In November, when daylight savings started, I wrote about what I would do with my extra hour; since losing an hour makes it difficult to add anything new, here's what I'm going to do instead...

Normally, I am a morning runner. I get up and out the door while the stars are still out. But tonight in honor of extra long light, I'm going to meet up with my friend E and enjoy a run at day's other end. I like this idea so much, it just might become tradition.

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Splurging:

With my favorite religious holiday, Easter, right around the corner, we've been splurging in little extras around the house that have more to do with giving than taking...

like giving thanks every night before we eat dinner.


It is a great way to slow down a bit after a busy day and look around the table or inside your heart for all the things about life you love.

And one more dinner scene:



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George Saliba's lecture at Hampshire College went very well, and I will post the video as soon as its available (most likely by the end of the month). Over dinner conversation, one thing really stood out for me and I thought I'll post it here. He was of the opinion that since European Renaissance was defined (and articulated) by humanists and not by scientists, it painted a skewed picture of scientific development of that era. From the literature perspective, Homer is as enjoyable today as he was in the 14th century, and as it was the case amongst the pre-Socratic Greeks. However, sciences don't work that way. As a scientist, you don't really care about some document if it was written a thousand years back. New instruments, observations, and models far superseded scientific texts written by the Greeko-Roman scientists over a thousand years ago. Thus there was a fundamental difference in how humanists were looking at the Greek culture and what scientists were doing. For example, European astronomers, up until the 15th/16th century, were looking for latest developments wherever they could find - and that was mostly in the Islamic lands. Of course, this demand diminished after the 16th century with the thorough maturation of science in Europe.

Humanists of the Renaissance period, in fact, often criticized scientists for adulterating Classical knowledge with Arabic/Islamic influences. Thus, the standard narrative of the Renaissance paints an erroneous picture that the Islamic interlude was merely a vessel for preserving and then passing out ancient Greeko-Roman science to the Europeans. Instead, there is no such thing as preserved Greek science. It had been thoroughly transformed during the intervening centuries and it was the new science that was of any use, not some preserved version of it. This may be common knowledge, but I think this distinction between humanists and scientists is really interesting.

It was included in his lecture, but here is a planetary model of Ibn-al-Shatir from 14th century. It is mathematically equivalent to the one used by Copernicus, nearly 200 years later. Of course, Shatir's model is still geocentric, but it eliminated the pesky problem of the equant. The genius of Copernicus did the rest as he took the gigantic step of removing the Earth from the center. Was Copernicus aware of Shatir's model or is it a coincidence that he used a very similar system? Ah...its not clear, but thats where (intellectual) fights break out. For Saliba's take on it, you can wait for the lecture video, or you can read his Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance.
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Our family business has been catapulted by the Internet! We continue to meet more and more first time beekeepers daily. I've even made friends with Steinar from Sweden. He sent me a picture of himself working his hive.
We are encouraged to see so many people jumping in to beekeeping with great excitement.
So many of our phone calls are about people who have wanted to keep bees all their life, and finally either they now have space to do it, time to do it, or simply the motivation to do it.

Public awareness about the dwindling bee population and its consequential effect on our food supply seems to be another motivating factor. Beekeeping classes are breaking out all around the country, and prospective beekeepers are filling up these classes.
Our local beekeeping association had a great start to our beginning beekeeping class last week. Here's a picture from the class.



While I was at the class, a member of our association gave me a photo of a swarm of bees on a side-winder missile on a fighter jet on an Air Force base. Wow, if only they knew what they were sitting on!!

Before I begin today's 27th lesson, I want to remind you that it is not too late to begin beekeeping this year. You can still call in your order, order your hives and order your bees directly form us here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. In fact, last year, orders continued to flood in all year long. There was never a lull. So, feel free to give us a call today and jump into beekeeping. Or call us if you need any supplies. We sell anything and everything associated with keeping bees.
Fourteen years ago, my oldest son started helping me with bees when he was 9 years old. He's now 23. He wrote this entry in our beekeeping log book: "Today Dad and I looked at the hive. I was a little scared at first because I have never opened a hive before. I thought I was going to get stung but I had on my gear. My dad ask me to hold one of the frames of honey on the top super while he took a picture. When we were done, we didn't have any bees after us. I also got to smoke some of the bees too."
As a beekeeper, you will find it extremely difficult to keep detailed records for several reasons. First, if you have lots of hives, it will seems like it requires too much time. You're too busy keeping your smoker going, working on your colonies and trying not to get stung to keep records. Secondly, you think you can make a mental note to jot down when you get back to the kitchen table for lunch. It will not likely happen.
For many years, I kept "mental notes" on my hives which was really no notes at all. "Now which one was queenless...was it this one?" Once I started keeping detailed records, I begin to be a better beekeeper. I began to have greater success, less problems and greater honey production. Record keeping will improve your operations.
There are many ways you can keep records. The cheapest way is to buy a spiral notebook and take it to the field with you and write a summary after you inspect each hive. This is one of my methods. I usually buy the hard back date diaries at the office stores because they hold up longer for me. See this one. I've had it a long time! You can click on the image and actually read my log entries. Sometimes it's quick and simple: "C5 - Eggs & good brood."


You can keep records in a 3-ring note book. I like this one a lot because it gives me more room. I'm using this as of late. I can take it in the field with me, and as you can see in the picture, I even paste in digital photos into the note book.

I also keep notes in a more technological way. I bought a cheap pocket digital video camera and so I can keep a video log of each colony I inspect.


This works really well because video speak a thousand times more than words. With video logging, you can not only video the hive but of course you can narrate into the video what you see. I went to Wal-mart and bought a VuPoint DV-DA1-VP. It folds up and fits nicely into my front pocket. The picture quality (5 Mega Pixel) is lacking a bit due to the low budget lens I'm sure, but good enough for keeping a video log. See how small it is when it is folded up:


It takes digital videos, digital still shots and voice record. Also has a standard size tripod mount on the base.

Another piece of technology that helps me track my hive's progress is my pocket PC.



