Steven Moore has a great piece on my favorite Oklahoman, Tom Coburn. Dr. Coburn is the leading voice in US Senate on controlling the federal budget, and often annoys his peers in the Senate who like to ladle a little budget gravy back to their states. Coburn has tangled a muber of times with such stellar porkers as Robert Byrd and Ted Stevens, amending bills to cut spending with a vengence. He often fails, but at least he is putting a uncomfortable spotlight on the sponsors of such boondoggles.
"Coburn feels about pork spending the way liberal environmentalists do about greenhouse gases. And so for the past two and a half years that he's been in the Senate, Coburn has led the lonely fight against this spending avalanche. At the start of this crusade he was losing and losing badly. When he tried to cease the funding for Stevens's infamous bridge, 80 of his colleagues voted against him in the then-Republican controlled Senate.
But the culture of spending on Capitol Hill may be shifting. In January, Coburn strong-armed the new Democratic majority into passing the leanest federal budget in five years, and, more remarkably, one that withholds funding for thousands of Teapot museums and Wild Turkey Federations. Coburn and his constant but lower-profile senatorial sidekick, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, teamed up to save the nation about $15 to $20 billion."
It's a start, and the House, led by Jeff Flake of Arizona is trying to follow suit, although it's a lot more difficult in the House. Coburn's opinion is that there is as much as $200 billion wasted in the Federal budget.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
US Education
Victor Davis Hanson has some observations on the US public educational system at NRO, and some suggestions for improvement. He sees, as I think we all do, cashiers that can't make change, people that can't balance a checkbook, etc. throughout our society. But it wasn't always this way, for many years the US educational system was the best in the world. But then a funny thing happened - teachers started indoctrinating their students on political issues like diversity, sex education, and environmentalism.
"We should first scrap the popular therapeutic curriculum that in the scarce hours of the school day crams in sermons on race, class, gender, drugs, sex, self-esteem, or environmentalism. These are well-intentioned efforts to make a kinder and gentler generation more sensitive to our nation’s supposed past and present sins. But they only squeeze out far more important subjects.
The old approach to education saw things differently than we do. Education (“to lead out” or “to bring up”) was not defined as being “sensitive” to, or “correct” on, particular issues. It was instead the rational ability to make sense of the chaotic present through the abstract wisdom of the past.
So literature, history, math and science gave students plenty of facts, theorems, people, and dates to draw on. Then training in logic, language, and philosophy provided the tools to use and express that accumulated wisdom. Teachers usually did not care where all that training led their students politically — only that their pupils’ ideas and views were supported with facts and argued rationally."
He also suggests rewarding teachers more than adminstrators, athletic coaches, and counselors, and allowing a person holding a master's degree to teach. I once had a look at the high school curriculum from the turn of the 2oth century high school - Latin and two other languages were offered, along with calculus, philosophy, and several other subjects today found only at the university level (and often not even there). My grandfather had a eigth grade education - and read widely, could do basic math functions such as figuring crop yields per acre in his head (he often used a calculator but only to check himself) and knew his Bible like sports fans know their favorite team's won loss record. The dumbing down of America has reached epic proportions today and Hanson's ideas are only a partial remedy.
"We should first scrap the popular therapeutic curriculum that in the scarce hours of the school day crams in sermons on race, class, gender, drugs, sex, self-esteem, or environmentalism. These are well-intentioned efforts to make a kinder and gentler generation more sensitive to our nation’s supposed past and present sins. But they only squeeze out far more important subjects.
The old approach to education saw things differently than we do. Education (“to lead out” or “to bring up”) was not defined as being “sensitive” to, or “correct” on, particular issues. It was instead the rational ability to make sense of the chaotic present through the abstract wisdom of the past.
So literature, history, math and science gave students plenty of facts, theorems, people, and dates to draw on. Then training in logic, language, and philosophy provided the tools to use and express that accumulated wisdom. Teachers usually did not care where all that training led their students politically — only that their pupils’ ideas and views were supported with facts and argued rationally."
He also suggests rewarding teachers more than adminstrators, athletic coaches, and counselors, and allowing a person holding a master's degree to teach. I once had a look at the high school curriculum from the turn of the 2oth century high school - Latin and two other languages were offered, along with calculus, philosophy, and several other subjects today found only at the university level (and often not even there). My grandfather had a eigth grade education - and read widely, could do basic math functions such as figuring crop yields per acre in his head (he often used a calculator but only to check himself) and knew his Bible like sports fans know their favorite team's won loss record. The dumbing down of America has reached epic proportions today and Hanson's ideas are only a partial remedy.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal Reynolds: If anyone gets nosy just, you know, shoot them.
Zoë: Shoot them?
Mal Reynolds: Politely.
Zoë: Shoot them?
Mal Reynolds: Politely.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
New Iraqi Strategy Effecting Changes
Retired Colonel Ralph Peters (via NY Post, HT:RCP) gives us some more on the change in strategy within Iraq, where General Petraeus has gotten the locals involved in fighting al-Queda and rebuilding the country.
"Instead of backing mammoth, hyper-expensive construction projects designed in Washington, our new approach prods Iraqis to fix their existing infrastructure. Iraq's utilities won't be state-of-the-art, but they're beginning to work again: Iraqi solutions for Iraqi problems. Sounds like a no-brainer, but it took a profound change of mindset for us to get there.
Nor will Iraqi democracy mimic our own. Petraeus works systematically with Iraq's time-honored social structures, exploiting the levels of trust and control already in place. Instead of trying to replace tribal leaders with out-of-towners, we now focus on developing mutually supporting relationships between respected local authority figures and the feds from Baghdad.
The general's recognition that locally recruited security forces have the immediate trust of the local population has been critical to the entire effort. Even with the surge, we lacked the forces to do it all ourselves. Petraeus recognized that, yes, all politics is local - and so is security. So he pushed hard for reconciliation programs to engage former enemies who now want to work with us to drive out al Qaeda."
The changes have been profound, and it's my belief that we are finally on to a winning strategy. If Anbar province can change for the better (and it most definitely has), then there is a more than just a glimmer of hope that the security being provided due to the American troop surge can be sustained by the Iraqis security forces themselves at some point in the near future, and give the national government an impetus to finally hammer out the compromises necessary for a truly lasting peace between the rival political forces in the nation.
"Instead of backing mammoth, hyper-expensive construction projects designed in Washington, our new approach prods Iraqis to fix their existing infrastructure. Iraq's utilities won't be state-of-the-art, but they're beginning to work again: Iraqi solutions for Iraqi problems. Sounds like a no-brainer, but it took a profound change of mindset for us to get there.
Nor will Iraqi democracy mimic our own. Petraeus works systematically with Iraq's time-honored social structures, exploiting the levels of trust and control already in place. Instead of trying to replace tribal leaders with out-of-towners, we now focus on developing mutually supporting relationships between respected local authority figures and the feds from Baghdad.
The general's recognition that locally recruited security forces have the immediate trust of the local population has been critical to the entire effort. Even with the surge, we lacked the forces to do it all ourselves. Petraeus recognized that, yes, all politics is local - and so is security. So he pushed hard for reconciliation programs to engage former enemies who now want to work with us to drive out al Qaeda."
The changes have been profound, and it's my belief that we are finally on to a winning strategy. If Anbar province can change for the better (and it most definitely has), then there is a more than just a glimmer of hope that the security being provided due to the American troop surge can be sustained by the Iraqis security forces themselves at some point in the near future, and give the national government an impetus to finally hammer out the compromises necessary for a truly lasting peace between the rival political forces in the nation.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Jayne: Don't see much point getting involved in other people's troubles without an up-front price negotiation.
Zoë: As I said, no-one's forcing you to go. This job is purely speculative.
Jayne: Good. Don't know these people, don't much care to.
Mal: They're whores.
Jayne: I'm in.
Zoë: As I said, no-one's forcing you to go. This job is purely speculative.
Jayne: Good. Don't know these people, don't much care to.
Mal: They're whores.
Jayne: I'm in.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Shuttle Lands Safely
Whew. The AP is reporting the shuttle landed without incident in Florida about 45 minutes ago.
"Space shuttle Endeavour returned to Earth on Tuesday, ending a nearly two-week orbital drama that centered on a deep gouge in the shuttle's belly and an early homecoming prompted by a hurricane.
The space shuttle swooped out of the partly cloudy sky and touched down on the runway at 12:32 p.m."
Keller Will Start at QB for Huskers
Great column by Steve Sipple @ HuskerExtra on the Husker QB situation.
Coach C announced ASU transfer Sam Keller as the Husker's starting QB yesterday, as everyone expected, except perhaps #2 man, junior Joe Ganz. Previously, it had been announced that the starter wouldn't be decided until the week before the opener, but apparently Keller finally created a bit of separation in the minds of the coaching staff. Both players had excellent performances in the spring game.
"Make no mistake, Ganz believed with all of his heart he would be the Huskers’ starter this season. You could see it in his eyes. That unyielding belief in himself will help Ganz be a good backup to Keller. More important, Ganz’s self-confidence and competitive spirit ultimately will help his team as this season progresses, because Ganz’s strong character traits have pushed Keller to improve."
Obviously, Keller came to NU with a proven record, but some questions marks, and the competition with Ganz for the starting slot has to have had a major impact on both player's development. Keller's a great talent, with all the gunslinging physical tools that NFL clubs seek, while Ganz is a product of the system, more in the mold of last year's starter Zac Taylor, although with a lot more mobility. Ganz is certain to be disappointed, but it's my belief that he will still take some significant snaps this season.
Coach C announced ASU transfer Sam Keller as the Husker's starting QB yesterday, as everyone expected, except perhaps #2 man, junior Joe Ganz. Previously, it had been announced that the starter wouldn't be decided until the week before the opener, but apparently Keller finally created a bit of separation in the minds of the coaching staff. Both players had excellent performances in the spring game.
"Make no mistake, Ganz believed with all of his heart he would be the Huskers’ starter this season. You could see it in his eyes. That unyielding belief in himself will help Ganz be a good backup to Keller. More important, Ganz’s self-confidence and competitive spirit ultimately will help his team as this season progresses, because Ganz’s strong character traits have pushed Keller to improve."
Obviously, Keller came to NU with a proven record, but some questions marks, and the competition with Ganz for the starting slot has to have had a major impact on both player's development. Keller's a great talent, with all the gunslinging physical tools that NFL clubs seek, while Ganz is a product of the system, more in the mold of last year's starter Zac Taylor, although with a lot more mobility. Ganz is certain to be disappointed, but it's my belief that he will still take some significant snaps this season.
Early Maya Planted Cassava Plant
It looks like one of those science days.
Also ScienceDaily, a new dig in El Salvador by a University of Colorado team has discovered evidence of the cultivation of the cassava or manioc plant by early Mayan farmers. Covered by volcanic ash from a 600 AD eruption, the field was literally planted just hours before the volcano buried the field in ash. The Maya have long been known to cultivate corn and beans, but evidence of other plants has been sketchy. The village, known today as Ceren, was discovered in 1978.
"Archaeologists had suspected ancient Mayans had cultivated and consumed manioc for its high-energy value, he said. Also known as cassava, manioc provides one of the highest yields of food energy per acre per day of any cultivated crop in the world."
This find helps to explain how the Maya developed and supported the high population densities found in many of their major urban centers. The manioc bushes were cut down and the tubers harvested, then the stalks were replanted horizontally with a growth node pointing upward to restart a new bush. The ash left a sizable number of well preserved organic rremains, giving an excellent view of early Maya life.
Also ScienceDaily, a new dig in El Salvador by a University of Colorado team has discovered evidence of the cultivation of the cassava or manioc plant by early Mayan farmers. Covered by volcanic ash from a 600 AD eruption, the field was literally planted just hours before the volcano buried the field in ash. The Maya have long been known to cultivate corn and beans, but evidence of other plants has been sketchy. The village, known today as Ceren, was discovered in 1978.
"Archaeologists had suspected ancient Mayans had cultivated and consumed manioc for its high-energy value, he said. Also known as cassava, manioc provides one of the highest yields of food energy per acre per day of any cultivated crop in the world."
This find helps to explain how the Maya developed and supported the high population densities found in many of their major urban centers. The manioc bushes were cut down and the tubers harvested, then the stalks were replanted horizontally with a growth node pointing upward to restart a new bush. The ash left a sizable number of well preserved organic rremains, giving an excellent view of early Maya life.
How Rice Became White
via ScienceDaily.
Almost 98% of white rice is derived from a mutation in a single gene found in the Japonica subspecies of rice around 10,000 years ago. The remaining 2% of white rice comes from an almost identical mutation found in the Aus varieties of rice found in Bangladesh. Both mutations creat a shortened version of a protein sequence that is repsonsible for giving rice its color. The short version is missing this color sequence, making these varieties of rice white rather than red. The white varities helped ealry farmers in several ways.
"The researchers speculate that ancient farmers actively bred and spread white rice varieties first throughout the Himalayan region and then the rest of the world because the varieties cooked faster (requiring less fuel), their hulls were easier to remove compared with red rice, and disease and insects were easier to see amid the white grains. The farmers also may have favored one mutation over the other because it may have produced favorable grains more consistently, the researchers say."
What about brown rice?
Almost 98% of white rice is derived from a mutation in a single gene found in the Japonica subspecies of rice around 10,000 years ago. The remaining 2% of white rice comes from an almost identical mutation found in the Aus varieties of rice found in Bangladesh. Both mutations creat a shortened version of a protein sequence that is repsonsible for giving rice its color. The short version is missing this color sequence, making these varieties of rice white rather than red. The white varities helped ealry farmers in several ways.
"The researchers speculate that ancient farmers actively bred and spread white rice varieties first throughout the Himalayan region and then the rest of the world because the varieties cooked faster (requiring less fuel), their hulls were easier to remove compared with red rice, and disease and insects were easier to see amid the white grains. The farmers also may have favored one mutation over the other because it may have produced favorable grains more consistently, the researchers say."
What about brown rice?
Firefly Quote of the Day
River: The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds, given adequate vacuuming systems.
Mal: See, morbid and creepifying, I got no problem with. Long as she does it quiet like.
Mal: See, morbid and creepifying, I got no problem with. Long as she does it quiet like.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Blackshirts
We're down to 12 days until kickoff against Nevada, and I haven't even run down Coach Coz's fellas yet. AP has NU ranked #20 to start the season.
The obvious issue this year is the defensive line, where all four starters from a year ago went to the NFL (the ends were drafted and the tackles were signed as Free agents). There is some talent returning, however, starting with the big boys up front, sophomore Ndamukong Suh and junior Ty Steinkuhler at tackle and with jucos juniors Shurkee Barfield & Kevin Dixon, sophomore Joseph Townsend and also Redshirt frosh Seth Jensen possibly contributing. At end, juniors Zach Potter and Barry Turner replace Carriker and Moore, with fellow junior Clayton Sievers, redshirt frosh Pierre Allen, and senior Andy Poulosky vying for backup positions. Steinkuhler also may get moved outside to end at times as well.
The heart of the defense is the all senior linebacking corps, led by All Big 12 selections Corey McKeon and Bo Ruud, and the oft injured Steve Octavian hoping to stay healthy this year. Fellow senior Lance Brandenburgh can backup at all three spots, and word in Lincoln is that there will be some 3-4 schemes being used this year. Sophomore Phil Dilliard backups up McKeon and fellow sophomore Nick Covey looks for second team status as well. There's been alot of talk of using the LBs at end (Octavian) and even nose (Dilliard) in passing situations, so Coach Coz is apparently coming up with some new wrinkles this year, can't wait to see how things shake out.
The other big issue is the oft-maligned secondary, which was repeatedly burned last year for big plays at critical junctures. Hopefully, a healthy Zac Bowman at corner will relieve some of that pressure. Still recovering from a spring knee injury, Bowman donned pads this past weekend for the first time and the team is hoping for a late September return for the senior. Two other seniors also work at corner, Courtney Grixby and Andre Jones, with junior juco Armando Murillo and freshman Anthony Blue and Prince Amukamura also seeing time at the outside. At safety, it appears the senior Tierre Green moves positons for the fourth time, over to the free safety spot this year, with juco junior Larry Asante taking over for Green at SS. Sophmore Ricky Thenarse and seniors Brian Wilson and Ben Eisenhart will also contribute.
While the Blackshirts have to miss the guys they lost, I think this defense will be pretty stout against the run. My biggest disappointment last year was the lack of a consistent pass rush, and I'm hoping some of the new schemes generate more timely pressure, which should help out the pass defense. The LBs will definitely be the heart of the D, but the secondary could have a real impact if they can get Bowman healthy and Asante is the big hitter that has been advertised. It would be terrific if we improved enough to get a few coverage sacks and could shut down some of the extremely talented receivers the team will face this year.
The obvious issue this year is the defensive line, where all four starters from a year ago went to the NFL (the ends were drafted and the tackles were signed as Free agents). There is some talent returning, however, starting with the big boys up front, sophomore Ndamukong Suh and junior Ty Steinkuhler at tackle and with jucos juniors Shurkee Barfield & Kevin Dixon, sophomore Joseph Townsend and also Redshirt frosh Seth Jensen possibly contributing. At end, juniors Zach Potter and Barry Turner replace Carriker and Moore, with fellow junior Clayton Sievers, redshirt frosh Pierre Allen, and senior Andy Poulosky vying for backup positions. Steinkuhler also may get moved outside to end at times as well.
The heart of the defense is the all senior linebacking corps, led by All Big 12 selections Corey McKeon and Bo Ruud, and the oft injured Steve Octavian hoping to stay healthy this year. Fellow senior Lance Brandenburgh can backup at all three spots, and word in Lincoln is that there will be some 3-4 schemes being used this year. Sophomore Phil Dilliard backups up McKeon and fellow sophomore Nick Covey looks for second team status as well. There's been alot of talk of using the LBs at end (Octavian) and even nose (Dilliard) in passing situations, so Coach Coz is apparently coming up with some new wrinkles this year, can't wait to see how things shake out.
