There’s the science most of us learned as kids. Then there’s the science that scientists actually do.
The K-12 variety is more like a cooking class, but with chemicals, goggles, an occasional Erlenmeyer flask, the unforgettable smell of formaldehyde, and nothing you would want to eat. There, the scientific method is reduced to the formula of a lab report: hypothesize, test, gather data, evaluate, conclude, generally along the lines the teacher told you to expect.
Outside the classroom, science has over the centuries spawned revolutionary advances in knowledge and well-being. But in the classroom it’s, what? Predictable. Formulaic. Boring. All of the above.
Flames ripped through the pines and brush in the Dishman Hills west of Spokane Valley in July 2008, just as they’ve done for thousands of years. A dry wind pushed the fire up a hill, hotter and faster, and straight into a new development of expensive homes, destroying 13 of them and burning 1,200 acres.
The wildfire’s destruction was not surprising or unexpected. But the number of homes and residents who survived the blaze serves as a testament to smart planning, an awareness of inevitable fires, and research into the interaction of fire-prone wildlands and the growing number of people who live near them.
Seven billion people will soon become nine billion before the global
population
levels off. Can so many people be fed from a finite Earth? Yes, they
can, say WSU researchers. But the solutions will necessarily be many.
In the spring of 1792, George Vancouver praised “the delightful serenity
of the weather.” A few years later, William Clark complained of a dour
winter that was “cloudy, dark and disagreeable.” How right they both
were. Weather patterns
determined by mountains and ocean grant the Pacific Northwest a
temperate climate that also has a dark and unpredictable side. » More ...
Different as they seem, the soils of Eastern and Western Washington have
one thing in common. They come—either by water, wind, or ice—generally
from elsewhere. And what takes eons to form can be covered over or erode
away in a geologic heartbeat. » More ...
I have long admired Dr. Argersinger’s work so I was eager to hear his new CD, L.A. Rendezvous. Argersinger (a retired WSU music professor) is a consummate composer of contemporary art music and a superb jazz arranger and composer, so it was no surprise that the album exhibits a high level of craftsmanship. What did surprise me is the variety of instrumental and vocal selections featured on the album.
Bill Sharpsteen ’80 University of California Press, 2011
In my sailing days on Puget Sound, I got used to watching for the fast-moving container ships that could overtake my little boat in a matter of minutes. One day, I found their schedules on the Internet and saw the outline of a huge, economically powerful engine tying together goods from around the world.
In The Docks, Bill Sharpsteen ’80 shows us this world by peering … » More …
Diane Szukovathy from Jello Mold Farm in Washington state’s Skagit Valley puts together a bouquet of locally-grown flowers and offers tips to gardeners on building their own bouquet of blooms. Diane and her husband Dennis Westphall grow cut flowers. They have teamed up with Washington State University researchers Bev Gerdeman and Lynell Tanigoshi to build a community of local, seasonal flower growers in the Pacific Northwest. The growers sell at markets, directly to farmers, florists, grocery stores, and local businesses. Read more in “Business is Blooming.”
There was once a small, plump, good-natured lady who lived in a great old house with a cantankerous husband named Harold. She was about the best mate a man could have and he was about the worst mate anything could have.
The lady, whose name was Emma, had a peculiar habit, however, and that was that she never threw anything away. Her closets bulged with heaps of clothes and stacks of magazines and balls of string and boxes of buttons— in short, just about anything that had ever entered into the life of Emma was still there someplace, boxed or bundled up in the great … » More …
Fresh fruit is always a winner. I love anything in season when it’s flavor is at it’s peak. Other than that, any kind of fruit works great; strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and pineapple are a few of my favorites.
Red Wine!! Any full-bodied red will do. Favorites are so subjective. Two Washington Syrahs that work are “Haystack Needle” or “Lick my Lips”. Another fun pairing is an Italian Negroamaro by Palama. It has fabulous notes of spice like cassis and pepper, also dark cherry and plum. Amazing with chocolate!!
Bread!! Think… pain au chocolat… Yum!! The simple version is to let the fudge sit at room … » More …
