Just sat through the final class for Plate Tectonics. That was fun - I just love the whole continental collisions thing. Lots of neato stuff going on there. As for my near future plans, I will be taking a bit of time off to get things together and plan a course of action - maybe make some money, too. I will need it to fund my research - at least the field work part of it. I have already started printing out articles regarding the K-T transition along with material on the Deccans and the Cretaceous Normal Superchron. Yeah, I like to look at the really big picture. If I had remembered to bring the articles I have so far with me today I could have typed up the beginnings of the bibliography this evening - but I was more concerned with the class stuff to toss them into my backpack. That's alright, I have enough to get accomplished tonight anyway.
I did start that new newsletter style blog (gnewsletter.blogspot.com) - I am hoping to keep it a monthly thing only - but I can alter that plan if I wish - because it is mine to play with as I wish. Another thing I am hoping to do in the very near future is to do a freebie research project which I will post right here on this site. I want to do it to maximize what I have learned in the class I just took - and yes, it will be on my project topic - the Simplon Fault Zone. It will be much more detailed and extensive than my presentation was - just because I can continue with what I started. I get like this - I feel that my presentation was unfinished - that's me, my own worst critic. And for once, I'd just like to finish something I started to my own satisfaction. While it's on my mind, I will continue. Once I get into the reading and research of the K-T project - I'll want to focus all my study time on that topic - without the feeling of having unfinished business to deal with on a prior commitment.
As for the class project itself, I found the Powerpoint software that's currently available to be not as user friendly as it used to be. What is the point or purpose of having a blank slide? Why did they do away with the nicer backgrounds and the useful templates? I liked it better when you could choose various ways of placing images with captions. The latest version just does not do a damn thing for me. I do have an idea I want to try out to alleviate the problem. Put each slide together in Word then cut and paste it into Powerpoint. That way I can put the images and captions any way I want - before applying it all to the slides. Hopefully, it'll work.
As far as writing the research findings up with my own takes on various issues is concerned - I am quite good a research writing. As a matter of fact, the first time I ever took Introduction to Philosophy of Science, I got an A for the course. That was literally the first philosophy course I ever took. The instructor could tell that I was a scientist studying the geosciences due to my examples and my point of view was - as he called it, 'unique'. There are a few things I have never ever been accused of on any paper I have written for any college class - mostly because I would not do them because they are counterintuitive and counterproductive: cheating, plagiarism, and being off topic [the last I was accused of by one Peter Gildehuys, but he was the one off - since everyone I showed the paper to since his class said that it was absolutely on topic and that he must've been smoking something nasty to not realize it - so, I do not count anything he would ever say to be valid or of the real world - but he's an unethical and amoral ass, so no biggie there.]
One more little issue that I brought up in an earlier posting. I wanted to start posting my old papers online, possibly here on my blog. Well, I did find out something that I can do and I should be able to link them each to this site without any major problems. I have to look into them and see how to get them up and running and out there in cyberspace. As far as the Intelligent Design essays, I have every one of them saved and ready for uploading, as soon as I know what I am doing technology-wise. Each has a different title and they're each different since they were all from four different classes. But each earned an A - so they all go up. Stuff to do, stuff to do!
Hopefully, with a little luck, my next post will be something of an abstract for the Simplon Online Research Project. Hey, if artists can do freebies to get their stuff out there, then so can scientists! YES!!!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Ranting Prep Work
I am posting a quick bit here - just to get my juices rolling and flowing. I have that Simplon fault zone project due tomorrow and I just need to get into the right mindset to get myself on a roll. I did try to get some done Friday - but the only campus computing lab available - according to the sign on the doors of all the labs - was actually closed well before 5oopm. Whoever the idiot was that closed the lab early should have gotten someone to cover for him. It is not very efficient to have a lazy moron running things when we're coming up on finals around here - with projects due and all. I do hope it was reported to the appropriate authorities so that he, she, or they are made to pay the consequences for their inefficiency. I'd fire the ass if it were me - hey, tax dollars are paying for student's tuition around here - and if it gets out that the University of Pittsburgh is run by incompetent liars and layabouts - well, I guess they don't mind losing a few thousand students per year due to unethical practices and employee behaviors. Heck, the administration around here is abysmal - anyone can see that. Student records is not in touch with student accounts who in turn is not in touch with financial aid - if they communicated properly like they need to be doing - mistakes and mishaps would not occur. I am constantly wrestling with the idiots who run things around here. My advisor - actually believes he was to blame for an administrative failure. I don't believe he truly grasps how poorly this university is run. If a business was run so inefficiently, it would have no customers, no stock holders, and go out of business. Well, at least I know that the moron who was supposed to be here Friday won't ever make it in academia nor in the real world of work and business - he is a loser. Usually they have a few lab techs around to take care of things who know their business - apparently that is not the case anymore. Oh well, it's their loss.
As it is, I am feeling like taking a semester off from classes. Just to get back into the flow of things and figure a few things out - not to mention finish recovering from a very trying and devastating nightmare of a year - and I thought the year my mom died was the worst on record - between the field camp fiasco, 9-11, and ending in mom's unexpected death and under very suspicious circumstances. I still want the asses responsible brought to justice one way or another as soon as possible - if not, I will indeed make a public statement against the medical organization under whose care she did not come home from. I have a friend who is autistic - and she'd be able to run the show better than the jackasses who are in charge right now. So what's their excuse?
Well, as my dear aunt Michele mentions so often since I told her about the big red problem I've had this year, 'living well is the best revenge.' You know what? She's 1000% right. The problem turned out to be just a big loser who only now associates with other losers. Lost his job - as I said he would. Very stupid - infantile - immature - lacking integrity, decency, intelligence, reason, logic, honesty - no humanity whatsoever - not even an iota of self-respect. He was a very good actor, though, since he had everyone on campus fooled into believing he was a good decent sort. Minimum wage jobs are all he will ever have now - but hey, I guess that's what he wanted all along - as he said - it was just a game - he just happened to lose. I, on the other hand intend to win, big time - and he can just eat my dust, baby! Cry to his mommy and his loser friends for the rest of his life like the overgrown baby that he happens to be about how unfair life has been to him - let him lie on his bed at the end of his life looking back and regretting what he has done - but it was his actions to do - his decisions to make - of his own free will. Nobody told him to do what he did - the world just does not work that way - and this is not the dark ages - nobody put a gun to his head and told him to do this or else - actually an honorable man would prefer to die with his head held high with dignity and self-respect - but he does not even comprehend those terms and what they mean. One would think he's from a planet other than Earth or something. I feel sorry for his mother, having raised a son who turned out so lousy. Personally, if he were my kid I'd just up and disown his sorry ass - esp. if I went to all the trouble to raise him right and he turned out so wrong - treating people like that - I am sure his mother did not raise him to act in such a way - I met her years ago - and she is a decent good and intelligent woman - not a two-faced backstabbing thing like her son turned out to be. Ah well, it takes all kinds, I guess! I'm off to do battle... En Garde!!!
As it is, I am feeling like taking a semester off from classes. Just to get back into the flow of things and figure a few things out - not to mention finish recovering from a very trying and devastating nightmare of a year - and I thought the year my mom died was the worst on record - between the field camp fiasco, 9-11, and ending in mom's unexpected death and under very suspicious circumstances. I still want the asses responsible brought to justice one way or another as soon as possible - if not, I will indeed make a public statement against the medical organization under whose care she did not come home from. I have a friend who is autistic - and she'd be able to run the show better than the jackasses who are in charge right now. So what's their excuse?
Well, as my dear aunt Michele mentions so often since I told her about the big red problem I've had this year, 'living well is the best revenge.' You know what? She's 1000% right. The problem turned out to be just a big loser who only now associates with other losers. Lost his job - as I said he would. Very stupid - infantile - immature - lacking integrity, decency, intelligence, reason, logic, honesty - no humanity whatsoever - not even an iota of self-respect. He was a very good actor, though, since he had everyone on campus fooled into believing he was a good decent sort. Minimum wage jobs are all he will ever have now - but hey, I guess that's what he wanted all along - as he said - it was just a game - he just happened to lose. I, on the other hand intend to win, big time - and he can just eat my dust, baby! Cry to his mommy and his loser friends for the rest of his life like the overgrown baby that he happens to be about how unfair life has been to him - let him lie on his bed at the end of his life looking back and regretting what he has done - but it was his actions to do - his decisions to make - of his own free will. Nobody told him to do what he did - the world just does not work that way - and this is not the dark ages - nobody put a gun to his head and told him to do this or else - actually an honorable man would prefer to die with his head held high with dignity and self-respect - but he does not even comprehend those terms and what they mean. One would think he's from a planet other than Earth or something. I feel sorry for his mother, having raised a son who turned out so lousy. Personally, if he were my kid I'd just up and disown his sorry ass - esp. if I went to all the trouble to raise him right and he turned out so wrong - treating people like that - I am sure his mother did not raise him to act in such a way - I met her years ago - and she is a decent good and intelligent woman - not a two-faced backstabbing thing like her son turned out to be. Ah well, it takes all kinds, I guess! I'm off to do battle... En Garde!!!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Speculation on the Deccans and Creation
Alright, as usual, I'm a bit busy with class related work. I need to do a lot more research for my lecture on the Simplon fault zone. I was hoping for the Himalayas since it's near to my favorite volcanic province, the Deccans. I actually had a theory I wanted to follow on it - possibly relating slab rollback - a process theoretically possible in Plate Tectonics - in which a subducting oceanic crustal plate literally rolls back like a conveyor belt - underneath itself. The Deccans, being a likely hot spot volcano initially, may have changed late in the Cretaceous to a subduction related one. It would be relatively simple to determine by the type of rocks erupted from it - prior to and during the Cretaceous event. Basically, if the Deccans erupted outer core material initially - then changed chemical composition to erupting crustal slab material - then the hypothesis would be verified. There are just way too many things that happened at the end of the Cretaceous that it's difficult to determine if each major thing is related to the others or not. There's the famous collision - the Deccans - and the end of the Cretaceous Normal Superchron a very unusual polarity reversal - one of these could very likely have set off the other two. But what caused the polarity reversals to just stop altogether for such a very oddly long period of time before the CNS? And we aren't quite sure what actually causes the reversals in the first place.
As to other issues: The wild and crazy physicists have decided that it's time to see exactly how the entire Universe was created. they've got the CERN super accelerator up and running already. Looking for a new source of energy among other things. One problem with their project: nobody has yet determined how exactly the Big Bang actually took place - I am talking specifics here. There is the one itty bitty tiny issue they haven't quite applied to the theory yet - The Law of Conservation of Energy [LCE]- energy can NOT be created nor destroyed - it can only be changed from one form to another. They actually believe that the Big Bang means that the entire Universe - energy - matter [which just happens to be very concentrated packets of energy], etc. - came into being from nothing at all - basically a complete absence of matter, energy, etc. This completely defies or ignores the LCE entirely. And the brainy physicists decided to just recreate the Big Bang under Europe. Common sense just did not enter their minds at all, apparently. Here's a fun and jolly what if scenario - the only way a Big Bang could conceivably work and follow from the LCE is by means of a Black Hole/White Hole scenario. Now, that's just a worst case scenario. So how exactly do they intend to reverse the formation of a black hole after they create one? We can't save thousands of people from a hurricane in New Orleans, prevent terrorist nutbags from trying to annihilate everyone who says boo to them, or stop global warming [though we do have the technological capabilities to prevent these disasters, but we just don't use them] - but we'll just have a good ol' time recreating the creation of the Universe right here on our own home planet. And if something goes horribly wrong we'll, what - run to another planet and ruin it, too?! Pray to God to save us from our sins and close up the damn hole we just burrowed through space time? Yeah, some religious nuts will likely say that humanity deserves its fate for its sins and evilness.
