Not too long ago I posted about the device above – a cool looking glass bulb which supposedly uses light to scare away flights. That claim hit my skeptical nerve, and I discussed itin my previous post. Over the past weeks I’ve been researching reasonable methods to test this claim – and like much of my research – I procrastinate and end up watching TV. But every once in a while it pays off; and to my amazement I stumbled upon theMythbusters and their Bug Special (Season 8, episode 26). One of their mini-myths was exactly this – that bags of water can scare away flies! The test was designed pretty well, however the concept as to why it would have worked is flawed. As I discussed in my previous post, flies would and should be able to handle refracted and reflected light. Nan “invisible wall” theory did not hold up as you can imagine and the bag of water did zero to repel flies – and it might have actually attracted a few who were looking for a droplet or two of moisture around the edges. I am still left wondering if the motion of scattered light would have any effect on fly behavior (however unlikely). Looks like I missed my opportunity for a Mythbusters consult!
Alex sovaj posted a few days agoabout the “freelensing” teknik fotografi. Ou ka jwenn kèk rezilta vrèman fre, sitou ak kreye ilizyon an Miniatures – men byen lwen tèlman mwen pa te brav ase yo bay li yon piki (pa gen Pun gen entansyon). I came across this impressive compilation of Haitian images on NPR today that is both tilt-shifted and stop-motion!
*Update* – If you were previously subscribed to any posts, it looks like you will have to re-subscribe. I have decided though to skip on the entire-blog subscription and just stick to individual posts.
It’s always something. I updated my theme the other day and a glitch in the software caused a crash. Everything was put back together by the Southern Fried Scientist, but now I need to pick up the pieces and find a new theme to host my page. Stay tuned, I need to rebuild, and it will probably take me a day or two to get everything back to working order!
Byenveni nan ane a nouvo, ak prèske yon ane konplè nan blog! Li nan etonan konbyen vit tan an te pran vòl pa, men ankò li toujou fè. Yo dwe kòm ou gen anpil chans remake Desanm te tounen soti mwa pi fèb afiche mwen an avèk yon kolosal 2 pòs. Rezolisyon: plis afiche!
Koulye a, mwen pa gen te kòmanse blog sou mizik (pou moun ki jwenn Wilco referans), men m ap mennen nou tounen nan papiyon fantom nan post anvan yo.
Kouman sou $2,000? Oswa petèt ou konnen yon undergrad ki bezwen sa a? BioQuip ofri yon bousdetid chak ane “ankouraje [bakaloreya] enterè elèv yo nan antomologi”, men devine konbyen moun ki aplike ane pase a? 3. Apre sa, Malerezman sa a, se aktyèlman segondè, Mwen se trè sèten ki te prim lan ale reklame nan ane ki sot pase. Chris Fall of BioQuip made this announcement a few days ago at the Entomological Collections Network meeting in San Diego (which was wonderful, more to follow on that and the EntSoc meetings!) ((OK, OK, I know my posting has been sparse lately))
The word needs to get out, so I will do my part. It would be great to see more professors, grad students and enthusiastic undergrads asking BioQuip about their stash of free money! Goisit la ak isit lato see how you can apply. Spread the word.
Mwen konnen sa m ap tann pou soti nan Santa ane sa a!
Oke, pa vrèman. Nan reyalite mwen pa kolekte papiyon, epi sitou pa birdwings sa yo jeyan. Yo se bèt sansasyonèl, Men, sou kote nan men ke yo te yon gwo, , yo tou chè (espesimèn yo an mwayèn ale pou sou yon santèn dolar). The newsworthy part of this story is how much it went for at auction. Before I tell you the price… this is a rare aberration of a rare butterfly (the forewing is almost a solid green blush, which is freakish). men,…it’s still just a butterfly.
Isit la yo se kèk D nan youn nan podcasts pi renmen m ', Vè a! Pou moun ki yo pa okouran de li, ou ta dwe tcheke li soti – yo epi yo dwe etone ke li la pa aktyèlman antomologi ki gen rapò. Istwa Vrè te di viv sou sèn ki varye ant hilarious navran. Men,, yo te fè yon aparans sou GOP mwen – ki moun ki ka di m poukisa?
Pandan m 'GEAR UP pou plis poto an sibstans, jwi sa a videyo kout ki soti nan Akademi an California nan Syans koleksyon papiyon. Dr. Norm Penny fè yon travay bèl bagay nan pataje kèk nan Meservey nou, li jis twò move videyo a se pa nenpòt ki pi long (oswa sou papiyon!).
Tcheke trelè sa a pou fim nan “Boule syèl la” – “Syèl la se Burning”. Yon dokimantè sou reyabilitasyon an nan fore yo Guancaste nan North Western Costa Rica. Li sanble ke yon fim bèl…koulye a, mwen jis gen jwenn yon kopi.
Kòmantè yo fèmen 
