Quick Update:

Things are going well in the plant department. The Avocado tree is rapidly growing larger, using over a cup of water a day in this heat. The tropical cuttings continue to root and spread, eventually these will be hanging plants. A funny little pea plant was pulled from the compost, and given a stick on which to wind. Finally, a large tomato plant has grown in the window box "bee garden" which is now just a tomato plant because of the size. All of the other plants were removed or killed to make room. Because this is a hybrid plant, like the two others which will now spend the rest of the season in a country garden (not a bad way to go!), it is unclear if it can produce proper ripe tomatoes. They are growing, but may never fully mature. Only time will tell.

Great SEM zoom in image

This is a really great ant image. Check it out!

Giga Pan SEM Ant

Celery

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, and the fact that most of them are not mine... Some projects are in the works now, posts to follow.

Baby Armadillos

Baby Armadillos

Paper wasp nest

This modest nest, with 8 adults and what appear to be severeal dozen young, was recovered from an overhang. Obviously they were sprayed with some potent chemical that froze them in mid stride. Paper wasps are not the same as yellow jackets, and in this instance the nest is a good indication. To preserve the standing specimens, I have added small beads of cyanoacrylate glue to each leg.

Crocodilian.com

This is probably the best page about crocodiles, alligators, and caimans.

One interesting species, totally new to me, is Tomistoma schlegelii or the "False gharial."

Crocodilian.com

Quick update: Avacado tree and Tomato bunch

Postmortem on two power strips after a surge

During this weekend, I came home to a dark apartment. This is normal, as the sun usually sets in the afternoon leaving things rather dark. But this time, I was unable to turn the light on. The breaker box was consulted, and one breaker (only two 20 amps in this tiny apartment, talk about low end wiring...) was off. I hit it several times, but it would not stay on. Unplugging everything including the fridge solved the problem. Adding items back incrementally (like the Apollo 13 movie) let me figure out that the microwave was probably to blame. At this stage, the working theory was that the microwave had burnt out finally after all these years.

However, upon plugging it in, I found that everything was fine! So the power strip used to hook up the microwave must have been the problem. The strip did indeed have an odd smell to it, like burning electronics. Things seemed to be fine after this, and I settled in for some episodes of the West Wing. However my UPS kept clicking on and off, and soon the lights started to brighten and dim back and forth. At times they got incredibly bright, indicating a powerful over-volt power surge. I was not able to get my multi tester out during the process (I was more worried about the safety of my computers and TV) but a safe bet would be 150 volts, perhaps more. The incandescent bulb in the bathroom got so bright at one point that I expected it to blow up at any moment (or at least blow out, but it never did!)

Long story short, the apartment electronics are getting totally upgraded during this week, with power outages during the day. Nothing was damaged but two power strips, which is a miracle.

I decided to dissect the strips to find out was was going on inside. Here are the results:




I found it interesting that the fuses did not burn out, but the first items to fail were the metal oxide varistors. These (blue) items are semiconductors that conduct varying amounts of electricity depending on voltage:


If voltage becomes high, these items "open up" allowing current to shunt surges away from the devices that one wants to protect. Obviously these overheated and burnt. One would expect the system is designed to fail this way, resulting in some local burning but no major fire hazard and no damage to my microwave or alarm clock.

"The most common type of varistor is the Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV). This contains a ceramic mass of zinc oxide grains, in a matrix of other metal oxides (such as small amounts of bismuth, cobalt, manganese) sandwiched between two metal plates (the electrodes). The boundary between each grain and its neighbour forms a diode junction, which allows current to flow in only one direction. The mass of randomly oriented grains is electrically equivalent to a network of back-to-back diode pairs, each pair in parallel with many other pairs. When a small or moderate voltage is applied across the electrodes, only a tiny current flows, caused by reverse leakage through the diode junctions. When a large voltage is applied, the diode junction breaks down due to a combination of thermionic emission and electron tunneling, and a large current flows. The result of this behaviour is a highly nonlinear current-voltage characteristic, in which the MOV has a high resistance at low voltages and a low resistance at high voltages.
For example, follow-through current as a result of a lightning strike may generate excessive current that permanently damages a varistor. In general, the primary case of varistor breakdown is localized heating caused as an effect of thermal runaway. This is due to a lack of conformality in individual grain-boundary junctions, which leads to the failure of dominant current paths under thermal stress.
Varistors can absorb part of a surge. How much effect this has on risk to connected equipment depends on the equipment and details of the selected varistor. Varistors do not absorb a significant percentage of a lightning strike, as energy that must be conducted elsewhere is many orders of magnitude greater than what is absorbed by the small device.
A varistor remains non-conductive as a shunt mode device during normal operation when voltage remains well below its "clamping voltage". If a transient pulse (often measured in joules) is too high, the device may melt, burn, vaporize, or otherwise be damaged or destroyed. This (catastrophic) failure occurs when "Absolute Maximum Ratings" in manufacturer's datasheet are significantly exceeded. Varistor degradation is defined by manufacturer's life expectancy charts using curves that relate current, time, and number of transient pulses. A varistor fully degrades typically when its "clamping voltage" has changed by 10%. A fully degraded varistor remains functional (no catastrophic failure) and is not visibly damaged."

