If you want to see the inside of an Iranian nuclear power plant, you can check out pictures from Ahmadinejad's trip to Natanz nuclear facility:

The sprawling site, known as Natanz, made headlines recently because Iran is testing a new generation of centrifuges there that spin faster and, in theory, can more rapidly turn natural uranium into fuel for reactors or nuclear arms. The new machines are also meant to be more reliable than their forerunners, which often failed catastrophically.

On April 8, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the desert site, and Iran released 48 photographs of the tour, providing the first significant look inside the atomic riddle.

Here is a New York Times article about these pictures and an associated slide show. If you are wondering who are these people in the photograph below, or if you want your own nuclear reactor and want to know more about these funny looking tubes, check out this annotated version of this photograph.

Now I don't know much about Iranian fashion - but these shoes below really don't go well with white lab-coats:

This web site has done a good job of creating something viral that will attract people:Dlustarack.comIt does not show up yet in Alexa, but my expectation would be some kind of spike over the next couple of days because of the cleverness of the intro screen. Alexa graph for clustarack.com

It's been a full couple of weeks with lots of meetings associated with The Breakthrough Center, whose launch is a 2008 goal. I'm working on it with one of my clients and last week we convened people from across the country to come and provide us with feedback on the concept. It was a powerful exchange of ideas and experiences (more powerful than I could have imagined) and we're already putting together a 100-day implementation plan. The idea for the meeting was one of those "other me" exchanges--it would have been way easier not to have done the meeting, but easier and better don't often hang out. Now not only is the concept better but it's happening! The entire process has involved application of the following mantras, practices, approaches:

1. Going slow to go fast

2. Tending to the tedious

3. ...and to the stragglers

4. Writing it down

5. Saying it out loud

6. Taking small steps

...which I also wrote about here

And finally, being grateful, which little one's smile makes easy to do:

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Other bits

We're getting ready to head to the beach this week for an extended stay. I don't think I'll have internet access so I'll be back mid-May.

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One Small Step

Today I'm going to try and remember to drink a lot of water.

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Splurge of the Month

More passes to my yoga class. Even though I've missed last week because of meetings and I'll miss the next two because of vacation, I'm ready to get back when I get back.

Here is a good Point of Inquiry interview with John Shook on Naturalism and the Scientific Outlook. There is a good discussion over science and naturalism, and towards the end of the interview he talks about the issue of meaning of life in the naturalist context. Here is John Shook's bio:

John Shook is Vice President for Research and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry Transnational in Amherst, N.Y. He received his PhD in philosophy at the University at Buffalo and was a professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State University for six years. Among his current responsibilities are the Center for Inquiry’s Naturalism Research Project and the expansion of the Center’s Jo Ann Boydston Library of American Philosophical Naturalism.

The New York Botanical Garden has a new exhibit: Darwin's Garden - An Evolutionary Adventure. It runs from April 25-June 15 and here is a write-up on the exhibit:

IN 1860, while studying primroses in the garden of Down House, his home in Kent, England, Charles Darwin noticed something odd about their blooms.

While all the flowers had both male and female parts — anthers and pistils — in some the anthers were prominent and in others the pistils were longer. So he experimented in his home laboratory and greenhouses, cross-pollinating some plants with their anatomical opposites. The results were striking.

“He determined that if they cross-pollinate, they produce more seed and more vigorous seedlings,” said Margaret Falk, a horticulturalist and associate vice president at the New York Botanical Garden. The variation is evolution’s way of increasing cross-pollination, she said.

Now the Botanical Garden is replicating this work, and more of Darwin’s Down House experiments, in a stunning, multipart exhibition called “Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure.”

In all, the tour is 33 stops, spread throughout about half of the garden’s 250 acres. Visitors who enter the exhibition through the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory will encounter a replica of a room in Darwin’s house, designed so they can look through the window, as he did, to a profusion of plants and bright flowers: hollyhocks, flax and of course primroses, what Todd Forrest, the garden’s vice president for horticulture, calls “a typical British garden.” On a table stands a tray holding quills, brushes, sealing wax and tweezers, the kinds of simple tools Darwin used to conduct his world-shaking research.

Darwin grew the flowers not just for their own sake, Mr. Forrest said, but as subjects for observation and experiment, work he carried out in his home laboratory and greenhouses, on workbenches like those in the exhibition. The work displayed on the benches is typical of studies Darwin made of pollination, how plants grow, even what happens when a carnivorous plant devours an insect. Orchids on display remind visitors of the varieties Darwin studied, and how his observations and dissections of their blooms led him to conclude that particular species were pollinated by particular species of insects, a conclusion later research confirmed.

The exhibition also includes a “tree of life” map that guides visitors to the garden’s plants and describes where they fit in the natural scheme of things; books, drawings and notes, some in Darwin’s own hand; and an interactive exhibit for children.

This look really good. Plus we are tired of idiotic creationism/ID debates and evolution of flowers may probably draw less controversy (hey Dembski - stay away from these orchids). Plus, plants played a key role in Darwin's work:

It anticipates two Darwin anniversaries next year — his 200th birthday and the 150th of his world-changing book, “The Origin of Species.”

Though most people associate that book and Darwin’s ideas generally with his voyage to the Galápagos and his study of finches there, his work with plants was far more central to his thinking, said David Kohn, a Darwin expert and science historian who is a curator of the exhibition.

Even in the Galapágos he focused on plants, said Dr. Kohn, who is general editor of the Darwin Digital Library of Evolution at the American Museum of Natural History. “He did not even label the finches,” he said. “He was fascinated by plants,” particularly the way their variation and sexual reproduction challenged the idea that species were stable, a key idea in botany at the time.

As Dr. Kohn writes in the exhibition catalogue, “plants were the one group of organisms that he studied with most consistency and depth over the course of a long scientific career” of collecting, observing, experimenting and theorizing. But Darwin studied more than flowers. He was intrigued by what Dr. Kohn calls the “behavior” of plants — how they move, respond to light, consume insects and otherwise act in the world.

Read the full story here. Also check out this audio slide show.

I had posted a little while about Susan Jacoby's article/book about anti-intellectualism in America. Here she is on the Colbert Report. Enjoy.

