Tag Archives: blog

amusements, environment, history, links, medical, natural history, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Hello, good heatwave and welcome, to this months collection of links to items you may have missed but didn’t know you didn’t want to.

Science, Technology, Natural World

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Against all the odds the aging spacecraft Voyager 1 is back on air and communicating intelligibly with ground control. Two items on this from Live Science and Scientific American [££££].

There are currently lots of sunspots and we’re nearing the solar cycle maximum … so the sun’s magnetic field is about to flip.

The search for a planet beyond Pluto has been going on since I was a kid, although astronomers can’t even agree Planet Nine exists, nor what they’re actually looking for.

Even so Planet Nine is amongst eight strange objects which could be hiding in the outer solar system – maybe.

Back down to Earth with a bump … Adam Kucharski asks “Can we predict who will win a football match?“.

Here’s a BBC News item about the beavers which have been reintroduced less than a mile from my house.

So it looks as if our invasive Asian Hornets have successfully overwintered here, although for some reason the government doesn’t see this as a huge problem!

They look like mini horseshoe crabs … some very rare, very ancient, three-eyed “dinosaur shrimps” (below) have suddenly emerged in Arizona.

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How old is that termite mound? Researchers in South Africa have found 34,000-years-old termite mounds, beating the previously known oldest by 30,000 years!

Research is showing that our native wild orchids (not the tropical ones you buy in a supermarket) actually feed their seedlings through underground fungal connections. [££££]

Health, Medicine

How many of us are really aware that body organs aren’t always where they are supposed to be?

In addition you may have more body parts that you should have!

You should pay attention to your nipples – and this applies you you guys too, not just the gals – as they can tell you things about your health.

A chemist and an epidemiologist take a look at the whys and wherefores of sunscreen.

Apparently 80% of people with sleep apnoea are undiagnosed. Here’s what to look for.

Finally in this section, the little known Oropouche virus is spreading rapidly in South America; although usually mild it can cause serious complications and could become a healthcare emergency.

Sexuality

How might one start a conversation about sex with a partner or teen?

A cancer diagnosis, or indeed any serious illness, can affect how we approach sex.

Environment

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I’m used to seeing green parakeets in my west London garden – they’re noisy, they’re quarrelsome, but they’re colourful and often comic – so how did they actually get here from India?

In good news, it seems that the Iberian Lynx, one of the world’s rarest cats, is recovering from near extinction.

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Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

Kit Yates lays out why it is important for democracy that we have a numerate society.

So what are the defining characteristics of a fascist? What should we look for?

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

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Here are five mysterious ancient artefacts which still have archaeologists puzzled, including Neolithic stone balls (above).

Elsewhere archaeologists in Spain have found some 2000 year old liquid wine. I think I’ll stick to my 2019 Rioja, thank you!

Bridging the gap to modern times, here’s Going Medieval on, well, medieval gossip.

And coming right up to date, we have an item on the world’s most improbable post offices.

Food, Drink

Scientists have developed a method for making healthier, and more sustainable, chocolate by using the parts of the cocoa pod to replace loads of sugar. But they’ve not yet been able to commercialise it.

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

So just what is it really like to live in Antarctica?

Emma Beddington investigates a wide range of time-sucking internet rabbit holes, and suggests what one might do to avoid them!

Put that alongside Messy Nessy’s regular blog 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today, who contributes the following exemplar.

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An 18th century CE ivory dildo complete with contrivance for simulating ejaculation and its own discreet cloth bag. Now housed at the Science Museum in London.

Some stupid tourists seem to think that wild animals are cuddlable and cute! Why?

Only the crazy British would have a stinging nettle eating competition!

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And I’ll leave you this month with two things to try to get your head round …

First, Corey S Powell suggests that, like gravitational waves or ripples in a pond, we are just ripples of information in expanding outwards space-time. I see his point but I’m still trying to work out what it means.

And finally finally, a piece of science fiction suggesting that we could live forever if we merge biologically with the fungal network. [££££]

I suspect merging those two is going to be a bit like finding a unified theory of gravity and quantum mechanics.

history, memes

What Happened in 1324?

Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..24 years of yore.

Notable Events in 1324

8 January. Death of Marco Polo (below), Italian merchant and explorer (b.1254)

5 March. Birth of David II, King of Scotland (d.1371)

23 March. Pope John XXII excommunicates Ludwig the Bavarian, King of the Germans, for not seeking papal approval during his conflict against his rival Frederick the Fair. Ludwig, in turn, declares the Pope a heretic, because of John’s opposition to the view of Christ’s absolute poverty held by some Franciscans.

3 November. At Kilkenny in Ireland, Petronilla de Meath, the maidservant of Dame Alice Kyteler, becomes the first person in the British Isles to be burned at the stake as a witch. Dame Alice was able to escape and avoid capture.

