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What’s the best team communication system?  Email? Slack? Google Groups with tags? What does your group use?

I got this missive from my friend Rachel McConnell. If you are interested in the story and worries about beehives collapsing, read his story!

Some of you have met my boyfriend Gerard and some of you have gotten
honey from him in the past. He has just launched an ambitious campaign
to improve bee genetic diversity in the Bay Area through seeding and
swapping hives – well, I had better let him tell you about it:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/urban-bee-genetic-diversity-project/x/3910178#/

Kick in a couple bucks???

I’m going to include his Indigogo post here for beautiful posterity.

Hello my name is Gerard and I’m an urban beekeeper.

About seven years ago I was living in the Niles neighborhood in Fremont. I decided to raise bees with the intention of improving the viability of my vegetable garden as well as increase the yield of an avocado tree on the property that wasn’t doing to well.

That year was fabulous. The avocado tree bore lots of fruit. The heirloom tomatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, rainbow chard.everything in the entire garden was exploding with abundance. I couldn’t believe that such a small plot could produce so much food. The yields were so high that I resorted to knocking on doors around the neighborhood giving food away.

That one hive became two, then three, I was unabashedly splitting hives, and mixing them up, putting bees from one hive into another, and another. Soon I had installed numerous colonies between the cities of Fremont, Oakland, Alameda, Richmond, and the Sierra foothills. I even taught the scary looking old timers that belonged to a “motorcycle club” how to raise bees. Those bees eventually made it as far as Seattle Washington.

My approach was also an organic one. In contrast to my methods, The commercial beekeeping industry were losing colonies to collapse. In an effort to protect their livelihood they used interventions that I considered desperate measures. There were was an insecticide for controlling Varroa mites, antibiotics for a fungus called nosema, terramycin for foulbrood, and paradich-lorobenzene, a known carcinogen for wax moths, They were even putting things in the hive called oxalic acid. if you look on the labels of many of these things they will say toxic to humans! Some members of the local beekeeping club began to eventually use these methods. I was as if the pharmaceutical companies were coming around to sell you the latest antibiotic.

I ignored all these suggestions and carried on with my organic methods and continued to split my hives, experimenting and moving bees from one city to another, and across county lines. While colonies were collapsing all around me. I found that I had almost a 100% survival rate. Why? Hybrid vigor. The genetic diversity of my bees became a key to their survival. I was splitting hives, and mixing them up across county lines. My queens could be in Fremont one month, and in Alameda the next. This gave her the opportunity to mate with the drones where she happened to be at that moment, inevitably increasing the diversity and strength of the Hive. Recently researchers have found that queens that have mated at least seven times are almost three times more likely to survive.

These tough bees had developed resistance. The same resistance that they have had for thousands of years before humans came along. I have found by accident why my hives don’t collapse. I used a strictly organic method coupled with a limited amount of meddling, and a rationed approach to honey harvest. I leave the majority of the honey for the bees so that they can make it through the winter. Only then in the spring when the nectar flows begin will I take honey from the previous year.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/1…

We’ve had a great winter here in California and the wildflower blooms are going to be spectacular. I predict that the nectar flows will also be amazing. If theres any year in the history of California that will be conducive to the to the honeybee ecology. 2016 would be it.

Bees are dying from a number of factors, but what we can do we should do. and this includes raising genetically tough bees.

I would love to raise genetically tough bees and install these hives throughout every corner of the bay area, but I need your help to do it.

Each hive costs about $400 to set up. I would be happy to take care of them, and teach others how to take care of them also. Its fun, and it helps save the bees. the plan is to build as many hives as we can fund, and space them throughout the bay area. Ive set the funding goal to $8,000 so that we can add 20 hives to the area. Every $400 we go over, Ill install another hive. The more money raised, the more hives we install thus improving the genetic diversity of the bay area bee.

I’m too busy with school, husbanding and fathering to put energy into presidential politics. But The Donald would make a really really really bad president. The thought scares me and I don’t have time for fear right now. So let me put this thought to bed.

Here’s my statistics-driven, finger-crossing conclusion: The Republicans love Donald Trump, but Independents and Democrats both hate him (via). Democrats are 30% of the vote, Independents are 43%, and Republicans are 26%. (via) The Donald is poised to sweep the GOP vote but lose heartily in the general election. So if Donald wins the GOP nomination, we will be welcoming either our first female or social democrat president.

I am reminded that “electability” is the most important factor when considering a candidate. The Trump simply isn’t electable. The rest of the Fivethirtyeight article I mentioned above is good further reading.

I’ve been using Windows File Explorer to search through all my school work to find things. For example, if I want to find all my Powerpoints on Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, I just open up File Explorer and type “PNF”. By default, Windows 7 and 8 doesn’t search through PDF files! Here is how to fix that.

Here is the full explanation. It’s really well done.

Short form:
– Install the Adobe PDF iFilter 9 for 64-bit platforms here
– Reindex your hard drive
– profit

We got a Lutron Maestro CL Light Switch. It’s two switches, one master and one slave.

