Monthly Archives: January 2009

John at rest

Posted on Tuesday, 27 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Via About Last Night comes the unhappy news of John Updike’s passing. Teachout and I are nearly at opposite poles about Updike (the one book he liked I found tediously narcissistic), but we both regret his leaving us. See also … Continue reading →

Posted in In Memoriam, Prose Fiction | Comments Off

Cool running

Posted on Tuesday, 27 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Jonathan Erickson’s recent newsletter post for Dr. Dobb’s highlights a couple of the low-tech water development projects of Engineers without Borders: specifically, projects to bring clean drinking water to two villages in Honduras, designed and managed by USC students Liana … Continue reading →

Posted in Engineering, Water Resources and Wetlands | Comments Off

We try

Posted on Tuesday, 27 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Drama club snaps today at Shorpy: a scene from the Congress Heights Dramatic Club, from about 1910; and an all-hands shot of the Essayons Dramatic Club, a group of the U.S. Engineer Battalion, taken in Petersburg, Va., in 1864.

Posted in Theater | Comments Off

Burgernomics, indeed

Posted on Sunday, 25 January 2009 by David Gorsline

For the current issue of Scientific American, Nathan Fiala summarizes his own work as well as that of Susan Subak concerning the environment impact of producing beef, pork, and chicken—specifically, the contribution of livestock farming to greenhouse gases and hence … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Climate Change | Comments Off

Still won’t wash your cat

Posted on Friday, 23 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Introducing Pomegranate, an incredible all-on-one mobile device. (Link via Language Log.) Very slick, and you have to dig fairly deep to figure out what the real product is.

Posted in Fun | Comments Off

Thawing out

Posted on Friday, 23 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Pohick Creek, waking up after several days of double wintry cold.

Posted in In the Field | Comments Off

Silver Line progress report: 4

Posted on Thursday, 22 January 2009 by David Gorsline

This notice of a public hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission is posted at the Wiehle Avenue park and ride lot. It reads, in part: January 28, 2009 8:15 p.m. METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON AIRPORTS AUTHORITY AND THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF … Continue reading →

Posted in Transit in D.C. | Comments Off

Done moved on

Posted on Wednesday, 21 January 2009 by David Gorsline

A scent of hot dust, and some recollections are triggered. A sense memory that I’ve been meaning to write up for a while. When I lived with my grandparents in Piqua, Ohio, in the mid 1960s, the Piqua Baptist Church … Continue reading →

Posted in Like Life | Comments Off

Almost two million people, seen from space

Posted on Wednesday, 21 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Via The Morning News, satellite imagery of the crowd(s) on the National Mall for yesterday’s ceremonies. What’s interesting about the picture is that you can see that people were clumped at the big video screens: it wasn’t the solid mass … Continue reading →

Posted in Local News | Comments Off

Even though

Posted on Saturday, 17 January 2009 by David Gorsline

And what amazes me as I hit the motorway is not the fact that everyone loses someone, but that everyone loves someone. It seems like such a massive waste of energy—and we all do it, all the people beetling along … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotable | Comments Off

Hold the bus

Posted on Friday, 16 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Potomac Stages and Alyse Kraus report the launch of a new shuttle service along the H Street performing arts corridor. The free shuttle will complement existing X2 bus service, making stops at 5th, 9th, 13th and 15th Streets N.E., and … Continue reading →

Posted in Theater, Transit in D.C. | Comments Off

Get me rewrite

Posted on Thursday, 15 January 2009 by David Gorsline

A collaboration between students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gazette has launched the demonstration project News Mixer, as reported by NU staff. News Mixer is a local news site powered by Facebook Connect, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Internet | Comments Off

Tracks

Posted on Thursday, 15 January 2009 by David Gorsline

Amazing pinhole solargraph of six months of the Sun’s passage over the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which spans the Avon at Bristol.

Posted in Photography | Comments Off

Some links: 35

Posted on Wednesday, 14 January 2009 by David Gorsline

The occasion of Nature‘s publication of 15 Evolutionary Gems, synopses of recent research from its pages that deepens our understanding of the process of evolution, prompted some pruning and dusting of my bookmark files. So here let us take note … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds and Birding, Natural Sciences, Public Policy and Politics | Comments Off

Upcoming: 14

Posted on Wednesday, 14 January 2009 by David Gorsline

The editors of Nature put in a good word for the Christmas Bird Count as an exemplar of citizen science. Volunteer science is a win–win situation for all concerned. Scientists get to take on projects that would not be feasible … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds and Birding | Comments Off