Tales of the Heliosphere

If Only Iranian Nukes Had Removable Floor Mats.

2009-09-30T00:15:00.000-07:00

From a government press release.

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today alerted Lexus and Toyota owners about conditions that could cause the accelerator to get stuck open under certain conditions. The agency strongly recommends taking out removable floor mats on the driver’s side in certain models and not to replace them with any other mat, either from Toyota or any other brand. ... NHTSA said that Toyota has announced that it will soon launch a safety recall of various model year vehicles to redress the problem." (Here.)

-tdr

One Person's Uncivil Protester Is Another's Noble Activist.

2009-09-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

Has tea-party political incivility spread to California's state politics? A University of California Board of Regents meeting was held up yesterday by protesters holding signs and shouting. Board members had to leave the meeting until the protests were quieted down. Things were so bad, 12 people had to be detained. During the meeting, angry statements and question were hurled at the board members by people complaining about California's cuts to higher education. (Here.)

Wait a minute here. The angry and rude protesters were complaining about government spending cuts? They weren't angry, anti-government, conservatives? They were liberals? Never mind. Liberal protesters have always been uncivil jerks. It's how they are. No news here.

-tdr

Until The Last Jihadist Is Burning In Hell.

2009-09-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Never forget, never forgive.

-tdr

In The Macroverse: Spider Kills Bee.

2009-08-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

From In The Macroverse

This spider worked non-stop for about 20 minutes wrapping a bee that had gotten stuck in its web. Once the bee was completely encased in webbing, the spider dragged it into the bottlebrush tree for dining later.

From In The Macroverse

Meanwhile, in a nearby web off-camera another bee struggled for the duration and escaped. There is no mercy or justice in nature. Only survival or death contingent on circumstances.

To see more photos of the bee wrapping the spider sequence, click the links above, which take you to the In The Macroverse album at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera. Scroll to the end of the album. And thank the gods you're at the top of the food chain. So say we all!

-tdr

Infestation: A Sci-Fi Gem on SyFy Channel.

2009-08-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, SyFy Channel showed Kyle Rankin's (no relation, darn the luck) new monster-bug movie, Infestation. (Here.) The movie has a lot of fun playing with monster, zombie, and alien invasion movie conventions. But it's far from being an exploitation of science fiction genres. There's good writing with real-live character development and good direction. The movie is also blessed by the lead acting of Chris Marquette and the supporting role played by Ray Wise, as Marquette's dad.

Infestation takes place in the first days after animal-sized bugs have conquered the world. All humans had been instantaneously knocked unconscious only to awaken some days later wrapped in webbing. Marquette's character is part of a small band of humans who try to survive and decide to launch an attack on the bugs' nest, to rescue the girl and blow up the queen.

The plot will probably surprise nobody but the writing might; for instance, when Rankin has Marquette's character talk disappointingly of having fantasized that the end of the world would come some day leaving him and his own beautiful Eve to repopulate the Earth. The reality is not exactly what he'd imagined.

When SyFy shows the movie again, as they no doubt will, give it a look.

-tdr

Paid Grassroots Organizing.

2009-08-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

This flyer in the neighborhood is a timely reminder that when liberals organize using paid workers of an advocacy group, it's still a grassroots campaign. No astroturfing here. Move along now.

-tdr

Update: Even better, Grassroots Campaigns is a paid political consulting, fundraising, and field organizing organization. Welcome to Wonderland, Alice, where words mean what we say they mean.

Taxifornia Interruptus.

2009-07-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

Tax-happy Californians --- those few, those unhappy few --- are beside themselves with frustration over the revised state budget.

After the recent special election, in which California's voters overwhelmingly said "no, no, no, no, no" to more taxes and spending, Arnold Schwarzenegger recovered from his political amnesia and remembered why we elected him the Governator in the first place. He forced the Legislature to cut expenditures, reform social programs, and hold the line on taxes. Thanks, Governor!

Not everybody is as grateful. For instance, Dean Calbreath, business columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune, wrote this after passage of California's revised budget:

"Nor did the Legislature slap a tax on the Big Oil companies, which have been taking petroleum out of the ground in California since 1861 without paying royalties. Every other oil-producing state imposes royalties, but heaven forbid that we should follow the lead of Alaska, Wyoming and Texas.

"Thanks to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pledge to cut services instead of raising taxes, Occidental Petroleum – which generated $6.9 billion in profits last year – won't have to pay royalties on that new, 150 million-to 250 million-barrel field it discovered in Kern County." (Here.)

Calbreath may be on to something. Perhaps California should follow the lead of Alaska, Wyoming, and Texas. California has one of the highest income taxes of all the United States. Alaska, Wyoming, and Texas don't tax personal income at all. (Here.) Now that's the kind of tax policy California needs.

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: Saga Of The Zebra Finch

2009-07-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Two weeks since he first made an appearance in the backyard, the escaped Zebra Finch is still coming around. He seems to be acclimating to the outdoors.

From Saga of the Zebra Finch

Not sure how long he'll survive, what with this neighborhood cat stalking the feeders every day. "That's right, cat, you'd better keep walking away, you damn furry little serial killer!"

From Cats

But he's doing fine for now.

From Saga of the Zebra Finch

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: Pigeon Sumo

2009-07-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

From Pigeon Sumo

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: Mockingbirds vs. Crow.

2009-07-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Competition among birds isn't only over food. Sometimes, birds fight it out for territory. Here two mockingbirds harass a crow to drive it off the top of their telephone pole.

From Birds

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: Ultimate Pigeon Fighting.

2009-07-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

What do you get when too many pigeons try to fit in the same food bowl? Here it is. As always click on the photos to zoom in.

From Birds

-tdr

Republished to change images size.

Wild In The Urbs

2009-06-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Somebody's cage is missing a Zebra Finch. (Here.) The bird is not native to Southern California. Fortunately for it, it found a backyard feeder; and for me: it's got a sweet call and beautiful coloring.

Meanwhile, a native bird feeds on a San Diego Sunflower in the front yard.

The sunflower plant still blooms but it's losing flowers in anticipation of summer. The blooming flowers continue to feed hummingbirds and insects. The dying flowers feed other birds. Nice!

-tdr

Stories On Film From Iran

2009-06-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

We sit riveted to our TV screens and computer monitors by the images coming from Iran. We see people putting their lives on the line in the streets, marching into harm's way, rising up against tyranny, fighting on behalf of freedom. Or is something else happening?

The demonstrators have gone into the streets protesting the election that appears to have been stolen from their favored candidate. Yet this candidate comes from the theocracy that rules Iran. He is a founding father of the Islamic revolution that replaced one dictatorship with another. Are his supporters in the streets merely pawns in a power struggle among the clerics who rule Iran?

Perhaps the images lie to us. Certainly the images depict events that are truly happening. But whether those events depict an evident truth or mask a lie is not yet clear. So, we read and watch the news out of Iran and wonder whether what we are seeing is true or a lie.

Fiction is truth masquerading as lies. We read and watch fiction knowing full well we are being told a pack of lies, but we also know that truth lies hidden in those lies. (Here.) Iran is blessed with storytellers who tell truthful lies on film. Here's a sampling, in no particular order of personal preference.

Crimson Gold: A tragedy about the last days of a pizza delivery man in Tehran, doomed by shame and lack of opportunity.

Offside: The misadventures of young women who, motivated by love of country and the game, must disguise themselves as men in order to attend Iran's World Cup Soccer match.

Baran: Another story of disguised gender, but this time a love story, and a story of Afghan refugees surviving in Iran.

The Mirror: It's not uncommon for Iranian movies to have a naturalistic feel to them. This film goes further than most and breaks the Fourth Wall. Midway through the film, the preteen actress playing the young girl making her way home alone through Tehran, suddenly decides she's had enough of acting and storms off. The rest of the movie follows the actress as she continues to make her way home across Tehran, but now the action is unscripted. Or is it?

Secret Ballot: Iran has elections. This comical movie tells the story of a female elections worker and a male soldier collecting ballots from far-flung polling places in a remote rural province

Children of Heaven: A young brother and sister hide the loss of a pair of tennis shoes from their parents. It's a family movie that culminates in a foot race across the city.

Color of Paradise: The saddest but most beautifully filmed story of a father and his blind child. It will haunt your memory for a long time. It still haunts mine, 10 years on.

Marooned In Iraq: One of Iran's naturalistic movies. The plot involves a Kurdish singer from Iran who travels to Iraq in the wake of the first US-Iraq war to find his former wife. Not a musical by any means but there's lots of singing performances by the main character and others he meets along the way.

Ten: Women in Iran struggle to live under the oppression of the Islamic Republic. Their stories are told in conversations during car rides across Tehran.

-tdr

There Is No God But Obama, And Obama Is His Prophet.

2009-06-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

Newsweek's Evan Thomas stirred controversy and debate after he said about President Barack Obama's Cairo speech, "In a way, Obama’s standing above the country, above-above the world, a sort of god." Thomas sort of complains that he is being taken out of context, which prompted Peter Wehner to write on Commentary magazine's Contentions blog: "So I would ask: Mr. Thomas, in what context can you call Barack Obama a 'sort of God'?" (Here.)

The correct context would be when Mr. Thomas is describing how President Obama's followers view his place in the world.

The apotheosis of Barack Obama to god-President begins with his name. Obama: the name's first letter is an "O," a circle, the perfect shape in nature, symbolic of unity. O-ba-ma is three syllables long, a magical and divine number, powerful in rhetoric. (See "the rule of three" here.) Say his name: Obama. To Western ears his name is exotic. A magic word, chantable: Obama, Obama, Obama. Don't think for a moment his marketers don't know it.

The apotheosis continued with his campaign. There were the creepy YouTube videos by will.i.am and others, the iconic posters, the proliferation of news photos with strange halo effects around Obama’s head, the Obama speeches attended by swooning and crying listeners, the campaign's instructions to volunteers to steer away from policy talk and testify about their own "come to Obama" moments, the thrill running up Chris Matthews’s leg, the cable news hype leading up to the inauguration. Need we go on?

An aspect of Barack Obama’s appeal is that he seems a sort of god or prophet. He has been sent to America to redeem its past sins and transform the country into something better than it’s ever been. He isn't just a messenger of hope and change, he is the very personification of hope and change. A man of humble means born from the union of an American white woman and an immigrant black African man who grows up to become President. In crisis he is calm, unflappable, cool. He stands above it all. He is a font of wisdom who sees the flaws in both sides of any issue or dispute and is able to show us the perfect middle way. His mere words are believed to have the power to effect miraculous change: Obama speaks in Cairo; an electoral miracle happens in Lebanon.

There is rhetorical exaggeration in all this, of course. But not much. There is no god but Obama, and Obama is his prophet. Peace be upon his name.

-tdr

First published in slightly different form as a comment to the Contentions blog on Commentary.org.

Taken (with Jack Bauer)

2009-06-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

Like Jack Bauer in 24, Liam Neeson's character in Taken is a super competent gunman with a daughter. Instead of the 24 hours Jack Bauer has to work with, Neeson's character has 96 hours to rescue his daughter from the clutches of white slavers in France.

The movie's plot is guided by the question: What Would Jack Bauer Do? So, when Neeson's character finds his daughter's French kidnapper he beats him to try and make him talk. When he finds the Albanian thugs who held her, he kills all but one with knife and gun, and then tortures the survivor for information. So on and so on until the body count climbs into double digits and the property damage to six figures, maybe seven. Taken is a fix for Jack Bauer fans who can't wait for the next season of 24.

Neeson's character would make Jack Bauer proud, except for one bad habit. Jack knows how to hold a handgun. Neeson's character doesn't. Get that finger off the trigger guard, Liam!

-tdr

Paul Blart: Mall Cop aka Die Hard With A Belly

2009-06-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Kevin James' new DVD is a not very funny action comedy about an unarmed security guard trying to rescue hostages held by a criminal gang at the shopping mall. Call it Die Hard With A Belly, but without any belly laughs. It's got a few comic moments but nothing that will make you LOLROTFLYAO. (The Hangover, playing now at local theaters is the movie to see for those laughs.)

The special features on the Blart DVD are more entertaining than the movie. The actors who played the minions in the team of criminals who take over the shopping mall are extreme sport athletes: skateboarders, bicyclists, free runners. The DVD's special features profile these athletes and show how the stunts were performed. All very interesting and fun.

The stunts in the movie include something called "free running" or "parkour." Parkour "is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body.[2] It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment—from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls—and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas." (Here.)

Youtube has short videos of parkour in action. Also, the DVD District 13 (aka District B13) has some great parkour action, with noted athlete David Belle doing some amazing things. But perhaps the best free running movie I've seen, although I didn't know what it was at the time, is Run Lola Run. That movie not only has great running stunts throughout, it's a quality movie. Time to put Lola back in the rental queue for a second look.

-tdr

Republished once to correct typo.

Remember, Size Doesn't Matter.

2009-06-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

The universe is a large place full of really big objects. Some people like to see some significance in humanity's small size in comparison. Whoever posted the really cool video showing the sizes of planets and stars on Youtube seems to think so. (Here.) After showing larger and larger images of planets and stars and then comparing them to the enormously larger size of the universe, the video ends with the statement, "No, you are not the center of the universe."

Well, yes. But does the universe even have a center?

I have to say, I don't quite understand the need of some people to diminish the significance of humanity. The fact that we're small and not located in the center of the universe means nothing really. Stars might be big but they're just giant flaming balls of gas. Big deal. The universe might be enormous but it's mostly large expanses of space. Again, big deal.

It is cool to think about how truly large the universe is and how truly beautiful it can be. Does the universe know how big it is or how beautiful? Do stars? It's doubtful. But we know. And that makes all the difference.

-tdr

Terminator Salvation.

2009-06-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

It's better than you've heard. The movie is a worthy sequel in the franchise, and certainly better than T3: Judgment Day. T3 was a hopeless movie about fate being in control of us. Terminator Salvation has a more life affirming theme, delivered with lots of cool chases, gun battles, giant robots, and unbelievably realistic computer animation. What's not to like about that?

-tdr

The First 100 Days Down ...

2009-04-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

Only 1381 days to go. January 20, 2013, cannot come too soon.

-tdr

Update: Okay, I added wrong. That's 1361 days to go. Even better.

In The Macroverse: Beauty And Grace.

