BestBlogPosts

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 04:56:36 GMT

Flying pig celebrates U.S. holidays

Rather than spend hundreds of dollars on holiday decorations and thousands on the new extension to store all the boxes, let''s all buy a flying pig statue this year and dress it up with the six festive costumes that come with it to celebrate the seasons.

I mean, who needs Christmas lights when they''ve got a foot-long pig attached to a "When Pigs Fly" pedestal wearing a red Christmas cape and matching mask? What''s the point of a jack-o-lantern when the pig can easily don a black Halloween cape and mask? Why dye Easter eggs when the light blue Easter cape and mask are right there? Think about it.

Appropriately available at Stupid.com for $13.

Via Nerd Approved. Posted by: Sarah      Read more     Source

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:25:10 GMT

Crappy post

Yes, this is just what it looks like. The large boulder is one of those that are supposed to be under ten feet of water in the lake. That may happen some day, but most of the year, this boulder enjoys the Ozark sunlight. This is the rock into which I carved my initials some years back. Obviously, I’ve had a series of guests who have come to admire my carving, and they’ve left their calling cards.

I’d read somewhere the coyotes will leave their droppings in obvious places as a way to claim territory. I see their scat in the middle of the road often, for example. I guess this makes sense. I make no claim to understanding coyote psychology. I wonder, though, if you can see the droppings in obvious places because they are, um, obvious. You don’t see it lost in the leaf litter or the tall grass, but maybe it’s there too. So you only see it where it can be seen, and thus you conclude that it is only left where it can be seen.

I’ve been told more than once that I think too much, so you can disregard that whole preceding paragraph if you want.

I don’t know why the coyotes have picked this boulder to stake out their territory though. I guess it is somewhat prominent, and the white stone gives a nice color contrast (do you think coyotes appreciate that kind of thing?). Maybe they just want to out do my carved initials, which are, in their way, a sort of claim to territory as well.

I’ve never seen a coyote at Roundrock, but I’m sure they’ve seen me. I wonder what they’ve seen me doing.

Missouri calendar:

• Red foxes begin mating; listen for their barks and squalls.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal      Read more     Source

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:03:51 GMT

The journey from farm to juice bottle

With approximately 15,000 acres of cranberry bogs, Massachusetts is the second largest cranberry-producing state. (Wisconsin is the first.) I recently spent an afternoon driving around southeastern Mass. looking at cranberry bogs and learning about cranberry farming.

Cranberries typically grow in wetland areas, thriving on the sandy, acidic soils and high-organic matter that are typically found in such ecosystems. They exist in harsh conditions such as those in bogs and other wetlands because they can withstand harsh winds and ice, and they are immune to many bacteria and diseases common in overly wet areas.

The cranberry is one of only three native American crops that are commercially produced. (The other two are Concord grape & blueberry). Indians first used cranberries as a food source, for dye, and for its healing properties. It wasn’t long before European settlers caught on to the benefits of cranberries, and they were first successfully cultivated in the early 1800s.

(To learn more about the natural history of cranberries, read my first cranberry entry.)

The first commercial cranberry beds were constructed in wetlands, but now they are usually built in areas with a shallow water table. An unflooded cranberry bed looks like a low field surrounded on all sides by a dirt berm. The topsoil is scraped off and used to build the berm, which serves as a dike. The topsoil is replaced with 4-8 inches of clean sand, which is shaped to have a slight hill in the center to promote drainage. The beds are installed with irrigation equipment and planted with cuttings from established plants.

A lot of people think that cranberry beds are constantly underwater but that isn’t so. Beds are irrigated regularly, but are only flooded twice — in the fall to facilitate easier harvest, and in the winter to protect them from freezing. Though it might sound counterintuitive, ice actually helps protect the plants. Sand is spread on the top of frozen bogs to protect them from frost damage and for pest control; when the ice melts, the sand settles to the bottom of the bog and helps replenish the sandy bottom.

