Monthly Archives: April 2013

The spread of gurkor, pepinos and cucumbers

Posted on 30 April 2013 by

An etymology geek’s idea of fun: tracking the twists and shifts of a word throughout its “native” ranges. Portugal remains united in its embrace of pepino, but Spain seems to have a split personality. That Galicia would be French-influenced is … Continue reading →

Posted in language | 5 Comments

Wallpaper Monday

Posted on 29 April 2013 by

Wired featured a gorgeous shot of Enceladus as its Space Science image of the week last week: This face-on colour view of Enceladus was taken by the international Cassini spacecraft on 31 January 2011, from a distance of 81 000 … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, science, wallpaper | 2 Comments

Saturday picture show

Posted on 27 April 2013 by

Earlier this week, NASA released a greatest hits video of its Solar Dynamic Observatory, which has been watching the sun for three years. During those years, the Little Observatory That Could snapped images of the sun every 12 seconds, in … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, science, video | 3 Comments

“Oh YEAH!” news of the day

Posted on 26 April 2013 by

I do love a story like this one from Dubai: A bus driver who tried to rape a passenger at knifepoint chose the wrong victim, a court heard yesterday. The woman, an off-duty US navy sailor, knocked the knife from … Continue reading →

Posted in good news | 2 Comments

Wringing out water on the ISS

Posted on 25 April 2013 by

If you have not already seen this video, stop now and watch it. It will answer the question you never knew you needed answered: What happens when you wring out a wet washcloth in space? My nerdly little heart went … Continue reading →

Posted in science, video | 8 Comments

Last day in London

Posted on 24 April 2013 by

On our final full day in London, we hopped a Thames Clipper and headed downstream. The catamarans are so smooth on the water that even my mom had no issues, and my dad was happy as a clam out on … Continue reading →

Posted in travel | 3 Comments

Probation violation

Posted on 23 April 2013 by

I just ran across an article in my news feeds that caught my attention, and not in a good way. A Philadelphia couple – serving 10 years’ probation for the 2009 death of their toddler after they turned to prayer … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | 11 Comments

Wallpaper Monday

Posted on 22 April 2013 by

Local photographer makes good: Portland reader Paulo alerted me to this Astronomy Picture of the Day, which was taken by his friend, and which is undeniably gorgeous. That eerily moonlit cloud hovering near Mt. Hood (Oregon) is a lenticular cloud, … Continue reading →

Posted in Oregon, wallpaper | 1 Comment

Kew flowers

Posted on 19 April 2013 by

For some reason, all of our previous trips to London have been in the dead of winter. This time we managed to arrive in early spring, and were thus treated to the spring bulb display at Kew Gardens. I have … Continue reading →

Posted in travel, wildflowers | 10 Comments

Good news

Posted on 18 April 2013 by

Jeez, this has been an awful week for my home nation. The Boston Marathon bombing, the Texas fertilizer plant explosion, and now the Senate Republicans’ sneering, in-your-face proof that a 90% American public preference and a 54-vote Senate majority still … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, video | 8 Comments