Tag: Science

  • Geeking out in Wyoming – My 2017 Eclipse Story

    Geeking out in Wyoming – My 2017 Eclipse Story

    To celebrate the launch of the new Thought Grapes YouTube channel and the new Seeds of Thought podcast (including the first episode here), here’s a collection of my experiences from Idaho/Wyoming before, during, and after the 2017 solar eclipse.

  • Carbs are getting in the way of healthy eating

    Canadians heeded the exhortation to reduce fat and reduced their fat intake to 31 per cent by 2004. But during this time, obesity rates spiked, which suggests that dietary fat is not a “primary contributing factor” in obesity, said the report. I got healthy (and lost 45 pounds in the last 8 months) but not…

  • So…Cold-fX is BS

    “The study actually showed the placebo to be more effective at relieving (some) cold symptoms than Cold-fX.” In something surely nobody could have seen coming, it looks like there’s a non-zero chance anybody who purchased Cold-fX as a cold or flu remedy could be able to join a class-action suit in order to get some…

  • Bacteria Is Evolving to Eat Plastic

    PET was only invented about 70 years ago. That means the bacteria must have evolved the ability to consume the plastic over the intervening decades. The results are published in Science. I don’t want to say ‘I told you so’, but I kind of called this one. As I keep saying, yes of course, plastic…

  • I freaking love sunsets (January 23)

    I freaking love sunsets (January 23)

    I’ve mentioned before that I like sunsets. When I have a day where I’m not really making anything, sometimes I just have to look up and see the beautiful colours a setting sun can give me. If you don’t like sky pictures, I’m sorry, because I do. These pictures were about 7 minutes apart, as…

  • SpaceX Launch (January 17)

    SpaceX Launch (January 17)

    I can’t always have something new ready to go. But luckily for me, here’s something really cool starting very soon that you can go check out! This will be happening over the next couple of hours, and hopefully in the end SpaceX will be able to land their rocket on a small barge out in…

  • Losing Weight, When You’re Lazy (January 13)

    Losing Weight, When You’re Lazy (January 13)

    “Play to your strengths” is the advice given to Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament, and it’s invaluable insight is applicable not just to facing dragons in a magical school. When I set out to improve my health last summer, I knew it would take more than some kind of amazing burst of willpower. I…

  • Remembering my first publication (January 9)

    Remembering my first publication (January 9)

    Facebook’s “On This Day” mostly serves to cause people to reminisce about the past and re-share posts from years past. For the most part, I do the same thing. Sometimes, though, it really provides some gems. In this case, I was reminded that my first major academic publication (that I was first author on) was published…

  • Weight Loss (How I Am Breaking The Pattern)

    Weight Loss (How I Am Breaking The Pattern)

    One of my favourite things to do is open up and talk about things that are going on in my life. If you want to hear about me in more detail, I convinced my co-hosts on Ottawhat? to let me talk about myself for an hour this week (listen here). But that’s not what today…

  • Taylorette1989 is Over, and What is a Podcast?

    Taylorette1989 is Over, and What is a Podcast?

    #Taylorette1989 is done. No, we weren’t able to get Julia into Taylor’s inner circle (although this did happen), but I think both Julia and myself learned a lot about life, love, and what’s important to us in the last 6 months or so of trying. I’ll be writing a bit in the near future about…