Making Money, the How-To Way - "Mr. Kedersha’s online library of 94 videos includes tips on how to chill a Coke in two minutes, simulate a gunshot wound and start up a PC quickly.Many of the clips have been played hundreds of thousands of times, turning Mr. Kedersha into the top earner on Metacafe, a video-sharing Web site that pays the makers of popular videos. In little more than a year, the

Is there a way to find the center of the surface of the Earth? This may look like an impossible task - but not if you are a crank scientist and/or if you believe the world is flat. So at a recent conference in Qatar, some Muslim "scientists" and scholars urged the world to replace the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) with Mecca time...because they believe that Mecca is the true center of the Earth. Hmm...ok...wait and lets hope that ships don't fall off from the edge of the world.

Muslim scientists and clerics have called for the adoption of Mecca time to replace GMT, arguing that the Saudi city is the true centre of the Earth.

Mecca is the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers.

The call was issued at a conference held in the Gulf state of Qatar under the title: Mecca, the Centre of the Earth, Theory and Practice.

What!??! What is annoying here is not just an assault on straight-forward logic, but the fact that this is being discussed at a conference, for which at least somebody has coughed up money which could be used for real education. But its also annoying that these crank statements are considered news worthy. On the other hand, may be it is important to know that influential people (i.e. with media access in the Muslim world) really believe in such crank theories.

But lets see how is Mecca really the center of the world:

One geologist argued that unlike other longitudes, Mecca's was in perfect alignment to magnetic north.

He said the English had imposed GMT on the rest of the world by force when Britain was a big colonial power, and it was about time that changed.

Ok..so even if one grants the possibility of Mecca being on the equator with respect to the magnetic north pole (which is most likely not the case since the magnetic north pole wanders around quite a bit and has moved 1100 km in just this past century!), you will still end up with two points on the sphere where the longitude will intersect with the equator. Yes, the idea of Mecca being the "center of the Earth" is too bad to even be wrong.

There is a whole genre of making claims in the Muslim world that modern science is already in the Quran (such as modern embryology, expanding universe, etc. - see the works of Maurice Bucaille) - thus "verifying" the superiority (or the "Truth") of Islam. The claim of Mecca being the center of the world falls in the same unfortunate category. What is interesting here is the desire and reliance on science (indeed, really bad science) as an instrument to verify religion. While its not unique to Muslims by any means, such ideas are certainly more popular in the Islamic world that is still nostalgic about its golden age. These claims are rooted in religion, and may provide, for many, a justification for using imported knowledge for engineering, medical or other such professions. However, many (perhaps most?) also cringe at such proclamations that make the mockery of both science and religion.

Read the full story here.

If you are wondering how can you redeem the time you have spent reading this post, well you can check up what the magnetic north pole has been up to:

The accompanying figure shows the path of the North Magnetic Pole since its discovery in 1831 to the last observed position in 2001. During the last century the Pole has moved a remarkable 1100 km. What is more, since about 1970 the NMP has accelerated and is now moving at more than 40 km per year. If the NMP maintains its present speed and direction it will reach Siberia in about 50 years. Such an extrapolation is, however, tenuous. It is quite possible that the Pole will veer from its present course, and it is also possible that the pole will slow down sometime in the next half century.

Bamiyan is known for the idiotic destruction of spectacular statues by the Taliban in 2001. Behind the statues there are caves that have paintings dating back to the 7th century. But the cool thing is that some of these paintings used oil - well before the previously established date for the technique:

In many European history and art books, oil painting is said to have started in the 15th century in Europe. But scientists from the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Tokyo (Japan), the Centre of Research and Restoration of the French Museums-CNRS (France), the Getty Conservation Institute (United States) and the ESRF have recently identified drying oils in some of the samples they studied from the Bamiyan caves. Painted in the mid-7th century A.D., the murals show scenes with Buddhas in vermilion robes sitting cross-legged amid palm leaves and mythical creatures. The scientists discovered that 12 out of the 50 caves were painted with oil painting technique, using perhaps walnut and poppy seed drying oils.

And they found this through synchrotron spectroscopy (and here is the Wiki entry on Synchrotron - and check out applications):

A combination of synchrotron techniques such as infrared micro-spectroscopy, micro X-ray fluorescence, micro X-ray absorption spectroscopy or micro X-ray diffraction was crucial for the outcome of the work. "On one hand, the paintings are arranged as superposition of multiple layers, which can be very thin. The micrometric beam provided by synchrotron sources was hence essential to analyze separately each of these layers. On the other hand, these paintings are made with inorganic pigments mixed in organic binders, so we needed different techniques to get the full picture" Marine Cotte, a research scientist at CNRS and an ESRF scientific collaborator explains.

The results showed a high diversity of pigments as well as binders and the scientists identified original ingredients and alteration compounds. Apart from oil-based paint layers, some of the layers were made of natural resins, proteins, gums, and, in some cases, a resinous, varnish-like layer. Protein-based material can indicate the use of hide glue or egg. Within the various pigments, the scientists found a high use of lead whites. These lead carbonates were often used, since Antiquity up to modern times, not only in paintings but also in cosmetics as face whiteners.

But who did the paintings?

The paintings are probably the work of artists who traveled on the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China, across Central Asia's desert to the West. However, there are very few studies about this region.

Read the full story here.

The advantage of profit:

Darwin's private papers can now be browsed online!

For decades available only to scholars at Cambridge University Library, the private papers of Charles Darwin, one of the most influential scientists in history, can now be seen by anyone online and free of charge. This is the largest ever publication of Darwin papers and manuscripts, totalling about 20,000 items in nearly 90,000 electronic images.

This vast and varied collection of papers includes the first draft of his theory of evolution, notes from the voyage of the Beagle and Emma Darwin's recipe book.

Here is a news story about the release from the BBC:

The online archive about Charles Darwin is so vast it would take someone two months to view it all if they downloaded one image per minute.

"His papers reveal how immensely detailed his researches were. The family has always wanted Darwin's papers and manuscripts to be available to anyone who wants to read them," said Dr van Wyhe.

"The fact that everyone around the world can now see them on the web is simply fantastic.

"Charles Darwin is one of the most influential scientists in history. The collection of his papers now online is extremely important and therefore very exciting.

"This release makes his private papers, mountains of notes, experiments and research behind his world-changing publications available to the world for free."

