Tornado trend lines

Data from NOAA, via Paul Douglas' On Weather blog.

Rental car driving restriction

Source.

Contaminants can move UP a flowing stream of water

An interesting observation has been posted in MIT's Technology Review - that contaminants in water (or other liquids) can move against the dominant flow by using countercurrents, and can even traverse small waterfalls.  The discovery came through classic serendipity:

While pouring the hot water onto the [herb] leaves, Ernesto Althsuler and buddies at the University of Havana in Cuba, noticed a puzzling phenomenon. They found that, sometimes, the leaves would somehow travel upstream and end up contaminating the upstream container of pure water.

Being diligent physicists, they decided to investigate. They found that the leaves (and also chalk powder) were able to navigate upstream if the waterfall was less than about a centimetre in height. "For distances of the order of 1 cm or less, some of the floating particles eventually start to "climb up the stream"," they say.

Details at the link.  It has potential implications for "chemical, medical, pharmaceutical and industrial processes."

Via Swans on Tea.

Anyone with experience/advice re "oil extractor pumps" ?

This weekend I managed to change the oil in my lawnmower, and have been pondering trying to change the oil in our car, but I'm not eager to crawl underneath the vehicle to access the drain plug.

I've discovered that several companies make devices similar to the one shown - a vacuum pump that pulls the old oil up through the dipstick tube.  I browsed a couple automotive forums, where I saw comments pro and con.  The device apparently can't get out the last remnants of the old oil at the bottom of the system, but it seems to me that replacing 90% of the oil would be useful, and the old stuff would be diluted with the new and be replaced the next time.  But some commenters said there's a "sludge" and metallic grit that has to be drained downward by gravity.  Others noted that the oil filter still has to be changed via access under the car. 

Has anyone used something like this?  Is it worth the $50 expense?

Greek bronze figure of a horse

From the Geometric Period, circa 8th century B.C.

...of Corinthian type, of stylized attenuated form standing on an openwork rectangular base, with crested mane, long forward-pointing ears, and cylindrical muzzle; height 5 3/4 in. 14.6 cm. Estimate 150,000—250,000 USD. Lot Sold 842,500 US. 

Photo: Sotheby's.  Found at Les cahiers d'Alain Truong, via The Ancient World.

(I have to admit the first couple times I viewed this photo, I saw a horse with it's neck extended and mouth wide open.  It wasn't until I read the description that I realized the nose/mouth is presented as a cylinder and the upper part of the head is the ears/mane presumably.  Viewed either way, it's still a striking image.  And crafted in the 8th centurty B.C....)

Addendum: 032125 knew of another strikingly similar example, from the same period, in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A knife that injects compressed gas into the victim

Designed for underwater use:

This weapon injects a freezing cold ball of compressed gas, approximately the size of a basketball, at 800psi nearly instantly. The effects of this injection will drop many of the world's largest land predators. The effects of the compressed gas not only cause over-inflation during ascent when used underwater, but also freezes all tissues and organs surrounding the point of injection on land or at sea. When used underwater, the injected gas carries the predator to the surface BEFORE blood is released into the water. Thus giving the diver added protection by diverting other potential predators to the surface. 

More info here, video here, via.

When sea lions want salmon for lunch

A dilemma for various special interest groups on the Northwest coast, as sea lions have moved up the Columbia River. Excerpts from a WSJ article:

The sea lions are feasting on this area's choicest runs of salmon, steelhead trout and sturgeon, and during the last decade have been taking thousands of fish every spring. The burning issue: should anything be done to keep the enormous beasts from turning Bonneville Dam into a buffet? And, if so, should lethal removal be one of the options?...

Sea lions used to be rare this far inland, scientists say. Generally they prey on fish either in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, or at the mouth of the Columbia. The number of fish taken upriver here has been rising—to nearly 8,000 last year, or almost eight times the 2002 total—out of a annual total migration of about 300,000 Chinook salmon, the main species during the months sea lions arrive...

The Humane Society, along with the Wild Fish Conservancy, a co-litigant in Friday's filing, says sea lions have consumed an average of 2.5% of Columbia River salmon in recent years, while at the same time commercial and sport fishermen have taken up to 17% of recent salmon runs...

The legal stalemate is matched by an ethical one: which species is under a greater threat, sea lion or salmon? Recently, both the fish and the marine mammals seemed on the verge of extinction. Today both seem on their way to recovery.

There's a similar article in the New York Times, and the Anchorage Daily News offers these comments:

The issue is an example of the delicate work involved in trying to manage animal populations. In this case, both the salmon and sea lions are protected by the federal government -- the salmon by the Endangered Species Act, and the sea lions by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

As a result, the federal government goes to great lengths to try to protect both. Under normal conditions, killing a sea lion is a serious crime, punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000...

Like everything to do with salmon in the Pacific Northwest, it's complicated. And it's hard to grasp how one thing makes a difference in the system."

Photo: Associated Press.

"Distressed Property Index" x 5 years

The "housing crisis" has really fallen out of the headlines in America's short-attention-span news cycle, replaced by Bin Laden, flooding, sports, the Arab Spring, presidential candidates, and everything else.

But it hasn't gone away.  The graph above shows the number of distressed properties in Dane County, Wisconsin.  It's worth noting that Dane County (Madison and suburbs) has NOT been one of the premier crisis points, like Las Vegas, Florida cities, California suburbs, etc.  Madison is a comfortable, university-based mid-sized metropolis with a diverse economic base.