2009-04-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

While some of us spent Sunday morning relaxing in the yard, at the insect level it was just another day of working to survive. Here's a pollen-laden bee hovering among the branches of a San Diego Sunflower. This fierce-looking spider sits on another San Diego Sunflower bush nearby. Click the photo for a closeup of the spider's face. Its fu manchu mustache-like markings alone are worth the look.
I have no idea what this flying insect is or the flower it's resting on but they're both strikingly beautiful. The flower's beauty is obvious to the naked eye. The insect is so small that to the naked eye it appears to be nothing much. Only under magnification is its beauty revealed to the human eye. Do other insects notice? Who can say? As far as we know, the aesthetics of a thing is appreciated only by human beings. These creatures live lives of unobserved grace and beauty.

To see more, go to my photos page at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera/InTheMacroverse and scroll to the end for the most recent additions. (Here.)

-tdr

Update: The flower in the bottom photo is a Tidy Tips and the insect is a hover fly.

First Treasury Secretary From Metaluna.

2009-04-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

Could Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner be an alien? Here's Geithner.

And here's Metalunan scientist, Exeter, from the classic 1955 scifi movie, This Island Earth. (Here.)

It's a forehead thing. We report, you decide.

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: Cesar Chavez Day

2009-03-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Today's a holiday at my office. We get all the holidays California state judges get, and they get a lot. So, this idle morning was spent in the backyard along with these visitors:

A Black-headed Grosbeak.

A House Sparrow, I think, came along.

Pigeons, too, of course, flew in from the nearby grocery store.

Meanwhile, the cat roamed the yard blissfully unaware of her appointment for vaccinations later today.

Have a day, everybody.

-tdr

In The Macroverse: Woodpeckers versus Pine Tree.

2009-03-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

The woodpeckers at Mount Laguna this weekend worked nonstop pounding on the pine trees and storing their nuts in the bark. The trees didn't seem to complain but nobody would blame them if they did. Here's an example of the woodpeckers' work.

And here's an oozing wound in the bark from all that pecking. That's gotta hurt.

But it's not all pain and destruction. Here's a pretty sapfall hanging from the bark.

For more closeup photos of a pine tree's skin, go to my picasaweb photos page at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera, open the folder labeled In The Macroverse, and scroll to the end. (Here.)

-tdr

Wild In The Wild: Mount Laguna Edition.

2009-03-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend's shots of birds were taken at Mount Laguna about 50 miles east of San Diego. Saw 14 different types of birds. If I were a real birder I'd give you a list. But I'm not. So, here's a picture of a Steller's Jay, instead.

For more pictures of this and other birds go to my picasaweb photos page at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera and open the 2009 Laguna Mountain Folder. (Here)

-tdr

California: The Fools-Gold State.

2009-03-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

California's government irresponsibly spent too much money during the housing and stock market bubbles. This year, when the economy tanked, California's tax revenues fell but government spending didn't. Instead of passing pro-growth measures to revive the economy and making adjustments to this year's spending in order to close the relatively small deficit this year, government officials ginned up a crisis. They inflated the size of the deficit by combining the real deficit from this year with the projected deficit for next year.

The state controller stopped paying California's bills, the governor declared an emergency, and legislators were locked in the capitol building until they passed a budget. The governor conspired with the Democratic majorities in the legislature to push a budget loaded with tax increases, a few token spending cuts, and not much else. Three Republican legislators in each chamber gave the votes necessary to secure passage. Declaring victory, the governor and legislative leaders claimed this budget would solve California's fiscal crisis through the 2010 fiscal year. The new budget would spare Californians from the legislature's annual budget fiasco this summer.

Not so fast. It doesn't take a genius to realize that increasing taxes in a recession will not increase revenues much and will slow the economy's recovery. The solution to California's budget crisis will involve real and significant cuts in state spending. California's politicians won't do that because real spending cuts will mean laying off state workers and taking on the most powerful political force in this state: the government employees unions.

Nice try, Sacramento, but no cigar. The day of reckoning has been delayed not avoided.

The state controller just issued a press release announcing that California will begin paying its bills again and refunding income tax payments. Buried at the end of the press release is this ominous warning.

"'While progress was made, this recent budget deal does not put California’s fiscal house in order. Revenue erosion of nearly $900 million in the month of February alone, coupled with numerous indicators that California’s economy has not yet turned the corner, demands vigilance over the State finances during the months ahead,' [Controller John] Chiang said. 'While current-year cash flow problems appear to be manageable, early projections indicate the recently-enacted budget did little to guarantee there would be sufficient cash solutions to meet the State’s payment obligations for the coming fiscal year. If the Governor and lawmakers do not take action before July, we could be accelerating towards the very cliff that we just stopped short of falling over.'" (PDF here.)

What kind of action do you think he has in mind? California's taxpayers had better hold on to their wallets.

-tdr

Name That Institution.

2009-03-05T23:50:00.000-08:00

California's Supreme Court heard arguments today on whether the California voters' decision to pass Proposition 8 and limit marriage to opposite sex couples would be allowed to stand. The argument was televised on the State of California's government channel.

Judging from the direction of the arguments, it appears the Court will uphold Proposition 8 and rule that the voters had the right to limit marriage to opposite sex couples. The Court's ruling will be extremely limited to holding that Proposition 8 merely affected nomenclature. The Court will rule that Proposition 8 changed nothing else with respect to the rights of same-sex couples.

The Court already found in The Marriage Cases last year that same-sex couples under California's Domestic Partnership law enjoy nearly all the same rights as those enjoyed by opposite-sex marriage partners. The argument today, and concessions by the attorney supporting Proposition 8, made it clear that Proposition 8 in no way changed any other part of the Supreme Court's ruling in The Marriage Cases. The argument today further clarified that California could expand the definition of Domestic Partnerships so that such partnerships would be marriages in all but name, and that expanded definition would not run afoul of Proposition 8's limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples alone.

The course same-sex marriage advocates could follow after Proposition 8 is upheld is to seek to marginalize marriage and make domestic partnerships the norm. Use the arguments made at the Court to urge California's legislature to make domestic partnerships available to opposite-sex couples, to have California continue to issue marriage certificates to opposite-sex couples but also register every opposite-sex married couple as a domestic partnership, have California recognize domestic partnerships transacted in other states as valid in California when the partners move to California, and in every way possible change domestic partnerships so that legally they are identical to marriage.

-tdr

Movie: The International

2009-03-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

The International tells a cynical story of international bankers selling weapons, promoting political chaos, undermining governments, and generally making the world a worse place for everybody. Rich white businessmen in cool suits and fantastic buildings are the villians. A rumpled, world-weary cop badly in need of a shave is the hero. Okay, that all sounds predicable, but there are things to like about this political thriller.

1. There is a great shootout in the Guggenheim Museum that ought to catapult into the top ten of movie shootouts. A very exciting bit of performance art.

2. Very cool modern architecture is used to great effect, especially the headquarters of the evil international bank in Luxembourg, and the Italian alpine lakeside headquarters of an international arms manufacturer. Old architecture in Istanbul, Turkey, provides the setting for a rooftop chase. If you travel to Istanbul, find the neighborhood where walkways are built onto the roofs of the old part of town.

3. Five pithy lines of dialogue.

"I'm more comfortable tense."

"Character is easier kept than recovered."

"Sometimes a man finds his destiny on the road he took to avoid it."

"There's the difference between truth and fiction: fiction has to make sense."

"Sometimes the hardest thing in life is knowing which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn. I'm the bridge you burn."

"When there is no way out, go further in."

4. The corporate assassin. He's ordinary and even has a physical handicap, but he's the model of professional competence.

5. Clive Owen. He's a natural as the dirty hero.

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: The Early Bird Gets Something.

2009-02-20T07:59:00.000-08:00

This little bird was busy this morning taking its breakfast meal on the sage plant. Notice the yellow matter coating its beak of this little bird. It's from the underside of the sage leaves that the bird is resting on.

Here's a shot of the bird feeding.

The photo is taken through a foggy window and a screen. Hence the poor quality. But it's still possible to make out the food on the bottom of the sage leaf and on the beak.

Native plants rule! You're welcome, little fella.

-tdr

Screenwriting Fantasies.

2009-02-19T01:17:00.000-08:00

The country is in a recession, people are losing their jobs and thinking about career plans B, C, and D. My plan B is becoming a B-movie scifi actor. Like, for instance, the career of C. Thomas Howell at The Asylum straight to DVD production company. Or Tim Thomerson of the Trancers DVD series. Perhaps Michael Gross from Tremors on. Failing that, Plan C is screenwriting, although something tells me Plan D should be fleshed out, too, just in case.

Thinking about the scifi movie Wyvern and its surprisingly good script prompted thoughts of other screenplays I wish I'd written. Here they are, in no particular order:

The Zero Effect: A modern imagining of Sherlock Holmes with Bill Pullman as Daryl Zero, a late 20th Century American private detective, and Ben Stiller as his assistant.

Miller's Crossing: A little known Coen Brothers movie and perhaps one of the best gangster movies ever made. Very reminiscent of the writings of Dashiell Hammett, whose writing I've worshipped for years.

Serenity: The most interesting science fiction movie to come along in a long time. Joss Whedon's depiction of good intentions gone horribly wrong is the best portrayal of the true evil of modernity, which is the notion that human nature should be modified by our leaders to fit a social purpose.

The Princess Bride: The sweetest story of romantic love and the love of a grandfather for his grandson ever told.

Barcelona: Young Americans, unapologetically American, living in Spain and falling in love with Spanish beauties during the Reagan years.

Team America: World Police: Funny, funny, funny political musical satire. With puppets.

Tremors: The perfect movie about monsters terrorizing a small secluded town.

-tdr

Cylons, Humans, Whatever.

2009-02-19T00:46:00.000-08:00

Now that Lost has slipped into nonsensicality and 24 has become a parody of itself, Battlestar Galactica stands alone at the pinnacle of television, notwithstanding last week's episode devoted entirely to exposition. BSG's final season is confounding viewer expectations and opening up entirely new themes. The biggest question now is not why are cylons and humans fighting and who will win, it's just what the hell are the cylons, especially the Final Five.

The scifi website io9 offers this analysis:

"Some stuff from last week's "No Exit," which could have some bearing on upcoming episodes, cleared up by the show's writers. Humans probably originated on Kobol, then spread to the colonies. Earth was destroyed because the skinjob-style Cylons living there built their own Centurions, who then rose up against them. Cavil is the only "skinjob" model to know the Final Five's identities, because he corrupted the other six models' programming so they'd never speak of the Final Five or search for their identities. (So he had to box D'Anna when she learned the truth, or it would destroy his "house of cards.") The Cylon events summarized by Cavil in "No Exit" may be seen more fully in "The Plan" TV movie.

Now that Adama has agreed to use Cylon technology to repair the cracks in Galactica, he's admitting there's no longer any difference between humans and Cylons, and also that Galactica is in as bad shape as Tyrol says. This will set up a lot of the rest of the series. And there will be more Boomer development coming soon." (Here.)

My own theory based on the recent episodes is that the Final Five cylons were humans back on "Earth" before they became Cylons. The Final Five invented the resurrection process when they were still humans. They died during the destruction of Earth by the centurion cylons but when they went through resurrection and their minds, their memories, and perhaps even their souls were downloaded into new bodies, they became cylons. The Final Five are, therefore, the consciousnesses of human beings implanted into android bodies.

My preference for the big season finale is that there be a final battle between cylons and humans. Many of the humans we've followed during the series die but resurrect into new android bodies and begin new lives as cylons.

-tdr

California's Taxpaying Chumps.

2009-02-19T00:06:00.000-08:00

California's budget is woefully out of balance and the plan to fix that includes four different types of tax increases. The plan is stuck because Democrats don't have enough votes and they need to peel off 3 Republicans in the Assembly and in the Senate.

The Republican caucus in each house is holding firm against tax cuts. Their initial plan to ameliorate the budget problem without raising taxes went nowhere. (Here.) But several individual Republican legislators are lining up to provide the votes necessary for the Democrats, and our RINO governor, to get their budget and their tax increases.

The Democrats argue that taxes are necessary to solve California's budget crisis. Who knows if that's really true. The news stories about the budget never state the actual budget number being voted on. The stories only describe the dollar amount of the so-called budget cuts and the four tax increases. Without knowing the actual amount of the proposed budget there is really no way for an average taxpayer to know whether the tax increases are really needed.

This taxpayer is skeptical. For most of the past decade, California's general fund budget grew at about 1 to 2 percent per year. But in 2005, the budget grew by a whopping 15 percent from $79 billion to $91 billion. Then in 2006, the budget grew another 11 percent to $101 billion. From 2007 to the present the budget has grown to $103 billion, again a small increase in keeping with increases early in the decade.

California's overall expenditures, which include special funds and federal money, are even higher. But those too grew slowly during the early part of this decade increasing from $99 billion in 2000 to $105 billion in 2004. But in 2005 overall expenditures increased to $117 billion, and in 2006 they increased to $131 billion. Expenditures increased even more in 2007 to $145 billion and then declined in 2008 to $144 billion.

California's budget numbers tell a sorry tale of government profligacy. From 2005 to 2007, the state government was awash in cash from the housing and stock market bubbles. Instead of wisely putting money away for down times, spending the money only on capital improvements, or returning money to the taxpayers, the government instead used that money to increase continuing programs, thus locking in future spending based on revenue from two unsustainable bubbles.

If California had set aside the excess revenue from the bubbles into a reserve fund and increased its budget at 2 percent per year from 2005 to the present, the general fund budget for this year would be about $86 billion. Anticipated revenues for this budget year are just over $87 billion. (Here.) California would have a balanced budget and a significant sum of money in reserves to tide it over during this recession. Instead, the government went on an irresponsible spending spree and California's taxpayers are expected to foot the bill and save the day.

How much is that bill going to cost? The Sacramento Bee newspaper has a nifty little calculator for Californians to figure out how much their taxes will increase under the budget plan. (Here.) The most interesting aspect of the tax plan is that taxpayers with children will see their taxes increase more than taxpayers without. An odd policy.

Given the sorry history of California's budget, you'd think legislators would be ashamed of having to ask taxpayers to save the state from the government's irresponsibility. You'd be wrong. Here's what the Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg said to Republican legislators opposed to tax increases the other day: "I just wish you could deviate just a little bit from your philosophy, from the endless mantra of no new revenue, no new revenue ever, and be a participant and partner with us in solving this problem." (Here.)

Don't worry Senator. We'll be participating in solving this problem. But it's not the problem you think. The problem isn't a budget shortfall. The problem is controlling irresponsible and spendthrift legislators.