Hey, to all the religious loobies out there, listen up: maybe the vast majority of humanity does not want to die according to your wishes - we did not create hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. - it's part of the imperfect universe we happen to live in - if everything in the known universe was as perfect as you people seem to believe it should be - then life would be pretty boring - but then maybe you all like life boring - and you're all stupid to boot. Get with reality people - stop living in a fantasy world - it's your ideal fantasy world that is causing damage to a hell of a lot of people - we are sick and tired of it. And why the hell do you want to dumb down American society? Do not deny that you are behind all that intelligent design crap you are pushing down legislator's throats - that and lowering standardized test scores. Rewarding the nation's children for being stupid and lazy is not exactly what I'd call in our nation's or our world's best interests - not to mention our species. Remember folks, we are actually designed to be more intelligent than our cats. Just in case the religious nuts are watching...
As to other issues: The wild and crazy physicists have decided that it's time to see exactly how the entire Universe was created. they've got the CERN super accelerator up and running already. Looking for a new source of energy among other things. One problem with their project: nobody has yet determined how exactly the Big Bang actually took place - I am talking specifics here. There is the one itty bitty tiny issue they haven't quite applied to the theory yet - The Law of Conservation of Energy [LCE]- energy can NOT be created nor destroyed - it can only be changed from one form to another. They actually believe that the Big Bang means that the entire Universe - energy - matter [which just happens to be very concentrated packets of energy], etc. - came into being from nothing at all - basically a complete absence of matter, energy, etc. This completely defies or ignores the LCE entirely. And the brainy physicists decided to just recreate the Big Bang under Europe. Common sense just did not enter their minds at all, apparently. Here's a fun and jolly what if scenario - the only way a Big Bang could conceivably work and follow from the LCE is by means of a Black Hole/White Hole scenario. Now, that's just a worst case scenario. So how exactly do they intend to reverse the formation of a black hole after they create one? We can't save thousands of people from a hurricane in New Orleans, prevent terrorist nutbags from trying to annihilate everyone who says boo to them, or stop global warming [though we do have the technological capabilities to prevent these disasters, but we just don't use them] - but we'll just have a good ol' time recreating the creation of the Universe right here on our own home planet. And if something goes horribly wrong we'll, what - run to another planet and ruin it, too?! Pray to God to save us from our sins and close up the damn hole we just burrowed through space time? Yeah, some religious nuts will likely say that humanity deserves its fate for its sins and evilness.
Hey, to all the religious loobies out there, listen up: maybe the vast majority of humanity does not want to die according to your wishes - we did not create hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. - it's part of the imperfect universe we happen to live in - if everything in the known universe was as perfect as you people seem to believe it should be - then life would be pretty boring - but then maybe you all like life boring - and you're all stupid to boot. Get with reality people - stop living in a fantasy world - it's your ideal fantasy world that is causing damage to a hell of a lot of people - we are sick and tired of it. And why the hell do you want to dumb down American society? Do not deny that you are behind all that intelligent design crap you are pushing down legislator's throats - that and lowering standardized test scores. Rewarding the nation's children for being stupid and lazy is not exactly what I'd call in our nation's or our world's best interests - not to mention our species. Remember folks, we are actually designed to be more intelligent than our cats. Just in case the religious nuts are watching...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Update on Science Work
I have been a bit busy with the Plate Tectonics class I am taking. I had to give a 1 1/2 hour lecture on continental transform faults last week. It started well but fizzled out at the end. I guess that's what happens when you work on a presentation while you are sick - making me need more sleep than normal. Also, I was putting it together like I would for a 5-7 minute presentation - one slide at a time. Unfortunately, that was a bad idea on my part - because finding decent images was a more time consuming part than usual - and PowerPoint is a lot more buggy than I am used to. I think I'll look into whether I can use an older version. The current layout choices are not very useful - and not good for decent design - especially for a creative type like me. I mean, what's the point of a blank slide with no picture or written content on it? That's kind of useless. Whatever happened to the old saying - if it ain't broke, don't fix it? It looks like they are working more bugs into the software instead of working the old bugs out. It's very frustrating for users like me.
I get to do the 1 1/2 hour presentation thing again later in the semester and so I am restrategizing for it. I am thinking about doing it by 'layers': first layer would be the written - or typed - content, followed by the sources in a footnote type fashion, then images with their footnotes and some added commentary. Hey, when you make mistakes, you're supposed to learn from them. That's exactly what I intend to do.
As for my other myriad list of personal research projects - I really need to get on the ball and get working on one officially. I was going to work on the Jericho project - just because it coincides with the class. But I think I'd rather focus on my oldest project and bring it up to date and improve it - adding the Deccan info to it. Yes, I am speaking about the KT Collision Event project. I am picking it because it will be the most exciting and interesting - and right now I need that as additional drive to get it moving along nicely. I think I might even add some info about the Cretaceous Normal Superchron - just to lay some groundwork about what things were happening back then when the collision occurred.
Another reason I am picking this project is because I still need to retake paleoclimates and some other classes that will be necessary for the Pleistocene project - and archaeology for the Jericho project. I already have a plan in place for approaching each project. First, do the research: reading articles and putting together an extensive research paper. Second, plan for data collecting - what data I need to show and back up my research findings - this would be through field work and lab work and calculations. Next, carrying out any of this data collecting - preferably as a team effort - to get more data collected. Finally, the conclusions and how the data supports or does not support the initial information.
Also, something I have been considering adding to the content here - I hope to post several of my past research papers - that earned A's - including all of the ones [there are four of them] on the Intelligent Design and Evolution debate. I just need to figure out how exactly to do this the way I want to. If I knew someone who was really tech savvy and could figure out how to do that... Also, I would like to do some serious critiquing of articles on scientific subjects - including the Intelligent Design topic of course. I get very opinionated when it comes to that topic - probably because I do not like stupid people and will not tolerate them any longer than necessary - and I certainly do not care for them getting involved and pushing for their half-witted and illogical ideology to be taught in schools. Education is supposed to make folks smarter - not dumber!
Lastly: apparently, folks were having a problem posting comments on this blog. I apologize to anyone for the inconvenience. I have since fixed the problem and you can now post away. Please keep it on topic and no spam.
Thank you!
I get to do the 1 1/2 hour presentation thing again later in the semester and so I am restrategizing for it. I am thinking about doing it by 'layers': first layer would be the written - or typed - content, followed by the sources in a footnote type fashion, then images with their footnotes and some added commentary. Hey, when you make mistakes, you're supposed to learn from them. That's exactly what I intend to do.
As for my other myriad list of personal research projects - I really need to get on the ball and get working on one officially. I was going to work on the Jericho project - just because it coincides with the class. But I think I'd rather focus on my oldest project and bring it up to date and improve it - adding the Deccan info to it. Yes, I am speaking about the KT Collision Event project. I am picking it because it will be the most exciting and interesting - and right now I need that as additional drive to get it moving along nicely. I think I might even add some info about the Cretaceous Normal Superchron - just to lay some groundwork about what things were happening back then when the collision occurred.
Another reason I am picking this project is because I still need to retake paleoclimates and some other classes that will be necessary for the Pleistocene project - and archaeology for the Jericho project. I already have a plan in place for approaching each project. First, do the research: reading articles and putting together an extensive research paper. Second, plan for data collecting - what data I need to show and back up my research findings - this would be through field work and lab work and calculations. Next, carrying out any of this data collecting - preferably as a team effort - to get more data collected. Finally, the conclusions and how the data supports or does not support the initial information.
Also, something I have been considering adding to the content here - I hope to post several of my past research papers - that earned A's - including all of the ones [there are four of them] on the Intelligent Design and Evolution debate. I just need to figure out how exactly to do this the way I want to. If I knew someone who was really tech savvy and could figure out how to do that... Also, I would like to do some serious critiquing of articles on scientific subjects - including the Intelligent Design topic of course. I get very opinionated when it comes to that topic - probably because I do not like stupid people and will not tolerate them any longer than necessary - and I certainly do not care for them getting involved and pushing for their half-witted and illogical ideology to be taught in schools. Education is supposed to make folks smarter - not dumber!
Lastly: apparently, folks were having a problem posting comments on this blog. I apologize to anyone for the inconvenience. I have since fixed the problem and you can now post away. Please keep it on topic and no spam.
Thank you!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Global Warming and Other Changes are NOT the End of the World
I am getting sick and tired of seeing all the foolish whining from folks who seem to believe the world is coming to an end due to global warming or the war on terror. What is wrong with people these days? They do not seem to be capable of thinking anymore. Use your brains folks - that's why Homo sapiens is supposed to be the most intelligent species on the planet. You are actually expected to be naturally smarter than your cat. I hate to say this but even my fellow Americans seem to fall short of this.
GLOBAL WARMING: Is it happening? YES! Will it affect our lives? You can bet on that and win. Will it affect the economy of our country - and the world? YES! Will people die because of it? YES! Is there anything we can do to stop it? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL! Are we the primary cause of global warming? Not exactly - the jury is still figuring out the cause. Actually, from what I did learn in the couple weeks I was in paleoclimatology class - we have contributed to it but are not likely the sole cause of it. To put it another way - it was going to happen anyway - we just acted as a catalyst and sped it up a bit.
Can we slow it down? Yes, but it's a bit too late for that at this point. The Northern Ice Cap is pretty much gone and nothing short of an ice age will bring it back. Can we reverse it? Very possible and likely if we work really really hard to do that - but maybe you want to think of the consequences of doing just that, first. Actually, maybe you all would prefer an ice age instead of global warming. Let's see...hmmm... Do you think we could invent a way to grow food on ice sheets in freezing temperatures? How about your house... Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live with a glacier in your yard? Or your house buried beneath one? Yeah, there would be more beaches to visit - albeit covered in ice. Basically, a full reversal of global warming would cover about half of the Earth with uninhabitable ice sheets. Maybe that's your idea of paradise - but it ain't mine. Did you ever hear the saying - when hell freezes over? I think you get the point.
Will all life on Earth, including all of humanity, cease to exist and die out in some cataclysmic mass extinction event from global warming? NO! Global sea level rise is not going to kill us off. Yeah, there will be a lot less islands and the coastlines will recede. So just get the hell off the island and don't own any beachfront property. Anyone who sticks around those locations is doomed - like the ninnies who stood and watched as the tsunami killed them. The animals had enough sense to get the hell out of dodge - but the humans were incapable for some unknown reason of following them. There was absolutely no excuse for that. Unless you want to argue the point that humans are just naturally more stupid than the other Earth creatures. Go ahead, go right ahead... be my guest.
Guess what's hiding under all that melting ice as global warming happens? LAND! Well, what do you know! Places to grow food and build houses and villages and cities. WOW! Imagine that! What rock have you idiots been hiding under that you are now just crawling out from? There is a lot of us Earthlings who actually knew that all that nice fertile land was under all that ice just waiting for the melting to finish up and the land to thaw out.
