A scientific paper about where the apple came from

Science is everywhere, even in figuring out where the apple came from.  Since it's October, this seems quite appropriate.

Origins of the Apple: The Role of Megafaunal Mutualism in the Domestication of Malus and Rosaceous Trees


If that's too deep, consider the fate of Britain's Bramley apple (illustrated below), which is somewhat legendary.

Bramleys

Lighthouse of the Week, September 29 - October 5, 2019: Eldred Rock, Alaska

So, I'm following up on the last week and the last post with this post about the Eldred Rock Lighthouse.   The lighthouse is located in the Lynn Canal of Alaska, north of Juneau and south of Skagway.  (Here's a map.)

It's very historical.  So there's quite a bit about it online, and many pictures.

• Let's start with the Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association.
• They defer to the Lighthouse Friends page for history.
• Haines, Alaska provides a short article.
• But for the short and simple specifications, here's what the Lighthouse Directory provides.

"1905. Active; focal plane 91 ft (28 m); white flash every 6 s. 56 ft (17 m) octagonal cylindrical wood tower with lantern and gallery, centered on the roof of 2-story octagonal wood keeper's house; solar-powered 250 mm lens. The original 4th order clamshell Fresnel lens was cleaned in 2001 and is on display at the Sheldon Museum in Haines. Lighthouse painted white, lantern and gallery black; the keeper's house roof is a conspicuous red."

One of the most famous events around the area was the wreck of the Clara Nevada, during the gold rush, which is described on this page.

Here are four pictures of the Eldred Rock Lighthouse, which is located in an extraordinarily beautiful wild location.

There are some videos, but not of great quality (apparently getting a drone out there is a challenge for some reason).   This one shows the current state of the lighthouse -- the preservation effort needs donations, if you're looking for a charity to donate to.

Lighthouse of the Week, September 22-28, 2019: A lighthouse article

Well, I missed (by a couple of days), the lighthouse of the week for the designated weekly period.  So instead of a featured lighthouse, I'll feature an article about lighthouses from the Daily Mail.

From California to New Zealand via England, the world's most Instagrammable lighthouses in all their windswept beauty and grandeur

So I thought what I would do is check to see which lighthouses in the article I haven't featured yet, and feature one of those next week -- basically today as I write this.

So below I will list the lighthouses in the article I haven't featured as a Lighthouse of the Week to this point:

• Heceta Head, Oregon (hard to believe that I haven't featured it, but it's so iconic that I've apparently avoided it)
• Eldred Rock, Alaska
• Nauset Light, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
• Loggerhead Key, Florida
• Cape Reinga, New Zealand
• Point Loma, California
• Point Pinos, California
• Dyna Fyr, Sweden
• Cape Otway, Australia
• Burnham-on-Sea Low Lighthouse
• Enoshima Sea Candle
• Marshall Point, Port Clyde, Maine
• Kjeungskjaer, Norway
• Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA
• Ploumanac'h, Brittany, France
• Faro de Sergipe, Brazil
• Lindau Harbor, Lake Constance, Germany 
• Bell Rock, Scotland 
• Saaremaa, Estonia  
• Porthcawl, South Wales

That surprised me, I thought I would have found a few more of these.  So I'll feature a few in coming weeks.

Here's one picture of the Enoshima Sea Candle.

Tuppence is single again

Tuppence is single.  Now, two-pence is still two pennies in Brit lingo, but scintillatious British actress Tuppence Middleton has newly split and is newly single.

Kinda makes me wish I could take a run at her.


Downton Abbey star Tuppence Middleton, 32, splits with her long-term boyfriend and artist Robert Fry

But she probably likes the artistic types.

This was an easy call

Not long ago there were some pictures taken of actress Jenna Dewan and her new boyfriend at the beach, with Jenna in a bikini.  These pictures made commentators speculate about the state of her uterus.

Specifically, whether it was occupied or not.  Most commentators opined toward the "occupied" option.  (Oh, that was good.)

Turns out she is, and they were right.

Jenna Dewan, 38, confirms she's expecting her first child with boyfriend Steve Kazee, 43... a year after splitting from Channing Tatum

Highway 41 in Nashville, at the State Capitol

Believe it or not, and I found this a bit astounding, Highway 41 goes right by the state capitol building in the state's capital city.  As we're about to see.


Traffic Circle, connection to the Korean Veterans Boulevard, next to the Music City Center.




Highway 41 is called Rosa Parks Boulevard here; this is the intersection with Broadway.




Tennessee State Capital (and a guy mowing the lawn) looking one way, the Bicentennial Capital Mall looking the other way.




Off-road, up the hill, a much better view (you know you'd do this if you were there)




Andrew Jackson statue. There's also a statue of President Andrew Johnson on the grounds. He's not quite as distinguished.



Also on the grounds is the Alvin C. York ("Sergeant York") statue. (Not available in StreetView)

Still a few more things to see in Nashville, including the Cumberland River.

Parachutes should come with every room above the 15th floor

The Daily Mail reported that Central Park Tower topped out.  It's top deck will be higher than the top deck of One World Trade Center, but OWTC's top mast will give it the higher point.

Central Park Tower will have 112 floors, and the top penthouse list price is $63 million dollars.

Nice digs.  But I worried about one thing.  What if there's a fire, or another kind of accident that prevents the people living near the top from getting down the elevator or the stairs?

Do they get parachutes for emergency evac?  I'm actually serious about this.

I could not confirm that they do, but I can confirm other people have asked a similar  question.

Literally, it seems to me that they would have to at least offer the option to high-floor buyers.  After all, they are for sale.

And furthermore, they work. The 15th floor requirement?  That's the minimum height that it would work for, i.e., open in time.  That's not a problem on the 101st floor, but one would hope that the ride down doesn't cause a heart attack when the parachute is trying to save their life.   (But where would you practice using it?)