I use the Dell Axis, and I am able to make notes, keep track of how much honey each hive produces and remind myself of what I must do to each hive next.
Remember, you don't need technology. Just a pad of paper and a pencil works just fine too.
I have found that each hive should be assigned some sort of identification marking. I like to give each of my different bee yards a letter. Then, within the yard, I will assign each hive a number. So a hive is known to me as A1 or D3. I take left over metal from the top cover, and cut it into small rectangles, drill a hole in the top of the metal tag, and then use my permanent marker to place the identification marking on the metal. Then, I attach this to the hive it belongs to with a tiny nail. I try to include the metal marker in my photos of each hive so that I know which hive the photo is from. These tags hang on my hives as opposed to making permanent markings on the actual hive box. Why? Because if I write on the outside of my upper deep brood box, A-5, but later change that box with another hive...I'm all confused.
Now I cannot stress enough how important it is that you keep a good log with as much detail as you can. This will be very useful in determining why a hive is doing well or perhaps why one died.
Here are a few observations you should make in your log about each hive when inspected:
1) Brood pattern. This will tell you the quality of the queen's laying ability. Very spotty brood reflects a poor queen. There will always be some spots on the brood, but here's what you are striving for.

2) General population. Is it expanding as expected?
3) Do you have a queen? Can you spot her or can you see one to three day old eggs in the bottom of cells?
4) Do you have too much bullet brood? Bullet brood is another word for drone brood. It sticks up higher than worker brood and looks a bit like a small bullet. Too much might mean you have a laying worker and the queen is gone.
5) Disease? Rule out American Foul Brood, mite infestation, chalk brood or any other observable problem.
So a log entry might read as follows: "3-4-08 I inspected D-18 and did not spot the queen, but I did see eggs. Brood pattern was good. Good population of bees. No noticeable abnormalities. Need to add a super in about 1 week."
Always keep track of when you started each hive, where you obtained your bees and/or queen. Keep track of how old your queen is.
As we approach the start to the 2013 beekeeping season, we will continue to publish lessons pertaining to the various aspects relating to the beekeeping season. Please review previous lessons.
We are also designing a website for you to access each past lesson with greater ease so that you can look up questions and find answers from previous lessons. These lessons are a tremendous resource of information. Thanks for joining me today.
Remember, if you'd like to order hives and other beekeeping equipment, check out our website at: http://www.honeybeesonline.com/ You can either order online, or give us a call and order over the phone at: 217-427-2678.
Remember, BEE-have yourself!

David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms

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A softer side of Dawkins...


This is part of The Atheism Tapes with Jonathan Miller and you can purchase it from Secular Philosophy.
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There is an intriguing op-ed piece in last Monday's New York Times. It is written by a Jesuit priest, James Martin, and he supports a recent directive by the Vatican asking for greater rigor in its saint-making process.

The Vatican’s new document says that some procedures had become “problematic.” As a result, local bishops are now instructed to exercise “greater sobriety and rigor” in determining which saints-to-be they send for approval to Rome. Candidates should not be promoted by small interest groups; rather, their reputation for holiness must be “spontaneous and not artificially procured.” Officials vetting the cases must be impartial, and not omit negative aspects of a person’s life. And the examination of the miracles required for canonization must make use of “all clinical and technical means.”

But...hmm...are we still talking about "miracles" in this age? Interestingly, miracles are now mostly confined to medical effects - one required for "beatification (when the person is declared “blessed”), and one more for canonization". Hurry-up - before biological sciences catches on this front also.

What are the standards for verifying miracles?

Even the standard for verifying miracles, arguably the aspect of the process that causes the most eye-rolling among agnostics and atheists, is famously strict. The Congregation draws on teams of doctors (not all of them Catholic) who assiduously rule out any other cause for a healing. Typically, the person cured will have prayed for the saint’s intercession. Any miracle must be instantaneous, permanent and medically verifiable. Those “cured” cannot simply have improved, cannot relapse and cannot have sought medical care (or at least must have given it up well before the miracle). Consequently, the verification process can take decades, as doctors monitor the stricken person’s progress.

So it will probably be limited to people who don't have health care - otherwise there would be some medical care in that direction.

Vatican standards for miracles are high not simply because the church is seeking irrefutable evidence of divine intervention, but because the church has much to lose if a miracle is later debunked.

Sounds good - but wrong century. Yes, this search for miracles played an important role in the development of science in the 17th/18th century. In order to find the place of divine intervention, one needed to find the regular course of nature. The harder the requirements for establishing a miracle, the better it was for natural science. But that was a few hundred years back. I think the Church is out of step in insisting on modern science to verify miracles - an unexplained event (be it in physics or biology) is simply an unexplained event. Perhaps, the Church can team up with James Randi. He has a million dollar challenge for anyone who can provide strong evidence for paranormal activity - and I think a divine intervention would qualify as a paranormal event. This would bring the standards up for miracle testings, and at the same time it will net the church a cool million.

The end of the article, I guess, sums it up:

The redoubled commitment to an impartial judging of a saint’s life demonstrates that the church does not “create” saints as much as it simply recognizes them. Likewise, its renewed reminders that, for the church, miracles are serious scientific business, may make it more difficult for agnostics and atheists to disbelieve.

And easier for believers to believe.

Hmm...perhaps only the latter. Read the full article here.

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As part of Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion, Dr. George Saliba from Columbia University will give a lecture on Islam and the Transformation of Greek Science. If you live in/near western Massachusetts, please join us at the lecture. As usual, we will also be recording the lecture and I will post the video when its available.

Here is the full announcement:

Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion Presents

Islam and the Transformation of Greek Science
by
George Saliba

Thursday, March 6, 2008
5:30p.m., Franklin Patterson Hall, Main Lecture Hall
Hampshire College

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.

