Humboldt’s Maps : Mapping Thoreau Country In his eulogy at Thoreau's funeral in Concord in 1862, in a line that was omitted from his published remembrance, Emerson singled out three men who had deeply impressed his late friend: the abolitionist martyr John Brown, the poet Walt Whitman, and Penobscot wilderness guide and tribal leader Joe Polis. To this list, Emerson might have added—along with Samuel de Champlain—Alexander von Humboldt, who was widely regarded as the world's foremost 'man of science' during the first half of the nineteenth century. As Champlain had before him, Humboldt traveled the world to gather facts about a dizzying array of natural phenomena, "so that," as Emerson remarked, "a university, a whole French Academy travelled in his shoes." And Humboldt's works were, as Thoreau characterized Champlain's maps,"crowded with information, geographical, ethnographical, zoological, and botanical." Laura Dassow Walls, William P. and Hazel B. Explore Humboldt's contributions to understanding climate change.
Town gears up for garage sale MALDON is gearing up for a town-wide garage sale on Saturday with more than 50 households, or garages, on the list. See your ad here Town gears up for garage sale READY: Bonnie and Mark prepare for the sale. MALDON is gearing up for a town-wide garage sale on Saturday with more than 50 households, or garages, on the list.Everything from books, clothes, furniture and antiques are expected to be offered according to organiser Mark Blythe.With his partner Bonnie Gainger, they’ve been organising the garage sale since 2008 when it was a side event to the Maldon Antique and Collectables Fair.Maps of participating homes are available for a gold coin donation at Beehive Oldwares on the corner of Main and Phoenix Streets.The sale starts at 7.45am on Saturday.
The amazing history of the Nobel Prize, told in maps and charts Click to enlarge. (Max Fisher/Washington Post) The United States added three more Nobel laureates to its roster on Monday, all in economics, bringing the national total to an astounding 347 in the prize's history. That's the most of any country in the world, by far: next-highest ranked is Britain with 120 laureates. Up top is a heat map showing which countries have had the most Nobel laureates in the prize's history. Just over 1,000 Nobels have been awarded since the prize was first established in 1901. A stunning 83 percent of all Nobel laureates have come from Western countries (that means Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia or New Zealand). Looking at the data this way, it becomes awfully clear that people outside of Europe and North America don't win very many Nobels. To give you a better sense of the degree to which the Nobel really is a predominantly Western prize, here's a pie chart showing the breakdown of the prize-winners by region and country. 1.
Five wonder materials that could change the world | Science "The history of materials is a history of mistakes," says Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist at University College London, who traces his own fascination with materials to the moment he was stabbed in the back with a razor while ambling to school one day. The remark is spot on. Over the centuries, scientists have been as likely to stumble on the next wonder material during a botched experiment as to create it from scratch on purpose. But the chance discovery of useful materials might not carry on for much longer. The materials here are so new that their ultimate applications are still tentative – or not even being guessed at. Graphene The Friday evening antics that led to the invention of graphene have become the stuff of scientific legend. And all for good reason. "Graphene has huge potential," says Andrea Ferrari, director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre. The money has poured in. Spider silk "You can't use spider silk to make a bulletproof vest. Metamaterials Harry Potter. Shrilk
Workwankers If Your Lawn Is Green, It’s Pretty Likely You Aren’t Yards were the first thing I noticed when we pulled into our new neighborhood two years ago. Mature landscaping with plenty of huge flowering rhododendrons and trees, but most of all, lush green lawns. Every house sported a beautifully kept expanse of grass, and the constant tsst-tsst-tsst of expensively installed sprinkler systems attested to the homeowners’ devotion. Our yard, in comparison, was the only brown one. I once jokingly apologized to a neighbor for having the “hooptiest lawn” on the block, and she waved a hand: “Oh, that yard has always looked like that.” In a strange twist of fate, my husband and I ended up buying the house next door to our rental, and we’ve been making improvements here and there. And watering. You’d think that living in Oregon would mean you’d never have to water the grass, but you definitely do during the summer months if you want a green lawn. Of course, all those green lawns aren’t linked to green living.
Better Out Than In 50 ways to reuse your garbage Ralph Waldo Emerson once described a weed as, “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Might we not consider garbage in the same way? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, after all. To the non-recycler, an empty bottle is garbage. To the reuse enthusiast, that empty bottle could be a chandelier, a vase, a drinking glass, a candelabra … you get the picture. In a world being consumed by waste, it’s time to think of our trash in a different light (and save some money while we're at it). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. Related stories on how to reuse your garbage:
{ k j e r s t i s l y k k e } The Partially Examined Life | A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog Conflict Kitchen Six things I didn't believe about having a newborn It's the great paradox of parenthood; having a baby – which around 85% of women do – is both one of the most "normal" thing you can do with your life and the most incredible thing you ever will. You might put together a mean strategic plan or win clients with a single word, but baby wrangling is not something you're trained to do. You heard about babies and yeah, yeah, you know you'll be tired, that babies cry, that they can be hard work. But if you can manage a team, surely you can manage one little baby! And then you have your own and you realise how little you "got it". Ninety percent of caring for a newborn is feeding, feeding, feeding. Mothers groups are invaluable for providing comfort that others are sharing similar journeys to you.