If ye can't talk the talk, don't even think about walkin' the walk ye snivelin' landlubbers. It be "International Talk Like a Pirate Day"! So avast there me hearties, grab ye bottle o rum and belt out a mighty "ARRRRRRR!"
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RWU is an interesting place. For a small New England university it seems to become embroiled in more than its share of controversy.
First there was the whites-only scholarship nonsense .
Then there was the Inconvenient Truth brouhaha. This one even found its way onto the Colbert Report (unfortunately, the original Comedy Central video is no longer available, but you see the original CNN FoxNews interview with a RWU student and read the Colbert Report transcript over at Conspiracy Factor).
The next "controversy" will start In October when the campus tackles religion, science, and evolution. First up will be a Socrates Cafe discussion of "Are science and religion incompatible?" . This will be followed up later in the month with a seminar by Dr. Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education as part of RWU's Civil Discourse Distinguished Lecture Series.
Given the recent history of the campus, I'm sure there will be no shortage of bobos in attendance at both events. I'm even willing to bet that there will be picketing and the calling down of fire and brimstone. Stay tuned. Should be fun.
Following up Dale McGowan's neurological explanation of the "bright light at the end of the tunnel" phenomenon, I think I've uncovered why some people experience the "hand of God". Concussions.
Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna expected people to snicker and laugh when they heard his explanation for his comeback against Minnesota after getting knocked out of the game with a concussion.
"It was a miracle," Kitna said Monday.
Kitna left the game in the second quarter, returned in the fourth and led the Lions to a 20-17 win over the Vikings in overtime on Sunday.
He said it was the third concussion of his NFL career, and the first since 2001. Kitna said he also had a concussion playing for Seattle against San Francisco in a 1997 preseason game.
"I've never felt anything like that, and for it to clear up and go right back to as normal as I can be, is nothing short of a miracle," Kitna said. "I just definitely feel the hand of God. That's all it was. You can't explain it.
"I have no headaches, no symptoms, no lingering effects. But that was the worst my head has ever felt, and the worse my memory was in the second quarter. Yet, after halftime there was nothing."
He was knocked out of the game in the second quarter and appeared to be out for the rest of the day, standing on the sideline without a helmet.
"I was out of it. I didn't know anything. I lost coherence," Kitna said. "It's one of those things, you shouldn't even been able to go back in the game, but it went back to normal and cleared up like it never happened."
The Eupatorium in our garden is in full bloom and the insects are loving it. Here are some pics from a single 1/2 hour photoshoot (there were others too - some fast, small buggers that I just wasn't able to get). I'm working on the IDs of the less obvious ones...
...update: All bugs identified. And I take no credit for most of them - the fine folks over at BugGuide.net are the real experts. Thanks.
Megacyllene robiniae - Locust Borer
Danaus plexippus - Monarch Butterfly
Agapostemon sp. - Metallic Green Bee
Ancistrocerus antilope - Potter Wasp
Ancistrocerus campestris - Potter Wasp
Polistes dominula - European Paper Wasp
Lucilia sp. - Green bottle blow fly
Bombus sp. - Bumblebee
Bombus sp. - Bumblebee
Apis mellifera - Honeybee
Apis mellifera - Honeybee
Apis mellifera - Honeybee
I am late to the game on this, but just in case anyone somehow wanders my way without hearing about it elsewhere, I have to share. Not sure how I'm just finding out about this now...
MORAY EELS HAVE A SECOND SET OF FUNCTIONAL JAWS IN THEIR FREAKING NECK. HOLY CRAP!
(the x-rays and video are killer).
How have we not known about this anatomical phenomenon? I mean, we're not talking about some obscure creature here. Moray eels are found in just about every aquarium in the world. I feel like I've said this before, but the wonders of biology will never cease to amaze me.
In honor of my recent trip...
This really must be seen. Words just can't do it justice.
Make sure you at least check out "Washlet 101"
(hat tip to Linda)
Finally, as promised, some photos from my brief, but oh so wonderful, trip aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer. Four days of sailing and oceanographic adventure with Sea Education Association. This wasn't so much a scientific cruise as a chance to relive my days weeks months with SEA as an undergraduate and reconnect with a great organization. We sailed. We scienced. We kept a 24 hour watch. We even set the fisherman (sorry, can't find a link to help you with this one). If you ever get a chance to do this, you must. Encourage all your undergrads to look into SEA Semester as well - from a life experience point of view, its one of the best things they could do. Beyond hands-on, practical oceanographic research, SEA Semester builds leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, responsibility, problem solving, physical endurance, and plundering. Well, maybe not plundering. Anyways, on to the photos...be sure to check out Part 2 and Part 3.
The Corwith Cramer awaits
My bunk...and my hairy legs.
Couldn't find A through D
Ship's compass
"Steer a course for others to follow"
Just in case
Topside
Just in case, take 2
What good is a ship without her bell?
Shipek sediment grab waiting to be deployed
the Shipek coming back onboard
Mmmm...mud from Menemsha Bight
I've been over this bridge about a billion times.
Any guesses where we are?
Aloft
Sailing through the night.
Sunset via porthole
Peeking in the doghouse.
Night lab work.
Furling the jib out on the bowsprit
Compass by night
Even Associate Deans have to swab the deck
This is what happens when you don't help swab the deck
Furling the tops'l
The carousel waiting to be deployed
12 Niskin bottles and a CTD headed down 50 fathoms
Anti-scurvy agents
Don't know who Louie is, but he's probably a bosun if I had to guess
Ship's lab
The Musical Illusionist and Other Tales
by Alex Rose
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Your Inner Fish
by Neil Shubin
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
At the Water's Edge by Carl Zimmer
Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins
Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Sean Carroll
The Ethical Assassin by David Liss
Genesis by Robert Hazen