Monarch chrysalis formation

The last time I featured the monarch caterpillars, they were forming "Js" on the top of their enclosures.

I was lucky this week to capture one of the Js in the process of splitting open to reveal the chrysalis inside (upper photo). The process of metamorphosis requires shedding of the antennae, legs, and head, along with the skin; all of that material is wriggled into a ball and accumulates at the top near the attachment to the roof (then it falls off). What is left behind is the chrysalis, inside which the butterfly will form.

In the upper photo of the splitting "J" I think you can discern in the background a second - earlier - chrysalis, under the surface of which the monarch wingpattern is already evident. The lower photo shows the undersurface of the lid of the enclosure, with the cohort of cats and chrysalids. Monarch butterflies should begin emerging about 10 days from now.

Jupiter's moon Europa

Click to enlarge (unfortunately not to wallpaper dimensions).

Greed masquerading as "anti-terror security"

NEW YORK, July 23 (UPI) -- Team officials admit rules were "too stringent" and are now allowing sunblock to be brought into New York's Yankee Stadium, The New York Post reported Wednesday

The change came after fans howled when they were forced to dump their sunscreen at the gate if it was in containers holding more than three ounces. The Yankees said the prohibition was necessary to prevent possible terrorists from concealing liquid explosives that could be brought into the stadium. "The Yankees' management will do whatever it takes to maximize profit under the guise of security," retired police officer Chester Hicks said to the newspaper.

Sunscreen inside the stadium sells at an inflated price of $5 an ounce.

Amber fishermen

"During prehistoric times, wind and waves coming ashore from the Baltic Sea formed what is known as the Curonian Spit on Poland and Lithuania's famous Amber Coast [map above]. Running southwest to northeast, the spit varies in width from 430 yards to 2 miles and is sixty miles long. Along this shore, banks of pine trees and sand dunes separate the Baltic from the Curonian Lagoon. For thousands of years, amber that has been pulled up from the ocean floor by strong tides and fierce storms has been deposited along this shorline.

In the marshy regions along this coast, where the tides were unpredictable, amber was collected on horseback by "amber riders" who used poles and nets called "amber-catchers." There were also "amber divers" who carried a wooden spade to loosen amber from the sea floor.

The earliest evidence of an amber workshop in Gdansk dates back to the 9th and 10th century AD. Local dukes held an exclusive right to "fish" and mine amber, and the amber fishermen had to obtain an amber-fishing license from the city government. The illustration [above top] showing an amber-fisher is from 'Succini prussici physica et civilis historia' in 1697."

(Credit for text and images HERE)

Followup on out-of-date auto tires

Two weeks ago I posted a blog entry about tire codes. Today I found an ABC News video on the subject, apparently just broadcast last week - it's well worth watching, but I can't embed it here.

The YouTube copy is less succinct and lower resolution video, but is embedded above as a second choice if the ABC link becomes inactive.

"Bedspring boys"

Boston, Massachusetts. January 25, 1917. "Boys linking bed-springs. 14 and 15 years old." Glass negative by Lewis Wickes Hine. (Credit to Shorpy) Click image to enlarge to full screen size.

Radio factory, 1925

Found at Shorpy, the photoblog specializing in old images. Anyone who enjoys history, photography, or just exploring would be well served to visit the site.

I won't use this image for any socio-political commentary, although it does provide an interesting American historical counterpoint to the recent images out of China showing enormous factories, and as a reminder that this country rose to power and prominence with a manufacturing economy, not a service economy.

Click to magnify the image to wallpaper size.

"Jake the Peg" performed by Rolf Harris

A "necktie party" for neckties?

As a pragmatist who prefers functionality over fashion and affectation, I for one will not bemoan the "death of the necktie," as implied by the impending dissolution of the trade association for that clothing item:

"Association members now number just 25, down from 120 during the 1980s power-tie era. U.S. tie companies have been consolidating...According to a recent Gallup Poll, the number of men who wore ties every day to work last year dropped to a record low of 6%, down from 10% in 2002...Although sales are expected to get a bump around Father's Day, June 15, the future of neckties is very much in doubt...

The Wiki review of the subject traces the history of the tie to about 1600, when changeable neckcloths were deemed more practical than changing an entire doublet that became soiled (presumably while dining). The modern equivalent is, of course, the "Dress for Dinner" napkin.

