Category Archives: Miscellany

Pointing and Pinning Block v6

Posted on 21 September 2021 by David Maddison

I’ve finally revised the 3D design of pointing and pinning block mentioned in my previous post. This new version of the block has the standard holes of a pinning block (in the center of each level) as well as holes … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany, Morphological Techniques | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Flavor 100

Posted on 3 November 2015 by David Maddison

Today we reached a milestone:  our 100th flavor in our approximately weekly Guess the Potato Chip Flavor event in my lab.  Today we decided to celebrate the event not only with our 100th flavor, but also with five other flavors to round … Continue reading →

Posted in fun stuff, Miscellany | 4 Comments

My favorite beetle illustration

Posted on 25 September 2013 by David Maddison

Today I was reminded of my favorite illustration of a carabid beetle.  Here it is.  Drawn by my daughter, Julia, 21 years ago, when she was 4. Given the prominence of the area around the discal setae of the elytra, … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany, Scientific Illustrations | 6 Comments

Time is the coin of your life

Posted on 7 September 2013 by David Maddison

In my wallet I have a fortune from a fortune cookie which I opened long ago (I don’t remember where or when).  It says: Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have and only … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Miscellany, Musings | Tagged | 20 Comments

3D printing and custom tools in entomology

Posted on 20 August 2013 by David Maddison

I am excited about 3D printing. Here’s why: That’s a pinning block, an aid to pinning insects.  It’s a custom-designed one, however, not the standard sort you can buy at an entomology supply company.  This one is specifically built for … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany, Morphological Techniques | Tagged | 1 Comment

Why I spend my time with carabid beetles

Posted on 1 April 2013 by David Maddison

 

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Julia’s brilliant idea

Posted on 7 March 2013 by David Maddison

My daughter Julia came up with a brilliant idea: partial birthdays by relatedness.  It goes like this.  Say your birthday is on 1 January.  On that day, you have a birthday.  Imagine your daughter’s birthday is 1 June.  On that … Continue reading →

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First post!

Posted on 30 January 2013 by David Maddison

Welcome to The Subulate Palpomere, a blog about beetles, beetle diversity and evolution, and the Tree of Life.  I’ll post about my efforts and my lab’s efforts to discover and document biodiversity, including new species of beetles from around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany | 3 Comments