By Andy Valencia Friction is certainly present in our day-to-day life. Your skateboard slows down on a level surface because of it, and some of the energy your car uses is to avoid slowing down. A different kind of friction is used to guide your behavior as a consumer; in this article, I’ll cover technology…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Cattle were domesticated from wild aurochs starting about 10,500 years ago. Roughly speaking, an auroch is to a farm cow as a timber wolf is to a cocker spaniel. These were amongst the biggest, baddest land-borne mammals left over from the Pleistocene, so by “domesticated,” what they mean is “captured and…
By Seán Malone and John Sweetman As kids, we attended schools that were a quagmire of communicable diseases, where various ailments were freely communicated, just like today. Pink eye … ringworm … head lice … measles, and so on, including various rashes, itches, and the common issues of sniveling, coughs, and sometimes more serious issues of croup…
By Michael Shook I turned 69 this summer, from which it follows, of course, that next year I’ll hit 70. That’s assuming I live that long. I expect to, but one never knows. At this age, I’ve lost a number of friends that I just assumed I’d be growing old with, some of them very…
By Stephen Buller In my previous article, we discussed how you can give more of your hard-earned money to your neighbors when shopping at local businesses by avoiding credit card fees. We also touched on the reasons the banks want you to use credit cards – spoiler: they profit. Now, let’s look at some other…
By Kathy Abascal I am told that you can measure when summer will end by watching fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) bloom. Here on Vashon, its purple flowers began to open at the base of its stem in early July. They then work their way up until finally the tips of the plant are in bloom. When…
By Nichole Banducci Saying that Vashon feels like home has so much more meaning than we could have realized. Our family first visited the Island back in June of 2018. The trip was a part of a “top secret” future home search, disguised as a family vacation. Our older kids were going to college in…
By Dr. Leigh Siergiewicz Equisetum, or horsetail, is the only remaining genus in the prehistoric plant family Equisetaceae. I certainly think it looks like it belonged with dinosaurs, with its crusty texture and poky, bottle brush appearance. It is extremely persistent, with very deep rhizomes that make it extremely difficult to eradicate. It does not…
By Nichole Banducci In honor of Strawberry Festival, I wanted to share my favorite strawberry-filled baked treat. Rolled oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, strawberries, chia seeds, and lemon juice are the main heroes that make these bars delectable. The cool part is you can substitute your preferred flour, sugar, butter, or fruit filling to…
The fruit and berry season is in full swing now and making bubbly refreshing shrubs to make it through the hotter days ahead will be a delight. Here is my recipe that I use for most things shrubs, and of course you may have your own twist, too! It’s easy and the shrub mixture should…