- Varistor

It was interesting to see that one strip burnt out without causing any major problems after; it did not trip the breaker and only buzzed a bit. The other was fully shorted out and was able to draw enough to trip a 20 amp breaker.

This is the model found in one of the power strips. Can anyone help me understand the ratings? 1 watt sounds like the normal operation draw, no? And 130 volts AC sounds like the threshold to start shunting? Certainly that can't be the failure point... And energy (2ms)J what exactly does that mean?

The Yonkers Joint Wastewater Treatment Plant (YJWWTP)

I recently was lucky enough to go on a tour of this water treatment plant in Yonkers.  Yonkers is a city just north of New York City, surrounded by suburbs and country.  I was unable to take very many pictures because my camera batteries died quickly.  Below is a small sample of all of the cool things to be found at the plant.  Sadly, there are no images of the giant open vats of processed water.

Maximum Security Gate (that was open all day...)

Art 1979deco architecture

Thousands of really nice valves, flanges, meters, and burst disks.

Several very large hallways; the entire campus was something like 25 acres.

These were two giant (perhaps 4 foot diameter) pipes.  Very rusty also.

Control room.

Large motors used to spin centrifuges:  These spin the water out of any sludge that is removed from the system.  This takes millions of gallons of water per day, but only produces a few trucks worth of sludge (that is good, if you can't do the math.)

The plant uses more than $50,000 a month worth of electricity (and probably at a discounted rate all the same.)  HUGE amount of power.  These fuses or switches or whatever are probably just for a small set of machines, one can only wonder what the mains look like.

Sometimes money is recovered in the rag recovery (skimmer) device.

The control panel for the skimmer system.  Every few minutes, a strainer removes rags from the raw input, which is a shocking amount.  Who is dumping rags into the sewer like this?  Also, note the floating bathtub toys on top of the panel.  These probably were flushed by kids down the toilet.

The skimmer device in action.  Rags are deposited on a conveyor belt and removed.

These interesting tanks greatly reduce the smell produced by the plant.  Frankly, very few parts of the plant had any bad smell at all.  And there was no noticeable smell off the campus proper, though at some times there may be.  A great deal of time, effort, money, and manpower is applied to keep odors down.  And it works really well.  Among other things, this was one of the most impressive parts of the tour; how smart and effective the whole process is.  Those of you in Yonkers should be proud.

Who knew a Joint Wastewater Treatment Plant (JWWTP) would be so complicated?

Kansas Outlaws Evolution:

Kansas Outlaws...

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel

Wiki

Sand grains from around the world

Discovery Magazine Sand Images

THing

This is almost certainly my first post on the subject, but for the past 10 or so years, I have been an avid THer. This is a big hobby for me; metal detecting, or "treasure hunting." For the most part, this takes place on the beach (using the above model, which is waterproof to over 200 feet), but from time to time also in soil and fresh water locations.

Beach hunting in my area turns up a pretty reliable (if probably low by THing standards) $2 an hour in coins. Almost without fail. A good hour might return $4 in coin, a poor hour... maybe 50 cents. This is an interesting hobby because it offers at least three levels of return: The small but steady income that pays for batteries (or if you are dedicated, a new detector every year). The fairly rare finds that, one a year, may bring you hundreds of dollars in an instant. And then the final level; the once in a lifetime (or several) find that is worth thousands.

To date, my best find was a Tag Huer watch that sold for $150. I also find gold once or twice a year, and silver rings every dozen trips out (usually 1 hour at a time). I have more than paid off the initial cost of the metal detector, but not much more. The dream is a gold Rolex, a large diamond ring, or a rare gold coin.