It’s all fancy. Here’s the instructions.

Most important thing I learned after calling tech support: It doesn’t work well with my LED bulbs. So I put one 40 watt incandescent in the set and it works perfectly. When it’s not working, the on/off switch only works sporadically and can’t be programmed.

Lutron Advanced Programming Mode048459

Lutron Instructions 0301629b

Another Plea for Legible Flight Reservations
Grrrr!
We’ve been at this whole commercial flight thing for about a hundred years. You would think that the airlines would be able to create a simple, clear flight plan for me. EVERY trip I have made for the last 20 years I have had to translate their gobbly-gook flight reservation into something legible. The relevant data is always the same. Could someone in the airline industry please recognize this? Give me a calendar item that I can copy and paste into my life!

Here is what I put in my calendar. Short. Readable. Useful.

Flight Ref: XXXX

Monday November 21st
depart SFO at 10:35am on AA flight 556
  arrive Chicago ORD at 4:55pm
depart Chicago ORD 8:30pm on AA flight 4308
  arrive Nashville 10:00pm

Friday November 25th
depart Nashville 4:30pm on AA flight 661
  arrive Dallas DFW at 6:40pm
depart Dallas DFW at 9:20pm on AA flight 1575
  arrive SFO at 11:05pm

and here is what American Airlines sent me. It is freaking impossible to read. Sure it contains all the relevant data but I challenge you to understand my flight info in less than 5 minutes!

It doesn’t need to be like this. Make it simple. Make it say what it needs to say. Then put the nitty gritty details at the bottom or something. Bonus points awarded if they put a “Add to Google Calendar” icon next to the reservation so I don’t even have to copy-paste. But hey…

I originally mentioned this in 2011 and it burns my buns every time I fly that flight reservations are still universally impossible to read. I use parts of this blog post as a template before I fly.

Huge science news today!
Gravitational Waves Discovered from Colliding Black Holes
The LIGO experiment has confirmed Albert Einstein’s prediction of ripples in spacetime and promises to open a new era of astrophysics.

How big is this news?
We all know about sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Well, humanity literally just got a new sense!

OK Go continue to be musical and performance heroes of mine. They just put out a new video that has me soaring. Watch it and share the joy!

I hear it’s only on Facebook so here’s the link:
https://www.facebook.com/okgo/videos/10153210535420683/

Bees? Bees!

I found this on “the internets”. Wish I knew the author.

short form: My wife and I are very happy with the custom made ring made by Edward’s Jewelry and Imports in San Francisco. I spoke with Jean Paul Tchamourlian there. I showed them some photos and talked about what I wanted and they made it for me! We got exactly the ring we wanted for about the same price as a ring made on spec! I got the sapphire from Andrew at Gemfix.com, a cutter in San Diego. The stone is magically beautiful. Seriously.

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Long form (it’s pretty long, all my wedding ring research!)

Jean Paul Tchamourlian
Edward’s Jewelry and Imports
Gift Center and Jewelry Mart
888 Brannan St
Showroom 160
San Francisco, CA 94103
jean-paul@edwardsjewelry888.com
415-626-9333

Jean Paul was really super great. If you go, definitely say “hello” from me, I’m sure he’ll remember me. He gave me exactly what I wanted at the best price I found. At other stores, I found many not-custom rings that were similarly priced to my custom ring.

The San Francisco Gift Center and Jewelry Mart  is definitely worth browsing. There are about 5 big jewelers and 10 small jewelers in this underground mall. You need to be on the guest list to get into the place (security is tighter since it’s all jewelry stores). Just call Edwards Jewelry (or any of the others) and they’ll have a pass waiting for you at the security desk. The Gift Mart website doesn’t look like much but it’s definitely worth visiting.

I also got a  Sara and Jane Wishbone Necklace in Sterling Silver for Megan so she could take her ring off and safely keep it on her neck. It totally works but it turns out that Megan doesn’t use it. There are similar ring holders online, this is is a very good one. You can search online for “wedding ring holder pendant” “charm holder pendant”

I got the sapphire wedding stone for her wedding ring from Gemfix.com. I ordered 3 stones and returned 2. As the website says, all of the gems look different from the photos. That’s the thing about gems, you can’t capture their glistening in a photo or in all the types of light. I thought I wanted one stone from the photos but when they arrived, I ended up completely falling in love with another stone. So when you look at your stones, try them in sunlight, incandescent, overcast daylight… etc… Again, see it with your own eyes before committing to it. I spent about $100 mailing gems around with insurance and it was worth it.

Inspiration for our  Ring
* Show me some Van Craeynest
* Van Craeynest Facebook
* http://www.minerals.net/gemstone/sapphire_gemstone.aspx
* http://www.gia.edu/
* discussion of putting a sapphire in a VC 1020 http://www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/blue-sapphire-for-engagement-ring-sos-t190755.html

Lots of articles http://www.jewelrynotes.com/, http://www.jewelry-secrets.com/

The first CAD design for our ring:

There are no official names for sapphire colors. Here is one website’s attempt at naming the colors. When asking around with these names, I got a lot of blank stares. Gemfix tries to put Pantone color names on their stones and that works better than saying “it’s more of a Camelot Blue than a Prince of Wales Blue…” heh.  

