I want one!

Mashable reports on what may be the simplest, safest personal 'submarine' yet.

Why is this called a semi-submarine? The entire boat is not submerged, but it’s more like a pontoon boat with a transparent waterproof compartment hanging from its middle.




That means James Cameron is not going to be using one of these subs for that deep-water shoot for his Avatar sequel, but it’s still suitable for giving you an eye-popping view of the undersea world. Think of it as more akin to snorkeling than scuba diving.




The little boat cruises along at a leisurely sightseeing pace that’s unspecified by its maker, which will only say that its batteries will last eight hours at cruising speed or four hours at top speed.

There's more at the link, including several more photographs.

That looks like all sorts of fun! Imagine having someone fishing from the top deck, while passengers watched the fish being reeled in from below; or cruising over a shallow reef, able to look down and see all the marine life in dry comfort.

On the other hand, towing that thing on a trailer, or launching it from the average boat ramp, is going to be a problem and a half . . .



Peter

You'd better be hungry to try this!

I've heard of - even seen - some of the monster dinners offered by a few US restaurants. Typical is the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, offering its 72-ounce (4½ pound) steak, which is free if you eat the whole thing (including side dishes) within one hour, in accordance with the rules.




The speed record for eating this monster steak is held by "a 500-pound Bengal Tiger owned by Benjamin Heiple of Florida. His meal was limited to the steak only and he dined in the front of the building. The technique was the simplest we've ever seen: sniff, lick, gulp! It took him less than 90 seconds."

There's also Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, with its 6-pound "Olde 96'er" burger, featuring "6 pounds of meat, one large onion, two whole tomatoes, one half head of lettuce, 1 1/4 pounds of cheese, top and bottom buns, and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish, banana peppers and some pickles".




If you finish it (plus the side dishes) within 3 hours, you get it free, and your picture goes on the restaurant's Wall of Fame. (I daresay you also go to hospital shortly thereafter - for a heart transplant!)

Now it seems an English restaurant wants to get in on the act. The Daily Mail reports:

This might make you feel sick just looking at it... especially if you are a vegetarian!

For here is a plate of meat that has over twice the recommended daily intake for a grown man.

And you are supposed to eat all 5,300 calories - or 3lbs - of it in one sitting, if you can.

If you do finish the 'If You Dare Grill', you'll be given a T-shirt... and a free dessert!




The plate comes with the full rack of ribs, the steak, an 8oz gammon steak, two lamb chops, two pork loin chops, four home-made sausages, two eggs, two pineapple rings, four onion rings, four mushrooms, a grilled tomato, coleslaw and chips.

Restaurant owner Andrew Danniells [shown above] insisted it is all about having fun.

He said: 'I smoke but could that cause a heart attack? They say red wine is bad for you too. Red meat is good for you and if someone wants to eat all that, it is going to be a big bloke anyway.

'We are ordering the T-shirts in extra large and above as if someone is not that size when they sit down to eat, they certainly will be afterwards!'

There's more at the link.

Y'know, looking at those pictures, suddenly I'm not hungry any more . . .





Peter

Unions, politicians, and the people

I'm growing more and more frustrated by the stupidity of the current conflict between trades unions and several State governments. It seems to me that both sides are adopting intransigent positions, refusing to look reality in the face.

Wisconsin is the bellwether state in this matter. I don't think the unions there have a leg to stand on, quite frankly. The present Republican majority and the new Governor actively campaigned - and were elected - on a promise to rein in union benefits and contracts, and prevent the unions from dictating terms to the State in future. They're doing precisely what they were elected to do. If the unions don't like it, they should complain to the people of Wisconsin, who voted for the program currently being implemented. I don't think the people are going to be very receptive to the unions, especially not the teachers' unions - not after today's news.

In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009 - the latest year available - only 32 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned a 'proficient' rating while another 2 percent earned an 'advanced' rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below 'proficient', including 44 percent who earned a rating of 'basic' and 22 percent who earned a rating of 'below basic'.

The test also showed that the reading abilities of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders had not improved at all between 1998 and 2009 despite a significant inflation-adjusted increase in the amount of money Wisconsin public schools spent per pupil each year.

In 1998, according to the U.S. Department of Education, Wisconsin public school eighth graders scored an average of 266 out of 500 on the NAEP reading test. In 2009, Wisconsin public school eighth graders once again scored an average of 266 out of 500 on the NAEP reading test. Meanwhile, Wisconsin public schools increased their per pupil expenditures from $4,956 per pupil in 1998 to 10,791 per pupil in 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator the $4,956 Wisconsin spent per pupil in 1998 dollars equaled $6,546 in 2008 dollars. That means that from 1998 to 2008, Wisconsin public schools increased their per pupil spending by $4,245 in real terms yet did not add a single point to the reading scores of their eighth graders and still could lift only one-third of their eighth graders to at least a 'proficient' level in reading.

