The Naming of Things

A few things on naming caught my attention recently.

First there was this article (from the NYTimes, of course) which is on taxonomy in general and on native taxonomies in particular. How good are you at distinguishing between bird names and fish names in on naming birds and fish in the Huambisa language?

Then I came across this linked from a faculty member's website: Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature. There's a lot to discover here. From the "Interesting Translations" section, I can't help giggling at Eucritta melanolimnetes (a fossil amphibian), which translates to "creature from the black lagoon", and at Vampyroteuthis infernalis, a squid relative, aka "the vampire squid from hell."

The Creature from the Black Lagoon... is actually sort of cute.

Vampire squid from hell... yeesh. Way to live up to your name!

My favorite section, of course, is the puns. Here's one of the best bits on the whole site:

Balaenoptera musculus Linneaus (blue whale) Musculus could mean "muscular," but it can also be interpreted as "little mouse." Linne would have known this and, given his sense of humor, may have intended the ironic double meaning.

That Linne... what a wacky guy!

Finally, I was reading about native plants the other day... if I told you you had Ambrosia and Lotus growing all over your yard, you'd probably think that was great, right?

Not if you have allergies. Ambrosia is the genus name for ragweed (the name has to do with the immortality of the species). Lotus is a little better -- it's a genus of plants known as deervetches, but certainly desn't look anything like what most people think of as a lotus.

Plants Fighting Back

On Tuesday I reached into the container of cilantro from the grocery store and quickly pulled my hand back in surprise. Something had hurt me! But what?

My thoughts went to some alarming places. Bits of metal? Shards of glass? I felt like I had been pricked by something sharp, but there were no marks on my fingertips. No blood was drawn.

I dumped all of the cilantro into a colander and moved it around with a fork. There in the middle was the culprit. Initially its camouflage had concealed it from sight, but on closer inspection it stood out from its surroundings.


Clearly, those are not cilantro leaves. Any guesses?

It turned out my instinct was correct, because the first page I pulled up on Wikipedia was stinging nettle, where I saw the above picture. The plant mixed with my cilantro was the spitting image.

What makes a stinging nettle sting? The sting is caused by a combination of chemicals, not just by the hairs alone which, although sharp, are tiny. Tiny and hollow, and filled with a combination of chemicals that give a noticeable irritation: acetylcholine, serotonin, and perhaps most importantly, histamine and possibly formic acid. Yikes.

Surprisingly, nettles are easily tamed, and can be made into tea or even eaten when young ( and cooked). They're also good for your hair, feature prominently in hippie-dippie shampoos, and are mixed into cattle feed to give the bovines shiny coats. My nettle, however, was transferred by fork to the trash bin, as I was in no mood to attempt to tame it. (And my hair is already quite shiny, thank you.) I do admire it for fighting back, though. As a vegetarian, I'm not really used to food that puts up much of a struggle, so this was an interesting interaction between me and a plant.

But I think I'll stick with cilantro just the same.

New Poll!

Hello readers,

Just wanted to let you know, there is a new poll up on the sidebar! I'm curious about how many of the international hits on my blog are actually people reading my posts, and how many are just looking for photos of Johnny Depp or giant isopods or something. Oh, and hey, if you're just here for the pictures that's cool too -- maybe leave a comment and tell me what you were searching for? I'm curious about who's checking out my blog!

Migratory Patterns

::David Attenborough voice::

Today we will witness one of the greatest migrations on the Eastern Seaboard.

From my vantage point in the driver's seat of my vehicle, I will be able to observe the great herds in their seasonal movement. In enormous numbers, the vast flocks will gather at places used at this season for generations. In just a few days, they will disperse again, many of them not appearing until the next yearly migration. In the meantime, however, their sheer density will change traffic patterns for miles.

::back to myself::

In other words, I get to sit in traffic on the Belt Parkway later this afternoon. But as long as the documentary in my head keeps rolling, I think I'll be ok.

Happy New Year!

Applebee's, Redux

On Monday evening, as I was preparing dinner, I received a telephone call.

It was from Applebee's! (Read my previous post on Applebee's here.)

Specifically, a very nice manager of the location at which I recently dined who made the following points:

1) The "artifact" (their word, not mine) had been promptly removed and destroyed. Or at least put in the trashcan, good enough for me!

2) As a lapsed vegetarian, she had a lot of sympathy for the fact that when I look at the menu, even though I know that something could be made specially for me, I feel slighted by the 100% coverage of meat. I expressed this feeling and suggested that even listing a few things, like vegan burgers, black bean and veggie quesadillas, and maybe a pasta primavera with a choice of sauces could really add veggie comfort to the menu. She thanked me for the suggestions and gave me her email address in case I think of more/better ideas. (Since I was preparing dinner at the time, my brain wasn't entirely focused on coming up with *other* meals, one at a time please!) I haven't contacted her yet, been busy with the dragons, but I will soon.

(Any suggestions?)