The other big issue is the oft-maligned secondary, which was repeatedly burned last year for big plays at critical junctures. Hopefully, a healthy Zac Bowman at corner will relieve some of that pressure. Still recovering from a spring knee injury, Bowman donned pads this past weekend for the first time and the team is hoping for a late September return for the senior. Two other seniors also work at corner, Courtney Grixby and Andre Jones, with junior juco Armando Murillo and freshman Anthony Blue and Prince Amukamura also seeing time at the outside. At safety, it appears the senior Tierre Green moves positons for the fourth time, over to the free safety spot this year, with juco junior Larry Asante taking over for Green at SS. Sophmore Ricky Thenarse and seniors Brian Wilson and Ben Eisenhart will also contribute.
While the Blackshirts have to miss the guys they lost, I think this defense will be pretty stout against the run. My biggest disappointment last year was the lack of a consistent pass rush, and I'm hoping some of the new schemes generate more timely pressure, which should help out the pass defense. The LBs will definitely be the heart of the D, but the secondary could have a real impact if they can get Bowman healthy and Asante is the big hitter that has been advertised. It would be terrific if we improved enough to get a few coverage sacks and could shut down some of the extremely talented receivers the team will face this year.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Jayne: I didn't make her crazy. Hell I didn't even want her on the ship.
Mal: Is that the direction you want this conversation to go in?
Jayne: Just don't want to take a lashing for something I ain't the cause of.
Zoë: Where's River at now?
Mal: In her room, which I'm thinking we bolt from the outside from now on.
Wash: That's a little extreme, isn't it?
Jayne: Anyone remember her coming at me with a butcher's knife?
Wash: Wacky fun.
Jayne: You wanna go, little man?
Wash: Only if it's someplace with candlelight.
Zoë: Sir, I know she's unpredictable, but I don't think she'd harm anyone.
Jayne: Butcher's knife!
Zoë: Anyone we can't spare.
Mal: Is that the direction you want this conversation to go in?
Jayne: Just don't want to take a lashing for something I ain't the cause of.
Zoë: Where's River at now?
Mal: In her room, which I'm thinking we bolt from the outside from now on.
Wash: That's a little extreme, isn't it?
Jayne: Anyone remember her coming at me with a butcher's knife?
Wash: Wacky fun.
Jayne: You wanna go, little man?
Wash: Only if it's someplace with candlelight.
Zoë: Sir, I know she's unpredictable, but I don't think she'd harm anyone.
Jayne: Butcher's knife!
Zoë: Anyone we can't spare.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Firefly Quote for the Weekend
[on merchandise they've just stolen]
Wash: I'd say worth a little risk.
Jayne: Yeah, that was some pretty risky sittin' ya did there.
Wash: That's right, of course. Because they wouldn't arrest me if we got boarded. I'm just the pilot. I could always say
that I was flying the ship by accident.
Wash: I'd say worth a little risk.
Jayne: Yeah, that was some pretty risky sittin' ya did there.
Wash: That's right, of course. Because they wouldn't arrest me if we got boarded. I'm just the pilot. I could always say
that I was flying the ship by accident.
2007 Huskers Offense
Well, with just two weeks until the start of college football, it's probably time for me to take a look at the alma mater's squad.
The biggest question on the offensive side of the ball is who will replace last year's Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, QB Zac Taylor. The presumed winner of the job should be transfer senior Sam Keller, who moved to NU from Arizona State, but junior Joe Gantz is also taking snaps with the first unit and coaches say it's still too close to call, but that the starter will be named in the week before the opener with Nevada. Keller brings a pretty impressive resume and has been touted as a future NFL caliber player, but Gantz is more familiar with Coach C's West Coast system.
The receivers and the O-line are looking to be the strengths of the offense, with 3 juniors and two seniors looking to start on the line and several upperclassmen serving as targets for the QB's. Depth is good in both units, and there are a lot of talented newcomers looking to gain playing time as well. The starters on the line appear to be (left to right) senior tackle Carl Nicks, junior guard Andy Christensen, senior center Brett Byford, junior guard Matt Slauson, and junior tackle Lydon Murtha, with junior Mike Huff, seniors Jordon Picou and Victory Haines and sophomore Jacob Hickman also looking to contribute. At wideout, seniors Maurice Purify (suspended for the opener due to off the field legal issues) and Terrence Nunn lead a group also including seniors Franz Hardy and Dan Erickson (who just earned a walk-on scholarship) as well as juniors Todd Peterson and Nate Swift.
Running back is also a bit unsettled with the early departure of Brandon Jackson to the NFL's Green Bay Packers, but talented juniors Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn both return, along with converted safety Major Culbert. Senior Kenny Wilson reshirts due to a broken leg this spring. Frosh recruit Quentin Castille is also making waves in fall practice and may contribute on short yardage situations. Health is a concern with this group - Lucky suffered a medical issue requiring hospitalization in the spring and a concussion in fall practice and Glenn was slowed by a foot injury late last season that has been slow to heal. The FB position will be decided among seniors Andy Sand, Matt Senske and redshirt frosh Justin Makovicka. Seniors Josh Mueller and JB Phillips return at TE, along with junior Hunter Teafatiller (despite off the field issues) and redshirt frosh Mike McNeill.
I think this will be a good group, perhaps exceeding last year's squad. I would look for them to have better success running the ball against some of the more talented teams, which was an issue at times last year, while the passing game stays at a high level as well. I'm hoping to see more involvement from the TEs this year in the passing game. The biggest issues are having the gentlemen stay out of trouble off the field, the health of the backs and the starting QB situation, which I'm sure will work itself out as both players appear to be performing at a high level in practice.
The biggest question on the offensive side of the ball is who will replace last year's Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, QB Zac Taylor. The presumed winner of the job should be transfer senior Sam Keller, who moved to NU from Arizona State, but junior Joe Gantz is also taking snaps with the first unit and coaches say it's still too close to call, but that the starter will be named in the week before the opener with Nevada. Keller brings a pretty impressive resume and has been touted as a future NFL caliber player, but Gantz is more familiar with Coach C's West Coast system.
The receivers and the O-line are looking to be the strengths of the offense, with 3 juniors and two seniors looking to start on the line and several upperclassmen serving as targets for the QB's. Depth is good in both units, and there are a lot of talented newcomers looking to gain playing time as well. The starters on the line appear to be (left to right) senior tackle Carl Nicks, junior guard Andy Christensen, senior center Brett Byford, junior guard Matt Slauson, and junior tackle Lydon Murtha, with junior Mike Huff, seniors Jordon Picou and Victory Haines and sophomore Jacob Hickman also looking to contribute. At wideout, seniors Maurice Purify (suspended for the opener due to off the field legal issues) and Terrence Nunn lead a group also including seniors Franz Hardy and Dan Erickson (who just earned a walk-on scholarship) as well as juniors Todd Peterson and Nate Swift.
Running back is also a bit unsettled with the early departure of Brandon Jackson to the NFL's Green Bay Packers, but talented juniors Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn both return, along with converted safety Major Culbert. Senior Kenny Wilson reshirts due to a broken leg this spring. Frosh recruit Quentin Castille is also making waves in fall practice and may contribute on short yardage situations. Health is a concern with this group - Lucky suffered a medical issue requiring hospitalization in the spring and a concussion in fall practice and Glenn was slowed by a foot injury late last season that has been slow to heal. The FB position will be decided among seniors Andy Sand, Matt Senske and redshirt frosh Justin Makovicka. Seniors Josh Mueller and JB Phillips return at TE, along with junior Hunter Teafatiller (despite off the field issues) and redshirt frosh Mike McNeill.
I think this will be a good group, perhaps exceeding last year's squad. I would look for them to have better success running the ball against some of the more talented teams, which was an issue at times last year, while the passing game stays at a high level as well. I'm hoping to see more involvement from the TEs this year in the passing game. The biggest issues are having the gentlemen stay out of trouble off the field, the health of the backs and the starting QB situation, which I'm sure will work itself out as both players appear to be performing at a high level in practice.
NASA Decides Shuttle Doesn't Need Repair
via OWH, NASA administrators have decided against any attempt at repairing the gouge along the bottom rear of the orbiter caused by falling insulating foam at lift off.
"Ultimately, managers decided they couldn't justify putting spacewalking astronauts at risk if the vehicle was in acceptable shape as is to make the journey home. A spacewalk earlier this week, cut short by an astronaut's ripped glove, showed how hazardous even a relatively routine jaunt outside the international space station can be."
The astronauts on the mission have already completed their primary tasks on the construction project adding a truss segment to the ISS and have also replaced one of the station's gyroscopes used for controlling the station's orbit.
"Ultimately, managers decided they couldn't justify putting spacewalking astronauts at risk if the vehicle was in acceptable shape as is to make the journey home. A spacewalk earlier this week, cut short by an astronaut's ripped glove, showed how hazardous even a relatively routine jaunt outside the international space station can be."
The astronauts on the mission have already completed their primary tasks on the construction project adding a truss segment to the ISS and have also replaced one of the station's gyroscopes used for controlling the station's orbit.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal: Yeah, that went well.
Inara: You call this going well?
Mal: We got the loot didn't we?
Inara: Yes, but...
Mal: Then I call it a win. What's the problem?
Inara: Should I start with the part where you're stranded in the middle
of nowhere or the part where you have no clothes?
Inara: You call this going well?
Mal: We got the loot didn't we?
Inara: Yes, but...
Mal: Then I call it a win. What's the problem?
Inara: Should I start with the part where you're stranded in the middle
of nowhere or the part where you have no clothes?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Robert Fulton's Great Invention
A great reminder of some history from the LA Times. (HT: RCP)
Tomorrow is the two hundreth anniversity of the maiden voyage of the Clermont, the first commercially viable steamship. The invention completely changed the face of travel in the 19th century, and had an amazing impact on the growth of the United States, opening up the major river valleys of the entire North American continent to settlement.
"At the end of the century, historian Henry Adams, in assessing Fulton's feat that day, marked it "as the beginning of a new era in America -- a date which separated the colonial from the independent stage of growth," for the U.S. was alone in possessing such a vessel and would be for decades. He added that "the problem of steam navigation, so far as it applied to rivers and harbors, was settled, and for the first time America could consider herself mistress of her vast resources."
Tomorrow is the two hundreth anniversity of the maiden voyage of the Clermont, the first commercially viable steamship. The invention completely changed the face of travel in the 19th century, and had an amazing impact on the growth of the United States, opening up the major river valleys of the entire North American continent to settlement.
"At the end of the century, historian Henry Adams, in assessing Fulton's feat that day, marked it "as the beginning of a new era in America -- a date which separated the colonial from the independent stage of growth," for the U.S. was alone in possessing such a vessel and would be for decades. He added that "the problem of steam navigation, so far as it applied to rivers and harbors, was settled, and for the first time America could consider herself mistress of her vast resources."
Karl Rove, in his own words
Transcript of Rush interviewing Karl Rove. He has some very interesting things to say about Hillary, who's running some ad campaign declaring that the White House doesn't "see" many Americans - and had the gall to state that some of these "invisible" Americans are service personnel.
"You know, this is a woman who has been less than supportive of the policies that those men and women who are in the frontlines of the global war on terror fighting. This is like a woman who has opposed the Patriot Act that gave us the tools to defend the homeland. This is a woman who opposes the terrorist surveillance program that allowed us to listen in on the conversations of bad people who are calling into the United States. She opposed the FISA reforms that would allow us to listen into communications and see the communications of international terrorists who are communicating with other international terrorists, even outside the country whose messages simply happened to flow through US telecom networks. You know, again, I'm a little bit surprised that somebody with a record so weak on these things would somehow deign to lecture this president, who is very popular among the military and military families because they see him as a strong commander-in-chief who supports them, loves them, and gives them everything they need and want."
Among the more trivial but interesting items is that Rove and the President had a contest to see who could read the most books in a year. Rove won 110-94, which I would say is pretty respectable given the scope of their job responsibilities. Rove also indicated that the President has remained upbeat and optimistic despite the rigors of the job and the near constant criticism from the other side of the aisle.
"You know, this is a woman who has been less than supportive of the policies that those men and women who are in the frontlines of the global war on terror fighting. This is like a woman who has opposed the Patriot Act that gave us the tools to defend the homeland. This is a woman who opposes the terrorist surveillance program that allowed us to listen in on the conversations of bad people who are calling into the United States. She opposed the FISA reforms that would allow us to listen into communications and see the communications of international terrorists who are communicating with other international terrorists, even outside the country whose messages simply happened to flow through US telecom networks. You know, again, I'm a little bit surprised that somebody with a record so weak on these things would somehow deign to lecture this president, who is very popular among the military and military families because they see him as a strong commander-in-chief who supports them, loves them, and gives them everything they need and want."
Among the more trivial but interesting items is that Rove and the President had a contest to see who could read the most books in a year. Rove won 110-94, which I would say is pretty respectable given the scope of their job responsibilities. Rove also indicated that the President has remained upbeat and optimistic despite the rigors of the job and the near constant criticism from the other side of the aisle.
Fred's Campaign Plans
Fred is interviewed by David Broder at the Washington Post, and plainly states that his campaign will attempt to address issues that establishment politicians would never dare. The entitlement mess, tax policy and the way the Pentagon procures its equipment are all high on the list.
"the former senator from Tennessee said that when he joins the battle next month, he "will take some risks that others are not willing to take, in terms of forcing a dialogue on our entitlement situation, our military situation and what it's going to cost" to ensure the nation's future."
Fred points to the two volume report on government that his Senate Government Affairs committee authored in 2001, and recent GAO reports that raise stark questions about the sustainability of our current entitlement programs.
"Nobody in Congress or on either side in the presidential race wants to deal with it," Thompson said. "So we just rock along and try to maintain the status quo. Republicans say keep the tax cuts; Democrats say keep the entitlements. And we become a less unified country in the process, with a tax code that has become an unholy mess, and all we do is tinker around the edges."
Thompson readily concedes that he does not know "where all those chips are going to fall" when he starts challenging members of various interest groups to look beyond their individual agendas and weigh the sacrifices that could ensure a better future for their children.
But these issues -- national security and the fiscal crisis of an aging society with runaway heath-care costs -- "are worth a portion of a man's life. If I can't get elected talking that way, I probably don't deserve to be elected."
Thompson says he feels "free to do it" his own way, and that freedom may just be enough to shake up the presidential race."
It will be a tough road to hoe, but change in Washington is desperately needed, and it's my belief Fred is just the guy to do it. I just hope my fellow citizens come to realize it as well.
"the former senator from Tennessee said that when he joins the battle next month, he "will take some risks that others are not willing to take, in terms of forcing a dialogue on our entitlement situation, our military situation and what it's going to cost" to ensure the nation's future."
Fred points to the two volume report on government that his Senate Government Affairs committee authored in 2001, and recent GAO reports that raise stark questions about the sustainability of our current entitlement programs.
"Nobody in Congress or on either side in the presidential race wants to deal with it," Thompson said. "So we just rock along and try to maintain the status quo. Republicans say keep the tax cuts; Democrats say keep the entitlements. And we become a less unified country in the process, with a tax code that has become an unholy mess, and all we do is tinker around the edges."
Thompson readily concedes that he does not know "where all those chips are going to fall" when he starts challenging members of various interest groups to look beyond their individual agendas and weigh the sacrifices that could ensure a better future for their children.
But these issues -- national security and the fiscal crisis of an aging society with runaway heath-care costs -- "are worth a portion of a man's life. If I can't get elected talking that way, I probably don't deserve to be elected."
Thompson says he feels "free to do it" his own way, and that freedom may just be enough to shake up the presidential race."
It will be a tough road to hoe, but change in Washington is desperately needed, and it's my belief Fred is just the guy to do it. I just hope my fellow citizens come to realize it as well.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Jayne: Are you saying River's a witch?
Wash: Yes, Jayne, she's a witch. She's had congress with the Beast.
Jayne: She's in Congress?
Wash: How did your brain even learn human speech?
Wash: Yes, Jayne, she's a witch. She's had congress with the Beast.
Jayne: She's in Congress?
Wash: How did your brain even learn human speech?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Firefly Quote of the Day
Jayne: What we need is a diversion. I say Zoë gets nekked.
Wash: No.
Jayne: I could get nekked...?
Zoë: No.
Wash: No.
Wash: No.
Jayne: I could get nekked...?
Zoë: No.
Wash: No.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Ancient Cambodian City
via Livescience, a new satellite study of the ancient Cambodian site of Angkor Wat determines that not only was it once a city rather than just the site of a religious temple complex, but that it might have been one of the world's largest cities in terms of area, covering nearly 400 square miles. The site also had a sophisticated system of irrigation ponds running throughout the area and that the system might have contributed to the city's downfall.
"Angkor was surrounded by a vast expanse of rice fields that would have required extensive forest clearance. Over time, the intense farming could have led to serious ecological problems, including those associated with deforestation, overpopulation, topsoil degradation and erosion."
Angkor Wat was the capital city of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 16th centuries located in modern Cambodia. The city might have held several hundred thousand citizens at its height.
"Angkor was surrounded by a vast expanse of rice fields that would have required extensive forest clearance. Over time, the intense farming could have led to serious ecological problems, including those associated with deforestation, overpopulation, topsoil degradation and erosion."
Angkor Wat was the capital city of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 16th centuries located in modern Cambodia. The city might have held several hundred thousand citizens at its height.
Plate Tectonics
Curious article on plate tectonics - apparently the Earth releases more internal heat when the crust is made up of several smaller tectonics plates than when the crust is made up of one large one, which intuitively makes sense, but hasn't been supported by any evidence up to this point.