The $10,791 that Wisconsin spent per pupil in its public elementary and secondary schools in fiscal year 2008 was more than any other state in the Midwest.

There's more at the link. Bold print is my emphasis.

That increase in spending was directed almost exclusively to the salaries and benefits of teachers, obtained for them by hard-line union bargaining . . . yet there's been no increase in the quality of education in the state. If that's the case, why are they paying their teachers more money? I'm sure many of the voters in Wisconsin would love to hear the unions' answer to that question.

However, I'm not happy that the GOP in Wisconsin appears to be using the present crisis to try to include measures that I regard as undemocratic and fatally flawed. For example, via Earthbound Misfit and Gin And Tacos, we learn that the proposed legislation includes profoundly flawed clauses such as this:

16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state-owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).

What the hell? How can it possibly be in the people's interest to authorize a department of state government to sell major public assets without any oversight, and give it the authority to determine for itself that the sale is 'in the best interest of the state'? That could effectively let them sell the assets for a bargain price to a political ally of the GOP, and get away with it, legally speaking. Sorry - that doesn't pass the 'smell test'. If I wouldn't want my political opponents passing such a law, why should it be any more acceptable for 'my' side to pass it?

The situation in states other than Wisconsin isn't so clear-cut. I agree with the governor of Indiana that present moves by the Republican-controlled legislature to rein in union rights there are not necessarily appropriate. Please note, I don't disagree with the principle, but the voters haven't had a chance to approve it yet. The Indy Star points out:

Today’s fight was triggered by Republicans pushing a bill that would bar unions and companies from negotiating a contract that requires non-union members to kick-in fees for representation. It’s become the latest in what is becoming a national fight over Republican attempts to eliminate or limit collective bargaining.

Gov. Mitch Daniels had warned his party late last year against pursuing so-called 'right to work' legislation. While he agreed with it philosophically, he said it was a big issue that needed a state-wide debate and noted no Republican had run on this in the November election.

Again, more at the link. Bold print is my emphasis.

I agree with Governor Daniels. If any party wants to introduce such far-reaching legislation, let it be because they have a mandate to do so from the voters. Many of us bitched and moaned because Obamacare was passed despite massive voter opposition, and without any mandate for it. If that was unacceptable to us, we shouldn't try to ramrod 'our' legislation through on the same basis. Let the people approve it by electing those they know will pass it - or by electing others, if they disapprove.

Trouble is, the local issues are being subsumed in national causes. As the Wall Street Journal reports:

Republican and Democratic leaders and strategists appear to be relishing the broadening fight over labor unions, feeling it is energizing their core supporters and clarifying key differences between the two parties.

Democrats claim the fight has injected fresh energy into the ranks of labor unions, which are a major supplier of campaign money and volunteers for Democratic candidates. Republicans say the showdowns show they are the ones willing to make tough decisions to cut government spending and take on entrenched powers.

The various clashes over union benefits and clout hold implications for the 2012 elections as they spread to Indiana, Ohio and other presidential swing states.

Many of the potential GOP presidential candidates, including Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty and Alaska's Sarah Palin, have backed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and criticized President Barack Obama for taking the side of the public-sector unions.

The AFL-CIO has seized on the Wisconsin protests to energize labor activism across the country. Union organizers say they are planning rallies and protests in dozens of state capitals this week as they scramble to tap into a surge of anger over the Wisconsin bill.

Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the nation's largest public-sector union, said the moves in various state capitals to target state employees were an explicit effort to undermine a key source of Democratic funds.

"They know how much we spent in the last campaign," he said. "They're going to try and shoot us down."

. . .

Officials from both parties agreed the Wisconsin fight was freighted with consequence. But some also acknowledge that it was unclear so far which side the public would back.

. . .

The national stakes for both political parties in Wisconsin itself are particularly high. Mr. Obama won the state by a wide margin in 2008, as every successful Democratic presidential candidate has since John F. Kennedy.

But Wisconsin turned sharply to the right in last year's election. If the current budget battle redounds to the Republican's favor, that could weaken Mr. Obama's odds in the state next year, and even his chances for re-election.

More at the link.

I think that fiscal conservatism and financial common sense are what the voters of America want right now. I hope those holding elected office will deliver what they want. If they would refrain from scoring cheap points off one another in the process, that would be great . . . but that's probably a futile hope.

*Sigh*

Peter

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson again

We've encountered Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson here before, speaking about UFO's, aliens, and the end of the world (not!) in 2012. He's one of my favorite 'characters' on the Internet, and I'd love to hear him speak in person one day. His sense of humor tickles my funny-bone!