Above and beyond the financial concerns, which are always a big factor, there is also the fun of the hobby. My personal favorites are the old coins. Very few coins found on a saltwater beach have any value anymore. However, they are fun to collect. The idea that a coin has been buried for over a century, dropped by someone enjoying the very same beach, is pretty exciting. My personal favorites would be the buffalo nickel, indian head penny, and mercury dime.


Rather than show pictures of the coins from the past year, here are some more interesting items from this past weekend. Most of these are, lets be honest, basically junk. But they are still interesting. Even a 20 year old bottle cap is fascinating to me because of the highly tactile, accessible history contained within it. When you dig up any metal item, you can really appreciate what 20 or 30 years means because you can feel the weight and density of the soil above it. Most of these were quite deep, suggesting ground ages over a decade:

A fake gun (from 1 foot depth, up to 50 years ground age)
A real bullet shell (magnum rifle)
Tacky earrings (some kind of cast iron or aluminum)
Part of a beer can? (probably more than 20 years ground age)
Bottle cap (probably more than 10 years ground age)

And some lump of metal that is too hard to identify.

I have decided to throw most of these away, keeping just the earrings and bullet case.

If you are interested in getting started in this hobby, here are some good links:

Treasurenet.com
Whites
Fisher Lab
Garrett

Update:

The large tomato plan is now growing three tomatoes, all of which are still green. Many flowers remain on this large plant. The smaller plant is now beginning to flower as well. Both will be moved to a larger pot or even perhaps outside as conditions allow. All plants are watered with fish and frog tank water. This should be a good source of nitrates.


The smallest orchid, order placed about 6 months ago, has been placed in a moss and fern terrarium. It is doing very well, obviously because of the increased humidity. Two other orchids will likely be placed in larger terrariums in time.

A series of tropical plant cuttings are being cultured in lettuce containers. These plants are able to root in standing water very quickly, and even recover from significant infections of most of the plant. Hope to see flowers some day.

Rainbows at 7:00

Every day around 7:00 (a time at which, as an adult, I am now forced to be awake), the sun passes through the corner of a 2.5 gallon glass aquarium and produces very bright rainbows. The light appears to be passing through two layers of glass, each at an oblique angle. It does not look like it is going through any water, however.  These will probably not last very long, maybe only a week per year.  It may be possible to move the tank and rotate it to follow the sun.

Tomato Plant starts to make good on its name

To add to the already improbable outcome of tomato seeds sprouting in the worm bin, and then the shock that they not only survive on a winter windowsill, but actually prosper and flower...  we now have two tomatos starting to grow, and probably many more to follow.  I wonder if this pot (about 1000 ml) is big enough.

Recent plant activity

Two tomato plants are now growing fairly well in a south facing window, one is flowering.  For some reason they seem to enjoy the combination of cold drafts and hot steamy mornings.  The larger plant, with flowers, has been propped up with an old wooden spoon. 

Many peanut sprouts have been showing up because of a batch of undercooked penuts that were thrown away.  Obviously they were hardly cooked at all.  Few surived in the pot, many were deformed or damaged on germination.  This one finally moved past primary leaves and looks to be in decent shape.  Probably will need to be repotted soon.

The marigolds were cut down to soil level (and in some cases killed) to recover from a mite infestation.  They are beginning to recover, and flower.  The tropical weed plant that was just a few small cuttings last year, is also growing in this container as well as two aquarium tanks (yes it grows in humid air, soil, shallow water, and totally immersed).

Avacado plant!  At long last one of the pits germinated in the worm bin, and is now stewing under the plant light.  Hopefully this will be hardy enough to be moved outside in the summer.

Tomato plant flowering

This plant, and a smaller plant of the same species were removed from the worm bin.  A few small, yellow flowers have begun to grow.  Why now?  Light levels are increasing in this window, but at the same time temperatures are lower.

Does anyone know what this is?

Squirrel action shots

Some aquatic flowers

You reap what you sow; that is to say, lots of mushrooms.

Well unlike last time, these mushroom boxes seem to be going the way of "one giant harvest." The directions listed this as a distinct possiblity. Differences in the batch may have something to do with this, but the growing conditions are also far colder this time than the last. I am fully awash in mushrooms, and frankly have a hard time using them all. I ate three mushroom burgers last night, and I just finished making a gallon (about 6 servings) of mushroom pasta sauce. Perhaps these are the problems that one wants to have; the overwhelming bounty of fertile soils.