Long ago when property taxes skyrocketed out of control and the legislature did nothing about it, the voters revolted and passed Proposition 13 to roll back property taxes and make it nearly impossible for the legislature to increase taxes. More recently, Governor Gray Davis was recalled from office over the car tax. This year, the Democratic legislature is going to increase the sales tax, the gas tax, the income tax, the car tax, and decrease the dependent tax credit for children. Don't think for a minute that Californians will let this happen without a backlash.

-tdr

Budget numbers in this post were compiled from the websites of the California Department of Finance website (here), the Legislative Analyst's Office (here), and the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review (PDF here). A useful overview can be found at California Budget webpage of Sunshine Review. (Here.)

Saving Water In San Diego.

2009-02-17T00:40:00.000-08:00

San Diego, along with the entire state of California, has a water crisis. San Diegans are threatened with water rationing because of our state's long drought and loss of water from the Colorado River.

According to a recent story in the Union-Tribune, the per-capita water use in San Diego is 157 gallons per person per day. (Here.) Rationing may force San Diegans to find a way to save 20 percent of their water usage. That would reduce per capita usage to 125 gallons per person per day.

Here's a way for my fellow San Diegans to make that work: remove your lawn and replace it with native plants. I did that and my water usage has shrunk by 50 percent. This month last year my average daily use was 61 gallons. This month, my average daily use was 31 gallons per day.

-tdr

Digital TV Arrives In San Diego.

2009-02-17T00:24:00.000-08:00

The federal government may have pushed the date back for conversion from analog TV broadcasts to digital but 4 of the 7 English-language stations in San Diego are making the switch today. (Here.) And why not? Only 5.9 percent of San Diego households aren't prepared for the conversion. It's not like they haven't had plenty of advance notice to get cable, satellite, or a little converter so they can continue watching TV. 94.1 percent of the rest of us are ready to go.

Not that those who didn't prepare for the transition will be deprived of TV. Three stations, including the Public TV station, haven't made the change. And Mexican Spanish language stations won't make the transition at all. This could be a good opportunity to learn a second language and become hooked on telenovelas.

-tdr

SpaceX Facility Tour.

2009-02-17T00:02:00.000-08:00

Along with members of several space advocacy organizations, I took a tour of the Space X facility in Hawthorne, California. The facility is in an industrial part of town at 1 Rocket Road. Here's the sign, the building's face, and the receiving dock.

These are the only pictures available from the tour because the company refused to let us take our cameras into the building. The front part of the building is where the business offices are located. The back end of the building is where the rockets and the manned capsule are manufactured.

We entered the building from the side, by the security office, and found ourselves in the back corner of a very large open space with high windowed walls and a very high ceiling. Large cubicles filled the space with a row of offices at the back. The enclosed offices are for HR. Every other employee works in a cubicle, including the top executives, supposedly even Elon Musk, the wunderkind owner.

We walked along the back wall past the HR offices to the middle of the building, turned right, and passed through a door into the manufacturing part of the building.

The first thing that catches the eye is how spacious and clean the facility is. The building was formerly used for manufacturing Boeing airliners. So, it's big. The second thing that catches the eye is a white space capsule looking very much like an Apollo, in the center of the room. The third thing noticed is a persistent familiar hum. The fourth thing is the life-size Cylon warrior robot standing next to a pillar about 50 feet away. That's a Cylon hum filling the air! The Cylon is standing next to a microphone, as if it's giving a speech. That Cylon sets the tone for the tour. This is no ordinary manufacturing facility.

The Cylon is facing the cafeteria, which is well stocked with hot and cold beverages and snacks. Behind the Cylon is where all the work is done.

The first stop on our tour was the Falcon 1 booster assembly area. A partially assembled Falcon 1 rested on a track. The mockup space capsule is near the rocket. The capsule is SpaceX's Dragon, the craft the company proposes to use for shipping supplies and personnel to and from the International Space Station. Although we were not allowed to take photos, the mockup looked very much like this. (This photo of the Dragon is taken from Wikipedia here, is credited to PistolPete037, and is reproduced pursuant to Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 here.)

Across an aisle was the engine assembly area. Several engines were standing in various stages of assembly. Farther into the building we came across the actual Dragon capsule. It looked to be about 12 feet in diameter and perhaps 18 feet tall. The capsule's hull appeared to be complete. Again, it looked very much like an Apollo capsule. Apparently, this is not a coincidence. Our tour guide praised the design of the Apollo and used the word "perfect" more than once to describe it. Dragon's function is to carry astronauts and supplies into space, not exactly the same as Apollo's, but similar, and so its form follows Apollo's.

Although the shell of Dragon's hull appeared complete, the interior was incomplete. The interior was an empty space waiting for flooring and instrumentation to be installed. No accessories were attached to the exterior. Work appears to be progressing on Dragon but it is not complete. Nearby stood a base for the capsule. The base was partially covered with tan, thick, pieces of some kind of rubbery material. The material looked like irregularly shaped bricks. These bricks were the ablative heat shield for Dragon's re-entry.

After Dragon, our tour took us past enclosed rooms. One of the rooms is a command center used during launches. We passed these rooms to the back where raw materials, such as aluminum, were delivered, stored, and machined. This area is also where the Falcon 9, SpaceX's larger launch vehicle, is assembled. Across from this area an enclosed tent stood behind some screening and signs warning against photography. We weren't told what was in the tent. Three young men were working on something in the tent. A peek into the tent revealed some kind of fabricated panel that looked very much like a canopy for a jet. Who knows, perhaps it's something to do with Dragon? Behind the tent two inner stages for Falcon 9 stood on end, each about 30 feet tall.

Our tour next took us to the cafeteria where we were allowed to have some drinks and snacks under the watchful red eye of the Cylon. The coffee was brewed in a futuristic brewing machine, the Keurig. That machine is an engineer's dream. (Here.) Mine, too, actually.

After the cafeteria, we toured an enclosed area where testing of components is done. This area included machines to test for temperature, pressure, shaking, salt, humidity, and electromagnetic interference. In a bit of whimsy, the Electromagnetic Interference Chamber was named "Voodoo Lounge." After touring the testing area, and not touching anything, we were taken to a conference room to watch some videos, including Elon Musk's tour of SpaceX's launch facility at Cape Canaveral, the successful Falcon 1 launch, and animations of Dragon in action. All the videos are available for viewing at SpaceX's website on the multimedia page. (Here.)

The engineers who gave the tour answered questions after the videos. Here's the data dump of those answers.

- SpaceX relies on off the shelf parts to manufacture its rockets. This is done to reduce cost by avoiding the need to have custom made parts. The off the shelf parts meet aerospace and "mil" specifications.

- SpaceX employs about 400-500 people. Many are young. Our three tour guides were engineers. One was just out of college, the other two appeared to be in their late 20s or early 30s.

- Our guides were proud of their company's commitment to safety. They were also proud of their company's ability to produce quality products at low price.

- They said they are focused on getting Falcon 9 done. As one of them put it, they are "head down", working to get Falcon 9 launched.

- They love their work. And why shouldn't they? SpaceX gets 100 applications for every job listing. SpaceX employees must know they are working on something that is both practical and visionary, and really cool, to boot.

And here are my final impressions. SpaceX is for real. Their manufacturing facility looks state of the art. The working area is clean and organized. Real work is being done at the facility. The company has a business plan and is executing it. The employees we met love their work and are committed to succeeding. We took our tour on a Sunday in the middle of a long holiday weekend. While we were there, people were working in the manufacturing facility, and also in cubicles. Our tour guides willingly came in to promote their company and escort a group of enthusiasts around the facility. They had no reason to do so, but they did it on their own time.

The work they are doing at SpaceX is exciting and potentially revolutionary. But it also looks very ordinary. Their building looks like an ordinary manufacturing building. The office space has the look of any other technical work place. Cubicles, desktops, computer screens. The manufacturing area looks ordinary. The only things extraordinary about the place are the rockets lying on their side and the space capsule standing in the middle of the work space. This is what the future of space travel will look like. It will look ordinary. And just like today, when it's hard to remember what life was like before the personal computer and the cellphone, we will forget what ife was like before human space travel became commonplace.

-tdr

NASA Constellation Photo Essay.

2009-02-16T10:35:00.000-08:00

Go to the Boston Globe's "The Big Picture" web page for a collection of NASA photos of the Constellation program. (Here.)

This is photograph number 23 from the essay, described as follows: "Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama completed first-round testing on Sept. 11, 2008 of a key motor for the next-generation Ares I rocket. The ullage settling motor is a small, solid rocket motor that will assist in vehicle stage separation and provide the forward motion needed to push fuel to the bottom of the fuel tanks during the launch to orbit of the Ares I rocket."(Photo credit: NASA/MSFC)

That may be a solid rocket motor blasting away but it looks like a test firing of a death ray. Makes me wonder, if you could line up your ship correctly and get it close enough to the target, how effective would the blast from a propulsion or control rocket be as a weapon in space? But that's another topic. There are other equally cool photos in the collection. Go check them out. (Link here again, so you don't have to scroll back to the top.)

-tdr

In The Macroverse: Fierce Little Buggers.

2009-02-10T21:36:00.000-08:00

Most native plants in the backyard are thriving. A sage is under attack and not doing too well. These scary little insects are having a feast.

What the hell are these things? And better yet, how can they be killed?

-tdr

For more macro-photography of the natural world visit the photo web page at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera. (Here.)

Flushing Baseball's Cheaters Out Of The Game.

2009-02-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Baseball's steroids scandal hit the front pages again this week with the revelation that Alex Rodriguez cheated his way to fame and fortune by taking performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez joins Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in a triumvirate of superstar cheaters. News reports say there are 103 players who are known to have tested positive for steroids back in 2003.

Eventually the names will out. Baseball's dilemma is what to do about it. Bonds presents the biggest problem because he cheated his way to becoming the greatest homerun hitter of all time. If Bonds is banned and his record taken away the lifetime record reverts to Hank Aaron, a class guy who deserves to be number one. The problem is that Bonds single season record would revert to Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa, both of whom are probably guilty as well.

Banning all steroids cheaters from baseball could be difficult. There are so many. But ignoring the scandal won't make it go away. The players who didn't cheat deserve to see the cheaters exposed and punished, and the fans deserve to know the extent of the corruption.

So, here's a modest proposal.

Let's give steroids cheaters a special place at the Hall of Fame. Don't add a Wing of Shame. Instead, designate the restrooms as memorials to the steroids era. Assign each shamed player to his own urinal or toilet, and imprint a picture of the player on the urinal or in the toilet bowl. For example, an A-Rod or Roger "The Rocket" Clemens urinal, or a Barry Bonds toilet. Visitors to the Hall could then leave an appropriate tribute to the baseball players who soiled America's national pasttime. And with so many players implicated in steroids, there would never be a line for the restrooms.

-tdr

I Am Chump.

2009-02-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

Tonight I prepared and e-filed my tax returns. I did the long form and declared all my income and took no unlawful deductions. Heck, I even paid a use tax on my state return for online purchases I didn't pay sales tax on at the time of purchase. Joe Biden would call me a patriot, more patriotic than Tom Daschle or Tim Geithner.

But I feel like a chump. Not because I did my duty and paid my taxes. No, I'm a chump because I live in California. In this state, the government can't get its act together and pass a budget that works. Instead, California's government is running out of money and the state's controller has threatened to delay paying state tax refunds. Already, the controller has notified some vendors that the state will delay payments for services rendered for at least 30 days.

There is no solution in sight. We have a legislature gridlocked by partisan division. The parties are united in one thing only: their stubborn refusal to face facts and deal with the state's funding catastrophe.

The governor has no political clout whatsoever. He's a Republican (well, in name only) in a state where every other statewide elected official, but one, is a Democrat, and where both houses of the legislature are dominated by strong Democratic majorities. Arnold is a leader without followers and supporters. As a Republican he gets no support from Sacramento Democrats. He came in as a Republican conservative on money matters and liberal on social issues. Over time, he's morphed into a Republican, still liberal on social issues and no longer fiscally conservative. That has lost him the support of Republicans in the legislature. His political one man show has left him as weak as a girly man.

But the governor has done one thing right. He's tried to save money by cutting state payroll costs. First, he tried to cramdown state employee salaries to the federal minimum wage when the state entered its new fiscal year back in July without a budget. It's a measure of the strength of this state's public employee unions that the governor's plan went nowhere.

Now the governor has ordered state employees to take off two days of unpaid leave each month. This amounts to a 10 percent pay cut, albeit at 10 percent less work. But it's a measure of the governor's weakness and this state's immense partisan division that employees who work in departments run by elected state officials have been told to report to work by their bosses.

For example, employees of the state controller's department have been told to report to work. The controller won't save any money by reducing his employees' salaries. Instead, he saves money by withholding money from vendors and taxpayers.

So, that's California. In the middle of a terrible recession state employees get to keep their jobs, a small percentage are forced to take a 10 percent pay cut by getting two unpaid days off per month, but most get to keep their full salaries. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the state is around 9 percent and taxpayers who overpaid the state have to wait for their refunds. Chumps. We're a state full of chumps. But we've got the best weather in the country.

-tdr

Wild In The Wild: HawkWatch 2009

2009-02-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

This Red-Tailed Hawk displays its wings at the Wildlife Research Institute in Ramona, California. Each Saturday in January and February the Institute is hosting HawkWatch 2009, an educational program for the public. For more information about the Institute's work tracking raptors and preserving habitat go to its website. (Here.)

If you're in Southern California, head out to Ramona on any of the remaining Saturday mornings in February. You'll see birds like this beautiful American Kestrel, the cutest raptor of them all. For more photos of last weekend's HawkWatch 2009, visit my photos website at picasaweb.google.com/tdavera. (Here.)

-tdr

The Audacity Of Nope: Tom Daschle Out.

2009-02-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

Tom Daschle has been forced to withdraw from consideration for Secretary of Health and Human Services because of his tax evasions and conflicts of interest. (Here.) Yes, we can!

-tdr

Ending The Paleolithic Era At Sea.

2009-02-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

Millenia ago humans went from a hunter gatherer society to one that relies on agriculture for food. This dramatic change led to villages, towns, cities, and civilization. Civilized humans would never think of relying on hunter-gatherers to feed society. Well, on land, anyway. On the seas, hunter-gathering still dominates.