As for the beaches. Well, we'll have to move all the lighthouses as the coastlines recede. Yes, that will cost money. So, get off your lazy butts and make some big money so that we don't have a very bizarre remake of the Titanic tragedy - only this time the ship runs into a lighthouse submerged beneath the sea. Yoi! I think humanity can agree to save the lighthouses at the very least. To hell with the beachfront hotels - they can be rebuilt a lot easier than a lighthouse. As for the beaches themselves: Guess what! After they recede - they will naturally rebuild themselves . Yeah, beaches grow - and they even evolve - due to beachfront erosion. So, move inland far enough so that you will actually be owners of the new beachfront property. You all might want to start moving on that - you only got a couple years before...well...you know.
TERRORISM: Most likely, the crazy jihadi folks over in Iran will finish building one or two nukes and launch it at someone. The US or Israel! What do you really think the rest of the world will do when they do this? Worst case scenario - nuke Iran until it's a sheet of radioactive glass. And make sure the stupid bastards who built and launched the weapon(s) are trapped there when we hit them - preferably with every terrorist on Earth hanging with them partying to REM's It's the End of the World as We Know It. Hey, we already know that the terrorists are all suicidal - so all they have to do is say when and the world will oblige them and put them out of OUR misery. Actually, to tell the truth we here in the United States are indeed stalling on nuking anyone for the simple reason that we just don't like to do such a thing. Wiping out every living thing in an area is not a nice thing to do - but we will if absolutely necessary. We just don't have to like doing it. And we're giving the innocent bystanders a chance to get the hell out of there beforehand. Leave now or forever hold your peace!
POLARITY REVERSAL: Some liken this to the END OF TIME. If it is the end of time, it may just mean the years might start recounting - like when BC switched to AD. There will likely be some odd adjustments and a bit of inconvenience but not the end of all life on Earth, as some crazies like to think.
When the reversal happens we need to be prepared to deal with a lot of crazy things happening - like everything on Earth with a polarity ceasing to function. This includes the nuclear power plants of the world, as I mentioned once before. Anything that functions by battery or electric might also no longer work - this includes the cars and other vehicles - and yes, the computers. I am not saying that this is absolutely what will happen - but since we have not had a reversal since long before the technological revolution - it would be good to be prepared for the worst. Geomagnetic reversal is still too new of a concept for scientists to understand all the consequences to our technological world. Hey, scientists never claimed to be all knowing!
The field reversal - since it has to do with polarities - north south - positive negative - very likely will affect EVERYTHING else with a polarity. Try putting the batteries into anything upside down - it just will not work. What do we know runs by battery? The same for electricity - yes, electric currents have a polarity and when you reverse it - some things simply stop working and some explode. I do not know if the fact that we use Alternating Current as opposed to Direct Current will be any help. Hopefully it will. What exactly happens when AC is reversed or shut down completely? This is up to the physicists of the world to determine.
I once heard a saying: Assume the worst, and you'll end up pleasantly surprised. I may be a realist - but I am also an optimist. I do believe we can and will make the best of what's about to happen. Until next time... Or maybe better yet...maybe later this week. Ta ta!
GLOBAL WARMING: Is it happening? YES! Will it affect our lives? You can bet on that and win. Will it affect the economy of our country - and the world? YES! Will people die because of it? YES! Is there anything we can do to stop it? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL! Are we the primary cause of global warming? Not exactly - the jury is still figuring out the cause. Actually, from what I did learn in the couple weeks I was in paleoclimatology class - we have contributed to it but are not likely the sole cause of it. To put it another way - it was going to happen anyway - we just acted as a catalyst and sped it up a bit.
Can we slow it down? Yes, but it's a bit too late for that at this point. The Northern Ice Cap is pretty much gone and nothing short of an ice age will bring it back. Can we reverse it? Very possible and likely if we work really really hard to do that - but maybe you want to think of the consequences of doing just that, first. Actually, maybe you all would prefer an ice age instead of global warming. Let's see...hmmm... Do you think we could invent a way to grow food on ice sheets in freezing temperatures? How about your house... Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live with a glacier in your yard? Or your house buried beneath one? Yeah, there would be more beaches to visit - albeit covered in ice. Basically, a full reversal of global warming would cover about half of the Earth with uninhabitable ice sheets. Maybe that's your idea of paradise - but it ain't mine. Did you ever hear the saying - when hell freezes over? I think you get the point.
Will all life on Earth, including all of humanity, cease to exist and die out in some cataclysmic mass extinction event from global warming? NO! Global sea level rise is not going to kill us off. Yeah, there will be a lot less islands and the coastlines will recede. So just get the hell off the island and don't own any beachfront property. Anyone who sticks around those locations is doomed - like the ninnies who stood and watched as the tsunami killed them. The animals had enough sense to get the hell out of dodge - but the humans were incapable for some unknown reason of following them. There was absolutely no excuse for that. Unless you want to argue the point that humans are just naturally more stupid than the other Earth creatures. Go ahead, go right ahead... be my guest.
Guess what's hiding under all that melting ice as global warming happens? LAND! Well, what do you know! Places to grow food and build houses and villages and cities. WOW! Imagine that! What rock have you idiots been hiding under that you are now just crawling out from? There is a lot of us Earthlings who actually knew that all that nice fertile land was under all that ice just waiting for the melting to finish up and the land to thaw out.
As for the beaches. Well, we'll have to move all the lighthouses as the coastlines recede. Yes, that will cost money. So, get off your lazy butts and make some big money so that we don't have a very bizarre remake of the Titanic tragedy - only this time the ship runs into a lighthouse submerged beneath the sea. Yoi! I think humanity can agree to save the lighthouses at the very least. To hell with the beachfront hotels - they can be rebuilt a lot easier than a lighthouse. As for the beaches themselves: Guess what! After they recede - they will naturally rebuild themselves . Yeah, beaches grow - and they even evolve - due to beachfront erosion. So, move inland far enough so that you will actually be owners of the new beachfront property. You all might want to start moving on that - you only got a couple years before...well...you know.
TERRORISM: Most likely, the crazy jihadi folks over in Iran will finish building one or two nukes and launch it at someone. The US or Israel! What do you really think the rest of the world will do when they do this? Worst case scenario - nuke Iran until it's a sheet of radioactive glass. And make sure the stupid bastards who built and launched the weapon(s) are trapped there when we hit them - preferably with every terrorist on Earth hanging with them partying to REM's It's the End of the World as We Know It. Hey, we already know that the terrorists are all suicidal - so all they have to do is say when and the world will oblige them and put them out of OUR misery. Actually, to tell the truth we here in the United States are indeed stalling on nuking anyone for the simple reason that we just don't like to do such a thing. Wiping out every living thing in an area is not a nice thing to do - but we will if absolutely necessary. We just don't have to like doing it. And we're giving the innocent bystanders a chance to get the hell out of there beforehand. Leave now or forever hold your peace!
POLARITY REVERSAL: Some liken this to the END OF TIME. If it is the end of time, it may just mean the years might start recounting - like when BC switched to AD. There will likely be some odd adjustments and a bit of inconvenience but not the end of all life on Earth, as some crazies like to think.
When the reversal happens we need to be prepared to deal with a lot of crazy things happening - like everything on Earth with a polarity ceasing to function. This includes the nuclear power plants of the world, as I mentioned once before. Anything that functions by battery or electric might also no longer work - this includes the cars and other vehicles - and yes, the computers. I am not saying that this is absolutely what will happen - but since we have not had a reversal since long before the technological revolution - it would be good to be prepared for the worst. Geomagnetic reversal is still too new of a concept for scientists to understand all the consequences to our technological world. Hey, scientists never claimed to be all knowing!
The field reversal - since it has to do with polarities - north south - positive negative - very likely will affect EVERYTHING else with a polarity. Try putting the batteries into anything upside down - it just will not work. What do we know runs by battery? The same for electricity - yes, electric currents have a polarity and when you reverse it - some things simply stop working and some explode. I do not know if the fact that we use Alternating Current as opposed to Direct Current will be any help. Hopefully it will. What exactly happens when AC is reversed or shut down completely? This is up to the physicists of the world to determine.
I once heard a saying: Assume the worst, and you'll end up pleasantly surprised. I may be a realist - but I am also an optimist. I do believe we can and will make the best of what's about to happen. Until next time... Or maybe better yet...maybe later this week. Ta ta!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Update and Issues
I have been out of commission for a bit due to a couple personal issues. I have literally been lying low for a bit. Down but not out. But I have not been idle neither. The Paleoclomatology class got withdrawn from - taking one massive issue off of my shoulders. All that has happened to me over the past few months reminds me of a character from one of my favorite novels when the enemies knocked part of a building down on top of him. I mean, really. What happened to my luck? It certainly went south - and me unable to do a damn thing to stop any of it. Yoi!
I did finally register for the Plate Tectonics class here at Pitt and am waiting to hear back from the professor about when and where we are meeting for class. This will be the third graduate level class I have taken so far. I did pass the other two, albeit one without the best of outcomes and the other almost did not make it at all - but turned out ok in the end. Wish me luck.
I am a bit undecided about whether to register for the department's colloquium class. It's only one credit and I do need it. I just wish it were still like it was years ago in my old geology days when it was not mandatory to attend and you did not have to register for it. I believe they changed it so that the department gets enough money to get the speakers - who are typically all from other colleges and other organizations. I wonder how other science departments handle funding problems for their seminar series. There's got to be a better way.
It reminds me of the last class I needed to take for my B.A. in History and Philosophy of Science right here at Pitt. It was also one credit and a seminar type class. We also had to write two research essays on the class topic and readings - which happened to be on Descartes - with Dr. McGuire presiding. It was not a series of lectures by speakers from outside, however. I do recall both our HPS and our Philosophy departments having colloquium type seminars.
I have also been going through all my old research paperwork on the Intelligent Design situation - a la the Discovery Institute. So far, I have only reread and organized into a file folder three old articles from back in 2002 about the Columbus, Ohio scandal. I have plenty more where that came from. I still cannot understand how that Guildenhuys ass of a grad instructor was able to say I was off topic on the essay I wrote for my first attempt at Intro to Philosophy of Science. That is one mistake I have not gotten on any paper since maybe grade school. Well, he got his comeuppance - he ended up on academic probation - on an unrelated issue. Why am I not surprised! I think he might need to take a class on ethics and maybe one on morality - since the "man" did not have any at the time. And not much in the brains category, neither. And Logic is a mandatory class requirement for a Bachelors in our HPS department. He apparently slept through those classes.
Gotta get to class. Till later... Cha Ching!
I did finally register for the Plate Tectonics class here at Pitt and am waiting to hear back from the professor about when and where we are meeting for class. This will be the third graduate level class I have taken so far. I did pass the other two, albeit one without the best of outcomes and the other almost did not make it at all - but turned out ok in the end. Wish me luck.
I am a bit undecided about whether to register for the department's colloquium class. It's only one credit and I do need it. I just wish it were still like it was years ago in my old geology days when it was not mandatory to attend and you did not have to register for it. I believe they changed it so that the department gets enough money to get the speakers - who are typically all from other colleges and other organizations. I wonder how other science departments handle funding problems for their seminar series. There's got to be a better way.
It reminds me of the last class I needed to take for my B.A. in History and Philosophy of Science right here at Pitt. It was also one credit and a seminar type class. We also had to write two research essays on the class topic and readings - which happened to be on Descartes - with Dr. McGuire presiding. It was not a series of lectures by speakers from outside, however. I do recall both our HPS and our Philosophy departments having colloquium type seminars.