While we are on the topic of evolution, check out this list of common misconceptions and myths associated with evolution, as compiled by New Scientist.

Shared misconceptions:

Everything is an adaptation produced by natural selection

Natural selection is the only means of evolution

Natural selection leads to ever-greater complexity

Evolution produces creatures perfectly adapted to their environment

Evolution always promotes the survival of species

It doesn't matter if people do not understand evolution

"Survival of the fittest" justifies "everyone for themselves"

Evolution is limitlessly creative

Evolution cannot explain traits such as homosexuality

Creationism provides a coherent alternative to evolution

Creationist myths:

Evolution must be wrong because the Bible is inerrant

Accepting evolution undermines morality

Evolutionary theory leads to racism and genocide

Religion and evolution are incompatible

Half a wing is no use to anyone

Evolutionary science is not predictive

Evolution cannot be disproved so is not science

Evolution is just so unlikely to produce complex life forms

Evolution is an entirely random process

Mutations can only destroy information, not create it

Darwin is the ultimate authority on evolution

The bacterial flagellum is irreducibly complex

Yet more creationist misconceptions

Evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics

What do they have all in common? Apparently they are all viewed negatively by Americans (according to Gallup). Here is the table with other religious groups:

Ok..so Scientologists have a serious PR problem, and Tom Cruise videos are not really working. But atheists with 45% negative rating! But, these views regarding atheists haven't really changed from the 2006 survey, when this was at 44%. This is a bit odd as the last two year hasve seen a substantial increase in the discussion over atheism in the media along with bestsellers from Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. So we should have expected some change one way or the other - but may be there is a lag and we will see an effect in the next couple of years. While, most religious groups have seen a decline in net positive value since 2006, Muslims take the cake - going down from 4% net negative in 2006 to 17%.

Gallup first asked Americans to rate these religious groups in this fashion in an August 2006 panel survey, and since then, there have been declines in positive ratings for many of the more favorably viewed religious groups. For example, the net positive score for Catholics was +44 in the 2006 survey, compared to the current +32. But there were also declines in the net positive scores of Jews (from +54 to +42), Baptists (from +45 to +35), and Methodists (from +50 to +45).

It is unclear why the net positive ratings for most groups have declined, unless Americans are just less positive about religion overall today than they were two years ago. Groups such as atheists and Scientologists that rated negatively in 2006 are still rated negatively today, with similar scores over time in most cases. One exception concerns Muslims, who saw their net rating tumble from -4 in 2006 to -17 in the current survey.

Read more about the survey here, and here is a link to the 2006 survey. (tip from Framing Science)

One Small Thing

Instead of getting up to run this morning, I stayed in bed a little longer and then stretched out yesterday's soreness.

Ahhh...

I did pretty well on my "hello mission" yesterday. It was actually fun and quite rewarding to see how much people appreciated the sincerity and concentration of my "hi". I think I'll give it a try today, too.

Splurge of the Day

A date with my daughter. No plans, no projects, to places to go. Just whatever strikes us "spring."

When I breathed in the air today, I smelled spring. I mean, I really smelled it. I've been explaining to Ava how there are four seasons--winter, spring, summer, and fall--and that we're finally getting a glimpse of spring. "Ava sees it" she said, "Ava sees spring." Then a little while later she told the lady at the coffee shop that there were "four sides--winter and spring and summer and uhhh.... fall."

We've also been talking a bit about geometry.

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My husband is about the best "on top of things" person that I know when it comes to matters of finances and bill paying. I mean, I would NEVER think to keep tabs on the rate of our adjustable home equity loan--I would just pay it each month.

Thank goodness he does.

Turns out, with the falling interest rates, our adjustable home equity rate also fell--but that little drop didn't appear in our online statement.

He called the bank and got it straightened right out. They had an explanation and it turns that out we weren't losing money--but it's a great reminder to stay on top of things. Don't take for granted that banks or businesses are always on top of your interests, no matter how automated they are. No one wants to fall prey to an expensive oversight--and besides, there's a lot to learn about the world of finance by paying close attention to your own.

So there is another business idea I've come up with for my husband: on-top-of-it bill paying.

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One Small Thing

There was an article yesterday (I just looked for it but now can't find it) about how we're not any happier as a society, just busier. I was thinking yesterday about how immersed in work-related things I've been lately--at the expense of non-work related things.

I also think that it can be overwhelming to try and make big changes to correct those practices--and we all know what a champion I am of small steps.

So, every day I'm going to decide on one small thing to do differently (and believe me, I am resisting the urge to create categories for these "one small things"). I just want to let it happen--there are NO RULES. I can even pick the same one small thing every day if I want.

So today's one small thing is to consciously say hello to everyone that I encounter.

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Suit to Splurge

I have a big meeting on Tuesday and I really want to pick up a new suit for it...I can't really justify the expense with longevity--because meetings like these don't come around all that frequently--but I am justifying it with my hard work and the fact that its been several new moons since I've purchased a new suit. How's that?

I haven't picked it out yet--but I'll report if and when I do. Oh, and feel free to send along any suggestions!

NPR today had an interesting story about new and different ethical concerns resulting from advances in stem cells research:

Scientists have solved one ethical dilemma by finding a way to make the equivalent of human embryonic stem cells without destroying human embryos. But a new ethical dilemma is looming. It may be possible to derive eggs and sperm from the stem cells. Will a child someday be born to a parent who started life as a stem cell line?

Listen to the story here.

But this new ethical issue is very different - its about how one may use these stem cells. Even if one bans the possible creation of embryo from these skin stem cells, other lines of research should totally be fine. But, yes, there should be a discussion about the possibility of children born from stem cell lines. I don't know much about this topic, but I guess the concern would specifically be regarding the creation of sperm and egg from the same stem cell line (i.e. from the same individual).

(Not directly related to the story above, but this segment provides information about embryonic stem cells research - from Nova ScienceNow).

Yes, this just in. God has sent a message to Churchgoers in Ethiopia using Sun's refraction off ice crystals associated with cold cirrus clouds, located a few miles up in the atmosphere, in a region scientists call the upper troposphere. Yes, this must be a miracle!

A halo around the sun startled people in Ethiopia during Sunday's local elections, with many seeing it as a miracle or a sign from God.
...
Churchgoers who had flocked to see the visiting Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Shenouda, acclaimed the phenomenon as a miracle, or at least a sign of a blessing from God. Pope Shenouda himself believed it was a signal from above.