The oceans are an aquatic wilderness. Food from the sea mostly comes from fishing boats that take to the waters to hunt for schools of wild fish, gather them in nets, and bring them back to market.

Today's San Diego Union-Tribune has a story on an aquaculture experiment proposed by Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute for the deep waters off San Diego that would change all that.

"Hubbs' operation would cover about 30 football fields' worth of the ocean's surface in water that's approximately 300 feet deep.

"At first, the institute would deploy eight circular nets – each large enough to hold about 125,000 fish. The nets would be anchored to the sea floor and stocked with striped bass, a fish that was introduced to California more than 100 years ago. The captive bass would grow for about two years until they top 2 pounds each, at which point they would be collected in batches and sold to seafood wholesalers.

"The species was chosen for several reasons, including the availability of juveniles for rearing and what Hubbs researchers said were slim chances that any escaped fish would disrupt the native food chain.

"Over five years, Hubbs would install 24 pens and produce 3,000 metric tons of fish annually – about three times the current commercial fish harvest brought ashore in San Diego County.

"That would provide a dramatic boost to the state's aquaculture industry, which generates about $100 million in revenue each year for seafood producers. At full capacity, Hubbs officials said, they could raise about 3 million fish per year worth $21 million." (Here.)

Before Hubbs can go forward with its proposal it needs to convince environmentalists and fishing interests of its value, and obtain permits from the federal government. But Hubbs is on the right track.

Imagine if food from land were produced the same way that most sea food is produced. Hunters would leave the city every day to roam the wilderness in search of wild game to bring back to market. Long ago, humans figured out that hunter-gathering was inefficient and unreliable and we turned to agriculture. It's time to bring the production of sea food out of the pre-civilized era and into the modern world.

-tdr

Taxes Are For Chumps.

2009-02-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama promised change when he ran for President and change he brought. When Republicans were in charge, there was a culture of corruption in Washington. Now there's a culture of tax evasion: Timothy Geithner (here), Charles Rangel (here), and now Tom Daschle.

Daschle, former million dollar "special policy advisor" to the lobbying firm of Alston and Bird (here), visited Capitol Hill to make the case for his nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because he's the second tax cheat nominated by President Obama for a cabinet position, Daschle had to spend the day dealing with his personal tax problem. Or as the Associated Press put it:

"Fighting to salvage his Cabinet nomination, Tom Daschle apologized from morning to night on Monday for failing to pay more than $120,000 in federal taxes." (Here.)

Sorry, morning to night is not enough. Even apologizing from now to April 15th won't cut it, although there would be poetic justice if he did.

Vice-President Joe Biden said during the campaign that it's patriotic to pay higher taxes. Not to question Daschle's patriotism, that's apparently a job for Vice-President Biden, but Daschle's tax dodge suggests that, when it comes to taxes, he believes dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

-tdr

Slaves Of Our Chemical And DNA Masters.

2009-02-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a story about a study that correlates high levels of the hormone oestradiol and infidelity in women.

"The researchers found that a woman's oestradiol level was positively associated with self-perceived physical attractiveness. Women with a higher oestradiol level also reported a greater likelihood of flirting, kissing and having a serious affair (but not a one-night stand) with a new partner.

"Oestradiol levels were negatively associated with a woman's satisfaction with her primary partner.

"'Our findings show that highly fertile women are not easily satisfied by their long-term partners and are motivated to seek out more desirable partners,' Durante explained. 'However, that doesn't mean they're more likely to engage in casual sex. Instead, they adopt a strategy of serial monogamy.'" (Here.)

Because, you know, human beings merely serve our chemicals and DNA.

-tdr

Scifi Channel Movie: Wyvern

2009-02-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

Watching Scifi Channel's Saturday night movies is a hit and miss endeavor. Yesterday's airing of Wyvern was a hit. The movie is a classic monster- terrorizing-remote-small-town genre flick. In this case, a dragon from Norse mythology known as a wyvern, and a small town in northern Alaska, called Beaver something or other. Beaver Creek, Beaver Falls, whatever. The choice of name gives the producers the chance to name the town's restaurant, run by the local beauty, The Beaver Pelt. Enough said about that.

So, anyway, the movie gets off to a good start in setting the scene with some coy references to Northern Exposure. The cast includes some actors from that TV show, who play variations on their roles from the series. The town doctor, not played by the actor from Northern Exposure, is very clearly based on the big-city doctor in the series.

The movie does the monster genre things right. The computer graphics are very good and the plot pushes all the right buttons: monster suddenly appears, vague sightings, animals and people getting killed off, the monster revealed, the town isolated and under siege, the townsfolk trapped in a restaurant, the humans fight back, loved ones die, the hero resolves his conflict, and victory. Think Tremors.

Wyvern also does some non-genre things right. The film is written by the award winning Jason Borque, who has a solid career making documentaries, television shows and movies, and feature films. (Here.) His script show literary talent.

In the story, the wyvern is unleashed on the world when human-caused global warming melts a glacier in which the dragon had been trapped by Odin millenia ago. The wyvern's release is a direct result of humanity's greed and arrogance, which causes people to do what they want regardless of the consequences.

Meanwhile, the movie's hero is a guilt-ridden big rig trucker who blames himself for the death of his brother. His brother has died in a truck accident that happened when the ice melted and the truck fell into the water. The hero was driving the truck and couldn't save his brother. The hero blames himself for this brother's death because his own greed and arrogance caused him to take the job and push on down the highway, even though he didn't need the money and he knew the ice road was at risk.

Resolution comes in the movie when the hero faces down his guilt and lures the dragon into a final conflict that directly parallels the accident that killed the hero's brother. It gives nothing away to say that the hero saves the day, atones for his sin, and gets the small-town girl.

When Scifi Channel repeats Wyvern, as it inevitably will, check it out. It's worth the time. And if you need another reason, it's the final movie with actor Don S. Davis of TV's Stargate. Davis passed on unexpectedly last year. (Here.)

-tdr

Mars Science Laboratory Display-O-Rama.

2009-02-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

NASA plans to launch a nuclear-powered robotic rover to Mars in the year 2011 for landing in 2012. If it goes, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), will be a Mars rover on steroids compared to the two already there. The MSL is big. How big? This big. Sorry, kid, there's no right to privacy in a public place. And it's this much taller than your typical American adult male. Besides its large size, the MSL will have very robust mission capabilities, thanks in no small part to its nuclear power source. Although you wouldn't know it by the signage and educational video accompanying the mock up MSL at the Reuben Fleet Science Center in San Diego. So, here are photos of the mock up MSL's mock up nuke. Top view.
Bottom view.
For more photographs of the mock up of the MSL on display at The Reuben Fleet Science Center, visit my Picasa Web Albums page (picasaweb.google.com/tdavera/)and view the Mars Science Lab Fleet folder. (Here.) For more information on the MSL mission visit NASA's webpage. (Here.)

-tdr

Mac Attacks: The Empire Strikes Back?

2009-01-31T15:48:00.000-08:00

Mac users have been pretty much left alone by online viruses. Presumably because Microsoft Windows and PCs dominate the computer world. But the cyberpunk paranoiac in me wonders whether the viral terrorists are a secret band of iCult Mac users out to take down the Microsoft empire.

Now, Macs are being attacked by malware.

"The iServices.A Trojan horse is an attack being distributed via BitTorrent, where it's disguised as a bootleg copy of the new iWork 09. Once installed, the malware takes administrator access and connects to remote servers over the Internet, where it can be given additional instructions as the author commands, from installing additional malware to stealing information off the Mac in question. The malware creator can also take complete remote control of any compromised machine." (Here.)

The Microsoft counter terrorism operation begins?

-tdr

The Lower Left Coast.

2009-01-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

San Diego's downtown buildings viewed from the Imperial Beach pier, hard by the United States-Mexico border. That's Coronado's strand in the foreground, and the blue steel rising from left to right is part of the Coronado bridge.

(Click image to enlarge.)

Lou Dobbs take note. The IB Pier is in the United States but my cellphone service is hijacked by a Mexican cellphone service whenever I set foot on the pier. A text message appears on my phone welcoming me to Mexico. It's the reconquista! (Here.)

-tdr

The King Is Gone, Long Live The King.

2009-01-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

When George W. Bush was President, his opponents were beside themselves with fear over the Imperial Presidency. There was hyperventilation over the so-called unitary executive and alleged suppression of speech and dissent. Fear-driven opponents of President Bush took to calling him names, Bushitler, for example.

Even government officials were not immune. Lawrence Wilkerson, an aide to Colin Powell, once accused President Bush and Vice-President Cheney of running a "cabal" that had hijacked America's foreign policy. (Here at my former blog.) Think about that. The only two nationally elected officials in the United States government were accused of hijacking foreign policy. But that's what elections are about. In a democracy, if we don't like what the present government is doing, we elect new leaders to take charge and do things differently.

That's what happened in 2008 and the country chose Barack Obama to take over and do things differently. One change that hasn't come to America, however, is cutting back on the power of the Imperial Presidency. On foreign policy, President Obama is following a similar path to that walked by President Bush. The new President has appointed special envoys, George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke, answerable directly to him, to handle the Middle East and Afghanistan, respectively. This tactic allows the new President to bypass Congress because neither envoy requires Senate approval. This tactic also allows the new President to bypass the State Department, run by his former rival, Hillary Clinton. This tactic ultimately allows the new President to have direct control over these foreign policy matters.

I have no problem with this. I believe in the oh-so-scary unitary executive theory. All that theory holds is that the entire executive power defined by the Constitution is granted to the President. (Here.) It's not granted in pieces to lesser officials in the Executive Branch. Whatever authority lesser officials in the Executive Branch may have comes to them through the President from the Constitution. So, if the new President wants to retain direct hands-on control over foreign policy by appointing special envoys and bypassing the Cabinet, well, that's his prerogative.

The Politico.com has a very good analysis of President Obama's executive power play. (Here.) He's not just bypassing the Cabinet in foreign policy. Every issue that matters to him has a policy czar in the White House.

But don't hold your breath waiting for the brave dissidents against Bush's presidency to start accusing the new President of executive overreach. Their tasks today are to disparage Congressional Republicans for not supporting the President, and to demonize talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh. From 2001 to 2008, dissent was the highest form of patriotism. In the new era of hope and change, it's now the lowest.

The more things change ...

-tdr

The Gatling Gun Loophole

2009-01-27T23:26:00.000-08:00

You don't have to fork over $20,000 to own a gatling gun. (Here.) There's a company, RG-G, Inc., that provides blueprints and parts for the DIYer. (Here.) The company also manufactures gatling guns for considerably less than $20,000. There are some decent photos of the gatling gun on the the company's homepage and some mediocre videos of gun in action.

RG-G Inc.'s FAQ webpage has interesting information about the gun and the legality of owning a gatling gun in the United States. (Here.) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, has determined the guns are legal. (BATF letter here.)

-tdr

A True Double Planet System.

2009-01-27T22:59:00.000-08:00

What-if speculation is at the heart of science fiction. For instance, look at this 1613 map of the moon drawn by English astronomer, Thomas Harriot. (Credit Lord Egremont and the Royal Astronomical Society here.) The Moon looks like it has Earth-like features. What if it did? What if our closest neighbor in space were a planet similar to ours, with breathable atmosphere, an ocean, a continent and islands? What difference would that have made to our history?

-tdr

Not With A Bang, With A Whimper.

2009-01-27T22:40:00.000-08:00

A new paper by a trio of scientists concludes that although mini black holes created by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Europe could survive for longer than previous estimates, they pose no threat to Earth.

"We conclude that ... the growth of black holes to catastrophic size does not seem possible. Nonetheless, it remains true that the expected decay times are much longer (and possibly ≫ 1 sec) than is typically predicted by other models ..." (PDF here, p. 7.)

According to the paper,

"After the black holes are created at the LHC they can, depending on the value of Mc [their critical mass], live long enough in the RS scenario to escape into the atmosphere or into the Earth. They can grow in mass and therefore in horizon radius by absorbing anything which comes within their capture radii. There are two basic mechanisms by which the black holes in general might accrete: one due to their collisions with the atomic and sub-atomic particles they encounter as they sweep through matter, and one due to the gravitational force the black holes exert on surrounding matter once they come to rest." (PDF, p. 3.)

Makes sense so far. Mini black holes grow in size by eating through matter or pulling matter into themselves. The question is, could a wild mini black hole created at the LHC last long enough and accumulate enough mass to come to rest inside Earth and just keep growing. The authors conclude that wouldn't happen because the black holes would never grow beyond microscopic size before they decay or pass through the Earth. (PDF, pp. 5-6.)

So, the Earth is safe but the paper doesn't say what would happen if one of these wild black holes happened to pass through a human being, or whether it could happen. If it could, and if it did, it would surely suck.

-tdr

Legal In California

2009-01-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

Gun owners know that California is in its own universe when it comes to gun laws in the United States. The Second Amendment has limited scope here.

The specifications website for any handgun sold in the United States has a special category that states whether the gun is legal to purchase in California. The Ruger SR9 webpage is a good example. (Here.) The SR9 was not legal to own in California until it was certified by the Department of Justice back in December 2008 and placed on this list. (Here.)

Many handguns sold legally elsewhere in the US are not legal in California because the law here states that

" ... no handgun may be manufactured within California, imported into California for sale, lent, given, kept for sale, or offered/exposed for sale unless that handgun model has passed firing, safety, and drop tests and is certified for sale in California by the Department of Justice. Private party transfers, curio/relic handguns, certain single-action revolvers, and pawn/consignment returns are exempt from this requirement." (Here.)

Long guns don't fall under this law but long guns that qualify as assault weapons are illegal in California. (Here.) In general, an assault weapon is a semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and is outfitted with certain scary-looking design features like a pistol grip, a foldable stock, a flash suppressor, or a grenade launcher. (Okay, that last characteristic is probably reasonable to ban no matter how cool it would be to have.)

California's assault weapons ban also outlaws semiautomatic rifles that can hold more than 10 rounds in a fixed magazine, and some handguns and shotguns with certain characteristics. The characteristics are a bit detailed, so if you want to know more, go here and scroll down to section 12276.1.

Oh, and machine guns are forbidden in California, too. (Here.) But, surprisingly, Gatling Guns are not. This sweet-looking baby was for sale at Discount Gun Mart in San Diego, California, when I went there tonight to purchase my new Ruger SR9.

This fierce looking weapon holds 100 low caliber 22LR cartridges in its magazine. Gun owners would call this a plinker.

