Cuppa Coffee on the International Space Station

Wing-shaped coffee cup allows sipping hot brew, round cup doesn't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk7LcugO3zg



Away from Earth's gravity, fluids become spherical due to surface tension (concentric gravity). This wing -shaped cup allows wicking, like candle wax seeps up a candle wick and like sap is sucked up a tree stem via evapotranspiration capillary action despite gravity.

Bird wings in flight produce the same result, the air flows out to the tips and then separate away (turbulence aka drag). Bird feathers have slight micro-ridges which produce this micro-turbulent boundary layer, fish scales also do; the faster the fish or bird, the smaller the ridges.

Here see how the dimpled surface of a golf ball produces a thin turbulent layer, reducing surface drag and thus allowing it to travel twice as far as a smooth ball:

http://www.livescience.com/common/media/video.php?videoRef=081119_GolfBallScience

The blood capillaries in our bodies follow the same rules in nature. While diving, the mammalian divers reflex engages with apnea, vasoconstricting outlying veins and arteries bringing the blood to the body core, then when backfloating with eupnea vasodilation pulls blood to the extremities allowing the blood to be warmed directly by solar radiation and indirectly by immersion at the warm water surface in the manner of a poikotherm. Chimps don't have this feature, since they are always fully "clothed" with their fur coats and are completely reliant on internal metabolic heating. Cool, eh? ;)

Masjid on the moon: 2012, American Islamarine Society, "FreeDome" constructed of origami-like folded hyper-paper, an insulated laminated hexa-pent spheric structure of super-lightweight impermeable materials, with moon stone/cement/foam matrix basefill, built inset within a lunar crater of proper proportion, with omni-orientable turntable floor, and attached to isotropic vector matrix octet truss space frame lunar base qasalam ramadan hotel. Somewhat similar in principle to the American Antarctic Dome residence and work station, but employing interwoven rings (arcs) and mylar etc. rather than bolted aluminum or plexiglas triangular or hexapent panels.
http://www.ecophotoexplorers.com/images/antarctica/Dome.jpg

hijab ~ tudung ~ modest clothing

Sunlight and osteoporosis: The reduction of seafood in the diet (compared to a million years ago) plus habitually wearing heavy clothing (to reduce evaporation and to follow culture mores) means more sunlight is required to prevent osteoporosis.
http://www.moneduloides.com/?p=571

Trajectory in brain cortical thickening, intelligence: http://scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/2008/12/how_the_temporal_trajectory_of.php


New fashion: Squid Scarf with mitten tentacles ... ?? [h/t pharyngula] http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/squid_hats.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890
(Not advertising, just PR!)
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What is the biological rationale for wearing the veil and layered clothing?

To reduce water (sweat) loss, advantageous for people without access to water eg. desert nomadic herders. "Covering your aurah" is equivalent to a mammal's fur layer, it retains body moisture preventing dehydration. reality 101. One advantage of our human ancestors living along seashores had was protection against freshwater microbial pathogens (virus, bacteria, fungi), which could not adjust to the powerful combination of direct sunshine (ultraviolet light), freshwater submersion and saltwater submersion, together with the paranasal sinus emitted Nitric Oxide and the cutaneous eccrine glands produced slightly basic urea/dermcidin/defensins and slightly acidic skin surface. http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/static.do?p=education_discussion/molecule_of_the_month/current_month.html



Chimps don't swim. Humans do. What are you?


Humans can swim before we can crawl, walk, run, sit or stand. Yet some people want to mimic chimpanzees, mentoring others to be afraid of water. That's the path to chimpiness and polluted oceans with no fish and dead coral reefs. As fellow Minnesotan Greg Hussein Laden says "Don't be a chimp!". I concur. Get in the water, learn to swim, dive, backfloat. Be human. If you are scared, ask me to help, I will, if it's not too late.

"Female primates love chatting: IT has long been known that it is a female trait to enjoy a good gossip. Now scientists think they could have pinpointed the reason behind the female tendency to chit chat – by studying monkeys. The researchers found that like women, female macaque monkeys were more likely to make friendly noises to each other, such as grunts and coos, than the males of the species." [The researchers obviously are unaware of Dive Song, the human-only language development during backfloating and diving between dive partners, which did not occur among other primates. DD]

They think the discovery could add weight to the theory that language evolved from the need to form social bonds, with females needing to build closer relationships than males. [Rather obvious IMO. DD] http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk/Why-do-women--.4712406.jp

Menstruation causes brain flip: The female brain has a clever way of mitigating the stress experienced during menstruation: it flip-flops. Such a change could help women cope with the hormonal maelstrom going on in their bodies without causing huge behavioural shifts. Oestrogen levels levels, in particular, plummet around menstruation. http://neurocritic.blogspot.com/2008/11/female-flipping-brain.html
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color ~ warna ~ varini




trust me to teach you to swim, backfloat and dive. No fear. Fun, and safer than walking across the street. :)

ingatlah ni, a chimp in fine linens yakking on a cell phone in a lexus is still a chimp if she can't swim.

cuz it's biology, baby! and good for the ventricles too!

ps. if you don't have a sense of humor, go buy one. life is too crazy without one. wasalam.

~ daud di nor calif ~

tri-ax weaving ~ bonding

Snowshoe (rawhide strips & wood frame), surfboard (cardboard strips & epoxy) and bola raga (rattan).

Both raindrops (icosadodecahedral spherical) and snowflakes (hexagonal planar) are molecularly tri-ax bonded in nature.

floppy puppy in flight

last eve, the ephemeral scent of the vitalized seashore while walking around
this morn, the heavenly smell of baking bread molded into raisin bagel form

Barack Hussein Obama, President, USA

His father from Kenya with east African (Kenyan) ancestry, his mother from Kansas with west European (British) ancestry, Barack spent his childhood years in Hawaii and Indonesia (where he went diving!). Mungkinlah dia bisa berbicara bahasa Indonesia & bercakap bahasa Melayu sikit, macam saya pulak. ;) Born American, yet comfortable internationally. He has much respect, though that is just the entry ticket, lots of issues to deal with.

I only hope his nickname does not become "Oh-Bomb-Ah", in the fashion of G. W. Bush's nickname "Bush-Whacker". Let Obama be known as the "Peacemaker". InsyAllah. God bless America.

Cheers to the President of the United States of America! Let freedom reign!

http://www.myspace.com/barackobama

I have one thing to say: Let this man do his job, he will most definitely earn his paycheck.

Freckles are cool; well, mine are anyways. hehe. Mahalo, Simba~Singa.

Congratulations to the democratic party, and the O bama family; we are the world!


ok that's enough patriotic political stuff. Back to nature & nurture. (^-^)

Fall behind, Spring ahead

It's Daylight Savings Time here, so the clocks ran backwards for an hour, sort of.

If your gonna fall back, make sure it's soft like water, so you can back-float comfortably.

After the winter ends with the ice melt, time to spring forward, diving into the sunny future.


I just brewed up a nice hot cup of java, with some evaporated milk, kopi susu, scrumptious!



Oh, coming up, the Coffee Opp will be having a grand opening in the Ink People Gallery:
http://california.tribe.net/event/THE-COFFEE-OPP-GRAND-OPENING-FESTIVAL-NOVEMBER-15TH-4-10PM-THE-INK-PEOPLE-CENTER/eureka-ca-95501/8c37824e-7860-4f66-b8c7-ccb9d481a3d8


Kevin (from Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean) is emceeing the show, lots of activities.

ps. just got some reed-weave flip-flops, comfy, walked out in the rain, chilly but fresh.