Late September and October are peak cranberry harvesting months. When the berries are ripe, the beds are flooded and mechanical harvesters remove the berries from the plants. The ripe berries float in the water and are raked into a corner of the bed, where they are mechanically pumped from the bed. Because they’re harvested in water, helicopters are often used to transport the crop to a separate area for sorting.

I’m not through with cranberries. Stay tuned, a post on the environmental aspects of cranberry production is coming up. Posted by: Caroline Brown      Read more     Source

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:13:41 GMT

Ear Candles

Also called ear cones, ear candles are long, hollow tubes made of wrapped muslin. Ear candles are used for ear wax removal. They are believed to help with ear infection and ear problems such as lack of hearing by removing the wax in which various bacteria and parasites live.

Using ear candles is called ear candling. It is generally more comfortable and less expensive than conventional ear cleaning where water is forced into the ear canal. Ear candles are considered a folk medicine. The practice of ear candling is actually an ancient art from many other countries such as China, Czechoslovakia, Mexico and Italy. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 07:52:15 GMT

SAIF Partners is China's Number One Venture Capital Firm

Zero2IPO recently released the China Venture Capital & Private Equity Annual Ranking for 2007 and this year's number one venture capital firm is SAIF Partners.

SAIF Partners describes itself as being focused on providing growth capital to companies in Asia that operate in the areas of business services, financial services, communications, consumer services, education services, healthcare, & manufacturing. Founded in 2001, the company manages over $2 billion in assets across three funds. It has been involved in more than 60 investments over the last 6 years, making it one of the largest and most active funds in the region.



Currently SAIF is invested in 43 companies in China. Their portfolio includes companies like China's largest home TV shopping channel, Acorn, and Joymedia, a privately held media company focused on TV program production and distribution. Also in the company portfolio: Joymedia and Shanda, both involved in online games and virtual worlds in China. Posted by: Greg Cruey      Read more     Source

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 19:10:03 GMT

China, US Ink Deal on Some Drugs

China and the U.S. signed an agreement Tuesday that could improve the safety of some commonly used drugs in the U.S., including Lipitor, Viagra, a flu drug called oseltamivir, and an antibiotic used for eye infections called gentamicin sulfate.

A recent Associated Press story notes that "The global pharmaceutical industry increasingly uses drugs either made or containing ingredients sourced in China."



The agreement was one of several signed as part of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT)meeting that just ended. The JCCT meets twice each year. The agreement, according the Forbes, will see China register producers of drugs and medical devices and "ensure they meet US safety standards and notify the US when safety problems surface."

While the new agreement may be a small step in the right direction, healthcare blogger Barbara Duck points out that "the accord covers only a tiny fraction of the pharmaceutical ingredients being marketed worldwide by thousands of unlicensed chemical companies. "

Another Blogosphere resident, Ellroon, was more cynical: "This should last about two minutes..... "

Under the agreement, U.S. food and drug inspectors will gain increased access to Chinese facilities where the drugs in questions are actually being produced. A working group of U.S. and Chinese officials is supposed to meet with 120 days to develop a plan to implement the new agreement. Posted by: Greg Cruey      Read more     Source

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:12:59 GMT

Chamaedorea pinnitafrons

Today''s photograph is courtesy of van swearingen@Flickr (original | BPotD Flickr Group Pool), who took the image at the New York Botanical Garden. Thank you!

Often, you will hear of insect pollination (entomophily) or wind pollination (anemophily), but I''ll wager you rarely hear about insect-induced wind pollination — the pollination mode used by this understory palm of Mexico, Central America and northern South America (see: Listabarth, C. 1993. Insect-induced wind pollination of the palm Chamaedorea pinnatifrons and pollination in the related Wendlandiella sp.. Biodiversity and Conservation. 2(1): 39-50). I''ll quote from the abstract: “In C. pinnatifrons both sexes flower synchronously during the dry season. Prior to anthesis, the pendulous male inflorescence is inhabited by numerous thrips (Thysanoptera) and Ptiliidae (Coleoptera). Staminate flowers open by a small basal slit between the petals. At anthesis pollen is shed and the movements of the insects inside the flowers trigger pollen release in small clouds. Thus, the powdery pollen becomes airborne and finally air currents act as a vector, carrying pollen to the inconspicuous female plants, which usually are not visited by insects.”

