Although I can appreciate the benefits of grass around the home, I am not a big fan of big lawns. They demand lots of energy and water, and in return, our family, which consists entirely of humans, cannot eat grass. For this reason, we have devoted most of our backyard to a vegetable garden, shrubs,... Continue Reading →
Although it's common knowledge that there is a beneficial relationship between members of the legume family and Rhizobium bacteria, less people are aware that there is a similar relationship between the members of the birch and alder family and a bacteria called Frankia. What's noteworthy is that in both mutualisms, legumes and birches gain more... Continue Reading →
Pictured is my fourth attempt at growing a poplar from seed. The seed, which was within a capsule-like fruit, landed in my garden after it drifted in the wind, courtesy of an attachment to a cottony puff. Most people, if they notice them at all, think they are an annoyance that have to be skimmed... Continue Reading →
Life's Essential Elements is available at Amazon at https://t.co/l71gxUWzZb?amp=1 Just prior to publishing the book, I created a new cover to please my daughter. Authors are told not to expect their family members to read their book. My parents don't read English, so that's a given, but I do hope that my daughter will have a... Continue Reading →
Life's Essential Elements will be released soon. Although it has involved a lot of work, research and some mud-wrestling with Word and other software, it is an endeavour that I don't want to conclude! I keep getting ideas to improve the book, but I could see how the necessary obsession is starting to get on... Continue Reading →
In the same way that family has given me more satisfaction than serial relationships, and that a teaching career felt better than odd jobs, no matter how diversified, book-writing hits a deeper chord than blogs, essays and magazine articles. I am new at it, and I have no illusions of getting published, but what matters... Continue Reading →
If a biographer of Humphry Davy wanted to reinforce the scientist-stereotype, he would emphasize how a young Davy was turned on to chemistry by reading Lavoisier's book and how he was discharged from an apothecary for causing explosive reactions. He would mention his bad habit of inhaling gases, which probably helped shorten his life to... Continue Reading →
The DNA-surrounding capsid of the cold virus and the atomic arrangement of a certain allotrope of boron consists of 20 triangles arranged in a three dimensional shape known as a icosahedron. If you form a three-dimensional structure with 8 triangles, you get an octahedron. An example is the molecular structure of the electrical insulator and... Continue Reading →
Like society in general, science needs a variety of both skills and viewpoints to survive. Some of its devotees have been ingenious experimentalists; others have devised elegant theories solely from their desks. Some combine both skills and manage research teams. Many scientists, like natural philosophers of yesteryear, remain focused on providing humanity with insight into... Continue Reading →