Button growth: each frame is 24 hours.

Portobello growth:  each frame is a 24 hour period.

Only eat salsa with something screaming on it or a guy crying or something red at the very least.  The best salsas have black widows or skull and crossbones on them.

Some of natures butter.

The real veggie burger.

A hike in the Hudson Highlands: Pt. 4

(Ruins part 3)

The ruins of the mansion proper are the last stop on this hike.  Walls still stand, featuring archways and several grand fireplaces.  Plant growth is extensive, and is probably more dramatic in the summer months.  The entrance to the basement was not located.  The ground is literally that; not much of the floor can be seen or detected.  Granted, it is probably concrete or something substantial, but there was no effect of hollow spaces below.  The basement remains to be found next time.


Upon inspection, the coal shoots and fireplaces all seem to have some charcoal or ashes in them.  Perhaps these are from recent fires (rednecks, college students, etc.), but it is just possible that these are remains from the house when it was still in use.  That would be an exciting prospect.  Analysis of sediments on and around the structure show great depth, years of decay have built up a substantial layer of soil.  The soil is quite loamy, and full of worms and the organic smells of decay and cold rain.


Here is a closer view of the handsome fireplace, with some tiles still visible.  One can only imagine how nice it may have been to sit next to one of these several fireplaces on a bracing fall or winter night.


Some drainage pipe.  The image inset is a blurry shot of the woods outside of the south facing wall.


The most unexpected discover was this little pool.  Obviously it is full of branches and soil.  Digging shows decades of sediment, thickness about 1 meter.  A fine trace of paint can still be found around the concrete borders.


The most shocking thing about the pool, can be seen right here.  It appears that this pool was stream fed.  That is to say, water would enter via a small stream over this waterfall.  A similar ramp structure was found downstream on the other side (west facing) of the pool.  This would ensure a very clean, but likely cold swimming condition.  Has anyone ever been in a stream fed pool?  Could this be stocked with trout?


This pool, being stream fed, and these two remains of some limestone or marble columns really help show how glamorous this mansion once was.  One fellow hiker remarked that he would chose this as the destination if he were to gain access to a time machine.  For my part, I plan on returning in the near future with a metal detector to see what remains buried on the grounds.

If any of you would like to visit this area, please visit the Hudson Highlands State Park.  It is located just north of New York City, on the East coast of the Hudson River.  The park covers most of the land south of Beacon NY, and north of Cold Spring NY.

A hike in the Hudson Highlands: Pt. 3

(Ruins part 2)

As you may have noticed, this single trip has ballooned into a full 4 posts. The fact is, there is a substantial volume of things to show and to discuss about this trip. Now we enter the lower ruins, and in that we find the mansion grounds proper.

To get started, here are three pages from the definitive book on the subject of ruins in the Hudson Highlands area. Yes this is an illegal copy, but since the book is online, this is ethically just about the same as posting a link to the free online copy. I have added this book to my next Amazon order.  This is a short history of the ruins.





This smaller building had the looks of a greenhouse or a garage, or perhaps a barn.  Something with a thin roof and intresting door mechanism.  But it is hard to tell at this point what the function was.   Near the entrance, a set of stairs can be found leading below ground.  

Cold air, the sound of water falling on more water, and perfect darkness are all good signs.

Obviously people come to these places to drink beer, and then leave the bear cans behind.  College students?  High school students?  Cletus Spuckler?  The world may never know.  In this pic a drop of water was captured hitting the ground.

Signs of an over-grown garden welcome all visitors to the mansion.  See the mansion (finally) next week in the 4th post.

And last, enjoy this video taken from near the summit of mighty Bull Hill.

A hike in the Hudson Highlands: Pt. 2

(Ruins part 1)

This is the next in a series of posts about a fairly short, but fascinating hike over and around Bull Hill (Mt. Taurus is a local name). The weather conditions were quite warm, around 50 degrees with moderate humidity. Snow was found on most surfaces, but it was rapidly melting away. Research continues on the nature of the ruins pictured here; the details will be provided with the final post. This post will share images of the upper ruins, located just below a reservoir and uphill from the mansion ruins. This property was once owned by Edward Cornish, Chairman of the National Lead Company. A trail passes through here, appropriately called the Cornish trail. More information on all this is pending, please return for parts 3 and 4.

