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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Diatoms and Diatomaceous Earth: Beer Filtration for What Ales You



      Diatomite is a generally light-colored sedimentary rock that is  composed mostly of the siliceous skeletons of diatoms. It is an extremely porous rock with a fine particle size and a low specific gravity. These properties make it useful as a filter media, especially for beer and wine. It is also used as an absorbent, and as a lightweight filler for paint and plastics. When diatomite is crushed into a very fine powder, it is called diatomaceous earth.







      Diatoms are members of a large, diverse group of algae that drift in the waters of both oceans and lakes. A few types of diatoms live on the bottom of these water bodies and in soils. Most diatoms are microscopic, although a few species are up to two (2) mm in length. As a group, diatoms are unique because they are single-celled organisms that produce an external cell wall composed of silica, called a frustule. These frustules are very thin and have a delicate structure.



      Most diatoms are photosynthetic and live in water less than thirty (30) feet deep, where sunlight can penetrate. Diatoms are prolific and are responsible for producing nearly half of the organic mass in the world’s oceans. Their abundance and tiny size places them at the base of the marine food chain. We have discussed the strength and Fibonacci ordering of diatoms before here at PEOTS.





     After diatoms die ("die, atoms, die!"-- sorry, I couldn't resist) their siliceous frustules sink. In some areas, the frustules are not incorporated into the bottom sediment because they dissolve as they sink or dissolve while on the sediment surface. If the sediment is composed of over 30% diatom frustules by weight, it is called diatomaceous ooze or siliceous ooze.




      Of course, all this ooze discussion leads to a talk of diatomaceous ooze filtering your booze. Freshwater ooze or earth must be used unless you like your booze salty (yuck for me!).    Diatomite from saltwater sources can contain salts that can produce objectionable or toxic effects. Although some beer crafters are, indeed, using salt in the brewing process. Enjoy the beer, skip the pretzels? Have a little diatomaceous ooze with your booze? Woe is mead?

 

     The four main uses of diatomite in the United States during 2019 were filtration (50%), light aggregate (30%), fillers (15%), and absorbents (5%).





      Diatomaceous earth is used as a lightweight, inert filler in some manufactured products. It is added to paint as a whitening agent and extender. Diatomite is added to plastics as a lightweight filler. 



     If dry diatomaceous earth is placed on a liquid spill, it can absorb and hold an amount of liquid equivalent to its own weight. This absorption facilitates containment, cleanup, and removal. Capillary action of liquids into diatomaceous earth is enhanced by its small particle size, high surface area, and its high porosity.



       These same properties make diatomaceous earth able to absorb skin oils when used in cosmetics and facial masks. Diatomaceous earth is an absorbent ingredient of some kitty litters. It is also used as a soil treatment to absorb and hold water.



     Diatomaceous earth is used as a mild abrasive in some toothpastes, facial scrubs, and metal polishes. Its silica particles are small, friable, have a high surface area, and are angular in shape. These are properties that help it perform well as a mild abrasive.



     Diatomaceous earth is used as a growing medium in hydroponic gardens. It is inert, holds water, and has a porosity that allows the soil to breathe. To help grain and other seeds from sticking together and remain dry, they are dusted with diatomaceous earth.





     The cost of diatomite depends on its quality, how it will be used, and the preparation effort that has been invested by the supplier. The cost of diatomite straight from the mine without processing for use in concrete starts at about $7/ton. Diatomite from high-grade deposits that has been crushed, sized, and sieved for use in cosmetics, art supplies, & DNA extraction markets can cost more than $400/ton.



     The extraordinary intricacy of diatoms in Scanning Electron Micrographs shown throughout this post is astounding. Do you have a favorite?
Hoping you are all well in this weirdest of times,
Steph
P.S. Begone, M a r c h, oh longest of months this year.

90 comments:

  1. As long as March was, I fear April will be longer.

    Back to the article, diatomaceous earth can also used as a non-toxic insect repellent & barrier. Particularly good for termites.

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    1. Sadly, eco, you may be right...but April weather is often so pleasant and the blooms are cheering.

      We had planned a trip to Crystal Bridges next week (boo!) and the newly opened space, The Momentary. Crystal Bridges will pay for kids to journey to art; how cool is that!

      Good to know about termites and DE (either in or out of Delaware).

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    2. Out here we forget how dramatic the changes to seasons can be. But from my many years in upstate NY I remember how pleasant April can be, mostly because the gray slush of winter snow is finally gone - except for occasional snowstorms as late as May.