Today''s photograph is significantly post-pollination, as these are the ripening fruits on a female plant. An image of the male inflorescence, though, is available via the Palm & Cycad Societies of Australia: Chamaedorea pinnitafrons.

A fact sheet on the species is available via PalmBase, or the Palms of Ecuador database: Chamaedorea pinnitafrons. The image on that page is somewhat broken, but if you click on the area where it is supposed to be, you''ll witness another image of a male inflorescence. The fact sheet, in addition to providing details on morphology and distribution (seemingly limited to South America, so that''s a bit of a discrepancy), also provides a list of Spanish, Siona and Cofán common names. Posted by: Daniel Mosquin      Read more     Source

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:59:27 GMT

Charities and governance

On one reading, not-for-profit have really lifted their governance since the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley.

According to Grant Thornton's fifth annual National Board Governance Survey for Not-for-Profit Organizations, 75 percent of not-fot-profits say their organization has a code-of-ethics policy, compared to 17 percent in 2003. And 89 percent have a conflict-of-interest policy, a substantial increase from 24 percent several years ago. Almost nine out of 10 (87 percent) respondents have adopted a written investment policy, compared to 63 percent in 2006 and 92 per cent have implemented new accounting policies and procedures, compared to only 59 percent in last year's survey.

As Sarah Johnson at CFO.com points out, a lot of that is due to the Internal Revenue Service asking for more detailed financial information.

Still, it's not convincing if the track record of charities and non-profits outside of the US is anything to go by. Keeping in mind that they are all struggling with the same forces, there is some way to go.

In Britain, The Guardian reports that a report from the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organizations has found that charities are having real trouble with transparency and governance.

And in Australia, I have written a piece detailing how the Perpetual Foundation, which holds the biggest charitable trust book in the country, found that the non-profit sector had bad governance and little accountability. And the problem started with the boards.

"According to the report, directors of non-profit boards were inept at strategic planning and financial management, were ineffective at dealing with government and had been put there because of their political connections. They tended to fight with chief executives, interfered with management, got involved in petty issues and were self-serving. They lacked appreciation of their legal responsibilities, did not have the right skills and struggled to do their job, particularly if they were doing it after-hours." Posted by: leon      Read more     Source

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:40:02 GMT

The Golden Compass. London premiere

"If Darth Vader wore a blond wig, a slinky dress and a dab of Chanel behind each ear, he could hardly be as evil as Nicole Kidman, playing the gorgeous villainess Mrs Coulter in this spectacular new movie version of [The Golden Compass], the opening episode of Philip Pullman''s fantasy series His Dark Materials," writes the Guardian''s Peter Bradshaw. "This is the very best sort of part for her: statuesque, elegant, seductive, with a hint of cold steel. In many ways, it''s her juiciest character since the sociopathic meteorologist in To Die For."

"When she walks down the hall of fictional Jordan College in a figure-hugging gold lame gown, her honey-blonde locks permed into place, the men on screen fall silent - and my mouth fell open and an involuntary ''wow!'' fell out," confesses Baz Bamigboye in the Daily Mail. "Now, that''s what I call a movie star entrance, and I haven''t seen it done with such aplomb in years."

Updated through 12/2. Posted by: dwhudson      Read more     Source

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:31:49 GMT

Sea Organ

In 2005, architect Nikola Basic created the musical Sea Organ on the shores of Zadar, Croatia. It is the world''s first musical pipe organ that is played by the sea. Simple and elegant steps, carved in white stone, were built on the quayside.

Underneath, there are 35 musically tuned tubes with whistle openings on the sidewalk. The movement of the sea pushes air through, and – depending on the size and velocity of the wave – musical chords are played. The waves create random harmonic sounds.

Listen to the Sea Organ.

(thanks Stanley) Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source