Snakes on a plane

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11203270

Annual floods

Throughout history, it has been said that the Emperor or ruler who can tame the Yellow River and Yangtze River, and delimit the devastation caused by the flooding of their banks will win the people, heart and mind.

Thousands of years on, you can still understand why. Engineers over the millenia have struggled with the problem (early engineering was quite advanced in China), but the logistics are tremendous, given the size of China's prone-to-flooding regions and the sheer numbers of people and communities that rely and live on the fertile plains in those regions criss-crossed by the rivers.

Every year it's hard to tell how bad the flooding will be. I wish all the very best for the rescue workers working hard in Zhouqu at the moment, and hope that there isn't worse coming.

Herbal highs (for 6-legged creatures)

The lavender bushes in front of my institute are like opium dens for insects. It’s quite fun watching the big fat bumble-bees lumber between flower heads (or inflorescences if you’re being pedantic). There are usually quite a little herd of them grazing and looking rather comical as they perch on flowers that aren’t much bigger than they are.

The great thing about working in an agricultural research institute is that someone always knows exactly what flower/fern/insect you’re looking at. When I was taking these photos on Sunday, someone appeared behind me and mentioned that this was a Common Blue butterfly. There were also some Cabbage Whites (these, I knew the name of) but they fluttered too much for me to get a camera shot.

I saw some winged ants on my way home, but they weren’t so pretty and my photos of them crawling over the grey concrete pavement didn’t come out so well. But it's a good job I heeded their warning and brought my umbrella out today.

Foldit: Biology for gamers

One for those of you who like to tackle 3D models and spatial puzzles – protein modelling conundrums introduced to the internet gaming community. I think it’s a great use of crowd-sourcing, there must be plenty of gamers who like a challenging puzzle and are a bit of a perfectionist – precisely what you need from a protein modeller. After slotting a part of the protein into place, the gamers get not only the satisfaction of having solved a piece of the puzzle, but also the satisfaction that their work will help further scientific research!

It definitely sounds like a better use of crowd-sourcing than some of those put forward by the government.

(Image from the original Nature paper)

Assassins

People lurking in doorways, stalking their target on the streets, their weapon hidden in the folds of their clothes. You don't know who might be out to get you, but meanwhile, someone else has your photo in a manila envelope, trying to get you first. It might be at work, when you walk out of your door, as you buy your lunch, but there are rules. You are safe on public transport and in train stations.

Am I getting a bit paranoid?

Actually, I'm referring to I guess what would be called 'water pistol assassins' which is apparently becoming very popular in cities in the UK and USA - I presume also in different parts of the Western world as well. There's an article on the BBC website that explains it (or at least, explains it to those who can understand the attraction, regardless of whether it attracts them or not).

It's not a new concept to me. It used to be played around my university, although unless you knew the Assassins society existed you probably wouldn't have noticed. I didn't play, but I probably got the record for the 'innocent' that was killed the most times in my first undergraduate year. Practically every time I went to visit my friend, who lived in another part of my college and DID play, I set off some sort of trap meant for her, whether it was jam on the door (masquerading as poison), or a box sitting in front of her door (bomb). I was like a canary in a mine, squeaking (I can't sing) as I set off all the traps before their intended target. It did explain why I had seen a strange guy lurking around her part of college (it was a women's only college, which must have made life more difficult for the male assassins) - later on I got to see him a few more times; usually the back of him as he scuttled off when I opened her door and walked right into yet another trap. Once it was a talcum powder bomb, which I was less amused about. He was certainly tenacious, I give him that, and almost certainly frustrated by my unintentional suicidal tendencies.

Don't ask me why they do it. As to myself, I liked going to and from lectures without being attacked (at least I knew I would only be killed when I was in the proximity of my friend). I'm glad that their rules didn't mean you had to be killed by a water pistol though - otherwise I would have had to visit her with a towel, just in case.