      Thinking of vacations not traveled I realize an apt comparison for this lockdown situation: while you take Maizie with you on your trips, when I was young we never took our pets with us. We boarded them in a kennel, which while decent, was not the luxury pet hotel that you see today.

      I think back now to what must have been going through our dog's mind: we were gone, he was in a strange place, not sure why he was there, and not sure when (if ever) things were going to be normal again.

      I wonder if we will be as happy as our dog was when this long strange trip is over.

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    3. We are Kunming Park and the air is so fresh, the daffodils extra sunny, and the waving is utterly cordial. Someone defaced the Kunming sign and I brought cleaner to fix it but someone beat us to it. Yeah, community.

      CO Governor Polis has extended our long strange trip to May 1. One of my students has not left his high-rise since March 12. He is too afraid to go out as there are common spaces like elevators and lobbies to navigate. I did convince him to open his window today.

      So glad for our most extensive park system. . .and that I live in a house with Maizie.

      Speaking of Maizie, we adopted each other 4-2-2008, 12 years ago tomorrow, yet another reason April shines so bright.

      We are itching for the Great Sand Dunes, though. Both of us. Serious dune longing here.

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    4. Kunming Park? Sounds Chinese, are you sure it's safe? Also your lack of preposition ("We are IN Kunming Park") makes me worry it's too late. I took a chance today and got some Chinese food for lunch, carry out, of course, per the mandates.

      No disrespect, but Kunming doesn't look that interesting, big open field, couple of pretty cool white rocks, a lot of paving and brick work leading to .... a drinking fountain?

      Congrats on Maizies, well, not birthday, Adoption Day? Founding Anniversary?

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    5. Kunming Park is all about community and views of the Rockies, especially at sunset. It sits up high on a little hill with unobstructed views of Pike's Peak to Long's Peak and beyond. It provides an extraordinary view and since there is no playground equipment and it is small, it is never very busy. But, we know all the dog people. We were there for 2 hours today, taking it all in, reading and writing and seeing our dog friends (at safe distances, of course).

      Thanks for your good wishes on our mutual "Gotcha Day."

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    6. I also feel connected to my students from Asia there so seeing anti-Chinese graffiti there Monday afternoon was especially disquieting.

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    7. I shouldn't pick on your park, it just seemed kind of empty. When I saw the plaza area with the semi circular forms I thought there would be something remarkable at the center; that it was merely a drinking fountain is amusing. Dang, I'm picking on it again!

      I didn't understand the defacing was anti-Chinese, rather than the more standard gang defacing we get around here.

      Trump's name-calling the virus is disgraceful and dangerous. Most people don't realize the (so-called) Spanish Flu of 1918 started in the good ol' USA. I think in Kansas.

      So why Kunming? Do you have a sister city relationship? Are your Chinese students related to a formal exchange program? When I was in school most of the Chinese students were Cantonese, memories of Mao and the Gang of Four were still fresh. Hence I can say a few things in Cantonese ("You're very bad, crazy egg" - unfortunately Google does not have a Cantonese translator). but not Mandarin.

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    8. Yes, it is empty, except for dogs and people and the view! Exactly why we like it so much. Neighboring Rosedale Park, Rosedale Community Garden, and Harvard Gulch Park get the big traffic but Kunming Park, a little postage stamp sized place, awaits a different, quieter crowd.

      Yes, Kunming is our sister city. One of my students grew up near the source of the limestone pillars that grace our park. They didn't consult geologists, though, so, unfortunately our arid climate is quickly eroding the pillars, which came from humid Kunming.

      Our students are not in a formal exchange program with Chinese students. We did have one exchange student from Germany arrive on March 4th. . . Two weeks later he was back home.

      The anti-Chinese graffiti was the first time I have ever seen graffiti of any kind at the park.

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    9. < < < Kunming Sunset with limestone pillar, dog, and human.

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  2. This 44 second video made me GOL*

    *Guffaw out loud.

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  3. OK, a 6.5 magnitude quake in the middle of nowhere isn't much, but I can understand Carole King expecting locusts next.

    I like the photo of the rockslide. It reminds me of the one avalanche I've seen. I was walking along the edge of Lake Louise in Alberta, when I heard a sound like a jet taking off, and saw the snow coming down the slope across the lake.

    I read the Grand Canyon closed today. I'm assuming it's just the park entrance, not that there's now only a narrow slit you can step across...

