Increase in US Earthquakes Manmade

by admin Posted on April 9, 2012

One thing is certain in the light of articles such as this one: Scientists: Increase in US Earthquakes Almost Certainly Manmade.

Expect to see billions of dollars spent by the Petroleum industry on ads telling us how safe this is, that the science is “disputed,” or “contradictory,” or “controversial.”

Expect politicians to parrot these lies, while claiming jobs and economic recovery depend upon granting Corporations unlimited rights to exploitation of these “resources.”

Excerpt:

A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) team has found that a sharp jump in earthquakes in America’s heartland appears to be linked to oil and natural gas drilling operations.

As hydraulic fracturing has exploded onto the scene, it has increasingly been connected to earthquakes. Some quakes may be caused by the original fracking — that is, by injecting a fluid mixture into the earth to release natural gas (or oil). More appear to be caused by reinjecting the resulting brine deep underground.

Source:

Romm, J. (April 6, 2012). Shale Shocked: ‘Remarkable Increase’ In U.S. Earthquakes ‘Almost Certainly Manmade,’ USGS Scientists Report. Think Progress. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/04/06/459711/shale-shocked-increase-midcontinent-earthquakes-almost-certainly-manmade-usgs-report/?mobile=nc

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Son of Frackenstein

by admin Posted on April 9, 2012

An excellent article written by a professor at Buffalo State College, detailing the destructive technologies sure to follow fracking. I say “sure to follow,” because on the current trajectory – with an apathetic, undereducated electorate and dysfunctional, thoroughly corrupt political system – the worst is inevitable.

Excerpt:

In a few short years the term “fracking” went from obscurity, mostly mistaken for an obscenity, to a household word, now often associated with flammable tap water. The technology is not new, but the market conditions that make such reckless forays deep into the earth’s crust profitable, are new. Welcome to the post peak oil energy economy. What’s online to follow fracking is even scarier.

…Let’s look at the Fukushima disaster, one year later. Most folks think this is over, last year’s news, cleaned up, the scientists took care of it, nuclear power ain’t that dangerous after all. But, while we amuse ourselves discussing the season opener of MadMen, the meltdown is continuing in all three General Electric-built Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors, apparently unabated, as we don’t seem to have the technology to contain it—only the technology to temporarily distract ourselves from it while we license the construction of new Fukushimas and relicense aging old plants such as Vermont’s 40 year old Yankee reactor. Public relations industry texts often outline the importance of making bad stories go away, citing the tactic of convincing journalists “that bad news is old news and has already been covered.” The hope is that journalists, according to the text I just cited, “lose interest.” That certainly has been the case here.

Conditions, however, have recently gotten so bad at the plant, that the environment inside is too hot for even robots to operate in. With the growing possibility of a comprehensive containment breach at the Fukushima plant threatening to breathe new life, or more accurately, death, into this “old: story,” CBS News reported last week that damage to the #2 reactor is so severe that “the plant operator will have to develop special equipment and technology to tolerate the harsh environment and decommission the plant, a process expected to last decades.”

Get it? We don’t have the knowhow to deal with this, a year after the catastrophe began, yet we are relicensing identical plants, and building new plants. And, according to CBS, the other two Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors “could be in even worse shape,” but no one has been able to find out as our current technology limits our ability to easily see into a melting nuclear core.

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Hammer Time

by admin Posted on April 7, 2012

This certainly seems to be the decade for head-on collisions.  Camille and I were hit January 2011, one of my friends (Richard Hagar) and his wife were hit January 2012, two other friends of mine have reported being in head on crashes, and yesterday my father, stepmother and nephew were hit near Newfane, New York.

I don’t have the full story, because most of the communication flying back and forth across the continent has centered on my stepmother’s injuries.  Apparently, the seatbelt failed on impact, and Lani (sitting in the back seat) was thrown forward into the back of the front seat.

She has broken facial bones, a skull fracture, fractured C2, and broken ribs.  She is in the ECMC trauma center, and is undergoing a craniotomy this morning so doctors can locate and repair the bleeding in her brain.

As far as I know, my dad is fine (just a little sore) and my nephew Andy (the driver) is also fine.

Time will tell about the prognosis for Lani, and what amount of injury she is left with.

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The Glasgow Coma Scale

by admin Posted on April 6, 2012

The Glasgow Coma Scale is based on a 15 point scale for estimating and categorizing the outcomes of brain injury on the basis of overall social capability or dependence on others.

