taro by Mouse, some rights reserved.

The origins of Polynesia is a subject of interest to me because I am also a migrant. Polynesians migrated to nearly all Pacific islands to form self sufficient communities. The Lapita Project followed migration to Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia by building double hull canoes and sailing the 4,000 mile journey.
  1. ~ 5,000 B.C. Chinese mainland tribes arrived in Taiwan.
  2. Taiwan indigenous tribes travel to western Oceania and Melanesia.
  3. ~ 1,500 B.C. Lapita culture first appeared in the Bismarck archipelago.
  4. 1,200 to 1,000 B.C. The Lapita people travelled to Fiji and west Polynesia
  5. 1,000 B.C. Tonga and Samoa
Lapita agriculture included:
  • taro,
  • yam,
  • breadfruit,
  • banana, and
  • coconut.

Coconut by by *Brunna Peretti*, some rights reserved.

Domesticated animals included:
  • chicken,
  • dogs, and
  • pigs.


Original article from Environmental Graffiti by Bennett.


Green sea turtle by motleypixel, some rights reserved.

Kaleidoscope Link Drop

This weekend kaleidoscope is a link drop session.

Observations of a Nerd: The End Of The Age Of Man?

Observations of a Nerd: The End Of The Age Of Man?

This is a particularly good post. Christie thoroughly researched the topic.

"the lonely Y only contains 86 genes. It's lost almost 95% of its genetic material."


The Y chromosome could disappear in 5 to 14 million years.

Man can compensate for the vanishing Y chromosome in the immediate future but it is vital to maintain genetic diversity in the long run.

Please check out Christie's post for the whole story.

Engineering Hubris from xkcd

Tune in to xkcd every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a comic of the romance, sarcasm, mathematics and language persuasion. You can order signed prints in their store. How convenient!

Kaleidoscope on a Rainy Sunday Afternoon

My essay is finished. That was the second to last assessment for my degree. The final one is a test in two weeks. On that thought, 26 things you wish you had known about engineering before you started by Subversive. I am glad someone out there has similar sentiments.

Becoming an engineer is not all doom and gloom. New process engineers can get advice from Chemical Engineering World. These 5 tips stem from common sense but can work wonders for the uninitiated.

Breath of the Dragon on Etsy free shipping to 31 May, featuring wood burning by Connie Mitan.

I always liked moss. I was playing outside more than fifteen years ago. The ditch along the outer wall of home was covered in them. Thus began my lasting fascination despite the sewage running through. The bryophyte Physcomitrella patens also served as cute "lawn" for dad's bonsai. Today I learned that biopharmaceuticals can be cultivated from moss in photobioreactors. "...Microencapsulated transgenic P. patens protoplasts (was) cultivated in a Wave Bioreactor" (Gitzinger et al., 2009).

Another biological wizardry. Magnus Larsson proposed utilising Bacillus pasteurii forming calcium carbonate in a dune anti-desertification architecture.

Insects are more likely to survive nuclear winter than us mere mortals. Environmental Graffiti lists ten such diabolical insects. I suggest you avoid the pictures.

  1. cockroaches
  2. potato bugs
  3. earwigs
  4. giant wetas
  5. titan beetles
  6. foam grasshoppers
  7. blister beetles
  8. mutillidae
  9. mosquitos
  10. centipedes

What will bring on the apocalypse? Flowing data analysed the Seven Deadly Sins. Where else? The US of course...

I am reading lots of books at the moment. There are so many left on my list. Galadarling posted a way to peruse some at leisure: Book-A-Minute Classics. Some of these books would be available on Project Gutenberg.

You will need funding for this gadget. Aqua Pulse performs online heart rate measurement. Price:$139.99 (Product Information). The sound waves travel by bone conduction to overcome that usual muffled effect.

For light relief:
Monkey butt powder, what?! It is a genuine product discovered by Kathy (Junk Drawer for the Masses).
Vegetable art by Ju Duoqi from Environmental Graffiti vs. Creepy Veggies.

References

Gitzinger, M. L., Parsons, J., Reski, R. & Fussenegger, L. (2009). Functional cross-kingdom conservation of mammalian and moss (Physcomitrella patens) transcription, translation and secretion machineries. Plant Biotechnology Journal 7(1), 73 - 86. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7652.2008.00376.x

Author Sergei Lukyanenko, Book: Day Watch

Day Watch (Watch #2) Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko



My review


rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews.

Official Site in English

Kaleidoscope

Christie a.k.a. Observations of a Nerd has been featured as Geek of the week! (From the Science Channel Page).

Land border crossings are a sight to behold! I have never been through the likes of the eleven described by Simone Preuss.


I liked the Spanish Moroccan border in Ceuta on the North African coast. I also found a Flickr set on Ceuta by ''petitillusion'' for some idea of what Ceuta looks like.


This is a beach in Ceuta by Mario Sánchez Bueno.

Pacific Heights in San Francisco is nice! Mom would love the patio succulent collection. Photos from Freshpinkstyle.

My last exam is on 2.15 PM 20 June. Then that's it. After that I might treat myself to Starbucks Coffee, DIY style. I'll get back to you whether it's as good as the real thing.

May You be a Duck Paddling Away

Polychromic material news from tips-box. These materials are used in transition lenses. Scientists have been working on speeding up the process.

Gala Darling pointed me to Inside Grey Gardens - a slideshow by The New York Times.

Nothing you say or do is ever private - post from Environmental Graffiti about Project ECHELON. Reminds me of Alias.

"Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath." - Michael Caine via 1001 Rules for my unborn son.

World Press Freedom Day // Bloggers Unite

World Press Freedom Day // Bloggers Unite



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Have you hear of the Day Watch?


I battled with the template this afternoon to no avail. It looks worse than before. Mom made brownies and I whipped up some icing last night. Most of it is gone now. I saw Day Watch in the weekend and now want to read the tetralogy. Aih...

Delicious Links

  • "http://www.cell.com" This domain is home to a biology journal collection.
  • Immensely popular is BBC Human Body site.

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