"The reason, the authors said, is that much of the heat from the mantle escapes near the ridges between newly formed plates. Those areas are thinner and allow more heat to pass.
The smaller the plates, the greater the heat loss from the mantle on which they float, said geophysicists from the University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Several small plates have more area close to the ridge -- and allow more heat to pass -- than one large plate, explained lead author Thorsten Becker, assistant professor of earth sciences at USC."
In addition, the study found that having several smaller plates also caused a greater amount of tectonic activity (also pretty intuitive) - with more plates rubbing on one another, more events are likely to happen. However, there is one issue that can't yet be explained - at both the rate of the Earth's heat disappation previously believed to have occurred, as well as these new higher figures, the Earth would have been impossibly hot in the distant past when the planet was formed. ???
"The reason, the authors said, is that much of the heat from the mantle escapes near the ridges between newly formed plates. Those areas are thinner and allow more heat to pass.
The smaller the plates, the greater the heat loss from the mantle on which they float, said geophysicists from the University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Several small plates have more area close to the ridge -- and allow more heat to pass -- than one large plate, explained lead author Thorsten Becker, assistant professor of earth sciences at USC."
In addition, the study found that having several smaller plates also caused a greater amount of tectonic activity (also pretty intuitive) - with more plates rubbing on one another, more events are likely to happen. However, there is one issue that can't yet be explained - at both the rate of the Earth's heat disappation previously believed to have occurred, as well as these new higher figures, the Earth would have been impossibly hot in the distant past when the planet was formed. ???
New College Football Helmets
Several teams are sporting new headgear this year, with Big 12 opponent KU being one. The Jayhawks are chaging the font on the helmet lettering and switching the blue to the "school-wide" blue, the fourth shade the school has used since 2001. Several teams are reverting to designs inspired by older more traditional looks. The Big 10's Michigan State is reverting back to it's old Spartan logo, and Minnesota is changing the font on the "M" on their helmets, the first design change for them since 1999. The Unversity of Central Florida is going with a throwback 1970s white helmet and also a new "UCF" logo, Syracuse is adding a blue "S" to its orange helmets, and Bowling Green University loses its bird logo and changes to a white "BG". Other teams making changes include Temple, Rice, Arkansas State, and North Texas, which is also going with the throwback look with a white helmet reminisent of the 1960s designs.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Inara: What did I tell you about barging into my shuttle?
Mal: That it was manly and impulsive?
Inara: Yes, precisely, only the exact phrase I used was "don't".
Mal: That it was manly and impulsive?
Inara: Yes, precisely, only the exact phrase I used was "don't".
Monday, August 13, 2007
Firefly Quote of the Day
Zoë: Shepard, isn't the Bible kind of specific about killing?
Book: Very specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzy around the area of kneecaps.
Book: Very specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzy around the area of kneecaps.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Mars Rovers Doing Well, But Still in Danger
via Space.com, the latest word on the twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, both of which have hunkered down and battened the hatches against a near global Martian windstorm that threatens the survival of both science vehicles. Dust kicked up into the atmosphere is blocking sunlight from reaching the rover's power generating solar panels. The good news is that by curtailing their activities and conserving power, the vehicles appear to be weathering the storm pretty well, although Opportunity has had to be shut down to the very lowest settings, primarily just enough to keep the vehicle warm.
"Of the two rovers, Spirit, in the Columbia Hills of Gusev Crater is doing pretty well, said Steve Squyres, lead Mars Exploration Rover scientist from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
"We need to be careful about how much power we consume, so we're not doing any driving for now. But we're making daily science observations, and the vehicle is in good health," Squyres told SPACE.com. "In fact, in just the past couple of weeks we've made the first observations ever of substantial movement of wind ripples on the martian surface. So I feel good about Spirit for the moment.......Squyres said that there are two concerns with Opportunity: One is that there's need to keep the vehicle "power positive" -- to make sure that it generates more power than it consumes. The other is that the rover must keep its electronic innards warm enough.
"The difficult thing about this is that the way you stay power positive is by not consuming energy, and the way you stay warm is by consuming energy. So it's a matter of finding the right balance. We're doing OK so far ... but it's day to day," Squyres said."
The good news is that the dust is creating a bit of a greenhouse effect that is keeping nighttime planetary temperatures a bit warmer than they would be if the skies were clear. While the vehicles are still in pretty good shape, there is a bit of frustration on the part of scientists on the project because the storm is delaying important scientific observations. Both rovers are very near to their latest scientific objectives, with Opportunity about to enter into the Victoria Crater region and Spirit looking to gather more volcanic evidence from an area that has been dubbed "Home Plate".
"Of the two rovers, Spirit, in the Columbia Hills of Gusev Crater is doing pretty well, said Steve Squyres, lead Mars Exploration Rover scientist from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
"We need to be careful about how much power we consume, so we're not doing any driving for now. But we're making daily science observations, and the vehicle is in good health," Squyres told SPACE.com. "In fact, in just the past couple of weeks we've made the first observations ever of substantial movement of wind ripples on the martian surface. So I feel good about Spirit for the moment.......Squyres said that there are two concerns with Opportunity: One is that there's need to keep the vehicle "power positive" -- to make sure that it generates more power than it consumes. The other is that the rover must keep its electronic innards warm enough.
"The difficult thing about this is that the way you stay power positive is by not consuming energy, and the way you stay warm is by consuming energy. So it's a matter of finding the right balance. We're doing OK so far ... but it's day to day," Squyres said."
The good news is that the dust is creating a bit of a greenhouse effect that is keeping nighttime planetary temperatures a bit warmer than they would be if the skies were clear. While the vehicles are still in pretty good shape, there is a bit of frustration on the part of scientists on the project because the storm is delaying important scientific observations. Both rovers are very near to their latest scientific objectives, with Opportunity about to enter into the Victoria Crater region and Spirit looking to gather more volcanic evidence from an area that has been dubbed "Home Plate".
Firefly Quote of the Day
Two for One Sale Today to bring us into the weekend - both quotes from the episode where the crew were smuggling cattle in to a frontier world desperate for livestock.
River: Little soul, big world. Eat, sleep, and eat. Many souls.
Mal: Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don't go near 'em. Suddenly we're on Jianying, and she's got a driving need to commune with the beasts?
River: They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot.
Now they see sky, and they remember what they are.
Mal: Is it bad that what she said makes perfect sense to me?
Zoë: Next time we smuggle stock, let's make it something smaller.
Wash: Yeah, we should start dealing in those black market beagles.
River: Little soul, big world. Eat, sleep, and eat. Many souls.
Mal: Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don't go near 'em. Suddenly we're on Jianying, and she's got a driving need to commune with the beasts?
River: They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot.
Now they see sky, and they remember what they are.
Mal: Is it bad that what she said makes perfect sense to me?
Zoë: Next time we smuggle stock, let's make it something smaller.
Wash: Yeah, we should start dealing in those black market beagles.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Bonds, the HR Record and the Controversy
I wasn't going to address this, but Mike Celizic at MSNBC has a slightly different take on the Barry Bonds story, one that is pretty similiar to my own. He points out that our entire nation ingests an amazing array of substances for everything from making our teeth whiter to giving men erections, and quite a few of us do things that aren't entirely ethical - steal from the supply cabinet, "adjust" our taxes, go 10 mph over the speed limit, etc.
"But, dammit, our athletic heroes better not cheat.
Does anyone detect a note of hypocrisy in this? Does anyone who reviles Barry Bonds as a cheater admit to even the tiniest flaw in his or her own personal code of ethics? Do any of us stop to consider that Bonds, who has never tested positive for any banned substance, isn’t doing anything that just about every one of us has done at one time or another?
Those are rhetorical questions, so don’t bother answering. We’re not very good at introspection, anyway. Our own flaws are never flaws, and even if they are, what the other guy is doing is a lot worse, and everything’s fair in love in war."
He goes on to point out that baseball has a pretty long history of looking the other way when it comes to pitchers "modifying" the baseball, and that something illegal doesn't necessarily equate to what is right. He also examines the history of steroids and has a pretty valid point - they were declared illegal in the Olympics because the "wrong" nation's athletes were using them to gain an advantage. He also points out that it is human nature to do anything to give us an advantage - it's a highly evolved survival trait.
I don't know if Bonds took steroids or not, and I really don't care, and I'm a baseball fanatic. Personally I think alot of this has to do with Bond's own personality, and his disregard for the media. He's an amazing talent, no question about it, and the fact of the matter is, taking steroids doesn't help you hit a baseball - it may help it travel a bit farther, but you still have to hit it, and hit it correctly, in order for it to leave the yard. And Barry Bonds, up to this point, has not been declared quilty in a court of law for anything.
Obviously, some people (probably alot of them) feel differently than I do. But I certainly think Celizic has a damn fine point, and he makes his case pretty well.
"But, dammit, our athletic heroes better not cheat.
Does anyone detect a note of hypocrisy in this? Does anyone who reviles Barry Bonds as a cheater admit to even the tiniest flaw in his or her own personal code of ethics? Do any of us stop to consider that Bonds, who has never tested positive for any banned substance, isn’t doing anything that just about every one of us has done at one time or another?
Those are rhetorical questions, so don’t bother answering. We’re not very good at introspection, anyway. Our own flaws are never flaws, and even if they are, what the other guy is doing is a lot worse, and everything’s fair in love in war."
He goes on to point out that baseball has a pretty long history of looking the other way when it comes to pitchers "modifying" the baseball, and that something illegal doesn't necessarily equate to what is right. He also examines the history of steroids and has a pretty valid point - they were declared illegal in the Olympics because the "wrong" nation's athletes were using them to gain an advantage. He also points out that it is human nature to do anything to give us an advantage - it's a highly evolved survival trait.
I don't know if Bonds took steroids or not, and I really don't care, and I'm a baseball fanatic. Personally I think alot of this has to do with Bond's own personality, and his disregard for the media. He's an amazing talent, no question about it, and the fact of the matter is, taking steroids doesn't help you hit a baseball - it may help it travel a bit farther, but you still have to hit it, and hit it correctly, in order for it to leave the yard. And Barry Bonds, up to this point, has not been declared quilty in a court of law for anything.
Obviously, some people (probably alot of them) feel differently than I do. But I certainly think Celizic has a damn fine point, and he makes his case pretty well.
Sub-Prime Mortgages
Jerry Brower at NRO has a nice piece explaining the real impact of the sub-prime mortgage "meltdown". In short, while foreclosure are up (slightly) there is little or no reason to think the financial markets are going to go bellyup. Of the 44 million mortgages in the US, just under 14% of these are being serviced by the sub-prime market, and only about 13% of those sub-prime loans have payment issues. That's about 6/10 of one percent of the US housing market as a whole.
"With approximately 254,000 mortgages in foreclosure at the moment — up from roughly 219,000 last year — the sub-prime meltdown has given us an increase of 35,000 mortgage foreclosures over the last quarter. Since the average sub-prime mortgage clocks in at almost exactly $200,000, we’re looking at an approximate $7 billion increase in foreclosed value in the first quarter of this year."
That $7 billion increase in foreclosed value equates to about .01 percent of the total US household wealth, which measures approximatley $53 trillion. The scale of this issue appears to be much overhyped.
"With approximately 254,000 mortgages in foreclosure at the moment — up from roughly 219,000 last year — the sub-prime meltdown has given us an increase of 35,000 mortgage foreclosures over the last quarter. Since the average sub-prime mortgage clocks in at almost exactly $200,000, we’re looking at an approximate $7 billion increase in foreclosed value in the first quarter of this year."
That $7 billion increase in foreclosed value equates to about .01 percent of the total US household wealth, which measures approximatley $53 trillion. The scale of this issue appears to be much overhyped.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Zoë: Captain'll come up with a plan.
Kaylee: Well, that's good... right?
Zoë: Possibly you're not recalling some of his previous plans.
Kaylee: Well, that's good... right?
Zoë: Possibly you're not recalling some of his previous plans.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Chamberlain Makes Yankee Debut
via HuskerExtra, Former Husker Joba Chamberlain made his debut for the Yankees last night in relief of Roger Clemens. He pitched 2 innings and struck out two, while giving up one hit and walking two but not allowing any runs.
"Projected as a starter, possibly next season, Chamberlain’s current role will be to help a bullpen that has 15 blown saves — the most of any team in the American League East Division — as the Yankees make a push for another postseason appearance.
In his three minor-league relief appearances, Chamberlain allowed just one hit over four innings and struck out 10 of the 12 batters he faced.
“It’s one of those things that seemed to be crying out to happen because of what he’s been doing,” Torre told The Associated Press when asked before Tuesday’s game about Chamberlain’s promotion. “You hear so many positive things about him.
“We just have to make sure we understand how old he is, how much experience he has and just go accordingly from there. At this point I don’t know how we’re going to use him but we’ll get him a taste.
“This is all new for him. This is not something he’s been doing all year. We’ll take it slow.”
It is quite possible that Chamberlain could be a part of the Yank's starting rotation as soon as next season.
Congratulations to the young man on making the show.
"Projected as a starter, possibly next season, Chamberlain’s current role will be to help a bullpen that has 15 blown saves — the most of any team in the American League East Division — as the Yankees make a push for another postseason appearance.
In his three minor-league relief appearances, Chamberlain allowed just one hit over four innings and struck out 10 of the 12 batters he faced.
“It’s one of those things that seemed to be crying out to happen because of what he’s been doing,” Torre told The Associated Press when asked before Tuesday’s game about Chamberlain’s promotion. “You hear so many positive things about him.
“We just have to make sure we understand how old he is, how much experience he has and just go accordingly from there. At this point I don’t know how we’re going to use him but we’ll get him a taste.
“This is all new for him. This is not something he’s been doing all year. We’ll take it slow.”
It is quite possible that Chamberlain could be a part of the Yank's starting rotation as soon as next season.
Congratulations to the young man on making the show.
Debt Clock
The Skeptical One's Debt clock has been recalibrated in response to recently released economic numbers. It's again running backwards, meaning that the economy is now growing faster than the government debt again. The Debt to GDP ratio is 64.624+% and the Public Debt (bonds actually owned by private individuals and foreign governments, rather than another US government agency, i.e., Social Security) is at 36.202+%.
He also has some really good analysis into the recent jobs/unemployment report here.
In short, many of the jobs that are disappearing aren't such terribly great jobs in the first place, and are being replaced by even higher paying jobs.
He also has some really good analysis into the recent jobs/unemployment report here.
In short, many of the jobs that are disappearing aren't such terribly great jobs in the first place, and are being replaced by even higher paying jobs.
Shuttle Endeavor Set for Evening Launch
via Space.com, the shuttle Endeavor is ready for a scheduled 6:36 EST launch to the International Space Station for ISS construction mission STS-118 with teacher turned astronaut Barbara Morgan on board the ship.
"In addition to Morgan, Endeavour will ferry shuttle commander Scott Kelly, pilot Charlie Hobaugh and mission specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Alvin Drew, Jr. and Dave Williams - of the Canadian Space Agency - towards the ISS.
The astronauts plan to haul 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms) of cargo, a loaded spare parts platform and a new starboard-side girder to the ISS during their planned 11-day mission. The spaceflight could be extended three extra days if a new station-to-shuttle power transfer system aboard Endeavour performs as expected."
This is Endeavor's first flight since undergoing a major overhaul that eventually lasted over five years. Meanwhile Morgan, and Idaho teachere, has waited 22 years to fly. She was the flight backup to teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died along wiht the rest of the Challenger crew in the 1986 shuttle tradegy. Four spacewalks are planned over the course of the mission.
"In addition to Morgan, Endeavour will ferry shuttle commander Scott Kelly, pilot Charlie Hobaugh and mission specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Alvin Drew, Jr. and Dave Williams - of the Canadian Space Agency - towards the ISS.
The astronauts plan to haul 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms) of cargo, a loaded spare parts platform and a new starboard-side girder to the ISS during their planned 11-day mission. The spaceflight could be extended three extra days if a new station-to-shuttle power transfer system aboard Endeavour performs as expected."
This is Endeavor's first flight since undergoing a major overhaul that eventually lasted over five years. Meanwhile Morgan, and Idaho teachere, has waited 22 years to fly. She was the flight backup to teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died along wiht the rest of the Challenger crew in the 1986 shuttle tradegy. Four spacewalks are planned over the course of the mission.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal: Okay, help me find our man. He's supposed to be older, kind of stocky. Wears a red sash crossways.
Kaylee: Why does he do that?
Mal: Maybe he won the Miss Persephone pageant. Just help me look!
Kaylee: Is that him?
Mal: That's the buffet table.
Kaylee: But how will we know for sure until we've questioned it?
Kaylee: Why does he do that?
Mal: Maybe he won the Miss Persephone pageant. Just help me look!
Kaylee: Is that him?
Mal: That's the buffet table.
Kaylee: But how will we know for sure until we've questioned it?
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Largest Exoplanet Discovered
The largest planet ever discovered has been found orbiting a star 1400 light years from Earth, but also has some additional unusual features along with its size. It is 1.7 times Jupiter's diameter, but has an extremely low density of .2 gram per cubic centimeter. A handful of similar "puffy" planets have been found, which has astronomers scratching their collective heads - this class of planet is not easily explained by current planet formation theories. The planet's has a quick orbital period of 3 1/2 days and was discovered by the transit technique.
ScienceDaily has some more details here.
ScienceDaily has some more details here.
Top 10 Historical Mysteries
Interesting list from the LiveScience website indicating their Top Ten Historical Mysteries. EDIT: "Overlooked Mysteries"
10. Rongorongo - the undecyphered written language of the inhabitants of Easter Island, of which I was unaware. Not sure I'd put this in the top 10 however as opposed to the freaking huge statues all over the island.
9. Helike - just might be the basis for the Atlantis myth, the recently discovered Greek city of Helike was destroyed by an earthquake and submerged by an upwelling of groundwaters. Definitely a keeper.