"We accept any sign from God to encourage us in our way," he said, "and confirm that we are going right in our way."

Abuna Paulos, the Patriarch of Ethiopia, added his voice to those who believe in signs from God.

"If God reveals himself from the sky," he told a press conference, "we believers do not get surprised. We only rejoice and double our efforts to thank God. Thank you, God, for revealing a sign."

But why is God revealing himself here through a Sun halo, when we have a decent scientific explanation for it? Come on, there should be a bit more supernatural element in a divine sign...

In case you are wondering about the nature of secular interpretations:

But others looked for more secular implications.

Older people in Addis Ababa remember seeing the ring around the sun once before - in the last days of the Derg, the despised military dictatorship, just before its leader Mengistu Haile Mariam fled to Zimbabwe.

But there is little prospect of the government falling in these elections.

So...what is the implication here? Whenever ice crystals refract sunlight in the atmosphere few miles above Ethiopia, a military dictatorship falls. Except this time, because the government is simply too strong and can counter this crystal magic from the sky.

Read the full story here. (from the BBC)

Interesting lessons on business models:The Young Man's Business Model

{I swear that I did not realize the appropriateness of this picture (to the title and the post) until AFTER I posted.}

Here are a few to do's that keep losing out to to must's (groceries, wash clothes, work, breathe):

1. Download pictures from little one's birthday party
2. Finish making the CDs for this little project I dreamed up in celebration of little one turning two (way more on this, I promise)
   
3. Fold and put away laundry
4. Clean out closet and rid it of all things wool and winter!
   
5. File

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Friends of ours have 7 to 10 day to "getaway"...but they still haven't decided WHERE. They asked ME to ask YOU for suggestions...

So, if you could go anywhere in the WORLD for 7-10 days, where would you go?

leave a comment or email me at splashesandsplurges dot com

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Send Me Your Splurges!

I'm still not spending money (at least not on anything with "ooh and aah" quality). So I really need you to send along what you've been indulging in lately--with time, money, or energy. PLEASE.

Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms! We are having a great spring and Sheri and I hope you are too. Sheri has been very busy taking orders and I've been busy working our hives and overseeing the production of our hive and equipment. I am a blessed man to have such a wonderful wife to work so hard along side of me. She's great over the phone. When you call you'll hear here say, "Hi this is Sheri..."

Saturday, I was asked to serve as the equipment vendor of at the University of Illinois beekeeping Short Course in Champaign/Urbana, Illinois. Here's our equipment being displayed. The University Bee Lab is led by Prof. Gene Robinson and it was very enjoyable spending time with Gene and his team.



Here students are in the flight chamber and learned how to operate a smoker, inspect individual frames and became familiar with the basic fundamentals of working a hive.



When package bees arrive, it is ESSENTIAL that you spray your package with 1:1 sugar water, that is one part sugar and one part water. Your package of bees actually only carries enough on board sugar water to last 4 days after being packaged. That means if your bees are packaged on Monday, by Friday they will be out of sugar water.

I experimented with two packages last week. The packages were shipped to me from Georgia on Tuesday and I received a call from the post office Thursday morning they were in. My wife picked them up around 4pm that afternoon. I then kept them in their packages the full 4 days that they are expected to live. I sprayed them with sugar water regularly once I received them. There were normal amounts of dead bees on the bottom of the cage, and I assure you, it is not at all unusually to see a layer or two of dead bees on the bottom. They are packaged to allow for this amount of dying bees. These dead bees may have been injured when shaken from their hive into the box, or they may have simply died of old age. Remember a bee only lives around 30 days.

In my experiment I found that sure enough, the can of sugar water was empty at the end of day four. Yet, the weather had turned cold, damp and very windy. There would be no way I could install these packages for another three days. This may also happen to you. So if it does, let me explain what I did and what you can do to keep your bees alive until the next warm day.

The first good day to install the bees would be in three days. If I continued to spray them with sugar water, they may have made it. However, I did not want to take this chance. This may also happen to you. So if it does, let me explain what I did and what you can do to keep your bees alive until the next warm day.

This scenario may happen to you too because spring weather is very unpredictable. So, what do you do when you can't install your package of bees due to adverse weather conditions but they have been in the package for over 4 days?

First, spray them with sugar water, 1:1 at lease 3 times a day. Breakfast, lunch and supper. You eat three meals a day, so should your bees. This should give them several more days to survive. However, it is the queen that you must also be concerned about. She is in a separate cage and her attendants in that cage will soon die and be unable to feed her.

If you find that you cannot install your package due to a week long of cold rainy days, here is a last resort effort. I did it Saturday and it worked fine. Choose a room that can be made completely dark and kept around 50 degrees. Anything warmer may cause the bees to fly around the room too much. This room should not be inside a house or building where people live in case the bees should escape. An outside garage or shed would be the preferred building.

Next, with the lights on, take your package into that room along with the hive you wish to install it into. Just before you install your package, spray it with sugar water again. Always where your protective gear. Now, shake your package into their new hive.
After you have installed your package removed the queen plug place your queen cage between the frames in the middle of the box. Replace all 10 frames and place the lid on the hive. Turn off all lights and wait a couple of hours. Then, go back and place a screen over the entrance so no bees can leave the hive.

Now your package is installed and sealed in their new hive. This works better if you are using a screen bottom board because bees need air. If you do not have a screen bottom board, then you may want to use only your inner cover as the lid, and place a piece of screen securely over the inner cover oval shaped hole. Now, place an entrance feeder in the entrance with 1:1 sugar water. But be sure the screen securely blocks the entrance, even next to the entrance feeder. This will give them the sugar intake they need to produce wax for comb building.

This has gained you some valuable time. Your bees are installed, they cannot fly out, the queen will be released by the bees in a few days and this room provides them extra warmth from the below freezing temperature outside. If you keep the room completely dark very few bees will attempt to fly out of the hive. You could even drop the temperature down to around 40 degrees now, and the bees would cluster together and be happy.