It's not a machine gun because it's a semiautomatic. It's not an assault weapon because it doesn't have the characteristics of a rifle. It's clearly not a handgun, even for Hellboy. And, best of all, it's perfectly legal to own in California. All you need to do is pass the background check and fork over $20,000. Who could have predicted that the state with some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the United States would have a Gatling Gun loophole? I'm falling in love with my home state all over again.

-tdr

Republished once for content.

Taking The iPod To The Battlefield.

2009-01-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the coolest application for the iPod Touch is a ballistics calculation program developed for Knights Armament. Install the application to your iPod Touch, attach the device to KA's M110 Sniper Rifle using a special mount, and you're good to go. (Pics at the firearm blog here.) Ready, aim, fire, insert ear buds, and rock on! Let's hear it for American ingenuity.

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: The Raptor And The Rapt.

2009-01-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

This Northern Harrier (here) takes flight empty handed at Mission Trails Regional Park within the city limits of San Diego.

This drab little bird, a Cassin's Finch, I believe (here), looks curiously at the photographer in a San Diego backyard.

Happy Weekend, everybody.

-tdr

Closing Guantanamo: O, The Humanity!

2009-01-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

There's one good thing to say about the President's decision to close Guantanamo Bay's prison for war criminals. Candidate Obama campaigned on the promise that he would close the facility. Ordering the closure fulfills a central promise of his campaign.

But closing Guantanamo is meaningless because the detainees have to be held somewhere. The significant decisions yet to come are how the detainees will be tried and what kind of access they will have to America's court system. Also, what will be done with those who belong to Al Qaeda but who end up not being tried in court because the evidence against them would not be admissible in court or is too secret to reveal publicly?

There is no need to close the facility. Guantanamo is as good a place as any to hold the detainees. It's better, in fact. Guantanamo has the advantage over any prison on the American mainland as being completely under the control of the United States military and it's in the middle of nowhere. Escape from there is nearly impossible. The facility is not the hell hole that common knowledge would have us believe.

The Boston Globe's Big Picture website did a tremendous service in December 2008, when it published a set of pictures showing the conditions at the prison. (Here.) It's eye opening.

Photo number 8 shows a stencil written on concrete of the word Mecca, in Arabic, and an arrow pointing to Islam's holy city. The better for inmates to pray. O, the humanity!

Photo number 9 shows a literacy instructor preparing for a lesson. The instructor is at the facility as part of a US Government program "to improve educational opportunities for the detainees." O, the humanity!

Photo number 13 shows a beautiful gold-embossed Koran that belongs to a detainee. O, the humanity!

Photo number 14 shows a detainee exercising outside during his 12 hours of outdoor recreation per day. O, the humanity!

Photo number 20 shows a copy of a Harry Potter novel in Arabic, one of 7,500 books in the circulating library available to detainees. Apparently, Harry Potter books are especially popular among the inmates. O, the humanity!

Photo number 26 shows a group of detainees praying, 27 shows a beautiful prayer rug owned by one of the inmates, and 29 shows a sign telling American guards to be quiet during prayer time. O, the humanity!

On the other hand, maybe putting the detainees among the general population of the type of violent criminals who populate maximum security prisons in the United States is just the punishment the detainees deserve. It worked for Jeffrey Dahmer. (Here.) O, the humanity!

-tdr

Fanboy Alert!

2009-01-23T00:11:00.000-08:00

Cowboy Bebop is my favorite anime series. (Here.) The series is set in a near future Solar System where Earth has been devastated by a terrible accident and humans live throughout the Solar System. The series follows the adventures of several down on their luck bounty hunters who travel the system in their spaceship taking work where they can get it. The show is like film noir and scifi all held together by a great musical score.

Plans are afoot to do a live-action movie based on the series. Keanu Reeves is slated to play the lead bounty hunter, Spike. (Here.) Reeves has found his niche as actor in scifi, fantasy, and horror movies. I have to admit, if I were an actor, I'd want his career. I didn't see who else is in the cast, but I'd have Ron Perlman play Jet Black and Charlize Theron (with her Aeon Flux dark hair) play Faye Valentine. The androgynous kid, Edward, I'm not sure.

There's only one other anime that I'd like to see made into a live action movie: Vampire Hunter D. Its blend of horror and magic in a post-apocalyptic Earth is compelling. It's reminiscent of the best of Jack Vance's fantasy novels in his Dying Earth series. That series of books would be fun to watch as anime.

Two books from Vance's oeuvre that would make good movies include The Dragon Masters and Emphyrio. Of the two, The Dragon Masters is probably the most fun with its story of humans on a distant hardscrabble planet fighting a war against alien invaders. The twist is that humans have genetically modified captive aliens into monstrous warrior-slaves, while the alien invaders use genetically modified humans as slave soldiers. Emphyrio is probably the more thoughtful work. It takes place on a world in which mass manufacturing is outlawed and all production is handmade, which leads, surprisingly, to an oppressive society. The irony is that the artist hero of the story rebels by making duplications.

In other big fanboy news, toys are now becoming available for J. J. Abrams' new Star Trek movie. (Here.) Cool, they are.

-tdr

Watching The Inauguration.

2009-01-20T22:11:00.000-08:00

Duty called for work today. But thanks to a 20th Century VCR, I'm able to watch the 43d peaceful transfer of power in the United States tonight. Here's what struck me.

Barack Obama walking the hallway to the stage is a supremely self-confident man. It's still more than a bit off putting to hear Obama's supporters chanting his last name, but seeing them wave the American flags was a beautiful sight. I didn't vote for the new President, but if electing him is what it takes to get liberals to start waving the flag, well, maybe his election is a good thing.

Dianne Feinstein of California, my Senator, is a great master of ceremonies. Why can't she be majority leader of the Senate instead of that worm from Nevada? Her remarks put today's exciting event into a nice historical context of the civil rights struggle. It would have been even nicer if she had hearkened back to the Civil War when hundreds of thousands of Americans died to remove the blight of slavery from this country and from our constitution.

Pastor Rick Warren's prayer stumbled in the beginning but ended powerfully. His unapologetic Christianity, and the subtle ecumenical references in the speech, were refreshing to hear. A people committed to true diversity doesn't need to steer expression to the least offensive denominator. A people committed to true diversity listens silently and respectfully to a prayer that expresses a faith not shared by all. A people committed to true diversity understands that diversity of thought is the hallmark of freedom.

John Roberts screw up of the oath of office did not look so bad on TV. When I heard it on radio this morning, it sounded catastrophic. Even so, you've got to wonder why he didn't just read the oath from a card like the one John Paul Stevens used for Joe Biden's oath.

The President's speech comes off better on TV than it did on radio. On radio, it sounded pedestrian and banal. On TV his presence infuses the speech with a power beyond its words. President Obama's speech was at its weakest when he argued against straw men, attacked his predecessor, and asserted that his own plans are something new beyond today's partisan divide. But his speech was most powerful when it reached into history to put our task today into the context of America's work over time to make a better world for succeeding generations. Our generations alive today are links in a chain of progress. It also had power when he assertively defended the greatness that is America, told the world that we will not apologize for who we are, that we will fight to defend ourselves against those who would destroy us, and that our enemies will be judged by their people for what they build not what they destroy. Finally, his concluding analysis of the American character and his call to service showed a powerful understanding and appreciation of this country's people.

The new President clearly loves his daughters. That big smile cracking his stern visage when he greeted them after his speech spoke volumes.

Elizabeth Alexander is reciting her poem. Sorry, but here's a thought, how about we have no more inaugural poems, okay?

Reverend Joseph Lowery's benediction is a poem. That old guy at 87 years old still has what it takes. What a beautiful prayer with coy and delightful final lines. Lowery's prayer was a fitting conclusion to the inauguration's speeches.

The final ritual of the inaugural ceremony is the most practical one and the least public. After the speeches, and as everybody is leaving the inaugural site, the President walks the former President to a helicopter waiting to take the former President out of the capital city. There's a powerful symbolism to that. The new President essentially shows the former President the door as if to say, "there's only room in this town for one President. That's me, not you." It's all very polite and friendly but it is firm, final, and humbling. The formerly most powerful man in the world is now a private citizen with no authority and no place in the capital.

And so now our country moves forward with a new leader freely chosen by us, toward a destiny uncertain, but one we still have the power to shape. May we choose our path wisely.

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: The Inaugural Weekend Edition.

2009-01-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend while America prepared for the Presidential Inauguration of its first living god, it was good to get away and view some of the handiwork of Thomas Jefferson's creator.

A gull floats over the Pacific off the coast of Imperial Beach, California.

A hummingbird hovering in a San Diego backyard.

Reflections in a vernal pool at Mission Trails Regional Park.

A mule deer at Mission Trails.

A white-tailed kite at Mission Trails.

-tdr

Pel-i-can.

2009-01-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

Over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Imperial Beach, California.

-tdr

Before And After

2009-01-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

This pelican does what comes naturally on the deck of the Imperial Beach Pier.

-tdr

Paying For The Illinois Senate Seat

2009-01-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been preventing Roland Burris from taking a Senate seat because the Illinois Secretary of State had not signed Burris's appointment order. Reid's legal position was farcical.

The other day the Illinois Supreme Court helpfully explained to Burris that he could pay to get a copy of his appointment order to the Senate from the Secretary of State. That copy would be affixed with a seal and signed by the Secretary of State, all official-like. It appears that Burris may have taken the court's advice.

"Yesterday, Burris' lawyers carried to the Senate an additional document bearing a state seal, an affirmation of the appointment and a mass-produced signature of Secretary of State Jesse White. Those documents, combined with the governor's original papers, led the secretary of the Senate to deem Burris' credentials satisfactory. Burris would be eligible to serve through 2010." (Here.)

How much was that signature? Who knows? The news story doesn't say. Who cares? Getting to watch Reid's embarrassing failure of leadership on this issue was worth any price.

-tdr

Legal Pay To Play Politics In Illinois.

2009-01-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled, on January 9, 2009, that Roland Burris's appointment to the United States Senate did not require the signature or seal of the Illinois Secretary of State to be valid. (PDF here.) So Burris's appointment is valid and the Secretary of State's refusal to sign, or affix a seal to, the appointment order has no legal effect.

The legal analysis on the last page of the opinion is entertaining and ironic, especially since Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is being impeached over "pay to play" politics. It turns out that if Governor Blago and Burris want a copy of the appointment order signed and sealed by the Secretary of State, they can pay for it. So says the Illinois Supreme Court on page 9 of its decision.

"There is one final point we feel constrained to mention. While the Secretary of State has no duty under Illinois law to sign and affix the state seal to the certificate of appointment issued by the Governor, he does have a duty under section 5(4) of the Secretary of State Act (15 ILCS 305/5(4) (West 2006))

'to give any person requiring the same paying the lawful fees
therefor, a copy of any law, act, resolution, record or paper in
his office, and attach thereto his certificate, under the seal of
the state.'

"The registration of the appointment of Mr. Burris made by the Secretary of State is a “record or paper” within the meaning of this statute. A copy of it is available from the Secretary of State to anyone who requests it. For payment of the normal fee charged by the Secretary of State in accordance with this statute, Petitioners could obtain a certified copy bearing the state’s seal. Because such relief is possible, no order by this court is necessary or appropriate. See People ex rel. Devine v. Stralka, 226 Ill. 2d 445, 450 (2007) (for mandamus to issue, the petitioner must be without any other adequate remedy)."

-tdr

Mars Society Renaissance.

2009-01-09T00:29:00.000-08:00

The Mars Society has long taken the view that membership is its own benefit. That attitude appears to be changing. The society seems to have a new focus on improving member relations and benefits. For instance, the Mars Society has just begun publishing a new quarterly magazine for members. The first edition is available to all for free at the Mars Society's website. (PDF here.) Maybe it's time to renew.

One huge benefit of Mars Society membership has always been the opportunity to volunteer in research projects. The Mars Society runs two research sites in Utah and the Arctic Circle. Each site is home to a mock Mars base where volunteers can do simulated Mars research. That's me at the Utah site outside Hanksville a few years ago.
-tdr

Jack Bauer's Justice.

2009-01-07T22:53:00.000-08:00

Fans of the once innovative TV show, 24, know the show is a mere shadow of its former glory. Yeah Right blogger Snowden touches on some of the problems of the show. (Here.) What was once exciting, dramatic, and innovative television is now tired, predictable, and cliched.

Others have written about the crisis of conscience among 24's staff over Jack's use of torture against the bad guys. (Here.) Let's stipulate, torture is bad, mm-kay. But let's also stipulate, 24 is not real. The crisis of conscience about 24's representation of torture was symptomatic of the most serious problem with the show. It takes itself too seriously. That seriousness of purpose led producers to think the show needed to have more political relevance. Big mistake. Some of the worst violence on the show recently wasn't done to the bad guys tortured and killed by Jack Bauer. No, the worst violence was done to the dialogue by the writers as they struggled to present political intrigue.

This season looks like it might be more of the same. Jack is back but he's been taken under arrest to Washington, D.C., for hearings into his use of torture. In the real world, Jack would deserve trial and punishment for the things he's done. In the world of 24, Jack should be roaming the badlands doing what a man's gotta do to set things right. Jack Bauer is Shane. He's the gunslinger from the frontier who breaks the rules to protect civilization and then rides off into the frontier once his job is done.

The producers were on to something when they put Jack in Sangala, a fictional lawless African country, to start this season. A place like Sangala could use somebody with Jack's kind of do whatever it takes to set things right morality. Unfortunately, the show's guilt-stricken producers didn't see it that way. They had him in Africa to do penance and make up for all the bad things he'd done fighting evildoers.

"In various incarnations, Jack would begin the season digging ditches, building houses, tending to orphans, providing security for an embassy or escorting around a visiting dignitary. 'One of the themes we discussed was penance, that Africa was a place Jack had gone to seek some kind of penance. Some sanctuary too, but also penance for things he's done in his life,' [head writer Howard] Gordon says." (Here.)

Well, that's a mistake. Jack doesn't need to do penance and he doesn't need redemption. Jack needs to be doing what he does best. Killing bad guys so the good guys don't have to.

The mistake the producers have already made this season is pulling Jack out of the lawless frontier that is Sangala and bringing him back to civilization, with all its rules, to face justice and be tamed. Jack doesn't need taming. Tame Jack and 24 will become just another cop show. Who needs that?

-tdr

A Cold Frosty.

