Pondering the world

The Archimedes Codex: the final chapter

Last night I finished The Archimedes Codex, which I've discussed in previous posts.  I've been diligently reading a little every night since buying the book in February.  Since I read at the end of the day, sometimes I read, and re-read and re-read the same paragraphs...

It's a fascinating narrative about the Archimedes palimpsest, the parchment containing parts of the methods of Archimedes which had been re-used for a medieval prayer book, and subsequent efforts to recover the text.  The challenge for me was slogging through the mathematical explanations by Reviel Netz regarding some of Archimedes' methods such as On Floating Bodies or Sphere and Cylinder or the Stomachion puzzle.  My degree was definitely not in math.  And I'm sure he kept it "light" for us non-math type people, but there still has to be some level of detail just to convey its historical significance and Archimedes' impact on modern science and mathematics (everything, basically).  Just about the time I thought I'd never be able to finish the book, Reviel Netz ended the chapter and Will Noel picked up with more of the narrative. 

Will tied it together well in the final chapter with the challenges of imaging the palimpsest not only to recover the text on Archimedes' methods but also not to destroy the 13th century prayer book that was written over it, which has theological and historical significance in its own right.  The conclusion pointed out that the scientific imaging methods, calculations and technologies necessary to recover the Archimedes text was based on the mathematic methods of Archimedes himself.

While the book is a fascinating read from historical, mathematical and technological perspectives, it may not be a choice by the faint-hearted.  Even down to the very last few pages, I was being introduced to words like entropy, combinatorics and tautology, which are hardly in daily usage in my vocabulary.

On the other hand, we only grow by continuing to learn and expand our horizons.  The human brain is a muscle that needs stretching and exercising as much as structural muscles need physical exercise.  Even more so, I think.  The day I stop wanting to learn is the day they'll put me in a pine box.

mangled language

Today I met a guy walking his dogs near our place, and they had stopped for a drink by the fountain.  He had two Brittany spaniels on a tandem lead, mom and a pup a few months old.  Of course, Mama came over to be petted, dragging the puppy a bit since he was attached to her.  He wasn't so eager about going over to meet strangers.

The guy said, "oh, she loves to be petted, but he's definitely skittery-ish-er."

What?

I know he was trying to say  "more skittish," but that was mangled pretty badly.  The older I get, the more people I meet who don't have even a passing decent vocabulary and make a total hash out of their native English.

Of course, look at the role models we have.  Go ahead, blame Dub-yuh.  He's good for it. 

getting ready for the hummingbirds

I seem to be more on top of things in the yard this year.  I pruned, trimmed and cleaned up earlier.  I used winter fertilizer, so everything is leafing out sooner.  I already have morning glory seedlings coming up, so I figured I'd better get the dead vines from last year down.  That was today's project.  And I've already put up my hummingbird feeders.

My three feeders look like this.  I do have a problem with them leaking and attracting ants and bees, and when we have a windstorm, the east courtyard gets sticky because the wind blows the feeder and the sugar syrup gets all over the flagstones, hose and everything around it.

Next time I may order a Dr. JB's feeder that looks like this.  It can be taken apart and put in the dishwasher, and according to the testimonials on the website, it doesn't leak. 

Why keep ants out of your hummingbird feeders?  Because ants release pheromones, which is what helps other ants find their way to the food source.  However, it's like having someone pee in your drinking water.  As soon as you have ants, you no longer have hummingbirds. 

A couple of years ago, I found ant moats at the bird shop.  You can find the cute little ones that look like upside-down parasols.  I almost bought one, until the lady at the bird shop said they don't work as well.  They don't really hold much water.  Birds will drink out of them, so the water can disappear quickly, and as soon as the water is gone, the ants will arrive.

What you really want to get is a "nectar protector."  Yeah, they're not as cute, but they hold more water and work really well.   The ones I bought are even deeper than this one. 

How do they work?  Hang this on the hook and then hang the hummingbird feeder from the bottom of the ant moat.  Fill halfway with water.  Ants can't swim.   They'll climb down the center post, reach the water, and go no farther.  These things really do work.  I have no more ant problems.

I also found something called an ant guard, which uses an insecticide, which I'm not crazy about.  I don't want to kill the ants, just keep them out of my feeder.

I just use a simple syrup of 1/4 cup of sugar dissolved in one cup of water.  I use about a half cup of nearly boiling water to dissolve the sugar well, then add cold water for the rest.  I don't use any coloring at all.  Once someone gave me a box of store-bought "hummingbird nectar mix," but the hummingbirds didn't like it at all.