I came across this video clip of him answering 10 questions from readers of Time magazine. I found it fascinating, and thought you might enjoy it too.

What an interesting man! Definitely someone I want to meet one day.

Peter

Has another World War II atrocity been uncovered?

The Guardian reports:

Authorities in Japan have begun excavating the former site of a medical school that may contain the remains of victims of the country's wartime biological warfare programme.

The school has links to Unit 731, a branch of the imperial Japanese army that conducted lethal experiments on prisoners as part of efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Memorial plaque at site of Unit 731 facilities in Harbin, China
(image courtesy of Wikipedia)

. . .

Experts believe that if the excavation yields physical evidence that Japan conducted experiments on live humans, the government would face pressure to discuss the country's wartime conduct. "If bones or organs with traces of live medical experiments are found, the government would have to admit a wartime medical crime," said Yasushi Torii, head of a group that has been investigating the case for decades. "This is a start, although we will probably need more evidence to prove Unit 731's involvement."

Ishii, 88, broke her 61-year silence in 2006, claiming that she and colleagues had been ordered to bury numerous corpses, bones and body parts in the grounds following Japan's surrender in August 1945.

. . .

The site in Tokyo's Shinjuku district is close to another where the mass graves of dozens of people who may have been victims of wartime experiments was uncovered in 1989.

Investigators concluded, however, that the remains, which included skulls with holes drilled through them or sections removed, were not connected to Unit 731 and that there was no evidence of criminal activity.

The health ministry concluded that the remains were those of non-Japanese Asians that had been used in "medical education" or recovered from war zones for analysis in Japan.

Unit 731, based in Harbin in northern China, conducted experiments on tens of thousands of mostly Chinese and Korean prisoners, and a small number of Allied prisoners of war. Some historians estimate up to 250,000 people were subjected to experiments. The remains of some are thought to have been transported from China to Tokyo for analysis.

According to historical accounts, male and female prisoners, named "logs" by their torturers, were subjected to vivisection without anaesthesia after they had been deliberately infected with diseases such as typhus and cholera. Some had limbs amputated or organs removed.

Leading members of the unit were secretly granted immunity from prosecution in return for giving US occupation forces access to years of biological warfare research. Some went on to occupy prestigious positions in the pharmaceutical industry, health ministry and academia.

. . .

In 2004, a Chinese survivor described to the Guardian how his home on Zhejiang province, south-east China, had been attacked by plague-inflected fleas dropped by Japanese occupation forces. Records show that hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians were infected with the plague and other diseases.

. . .

But some former members of Unit 731 have come forward to discuss the past. They include Akira Makino, a former doctor who in 2006 said he had been ordered to conduct experiments on condemned men while stationed on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

There's more at the link. An Internet search for Unit 731 atrocities will lead you to much more information, but be warned - a great deal of it is graphic, gruesome and ghastly! It's not for the faint of heart.

To me, one of the most shameful and inexcusable acts of the victorious Allies after World War II was to fail to prosecute many German and Japanese war criminals, on the grounds that their knowledge - gained at such horrendous human cost - was important to the Allies. It was believed that in order to persuade the perpetrators of these hideous crimes to freely share what they had learned, they would have to be given immunity. Some were allegedly brought to the United States and given new identities here.

There are many who have never forgiven the Japanese for their barbarity and cruelty to other races and nations. My own father found it very difficult. He was bound for Singapore in 1941, aboard a troop convoy. Very fortunately for him, he was taken off the convoy in Durban, South Africa, to help the South African Air Force with a technical problem (he was a Royal Air Force engineer officer). All those who sailed with him, including many of his friends, ended up as prisoners of the Japanese a few months later. Only about a third came home again at the end of the war. The rest died due to maltreatment and deliberate starvation. He found that impossible to forget, and very, very hard to forgive. I'm not sure that he ever fully succeeded in doing so.

The Japanese nation has avoided discussion of wartime atrocities. I hope this latest 'discovery' can be verified, if only because such physical evidence might possibly make some of the more nationalistic Japanese realize that their perspective on their country's past is wrong. However, I'm sure there will be many others who'll never admit that.

May all those who suffered and died under such atrocities, rest in peace.

Peter

Another very interesting look at the music industry

Last month I cited an English study, and concluded, 'Methinks the music industry doth protest too much!' Now a Business Insider study of the US music industry makes me wonder whether they get it at all. Here's a short excerpt.

Turns out that, somewhat unsurprisingly, the recording industry makes almost all their money from full-length albums.

Equally unsurprising, no one is buying full albums any more.




That’s just over 1 album per person per year now, and only 0.25 downloaded albums per year.

. . .

What Does The Future Hold?