I have also been going through all my old research paperwork on the Intelligent Design situation - a la the Discovery Institute. So far, I have only reread and organized into a file folder three old articles from back in 2002 about the Columbus, Ohio scandal. I have plenty more where that came from. I still cannot understand how that Guildenhuys ass of a grad instructor was able to say I was off topic on the essay I wrote for my first attempt at Intro to Philosophy of Science. That is one mistake I have not gotten on any paper since maybe grade school. Well, he got his comeuppance - he ended up on academic probation - on an unrelated issue. Why am I not surprised! I think he might need to take a class on ethics and maybe one on morality - since the "man" did not have any at the time. And not much in the brains category, neither. And Logic is a mandatory class requirement for a Bachelors in our HPS department. He apparently slept through those classes.
Gotta get to class. Till later... Cha Ching!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Core of Geomag Reversals
I am reading an article from Nature about the geomagnetic reversal. Apparently, there looks to be a correlation between the cooling and solidifying of the Earth's inner core and the polarity reversals. The article is not very specific. It is likely that as the inner core solidifies a new layer, the planet's polarity reverses as a side effect. A nickel iron core could conceivably do this, in theory. But we also know that theory and reality are typically two different ball games. In science, the theoretical is merely the ideal situation and the ideal is rarely ever the reality - at least not exactly.
There was also mentioned the Cretaceous Normal Superchron [CNS] a long span of time when there were no reversals. Why this is the case, I do not know - but I believe comparing that time interval to times when reversals are normal might shed some light on the situation. It may even give us some clues about the cause of the reversals. Interestingly enough, the CNS ended around the same time as the K-T event. A possible correlation, perhaps?! Could a meteorite cause this no-reversal time to switch back to normal geomagnetic flip-flopping? If it was an iron asteroid, this would be likely. Like two magnets hitting each other. But what exactly started the CNS in the first place? Another previous iron asteroid meteorite - switching the field off?
Also, as I was skulking about on the Google Scholar site looking up solar forcing articles - I noticed one that said something about the reversals being correlated with glacial periods. Unfortunately, the article itself was not accessible - but I am hopeful that more are out there - maybe I can look at the references of that article and at least peruse the abstract. Just the info I was hoping for. Toodles!
There was also mentioned the Cretaceous Normal Superchron [CNS] a long span of time when there were no reversals. Why this is the case, I do not know - but I believe comparing that time interval to times when reversals are normal might shed some light on the situation. It may even give us some clues about the cause of the reversals. Interestingly enough, the CNS ended around the same time as the K-T event. A possible correlation, perhaps?! Could a meteorite cause this no-reversal time to switch back to normal geomagnetic flip-flopping? If it was an iron asteroid, this would be likely. Like two magnets hitting each other. But what exactly started the CNS in the first place? Another previous iron asteroid meteorite - switching the field off?
Also, as I was skulking about on the Google Scholar site looking up solar forcing articles - I noticed one that said something about the reversals being correlated with glacial periods. Unfortunately, the article itself was not accessible - but I am hopeful that more are out there - maybe I can look at the references of that article and at least peruse the abstract. Just the info I was hoping for. Toodles!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Incoming Asteroids and How to Deal with Them
An interesting conversation w a friend of mine turned to the likelihood of an asteroid hit at some point in the future. What we were talking about was the larger - world altering asteroids - say, one the size of New Jersey slamming into Earth.
What are we to do when this happens? Yes, I said when! This is NOT an if scenario - it is reality - it WILL happen at some time. If folks are so unconcerned about this - may I remind them that this DID happen about 65 million years ago - killing off the dinosaurs. It happened before that time, as well. Granted, we are still unsure about whether it was an asteroid or a comet - but the situation is almost the same and the outcome certainly is.
So, whether we're talking about a giant dirty snowball from hell - or a giant rock made of iron, quartz, or carbon - the end point is still the same - WIPEOUT. This is for those greedy bastards out there more concerned about their wallets and their little fantasy world that they prefer to live in - like the jackasses who so kindly helped evacuate New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. Rules and laws are all very well - but they are there to protect people - NOT make it necessary for thousands of people to die - just for some politicians' laziness. And if I hear another religious nutter out there saying that God punished those poor folks for their sins - then I'll let them sit while a hurricane hits their sorry asses. Who died and made them God, anyway?!
OK, so what do we do about this situation when it becomes a reality? Well, how many nukes do we have? Yeah, yeah, I know they exist for one reason and one reason only - to kill our fellow humans with. My friend pointed this out by mentioning that all nukes on the planet are set to hit locations on this planet - not to go flying out into space to hit asteroids and comets. We need to alter their trajectories. It would also be nice to be able to make course corrections after launch if need be.
How exactly would this work? Well, it all depends on what is heading for Earth in the first place. If it is a comet - hitting it enough times to break it up into smaller fragments that will just burn up in the atmosphere - like a regular meteor shower.
With asteroids - this would be different. Iron and carbon asteroids would be a worse case scenario - because breaking them up would be realistically impossible. It would not matter how many nukes you hit it w directly - it won't be destroyed. Even silicate [quartz] meteorites might not break up w nukes - not into small enough fragments fast enough to avert catastrophe. It would be like trying to break a giant marble. Imagine a giant marble the size of New Jersey! By the time we see one of these puppies coming - we will not have years to break it up. Months maybe - if we are lucky. Weeks to days, more likely! Oh, and for those thinking that we could deal w a carbon asteroid - think again. Carbon asteroids are not just big charcoal brickettes - they're giant black diamonds. Think about it, folks - think real hard!
In the event that it is an asteroid - we will only have one course of action to take. The best way to deal w asteroids intent on crash landing in our back yard is to change their trajectory. If we can't move us out of its way - BAD IDEA even if we could do such a thing - then we have to MOVE THE ASTEROID so that it passes by without wreaking havoc on our home turf - we are the only ones allowed to do THAT. Anything we send to head off an asteroid would have to be done in such a way as to hit it from one side, so that its orbit is changed - enough to keep it from hitting Earth.
And we won't have time to take it up w Congress and the committees. Congress would have to ACT IMMEDIATELY! They'd likely say we can't afford to do this - then everyone dies because of their stupidity. We might want to think about educating those folks we put in office. It's apparent that their education is sorrowfully lacking - especially in common sense. Maybe the first order of business would be to force them all to take a good logic class - since that is where they need the most help. Common sense is definitely not every politician's strong suit - unfortunately for the rest of us who have to suffer for their lack. I am not speaking about all politicians - since there are a few - albeit only a few - who have enough upstairs to do what needs doing the right way when things like this come up. Unfortunately, they are in the minority - and I am not talking about majority/minority as in democrat/republican here. There are logical and intelligent guys and gals on Capitol Hill on both sides of the political divide - just not all that many compared to the ones who refuse outright to use the braincells they were born with.
With that being said, I will sign off...until next time...
What are we to do when this happens? Yes, I said when! This is NOT an if scenario - it is reality - it WILL happen at some time. If folks are so unconcerned about this - may I remind them that this DID happen about 65 million years ago - killing off the dinosaurs. It happened before that time, as well. Granted, we are still unsure about whether it was an asteroid or a comet - but the situation is almost the same and the outcome certainly is.
So, whether we're talking about a giant dirty snowball from hell - or a giant rock made of iron, quartz, or carbon - the end point is still the same - WIPEOUT. This is for those greedy bastards out there more concerned about their wallets and their little fantasy world that they prefer to live in - like the jackasses who so kindly helped evacuate New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. Rules and laws are all very well - but they are there to protect people - NOT make it necessary for thousands of people to die - just for some politicians' laziness. And if I hear another religious nutter out there saying that God punished those poor folks for their sins - then I'll let them sit while a hurricane hits their sorry asses. Who died and made them God, anyway?!
OK, so what do we do about this situation when it becomes a reality? Well, how many nukes do we have? Yeah, yeah, I know they exist for one reason and one reason only - to kill our fellow humans with. My friend pointed this out by mentioning that all nukes on the planet are set to hit locations on this planet - not to go flying out into space to hit asteroids and comets. We need to alter their trajectories. It would also be nice to be able to make course corrections after launch if need be.
How exactly would this work? Well, it all depends on what is heading for Earth in the first place. If it is a comet - hitting it enough times to break it up into smaller fragments that will just burn up in the atmosphere - like a regular meteor shower.
With asteroids - this would be different. Iron and carbon asteroids would be a worse case scenario - because breaking them up would be realistically impossible. It would not matter how many nukes you hit it w directly - it won't be destroyed. Even silicate [quartz] meteorites might not break up w nukes - not into small enough fragments fast enough to avert catastrophe. It would be like trying to break a giant marble. Imagine a giant marble the size of New Jersey! By the time we see one of these puppies coming - we will not have years to break it up. Months maybe - if we are lucky. Weeks to days, more likely! Oh, and for those thinking that we could deal w a carbon asteroid - think again. Carbon asteroids are not just big charcoal brickettes - they're giant black diamonds. Think about it, folks - think real hard!
In the event that it is an asteroid - we will only have one course of action to take. The best way to deal w asteroids intent on crash landing in our back yard is to change their trajectory. If we can't move us out of its way - BAD IDEA even if we could do such a thing - then we have to MOVE THE ASTEROID so that it passes by without wreaking havoc on our home turf - we are the only ones allowed to do THAT. Anything we send to head off an asteroid would have to be done in such a way as to hit it from one side, so that its orbit is changed - enough to keep it from hitting Earth.
And we won't have time to take it up w Congress and the committees. Congress would have to ACT IMMEDIATELY! They'd likely say we can't afford to do this - then everyone dies because of their stupidity. We might want to think about educating those folks we put in office. It's apparent that their education is sorrowfully lacking - especially in common sense. Maybe the first order of business would be to force them all to take a good logic class - since that is where they need the most help. Common sense is definitely not every politician's strong suit - unfortunately for the rest of us who have to suffer for their lack. I am not speaking about all politicians - since there are a few - albeit only a few - who have enough upstairs to do what needs doing the right way when things like this come up. Unfortunately, they are in the minority - and I am not talking about majority/minority as in democrat/republican here. There are logical and intelligent guys and gals on Capitol Hill on both sides of the political divide - just not all that many compared to the ones who refuse outright to use the braincells they were born with.
With that being said, I will sign off...until next time...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
WARNING: Magnetic Field Reversal is Coming
An update: While doing a bit of preliminary research for a possible paper to make up the work for paleoclimatology class, I read a relatively recent article that mentions that before a reversal - the Earth's magnetic field decreases by 10% - then reverses - and finally restrengthens in the south direction. The same article mentions that the field has decreased 10% over the past 150 years.
Scientists still do not know enough about what the consequences will be. Heck, we are not all that sure about what causes it, yet. Time is running out. One point made in the article mentions something about the field disappearing altogether - exposing us to cosmic rays. This cannot be a good thing. This phenomena must be researched and dealt with immediately - so that preventative measures can be taken.
Scientists still do not know enough about what the consequences will be. Heck, we are not all that sure about what causes it, yet. Time is running out. One point made in the article mentions something about the field disappearing altogether - exposing us to cosmic rays. This cannot be a good thing. This phenomena must be researched and dealt with immediately - so that preventative measures can be taken.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Teachers Who Don't Teach and Don't Really Care
This topic is a real serious peeve of mine. I have had mostly decent and fair teachers all throughout my educational experience - but there have been a few who were absolutely awful. There are some who care nothing about their students' success. There are those who justify their lack of appropriate instruction as just the way professionals do it. They care nothing about the consequences of their actions. Then there are the teachers that reward students who kiss their backsides and reward those who do favors for said teacher rather than grading based on the work the student does in class. I have had my share of all three types and because I was expecting to get graded on my abilities in class with the material covered - I ended up getting burned - I failed or was forced to withdrawal when it was possible for me to do so.
