Oldest living tree

A few years back a tree was discovered in Sweden that is the oldest in the world. According to an article in National Geographic a 13 foot tall tree was discovered in the Dalarna Province which was carbon dated to have root systems over 9550 years old.

According to one of the researchers "Trees much older than 9,550 years would be impossible in Sweden, because ice sheets covered the country until the end of the last Ice Age around 11,000 years ago."

I think it is amazing that not only is there something living on this planet that is that old but also the fact that we have figured out how to measure how long living things like trees have been around through carbon dating.

Micronations

Ever hear of a "micronation" before? My guess is probably not.

A micronation is an entity that claims to be an independent state even without international recognition. One of the most famous micronations is the Principality of Sealand. They were "founded" in the 1960s on an old British Sea fort.

The following is a great video showing a micronation in the Nevada desert. 

The power of social media

The recent bombings in Boston have captivated every American since Monday. With the recent release of the two suspect's photos, more information is making it forward. An article published less than an hour ago (it's 12:23 Central) shows an even clearer photo.

How much more powerful will social media become?

Little holes on coffee bags

If you've ever noticed the little holes on your bag of gourmet coffee you may have wondered what they are exactly used for in the first place. Well, fear not any more.

According to About:

Freshly roasted coffee beans give off a great deal of carbon dioxide, for several hours after roasting. To prevent this "off-gassing" from bursting their bags, coffee roasters used to hold coffee for up to 24 hours before packaging. This meant that your coffee was already a day old before it even left the supplier.

By using bags with one-way air valves, coffee can be packed immediately without off-gassing worries. A bag with valves tells you that your supplier is interested in providing a good product, and that your coffee is as fresh as possible.

Energy consumption through email

Believe it or not, the e-mail service you use  has an impact on the amount of energy consumed. A study found on OPOWER's blog revealed that "the aggregate difference in annual electricity use between 1 million Yahoo households and 1 million Gmail households is…equal to the entire annual electricity consumption of Barbados, a reasonably well-off country of 287,000 people."

What this translates into is an estimated $110 per year difference in electric bills. The website asks a few questions that pry at the reasoning behind the increased consumption of Yahoo users.

  

Basically, what the study concluded was that Gmail users and Yahoo users have fundamentally different lifestyles. The site claimed that:

 "Hunch.com and Experian have found that Gmailers are more likely to be younger, single people.  Credit Karma found the average Gmailer’s age to be 34, while the average Yahoo user clocked in at age 38.  Being young and single means going out more; less time at home – and fewer occupants – means less electricity usage.

By contrast, Yahoo users are more likely to be in relationships and have children. Additionally, Hunch found that Gmail users are more likely to be active travelers (having journeyed to 5 or more countries), and so might be away from home more often."

Overall, this study is pretty interesting and gets me to thinking about what other types of things we as American's do to consume energy without necessarily realizing it. 

War on Drugs

Back in 2010, I took a class in which we were required to write a massive research paper. I decided to write my paper on why the War on Drugs should be ended. Since that paper was written, various steps have been taken to defy the federal government's steps taken to continue the War. For example, if you haven't been living under a rock for the past six months, many of you may have heard of the recent legislation if Washington and Colorado that has essentially legalized marijuana use.

Besides these baby steps taken to inch the repeal of the War closer along, more and more publications and articles are coming out which give voice to the majority of American's who want the war to end in its entirety.

The ACLU recently came out with this chart regarding the drug war. Take a look for yourself and decide if you think it's as shocking as I do.

Pinhole camera

Recently I saw an oatmeal box in a friends room and for some odd reason it reminded me of a time when I was a kid and I made a pinhole camera out of an old oatmeal box. Essentially, what the camera does is reproduce what your eye does. A small portion of light is flooded into a pinhole in a completely dark container i.e. an oatmeal box and the image is then developed on photo paper. It sounds complicted but if I could make it when I was 12, anybody can.

Below are two resoruces to help.

This first is a link to a SDSU physics page which has really, REALLY detailed information. Pay close attention to the film development portion.

Next is a quick overview video that shows how to make it and it serves as an excellent supplement to the lengthy instructions (and is actually far less complicated)
.

Paleo diet

With graduation just around the corner and facing the facts that I will soon be on my own, I have decided to look into certain diets that I think would be beneficial to my health as well as relatively easy to follow. One that caught my attention is the Paleo diet –short for Paleolithic.

The basic principles of the Paleo diet are quite simple: eat what our caveman ancestors ate. This means a complete reduction of carbohydrates and elimination of refined sugars and oils. Moreover, according to some sources,  the diet consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils. 

Overall, the diet isn't something that would be extremely easy to accomplish but with continued implementation, it may become something that becomes routine and easier to follow. Hopefully I will be able to try it once I graduate but until then, I'd like to try and avoid as many refined foods as possible.