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  A recent experiment studied people learning to use a specially designed robotic "third thumb."  Not only did they manage with ease, but their brains quickly adapted to the new skill as well. The thumb is controlled using a wireless pressure sensor attached to the underside of the foot.  The user applies a small amount of pressure under their big toe and the thumb contracts for grabbing. 20 participants were trained to use the thumb and then encouraged to use it at home to complete tasks, totaling 2-6 hours per day.  Another 10 participants wore a static thumb. Using an fMRI scanner, they asked them to move their fingers individually, and found a small but significant change to the way hand movement is represented in the sensorimotor cortex in those who had used the robotic thumb.  The changes did not persist once the participants stopped using the extra thumb, but the findings demonstrate our brain's amazing plasticity and capability to adapt to technological ...

 Just a walk in the park, Virginia Lake. "Don't let the world change your smile," but the world can make you smile. :-)

 My cousin's picture of the moon over Peavine. Along with being the largest supermoon, this was also the only total lunar eclipse of 2021. The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles provided a live stream. In the penumbra phase, Earth's shadow blocks sunlight imperfectly, so the moon is still visible but dimmer.  In the umbra phase, the moon is in complete shadow, which is called totality. An image from Hong Kong, taken by Anthony Wallace (AFP via Getty Images) Space

 This past weekend the winner was announced: Måneskin from Italy 2nd place: France 3rd place: Switzerland 4th place: Iceland 5th place: Ukraine I picked Ukraine in an online poll after the semi-finals.  I also liked Malta, who finished in 7th. Results I missed Italy when I was browsing through, so their win was a nice surprise.   I certainly like rock n' roll. What's your favorite??

  Saweetie Priyanka Chopra Jonas Brothers (Nick hosted) Alicia Keys Cynthia Erivo H.E.R. The Weeknd (Top Artist, R&B Male, Hot 100) Doja Cat (Top R&B Female) Khelani Gabby Barrett (Top Country Female Artist) DaBaby (Top Streaming Song, Rap Song) Pink wins the Icon Award She performed with her daughter, Willow

  When stars get too close to a supermassive black hole, they get ripped apart.  This process has been dubbed "spaghettification."  The star is stretched into a thin noodle-like filament which releases a burst of energy that can be seen hundreds of millions of light years away. These events have been spotted over the years, but the filament had not been observed until now.  Astronomers were able to see the absorption lines, as the molecules of the ex-star absorbed light from its surroundings. They saw this when looking at the black hole's rotational pole.  Materials appeared to be wrapped multiple times around the equator, where its accretion disc is located, but some of it was also wrapped around and above its pole.  The team likened this to a ball of yarn. Artist Station The official term for this spaghettification is a Tidal Disruption Event, or TDE. IFLScience

 "To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated May 20 as World Bee Day." Other pollinators include butterflies, hummingbirds, and bats.  Pollination is fundamental for the survival of our ecosystems.  90% of the world's flowering plant species depend on animal pollination along with 75% of the world's food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. This year's theme is Bee engaged - Build Back Better for Bees The event calls for global cooperation and solidarity to counter the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to food security and agricultural livelihoods as well as prioritizing environmental regeneration and pollinator protection. There are between 25,000 - 30,000 species of bees, and they are all under threat.  Present extinction rates are 100-1,000 times higher than normal due to human impacts. What can we do? Plant a diverse set of native plants Buy raw hone...

Just a day trip to Chico, CA. Downtown Heading down the highway. These are from a previous visit when we stopped at Bidwell Mansion. The Maidenhair Tree. It was during this first visit that we stopped at the Sierra Nevada Brewery. This time, we ate at a BBQ joint by the college and I had a Secret Trail brew, another local.

 A favorite vocalist of mine, who passed away on this day in 2017. Growing up in the 90's, I found Soundgarden at an early age, on the radio and MTV.  I specifically remember this video. Superunknown was bigger on the radio, in large part to Spoonman and Black Hole Sun.  Songs I do love, but you hear a lot still to this day.  My favorite from the album: Songs from this album always make me *feel* the summer 1996. He went solo for a bit and I love this song. And then came Audioslave, with Chris leading the band that used to be Rage Against the Machine.  Of course I loved the very idea, and the album became very therapeutic for me during a rough time. And a brilliant mash up. #NoOneSingsLikeYouAnymore ❤️ 

  Yara Shahidi Lana Condor Yvonne Orji Henry Golding Nasim Pedrad Anthony Mackie Kathryn Hahn Elizabeth Olsen Jurnee Smollett This look from Addison Rae is getting a lot of talk... I'm so sorry, Mandy Moore, but this is bad... Scarlett Johansson won the Generation Award. Sacha Baron Cohen wins the Comedic Genius Award.

This is the Dun Briste Sea Stack in Mayo, Ireland. It used to be part of a cliff wall but weather and waves weakened the land over time, and erosion won out. The surrounding cliffs are around 350 million years old, when sea temperatures were higher and the coastline a greater distance away. Maria McNamara, a paleobiologist at the University of Cork, suggests we're looking at "tens to hundreds of thousands of years" of geological processes in the rock. She notes an area of onlapping strata, or layers, which suggests a rise in sea level long ago. "As the land surface was flooded, sediments were laid down progressively inland." Deeper water led to more fine-grained shales being deposited, while shallower waters see more sandy limestone.  The upper portions are thicker limestone beds, indicating that the sea level shallowed as the the higher rocks were forming. It is believed that an arch used to connect the stack to Downpatrick Head, and this collapsed in 1393 foll...

Robert Bush of Pennsylvania set up a camera on a log bridge, and he caught all kinds of different animals walking along, hanging out, having a snack...  One of the top comments appreciates the sounds of nature, as do I. Looks like he added a new camera just last month. Home Page

  Welcome to Angel Island Immigration Station. From 1910-1940 it is estimated that 300,000 immigrants came through here, and approximately 1/3 were of Chinese descent. Poetry found on barracks walls has helped to classify this as a National Historic Landmark.  Some are written in ink, others carved with a Cantonese technique. The government tried placing signs to discourage what they saw as destruction, but the Chinese poetry led other immigrants to respond in kind.  Japanese, Russian, English, and South Asian languages can also be found in the barracks. In 1970, Ranger Alexander Weiss entered the building ahead of demolition plans.  Upon seeing the walls, and against orders, he contacted San Francisco State professor George Araki about the inscriptions.  This started a movement to protect the Station, and by 1983 it was officially opened as a museum. The largest percentage of Chinese immigrants came from an area in Guangdong Province known as the Toishan Distri...