The joke around here is that the maple is nature’s first quitter. They turn and fall and they miss out on weeks of glorious summer. That’s coming and, along with it, the awe of autumn. But that’s later. Today? This is just hurtful, oak tree.

Speaking of trees … We have an apple tree in our backyard. Big enough to duck under; not tall enough to climb. We only just discovered this year that it was an apple tree. Five years here and this is the first time it’s bore fruit. Some sort of green apples, but not bitter like a Granny Smith. I set out, then, to identify the apple variety. There are 27 green apples out there, and isn’t that a delightful thing to learn?
We started plotting what we’d do with a whole tree of apples. So many pies! I was mentally picking out the knife and the cutting board, excited about the prospect, you understand. I figured, without knowing the exact apple, we’d just have to estimate when they were ripe, but that’s OK. Nature is a great teacher and there’s a window for this sort of thing.
I have this nice thin knife and a small glass cutting board and it makes a pleasing sound when you work through a fruit or vegetable. Just add cinnamon and enjoy. I have plans. Had plans.
I just noticed the apples are gone. All of ’em.
Squirrels.

(That’s a recreation.)
They didn’t leave a single apple. Here yesterday, see ya’ next year.
Hungry four-legged smugglers.

Let’s wrap the week up with a few things I put on one of the work accounts. Interesting studies performed by interesting people. A lot of grad students, in this case, which makes it even more fun. Watch them all, so you can stay abreast of the latest in social science research.
The findings in @stevenzheng9's "News consumption and affective polarization in Taiwan" are being replicated with American participants.
Read about his use of the Taiwan Communication Survey here:https://t.co/okPnhHBYq8@IUMediaSchool @IUImpact @IUCollege @IUBProvost pic.twitter.com/kWE6rtItOI
— ICR_IU (@icr_iu) July 27, 2021
Look straight ahead!
What angle is your head at right now? A paper co-authored by @IUMediaSchool's @LuciaCores examines the relationship of the spine and cognition and emotional arousal.@CenterForTRIP @IUCollege @IUBProvost @IUBloomington @IUImpact @iu_kinesiology @IUPsych pic.twitter.com/zu9LQx0dAL
— ICR_IU (@icr_iu) July 30, 2021
.@IUMediaSchool's Bitt Moon, and co-authors Seung Woo Chae and @theaudioprof, presented work at #ICA21 studying music effects on viewer attention in PSAs.
Moon says the experiment manipulated 8 conditions among 400 participants.@IUImpact @IUCollege @IUBProvost @CenterForTRIP pic.twitter.com/ntIPvqpK1i
— ICR_IU (@icr_iu) August 3, 2021
A study co-authored by @IUMediaSchool's @stevenzheng9 finds social media exposure to e-cigarettes reduces perception of risk among youth. He says the research parallels a $40 million #Juul – N.C. settlement.
Study: https://t.co/nJH0EWG3eR@IUImpact @IUCollege @CenterForTRIP pic.twitter.com/EpJtDnIF13
— ICR_IU (@icr_iu) August 3, 2021
Analysis of a quarter-century of congressional speeches shows @IUMediaSchool's @MikeGruz, @YyjHarry and @nathanielgeiger that overarching themes like "climate change," "global warming," or the EPA are often polarized.@IUImpact @IUBProvost @IUCollege @iu_rural @Prepared4Change pic.twitter.com/p2Uuq5M1Wy
— ICR_IU (@icr_iu) August 6, 2021
And within the next week or so we’ll have even more new research to highlight. But that’s for next week. For now, the weekend!