Dr Urchin's House

This is good news?

2009-05-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

It's good to hear that only 1% more of the US workforce got laid off last month. Apparently, not sucking as badly at the month before means that we are in recovery. At any rate, that is the spin that the politicians are putting on this.

If a guy is bleeding to death on the recovery table, and he has already lost a huge quantity of blood, and the bleeding rate slows to 1 liter per minute from 3 liters per minute, this is still not cause for rejoicing. The guy is going to die very soon unless the bleeding STOPS.

That is the situation for these economic numbers. Losing over half a million jobs in a month is horrendously bad. If you had thought is was going to be 620,000 jobs lost instead, you still don't have cause for rejoicing. Something really awful is going on.

Keep this in mind if you see anyone smiling too much and saying "What we are doing is working!" No, the panic button should still be firmly pushed down.

Shareholder Proposals en Masse

2009-04-15T09:59:00.001-07:00

Who are Kenneth Steiner, William Steiner, Chris Rossi, Nick Rossi, and Emil Rossi?

The Steiners are both in New York, and William is apparently a millionaire in some kind of business or other. Kenneth is a close relative of his?

The Rossis are all in California, and I haven't found anything that they do.

They have become of interest to me, because I find their names on shareholder proposals in practically every company in which I have to vote proxy shares. And they are all proposals which would make the companies less profitable, and cause LESS reason for responsible management, even though they say they are going to create MORE responsible management.

Who are these people who (1) have so much time on their hands that they can write thousands and thousands of shareholder proposals, and (2) seem so opposed to the profits of their fellow shareholders, and (3) weren't even on the radar before this year? My guess is that they are all lawyers who work for unions like the AFL-CIO or the mob or both. But I am suspicious that way.

Any ideas?

Score!

2009-04-13T05:02:00.000-07:00

I love stories with happy endings. Happy for everyone except the pirates, that is.

The ship which had been hijacked by pirates is freed after the crew fought back and threw the pirates into shark-infested waters. The captain, who was being held hostage in a separate boat, is now free, after Navy snipers shot all of his kidnappers simultaneously. That's awesome! :)

Seriously, pirates ought to be hanged at the yardarm without benefit of a trial. That has been the traditional punishment for them for the past two thousand years, and it is a good tradition. Merchant vessels, which currently sail unarmed due to US maritime law (and what idiot passed that law in the first place?), should be permitted to carry arms again. For heavens sake, handguns would help more than what sailors are currently permitted to carry!

Christus Surrectus Est!

2009-04-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

Indeed He is risen!

Hallelujah! Happy Easter! May the year ahead be blessed for all, and may all our lives be renewed. :)

I love Easter...

Harold and Kumar Go to White House

2009-04-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

I mean, in an administration that is already a joke, what is one more dope-smoking idiot in the mix? At least this one is funny.

But here you have it: Harold and Kumar Go to The White House.

I continue to be impressed by Mr. Obama's choices to fill the most important positions in this nation with those best qualified to do the job.

Lasers in the Jungle Somewhere.

2009-03-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

This sort of thing makes me happy. Why? Because men like to blow stuff up. Or burn through them rapidly with really big lasers...

Presenting: the first REALLY BIG LASER!!!

Disarming Pilots?

2009-03-18T08:29:00.001-07:00

So there is this story in the Washington Times about how the current administration is hampering the program where airline pilots can carry weapons. The program is a good one: pilots must take a gun safety training course so that they KNOW what they are doing if they need to use the gun inside an airplane; also, it provides a last line of defense in case of a hijacking of the airplane by some wacko.

There are a lot of wackos in this country, many of whom aren't Islamic terrorists. I'd still rather not have them hijack my airplane. Let us imagine the scenario: a paranoid schizophrenic manages to conceal a razor blade in his luggage. He kills the stewardess, there is no air marshal, and he breaks into the cockpit. Does it sound like it would be a good thing if he were able to kill the pilot and take over the controls of the plane? It doesn't sound good to me.

And what was the worry about the pilot? That he was going to use the gun to kill someone on the plane? The pilot is flying a multi-ton machine filled with highly flammable liquid 45,000 feet above the ground. If he wants to kill everyone on that plane, he can. The gun would be quite incidental.

What a stupid policy decision by this administration, one among many.

The Mountain Grows...

2009-03-06T13:10:00.001-08:00

David Brooks is apparently a slobbering idiot. This frequently happens to those in love. This is what he had to say about Barack Obama.

"I think what struck me is how incredibly even he is. And how frankly reassuring he is. It is like you’re camping, and you wake up one morning, and there is a mountain. And then the next morning, there is a mountain, and there’s the next morning, there’s a mountain. Obama is just the mountain. He is just there. He is always the same, he doesn't hurt himself. McCain can sometimes lob a cannonball at the mountain, but the mountain doesn't move, and the mountain doesn't care. And so I think his steadiness, his temperament has been the dramatic theme of this campaign, dramatic in being undramatic. And it was on display tonight. And the good part of the mountain is that he is reassuring and reliable."

I rather think that the mountain is growing day by day. Sort of like a volcano. Before it blows up...

(click on the photo for an informative and dramatic film clip)

And that alarms me. Am I foolish to be paranoid by something that is of tremendous force and power which looks like it is about to blow up?

So which is the volcano? The president and his foolish spending habits with the nation's money, or is it the United States economy itself? I think it's the former that is going to cause the destruction. Certainly, though, I will be among those struck down, along with thousands around me.

Some "Creative" thinking about stimulus money

2009-03-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

Today, I was reading an interesting article about the town of Union, which received half a million dollars to help it counteract its homeless problem, in spite of the fact that there aren't any homeless people living there.

