Fire Ant Flickers (#2)

It’s Tuesday and our little corner of the Texas Hill Country is enjoying its third consecutive day of rainfall (four inches and counting). It came down fast enough yesterday to cause the creek to overrun the lower water crossing, which in turn required closing the crossing to traffic. We’ve recorded ~25″ of rain thus far this year, almost 10″ more than at this point last year. The trees are happy, and so are we.

You may live in Texas if…

…you walk into the fine dining establishment overlooking the lake just as the staff are urging a small snake to exit the reception area.

I was able to reassure them that it was a harmless DeKay’s brown snake (Storeria dekayi), eater of slugs, snails, and earthworms… hence, one of the “good guys” (but still not welcomed indoors).

Cadillac has released details and photos of a new “concept” vehicle called the Sollei. The convertible’s design evokes Cadillac’s glory days of the Fifties (sans tail fins), although updated for the electric age. I like the overall design — click on the preceding link to decide for yourself — but some of the art deco details are stunning. Take the backs of the front seats, for example:

Will the Sollei ever actually hit a showroom floor? Many (most?) such concepts never do, but Cadillac’s aspirations include competing with bespoke offerings from Rolls Royce, Bentley, and the like, so…who knows? What I do know is that finding safe parking for a car whose five-feet-long doors open out will be quite a challenge. I hope your chauffeur is up to the task.

Related question: Will Cadillac’s inclusion of 3D-printed bird calls with each model thrust it into a leadership position of avian vocal fakery?

Science news you can use (although I’m not sure how)

I’m sure that you, like most people, have spent time pondering the significant mysteries of the universe: What is dark matter? How does a dishwasher work? Who decided that Coca-Cola was a good tanning lotion? All of these things are worth considering, but probably not as important as this one: the suprising way that cicadas pee. The NPR report stems from the findings of a study referenced in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that focused on the “fluid dynamics of urination” in a variety of animals. Your assignment for the day is to learn how cicada fluidic excretion differs from that of other organisms — and, more importantly — why anyone would care. Feel free to post your findings in the comment section below.

And as long as we’re dwelling on subjects related to organic excretions, I invite you to peruse and cogitate on the implications of this study which found that the “urate wastes” of “modern” snakes — think cobras, mambas, and vipers such as rattlesnakes — are different in composition from those produced by “ancient” snakes, which include boa constrictors, anacondas, and pythons. I would love to read the grant request that resulted in the funding of this study.

Digital Multiplication

A recent Wall Street Journal article focused on a Cambridge University project in which volunteers were fitted with a 3D-printed thumb to see if and how and how quickly they could adapt to the extra digit. Turns out the answers are “yes,” “intuitively,” and “very quickly.”

The third thumb is activated by pressure sensors placed under each big toe. The following somewhat-creepy video illustrates the profound pollex performance:

This is actually pretty cool, and has some valuable potential uses in manufacturing settings but also for helping folks overcome certain disabilities due to injury or other physical defects.

The abstract for the study is provided by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and you can download a couple of videos from the actual study showing how the participants tested the capabilities of the mechanical thumb (scroll down to the “Supplementary Materials” section of the web page).

Frankly, I’ve always wanted to be able to peel a banana with one hand.

By the way, the Dani Clode Design website is worth spending some time on.

In closing…”Houston, we have a hog problem…”

Infinite Hog Supply would be an awesome name for a rock band.