Monthly Archives: March 2012

“Five years ago, bees made headlines when a mysterious condition called colony collapse disorder decimated honey bee colonies in parts of the United States (Science, 18 May 2007, p. 970). Now bees are poised to be in the news again, this time because of evidence that systemic insecticides, a common way to protect crops, indirectly harm these important pollinators. Two field studies reported online this week in Science document problems (http://scim.ag/MHenry, http://scim.ag/Whitehorn). In bumble bees, exposure to one such chemical leads to a dramatic loss of queens and could help explain the insects’ decline. In honey bees, another insecticide interferes with the foragers’ ability to find their way back to the hive.”

–Erik Stokstad. “Field Research on Bees Raises Concern about Low-Dose Pesticides.” Science 335.6076 (March 30, 2012): 1555. Web.

“I walked along the side of the drying shed, just like before. I ducked under the chain with the NO ADMITTANCE BEYOND THIS POINT sign hanging from it, just like before. I walked around the corner of the big green-painted cube of a building just like before, and then something smacked into me. I’m not particularly heavy for my height, but I’ve got some meat on my bones–‘You won’t blow away in a high wind,” my father used to say–and still the Yellow Card Man almost knocked me over. It was like being attacked by a black overcoat full of flapping birds. He was yelling something, but I was too startled (not scared, exactly, it was all too quick for that) to have any idea what it was.”

–Stephen King. 11/22/63. Simon and Schuster Digital Sales, November 8, 2011, Kindle edition. Quote in chapter 5.

“Alexia detested the very idea that she might have to actually use her gun. Like any well-bred woman, she vastly preferred merely to wave it about and make wild, menacing gestures.”

–Gail Carriger. Timeless. New York: Orbit, 2012. Kindle edition. Quote in chapter three.

“Never approach other animals. Just because an animal has a cute face or is the same breed as your pet, don’t assume that she’s friendly, says expert Nikki Moustaki, author of Pocket Pups.”

–Jenna McCarthy. “The Vet Will See You Now.” Ladies Home Journal (Sept. 11, 2011): 84-86. Quote on page 86.

“I often wonder if the rich man who owns great blocks of stock in the road and reckons his wealth in the millions does not sometimes think, as he sits at his well-filled table and looks at the happy faces of his children, of the poor cab driver who toils for his benefit for a dollar and ninety cents a day, and is lucky if he tastes meat twice a week and can give the little ones at home warm clothes and blankets for the winter.”

–Jack Finney. Time and Again. New York: Touchstone, 1970. Quote on page 252.

“No magic pill. No fairy dust. No one to push you. No one to do it for you. Just one determined foot in front of the other. Forever.”

–Primal Effect (username). Text on an image of three senior citizens running track. Facebook. Posted March 23, 2012. Web.

“Soybean protein is a complete protein since it provides all of the essential amino acids for human nutrition.”

–“Soy Protein.” Wikipedia. Web.