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    1. I drove that stretch of the rockslide road in 2017, returning from watching the eclipse near Stanley. The area is very sparsely populated, probably a good thing. They claim to have the darkest nighttime sky in the lower 48, which I have to disagree, there were millions of stars lighting up the sky, including this whole band that looked like spilled milk.

      The area is very steep, and given the shape of the Sawtooth Mountains they appear to be very young - doesn't that usually indicate seismic formation, or at least recent formation? The area also has numerous hot springs, which I thought also indicated either volcanic or seismic activity.

      Is there a geologist in the house?

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    2. The Sawtooths, like most of the Rockies are, indeed, quite young and jagged, relatively speaking. Seismic and volcanic activity abounds (see the Yellowstone Caldera). So, yes, we can expect seismic activity to continue. . .

      Closing the entrances to the Grand Canyon was wise. It's too popular, especially over spring break. I hope (selfishly) that the entrance to Great Sand Dunes stays open. So few people visit it anyway and the quiet (quietest of all our NPs) and dark skies are unparalleled. The campground will open a month later than usual, on May 1, and that will help social distancing. . .

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    3. Glad the quake happened on 3/31 and not today. No one would have believed it.

      How strange for Ms. King to experience that earthquake. But, then again, everything right now feels quite strange.

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  4. Some artful laughs on this April Fool's day from Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Arkansas.

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  5. Replies
    1. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Stealers Wheel, um, nailed it.

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    2. Oh, those NYT writers -- "The find led Dr. Stilwell to mount a search for more amber at sites. . ."

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    3. Well, that was the thrust of the article, they had to insert it somewhere. OMG, am I channeling SDB?

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  6. Replies
    1. You have forced me to break my sacred vow to never, ever, cite Lionel Ritchie. There are parts of the 80's best left forgotten.

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    2. Indeed.

      Speaking of walking on ceilings and walls, part of our trip to northwest Arkansas this week was to experience the opening of Bandaloop at the new Crystal Bridges space, The Momentary. Maybe in the autumn.

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    3. ^^^ Try this link instead: https://youtu.be/-VLidRFsa8Y

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    4. Bandaloop Boston: https://youtu.be/K5RGr4zsyHY

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    5. A building science professor friend did a study comparing energy use in high rise buildings across North America (being Canadian he went beyond the US). Interesting conclusion: energy use per square meter (Canada again!) actually increased as the age of the building decreased.

      Care to guess why? As a hint, it's related to the Bandaloop Boston video.

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    6. I'd guess it has to do with the amount of glass. (Insolation, as opposed to insulation.)

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    7. In most of the country for residences, especially single family houses, the primary concern is heating - certain climate zones like the deep south notwithstanding. In high-rise buildings there is much less surface exposed, especially the roof, which is where most heat goes.

      So cooling is the primary issue for high rise buildings, whether commercial or residential. Commercial buildings also tend to have more internal heat loads - equipment, higher density of people (which emit as much heat as a 100W light bulb), etc.

      Before World War II (roughly) high rise buildings had relatively little glass, they used more traditional windows, and had about 15% glass area. During the 1960's and 70's buildings with solid bands of horizontal glass became the stylistic norm. Every city has the black and white striped building. Those have about 35% glass. Current trends are pushing towards 100% glass curtain walls - curtain walls started in the early 1900's, that's another story, but they originally had a mix of solid panels and glass.

      Glass is a lousy insulator, even the best glass panels can only insulate to maybe R-11, the same as a marginal 2x4 wood wall. Recall that energy can be transmitted through conduction, convection, radiation, and phase change. Conduction, especially with insulating glass, is pretty limited, and convection only works with operable windows (which old buildings have) or heavy duty ventilation systems. Phase change heating and cooling is mostly a non-issue except in experiments.

      Almost all of our radiant energy comes from the sun, where it has traveled 93 million miles through the vacuum of space, and is converted to heat as it passes through both the atmosphere and the panes of glass. Coatings can help, but can't stop that energy in 1" of glass.

      Even on the coldest days the south side of the Sears Tower in Chicago is running the air conditioning, while the north side has the heat on. The so-called Gherkin Building in London used a double curtain wall (very expensive) and this still didn't work. Don't mess with the sun. The worst wall you could build, 2x4 wood filled with dirty laundry, will perform better.

      It's actually not that much different than your car sitting in the sun; even on the coldest days it will get fairly warm in there, and that's without any insulation to hold it in, and no internal loads.