Now that's government efficiency for you.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is encouraging the town of Union to "be creative" with how they use the money. Now, if ANY person running a town in a America (especially my own) which is in a similar situation wants to have my advice, here is a creative solution for you:

Drop the local sales tax to match the amount of money you have received. The drop in sales tax will stimulate sales, which in turn boosts the economy. A good economy means well-paying jobs. And that, in turn, means that people can pay for their houses.

Creative, huh?

What about if you don't have a sales tax? Then if you have an income tax, drop that one to match the amount of money you have received. It will have a similar effect, though instead of stimulating sales, it will stimulate more start-up businesses. The overall effect is the same though: people can pay for their houses, and they don't wind up homeless.

I'm not a genius, but this idea is definitely one of genius. It should be pursued.

What I hear these days:

2009-03-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

With a nod to the original article (Thank you Politico.com), I read such stuff these days and hear the following:

Wormtongue: Rush is the GOP's brain
By MIKE ALLEN | 3/1/09 12:11 PM EST
Text Size:

White House Chief of Staff Grima Wormtongue charged Sunday that conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is “the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party.”

Wormtongue, speaking in deliberately soothing tones, told anchor Bob Schieffer on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Limbaugh has been up front about “praying for failure” by President Saruman.

“I think that’s the wrong philosophy for America,” Wormtongue said. “What Americans want us to do, and what President Saruman has been very clear about, is work together setting our goals …

“Our goal, Bob, is to continue to reach out and it’s our desire that the Republicans would work with us and try to be constructive, rather than adopt the philosophy of somebody like Rush Limbaugh.”

Wormtongue’s comments were in line with a new strategy by White House allies in the private sector to make Limbaugh synonymous with the GOP.

The union AFSCME and Americans United for Change began airing an ad late last week showing a clip of Limbaugh saying “I want him to fail,” along with quick cuts of top Republican congressional leaders saying, “No … No. … No … No … No … No.”

Asked by Schieffer if the GOP really pays that much attention to Limbaugh, Wormtongue replied: “I do think he’s an intellectual force, which is why the Republicans pay such attention to him.”

“He has been very up front, and I compliment him for that – he’s not hiding," Wormtongue said. "And whenever a Republican criticizes him, they have to run back and apologize to him and say they were misunderstood.”

Limbaugh, appearing in Washington Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, defended and even amplified his earlier remark.

“This notion that I want the president to fail, folks — this shows you a sign of the problem we've got," Limbaugh said. "That's nothing more than common sense. And to not be able to say it? Why in the world do I want what we just described — rampant government growth, indebtedness? … What possibly is in this that any of us want to succeed?”

Wormtongue pointed to the fact that Limbaugh was a major speaker at CPAC as a sign of his status in the Republican Party.

Earlier in the interview, Emmanuel foreshadowed a future White House line by accusing critics of the president’s budget of using “scare tactics.”

Thank you also hotair.com for directing me to the article.

The Borneo Monster

2009-02-19T17:00:00.001-08:00

There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of...

And to think, a large creature like this might still exist and not have been detected or catalogued after two hundred years of natural philosophy.

Let's hope it's real!

"I think putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade."

2009-02-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

Interesting article in the New York Times, which yes, sometimes has stuff worth reading. Rarely, but it does happen.

At one point, a kinesiology student is quoted with the line in the title: "putting in a lot of effort should merit a high grade."

This is the thing I want to dispute, because with an adult assessment of the problem, one sees immediately that it is not true. The thing grades are supposed to reflect is a student's mastery of the material. If a student has put in a lot of effort and hasn't mastered the material, then it definitely should NOT be rewarded with a high grade.

This argument is better understood if you don't think about it as "writing papers and getting an A, B, C, D or F." Instead, imagine that the classroom is Kodiak Island, and the assignment is to survive a bear attack. Depending upon your mastery of such skills as "running fast," "throwing the bear off your scent trail," "shooting high powered rifles accurately," or possibly "shouting and screaming at the bear until it decides you are more dangerous than he is," you may pass the assignment.

Any of the above skills, applied with a sufficient degree of mastery will earn you a grade of "survives unscathed," "survives with minor injuries," or "survives with major injuries." Lacking mastery will earn grades of "badly mauled and maimed for life," or else "killed and eaten."

Now if a person tries to run, and runs with all their effort as best they possibly can, and the bear still catches up with them (which is probable), then their effort won't matter when they receive the grade of "killed and eaten." If a person tries to use the rifle and doesn't kill the charging bruin, their efforts won't be much appreciated by the dread jaws of their evaluator. On the other hand, the person who drops the bear with a high caliber bullet through the left eyeball deserves the grade of "survives unscathed" since he or she has displayed full mastery of the skills required to complete this assignment.

Homework reflects real life. It's supposed to at any rate. Effort doesn't count in life. Only results.

The Stupidity of Popular Science

2009-02-17T21:36:00.001-08:00

In many ways, I feel sorry for the family who now has to undergo this. They loved their boy, and wanted him cured. So they took him to some ex-Soviet era scientists to try what may politely be called a "controversial" treatment. The use of fetal stem cells.

With predictably bad results. Poor kid.

I say "predictably" bad, because there are things about fetal stem cells which make them obviously bad medicine and bad science. This is altogether independent of the moral dimension of using the flesh of a baby that has been killed as a life-extender for someone else. That aspect reminds me of certain horrendous Irish fairy tales.