In my Junior year in high school I started out with good grades - with some room for improvement. Then around November of that term - I came down w pneumonia and was out sick for about two weeks. When I came back - most of my teachers were considerate and understanding and gave me the chance to make up the work I missed, gave me extra time to study for exams/quizzes, or gave me extra credit to keep my grades up. In essence they gave me a chance to succeed. Unfortunately, two of my teachers were not nearly as decent or understanding. They refused to give me a chance because they could not be bothered and did not give a damn about a student who was initially doing well in their classes. Both of these teachers expected me to take the exams coming up at the same time as the rest of the class - claiming that I had as much time as everyone else to study for them. And my chemistry teacher downright refused to let me make up the missed lab assignments. Before I got sick - my guidance counselor was so impressed with how well I was doing she encouraged me to look into some good colleges and universities for after I graduated. However, because of these two teachers refusing to give me a chance - my guidance counselor changed her tune - saying that I'd have to make up the missed work, etc., over the summer - and that I might want to consider going to community college. So, in essence, I was severely punished for getting pneumonia.
Then there was the college English teacher who gave the good passing grades out to the students who did a special favor for her - and started flunking everyone who did not do so. I just thought the woman had it in for me only - and I could not figure out why - until I talked to another student who was in the same boat as me. My essays for the class started out w passing grades. First a C, second paper got a B, and the third an A. At this point, it was just past midterm. Then she mentioned that she needed some folks to help her paint her house if anyone was available. Those available decided to help her out - since she seemed like a decent and good teacher, giving fair grades, etc. After this event took place, she started giving all those students who did not show up to paint her house F's on every paper for the rest of the term. I ended up getting an F, and another girl got a D, only because she had straight A's since the first paper. That's how I knew the teacher was a fake. As a matter of fact, when she looked at the rough draft of the paper she gave me the F on - she said it looked really good and well written and that I would likely get another A. The rough draft was almost identical to the final paper.
Then there's the physics professor who just did not believe in teaching the material we needed to know in order to take and pass the exams. He actually said as much to the entire class - after most everyone in class failed the first exam. He even insulted everyone for being losers and for not studying - except we all studied what he went over in class and read the text as instructed to do so. The point is - he did not test on the material he went over in class. This makes no sense. Why teach a class in the first place - unless you're going to teach it in the best way for students to learn the material - so that they have a chance to learn and pass the exams. Again, a teacher who did not believe in giving students a reasonable chance at success. Very inefficient and ineffective teaching style. The most disturbing about this professor's teaching tactics is twofold. First, the head of the physics department later told us that unfortunately most physics, math, and chemistry professors at major universities teach this way. Secondly and the most disturbing, most engineering students are taking these exact same classes and are not learning what they really need to be learning - like gravity, tension, pressure, and other major natural forces and processes in nature. These engineering students get severely curved grades so the professor doesn't lose tenure. This lets the students pass but without the knowledge they took the class to learn in the first place. Now we have engineering mistakes and disasters that are costing people their lives because of the failure at the educational level.
Hey, if you don't want to be a teacher - then don't be a teacher. But, if you want access to the goodies - the perks - that come with the teaching position - like labs available for your research and experiments - then you may have to teach - but at least do it the right way. Students and their families are going into severe debt to pay for and take these classes. The least a college or university professor can do in return is teach the material that the students need to know for the exams and for their careers. The best professors I ever had - did teach this way - the right way.
In my Junior year in high school I started out with good grades - with some room for improvement. Then around November of that term - I came down w pneumonia and was out sick for about two weeks. When I came back - most of my teachers were considerate and understanding and gave me the chance to make up the work I missed, gave me extra time to study for exams/quizzes, or gave me extra credit to keep my grades up. In essence they gave me a chance to succeed. Unfortunately, two of my teachers were not nearly as decent or understanding. They refused to give me a chance because they could not be bothered and did not give a damn about a student who was initially doing well in their classes. Both of these teachers expected me to take the exams coming up at the same time as the rest of the class - claiming that I had as much time as everyone else to study for them. And my chemistry teacher downright refused to let me make up the missed lab assignments. Before I got sick - my guidance counselor was so impressed with how well I was doing she encouraged me to look into some good colleges and universities for after I graduated. However, because of these two teachers refusing to give me a chance - my guidance counselor changed her tune - saying that I'd have to make up the missed work, etc., over the summer - and that I might want to consider going to community college. So, in essence, I was severely punished for getting pneumonia.
Then there was the college English teacher who gave the good passing grades out to the students who did a special favor for her - and started flunking everyone who did not do so. I just thought the woman had it in for me only - and I could not figure out why - until I talked to another student who was in the same boat as me. My essays for the class started out w passing grades. First a C, second paper got a B, and the third an A. At this point, it was just past midterm. Then she mentioned that she needed some folks to help her paint her house if anyone was available. Those available decided to help her out - since she seemed like a decent and good teacher, giving fair grades, etc. After this event took place, she started giving all those students who did not show up to paint her house F's on every paper for the rest of the term. I ended up getting an F, and another girl got a D, only because she had straight A's since the first paper. That's how I knew the teacher was a fake. As a matter of fact, when she looked at the rough draft of the paper she gave me the F on - she said it looked really good and well written and that I would likely get another A. The rough draft was almost identical to the final paper.
Then there's the physics professor who just did not believe in teaching the material we needed to know in order to take and pass the exams. He actually said as much to the entire class - after most everyone in class failed the first exam. He even insulted everyone for being losers and for not studying - except we all studied what he went over in class and read the text as instructed to do so. The point is - he did not test on the material he went over in class. This makes no sense. Why teach a class in the first place - unless you're going to teach it in the best way for students to learn the material - so that they have a chance to learn and pass the exams. Again, a teacher who did not believe in giving students a reasonable chance at success. Very inefficient and ineffective teaching style. The most disturbing about this professor's teaching tactics is twofold. First, the head of the physics department later told us that unfortunately most physics, math, and chemistry professors at major universities teach this way. Secondly and the most disturbing, most engineering students are taking these exact same classes and are not learning what they really need to be learning - like gravity, tension, pressure, and other major natural forces and processes in nature. These engineering students get severely curved grades so the professor doesn't lose tenure. This lets the students pass but without the knowledge they took the class to learn in the first place. Now we have engineering mistakes and disasters that are costing people their lives because of the failure at the educational level.
Hey, if you don't want to be a teacher - then don't be a teacher. But, if you want access to the goodies - the perks - that come with the teaching position - like labs available for your research and experiments - then you may have to teach - but at least do it the right way. Students and their families are going into severe debt to pay for and take these classes. The least a college or university professor can do in return is teach the material that the students need to know for the exams and for their careers. The best professors I ever had - did teach this way - the right way.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Giving Honest Scientists a Bad Name
A couple posts ago I mentioned about the spam I was getting enticing me to buy a PhD. Yes, I was a wee bit upset - I have issues about this due to the fact that several years ago I had to do a research paper about intelligent design and the Discovery Institute - which I also mentioned. The thing that quite literally pissed me off so much was the fact that there were a bunch of guys over there in that so-called think tank who were parading around PhD's in Geology - a field that I know all too well - while at the same time claiming that evolution is not reality and other very obviously scientific theories, etc. I could not - for the life of me - figure out what college on this planet would award such out-of-touch-with-reality morons who do not even know what the scientific method is - PhD's in geology. So, I did a bit of background work on them - they had bought their PhD's and used them dishonestly to pretend they were real world scientists - so that Congress would take them seriously.
I am sure that those schools that give out these types of degrees are doing it for good reasons - to give some well deserved and serious folks who just have lots of other real life stuff they have to deal with - a leg up. However, thanks to the dishonest jerks at Discovery I. - they have given such degrees a bad name and a very ugly reputation.
The intended purpose was to give serious scholarly-minded individuals who might have some real world obstacles - esp. financial - or even a family to care for - a fighting chance at proving themselves worthy of that piece of paper. The D. I. "geologists" took advantage of this - but dishonestly so. They prove it by their arguments - if you want to call them arguments at all - in favor of I. D. Real scientists are very logical people - but the D.I. are extremely illogical - their arguments make no sense in any way. This is why real scientists won't waste their time dealing with them. Unfortunately, this hasn't stopped them from pushing their holy scriptural doctrine through legislature - against the separation of church and state - which is a firmly held part of this country's political and governing process. They are so anti-American and anti-science that it's hard to believe any American could or would ever give them any funding to keep their bullshit "think tank" running.
The Discovery Institute is the primary cause of the dumbing down of our American educational system and our society. They are akin to the monstrous Nazis - trying to infiltrate and destroy this country from the inside. Their degrees should be recalled by the schools that gave them out - esp. considering that they have not proven themselves as scientists by the rest of the scientific community.
Thanks Discovery Institute - for all your honest work - sincere concern for the state of our nation's educational standards - and your logical and realistic worldview.
Thank you, thank you very much!
I am sure that those schools that give out these types of degrees are doing it for good reasons - to give some well deserved and serious folks who just have lots of other real life stuff they have to deal with - a leg up. However, thanks to the dishonest jerks at Discovery I. - they have given such degrees a bad name and a very ugly reputation.
The intended purpose was to give serious scholarly-minded individuals who might have some real world obstacles - esp. financial - or even a family to care for - a fighting chance at proving themselves worthy of that piece of paper. The D. I. "geologists" took advantage of this - but dishonestly so. They prove it by their arguments - if you want to call them arguments at all - in favor of I. D. Real scientists are very logical people - but the D.I. are extremely illogical - their arguments make no sense in any way. This is why real scientists won't waste their time dealing with them. Unfortunately, this hasn't stopped them from pushing their holy scriptural doctrine through legislature - against the separation of church and state - which is a firmly held part of this country's political and governing process. They are so anti-American and anti-science that it's hard to believe any American could or would ever give them any funding to keep their bullshit "think tank" running.
The Discovery Institute is the primary cause of the dumbing down of our American educational system and our society. They are akin to the monstrous Nazis - trying to infiltrate and destroy this country from the inside. Their degrees should be recalled by the schools that gave them out - esp. considering that they have not proven themselves as scientists by the rest of the scientific community.
Thanks Discovery Institute - for all your honest work - sincere concern for the state of our nation's educational standards - and your logical and realistic worldview.
Thank you, thank you very much!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Weight Loss Peeve
More peeves from me. This time about the weight loss stuff that comes through my email filter. It's not as easy as it seems to those without weight issues to comprehend. Starving oneself is not a realistic option. Neither is over the counter meds and supplements. There is no magic pill out there. Besides, it's very detrimental - bad - for one's health to lose lots of weight very quickly. The human body needs time to adjust to the change. Altering one's diet and increasing their physical activity as much as possible is the only way that really works. The science does not back up all the hype out there about obesity. As a matter of fact - most of the info [hype] is not backed by the scientific research at all. The science actually contradicts the mass media bullshit out there. I have yet to see one person lose weight by drinking diet sodas - it never worked for me - or anyone else I ever knew. Eating one meal per day while in high school actually caused me to gain most of my extra weight.
One has to change their mindset and make certain adjustments to their daily eating habits and activity levels for the pounds to melt off safely and easily. There has never been a quick fix - and never will be - not a safe one at least. Support from family and friends is also essential to success in this matter. Not sabotage - emotional or otherwise.