      Or as Jan said, insolation as opposed to insulation. Class dismissed, go back to whatever you weren't doing.

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  7. Replies
    1. And yet my rural urban life roars on :-).

      Maizie and I just returned from a restorative, day-trip you know where. Medano creek was flowing, we peed only in the woods or on the range, and travelled many a happy dirt road from 4:00 a.m. to 10:45 p.m.

      ^
      ^
      ^ < < < One of our "rest areas." We surprised each other.

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    2. She seems to be a good driver.

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    3. She is, indeed. Today she has slept much of the day after our grocery store trip in the early morning.

      Seeing her dig in the sand was quite heart-warming (and body-cooling as she plopped herself into the cooler sand hole.)

      Significant snow is predicted here for Easter Sunday so we are especially savoring this string of 70 degree F days.

      How are things on the east (and west, eco) coasts? In between?

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    4. Things? Well, there's this pandemic/depression going on. Personally, things are not so bad. My wife is mostly recovered from her presumed bout with Covid-19, and so we're back to doing grandchild care, now 5 hours a day during the week, so their parents can try to get some work done from home. Along with my work on the Swing Left Greater Boston events calendar, phone banking to oust Susan Collins from the Senate, keeping house in lieu of our cleaning guy, biking, etc., I haven't had a chance to get bored yet. Looking forward to it someday, though...

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    5. Jan, glad presumed cv19 is mostly over for your wife. Scary stuff. Happy you are still biking and back to grandkid caring. Doing what I can here to get Cory Gardner out of the Senate here. Oh, and we still have 7 more weeks of school until early June. I am not crazy about meeting on Zoom. It makes me tired in a weird way at the end of the day.

      My peach trees are in full bloom. Sure hoping the snow tomorrow doesn't zap them. The new next-door neighbor kids are looking forward to picking a few of those 700+ peaches in late August/September.

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    6. Jan, I assume your wife was never formally tested? Do you think you were infected, as it's hard to isolate? And WW, how (and where) is Zoe in all this? I think she long ago returned from Nairobi?

      For me this whole Covid affair has not been so interrupting. I still have plenty of work to do, though no client meetings. Some jurisdictions are permitting purely electronic submissions for building permits, I did one last week and will have one finished Monday or Tuesday, and another at the end of the week. While I would rather work in my office, I've been using a laptop for almost 20 years, and have a virtually identical set-up at home.

      The social scene is somewhat bleak, no gatherings with friends and family, and I haven't had the time for the pure escape WW did. Maybe soon, but California is discouraging such things. Our weather is its typical boring. And there really aren't local-ish political campaigns to get involved with, we live in a bubble.

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    7. Zoë returned from Ethiopia in December 2018 and started working at a non-profit in Seattle. She was happily zooming around the world doing good science coordination work. Now she just Zooms and is itchy to travel, as many of us are. Her boyfriend from the PeaceCorps kept his condo during his 3 years of service so they had a relatively inexpensive place to live. She seems happy enough in these times. No sdb sitings, that I've heard.

      After Zoomng with teachers, administrators, and kids about math and ELL during the day, Zooming with friends and family is a bit tiresome. Phone chats are better. I called my field partner from Mexico last Friday. We talked for 2.5 hours and that was lovely.

      All the bobbing heads on the screen in Zoom is unsettling. Our school meetings have many grim and stern faces. There must be something better. Any ideas?

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    8. Yes, eco, when my wife got sick (after we very carefully quarantined ourselves for 10 -- not 14 -- days), her PCP said testing was only available for patients who they were considering hospitalizing. I never had any symptoms, but I was very exposed to her until she woke up with a fever, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I have antibodies. It would be nice if antibody testing became available, since if we knew we had them, we could go back to normal behavior. (I'd also be a lot more likely to accept deployment, should MA or NJ ever act on my volunteer sign-up. NJ let me know they've reactivated my license for the duration, despite lapsed credentials.)

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    9. The dangerous part about not having testing is your wife may have simply had a "normal" flu. 9 or 10 years ago I had one, almost identical symptoms as Covid-19 - tiredness, fever (102° or so), chills, body aches, etc. Had a cough, can't remember if it was wet or dry. Lasted about 10 days, didn't turn into pneumonia (which may have killed a contractor friend last year).

      I would think your return to the field, especially in NJ, would make you a priority for testing, right after people hospitalized, current medicos, and first responders.