As long as the temperature is not below freezing at night outdoors, you can place the hive where you want it outdoors and remove the screen from the entrance. So, if tomorrow night's low is 38, you can go ahead in the morning or afternoon and carry your hive to its permanent location. Just be sure all hive pieces are securely fastened to each other. I place a tie-down strap around the entire hive and tighten so the hive becomes one solid hive as the strap holds all pieces securely together. You DO NOT want the hive to fall a part while you are moving it!!

If the temperature outside is still cold, you can keep them in this dark room several more days until the nightly low temperature is above freezing.

If light leaks into the room or someone accidentally turns on the lights, then it will cause the bees to fly out of the hive up to the light. Turn off the light and they should return to the hive if the room is kept cool.

Here's a video of one of our customers installing their package of bees. This was a job well done for a first timer! Though it was 80 degrees the day before in Georgia, this package is installed when the temperature drop to around 50. And we strongly recommend that you wear protective clothing while installing your bees.

Five days later he goes back to inspect to be sure the queen is released from her cage. Watch the video to see if she has or hasn't bee released.

It's finally here...package bee time, nectar time, honey bee time...this is what we've waited all winter for!!!


Also, we are still cranking out tons of hives!! If you still need to purchase your hives, give us a call at the above number. Please keep in mind that it will take 2 full weeks for your hive to be shipped after payment is received. We also carry every beekeeping item you need. Just give us a call.

This year has been unbelievable with the amount of new beekeepers, hive and equipment sales and general interest in beekeeping.

Here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms we are here to help you get started keeping bees. We are down to earth, ordinary folks, a family business that turned a hobby into a business. We take great pride in our work and do all we can to keep our customers satisfied. I was born and raised in Tennessee, a hard work family that believes honesty and hard work is rewarding. Indeed it is. I want to thank all of our loyal customers who have treated us so kindly and also welcome all new customers as well. Thank you.

If you call us and you receive our voice mail feel free to call back or to leave a message. We are busy working our own bee yards, coordinating package bees, raising my own special queens, building hives and enjoying the spring. But we will get back to you.

Finally, please let others know about our business. Our website is: http://www.honeybeesonline.com/

Until next time, remember to BEE-have yourself!

David & Sheri Burns

Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
217-427-2678
EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com
Website: http://www.honeybeesonline.com/
FAX: 217-427-2678

Dawkins on Real Time with Bill Maher:


And here is CNN's Paula Zahn (asking questions with some bizarre attitude) interviewing Dawkins about Atheist discrimination (tip from Greg Laden's Blog):

At least these archeologists get full points for their effort: (from Science)

A small group of archaeologists is hoping to make a difference in one of the world's most divisive conflicts. At a private gathering in Jerusalem yesterday, Israeli academics proposed a plan for divvying up antiquities and control of religious sites between Israel and Palestine when--and if--peace is ever achieved. The idea is to ease political negotiations by taking the controversial issue off the table. But some just learning of the plan are skeptical it will succeed where past efforts have failed.

At issue is control of archaeological sites and material. Since the 1967 War, Israelis have excavated extensively in the West Bank, removing artifacts to storage facilities controlled by the Israeli government. If a Palestinian state is ever created, the question is whether some or all of that material would be repatriated.

For the past 5 years, Lynn Dodd and Ran Boytner, archaeologists at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, respectively, have worked on the plan in near secrecy, conferring with a small team of Israeli and Palestinian archaeologists. The two sides have never before "sat down to achieve a structured, balanced agreement to govern the region's archaeological heritage," says Dodd. "Our group got together with the vision of a future when people wouldn't be at each other's throats, and archaeology would need to be protected irrespective of which side of the border it falls on."

This is very cool. And the plan looks quite reasonable (though, reason rarely feature prominently in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict):

The plan calls for a protective "Heritage Zone" around the oldest part of Jerusalem, extending to the city's 10th century boundaries during the Crusades. Archaeological sites in the zone would be made accessible to anyone, regardless of nationality, and any manipulation of sites would have to be done with full transparency. The plan also recommends the repatriation of all artifacts to the state in which they were originally found since 1967. To house all the material on the Palestinian side, new museums and conservation laboratories would be created.

This sounds good. But is it going to really work?

Despite the warm reception, the plan faces an uphill battle. "There have been many, many plans, blueprints, and road maps produced over the years," but previous efforts never won consensus on both sides of the divide, says Patrick Daly, an archaeologist at the Asia Research Institute in Singapore who has been visiting faculty at An-Najah National University in Nablus in the West Bank. "When plans supported by the E.U., Russia, and the American president fail to actually change the situation there, I am doubtful that an unofficial document drawn up by some well-meaning archaeologists will make any difference."

The skepticism regarding the success of the proposal is justified. But, at least they are making a fair and sincere effort. Read the full story here.

Here is a good example of science & religion cooperation. There are plans to preserve the Bodhi tree - a sacred tree at Bodh Gaya temple, by cloning it (from The Times of India):

Worried over the health of the Bodhi tree, Bodh Gaya temple authorities have quietly prepared a plan to preserve the sacred tree, which grew from the banyan tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago.

The cloning will be done in a laboratory to preserve its origin. The Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee, which looks after the temple, a Unesco World Heritage site, fears that the tree may collapse because of diseases or natural causes.

The plan is part of an agreement signed between the temple committee and Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, three months ago. According to the agreement, FRI scientists will do a ‘virtual modelling’ using cells of the existing tree through a DNA finger printing exercise. The scientists have also been asked to conduct a health check-up of the tree every six months.

The tree is one of the most important icons of Buddhism. A large number of foreign tourists visit Bodh Gaya to get a glimpse of the tree.

And why worry about the tree now?

In the last one year, the tree has been afflicted with several diseases. First, it was hit by milibug, a plant disease. Last year, there was an alarming fall of fresh leaves from the tree. During their investigation, FRI scientists found that the tree was suffering because of poor maintenance.

Hmm..."poor maintenance"?? Most likely from over watering the tree. In any case, the cloning idea is a good one and this issue is a pleasant departure from the usual cloning debates.