8. Bog Bodies - iron age corpses found in swamps throughout northern Europe suggest ritual killings may have taken place. Not sure I'd include this one either, pretty minor occurance - unless you happened to be one of the lucky few.
7. Fall of the Minoans - Not sure what the mystery is here, the volcanic eruption of Thera sent a tsunami through the Mediterranean basin that makes the Indian Ocean event look like ripples in the bathtub and volcanic ash probably caused weather disruption for years. There is pretty compelling evidence of widespread political upheaval throughout the region and a 500 year "Dark Age" after the eruption.
6. Carnac Stones - I'd heard of the megalithic stones in Brittany but had no idea how widespread they were - 3000 of them laid out in a 8 mile wide pattern. I'd say this probably qualifies.
5. Who was Robin Hood? Another pretty minor mystery, one which has probably been best explained by attributing the stories to a group of different men rather than a single individual.
4. The Lost Roman Legion - this one is a little more interesting, I'd not heard this one before either. Apparent survivors from the disasterous campaign against the Parthians not only surviving but fleeing all the way to China? Hard to believe, but there does appear to be some anecdotal evidence in Chinese records.
3. The Voynich Manuscript - another one I wasn't aware of could be a hoax but there seems to be some analytical basis for thinking it is really a language. Apparently written in the 17th century, no one has been able to decypher it yet.
2. The Tarim mummies - this one is also an intriguing, with an apparently European group (DNA tsting confirmed) settling in the far western regions of China over 2000 years ago.
1. Disappearance of the Harappan civilization - this might be one of the most enduring and best historical mysteries, with a highly advanced culture dating to 3000 BC simply vanishing from the Indus river valley with almost no trace left behind in the historical record.
Late Edit: I guess it is actually the Top Ten "Most Overlooked" Mysteries, which a damn weird idea to begin with, but changes the scenario a bit. I'd still add the recently discovered Central Asian cultures (mentioned in some previous posts) dating back to the same dates as the Harappan, Mesopotamian and Egyptian period, and there has been a notable mystery regarding the Inca and what might have been the beginnings of a record keeping system using woven materials and a system of knot tying that I think is interesting. The idea of some of these being "overlooked" (particularly the Minoan one with its implications for the Atlantis myth, as well as the Harappan mystery) is a bit of a stretch.
10. Rongorongo - the undecyphered written language of the inhabitants of Easter Island, of which I was unaware. Not sure I'd put this in the top 10 however as opposed to the freaking huge statues all over the island.
9. Helike - just might be the basis for the Atlantis myth, the recently discovered Greek city of Helike was destroyed by an earthquake and submerged by an upwelling of groundwaters. Definitely a keeper.
8. Bog Bodies - iron age corpses found in swamps throughout northern Europe suggest ritual killings may have taken place. Not sure I'd include this one either, pretty minor occurance - unless you happened to be one of the lucky few.
7. Fall of the Minoans - Not sure what the mystery is here, the volcanic eruption of Thera sent a tsunami through the Mediterranean basin that makes the Indian Ocean event look like ripples in the bathtub and volcanic ash probably caused weather disruption for years. There is pretty compelling evidence of widespread political upheaval throughout the region and a 500 year "Dark Age" after the eruption.
6. Carnac Stones - I'd heard of the megalithic stones in Brittany but had no idea how widespread they were - 3000 of them laid out in a 8 mile wide pattern. I'd say this probably qualifies.
5. Who was Robin Hood? Another pretty minor mystery, one which has probably been best explained by attributing the stories to a group of different men rather than a single individual.
4. The Lost Roman Legion - this one is a little more interesting, I'd not heard this one before either. Apparent survivors from the disasterous campaign against the Parthians not only surviving but fleeing all the way to China? Hard to believe, but there does appear to be some anecdotal evidence in Chinese records.
3. The Voynich Manuscript - another one I wasn't aware of could be a hoax but there seems to be some analytical basis for thinking it is really a language. Apparently written in the 17th century, no one has been able to decypher it yet.
2. The Tarim mummies - this one is also an intriguing, with an apparently European group (DNA tsting confirmed) settling in the far western regions of China over 2000 years ago.
1. Disappearance of the Harappan civilization - this might be one of the most enduring and best historical mysteries, with a highly advanced culture dating to 3000 BC simply vanishing from the Indus river valley with almost no trace left behind in the historical record.
Late Edit: I guess it is actually the Top Ten "Most Overlooked" Mysteries, which a damn weird idea to begin with, but changes the scenario a bit. I'd still add the recently discovered Central Asian cultures (mentioned in some previous posts) dating back to the same dates as the Harappan, Mesopotamian and Egyptian period, and there has been a notable mystery regarding the Inca and what might have been the beginnings of a record keeping system using woven materials and a system of knot tying that I think is interesting. The idea of some of these being "overlooked" (particularly the Minoan one with its implications for the Atlantis myth, as well as the Harappan mystery) is a bit of a stretch.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal: We take it to Whitefall, maybe talk to Patience.
Zoë: Sir, we don't want to deal with Patience again.
Mal: Why not?
Zoë: She shot you.
Mal: Well, yeah, she did a bit.
Zoë: Sir, we don't want to deal with Patience again.
Mal: Why not?
Zoë: She shot you.
Mal: Well, yeah, she did a bit.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Yon in Iraq
Michael Yon reports (via the NY Daily News) on the progress of the surge in Iraq. He believes Al-Queda is beginning to get desperate as the various Iraqi groups that had been cooperating with them are now turning on that organization, and to lethal effect.
"Clearly, not every terrorist in Iraq is Al Qaeda, but it is Al Qaeda that has been intentionally, openly, brazenly trying to stoke a civil war. As Al Qaeda is now being chased out of regions it once held without serious challenge, their tactics are tinged with desperation.
This may be the greatest miscalculation they've made in their otherwise sophisticated battle for the hearts and minds of locals, and it is one we must exploit."
Yon alos points out that the Iraqi Army is a much more capable force than it was in 2005, and that the best accessment of how we are doing overall will be forthcoming in September's report by General Petraeus.
"Clearly, not every terrorist in Iraq is Al Qaeda, but it is Al Qaeda that has been intentionally, openly, brazenly trying to stoke a civil war. As Al Qaeda is now being chased out of regions it once held without serious challenge, their tactics are tinged with desperation.
This may be the greatest miscalculation they've made in their otherwise sophisticated battle for the hearts and minds of locals, and it is one we must exploit."
Yon alos points out that the Iraqi Army is a much more capable force than it was in 2005, and that the best accessment of how we are doing overall will be forthcoming in September's report by General Petraeus.
Phoenix Mission to Mars Launches
via Space.com, NASA's latest mission to Mars, the Phoenix Lander, launched Saturday.
"A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket blasted Phoenix into space at 5:26:34 a.m. EDT (0926:34 GMT), leaving a ghostly contrail of exhaust as the spacecraft left Earth behind. The lander is due to land on the flat arctic plains near Mars' north pole on May 25, 2008."
The purpose of the mission is to take soil samples of the Martian surface and test them for signs of present or past life. Many of the instruments were designed from the earlier Mars Polar Lander mission which crashed into the planet due to a programming error. The probe is already almost to top speed on its mission and should already be outside the Moon's orbit.
"A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket blasted Phoenix into space at 5:26:34 a.m. EDT (0926:34 GMT), leaving a ghostly contrail of exhaust as the spacecraft left Earth behind. The lander is due to land on the flat arctic plains near Mars' north pole on May 25, 2008."
The purpose of the mission is to take soil samples of the Martian surface and test them for signs of present or past life. Many of the instruments were designed from the earlier Mars Polar Lander mission which crashed into the planet due to a programming error. The probe is already almost to top speed on its mission and should already be outside the Moon's orbit.
The Change in the Liberal Viewpoint
via RCP from this weekend, a interesting look back at the changes the political left has undergone in the US since the assassination of JFK. Kennedy's policies were liberal, but tough and realistic, in the same vein as FDR or Harry Truman's. Since his time, the American Left has had a rather different view of both America itself and the world at large.
"In a crucial and counterintuitive interpretive act, the nation's opinion elite made JFK a martyr to civil rights instead of the Cold War. Kennedy had been killed by a communist, Lee Harvey Oswald, who a few years before had tried to defect to the Soviet Union. Liberals nonetheless blamed the assassination on, in the characteristic words of Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, "the hatred and bitterness that has been injected into the life of our nation by bigots."
Thus, the assassination curdled into an indictment of American society: "Kennedy Victim of Violent Streak He Sought to Curb in Nation," read a New York Times headline. Until this point, 20th-century liberalism had tended to see history as a steady march of progress. Now, the march had been interrupted by the country's own pathologies."
America became seen as the root of all evil in the world, from its very founding up to the modern era, and minority groups its victims. The view of the government power being used to make the world a better place also got left behind in strange conspiracy theories about secret cabals out to destroy the planet. Another interesting fact is that Communist icons and ideals became fashionable - anyone or anything opposing the US must be good, righteous and noble, of course.
"In a crucial and counterintuitive interpretive act, the nation's opinion elite made JFK a martyr to civil rights instead of the Cold War. Kennedy had been killed by a communist, Lee Harvey Oswald, who a few years before had tried to defect to the Soviet Union. Liberals nonetheless blamed the assassination on, in the characteristic words of Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, "the hatred and bitterness that has been injected into the life of our nation by bigots."
Thus, the assassination curdled into an indictment of American society: "Kennedy Victim of Violent Streak He Sought to Curb in Nation," read a New York Times headline. Until this point, 20th-century liberalism had tended to see history as a steady march of progress. Now, the march had been interrupted by the country's own pathologies."
America became seen as the root of all evil in the world, from its very founding up to the modern era, and minority groups its victims. The view of the government power being used to make the world a better place also got left behind in strange conspiracy theories about secret cabals out to destroy the planet. Another interesting fact is that Communist icons and ideals became fashionable - anyone or anything opposing the US must be good, righteous and noble, of course.
A Different View on Immigration
via The Washington Post, Senator Arlen Specter, (R-PA) has a new idea on the immigration debate I haven't seen yet. His proposal is to give all 12 million illegals temporary green cards while increasing border enforcement and employer sanctions.
While it is a new approach, I'm not sure where I stand on this - more or less, it again rewards people (by giving them legal status) for flouting our laws. However, it is not citizenship, nor does it spell out a path to citizenship. The Senator's proposal also appears to hint at some type of National ID card as well, not sure how that will go over either. However, I'm willing to take a look at the proposal in more detail if and when those details become available and our Congress critters revisit the issue.
While it is a new approach, I'm not sure where I stand on this - more or less, it again rewards people (by giving them legal status) for flouting our laws. However, it is not citizenship, nor does it spell out a path to citizenship. The Senator's proposal also appears to hint at some type of National ID card as well, not sure how that will go over either. However, I'm willing to take a look at the proposal in more detail if and when those details become available and our Congress critters revisit the issue.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal: Which one you figure tracked us?
Zoë: The ugly one, sir.
Mal: Could you be more specific?
Zoë: The ugly one, sir.
Mal: Could you be more specific?
Friday, August 03, 2007
Early Civilization More Widepread than First Thought
via ScienceDaily.
Recent archaeological finds are challenging the long held assumption that civilization first arose in Mesopotamia, Epypt and the Indus river valley and subsequently spread elsewhere. A significant number of contemporary finds dating back to 5000 years ago have been discovered from southern Russia and Iran in an arc to the Indus valley of modern Pakistan. What's more, it appears that these different civilizations had far flung trade networks, with many of the remains at these sites originating from quite distant areas.
"The researchers see evidence of far-flung trade networks for merchandise and ideas: Copper from Oman has been found in Mesopotamia and perhaps in the Indus region; Omani pots have been found in Central Asia. At Gonur in Turkmenistan, the researchers have found seals from Mesopotamia and the Indus region, along with some Iranian goods. And some evidence suggests that carts drawn by bullocks and camels may have been used to facilitate trade as early as the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. And from Mesopotamia east to the Indus, archaeologists have found massive ceremonial platforms with some common characteristics."
There is good evidence of widespread trading from far earlier, so it should come as no surprise, but this evidence does appear to establish a rather more sophisticated network of exchange arriving long before the written record.
Recent archaeological finds are challenging the long held assumption that civilization first arose in Mesopotamia, Epypt and the Indus river valley and subsequently spread elsewhere. A significant number of contemporary finds dating back to 5000 years ago have been discovered from southern Russia and Iran in an arc to the Indus valley of modern Pakistan. What's more, it appears that these different civilizations had far flung trade networks, with many of the remains at these sites originating from quite distant areas.
"The researchers see evidence of far-flung trade networks for merchandise and ideas: Copper from Oman has been found in Mesopotamia and perhaps in the Indus region; Omani pots have been found in Central Asia. At Gonur in Turkmenistan, the researchers have found seals from Mesopotamia and the Indus region, along with some Iranian goods. And some evidence suggests that carts drawn by bullocks and camels may have been used to facilitate trade as early as the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. And from Mesopotamia east to the Indus, archaeologists have found massive ceremonial platforms with some common characteristics."
There is good evidence of widespread trading from far earlier, so it should come as no surprise, but this evidence does appear to establish a rather more sophisticated network of exchange arriving long before the written record.
Preseason College FB Coaches Poll
USA Today's Coaches College football poll was released this morning, with Husker opponent USC ranked as the consensus #1 with 45 first place votes. SE Conference rivals LSU and Florida were ranked 2nd and 3rd. Another Husker opponent from the Big 12 South, Texas, is rated 4th, with Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin, last year's Big 12 Cahmp Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Ohio State rounding out the top 10.
Huskers are ranked 19th, with another Big 12 school, Texas A&M, rated 25th. NU hosts USC in Lincoln on Septmeber 15th, and travel to Austin to face off against UT a month later on Oct. 20th. They do not face either OU or A&M unless they were to meet in the Big 12 Championship. At this point the only announced TV games (according to Husker Extra) are USC and the season finale against CU Nov. 23rd, both on ABC.
LATE ADD: Apparently the season opener on Sept. 1st against Nevada is also on ABC regional coverage at 2:30 Central, and the game at Wake Forest the following week will be on ESPN bright and early at 11 AM.
Huskers are ranked 19th, with another Big 12 school, Texas A&M, rated 25th. NU hosts USC in Lincoln on Septmeber 15th, and travel to Austin to face off against UT a month later on Oct. 20th. They do not face either OU or A&M unless they were to meet in the Big 12 Championship. At this point the only announced TV games (according to Husker Extra) are USC and the season finale against CU Nov. 23rd, both on ABC.
LATE ADD: Apparently the season opener on Sept. 1st against Nevada is also on ABC regional coverage at 2:30 Central, and the game at Wake Forest the following week will be on ESPN bright and early at 11 AM.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal: Ship like this, be with you until the day you die.
Zoë: That's because it's a deathtrap.
Zoë: That's because it's a deathtrap.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Orion Spacecraft on Schedule
via USA Today.
NASA announced that the replacement for the current Space shuttle, the Orion spacecraft project, to be on schedule and should be ready for test flights as soon as September of next year. The Orion is more similar in design to the Apollo craft that took US astronoauts to the moon, although much larger.
"Orion will be much larger and capable of carrying six people in its crew capsule to the space station (four to the moon). Orion will be 16.5 feet in diameter and have a mass of about 25 tons. Inside, it will have more than two and a half times the volume of an Apollo capsule. Also, where Apollo's power system used fuel cells, Orion will use solar arrays."
The system is comprised of four parts, a launch vehicle, a crew module, a service module containing the engine and a launch abort system. The primary challenge to the project today is in developing heat shield materials that can withstand both re-entry to earth as well as a lunar mission. Orion is expected to be in service around 2010, start missions to the ISS around 2015 and it is planned to be used to take astronauts back to the moon around 2020.
NASA announced that the replacement for the current Space shuttle, the Orion spacecraft project, to be on schedule and should be ready for test flights as soon as September of next year. The Orion is more similar in design to the Apollo craft that took US astronoauts to the moon, although much larger.
"Orion will be much larger and capable of carrying six people in its crew capsule to the space station (four to the moon). Orion will be 16.5 feet in diameter and have a mass of about 25 tons. Inside, it will have more than two and a half times the volume of an Apollo capsule. Also, where Apollo's power system used fuel cells, Orion will use solar arrays."
The system is comprised of four parts, a launch vehicle, a crew module, a service module containing the engine and a launch abort system. The primary challenge to the project today is in developing heat shield materials that can withstand both re-entry to earth as well as a lunar mission. Orion is expected to be in service around 2010, start missions to the ISS around 2015 and it is planned to be used to take astronauts back to the moon around 2020.
A Vision of Space Settlement
via Space.com
While a bit utopian in vision, I do agree with the author that there are an almost infinite number of positive things that would come out of settling space - as noted, the mineral resources from a single asteroid would fetch trillions of dollars here on Earth, not to mention the technological spin offs that would result from achieving space settlement.
While a bit utopian in vision, I do agree with the author that there are an almost infinite number of positive things that would come out of settling space - as noted, the mineral resources from a single asteroid would fetch trillions of dollars here on Earth, not to mention the technological spin offs that would result from achieving space settlement.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal: Kaylee, what the hell's going on in the engine room?
Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?
Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Terry Supports Thompson
via one of our favorite Local Yokels, Leavenworth Street reports that our own personal Congress critter, Mr. Lee Terry himself, has announced he is supporting the Thompson campaign (or non-campaign, as it were).
Knock me over with a feather, I am simply too stunned. Either Terry is more of a small government conservative than meets the eye or this could be the deathknell of the Fred campaign - hopefully the former rather than the latter.
Or, just maybe, could it be that somebody on Terry's staff has been reading all those emails I've been sending him - or God forbid, someone's blog ?!