      Whatever you do, don't go with your gut, or anyone else's.

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  8. Wikipedia reminds me that today's the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13. It's a good story. I remember following it closely, but hadn't realized that so many others were, too. And I hadn't known that Jim Lovell had an uncredited cameo as the captain of the recovery ship in the Tom Hanks movie.

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    1. It is a good story. I did not know about Lovell's role in the movi.

      Look! Space? Dunes? I can tie any topic into the Great Sand Dunes:

      "The famous sand dunes resemble an alien landscape so much that NASA uses the geological conditions to test rovers. The two Viking spacecraft that first landed on Mars proved their astronomical fortitude in the extreme environment of dunes at the national park. You can watch robots navigate each April at the annual Colorado Space Grant Robotics Challenge."

      More about that and other sandy stories is in this birthday celebration of the park, first designated a national monument on March 17, 1932, by Herb Hoover. (Herb? Why not?)

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  9. Fun Fact: over 44,000,000 coronaviruses can fit in 1 square mm, over 130,000,000 on the head of a pin.

    If a coronavirus (150 nm) were the size of a human (1.8 m), the human on that scale would be as tall (12,000 km) as the earth's diameter.

    And in the case of our Fear Leader, just as wide.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. I suspect the publication date is not a coincidence. I.e., it may be a joke, not sketchy science.

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    3. This illustration did me in: The correlation "graph" with the sloping red line and "relationships between climate change (a), looks like a fish (b), and weird beak. X-values were scaled between 0 and 1 for visualization purposes. Graphic: Daniel T. Baldassarre (Sci J Research & Rev. )."

      From the article: "Scientist and blogger David Kaye did a deep dive into this specific company’s shady journals that you can read here, but the Scientific Journal of Research and Reviews and its publisher, Iris Publishers, have all of the trappings of a predatory operation. At best, scientists use these platforms to publish joke articles on birds and Star Wars. But these journals could be used by scientists hoping to spread bunk science or pad their resumes and might dupe inexperienced scientists, who might not be able to tell which journals are predatory and which aren’t."

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  11. This article is from at friend at Notre Dame University:

    Matching the prosodic contours

    I concur. A school day of Zoom classes feels like 24 hours of constant interaction. . .

    The upside? I do get to see everyone's dogs.





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  12. Gotta shout out to Hubble on its 30th birthday.

    A year or so ago, my son visited an old college roommate in California, who works on its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. Won't be any thrilling videos of astronauts servicing that device out at the L2 Lagrangian point, I'll bet.

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  13. Replies
    1. I was amidst posting this same link! Have you listened to it? I, thus far, have not.

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    2. No, I haven't. My wife and I now have essentially full-time jobs, caring for our granddaughters during the day while their parents try to work from home, plus I try to manage the on-line calendar for Swing Left of Greater Boston, sort of keep house in the absence of our usual cleaning person, and attempt to keep up an exercise routine. Without a 30-minute each way commute each way, I no longer even listen to NPR news reliably. I suppose we could substitute this for "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", which we "listen to" every day during nap time (I fail to hear the same show 7 times each week), but it would hardly matter.

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    3. ^^^ each day ^^^ (substitute either way)

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    4. Life sounds full and rich with your granddaughters. Do you (hope you) ALL nap during naptime?

      I'd not heard of this show before. I find it odd that a show needs/uses the "Like Car Guys for Language" moniker. Those comparisons seem silly to me. Must we compare everything to something else? Why?

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    5. We nap when our son comes up for air between a Zoomed class and other work.

      I don't share your disdain for analogies. I think I'd be more likely to listen to this because of the comparison to Car Talk than I would be otherwise. Maybe when things calm down.

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    6. I hope you are able to listen soon.

      At 17 Zoom meetings today, I'm not listening to much either. One Zoom session booted me off three times. . .and I was hosting the meeting.

      Evenings are happily Zoom free this week. A nap sounds good. . .

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    7. My old Bell Labs officemate (a long-time Car Talk fan) has heard the podcast, and isn't enthusiastic:

      "Occasionally, their explanation of the background or meaning of a word or phrase is interesting. But, there is no snappy repartee, no sarcasm, no real humor. I'd say that the premise of this [New Yorker] article is booooogus!"

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    8. Interesting. Maybe that's why the hype and comparison to the Car Guys is surfacing...

      Snappy repartee? We have that covered!

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    9. Our local Denver public radio station (CPR) does not carry the broadcast. They are picky. That might have been a clue.