The test measures the motor response, verbal response and eye opening response with these values:

I. Motor Response
6 – Obeys commands fully
5 – Localizes to noxious stimuli
4 – Withdraws from noxious stimuli
3 – Abnormal flexion, i.e. decorticate posturing
2 – Extensor response, i.e. decerebrate posturing
1 – No response

II. Verbal Response
5 – Alert and Oriented
4 – Confused, yet coherent, speech
3 – Inappropriate words and jumbled phrases consisting of words
2 – Incomprehensible sounds
1 – No sounds

III. Eye Opening
4 – Spontaneous eye opening
3 – Eyes open to speech
2 – Eyes open to pain
1 – No eye opening

The final score is determined by adding the values of I+II+III.

Source

The Glasgow Coma Scale and Long-Term Prognosis

Many people want to know if the Glasgow Coma Scale has any long-term meaning. They have questions like, “Does the score indicate future prognosis?” and “Can I tell what kinds of disabilities my loved ones will have based on the score?”

Simply put, the eye, verbal, and motor responses of a brain injury survivor 24 hours after the accident can indicate—to some degree—the eventual outcome. For example, a person with a best score in the 11 to 15 range, on the other hand, have a high likelihood—close to 90 percent—of making an almost full or full recovery.

However, it’s extremely important to stress that the Glasgow Coma Scale is not an exact science. While statistically those with higher scores tend to have better outcomes, brain injuries are as individual as people themselves. Some people with very low scores have gone on to make almost complete recoveries, while those with high scores have suffered from lifelong disabilities. So while the scale can serve as a guide, it’s impossible to base a long-term prognosis solely on this scale. Nor is it possible to determine the types of disability the survivor will face based on the scale. When it comes to definitely determining the long-term prognosis of a brain injury, the best indicator is time.

Source

 

Additional Resources
BrainInjury.net is a comprehensive resource for medical and legal information related to catastrophic brain injury.
The Dana Guide to Brain Trauma, Concussion and Coma
Many interesting brain facts
A list of support organizations at the bottom of this page.
Simplified explanation of contra coup injury.

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More Idiocy From the Right

by admin Posted on April 5, 2012

The Tea Party Introduces ‘Wacky’ And ‘Ludicrous’ Conspiracy Bill To Shut Down Arizona Energy Efficiency Programs.

The lunatic fringe has managed to elect people into positions of influence who are not mentally qualified to bus tables, and continues to drown out meaningful discussion with caterwauling about nonsense. “Burges and other members of the Tea Party believe that clean energy programs in Arizona are a plot by the United Nations to create a single world government in order to control people’s lives.”

While these clowns distract the electorate with fear, smear and lies, the most serious problems facing our society are not being solved.

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Get Thee to a Punnery

by admin Posted on April 1, 2012

Today is the special day of the year when logophiles everywhere pause and remember that a good pun is its own reword.

In honor of April Fool’s Day, a few obscure engineering conversion factors:

1. Ratio of an igloo’s circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi
2. Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement = 1 bananosecond
3. Half a large intestine = one semicolon
4. 2000 mockingbirds = two kilomockingbirds
5. 5 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital = One I.V. League

 

OK.  I’m long overdue for a posting of miscellany that I have found interesting.  Most of this is topical and serious, because, ummm, I’m a serious kind of guy.  😛

The Mind is a Metaphor. A database of thousands of metaphors organized by category, like 18th century, Liquid, or Jacobite. It’s maintained by University of Virginia English Professor Brad Pasanek.

Fender Factory Tour 1959 – Leo Fender in the second shot. A day when “everything was done by hand… It is amazing to realize that every guitar made that year is now worth a small fortune.” The 1959-63 era Stratocaster is called one of the 50 guitars to play before you die.

How to buy a top hat – Charles Henry Wolfenbloode gives advice on buying a topper.

THIS IS SPARTA!

The United Stated Geological Survey has finished a six-year effort to map the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io.

4×5 Kodachromes from the American war effort in 1942.

Brendan Fitzpatrick took x-ray photographs of flowers that can be magnified by clicking on them.

Oh, My Hand: Complaints Medieval Monks Scribbled in the Margins of Illuminated Manuscripts.

Microworlds is the blog of biology student Daniel Stoupin, and he also has a photography website as well. His chosen subject is microphotography, especially of living things. Perhaps the best place to start is his latest post, where he uses fluorescent dyes to take pictures of a rotting flea embryo. Other favorites are shells of microscopic crustaceans, colorful plant seed fluorescence and mosquito larva in polarized light. He has also made a video, and explains the process here.

Wikipaintings is a fantastic resource, a well curated database of the world’s great paintings that will blow your mind. Click the logo in the top left corner for a collection of a random artist’s work in chronological order. Their popular artists and popular artworks.

10 Amazing Old Things That Still Work!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is well-known for having been a child prodigy. A previously unknown composition of his, dated c. 1767, when he would have been 11 years old, (PDF of score) had it’s premiere earlier this week.