Upcoming lecture:

• George V. Coyne, S.J., Friday, March 28, 2008

About the Hampshire College Science & Religion Lecture Series:
This is the second year of a three-year lecture series that aims to bring together philosophers, theologians, historians and scientists to discuss topics in science & religion. The themes for the lecture series are as follows:

2006-2007: Nature, Belief & the Supernatural
2007-2008: A History of Conflict & Cooperation
2008-2009: A Matter of Origins & the Meaning of Life

For more information on the Lecture Series, please visit http://scienceandreligion.hampshire.edu/

Contacts:
Salman Hameed
Assistant Professor of Integrated Science & Humanities
Hampshire College

Laura Sizer
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Hampshire College
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I haven't gotten lost (though remind me to tell you about my directionally-challenged ways) or fallen off of the earth...I'm just taking a little break to catch up on some work.

One funny story...almost 23-month old little one knows her ABC's pretty well. As is the case for some of us (including me) her LMNO sounds like one long letter. Yesterday she was singing her ABC's and when she got to LMNO, she out-of-nowhere replaced it with ELMO. ....H,I,J,K ELMO P

I have to give it to her. It works!

Have a great week!
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Here is a Point of Inquiry interview with Matthew Nisbet on how to communicate about science & religion. Here is a description of his interview:

In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, Nisbet highlights the recent AAAS panel he organized titled "Communicating Science in a Religious America." He details his ideas for the most effective strategies to engage the public about science issues, and debates whether the warfare metaphor of science versus religion undermines science education, and contrasts the approaches of leading scientists like Richard Dawkins and E.O. Wilson. Nisbet also explores why it might be advantageous for secularist activists to re-prioritize when it comes to working in coalition with the religious around certain issues of concern to the science-education community.

This question of approach is crucial. Overall, I do agree with him and this attitude becomes even more important when dealing with the more religious Muslim societies. He doesn't say it explicitly, but I think the line should be drawn at methodological naturalism - i.e. no inclusion of supernatural whatsoever in scientific matters. If a religion is unhappy with it, so be it. Check out the full podcast here.
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Here is a fascinating (yes, also grim) story about the motivation behind the making of Maya blue - ■

The vibrant sky color can be seen on pottery, murals and other artifacts produced by the Maya people of Central America centuries ago and the unusual, durable pigment remains vibrant today long after other colors have faded away.

It was also the color of Chaak, the rain god, and of human sacrifice.

When the skies looked too much like Maya blue — cloudless and dry — the Maya sometimes selected an unlucky victim to be painted this color and sacrificed to Chaak in hopes that the rains would follow.

And get ready - here is the description of the ritual:

An account by a 16th century Spanish priest described rituals where victims were stripped, painted and thrown onto a stone altar where their hearts, still beating, were cut out.

Hmm...so whats for dinner tonight? Another interesting aspect of this story is that scientists didn't know about its composition until the 1960s (may be I'm the only who finds this story completely fascinating...):

The composition of Maya blue, first used around 300 A.D. and which is almost impervious to age, acid, weather and even modern solvents, remained a mystery until 1960s when chemists deciphered its chemical components: the dye indigo and a clay mineral known as palygorskite, which can be melded together by heat to produce the pigment.

What remained unknown was where and when the Maya made Maya blue. Was there a paint factory churning it out by the gallon? Or was it a secret recipe held tightly by the priests? Was it made at the mines where the palygorskite was dug out or was the palygorskite transported to the cities?

It turns out that indeed, Maya blue was produced as part of the ritual. And the clue came from a bowl that was dug up, along with other artifacts and 127 skeletons, from a natural well called Sacred Cenote locate at Chichen Itza, Mexico (see picture on the right). The bowl was found in the early 20th century, but its analysis with electron tunneling microscope is more recent:

The three-legged bowl, dating from about 1400, contained a chunk of incense that was burned in Maya rituals. Within the incense, were bits of white and blue. Molecular-scale images taken by a scanning tunneling microscope showed these to be palygroskite and indigo.

Thus, the researchers concluded, Indigo blue was made as part of the ritual, the ingredients heated by the burning of incense. The pigment was then applied to pots and sacrifices before being thrown into the well.

Read the full story here.

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Read this blog post about breaking the "purge and splurge" cycle once and for all. While it addresses financial matters, it could easily be applied to other matters as well--diet, attitude, and so on.

I hope, what I demonstrate through this blog--at least some of the time--is that splurging doesn't have to involve dollars and cents. It doesn't even have to involve calories and consumption.

Splurging can be taking a little extra TIME to do something that you don't otherwise take the time to do, like:

• Read
  
• Exercise
  
• Call a friend
• Make a new one
• Write a letter
• Get cozy (Ava's favorite thing to do lately)
• Bake cookies
• Daydream
• Write your life
• Pray
• Smile

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Splurge of the Moment

Spending lots of time underneath things with the little one--like desks, tables, tunnels made out of blankets, sofa cushions, you name it, as long as it requires a flashlight.

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Turkey is attempting a (relatively) serious revision of Islam. It is being billed as a major reformation (but then these claims have been made before). May be its a start:

The country's powerful Department of Religious Affairs has commissioned a team of theologians at Ankara University to carry out a fundamental revision of the Hadith, the second most sacred text in Islam after the Koran.

The Hadith is a collection of thousands of sayings reputed to come from the Prophet Muhammad. As such, it is the principal guide for Muslims in interpreting the Koran and the source of the vast majority of Islamic law, or Sharia.

But the Turkish state has come to see the Hadith as having an often negative influence on a society it is in a hurry to modernise, and believes it responsible for obscuring the original values of Islam.

It says that a significant number of the sayings were never uttered by Muhammad, and even some that were need now to be reinterpreted.

Hadith do play a major role in the Sharia. They are considered the most important source of guidance after the Quran in the Islamic law. However, they were formally collected over 150-200 years after the death of Muhammad, and the authenticity of many Hadith was challenged at the time and a vast number still generate controversy. In addition, the hierarchy of Hadith, being second only to the Quran, was also challenged in favor of using reason in the first few centuries of Islam. The challenge primarily came early Muslim philosophers (also collectively known as Faylasufs - some also belonged to the theological school of Mutazilla) who were highly impressed with Greek logic and philosophical thought. However, they lost the inter-Islam battle of shaping Islamic law in the 10th and 11th century, and reason was relegated to a position below that of the Quran and the Hadith. It is in this context, that this Turkish effort needs to be looked at:

Turkish officials have been reticent about the revision of the Hadith until now, aware of the controversy it is likely to cause among traditionalist Muslims, but they have spoken to the BBC about the project, and their ambitious aims for it.