Knock me over with a feather, I am simply too stunned. Either Terry is more of a small government conservative than meets the eye or this could be the deathknell of the Fred campaign - hopefully the former rather than the latter.
Or, just maybe, could it be that somebody on Terry's staff has been reading all those emails I've been sending him - or God forbid, someone's blog ?!
Interesting Theory
George Mason University Professor Don Boudreaux (of Cafe Hayek blog fame) has articlulated an interesting theory for both the beginning and end of Prohibition, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The short story is that it effected Federal tax revenue. How? Up until 1913, when the Federal income tax was passed, a sizable (around 1/3) of Federal tax revenue was generated by liquor taxes. With the passage of the income tax, that revenue wasn't as critical to the operation of the government, so Prohibition was more palatable to elected officials than previously. The new income tax raised as much as nine times the revenue that taxes on liquor.
However, when Federal Income tax revenues cratered dramatically after the 1929 Crash and the Great Depression was triggered, suddenly there was an near overwhelming by officials in government need to raise additional revenue. Income tax revenue dropped by 60% between 1930 and 1933.
Very interesting research, and one that does not bode well for certain parties interested in legalizing other substances unless a massive economic distruption is in the cards in the near future.
The short story is that it effected Federal tax revenue. How? Up until 1913, when the Federal income tax was passed, a sizable (around 1/3) of Federal tax revenue was generated by liquor taxes. With the passage of the income tax, that revenue wasn't as critical to the operation of the government, so Prohibition was more palatable to elected officials than previously. The new income tax raised as much as nine times the revenue that taxes on liquor.
However, when Federal Income tax revenues cratered dramatically after the 1929 Crash and the Great Depression was triggered, suddenly there was an near overwhelming by officials in government need to raise additional revenue. Income tax revenue dropped by 60% between 1930 and 1933.
Very interesting research, and one that does not bode well for certain parties interested in legalizing other substances unless a massive economic distruption is in the cards in the near future.
Home from Iraq
The Lincoln Journal Star interviewed several returned members of my old unit, the 1/167 CAV and members of the 1/134 Infantry's Long Range Surveillance Detachment about their experiences in Iraq.
An excerpt:
Q: Did you follow the news regarding the war while in Iraq? What are your opinions of the coverage?
A: "I will answer these questions as one. The single question I get asked is if it is as bad as people see on the news. Yes and no. It is a very dangerous place, however, there is so much more going on than IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) and car bombings. How many Americans know how many schools that Coalition Forces, primarily the U.S., have built or rebuilt? Or how much infrastructure we have built from the ground up? Many Iraqi civilians now have access to clean drinking water and reliable electricity for the first time in decades. More Iraqi children are able to attend school now than at any time in the last 30 to 40 years. The major media outlets choose not to cover this news for their own reasons. It is frustrating to know that we are making progress in this part of the world, but no one here knows it due to the lack of that kind of coverage. It is my personal opinion that we can not leave too soon or all of the progress we have made at such a high cost in lives would be wasted. I can think of no better tribute to our fallen service members than to make sure that our work there will last and that the Iraqi people will someday be able to govern and protect themselves.
— Spc. Jay Nutter, 41, of Panama, and his wife of more than 17 years, Laura, have three children. A medical laboratory technician with Physicians Laboratory Services, he joined the Army the first time right out of high school and then left it behind for nearly 20 years before deciding to join the Nebraska National Guard early in 2005. He was assigned to the 134th Infantry Detachment (Long Range Surveillance) and was stationed at Camp Anaconda near Balad, Iraq."
I'd like to again thank all of the Nrbraska Guard soldiers for their service, I know that the 20 month deployment was a difficult and often dangerous one, and that unfortunately not all your conmrades made it back to us. A grateful veteran salutes all of you for your sacrifice and dedication to duty and country.
An excerpt:
Q: Did you follow the news regarding the war while in Iraq? What are your opinions of the coverage?
A: "I will answer these questions as one. The single question I get asked is if it is as bad as people see on the news. Yes and no. It is a very dangerous place, however, there is so much more going on than IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) and car bombings. How many Americans know how many schools that Coalition Forces, primarily the U.S., have built or rebuilt? Or how much infrastructure we have built from the ground up? Many Iraqi civilians now have access to clean drinking water and reliable electricity for the first time in decades. More Iraqi children are able to attend school now than at any time in the last 30 to 40 years. The major media outlets choose not to cover this news for their own reasons. It is frustrating to know that we are making progress in this part of the world, but no one here knows it due to the lack of that kind of coverage. It is my personal opinion that we can not leave too soon or all of the progress we have made at such a high cost in lives would be wasted. I can think of no better tribute to our fallen service members than to make sure that our work there will last and that the Iraqi people will someday be able to govern and protect themselves.
— Spc. Jay Nutter, 41, of Panama, and his wife of more than 17 years, Laura, have three children. A medical laboratory technician with Physicians Laboratory Services, he joined the Army the first time right out of high school and then left it behind for nearly 20 years before deciding to join the Nebraska National Guard early in 2005. He was assigned to the 134th Infantry Detachment (Long Range Surveillance) and was stationed at Camp Anaconda near Balad, Iraq."
I'd like to again thank all of the Nrbraska Guard soldiers for their service, I know that the 20 month deployment was a difficult and often dangerous one, and that unfortunately not all your conmrades made it back to us. A grateful veteran salutes all of you for your sacrifice and dedication to duty and country.
Fred's Fund Raising Numbers
via Patrick Ruffini's excellent site.
Patrick (a Rudy supporter) seems to believe (as I do) that $3.4 million for 25 days is a pretty good number. John Henke of QandO (Thompson's online consultant) pointed out that this number exceeds all the other Republican campaigns except Romney at the same point (the first month of fund raising) - not announced, but with an exploratory or organizational committee formed.
Patrick also points out that over 3/4 of million dollars (23%, from about 7500 individual donors) of Fred's fund raising donations came from online sources, which is also pretty impressive. Another item of note is that these numbers came without any events, direct mail or phone calls. I'd say it's a pretty amazing number given those facts. The committee only spent just under $700k leaving Fred with about $2.7 million in funds.
I would also note (like Fred) that the campaign traditionally has started around Labor Day. This year's crop seems to believe that starting early would help them.
Patrick (a Rudy supporter) seems to believe (as I do) that $3.4 million for 25 days is a pretty good number. John Henke of QandO (Thompson's online consultant) pointed out that this number exceeds all the other Republican campaigns except Romney at the same point (the first month of fund raising) - not announced, but with an exploratory or organizational committee formed.
Patrick also points out that over 3/4 of million dollars (23%, from about 7500 individual donors) of Fred's fund raising donations came from online sources, which is also pretty impressive. Another item of note is that these numbers came without any events, direct mail or phone calls. I'd say it's a pretty amazing number given those facts. The committee only spent just under $700k leaving Fred with about $2.7 million in funds.
I would also note (like Fred) that the campaign traditionally has started around Labor Day. This year's crop seems to believe that starting early would help them.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Mal: Don't worry... this is all part of our new plan. [silence]
Kaylee: Captain, how exactly is this...
Mal: Still working out the details.
Kaylee: Captain, how exactly is this...
Mal: Still working out the details.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Fair Flat Tax
A US Senator from Oregon (Ron Wyden) announced a new tax reform plan in April that looks pretty attractive. (HT:The Skeptical Optimist) Steve discusses it at his place, along with his idea of a two bracket income tax, but believes the Senator's plan deserves a hearing. The Senator has already gotten one co-sponsor form his own party and is apparently looking for one from the other.
The good Senator is proposing a 3 bracket tax on income, a standard deduction of triple the current figure, and with a corporate rate of 35% (matching the top rate on income) and closes most loopholes. Popular things like the mortgage deduction, health savings deductions, the retirement savings deduction and the charitibal donation deduction would be maintained while the tax form you send to the IRS would shrink to about 30 lines (down from the current 77) and fit on a single page. It would also eliminate the dreaded AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax).
The absolutely unbelievable, knock me over with a feather part is....
this guy has a D next to his name! Hard to believe a Republican Senator hasn't stepped forward to sponsor the bill.
The good Senator is proposing a 3 bracket tax on income, a standard deduction of triple the current figure, and with a corporate rate of 35% (matching the top rate on income) and closes most loopholes. Popular things like the mortgage deduction, health savings deductions, the retirement savings deduction and the charitibal donation deduction would be maintained while the tax form you send to the IRS would shrink to about 30 lines (down from the current 77) and fit on a single page. It would also eliminate the dreaded AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax).
The absolutely unbelievable, knock me over with a feather part is....
this guy has a D next to his name! Hard to believe a Republican Senator hasn't stepped forward to sponsor the bill.
Firefly Quote of the Day
Sir Warrick Harrow: I know Badger and I think he's a psychotic lowlife.
Mal: And I think calling him that is an insult to the psychotic lowlife community.
Mal: And I think calling him that is an insult to the psychotic lowlife community.
Former Husker May Get Called to the Show
via OWH.
Former Husker pitcher Joba Chamberlain, drafted last year by the New York Yankees, may get called up as a bullpen setup man for the Yanks as soon as this week. Chamberlain has been starting in the minors, but came into a game in relief this weekend at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
"The 21-year-old Chamberlain, drafted No. 41 overall last year, remains a starting pitcher in the long term for New York. But for a club in need of bullpen help during the final two months of the baseball season, Chamberlain looks like the best option.
"All of these plans are very tentative," Yankees Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman told reporters during the weekend on the possibility of using Chamberlain as a late-inning setup man for All-Star closer Mariano Rivera. "They're written in a No. 1 pencil."
With the non-waiver trade deadline set to pass today, the Yankees are rumored to covet Texas reliever Eric Gagne. But even if a last-minute deal is reached, Chamberlain may still get the call to New York."
Chamberlain earned the Husker's only CWS victory in 2005 and is 9-2 with a 2.56 ERA over three levels of minor league play this year.
Best of luck to him.
Former Husker pitcher Joba Chamberlain, drafted last year by the New York Yankees, may get called up as a bullpen setup man for the Yanks as soon as this week. Chamberlain has been starting in the minors, but came into a game in relief this weekend at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
"The 21-year-old Chamberlain, drafted No. 41 overall last year, remains a starting pitcher in the long term for New York. But for a club in need of bullpen help during the final two months of the baseball season, Chamberlain looks like the best option.
"All of these plans are very tentative," Yankees Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman told reporters during the weekend on the possibility of using Chamberlain as a late-inning setup man for All-Star closer Mariano Rivera. "They're written in a No. 1 pencil."
With the non-waiver trade deadline set to pass today, the Yankees are rumored to covet Texas reliever Eric Gagne. But even if a last-minute deal is reached, Chamberlain may still get the call to New York."
Chamberlain earned the Husker's only CWS victory in 2005 and is 9-2 with a 2.56 ERA over three levels of minor league play this year.
Best of luck to him.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Firefly Quote of the Day
"See, this is another sign of your tragic space dementia,
all paranoid and crotchety. Breaks the heart." -- Mal
all paranoid and crotchety. Breaks the heart." -- Mal
Friday, July 27, 2007
ESPN College Program Ratings
ESPN has had a panel of "experts" rating all the 119 Division 1A college football programs over the period of the last ten years, from the bottom to the top. The overall rating appears to have come from averaging the results from the panel of fifteen analysts.
"What are the top programs of the last decade? That's the question ESPN.com has attempted to answer this week. Fifteen college football experts and analysts ranked all 119 Division I-A programs, taking into account record, traditions, recruiting, facilities, coaches, attendance and support, among other criteria."
NU came in at #13 (tied with Wisconsin), a shade low in my opinion, given that Florida was #4 with an almost identical record (94-32, 1 NC, 2 conf titles, 5-5 in bowl games to NU's 94-34, 1 NC, 2 conf titles and 5-4 bowl record). Particulary eggregious: Virgina Tech finished #12 with a 59-59 record, no titles and a 4-6 bowl record. Now obviously, the recent record at NU isn't as strong as it has been historically, but looking at the "ratings" by some of the panel, it looks like NU got shafted by at least a couple, with Bill Curry putting NU at #24(!?), behind such storied programs as Kansas State(11!?), Boston College(15), TCU(9!?) and Colorado State(21). Does this guy even watch any games? Chris Fallica also had a pretty questionable ranking, putting NU at #22. Most of the panel had NU in the top 15, with six rating them either 10 or 11, which I would characterize as about right.
"What are the top programs of the last decade? That's the question ESPN.com has attempted to answer this week. Fifteen college football experts and analysts ranked all 119 Division I-A programs, taking into account record, traditions, recruiting, facilities, coaches, attendance and support, among other criteria."
NU came in at #13 (tied with Wisconsin), a shade low in my opinion, given that Florida was #4 with an almost identical record (94-32, 1 NC, 2 conf titles, 5-5 in bowl games to NU's 94-34, 1 NC, 2 conf titles and 5-4 bowl record). Particulary eggregious: Virgina Tech finished #12 with a 59-59 record, no titles and a 4-6 bowl record. Now obviously, the recent record at NU isn't as strong as it has been historically, but looking at the "ratings" by some of the panel, it looks like NU got shafted by at least a couple, with Bill Curry putting NU at #24(!?), behind such storied programs as Kansas State(11!?), Boston College(15), TCU(9!?) and Colorado State(21). Does this guy even watch any games? Chris Fallica also had a pretty questionable ranking, putting NU at #22. Most of the panel had NU in the top 15, with six rating them either 10 or 11, which I would characterize as about right.
GDP Up in Q2
via FoxNews again.
The government released its 2nd quarter GDP numbers today, and there was a big rebound from the 1st quarter's lackluster showing, with the economy growing at a relatively robust 3.4%, the stongest number in a year. The 1st quarter number was also adjusted up from .6% to .7%. Business investment and government spending helped the economy overcome the slump in the housing markets, with business spending increasing a whopping 22%, the best in 13 years.
The news on the inflation front also improved, with Q2 coming in at 1.4%, down a full percentage point from Q1 and the best quarterly number in four years. The Fed is expected to keep its overnight funds rate at 5.25%, perhaps for as long as the rest of the year. Unemployment remains at or near full employment levels, at 4.5%
The government released its 2nd quarter GDP numbers today, and there was a big rebound from the 1st quarter's lackluster showing, with the economy growing at a relatively robust 3.4%, the stongest number in a year. The 1st quarter number was also adjusted up from .6% to .7%. Business investment and government spending helped the economy overcome the slump in the housing markets, with business spending increasing a whopping 22%, the best in 13 years.
The news on the inflation front also improved, with Q2 coming in at 1.4%, down a full percentage point from Q1 and the best quarterly number in four years. The Fed is expected to keep its overnight funds rate at 5.25%, perhaps for as long as the rest of the year. Unemployment remains at or near full employment levels, at 4.5%
Firefly Quote of the Day
"It's good to have cargo. Makes us a target for every other scavenger out here of course, but sometimes that's fun too." - Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Problems at NASA
via Fox News, a number of troubling issues at the space agency.
First, there is an unsubstantiated report from Aviation Week magazine that astronauts have twice flown spacecraft after drinking to the point of intoxication. Secondly, there is a confirmed report of a subcontractor sabotaging a computer being sent to the ISS. All of this comes on the heels of the shootings in Houston by a worker that committed suicide, and the strange romatic triangle case of astronaut Lisa Nowak and the freak storm the delayed the shiuttle launch earlier this summer. Bad times for the agency, to be sure.
"America's space agency was shaken Thursday by two startling and unrelated reports: One involved claims that astronauts were drunk before flying. The other was news from NASA itself that a worker had sabotaged a computer set for delivery to the international space station. It was just another jolt for an operation that has had a rocky year from the start, beginning with the arrest of an astronaut accused of attacking a rival in a love triangle."
Just as with any other organization, a few irresponsible or troubled individuals can cause almost irrepairable damage to the reputations and public image of that organization and the many fine people that simply show up to work and do the jobs correctly. The recent issue with "Scott Thomas" and the US Army is just another example like we find in the NASA case. Unfortunate, but true. Hopefully both NASA and the Army investigate and take the necessary corrective actions quickly.
First, there is an unsubstantiated report from Aviation Week magazine that astronauts have twice flown spacecraft after drinking to the point of intoxication. Secondly, there is a confirmed report of a subcontractor sabotaging a computer being sent to the ISS. All of this comes on the heels of the shootings in Houston by a worker that committed suicide, and the strange romatic triangle case of astronaut Lisa Nowak and the freak storm the delayed the shiuttle launch earlier this summer. Bad times for the agency, to be sure.
"America's space agency was shaken Thursday by two startling and unrelated reports: One involved claims that astronauts were drunk before flying. The other was news from NASA itself that a worker had sabotaged a computer set for delivery to the international space station. It was just another jolt for an operation that has had a rocky year from the start, beginning with the arrest of an astronaut accused of attacking a rival in a love triangle."
Just as with any other organization, a few irresponsible or troubled individuals can cause almost irrepairable damage to the reputations and public image of that organization and the many fine people that simply show up to work and do the jobs correctly. The recent issue with "Scott Thomas" and the US Army is just another example like we find in the NASA case. Unfortunate, but true. Hopefully both NASA and the Army investigate and take the necessary corrective actions quickly.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
New Feature
Thought maybe I could try a new feature with a little humor.
Being a big fan of the short lived and cancelled Fox TV series Firefly, I thought about relating some of the wickedly amusing dialogue from the series. So, here goes, the first Firefly Quote of the Day....
"You know, they tell ya to never hit a man with a closed fist but it is,
on occasion, hilarious. - Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Being a big fan of the short lived and cancelled Fox TV series Firefly, I thought about relating some of the wickedly amusing dialogue from the series. So, here goes, the first Firefly Quote of the Day....