Less Wrong, a community dedicated to rationality, is compiling a list of The Best Textbooks on Every Subject.

“Why are small businesses such frequent targets? Because they offer hackers the easiest path to your financial information. In fact, security consultants say, there’s an entire underground industry built around extracting customers’ credit card numbers from retailers’ point-of-sale systems.” Slate: Why it’s so easy for hackers to steal financial information from restaurants

How to Write Like a Scientist

In honor of my sister getting her bachelor’s degree, the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) is pleased to present a sampling of images documenting women scientists and engineers from around the world, most of whom were pioneers in their respective fields, or were the first women to receive advanced graduate degrees in their discipline

Ten Lessons from the Iraq War

The Gallery of Default Anonymity What being nobody looks like all over the web.

Näher an der Klassik (Closer to the Classical) is an advertising campaign for the Berlin Philharmonic which features macro photographs that turn the inner spaces of musical instruments into lovely, cathedral-like spaces.

Pax Vobiscum

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More Shite From China

by admin Posted on March 30, 2012

March 30, 2012

Sunglasses, purchased at Walgreens. A week of limited wear, and poof! They fall apart. By then, I had lost the receipt.

 

 

 

 

September 14, 2011

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Camille and I spotted these solar powered fence post toppers at Lowe’s, and thought they would look nice along our back fence.

Yes, they were a little pricey – about $27 each, but I figured the rechargeable AAs should last quite a while, and what else could go wrong?

By two years later, most of them had stopped working, so I bought replacement rechargeables and found that five out of twelve have failed completely.

That’s a failure rate of over 40%!

As I was replacing the batteries, I could not help but snort in disgust at the point of manufacture – Camille and I have been observing a long series of failures on a number of products made in China.

Obviously, as they continue to fail, I will be replacing them with plain, non-illuminated caps.

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Trayvon Martin

by admin Posted on March 28, 2012

Anonymous Police Sources Paint Trayvon Martin As Aggressor

Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

“TheOrlando Sentinel reports Martin “decked” Zimmerman, climbed on top of him, and “slammed his head into the sidewalk, leaving him bloody and battered.” This is what Zimmerman told police, according to the Sentinel’s sources, and much of his account “has been corroborated by witnesses.” Those witnesses remain unnamed, and the lengthy time it has taken for this version of events to emerge is unexplained as yet.

There are other updates in the divisive case. Ten days before he was killed, Trayvon was suspended from school after being caught with a plastic bag which had been used to transport marijuana. The family’s spokesman confirmed the story, which first appeared in the Associated Press. Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, told reporters: ‘They killed my son and now they’re trying to kill his reputation.’ “

 

The misery of Trayvon’s parents is, no doubt, bottomless, and nothing we can do will salve their grief.  Their son has been wrongly taken from them.

I fully expect that the truth about what happened that terrible afternoon in Florida will never be known, because in a story like this, everyone has a narrative to promote.

The vast majority of black killings are the result of black on black crime, but for these unfortunates, there are no protests, no marches, no grandiloquent orations from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. If Trayvon had been killed by another black teen, we would not even know his name. But a narrative has been constructed, and “facts” have been widely published to perpetuate that narrative. For instance, I notice that all of the photos in Corporate Media of Trayvon have elevated him to near sainthood, while the photo of Zimmerman shows a man who clearly looks like a criminal.  (In this biased editorial selection, I hear the sound of a gavel falling.)

The media fueled frenzy of Chinese Whispers over this story is a sad repetition of previous rushes to judgment in the absence of facts. The black community and sympathetic onlookers have a long history of hastily rallying behind “victims” who play into racist expectations. The terrible thing is that while they are busy supporting Tawana Brawley, OJ Simpson and (perhaps) Trayvon Martin, real racism continues Bells On in the US. (For instance, “people of color” were targeted by predatory lenders in the recent real estate boom/bust.)

This “poor use of focus” reminds me of the “Stranger Danger” mode of vigilance, where people (most often children) have been told to be cautious of “suspicious looking” people (whatever THAT means), and then fall victim to crimes committed by friendly, personable psychopaths or acquaintances.

I sadly shake my head and turn the page.

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French Lentils and Quinoa

by admin Posted on March 23, 2012

French Lentils and Quinoa with Sage Butter Vinaigrette

Can be served hot, or cold the next day.

