Spring springs

So do Viola perfumes…

Viola odorata var. subcarnea (Originally uploaded by –Tico–)

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Berry Go Round #15

It’s spring. And Berry Go Round, installment # 15 is right here. Delightfull.

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It could have been funny, alas it’s sickening

A few days after the pope’s condoms issue, a French bishop (from Orleans) is doubling concerns pricelessness. According to him,

There’s “danger” printed on cigarette packs.

We should print on condom boxes: incomplete reliability.

Well, first a careful reading of notices in condom boxes will reveal that this information is indeed provided to all (users and non-users alike, I guess Mr Bishop is allowed reading condom notices, wouldn’t he?). But read carefully what comes next (translation mine):

You all know too well, and every scientist would tell you so, that the size of the HIV virus is much less than that of a sperm. This is evidence that condoms aren’t 100% reliable.

OMG. Can’t believe it.

Well, I’m totally Okay that “complete protection from MST is unwarranted” be printed directly on condom boxes. I would also like to have churches and cults laid down with signs like: “There’s no freaking proof that God exists” or “Catholic church promotes worldwide AIDS prevalence” or “Beware of delusions”.

BTW, I’ll even go if it’s printed in tiny letters at the end of the notice.

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Guerilla gardening

Take over an unused urban public area and plant a garden in it. Make your city a more beautiful place to live in. A few examples, so far.

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More March 19th…

Just go FlickHere.

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Streetwide walk

There’s a crisis worldwide. Almost everywhere can we expect anger at face value, given the dramatic effects of the current crisis. But here in France, there’s a crisis inside too.

"Save the school"

Attempts at reforming Academia and School have met with incredibly sustained opposition, and once isn’t a rule, with a quite general collateral sympathy.

That said, a president that thinks peer-review is  just no more than self-assessment and that it is best to cut funding for tutored teaching to schoolkids with learning difficulties, is probably not a president that’s on way to popularity within the grand education community.

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Milestone

Seeds Aside just reached its 40 000′th hit, and I was lucky enough to witness the event. The fortunate visitor is from Hangzou, Zhejiang. Welcome! I hope you’ll come back visit here!

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How to tell orchid males from females?

This is an internet search that led here.

First, let’s remind what should be obvious but is apparently not realised by many people: since plants in general both have stamens and pistil(s), they are hermaphroditic. Of course, there are great variations with regard to realised gender in plant species, though, please go here for a short overview, but the most common situation is still hermaphroditism.

Orchids, as wonderful plants they can be, just follow this majority rule.  One cannot be completely outstanding I guess. Indeed, as curious as it seems, orchids fairly rarely depart from possessing both male and female attributes at the same time, even if they indulge to quite strange sexual fantasies.

So the answer is straightforward: you don’t need to wonder if an orchid is male or female. There are good odds that they are both. And they are perfectly happy with this.

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More plant sunburns protection…

So, well, we might start series as well, because we’re back to anti-sunlight adaptations.

Plants can’t move, or when they do, it’s still still-nature like more than those fasty animal races. Basic fact, but cruel reality.

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Striking demonstrations

Yours truly’s been busy demonstrating yesterday (at Rennes), though this time it was sort of a generalist strike against current policies to get out of the crisis. Many people (hum, like a huge gigantic frantic union). Probably a post with many pictures next week.

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