It is wonderful to be home from Liberia, Africa. So much was accomplished, more than we would have imagined. It's a 33 hour trip into Liberia counting the layovers and to and from the airports. Nearly 20 hours in the air.
You can click on the pictures to enlarge. In this picture I'm with my Liberian friends. We avoided any travelers sickness, accidents or incidents! Malaria is very present in Liberia, but this time I refused preventative medication and I didn't use a mosquito net and did fine! In addition to preaching the Good News of Jesus in the city, market places and bush, I did everything I could to locate beekeepers in Liberia and came up with nothing. I was told that occasionally someone may cut down a tree with bees in it and harvest the honey, but no one keeps bees in boxes. That's too bad because I think it could be a real advantage. I realize that they would probably become Africanized, but many people have learned to deal with Africanized hives.
Getting back home is great, but trying to get back in the saddle is tough. And retuning phone messages and emails is a huge task along with keeping up with hive production.
I want to continue my previous lesson about spring management of over wintered hives. In my last lesson, I spoke to late winter techniques to help the hive survive. Now, what should we do once the weather warms up. Ready your bees for incoming nectar stores by a) Rotating deep brood boxes and or b) making splits.
All beekeepers want their hives to survive and most beekeepers want to split their hives so they can add more hives to their operations. And all beekeepers will experience their hives swarming. So if our hives are going to swarm any way, and since we also want to split our hives to make additional hives, then we should produce a split, which is basically a controlled swarm. I addressed making splits in lesson 15. But I'll elaborate a bit more here, now that it is almost time to make splits. But first, here are some spring management items you need to tend to.
Clean house! Your bees will do the work for you, but you can help them out by cleaning your bottom boards of dead moldy bees. Clean out any lingering mouse nests. Replace any damaged frames or comb.
Next, you've got to move the brood area down to the bottom of the hive. This is easily done by rotating the two brood boxes as shown below. This is very important as the extra space above the brood area will allow the hive to build up faster in the spring.

Depending on the climate where you live a split should not be made until the nights will not drop below 50 degrees. I usually am okay with 40 degree nights, but remember a small split does not have the population needed to keep warm in case of a cold snap in April.

Next, choose a hive that is large in population. If your hive is too small, splitting it will simply make two really small hives and may cause both to die. Here's a check list for a hive that qualifies to be split:
1) Make sure your hive has a queen that has been laying good brood and that 1-2 day old eggs are present throughout the brood frames.
2) Make sure the hive you are wanting to split has almost become congested with bees.
In other words, chose a strong and healthy hive to split.
Now, remove 4-5 frames that contain bees, stored pollen, eggs, larvae, sealed brood and honey. Place these frames in either a deep hive body or a nuc size hive body. An entrance reducer cleat should be used on the new split. This is to prevent robber bees from attacking the smaller hive and stealing honey.
Next, it will help if you can move your new split a considerable distance from their old hive. 3 miles would be perfect, but usually is not an option. So if you must keep it on a smaller piece of property, then move it as far as possible from the original hive, and place something in front of the hive so that as soon as the bees fly out, they will have to take a new reading of their location. A fallen branch works nicely or a lawn chair. But try to place it close enough so that the bees must fly through the obstruction. Leave it there for 2 days. After two days you can remove the obstruction and the bees will have re-orientated to their new location.
Either the old hive or the new split will have the original queen. But, it doesn't matter as long as both have 1-2 day old eggs. The split without a queen will realize they need a queen and should raise their own queen from the fertilized eggs. This is usually not a problem in the month of May.
In 1 week, check both hives to be sure the queen is in one, and a queen cell is being built in the other.
If you moved your hive 3 miles away, after a week or two you can move it back anywhere on your property. They will take a new reading and find their hive just fine.
Feed your split sugar water and pollen substitute for 2 weeks.
Finally, your next task will be supering your hives. WARNING!!!! Do not get caught off guard. You will be shocked when you see how fast the bees can fill up one honey super. Do not wait and try to get supers during your nectar flow. You must have all honey supers on hand in April so that you can place them on the hive prior to the first major nectar flow. You cannot err by putting on supers too early. And remember, all your supers should be on the hive by the 4th of July.

BEEKEEPER'S CALENDAR FOR APRIL

APRIL AND THE BEES
Click on the image to enlarge.
Now the bees are almost fully operational. There will still be a few cold snaps, especially in early April, but by the last two weeks, the weather is good for bees to rapidly expand and to even start bringing in more and more nectar and pollen. The queen is laying well now. The hive is expanding.
APRIL AND THE BEEKEEPING: Keep feeding! Feeding helps the bees build up. No supers are on your hive yet, so their intake of sugar is not going into your honey product. You are just feeding to help the hive off to a great start. Keep the pollen patties on top too. Remove entrance reducers.
April can be cold and wet which means that your bees may have limited opportunities to fly out for food. So you must continue to inspect the hive to be sure they have enough food stores. Also, inspect your hive for any abnormalities. You want to see a solid brood laying pattern from your queen. If not, consider replacing her now!
Reverse your brood chambers! This is extremely important as it gives more space for the queen to lay. Simply take the top deep brood chamber and place it on the bottom board and place the one that was on the bottom on top.
If your bees are no longer taking the sugar feeding, discontinue, put supers on, as the bees will now begin to collect dandelion nectar and nectar from Maple trees, Locust trees and other early Spring flowering plants and trees.
This is a great time to equalize your hives. You may have to combine weak hives with strong ones.
Our hives are in high demand and while we are very happy to have so much business, we are working hard to fill the orders. Please be patient with us.

And it is not to late to place your hive order! We also carry a full line of beekeeping suits, extractors, medicines...and most everything else related to beekeeping. Just give us a call for all your beekeeping needs.
Check us out on the web at:
www.honeybeesonline.com
Or, call us at 217-427-2678 or Email us at: david@honeybeesonline.com
See ya next time and remember, BEE-Have Yourself!


David & Sheri Burns, Long Lane
Honey Bee Farms

I've always been a little bit behind where technology is concerned and that my husband is always a little bit ahead doesn't provide much incentive to change my sluggish ways.

And I don't know if the fact that I have FOUR email addresses makes me savvy or stupid--but I'll save that analysis for another day.

In my mind, however, they aren't really four separate email addresses (even though, according to my husband, they really are). That's because there is this function/application/protocol, POP (Post Office Protocol), which magically makes everything go to one account. It uses a lot of this stuff:

+OK POP3 server ready <1896.697170952@dbc.mtview.ca.us>
C:    APOP mrose c4c9334bac560ecc979e58001b3e22fb
S:    +OK mrose's maildrop has 2 messages (320 octets)

Which means absolutely NOTHING to me, but it looks a lot like what my husband is getting a Master Degree in (ugh, I know) from "The" Johns Hopkins University (okay, that's pretty cool).

