Month: November 2017

Two Planets One Species?

~ Guy Hall

It appears earthworms may also be marsworms!

(Science Alert) Good news, aspiring Martian farmers! The soil composition of Mars oughtn’t hinder earthworm reproduction, if experiments here on Earth are any indication.

Using simulated Mars soil developed by NASA, researchers added rucola (also known as rocket or arugula) plants, manure fertiliser and earthworms – and found that not only did the worms thrive, but they’ve now produced their first offspring.

“Clearly the manure stimulated growth, especially in the Mars soil simulant, and we saw that the worms were active,” said lead researcher and biologist Wieger Wamelink of Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

“However, the best surprise came at the end of the experiment when we found two young worms in the Mars soil simulant.”

This is good news for those future Mars colonists that want to go fishing in the canals.

Close Call!

~ Guy Hall

I managed to read the last 10th of one chapter, the full next chapter, as well as watch two videos, ace my quiz (Yeah Me!) and get two posts in the discussion forum all within two hours. I made it with 9 minutes to spare. And the kicker? I never felt under pressure once.

Not All That Fun

~ Guy Hall

While one of my classes gave me the Thanksgiving weekend off – that means no assignments – the other class decided to double up and have two assignments due this week. Yeah, it sucked. And the class is not all that great. It started out with all sorts of technical glitches that put us behind. Plus, a lot of what we are doing doesn’t match with the book we had to buy. And the software program for planning a start-up is a piece of crap. It does not allow for simultaneous editing by a group. Only one person at a time can get in to edit. That’s bogus. There is supposedly a second part of this class. I am not taking it. Too much financial stuff that I just am not educated to deal with. Nor is it what I want to learn.

Good Morning!

~ Guy Hall

Yeah, I’m up. I’m up. And look at that outside. What is it? Oh, damn! It’s the sun. Where’d that come from? Sheesh. I’m not usually up this late. I didn’t crawl out of bed until a few minutes after 8:00 AM. I’m waiting for my Fitbit to sync to see how many hours I slept. I think it’s having as much trouble waking up as I am.

Finally! It claims I slept 7 hours and 54 minutes. I know that’s not true. I fell asleep long before 11:15 PM. Tina can attest to that. But I’ll agree I did wake up at 8:00 AM because that’s when Freddy decided it was time for me to get up and feed him his treat. Nothing wakes a person up quicker than a cat’s cold nose.

Winding Down

~ Guy Hall

Yes, I went to the fitness center. I only did 30 minutes. 15 on the treadmill and 15 on the stationary bike. It was a good workout. Now the electric blanket is warming up the bed into which I will soon crawl. You all have a good night. Unless I don’t like you, then I hope the bed bugs do bite.

And one more thing – Tina’s home!!!!!!!!!!

 

A New Day

~ Guy Hall

It’s a bright, blue sky outside this morning. I almost decided to go running outside, but the wind is still bitingly cold. So, it’s off to the fitness center again today.

In other news, the owner of the house I am working on purchasing had decided he can’t both sell the home at the price we agreed upon and fix the roof. And the roof is in dire need of repair. So, do I back out of the deal, or continue negotiating? For the most part, the location is a strong selling point. The backyard is wonderful. And I’d still be paying less for the monthly mortgage payment than I do for rent.

Sugar Crash

~ Guy Hall

The Cinnamon roll is knocking me out. But it was an excellent finish to the BLT and onion rings I had for dinner.

Actually, the workout probably is playing a part. I managed 45 minutes, 30 on the treadmill and 15 on the elliptical.

Possible New Castle!

~ Guy Hall

I am in the midst of purchasing a house. It’s quite nice. But it needs a new roof. That’s the outcome of the house inspection I paid for on Wednesday. I am in the middle of negotiating the price and the repairs. I am certainly not interested in buying a house and then discovering there are severe damages above and beyond replacing shingles.

Oh, and not only is it a beautiful place, but it’s also close to where we already live, so we won’t have to drag stuff all the far. Still, we are probably going to use movers if we get the place. I’m too old to be moving heavy crap up and down narrow stairs.

Quick Note

~ Guy Hall

After completing the LOTR trilogy, I watched the last 20 minutes or so of a movie called “The House of Sand and Fog.” All I can say is….

Ah, no. I won’t say it.

However, I can see why the Academy nominated Ben Kingsley.