Let’s dig deeper into those precious few newer sources of revenue, all of which were at zero in 2003.




Downloaded albums & singles have grown nicely, but we’ve already established that is not nearly enough to offset the loss of the physical equivalents.

Mobile, which includes 'Master Ringtunes, Ringbacks, Music Videos, Full Length Downloads, and Other Mobile', hit its peak in 2007 and has actually been in decline the past 2 years. Looks like the death of the ringtone - and possibly the birth of the iPhone?

Subscriptions - presumably Rhapsody, Zune Pass, and the like - have also drifted downward the past 2 years.

To reiterate what I was very surprised to find: two of the big new areas, mobile and subscriptions, appear to both already be in decline.

That only leaves internet & satellite radio - Pandora, etc - and others that pay via SoundExchange. It had a good uptick since 2007, but that’s when they negotiated royalty rates for online broadcasters. Even if they maintain some solid growth, it still adds up to a pittance.

Looks like the smaller and shrinking recorded music industry is here to stay.

There's more at the link, including lots more graphical representations of music industry data. It makes very interesting reading.

This is a wonderful example of how technology can change, not just a market, but an entire industry. I'm sure many are familiar with the oft-quoted example of the 'buggy whip industry'. Other examples would include newspapers and the railway industry, as the New Yorker pointed out a few years ago:

Newspaper readership has been slowly dropping for decades - as a percentage of the population, newspapers have about half as many subscribers as they did four decades ago - but the Internet helped turn that slow puncture into a blowout. Papers now seem to be the equivalent of the railroads at the start of the twentieth century - a once-great business eclipsed by a new technology. In a famous 1960 article called 'Marketing Myopia', Theodore Levitt held up the railroads as a quintessential example of companies’ inability to adapt to changing circumstances. Levitt argued that a focus on products rather than on customers led the companies to misunderstand their core business. Had the bosses realized that they were in the transportation business, rather than the railroad business, they could have moved into trucking and air transport, rather than letting other companies dominate. By extension, many argue that if newspapers had understood they were in the information business, rather than the print business, they would have adapted more quickly and more successfully to the Net.

There's more at the link. If you're interested, Theodore Levitt revisited the concept of Marketing Myopia in a short 2004 article. It's also worth reading.

It seems to me that the music industry is running around in circles, trying to make consumers buy their product in the way - and in the quantities - that they did before, while refusing to accept that advances in technology - and consumer adoption of that technology en masse - have changed their market forever.

This is not a good way to survive and prosper.

Peter

I can hear Big Brother's footsteps coming down the hall again . . .

I'm infuriated by this news report from England.

At the age of three, most children will want to grow up to be a train driver, astronaut or princess.

But according to scientists, some toddlers are already destined for a life of crime.

Disturbing evidence has emerged that the psychological seeds of a criminal career can be seen before they even reach nursery school.

Abnormalities in the parts of the brain that handle emotions, guilt and fear are far more common in criminals than in law-abiding members of society, it shows.

It is unclear whether these abnormalities are genetic, the result of upbringing or both - but they can be measured at a surprisingly tender age.

The finding means youngsters could potentially be screened to see if they are at risk - and then ‘treated’ to prevent criminal behaviour.

. . .

Professor Raine, who now works at the University of Pennsylvania, studied brain scans of prisoners.

He found that murderers who kill in the heat of the moment are more likely to have a poorly functioning prefrontal cortex - which deals with reasoning and helps suppress base instincts.

Psychopaths who lack remorse, guilt or empathy tend to have smaller amygdalas - a region that handles all three emotions, he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

. . .

‘It raises the question to what extent should we develop new biological interventions to reduce crime,’ Professor Raine said.

There's more at the link. Bold print is my emphasis.

The problem is, those characteristics aren't confined to those who develop criminal traits. As a (medically retired) prison chaplain, I've had many discussions about the 'nature versus nurture' argument. There are those who claim that criminals are 'manufactured' through their family and/or social backgrounds (the 'nurture' argument), while others believe they're born that way ('nature'). What both sides fail to grasp is that there are many people born with identical physical characteristics, or who come from similar social settings, who do not become criminals. It's not a question of predisposition or circumstance; it's a matter of choice.

However, many simply don't want to accept this. They truly want to believe that everyone would be a saint, if only they'd had better opportunities, or hadn't been afflicted by some physical problem that 'made them that way', or . . . oh, hell, you get the picture. They don't want to face reality. They're far more comfortable living with (and in) their illusions - until real life slaps them in the face. If they're lucky enough to survive the experience, some of them will learn. Others will persist in their delusions, because to change would be to admit that they'd been wrong. They cannot and will not do that. It's impossible for them.