2009-01-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

We're having a cold spell in San Diego. Really. It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the backyard this morning and a frost was on the ground. Here are some closeups of the frost on the shredded redwood mulch, a sage, and melting on a heart-shaped weed.

As always, click the images to zoom.

-tdr

Republished once to correct grammar.

Political Science.

2009-01-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

Steve Running, a professor of forestry from the University of Montana, is profiled in a recent article. (Here.) He's a global-warming scientist in the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But, apparently, he's moving on.

"In the next year, Running hopes to slightly change the scope of his research again. He’s begun to take an interest in how socioeconomic issues such as population and economic growth affect climate change. That’s in part because of invitations he’s received to speak to groups such as Planned Parenthood.

"Running was puzzled by the invitation at first, but soon realized that population growth affects the quantity of emissions released into the atmosphere.

"He’s also gearing up to push the idea of a no-growth economy in terms of consumption. With the current recession the nation is facing, he said, maybe it’ll cause people to return to a lifestyle 'that maybe we never should have left.'"

Well, at least he said "maybe." Maybe he's waiting to find out whether the evidence from his scientific research supports his no-growth political agenda.

What is it about scientists today that they believe their role, as scientists, is to shape society rather than simply to describe the world as it is? It's a free society and scientists have as much right as anybody to express their political or moral opinions. Just don't call it science. When scientists use words like "should" or "ought," they're no longer talking science. They're talking politics or morality.

-tdr

Obama's Yes We Can In Space.

2009-01-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

Bloomberg.com has published an interesting story about the incoming Obama Administration's plans for America's space programs. That's right, programs not program: the military and the civilian wings.

George W. Bush got lots of grief for militarizing space with his national security emphasis on America's space policy. Undeserved, by the way. But Bush's NASA also moved to expand civilian options for launch vehicle with its competition for a private sector replacement to the shuttle. Also Bush's regulators at the FAA helped to make it possible for Burt Rutan to launch SpaceShipOne into space, and have been very helpful in setting up a favorable regulatory regime for the new private space programs.

Now the incoming Obama administration is considering breaking the barriers between the Pentagon and NASA and having America's two government spacefaring organizations share resources.

"President-elect Barack Obama will probably tear down long-standing barriers between the U.S.’s civilian and military space programs to speed up a mission to the moon amid the prospect of a new space race with China.

"Obama’s transition team is considering a collaboration between the Defense Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration because military rockets may be cheaper and ready sooner than the space agency’s planned launch vehicle, which isn’t slated to fly until 2015, according to people who’ve discussed the idea with the Obama team.

"The potential change comes as Pentagon concerns are rising over China’s space ambitions because of what is perceived as an eventual threat to U.S. defense satellites, the lofty battlefield eyes of the military." (Here.)

At first glance this appears positive. Combining the military and the civilian wings of America's space program instantly increases the resources available to each. Also, if I may, it takes two wings to fly, you know. Ultimately, a serious American government space program will look more like a military organization than it does now.

Space enthusiasts spend enormous energy and time trying to figure out how to get the younger generation more interested in space exploration. Recommendations include making space exploration be about the coolness of astronomy, searching for alien life, saving humanity through space colonization, saving the Earth through space industry, or learning about other planets to better understand and save our own. For example, if we can understand why Venus became a greenhouse hothouse, maybe we can prevent it happening here. If we can understand why Mars lost its magnetic field, maybe we can prevent it happening here. If we can beam clean energy from orbit, maybe we can slow down pollution on Earth. If we can strip mine the asteroids, maybe we can preserve our own planet. Call it Greenspace.

But space enthusiasts have another option for increasing the glamorous allure of space. Make space exploration about something that is part of humanity's soul: nationalism. Make the space program about serving the country, throw in uniforms and ranks, and we'll have no shortage or recruits. Call it Spacefleet.

-tdr

Republished once for editing purposes. No content changed.

Nothing Is More Beautiful Than Rules.

2009-01-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

In a story today (here) about the handover of authority from American to Iraqi forces in Baghdad's Green Zone, Haider Mahmoud, an Iraqi guard, said something profound.

"Nothing is more beautiful than rules."

There's a tendency to see only bad coming out of America's 6 year military involvement in Iraq. Six years ago Iraqi and American soldiers were fighting each other to the death. Now Iraq's soldiers are trained by and fight alongside Americans. Relationships that are developing now between the two armies, especially among the officers, is bound to make a difference. And if Mahmoud's comment is any indication, America's soldiers are providing an example of professionalism and respect for law, that is sinking in.

-tdr

Goodbye, Northwest Passage, We Hardly Knew You.

2009-01-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

Arctic Ocean nations might have to put their economic plans to take advantage of a polar sea without ice on hold for a while.

"Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close. ...

"Earlier this year, predictions were rife that the North Pole could melt entirely in 2008. Instead, the Arctic ice saw a substantial recovery. Bill Chapman, a researcher with the UIUC's Arctic Center, tells DailyTech this was due in part to colder temperatures in the region. Chapman says wind patterns have also been weaker this year. Strong winds can slow ice formation as well as forcing ice into warmer waters where it will melt.

"Why were predictions so wrong? Researchers had expected the newer sea ice, which is thinner, to be less resilient and melt easier. Instead, the thinner ice had less snow cover to insulate it from the bitterly cold air, and therefore grew much faster than expected, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center." (Here.)

Climate scientists don't know everything about how Earth's climate works? Who could have known?

The news might be bad for the Northwest Passage, and embarrassing for climate scientists, but it could be good news for the poor polar bear.

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: Macro Shots

2008-12-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

I did my part to help stimulate the economy this weekend. I bought an expensive new macro lens for the Canon Rebel: a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 macro. I dived in this morning and took some shots in the backyard. I need to read the manual. I wasted a lot of shots to get these and these are cropped versions of the originals.

-tdr

Merry Christmas and Happy Holy Days, Everybody!

2008-12-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas and you'll be giving to the people you care about. Tomorrow, it'll be all about you. Don't forget to hit the day after Christmas sales. The economy needs a stimulus package. My to-buy list includes a macro lens (here) to put on my Canon Rebel for extreme close-ups, binoculars for birdwatching (here), and a 9 mm handgun, probably a Sig Sauer (here), either the P220 or P226. Peace on Earth, people!

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: States Of Repose

2008-12-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a chubby little California Towhee standing by the patio, oblivious to the cat about 20 feet away.

The cat, Kimba, rests among the native plants next to the laughing Buddha.

Meanwhile, this Black Phoebe waits on the utility wire for the cat to vacate the yard.

Just another wild day in the urbs.

-tdr

All shots taken with 10.1 megapixel Canon Rebel XTi and EF 75-300 telephoto lens. My new toys.

Wisdom Of The Over-Educated.

2008-12-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

Before 2008, California, much like the rest of the United States, limited marriage to different-sex partners. California followed much of human history in that regard. Marriage may have included multiple partners in some societies but its normative characteristic throughout history has been its heterosexual nature.

But earlier this year four California Supreme Court justices outvoted three other justices and held that it violates the California Constitution to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. Last month, 52 percent of California's voters passed Proposition 8, which overturned the decision of the four justices, and amended the Constitution to reinstate the normative definition of marriage as being a relationship between different-sex partners.

Because of the type of society we live in today, California's voters might not have the last word on the matter. The California Supreme Court will decide a case next year brought by same-sex marriage supporters who believe it violated the California Constitution to let the voters decide what marriage is.

Although California's Supreme Court has not been asked to decide this issue, some believe the vote violated the principle of freedom from the establishment of religion. For instance, University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone:

"Proposition 8 was enacted by a vote of 52% to 48%. Those identifying themselves as Evangelicals, however, supported Proposition 8 by a margin of 81% to 19%, and those who say they attend church services weekly supported Proposition 8 by a vote of 84% to 16%. Non-Christians, by the way, opposed Proposition 8 by a margin 85% to 15% and those who do not attend church regularly opposed Proposition 8 by a vote of 83% to 17%.

"What this tells us, quite strikingly, is that Proposition 8 was a highly successful effort of a particular religious group to conscript the power of the state to impose their religious beliefs on their fellow citizens, whether or not those citizens share those beliefs. This is a serious threat to a free society committed to the principle of separation of church and state." (Here.)

That's right. The decision of the voters in California to return marriage to its normative definition as a relationship involving different-sex partners is a threat to a free society. Letting four judges change the definition of marriage for 37 million Californians? No threat to a free society at all. Let's hear it for the wisdom of higher education.

Rather than seeking to impose their religious views on others, it's more likely that California's voters decided marriage should reflect certain biological facts about human reproduction and childood development. Humans reproduce sexually and children are dependent on their parents for years. Marriage helps to ensure that a child's family will, in most circumstances, include his or her mother and father by binding the parents to each other and their children through a public, legal commitment.

As to whether the decision of California's voters to return marriage to its normative definition is a threat to a free society, Abraham Lincoln's words from 147 years ago about letting the Supreme Court decide certain policy matters have resonance today.

"At the same time, the candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their Government into the hands of that eminent tribunal." (Here.)

-tdr

Republished twice (a record!) to fix typos: missing words.

Wild In The Urbs: Thanksgiving Edition

2008-11-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

A hard rain fell on Thanksgiving morning in San Diego. After the rain, the yard smelled like redwood and sage, and the birds came alive with singing. Small somethings to be thankful for.

-tdr

This I Believe ...

2008-11-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

I believe I'll have another plate of turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!

-tdr

Padres Go For Broke.

2008-11-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

The San Diego Padres are in some kind of a meltdown. The team lost 99 games last year. Published stories indicate that payroll next year will be in the $40 million range, which is a bit more than half of payroll last year.

The team has let Trevor Hoffman go. To be frank, that's probably the right thing to do. Hoffman has lost his edge. Plus, he's a closer. Even when he's on, he's no good to the Padres unless the team has the lead entering the ninth inning. Better to put the money elsewhere and give Heath Bell a shot at closing.

The real heartache for fans is the effort to push Jake Peavy out the door. Peavy is the team's front line starter. Without him, there's just one truly top of the line starter on the team in Chris Young. With Peavy, the Pads have the edge going 2 out of 5 games they play.

Peavy trade talks are going nowhere, which is hurting the team's effort to rebuild the rest of the lineup.

"And for a team coming off a 99-loss season in 2008, there are several areas that need to be filled, as general manager Kevin Towers wants to add starting pitching, relief pitching and shore up his bench for 2009.

"But not knowing if the team can or will move Peavy and his $11 million contract for 2009 has all but left Towers in a standby mode until the future of the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner is decided.

"'That's pretty much it,' Towers said. 'It's certainly a large sum of money we would be moving. Once that's decided, we will have a better idea of what holes we would be plugging.'" (Here.)

It's obvious to anybody that Padres management is moving Peavy purely for financial reasons. The team needs to shed payroll. The question is why?

My guess is it's tied to owner John Moores' divorce. California is a community property state and so everything he and his wife owned must be split 50-50. (Well, there can be exceptions to that, but let's not worry about those.) My guess is that shedding payroll is part of an effort to drive down the value of the Padres to improve John Moores' bargaining position when it comes time to swap assets with his wife in the property settlement. The less the Padres are worth, the less John Moores has to give up in exchange, if he wants to keep the team for himself.

-tdr

Space: The Arts Program.

2008-11-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

One of the most appreciated but unremarked benefits of Earth's space programs are the beautiful photographs. For instance, this one of Mars: The smiley face crater is Galle. Or this one of Saturn's moon Dione: Or this photo of Saturn taken by the Cassini probe: You won't see that from Earth.

Two days ago the Boston Globe published a set of photographs taken in near Earth orbit of the International Space Station. (Here.) The images are striking.

It's a cliche to refer to the blackness or darkness of space. So, it's interesting to see how bright space appears in the photographs. Presumably, even in the darkness of space, it's going to be bright outside when your orbit takes you to the day side of the Earth. What with the sun being just 93 million miles away and all and no atmosphere to speak of to diffuse the sunlight.

Anyway, go to the link and enjoy.

-tdr

Republished once to correct premature publication.

Is That Cute Or What?

2008-11-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs: Going Native.

2008-11-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

Southern California is a dry land. Okay, all land is dry land, but Southern California's land is especially dry. We don't get a lot of rain and we don't have much of our own water. Well, there is that giant ocean just to the west, but it's got all that salt in it, and don't get me started about the lack of desalination plants in this region. So, let's pretend the Pacific Ocean isn't there. That's what San Diego's City Council is doing.

Water supply is so bad that San Diego, thanks to the City Council, is going to start recycling waste water into drinking water. So, if you live elsewhere and have thought about moving here because you see how wonderful the weather is every time you watch a Chargers or Padres game from San Diego, think again. You'll be drinking cleaned up toilet water. Yummy, yummy toilet water. Not quite Tang but just like NASA!

Anyway, all that's a round about way of getting to the point. Those beautiful green lawns that define the suburbs consume way too much water for this region. That doesn't stop everybody from having one. But if the consequence of everybody having a lawn is everybody getting to drink toilet water, well, maybe it's time to go native and start replacing our lawns with native plants. You know, the plants that evolved to thrive in San Diego's low water ecology. Don't buy that argument? Then how about this one: the plants that God in his infinite wisdom perfectly created to grow here.

So, here's the home in the suburbs the week after moving in last February. And here's the same home today, two days after putting in all native plants. And here's a side angle shot.

Not too lush or green just now. (Clicking the photos to enlarge them helps.) But the picture doesn't capture the slight fragrance of sage, either. And the plants just went in. There are close to 100 new plants in the yard and each one produces either flowers or berries. Once the yard is established there will be an abundance of reds, and greens, and blues, and yellows, along with butterflies, hummingbirds, and other seed eating birds.

The best part is, once the yard is established, it won't need watering, except for the occasional sprinkle with the hose using the beer can method. The beer can method, for those not in the know, is this: grab a hose, grab a beer, and water the yard until you're done drinking the beer. Sounds like the perfect Southern California lifestyle to me.

-tdr

PS: Props to Clayton Tschudy of Tschudy Ecological Designs for the design and the plant selection of the yard. He's got the right vision. The plants came from Las Pilitas Nursery, a native plants nursery, north of Escondido. Here are the names and links to the nursery's website for the plants in the yard. (You're going to have to cut and paste to see the pictures of the plants fully grown and descriptions.)

