Monthly Archives: July 2026

Jul5

candies, colors, and cool offs.

Posted on by
Standard

parade day 2024 and ready to roll

flags found everywhere

watching the parade and waiting for candy

 

ann arbor fire department splash party after the parade

even storm troopers need a cooldown

‘a parade is the worst form of transportation known to man.’

-walt kelly  

*Walt Kelly, (1913-1973) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip,Pogo. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contributing to Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo. In 1941, at the age of 28, Kelly transferred to work at Dell Comics, where he created Pogo, which eventually became his platform for political and philisopical commentary.

 

 

Jul4

independence day, july 4.

Posted on by
Standard

 

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary today,

remember Erma Bombeck’s timeless quote about the way the nation has celebrated Independence Day-

including “family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy and the flies die from happiness.”

“You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”

 

 

 

—

photo/book source: ‘The Animal Picnic”, Ernest Nister, Philomel Books, 1988,

reproduction of original from the 1890’s

Jul3

bethan’s rock.

Posted on by
Standard

When visitors to Poole Museum reach its second floor, they are greeted with displays that showcase the stories and lives of famous and influential Poolers who have shaped the coastal Dorset town.

In one cabinet on this floor sits a small rock. One might think that this is a local paleontological find, considering Poole’s proximity to the home of 19th-century fossil hunter Mary Anning, one of England’s earliest and most famous paleontologists. This is not the case, however, as this rock’s discovery is more recent, but is still a highly treasured find.

In the summer of 2019, a young girl by the name of Bethan was visiting Poole Museum with her mom. While exploring all the site had to offer, she and her mother began to discuss what museums do and why. Inspired by her visit, Bethan felt eager to support the museum’s collection. She decided to donate her most precious treasure, something that she felt was appropriately significant and valuable: her favorite rock. Curators placed Bethan’s Rock in a glass cabinet, just like many of the museum’s other valuable artifacts, where visitors are able to appreciate the piece as much as Bethan once did. It is now the museum’s most famous object.

—

“the greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.”

-Benjamin D’Israeli

 *Benjamin D’Israeli (1804– 1881), was a British statesman, politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

 

 

 

 

—

source credits: atlas obscura, reddit

Jul2

melting.

Posted on by
Standard

 

it’s this hot, welcome, july

‘the summer looks out from her brazen tower, through the flashing bars of July.’

-Francis Thompson, English poet (1859-1907)    

 

 

 

—

image credit: BBC, my car

Jul1

bird brains.

Posted on by
Standard

How pigeons are helping catch cancer cases in humans

It sounds a bit bizarre, but it’s tue. Among pigeons’ many talents is providing an extra set of eyes for doctors looking for signs of cancer in medical scans. In 2015, researchers enlisted the unlikely medical assistants to identify breast cancer in mammograms to help prevent imaging misses. Now, another team of scientists has recruited the birds yet again to train AI to help do the same.

In a study published earlier this year, researchers trained six pigeons to watch CT scan videos and spot lung nodules, a type of growth that could be a sign of cancer. After the birds learned to spot the lung nodules, they also started recognizing emphysema and ground-glass nodules — both problems they hadn’t even been trained on.

Here’s where AI comes in: The researchers are now trying to channel the pigeon’s keen visual system, which works similarly to the human’s unconscious visual system, to develop medical AI tools that can double, triple, and quadruple check scans. They noted that the pigeon-inspired method will by no means replace radiologists, but rather help ensure scans are understood as thoroughly as possible. Thanks in advance, pigeons!

—

“I bet your mom would let me.”
-Pigeon, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the B”
-Mo Willems, author, ‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!’

 

l–

Photo credit: Eastside Autobon Society

Source credits: Nice News, New Scientist, Joshua Howego, Popular Science, Clarissa Brincat

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, 01610, Worcester, MA, USA

    Muhammad A. J. Qadri, Reuben R. R. Reyes & Gregory J. DiGirolamo
  • Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, USA

    Daria Kifjak, Bilal Elkaddouri, Alexander A. Bankier, Max P. Rosen & Gregory J. DiGirolamo