tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post122687928597255670..comments2024-02-06T10:31:24.491-07:00Comments on Watching the World Wake Up: Flowers 2.0: Wind-Pollination, Testicles and Cold-CallingWatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-64304703043217411622016-04-08T16:55:11.152-06:002016-04-08T16:55:11.152-06:00I enjoyed your post having found it 7 years later....I enjoyed your post having found it 7 years later. I would like to add for anyone who might stumble across this blog as I have that not all of wind pollination is random. For instance, pollen dispersal is biased to certain times of day when wind conditions favour dispersal. Pollen release is often arrested under high humidity which is thought to prevent rain from washing pollen from the air stream. Flowering is more tightly synchronized than in agent-based pollination with all individuals within a population usually flowering together and most flowers within individuals opening simultaneously. Finally there are certain non-random features of wind pollination that increase the probability of sending and receiving pollen which include sophisticated manipulations of the aerodynamic environment surrounding stems, flowers and cones.Air Eater reviewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04091908519125123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-55288224919670580422009-04-13T22:54:00.000-06:002009-04-13T22:54:00.000-06:00Hmm. OK, so I’ve got 2 “yeses” for the Male-Genita...Hmm. OK, so I’ve got 2 “yeses” for the Male-Genitalia-Cycling themed-post. Following the Creepy-Crawly precedent, I guess I can again go with the 3-yeses-and-I’ll-do-it rule. But I think this time, it has to be 3 yeses, “Net.” Meaning 1 “no” cancels out 1 “yes”. This way, If I end up offending any readers I can rationalize it with a “Hey, I gave him/her a chance to speak up…” So if you care one way or the other, speak up.<br /><br />Regarding Christopher’s question, I can answer that right now. It’s easy of course to design a seat that’s comfortable to straddle- think of a motorcycle saddle (though those get rough after ~6-8 hours as well…) The hard part is designing a straddle-able saddle that won’t chafe the inside of the thighs, which is why bike seats are so skinny. Of course recumbent bikes have completely solved the straddling issue, but recumbents, as everyone knows, are favored primarily by angry bearded men who write manifestos.<br /><br />So most of us hard-core cyclists try to make sure that as the season begins, and we work to improve the fitness of our legs and lungs, we also improve the fitness of our taint, to withstand long hours on a tiny saddle.<br /><br />(Christopher: I don’t know if “taint” is strictly an Americanism, or if the word also exists down under. If not, here’s the definition: “T’aint your anus, t’aint your scrotum.")<br /><br />And by the way, the Nigerian email scam is indeed a way better analogy. It didn't occur to me, as I haven't done that for a living. Not yet, that is. The way this economy is tracking, who knows...Watcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02248341788957416471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-2965451814471065442009-04-13T21:47:00.000-06:002009-04-13T21:47:00.000-06:00Perhaps a better analogy than cold-calling, then, ...Perhaps a better analogy than cold-calling, then, would be the Nigerian letter scam. Almost everyone knows that the Nigerian letter scam is a fake, even those people who haven't previously encountered the Nigerian letter scam are usually able to spot it as fake the first time that they see one, but even though the chances of the scheme succeeding are so remotely small, obviously enough people still respond to make it worthwhile for scamsters to continue sending out Nigerian letters. Pollen is cheap and easy to produce, like e-mails, so its worth producing a million grains if only one or two of them are going to stick.<br /><br />On the other hand, I've never understood how bikes stand up, either. And leaving aside questions of cycling and testicular impact, what I'd like to know is why bicycle seats are always so damned tiny and uncomfortable? Every time I hop on to a bike if I've not been on one for some time, I have a nagging fear that if I go over a bump to quickly, the bike will need to be removed surgically.Christopher Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11075565866351612441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-47357415961397529072009-04-13T13:07:00.000-06:002009-04-13T13:07:00.000-06:00Good post. Yes, the probabilities of wind pollinat...Good post. Yes, the probabilities of wind pollination seem to approach the impossible, but yet it works. Indeed, amazing.<BR/><BR/>Funny aside: When I scrolled through the post glancing at the pictures, the first thing that caught my eye about the chimp was not his testicles, but his physique - that boy is ripped! Wish I had muscles like that - but I don't think I'd want to swing in trees all day to get them.<BR/><BR/>OK, you can't say you had an idea for a post and then not do it - you big tease. Just put it in the members only section of your blog. ;-) It is an interesting topic and it wouldn't bother me, but then I'm 40+, not 14.KanyonKrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01954169751206336705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9199848742267562587.post-54777260677248611182009-04-13T10:57:00.000-06:002009-04-13T10:57:00.000-06:00Clearly the best post title, perhaps even post tit...Clearly the best post title, perhaps even post title of the day on all the internets! Darn good content as well though I am disappointed that you were talked out of writing a post on male genitalia as I expect it would be one of your best posts. Also, being an owner of such equipment being intimately involved in a great deal of bicycling, I have keen interest in the topic. Launching into such a discussion on club rides tends to result in me riding the remainder of the ride alone.<BR/><BR/>I understand your concern to maintain your PG rating but since I have no such concern, you would be welcome to guest post this topic on my blog. It may not enjoy quite the same exposure as it would here but perhaps modesty would be part of the appeal.WheelDancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219805760534549996noreply@blogger.com