Unknown Date. Marsilius of Padua writes Defensor pacis (The Defender of Peace), a theological treatise arguing against the power of the clergy and in favour of a secular state.

Unknown Date. William of Ockham, English Franciscan friar and philosopher, is summoned by John XXII to the papal court at Avignon and imprisoned.

food+drink

Culinary Adventures #110: Duck Schnitzel with Orzo Pseudo-Risotto

It’s been too long since I did a Culinary Adventures post. So to put that right this is what I concocted for Friday evening. As always it’s based on ideas culled from recipes I see, and adapted à la mode d’ici.

Duck Schnitzel with Orzo Pseudo-Risotto

Serves: 2
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 duck breasts
  • 100g orzo
  • 2 handfuls frozen peas
  • 2 large salad onions, or one medium-size onion, chopped
  • enough cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
  • a yellow, orange or red pepper, chopped
  • zest & juice of a lemon
  • plain flour
  • an egg, beaten
  • about 75g Panko Breadcrumbs (or ordinary breadcrumbs)
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • leaves from half a packet of fresh tarragon (discard the stems) or other fresh herbs of your choice
  • splash white wine or dry sherry (optional)

What to do

  1. Lay out 3 small plates. On the first put the flour, and season it with ground black pepper.
    On the second put the beaten egg.
    On the third the breadcrumbs mixed with the lemon zest.
  2. Put the orzo and peas on to cook together in plenty of boiling water. When done, drain and keep warm.
  3. Sweat the onion, garlic and pepper in some olive oil. As it cooks season with black pepper.
  4. (If desired remove the skin from the duck, and give it to your local fox.) Put the duck breasts between layers of clingfilm and beat them with a steak hammer (or rolling pin) to reduce their thickness.
  5. Coat each duck breast in the seasoned flour, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumbs. Fry in olive oil in another frying pan. Turn regularly and cook until the juices run clear (or a meat thermometer reaches at least 70°C) – but don’t overcook it so it goes dry.
  6. Just before the duck is done, add the tarragon and lemon juice to the onion, followed by the orzo & peas. Mix well and cook until heated through and steaming. If it seems too dry add a splash of white wine or dry sherry. Season with more black pepper.
  7. Serve the duck and “risotto” and enjoy with a glass or two of wine of your choice.

Notes

  1. I was surprised how well the lemon and tarragon came through in the “risotto”; it felt like the right combination. But thyme, sage, or coriander should work well too.
  2. I used Panko breadcrumbs. I’ve never used them before and I wanted to experiment. I think they gave a superior result to making your own breadcrumbs from stale bread – probably because they’re dried.
  3. This could be adapted (as I have) to use any pasta; broken up spaghetti works well.
  4. I’ve also done something similar with other meats, or for a veggie option I guess you could use slices of aubergine.
  5. Also optionally add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the onion mix at the same time as the tarragon and lemon.
amusements, arts, memes

June Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to this month’s five quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.

Art

  1. What year did Vincent Van Gogh die?  1890
  2. What Renaissance artist is buried in Rome’s Pantheon?  Raphael
  3. Who painted the famous artwork Guernica?  Picasso
  4. Who painted the famous artwork The Birth of Venus?  Botticelli
  5. Which US artist died in a car crash in August 1956, aged 44?  Jackson Pollock

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2023.

environment, science

Asian Hornets (Redux)

There’s more news on the Yellow-legged Asian Hornet which is attempting to get established in the UK.

A BBC news story earlier this week reported that DNA testing had shown that the hornets had definitely survived a UK winter for the first time. Subsequently Defra blogged that “Whilst this is the first evidence of Asian hornets overwintering in the UK, it is not considered to be strong evidence of an established population”.

Asian hornet ID chart

Hmmm. Well. Maybe. That sounds like a fairly technical position by Defra, and almost looks like hiding their head under their blanket. Having overwintered once they can easily do it again – and by that time they will have spread and there will be many more overwintering queens. It’ll take only one missed nest not destroyed in time and another mild winter. So it feels to me that they’re here to stay.

amusements, arts, memes

June Quiz Questions

Each month we’re posing five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. As before, they’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers – so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as having a bit of fun.

Art

  1. What year did Vincent Van Gogh die?
  2. What Renaissance artist is buried in Rome’s Pantheon?
  3. Who painted the famous artwork Guernica?
  4. Who painted the famous artwork The Birth of Venus?
  5. Which US artist died in a car crash in August 1956, aged 44?

Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.

history, memes

June 1924

Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.

3. Died. Franz Kafka, Austrian author (b. 1883)

5. Ernst Alexanderson sends the first facsimile across the Atlantic Ocean, which goes to his father in Sweden

8. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine are last seen “going strong for the top” of Mount Everest by teammate Noel Odell at 12:50pm; the two mountaineers are never seen alive again

12. Born. George HW Bush, 41st President of the United States (d. 2018)