All right, I admit that title might be a little confusing, since not too many people are familiar with the hamlet of Seneca Falls, New York, but on top of it being only 12 km from where I grew up (which is well worth remembering,) it was the location of the first Convention on Women’s Rights in 1848. We’ve come a long way since then – unfortunately, the direction has become
Author: Al Denelsbeck
[Sniff] They grow up so fast!
You might remember the above image from a post earlier this year. It came from April, when several newly-hatched praying mantises, probably Chinese mantises (Tenodera aridifolia sinensis) were found to be inhabiting the azalea bushes that flanked our porch. I was, of course, delighted,
Just a bit of trivia
The passing of Neil Armstrong the other day brought a flurry of articles and post featuring the same image, one that’s been featured literally uncountable times since 1969. You know the one that I mean…
Those that are really into the space programs, especially the Apollos, know that this is usually misrepresented. This is not the first footprint on the moon. No, it’s not the first
Friends in low places
So, here’s the story: I was out just a few minutes ago chasing a crab spider, because the lack of ambient light meant I could observe its actions without it being spooked by my looming presence. A macro flashlight mounted on the camera allowed me to see what was going on, focus decently, and so on – the spider would only see the rather erratic sun bouncing around.
The light, however,
That time of year
I had started this post a little earlier, and then realized that it was referring back to a post from almost exactly a year ago, so I delayed it to make it line up. Humans do stupid things like that ;-)
Once again this year, the inchworm stage of the wavy-lined emerald moth (Synchlora aerata) has made its appearance on the flowers in the yard, and when I say “appearance,” I mean
Say it isn’t so!
Courtesy, once again, of Why Evolution Is True, comes another article in the New York Times, this one about a bible-belt pastor that left religion behind. Despite the fact that the author, like many journalists, has only a superficial understanding
I’m tasty
I just had to upload this one, partially to break up two posts that are far too similar. But this is me doing my “Snow White” thing while setting up some shots the other day. A butterfly (I can’t be bothered to determine the species) alighted on my left bicep and stayed there for no small amount of time, tapping its way down my arm with its proboscis. While I suspect
Too smart to be intelligent
You know, I try to let philosophy prove its worth to me. I constantly recognize that, if so many people believe it’s useful, that maybe I’m the one that’s missing something. I don’t dismiss the contemporary philosophers without hearing what they have to say. Yet every time, this proves to be almost totally wasted effort. This latest example has demonstrated
Odd memories, part seven
So, today’s xkcd comments on hypochondria:
This stirred some memories of an age, long ago, when I would meet with several friends for a curious pastime. Bear with me a moment as I explain.
It all started with a humorous story taken from the early days of Usenet, about a poker game played by personifications of
Animal ethics
This one’s been kicking around in my head for a while now, so I finally sat down to order some of the thoughts – put my ducklings in a row, so to speak. For the sake of easier writing, I will be using the term “animal” to simply mean “not human,” even though I am well aware that humans are animals too.
Animal rights, and the ethical treatment of animals, is obviously