Haha, yes, of course

Add something to the placebo to simulate side-effects of the actual drug?

We'll see...

So.....did water companies pumping shit into the river stifle Snow's work and help besmirch his name in favour of the miasma theory? Plus ca change on that first part, ey?

My garden max-min thermometer reckons it got down to 4C in our Cambs garden last night. 1x Early Grey, 5x Hebrew, 1x Small Quaker #teamMoth to MV. Expecting things to pick up any day now.............................................

Decades ago, I remember thinking that when I first learnt about blind controls that if someone in the cohort has known side effects, they'd immediately know they weren't in the placebo group...I couldn't see a fix...I assume there isn't one.

St Mark's Fly in flight. Archive photo

There were St Mark's Fly, Bibio marci, out and about yesterday in Cambs. 4th April, fairly early for them (16th in 2025, 26th in 2024 for me), traditionally first seen 25th April on their saint's day. They're the black flies with the dangly legs

Strom!

Dammit! I just posted an old photo of one...I'm not doing well with the firsts this year

Powder down ;-)

Mrs Sciencebase is busy rescuing her plum tomato seedlings #NotAEuphemism

1x Muslin

Strom Dave tipped over our mini greenhouse, seedlings and soil everywhere, dammit, but the moth trap was okay #teamMoth

Painted Lady sideview, nectaring on a thistle head

While you're weathering my storm...here's a little reminder of summer delights - Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui. #UKButterflies

An amazing multi-step African migrant species

Side view of Willow Stilt micro moth, showing its tall front legs the creamy triangle on its forewing

Just 7 of 6 to MV in Cambs, 6 degrees C, but one of them was NFG - Caloptilia stigmatella, Willow Stilt, 34th species of the year, 347th specimen #teamMoth Supposedly a Jun-July flyer, but also recorded September onwards...it's early April!!!

Even Astronauts Need IT Help. Artemis II Faces Microsoft Outlook Login Issues Commander Reid Wiseman had two Microsoft Outlook accounts on his personal computer, and neither were working. Houston Mission Control stepped in to fix the issue remotely.

Houston...this Microsoft Security Centre, you have AI computer virus on your computer...I am sending the right link for you, please click on the right link and login so I can access remotely your screen and fix this for you...

www.pcmag.com/news/even-as...

Torchlight is so evocative in this great photo

Amazing little creatures. For the record and the readers at home, carpet moths don't eat carpets. Carpets were beautiful luxury items and the moths were being lauded with the term.

Red-green Carpet. Moth that is mostly green with some black markings and a little ruddy flush to the lighter areas of its forewings. Archive photo from 2023

The Red-green Carpet and the others were very much in evidence, although the RGC was the only one in the trap come morning

Obviously, I didn't have 3 Death's Head Hawk-moths last night, that was AF...April Fool's joke...

I have planted some chitted spuds in growing bags in the garden today, so I have high hopes for the season, what with my new MV and all

In a way, the monochrome version of the male, fantastic moth

Golf Snore Syndrome

Hahah...okay...yes, wouldn't it. I knew you must've

Oh did you miss the actual AF in my post? 😂

I, like most British mothers, are still waiting to be graced by the presence of A. atropis. Imagine 3x

In 37 years as a science writer, that's the first time I've used an AF

My new lamp gave me a bit of a flurry last night, see my latest post

Another reason to ban pheasant breeding and shoots

Used the AF lamp after midnight instead of the MV, amazing results #teamMoth in Cambs

1x DS Pug, 3x Acherontia atropos, 5x Twenty-plume, 1x Eudonia angustea, 1x Red-green Carpet

I remember those from our time in Aus, back in the 80s, beautiful but soooooooooo loud