The neckcloth evolved into the cravat, a word derived from the French term "cravate" used for Croatian mercenaries ("Croat" in Croatian is "Hrvat").

Name that animal - round 11

In round 10, Mieke was correct that the creature in question was a Saki monkey. I had thought that the almost ursine face and the ET-like-fingers made for a somewhat improbable combination. I don't have any TYWKIWDBI-type facts to offer re the monkey itself, which appears to lead a rather conventional life.

And speaking of odd appearances, try this one. Is it real, or is it "Photoshopped?"

Winner gets a kiss.

The Pelican-eats-pigeon video

Described by the person who submitted this to YouTube as follows:

"this is the original footage. Filmed by myself in St. James Park, London Sunday 7th August 2005. I'd just finished film school and had hired a Z1 as a graduation present. Fifteen minutes after setting up, near Princess Diana's Memorial Walk, this happened. In front of me with the camera rolling!

Did Steve Fossett fake his death?

I detest "celebrity" news, but I love "conspiracy theory," so I'll let this fall into the latter category. The disappearance of adventurer Steve Fossett last year sparked a lot of media interest and some bewilderment, but at the time at least no controversy. Now questions are being raised - not surprisingly, by the insurance company.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Ryan of the US Civil Air Patrol has said Fossett, whose body or plane was never found, could still be alive.
She said: "I've been doing this search and rescue for 14 years. Fossett should have been found.
"It's not like we didn't have our eyes open. We found six other planes while we were looking for him. We're pretty good at what we do."

The choice of plane was also a baffling one - a Bellanca Citabria Super Decathlon, which, according to risk assessor Robert Davis said was constructed from a steel and wood frame, but actually covered in fabric, making it easy to dismantle.

Stay tuned.


Update:  As Kevin points out in his comment, Fosset's body was later found.  I could delete the post, but I'll leave it up as an object lesson re conspiracy theory.

Why does this clock show 4 as IIII instead of IV?

"One common suggestion is that around the circle the IIII balances the VIII which is in its mirror-symmetrical place – that is if a mirror was placed vertically between the XII and VI, the VIII and IIII would reflect on to each other...

Another plausible explanation might be that IV has three strokes and is more likely than IIII to be confused with the neighbouring III or it could be confused with the upside down VI...

I think the answer is rather different. Artefacts in Wells Cathedral in Somerset, England indicate that it is the question that may be based on a false assumption. Have the normal rules of writing Roman numerals been broken? Or does the dial of a clock simply use the normal rules which were used when the clock face was first drawn in the 14th century? It is worth remembering that when the idea of a mechanism rotating hands to indicate the passage of time was invented, the means by which the pointers showed the time had to be designed.

The oldest surviving clock-face in its original condition is on the clock inside Wells Cathedral in Somerset. It dates from before 1392 and the original mechanism – now in the Science Museum – has some claim to be the oldest surviving clock works in the world. The current mechanism that drives it is Victorian, but the face has not been changed for more than 600 years...

The answer I believe is found in manuscripts in the Wells Cathedral library. They show that the use of IIII – or more precisely iiii or iiij – for 4 was commonplace even though 9 was normally depicted by IX or ix. In other words, the subtractive principle was used for one but not the other...

...in the mid 1200s, a copy of the Liber Ethinmologiarum by St. Isidore of Seville (died 636) was written out... The verso of folio 36 lists 39 headings. It uses iiii exclusively for 4, but ix exclusively for 9...

So the clock-faces we see today could be the last surviving remnants of the style used by the mediaeval scribes when writing Roman numerals."

Full credit for text and image to Paul Lewis.

From Roman numerals we move logically to Romania...

Romanian oil production

Posted for the sole purpose of noting the interesting observation it was the country of Romania that had "the world's first commercial-scale oil production" in 1857. I wouldn't have guessed that if you had given me 300 guesses.

Credit to the Oil Drum, whence also the image. It is in my view the single best source for extended in-depth discussions of the petroleum industry, with a readership heavily weighted toward scientists and industry insiders. Rightly or wrongly there does seem to be a bias toward "peak oil" (as you might have guessed from the nature of the imbedded image).

And speaking of "Romania"...

Geography quiz #1

The area shaded in green in the map above is best referred to by which of the following names?

a) Lithuania
b) Indonesia
c) Romania
d) Tanzania
e) None of the above


The answer is NOT "e". See the comments section for answer and explanation