But from the SCIENTIFIC merits alone, fetal stem cells have always been an unpromising waste of money. There is the two-fold issue involved with them that is an apparently unsolvable paradox. On the one hand, the cells are foreign tissue, and a recipient's immune system must be suppressed if the cells are not to be attacked and destroyed by the recipient's body. This is a situation that often results in the recipient's death. On the other hand, the cells are capable of turning into any tissue... including cancerous ones or else just benign tumors. And there is precious little that keeps them from doing so. Except for the patient's immune system, which would have suppresed the tumors... if it hadn't been suppressed so that the cells wouldn't be rejected in the first place.

The more one suppresses the immune system, the greater the probability of tumor growth. The more one fights against tumors, the greater the chance that the immune system will reject the tumors.

Ultimately, if you ran a drug company and had any other drug that caused tumor growth or tissue rejection in two thirds of all who take it and no effect in one third, you would throw that drug in the trash and never look at it again. I often wonder why that doesn't happen with fetal stem cell technology, especially since ADULT stem cell technology avoids the twin problem rather handily.

Economic Folly

2009-02-12T10:48:00.001-08:00

I'm reading this article which says that sales figures rose "unexpectedly" and "defied economists' predictions." I've read several articles like this one, and they have phrases of predicted doom such as this:

...which marked the weakest holiday selling season since at least 1969.
"This is a big surprise, though the net rise in sales is less impressive than it looks because (December and November) were revised down by 0.3 percent each," Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a research note. "The headline relief today is welcome but it is unlikely to last."

Now, I work in a scientific field, where if the facts don't work out the way the model predicts, we assume the model is wrong. Facts, as John Adams once said, are stubborn things. I am not going to say that the economic woes of this country are over, especially since I am convinced my government is going to be working 24 hours a day to make sure they continue. However, the model predicted a worse economic situation than the one which appeared. People didn't act as predicted.

As I say, in my field, we don't make excuses for faulty data, and we sure as heck don't change the data, which in this case would mean FORCING people to behave the way you wanted them to and keeping them from buying or selling if you want economic activity to be bad. Change the economic model until it correctly predicts behavior. In the meantime, don't be surprised that people act differently than your wrong economic idea says they will.

More wasting of money: sexually transmitted disease

2009-01-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

Great. So now it stimulates the economy to prevent sexually transmitted disease? Does it stimulate the economy to the tune of $355 million smackeroos? Frankly, I think distributing free Viagra or Levitra would be rather more stimulating, in all senses.

Honestly, doesn't it seem like this is just a couple of hundred people (our congress and president) having fun spending money on the toys they have always wanted. And in the sense of the "stimulation" mentioned above, "toys" is a very dubious thing indeed... I did a quick calculation of how much money is being handed out, and if the LOW figure of $1 trillion is correct, it means that every single American is forking over $2200 to whomever their least favorite congressman wants to give the money to.

Could the government please stop stimulating us? It's beating me down too badly.

2009-01-26T04:32:00.000-08:00

It's been a while. But with this new era of "Hope" and "Change" threatening us, I may have to vent occasionally by posting a few things here.

Like this item:

Pelosi says that contraceptives will help the economy.

Is she venal or clueless or both? Our economy is NOT based on contraceptives. It is based on (1) finance, (2) heavy industry, (3) a consumer service sector, (4) information flow. None of those are rooted in "contraception" as the solid ground which feeds them. In fact, one could argue that contraception diminishes the future size of the market for each of these sectors, but I will leave that for the present.

Idiot.

A necessity for teachers

2007-11-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

It's only occasionally these days that I fall totally flat while teaching. I did yesterday, though. My trouble yesterday was that I came armed with copious notes, but I didn't have a single coherent thesis for my class. Without that organizing principle for everything else, the information I was trying to convey was totally incomprehensible. Things that students should have been able to remember from the past were beyond the grasp of their memories, and that made it harder for me, I admit. However, the value of a good thesis is that it help pull back memories by giving them something to latch onto.

Remember this, teachers: have a THESIS for your class lectures. Otherwise, you will just be rambling, and no one will want to listen to you.

The Virtue of a Garden

2007-11-07T05:22:00.000-08:00

My excellent father, Dr. Deacon, has reminded me that I left off an important environmental tip. You should plant a garden! I cannot believe I forgot this one. The early frost this year has killed all my potted plants, and destroyed my contribution to saving the environment, alas, but a garden would have survived. Heck, if I had planted a garden, there probably wouldn't have been an early frost this year. It's my fault that the world is warming so much that a frost came two weeks before normal to the Deep South. I am sorry.

About that garden... To save the world, we should plant gardens and stop buying vegetables from the supermarket. They are grown on large plantations tended by wage-slaves called illegals. That's right. I hate illegal aliens. They are the biggest cause of global warming. (Editor, remember to take that out later. It doesn't fit the narrative my masters want me to tell.) These plantation vegetables require twenty times the water that your home garden will use, and take water away from the environmentally necessary ethanol poduction we so despearately need. Garden vegetables do not require much chemical treatment, such as bug killers and fungi killers, as they are not seriously affected by mealy bugs or potato bugs or aphids or locusts or cut-worms or visiting turtles and dogs and deer. And the deer that do come can be shot and surreptitiously hidden in the freezer for later consumption to cut down the cost of meat from the butcher, which itself has been grown in cow and pig gulags where the slaves are killed hoorrribly by knocking on the head. And worse is yet to come! They are then skinned all bloody and diwsmembered and cut to bits and finally, eaten by savages. Think responsibly! Your garden could prevent this genocide.

