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pgleick | December 3, 2013Water policy and water problems always seem to be someone else’s responsibility. Those farmers who use all the water; the guy down the street who lets his sprinklers run all over the sidewalk; the Central Valley cities that don’t even have water meters; the environmentalists who are demanding water for some inconsequential fish we can’t even eat; those swimming pool owners in hot Los Angeles.
The reality, of course, is that water problems belong to all of us. We all contribute in various ways through our choices of appliances, or diets, or Congressional representatives, or gardens. And every…
jrosenhouse | December 2, 2013Over at Uncommon Descent, Vincent Torley serves up a long post about the problem of evil. He was responding to this post by John Loftus, but Torley's post can mostly be read independently of what Loftus wrote.
I devote a chapter of Among the Creationists to the problem of evil. I open the chapter like this:
Pride of place among theological problems must surely go to the problem of evil. That there is something incongruous in the picture of a just and loving God presiding over a world of extravagant cruelty and suffering is obvious to even the most unreflective person.
Indeed. I've…
gregladen | December 1, 2013This makes total sense. Physics was unable to deliver us our flying cars or jet packs. But what were we going to do with them anyway? Well, go to the bookstore, of course! Alas, in the absence of advanced space age technology we are forced to drive, or even walk, to the bookstore.
But not any more, because Jeff Bezos at Amazon has promised us ... promised ... the new "Amazon Prime Air" service. This is where the books (and other stuff we order from Amazon.com) fly to us, encased in small brightly colored boxes that apparently we get to keep after the delivery. They fly attached to the…
jrosenhouse | December 1, 2013Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won the big chess match against the defending champion Viswanathan Anand of India. This result was not surprising, though some were probably expecting Anand to put up more of a fight than he did. Only ten of the scheduled twelve games were played, with Carlsen winning three and the other seven being drawn.
This is the best thing to happen to chess in Scandinavia since Bent Larsen, “The Great Dane.” Larsen's own run for the World Championship ended abruptly when he lost six straight games to Bobby Fischer in 1971.
Anand's loss in Game Five is broadly…
gregladen | December 1, 2013Nature editor and author Henry Gee has produced his Christmas list in which he describes his three wishes as an editor at a scientific journal; he enumerates the scientific discoveries that sit at the top of his professional "bucket list."
Henry Gee. Not a Leprechaun.
I started to write a comment on Henry's blog post, here, but it turned into a blog post of my own, here:
Henry: As you know, I address in a fictional context in "Search for Sungudogo" (now only 99 cents on Amazon) all three of your wishes, the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe, the discovery of intelligent life…
gregladen | November 29, 2013LOL cat:
I apologize for the fact that this turns out to be an ad. Terminate at 1:40 to avoid that part, but it is relatively harmless, and the product being advertised does a great job at solving one of the most pressing First World Problems suffered by cat owners.
jdupuis | November 28, 2013It is time. The season of lists begins again!
Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that I can find around the web in various media outlets.
From the beginning it’s been a pretty popular service so I’m happy to continue it.
For my purposes, I define science books pretty broadly to include science, engineering, computing, history & philosophy of science & technology, environment, social aspects of science and even business books about technology trends or technology innovation. Deciding what is and isn’t…
gregladen | November 27, 2013Did you know that a fox's tail is called a "brush"?
There are 12 species of fox, but 37 different dogish animals are called fox. But somewhere along the line we figured out what true fox is, and there are only 12 of them. These are member of the genus "Vulpes." Vulpes is Latin for ... wait for it ... fox. Something that is fox-like is "vulpine."
What does the fox say? They bark (sort of), scream, and sometimes they howl.
Here's a red fox screaming. May not be work safe, depending on where you work:
In the case of the television network, FOX, the fox says "bla bla bla" and no one quite…
egrossman | November 26, 2013As Americans prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday and the White House gets ready for President Obama to pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a Rose Garden ceremony on Wednesday November 27 that will “reflect upon the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving,” let us take a moment to reflect upon the welfare of the men and women who process the millions of turkeys on their way to Thanksgiving dinners.