      I will try it sometime. Bumped down on the list now, though.

      Have you listened to and/or read Heather Cox Richardson? Her broadcasts from Maine and Massachusetts on American history, particularly the Civil War, and connections to current U.S. politics, have me on the edge of my seat. She is definitely worth a listen.

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    10. I was unaware of Heather Cox Richardson, but I'll have to look her up now. Sounds like her interests overlap somewhat with my next-door neighbor, whom I've never met, Drew Gilpin Faust. But my favorite pieces on odd bits of American history are from Sarah Vowell. I love French Kiss.

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    11. Let us know when you meet Drew! She has some Smith connections, I believe.

      I will check out your link when I am ready to look at a screen for awhile longer.

      Right now, Maizie and I need a walk in our 80 degree F sunshine. . .

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  14. Replies
    1. "Long-term insularity" sounds familiar. Looks like a rat after gaining the Covid 15.

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    1. Wonder what Crayola will name it? Maybe they'll name it for Admiral BobbY InMaN, a smart guy with a questionable moral compass?

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  16. I like science fiction as much as the next guy, but claiming they're going to land a man and a woman on the moon in the next four years smells more like bullshit to me. I'd be willing to bet they're wrong, but I doubt I could find anyone to take the bet.

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  17. Replies
    1. Ooh! I like it.

      Btw, eco, I am sorry about all that went down on the other blog last week. Quite ludicrous and over all kinds of lines.

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    2. Thanks WW. The environment here is clean, as is my conscience - I'm not a fan of torture and killing for "art." Maybe clay or canvas.

      I don't quite understand the obscene outburst, and found the whole thing so distasteful I've decided to not visit there any more. Not worth the time or energy to deal with social pathogens.

      Oddly enough, earlier this week Will Shortz accepted a (fairly goofy) puzzle I sent him, no word on when he will run it. Too bad they don't give lapel pins to submitters.

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    3. I completely understand your viewpoint and decision. We have missed you but glad you are still a PEOTS visitor.

      Congrats on your submission to Will. We will look for it. Maybe Lego might send you one of his 3 lapel pins!

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    4. Eco, sorry to see you departing the other site, but I understand why. The venom that was spewed was, and is, inexcusable.

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  18. Replies
    1. How do they know the eels will "see" screen faces? Maizie rarely reacts to a screen, unless there is the sound of a dog barking. . .

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  19. Replies
    1. "What's in your wallet?" was the correct Final Jeopardy response on Thursday.

      Here's a late word woman (a coronavirus victim) with bookcase cred to spare.

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    2. I have noticed this, too. One of my friends who grew up very poor had NO books in her house growing up. Now, her home has books everywhere.

      We always had bountiful books growing up. I relish the book, the bookcase, the book pile, the bookshelf!

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    3. Simultaneous publishing, jan. Thanks for the article about Ms. Kripke: "She bought the book and hitchhiked to Nice instead." I understand.

      I also enjoyed the friend who said she would look for an obscure volume like a hound looking for truffles.
      Yes!

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  20. Word Woman,
    I was especially enchanted by the photo of the gold and blue-frustuled diatoms. They remind me of pillboxes of jewelry boxes.
    I made up a puzzle this past year that involves one of the longer words (10 letters) that appears in the text of this edition of PEOTS.
    My puzzle read:
    Many framers of the U.S. Constitution were farmers.
    If you switch a pair of consecutive letters in “framers” – “r” and “a” – the result is “farmers.”
    Switch two pairs of consecutive letters in a 10-letter word associated with "impurities" that appears in this edition of PEOTS. The result will be a word for something that might lead to "impurity," according to Puritans.
    What are these two 10-letter words?

    LegoWhoWouldBeHappyToSendecoarchitectOneOfHisThreeLapelPinsButAlasTheyAreNowInThePossessionOfABurglar!

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    1. Hi Lego! Great to see you here again. Truly wonderful. We have missed you.

      I shall work on your puzzle after my last of 4 Math Zoom sessions today. Oh, Saturday? Just another day, eh? It was to be SATurday . . .but not this year.

      Burglary?! When did that happen? I am sorry about that.

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    2. Looks like two consecutive pairs of consecutive letters to me, lego.

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    3. If you could wear two lapel pins on a double-breasted jacket, I guess you could wear three to a showing of Total Recall....

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  21. New post on "Rudists, Nudists, and Buddhists" is now up. Enjoy!

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