We ought to start seeing the hummingbirds in a couple of weeks.  We get broad-tailed and black-chinned hummingbirds, and every once in a while a rufous will come in and make trouble.  They're more aggressive and will cut in on others' territory.  "What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine, too."

continuation of Happy Easter

Why can't I be creative like this?  Because I post late in the evening and have no brain cells left, that's why.  Thanks to PDX Pirate Dog.

Look carefully....

(and you thought Peeps were just innocent Easter marshmallow candy)

Lead from any seat

One of my favorite motivational speakers, T. Scott Gross, posted today on the subject of "lead from any seat."  We've been talking about this for a few years and doing it for the past year.  The person with the title or leading the meeting sometimes--or often--is not the real leader.  Who is the one who can make things happen?  Get things done?  Persuade others to do things?

Influence without Authority by Cohen and Bradford is a book in the same vein, and another is You don't need a title to be a leader by Mark Sanborn. 

While the association has been in chaos for the past year, some of us have been quietly, persistently, patiently leading in the background. 

glorious spring!

This is a photo of the flowering tree (Bradford Pear?) in our neighbor's courtyard, which joins ours in the front.  This view is looking up into our beautiful New Mexico blue sky.

The other part you see is the corner of our roof line with the two big canales coming off the roof and the small round viga between them.

Canales are used everywhere here with the traditional flat-roofed houses to quickly get the water off during a rainstorm.  Almost no one has gutters because gutters just can't handle the volume of water we get during a storm.  During the rainy season (July-September) we can get 1-2 inches (or more) per hour, which is a lot.  Nothing gentle about a rain like that.  The reason the canales are so big is to divert the water away from the foundation of the house.  During a hard rain you'll see the water shooting about 4-5 feet out of these canales like Niagara Falls!

Vigas are the traditional method for roofing houses.  The big vigas are the main beams that support the roof structure of a flat-roofed house.  Perpendicular to those would be smaller latillas laid right next to each other.  On top of the latillas would be clay or packed earth.  Nowadays they just use big beams, plywood, and roofing tar or other waterproofing materials.  In an old house, you don't want to have someone walking around on the roof, because the dirt and dust comes sifting down through the cracks between the latillas onto your head.   Having an old house next to a road with heavy trucks rumbling by can do that, too.

So right now the flowering trees here are gorgeous and the birds are singing and chirping like crazy.  Expect babies in about three weeks.

I want a to-do list that looks like this

I swiped this photo from Nice Cup o' Tea's blog.  I want a list that looks like this--blank.

Right now I have four lists riding around in my pocket.  I never buy shirts any more that don't have a pocket.  Otherwise, where would I keep my lists?  I have a shopping list, a short-term to-do list (things I'd better do today), a longer-term to-do list (things I need to keep working on but can't be done in one day), and a list of possible blog topics (inspiration hits at the oddest times, never to be recaptured if I don't write them down).

I won't bore you with today's list of chores, but it was a productive day and I took care of a few pieces of unfinished business.

I will never have a to-do blackboard.  It won't fit in my pocket and I can't carry it around.

And I can never die--I still have stuff on my to-do list!

Happy Easter!

Click on this link for a special Easter surprise!  No, really, you need to do this.  Go ahead, I'll wait...

(Sorry.  I just couldn't help myself.)

cat watching the coffee

Years ago when Becky was a young teenager, we went for a walk one Saturday morning in one of Portland's historic neighborhoods with lovely houses and tree-lined streets.  As we neared one house, we could see inside the kitchen window on the side.  Framed in the window was a Mister Coffee drip pot, obviously still brewing, with a cat intently watching.  We laughed hysterically as the cat's head bobbed up and down, following the plop of each drop into the pot and then back up to wait for the next drop to fall.  It left such an impression that we still laugh about it.

With all the stuff that's out on the web, I thought for sure I'd be able to find a photo just like that.  But it appears that unless I'm willing to spend more time searching, this is as close as I can get in a couple of minutes.  Good enough.  Thanks to icanhascheezburger.com.

For your secular Easter enjoyment

 

And they're not just for Easter any more and haven't been for years.  Now you can buy Peeps in all shapes and colors for every holiday.

There's a running family gag about this.  Years ago when our daughter was young, she loved Peeps.  So one year we bought her a bunch.  The next year we also got her some, and Steve's parents did, and friends did.  Then for a year or so, every holiday I would buy her whatever holiday Peeps they were selling.  And then she finally said, "enough with the Peeps already!"  I don't think she likes them any more.  Too much of a good thing, I guess.

Peeps is one of those interesting cultural phenomena--everyone knows about them, either loves or hates them, has stories about them...   Just try googling "Peeps marshmallow" and see what you get.  There's an official Peeps website and much more!

So, darling daughter, Happy Easter!  This one's for you.