Hampton Roads Publishing Company Blog

Again, as usual, California leads the way. This from the Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-warming28aug28,1,7815153.story?coll=la-news-politics-california

A couple of things hit me in this story. (1) Jerry Brown may have been at least partly responsible for this development, another example of his creative and positive use of government and (2) notice that San Bernadino County has two million people!! One county! Pretty unbelievable, to me.

San Bernardino County to waive fees for solar, wind systems

The program is an effort to join the move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

By Sara Lin, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 28, 2007

Environmentally friendly developers and homeowners in San Bernardino County could start seeing green — and saving money — thanks to initiatives announced Monday by county supervisors.

Under a four-part plan unveiled by board Chairman Paul Biane that is expected to be approved by the Board of Supervisors today, the county will waive building permit fees for homeowners installing solar and wind-generated energy systems and expedite applications from developers whose projects meet certain green-building criteria.

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First, the moon framed in the arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from the Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/tonights-eclipse-faces-sydneys-light-pollution/2007/08/27/1188067034497.html

Then, a story from the Melbourne Herald sun http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22325020-661,00.html

Moon viewers see red

August 29, 2007 12:00am

IT was a blood red moon . . . as Australians packed observation points tonight for a rare lunar eclipse.

The eclipse started at 6.51pm with the Earth shadow blocking light travelling from the sun to the moon’s surface and it will remain full until 9.23pm.

While the eclipse is full the moon appears blood red because only the red component of sunlight is diffracted around the Earth onto its surface.

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Afriend sent me this review (http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20070823/NEWS04/708230303/-1/xmlnews) of a recent Dave Brubeck concert in Santa Rosa, California. My brother went to that concert and said that several hours later he was still flying. I had his “Time Out” album when I was a kid and even though i am more or less musically illiterate I can still remember some of those cuts, like Blue Rondo A La Turk, and of course Take Five. A remarkable life and talent, Brubeck’s.

Time for Brubeck

At 86, iconic innovator of modern jazz just keeps on ticking

By DAN TAYLOR
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Chatting with jazz piano icon Dave Brubeck plays out much the same way as listening to one of his solos.

He’ll state his premise plainly, with deceptive simplicity, and then he’ll revisit it, adding a phrase or nuance. At age 86, the composer/musician has replaced some of his earlier fervor with a shrewd, steady certainty.

“I worked harder when I was younger,” Brubeck concedes. “I could sometimes work two or three days with practically no sleep, and not even stop to eat. I don’t do that anymore.”

If that sounds like retirement, don’t believe it. After more than six decades as a musical innovator, Brubeck still writes and records new work. His newest CD, “Indian Summer,” came out earlier this month.

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from http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/aug/24/2

They don’t yet understand what it is they’re’ seeing and doing (in my opinion) but they’re beginning to realize that there’s more to OBE reports than mere delusion. Of course, as usual so far they’re saying “these phenomena exist but they are only….” I wish I had a nickel for every time I have read of a scientist explaining away something by saying “it’s only.” That’s called reductionism and no new understandings are to be found that way.

Scientists develop technique to induce out-of-body experiences

· Breakthrough could be used in remote surgery
· Virtual reality games may also be improved

Alok Jha, science correspondent

Scientists have induced the age-old phenomenon of out-of-body experiences in healthy volunteers for the first time.

The technique, which uses a virtual-reality-style set up of cameras linked to a head-mounted video display, will help researchers understand how the brain assimilates sensory information to determine the position of its body.

The technique could also improve virtual reality games and remote surgery by creating the illusion that a person is somewhere other than in their own body.

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So it’s goodbye to the smiling fascist.

It was a disgrace that he was ever appointed or confirmed, and another that he has never been called to task for his unbelievable record in his tenure in office.

Of course, that doesn’t even mention the one who appointed him, and those behind the one who appointed him.

And presumably with this lightning-rod gone, it will all be forgive and forget (and our constitutional rights will remain shredded) and a replacement will be named and all will go on, merrily downhill.

If you don’t see handwriting on the wall, perhaps you need a new prescription.

This, via urbansurvival.com, from The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/radmacher/wb/wb/xp-128574.

Could America be the next Rome?

By Dan Radmacher

Is the United States on the same fateful trajectory as another great republic: Rome? David Walker, comptroller general of the United States, makes a compelling argument that the nation is headed down the same path as that long-extinct empire.

