With the Alberta Government planning to get rid of a long list of provincial parks of various forms, I thought it was worth revisiting the benefits of parks. There are multiple types of parks that vary in the balance between conservation and human recreation. But if the presence of a tree on my street can … Continue reading
As summer starts up so do campfires and toasted marshmallows. So what gives a golden brown, melty marshmallow its amazing flavour? What makes them puff up? And why isn’t a burnt one as sweet anymore? Let’s start with the ingredients of a marshmallow. A marshmallow is around 50% air. This actually starts to answer our … Continue reading
A friend of mine had a disagreement with some colleagues at a pd session. My friend correctly asserted that when you put ice into a blender for a smoothie, the ice does not undergo a state change, except for some minor melting due to heat from friction. The ice will melt as the smoothie warms … Continue reading
I’ve heard about the challenges of indoor air quality a few times. I’ve worked in buildings that had reputations as sick buildings. And oh my word, I’ve been questioning the quality of my home air since moving to working from home. While there are factors that impact our indoor air quality that are independent of … Continue reading
I used to run a nature information line and in the spring we would have any number of people calling with concerns about “abandoned” baby animals. I didn’t mind the phone calls to be honest as it meant the person called before taking action. Generally the advice is the same, look for actual signs of … Continue reading
Typically, when I taught the characteristics of life I would mention that viruses mess with our understanding of life but wouldn’t go much further, it was outside the scope of the course. For obvious reasons — ie the current covid-19 pandemic– I’ve been thinking about the tiny little virus and its tenacity for life, wrapped … Continue reading
I remember when the office I was working in was moving. We were moving from an industrial area with ample free parking to the centre of downtown with no free parking. I was thrilled. The transit access was going to be much better and there were safer bike routes. But not everyone felt the same. … Continue reading
I thought I’d do a little experiment to check out how vinegar or a weak acid affects dying eggs with food colouring. The recipe I’ve seen most often is a teaspoon of vinegar in a cup of water so I used this recipe, but I added two other tests: just water and half water and … Continue reading
Okay so I just needed something happy for this week as I enter my third full week of isolation (thanks Covid-19 pandemic). I used to work at my local zoo as an interpreter. I joked that I interpreted the animals for the people and the people for the animals. Zoos have some negative history to … Continue reading
We are living in interesting times. With the threat of getting sick from Covid-19, which is enough to cause anxiety, we are also isolating and restricting our movements. I’ve noticed an upsurge on views on my post on exercise and mental health so I thought I would look into a related topic: music and anxiety. … Continue reading
