The mainstream media of science has, in general, circled the wagons with respect to ClimateGate – they are, without significant exception that I'm aware of, uniformly credulous of the IPCC report and dismissive of the rather obvious misbehavior of the scientists exposed in ClimateGate. One by one, I've been deciding not to renew my subscriptions to these magazines; I'm now more confident of information I (very carefully) get on the web. Most recently I've decided not to renew my subscription to Scientific American, which I've taken continuously since 1973. The only remaining science publication I subscribe to is Science News, which (so far) has basically remained out of the debate, while reporting the actual news on all fronts.
I haven't subscribed to Science for many years, but their recent editorial has been all over the intertubes. Willis Eschenbach does a nice takedown of it.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Book Review: The Price of Glory...
Written by Alistair Horne, The Price of Glory is an eminently readable history of the horrifying Battle of Verdun in 1916, during the first World War. The perspective of the narrator rambles over almost every possible position, often deliberately contrasting perspectives within a few sentences of each other. For instance, in describing the battle for Fort Douaumont, the narrative flips freely from the perspective of the German attacker to the French defender, then from a front-line soldier to the battalion commander and then to the commanding general and even the politicians. Horne is adept at weaving all these perspectives into a story that gives the reader a much deeper appreciation of the entire event.
And what an event! Even before I read this book, I'd read enough about WWI to make the word “Verdun” unusually evocative of the horror of war. After reading this book, I have the same deeply horrified feeling one has after reading one of Edgar Allen Poe's novels – with the additional frisson of knowing that Verdun really happened. And, one can't help but think, might possibly happen again...
Highly recommended reading for anyone with even the slightest interest in World War I...
Link to Amazon: The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916
And what an event! Even before I read this book, I'd read enough about WWI to make the word “Verdun” unusually evocative of the horror of war. After reading this book, I have the same deeply horrified feeling one has after reading one of Edgar Allen Poe's novels – with the additional frisson of knowing that Verdun really happened. And, one can't help but think, might possibly happen again...
Highly recommended reading for anyone with even the slightest interest in World War I...
Link to Amazon: The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916
Batteries, Dogs, and Other Nighttime Terrors...
So last night I stayed up late finishing an excellent book (more on that in a moment), knowing that on Saturday morning I could sleep in 'till 6 am or so. Debbie is away at a dog agility event with Miki and Race (our two rambunctious younger dogs), leaving me with Lea (12 years old) and Mo'i (9 years old). Both dogs stretched out luxuriously on the bed. By 10 pm or so we were all snoring.
Until about 4:05 am, that is. At that moment, in the hallway just outside our bedroom door, the fire alarm decided that its battery had reached the end of its lifetime. I'm sure you know what that meant: at precisely 60 second intervals, an ear-splitting “chirp!” erupted.
This had three immediate effects: I woke up, Mo'i leapt straight up and then ran out looking for the source of the evil noise, and Lea started shivering with an energy that must be experienced to be believed. Lea is absolutely terrified by loud, sudden noises (thunder, gun shots, fireworks, and fire alarms all qualify). Her reaction is to instantly start shivering violently – if you hold her tightly, it feels like she's wiggling back and forth with all the power she can muster, several times per second. It's so powerful a motion that it's actually a little frightening – you wonder how her flesh can hold up.
So of course, half asleep, half blind without my glasses and in the pitch dark, I have to get up and fix the danged fire alarm. I don't dare simply pull out the old battery, because it might be months before I remember to replace it. So I stumble out to the kitchen to find a new battery (bashing two toes and an elbow in the process), then into the livingroom to find a stool to stand on (bashing my face into the wall in the process), then triumphantly carry the stool and battery into the hallway. Somehow in the darkness I managed to tangle my legs around the stool and I tripped – hurtling the battery a few miles as I fell, and making a satisfying “thud” with the side of my head as I acquainted myself intimately with the floor.
After a couple of minutes I could see the darkness again (after the flashing stars disappeared). Back into the kitchen. Found another battery. Back to the hall, on my hands and knees to reduce the amount of potential energy should I stumble again. Found the stool, astonishingly still in one piece. Put the stool in the proper place, clambered onto it, and successfully removed the old battery. Dropped the new battery. Carefully descended the stool and searched until I found the new battery. Back onto the stool, replaced the battery, and slithered back down and back into bed.
A couple hours later, sunshine streaming into the window woke me up. The first thing I did was to gingerly touch the various parts of my body that had been rudely smashed a couple hours earlier – everything seemed to be in the right place, and at least approximately of normal size, so apparently the injuries weren't as bad as the associated pain would indicate. A quick check in the mirror: no blood, no bruises. Amazing! Then out to the hallway where I located the stool and the old, used battery – but I still haven't found the first new battery that went flying as I fell. I'm not at all certain it's still on my property, much less inside my house. I looked for telltale holes in the furniture and walls, but found nothing. Maybe it vaporized upon impact, or maybe it's in orbit...