In a speech earlier this month to the Federal Midwest Human Resources Council and the Chicago Federal Executive Board, Walker — head of the Government Accountability Office — warns of the similarities between Rome prior to its fall and the United States today:

“The Roman Republic fell for many reasons, but three reasons are worth remembering: declining moral values and political civility at home, an overconfident and overextended military in foreign lands, and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government.”

Walker’s focus has been almost entirely on the third factor. “Simply stated, America is on a path toward an explosion of debt. And that indebtedness threatens our country’s, our children’s and our grandchildren’s futures. With the looming retirement of the baby boomers, spiraling health care costs, plummeting savings rates and increasing reliance on foreign lenders, we face unprecedented fiscal risks.”

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This from the Times (London) Onlne: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2284349.ece

Scientists hail ‘frozen smoke’ as material that will change world

A MIRACLE material for the 21st century could protect your home against bomb blasts, mop up oil spillages and even help man to fly to Mars.

Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.

Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from the next generation of tennis rackets to super-insulated space suits for a manned mission to Mars.

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Akeena Solar Technician David Brady installs solar panels in Sunnyvale. (MARIA J. AVILA - MERCURY NEWS)

Solar permit fees fall in Bay Area
CITIES, COUNTIES ACROSS REGION CUT RATES TO SPUR CONVERSIONS
By Paul Rogers
Mercury News
Article Launched: 08/19/2007 01:55:39 AM PDT

Across the Bay Area, when it comes to solar power, red tape has largely been replaced by the red carpet.

In the nearly two years since environmentalists first started noting the wildly varying permit fees that cities charge homeowners seeking to harness the sun’s power, the eye-opening push appears to be paying off: From Silicon Valley to the North Bay’s bucolic wine country, dozens of cities are falling all over themselves to make it easier for residents to put up the panels.

Why? It might be from a genuine desire to reduce smog and global warming. Or maybe that local politicians are worried about looking out-of-step with Bay Area voters who blend a passion for green politics with a love for high-tech solutions.

Whatever the reason, consider:

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From PC World by way of George Ure’s UrbanSurvival.com website. For hyperlinks to the various programs, go to the original article at http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135732/article.html

14 Great Programs You Didn’t Even Know You Needed

With these programs, you can eliminate a lot of annoying Windows limitations, and enhance your computing fun cheaply–or even for free.

Ron White

Sunday, August 12, 2007 11:00 PM PDT

It’s the little things that frustrate. You know how it goes when you try to make a picture stay on the wall. You place it against the wall and remove your hands … ever … so … carefully … and the picture goes crashing to the floor! You’d think that someone would come up with–oh, I don’t know–a little metal stick that’s sharp on one end. You could then use a rock–or, no, better yet, a heavy piece of metal with, say, a handle–to hit the little stick of metal so it goes partway into the wall. Then you could hang your picture on the piece of metal, and, voilá, a picture that won’t fall every time gravity kicks in.

Okay, that was a little silly, I know. But not as silly as some computer users get when they endure the same tiresome annoyances and petty, repetitious tasks because they don’t know that something better lies just over the next download. They assume that what they have is as good as it gets.

But when it comes to computing, there’s always a better way. In fact, I have 14 better ways for you: 14 great programs you didn’t even know you needed–and needed desperately. Some will have a major impact on the way you compute. Others are one-trick ponies. But oh, such clever tricks!

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Speaking of climate change — this report on the far-reaching changes that a new look at old data can sometimes provide reminds me that a friend speculates that 17 years of extensive nuclear testing (1945 through 1963) produced fallout that may have reduced global temperatures slightly. I wonder if anybody has ever investigated the effect.

From the Schwartzreport for Saturday, August 18. Originally from http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/16/climate_update/

An Inconvenient Update

LUCY SHERRIFF - The Register

Last week, statistician and amateur meteorologist Steve McIntyre notified NASA of an error in its climate data. The results of the hasty correction mean that as far as the US is concerned, 1998 is no longer the hottest year on record. 1934 is.

Headline-grabbing statements that nine out of ten of the hottest years on record were in the last decade are no longer correct, for the US, at least (bad news for Mr Gore, certainly). And those who remain sceptical about the nature of the link between human activity and global warming were delighted, as the Goddard Institute for Space Studies had to quietly admit the mistake (http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/) and publish corrected data.

But what does this mean for the rest of us? What was the glitch? Where was the miscalculation? And do we need to check our data? Can we all hop into our Humvees and barrel around town, untroubled by our carbon emissions?

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