FREEZING BLUEBERRIES  Use fresh blueberries that are completely dry when you pop them in the freezer.  Don’t worry about rinsing the berries before you freeze them; simply place them, still in their original containers, in resealable plastic bags and store them on your freezer shelf.  If you prefer to rinse the blueberries first, dry them well with paper towels, then transfer them to freezer containers or resealable plastic bags for freezing.  The blueberries will freeze individually so you can remove just the portion you need.  If you didn’t wash your blueberries before freezing them, rinse them just before use.  For best results, toss your home-frozen blueberries into oatmeal, yogurt, smoothies, shakes or sauces within 10 months.  https://www.blueberrycouncil.org/blueberry-cooking-tips/freezing-blueberries/

LiDAR, Radar and Sonar are the modern remote sensing techniques used by various professionals to collect and analyze data.  They use different mediums to transmit various types of signals to and from the objects and then analyze the time taken to measure the distance between the transmitter and the objects.  Read about some of the differences between the three technologies and see graphics at  http://lidarradar.com/info/radar-vs-lidar-vs-sonar

November 18, 2014  For the best part of 25 years, archaeologists Arlen and Diane Chase slogged through the thick undergrowth in the west of Belize in search of an ancient city whose details had been lost to the passage of time and the decay of the jungle.  The going was tough, often requiring a machete to clear a path through the dense vines and creepers that blocked their way.  Over time, their perseverance paid off as their hand-drawn maps began to reveal long-forgotten parts of the massive Mayan city of Caracol.  But the more the pair found, the more they realized the extent of what remained uncovered.  It would take several lifetimes, they figured, to reveal the true extent of Caracol.  Then, in 2008, they got talking to a biologist colleague at the University of Central Florida where they worked.  For years, he had been using airborne laser sensors known as Lidar (Light Detection And Ranging) to map and study forests and other vegetation.  He suggested they give it a go.  So, in 2009, the pair packed away their machetes and hiking boots and commissioned the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM)  to fly a twin-engine plane backwards and forwards over the tree-tops firing pulses of laser light at the ground below.  A few weeks later, the pair got their first look at the results.  “I was completely astounded,” says Arlen Chase.  “We had not expected the clarity that we saw in the imagery.”  In less than a week, the team collected more data than they had in a quarter of century of hacking their way through the jungle.  Analysis revealed a host of previously undiscovered features, including several in areas that they had previously mapped on foot.  It was a revelation.  Now, archaeologists around the world are beginning to embrace the same technique, flying aircraft over everything from Stonehenge to patches of scrub, in search of hidden treasures.  The findings are already beginning to challenge conventional theories and change our view of the size and extent of ancient civilizations.  Crucially, some of the laser light is also able to penetrate vegetation.  So, in the case of areas covered in a forest canopy, such as in Caracol, some of the pulses will hit the top of tree canopy, some the middle, others the forest floor.  Software can then be used to remove the points above the ground, according to University of Alabama archaeologist Dr Sarah Parcak, who is not part of the Chase team but has used Lidar at other sites.  This leaves a detailed “digital elevation” model of the hidden forest floor with the ability to pick out features as small as 20cm across.  Curt Hopkins  http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120827-the-laser-archaeologists

The word "radar" was formed from the first letters of the term "radio detection and ranging."   Radar technology began with experiments using radio waves in the laboratory of German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1887.  He discovered that these waves could be sent through many different materials but were reflected by others.  In 1900, a radio pioneer, Nikola Tesla, noticed that large objects could produce reflected radio waves that are strong enough to be detected.  He knew that reflected radio waves were really radio echoes.  So he predicted that such echoes could be used to find the position and course of ships at sea.  Pulse radar was introduced in the United States in 1925.  In 1935, radar was patented under British patent law partly as a result of the research led by Scottish physicist Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt.  This patented radar later developed into the radar system that proved effective against German air raids on Britain during World War II (1939-45).  The term "radar" was first used by U.S. Navy scientists during that war.  The word "sonar" comes from the first letters of "sound navigation ranging."  Sonar can detect and locate objects under the sea by echoes, much as porpoises and other marine animals navigate using their natural sonar systems.  There are two types of sonar sets:  active and passive.  An active sonar set sends out sound pulses called pings, then receives the returning sound echo.  Passive sonar sets receive sound echoes without transmitting their own sound signals.   It was nature itself that invented "sonic radar," or sonar, well before humans did.  For example, bats fly in the dark with poor sight without hitting obstacles and locate prey by means of sound pulses humans cannot hear.  In 1906, American naval architect Lewis Nixon invented the first sonar-like listening device to detect icebergs.  During World War I (1914-18), a need to detect submarines increased interest in sonar.  French physicist Paul Langévin constructed the first sonar set to detect submarines in 1915.  At first, these sonar sets could only "listen" to returning signals.  By 1918, Britain and the United States had built sonar sets that could send out, as well as receive, sound signals.  The U.S. military began using the term "sonar" during World War II.  http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorations/bats/libraryarticle.asp?ItemID=234&SubjectID=110&categoryID=3  The first recorded use of the technique was by Leonardo da Vinci in 1490 who used a tube inserted into the water to detect vessels by ear.  Read more and see graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar

M’smen, a Moroccan flatbread also known as rghaif, meloui or faoud, is traditionally served with tagines or on its own with honey or Amlou.  Mesamen or musamen, also called malawi, malawah or murtabak, is a rich traditional, pancake-like bread of the Maghreb, most common to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.  prep time, 1 hour  cook time, 10 minutes  serves 12 https://koshercowboy.com/2017/11/13/msmen-flatbread/  See also https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/09/how-to-make-msemen-moroccan-flatbread-with-mint-and-honey.html 

In its most traditional form, amlou is made from roasted almonds, argan oil and honey--all indigenous to Morocco--but some families might use walnuts, peanuts or other nuts in place of almonds.  Likewise, they might also substitute sugar for all or some of the honey.  https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-make-amlou-step-by-step-2395003   Amlou is a dip, a thick brown paste with a texture similar to peanut butter.

Everyone has a story, and sharing these stories with one another can help build real personal connections and strengthen our community.  Bring your friends and family to have fun while the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library staff leads you through story prompts that help you share the people, places and things that make your roots.  Tuesdays in March  6:30 - 8:30 p.m. 
March 5 | Birmingham | Focus on Tradition
March 12 | Kent | Focus on Community
March 19 | Sanger | Focus on Home
March 26 | Maumee | Focus on Memories

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY  It is good to rub and polish your mind against that of others. - Michel de Montaigne, essayist (28 Feb 1533-1592)

WORD OF THE DAY  From Spanish carbonada (“carbonized”) (from carbonar (“to carbonize”)) + -ado (suffix forming past participles of regular verbs ending in -ar).  Carbonada appears to have been modelled after Italian carbonata (“coal pile; stew of beef in red wine”), from carbone (“coal; charcoal”) (from Latin carbō (“coal; charcoal”), from Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“to burn”)) + -ata.  The verb is derived from the noun.  Read more and see pictures at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carbonado#English

February 28 is Día de Andalucía, which commemorates the day in 1980 when a referendum led to Andalusia becoming an autonomous community of Spain.  Wiktionary

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2053  February 28, 2019