"You know, they tell ya to never hit a man with a closed fist but it is,
on occasion, hilarious. - Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Uncle Jimbo on "Scott Thomas"
I've been avoiding the likely "fake but accurate" reporting done in Iraq for liberal rag "The New Republic" by one "Scott Thomas". In short, "Thomas" is purportedly a US serviceman reporting that his fellow soldiers have been up to some, ahem, mischief. The Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb has called out TNR's idiot in chief, editor Frnklin Foer, here asking for any independent corroboration - and failed to generate much of a response. Goldfarb has asked milbloggers to examine the stories, and they've poked more holes in them than you could find in a Swiss cheese factory.
Milblogger Uncle Jimbo over at Blackfive's place gives us his unadulterated opinion of both "Thomas" and Foer. And boy howdy is it good. Uncle Jimbo gets the "Verbal Assault of the Week" award.
"Scott Thomas is a lying sack of shit. Every unit has a Scott Thomas, the whiny pissant whose brilliance is never recognized and who is always being abused by the chain of command for stuff that's not his fault. It would be normal to hear folks telling him to STFU and do his damn job.
The stories he peddled were easy to believe if your mindset starts with soldiers as knuckle dragging, jack-booted barbarians barely held in check by the enlightened scrutiny of a vigilant press. Sadly that is the status quo among most of the media and gives us "reporting" colored darkly by the biases of these people. They have their narrative down and it involves US military barbarity so when they got a big plate of scrumptious horror they scarfed it right up."
and the lovely liberal rag TNR?
"So how does absolute horse shit like this make it into what should be a respectable magazine? Well first you will notice that this was the New Republic, not National Review, and while this mag has plenty of fabulist issues they are emblematic of the chattering classes as a whole. While the left makes noises that they think mean they support the troops, they don't really, and they do believe the dregs of society theory of military recruiting. Jon Carry didn't misspeak when he said those non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in his beloved cultural elite, will end up stuk in Irak. He was simply stating the common wisdom on the left, our troops are killers, sometimes under orders, sometimes just to satisfy their blood lust.
Well there is also a bit of assumed wisdom on our side as well. That is that most journalists are gutless weasels possuming a ride on the backs of better men and women than themselves. They are parasites whose sole function seems to be advancing a narrative of evil America, cause of all that is ill with this world. There is no problem they are unwilling to lay at the feet of greedy rapacious America, busy killing brown people all over the planet, and now even slaughtering Gaia herself. Damn us!"
OOOOPH.
Milblogger Uncle Jimbo over at Blackfive's place gives us his unadulterated opinion of both "Thomas" and Foer. And boy howdy is it good. Uncle Jimbo gets the "Verbal Assault of the Week" award.
"Scott Thomas is a lying sack of shit. Every unit has a Scott Thomas, the whiny pissant whose brilliance is never recognized and who is always being abused by the chain of command for stuff that's not his fault. It would be normal to hear folks telling him to STFU and do his damn job.
The stories he peddled were easy to believe if your mindset starts with soldiers as knuckle dragging, jack-booted barbarians barely held in check by the enlightened scrutiny of a vigilant press. Sadly that is the status quo among most of the media and gives us "reporting" colored darkly by the biases of these people. They have their narrative down and it involves US military barbarity so when they got a big plate of scrumptious horror they scarfed it right up."
and the lovely liberal rag TNR?
"So how does absolute horse shit like this make it into what should be a respectable magazine? Well first you will notice that this was the New Republic, not National Review, and while this mag has plenty of fabulist issues they are emblematic of the chattering classes as a whole. While the left makes noises that they think mean they support the troops, they don't really, and they do believe the dregs of society theory of military recruiting. Jon Carry didn't misspeak when he said those non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in his beloved cultural elite, will end up stuk in Irak. He was simply stating the common wisdom on the left, our troops are killers, sometimes under orders, sometimes just to satisfy their blood lust.
Well there is also a bit of assumed wisdom on our side as well. That is that most journalists are gutless weasels possuming a ride on the backs of better men and women than themselves. They are parasites whose sole function seems to be advancing a narrative of evil America, cause of all that is ill with this world. There is no problem they are unwilling to lay at the feet of greedy rapacious America, busy killing brown people all over the planet, and now even slaughtering Gaia herself. Damn us!"
OOOOPH.
Monday, July 23, 2007
South Tower to Marine
Also from this last weekend at NRO, the story of a man named Mark Finelli who survived the 9/11 attacks and decided almost immediately afterward to give us his lucartive career in finance as an investment banker to become a US Marine.
"Finelli was eventually deployed to Iraq, where he served from July 2005 through February 2006 in Camp Fallujah. Before he went in, he says, he heard from antiwar politicians and activists “that our men and women are sitting ducks in an intelligence failure. I was a sitting duck in an intelligence failure,” he argues, referencing the attacks on 9/11.
Still, despite the numerous setbacks and the erosion of political support for the war domestically, Finelli believes going into Iraq was the right thing to do. He acknowledges mismanagement and is particularly scornful toward former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s prewar strategy of trying to win the war with fewer troops. Yet he maintains that Iraq is too strategic to ignore. “Iraq borders six other nations,” Finelli says. “It’s a geopolitical lynchpin. It borders six other nations, and we have friends in India and Israel, and men in Afghanistan.”
Going to Iraq meant a lot of sacrifices for Corporal Finelli. When you find out you are going to war, he says, “You put your head in your hands and you cry. But then you get out there and do you do a good job. Everything changes at home, and when you go away, the world continues without you.” Even as political support for the war deteriorates, Finelli speaks of his courageous brothers and sisters in arms. “I could see in others’ faces: ‘Even though the politicians may not care about us, I’m going to sit here and do my job anyway.’”
Pretty amazing story, read the whole thing.
"Finelli was eventually deployed to Iraq, where he served from July 2005 through February 2006 in Camp Fallujah. Before he went in, he says, he heard from antiwar politicians and activists “that our men and women are sitting ducks in an intelligence failure. I was a sitting duck in an intelligence failure,” he argues, referencing the attacks on 9/11.
Still, despite the numerous setbacks and the erosion of political support for the war domestically, Finelli believes going into Iraq was the right thing to do. He acknowledges mismanagement and is particularly scornful toward former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s prewar strategy of trying to win the war with fewer troops. Yet he maintains that Iraq is too strategic to ignore. “Iraq borders six other nations,” Finelli says. “It’s a geopolitical lynchpin. It borders six other nations, and we have friends in India and Israel, and men in Afghanistan.”
Going to Iraq meant a lot of sacrifices for Corporal Finelli. When you find out you are going to war, he says, “You put your head in your hands and you cry. But then you get out there and do you do a good job. Everything changes at home, and when you go away, the world continues without you.” Even as political support for the war deteriorates, Finelli speaks of his courageous brothers and sisters in arms. “I could see in others’ faces: ‘Even though the politicians may not care about us, I’m going to sit here and do my job anyway.’”
Pretty amazing story, read the whole thing.
Aussie Documentary Against Warming
Meanwhile, an Australian documentary poking holes in the religion of Global Warming has generated a counter-productively ferocious repsonse from the True Believers. The documentarian, Martin Durkin, asks why so defensive?
"First, the ferocity of the attack, I think, revealed the intolerance and defensiveness of the global warming camp. Why were Jones and co expending such energy and resources attacking one documentary? We are told the global warming theory is robust. They say you'd have to be off your chump to disagree. We have been assured for years, in countless news broadcasts and column inches, that it's definitely true. So why bother to stamp so aggressively on the one foolish documentary-maker - who clearly must be as mad as a snake - who steps out of line?
I think viewers may also have wondered (reasonably) why the theory of global warming has not been subjected to this barrage of critical scrutiny by the media. After all, it's the theory of global warming, not my foolish little film, that is turning public and corporate policy on its head.
The apparent unwillingness of Jones and others at the ABC to give airtime to a counterargument, the tactics used to minimise the ostensible damage done by the film, the evident animosity towards those who questioned global warming: all of this served to give viewers a glimpse of what it was like for scientists who dared to disagree with the hallowed doctrine.
Why are the global warmers so zealous? After a year of arguing with people about this, I am convinced that it's because global warming is first and foremost a political theory. It is an expression of a whole middle-class political world view. This view is summed up in the oft-repeated phrase "we consume too much". I have also come to the conclusion that this is code for "they consume too much". People who believe it tend also to think that exotic foreign places are being ruined because vulgar oiks can afford to go there in significant numbers, they hate plastic toys from factories and prefer wooden ones from craftsmen, and so on.
All this backward-looking bigotry has found perfect expression in the idea of man-made climate disaster. It has cohered a bunch of disparate reactionary prejudices (anti-car, anti-supermarkets, anti-globalisation) into a single unquestionable truth and cause. So when you have a dig at global warming, you commit a grievous breach of social etiquette. Among the chattering classes you're a leper."
Ouch, I think he struck another nerve there, and with good reason. The theory is starting to crumble away at every turn.
First there is the disturbing lack of warming since 1998 - global temps have been either static or slightly declining since that time. Then there is that pesky ice core data showing that increased carbon dioxide levels FOLLOW warmer temperatures, rather than precede them. Then the IPCC was forced to drop the infamously hoaxed "hocky stick" graph - the one that "adjusted" away the Medieval Warming period, and then there is that that unambiguous satellite data showing that the Earth's troposphere isn't warming, as it should if the theory is correct, but is actually cooling! Then there is that bizarre cooling period from the 1940s-1970s that can't be explained either (unless you take into account the activity of that big ball of fire we orbit - but I digress).
The whole enchillada is crumbling, just as everyone and their Grandma's dog is jumping onto the bandwagon. No wonder they see red.
"First, the ferocity of the attack, I think, revealed the intolerance and defensiveness of the global warming camp. Why were Jones and co expending such energy and resources attacking one documentary? We are told the global warming theory is robust. They say you'd have to be off your chump to disagree. We have been assured for years, in countless news broadcasts and column inches, that it's definitely true. So why bother to stamp so aggressively on the one foolish documentary-maker - who clearly must be as mad as a snake - who steps out of line?
I think viewers may also have wondered (reasonably) why the theory of global warming has not been subjected to this barrage of critical scrutiny by the media. After all, it's the theory of global warming, not my foolish little film, that is turning public and corporate policy on its head.
The apparent unwillingness of Jones and others at the ABC to give airtime to a counterargument, the tactics used to minimise the ostensible damage done by the film, the evident animosity towards those who questioned global warming: all of this served to give viewers a glimpse of what it was like for scientists who dared to disagree with the hallowed doctrine.
Why are the global warmers so zealous? After a year of arguing with people about this, I am convinced that it's because global warming is first and foremost a political theory. It is an expression of a whole middle-class political world view. This view is summed up in the oft-repeated phrase "we consume too much". I have also come to the conclusion that this is code for "they consume too much". People who believe it tend also to think that exotic foreign places are being ruined because vulgar oiks can afford to go there in significant numbers, they hate plastic toys from factories and prefer wooden ones from craftsmen, and so on.
All this backward-looking bigotry has found perfect expression in the idea of man-made climate disaster. It has cohered a bunch of disparate reactionary prejudices (anti-car, anti-supermarkets, anti-globalisation) into a single unquestionable truth and cause. So when you have a dig at global warming, you commit a grievous breach of social etiquette. Among the chattering classes you're a leper."
Ouch, I think he struck another nerve there, and with good reason. The theory is starting to crumble away at every turn.
First there is the disturbing lack of warming since 1998 - global temps have been either static or slightly declining since that time. Then there is that pesky ice core data showing that increased carbon dioxide levels FOLLOW warmer temperatures, rather than precede them. Then the IPCC was forced to drop the infamously hoaxed "hocky stick" graph - the one that "adjusted" away the Medieval Warming period, and then there is that that unambiguous satellite data showing that the Earth's troposphere isn't warming, as it should if the theory is correct, but is actually cooling! Then there is that bizarre cooling period from the 1940s-1970s that can't be explained either (unless you take into account the activity of that big ball of fire we orbit - but I digress).
The whole enchillada is crumbling, just as everyone and their Grandma's dog is jumping onto the bandwagon. No wonder they see red.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Dems Take Advantage in War Bills
Meanwhile, The Boston Globe's Derrick Jackson eviscerates his fellow liberals serving in Congress with a much justified verbal spanking the likes of which I've not seen in quite some time. He correctly points out that many, if not most of the Democratic war critics (such as Senators Kennedy & Levin) not only voted for the war, but are stuffing their home districts and states full of Pentagon spending goodies.
"But the Globe recently reported that Kennedy slid $100 million into the 2008 defense authorization bill for a General Electric fighter engine that the Air Force said it did not need.
It gets worse in a defense budget that is zooming to $648.8 billion. The nonpartisan budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense last month analyzed 309 Senate defense earmarks. Four of the top five "earmarkers" were not Republican hawks but centrist and liberal Democrats.
Levin led the way with 44 earmarks. Clinton was second with 26. Reed was fourth with 23, one behind Republican John Warner of Virginia. In fifth place was Charles Schumer of New York with 21. When asked if she saw any change in defense earmark behavior since the Democrats took back the House and the Senate, senior analyst Laura Peterson of the Taxpayers for Common Sense said over the telephone, "No."
More proof the swamp is still full is the fact that only four of the top 10 senators in defense campaign contributions in the 2006 election cycle were Republicans. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrats Kennedy, Clinton, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Dianne Feinstein of California, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut collected 60 percent of the $1.4 million the industry lavished among the top 10."
He also points out that US defense spending is nearly half the total for the world, and that the US and Russia together account for nearly 60% of the world's arms shipments, that the US shipped arms to 18 of the 25 current nations in conflicts around the globe, and that 20 of the 25 nations receiving arms from the US were classified as either undemocratic or having poor human rights records by our own US State Department.
OUCH, that's got to smart.
Personally, I'd like to see us tie our aid (economic as well as military) more closely to the behavior and actions of the governments involved, and I certainly don't like to see the scale of weapons proliferation that is currently being conducted. Of course, each individual case of these nations should be judged on its own merits, within the confines of US foreign policy, but when it's presented in the way Jackson does, it's pretty damning.
"But the Globe recently reported that Kennedy slid $100 million into the 2008 defense authorization bill for a General Electric fighter engine that the Air Force said it did not need.
It gets worse in a defense budget that is zooming to $648.8 billion. The nonpartisan budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense last month analyzed 309 Senate defense earmarks. Four of the top five "earmarkers" were not Republican hawks but centrist and liberal Democrats.
Levin led the way with 44 earmarks. Clinton was second with 26. Reed was fourth with 23, one behind Republican John Warner of Virginia. In fifth place was Charles Schumer of New York with 21. When asked if she saw any change in defense earmark behavior since the Democrats took back the House and the Senate, senior analyst Laura Peterson of the Taxpayers for Common Sense said over the telephone, "No."
More proof the swamp is still full is the fact that only four of the top 10 senators in defense campaign contributions in the 2006 election cycle were Republicans. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrats Kennedy, Clinton, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Dianne Feinstein of California, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut collected 60 percent of the $1.4 million the industry lavished among the top 10."
He also points out that US defense spending is nearly half the total for the world, and that the US and Russia together account for nearly 60% of the world's arms shipments, that the US shipped arms to 18 of the 25 current nations in conflicts around the globe, and that 20 of the 25 nations receiving arms from the US were classified as either undemocratic or having poor human rights records by our own US State Department.
OUCH, that's got to smart.
Personally, I'd like to see us tie our aid (economic as well as military) more closely to the behavior and actions of the governments involved, and I certainly don't like to see the scale of weapons proliferation that is currently being conducted. Of course, each individual case of these nations should be judged on its own merits, within the confines of US foreign policy, but when it's presented in the way Jackson does, it's pretty damning.
Middle East Strategy
Lots of good stuff discovered this weekend, I may have to take a gander at some of my regular sites on the weekends from now on. Michael Gerson points out one of the many problems facing us in Iraq - its neighbors.
"In a kind of malicious chemistry experiment, hostile powers are adding accelerants to Iraq's frothing chaos. Iran smuggles the advanced explosive devices that kill and maim American soldiers. Syria allows the transit of suicide bombers who kill Iraqis in markets and mosques, feeding sectarian rage. This is not a complete explanation for the difficulties in Iraq. Poor governance and political paralysis would exist if Iran and Syria meddled or not."
He is also quite vexed (understandably so, in my view) that Americans don't seem to care that Iran and Syria's meddling in Iraq is killing US service personnel. He also points out our options for response are limited, but applauds recent efforts to target Iranians in Iraq and the ratcheting of economic pressure on Iran to increase the costs of its involvement. Obviously, military escalation against Iran is problematic to such an extent it's pretty much off the table for now.
Syria, however, might be a different situation, and one that I've always thought should be addressed sooner than the Iranian issue, in that it is likelier to be solved more quickly. The Syrians claim they cannot control the flow of suicde bombers into Iraq, so it might behoove us to "assist" them in doing so, in tandem with some economic "incentives", although this would not be without risks as well, particularly to Lebanon.
Gerson summs up his thoughts quite nicely:
"Increasing pressure of all types on Syria would demonstrate that being part of an anti-American alliance with Iran brings unpleasant consequences. And when that pressure builds sufficiently, it becomes possible to offer Syria a way out that separates it from Iran. These are realistic responses to the serious provocations of Iran and Syria: Ramping up economic pressure on both regimes; intensifying operations within Iraq against foreign influence; and taking limited but forceful actions against Syria's Ho Chi Minh Trail of terrorists. In combination with the Petraeus strategy, these measures hold out the promise of something unthinkable a few months ago: America, once again, on the strategic offensive."
Imagine that.
"In a kind of malicious chemistry experiment, hostile powers are adding accelerants to Iraq's frothing chaos. Iran smuggles the advanced explosive devices that kill and maim American soldiers. Syria allows the transit of suicide bombers who kill Iraqis in markets and mosques, feeding sectarian rage. This is not a complete explanation for the difficulties in Iraq. Poor governance and political paralysis would exist if Iran and Syria meddled or not."
