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.

Rats waz 'ere

Haha I saw this and just thought I'd share it with you. I had rats in my attic a few months ago, right above my bedroom ceiling - or at least, I think they were rats. They made so much noise they could have been badgers, except I think a badger shinnying its way up my drainpipe would have been quite noticeable. I've now got one of those electronic ultrasonic rat repellent machines myself - I don't know if it truly works, but I didn't hear any more scrabbling noises above my head at night after I plugged it in. I've actually taken it out now because, yes, it is sooo NOT inaudible to the human ear. Hopefully the rats will stay outdoors now that it's warm outside. I'll plug it back in in the autumn.

The comic strip was from Shrubmonkeys, a comic strip drawn by an animator called Katie Shanahan. It's great fun and she draws amazing facial expressions. Add the site to your procrastination list!

I told you it would be random.....

I read somewhere that sometimes, our early loves are those whom we sense to be the other halves of us, who complete us and fill a void within us. Before meeting them, we may not have known that that void was there but once we know it, we feel as if something is missing from everything we do when or if that person is gone. But when we mature and grow more confident in ourselves, we find loves with whom we can be complete people in our own right, not just half of a whole.

I think that a healthy relationship is one that brings out the best qualities in both parties, one where both can grow and change without growing apart. If it gets stuck at one stage and becomes stagnant, one day you might wake up and realise that you’ve stopped looking at the other person as a person in their own right, with their own ambitions and dreams, with their own struggles and needs. Maybe the person you thought they were no longer exists, if they ever did. We all try to change other people, it is much harder to accept them and love them just as they are.

Sometimes, love isn’t enough. Some may argue that if you love each other enough you can overcome anything. That could be true, but it is easier to say than do. Love alone isn’t enough. You need courage, faith and trust, not only in the other person but in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself and in your own worth, how can you trust the other person will love you enough to overcome obstacles for your sake?

I think that before you can love properly you need to love to love youself. Once you’ve accepted your own shortcomings, you might be more tolerant of flaws in other people.

BacklogS of posting

EEKS - there are so MANY things I should blog about but haven't got round to yet. I'll try and update this blog more frequently from now on. The posts might get more random (if that's possible).