2009's greatest hits, part two
I like it once I get the chance to go all science-y on this weblog and I take the possibility any time it presents itself and every now and then while it would not. The basics of chemistry, biology, physics, geology and the relaxation are not hard to grasp and expertise the underlying mechanisms of normal life are step one in facing the sector from a place of know-how in preference to a place of fear.
I have very little tolerance for conventional wisdom that's born of ignorance and scientific illiteracy and one of the bogeymen I enjoy slaying is the cloud of fear that surrounds a little concept called radiation. In June of '09 I wrote a series about radon with the help of Chris Forrest, a physicist from the University of Manchester.
Reader Question: Are My Counters Giving Me a Headache?
That radiation collection changed into a actual highlight for me. It is my best pride to assist other non-scientists like me understand how the arena works.
I love ancient Roman art and mosaic was an form where they excelled. My appreciation for Roman mosaics sits underneath my passion for mosaics now. In June of last year I wrote a post based on some ancient Roman mosaics that had been unearthed recently in Israel. I'd been alerted to their existence by the great Sara Baldwin of New Ravenna Mosaics .
That mosaic post from June cemented my friendship with Sara and her company and it introduced me to the amazing group behind Mosaic Art Now . Mosaic Art Now has been a real boon to me both within this blog and outside of it. My life's been enhanced immeasurably by my contacts and friendships in the world of contemporary mosaics and I am anxiously awaiting what great doors are waiting to be opened in the new year.
Roman Mosaics Make Me Swoon
Many way to the artists who spread out their paintings and their studios to me and plenty of thanks to my readers for indulging my passion for the things I discover there.
If at the beginning of the year you would have told me that I was going to change my pro range brand loyalty from Wolf to GE Monogram I would have called you delusional at best.
Well July found me in a GE test kitchen in Louisville, KY where that exact brand loyalty shift happened. I learned so much from the gang at Monogram not the least of which is that they really know what they're doing. They also host a hell of a training seminar.
I'd Like to Add Some Initials to My Monogram
Big thanks to the whole gang at Monogram .
I got nominated for a 2009 Homie award from Apartment Therapy final week, a improvement I find toe curlingly hilarious when I prevent to suppose how a lot mileage I get from ragging on that site. Big thanks to Nim for that nomination.
Anyhow, sooner or later in July some misinformed however no-doubt nicely-that means soul wrote into AT about her unchlorinated, "herbal" swimming pool. The irresponsible body of workers at AT wasted no time praising this hare-brained plan as a "healthy" opportunity to yucky chemical substances. Never thoughts that the pool they were praising changed into a waterborne ailment outbreak ready to take place.
Please Don't Try This at Home
I say it all the time, chemistry is your friend folks. So my question remains, when a website pushes some kind of alternative medicine nonsense (whether it's the Huffington Post's embrace of the anti-vaccination movement or AT's endorsement of swimming in untreated pool water) are they responsible for the typhus or polio outbreaks that follow? Just wondering.
Second only to my love of Italy is my deep love and recognize for The Bahamas and her human beings. Few locations I've encountered divulge me to more and make me take stock of my personal life the manner a bit island inside the center of the Atlantic ocean does. I wrote plenty approximately The Bahamas in 2009, but my favorite post involved the retelling of an journey I have with a damaged down jeep on a Thursday afternoon.
A Traveler's Tale: High Adventure with a Broken, Rented Jeep
All hail the Bahamian humans for showing this white face how exciting lifestyles can be if you have less stuff and even fewer expectations.
September found me at Fashion Week in New York thanks to my friends at Brizo . Going to Fashion Week has been a running joke between my friend Kevin and I for years. I call it a joke because we're both fashion-illiterate and aren't the kind of folk who attend such things as A-list runway shows under ordinary circumstances.
New York Day Two and What a Day It's Been
Sittting up close and personal with a major unveiling that like was an experience I'll remember forever. I still don't know anything about fashion, but I certainly have a better appreciation (if not awe) for the role those runway shows play in every day life. I came away from that weekend with an insider's look at fashion design but thanks to Judd Lord and the rest of the gang at Brizo , I got an insider's look at industrial design.
That equal month, I found out that there was an exhibition establishing on the American Museum of Natural History and it opened inside days of my leaving New York. Drat!
A couple of Malagasy artists had found a way to spin spider silk into thread and then they wove that thread into fabric. Finding a use for spider's silk has been a quest for dreamers and schemers since the dawn of humanity and these guys pulled it off.
Of Spiders and Silk, of Silk and Textiles
This story appealed to me for a host of motives. For starters, it worried the American Museum of Natural History. Secondly, the spiders in query had been Nephila inaurata, a close relative to Florida's Nephila clavipes pictured right here. Nephila clavipes is an arachnid of such majesty it is tough for me to put into words what superb creatures they're. That a number of their relative's silk could be woven into what is arguably the sector's most high priced fabric is ideal on a group of levels unexpectedly.
In October I'd been done wrong by some missing appliance specs from Sears Kenmore Pro and I wrote a blog post about it. My complaints were bitter and my criticisms were pointed. I wrote that post to get my frustrations off my chest.
Sears' Blue Crew Needs Some Work
Well imagine my marvel after I heard from Sears approximately my weblog submit. They have been truly worried and they truely wanted to help. Within weeks of that submit's going live I'd prepared a convention call among the Kenmore Product Team and a handful of layout bloggers I hand-picked. I suppose it'll cross down because the least expensive cognizance organization ever assembled and a whole lot of top came out of it. Not most effective that, I even have a appreciate for Sears as an employer I could have in no way had otherwise. Social Media works gang, allow there be no doubt.
I started off this round up with an admission to my fondness for getting science-y on this blog and I don't think anything fired my curiosity quite as much as an invitation I received in November from the Aspex Corporation .
A Microscopic Look at Some Counter Materials
Aspex makes Scanning Electron Microscopes and I had them test some granite and quarts samples I had lying round. I spoke with more than one their techs and with their help wrote a first rate publish about Scanning Electron Microscopy in popular and the outcomes of my pattern scans in particular.
And so I wrap up 2009 and head into the brand new 12 months. Thank you to anyone who reads those screeds. Putting this blog collectively each day is a actual top enjoy and the remarks I get from you guys continues me plugging away at it. Happy new year to all and sundry and keep coming lower back for more.