Meet the Sea Spider

Sea spiders are a class of marine arthropods called Pycnogonida that are found nearly everywhere in oceans from deep to shallow ranges. They are not arachnids, but considered chelicerates even though this fact may be debated. They feed on ocean invertebrates using a proboscis and suction feeding.

Sea spiders use external fertilization and interestingly the male provides care to the young.

Watch the sea spider video below!

To learn more check out this 2009 article in Science Magazine complete with a slideshow of deep sea spiders feeding!

“Meet the…” is a collaboration between The Finch & Pea and Nature Afield to bring Nature’s amazing creatures into your home.

John Brunner’s mediocre Productions of Time

I’ve been drowning in job proposal/manuscript writing this month. I did manage to finish one of the growing stack of vintage science fiction weighing down my shelves: John Brunner’s The Productions of Time (1966), which sounded fun, but ended up disappointing.

Murray Douglas is a famous but washed-up actor, just out of rehab for alcoholism and trying to get back into theater. He gets recruited for an odd play project designed by an enigmatic Latin American playwright Manuel Delgado, whose past works have led to suicides and institutionalizations of the actors involved. Murray and the cast are kept in a lavish country club to work out the play, but Murray soon realizes that the theater project may be secondary. Delgado and his staff have rigged the place up with mysterious electronic devices that may be for eavesdropping, and and Delgado seems to be deliberately stoking to the sexual and narcotic vices of the oddly passive cast. Continue reading “John Brunner’s mediocre Productions of Time”

Science Caturday: Cats vs. Dogs

Presented without comment

Images via Quickmeme (top) and Memebase.

Pumpkin Pie

For me, Autumn doesn’t start with the first chill in the air or the changing leaves or paper cut outs of pilgrims and turkeys covering grade school walls. It starts with pie – pumpkin pie. I can get behind apple pie as the all-American pie and will commit unspeakable acts for a well made cherry pie; but for seasonal deliciousness, you can’t beat pumpkin pie.

Click for printable recipe card (PDF – 11kb)

There are a few secrets to perfect pumpkin pie. Maple syrup and bourbon are the easy ones. Adding maple syrup and bourbon to anything is like adding a double dose of awesome. You should seriously question the baking qualifications of anyone who leaves out the maple syrup and bourbon (I’m looking at you Betty Crocker).

The other secret is pretty easy too – the crust.

The secret to good pumpkin pie – to good any pie, in fact – is the crust, flaky, golden, crisp, melt in your mouth crust. The ingredients – flour, salt, fat, and liquid – may be simple, but the science of pie crust is still pretty interesting. As we examine the science of the flaky pie crust, we are also going to answer the long-standing debate over the best fat for pie making. Let get baking. Continue reading “Pumpkin Pie”

Happy Carl Sagan Day!

If you are my age (or older) and have an inordinate fondness for the scientific arts, you probably have Carl Sagan to thank for that*.

If you think of yourself as a “science communicator”, you have Carl Sagan to thank for breaking ground on making that a respectable pursuit for scientists.

Today was Carl’s birthday, which seems like a good location in the space-time continuum to celebrate that he existed. You should also sing along to Dr. SETI‘s Carl Sagan themed drinking song, “Cosmic Carl”.

*Younger folk probably want to thank Bill Nye or Neil deGrasse Tyson, but they have to thank Carl Sagan for inspiring them. So, you are only one step removed.