Can't you just see the 'Big Brother' or 'nanny state' types salivating over this?

"We've got to identify everyone with these characteristics, and treat them at once, to prevent them becoming criminals! It's for the chiiiiil-dren!"

The fact that it has nothing to do with the children, but everything to do with controlling others (which is their secret wet dream), won't be mentioned at all. They truly believe that if they can control everyone, and dictate what they may or may not do, and 'treat' those who won't co-operate until they conform, the world will be a better place. The fact that this defies the reality of human nature is completely lost on them.

I think that, somewhere up there, the shades of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell are smiling grimly to themselves . . .





Peter

James Randi's at it again!

I like James Randi. The 'father of skepticism', as he's been called, has made a career of using science and fact to debunk all sorts of outlandish claims by pseudo-sciences and bogus quackery.

He's questioned the claims of homeopathy before, as we've reported on this blog. Now he's come out with a new video challenge, complete with assistance from dozens of other sceptics. The Los Angeles Times reports:

In an online video, Randi consumed an overdose of homeopathic sleeping pills to demonstrate that they have no effect, and skeptics elsewhere consumed large overdoses of other homeopathic drugs in similar demonstrations. Randi also offered $1 million of his own money to any manufacturer of a homeopathic product who could prove that the product actually worked as claimed, and challenged major retailers like CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens to remove the products from their shelves.

"Consumers have the right to know what they are buying," he said. "No one should walk out of a drugstore with a homeopathic product without knowing these basic facts: There is no credible evidence that the product does what it says. There is not one bit -- not a single atom -- of the claimed 'active ingredient' in the package, and no U.S. health agency has tested or approved the product."

There's more at the link.

Here's Randi's video challenge.

There's nothing like putting your money where your mouth is, to prove your sincerity: and Randi's backing up his words with a million dollars of his own hard-earned cash. I'd say if the homeopathic industry doesn't take up his challenge, it'll be thoroughly discredited . . . but then, that's the whole idea, isn't it?

Peter

EDITED TO ADD: I've had a couple of e-mails from homeopathy users, accusing me (and Mr. Randi) of bias because we don't 'believe' in it. To answer them, here's the original video I posted in my earlier article on the subject. I think it does a very adequate job of debunking homeopathy's claims.

When 'green' isn't very 'green' after all!

I'm amused to find that the 'eco-friendly' reusable cloth shopping bags touted by some as a more environmentally responsible alternative to plastic shopping bags . . . aren't.

Cotton bags offered by many supermarkets may be less 'green' than plastic carriers - and may cause more global warming, according to scientists.

As a greater amount of energy goes into making a cloth carrier than a polythene one, a cotton bag has to be used 131 times before it has the same environmental impact than its plastic counterpart

And if a plastic bag is re-used as a bin liner, a cotton bag has to be used 173 times - nearly every day of the year - before its ecological impact is as low as a plastic bag on a host of factors including greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime.

But most of us only use the bags around 51 times before they are thrown away, researchers found.

Paper bags - used by some clothes chains such as Primark - need to be used three times to fall below the environmental impact of the thin plastic carrier, while bags for life - made of stronger plastic - have to be used four times to start having less ecological impact.

The government sponsored research, 'Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags' by Dr Chris Edwards and Jonna Meyhoff Fry looked at the environmental impact of six different types of bags.

Although completed in 2008, it has not yet been published, with plastic bag makers claiming the findings have been suppressed - although the Environment Agency said it is awaiting 'peer review' - checks by other scientists.

There's more at the link.

It's typical, isn't it? There are huge campaigns to convince us of the need to avoid certain things 'for the good of the environment' . . . then it turns out that the 'eco-friendly' alternative is worse than the original problem! This brouhaha over shopping bags is only one example. There's compact fluorescent light bulbs, which are supposed to last much longer and consume much less electricity than old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs - but turn out to have significant environmental issues which render them a less than satisfactory alternative. There's ethanol as a fuel additive, allegedly reducing the amount of oil needing to be extracted and refined - but which also renders automotive gasoline less efficient, and has many undesirable side effects economically, environmentally and overall. The list goes on and on . . .

I'm beginning to wonder whether any claim by the eco-weenies should be automatically distrusted until it's been independently tested and proven. It seems to be the only way to find out for sure whether or not they're talking through their (environmentally friendly, woven of natural-growth straw) hats!





Peter

Doofus Of The Day #447

Today's winners are two workmen from Florence, Alabama.

Scott Raymond Burgert, 45, and Bradley Thomas Jones, 40, both of Florence, are charged with first-degree theft of property and trafficking marijuana, Florence Police Chief Rick Singleton told the Florence Times Daily.

Burgert and Jones were part of a larger building crew that was refurbishing the police station's first floor.

