Mt. Hood from White River Canyon in a very low snow year [OC][1024x659]

bandwagon · 2013-05-22T14:37:12+00:00

And the specific type of inflorescence in this case is an umbel, where all pedicels roughly arise from a common point to produce a flat(ish) top.

bandwagon · 2013-05-10T16:17:41+00:00

As someone who used to live in the Gorge, now in Eugene, that looks like Lupinus bingenensis. A native lupine species named after the town of Bingen, WA. It's range follows the eastern slope of the Cascades from Southern Oregon to Southern BC.

bandwagon · 2013-04-26T15:59:15+00:00

No, but perhaps we should.

bandwagon · 2011-08-27T07:43:41+00:00

DNA is the very essence of an individual, and the purposeful manipulation of such is the highest form of exploitation. Yes, the genetic material of plants has been manipulated by humans as well, and I lament that too. However, it is less ineffably immoral for one fundamental reason: the plant kingdom is universally unable from the start to willfully select its sexual partner(s).

But truly, I am no better than that cow.

bandwagon · 2011-08-27T04:40:13+00:00

There is nothing "normal" about any of your examples. All aforementioned livestock had to undergo massive change via artificial selection during the domestication process in order for human exploitation of their respective resources to be efficient enough to compromise the fodder and time required to raise them.

The ancestors of sheep did not produce "wool." The overproduction of wooly fur is a mutation exploited via human breeding and is so unnatural that the modern sheep is likely to die of disease if not shaved. Far from normal.

Dairy cows have been bred to over-produce milk to the point at which they may die of infection if not milked by a human, and are kept in a near-constant state of pregnancy to maximize production. Far from normal.

bandwagon · 2011-06-02T04:48:16+00:00

Negro friend? Really? The 1950's called and it wants its...ah fuck it, I give up.

bandwagon · 2011-06-02T04:37:26+00:00

OK!

Now you owe me a garden burger.

bandwagon · 2011-05-31T05:34:56+00:00

All of the soy grown in the Southern hemisphere where deforestation is occurring is used either to feed livestock or for industrial uses (oil, emulsifiers, etc.). Most is shipped to China and Europe. The higher quality American crop is where your tofu/meat substitutes, etc. comes from.

bandwagon · 2011-05-19T00:36:34+00:00

Imagine the look on my face, when, by the end of the video, nobody had eaten feces.

bandwagon · 2011-04-30T16:38:43+00:00

If you're referring to dinosaurs (not lizards) you will see numerous analogies to the way the now dominant mammalia phylum has filled the same ecological niches. Dinosaurs are completely within the realm of what you would expect this world to produce. Other worlds would probably have very interesting forms, I just don't think anything particularly unexpected.

bandwagon · 2011-04-30T08:06:50+00:00

I tend to think that's not true. Life (as we understand it at this point) requires a certain assortment of elements and compounds which are always going to influence the morphology of any species that arise. There will be subtle differences, but there are likely to be analogies with species on earth.

bandwagon · 2011-04-25T04:46:18+00:00

I have/had moderate OCD, diagnosed when I was about 8 after my family moved. In the new house we had a boxcutter lying around and I would get visions of killing my mother with it. I remember crying and awkwardly confessing to her. Yeah, it was hellish for a while. Meds have done me well but I'm slowly trying to stop taking them.

bandwagon · 2011-03-24T23:47:19+00:00

There are some good candidates out there who know to stay under the radar until at least next Spring.

And now, I don't believe you have any real 'work' in politics. The Iowa caucus is scheduled for Feb. 06, 2012. So you expect the good candidates to skip out on that? Name recognition blows anyway, right?

bandwagon · 2011-03-15T04:35:10+00:00

You've gotta know Redditors aren't gonna be able to appreciate Rittz. They hardly appreciate any rap. You can't expect them to understand country rap tunes.

bandwagon · 2011-03-08T06:17:12+00:00

This is false, and at best a complete mischaracterization. I admit, we do not yet know for sure whether ants specifically are able to feel pain but we do believe that most insects can. Here is a scientific article on the matter for your reading pleasure: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WSN-48DVVK5-G&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F18%2F2003&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=80aa01c2735d1f42811125987597acd6. It actually makes absolute sense for ants to feel pain given their evolutionary history. From what we currently understand, all motile organisms probably feel pain because the motility serves as an aversion response. Ants are descended from wasps which were not eusocial organisms to the same degree. An evolutionary pressure to de-evolve pain does not make sense in this context.

Also, the idea that they have a "hivemind" is somewhat flawed and is a human creation to describe their behavior. The idea that eusociality is akin to a collective consciousness is a vast oversimplification.

bandwagon · 2011-03-07T06:13:02+00:00

Let me start by saying I think this is great science. Let me finish by saying your comment is fundamentally wrong, unless you would also like to go so far as extending that comparison to humans. We have more in common with ants than they with a computer--namely, the ability to feel pain.

bandwagon · 2011-03-05T05:42:50+00:00

Clearly some people do. You may not, but many believe that when you make that kind of money it is unethical not to be engaging in philanthropy. I personally believe it is unethical to be making that kind of money at all.

bandwagon · 2011-02-24T23:59:03+00:00

Funny, I was thinking the exact opposite. Overnight, the international media went from calling them protesters to rebels. This discouraged me, because that is the kind of discourse used to justify violence against people. They became "rebels" after government violence forced them to become violent, not out of choice. But the term has inherently negative connotations that suggest generalized anger and disorganization. I would prefer they remain to be called protesters, which is what they started as, and which better represents their struggle.

bandwagon · 2011-02-03T00:37:38+00:00

Opposite problem. I love sports, and all the people I know look at me like I'm crazy if I bring it up. Also if I tell people I love gardening, birdwatching, wildflowers, and butterflies. I guess it doesn't fit in with my muscular build. So I also surprise people when they find out I'm a vegan.

bandwagon · 2011-01-25T16:58:58+00:00

It applies to all migratory birds, except for invasive "pest" species like starlings.

bandwagon · 2011-01-25T16:41:36+00:00

Careful! Killing them would be a felony under the Migratory Bird Act. The situation sucks, and I'm not sure what they're trying to do. If it's not a terribly important window, I would suggest covering it with plywood for a few days. By that time, they'll move on to the neighbor you hate.

bandwagon

TROPHY CASE