Author: honeyrand
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Bug brains are inspiring new collision avoidance systems for cars
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A thousand years ago while I was working at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, NOAA was testing a new technology LIDAR, light detection and ranging. They were measuring the coastline. Lo these many years later LIDAR is used in CAS—collision avoidance systems. With the growth of self-driving cars, refinement is…
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Work=Beer Money
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Spent last week at Writers in Paradise. The paper I submitted for review is, After Midnight. Essentially it’s the story of the last couple of months of my mother’s life right up until I took her off life support. That part of the story isn’t the most emotional for me,…
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Transparency as strategy
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Just before Christmas a very cool story about a tiny frog in central and south America. These little guys aren’t sporting a powerful poison, rather they grow transparent while they sleep. They are nocturnal, but by daylight they park on a leaf their organs virtually as their red blood cells…
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Grasshopper Gaslighting
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Scientists found a new species of grasshopper on a friend’s farm in the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. His farm was clearcut for years, having been a tree farm. When he saw it, he wondered if it was possible to bring back native savannah, restoring the vegetation and with it wildlife.…
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What is disability? Is it really a thing?
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I was listening to the book Starry Messenger by Neil deGrasse Tyson. He was talking about disability, what is and isn’t and how, exactly does that apply. What happens when your disability is your greatest asset. He gives examples, including one about a guest on a boat who was given…
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Firmly rooted
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California. So ahead of us all is offering a new burial option starting in 2027. Human #composting. Certainly lends itself to that old adage, “we’re planting him/her tomorrow.” Having spent some time considering green burials, I like this idea. No chemistry. No air #emissions and, as an added bonus for…
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Flush with success
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When I was in high school a class of biology students conducted an experiment, they walked through the restrooms with petri dishes open to the air. Just petri dishes, just passing through. They did this for both genders and all bathrooms. I was not a participating student and I don’t…
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Octopuses throw things. Wouldn’t you? Did I?
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I love #science and #nature. Sure there is a lot to #learn and it’s generally #interesting and often #amusing. For example, I’ve got a story drafted about slutty sunflowers. At least that’s the the biologist called them. That’s pretty funny. So when I ran across this story about #Octopuses defending…
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Peeing on the seagrass
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I think I’ve mentioned before, I have no objection to peeing outside, roadside, elsewhere as long as I have a modicum of privacy. In my youth this variously concerned or annoyed boyfriends. And, admittedly I don’t often have occasion these days but this article just might be the inspiration I…
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Rainwater is Unsafe
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Last summer Drew Barrymore had a viral post of her dancing in the rain, mouth upraised, swallowing the blessing from about. Just one thing. Rainwater is now unsafe to drink because it has “forever chemicals” in it. Maybe she should put a disclaimer on it? I just read about the…