The great thing is, those of us who only use %>: to make smiley faces at the end of our sentences or maybe Snoopy and Woodstock if we're really clever, don't need to know what it means or how to use it. People at google or hotmail or yahoo know for us. :)

I don't know if ignorance is bliss, but it sure is nice to not have to know everything (who am I kidding? OF COURSE we know everything, but you know what I mean).

So, of those four email addresses that I have, three of them go to one address. So see? I really only have two email addresses.

The fourth (does anyone use hotmail anymore?) was the first email address I EVER had. I "secured" it close to 10 years ago, or thereabouts, and it has retired from its cyber hey-days as the go-to account and now works exclusively in the "all things that require registration" sector--online purchases, newspaper access, magazine recipe access, daily doctor dictionary words. In other words, it is the email used for all things that are not authentically or specifically designed for moi.

The evolution of email has included the provision of (basically) unlimited storage space, which has not always been the case. And I take full advantage. Like my house, my closet, my drawers: if there's space, you can bet I know how to fill it up and then I know how to lament it until I (or in the case of the pantry, Pete) do something about it.

Well, my "all things that require registration" inbox was borderline hotline-able. It was holding (ready for this?) 3,741 UNREAD emails. I'm sure there is some advocacy group somewhere that could make a strong case for neglect, even gluttony. Swift and severe detoxification was in order if I was to avoid exile from email.

But where to start?

I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner, but most emails now have a search function. So after like 8 pages of clicking on each individual message (or getting so fed up I just selected them all and prayed it wouldn't somehow haunt me when it was finally my turn in line at the department of motor vehicle --because it seems like everything I do has implications where that agency is concerned) I finally had the bright idea to type in the sender's name in the search line and see every email from them appear.

In most cases, I could just check "select all" and then click on delete.

After an hour of methodically moving down the line, I was left with just 150 READ emails in my inbox--most from the days when my hotmail account was my only account and my now husband and father of our daughter was my (only) high-school graduating boyfriend.

But now I've decided that those people who know a lot about that <: ref::! stuff, need to come up with a way for us to conveniently and one-clickly "unsubscribe" to those senders at the same time we're deleting the 500 emails from them we've never opened. Wouldn't THAT be fancy. ::

Mid-week Splurge

Still enjoying birthday leftovers--mostly cupcakes and cookies. I promise pictures and descriptions will come this week. There, I wrote it down (and I just said it out loud).

Here is an excellent interview with Marc Hauser at the Point of Inquiry podcast. The questions at the beginning and at the end of the interview center around the issues of science, religion, and morality. Yes - morality can be explained without the supernatural and Hauser does a good job of separating science from religion on these matters. But most of the interview is about morality research, in particular, Hauser's work in the area. Here is a summary of the topics discussed:

In this interview with D.J. Grothe, Marc Hauser expounds his theory that morality has biological origins while challenging the common view that morality comes from God. He compares the human capacity for morality with Noam Chomsky's notion of a universal grammar, arguing that there is a "morality module" in the brain. He explains how his theory accounts for differences in morality across cultures, and discusses how morality could have evolved and what genetic benefit it might have afforded. He also explores the implications of his theory for the legal system, and for cultural institutions like religion and the family.

As part of Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion, George Saliba from Columbia University gave a lecture on Islam and the Transformation of Greek Science in March. I had posted some thoughts on the lecture soon after the event, and now the full video of the lecture is available online (see below).

Abstract

This illustrated talk examines the often repeated characterization of the role of Islamic science as preserving the Greek scientific legacy. It will demonstrate with concrete examples the extent to which Greek science had to be transformed in order to respond to ritual and cultural requirements of Islam, thus critiquing that science and eventually replacing it with a science that was more scientifically consistent. It was this transformed Islamic science that inspired later on the Renaissance scientists.

George Saliba is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Science at Columbia University. He is the author of Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance and A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories during the Golden Age of Islam.

Today my little one turns two. Friends and family came yesterday to enjoy bubbles, balloons, and brunch.

I've always had a sensitivity to time's passage. Between the ages of eight and 29 I would cry on the eve of each birthday; mourning the start of a new year because I hadn't "done enough" in the old one. I don't know if it's coincidence or Divine design or maybe a little bit of both, but at the intersection of motherhood and age 30, I took a different turn: no more tears.

I had always thought I was just sensitive and a little too nostalgic. Both may be true, but I also discovered that my particular brand of sensitivity (with respect to time's passage) leans a bit more to the dwell side than to the thanks side.

I still spend plenty of time wishing for days back but I spend more time than I used to being grateful that I had them at all. So instead of feeling sad that my baby is less and less baby, I feel thankful more and more for each discovery; thankful that I intersected at motherhood those two years ago. As my little one has become her own person, I've become a different one, a better one, a happier one, a purposed one, a more grateful one. Together, I'd say we make a darn good two.

::

More on the birthday events to come--in words and in photos.

::

Squeeze a Splurge:

Champagne + Orange Juice= Why Don't I Do That More Often?

The question about the purpose and meaning of life used to be a part of natural philosophy (or science - before it was called "science") a few hundred years back. One of the important steps after the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment was the separation of the purpose question from the explanation of the physical universe. This has served us well. Science can figure out the workings of the universe - but how one ascribes meaning to particular findings, is independent of science. For example, the notion of evolution of species is a scientific fact. What meaning one derives from it, is independent of the scientific idea. The same can be said for Big Bang cosmology, principles of thermodynamics, findings about planetary atmospheres, etc.

It appears that Michael Heller, who was recently awarded the Templeton prize, wants to bring purpose and meaning back into science (or at least very close to science). Here is what he has to say about science & religion (from Science):

Q: You talk about a theology of science. Can there be such a thing?
I don't think it exists. But I hope it could be created. If you are investigating the world using the standard scientific method, there are some aspects of the world that are automatically switched off. A theology of science would accept that the limits of rationality do not coincide with the limits of the scientific method, … allowing for questions such as the ultimate cause of the universe.

Hmm...now does this mean? I'm not clear about it but I hope this not meant to muddle the distinction between science & religion. Perhaps he is talking about a specific religious interpretation of scientific findings - which is fine, as long as religious beliefs do not feature in the process of science. However, I would be seriously concerned about the slippery slope here.