The two were given the task of installing an exhaust fan from the evidence vault - Which Chief Singleton said was needed to extract 'fumes' emanating from confiscated drugs stored there.

The large amount of marijuana, from a 2004 case, was scheduled for disposal and was on a top shelf in the evidence vault.

It was stored in four compressed packages in a cardboard box.

It proved too much of a temptation for Burgert and Jones, according to police documents.

Chief Singleton said: 'The marijuana was removed a little at a time, over a period of three days, by the two men.'

. . .

The theft was discovered Tuesday and an investigation was immediately started.

Because a department employee was nearby during the entire renovation process, it was not long before suspicions fell on the two men tasked with installing the exhaust system.

Chief Singleton said: 'After we got information on who was believed to have been involved, we got a warrant and then executed the warrants at the residences.'

Burgert was arrested on Wednesday night, and Jones was arrested early Thursday.

During a search of their two homes, police allege about four pounds of what is believed to be the stolen marijuana was recovered.

The marijuana, because of its age and condition, only had about a $10,000 street value, according to the Lauderdale Drug Task Force. Some of the marijuana recovered was so old it was mouldy, according to investigators.

There's more at the link.

Just how dumb do you have to be to remove logged-in evidence from a police station, and expect it not to be missed? And how much dumber to steal old, stale, almost unusable drugs!



Peter

Saving HMS Ark Royal?

I'm intrigued by a suggestion that the former flagship of the Royal Navy, the small aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, may be saved from the scrapyard after all. The Daily Mail reports:

Ark Royal could be saved from the scrapheap under plans to turn it into a heliport.

The Royal Navy aircraft carrier, axed in last October’s defence cuts and due to be decommissioned next month, could be based on the Thames by May 2012.

HMS Ark Royal in Grand Harbor, Malta (image courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

The 693ft vessel would be manned by around 150 former servicemen, for whom it would be both a home and a job, and would cater for City workers, police helicopters and London’s air ambulance.

Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, the head of the Navy, said the move could safeguard the future of the carrier, and the Ministry of Defence confirmed it was considering the plan.

HMS Ark Royal at sea (image courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

Currently in Portsmouth, the ship would be moored in the Royal Docks near City Airport to comply with noise-pollution rules.

It would give the capital a second much-needed heliport. The other is in Battersea.

There's more at the link.

I like this idea a whole lot, for a number of reasons. It'll save an iconic ship; it'll provide jobs for veterans; and it'll provide a useful facility in a location where there's no land to spare to build a heliport ashore. Looks like a series of wins all round - and I can't see a downside.

I note that a similar idea was floated (you should pardon the expression) in New York back in 1995. That doesn't seem to have come to fruition, but perhaps this one will.

Peter

Cats, birds and shipping

I enjoyed these three advertisements for courier company DHL.

Peter

More than you ever wanted to know about toilet design!

I was intrigued to read an article about the problems faced by hotels in getting their toilets to perform reliably.

That perfect pot -- or "bowly grail," if you will -- was found in something called the Champion 4, made by American Standard, a toilet so powerful it can supposedly flush 18 golf balls, 38 rubber tubes, 16 water wigglers and 40 feet of tissue without getting clogged.

According to James Walsh, American Standard's vice president and general manager of consumer fixtures, the Champion 4 proves that not all low-flow toilets do a crappy job.

"The first generation of low-flow toilets had such poor performance that they left many people under the impression they weren't, pardon the expression, worth a 'crap,' " said Walsh, whose knowledge of the inner workings of toilets has led some of his co-workers to call him "Professor Toilet."

Clogged toilets have increasingly been a problem ever since toilets were mandated to flow 1.6 gallons per minute from 3.5 gallons a minute about 15 years ago.

"Toilets in the U.S. work like siphons," Walsh said. "Once the toilet gets flowing, it pulls everything down. Early on in the days of low-flowing toilets, the only way to get the flow going was to reduce the size of the trap, which is the opening between the tank down into the pipe."

Walsh and company have eliminated the problem of clogs by increasing the size of the trap, or outlet; increasing the size of the flush valve from the standard 2 inches to 4; and changing the bowl design to get more flow going.

But how they test those toilets can make some people lose the lunch they lost when they went to the bathroom.

"We test toilets with miso paste," he said, describing a soy paste used in Japanese cooking that is close to the consistency of human defecation. "We use up to 400 grams [about 14 ounces] at one time, while the average amount of human waste I think is about 250 grams [8 ounces].

The miso paste is used in a variety of ways to simulate real human waste, which Walsh divides into three categories: sinkers, floaters and semi-floaters.

"We test it like this to figure out how to keep the bowl clean, because you don't want -- how should I put it? -- skid marks," he said.