The forensic examination of the Hadiths has taken place in Ankara University's School of Theology.

An adviser to the project, Felix Koerner, says some of the sayings - also known individually as "hadiths" - can be shown to have been invented hundreds of years after the Prophet Muhammad died, to serve the purposes of contemporary society.

However, they are also planning on looking at the interpretation of established Hadith, and this is an important step:

But this is where the revolutionary nature of the work becomes apparent. Even some sayings accepted as being genuinely spoken by Muhammad have been altered and reinterpreted.

Well its a start and it has the potential of opening up dialogue about Sharia in the Islamic world. I still think it is interesting that from 8-11th century, these matters could be discussed more openly in the Islamic world. May be if we can remind people that Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi and Ibn-Sina were already arguing about these positions (and a lot more) in the 800s and 900s, then may be that will dampen some controversy.

In the mean time, read the full BBC story here.

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Tonight I sent a sketch for a new journal product (I know, as if there aren't enough journals in the world) to this incredible designer.

This was a huge leap for me--so huge that it would've been way more comfortable to just stand still. But I know that if I did stand still, I would regret it.

Stay tuned.

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Almost Splurge

I always make dinner during the week. Saturday night is our eat-someone-else's-food-in night. But tonight, Tuesday, I did not feel like cooking. I just could not muster up the creativity or energy required.

So Pete suggested take-out and I approved.

Except then I got this little voice in my head that says, "If you start eating out on Tuesday nights you might start eating out every night."

So, I rescinded approval and we ate soup.

The next leap will be that little voice, overboard.

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We were just recently discussing that the US has created a free religious marketplace and it is now impacting religions worldwide. Just yesterday, Pew Forum released a report, US Religious Landscape Survey, that supports the view of this competitive religious market, at least in the US (also see a NYT article on it). The key result is that there is significant horizontal movement in people's religious affiliations:

More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all. If change in affiliation from one type of Protestantism to another is included, 44% of adults have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.

This is quite impressive. Furthermore, the numbers of unaffiliated have doubled:

The survey finds that the number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children. Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.

But the whole landscape is very dynamic:

The survey finds that constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents. Those that are growing as a result of religious change are simply gaining new members at a faster rate than they are losing members. Conversely, those that are declining in number because of religious change simply are not attracting enough new members to offset the number of adherents who are leaving those particular faiths.

To illustrate this point, one need only look at the biggest gainer in this religious competition - the unaffiliated group. People moving into the unaffiliated category outnumber those moving out of the unaffiliated group by more than a three-to-one margin. At the same time, however, a substantial number of people (nearly 4% of the overall adult population) say that as children they were unaffiliated with any particular religion but have since come to identify with a religious group. This means that more than half of people who were unaffiliated with any particular religion as a child now say that they are associated with a religious group. In short, the Landscape Survey shows that the unaffiliated population has grown despite having one of the lowest retention rates of all "religious" groups.

Basically, we are looking at fierce competition at a high pace and those religions that adapt well will survive and others will become marginal within a few decades. Again, the interesting thing would be observe this battle play out internationally - especially in places where a single religion has traditionally been dominant. This is where globalization and internet inroads will play a significant role.

Read the Pew Forum summary report here and you can download the full report here (pdf).
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When you call us here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, there are two people who will probably be answering the phone. My wife, Sheri and our youngest son Christian. Christian likes to get his two cents in on the phone conversations too, so you might hear him in the background. I hope little Christian, who is now 5 months old, will one day become a beekeeper. If he does, I'll have to teach him how to keep bees from being destroyed by varroa mites. But, while we wait for him to grow up, how 'bout I teach you...
A bear devouring a hive is an attention getter! A flood or hurricane washing hundreds of hives down stream is terrifying. These are huge calamities which beekeepers go to great lengths to prevent. We'll put up electric fences or put our hives on poles to protect them from bears. We'll elevate our hives to tower above flood plains. However, many beekeepers do very little to protect their hives from what might be their biggest threat. We seem not to take small things very seriously...small things like the tiny Varroa mite. The Bible says it is the little foxes that ruin the vineyard (Song of Solomon 2:15).
Mites are visible with the naked eye, but they are small. I wanted to put a picture of a mite on a bee in here, but fortunately for me, I didn't see any mites on the bees I tried to examine. But if you google "varrora mites" you'll see plenty of pictures. Older mites become dark and are easier to see than young mites which are almost clear at first.
In 1987 mites were introduced into the US probably as the result of imported bees. Within the next few years mites nearly destroyed all feral hives. A feral hive is a natural hive not kept by a beekeeper, like a wild hive in a tree. But the mites did not stop at feral hives but reached deep within the bee yards of all beekeepers, driving many commercial beekeepers out of business, and hobbyist out of a hobby.
I remember in the early 90s a friend of mine said he was done keeping bees because it was cheaper to buy honey than produce it. Mites drove him out of the hobby. They shouldn't have!
THE MITE CYCLE
All hives will have some mites. Mites are found in a bee hive feeding on pupae and on adult bees. It is important for the beekeeper to understand the basic reproduction cycle of the varroa mite which takes place within the honey bee capped brood cell. An adult mated female mite is called a foundress. The female mite enters the brood cell just before it is capped. She then lays her eggs in the cell while munching on the pupae. First she lays an unfertilized egg and it develops into a male mite. Then her other eggs are fertilized and develop into females. Mites mate with siblings. After the bee emerges from the cell, so do the adult female mites, looking for a new cell. Mites are carried from one hive to another by hitching a ride on the bees.
Good news: We can successfully keep bees even though we have mites!
Okay, to be fair, I must tell you what you will be told by most entomologist and bee inspectors and what you'll read in most beekeeping books and magazines. They give you a standard approach for dealing with mites. So, I'll give you what they say, then, I'll give you my thoughts on the subject. For the record, their way is not bad, wrong or unwise. It is sound advice. And keep in mind that I am not a scientist nor an entomologist anyway, right? I just don't like to use chemicals in my hive. That's where we differ.
Most will tell you to do a mite count to determine if you are over the "economic threshold". This is a fancy way of saying there comes a point where too many mites can be bad for your hive. However, that's like someone telling us there is an economic threshold for rattle snakes in your house. One is too many right? So it is with mites. They can carry viruses and when they bite our bees, viruses are spread. So one is too many, but it is practically impossible not to have some mites.
This economic threshold is determined by placing a sticky board under your screen bottom board for 24 hours and then counting the mites that are stuck to the board. Don't buy those expensive sticky bottom board. Make your own. I'll write a future lesson on how to make a lot of these cool things. Based on your number, you determine whether you are over or under the economic threshold which basically means either you treat with chemicals or you don't. At least this is what is commonly suggested. If you have more than 50 mites within a 24 hour drop period, then it is recommend that you treat your bees for mites.
Of course, I have my opinion right? First, the sticky board count method concerns me. Here's why. If I have a very hygienic hive, they may be cleaning out the mites and the mites might naturally fall onto my sticky board. So, I might see a count of 50 mites, but it may not mean I have a problem, but just the opposite. On the other hand, if I only have 5 mites on my sticky board it may cause me to think I do not have a problem, but in reality, my brood cells could be full of mites and mites might be all over my bees and just hanging on exceptionally well.

