Nice people thread part 6 - thrice by twice as nice :)

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

So, I'm betting that's the male of the species right?;) Is the female a bright pink colour?

That is the male. The female is lovely if not quite so dramatic:

zagubov

Generali wrote: »

Is it just me or do cloudberries sound like the most wonderful food in the world ever?

It's like a family of birds I found out about in Aus last w/e called the Fairy Wrens, examples of which include the Splendid Fairy Wren and the Superb Fairy Wren.

This is a Splendid Fairy Wren:



There's been no funny business with the colour either, that's what they actually look like.

Looks like they'd make ideal pets for this interesting family.

hjd

vivatifosi wrote: »

My current favourite is the Oresund bridge between Denmark and Sweden.

My DD regularly travels across that bridge. She has just graduated in Scandinavian Studies and is currently doing a translation internship in Helsinki. She won't fly so is an expert on trains, ferries etc from the UK to Sweden and Finland.
We have been across the Oresund Bridge too; could tell you a decent pizza place in Malmo but it's not the greatest shopping destination. Bound to be a local Ikea if that floats your boat!
You could go from Copenhagen to Malmo then back again (twice over the bridge) - Copenhagen's an interesting place, though still very expensive.

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

Looks like they'd make ideal pets for this interesting family.

What an amazing story!

zagubov

Generali wrote: »

What an amazing story!

It's a belter of a tale isn't it?
If I'm teaching genetics and "inbreeding depression" I use this family tree which, you'll notice at the top includes a marriage/pairing which would be illegal in modern Britain.

vivatifosi

zagubov wrote: »

If I'm teaching genetics and "inbreeding depression" I use this family tree which, you'll notice at the top includes a marriage/pairing which would be illegal in modern Britain.

Zag, I find genetics fascinating but when I've tried to read about it I find that most books are written at too high a level. Can you recommend something that the non-scientific curious would find interesting? I've tried Steve Jones and Brian Sykes. I managed the latter but not the former.

zagubov

vivatifosi wrote: »

Zag, I find genetics fascinating but when I've tried to read about it I find that most books are written at too high a level. Can you recommend something that the non-scientific curious would find interesting? I've tried Steve Jones and Brian Sykes. I managed the latter but not the former.

I'd start with Matt Ridley's Genome. Very accessible IIRC. Has a a fascinating bit about how bad cortisol is for us and how badly humans cope with stress because of that.

I went to a conference where I saw Steve Jones and Richard Dawkins giving talks. I know Chewey's not a fan of Jones but I thought he was riveting. He pushes the notion we've stopped evolving which strikes me as realistic. Dawkins writes very well but I'd skip seeing him talk; he needs to work on his delivery IMHO.

Actually DD's going to one of his talks soon. Hope she enjoys it.

vivatifosi

Thanks zag. Have reserved a copy. It's out on loan at the moment so I should take delivery in about 3 weeks.

vivatifosi

Apropos of the earlier conversation re American football, there was an interesting article comparing the economics of mall santas with those of NFL referees. Makes a compelling argument:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/37c3cf9a-089a-11e2-b57f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz27nttjxs4c

PasturesNew

Been out, now back, with: some pliers, a couple of trowel handles and some glue. Happy days.... they were all on my "to get" list

Sunday lunch was a Big Hot Dog, with onions and ketchup, standing in a car boot sale field in the wind.