Getting a tiny bit of rain this evening... it's welcome, but so far it's in keeping with the pattern of the last few days: light sprinkles in the evening, but not really enough to compensate for the hot, sunny days. Of course the forest welcomes the relief, but what we really need is a proper soaking.

Seems like there's been a hatching of flying termites. They're flying around me and the computer, drawn to the light of my LED strip "chandelier". Every so often they land on my desk and screw each other. their delicate wings fall off, littering my desk.

They are a tasty treat for the geckos. last night I had two hanging out on the desk around my laptop, gobbling up tasty termites. In classic gecko form, each one tried to chase the other one off, but there was plenty for both of them. I started squeezing a few that landed on the desk and dropping them near the geckos. They loved it.

Tonight there's a gecko already stationed on my laptop, at the crease between screen and keyboard. Just now it was walking on the screen. its little feets were triggering the touch screen and it was navigating between various windows. Maybe there's a specific YouTube video it wants to watch 😆🦎💻.

#hawaii #solarpunk

Nobody asked, but this is my favorite banana bread recipe: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/6639/my-favorite-banana-bread-recipe-it-has-no-eggs

the only modification i make is to use 3/4 cup or 1/2 cup sugar (which the recipe offers as an option).

It has the added benefit of being vegan.

Here is the bananaguette I made today in the solar cooker using this recipe. It came out delicious!

i just pulled out the second batch, this one with walnuts.

It's a perfect way to use up old bananas.

#baking #cooking #recipe #food #vegan #vegetarian

i started wondering whether uv lamps (like blacklights) might be useful to dry dishes washed with unfiltered water here. our main danger in unfiltered water is angiostrongylus cantonensis (the cause of "rat lung worm", or angiostrongyliasis).

i searched "uv light for angiostrongylus" and got this excellent open access article from PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases - a journal that i used to be editorial manager of 😁 :https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6772140/

it's a very nice literature review on the effects of uv light on various helminths that negatively affect human health.

the article included the following info: "Similarly, larvae of the nematode A. cantonensis exposed for 15 minutes to UV-A light were unable to develop inside an animal host."

blacklights are UV-A and i am now considering treating washed dishes with the blacklight in addition to air-drying them for a minimum 24 hours (which i already do).

i am very happy to have found this info, thankful to the scientists who did the research, and thankful to everyone who makes open access work. it feels pretty neat to have been a small contributing part of this incredibly complex knowledge production line, and to now be a beneficiary of the open knowledge that was produced.

working at PLOS wasn't always a picnic, but the scientists i worked with were amazing people with integrity, who genuinely cared about the research and the people impacted by the subjects they were researching. i feel proud to have facilitated the publication and sharing of their research findings to anyone - without subscriptions!

#OpenAccess #science #NTDs #offgrid #homestead #hawaii #RLW

I got a whole bunch of weed mat from Craigslist for $20!

The edges are frayed, so I'm trimming the edges and cauterizing them (the same way you might seal a poly rope).

Going to give a bunch to @saltphoenix because the great garbage continuum has been very generous and it's good to share ☺️

#hawaii #offgrid #homestead #gardening

Orchids currently in bloom at my place: a white and maroon dendrobium and a purple and white spotted phalaenopsis. Both are growing up off the ground (in the canopy).

#orchids #flowers #bloomscrolling #hawaii #plants