January 2011
How big is your amygdala? →
The size of your amygdala might indicate how big and how complex your social network is. This comes from researchers who examined how amygdala volume varies in humans with different social networks….
December 2010
Koan for the Year's End →
Jethro Tull →
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967 that is distinctive for the lyrics, vocals and flute playing of Ian Anderson who has led…
Allegheny Woodrats →
As I have written here in an earlier post, I don’t get much sympathy when I do a speaking engagement on NJ’s endangered species and discuss woodrats. Rats, like snakes, are often lumped together by…
Winter Break Hikes →
Take a Hike: Winter break hikes being offered throughout Morris County, NJ | dailyrecord.com The woods may look inactive in winter. But they’re not, says Douglas Vorolieff, senior teacher…
Top Students Are Not Attracted to Teaching →
It may not come as a surprise to you that we are not attracting and retaining the top talent in our schools to become teachers. “Efforts to help US schools become more effective generally…>
Wildlife Viewing On A Comfortable Couch →
The blizzard hit NJ this past Christmas weekend and I’m sure it stopped many plans to get outside. (I guess our “Warmer Planet and More Jersey Snow” post was well-timed last week!) Luckily, there…
Aligning With the Galaxy in 2012 →
The recent Winter Solstice got a lot of attention because it coincided with a Full Moon and a lunar eclipse. Those are all events that would have great interest to people in the past – much more so…
Back to the Future in 2011 →
Happy Birthday, Henry Miller
It’s the birthday of author Henry Miller, born in New York City (1891). He’s best known for his novel Tropic of Cancer (1934), in which he wrote:
“It may be that we are doomed, that there is no hope for us, any of us, but if that is so then let us set up a last agonizing, bloodcurdling howl, a screech of defiance, a war whoop! Away with lamentation! Away with elegies and dirges!...
Koan 9 →
Cola Baby →
I love that it’s from The Soda Pop Board of America!
PCCC Winter Break →
Passaic County Community College will be on winter break from December 23 until January 2. Offices will reopen on Monday, January 3rd. Registration for the 15 week semester is on…
Stonehenge →
Stonehenge always gets a little extra attention at a solstice. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of…
Patriots' Path →
If you enjoy biking, horseback riding, cross country skiing and hiking, then Patriots’ Path might be a trail system to explore. The Path is a still-developing network of hiking, biking…
Odd Swedish tradition: watching Donald Duck... →
While Americans tend to spend Christmas Eve feasting, caroling, and/or leaving cookies and milk out for Santa, the Swedes’ tradition includes the annual viewing of the Kalle Anke Donald Duck cartoon.
read article at http://www.slate.com/id/2239252/
Yule →
Most of us have heard the word “Yule” used around this time of the year. Yule or Yule-tide (“Yule-time”) is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people…
It's Officially Winter →
The last time we had a lunar eclipse on the Winter Solstice was 21 December MDCXXXVIII.
I’ll bet that when the Full Moon was in total eclipse from 1:12 to 2:47 UT and the solstice occured later in…
Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe
Maf is (and was in real life) a Maltese bichon… he is scooped up by none other than the actress Natalie Wood’s mother, Maria Gurdin (in Maf’s words, “a fan of fandom”), who often picks up dogs in England on her visits and brings them back to Hollywood, where she distributes them among her daughter’s famous friends. Maf is intended as a gift for Wood’s...
Moon of the Long Night →
Our Full Moon this month coincides with the Winter Solstice today, Tuesday, December 21, 2010. This is somewhat unusual but it is rarer still because earlier this morning (around 2 a.m EST) there was…
Shakespeare in the Original Pronunciation →
Paul Meier, a theater professor at the University of Kansas, had his students this semester stage the first-ever American rendition of a Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in its…
Browsing →
When we hear the term “browser” we think of programs like Internet Explorer and Firefox. When we say “browsing,” I think most people think about that casual searching we do. It might be in a store, a…
Cold Spring →
Cold white azalea -
Lone nun
Under thatched roof.
— Basho
Archie of Riverdale at Age 69 →
Last week, I did some online searching for an old friend. His name is Archie Andrews and he lives in Riverdale. I found him. Actually, I found out a lot about him and his friends. Archie has gotten…
Converting Vinyl to mp3?
Have you found a good/easy way to convert vinyl records to mp3 format? I was going to buy an Ion Audio Profile LP Turntable, but the reviews are uneven. I’m looking for something very automated because I have way too many LPs!
AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com →
Family Photos: Helping to fuel the psychiatric industry for more than a century.
Trail Work That Doesn't Work →
Though volunteers spend many hours each year maintaining trails in NJ and other states, not all “trail work” is useful. In Essex County, the Hilltop Conservancy has been finding evidence of un…
The Dollar Store →
Imagine you owned a “Dollar Store” in 1913. Everything in the store cost $1.
In 1963, everything in the store would have to sell for $7. This year, everything would cost $22.
Inflation, yes. One…
Jersey Coyotes
My favorite part of the article is the advice on how to deal with a coyote. Having grown up in Irvington, I learned this at an early age - though there were no coyotes there.
However, if encountered by a coyote, Hajna said residents should not run. “When you run, you initiate that prey instinct in the animal,” he said. Instead he advised residents to let the animal know it is not welcome by...
Serendipity →
I have another blog called Serendipity35. It’s about learning and technology. I named it that partially because the software that runs it is called serendipity, and partially because I love the…
Social Media Trends 2011 →
It’s the time of the year for lists of best of, worst of, most important etc. I usually read them. I sometimes write a
few. One topic that interested me the past year is the use of social media. In…