Also, a garden is a good way to teach your children responsibility and ambition, as they work for hours weeding and digging and carrying water to the dear little plants. Then they learn the virtues of eating vegetables like broccoli and turnips and beets and carrots --if they have not been checking the growth of the carrots daily by pulling them up to see how big they have grown -- and also home-grown tomatoes, green and fried if possible , and even sorghum, which of course you grew up thinking it sugar cane, because evil corporations lied to you and said that the tall sweet grass growing in America was sugar cane. This is proof that they hate the environment, and are more evil than Halliburton. Heck, they probably ARE Halliburton. And that sugar you buy at the store would never be as good as the real thing sucked from a cane from your own garden, would it?

And what of the opportunities to teachlove and forgiveness as one of the children hits the other on the head with the shovel? or you hit him in return? Christians should all be planting gardens!

The possibilites for gardening and increased environmental awareness are limitless. Thank you, thank you, Dr. Deacon, for teaching me this lesson on Earth-saving! Can people still send me money, though? I think they should...

Cashing in on the Green Movement

2007-11-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

I was thinking to myself about all the ways that people should be paying me so that they can be more environmentally conscious. That's right: I am more morally worthy than anyone else, and therefore I should be paid for it. I heard some person from TV telling me the same thing about herself, and in America we are all equal. Therefore, if she is more morally worthy, then I must be more morally worthy too!

But your head will hurt if you think too much about that logic. So don't think. Send me money instead.

For every $100 you send me, I will go plant a tree, and will name it after you. I will let you choose whether the tree I have named after you will be a walnut, a pecan, a maple, an alder, an oak, or a pine tree. Then you will feel very good about yourself, and your tree will grow happily. And the world will be a clean and bright place because of your tree. Upon request, I will send you a picture of your tree, provided you pay a nominal photo fee of $10.

And... to encourage you to remain committed to the environment, after twenty years, I will chop down your tree and sell it to the local lumber company here, unless you pay me another $100. If you pay me that fee, I will let your tree continue to be happy and to save the world as the air grows clean and pure near this tree. Heck, if you pay me $150, not only will I spare your tree, but I will plant a second one and name it after you.

Just remember though, if you aren't committed to the environment, a tree will die. And it will curse your name as it comes crashing to the ground. And YOU will be responsible for the pollution your tree causes in its death agony.

So send me money now, and we will get to saving the world right away!

Warmest regards,
Dr Urchin
Professional Environmentalist Entrepreneur

Vatican wants to talk to Islam...

2007-10-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

...about why it's illegal to be Christian in their countries, why Christians are subjected to such violent repression, why they can't build churches, and why the Islamic world wants to be at war with everyone else.

At long last! A productive conversation! You have to admit: the pope has guts.

:)

Environmentally Friendly Back-to-School Tips

2007-08-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, the World Wildlife Fund offered their suggestions on how to save the Earth while going back to school. This is what they had to say:

*******
As kids and parents make back-to-school lists, they might want to get educated on some environmentally friendly ways to prepare for fall classes. Here are 10 tips the World Wildlife Fund offers to help keep backpacks green:

1) See if there are things, such as pencils and pens, left over from last year that can be used this fall.

2) Look for school supplies—folders, notebooks, staples—made of recycled materials. Using recycled products helps save landfill space and cut pollution. The EPA has found that recycling reduces water pollution by one-third and air pollution by 75 percent.

3) Try finding back-to-school deals on the Web. Ordering school supplies online or by phone saves you a trip to the store as well as the fuel needed to drive from store to store.

4) Look for the FSC label on pencils and paper. Many paper products are made from trees specifically grown and harvested for papermaking, thus sparing delicate rainforest ecosystems. The Forest Stewardship Council certifies that wood and paper products are grown and managed responsibly.

5) Purchase supplies with minimal packaging. Packaging makes up about a third of the garbage that piles up in landfills. Also, less processing and packaging means less energy goes into production, and less global warming pollution is created.

6) Brown bag meals and avoid plastic. Pack school lunches in brown, unbleached, recycled paper bags whenever possible. And if your child has a favorite superhero, there's a good chance the character is printed on a re-usable lunchbox.

7) Prepare lunches using local produce. Be aware of the distances food travels and the emissions necessary to ship and truck it there. Although broccoli is grown at nearby farms, the ones that shoppers pick up at the supermarket traverse an average distance of 1,800 miles.

8) Refill water bottles. Don't throw them away. One and a half million tons of plastic are used to bottle water every year. Such large-scale manufacturing and disposal of water bottles can release toxic chemicals into the environment.

9) Look for laptops made by companies working to reduce their global emissions. The ENERGY STAR sticker is a good tip-off that a product is compliant with EPA guidelines. Some backpacks even have built-in solar panels to provide an eco-friendly way to power laptops. Also, turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

10) Walk or bike to school, not only to get exercise but also to benefit the environment. By burning calories walking, you and your child don’t burn a vehicle's gasoline and thus do your part to help reduce global warming. Surely, the PE instructor will approve.

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070821_green_school.html

********

I think that the above list is stupid. I LIKE the environment, and LIKE my air and water to be clean. I don't think that any of the things the WWF is recommending will do anything to improve the world. So allow me to post my own ten point list:

Dr. Urchin's Environmentally Friendly Tips for Going Back to School

1) Plant flowers in pots and in garden rows around your house. They look pretty and will make useful school projects later in the year.

2) Organize your fellow students to go clean up the neighborhood park. It's in YOUR neighborhood, and if you don't help clean it, nobody will.

3) If you have a few gallons of water contaminated with lead, zinc, copper, molybdenum, or other toxic metals, don't dump it in the local stream or pond.

4) Get your dad to help you develop in your garage a way to make biodiesel fuel cheaply out of grass clippings. It may not HELP the air quality if people use this stuff, but it won't hurt, all that grass is currently going to waste, and you are probably going to be very very rich if this works. If it doesn't it still will make a really good school project.

