Dipity

I'm re-posting this from TreeHugger more because I really like this application; I've no desire to dwell on the myriad environmental failures of the Bush administration. We just have to move forward and fix the damage.



If you head over to Dipity you can create your own personal timeline drawing from online sources or by populating the line yourself.

Happy Birthday, Charles

Today is Darwin Day, commemorating the birthday and celebrating the life and achievements of one of the most influential biological scientists in history. Expect a lot of hoopla next year, which will mark both the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Robert Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of the Species.

I also wanted to write about a nifty service offered by the Blue Ocean Institute, through which you can text message their "fish phone" and instantly receive a reply as to the sustainability of the fish you are considering. However, it doesn't seem to work from my phone, which is probably Cincinnati Bell's fault. Then again, maybe the number was overwhelmed by the fact it was mentioned in the New York Times today and collapsed under the strain. I'll try it again in a few days. Meanwhile, I'll keep carrying the little wallet card I downloaded from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. I learned about the fish phone from Mark Bittmans's excellent food blog Bitten.

Road Trip!

I just finished reading a Gourmet Magazine article on the Warther Museum and Knife Factory. They still grind their high-carbon steel knives by hand, just as they have for four generations. I think the knives are gorgeous and since they are located in Ohio, I've added it to my list of destinations for 2008. I can always use another good kitchen knife or two. I'm planning a visit to Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania in the fall and Dover would be as good a stopping place as any on the way home, even if it is a bit out of the way.

Discovering the Theremin

Tonight I was reading a short story by Joe Hill (You Will Hear the Locust Sing, in 20th Century Ghosts) when I came across the word theremin. The Free Dictionary only had this to say:

An electronic instrument played by moving the hands near its two antennas, often used for high tremolo effects.

I didn't give it another thought until I saw a scrap of trivia on Soundscapes (a cable channel that plays ambient music) that said the theremin was developed in 1920 by Leon Theremin. Obviously, I had to do more investigation.

The theremin is "played" without actually touching it; moving a hand close to the vertical antenna increases the pitch, while closing in on the horizontal decreases the volume. The eerie sounds produced by this instrument made it a favorite in 1950s and 60s sci-fi films, including The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Here is a music sample: The Funeral March by Kevin Sinnott
Kevin wrote this song and performed all parts on a Kees Enkelaar theremin.



The photo and music are by way of Theremin World. Should you desire further information, that's the place to be.

Wicked

As part of my personal effort to reduce my energy consumption, I've been hanging my clothes to dry rather than using the coin-operated dryer in the basement. Since I live in a one bedroom apartment, this does take up a fair bit of living space on wash day. I have one of the Frost drying racks from Ikea; I can get about one and a half loads of laundry on that, then I have a clothes line in the bedroom and another folding wooden rack. Since this takes up most of my bedroom, I turn on an electric box fan and aim it at the drying clothes to speed up the process a bit. On a normal day, everything but for the thickest socks and sweatshirts are dry in about four hours. This had me thinking about the energy savings (was I really saving energy by eschewing the dyer but using a fan?), so I used this calculator to tab it up. If I run the fan only for drying clothes, it tots up to 1.6 Kilowatt hours per month (about 20 cents worth at Duke Energy prices,) versus using the electric dryer for the same amount of laundry - 40 kWh/mo or $4.80. So I am saving both energy and money. That's cool.

I went to see the musical "Wicked" at the Aronoff matinée today. The stand-in for Elphaba was on stage today, Ms. Donna Vivino, and she was incredible. What a voice. Somehow or the other we scored box seats and it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

Map My Run

I've been playing around with a website I stumbled upon and it's fun. MapMyRun is a tool mostly for runners, but it's quite useful for dog walkers and hikers as well. Bascially, you pull up a map of the location you want to chart, put in your markers and the site calculates the distance. Pretty cool, eh?

I've included a map I whipped up (in about three minutes) of Eden Park. I'm not sure if the distance takes into account elevation or if it is "as the crow flies." To the FAQmobile, Robin!