Random Thoughts

Star LegoI just came across this excellent YouTube video. Enjoy!

Arctic Bright Another little poem which I hope will be of use to educators and students of EFL. Please feel free to copy for educational purpose or other, similar fair use, with attributions. Arctic Bright I dreamed last night of Arctic white of Arctic night,of Arctic bright; below, the snowabove, delight,a prancing sky, a firefly against the stark and dreary darkof sun-forgotten sky. Lights shine above Bear Lake. ( 64°42′N 148°30′W: AFB east, Bear Lake west) ----------------------------------------------- Text: Patrick Lockerby, April 14 2010. Image: United States Air Force…

I withdrew from blogging for a while to garden. Wild violet patrol has been my mission and freelance gig. Wild violets – a.k.a. Viola papilionacea (or one of the several other species) or Sweet Aunt Vi – seem more like garden volunteers than weeds, to me, because they are relentlessly pretty and carefree. But eradication is the client's goal. Wild violets are indeed all but impossible, to weed out entirely, because their hearty, fibrous roots generate a hidden array of seed-bearing capsules. If any of Violet's root is left below, she pushes her way into the garden…

Despite their vocal criticism of the health care legislation enacted by Congress, the majority of Americans want some kind of reform, according to a new poll conducted by Indiana University's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR). Fifty-eight percent of Americans (96 percent of Republicans, 10 percent of Democrats and 54 percent of Independents) support repealing the health care reform legislation that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March. "Many have assumed that those advocating for repeal in polls wanted Congress to take no action on health-care…

Sociological theory has previously linked black urban decline to poverty,  loss of manufacturing jobs and racial segregation. A new study in Social Forces claims another factor should be added into the dense cluster of black disadvantage – harsh immigration policies, which inadvertently flood low skill markets with Latino labor, displace blacks and, as a result, raise the rates of black murder. Before the United States/Mexico border was militarized, Latino immigration was a two-way trip; immigrants, mainly from Central America, moved to the United States temporarily to finance a project…

In a recent LiveScience article entitled "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?", the topic of liberal and conservative differences was highlighted.  There were clearly numerous factors that affected how these two groups interpreted things ranging from the reinforcing influence of biased media outlets to fundamental differences in their perception of morality. According to some of the polls, the conservatives tend to come off looking the worse for the comparison, but in fairness, the authors acknowledged that at other points in history, the same could be said of liberals.  In short, each…

The Unscientists 2010 Awards - Nominee #2 Richard Lindzen On April 6 2010 I announced The Unscientists 2010 Awards. The rules are simple, and mainly require that: by the use exclusively or mainly, of:         a) repetition of an already debunked argument, and or,         b) logical fallacies, and or,        c) self-aggrandising puerile prosey posturing     the candidate has demonstrated a belief, hereinafter known as 'an unscientific conclusion',    that he or (rarely) she is…

I have just returned from over a week working at DESY (das Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron) at Hamburg, and when I am not so tired I hope to write up some more synchrotron stuff for you all.  We were working over the Easter holiday, and while the DESY Bistro provided a magnificent brunch over that four-day period, on Sunday and Monday the only place within walking distance where we could find something to eat in the evening was Burger King (very appropriate for Hamburg, don’t you think?) In the meantime, here are two plants which I saw there, both of which were new to me.  The…

As I start to write this I can hear two helicopters passing overhead. I live in a small road just 5 minutes walk from one of Bangkok's major traffic clots, Victory Monument. Sometimes, writing about science has to give way to the business of staying alive. Bangkok has been under a state of emergency for three days and the situation is worsening. My wife is on her way to her village, some 300 km away, and she has told me that the outskirts of Bangkok are filled with tanks and armoured vehicles. I have decided to stay put as communication links are better here. Politics is colour-coded in…

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