5) Get your classmates and a teacher to help you make a water garden at the pool. It's useful for biology class, looks pretty, and will be fun at the end of the year when you push fellow students into the water, then dance around in the pool yourself. Oh, and it will take some carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, too. I forgot to mention that part.

6) Use pencils rather than pens, except when writing in a science lab notebook. Pencils can be erased; pens can't. Pens require white-out, which is more expensive than a rubber eraser. I'm not sure how this helps the environment, but I'm sure I could justify it if I tried. Maybe by pointing out the volatile chemicals in white out? My real reason is that you can work faster with a pencil, and teachers will find it easier to grade.

7) Do your fricking homework. You are a useless lump of human waste if you just sit there picking your nose all day. I'm sure that doing your homework can help save the environment, too. But you won't know how it helps, unless you do that homework, will you?

8 ) Go volunteer with someone in your community. If you are a high school student, then there are elementary school students who really need some tutoring learning how to read. Your city probably has things like "farmer's markets" or something like that, where they just need someone to set up and take down the event aftewards, or tell people where to go. Why aren't you helping out, if you care so much about saving the world?

9) Don't sell or take drugs. You are a useless lump of human waste if you do, just like in item #7. And whacked out druggies never save the world. If you had been studying your history rather than snorting coke, you would know that there isn't one single example of a great drug user who also has made a real difference. Instead, they go to rallies to save the environment, shout and scream, and take some drugs while there. And nothing happens.

10) Get a fricking job. People can only save the world when they have money to do so, and nobody has money if they don't work, contrary to what Paris Hilton might think.

I think my advice is more useful to the world than the WWF's advice. Certainly, my suggestions will do more to help your environment locally. And you know what? That's really the only one you can affect, and therefore the only one that matters. Love the nearest, not the furthest.

Colony Collapse Disorder Hysteria

2007-07-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Heard about this? It's been trumpeted everywhere that the honeybees are disappearing, and that mass starvation is going to be the result. Here is what wikipedia has to say, and they are fairly typical.

The phenomenon is particularly important for crops such as almond growing in California, where honey bees are the predominant pollinator and the crop value in 2006 was US$1.5 billion. In 2000, the total U.S. crop value that was wholly dependent on honey bee pollination was estimated to exceed US$15 billion.[73]
Honey bees are not native to the Americas, therefore their necessity as pollinators in the US is limited to strictly agricultural/ornamental uses, as no native plants require honey bee pollination, except where concentrated in monoculture situations—where the pollination need is so great at bloom time that pollinators must be concentrated beyond the capacity of native bees (with current technology).
They are responsible for pollination of approximately one third of the United States' crop species, including such species as: almonds, peaches, soybeans, apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers and strawberries. Many but not all of these plants can be (and often are) pollinated by other insects in small holdings in the U.S., including other kinds of bees, but typically not on a commercial scale. While some farmers of a few kinds of native crops do bring in honey bees to help pollinate, none specifically need them, and when honey bees are absent from a region, there is a presumption that native pollinators may reclaim the niche, typically being better adapted to serve those plants (assuming that the plants normally occur in that specific area).
However, even though on a per-individual basis, many other species are actually more efficient at pollinating, on the 30% of crop types where honey bees are used, most native pollinators cannot be mass-utilized as easily or as effectively as honey bees—in many instances they will not visit the plants at all. Beehives can be moved from crop to crop as needed, and the bees will visit many plants in large numbers, compensating via sheer numbers for what they lack in efficiency. The commercial viability of these crops is therefore strongly tied to the beekeeping industry.

But while on vacation these past couple of weeks, I was in a field of flowers and noticed an awful lot of bumblebees. Not true bees, of course. They are actually hornets. But that is quite irrelevant to the matter at hand. I noticed that there were many more bumblebees than last year, in a place which had been hit by "colony collapse disorder."

That is when the thought hit me: this whole issue is a lie, and a scare tactic. It happens all the time, one animal being able to outcompete another. The hornets are moving in where the honeybees are not doing their jobs.

In fact, I even realized that the next thing that will be sold to fruit farmers will be colonies of hornets. Sure they are less valuable than honeybees - because they don't make honey, you see - but they pollinate every bit as aggressively. And the hornets are there, and not suffering from colony collapse. They can and will pollinate the fruit trees, and can be a replacement for honeybees. Fruit crops are not going to be lost after all.

Of course, I LIKE honey, so I hope the bees recover soon. In the meantime, who stands to gain from the scaremongering?

Travels - Strange Sights

2007-06-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

I started on a long trip out of Louisiana the other day. I'm heading up to my parents' fortieth wedding anniversary. Marriages work when the married couple WORKS AT THE MARRIAGE, or so I am led to understand.

When I started my drive, I was interested to note the hazards one meets on the road. You expect bad drivers, possibly deer running out in front of you, and I have even encountered flocks of wild pigs and a lone cow standing in the road. But the first hazard I almost but didn't quite run into was the cranes. Not construction ones; large white birds, possibly of endangered species. They were feeding in many places beside the road, and often as you drove past they would take flight. Some of the stupid ones would fly in front of your car. These aren't like little sparrows that might get stuck in your radiator grill, but do no worse damage. These birds are five feet tall, with equally huge wingspans.

Passing into Arkansas, the flights of cranes stopped, but heavy rains began. I understand those same storms have since caused tremendous trouble in Texas and Oklahoma, as well as Arkansas. I slowed down quite a bit, since I was not keen to hit a semi, and couldn't really see more than fifty feet in front of me. The rain continued through Little Rock, and along the highway towards Memphis. It wasn't until I turned north just before Memphis that driving conditions began to worsen a bit.