Although various products, including corn cobs, pencil shavings and rubber tubes, are put into the pot, Walsh says pingpong balls are actually the best test of a toilet.

"Pingpong balls float, so if you can flush them, you know you have a good flow," he said.

But it was the golf balls that sold Loews on the Champion 4, and Senechal believes a good toilet flow can lead to a good cash flow.

The hotel chain usually only updates its plumbing every 10 to 12 years, but it was so flushed with excitement about the elimination of clogged toilets that it is starting to install the super-commodes in its 18 properties six years earlier than normal.

There's more at the link.

Having suffered through the vicissitudes of many low-flow toilets that didn't want to dispose of debris at all, I'm pleased that someone's getting the design right at last! However, I'm not sure I want to know more about the 'water wigglers' used to test it. They sound somewhat obscene! And as for the golf balls . . . it sounds like golf ball divers are going to have to cross-train for a rather more demanding diving job!





Peter

A new Panama Canal - without the canal?

I was interested to read that China and Colombia are talking to each other about a new transport route across central America. The BBC reports:

The proposed transport route is intended to promote the flow of goods between Asia and Latin America.

The plan is to create a "dry canal" where the Pacific port of Buenaventura would be linked by rail, across Colombia, to the Atlantic Coast.

Trade between Colombia and China has increased from $10m in 1980 to more than $5bn last year.

The announcement came from the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, who told the Financial Times that the project was "a real proposal... and it is quite advanced".

There's more at the link.

This proposal has a whole lot of interesting - albeit unspoken - implications. First, what will it mean for FARC and the drug cartels? They've been fighting the Colombian government for decades. I don't think China will take kindly to attempts to 'tax' their railroad project, the way the narco-terrorists have done to local businesses and international companies for years. In fact, China might go so far as to provide its own security force - whether staffed by locals or Chinese is irrelevant at this stage - to protect its interests, and/or assist Government forces with weapons, training, etc. That might be very bad news indeed for local criminals, because China's likely to be a lot less sensitive about 'human rights' than the USA or its surrogates.

Second, the railway is apparently to run from the area of Buenaventura, on the Pacific coast, to a new port near Cartagena on the Atlantic coast, as shown in the map below.

The direct line between Buenaventura and Cartagena
(Map courtesy of the Nations Online Project)

The route runs through many natural obstacles (not least of which is disease!). It might be rather more difficult - not to mention expensive - to construct the railway through such terrain than might be apparent at first.

Of course, there's another obstacle . . . China's gung-ho, profit-oriented businessmen are about to be introduced to the well-known South American concept of 'manana'. That might just derail the whole project before it starts!





Peter

Painted trees???

The good people at the always-interesting Dark Roasted Blend have just published an article about an artist, Curtis Killorn.

Curtis tells us about his art: "I paint dead trees in bright colors in the mountains of Colorado as public art.




"Nature is already so beautiful and full of such depth and grace... and it is NOT my intention to mask or enhance it in any way. Much in the way that we paint each other's skin out in the desert, the intention is bring out the beauty which is already there.




"I have a 'thing' for trees and see the relationship between humans and trees to be an ever evolving idea which continues to inspire. The trees that I paint are long dead and weathered by hundreds of years. What I do is bring 'life' back to the tree in a completely new way. This tree which was once dead is now vibrantly alive to be noticed by all, no longer blending in with all the other dead trees."

There's more at the link, including many more photographs; and more can be found at the artist's Web site. I'm not sure I go along with his philosophy of life, but his work is certainly interesting! Recommended viewing.

Peter

Two different visions of State government

In a very interesting five-part series, journalist Mark Hemingway analyzes the different approaches to government found in Texas and California. In the first, he posits:

Among the states, it has become clear there are two competing visions of political economy in America, embodied by California and Texas. One vision involves the economic devastation that comes of an overregulated economy. The other reveals the prosperity unleashed by smaller government.

Broadly speaking, the two states have many similarities. They have diverse economies, large urban areas, a border with Mexico and similar demographic make-up, with Hispanics a third of the population. Yet one state is failing and one state is succeeding.

California is facing budget shortfalls in excess of $20 billion each year for the next five years, and acquires $25 million in new debt each day. "We’ve been living in fantasy land. It is much worse than I thought. I’m shocked," then California Gov.-elect Jerry Brown, D, told the Los Angeles Times.

By contrast, when Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, campaigned successfully for a third term this year, he ran ads touting the fact that his state has billions in surplus. In fact, Texas was one of only six states that did not run a budget deficit in 2009.

The five articles are:

1. Texas booms while California busts
2. California divides taxpayer money among its politicians
3. California taxes away jobs while Texas adds them
4. California's environmental regulations cause economic blackout
5. California unions stand in the way of a Texas-sized success
   

In the light of what's going on in Wisconsin at the moment, these articles are very timely, and make interesting reading. Recommended.