Until about 4:05 am, that is. At that moment, in the hallway just outside our bedroom door, the fire alarm decided that its battery had reached the end of its lifetime. I'm sure you know what that meant: at precisely 60 second intervals, an ear-splitting “chirp!” erupted.
This had three immediate effects: I woke up, Mo'i leapt straight up and then ran out looking for the source of the evil noise, and Lea started shivering with an energy that must be experienced to be believed. Lea is absolutely terrified by loud, sudden noises (thunder, gun shots, fireworks, and fire alarms all qualify). Her reaction is to instantly start shivering violently – if you hold her tightly, it feels like she's wiggling back and forth with all the power she can muster, several times per second. It's so powerful a motion that it's actually a little frightening – you wonder how her flesh can hold up.
So of course, half asleep, half blind without my glasses and in the pitch dark, I have to get up and fix the danged fire alarm. I don't dare simply pull out the old battery, because it might be months before I remember to replace it. So I stumble out to the kitchen to find a new battery (bashing two toes and an elbow in the process), then into the livingroom to find a stool to stand on (bashing my face into the wall in the process), then triumphantly carry the stool and battery into the hallway. Somehow in the darkness I managed to tangle my legs around the stool and I tripped – hurtling the battery a few miles as I fell, and making a satisfying “thud” with the side of my head as I acquainted myself intimately with the floor.
After a couple of minutes I could see the darkness again (after the flashing stars disappeared). Back into the kitchen. Found another battery. Back to the hall, on my hands and knees to reduce the amount of potential energy should I stumble again. Found the stool, astonishingly still in one piece. Put the stool in the proper place, clambered onto it, and successfully removed the old battery. Dropped the new battery. Carefully descended the stool and searched until I found the new battery. Back onto the stool, replaced the battery, and slithered back down and back into bed.
A couple hours later, sunshine streaming into the window woke me up. The first thing I did was to gingerly touch the various parts of my body that had been rudely smashed a couple hours earlier – everything seemed to be in the right place, and at least approximately of normal size, so apparently the injuries weren't as bad as the associated pain would indicate. A quick check in the mirror: no blood, no bruises. Amazing! Then out to the hallway where I located the stool and the old, used battery – but I still haven't found the first new battery that went flying as I fell. I'm not at all certain it's still on my property, much less inside my house. I looked for telltale holes in the furniture and walls, but found nothing. Maybe it vaporized upon impact, or maybe it's in orbit...
Jamul Casino Update...
And the bad news (if you're Lakes Entertainment) keeps on pouring in.
If you happen to be opposed to the Jamul Casino (as I am), this is great news!
The layman's summary: Lakes Entertainment had to acknowledge an additional $1.5 million in losses for the past quarter. Given that their total operating expenses outside of such losses were $3.2 million, that's a significant number – their CFO must be looking forward to the day when they've completely written off their investment in the Jamul Casino. I don't have a balance sheet, and I haven't tabulated the ongoing stream of losses – but I think they must be within a year or so of zeroing out that account.
Unless the Jamul Indian Tribe secures other financing somehow, the casino project looks pretty much moribund...
If you happen to be opposed to the Jamul Casino (as I am), this is great news!
The layman's summary: Lakes Entertainment had to acknowledge an additional $1.5 million in losses for the past quarter. Given that their total operating expenses outside of such losses were $3.2 million, that's a significant number – their CFO must be looking forward to the day when they've completely written off their investment in the Jamul Casino. I don't have a balance sheet, and I haven't tabulated the ongoing stream of losses – but I think they must be within a year or so of zeroing out that account.
Unless the Jamul Indian Tribe secures other financing somehow, the casino project looks pretty much moribund...
Feynman on Scientific Integrity...
Years ago I read and enjoyed a commencement speech by physicist Richard Feynman (one of my personal heroes). It was really about the importance of integrity in science, but in Feynman's clever style it contained references to the “cargo cult” of some Pacific islanders, rats running in mazes, Millikan's famous oil-drop experiment measuring the charge of an electron and more. I remembered that reading this speech, I thought it was the best essay on scientific integrity I'd ever read.
Thinking about the ClimateGate controversy reminded me of Feynman's speech – the behavior of the scientists involved would have made a great addition to the examples of bad science that Feynman used. So I went looking for it with Google, and quickly found it by searching for “cargo cult” and “Millikan”.
I enjoyed re-reading it just as much as I enjoyed it the first time. Here's a transcript of Feynman's 1974 CalTech commencement speech...
Thinking about the ClimateGate controversy reminded me of Feynman's speech – the behavior of the scientists involved would have made a great addition to the examples of bad science that Feynman used. So I went looking for it with Google, and quickly found it by searching for “cargo cult” and “Millikan”.
I enjoyed re-reading it just as much as I enjoyed it the first time. Here's a transcript of Feynman's 1974 CalTech commencement speech...
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