small brains en masse from Dennis Hlynsky on Vimeo.As a biology teacher long ago, plant life was hard to get students interested in--until.Until I could show them fern sperm cells swimming in  a drop of dew or a filament of Oscillatoria or diatoms gliding in drop of pond water. Wait! Plants aren't supposed to MOVE!Animals are easier to inspire interest, largely because we can watch them behave: they exhibit action, motion, intention.And now there are new ways to "see" the patterns of motion in animals--especially those animals who tend to move as groups.I don't … Continue Reading ››

The article entitled "The Key to Prosperity" in Christianity Today reports a survey of 400,000 people across 100 different countries who were asked:"Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you need to be very careful in dealing with people?”And from that survey was generated a map of correlation between per capita income plotted against "trust" percentile rank.The article is introduced with the following words:"What are the most important qualities of … Continue Reading ››

You might have heard Charlie speaking in and around town a few years back about and from his book "Spirits of Just Men" that told his personal story looking back on Franklin County's moonshine economy and the people who depended on it to eat.You might have seen Charlie and wife Hope on a Saturday morning at the Floyd Community Market on a weekend they make it up from Carolina to "be home" at their cabin over near the Parkway.Sunday is looking like a moist cool day to stay in bed with a good book--or come to the Jax and hear how … Continue Reading ››

Today is the final full day before 25 St Joseph's University students leave Floyd for Philly.We don't know what kind of debriefing they will be involved in when they get back. We are not sure that any of their stories from Floyd County will come back to us.All the folks who organized and oversaw this week's event will have for certain is a sense of having made the week work very well for what was an exemplary group of students during an … Continue Reading ››

Only time this morning for an image to share--this sunlit farm machinery in the barn shed at Riverstone just before sundown.The red shift in the light from low in the sky to image-left really made the paint on this soil-tilling machinery pop.Somebody enlighten me on name and exact function.  I'm guessing the yellow paddles loosen and aerate the soil in preparing a seed bed.