First, according to the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), about 220,000 people currently work in the poultry processing industry in the US, at an annual median wage…
gregladen | November 25, 2013One Hiroshima, Two Hiroshimas, Three Hirosimas, Four
On August 6th, 1945, the United States military detonated what was to date the largest and most terrible bomb ever created by humanity in the city of Hiroshima Japan. Since that time, the word "Hiroshima" has come to mean awesome power. In fact, the energy released by this bomb is beyond comprehension by the average person. Aside from the unbelievable power associated with that one human made machine, we also think, when we think of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, of horrible consequences arising from human activity. It does not matter what…
gregladen | November 22, 2013The Harry Potter Stamp
The US Postal Service has issued stamps depicting people who are not American many times. The US Postal Service has issues stamps with people who are not real. So far, though, no wizards have been venerated in this place of honor to my knowledge. This makes me wonder why the former head stamp collector at the American Philatelic Society complained that "Harry Potter is not American. It's foreign, and it's so blatantly commercial it's off the charts."
Clearly, the Dark Lord who shall not be named is behind this.
You can get your harry potter stamps here.
Here's the…
gregladen | November 19, 2013HERE I discuss climate change and bird migrations, give you a bird cam, and some other stuff.
gregladen | November 17, 2013I would like to propose a lottery.
Cost of ticket: $10.00
Prize: The winner's choice of an American-made electric car or hybrid car off of an approved list.
The cars would be provided at discount from them manufacturer. The manufacturer benefits from the publicity (free-ish advertising) and from having more of their cars on the road in communities where they might otherwise be very rare.
This would act like a Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA). A ROSCA is a way that a group of people can obtain a costly item with little available cash and low or zero interest loan. Every…
jrosenhouse | November 14, 2013But such exciting draws! Carlsen tried the Reti Opening again in Game Three, but this time got less than nothing. Anand was pressing for most of the game, though it seems that Carlsen always had enough counterplay to draw. The crucial moment is shown below:
White's queen is looking a bit sad, and it is clear that black has some advantage. Now the famously materialistic computer recommends the cold-blooded 29. ... Bxb2, eating the free pawn and scoffing at white's obvious counterplay down the e-file. Instead, Anand played the calmer 29. ... Bd4. He eventually won a pawn, but white was…
jrosenhouse | November 11, 2013I guess it's been obvious for a while now that I've largely lost interest in blogging. It seems the last vestiges of my SIWOTI syndrome have abandoned me. I still read as much nonsense as ever, but whereas previously I would have rushed to the blog to vent, now I mostly just shrug.
Still, I'm not quite ready to give up the blog altogether. I've been blogging for more than ten years, and I've met so many great people as a result that I'm reluctant to give it up. Part of my recent lethargy is the result of a fairly grueling semester in which, among other new commitments, I'm teaching a…
gregladen | November 11, 2013I’m sure the measurements are still being checked and adjusted but it is clear that Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones (termed “Typhoon” in the western Pacific) ever recorded. There are several ways to measure how big and bad a tropical cyclone is including it’s overall size from end to end, how low the barometric pressure gets, how high the sustained wind speed is, and how wide that wind field is. In addition, when a typhoon hits land details matter. The front right quadrant of a counter-clockwise spinning typhoon packs the maximum punch and if that part of…
gregladen | November 10, 2013I've got a tip for the Minnesota Vikings, who could use a tip. Try this!
pgleick | November 7, 2013In the 20th century, water policy seemed easy: figure out another source of water to satisfy some projected demand, and find the money to build it. The money was almost always federal “pork barrel” funding for big water projects, or occasionally state bond financing. The vast number of dams built in the United States (see the figure) is an indication of how extensively this approach was used. But the leveling off of the curve below also shows that traditional dam construction can no longer be considered the only solution to our water problems. Moreover, most major water projects were designed…
gregladen | November 7, 2013Paul Douglas on the weather in eight days hence and Thanksgivings anon. Interesting to note that Thanksgiving this year will be on the latest possible date it ever occurs on.
drorzel | November 3, 2013October was a very heavy month, blog-wise, and I had planned to continue that labor. In working the word mines, though, I seem to have delved too deep, and unleashed a horde. And they have Halloween candy...
I'll try to fight my way clear by Monday, but not too hard, because, really, look at them. Have a good weekend.
My position has been overrun. Send reinforcements.