SPERM WHALE CLANISH CLICKING
IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN that sperm whales make clicking sounds to communicate as well as to echolocate prey in ocean darkness at depths of a mile or more. Recently, … Continue reading
THE FOURTH ELEMENT: FIRE
LIFE WAS A LOT SIMPLER when Aristotle had only four elements: air, earth, water, and fire. Later, he added heavenly aether, and things have gotten more complicated since then. It’s … Continue reading
BERNOULLI’S JAALI
ARCHITECTS OF THE TAJ MAHAL, Formula One designers, and cricket bowlers have all been inspired by Daniel Bernoulli. Here are tidbits on these gleaned from BBC as well as my … Continue reading
SARTORIAL COOL PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE EXCHANGED suit, repp tie, and dress shoes for hoochie daddys and sandals. Today we continue with tidbits gleaned from Christopher Favelle’s most informative “Hot Couture: How a Warming … Continue reading
SARTORIAL COOL PART 1
WHAT WITH RETIREMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE, politics, and all, my current sartorial style is defined by statements on my T-shirts: “KEEP CALM and PURSUE QUESTIONS EMPIRICALLY,” “THE DELLOW REGISTER,” “C:\DOS C:\DOS\RUN … Continue reading
GETTING A GLOW ON—IN AN EVOLUTIONARY SENSE
“TINY CARIBBEAN CRUSTACEANS and their bioluminescent mating displays are shining new light on evolution.” This, from Elizabeth Pennisi in her fascinating article “Sparkling Waters” in Science, August 22, 2022. Tiny … Continue reading
KEEPIN’ PHOENIX KEWL
TURNING BLACKTOP GRAY is an innovative means of reducing the effects of climate change in Phoenix, the nation’s fifth largest city (news to me) and hottest (familiar from my visits, … Continue reading
SAVORING LENNY LIPTON’S LABOR OF LOVE PART 2
I’VE JUST STARTED Lenny Lipton’s astonishing 795-page celebration of The Cinema in Flux: The Evolution of Motion Picture Technology from the Magic Lantern to the Digital Age. It’s not the … Continue reading
SAVORING LENNY LIPTON’S LABOR OF LOVE PART 1
MY ACQUISITION OF BOOKS arises occasionally from reading The New York Times Book Review or the London Review of Books. This time around, it involves the latter, but in a … Continue reading
WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE RICE? OR WAS IT A TIE? PART 2
RECENT RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT a wild jungle fowl evolved into today’s chicken, and much later than was previously thought. Today in Part 2, we continue sharing tidbits from AAAS Science … Continue reading