So I do not trust the sticky board drop test. Let me tell you how I determine my mite levels and then what I do with that information.
1) Digital photography. I photograph several frames, take the photo back to my pc, and zoom in on my drones and worker bees and look for mites.
2) Open drone brood cells and some worker cells. I actually will pull out purple eye pupae and examine the number of mites on the pupae. Mites love drones because queens emerge from their cells in 16 days, workers in 21 days but drones not until day 24, giving the foundress more time to reproduce before the drone merges.
These two methods give me a much better read on my mite levels.
Mites will be in your hives. They are impossible to avoid entirely, but they can be kept to a level that will not disrupt the hive as much.
While it is true that for many years the answer was to treat with chemicals, this is not a good management practice in my opinion. With all our chemicals we seemed to have developed a super mite that is now resistant to our chemicals while at the same time, some of these chemicals have made our queens and drones weaker. Some of the approved chemicals can be absorbed in the comb for 5 years or longer.
Within agriculture, there has long been an approach called IPM for Integrated Pest Management. IPM is an integration of several approaches to keep mites below the economic threshold. While treating with chemicals is part of IPM, that is a step we try to leave out.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT MITES?

WHEN HONEY SUPERS ARE ON: Screen bottom board, small cell foundation, drone brood foundation freezing, hygienic queens and strong colonies.
ADDITIONAL APPROACHES FOR WHEN HONEY SUPERS ARE OFF: Powder sugar drop
First, if you are just starting out with a new package this year, it will be vary rare to have a mite problem within your package of bees. It is possible, but I typically never see mites that much in the spring or early summer. I just don't care about mites until July and August. Mites become more aggressive and spread more rapidly in late summer around August.
You see, I want my bees to produce honey from April through the second week of August. And they do. I try to stay out of my hives as much as possible during heavy nectar flows so as not to disrupt their bringing in all that honey that my customers are lined up in my driveway waiting on! And, you can't use chemicals any way when you have honey supers on the hive. If you do, your customer's honey will be contaminated with chemicals that can harm humans. You DON'T WANT THAT!!
But, there are some things I can do when my honey supers are on to cut down on mites. First, I use screen bottom boards. I used to be a staunch solid bottom board fan until I experimented with a screen bottom board. Wow! I immediately converted all of my solid bottom boards over to screen bottom boards. When mites fall to the bottom of a hive with a screen bottom board, they are gone, and cannot make it back in. On a solid bottom board, they simply wait for the next passing bee to get on and ride back up to infest the hive.
A screen bottom board also provides ventilation and a cleaner hive allowing colony debris to fall on through. Here in Central Illinois winters are harsh, sometimes getting well below 0 and windy. I do not cover my screen bottom boards. I leave them open all winter to allow ventilation to evaporate the moisture out of my hives. It is not the cold that kills bees, but being cold and wet from their own condensation within the hive from poor ventilation. Screen bottom boards will not get rid of all the mites, but it is one of several approaches that contributes toward keeping mites below the economic threshold.
Secondly, I use drone foundation to lure the mites. You see, as I said earlier, mites like drone cells because the foundress mites have a full 24 days to develop their prodigy since the drone is the longest in the cell. So, you can lure the mites off of your worker cells by placing drone foundation on the outside edges of your brood hive bodies. We sell a one piece drone foundation plastic frame. The cell size is for drone cells so the queen knows to lay only unfertilized eggs producing drones. Then, your mites run to these cells and after they are capped, you pull the frames out, put them in a plastic trash bag, freeze them overnight and your mites are dead. Scratch open the cells and place it back in hive for the bees to clean out, and they will! They get rid of all the mites and dead drones. These frames are a bright lime green so you can easily identify your drone frames. We sell these frames for $4.99 each, much cheaper than chemicals. These can be purchased from our website at: www.honeybeesonline.com under frames and foundation. By scratching the cells open after freezing, it allows you to keep the drawn comb intact, but encourages the bees to clean out the dead mites and drones from the cells. If you scrap the wax completely off, then it just takes more time for the bees to draw it out again.
Thirdly, small cell foundation. I'll skip small cell foundation, because it is not a for sure thing and it should be tried only by very experienced beekeepers. It has to do with bee regression and let's just say that's a whole different lesson. But many claim that by using 4.9 mm cell size foundation, the cells are capped a day sooner, throwing off the mite's cycle and not allowing them to get in on time. Some studies have shown this not to be effective, while other studies show it helps control mites.
Fourthly, work is underway to produce a queen that is so hygienic that her daughters might have the characteristic of detecting a foundress mite, opening the cell and dragging the pupae and mites out before they reproduce. I have attended a conference where this was discussed and the results were shared. It is promising! We may not have to wait, as some suggest that bees are now becoming more aware of mites and are actually taking them out of the hive.
Again, if you find you have a queen and her daughters are keeping mites out of the hive, then that is good queen stock to breed from!
Finally, the answer to all colony problems in my opinion is to keep strong colonies. A strong colony avoids most diseases and pests.
When your supers are off of your hive, powdered sugar dropped in the deep hive bodies can be very effective at controlling mites. For a complete lesson on how to apply the powdered sugar drop, check out our lesson at the link below:
http://basicbeekeeping.blogspot.com/search?q=powdered+sugar
When using powdered sugar, the bees actually clean each other off, and mites go too. And mites get the sugar in their suction cups and can't hang on any more and fall out too! It is impressive.
There you have it! Some natural ways and IPM ways to manage your hives and keep mites from destroying your hive.
I've been working on several more lessons at the same time I've written this one. The next one will be on record keeping. A failure to keep beekeeping logs can result in the failure of your hives.
Remember, call in your hive orders as soon as possible so you can get your equipment on hand soon. So call us for your hive order or bee order. Call us between 9am - 5pm Central Time. We'll be happy to help you get what you need to start keeping bees.

