Science!


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Bal
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Re: Science!

Postby Bal » Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:10 am

Spooky action is so rad.

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Blossom
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Re: Science!

Postby Blossom » Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:42 pm

So, basically the common knowledge about how to make maple syrup is entirely wrong.

Short version: sap flows up from the roots, not down from the top, so you could cap and pump saplings on a maple farm rather than having to stick a tap in a 300 year old tree out in the woods and get exactly the same sap.
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François
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Re: Science!

Postby François » Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:19 pm

Trees are tapped at the bottom because it's within arm's reach, not to catch sap flowing down. Up here kids are made familiar with maple syrup production early in elementary school, and it's more or less traditional to make yearly visits to production sites ("érablières", which are in the country but by no means off in the wild woods) to sample the goods with friends and family; the only new thing I gathered from that article is that it's possible to pump saplings without killing them, though it doesn't really go in detail about the effect on their growth.

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Mongrel
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Re: Science!

Postby Mongrel » Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:40 am

Oh man, going to an érablière is the best (we got that here in school too).
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François
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Re: Science!

Postby François » Mon Feb 03, 2014 1:27 am

Ha, ironically, one such trip in second grade soured me on maple taffy ever since. It was so good, and I had too much, and now the sight of it makes me gag.

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Büge
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Re: Science!

Postby Büge » Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:54 am

Hey, I remember going on field trips to the sugar bush. Sometimes they'd do that thing where they drip hot syrup onto a snowbank and everybody got a piece.
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nosimpleway
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Re: Science!

Postby nosimpleway » Mon Feb 03, 2014 10:04 am

I'd laugh at the stereotype in action of all the Canadians talking about how awesome their maple syrup is, except my wife got one of her Tumblrfriends to send us a case of the stuff and it's kind of the most fantastic thing. I can't laugh at you guys if you're right, dammit!

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Mongrel
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Re: Science!

Postby Mongrel » Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:19 pm

Büge wrote:Hey, I remember going on field trips to the sugar bush. Sometimes they'd do that thing where they drip hot syrup onto a snowbank and everybody got a piece.

Oh yeah, fresh maple syrup on clean snow is the bestestestest.
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François
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Re: Science!

Postby François » Mon Feb 03, 2014 6:29 pm

Ha, that's what I meant by maple taffy, "tire sur la neige". I wish I could still agree with you.

nosimpleway wrote:I'd laugh at the stereotype in action of all the Canadians talking about how awesome their maple syrup is, except my wife got one of her Tumblrfriends to send us a case of the stuff and it's kind of the most fantastic thing. I can't laugh at you guys if you're right, dammit!


The complexity of aromas in quality syrup is really something. According to variables such as soil composition, regional weather patterns, tree age/pedigree, and boiling time, it's not unreasonable to say the spectrum of nuances approaches the variety found in wines. I guess that's why the idea of pumping sap from tight rows of saplings doesn't sit well with me on principle. Even up here it's all too easy to find syrup with a flavor that's not worth its calories.

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Re: Science!

Postby Cait » Tue Feb 04, 2014 7:45 am

Perhaps, but people still make artisanal wines even though $3 bottles of wine exist, and vice-versa. Even if it works out, I can't see the new process completely supplanting the old one.

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Mongrel
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Re: Science!

Postby Mongrel » Fri Feb 07, 2014 4:21 pm

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Thad
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Re: Science!

Postby Thad » Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:21 am

Drones are, honestly, fascinating as fuck and have a whole lot of potential positive uses, some of which are neither obvious nor trivial.

It's a pity they're used primarily by governments for killing people, but such is the way of all technology I suppose.



(Full disclosure: I've been working as a freelance web dev for a company that sells aerial surveillance equipment since late 2008.)


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Bal
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Re: Science!

Postby Bal » Wed Feb 12, 2014 1:12 pm

Your Willy Wonka signature is really distressing in this context.

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Smiler
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Re: Science!

Postby Smiler » Wed Feb 12, 2014 1:17 pm

Science has produced some pretty good gifs.

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Büge
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Re: Science!

Postby Büge » Fri Feb 14, 2014 5:52 pm

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Mongrel
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Re: Science!

Postby Mongrel » Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:12 pm

Someone has managed to start successfully decoding the Voynich manuscript.


This is pretty cool!
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Healy
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Re: Science!

Postby Healy » Fri Feb 21, 2014 2:31 am

Hey, that is pretty neat!
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Büge
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Re: Science!

Postby Büge » Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:33 am

Wow. I don't know why no one else has thought to approach it that way.
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