Thank you - thank you very much! Ba - Da - Bing!
One has to change their mindset and make certain adjustments to their daily eating habits and activity levels for the pounds to melt off safely and easily. There has never been a quick fix - and never will be - not a safe one at least. Support from family and friends is also essential to success in this matter. Not sabotage - emotional or otherwise.
Thank you - thank you very much! Ba - Da - Bing!
Friday, May 16, 2008
A Bit of an Update
Just want to pop in and give an update on what's happening with me.
Less spam on buying degrees - but still some comes through anyway - fortunately not as much.
Just had a death in the family and will be doing the funeral thing all weekend in my home town at the usual place. So, work is still on hold at the moment.
Hopefully next week I will be able to finally get some more work done on the paleoclimate class work. I found a decent tutorial online - actually it is a second set of class notes - it never hurts to add something. I still need to talk to my professor since he was out of town doing field work. I must get cracking on the various research projects I have lined up as soon as possible. I'll need to do field work for many of them. Some locations are out of the question - like Jericho - due to terrorist activity in that part of the world, but it doesn't hurt to do as much as I can preemptively.
As for the big project that is already underway - I do have a really good piece to add in at the last minute - but I do not want to go into too much detail - in case the technology falls into the wrong hands. Obviously, security features will have to be added. And the last piece to be added will be the piece de resistance - but nobody knows about it but me - and that is how it will stay until I consult in person with my top guys.
Until next time...
Less spam on buying degrees - but still some comes through anyway - fortunately not as much.
Just had a death in the family and will be doing the funeral thing all weekend in my home town at the usual place. So, work is still on hold at the moment.
Hopefully next week I will be able to finally get some more work done on the paleoclimate class work. I found a decent tutorial online - actually it is a second set of class notes - it never hurts to add something. I still need to talk to my professor since he was out of town doing field work. I must get cracking on the various research projects I have lined up as soon as possible. I'll need to do field work for many of them. Some locations are out of the question - like Jericho - due to terrorist activity in that part of the world, but it doesn't hurt to do as much as I can preemptively.
As for the big project that is already underway - I do have a really good piece to add in at the last minute - but I do not want to go into too much detail - in case the technology falls into the wrong hands. Obviously, security features will have to be added. And the last piece to be added will be the piece de resistance - but nobody knows about it but me - and that is how it will stay until I consult in person with my top guys.
Until next time...
Friday, May 9, 2008
Remote Geiger Detector and a Rant
I have been thinking about a great many things of late. And regarding the subject of the K-T Extinction event - I do believe it would be useful if we could detect radioactive materials with something like a Geiger counter but from a safer distance. This could be useful for finding the remains of meteorites - if in fact they are radioactive in nature. It would be useful also for doing any research associated with past nuclear disasters - such as Chernobyl and other places. These areas are obviously unsafe for people to study first hand with any realistic safety - but we should still be able to study the after affects in order to gain a greater understanding and hopefully prevent future disasters like them.
On another note - I am a bit peeved about something I have noticed popping up in my spam filter. Some folks actually have the nerve to send ads attempting to entice me to practically "buy" my own PhD. You know the ones - the nonaccredited "universities" and such. I have no use for such things. If a PhD is in the possible future for me - then it will be by honest hard work - not by the quick, dirty, and in my mind highly suspect and dishonest means of acquiring any sort of diploma. If I am meant to achieve such a point in my career - I will do it the right way - not the sleazy way. Such a degree has to be earned through the proper channels. I seriously doubt that there is a single Rhodes Scholar out there who ever earned any of their degrees by such a route. I am not attempting to compare myself to them by any means but the route they took to success should be a litmus test of sorts for anyone trying to earn any degree: Associates, Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate.
There is a right way and a wrong way to do various things - the honest hard-working way and the lazy dog way, respectively. The wrong way reminds me of when some classmates would pay the smart kids to do their homework for them or the ones who just wrote the right answers from the back of the math textbooks instead of actually using their own braincells to figure it all out. They always did really bad when the exams were passed out - because they never did their homework. This is not the way to become the next Einstein, people!
As a matter of fact I am one of those types of people who have absolutely no respect whatsoever for any person who goes about getting any degree in this way. Do they even have to endure the rigorous comprehensive and peer review? Who do they consider their peers under such circumstances? What kind of dissertation could they possibly give and to whom? What do they write their theses about? Are their arguments valid and sound? Do they follow the basic laws of logic and reason? How is honesty and integrity foolproofed? How do we know Joe Smith actually did the work required to back up his claims? Who was his advisor(s)? How are we to know whether or not he may be lying and faking his results?
A case in point: The Discovery Institute of Seattle, Washington - if it still exists - has many of it's members and affiliates who have "earned" their so-called PhD's by this route. I am not entirely sure but I do believe that some quite literally bought theirs'. And our country allows these losers to have some say over important issues like what to teach children in biology class. Yes, I am speaking of their "intelligent design" wedge movement. Their primary argument is a case of what is called circular reasoning. It's akin to defining a word with the word itself. It is empty and illogical and has no meaning whatsoever. But the DI argues the case so convincingly that members of Congress actually fall for their Sophist-like arguments - something like dishonest lawyers. Scientists rely on logic and these morons are so close-minded and illogical that it is practically impossible to have a decent discussion about their claims. This is why real scientists and scholars won't get involved - because as my mother always used to say - you can't argue with crazy people. And the DI is obviously quite daft. They are like the head lemmings and actually expect the world to follow them into the abyss.
Ok! Enough of my ranting for awhile! Until next time...
On another note - I am a bit peeved about something I have noticed popping up in my spam filter. Some folks actually have the nerve to send ads attempting to entice me to practically "buy" my own PhD. You know the ones - the nonaccredited "universities" and such. I have no use for such things. If a PhD is in the possible future for me - then it will be by honest hard work - not by the quick, dirty, and in my mind highly suspect and dishonest means of acquiring any sort of diploma. If I am meant to achieve such a point in my career - I will do it the right way - not the sleazy way. Such a degree has to be earned through the proper channels. I seriously doubt that there is a single Rhodes Scholar out there who ever earned any of their degrees by such a route. I am not attempting to compare myself to them by any means but the route they took to success should be a litmus test of sorts for anyone trying to earn any degree: Associates, Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate.
There is a right way and a wrong way to do various things - the honest hard-working way and the lazy dog way, respectively. The wrong way reminds me of when some classmates would pay the smart kids to do their homework for them or the ones who just wrote the right answers from the back of the math textbooks instead of actually using their own braincells to figure it all out. They always did really bad when the exams were passed out - because they never did their homework. This is not the way to become the next Einstein, people!
As a matter of fact I am one of those types of people who have absolutely no respect whatsoever for any person who goes about getting any degree in this way. Do they even have to endure the rigorous comprehensive and peer review? Who do they consider their peers under such circumstances? What kind of dissertation could they possibly give and to whom? What do they write their theses about? Are their arguments valid and sound? Do they follow the basic laws of logic and reason? How is honesty and integrity foolproofed? How do we know Joe Smith actually did the work required to back up his claims? Who was his advisor(s)? How are we to know whether or not he may be lying and faking his results?
A case in point: The Discovery Institute of Seattle, Washington - if it still exists - has many of it's members and affiliates who have "earned" their so-called PhD's by this route. I am not entirely sure but I do believe that some quite literally bought theirs'. And our country allows these losers to have some say over important issues like what to teach children in biology class. Yes, I am speaking of their "intelligent design" wedge movement. Their primary argument is a case of what is called circular reasoning. It's akin to defining a word with the word itself. It is empty and illogical and has no meaning whatsoever. But the DI argues the case so convincingly that members of Congress actually fall for their Sophist-like arguments - something like dishonest lawyers. Scientists rely on logic and these morons are so close-minded and illogical that it is practically impossible to have a decent discussion about their claims. This is why real scientists and scholars won't get involved - because as my mother always used to say - you can't argue with crazy people. And the DI is obviously quite daft. They are like the head lemmings and actually expect the world to follow them into the abyss.
Ok! Enough of my ranting for awhile! Until next time...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Project status and other issues
Just some points to cover... Big Red is officially off the project. An action he has recently taken with respect to a personal matter between us, has proven that he can not be trusted in any way on the Remote Sensing project - or in any other way for that matter. All words he has said, whether they were voiced or in other formats have all been lies - and his actions thus far, all deceptions. Due to the very serious nature of the project - I cannot trust him in any way or on any matter - EVER. As Trump would say - Big Red, YOU'RE FIRED! You WERE the weakest link! You have disgraced and dishonored yourself and your professors and others by your choices and actions and makes one wonder about you apparent upbringing. As the REM song asks: What's the frequency Kenneth? Apparently, you chose as low as you could go.
My other helper is still on board and is willing to keep at it. I got a message from his big brother recently about it. I will attempt to send the right stuff in your direction, my old friend - stay tuned for further developments.
I have been reading American Prometheus lately - the biography of J Robert Oppenheimer. It is very interesting and gives quite a great deal of insight into his life and career - personal and professional. Surprisingly, he reminds me of someone I know very well - striking similarities, in fact. Almost spooky!
As far as my research projects are concerned: I intend to start making some serious headway on the Deccans project. The really irksome matter, as someone pointed out on a previous post - we are unable to actually do any fieldwork onsite at the Deccan Traps. This is quite unfortunate since it holds many clues to that puzzle. Especially important is the seriously altered Moho layer underlying that volcanic province. Maybe once the other computing project is finished, we can develop a means to detect various features like faults, oil and gas reserves, and other important resources. This could also be helpful to anthropologists and archaeologists to find old burial grounds, mass graves, and other large manmade objects. Mapping the ocean floor more extensively would be helpful as well.
A thought on AIDS research: I am wondering if researchers have looked into the cat kingdom for potential answers since both big cats in the wild and our domestic cats are prone to feline AIDS. There could be a potential solution to this problem down that avenue. It doesn't hurt to look into it. Remember how Penicillin was originally found. It may be something in the genes in both humans and cats that gives the virus an advantage. Have we even done a genome on HIV and AIDS yet? I certainly hope so.
Until my next post... Onward and Upward!!!
My other helper is still on board and is willing to keep at it. I got a message from his big brother recently about it. I will attempt to send the right stuff in your direction, my old friend - stay tuned for further developments.
I have been reading American Prometheus lately - the biography of J Robert Oppenheimer. It is very interesting and gives quite a great deal of insight into his life and career - personal and professional. Surprisingly, he reminds me of someone I know very well - striking similarities, in fact. Almost spooky!
As far as my research projects are concerned: I intend to start making some serious headway on the Deccans project. The really irksome matter, as someone pointed out on a previous post - we are unable to actually do any fieldwork onsite at the Deccan Traps. This is quite unfortunate since it holds many clues to that puzzle. Especially important is the seriously altered Moho layer underlying that volcanic province. Maybe once the other computing project is finished, we can develop a means to detect various features like faults, oil and gas reserves, and other important resources. This could also be helpful to anthropologists and archaeologists to find old burial grounds, mass graves, and other large manmade objects. Mapping the ocean floor more extensively would be helpful as well.
A thought on AIDS research: I am wondering if researchers have looked into the cat kingdom for potential answers since both big cats in the wild and our domestic cats are prone to feline AIDS. There could be a potential solution to this problem down that avenue. It doesn't hurt to look into it. Remember how Penicillin was originally found. It may be something in the genes in both humans and cats that gives the virus an advantage. Have we even done a genome on HIV and AIDS yet? I certainly hope so.