Galvezia "Firecracker"--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/321.htm
Viguiera laciniata--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/1426.htm
Eriogonum umbellatum polyanthum--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/527.htm
Eriogonum arborescens--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/277.htm
Eriogonum grande rubescens--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/288.htm
Mahonia nevenii--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/422.htm
Salvia "Pozo Blue"--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/607.htm
Iris douglasiana--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/352.htm
Muhlenbergia rigens--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/446.htm
Ribes viburnifolium--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/586.htm
Diplacus puniceus--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/247.htm
Zauschneria californica--http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/3365.htm

Americans Flunk Civics Test. Again.

2008-11-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has an online civics test. Go to its site at americancivicliteracy.org and take the test. (Here.) When you're done read the ISI's depressing press release and compare your score to the scores of your fellow Americans. (PDF Here.)

Apparently, Americans don't know much about their own government. My favorite finding? A college education doesn't help. My second favorite finding? Elected officials scored worse than the general population.

I took the test and scored 32 correct out of 33 questions, for a percentage of 96.97 correct. I answered question 33 incorrectly. My excuse is that I misread the multiple choice answers for that question. Or maybe it was the last question and I saw the open barn door, lost my focus, and broke into a gallop. Whatever, it was still a wrong answer, dammit.

-tdr

God's Will Or God's Guiding Light.

2008-11-11T07:47:00.000-08:00

Sarah Palin's faith and her expressions of it have rankled the Christophobes in this country. This quote from her about a possible future run for higher office will no doubt push more buttons among them:

"'I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door,' Palin said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. 'And if there is an open door in '12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door.'" (Here.)

The AP story interprets Palin's quote this way:

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she wouldn't hesitate to run for the presidency in four years if it's God's will ..."

That's not exactly what she's saying. What she's actually saying is that she'll run for higher office again if she concludes that it's good for herself, her family, her state, and her country. When she talks about God, she's talking about God showing her the right path. She's talking about enlightenment.

Palin's prayers are for enlightenment so that she can make a decision that will do the most good. She's praying that God shows her when an opportunity arises so that she can seize it, if it's the right thing to do. She's not saying that she'll run for President if God wills it, nor is she saying that if she does run for President it will be because God wills it.

-tdr

Republished once to fix egregious grammatical error.

Sweating The Small Stuff.

2008-11-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama's campaign staff ran a very disciplined operaton. Rarely, were they off-message. I don't know what message the Obama family's wardrobe sent on election night but look at the photo here. Every member of the family is wearing red or black or both. Their clothes complement each other. It's a message of unity, perhaps. The choice of clothing can't be an accident. No detail was too small for that campaign.

-tdr

Assuming that fair use applies to permit posting it, here's the photo as published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on November 9, 2008. Photo credit goes to TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty Images.

God Or Evolution? Whichever, Nature Works.

2008-11-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

Biomimetics involves applying the techniques of nature to technological products. (Here.) It makes sense because whether you believe God created nature or evolution made nature what it is today, the bottom line is nature works. Biomimetics has applications for human exploration of space.

Radiation in space can be deadly to astronauts. Here on Earth, people are protected from radiation by the magnetosphere. The problem for space travelers is how to duplicate that protection on spaceships traveling the long distances between planets. One proposal that's been kicked around for a while is to imitate nature by surrounding the spaceship with an artificially created magnetic bubble. Recent experiments show it could work.

"Researchers at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the Universities of York, Strathclyde and IST Lisbon, have undertaken experiments, using know-how from 50 years of research into nuclear fusion, to show that it is possible for astronauts to shield their spacecrafts with a portable magnetosphere - scattering the highly charged, ionised particles of the solar wind and flares away from their space craft.

"Computer simulations done by a team in Lisbon with scientists at Rutherford Appleton last year showed that theoretically a very much smaller 'magnetic bubble' of only several hundred meters across would be enough to protect a spacecraft.

"Now this has been confirmed in the laboratory in the UK using apparatus originally built to work on fusion. By recreating in miniature a tiny piece of the Solar Wind, scientists working in the laboratory were able to confirm that a small 'hole' in the Solar Wind is all that would be needed to keep the astronauts safe on their journey to our nearest neighbours." (Here.)

On the other hand, imitating the snail might not be the best idea.

-tdr

Republished once to add content.

Night Of The Living Dims.

2008-11-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

The Minnesota Senate race is headed for a recount. Senator Norm Coleman leads former comedian Al Franken by a narrow margin after the machine count. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is covering the story. (Here.)

Because all the ballots will now be counted by hand, metaphysics and mind-reading will guide the vote counters as they attempt to discern the mysterious "intent of the voter." For the vast majority of voters who follow the rules and cast legal votes, the intent will be clear. Those voters filled in the bubbles to cast their lawful vote.

For a small number of voters who didn't fill in the bubbles but made other marks, the Minnesota Secretary of State has created a graphic to show the kind of marks that now will count as votes. The graphic is reproduced by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. (Here.) It's worth looking at the examples to see the kind of non-votes that will be counted as votes because "the voter's intent is clear."

Six examples are shown and only two are clear examples of voter intent. In the first three examples the voter, rather than filling the bubble, circled the bubble, circled the candidate's name, or put a check mark in the margin next to the candidate's name. These marks are persuasive evidence of voter intent only if the voter did the same thing for every other candidate on the ballot. If the voter voted correctly in every other race, the marks are less likely to be votes and are more likely indications that the voter was unsure and put a place mark on the ballot as a reminder to make a decision after voting in every other race. The fact that the bubble wasn't filled in indicates that the voter chose not to vote in that race.

The fourth example is a check mark in the bubble. Again, if the voter filled every other bubble correctly, a check mark shouldn't count as a valid vote. It only indicates voter intent if the voter put a check mark in every other bubble.

The final two examples are the only ones persuasive of voter intent. In those examples a bubble next to one candidate is filled in, but another candidate has a bubble filled in then scratched out, or filled in and partially erased. That is persuasive evidence that the voter changed his or her mind. But what the evidence doesn't explain is why the voter didn't get a new ballot to correct the error.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't count improperly cast votes at all. The process of voting isn't hard. You fill in the little bubbles with the pen provided. If you don't fill in the bubbles but instead circle names or use check marks, or what have you, you're not voting, you're playing games, you're wasting your time, the state's time, and taxpayer money. And if you make a mistake, you ask the poll worker for a new ballot. It's not hard to do. We should expect more from voters.

In baseball, a balk is not a pitch. In politics, an improperly cast vote should not be a vote. Only properly cast votes demonstrate the voter's intent beyond doubt. Letting election officials count incorrectly prepared ballots as votes gives those officials the power to cast votes and to decide the victor in close races.

-tdr

Oooooo, Love To Love You, Baby.

2008-11-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama's not been sworn in as President yet and already he's compared to our greatest Presidents. For example, there's the story headlined "Like Lincoln and FDR, Obama faces nation in crisis." (Here.) Can we let him get sworn in first before we decide that he's another Lincoln and not, for instance, James Buchanan? A President who did nothing to avert the Civil War and who also faced a financial crisis in the beginning of his Administration. He's considered one of the worst Presidents to serve.

-tdr

Part Of A Great Tradition.

2008-11-04T22:50:00.000-08:00

The rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights are not the greatest gifts the Founding Fathers bequeathed us when they wrote the Constitution. Instead the greatest accomplishment of the Founding Fathers was writing into our Constitution a system for peacefully transferring political power through regularly scheduled elections. Since its founding the United States has lived up to that constitutional mandate and never missed an election. Tonight America continued that great tradition and elected a new President. A new President whose policies run 180 degrees in the opposite direction from those of the current President. Despite those political differences the outgoing Administration has been working on the Presidential transition for almost a month. (Here & here.) Come January of 2009, political power will pass to Barack Obama from George W. Bush. Obama was not my candidate but he will be my President.

-tdr

Our Diversity Is Our Strength.

2008-11-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

Move along. All cultures are equal. Nothing to see here. From a press release of Amnesty International USA.

Child of 13 stoned to death in Somalia

"Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was accused of adultery, but sources told Amnesty International that she had in fact been raped by three men, and had attempted to report this rape to the al-Shabab militia who control Kismayo. It was this act that resulted in her being accused of adultery and detained. None of men she accused of rape were arrested.

"She was detained by militia of the Kismayo authorities, a coalition of Al-shabab and clan militias. During this time, she was reportedly extremely distressed, with some individuals stating she had become mentally unstable.

"Amnesty International has campaigned to end the use of the punishment of stoning, calling it gruesome and horrific. This killing of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow demonstrates the cruelty and the inherent discrimination against women of this punishment." (Here.)

To say nothing of the society that allows it and the religion that endorses it.

-tdr

Wild In The Urbs.

2008-11-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Life hangs on and does what it can to survive. There have been a lot of spiders this Fall. This web in the front lawn is outlined by the morning dew about a month ago. The lawn is gone so the spider will have to find something else to build on. This snail used to drink from the bird bath every day. Today, I went to water the plants in the back yard. This praying mantis was resting on the wand and refused to give up its spot. It remained on the wand the entire time I watered. It got so complacent it took to grooming itself. Isn't that cuuute!? -tdr

Vote Cancellation Guide.

2008-10-31T00:10:00.000-07:00

You may have heard that there's an election Tuesday. Here's a voter's guide for cancelling my vote. My choices and why.

Elective Offices.

President --- John McCain: the devil we know. Barack Obama is the biggest phony to run for office in my lifetime. Okay, John Edwards ran twice. Point taken.

San Diego City Attorney -- Jan Goldsmith: an attorney for a change. Four years of the Wrath of Aguirre is four years too many. San Diego doesn't need more than one mayor at a time.

California Propositions.

No on 1A because high speed rail is a boondoggle. High speed rail for California is an idea whose time has not come. It's touted as a way to reduce pollution, traffic, and use of oil. A more effective use of state money would be to expand existing rail lines to take on more freight. Freight trucks waste fuel and pollute more than cars. America's cargo should ride on trains not on trucks.

Yes on 2 because we should treat farm animals humanely before we kill 'em and eat 'em. This initiative requires farmers to give livestock more room to move around.

Yes on 4 because parents should be told when their children seek a major medical operation. This initiative requires parental notification, not consent, before a minor has an abortion.

No on 5 because California can't afford more voter-mandated spending. This initiative limits the authority of criminal courts to punish drug offenders and expands California's existing drug treatment alternative. The proposition requires minimum spending on drug programs. California can barely pass a budget every year. Part of the problem is automatic spending mandated by voter-approved initiatives, like this one.

No on 6 because California can't afford more voter-mandated spending. This initiative increases spending on law enforcement and mandates a minimum amount every year. California doesn't need more automatic-pilot spending programs.

Yes on 7 because government-run utilities should follow the same rules as privately-owned utilities. Among other things, this initiative requires government power companies to use renewable energy the same as private utilities. If California is going to mandate renewable energy, it should do so fairly.

Yes on 8 because kids deserve a mom and a dad. This initiative restores the historical definition of marriage as a heterosexual institution. Marriage exists so that, in most circumstances, a child's family will include the biological mother and father. No child born into a same-sex marriage will ever grow up with both the biological mother and father.

No on 9 because California's criminal laws are harsh enough and our prisons are already overcrowded. This initiative is a grab bag of increased criminal penalties.

Yes on 10 because dirty and wasteful diesel trucks should get off the road. This initiative authorizes bonds to fund alternative energy power plants and rebates for purchases of alternative fuel cars, consumer trucks, and most important, large freight trucks.

Yes on 11 because voters should pick their legislators not the other way around. This initiatve takes redistricting away from the legislature and puts it in the hands of a new commission staffed by citizens.

-tdr

There Will Be Ugly.

2008-10-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

The George Washington University/Battleground national daily tracking poll has the race for president stagnated. Barack Obama is stuck at 49 percent after coming down from above 50 percent. John McCain is stuck at 46 percent after coming up from the low 40s. Undecideds are stuck at 5 percent. (Here.)

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict the national popular vote next Tuesday will be 50-50. My other prediction is that 4 out of 5 undecideds will break for McCain, the devil they know not the one they don't. My third prediction is that turnout will combine with sloppy voter registration procedures to cause chaos at polls around the country, which leads to my fourth prediction. November 2008 will look and feel a lot like November 2000.

-tdr

Chicago's Citizen-Failure Of The Year.

2008-10-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

So, criticize Barack Obama for his association with William Ayers and one response will be that Ayers was Chicago's Citizen of the Year. It's true, but here are some facts.

Ayers was chosen Citizen of the Year because he was instrumental in securing a $49.2 million grant for school reform from the Annenberg Foundation. (Here.) The money was used for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.

So what did all that money buy Chicago in terms of education reform? Not much.

"The results of an August 2003 final technical report of the Chicago Annenberg Research Project by the Consortium on Chicago School Research 'suggest that among the schools it supported, the Challenge had little impact on school improvement and student outcomes, with no statistically significant differences between Annenberg and non-Annenberg schools in rates of achievement gain, classroom behavior, student self-efficacy, and social competence.'" (Here.)

So, students didn't benefit but Ayers got himself a veneer of respectability.

-tdr

The Audacity Of Nope.

2008-10-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama's promise to give tax cuts to 95 percent of working (oops, sorry, workin') families is finally getting a tiny bit of scrutiny. His plan relies on refundable tax credits to reach the 95 percent figure because fewer than half of workers make enough money to pay income tax. (Here and here.)

A refundable tax credit is one that gets paid back to all workers who qualify, even those whose income tax liability is less than the refund. It's a kind of income support for lower income workers. Those workers who don't pay income tax do pay Medicare and Social Security taxes. The implication of these facts is that, if Obama's plan is enacted, the federal government will be returning Social Security money to workers. (Here.)

Fortunately for us, the Social Security Trust Fund sits on a solid financial foundation. Oooh, wait, that's not right. Nice plan, Senator.

Obama's victory depends on large turnout among young people, the most unreliable voting demographic in America. The most reliable voting demographic is senior citizens. You've got to wonder which candidate seniors would vote for if they understood the implications of Obama's tax plan.

If John McCain really wants to win this election, he'll start scaring the pants off of grandma and grandpa about Obama's risky scheme to steal money from Social Security. If he's lucky, their fear will trickle down to the workin' class voters who don't make a lot of money and stand to benefit from Obama's giveaways, but who also need Social Security to be solvent when they start to retire.

-tdr

Lying Athwart History Getting Run Over.