Here’s some good sapphire guides. But screw all the guides! Hold the stone in your hand and see if you love it.
* http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-Sapphire
* stones by location http://www.collectorfinejewelry.com/buyers_guide_sapphire.htm

Places to buy sapphires
* http://www.realgems.org/links.html
* http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/sapphires/c-5-blue-sapphires/ (many stones have videos which is nice)
* http://www.riogrande.com/Home
* http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue.html
* http://www.ebay.com/sch/Sapphire-/10259/i.html
* http://www.africagems.com/bluesapphire.html
* https://www.hooverandstrong.com
* http://www.mastercutgems.com/
* http://www.palagems.com/home.htm (only open to the trade)
* http://www.gemrite.com/collections/gems/sapphire
* http://www.mlowejewelry.com

Gem sizing comparing millimeters to carats in round stones. (Via. This site has comparisons of lots of different shaped stones)
5mm = .46 carat
6mm = .84 carat
7mm = 1.28 carat
8mm = 2.04 carat

Styles of rings often have names, and often they don’t. I found abunch of buzzwords that helped in my search somewhat.
Antique / Vintage, filigree, Edwardian which is a subset of Victorian. Maybe Art Nouveau, Art Deco
Not: Georgian (kinda bubbly), Victorian (crowns and royalty, Edwardian, Art Nouveau and the Art Deco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_jewellery#Periods_of_estate_jewellery

If you’re getting a diamond, I hear that you want to buy:
Color: I or better (D, E, F, G, H, I)
Clarity: SI2 or better

Dumb tip I learned:
White gold is usually electroplated with rhodium to make it more white. This coating wears off, which is stupid. Jewelers recommend replating it every 1-2 years. Some people get it replated on special anniversaries…

White gold can be made from nickel alloys. Caution, they might cause allergic reactions.

More Sites to shop for rings:
* http://antiqueengagementrings.com
* http://www.etsy.com
* http://www.ebay.com
* http://www.rubylane.com
* http://diamondbistro.com/
* http://loupetroop.com/
* http://www.vancraeynest.com/
* http://www.pricescope.com/

Suggestions for Bay Area local dealers and ring makers

• “ If you are still wanting to have a custom piece made or if you guys want to make them I can help you out with either of those requests.” www.dac-metals.com David Casella dac-metals@sbcglobal.net
• Make your own ring in SF http://www.sanfranciscoweddingring.com/ from aerin
• low cost diamond wholesaler http://bluenile.com from Michael Kearney
• You could make them in silver in a Crucible intro jewelry class at Crucible from Denise Taylor
• Bay area jeweler http://www.ckjewelrydesigns.com from Hilary Engelman
• Bay area jeweler http://www.watsonandson.com/ from Mark A. Watson
• “If you are looking for specific ring design or have your own design in mind I can definitely assist you with that project.” http://bondejewelry.com/ from Bonnie Heras bheras@sbcglobal.net
• “The 14 Karats on College ave. John and Lilly have been a pillar of the community for a long time” from Grant
• “If you are interested in creating your own wedding bands together, I have had a number of students do that in my Wax to Silver Casting class at The Crucible. People have had a lot of fun designing their rings together, regardless of whether one person takes the class and makes them both or the couple takes it together. If you’re curious about going the make the bands yourself route, just let me know and I would be more than happy to chat with you at The Cru and show you both examples and options!!” from Kim Mirus kmirus@thecrucible.org
• If they want something real clean and modern with a big stone they should meet with David.” David Cole http://www.svartvik.com/ from Chrissy  K
• Carmen Q – http://CarmenQ.com from Yelp
• http://macreativedesign.com/ from a couple emails
• http://katerichbourg.blogspot.com/ Lorah Gross’ friend Kate who teaches jewelry craftsmanship and design for a living. She might be interested or know someone who is.
• use precious metal clay to make your jewelry from Carol Dacanay
• I’ve spoken a bit with Wilfy McManus, Celtic Inheritance, 1778 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley 510-841-8702. He can make or pour or help with us making a ring. He gave me the ring tools.
• Go to Otto Frei in Oakland for DIY ring making supplies.
• for inexpensive options (and comparison shopping) http://www.e-weddingbands.com/index.html

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Phew. That’s enough talk about rings!

For the wedding plans, I’d be happy to talk to you about what we did. I’ve got spreadsheets and all kinds of things!

I made a couple posts on my blog about the wedding. Take a look. I’m happy to chat about any aspects.
http://www.lee.org/blog/?s=wedding

Another great hint: http://www.honeyfund.com/ It worked perfectly! See our honeyfund here: (http://www.lee.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/7b-Registry-Honeyfund.png)