Until my next post... Onward and Upward!!!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Endgame
The remote sensing invention will still happen, because I told my friend I would help it come into reality. I say what I mean and I mean what I say - 100% of the time - at least for the most part. Actually, the reality of the situation is that I do believe I have found a couple great guys who are tech savvy enough to take on the job. One is a very old and dear friend of mine. Hi there Tom. Take good care of your mum - she's a great lady - and like a second mum to me.
And the other is the man I love more than anything else in the Universe and can not imagine living my life without him. Actually he's the man I will marry - hopefully very very soon. Actually, the sooner the better. Hey there Big Red! Love ya baby! How long do you expect me to wait around? I was starting to worry - but you're my one and only. My old man! Wink wink! Besides, do you or do you not want to be happy and successful? I am sure your parents and the rest of your family would want that. I cannot imagine a parent who would wish their son or daughter anything less than this.
Yes I have edited this post - big time. The original was necessary - but I recover fast - down but not out for too long. Can't be doing that. ...Now where was I...oh yeah...
Don't know what to do about paleoclimatology class. Thanks to an unfortunate series of circumstances, it looks like I might be waiting around awhile to retake it. Such is life!
Until next time - or nextpost... We're going to the chapel and we're goin to get married...goin to the chapel of love.
And the other is the man I love more than anything else in the Universe and can not imagine living my life without him. Actually he's the man I will marry - hopefully very very soon. Actually, the sooner the better. Hey there Big Red! Love ya baby! How long do you expect me to wait around? I was starting to worry - but you're my one and only. My old man! Wink wink! Besides, do you or do you not want to be happy and successful? I am sure your parents and the rest of your family would want that. I cannot imagine a parent who would wish their son or daughter anything less than this.
Yes I have edited this post - big time. The original was necessary - but I recover fast - down but not out for too long. Can't be doing that. ...Now where was I...oh yeah...
Don't know what to do about paleoclimatology class. Thanks to an unfortunate series of circumstances, it looks like I might be waiting around awhile to retake it. Such is life!
Until next time - or nextpost... We're going to the chapel and we're goin to get married...goin to the chapel of love.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
When the Poles Flip
What can we expect when the electromagnetic field surrounding the Earth reverses - or flips - polarity? Everyone is so concerned about global warming - but a much bigger problem could very well be looming right around the corner. How often does the magnetic poles reverse? What causes this to happen? Most believe it has to do with a line up of the planets, etc. - in such a way as to give a greater gravitational pull on the "weaker" pole - thus reversing it. This would likely be instantaneous - like when attempting to put two magnets together at the same poles.
The big question is: Will this affect the world in some fashion? My answer is yes. If the electromagnetic field of the Earth reverses, the electric currents will also reverse - in order to compensate. If you put a battery in backwards, the object it is meant to power will not function. Our electrical gadgets will be rendered useless - including batteries, since they too have a polarity. My concern is the nuclear reactors and other modern conveniences ceasing to function at a critical moment.
I have been seeing a date mentioned for this. So far it looks to be only superstitious nonsense. However, it does mention two astronomical events occurring which do so every 26,000 years. Our computer systems, automobiles, electric appliances, and the rest of the global power grid will go down. These phenomena need to be verified and precautions taken. All power, everywhere on Earth will have to be shut down simultaneously to make the proper conversions - or else catastrophe will strike.
So what are we going to do about it?
The big question is: Will this affect the world in some fashion? My answer is yes. If the electromagnetic field of the Earth reverses, the electric currents will also reverse - in order to compensate. If you put a battery in backwards, the object it is meant to power will not function. Our electrical gadgets will be rendered useless - including batteries, since they too have a polarity. My concern is the nuclear reactors and other modern conveniences ceasing to function at a critical moment.
I have been seeing a date mentioned for this. So far it looks to be only superstitious nonsense. However, it does mention two astronomical events occurring which do so every 26,000 years. Our computer systems, automobiles, electric appliances, and the rest of the global power grid will go down. These phenomena need to be verified and precautions taken. All power, everywhere on Earth will have to be shut down simultaneously to make the proper conversions - or else catastrophe will strike.
So what are we going to do about it?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Problem with Success: The Reasoning Behind the Fear
In my last post I discussed the Fear of Success that is so rampant in our society. It is illogical and unreasonable to fear success since it is naturally equated with happiness and joy. It is also associated with a decrease in insecurity. We measure success often enough with financial security. People who are financially successful have financial security - and don't need to constantly worry about providing a roof over their heads or food to eat. Their basic necessities are not a problem for them. Basic survival is not as big an issue for them as it is for the rest of us peons. This is where the problem - the fear - comes into play - but in a twisted sort of way. It's all psychological.
Most of us little peons - underachievers - watched our parents and other relatives struggle to make ends meet. In effect the term WORK is equated in our psyches as hard, difficult, suffering, painful, the need to sacrifice - or give up - our dreams and doing things we truly need and deeply want to do more than anything else in life - like spending as much time with those we love, fulfilling our dreams - our true callings in life, etc. We are, in effect, trained to give up our lives in order to survive. We give up our quality of life in exchange for - well, life. We need to survive - but in order to do this - we believe that we have no other choice - we must give up that which makes life worth living. It is sad - and backwards thinking. Completely illogical. We therefore are the cause of our own suffering - we perpetuate it by training our children that suffering and sacrifice of what is worthwhile - is just the way things must be. Most of us cannot see any other way to live - because we are not nurtured and trained to do so. We are living contradictions:
Success = happiness + security
Success = work
Work = suffering + sacrifice + misery
Success = suffering + sacrifice + misery
[the first and last lines show the contradiction.]
I believe this proves my point. If one looks at the human psyche as a computer - then this contradiction is a self-perpetuating, self-replicating negative feedback loop. Like a fractal of negativity - or for those religious types - a spiraling fractal of evil - one that we are allowing to continue to wreak havoc on our lives and our world. As if someone or something intentionally set it there and let it run amock - letting humanity run amock - into self-destruction.
Is this something we should allow to continue? I don't think we should. Our very survival and quality of life depends on it.
Until next time... You can always get what you want. Just take the logical steps towards it - even baby steps will do.
If Bill Gates could do it - so can the rest of us.
Most of us little peons - underachievers - watched our parents and other relatives struggle to make ends meet. In effect the term WORK is equated in our psyches as hard, difficult, suffering, painful, the need to sacrifice - or give up - our dreams and doing things we truly need and deeply want to do more than anything else in life - like spending as much time with those we love, fulfilling our dreams - our true callings in life, etc. We are, in effect, trained to give up our lives in order to survive. We give up our quality of life in exchange for - well, life. We need to survive - but in order to do this - we believe that we have no other choice - we must give up that which makes life worth living. It is sad - and backwards thinking. Completely illogical. We therefore are the cause of our own suffering - we perpetuate it by training our children that suffering and sacrifice of what is worthwhile - is just the way things must be. Most of us cannot see any other way to live - because we are not nurtured and trained to do so. We are living contradictions:
Success = happiness + security
Success = work
Work = suffering + sacrifice + misery
Success = suffering + sacrifice + misery
[the first and last lines show the contradiction.]
I believe this proves my point. If one looks at the human psyche as a computer - then this contradiction is a self-perpetuating, self-replicating negative feedback loop. Like a fractal of negativity - or for those religious types - a spiraling fractal of evil - one that we are allowing to continue to wreak havoc on our lives and our world. As if someone or something intentionally set it there and let it run amock - letting humanity run amock - into self-destruction.
Is this something we should allow to continue? I don't think we should. Our very survival and quality of life depends on it.
Until next time... You can always get what you want. Just take the logical steps towards it - even baby steps will do.
If Bill Gates could do it - so can the rest of us.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Self-Destruct Programming: A Society of Underachievers
I mentioned the other day about why I keep putting my research projects on the back burner, so to speak. Well, even though it is a valid excuse - it's still an excuse. Self-sabotage. Apparently, this seems to be all too common among most people and it's hard to understand why. At its essence, it is fear of success which makes no sense at all - and we, especially Americans are way too good at it. I just read about it in Julia Cameron's Walking in this World - one of her Artist's Way books:
"Despite our culture's well-earned reputation for encouraging instant gratification, we are NOT encouraged to act decisively upon our creative desires. We are trained to think about them, doubt them, second-guess them. We are trained, in short, to talk ourselves out of committing..."
This is exactly my situation. I over think, over analyze, and sabotage the most important things I want to do and accomplish. Whether it is a very personal issue or career related, I come up with any and every excuse I can to not do what I want to, need to, and/or have a deep burning desire to do.
I guess it all comes back to my feelings of inadequacy: I feel like I'm not good enough to do this; who the heck do I think I am to believe I can do such things. Growing up, nobody wanted to hear what I had to say - I was told outright to keep my damn mouth shut because nobody wanted nor needed to hear whatever it is I wanted to say. I was told this both at home - where they just ignored me if I did say anything most of the time - and at school - by my peers. So, I was literally taught that my words had no value - and even though it makes no sense, it stays part of one's psyche and wreaks havoc at some point down the line. Barbara Sher mentions this in her books, too. We are just not nurtured or brought up to be successful. It seems that the few who "make it" do so because their parents fought past this illogical and detrimental programming. Basically, the American dream exists but for some bizarre reason, we do not deserve or have a right to it.
So, what am I doing? I am fighting it - every day and in every way I know how to. I keep going to school - keep learning. One message my mother did throw in that seems to help, albeit with difficulty - stay in school, get that degree. In a way I know she was saying - don't give up like the rest of us did - keep at it - no matter what. So I do this, I keep at it, I keep fighting and pushing past the problematical programming. And so far so good, except when those damn problems I mentioned in another post tend to throw me off track. Fortunately, one minor one is officially dealt with. Which will help with several other problems at present. Hopefully, I can get my research moving along soon.
I will post when I have more to say. CIAO!
"Despite our culture's well-earned reputation for encouraging instant gratification, we are NOT encouraged to act decisively upon our creative desires. We are trained to think about them, doubt them, second-guess them. We are trained, in short, to talk ourselves out of committing..."
This is exactly my situation. I over think, over analyze, and sabotage the most important things I want to do and accomplish. Whether it is a very personal issue or career related, I come up with any and every excuse I can to not do what I want to, need to, and/or have a deep burning desire to do.
I guess it all comes back to my feelings of inadequacy: I feel like I'm not good enough to do this; who the heck do I think I am to believe I can do such things. Growing up, nobody wanted to hear what I had to say - I was told outright to keep my damn mouth shut because nobody wanted nor needed to hear whatever it is I wanted to say. I was told this both at home - where they just ignored me if I did say anything most of the time - and at school - by my peers. So, I was literally taught that my words had no value - and even though it makes no sense, it stays part of one's psyche and wreaks havoc at some point down the line. Barbara Sher mentions this in her books, too. We are just not nurtured or brought up to be successful. It seems that the few who "make it" do so because their parents fought past this illogical and detrimental programming. Basically, the American dream exists but for some bizarre reason, we do not deserve or have a right to it.
So, what am I doing? I am fighting it - every day and in every way I know how to. I keep going to school - keep learning. One message my mother did throw in that seems to help, albeit with difficulty - stay in school, get that degree. In a way I know she was saying - don't give up like the rest of us did - keep at it - no matter what. So I do this, I keep at it, I keep fighting and pushing past the problematical programming. And so far so good, except when those damn problems I mentioned in another post tend to throw me off track. Fortunately, one minor one is officially dealt with. Which will help with several other problems at present. Hopefully, I can get my research moving along soon.