Q: You say science is the discovery of the mind of God. Can a complete scientific understanding of the universe supplant the idea of God?
I don't think so. I believe God is immanent, and so every law of physics is a manifestation of God. But God is also transcendent and extends beyond the universe. I don't think one day we could solve an equation that will prove that God exists.

Q: You suggest that God may be too complex for humans to understand. Why should that be?
Our brains evolved over millions of years through our interaction with the environment. Evolution required us to develop certain mental faculties to survive. We are fortunate that we somehow developed the surplus brainpower to understand things like quantum mechanics, but I doubt whether that is still enough to comprehend the full nature of reality.

Ok..so there is no problem here. These are his interpretations, and others may agree or disagree with him. But, I'm very skeptical of the theology of science bit.

Did Renaissance architects consult composers for their chapel designs? Even if they didn't, they at least had the composers on their minds. Similarly, did composers create their music with particular architectural spaces in mind? Here is a cool short item from this week's Science:

An architectural historian has taken a choir to Venice to determine how much Renaissance architects and composers shaped each other's work. Last spring, with acousticians and musicologists, Deborah Howard of Cambridge University in the U.K. led an experimental public concert tour on which the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge, performed Renaissance works in 11 Venetian churches and monasteries, including the San Marco basilica.

Recordings, as well as audience reactions, indicated that complex polyphonic pieces reverberated too much throughout large spaces such as the basilica but sounded right in San Marco's smaller ducal chapel. Monastery chapels were the best settings for resonant but straightforward chants. And humbler parish churches adorned with sound-damping tapestries were suited to simple hymn singing. "Each church did generate the kind of acoustic that was appropriate" to its needs, says Howard, showing that architects designed with acoustics in mind.

Composers also probably tailored their work to specific buildings, says Howard, who presented her findings at this month's Cambridge Science Festival. For example, the team found compositions calling for a double choir that in a reverberating space such as San Marco would achieve a "surround sound" effect. "We suppose that many musicians compose their work having in mind a very particular kind of place," says applied physicist Francesco Martellotta of the Polytechnic University of Bari, "but in this case, it is clearly documented."

What a fantastic example of inter-disciplinary work!

A more reasonable followup to the lawsuit story regarding the Large Hadron Collider. Steven Weinberg, here answer questions about science & religion in light of upcoming new experiments at the Collider (yes, including, what does religion have to do with particle physics anyway?):

After this experiment, will we have a final theory of how the universe was created?
It is possible that this experiment will give theoretical physicists a brilliant new idea that will explain all the particles and all the forces that we know and bring everything together in a beautiful mathematically consistent theory. But it is very unlikely that a final theory will come just from this experiment. If had to bet, I would bet it won't be that easy.

As we come closer to developing an ultimate theory of the universe, how will this impact religion?
As science explains more and more, there is less and less need for religious explanations. Originally, in the history of human beings, everything was mysterious. Fire, rain, birth, death, all seemed to require the action of some kind of divine being. As time has passed, we have explained more and more in a purely naturalistic way. This doesn't contradict religion, but it does takes away one of the original motivations for religion.

You've said that Darwin's theory of natural selection was the biggest step in this direction. What about the possible findings in particle physics?
I don't think that discoveries in elementary particle physics in themselves are likely to have anything like the impact of Darwin's theory. After all, I don't know of any religious people who say that the breaking of the symmetry between the weak and the electromagnetic interactions requires divine intervention. Discovering the Higgs boson, confirming the theory of electroweak symmetry breaking, is not going to upset people's religion.

Ok...I think he has satisfactorily answered the question. Oh..but hold on. You can still keep on asking questions about this possible conflict:

What about possible contributions toward finding a final theory? Would that upset religious believers?
If we put together something like a final theory in which all the forces and the particles are explained and that theory also throws light on the origin of the Big Bang and gives us a consistent picture of cosmology, there will be a little less for religion to explain. But religion has evolved along with science. It is something created by human beings, and as human beings learn more and more their religion changes. Today, especially in the more established religious sects in the West, they've learned to stop trying to explain nature religiously and leave that to science.

But won't some people expect to find the presence of a grand designer in that final theory?
That's what was thought at the beginning, but we see less and less possibility of that. The more we learn about the universe the less sign we see of an intelligent designer. Isaac Newton thought that it would require an explanation in terms of the action of God to explain how the sun shone. Now we know that it shines because of the heat produced by the conversion of hydrogen into helium in its core. People who expect to find evidence of divine action in nature, in the origin of the universe or in the laws that govern matter, are probably going to be disappointed.

I think this is an accurate depiction of the situation. But what about purpose:

Are they also going to be disappointed about our position in nature, our purpose?
We don't see any purpose dictated to human beings in nature. Human life does have a purpose, but it is a purpose that we invent for ourselves. It takes a certain act of courage to look at nature, not see any plan for human beings in there and yet go on and live good lives, love each other, create beautiful things, explore the universe. All these take more courage without having some divine plan that we discover, but one that we rather create for ourselves.

This is a great way to put it. He outlines his views without attacking those who do not agree with him. Similarly, some level-headed answers regarding the existence/non-existence of God:

At some point will it be possible to find proof that God or the Ultimate Designer does not exist?
I don't think that we can ever prove that God does not exist. But if he does exit it might be possible to prove it.

It might be?
Well, if God did exist and suddenly made himself known by sending thunderbolts to all the people who don't believe in him [Laughs], that would be pretty strong evidence that he exists.

Do you think he would send you one?
He hasn't so far.

Would it be accurate to say that you are an atheist?
Yes. I don't believe in God, but I don't make a religion out of not believing in God. I don't organize my life around that.

Could something found in the Large Hadron Collider or in future experiments make you change your mind?
It is logically possible that something could be discovered that will make me change my mind, and it will be interesting to see if that happens. But I don't expect it. It is always possible that we will discover something in nature that cannot be explained in the naturalistic way that we've gotten used to in science and that will really require divine intervention. That hasn't happened.

Good stuff. I have always liked Weinberg. He is very thoughtful in his responses and presents his ideas clearly. Check out his collection of essays on science, Facing up: Science and its cultural adversaries.