He is also quite vexed (understandably so, in my view) that Americans don't seem to care that Iran and Syria's meddling in Iraq is killing US service personnel. He also points out our options for response are limited, but applauds recent efforts to target Iranians in Iraq and the ratcheting of economic pressure on Iran to increase the costs of its involvement. Obviously, military escalation against Iran is problematic to such an extent it's pretty much off the table for now.
Syria, however, might be a different situation, and one that I've always thought should be addressed sooner than the Iranian issue, in that it is likelier to be solved more quickly. The Syrians claim they cannot control the flow of suicde bombers into Iraq, so it might behoove us to "assist" them in doing so, in tandem with some economic "incentives", although this would not be without risks as well, particularly to Lebanon.
Gerson summs up his thoughts quite nicely:
"Increasing pressure of all types on Syria would demonstrate that being part of an anti-American alliance with Iran brings unpleasant consequences. And when that pressure builds sufficiently, it becomes possible to offer Syria a way out that separates it from Iran. These are realistic responses to the serious provocations of Iran and Syria: Ramping up economic pressure on both regimes; intensifying operations within Iraq against foreign influence; and taking limited but forceful actions against Syria's Ho Chi Minh Trail of terrorists. In combination with the Petraeus strategy, these measures hold out the promise of something unthinkable a few months ago: America, once again, on the strategic offensive."
Imagine that.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Hugh Interviews General Petraeus
Transcript of Hugh's interview at the link above, read the whole thing. Two items I think worth noting, the first being the number of special ops going on :
HH: Some of the arguments about Iraq in the United States argue that it’s possible for American troops to withdraw to their bases and just strike at al Qaeda, sort of an Anbar only option, I guess. Does that make any sense to you at all, General Petraeus?
DP: Well, first of all, al Qaeda-Iraq is throughout pretty substantial parts of Iraq, and it is a significant enough network in capability that it is not going to be dealt with just by certainly, if you will, classical counterterrorist operations. Indeed, we are doing those. Our best operators in America and in the world are here in the largest number of anywhere in the world by several multiples, and conducting a very, very high operational tempo, and doing extraordinary operations. When I think back to the operations that we did, for example, going after war criminals in Bosnia, or something like that, you know, and one of those would be a big deal, and you’d dine off that for the next several months. On a nightly basis here, you know, ten or twelve serious operations are going down by those forces.
HH: Wow.
DP: And any one of those is far more significant than we conducted for decades. They are very sophisticated, very complex, very lethal sometimes, and very effective. Having said that, although they may be the most important operations, because they can take down, as they did the senior Iraqi leader in al Qaeda-Iraq, or kill the three al Turkey brothers, or what have you, it is also the weight of the operations conducted by the, if you will, the regular special forces, the Green Berets and the others that make up the special operations task force, and operate throughout the country as a very high operational tempo, and of our conventional forces.....
Also, regarding the home front -
HH: It sounds optimistic, General. I want to respect your time and close with just a couple of questions, one that Senator Webb this past weekend rightly denounced politicians who try and put words into the mouths of troops. So I’m going to ask you. What do you hear your men and women saying about this mission? Do they think it can be won?
DP: Well, I think they do. I mean, I think…nobody…look, everybody wants to go home. I mean, nobody was cheering when we extended from 12 to 15 months, and I wasn’t, either, you know? This is my fourth year of longer deployment since 2001. My family would love to have me back home, and I’d love to be there. But we want to go back the right way, if you will, so that although every soldier’s first right is to, you know, grouse a bit, and we all exercise that on occasion, I think everybody’s very determined to try to do the very best that we can to accomplish this mission. I was privileged on the 4th of July to swear the oath with some 588 soldiers in one huge formation here at Camp Victory, who reenlisted for another tour in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and so forth. And it was extraordinary. And I can tell you, you know, it’s not because of the bonus or anything like that. There is no bonus that can compensate for the sacrifices and the hardship in the selfless service that our soldiers are providing here. So again, I think individuals are doing all that they can to try to achieve success in this mission here, and that’s the focus of the folks with whom I’m privileged to soldier.
HH: Last question, General. How can the American public support these troops most effectively?
DP: Well, I think the American public has been doing that. I think actually, regardless of the views on Iraq, the American public has supported our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and the civilians that are deployed over here. And I think that that is wonderful. We all saw, some of us, you know, as we were growing up, a situation where that was not the case. And happily in this case, as I said, regardless of one’s views, regardless on where one comes down on the issue of Iraq, there is backing for those great young men and women who are putting everything on the line here on a daily basis, in right now, 125 degree heat and body armor and Kevlar, against a barbaric enemy, in an exceedingly tough and complex situation. I think I mentioned to you before that when Tom Brokaw was out here with us one time, he said that surely this has to be the new greatest generation. And I very, very much agree with that. And as I mentioned earlier, I feel very privileged to be able to soldier with these great young men and women here in Iraq again.
HH: Some of the arguments about Iraq in the United States argue that it’s possible for American troops to withdraw to their bases and just strike at al Qaeda, sort of an Anbar only option, I guess. Does that make any sense to you at all, General Petraeus?
DP: Well, first of all, al Qaeda-Iraq is throughout pretty substantial parts of Iraq, and it is a significant enough network in capability that it is not going to be dealt with just by certainly, if you will, classical counterterrorist operations. Indeed, we are doing those. Our best operators in America and in the world are here in the largest number of anywhere in the world by several multiples, and conducting a very, very high operational tempo, and doing extraordinary operations. When I think back to the operations that we did, for example, going after war criminals in Bosnia, or something like that, you know, and one of those would be a big deal, and you’d dine off that for the next several months. On a nightly basis here, you know, ten or twelve serious operations are going down by those forces.
HH: Wow.
DP: And any one of those is far more significant than we conducted for decades. They are very sophisticated, very complex, very lethal sometimes, and very effective. Having said that, although they may be the most important operations, because they can take down, as they did the senior Iraqi leader in al Qaeda-Iraq, or kill the three al Turkey brothers, or what have you, it is also the weight of the operations conducted by the, if you will, the regular special forces, the Green Berets and the others that make up the special operations task force, and operate throughout the country as a very high operational tempo, and of our conventional forces.....
Also, regarding the home front -
HH: It sounds optimistic, General. I want to respect your time and close with just a couple of questions, one that Senator Webb this past weekend rightly denounced politicians who try and put words into the mouths of troops. So I’m going to ask you. What do you hear your men and women saying about this mission? Do they think it can be won?
DP: Well, I think they do. I mean, I think…nobody…look, everybody wants to go home. I mean, nobody was cheering when we extended from 12 to 15 months, and I wasn’t, either, you know? This is my fourth year of longer deployment since 2001. My family would love to have me back home, and I’d love to be there. But we want to go back the right way, if you will, so that although every soldier’s first right is to, you know, grouse a bit, and we all exercise that on occasion, I think everybody’s very determined to try to do the very best that we can to accomplish this mission. I was privileged on the 4th of July to swear the oath with some 588 soldiers in one huge formation here at Camp Victory, who reenlisted for another tour in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and so forth. And it was extraordinary. And I can tell you, you know, it’s not because of the bonus or anything like that. There is no bonus that can compensate for the sacrifices and the hardship in the selfless service that our soldiers are providing here. So again, I think individuals are doing all that they can to try to achieve success in this mission here, and that’s the focus of the folks with whom I’m privileged to soldier.
HH: Last question, General. How can the American public support these troops most effectively?
DP: Well, I think the American public has been doing that. I think actually, regardless of the views on Iraq, the American public has supported our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and the civilians that are deployed over here. And I think that that is wonderful. We all saw, some of us, you know, as we were growing up, a situation where that was not the case. And happily in this case, as I said, regardless of one’s views, regardless on where one comes down on the issue of Iraq, there is backing for those great young men and women who are putting everything on the line here on a daily basis, in right now, 125 degree heat and body armor and Kevlar, against a barbaric enemy, in an exceedingly tough and complex situation. I think I mentioned to you before that when Tom Brokaw was out here with us one time, he said that surely this has to be the new greatest generation. And I very, very much agree with that. And as I mentioned earlier, I feel very privileged to be able to soldier with these great young men and women here in Iraq again.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Work Progressing on New Spacesuits
via ScienceDaily, work is progressing nicely (to include a prototype) on a new generation of slimmer, more mobile spacesuits. MIT scientist and engeineering professor Dava Newman has been working on it for seven years and hopes to have a "suitable" replacement acceptable to NASA by the time a Mars expedition could be launched in ten years.
"Newman is working on a sleek, advanced suit designed to allow superior mobility when humans eventually reach Mars or return to the moon. Her spandex and nylon BioSuit is not your grandfather's spacesuit--think more Spiderman, less John Glenn. Traditional bulky spacesuits "do not afford the mobility and locomotion capability that astronauts need for partial gravity exploration missions. We really must design for greater mobility and enhanced human and robotic capability," Newman says."
The interesting technical issue is that Newman is taking a new approach, utilizing mechanical counter pressure (tight layers of material wrapped around the body of an astronaut) rather than using the gas pressurization method of current suits. One major advantage to this approach is that if the suit is punctured, a simple patch would probably allow an astronaut to continue wokring, while a current suit would require them to return to their spacecraft due to the danger of decompression. Another positive is that a contemporary suit weighes in at about 300 lbs on Earth, and its bulkiness causes spacefarers to expend about 70-80 % of their energy just struggling to move the suit about. The new prototype is skintight and allows a considerably enhanced range of motion over conventional suits. A suit needs to maintain about 30 kilopascals of pressure (about a third of Earth's atmosphere at sea level) to be worn in space, and the current prototype is rated at about 20, with researchers believing they can get to between 25-30 kPa soon.
I vote we get Jerry Ryan and Jolene Blalock to model them for us. I'd really like to see that.
"Newman is working on a sleek, advanced suit designed to allow superior mobility when humans eventually reach Mars or return to the moon. Her spandex and nylon BioSuit is not your grandfather's spacesuit--think more Spiderman, less John Glenn. Traditional bulky spacesuits "do not afford the mobility and locomotion capability that astronauts need for partial gravity exploration missions. We really must design for greater mobility and enhanced human and robotic capability," Newman says."
The interesting technical issue is that Newman is taking a new approach, utilizing mechanical counter pressure (tight layers of material wrapped around the body of an astronaut) rather than using the gas pressurization method of current suits. One major advantage to this approach is that if the suit is punctured, a simple patch would probably allow an astronaut to continue wokring, while a current suit would require them to return to their spacecraft due to the danger of decompression. Another positive is that a contemporary suit weighes in at about 300 lbs on Earth, and its bulkiness causes spacefarers to expend about 70-80 % of their energy just struggling to move the suit about. The new prototype is skintight and allows a considerably enhanced range of motion over conventional suits. A suit needs to maintain about 30 kilopascals of pressure (about a third of Earth's atmosphere at sea level) to be worn in space, and the current prototype is rated at about 20, with researchers believing they can get to between 25-30 kPa soon.
I vote we get Jerry Ryan and Jolene Blalock to model them for us. I'd really like to see that.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Congressional Earmarks
The National Taxpayer's Union has listed the 42 members of Congress who have perfect records in supporting Congressman Jeff Flake's (R-AZ) efforts to eliminate earmarking by offering amendments to strip such spending from appropriation bills. Flake is keeping up the pressure, speaking on the House Floor today on the Water and Energy bills before the House. (HT: BillHobbs)
Surprisingly, not only Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith (3rd) but our own Lee Terry (2nd) is listed. I may have to change my tune a bit about Lee, who has had some earmarking history of his own (benefitting both the UNMC and Creighton, in particular), but apparently has changed his tune with the changing of the guard in Congress and some disappointed constituents.
The other heart-warming thing about this story is that there is at least one Democrat (Jim Cooper of TN) that believes in accountability to the people. Another positive is several candidates that I personally supported (with small donations) are on the list in addition to Smith, including Michele Bachman (MN-6), Doug Lamborn (CO-5), Tim Wahlberg (MI-7) and Steve King (IA-5), all recipients of my largesse. Lee might merit a campaign contribution if he keeps it up, along with Flake for leading the charge.
Other notable Congress critters on the list I have heard good things about (economically speaking, at least): Blackburn of TN (Fred! supporter), Conaway and Hensarling (current leader of the Republican Study Committee) of TX, Jindal of LA (running for LA Governor in 2007), Pence of IN (former chair on the RSC), and Shaddeg of AZ (RSC chair from 2000-2002). The Tennessee delegation is awfully strong, with 4 members (the aforementioned Cooper and Blackburn, along with Doug Davis and John Duncan)with a perfect rating on this issue.
Surprisingly, not only Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith (3rd) but our own Lee Terry (2nd) is listed. I may have to change my tune a bit about Lee, who has had some earmarking history of his own (benefitting both the UNMC and Creighton, in particular), but apparently has changed his tune with the changing of the guard in Congress and some disappointed constituents.
The other heart-warming thing about this story is that there is at least one Democrat (Jim Cooper of TN) that believes in accountability to the people. Another positive is several candidates that I personally supported (with small donations) are on the list in addition to Smith, including Michele Bachman (MN-6), Doug Lamborn (CO-5), Tim Wahlberg (MI-7) and Steve King (IA-5), all recipients of my largesse. Lee might merit a campaign contribution if he keeps it up, along with Flake for leading the charge.
Other notable Congress critters on the list I have heard good things about (economically speaking, at least): Blackburn of TN (Fred! supporter), Conaway and Hensarling (current leader of the Republican Study Committee) of TX, Jindal of LA (running for LA Governor in 2007), Pence of IN (former chair on the RSC), and Shaddeg of AZ (RSC chair from 2000-2002). The Tennessee delegation is awfully strong, with 4 members (the aforementioned Cooper and Blackburn, along with Doug Davis and John Duncan)with a perfect rating on this issue.
Astronomical Survey
Additional Geekiness provided by Astrobiology. Looks like a science post day.
A three year sky survey seeking large planets outside 5 astronomical units (1 AU is the distance from the Sun to the Earth) has been completed and the study finds that our own solar system is a pretty rare example, with its gas giants being outside this distance. All of the 54 nearby systems surveyed had no Jupiter or better sized planets outside this distance, which has important implications for the search for life outside the solar system.
"Astronomers who used powerful telescopes in Arizona and Chile in a survey for planets around nearby stars have discovered that extrasolar planets more massive than Jupiter are extremely rare in other outer solar systems. The finding is an important step in our understanding of extrasolar worlds and the potential for discovering habitable planets around distant stars."
It is thought that the presence of Jupiter and the other outer gas giant planets in such distant orbits "protected" Earth from even more violent impact events due to their gravity either capturing or repelling many potential stellar objects from travelling deeper into our solar system. More than 230 "hot super-Jupiters" have been found in tight orbits around their parent stars, but this study needed a new technique to examine stars for planets further distant, and used two giant telescopes in Arizona and Chile with methane detection equipment for the task.
A three year sky survey seeking large planets outside 5 astronomical units (1 AU is the distance from the Sun to the Earth) has been completed and the study finds that our own solar system is a pretty rare example, with its gas giants being outside this distance. All of the 54 nearby systems surveyed had no Jupiter or better sized planets outside this distance, which has important implications for the search for life outside the solar system.
"Astronomers who used powerful telescopes in Arizona and Chile in a survey for planets around nearby stars have discovered that extrasolar planets more massive than Jupiter are extremely rare in other outer solar systems. The finding is an important step in our understanding of extrasolar worlds and the potential for discovering habitable planets around distant stars."
It is thought that the presence of Jupiter and the other outer gas giant planets in such distant orbits "protected" Earth from even more violent impact events due to their gravity either capturing or repelling many potential stellar objects from travelling deeper into our solar system. More than 230 "hot super-Jupiters" have been found in tight orbits around their parent stars, but this study needed a new technique to examine stars for planets further distant, and used two giant telescopes in Arizona and Chile with methane detection equipment for the task.
Oldest Art Found in Egypt Discovered
Another little mini-break from posting due to heavy workload between grad school, dayjob and home stuff now banished.
Of interest today in the scientific world, via Nat'l Geo: the oldest art work ever discovered in Egypt, quite similiar to engravings found with the French Lascaux cave paintings dating from about the same time period - 15,000 years ago.
"The style is riveting," added Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo, who was part of Huyge's team. The art is "unlike anything seen elsewhere in Egypt," he said.
The engravings—estimated to be about 15,000 years old—were chiseled into several sandstone cliff faces at the village of Qurta, about 400 miles (640 kilometers) south of Cairo (Egypt map).
Of the more than 160 figures found so far, most depict wild bulls. The biggest is nearly six feet (two meters) wide. The drawings "push Egyptian art, religion, and culture back to a much earlier time," Ikram said."
The interesting item from this is that the engravings were actually discovered in 1962, but pretty much ignored by the archaeological community given the widespread theory (since disproved by additional evidence discovered in Southern Africa and Australia) that Europe was the "cradle" of Paleolithic artworks. The Egyptian engravings are almost identical to those found in France, whose own engravings vastly outnumber their more famous rock paintings.
The really interesting thing about these discoveries is the artistic similarities given their geographic dispersion. One has to wonder if the evidence we have discovered about hunter-gatherer tool sets from this period in these regions are also similar or if they have significant differences. Any differences in the tool set might help us understand how widespread the diaspora from Africa was and how quickly it occurred.
Of interest today in the scientific world, via Nat'l Geo: the oldest art work ever discovered in Egypt, quite similiar to engravings found with the French Lascaux cave paintings dating from about the same time period - 15,000 years ago.
"The style is riveting," added Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo, who was part of Huyge's team. The art is "unlike anything seen elsewhere in Egypt," he said.
The engravings—estimated to be about 15,000 years old—were chiseled into several sandstone cliff faces at the village of Qurta, about 400 miles (640 kilometers) south of Cairo (Egypt map).