I will post when I have more to say. CIAO!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Lichen As Dating Indicator of Post Glacial Sediments
Why is lichen a good determinant of deglaciation? Becasue it is the first organism to inhabit organically barren sediments and rock outcrops. So, by measuring the size of a lichen patch - scientists can determine the timing of glacial retreat, temperature increase, moisture content, and the amount of time it takes for organisms to reinhabit the opening niches. Lichen draws other organisms that eat it. They leave droppings, fertilizing the organically poor soils and making it possible to grow other vegetation - drawing more and a greater variety of animals - etc., etc., etc... I believe, if I recall my biology correctly, that lichens are deposited as spores that are easily carried by the air and wind currents over very long distances.
Just thought I'd put a posting up explaining something that came up in today's class.
Just thought I'd put a posting up explaining something that came up in today's class.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Musings About Stuff
I am currently backlogged with class work among other things due to family issues. However, I have not been idle. I've been reading up on some of the latest scientific discoveries and ideas, and have come to a conclusion a few days ago as to the reason why I keep putting my research projects on the back burner, so to speak. It's because I don't feel ready to actually tackle them as of yet. I could not reason out why this is the case - until very recently. I was waiting to get these last couple classes done, completed, and out of the way - because in my mind, I wouldn't do my research projects any justice unless I could apply all that I am learning.
While taking these classes, most of my time is devoted to the class work and home issues. So, any past attempts by me to get one or another of my research projects off the ground was always met with class deadlines, or day-to-day necesssity issues - which would force me to put the research on hold. Granted, these research projects are extremely important to me - moreso than some of the more minor issues that might need dealt with. But, in the past when I ignored those minor issues in favor of my class work - I would later get blindsided by a much bigger and more extreme problem down the line because that minor issue snowballed into a catastrophe. Sometimes these later problems would be so bad they'd wreak havoc on my classes and grades. This is not a good thing. These minor annoyances can be quite inconvenient and time consuming.
As I said, I have not been idle. I am taking the paleoclimatology class here at Pitt. And something very interesting came up in today's lecture: the series of basic general steps any scientist needs to go through to conduct and complete their research projects. Boy, do I have a lot of work ahead of me - just from the nice list of projects I already have awaiting my attention. That list I made awhile back on this blog was only a partial listing. And new things come up every once in awhile - like the Deccans. Fortunately, that topic can be rolled into the bigger project of the KT Extinction, since it is a viable part of that event. It also looks like I will be taking our Volcanology class at some point in the future. I still also need to work on my GIS and Remote Sensing. I'm still waiting patiently for the Plate Tectonics class to be offered again.
In essence, I have determined that Research Design is my first major step for all of my projects. I will have to break that down into smaller sub-tasks and tackle them as soon as the opportunity arises - which I am hoping will happen very soon - all things considered and accounted for. I am antsy to get on with my work.
Also, something I learned last semester at a technical writing mini-conference: if a scientist does their own research project - even so far as footing the bill themselves, they are highly respected by the rest of the scientific community. It sounds odd, and kind of freaky, but the guy who said it knew what he was talking about. It makes sense, though - in an odd sort of way. Some of the best scientists of the past have done it exactly that way - usuallly because they had no other choice. I have no other choice but to do this research this way. And I do not have enormous sums of money to do it, neither. But it is what I must do.
I guess it also gives the scientist more maneuverability than those given big grant money by big corporations or big governments. In a way, those scientists are owned by those who are paying them their salary. And I wholeheartedly believe that some of them are forced to compromise their professional ethics as scientists to appease their "bosses". Yeah, I just saw I Am Legend a couple of weeks ago - it really makes you think. Some folks want to blame God for bad things like Hurricane Katrina and Global Warming. But, as Will Smith said so very aptly, "God did not do this to us, we did it to ourselves." Sad but all too true!
Until next time... Adios!
While taking these classes, most of my time is devoted to the class work and home issues. So, any past attempts by me to get one or another of my research projects off the ground was always met with class deadlines, or day-to-day necesssity issues - which would force me to put the research on hold. Granted, these research projects are extremely important to me - moreso than some of the more minor issues that might need dealt with. But, in the past when I ignored those minor issues in favor of my class work - I would later get blindsided by a much bigger and more extreme problem down the line because that minor issue snowballed into a catastrophe. Sometimes these later problems would be so bad they'd wreak havoc on my classes and grades. This is not a good thing. These minor annoyances can be quite inconvenient and time consuming.
As I said, I have not been idle. I am taking the paleoclimatology class here at Pitt. And something very interesting came up in today's lecture: the series of basic general steps any scientist needs to go through to conduct and complete their research projects. Boy, do I have a lot of work ahead of me - just from the nice list of projects I already have awaiting my attention. That list I made awhile back on this blog was only a partial listing. And new things come up every once in awhile - like the Deccans. Fortunately, that topic can be rolled into the bigger project of the KT Extinction, since it is a viable part of that event. It also looks like I will be taking our Volcanology class at some point in the future. I still also need to work on my GIS and Remote Sensing. I'm still waiting patiently for the Plate Tectonics class to be offered again.
In essence, I have determined that Research Design is my first major step for all of my projects. I will have to break that down into smaller sub-tasks and tackle them as soon as the opportunity arises - which I am hoping will happen very soon - all things considered and accounted for. I am antsy to get on with my work.
Also, something I learned last semester at a technical writing mini-conference: if a scientist does their own research project - even so far as footing the bill themselves, they are highly respected by the rest of the scientific community. It sounds odd, and kind of freaky, but the guy who said it knew what he was talking about. It makes sense, though - in an odd sort of way. Some of the best scientists of the past have done it exactly that way - usuallly because they had no other choice. I have no other choice but to do this research this way. And I do not have enormous sums of money to do it, neither. But it is what I must do.
I guess it also gives the scientist more maneuverability than those given big grant money by big corporations or big governments. In a way, those scientists are owned by those who are paying them their salary. And I wholeheartedly believe that some of them are forced to compromise their professional ethics as scientists to appease their "bosses". Yeah, I just saw I Am Legend a couple of weeks ago - it really makes you think. Some folks want to blame God for bad things like Hurricane Katrina and Global Warming. But, as Will Smith said so very aptly, "God did not do this to us, we did it to ourselves." Sad but all too true!
Until next time... Adios!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Thermohaline Circulation and Global Warming
As sea ice forms the salt water around it becomes both more saline (saltier) and consequently more dense. This in turn causes it to sink due to gravity. This runs the thermohaline circulation of the world's oceans. Where does this heavier water sink? The North Atlantic Ocean. As I said, this occurs as sea ice is forming.
So, what happens as both sea ice and land bound glacier ice melts? Simple. The ocean water decreases in salinity and density. It sinks more and more slowly as newly melted freshwater flows into the ocean. This also slows and may even stop altogether the thermohaline circulation. Whether it actually reverses entirely is a more extreme situation which is possible and unclear in its implications. Very likely this also forces the location of the sinking saltier water to shift away from the inflowing freshwater.
What can we expect from the slowing and stoppage of this thermohaline circulation? It will obviously alter this circulation of the ocean waters - at least the salt content. Desalination is also a consequence of this influx of freshwater. Harvesting of glacial ice and locating it into man-made reservoirs would have helped ease this problem and likely many others as well. But it seems that those who could most benefit from such a solution are more interested in other matters. I guess the global warming and its after effects is going to be a really big learning experience for us worldwide.
So, what happens as both sea ice and land bound glacier ice melts? Simple. The ocean water decreases in salinity and density. It sinks more and more slowly as newly melted freshwater flows into the ocean. This also slows and may even stop altogether the thermohaline circulation. Whether it actually reverses entirely is a more extreme situation which is possible and unclear in its implications. Very likely this also forces the location of the sinking saltier water to shift away from the inflowing freshwater.
What can we expect from the slowing and stoppage of this thermohaline circulation? It will obviously alter this circulation of the ocean waters - at least the salt content. Desalination is also a consequence of this influx of freshwater. Harvesting of glacial ice and locating it into man-made reservoirs would have helped ease this problem and likely many others as well. But it seems that those who could most benefit from such a solution are more interested in other matters. I guess the global warming and its after effects is going to be a really big learning experience for us worldwide.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
No Isostatic Rebound for Us
Isostatic rebound is unlikely to happen because the vast majority of the land bound ice is already melted in the Arctic. Sea ice is all that's left. I was under the impression that there was still a great deal of land bound ice. I was wrong. Other than permafrost and Greenland, we're literally going under. A great deal more of the remaining sea ice will likely melt away by the end of this summer. If there were still land glaciers up north putting pressure on the North American continental plate, then isostatic rebound might have been likely. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen.
Unexpected happenings are holding me back on much of my research and other scientific interests. At least I am getting some other necessary tasks done and out of the way while I wait for these happenings to pass. This will open up more free time later for further science stuff. Until my next post...Tally ho!
Unexpected happenings are holding me back on much of my research and other scientific interests. At least I am getting some other necessary tasks done and out of the way while I wait for these happenings to pass. This will open up more free time later for further science stuff. Until my next post...Tally ho!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Nuclear Energy is NOT Green
I recently read an article about how many folks are arguing for nuclear power to fix the global warming issue. Since when is nuclear energy clean and Earth friendly?! It is hazardous to our health and deadly dangerous. I guess contaminating the planet with radioactive particles is preferable to upping the gas mileage on vehicles. The greenhouse gases are naturally occurring and the planet and its environment can compensate - though inconveniently for us. The earth cannot do the same with radioactive materials.
We can do a great deal of research and come up with other energy sources. In fact, the research is already being done. Wind power, solar power, geothermal, etc. Nobody can monopolize the wind, sun, or Earth. It all comes down to two things - laziness and greed. The people of Earth are too damn lazy to do what they KNOW will help alleviate the global warming problem. They just don't want to be bothered.
There are SUV's out there that are hybrids. Why don't I see more folks driving them - especially given the tax breaks we get for the extra cost?! More people could ride public transportation. Of course, except in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where greedy politicians cut the service. I'm sure they are getting some sort of kickback for stabbing their voters in the backs.
We vote jerks into office who care nothing about this planet and prove it. But still, we continue to renew their leases on their positions. They are public servants and they are not doing their jobs and can be fired - but we're too lazy to do that. We're too damn lazy to do what we know must be done. So we doom our future generations to live and die in a radioactive wasteland.
We can do a great deal of research and come up with other energy sources. In fact, the research is already being done. Wind power, solar power, geothermal, etc. Nobody can monopolize the wind, sun, or Earth. It all comes down to two things - laziness and greed. The people of Earth are too damn lazy to do what they KNOW will help alleviate the global warming problem. They just don't want to be bothered.
There are SUV's out there that are hybrids. Why don't I see more folks driving them - especially given the tax breaks we get for the extra cost?! More people could ride public transportation. Of course, except in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where greedy politicians cut the service. I'm sure they are getting some sort of kickback for stabbing their voters in the backs.
We vote jerks into office who care nothing about this planet and prove it. But still, we continue to renew their leases on their positions. They are public servants and they are not doing their jobs and can be fired - but we're too lazy to do that. We're too damn lazy to do what we know must be done. So we doom our future generations to live and die in a radioactive wasteland.
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