Along this road, I saw what I first thought were towers of clouds, but there were many of them and all along the horizon. When I got closer, I found that they were actually burning fields. A prarie fire? That is what I thought at first. The flames were lapping up, and smoke was all across the highway. I prayed for rain to put out the fires. However, shortly thereafter, I began to wonder if these were deliberate fires. I passed fields which had been burned to the treeline, but the trees were untouched. That sort of thing suggests a controlled burn. Why were they burning the fields. Contrary to what people in New York say, the folks who live in Arkansas are not stupid. There is a reason to burn your fields, but I haven't any idea what. I'll go read up on it to find out. In the meantime, beware of smoke on the highway in eastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri...

The Conrad Black Trial

2007-06-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been following this trial, in some ways it is more interesting that Paris Hilton's jailbird escapades, and certainly it is a great deal more relevant to you.

This is what Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald (remember him from the Scooter Libby investigation?) has been doing to fill his free time. The case involves Conrad Black, a member of the House of Lords in England, a Canadian citizen and resident, and one of the biggest media barons in the world. Through one of his companies, Hollinger International, he sold off some newspapers to other buyers, and Hollinger made a profit of $3 billion dollars. For this, Black was given a bonus of almost $60 million dollars. The shareholders saw their stock value increase, which makes this not exactly an Enron case. The other thing that makes it not Enron is the lack of any actual crime that was committed, as discussed in the next paragraph.

Fitzgerald's office seems to object to a group of "non-compete" agreements, i.e. that the person selling the newspaper will not then open a rival newspaper in the same market as the one they just sold. This is standard practice, and happens for obvious reasons that are fairly obvious. If the seller could open a new paper, it would push the value of what they just sold down to zero, bankrupt the person who had bought that paper, and the seller could snap it back up at a fraction of its value. Remember that if you are thinking of purchasing a newspaper or a magazine franchise from someone: always get a non-compete agreement.

In America, you pay taxes on non-competes, because that's the way our tax law is written. In Canada, you don't pay taxes on them. In fact, it's one of the shockingly few things in Canada that isn't taxed. Black, being a Canadian citizen who lives in Canada, pays his taxes according to Canadian law. Shocking concept, isn't it? But Fitzgerald seems to object to that, and wants to send him away to jail for 101 years, not for tax evasion (there would be no hope of securing that conviction) but for defrauding the Hollinger for $60 million. Fitzgerald is saying that these non-compete agreements are illegal, and cost the company money.

I have trouble following how you can cost a company money when you have made the company a profit of $3 billion dollars. Indeed, if anyone wishes to make me a profit of $3 billion dollars, I shall be happy to award them a $60 million dollar bonus, which is what Hollinger did. But perhaps my naive view of the way business works is why I am not a federal prosecutor.

Also, it's hard to say that one defrauds a company when its entire board of directors, the audit committee within the company, and the shareholder's vote all agreed to the sale and the bonuses awarded. That's one heck of a large conspiracy going on there. And now that I think of it, I could have accessed the publicly disclosed records, since I have a computer and access to the internet. I must be part of the conspiracy too!

There was never anything illegal committed, as far as I can tell. Shouldn't a crime have been committed before the government decides to prosecute? Mike Nifong decided to prosecute the Duke Lacrosse team without waiting for them to commit a crime, and people thought it wrong. Well it is wrong. If there is no crime, then prosecution becomes government oppression.

Another odd thing about this case is that it is in the Federal District of Northern Illinois. So they are prosecuting a Canadian citizen over something involving Canadian tax laws. Don't get me wrong: I would love to absorb Canada into the United States lock, stock, and barrel, and make that country work the way it ought to. That's the imperialist in me talking. But to the best of my knowledge, Canada is not yet part of the Union. So why is Fitzgerald claiming sovereignty over our northern neighbor? It makes no sense to me.

If the prosecution wins this case, the precedent it sets is this: you will be prosecuted if the government dislikes you, quite independently of whether you have committed a crime. That would be an alarming thing to have happen in the home of the Free.

My thanks to Mark Steyn for getting me interested in this case.

2007-06-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

I've decided that I like Fred Thompson for president. I had been thinking that nobody in the race matched me closely enough that I could in clear conscience vote for them. But Fred Thompson will do just fine, if he means the things he is saying.

People should get involved in politics. Their country, states, and cities are important to them (even if they don't know it, yet!), and they should follow politics. Eventually, a lot more people should put their hats into the ring than do. I may run for city council or school board some day. I think I could do some good there.

Random things

2007-06-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

First of all, I hate people that cheat at cards, chess (yes, it can be done), checkers, or any other game. It's stupid and petty of them, and makes me think very low of them.

Second, I hate it when the same people afterwards, to whom I am possibly trying to be gracious, try and guilt me into doing social functions you don't want to do. Not only do I not think I owe them anything, I am particularly disinclined to do anything nice even out of a sense of generosity.

Hmph.

The Adventures of Dr Urchin, part II

2007-05-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

The Adventures of Dr. Urchin, part II, or "How People Whose Names Are Not In the Phone Book Don't Get Located"

Saturday night, smoofie in hand and dog on leash, I went walking down 33rd street, going west. (A smoofie is a delicious combination of espresso and frozen yogurt, served only at Vintage Coffee, 940 NW 150th street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The gentleman "Alan" whom I refer to owns this shop.) It was that time of twilight that I particularly love, when the sun is going down, storm clouds are rolling in, and night creatures are just deciding to wake up. Several people honked and waved at me on the road. Were they mistaking me for some acquaintance of theirs? Was is someone who actually knew me, honking to say hello? Or did they just think my dog was incredibly beautiful, and were saying hello to the dog? She is, by the way. No matter what their motives were, I smiled and waved back. Having walked as far as some elementary school, I threw away my empty smoofie cup in the trash, and started walking back to where I had left my car. I greeted the friendly guys working at Vintage coffee as they were closing up, put my dog in the back seat, and went driving back to my hotel. By the way, those guys really are fantastic, Alan. I'll bet everybody wishes they could get cheerful and competent help like that!