This is a reservoir that marks the top of the ruins, found upon arrival from the downhill hike returning from the gentle flank of Bull Hill.  The water appeared generally stagnant, with some significant odor and a highly anoxic ecosystem.  The walls show a fuzzy covering of some colonial sessile organisms that are probably protozoans.  Depth unknown; certainly more than 5 feet.  This might be a nice destination during the summer, perhaps some free diving?

This structure appears to be fairly new; probably only a few decades old.  The structure shows that there was at least one floor above the current roof, which is sturdy enough to stand on with some care.  Moss and plants grown around and on the remaining ruins, but inside it is simply too dark for any significant botanical life.  No mammals were observed within, but one bird nest was found to be abandoned.  

The building is very dark, damp, and cold.

Several decades worth of rain, hundreds of storms, have begun to grow stalactites...

And Stalagmites.

Please note that these images utilize a camera flash.  These two images show how the interior spaces look to the unaided eye.  Small windows provide some light.

A more handsome building (that still falls short of the mansion proper) is found nearby.  A very charming, and overgrown, courtyard has been formed inside.  The DBH of the single largest tree within (blown down with thousands of others in some recent storm or several storms) suggests 30 years since the roof was destroyed.  The history will show how accurate this estimate may be.

Interesting cisterns, wells, and silos can be found on the property.  Not pictured are the countless little artifacts scattered on the grounds.  Is it ironic that there were several pieces of lead?  Shards of glass are the ubiquitous.  In centuries, only the stones, glass, and some metals will be here.  On the scale of millenia, ruins will become cracked and scattered across the countryside.  How long will it take for the entire mansion to be consumed by the Hudson?  Please return for the next two posts.

A hike in the Hudson Highlands: Pt. 1

(Nature and some nice views)

Today I completed a fairly short, 5 mile hike on the east side of the Hudson River, about 50 miles north of New York City. For those of you who do not know the area, the Hudson River is a large river that surrounds Manhattan island, and can be traced up into New York State. Most of New York State is Rural, with the bulk of the balance suburban. Only a small percentage is urban, though many New Yorkers do live in cities by number (perhaps upwards of 75% according to census 1990). In any event, much of New York state has been set aside as parkland. Granted one would prefer that more acres could be protected, but these parks are great nevertheless. The Hudson Highlands park is a bit over 5,000 acres complete with two reservoirs, several mountains, many hills and streams, a fire tower, and obviously thousands of mature trees.

During this hike nearly 100 pictures were taken. They have been sorted into three general categories, and will form the foundation of the next four posts, of which this is part 1. The next three parts will document ruins found in the woods. This, however, is about the nature.

The weather was quite warm: about 50 degrees with some limited wind.  The clouds were mostly constant, but the sun did come out from time to time early on.  By the end, however, it was cloudy at all times.

Some snake skin!  Do snakes often shed during the winter?  Would a few warm days motivate snakes to molt?

One stretch of the trail loops over a closed quarry.  Here the ledge gets right up to a 100+ foot drop.  Pretty intense.  Note the small trees, obviously the quarry has been out of use for a while.  Some basic research shows that this was operated by the Hudson River Stone Corporation.  Work started in 1931, and terminated in 1967.  

Lots of trees were blown down this year, probably from one or several severe storms.

Please stay tuned for two sets of ruins that were explored.  Research continues, to find the source and nature of these ruins, but it is now known that posts 3 and 4 will discuss the remains of the estate of Edward G. Cornish, once chairman of the National Lead Company.

Diver in standard dress encounters an attractive amphibious organism

Marine Biology... Ballin!

Mushroom farms in boxes

The portabella box will soak for about 7 days at room temperature. The buttons take about two weeks. Water is added to a layer of peat moss powder, which is placed over the compost (incubated and inoculated over a 1 month process at the farm). As the fungus grows up through the sterile material, the container becomes ready to open up. Regular watering, shade, and cool conditions are all that are required to ensure a complete harvest.

A rainbow from Santa Monica

Being on NY time, I had been waking up around 6:00 every day. This time, there was a some rain.

Mushroom farm in a box II:
This time, it's Mycological.

Two mushroom boxes are on the way! I decided to buy one of the classic white button mushroom farms, and also one Portabella box. The cost is high, around $65 shipped, but well worth it. You only live once, and while all men die, not all men truly eat mushrooms.