Giant Grass as Ideal Biofuel

Here's another story I liked hearing. It's about giant grass (scientific name being Miscanthus Giganteus). I thought it was about bamboo, but this grass is more like grass as I think of it except the blades are much bigger. It is similar to bamboo in that it is from China, too. The full nonscientific name is Giant Chinese Silver Grass.

Here is a solution that has yet to be utilized. This fast-growing plant can be used to replace food crops like corn and soy for bio-fuel. I like that it takes it carbon as it grows which offsets the carbon emissions it creates when burned as fuel. Also, the story mentions that it's a crop that only needs planting only once, unlike the other bio-fuel sources.

Giant Chinese Silver Grass

Cottonwood Treehouse

Here's another recent mention of the cottonwood tree. I came across it by accident while doing a crossword puzzle. The clue for 32 Across was 'Cottonwood tree.' The answer was 'ALAMOS'. Didn't know this was the Spanish name for this poplar tree before. I'm glad to think of the cottonwood tree now instead of having it connote war or rentals. Much better to think of cottonwood which is a poplar tree (another great word attached to a great image). It appears to be sturdy wood judging by the use of dead cottonwood tree trunks used to support the treehouse in this story. I like that the interior walls are made of old doors, one serving as a fold down table that seats six.

Cottonwood Treehouse

Tail of Discovery

The oldest of the Space Shuttles launched yesterday at around 5pm. I saw the trail of Discovery's rockets from the backyard. I was hoping to see more (I've seen the shadow of the shuttle and the glow of its engines ahead of the trail both during day and evening launches), but the sky was hazy. There were thick clouds just above the horizon nearby and a layer of stratus further away, so I didn't see the trail till the shuttle cleared the nearby cumulus clouds and soon lost it when it entered the stratus layer. The result? An unimpressive live sighting of the launch. I stared at the dissipating trail feeling robbed by the present weather conditions. It was a beautiful day just the same.

Can't see it, but the trail is there above the puffiest cloud.

I did follow the launch on NASA TV. So I caught the countdown live and the takeoff from the launchpad. I saw replays of the flight through the atmosphere into near space orbit. All this really intrigues me. It captures my imagination. The unity of nations gives me hope for the world. This launch was the heaviest load to break from the bonds of gravity. It is because it carrried "a giant Japanese lab addition to the international space station."

Yikes! Wonder what the carbon footprint of a launch is.

Reuters

Honeycomb Table

Here's a cardboard table using the thick honeycomb variety. Sturdy with a nice look.


It looks even better in use and with some decoupage on the surfaces.

This Table Looks Even Better In Use


Here's An Eating Nook With More Cardboard Furniture

Images came from this press release from PRWeb.

These Are The Makers

They have a company simply called CardboardDesign. They're based in New York City. This is their online home.

Ichthys

Another inspiration for furnishing the Modi Bode. It resembles the so-called Jesus fish.

Solid-Looking Card-Board Chair

Days in the Months of the Year

Okay. Forget all that's written below. I just realized the easiest way to remember for me is not to focus on the days with 30 days or less, but to think of the months with 31.

These are the months that have 31 days: the 1st, 3rd, & 5th; 7th & 8th; 10th and 12th.

Simply put, it's the odd months till the seventh. Then it's the evens start at the eighth. It's like going up the white keys on the piano starting on F up to D. It's whole tone, whole tone, whole tone, half tone; whole tone, whole tone. July and August. Those are the only neighboring months with the same number of days. February is a no-brainer. It's well-ingrained that it's a 28-day month with an extra day on leap years. So forget the rest and keep it simple. Odd months up to the seventh, then even months starting at the eighth. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12. Those are the months with 31 days.



Below this is obsolete jabber.

This is my version of the rhyme to remember the number of days in the months of the year.

30 days in september
april , june, and november
every 4th february gets an extra 1
making it 28 + 1
in all others there are always 31


Although I have a better way that ingrains it in my memory instead of using a device for recall. The Japanese have a way that works great for their language. Basically, they make beneficial the fact that they can make words, phrases, and sentences out of numbers. Along with that, they name months by number: 1st month is January, etc.

Seeing what months have less than 31 days numerically, I find this the quickest and easiest way to recall, and better, to remember the number of days in each month.

2, 4, 6, and 9, 11 all have less than 30 days. The first one has the least - February with 28 and 29 on Leap Years. This the best way for me because I can pair it with knowledge that Halloween is on October 31, and that the first and last months have 31 days, too. Also, knowing that it's an every-other thing basically with a half-tone thing happening between July and August ingrains it even more.

If all that fails to come to mind, the knuckle method is a good one to fall back on. Make a four sign with the left hand. Count from the pinky to the index (no thumbs). Turn the hand over and continue from the index again (reminding you that the two index months have the same number of days (31). February comes after the pinky, the smallest finger, so that reminds you that it's the shortest month. Even this I don't feel a need for in the end. The best tool for recall and in the long-term remembering is remember 2, 4, 6, 9, 11. This makes positive use of the fact that we will never forget the numbers 9 and 11 when put together.