We have lots of hives listed at our main website at:
www.honeybeesonline.com We'd love to earn your business.

Remember... BEE-HAVE Yourself!!

David & Sheri Burns
217-427-2678
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
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I haven't said much about it lately, but I'm still doing yoga. I'm mentioning it now because it is relevant to one of today's little leaps.

I've gotten pretty comfortable in my yoga class. (Comfort, by the way, does not come close to conquer). Meaning, I am familiar with the poses and have a sense when I'm close to looking somewhat like I'm supposed to look and when I'm, well, not. There's one transition from pose to pose when you can either walk or jump your feet behind you (think squatting to push up). Well, I've been jumping for some time now, but never in a fluid motion because for me, trying to make something look fluid inevitably looks foolish.

Today, in one big exhale, I did it. I can't say that it looked fluid, but it felt fluid. It felt good.

Leap #1.

Leap #2 is something I've been wanting and meaning to do for some time: find and join a fiction writer's group. I had a little inspiration from a family member in Chicago who joined one and pointed me in a direction where I might find one in Baltimore. I found the email address yesterday and wrote the woman, Ally, today. (Of course, the class is full so I'm on a waiting list, but it's progress).

Leap #2

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I'd love to hear some of the leaps you've taken, are taking, or are preparing to take.

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Splurge-Award Goes To...

The spoonfuls of natural peanut butter and creamed honey concoction that I've worn a path from my desk to the fridge to eat for the last two days.

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Here is the second part of the Reasonable Doubts interview with Taner Edis. The first part dealt with Islamic pseudoscience and the differences between Islam & Christianity. This looks at the complexity of treating Muslims and Islam as a monolithic entity. Then there is an excellent discussion over Sam Harris and his severe criticism of Islam. Edis here is spot on in pointing out some sloppy scholarship in Harris' chapter on Islam in his book, The End of Faith, and other problems with his approach. Check out the full podcast here - the interview starts a few minutes into the podcast (also wait till the end for a hilarious news story dealing with a statue of Jesus).

Update: On the topic of Islamic Creationism, here is an article by Taner Edis in the January 2008 newsletter of The History of Science Society: Islamic Creationism: A Short History
(thanks to Don)
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Yes, like the character of Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (I'm rooting for it to get the best picture Oscar tonight). Its also funny in this very creative history of evil (tip from openculture):


This also gives me an opportunity to post the first episode of Mr. Deity , which showed up over a year ago (I think its now in season 2). This is still one of their funniest episodes and it also nicely illustrates the Problem of evil. In case you missed it, here it is:

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Lately, I've been hearing or thinking about "leap of faith" A LOT. It occurred to me last night that we are also getting ready to experience something that only comes around every four years: leap year.

So I'm getting the message that a leap of some sort is in order.

Although I am much better at letting go of outcomes than I used to be, that is the area where I really need to focus my faith. To me, taking a leap of faith is not an excuse to abandon effort, but I have a difficult time knowing when effort starts to interfere with faith (you know, in attempt to possibly (?) control the outcome). If that makes sense.

Sometimes, leaps of faith are more concrete, other times more obscure. Their outcomes are never predictable--but God promises they will be purposeful.

For example, a couple of years ago I was offered a job shortly after I miscarried that would be a slight departure from my 'career trajectory' (whatever that is). I didn't have any reason to take the job, but I didn't have any reason not to take it either. I just felt like I needed something fresh and different. I prayed on it, I ran on it, I prayed on it a bit more and took it.

A month later, I learned I was pregnant again.

I obviously didn't know it at the time, but the leap I took in accepting that job wasn't about career enhancement, it was about miracle tending. In that new job, I had a boss who gave me the world when it came to maternity leave. I was able to stay home with Ava for the first four months of her life while still contributing to the work of the organization remotely. I am confident that the nature of my previous job would not have afforded me that kind of flexibility.

I returned to work for five months (with Fridays at home) before taking another leap of faith. I started my own business. My leap-of-faith employer is now my largest client.

Taking that job wasn't a departure on my 'career trajectory' whatsoever. It was a departure from what I thought was my career trajectory. Fortunately, someone else knew better--and fortunately I had the presence of faith to listen.

One of my 2008 goal categories is "Just Jump." There are some concrete leaps of faith that I must take; but for these remaining days in February and for the rest of this leap year, I'm going to put those leaps in motion and make room everyday for 'little leaps' --being mindful to not let effort interfere.

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Obvious, concrete, obscure, or otherwise, a leap of faith is wrapped in acceptance that you are exactly where you are supposed to be--at any given second, minute, hour, or day.

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Saturday Splurge

A glass of wine at 2 pm yesterday afternoon. Ahhh. Pete and I found a $10-$12 bottle that we really, really like. I might've splurged about it before, but I can't get over the quality for the price!