Lentils

1 cup French lentils
3 – 4 cups water
5 inch piece of Kombu seaweed (Japanese Kelp) [Eden brand]

Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups water, divided

Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup (or dark agave)
2 tsp Dijon mustard (acts as emulsifier)
1 lemon, juiced (press-roll the lemon on a cutting board to begin softening)
1/2 tsp salt

Vegetables

3 Tbsp butter
1 bunch flat leaf kale (Lacinato)
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup golden raisins or currants
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Garnish

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (350° for 10 minutes, do not over roast as it makes them bitter)

To Cook Lentils: Using a fine mesh strainer, thoroughly rinse lentils, removing any rocks or debris.  Place lentils in a pot of water with Kombu, and bring to boil over high heat.  Skim off foam scum that arises.  Reduce heat and simmer until tender (approx 30 – 35 minutes).  Remove from heat, place lentils in a large bowl and set aside.

Pressure cooker option: Place rinsed lentils with 3 cups of water in the cooker and bring to boil over high heat, skim off foam scum that arises.  Attach lid and bring to pressure.  Cook according to manual, 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and release pressure in the sink by running cold water over the side of the pressure cooker until the pressure comes down.  Place lentils in a large bowl and set aside.

To cook the Quinoa: Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under cold water.  Transfer rinsed quinoa to a 2-quart sauce pan and add water.  Bring to boil over high heat, then lower to simmer until all the water is all absorbed (approx 12 minutes).  Remove from heat, add the quinoa to the lentils.

To make the Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and salt.  Set aside.

To sauté the vegetables: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add kale and salt, sauté until kale is tender (approx 5 minutes), then add thyme, sage green onions and raisins.  Sauté until the raisins are soft and the scallions are bright green (approx 2 minutes).  Remove from heat and add the vinaigrette.  Mix well, then pour over the quinoa and lentil mixture.  Toss gently.  Garnish with toasted walnuts.

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The Electorate Speaks

by admin Posted on March 14, 2012

The Cleveland Plain Dealer clearly shows why the Republican slate is a clown car.  This is their “base:”

We all need to Pray as hard as we can for a santorum win. God can do this. Do you really think he wants a known satan worsipper in the whitehouse for four more years. Its like when the isrealites were about to go into the promised land but listened to the bad spies. What happened? They had to wander in the desert for 40 years. Do you want that for us. Santorum is the only candidate who god would back. If you vote for anyone else. You ARE going to hell. Period. So please pray and VOTE FOR RICK SANTORUM. If not, look forward to an eternity in hell with youre buddies Hitler and Osama Bin Laden, and Barack Obama. I hope they heat the fires up to a billion degrees for you satan worsipping garbage. SANTORUM FOR PRESIDENT! – ( JP Maddog Davis, responding to “Rural Ohio’s rejection bodes ill for Romney: Thomas Suddes“)

(Thanks, April)

Isn’t it funny how some of the loudest mouths on this topic are in no danger of actually facing the problem personally?

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At Long Last

by admin Posted on March 9, 2012

First of all, before you get too excited, I didn’t get any good pictures.  Between nine months of intermittent overcast and the untended overgrowth, the Pacific Northwest is not very camera-friendly.

Months ago, I set up my phone to receive text alerts from the Geophysical Institute, and it has been dinging madly for weeks.  In addition, I was keeping an eye on the longer range forecasts, so I would have an idea of when I would be skipping a night’s sleep.

On the evening news last night, ALL THREE major networks were crowing about the recent solar activity, and for three days now, astronomers and astrophysicists have had their fifteen minutes of fame as media people were busy rooting around for a “It’s 2012!  It could be the end of the world!” angle.

At 11:30, I got this text: @Aurora_Alerts: in 33 minutes the Aurora Borealis should be at ‘STORM LEVEL! It’s On!! 6.33 Kp  http://t.co/eTmgjXyC  I grabbed my camera, tripod, compass and heavy jacket and headed north.  Harborview Park was the first place I had a good northerly view, but there was nothing visible.  Knowing that the camera can see things that I cannot, I set up a long exposure, and sure enough, there was a ghostly green near the horizon:

(The light streak at the bottom is a freighter heading to Everett.)

I looked at my compass to make sure I was looking due north, and I have never seen a compass behave that way before.  It was swinging back and forth from NE to NW, and would not settle on a bearing.

I hung out at Harborview a while, but figured this might be the only time I ever get a chance to see the Aurora, so I decided to head north in search of darker, clearer skies. As I was driving north along the I-5, it erupted. First, soft vertical lines swirling and flashing, then long sheets of light.  (Jeez.  That sounds like an acid trip…)

It was stunning and scary…  Scary because of the scale, the hugeness of the display.  It was much higher in the sky than I expected (about 40-50 degrees above the horizon), and it felt like being an insect on the floor, looking up at the bottom hem of a sheer curtain being riffled and swirled by a light summer breeze.  I dove off I-5 at 116th, but by the time I could find a dark enough place (behind Target) the show was over.

I’ll stay wired up to Aurora Alerts, and with any luck, I’ll get another chance – on a clearer, warmer night – and come away with some evidence!  😀

 

 

 

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