I had brought an altogether new book along with me, so I read myself to sleep, falling asleep quite early for me - 10:30 or thereabouts. Strange, unpleasant dreams, but we will refrain from recounting them here. It was nonetheless a very good night's rest.

The next day, after doing a few morning things, the sort of things one does on a Sunday morning, it now being 10 o' clock, I went to look for a place with long trails to walk. There is a large lake near Norman, with a convenient state park there. Perhaps it was raining just a little bit, but I didn't let that hold me back, nor did my hound let it hold her back. We went up and down the trails. I decided that she was a useless tracker, when she couldn't even find the two foot long snake a mere foot in front of her. Good thing it wasn't poisonous, or it would have bitten her when she sat on it. Eventually, I got bored of trails, and cut through the bracken to go deeper into the forest. Mind you, I was armed with lots of mosquito repellent, so they came all about me, but not one of them bit me. We found lots of pretty jelly fungi in the forest, an inquisitive squirrel, and an enterprising box turtle (a tortoise, actually) who refused to accept the fact that he was on somebody's endangered species list. My dog introduced herself to the tortoise by sticking her nose under its shell and flipping it over. I doubt the tortoise liked us very much, so I turned it over again, apologized to it, and took my dog away from there. Sitting on a stone picnic table, looking at the lake, a bluebird landed next to me, and took the food I offered. Remarkably tame bird, I thought. I hadn't even known that bluebirds lived in Oklahoma until yesterday!

Being covered with mud and somewhat cold, I drove way back to the north side of the city, bathed, went swimming, and combed the burrs out of my dog.

At that moment, I was struck by a bright idea: I had missed people the day before, but perhaps I could invite them out to dinner on Sunday night. The worst that could happen would be that everyone would decline! So I rousted out a phone book from my room, a somewhat old and tattered phone book. My first difficulty lay in the fact that there is neither a "Meems" nor a "Teffertoes" anywhere in the Greater Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area Phonebook. That part didn't surprise me very much, but fortunately, I happen to know both lovely young ladies' real names, in full. So I went looking for those. That's where the surprising snag was. According the the GOCMAPbook, they don't exist under their real names, either. That struck me as incredibly unjust. I will admit, sitting here now, in comfort and at leisure to consider the matter fully, the book was somewhat old, and probably was printed back in the days when neither of them lived in OKC. But my hypothesis at the time was, "deliberately choose to be unlisted; how unlucky for me." I saw no solution to it, so I threw up my hands. Having some time to kill, I had taken my dog to Oklahoma Christian U, just because they had a nice fountain that I had seen, and I wanted a place to read in peace. So, I read my book for a few more hours until dinner time, then went out hunting for a nice place to eat. The waiter looked really tired, told me he had been on shift for ten hours, and that lots of people were being awful. I told him he was doing a fine job, and should be commended for restraining his temper. Overall, I had a very good meal. Italian. I love Italian food.

I went to bed again, planning to be up very early and at the coffee shop for a few hours, just in case anyone else goes out for an early cup of coffee. It seemed unlikely, but more likely to meet someone I knew at Vintage Coffee than anywhere else, no? Anyways, if I didn't mention it before, the coffee is REALLY good there, and I like good coffee. I spoke to Alan's wife, whom I thought a very pleasant lady. She and the two people working the bar were making everyone who came in feel welcome. I penned off a couple of important letters, looked at clouds outside the window, and once more picked up my book. Sadly, though lots of people came to the coffee shop, there was no one who would have known me. It was time to go. I wrote a note to Alan, expressing my regret at missing him, purchased one (or two) for the road, and set out for the long drive home.

Curiously few interruptions along the way. One somewhat uncanny experience as I was passing through Dallas. I was coming in from the north, and there was lightning flickering in the dark and looming clouds over the city. I saw vultures circling ahead. Suddenly, I had the most unnerving impression that the whole city was decayed. The words that impressed themselves into my mind were "this is a place made entirely of glass and bone." I **HAD** been intending to stop at a very nice restaurant I know to get some lunch before resuming my journey, but after that strange moment, I decided to skip through this town as quickly as possible, and get away from Dallas. Now, I must confess, having visionary experiences anywhere between the I-35/635 junction at the north and the I-35/I-30 junction to the south is very very unsafe. I don't recommend it to anybody, because it is likely to impair your driving while you are dealing with some very hazardous and badly constructed interchanges. I forced myself to put everything out of my head and think only about the large truck trying to force itself into my lane. But I was just as glad to be away from Dallas a little while later.

Seven hours after leaving OKC, I got back to my house. The grass needs mowing. It's going to rain, and apparently has already. It's good to be home.

It was something of an adventure. Not what I expected, but probably what was good for me. It also gave me long time to reflect on where I am going. There are some things I need to do, which I doubt I would have considered had I not lost those many hours on the road going up. So, all in all, I am grateful. I am very sorry to have missed seeing any of my friends though.

Alan, thank you for that wonderful coffee shop experience. It is just the sort of place I like. I hope your business prospers.

The Adventures of Dr Urchin, part I

2007-05-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

AN ACCOUNT OF MY DOINGS, for the benefit of my friends, and with apologies to two particulary beautiful young women

When I go out seeking adventure, I usually find it, though not in the form of whatever I was actually expecting. In this case, I was expecting to spend a lovely couple of days at Lake Eufala, Oklahoma, on Saturday popping by two join two particularly beautiful young women (see the title) at a certain coffee shop in Oklahoma. Mind you, it's not everyone I would drive several hundred miles out of my way to go see, but in this case I was very much looking forward to the meeting.

