Andrew Thaler

Help identify this mystery machine from the darkest recesses of our lab

February 28, 2011 Andrew Thaler 10 Comments

Science

While cleaning out our lab the other day, we discovered this mysterious piece of equipment buried deep within a cabinet. After querying several dozen scientists of different eras, we have determined only that it was manufactured in the early 20th century and no one has any idea what it is. The optics were made by Bausch and Lomb, the motor was made by Dunmore. We have a few guesses about its intended purpose.

This machine is massive, it weighs about 50 pounds and is forged from Bakelite and steel. The drum is clearly some kind of centrifuge and the optics point into the center of the spinning drum. No one has yet been willing to plug it in and turn it on. There are two patent numbers listed on the plate – patent # 1,648,369 and patent # 1,907,803.

Weekly dose of TED – Greg Stone: Saving the ocean one island at a time

February 25, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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Kiribati is perhaps one of the most remote countries in the world. Despite its distance from the sources of environmental degradation, it will probably be the very first country to be destroyed by climate change. Most of the country, a collection of small islands spanning an area almost as large as the United States, lies … Read More “Weekly dose of TED – Greg Stone: Saving the ocean one island at a time” »

SFS Gear Review: ExOfficio anti-microbial Underwear

February 24, 2011February 23, 2011 Andrew Thaler 3 Comments

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There’s a reason I wrote this free form poem, and that reason is Exoficio’s anti-bacterial boxer shorts. Yes, today we’re talking about underwear. Let’s face it, a bad pair of underpants can make a field season miserable, while a decent pair will make you, and everyone around you, much more comfortable. Life is messy, especially while doing field work.

Reader Survey: Who reads Southern Fried Science?

February 21, 2011 Andrew Thaler 6 Comments

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Introduction

Who are our readers? That is the question we wanted to answer at the beginning of this year. Are you scientists, students, or interested laypeople? Where are you from? What do you like and what don’t you like? Is anybody out there?

So last month we launched a survey to help us find out.

Finding Melville’s Whale: Hark! (Chapter 43)

February 20, 2011February 21, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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Hark! A noise in the hold like a cough do you Imagine ghosts aboard? Or men, lying in the darkness.

Weekly dose of TED – Kristina Gjerde: Making law on the high seas

February 18, 2011February 17, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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The high seas are a black hole for ocean conservation. They lie beyond the jurisdiction of any single country and are largely open for unregulated exploitation. Even as we begin moving towards a pragmatic high seas conservation framework, we should keep in mind that many territorial waters are still left unprotected and open to illegal … Read More “Weekly dose of TED – Kristina Gjerde: Making law on the high seas” »

SFS Gear Reviews: ScottEVest Travel Pants

February 17, 2011February 17, 2011 Andrew Thaler 2 Comments

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I have a confession to make. Targeted advertising works. There I was, planning out a long trip to India, thinking, I need some new pants. I get progressively wider with each passing year, and I was not looking forward to flying for 36 hours in a pair of 32-inch pants on a 34-inch waist. And then, like a primal scream from the ether, on the sidebar of The Thoughtful Animal, was an ad for Scott E Vest travel clothes. And, in my shame, I clicked it.

Biodiversity Wednesday: Flesh eaters of the Savanna

February 16, 2011February 16, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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Red-cockaded Woodpecker in Croatan Forest. Photograph by Andrew David Thaler.

The wet, temperate understory of a longleaf pine savanna, is not the first place one would thing to search for some of nature’s most fearsome predators. These maritime ecosystems stretch down the Atlantic seaboard, from southern Virginia to northern Georgia, but are most common in North and South Carolina. Boomerang-shaped bays, called Carolina bays, formed behind ancient sand dunes, provide the foundation for these biodiversity rich regions. More than 50 endangered species are native to the Carolina lonfleaf pine savannas, including the Cape Fear Threetoothed land snail and the iconic Red-cockaded Woodpecker, but among the most evocative inhabitants of these pocosin wild-lands are the many-jawed monsters of the the understory – the Venus Flytrap.

Japan temporarily suspends Antarctic whale hunt

February 16, 2011February 16, 2011 Andrew Thaler 8 Comments

Conservation, Popular Culture

From the Guardian: Japan has temporarily suspended its annual whale hunt in the Antarctic after anti-whaling activists obstructed its fleet’s mother ship. Officials in Tokyo have conceded that this year’s mission, which had again been the target of international criticism, had not gone as well as hoped and the fleet may be called home early, … Read More “Japan temporarily suspends Antarctic whale hunt” »

Finding Melville’s Whale: The Whiteness of the Whale (Chapter 42)

February 13, 2011 Andrew Thaler

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After reading some of the reviews from our Readers’ Survey, many people list these among their favorite posts, while many others consider them their least favorite. So, we’ve decided to change the posting schedule for Finding Melville’s Whale. From now on, one or two new entries will appear every Sunday, instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays. We … Read More “Finding Melville’s Whale: The Whiteness of the Whale (Chapter 42)” »