Of the more than 160 figures found so far, most depict wild bulls. The biggest is nearly six feet (two meters) wide. The drawings "push Egyptian art, religion, and culture back to a much earlier time," Ikram said."
The interesting item from this is that the engravings were actually discovered in 1962, but pretty much ignored by the archaeological community given the widespread theory (since disproved by additional evidence discovered in Southern Africa and Australia) that Europe was the "cradle" of Paleolithic artworks. The Egyptian engravings are almost identical to those found in France, whose own engravings vastly outnumber their more famous rock paintings.
The really interesting thing about these discoveries is the artistic similarities given their geographic dispersion. One has to wonder if the evidence we have discovered about hunter-gatherer tool sets from this period in these regions are also similar or if they have significant differences. Any differences in the tool set might help us understand how widespread the diaspora from Africa was and how quickly it occurred.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Baseball Standings
On to post #500!, and what better subject than one of my favortie passions, baseball. Let's see where we stand at the All-Star break.
In the Inferior circuit, the malodorous Metropolitans lead in the East, leading a resurgent Atlanta Bravo club by a two game margin. Philly is at the .500 mark despite leading the league in scoring at 44-44, 4 1/2 back, and the Fish and the Nats are 7 and 12 1/2 out, respectively. Let's hope the smelly ones falter, I can't stand it when my co-worker (huge NYM fan) gets uppity.
In the Central, the young Brew Crew is leading the divison with the best home record in the league and own a 4 1/2 lead over the Little Bears, and the defending WS champ Redbirds are swooning with a 40-45 record, 7 1/2 out. The Bucs are back 9, Stros and Cincy are both pretty far back in the rearview mirror at 10 1/2 and 13 back.
Out in the West, the Priests lead the league in fewest runs allowed and have the NL's best record at 49-38, but they hold a scant 1 game lead on the team formerly from Brooklyn. The Snakes are 3 1/2 back and even the Rocks are at .500 and only 5 1/2 out. The Midgets are 10 1/2 out.
Staying out on the Left Coast, but moving over to the Superior League, the team with a really long name holds a 2 game league on team Starbucks, the Fighting Irish are at .500, and the Lone Star law enforcement squad is 15 games out at 38-50. Ouch.
The Tiggers lead the league in scoring and have the top spot in the Central, but are being tracked closely by team Lake Erie, who only trail by 1 and have the best home record in the league. The Yellow Pastries with the creamy filling are 9 back at 45-43, with the Windy City Whiffers 13 back and the Peasants back 15, despite former Husker Alex Gordon turning his season around.
In the only division that matters, disasterous calamity has struck the faithful, as the Anti-Christ Spawns of Satan from Oysterland have the best record in the game at 53-34. These are truly the times that try men's souls. Team Canada and the Greatest Franchise in history are both 10 back, and Uncle Joe's position might be in jeopardy as even the Rocket has failed to right the ship. The Birds are 13 back, and Ocean Dwellers from Florida are 15 and again looking for the #1 draft pick, although they might have to arm wrestle the Nats and Cincy for the title.
Not sure how things are going to turn out, but the Yanks might be home for October this year as there are already 4 teams with 50 victories, Team Starbucks is at 49 and the Boss's club are a game below .500 right now. It appears that the WC won't come out of the East anyway. Over in the NL, there look to be about 8 teams in contention, with only the Central being a two team race. I'll call the Priests, Brew Crew and the Quakers with the Snakes as the WC in the NL (I know, wishful thinking) and the Heavenly Host, Tiggers and the Heart of EVIL as the division winners, with the Natives as the WC. Tiggers versus the Priests in the Series, which the Tiggers take in 6.
In the Inferior circuit, the malodorous Metropolitans lead in the East, leading a resurgent Atlanta Bravo club by a two game margin. Philly is at the .500 mark despite leading the league in scoring at 44-44, 4 1/2 back, and the Fish and the Nats are 7 and 12 1/2 out, respectively. Let's hope the smelly ones falter, I can't stand it when my co-worker (huge NYM fan) gets uppity.
In the Central, the young Brew Crew is leading the divison with the best home record in the league and own a 4 1/2 lead over the Little Bears, and the defending WS champ Redbirds are swooning with a 40-45 record, 7 1/2 out. The Bucs are back 9, Stros and Cincy are both pretty far back in the rearview mirror at 10 1/2 and 13 back.
Out in the West, the Priests lead the league in fewest runs allowed and have the NL's best record at 49-38, but they hold a scant 1 game lead on the team formerly from Brooklyn. The Snakes are 3 1/2 back and even the Rocks are at .500 and only 5 1/2 out. The Midgets are 10 1/2 out.
Staying out on the Left Coast, but moving over to the Superior League, the team with a really long name holds a 2 game league on team Starbucks, the Fighting Irish are at .500, and the Lone Star law enforcement squad is 15 games out at 38-50. Ouch.
The Tiggers lead the league in scoring and have the top spot in the Central, but are being tracked closely by team Lake Erie, who only trail by 1 and have the best home record in the league. The Yellow Pastries with the creamy filling are 9 back at 45-43, with the Windy City Whiffers 13 back and the Peasants back 15, despite former Husker Alex Gordon turning his season around.
In the only division that matters, disasterous calamity has struck the faithful, as the Anti-Christ Spawns of Satan from Oysterland have the best record in the game at 53-34. These are truly the times that try men's souls. Team Canada and the Greatest Franchise in history are both 10 back, and Uncle Joe's position might be in jeopardy as even the Rocket has failed to right the ship. The Birds are 13 back, and Ocean Dwellers from Florida are 15 and again looking for the #1 draft pick, although they might have to arm wrestle the Nats and Cincy for the title.
Not sure how things are going to turn out, but the Yanks might be home for October this year as there are already 4 teams with 50 victories, Team Starbucks is at 49 and the Boss's club are a game below .500 right now. It appears that the WC won't come out of the East anyway. Over in the NL, there look to be about 8 teams in contention, with only the Central being a two team race. I'll call the Priests, Brew Crew and the Quakers with the Snakes as the WC in the NL (I know, wishful thinking) and the Heavenly Host, Tiggers and the Heart of EVIL as the division winners, with the Natives as the WC. Tiggers versus the Priests in the Series, which the Tiggers take in 6.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Antarctic Ice Core Reveals 800,000 Years of Climate Change
Almost to post number 500! (doesn't seem possible, but it's true) - and it just so happens to be one of those "bees in my bonnet" topics - global warming/climate change.
via National Geographic again, an ice core recovered from the South Pole by a French research team shows the climate history for over 3/4 of a million years. Earth has been up to 10 degrees colder and almost 5 degrees Celsius warmer over the historical record. The interesting thing is both the warmest and coldest periods that were uncovered were relatively recent, dating back to the latest Ice Age.
"The new climate record covers an additional cycle of glacial change, amounting to 11 cycles in total, lead author Jouzel said. Plugging the data from the entire core into an atmospheric model, the scientists were able to reconstruct a reliable temperature record for the past 800,000 years. In today's online journal Science, the team showed that the coldest period occurred around 20,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum, when the ice sheets were at their peak.
It was about 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than today. (Related: "Antarctica's Atmosphere Warming Dramatically, Study Finds" [March 30, 2006].)
Meanwhile, the warmest period was during the last interglacial period, which is an interval of warmer global average temperature that separates ice ages. At that time, around 130,000 years ago, it was a balmy 4.5 degrees Celsius (8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than today."
This is another of those things the global warming crowd don't seem to understand, or willfully choose to ignore in order to try to make their political point, which seems to be that we should all go back to horses and buggies or something.
We are still recovering from the last Ice Age, and there have also been quite a number of climate oscillations (like both the Medieval Warming period and the Little Ice Age within the last millennium, for example) within that time frame. So a 1 degree warming trend over the course of the last century (which is the biggest piece of evidence used to justify the warming theory) just isn't that big of a deal, and furthermore, no one can prove just how much human industrialization has influenced the warming we've seen.
Humans have adapted to far greater climate changes over just the last 20,000 years without the benefits of our current technology, so it is difficult to imagine (for this writer at least) a scenario with changes so severe, so dire that we can't adjust to it, however painful any change might be. Call me an optimist, but I believe humanity will survive, whatever actually occurs. So completely altering our economic and industrial base to address a potential, but still unproven (and unlikely) disaster just doesn't seem like a wise policy course for us to undertake.
Perhaps better evidence will be forthcoming and we will all die in a global cataclysm of flooding, the roaches will eventually take over and discuss amongst themselves human civilization the way we do the dinosaurs - but I doubt it.
via National Geographic again, an ice core recovered from the South Pole by a French research team shows the climate history for over 3/4 of a million years. Earth has been up to 10 degrees colder and almost 5 degrees Celsius warmer over the historical record. The interesting thing is both the warmest and coldest periods that were uncovered were relatively recent, dating back to the latest Ice Age.
"The new climate record covers an additional cycle of glacial change, amounting to 11 cycles in total, lead author Jouzel said. Plugging the data from the entire core into an atmospheric model, the scientists were able to reconstruct a reliable temperature record for the past 800,000 years. In today's online journal Science, the team showed that the coldest period occurred around 20,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum, when the ice sheets were at their peak.
It was about 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than today. (Related: "Antarctica's Atmosphere Warming Dramatically, Study Finds" [March 30, 2006].)
Meanwhile, the warmest period was during the last interglacial period, which is an interval of warmer global average temperature that separates ice ages. At that time, around 130,000 years ago, it was a balmy 4.5 degrees Celsius (8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than today."
This is another of those things the global warming crowd don't seem to understand, or willfully choose to ignore in order to try to make their political point, which seems to be that we should all go back to horses and buggies or something.
We are still recovering from the last Ice Age, and there have also been quite a number of climate oscillations (like both the Medieval Warming period and the Little Ice Age within the last millennium, for example) within that time frame. So a 1 degree warming trend over the course of the last century (which is the biggest piece of evidence used to justify the warming theory) just isn't that big of a deal, and furthermore, no one can prove just how much human industrialization has influenced the warming we've seen.
Humans have adapted to far greater climate changes over just the last 20,000 years without the benefits of our current technology, so it is difficult to imagine (for this writer at least) a scenario with changes so severe, so dire that we can't adjust to it, however painful any change might be. Call me an optimist, but I believe humanity will survive, whatever actually occurs. So completely altering our economic and industrial base to address a potential, but still unproven (and unlikely) disaster just doesn't seem like a wise policy course for us to undertake.
Perhaps better evidence will be forthcoming and we will all die in a global cataclysm of flooding, the roaches will eventually take over and discuss amongst themselves human civilization the way we do the dinosaurs - but I doubt it.
Unexpected Evidence in the Capability of Fencing
Meant to post this a while back before the holiday and never got to posting it.
via National Geographic, of all places. Arizona's Organ Pipe National Monument is seeing unprecedented foot traffic by illegal immigrants and drug smugglers - after a fence was built preventing vehicular traffic through the park. Seems more fencing might be in order, don't you think?
"Fred Patton, chief ranger at the monument, said that since the 30-mile (48-kilometer) barrier was completed in July 2006, it has been almost 100-percent effective in keeping out illegal vehicles. The remote monument had been a popular crossing point for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers since 2001, Patton said. Upwards of a thousand people a day were crossing through the park, as vehicles loaded with people and drugs barreled through the desert.
"We were getting multiple vehicles that were bringing in either narcotics or illegal entrants," Patton said."
Of course, it can also be pointed out that the traffic near San Diego has dropped considerably since the fencing there was put up at the border as well. Thank you, Congressman Duncan Hunter (my preferred VP candidate for Fred!). Now you could argue that the fence just shifts the traffic elsewhere, which is true to some extent, but if you built a fence along the entire border, it would have to substantially inhibit traffic travelling north. Some people would still be so desperate they would still try, of course, but it would certainly inhibit many of those traveling north from even trying, and perhaps pressure the government of our southern neighbor to get its own house in order economically, so that its very productive and hard working citizens it now exports to our nation could succeed economically at home, where they belong.
via National Geographic, of all places. Arizona's Organ Pipe National Monument is seeing unprecedented foot traffic by illegal immigrants and drug smugglers - after a fence was built preventing vehicular traffic through the park. Seems more fencing might be in order, don't you think?
"Fred Patton, chief ranger at the monument, said that since the 30-mile (48-kilometer) barrier was completed in July 2006, it has been almost 100-percent effective in keeping out illegal vehicles. The remote monument had been a popular crossing point for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers since 2001, Patton said. Upwards of a thousand people a day were crossing through the park, as vehicles loaded with people and drugs barreled through the desert.
"We were getting multiple vehicles that were bringing in either narcotics or illegal entrants," Patton said."
Of course, it can also be pointed out that the traffic near San Diego has dropped considerably since the fencing there was put up at the border as well. Thank you, Congressman Duncan Hunter (my preferred VP candidate for Fred!). Now you could argue that the fence just shifts the traffic elsewhere, which is true to some extent, but if you built a fence along the entire border, it would have to substantially inhibit traffic travelling north. Some people would still be so desperate they would still try, of course, but it would certainly inhibit many of those traveling north from even trying, and perhaps pressure the government of our southern neighbor to get its own house in order economically, so that its very productive and hard working citizens it now exports to our nation could succeed economically at home, where they belong.
Former GAO Man takes on myth of Fred Being "Lazy"
It's been a while since I found something interesting about my preferrred candidate for President, Fred! (I mean truly interesting, rather than some goof ball attempt by the opposition to damage his credibility) but I think I found it today.
Jeff Nelligan, former Government Accountability Office official, speaks to his experience with then Senator Thompson, and his account contrasts pretty starkly with the description of his service often characterized in the media.
"Thompson was the guy who knew all these arcane, and while other members were dancing around getting headlines on the issue of the day, Thompson was grinding it out in Committee; I know, I had to attend those hearings and they were full of minutiae.In fact, of the many Members I’ve dealt with in my primo roll as the number-one Hill hack, Thompson was one of the two or three who always impressed me as immersed in details, the guy who took on these arcane and non-headline issues, and pursued them doggedly. Another, coincidentally enough, was Senator Joe Lieberman, ranking on the Committee and a genuine friend of Thompson’s."
Not sure if I recall correctly, but a while back one notable right wing blogger (I think it was Captain Ed over at CQ) went over the last Congressional session Fred had served in and found him involved in (sponsoring, co-sponsoring, amending, etc) over 100 pending bills in the Senate. That's lazy? Hardly seems possible to be involved in over 100 pieces of legislation in a single session and be described that way, but when you are more focused on actually accomplishing something substantial rather than playing up to the Beltway media, and you are a R to boot, then I guess the facts don't matter much.
Jeff Nelligan, former Government Accountability Office official, speaks to his experience with then Senator Thompson, and his account contrasts pretty starkly with the description of his service often characterized in the media.
"Thompson was the guy who knew all these arcane, and while other members were dancing around getting headlines on the issue of the day, Thompson was grinding it out in Committee; I know, I had to attend those hearings and they were full of minutiae.In fact, of the many Members I’ve dealt with in my primo roll as the number-one Hill hack, Thompson was one of the two or three who always impressed me as immersed in details, the guy who took on these arcane and non-headline issues, and pursued them doggedly. Another, coincidentally enough, was Senator Joe Lieberman, ranking on the Committee and a genuine friend of Thompson’s."
Not sure if I recall correctly, but a while back one notable right wing blogger (I think it was Captain Ed over at CQ) went over the last Congressional session Fred had served in and found him involved in (sponsoring, co-sponsoring, amending, etc) over 100 pending bills in the Senate. That's lazy? Hardly seems possible to be involved in over 100 pieces of legislation in a single session and be described that way, but when you are more focused on actually accomplishing something substantial rather than playing up to the Beltway media, and you are a R to boot, then I guess the facts don't matter much.
Astronomers Find Most Distant Galaxies Ever
via Livescience, astronomers at Hawaii's Mauna Kea observatory, using a sophisicated technique known as "gravitational lensing" to peer into the distant past, have discovered the earliest known galaxies, formed as early as 500 million years after the Big Bang, 13.2 billion years ago. The technique used to discover these early stars utilizes the gravity of forground stellar objects to "focus" the light coming from the more distant objects.
"The light from the half-dozen faraway star-forming galaxies was boosted about 20 times by the magnifying effect of the foreground galaxy cluster, said team member Dan Stark, a Caltech graduate student. Gravitational lensing is tricky, the researchers admit. To bolster their case, they point to very ancient galaxies that are just slightly closer, yet which already contain old stars."
Pretty amazing stuff.
"The light from the half-dozen faraway star-forming galaxies was boosted about 20 times by the magnifying effect of the foreground galaxy cluster, said team member Dan Stark, a Caltech graduate student. Gravitational lensing is tricky, the researchers admit. To bolster their case, they point to very ancient galaxies that are just slightly closer, yet which already contain old stars."
Pretty amazing stuff.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Job Numbers
The Skeptical One looks here at the recent employment figures to try to determine where the latest meme of economic disaster will be spun from, and finds the news so overwhelmingly positive that we're not sure - but there still is a Republican in the White House, so it's just GOT to bad, somehow, someway.
His analysis is that not only are more people employed, but all those good manufacturing and construciton jobs that are disappearing are being replaced by HIGHER paying jobs in IT, wholesale trade and business services.
Ouch, that must hurt the NY Times staff's brains.
BTW, no posting over the holiday due to vacation and a much needed break. Got some excellent comments while I was away, however. Thanks!
His analysis is that not only are more people employed, but all those good manufacturing and construciton jobs that are disappearing are being replaced by HIGHER paying jobs in IT, wholesale trade and business services.
Ouch, that must hurt the NY Times staff's brains.
BTW, no posting over the holiday due to vacation and a much needed break. Got some excellent comments while I was away, however. Thanks!
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