I just identified a plant with thorns and circles of 5 leaves that's growing out front as being not Virginia Creeper (which doesn't have thorns) but Highbush Blackberry! That is a Zone 5 plant, so it's official...we're now in Zone 5 for certain! When we moved here 40 years ago, we were in Zone 4a.
Wikipedia is helpful: Rubus allegheniensis [Click] Control discussed here. [Click] When I was a kid we had a lot of blackberries on a damp part of our property; we would pick and eat a lot of them in the summer. ----Alan
The climate zone map I was just looking at says Fresno is in zone 9b, but there is a difference of at least one zone between our back and front yards (north and south facing respectively). Definitely the weather has become warmer and drier since we have been living here; the dense winter fog that was typical of our area has almost completely disappeared. ----Alan
I remember people telling of entering an intersection in their cars, losing sight of road markings and lights, coming to a stop and getting out to find themselves standing in the middle of the intersection. From old people I heard stories of driving by a pasture in the daytime and being able to see only the heads of the cattle there, sticking up out of the fog. The loss of fog allows huge amounts of water to evaporate from the fields, significantly increasing the need for irrigation water. There were places along the main roads where there were big crashes every year because of foolish driving in the fog. There was one place on my way to my secondary job at a rural hospital where the fog seemed to hover about six or eight feet above the pavement-- it was a weird sensation driving along there. ----Alan
The New Yorker has an extensive and evidently well researched article on the OceanGate Titan submersible and warnings about its safety. [Click] The other day I saw a video of how the vessel was built; the tubular carbon fiber hull was GLUED to the titanium end caps. I figure there was no way that glue not going to flex with each dive, and eventually fail. ——Alan
Astronomers observe time dilation in early universe [Click] “Events appear to unfold five times slower when universe was a tenth of its present age, [an] effect predicted by Einstein.” This seems rather murky to me, but I am no astrophysicist.——Alan
Interesting. Perhaps that explains why our lives run at such a fast pace compared with our forebears. Perhaps it's a natural consequence of the Universe expanding. I'll have to read the article now. Ha!
Read it! Pleased I was on track about the expansion of the Universe playing a part. Just have to say once again how amazed I am by Albert Einstein's mind. What a gift he was and continues to be!
Like a change from cat videos? Here is BBC’s robot octopus! [Click]
ReplyDelete——Alan
Looks real enough!
DeleteI just identified a plant with thorns and circles of 5 leaves that's growing out front as being not Virginia Creeper (which doesn't have thorns) but Highbush Blackberry! That is a Zone 5 plant, so it's official...we're now in Zone 5 for certain! When we moved here 40 years ago, we were in Zone 4a.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia is helpful:
DeleteRubus allegheniensis [Click]
Control discussed here. [Click]
When I was a kid we had a lot of blackberries on a damp part of our property; we would pick and eat a lot of them in the summer.
----Alan
The climate zone map I was just looking at says Fresno is in zone 9b, but there is a difference of at least one zone between our back and front yards (north and south facing respectively). Definitely the weather has become warmer and drier since we have been living here; the dense winter fog that was typical of our area has almost completely disappeared.
Delete----Alan
Oh what a great loss. I love a good walk in dense fog.
DeleteI remember people telling of entering an intersection in their cars, losing sight of road markings and lights, coming to a stop and getting out to find themselves standing in the middle of the intersection. From old people I heard stories of driving by a pasture in the daytime and being able to see only the heads of the cattle there, sticking up out of the fog. The loss of fog allows huge amounts of water to evaporate from the fields, significantly increasing the need for irrigation water. There were places along the main roads where there were big crashes every year because of foolish driving in the fog. There was one place on my way to my secondary job at a rural hospital where the fog seemed to hover about six or eight feet above the pavement-- it was a weird sensation driving along there.
Delete----Alan
The New Yorker has an extensive and evidently well researched article on the OceanGate Titan submersible and warnings about its safety. [Click] The other day I saw a video of how the vessel was built; the tubular carbon fiber hull was GLUED to the titanium end caps. I figure there was no way that glue not going to flex with each dive, and eventually fail.
ReplyDelete——Alan
*O*M*G*!!!
Delete
ReplyDeleteMuon navigation! [Click] early days, but promising.
——Alan
Astronomers observe time dilation in early universe [Click] “Events appear to unfold five times slower when universe was a tenth of its present age, [an] effect predicted by Einstein.” This seems rather murky to me, but I am no astrophysicist.——Alan
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Perhaps that explains why our lives run at such a fast pace compared with our forebears. Perhaps it's a natural consequence of the Universe expanding. I'll have to read the article now. Ha!
DeleteRead it! Pleased I was on track about the expansion of the Universe playing a part. Just have to say once again how amazed I am by Albert Einstein's mind. What a gift he was and continues to be!
DeleteWimbledon: Paraffin, matches and the plot to burn down All England Club [Click]
ReplyDelete—Alan
The Only Spacecraft Which Flies Under 100% Human Control [Click] Virgin Galactic
ReplyDelete——Alan
Giuliani testified for 8 hours in DOJ probe [Click]
ReplyDelete——Alan
That's time enough to spill a lot of beans . . .
Delete----Alan
Unless, of course, all he said was "I plead the Fifth" and "I don't recall."
Delete