To bring the stars further into alignment, I just read the back of the bottle, "Named for St. Thomas Aquinas, a revolutionary scholar in the 13th century who used the laws of science to support his belief in the existence of the Almighty."

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Is there a connection between religiosity and poverty? There is an excellent article in this month's Atlantic Monthly, pretty much focusing on the above graph. With a few notable exceptions, there definitely is a correlation between low religiosity and high GDP (based on the data from the Pew Global Attitudes Project). Does that translate into causation? Alan Wolfe certainly thinks so and he also believes that overall, secular values are going to be the dominant force. He is careful in not saying that religion itself is going to go away - but that certain secular values will become dominant:

Yet breathless warnings about rising religious fervor and conflicts to come ignore two basic facts. First, many areas of the world are experiencing a decline in religious belief and practice. Second, where religions are flourishing, they are also generally evolving—very often in ways that allow them to fit more easily into secular societies, and that weaken them as politically disruptive forces. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal once famously showed that it would be irrational to bet against the existence of God. It would be equally foolish, in the long run, to bet against the power of the Enlightenment. The answer to the question of which religion will dominate the future, at least politically, may well be: None of the above.

In this article he analyzes all of the different regions and finds that Africa is the only place where the predictions of religious conflict may turn out to be true:

We are left, finally, with Africa. Religiosity there is widely regarded as high, perhaps higher than in the Middle East, but it differs in character. It is in Africa where the predictions of an old-fashioned, broad-based religious revival, with all its attendant conflicts, may come closest to the mark. Much of the commentary on religion’s muscle in Africa, and the consequent potential for clashing civilizations, centers on Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country and one in which, Pew found, most of those who perceive a struggle between modernizers and fundamentalists put themselves in the latter camp. In recent years, 12 states in northern Nigeria have adopted sharia, or Islamic law, and created special morality police to enforce its tenets. Eliza Griswold explores Africa’s religious revival, and in particular the subtleties of the contest between Christianity and Islam in Nigeria, elsewhere in this issue. Here, suffice it to say that Africa is indeed in the throes of a great awakening.

But his most interesting comments are about the obvious outlier in the graph - the US (yes, fine, Kuwait is also an outlier...):

Americans are not only more religious than Europeans; they are more religious than the citizens of some Latin American countries. If proof is needed that religion will remain a dominant force in history for a long time to come, the fact that the world’s most affluent society is also well up among the faithful would seem to provide it. When the president says that his decision to invade another country was influenced by a call from God, or when school boards decide to include creationism in their curriculum, it appears safe to conclude that Americans are not living in the world envisioned by Marx or Freud.

But one shouldn’t go overboard in describing American religiosity. For one thing, it is as shallow as it is broad: Americans know relatively little about the histories, the theological controversies, or even the sacred texts of their chosen faiths. Recent decades have seen the rise of the Christian right in the United States, but they have also witnessed the seemingly inexorable advance of secular ideals, such as personal choice and pluralism, that blossomed in the 1960s. Some signs indicate that the Christian right may be losing steam, or at least moderating, as a political force. Nonbelief, meanwhile, is increasing: not only are atheist manifestos selling in large numbers, but the percentage of those who express no religious preference to pollsters doubled between 1990 and 2001, to 15 percent.

Yes, Dawkins is smiling somewhere. But Wolfe's interesting claim is that the US has created a free religious marketplace and that is impacting religions worldwide. Basically, when religions have to compete with others, they have to modify to make themselves modern and appealing. While this may still lead to an increased devotion, it may also have a moderating influence on religions. Thus, it is religious pluralism that is making religions adapt to modern times:

Religious monopolies or near-monopolies, such as state-sponsored churches, generally throttle religious practice over time, especially as a country becomes wealthier; the European experience amply demonstrates this. Lacking any incentive to innovate, churches atrophy, and their congregations dwindle. But places with a free religious marketplace witness something very different: entrepreneurs of the spirit compete to save souls, honing their messages and modulating many of their beliefs so as to appeal to the consumer. With more options to choose from, more consumers find something they like, and the ranks of the religious grow.

And that is where the First Amendment comes into place, but more for the protection of religion from the government:

But secularism is not the opposite of belief; nonbelief is. Indeed, secularism has religious, specifically Christian, roots; it renders unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, while leaving to God what properly belongs in his realm. John Locke argued as much in A Letter Concerning Toleration, first published in 1689: genuine salvation, he wrote, can never be achieved through governmental coercion. In contemporary societies influenced by Lockean ideals, then, religion’s priority of belief and secularism’s commitment to individual rights are not in opposition; rather, they complement each other. It was once thought that the First Amendment was written to protect public life from the depredations of religious orthodoxy. It is now commonly accepted that the Founders also separated church and state in order to protect religion from government.

Even in non-secular societies, globalization and broad internet access is providing exposure to other religions and cultures. While it produces a reactionary elements also, Wolfe believes that overall it will have a moderating influence, and I think he is right. Towards the end of the article he makes an important distinction between religious intensity and fanaticism:

The world will never be rid of fanaticism; globalization is just as capable of disseminating extreme ideas as it is of advancing moderation. But fanaticism should not be confused with religious intensity. One can pray passionately to God and lead an otherwise balanced life, just as one can be monomaniacal about things having nothing to do with the divine.

And hopefully he is right about the increasing influence of secularism:

We have seen how rapidly religion has spread in the past, claiming adherents from competing faiths before the competition knew what hit them. Both secularism and secularly inspired ways of being religious are spreading just as rapidly—maybe even more so. Historians may one day look back on the next few decades, not as yet another era when religious conflicts enveloped countries and blew apart established societies, but as the era when secularization took over the world.

