The first electronic computer was tested in 1942. Since that time, computers have changed a great deal, but my own brain has not changed much. While computers have gotten faster and more powerful, I’m still using the first brain installed in my skull. Sometime soon, a computer will be able to simulate my brain. Later, there will be a computer that can literally read my mind.

Tree of Life Web Project: http://www.tolweb.org

ACarolina wren is nesting in the potted dwarf Alberta spruce tree on our front sidewalk The tiny nest, about 2 feet off the ground, has four bright-blue eggs with some speckling. This busy bird begs several questions. Why hasn’t the house cat noticed this tasty morsel? Why have the black rat snakes, now transiting the yard in search of mates, missed the nutritious eggs?

As redbud trees bloomed and faded this spring, it was apparent they live on the edge. Road edges are hugely popular habitats and give Virginia byways a well-deserved reputation for spring beauty. Here on the farm, redbuds are never in deeper woods but always along field edges. Scotch broom—a native of Europe—is now blooming along the road. In fact, plants and animals, birds and fishes, microbes and fungi often display a preference for an edgy habitat.

Wind power is coming to Virginia. We are not sure where, or when, but signs of arrival are here. Will we also get a “smart grid?“ Virginia has two regions of satisfactory wind for powering large turbine electric generators. One is along the ridges of the mountains of western Virginia; the other is in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Eastern Shore.

The Earth is round. Adults assure us from an early age that the Earth is shaped like a basketball. Globes marked with countries and mountains remind us. Even on Google Earth, the Earth is round. When we look outdoors, however, the Earth really looks flat and bumpy. Standing on the Virginia seashore, looking eastward over the Atlantic, the Earth looks flat as far as I can see.

Spring has officially arrived, hooray! As of Friday night, the sun will be overhead in the Northern Hemisphere for six months, our seasons of spring and summer. How do you measure the ar rival of spring? There are many ways. Although astronomers forecast the “official” arrival of spring with great accuracy, we have many low-technology ways to remind us that spring is here.

My friend Raymond puts nitrogen in his car tires. I use air. Naturally, we have had some science chats about which is better, especially for the best gasoline mileage. There are a few basic science facts in this pressurized mix: Raymond uses elemental nitrogen gas, N2, molecules of two nitrogen atoms. I use “air,“ the common word for the gaseous mixture of our atmosphere.

Tree of Life” is a metaphor for the idea that all life on the planet is related. It conjures a variety of visions. We see the beauty of a branching tree. Being connected to other life forms evokes personal ties to environmental stewardship for some, and Biblical responsibilities for others.

Thursday is the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, English author and naturalist. His most celebrated and reviled work, the 200,000-word “Origin of Species,“ will be honored on its 150th anniversary in November. Today, Darwin would be a biologist. He also would be astonished at the new insights that have been added to his original thoughts.

Technetium, the 43rd element in the periodic table, is a strange beast. It is the lightest element for which all isotopes are radioactive. Its natural radioactive instability made it difficult for chemists to discover. The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev predicted its existence in the late 1860s. His newly proposed periodic table of the elements had several gaps in it—and technetium neatly filled one.

What makes us human? We ask this not only in church but also in the science laboratory. One step is to find out what we are not. An interesting answer from the past year is this: We are not Neanderthals.

Imagine for a moment the similarities between organ pipes and traffic jams.
As I drove U.S. 360 into Richmond to hear the Bach Magnificat and some pipe-organ virtuosity, traffic became heavy near Brandermill. The familiar stop-and-go made a sea of red lights that was far from festive.