2008-10-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Colin Powell is no conservative, so his endorsement on Meet The Press today of Barack Obama for president is not as surprising as the apostasy of those conservative pundits who have fallen for the Phony Senator from Illinois. But his endorsement may affect the election more because of the statute Powell enjoys in American society. The timing so close to the election will make a difference also.

You can read Powell's reasoning in the Meet The Press transcript. (Here.) He goes on at some length.

My impression of Powell's endorsement is that it seems based mostly on the personal characteristics of the candidates and only partly on the issues. Powell compares the behavior of Obama and John McCain during the past 7 weeks of the campaign and prefers Obama's confident demeanor. So, put Powell in the same category as those who believe Obama's demeanor denotes moderate policies. Wishful thinking not based on any apparent facts but time will tell.

Powell also questions the choice of Sarah Palin. He believes she is not ready to be president. He also claims Joe Biden is ready, "on day one" as he put it. At least Powell should be given credit for making the right comparison here: Palin versus Biden, not Palin versus Obama, the way most people do. However, there is little in Biden's career that suggests he is ready to be president. His strong suit is experience but that experience hasn't stopped him from being wrong, wrong, wrong on serious foreign policy issues. Most famously, his partition plan for Iraq. To put it plainly, the Dufus of Delaware is a foolish man. He's a man of average intellingence who believes himself smarter than most everybody else. If Obama and Biden win the election, I will get down on my agnostic knees every day and pray that Obama serves his full term.

To the extent, Powell's decision is based on issues, he chooses Obama as the anti-conservative choice. For example, Powell says he is concerned that a McCain presidency will result in two more conservative justices on the United States Supreme Court. Thanks for coming clean about that, General. It's true, that result is more likely with a McCain presidency, but it's not a certain result by any means. I'm not confident that McCain would recognize the difference between a conservative and a nonconservative justice.

In the end Powell's endorsement is a personality choice. Powell has long been a moderate within the Republican Party. He sees Obama as the moderate candidate. It's a leap of faith on Powell's part. Obama's history is not one of political moderation. Even if it were, Obama will have Nancy Pelosi leading the House and Harry Reid leading the Senate. Don't hold your breath waiting for moderate policies to come from that troika.

-tdr

Give These Kids A Grant. Now!

2008-10-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

If a group of visionary college students at Rice University has its way, one day, we'll be able to lift a pint against heart disease and cancer.

"They're using genetic engineering to create beer that contains resveratrol, a chemical in wine that's been shown to reduce cancer and heart disease in lab animals." (Here.)

Unfortunately, their brilliant concept is just getting off the drawing boards. In the meantime, pour me a vino, won't you?.

-tdr

You Go, Girls!

2008-10-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

From the world of science comes news that female-dominated societies aren't necessarily less violent than male-dominated ones. At least among the bonobos.

Who, you might ask? The bonobos are some kind of primate living along the Congo. They, along with chimpanzees, are closely related to humans. The bonobos, unlike chimps (and humans), live in female-dominated social groups. Bonobos, unlike chimps (and humans, again), also have a reputation for peaceful behavior. Apparently, they don't resolve conflicts by fighting each other. They resolve conflicts by promiscuous sex: male-female, male-male, female-female. Whatever gets them through the long jungle nights. The bonobos apparently really like banging each other.

Also, where chimpanzees have been known to hunt and kill monkeys for food, the bonobos were not known to do that. Until now, that is. Apparently a new study has shown bonobos do hunt and kill monkeys.

"Unlike the male-dominated societies of their chimpanzee relatives, bonobo society—in which females enjoy a higher social status than males—has a 'make-love-not-war' kind of image. While chimpanzee males frequently band together to hunt and kill monkeys, the more peaceful bonobos were believed to restrict what meat they do eat to forest antelopes, squirrels, and rodents.

"Not so, according to a study, reported in the October 14th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, that offers the first direct evidence of wild bonobos hunting and eating the young of other primate species.

"'These findings are particularly relevant for the discussion about male dominance and bonding, aggression and hunting—a domain that was thought to separate chimpanzees and bonobos,' said Gottfried Hohmann of the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. 'In chimpanzees, male-dominance is associated with physical violence, hunting, and meat consumption. By inference, the lack of male dominance and physical violence is often used to explain the relative absence of hunting and meat eating in bonobos. Our observations suggest that, in contrast to previous assumptions, these behaviors may persist in societies with different social relations.'
...
"Overall, the discovery challenges the theory that male dominance and aggression must be causally linked to hunting behavior, an idea held by earlier models of the evolution of aggression in human and non-human primates. Future work on the bonobos of LuiKotale may shed light on the social and ecological conditions that encourage their monkey-hunting expeditions, yielding insight into the evolutionary significance and causes of aggression, hunting, and meat eating in bonobos, chimpanzees, and ourselves." (Here.)

-tdr

Lying Athwart History Getting Run Over.

2008-10-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Another conservative hand wringer has come out against Sarah Palin. Heather MacDonald appeared on the Laura Ingraham radio show yesterday morning.

She spent 12 and a half maddening minutes dissing Palin and praising Barack Obama. This, from the queen of anti-illegal immigration.

First, she complained about Palin bringing the Republicans into identity politics. Then she complained that Palin is not ready to be president and said that Obama gives her confidence in his judgment. Yet she couldn't name a single issue that she agreed with him.

Her comparison between Palin and Obama is a false one. If McCain is elected, we'll have an inexperienced vice-president a heartbeat away from the presidency. If Obama is elected, we'll have an inexperienced heart beating in the White House. There's a big difference.

Ingraham fought the good fight, trying to get MacDonald to see that Palin and McCain are closer to conservatism than Obama and that the election is a zero-sum game with only two choices. MacDonald's comeback to that was to say, "I think that conservative principles can survive the election."

There's that foolishness again about how losing isn't such a bad thing. Doesn't any conservative pundit remember anything about history? Conservatives lose big now, like they did when Lyndon Johnson creamed Barry Goldwater, and they'll be spending another generation trying to dismantle more new programs built into the welfare state.

The Corner at National Review Online has the audio. Listen to the whole sorry thing here.

-tdr

Try Private Earmarks For Adler's "Overhead Projector."

2008-10-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

The Bad Astronomer has been taking issue with John McCain's references to Barack Obama's earmark request for "the overhead projector" at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. (Here.)

The Bad Astronomer is right that astronomy is really cool. And McCain's use of the term "overhead projector" doesn't come close to describing the complex piece of machinery used by the planetarium. Also funding the Adler Planetarium is worthy as is replacing its projector. But all that doesn't mean the funds have to come from an earmark in the federal budget. It will benefit Chicago if the planetarium's projector gets replaced. But it's no great loss to the country that the Adler Planetarium didn't actually get the federal money that Obama tried to steer his hometown's way.

Chicago is a big and world-class city. Or so I've heard from all the Chicagoans living here in San Diego. Even accounting for the ex-pats here in sunny Southern California, Chicago has lots of people still living there, many of them quite wealthy. There are many business there, some of them quite big. Better the people who live in the area, and the people who use the planetarium, pay to replace the projector than the federal taxpayer.

McCain has a point about the problem with federal budget earmarks. There are millions of projects in the United States worthy of funding. The federal government can't fund them all. The earmarks process results in funds going to those projects supported by politicians and their powerful friends. It's only happenstance that the project is worthwhile.

So, the Bad Astronomer does a public service by including a link on his latest post for sending private donations to the Adler Planetarium. Think of your donation as a private earmark. This is something I'm sure McCain himself would endorse.

In that same spirit, here's a link to San Diego's Air and Space Museum and here's one to San Diego's Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and here's another. Both museums in San Diego promote science, astronomy included, technology, and space and air flight. Both are worthy of your private earmarks.

-tdr

Maybe God Doesn't Love Us, After All.

2008-10-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

It turns out the health benefit of drinking alcohol has its limits. Although moderate drinking has cardiovascular benefits, it apparently doesn't do much good for the brain. Duh, you might say. Well, it's not just short-term stupidity while under the influence that's the problem. No, some scientists, who never should have gotten grant money, have discovered some bad news about alcohol.

"The more alcohol an individual drinks, the smaller his or her total brain volume, according to a new report."

That's the bad news. There's a small bit of good news for those of us blessed with a Y chromosome.

"Although men were more likely to drink alcohol, the association between drinking and brain volume was stronger in women, they [the scientists] note. This could be due to biological factors, including women's smaller size and greater susceptibility to alcohol's effects." (Here.)

One question not answered anywhere in the story. Just how big a brain does a person really need, anyway?

-tdr

Lying Athwart History Getting Run Over.

2008-10-15T01:41:00.000-07:00

As the presidential campaign enters its last weeks with John McCain trailing Barack Obama, dissension is growing among conservatives. Several have jumped ship to support Obama, the latest being Christopher Buckley. Others have rejected McCain from the beginning. George Will is notable among those. Conservatives who support McCain, Victor Davis Hanson for one, are beginning to chastise the conservatives who jumped ship.

Ross Douthat at The Atlantic weighs in on his blog. This is his conclusion:

"Even if Brooks and Noonan and Buckley and Dreher and Kathleen Parker and David Frum and Heather Mac Donald and Bruce Bartlett and George Will and on and on - note the ideological diversity in the ranks of conservatives who aren't Helping The Team these days - are all just snobs and careerists who quit or cavil or cover their asses when the going gets tough and their 'seat at the table' is threatened, an American conservative movement that consists entirely of those pundits with the rock-hard testicular fortitude required to never take sides against the family seems like a pretty small tent at this point. And if I were Hanson or Levin or Steyn I'd be devoting a little less time to ritual denunciations of heretics and RINOs, and at least a little more time to figuring out how to build the sort of ship that will make the rats of the DC/NY corridor want to scramble back on board, however much it makes you sick to have them back. Who knows? It might just be the sort of ship that swing-state voters will want to climb on board as well." (Here.)

Douthat's last point seems doubtful. It's also doubtful that there's anything that can be done to bring the defecting conservatives back on board. It seems unlikely they are jumping ship so they can be popular in the liberal cultural milieu where the live and work. They have jumped ship for ideological or political reasons.

Some of the ship-jumping conservatives support Obama. Buckley is a prime example of this type. They believe Obama will be a moderate leader because he's got such an even tempered demeanor. His moderate temperament must mean he will practice moderate politics. There's little evidence of this. Take two issues on which Obama has announced moderate positions.

Obama says he opposes same-sex marriage. Yet he also opposes anything that will stop same-sex marriage from spreading nationwide. He opposes the Defense of Marriage Act. He also opposes a constitutional amendment clarifying that marriage is a heterosexual relationship between one man and one woman. He also has praised the California Supreme Court's decision finding that same-sex couples have a state constitutional right to marry. As a constitutional scholar, Obama must know that without a constitutional amendment, the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution will require states to recognize same-sex marriages enacted in other states. His opposition to same-sex marriage turns out to be words, just words.

Obama also says that he believes the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own firearms. Yet his support of gun rights is limited to sportsmen. He supports the right of hunters to own guns. The right to own guns for self-defense or other purposes? Not so much. He has supported anti-gun legislation throughout his political career. His campaign never gave a straight answer to the very simple question whether Obama supported Washington D.C.'s unconstitutional gun ban that was struck down this year in the Heller case. Again, his support of the Second Amendment turns out to be words, just words.

Conservatives who believe Obama will advance moderate positions once in office are taking a huge leap of faith based on little more than wishful thinking.

Other conservatives don't support Obama but they oppose McCain because the Republican candidate is not a true conservative. Well, that's true enough. But he's more conservative than Obama and there isn't a viable third option. That doesn't matter because these conservatives prefer to lose this election and have the GOP and the conservative movement spend some time in the wilderness. They believe this will benefit the party and the movement by forcing the two to reconcile to each other, return to first principles, and come up with new ideas for new times. It's a foolish notion.

When Goldwater lost big and Johnson won we got the Great Society and conservatives have been trying to dismantle that for a generation. Politics is a zero-sum game. You either win or you lose. If McCain loses it will be conservatism's loss as much as it is the GOP's loss. Conservatives who let their quibbles with McCain and Sarah Palin get the better of them, will get an Obama administration with Nancy Pelosi in charge of the House, Harry Reid in charge of the Senate, and two to three vacancies looming on the Supreme Court. That's one hell of a price to pay to force the GOP and conservatism to reform themselves.

-tdr

Space And Country.

2008-10-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

With all the attention focused on national manned space programs and private space entrepreneurs, India's space program often gets overlooked. Well, the world's largest democracy is preparing to send an unmanned spaceship to the moon. (Here.)

After posting this, I finally received this week's edition of The Space Review in my email inbox. Dwayne Day reports on a recent conference on India's space program. Krishnaswami Kasturirangan, former head of India's space program, was a speaker.

"Now that India has not only developed significant space capabilities but also experienced substantial economic growth, the Indian space program has entered into what Kasturirangan describes as its 'expansion phase.' India can afford the luxuries of space science and possibly even human spaceflight. The country’s first lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1, is scheduled for launch later this month. The government has also created the Antrix Corporation to market Indian space capabilities around the world. The country’s next goals are development of a heavy launch vehicle, lunar exploratory missions, a two-stage-to-orbit reusable launch vehicle, human spaceflight, and further international cooperation. (Here.)

Later, Kasturirangan spoke about India's manned space plans.

"Kasturirangan explained that right now India’s government has not officially approved a human spaceflight program. Although he did not say so, other sources have indicated that India will pursue a two-person capsule. ISRO is currently studying technology options and questions and he rattled off a long list, including life support, reentry, tracking and human-rating a launch vehicle, clearly indicating that he was personally familiar with the studies. Only after the Indian space agency has answered these questions and defined the kind of vehicle they want to build, its costs, and the timeframe for the first human space launch, will ISRO officials take those plans to the Indian Parliament for formal approval. Simply put, India’s human space program has not yet been fully defined or approved."

Meanwhile, in other news from the subcontinent, a new solar powered ricksha developed by the Indian government is hitting the streets of New Delhi.

"It's been touted as a solution to urban India's traffic woes, chronic pollution and fossil fuel dependence, as well as an escape from backbreaking human toil.

"A state-of-the-art, solar powered version of the humble cycle-rickshaw promises to deliver on all this and more.

"The 'soleckshaw,' unveiled this month in New Delhi, is a motorised cycle rickshaw that can be pedalled normally or run on a 36-volt solar battery.

"Developed by the state-run Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), prototypes are receiving a baptism of fire by being road-tested in Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area." (Here.)

-tdr

Republished once to add content.