But look at the "distressed property" trend for the past 5 years.  Distressed properties are those (mostly homes, I think) that are in foreclosure or are being sold by the owner of the mortgage (bank, credit union), typically at prices well below "market value."

At the left side of the graph (January 2006), fewer than 5% of homes were "distressed" - now it's over 30%, and has been for five months.  Imagine a third of homes in a metropolitan area being sold by desperate mortgage owners.  Now imagine trying to sell your own home in such an environment.

Reportedly, fewer and fewer additional homes are being added to this mess, but obviously it's going to be many years before supply and demand come back into balance and prices return to even 2006 levels.

Additional information at the Wisconsin State Journal.

Whip spider

Heterophrynus sp., Guyanese rainforest.

Photo from Artour a's Flickr photostream, via Found here.

The essence of fascism

"Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any other controlling private power.

"The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living. Both lessons hit home. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, speaking in 1938.

Discussed in a Reddit thread.

100 pianists playing 50 pianos in concert

At least one hopes "in concert," because otherwise it would be quite a cacophony.

"Lang lang Inspires" at the Royal Festival Hall in London culminates in a massed piano concert, with Chinese pianist Lang Lang performing alongside 100 young British pianists on 50 Steinway grand pianos.

I looked for a YouTube video this morning and didn't find one.

Addednum:  Anon found the video here.

Photo credit: Eddie Mulholland.

Metal floating on water

Probably everyone who has been to a beach has seen grains of sand floating on water, demonstrating how surface tension can override density.  The photographer here has illustrated the phenomenon by placing a grille in front of the light source to show the curvature of the water surface.  Nicely done.

Image credit Robert Anderson, via BBC News and Scipsy.

Subliminal message in a Dove advertisement ?

If you look at the background panels, the message is that Dove makes your skin smoother.  Viewing the models, the message might be that Dove makes you a) thinner, or b) whiter.

Via Reddit.

The voting public viewed as "employees" of government

An unfortunate analogy offered by the curent governor of Florida:

“I understand there’s people that like things and don’t like things,” Scott said. “It’s really no different than in business. Because in business everyone doesn’t agree with everything you do. All your employees won’t say, ‘Oh yeah, I think you should exactly do this instead of that.’”

One supposes that the comparison came to mind because prior to being elected governor, Rick Scott was CEO of a hospital corporation.  The difference now, of course, is that the public are not like employees of the government - rather, the governor and state officials are employees of the public.

Sunday smörgåsbord

Police in London pulled a headless body from a river.  It was badly decomposed and riddled with maggots.  Following standard protocol, they then called in a medic to confirm that the person was dead.

A bill before the legislature of the state of Vermont would establish single-payer health care for residents of the state.  IBM is lobbying in opposition to the bill.  This op-ed piece speculates about the reasons for their opposition and its implications.

The Congressional Record is not a verbatim transcript of proceedings in our government.  In point of fact, Senators can delete comments they regret having made, and can add material they never said.

Google Blacklist is a list of words that Google Instant won't "autofill" when you begin entering the term in the search box.  Most of them are sexual terms.

BP "scored a nearly $10 billion dollar credit on their 2010 federal tax return, by writing off their "losses" incurred from the tragedy."

Since Paul Ryan is often in the news now, this Wisconsin Magazine article from 2010 provides some extensive background information on him.

Should animals participate in a "Pet Passover?"  Is it lighthearted humor, or is it intrinsically offensive?

US Representative Danny Rehberg (R-MT), whose net worth is $31,000,000 and is the 14th richest member of the House, said at a town hall that he's "struggling" like everybody else and that he's "cash poor."

A photoessay on London's underground Post Office Railway.

Gold mines in Wales provided the material for the ring in the recent royal wedding, and for previous rings worn by members of the British monarchy.

Bin Laden's will stipulates that his children must not join al-Qaida.

The snowpack in the Rocky Mountains is breaking records. "So much snow has fallen this year that in the month of April the 16 foot tall gage used to measure water content was covered by snow. They had to add an extension to continue measuring for the rest of the season."

A gallery of photos celebrates the 190th birthday of The Guardian.

A column at Salon provides an interesting history of tequila, which surprisingly dates to the arrival of Filipino sailors aboard Chinese merchant ships.

A Michigan woman declared herself a candidate for a local school board.  One vote would have been sufficient to get her the seat.  She got no votes.  She didn't bother to vote for herself...

Infanticide was common in the Roman empire.  Archaeological digs are now revealing the bodies.

Medical bills are the most common cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States - and most of those declaring bankruptcy have medical insurance.

A list of 100 opening lines from books. 

Deadspin offers "Everything You Wanted To Know About Porn, Weed, And Toilets In Afghanistan, Courtesy A Platoon Leader."

A medical condition I had never heard of: aquagenic urticaria (itching in response to contact with water).

'Tis not the season yet, but here is a Flickr collection of toy and Christmas catalogues from the 1970s to the 1990s.  You can look up what your parents didn't give you.

The embedded photos were taken recently in the woodland garden behind our house.  Bleeding hearts at the top, trillium below that, and then a view of the ferns, hosta, bluebells, and vinca.  And that's where I'm heading now, because it's a beautiful spring day in the Midwest.  Bye...