Category Archives: Rants

Short and sweet rants on my favorite science topics

Whats wrong with Kroger?

Whats wrong with Kroger? Do they really think that people on Pinterest want to watch their flittering flashing obnoxious adds, like stupid neon idiot flashing lights. Whats wrong with Pinterest that they dont stop that kind of rediculous Kroger advertising aimed at IQ less than 20.  Is money worth losing integrity on both sides?

Ode to the reseeding impatiens flowers

For 36 years+ I have had pink impatiens flowers in my yard, first blooms appearing right around the first of July.  They were here when I bought the house and the previous owner pointed out these tiny sprouts and said to me that these are “reseeding impatiens”.  They come in various shades of pink from a deep magenta to a pale baby pink.

Over the years I have noticed that weather plays a huge part in whether these impatiens come back in droves or whether they are sparce.  At some point a few years ago I began collecting seeds thinking that perhaps in a warm december that the seeds would sprout and then succumb to the freezes in January.

The flowers themselves are the only flower in my yard which attracts migrating humming birds and the bees and bumble bees dont seem to pay them much attention.  From August onward the seed pods form (which are terriffic examples of genetic engineering), and as they mature into little “impatiens-seed grenades” they pop with huge vigor spreading their 50-100+ seeds (within each pod) out onto the ground. This year I decided to count the seeds (so to speak) and there are about 222 seeds in each 0.15g.  (I will update with total seeds collected later in the fall).

I have noticed that there are differences in seed-producing vigor with the very pale pink impatiens having fewer seeds and smaller seed pods, and lighter color seeds than the very dark impatiens do.  The biggest pods seem to be on the medium pink variety.  I collect them all, every color.  I have sorted seeds by color in the past, but when I throw the seeds to the ground in early May it seems not to make much difference how I have sorted the colors and what color impatiens flowers spring forth.

Not the prettiest, or showiest variety of impatiens, just plain and simple, but I enjoy them, their color, and the fact that they have persisted in my yard (sometimes with my help), for decades.

Images below show flowers with mature and immature pods, and pods I have collected (immature pods are small, narrow, and dont have a translucency, and dont look “pregnant”), and the seeds are shown collected in the last image.

reseeding impatiens reseeding impatiens reseeding impatiens reseeding impatiens
reseeding impatiensreseeding impatiens reseeding impatiens

NATURE: inexcusable abundance and waste

What is the reason for the inexcusable abundance of nature? Take for example the number of seeds in a pod, and the number of pods on a red bud tree, or the number of keys from a maple tree, or seeds in a sunflower, or eggs thrown off by a frog in the water.  What is the reason that the countless brilliant thoughts and creative and wonderful ideas of humans are just lost to the “forever” star dust as each artist, craftsman, builder, and scientist and educator and poet dies.

Overzealous Debunking

Overzealous Debunking

Love it,  totally true of the anti-  and advocate- personality types. It is the world in “two words”, the subject matter matters not.  It is the dicotomy in political “religiosity”.  It is the heubris of “i am on the right side,  you are not”

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was the author of this aphorism

“Sometimes the Remedy Is Worse Than the Disease” a new version of that is “Avoid any remedy that is worse than the disease” and I guess it is different enough from the original to merit a link.  “Aesop”, but then there is 19th century doctor Sir Robert Hutchinson “And from making the cure of the disease more grievous than the Endurance of the same, Good Lord, deliver us.” and the NYTimes, in 2019, “When the Cure Is Worse Than the Disease”
So while this is an oft modified phrase, it delivers a good message.

And another “It could never be more truly said than of the first remedy, that it was worse than the disease.” which was said of “liberty” i believe (dont quote me) in the Federalist papers. And reported in Politico in 2016 “The Cure for Fake News Is Worse Than the Disease”

Sea Salt

I get the feeling sea salt is just code word for MSG, umami, glutamine, glutamate, and glutamic acid….  typically when i read about MSG or glutamate or glutamine, there is hostility sensed especially in the food-writing group.

I have nothing against high glutamine/glutamic acid/glutamate foods, i just dont eat them past about 4 pm or i will spend the night awake….  to me it is a stimulant.

The new American Dream: uselessness, fantasy, unearned wealth, unmerited power

The new American Dream: I run a pattern business, stained glass patterns, cross stitch patterns, peyote stitch beading patterns.  I found some images of my patterns skimmed by a site called “second life”, they were valentine pictures, goodness, each sold (or brought value) of $100 of their “whatever” currency.

Of course there was no comment about where they came from, or reference to where to buy the patterns, they were just used without permission.  Then came a thought, of course. They are living the ——-

new american dream

uselessness  –  fantasy – unearned wealth – unmerited power

recycle reuse respect reduce refuse reclaim repurpose refurbush replenish react reassess reaffirm

recycle reuse respect reduce refuse reclaim repurpose refurbush replenish react reassess reaffirm

OK, you get it,  it is the universal  ‘RE‘ principle —  is REquired for a sustainable world-culture:  Here are 11 REasons to think about tomorrow with the today’s earth in mind.

refuse products packaged in non-recyclable containers

recycle everything possible, including left over food in composts, leaves, twigs and branches, dead houseplants, etc

reuse everything possible, even if it is to be used for something other than it was intended (use common sense)

respect the environment – it is the only earth we have at this time

reduce purchases and frivolous wants and trips and dumb stuff, you dont need a bigger TV or new phone if the old one works

reclaim areas of concrete, blacktop, unkempt public land for green zones,

repurpose clothes, and posessions for other uses, eg, clothes shaped into rags, shoes into highways,

refurbush what you own, rather than raze and build new

replenish areas depleted from misuse and misguided utilization with green space

react  to violations in clean air and water legislation from corporate greed

reassess your habits and determine areas where you can be more effective with purchase and waste control

reaffirm your commitment to NO single use plastic containers

I don’t understand

I don’t understand these three critical things:

1. how my children are at once my greatest pleasure and greatest pain

2. how i can have so many ideas and not enough years left to work on them

3. how i can neither love nor be loved