Peter

Is sumo sexy enough to sell cars?

I'm a bit mind-boggled by the decision of Subaru's Canadian operation to use Sumo wrestlers in 'sexy' poses to sell the 2011-model Forester SUV. Here's their advertisement.

I can't help recalling the famous 'Where's The Beef?' advertisement (which you can see on YouTube, if you missed it). This advertisement's less about 'beef' and more about 'beefcake', I guess . . . and you'll have no trouble finding the lard!





Peter

A centuries-old beer may be brewed again

In July and November last year, I reported that some very old champagne - the oldest ever recovered - had been found aboard a shipwreck deep beneath the Baltic Sea. Apparently it was still drinkable, and some bottles may be auctioned for as much as $135,000 apiece.

However, that wasn't the only alcoholic 'treasure' recovered from the wreck. The BBC reports:

The salvaging operation to bring up 145 champagne bottles - since determined to include vintages from Heidseck, Veuve Clicquot and Juglar - had one casualty: a bottle that burst open at the surface, revealing itself to be beer.

The brew has already been sampled by four professional beer tasters.

"They said that it did taste very old, which is no surprise, with some burnt notes. But it was quite acidic - which could mean there's been some fermenting going on in the bottle and with time it's become acid," said Annika Wilhelmson of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT).

VTT has now been commissioned to get to the bottom of the sunken beer's recipe.

"We're going to try to see if we can find any living yeast or other microbial cells, because that would be very interesting with respect to reproducing the beer," Dr Wilhelmson explained.

. . .

Pinning down which hops have been used on the basis of further chemical analysis may be difficult, Dr Wilhelmson added, meaning that reviving the 200-year-old brew for modern drinkers may prove difficult.

"Whatever we analyse, we're going to have to do a lot of interpreting," she said. "We need to analyse what it is today and start thinking about what it was like when it was made - when it was fresh, because it clearly isn't fresh now."

There's more at the link. VTT have released this video clip of their researchers working on one of the bottles of beer.

I'd certainly be interested to sample a beer recipe that's more than two centuries old. One reads about how much stronger beer was then, and I'd like to find out for myself. (So, I'm sure, would the home-beer-brewing Atomic Nerds! We'll have to see if they can get the recipe in time to prepare a case or two for the next Blogorado . . . )



Peter

'Metal' music explained, in all its genres

Patrick Galbraith of VENUSfir Web and Graphic Design in Australia, and 'metal historian' Nick Grant, have produced an interesting and very useful Web site for fans of metal music in all its forms. They call it 'Map Of Metal'.

It's a remarkable graphic musical journey. Here's a screenshot of the opening page (click the image for a larger view).




It begins with the category 'Heavy Metal', then spreads out over a fictional map to show every possible variation on the theme, every genre and sub-genre, and every way in which metal music has evolved. You can navigate around the large-scale map by moving a 'window' in a small-scale map in the top right corner (circled in yellow in the image above).

Each variation or genre of metal music is described in a few paragraphs, and samples of music from that genre are linked in a sidebar. The details are found by clicking on an icon next to the name - two samples are circled in red in the image above. A player automatically cycles through the music samples, unless you pause it.

The site uses Flash, and is very graphics-intensive (for obvious reasons!), which I don't particularly appreciate, given how long it takes to download (it would be almost unusable without a high-speed connection). Nevertheless, if you're into metal music of any description, this site is an indispensable source of information: a map of where your favorite genre came from, how it developed, and what sub-genres were spun off from it. You'll also be introduced to some genres you've probably never heard of, and some music samples that will be new to you. I certainly was! I can see myself spending hours there over the next few weeks, catching up on music I'd never encountered before.

Congratulations to Messrs. Galbraith and Grant on what must have been not only a labor of love, but a heck of a lot of work! They've done a great job on Map Of Metal.

Peter

A must-see rally film: "50 Years Sideways"

In a comment to my post two days ago, embedding two video clips of the 'best' rally crashes of 2010, reader skreidle linked to a video on YouTube: '50 Years Sideways'. It's a fascinating documentary about the past 50-odd years of rally racing. I remember many of the names it mentions from the 1970's and 1980's, when I followed motorsports rather more closely than I do now.

I won't embed it here, because it's 1½ hours long, and I'm sure you have better things to do than spend that time locked in here! However, if you're a rally enthusiast, be sure to go to YouTube and bookmark it for watching at your leisure. It's worth your time.

Thanks, skreidle, for posting the link. Very enjoyable!

Peter

EDITED TO ADD: The original link is dead, but here's another one that works (for now).