Anyway, I have to say that this experience with Applebee's has been on the whole very pleasant and positive. It's nice to know that companies really take the words "customer service" seriously. So far I'm three for three in my interactions with food businesses this year, kind of awesome! Hopefully, if they're really serious about it, we'll start seeing more veg-friendly fare on the menu at your local Applebee's too. One location at a time, I guess. Where better to kick things off than the Garden State?

In Which I Am Perplexed

I am trying to imagine the contents of this book.


Notice the "Fact & Fiction" tag at the bottom right corner. Are there rampant fictions being spread right now about goat cheese? Have the cow cheese makers started telling nasty lies about goat cheeses, like goat cheese is actually made from baby goats? Is the moon not, in fact, a giant Crottin de Chavignol? Is goat cheese likely to kill you tomorrow?

Amazon is less than helpful. There are no reviews, no comments, no "See Inside This Book!", nothing.

The face of the goat on the cover is inscrutable. She is contemplating cheese; is she also contemplating the laughing goat? There are no "thought bubbles" connecting the two; perhaps he is a figment of her imagination. (And no, there is no particular reason I chose those genders for the goats; I just needed a handy way to distinguish them, and the pensive expression the brown goat suggests that she is thinking about where her milk is going.)

In short, what is going on here? If anyone out there has read this book, please tell me. I love goat cheese and I don't want to give it up because it might make me go insane or something. Thanks!

Dr. Horrible

Speaking of fireflies...

So... normally I don't like to promote stuff or whathaveyou, there isn't any advertising on my blog... except for this!

Because: 1) science fiction is almost as good as science facts; 2) Neil Patrick Harris; 3)NATHAN FILLION; 4) it has the word "blog" in it, so it's relevant! 5) Oh, and did I mention Joss Whedon? Him too.

Watch it and stuff!

More real posts later.

Mater Familias

This article ran a couple of weeks ago.

Albanian Custom Fades: Woman as Family Man

I find everything about it interesting. A woman cannot head a household, but it's acceptable to change her gender and live her life as a man, and head a household. It is an interesting view of gender perception. While I'm glad that greater equality is coming to Albanian women, it's also a little bit sad that such an interesting cultural tradition (respected by both Christians and Muslims alike) is going to fade away within the next twenty years or so.

I don't know what else to say... any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

DIY Dairy

In the spirit of reducing packaging from foods (is seltzer a food? maybe in Hollywood?) that I love, consider the yogurt maker.

"But dairy products were not meant to be made at home!" you might think. "They are frequently complicated, sometimes involve caves, and are generally not DIY projects!" Ah, but that is not always true. Yogurt is actually incredibly easy to make at home; technically, you don't even need a yogurt maker, but having one can greatly improve the reliability of your results. (And as a scientist, I am always in favor of reproducible results.)

Yogurt is delicious but also tends to arrive in non-recyclable plastic containers, creating even more guilt than recyclable seltzer bottles. (Yes, in some places you can recycle plastic #5, but for whatever reason, those places don't include New Jersey.) It also tends to come in fairly standard flavors, like peach and blueberry. Making yogurt at home allows you to create your own flavors. If I get a yogurt maker at some point in my life, I might start with herbal or spiced yogurts (lavender? thyme? cumin?), maybe play with extracts... cherry-almond is one of my favorite combinations, so a little almond extract (or even almond milk?) might be a tasty addition. We'll see how it goes.

July 4, 1776

WHEN IN the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience heth shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

(read the rest here...)

I Love the Subway...

I love the New York City subway system. It's always been like a jungle of intersecting vines to me, and as Tarzan swung vine to vine, I swing from handhold to handhold through my turf.

I do not love the subway anywhere close to the way these two little boys do, though. This story, and the accompanying graphics, are utterly adorable. It's great that someone out there is actually pleased to hear the words "service change".

I hope that one day, riding the subway, I will encounter this family and see three little boys singing (in perfect harmony) all the stops on the 3 train. That would be one for the blog. I'll keep you posted.

(Boom de yada, boom de yada...)

Just Awesome

Apparently I'm a blogoslacker, because it's been, what, more than two weeks? Yeah. I was running dry on material and very busy going back and forth for wedding plans and such. Bad blogger! I'm still a little low on material, but I have a couple things I'd like to share. Brace yourselves, I'm back!

Dustin and I watch a lot of Discovery Channel. Mostly Mythbusters but also some other random nature shows and things like that. If you watch Discovery Channel enough, you will see these commercials, which are for the Discovery Channel.

60 Second Spot

30 Second Spot

They're just... great. And slightly different, worth watching both.

Anyway, I was simply delighted by today's XKCD.

I don't really have a lot to say about this, they sort of speak for themselves. One thing that comes to mind, however, is that I sort of feel like these spots very succinctly address why I blog: "The world is just awesome." Yes, yes it is, and I'm trying to highlight that one "Better Know an Insect" at a time.

I love the insects, I love to look at birds,
I love old fossils, I love big mammal herds.
I love the whold world, and all the beauty here
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada...

Haven't Found One for a Sewing Machine Yet

There are many blessings in Judaism, and I find this fascinating.