However - and it is appropriate to interject this comment at this point - God and I do not always see eye to eye about where I am going to be and when. No doubt it is due to this disagreement, and to the fact that He always happens to win any argument (He cheats), that I have never LIKED God very much, though I serve him gladly, and even with love.

It is normally only about a seven hour drive from here to Oklahoma City. I set out on my trip very early on Saturday morning intending to pass through Eufala first to secure my hotel reservations, and expected to be at OKC by about 4 in the afternoon. The delays began immediately. In fact, there was the most improbable series of misfortunes on the road, none being catastrophic, but each taking off another quarter of an hour. No need to recount them all. They were mostly aggravating and some a little bit humiliating, as they were the consequence of my own wrong turns. Suffice to say that I started to get really annoyed after a while, and didn't reach Eufala until 4pm. This had made what should have been a six hour drive into a ten hour drive. I suspected already that there was intelligence behind my setbacks, and was not overly pleased.

But the capper was when I went to get my hotel. The exchange went something like this:

"Hello, my name is Dr Urchin, and I believe I have a reservation." (In fact, I used my real name.)

"I'm sorry, sir, we have no one reserved here under that name."

"There must be some mistake. Here is my confirmation number."

"Thank you, sir, I will go check and be right back with you."

A moment or two passed, then the young lady and her manager returned, looking somewhat apologetic. The manager looked at me and said:

"I'm sorry, but this reservation is for our hotel in Eufala, ALABAMA."

I would like to say that my jaw hit the floor, or that I exploded in rage or something like that, but none of those things happened. You see, when crises occur, I go into the most peculiarly calm emotional state - nearly an absence of all emotion - and I consider things quite quickly and rationally in order to find a way to fix the problem. My thoughts were something like this. "This is a problem. How could this have happened? I clearly specified that I was after a hotel in Eufala Oklahoma! Stop. You will get angry. If you get angry at these people, they will not help you. Smile. Make yourself look friendly. Perhaps there is a room here anyways."

All that happened in less than a second. I said, "I am truly amazed. I thought I specified quite clearly that I wanted a hotel in Eufala, Oklahoma. Well, is there by any chance an available room that I can get without reservation?"

Looking quite apologetic, they said, "No, there is no room at all. If you like, we can see where the nearest branch of our hotel is which has an available room."

"Thank you," said I. "That would be very nice."

Time passed, more time passed, eventually they returned, and they said, "I am sorry but the nearest hotel in our chain which is not completely booked up is in Oklahoma City."

I reckoned up what this would mean to my plans. I saw that everything was doomed. I saw that I was going to be swept along in the whirlwind for a while. So, realizing that this was all some divine joke, I said, "Could you please then cancel the useless reservation in Eufala Alabama, and make me a reservation in Oklahoma City." Which they did. Another thirty minutes afterwards, I was on my way to OKC.

I got to my hotel on 122nd street on the north side of the city, reckoned that there was no chance anyone could possibly have waited this long, but still decided that I wanted some coffee. And hey! You never know: perhaps other people like an evening cup of coffee, too. It helps settle my nerves, it might do the same for others. So, following instructions that I copied from a thread here in this very forum, I went seeking Vintage Coffee, an especially good coffee shop located at 940 NW150th street, which some people describe as being "at the corner of 33rd street and Western." You see, they have the curious habit in Oklahoma of giving the same street more than one name, to make it harder for you to find the best coffee in the state. It's supposed to be a jealously guarded secret, but I have now told it to you...!

To be continued.

2007-05-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

First thought: about education. Somebody asked me if I really am cruel to my students and if my attitude is what makes them be depressed. An unfair question, in my opinion. It's not one question you see.

I am NOT cruel to my students. I don't ask them to do anything unreasonable, and I don't fail them on a whim. They sign up with me to learn chemistry, and by Heaven, I expect them to learn CHEMISTRY in my class. I give large amounts of homework, mostly in the form of "drill." If you don't do a thing again and again and again, you don't get good at it. I had to "drill" quite a bit to get the knack of giving good lectures, but I flatter myself that I do a fairly good job at it these days. If they want to learn how the Ideal Gas Law (PV = nRT) works, or exactly what enthalpy as a state function means, then they are going to have to work with it again and again and again. Then, they are going to have to learn how to do it right in the lab, when I ask them to transmute one substance into another. This is harsh, I know, but it is not unfair, nor capricious, nor cruel. Some day, a person's life or livelihood might hinge upon them understanding that sodium hydroxide is the same thing as lye, and that they can make soap out of it and some nice pork fat.

Does my attitude cause depression? Most of my students have ADHD. In fact, I think most people do. Medication just seems to suppress their talent, without curing the problem. The one thing that really helps is to keep people busy, so that they don't have time to get bored. And yes, they suffer depression at first, then exhiliration afterwards when they achieve the impossible. That's a very nice moment, when you realize that you have just done something that certainly could not have been done. Depression comes and goes, but it is followed by the highest pitch of excitement and joy. And my attitude has absolutely nothing to do with it, I think. Oh, and ADHD isn't exactly a "problem," but rather a potential to do some really impressive stuff.

It's a moral task, being a teacher. You are asked by God to help people become as excellent as you can. I rather like my job. :)

Welcome Back, Dr Urchin

2007-05-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

Since Google saw fit to cut my access to my old blog, when they purchased "blogspot", I am starting here again, after an absence of many months.