Ah, propaganda. There’s something almost endearing about it. Its self-righteous sincerity, its intrepid flouting of facts. You really have to admire the loyalty of those reporters who willingly regurgitate a one-note version of the truth, but are otherwise honest journalists. I had never really witnessed such a steady diet of disinformation until I came to […]
Life + Outdoors
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Meet the Pro
I blog with a group of opinionated gardeners at gardenrant.com; one of my partners in crime on that site makes her living as a garden coach. At first I wasn’t sure why the world needed one more kind of horticultural professional. We already have designers, landscape architects, arborists, engineers, lawn care services and landscape crews […]
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Ancient Mariners
Sailing is an ancient enterprise. Humans used the wind to cross the oceans thousands of years ago. Sails, however, existed 350 million years before humans hoisted theirs. The jellyfish Velella, several centimeters long, sails warm oceans to feed upon pelagic organisms which it captures with stinging tentacles a few centimeters long. Fortunately, their nematocysts (see […]
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Cell Theory
Between 5:15 p.m. and 7:02 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2007, Martin Cotton’s final hours were recorded unpoetically in the Humboldt County Correctional Facilities observation log: 1715 hours Admitted — Extremely combative 1738 hours Moving — OK 1752 hours Talking / Moving OK 1755 hours Moving 1807 hours Breathing / Moved […]
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Thompson Tops Liquor List
According to numbers released last month by the Center for Responsive Politics, Rep. Mike Thompson is the top Congressional recipient of campaign donations from beer, wine and liquor interests in the 2007-2008 election cycle. Thompson’s $144,266 in contributions was mainly received from a number of $200-$9,200 donations from individual wineries in his district, with PACs […]
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Hunting Worms
I recently went big-game hunting in the bay for a jawed and venomous predator reputed to be two meters long. I found, instead, this interesting spaghetti-sprouting Polychaete worm named Cirriformis, just 10 cm long, lurking in smelly sulfidic mud. This species eats black mud from which it extracts organic material. According to Kelly Dorgan of […]
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On Loan
Every kayaker needs a hometown run. That go-to river that you skate out of work a bit earlier than usual to paddle before it gets dark; a creek you can count on for fun when the rain starts to fall. Willow Creek is a standby run for North Coast kayakers, close enough to paddle a […]
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Tsunami Terrors
Understanding the nature of tsunamis could save your life. They are usually caused by large earthquakes, coastal or submarine. You could expect timely warning of a tsunami generated thousands of miles away, but if our local Cascadia Megathrust is the culprit, the violent shaking would be your cue to head for the highest ground reachable […]
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Chicken-O-Rama!
They’re heeeeere! At the feed stores. Peeping under heat lamps. Little motherless chicks, small enough to nap in the palm of your hand, just waiting for someone to take them home and love them. And oh, the names of the breeds: One feed store is bringing in Danish brown leghorns, Jersey black giants, gold sex […]
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In Formation
The V-formations of honking Aleutian Cackling Geese that decorate our skies pose the question as to whether they fly in formation for social cohesion or to conserve energy. The reason military jets fly in V-formation is not to conserve energy, but to permit trailing pilots to remain in visual contact with the leading pilot. Fortunately, […]