One of my favorite lines from Fiddler on the Roof has always been, "Rabbi, is there a blessing for the Czar?" "Of course there is a blessing for the Czar. May God bless and keep the Czar... far away from us!" (Followed, naturally, by a rousing chorus of "Tradition!")

And then there's the scene with the sewing machine.

Anyway, a few days ago, I found these, and they make me happy: Daily Prayers of Praise and Gratitude. My favorite is the one for seeing strange people or creatures, but it also delights me that there are blessings for trees, for thunder, for rivers, for scholars, etc. Neither Dustin nor I can quite figure on the last time the blessing for 600,000 Jews was used, though.

Also interesting are the blessings for food. Things I didn't know: a meal is defined as including bread, and when you bless the bread, the blessing extends to the whole meal, except for any wine or grape juice which gets the appropriate blessing. A snack is anything you eat that does not include bread. Blessings over snacks are more complicated, but what I find most interesting is that there are separate blessings for four different kinds of plant-based foods, but all other foods (meat, dairy, fish, mushrooms, eggs, etc.) have but one blessing amongst them. (Click here for a nice summary.) Fascinating!

PS: Thanks to Sharon for mentioning this in the comments: Tradition!

Mixed Feelings

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Kids' Book on Plastic Surgery

On the one hand, I think it's good that, if the need exists, someone wrote a book to address the worries and fears of young children whose mothers go under the knife for cosmetic surgery.

Was mommy not beautiful before?

On the other hand though, surgery always carries a risk, even if its small, and I find it alarming that mothers with young children would put themselves at risk for something like a tummy tuck or breast implants. And, how do you explain to kids why you need implants? The book apparently skirts the issue, focusing on nose and abdominal work. Plus, like they say, what exactly are you telling your kids if you feel that your nose isn't perfect? What if someone has said to them, "Oh, you have your mother's nose!" These kids might develop a complex about it.

It seems like this book could be reassuring for some children but might cause others to doubt their "worth" based on their appearance. I don't know.

Steampunk

Steampunk got a shout-out in the Style section on Thursday. Check out the slide show, some of the prettiest gadgets you've ever seen.

Pretty computer! Can I get a laptop version?

I'm surprised they didn't mention Hiyao Miyazaki's work when they talked about movies. They're a bit more fantasyish than The Prestige etc. but many of his works have a steampunk aesthetic as well. Stardust (and, to my knowledge, other Neil Gaiman? please correct me if I am wrong) had a bit of it as well -- sky pirates and all that. Both of them involve more magic/fantasy than science/technology, but there are airships and steam-powered cars and goggles all over the place in the Miyazaki 'verse. (See: the title castle in Howl's Moving Castle, which is in fact steam and demon powered!)

Anyway, I digress. A subculture that embraces scientific discovery, adventure, and exploration? Yes, please. We need more of that. Also, more men in hats. Never underestimate the power of a good hat!

For more fun check out: Steampunk Workshop; Rivets and Lace; Brass Goggles.

And for your viewing pleasure: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sleepy Hollow (proto-steampunk), Wild Wild West, Firefly (sort of), and the short-lived Legend.

PS: Steampunk also got a blog post on Omivoracious, Amazon.com's book blog. Read on for steampunk lit.

Fungibility

I got quoted on fungibility! It's best to imagine it with "scary eyes" at the end.

Because I Know You Were Wondering

For those of you who may not know, I don't watch a lot of reality TV but I am absolutely devoted to Dancing with the Stars. Pretty people! Pretty costumes! But most of all... ballroom dancing! I took a few lessons in high school and joined the team at Brown for a while. Although I didn't really keep up with most of it after my freshman year (dancing in heels was rough on my previously-mentioned bad knees and I just got into swing more than ballroom), I have never stopped loving it.

Anyway. A few times I have heard the judges, especially Len, use the word "fleckle." I had to know what graceful step had such a bizarre name. Turns out it's actually called a fleckerl (German?) and it's when they stand in place and turn around each other. That description doesn't really make that much sense, so check out this answer (and the videos). Then watch Kristi and Mark's V-Waltz -- at about 2:20 they do the fleckerl. (Keep watching for an amazing series of turns a little later!)

The couple to beat!

May 1

Wedding Transportation

For our wedding next June, we'll definitely need some transportation for the wedding party. Limos are so old-fashioned; what I really want (and since I'm the bride I get what I want!) is something that says, "We're young, we're fun, we know how to party!"

What ride could say that better than this?

I even like the zebra stripes; it definitely lets you know that I'm both a nature lover AND a party animal! (See what I did there? Ha!) But seriously, this thing would be great for a safari, I bet lions would come up to it and try to take a bite, and then we'd get some excellent closeup photos. But anyway, it would also totally coordinate with the men's tuxes and stuff. Yeah!

Eiffel Tower to Receive Hat?

Oh, no. I don't think so.


Eiffel Tower to Temporarily Alter Silhouette

Seriously, Paris? Alleged capital of fashion and art, home of haute couture, creator of fashion words like décolletage, chapeau, and eau de toilette? Don't put a hat on the Eiffel Tower, s'il vous plaît. You are not Seattle.