when working with animals," she says. "He will get the pet comfortable and in position. I've taught him a few tricks over the years which help get the best out of each pet."

'Penny' (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)
Richards says sometimes she knows the second she has the perfect shot and other times she doesn't realize it until later.

"It's different every shoot. There have been times that I've checked the back of the camera and thought we had it only to load it onto the computer to find it's not focused," she says. "There have been times when I've assumed we didn't get anything only to scroll through the shoot to find a gold mine of great expressions!"

'Lexi' (Photo: Belinda Richards/Frog Dog Studios)
So far, they've always come away with great photos.

"We definitely aim to get the best out of every session and we have never had an animal beat us (touch wood)," she says. "We work with patience and at the animal's pace to ensure we can get the shots we are looking for."

Dogs really are 'the best people,' and we have the photos to prove it

 

[rbkwp]

and
just to be fair, i geuss

 

[rbkwp]

posting,because i can huh
just sayin



Animalia: Where do pets go when they die?

Animals, people and the world they share.

Pelle di Luna, a Sphinx cat, attends a cat show in Rome this month. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)


Karin Brulliard

Email
Hello, and happy weekend.

A sad reality of pet-owning is that pets die, usually before we do. And when that happens, we are confronted with many possible next steps.

Hold a funeral for Mittens, perhaps, and bury her beneath a headstone at a pet cemetery. Cremate the dog and keep his ashes on the bookshelf. Better yet, turn his ashes into a diamond, because those are forever. If those options don’t appeal, you could compost the kitty, stuff the pooch — or even clone your dearly departed furry friend. (Warning: You’ll need about 50 grand for that last option.)

But if you’d like a semi-lifelike version of your pup without the stiff look of taxidermy, there’s freeze-drying. How this works — it’s not all that different from the process used to make the dried raspberries you can buy at Trader Joe’s — was laid out this week in a fascinating and highly amusing Slate story by Jake Maynard.

This is not a new field, but it is a small one. The Pennsylvania pet-drier profiled in this article is one of 10 or so in the country.

“Most taxidermists can’t, or won’t, handle pets because of the pressure to get it right and the lack of premade forms for each kind of animal. (A deer just has to look like a deer. Your dog has to look exactly like your dog.),” Maynard writes. Freeze-drying, on the other hand, keeps critters relatively intact, with only the organs and eyes removed, he explains — though some people want even the innards dried: “A man from the Southwest recently wanted his corgi’s organs removed, freeze-dried, and sewn back into the dog, which was then freeze-dried and shipped home. Then, the man buried it. It cost him $2,000.”

Speaking of things people do for their pets, I have a somewhat specific query: Have you ever gotten professional pet photos that you’ve used for holiday cards? If so, I’d love to talk to you about it. Email me!

In other animal news this week:\\\

• Scientists are recruiting 10,000 dogs for the largest-ever study on aging in canines.
• An orphaned baby giraffe has a new best friend: a Belgian Malinois.
• This dog is rescuing koalas from Australia’s wildfires.

Thanks, as always, for reading!

Animal adolescence is filled with teen drama and peer pressure

 

[rbkwp]

tread carefully
treat wildfoods areas respectfully,please

ps
totally enjoyed my frequent walks thru the EPPING FOREST in 79

If you go down to the woods today … don't come back with mushrooms


Foraging for mushrooms to sell to restaurants and markets is big business. But the toll on woodlands, and the wildlife that inhabits them, is immense

The age of extinction is supported by

Epping forest in London is one of the habitats targeted by commercial foraging gangs. Photograph: Graham Turner/The Guardian
On a bright November morning in Epping forest, the fading contours of late mushrooms are poking through rotting leaves and hanging from tree stumps.

The forest, on the edge of London, boasts more than 1,600 fungi species across 2,428 hectares (6,000 acres). It is always tempting for illegal commercial foragers, and this year is no exception.

While picking wild mushrooms for personal use is acceptable and permitted in most parts of the country, fungi foraging in the protected woodland is not. Commercial operations are illegal.

But for those who want to make make some quick money and know what to look for, the riches of mushroom season often prove irresistible. The City of London Corporation, which manages the area, has warned that Epping Forest’s biodiversity is threatened by foraging gangs that harvest huge numbers of fungi with the aim of selling them on.


If you go down to the woods today … don't come back with mushrooms

 

[rbkwp]

just sayin
as no one else will
but,what the ..


9 of the easiest dogs to add to your family
By: Mary Jo DiLonardo on March 16, 2019, 9:21 a

Some breeds are easier to take care of than others.


(Photo: Susan Schmitz/Shutterstock)

No-hassle dog breeds


Some dogs are a lot of work. Maybe they're psychologically challenging and require a lot of training because they are stubborn or just need to be learning all the time. Others are physically demanding because they need a ton of exercise or an inordinate amount of grooming.

9 of the easiest dogs to add to your family

 

[rbkwp]

for
my future reference
i am such a terribe baker

apart from sending a copy to myself

thanks Shop

How to make perfect pie crust with the power of science

You might need some booze before you're done—trust us.

Good-looking pie dishes that bake great, too

Classic pie plates for impressive desserts and quiches.

 

[rbkwp]

enjoy your day,when it becomes available

How to cook a turkey that actually tastes good

Keep your bird from being sad and dry.

 

[rbkwp]

yay
keep it real rural Au yes

The Government's push to move public service jobs to the regions isn't working
New workforce data also shows the government's push to move public servants' jobs to bush towns appears to be foundering.

Red meat industry determined to keep products on plates in Australia and abroad
Amid growing conversations about healthy diets, veganism and plant-based proteins, how does red meat fare?

Running on empty: The farm hit by a new disaster every year
For these Queensland farmers, drought is just one of many disasters they've faced in the past five years.

 

[rbkwp]

noones going to be too worried huh
we have everything under control/right



Global 5G wireless deal threatens weather forecasts
Meteorologists say international standards for wireless technology could degrade crucial satellite measurements of water vapour.

Water vapour over the continental United States is shown in this satellite image from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Credit: NOAA/GOES


The international agency that regulates global telecommunications agreed to new radio-frequency standards on 21 November. Meteorologists say the long-awaited decision threatens the future of weather forecasting worldwide by allowing transmissions from mobile-phone networks to degrade the quality of Earth observations from space.

Wireless companies are beginning to roll out their next-generation networks, known as 5G, around the world. The new agreement is meant to designate the radio frequencies over which 5G equipment can transmit. But some of the frequencies come perilously close to those used by satellites to gather crucial weather and climate data. To keep the signals from interfering with one another, researchers have proposed turning down the amount of noise allowed to leak from 5G transmissions.

Negotiators at a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, agreed to introduce two stages of protection for frequencies near 24 gigahertz — a range close to those that weather satellites use to detect the amount of water in the atmosphere. Companies that operate 5G networks will have a relatively loose standard from now until 2027. After that, the regulation will get stricter. The idea is to let 5G companies start building networks now, and then to add more protection for Earth observations as 5G transmissions become denser.

But having eight years with relatively lax regulation is “


Global 5G wireless deal threatens weather forecasts

 

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Don't think too hard about how to cook that turkey....

Happy Thanksgiving!