While one can nitpick over details, overall though, this is an excellent article with some bold and interesting claims. Read the full article here.
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Little Known 'Boring' Websites That Make Incredible Money With AdSense - "As an independent handyman at the mercy of weather patterns near Hartford, Conn., he'd always made a decent income that rarely grew. Then he found Google and his life changed. Alonzy, 57, now makes $120,000 a year from the ads Google places on his Natural Handyman website, and he couldn't be more thrilled..."
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On a cold day in Massachusetts, it is good to hear Richard Dawkins on lava lizards of the Galapagos:


And here is a fantastic excerpt about whale evolution from the PBS show, Evolution:


(tip for both from richarddawkins.net)
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Last night Ava referred to me as "the mommy."

Then Pete reminded me of the Dinosaurs, a show that was on when we were growing up. The baby called his daddy, "not the momma."

Time and experience sure have a way of making old things new again. Even dinosaurs.

Song Splurge

I ordered a CD and it arrived today. Ava loves it, too. Listen to track #1, All I Want Is You." She can't get enough of the "sea song".

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A certain little one I know has been putting everything to music--and requires that everyone around her do the same.

So, we sing about brushing our teeth, sitting on the potty, eating our oatmeal, and driving the car. Today she asked me to sing the "puter song" (that is, computer song) and a bit later requested the "slide song." Keep in mind that most of these songs are written on demand--and the lyrics and the tune change from the first cut to the 20th cut.

Still, it makes both of us laugh, even in the dead of February. Having felt a little under the weather myself lately, I'm convinced that this live-by-song has given me new perspective and new motivation--two things that my 22-month old seems to provide every other minute.

So, what are you waiting for? Get singing! Here's the little one, modeling live-by-song (note, you have to hit the play button on the screen, and then again down in the left hand corner of the square):

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The first song that we wrote was a couple of months ago but haven't sung it in sometime. It's called "the boys" song, after the four brothers (ages 5-12) who live across the street. Ava just adores them and they're pretty sweet on her too.

After dinner but before bath time tonight, she broke out in "the boys" song. It's a little on the long side, but well worth the wait.



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LobotoME is sponsoring a super-sized giveaway in honor of our mutual favorite movie of late, Juno. Get over to her blog and leave a message for a chance to win!

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Happy Happy Birthday to my little brother, Mike and our friend Andy!

Splurge-story

Still no purchases to report (but I'd be THRILLED to post your splurges). I didn't end up making brownies tonight, so I'm going to cheat and count that one for tonight's splurge, too.

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Why do we believe in God? (and how much are we willing to spend to find out the answer?) Well at least there is one group now with a big grant to address this question:

Researchers at the University of Oxford will spend £1.9 million investigating why people believe in God. Academics have been given a grant to try to find out whether belief in a deity is a matter of nature or nurture.

Yes, it is funded by the Templeton Foundation, but the project looks great. And fortunately, they are not trying to show if God really exists or not - just the belief in God (which definitely exists):

They will not attempt to solve the question of whether God exists but they will examine evidence to try to prove whether belief in God conferred an evolutionary advantage to mankind. They will also consider the possibility that faith developed as a byproduct of other human characteristics, such as sociability.

Researchers at the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion and the Centre for Anthropology and Mind in Oxford will use the cognitive science disciplines to develop “a scientific approach to why we believe in God and other issues around the nature and origin of religious belief”.

The project can be boiled down to this:

He compared believers to three-year-olds who “assume that other people know almost everything there is to be known”. Dr Barrett, who is a Christian, is the editor of the Journal of Cognition and Cultureand author of the book Why Would Anyone Believe in God? He said that the childish tendency to believe in the omniscience of others was pared down by experience as people grew up. But this tendency, necessary to allow human beings to socialise and cooperate with each other in a productive way, continued when it came to belief in God.

“It usually does continue into adult life,” he said. “It is easy, it is intuitive, it is natural. It fits our default assumptions about things.”

The research will feed into other areas, such as whether the conflicts associated with religion are a product of human nature. The project will also examine whether belief in the afterlife is something that needs to be taught or is a product of natural selection.

Dr Barrett said: “The next step therefore is to look at some of the detailed questions� which religious beliefs are most common and most natural for the human mind to grasp?” The most exciting questions were in areas such as the different responses to polytheism and monotheism, for example, and relationships between religion and evolutionary biology.

More than the God question, it is the latter specific questions that are really interesting. Read the full story here (tip from richarddawkins.net). Also for a review of the topic, read this excellent article from New York Times Magazine: Darwin's God.

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Just in case you were looking for something to do on a Monday afternoon...I've got just the thing.

Pete didn't have to work today in honor of President's Day. So while Ava laid down her sweet head for a nap this afternoon, I hit the computer to work and he hit the pantry to organize.

I know, I know, I know: unusual, incredible, fortunate, blessed, unheard of, lucky, and on and on. I know--and believe me, I try to make sure that I convey "I know" every day (okay, every other day).

I wish I had known what he was up to, because I would've taken a "before" picture, which would've been a little scary (not a lot scary, just a little). I did take an after for you to see.

Here's what he did:

1. Took everything out of the pantry

2. Categorized and inventoried the items and listed every single one according to category (see categories and sample items at link)



3. Discarded things that expired (or that we would just never use)

4. Put them back into the pantry according to category



He said that tonight he's going to make labels so that I always know where things go.

(A sweet gesture on the surface, but what he really means is, "so that this four-hour effort isn't a lost effort by next week).

This kind of endeavor (and trust me, I am NOT complaining) doesn't come without some well-earned capital. And he isn't wasting any time spending it. Some of the comments that I've already heard (a mere one hour since he finished):

• You aren't to buy one more tea until the box of 60 is whittled down to four.

• Are you just curious to see how many different bottles of vinegar you can find and fit into a cupboard or do you really think you'll use them?

It's okay though, I'll take it. Having a fresh, clean, and organized pantry feels a little like having a brand new wardrobe (funny how your expectations and simple pleasures change over the years). With all of my "goods" categorized, dinner planning and preparation will be much more efficient--and economical!

I told him I was going to add his skills as a new "service" under my business. So, any takers?

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Some pictures of the little one...who needs no organization, whatsoever:

Brownie-splurge:

Among the newfound items was a box of Betty Crocker's brownie mix. The chewy kind. Since it expires this month, I figured I'd better get busy!

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