tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64974203902768310592024-03-08T11:33:57.502+00:00Not that SaneDouble takes on an irrational world (
<a href="http://not-that-sane.blogspot.com/2007/04/few-years-later.html">
first post
</a>)Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.comBlogger989125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-49595971434025955442016-07-04T23:15:00.001+00:002022-08-31T21:30:01.772+00:00Technical posts on social mediaFor a long time, I used to blog here on eclectic topics, and use the <a href="http://blog.nssl.noaa.gov/wdssii/">WDSS-II Blog</a> for work-related posts but when I joined Climate Corporation, blogging pretty much stopped -- it was unclear what I could write about and what I couldn't. The only blog post I ended up writing was on Climate's Engineering blog (<a href="https://eng.climate.com/2016/01/07/nexrad-crada-aws/">Big Data, Cloud and NOAA's CRADA with AWS</a>) and even this involved lengthy legal approval. Incidentally, years after I left NSSL, I notice that mine was the last post, and months after I left Climate, I notice that my team's posts are the last posts.<br />
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At Google, too, my first instinct was to write a programming-related post on the Google Cloud Platform Big Data blog (<a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/big-data/2016/05/how-to-forecast-demand-with-google-bigquery-public-datasets-and-tensorflow">How to forecast demand using Google BigQuery, public datasets, and TensorFlow</a>) but it seemed out of place amidst product and launch announcements.<br />
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That's when I looked around to see what my media-savvy colleagues were up-to. Based on this, I diversified in two ways.<br />
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First was into video series. For example, I scripted the idea and wrote the code that underlies this episode (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-7aCMa-1jU">Querying across big and small datasets using Google BigQuery and Sheets</a>). Video might be the wave of the future -- 2400 views in a matter of days is amazing. As you can see from my description, though, videos require teams -- scripting, recording, animation, etc. It is definitely more work than simply writing code and text.<br />
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The other option is to publish on <a href="https://medium.com/@lakshmanok">medium </a>-- it's individually driven like a typical blog post, but technical posts are not out-of-place. Also, there is a community of Google Developer Advocates on there to publicize the posts. So, I signed up and published my first medium post this weekend:<br />
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<a href="https://medium.com/google-cloud/popular-java-projects-on-github-that-could-use-some-help-analyzed-using-bigquery-and-dataflow-dbd5753827f4#.u4r7upr1e">Open-source Java Projects that could use some help (analyzed using Dataflow and BigQuery)</a><br />
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For good measure, I tweeted it too:<br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/lak_gcp/status/749793936999215104">Which open-source Java projects could use your help [tweet]</a><br />
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Together, this seems to be a good strategy.<br />
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Follow me on YouTube, <a href="https://medium.com/@lakshmanok">Medium </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/lak_luster">Twitter</a>.Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-36261705061779555002016-05-23T01:57:00.001+00:002016-05-23T01:57:51.993+00:00Bridge over jet lagMy recipe to fight jet lag has always been to adjust on the plane to the timezone that I'm flying into. So, if I'm going to be landing at night, I'll stay awake in the flight, and if I'm arriving in the afternoon, I'll sleep intermittently so that I can go to bed at a decent hour.<br />
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Early morning arrivals are hard, however. It requires me to sleep non-stop on the plane, and even multiple glasses of wine can't do that for me.<br />
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So, my backup is that when I arrive early in the morning, I try to be out-and-about the whole day so that my circadian clock gets back in sync.<br />
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My bridge blog has the details of <a href="https://bridgemishaps.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/cunning-with-bad-trump-split.html">how I fought the jet lag</a> this time.Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-83677238670838511232015-05-06T06:41:00.004+00:002015-05-06T06:41:38.337+00:00Ian McEwan, bridge and restricted choice<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345803450/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0345803450&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20&linkId=5GXDBVQ3TS43SMUC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0345803450&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=notthatsane0d-20" /></a><br />
I am reading Ian McEwan's novel <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/books/review/sweet-tooth-by-ian-mcewan.html?_r=0">"The Sweet Tooth"</a> and was surprised to see an excellent explanation of a complex logic puzzle in it. And even more surprised when the author shows off by building a slightly-wrong vignette based on the puzzle, and a better vignette that corrects the problem.<br />
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My respect for Mr. McEwan has gone up several fold now. Full details in <a href="http://bridgemishaps.blogspot.com/2015/05/ian-mcewan-explains-restricted-choice.html">my bridge blog</a> (don't worry you should understand almost all of it).<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-25105552886459785492015-03-14T18:48:00.001+00:002015-03-25T22:33:39.124+00:00Purple RadarIf you were driving along Robinson St. in Norman today, you'd see a purple radar dome.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOK0iZGQLLRXjfY3HlBjDBGM65-nqIsCqufZuyuv1uuxEgFCSMW8ZX7uVbY9aPK2pjyPxcyr_Yj86bdtVztEgUVR6OGCZ7rC6PjXwy9bLhFyAx0LDH3PX1AGKqUiQwBC7wRrmaYvH0cHm/s1600/purplepar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOK0iZGQLLRXjfY3HlBjDBGM65-nqIsCqufZuyuv1uuxEgFCSMW8ZX7uVbY9aPK2pjyPxcyr_Yj86bdtVztEgUVR6OGCZ7rC6PjXwy9bLhFyAx0LDH3PX1AGKqUiQwBC7wRrmaYvH0cHm/s1600/purplepar.png" /></a></div>
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My former colleagues at OU/NSSL got together and painted the phased array radar (PAR) purple in honor of a key PAR scientist who is going through cancer treatment right now. As someone remarked on Facebook, there's a lot of love in that picture.<br />
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On a week when OU is in the national news because of a group of fraternity boys <a href="http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2015/03/ou-frat-sings-about-hanging-nggers-from-trees-video/">singing songs</a> about niggers hanging from trees, the purple radar reminds me of the thoughtfulness and camaraderie that I associate with my nearly 20 years in Oklahoma.Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-24533580720046509692015-02-17T05:44:00.001+00:002015-02-17T05:44:49.705+00:00Swastikas on the wall of a Hindu temple<p dir="ltr"><u>Apparently</u> <a href="http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2015/02/police-are-investigating-hate-graffiti-left-at-hindu-temple-in-bothell/?syndication=rss">someone</a> painted a hateful symbol on the wall of the Seattle area Hindu temple.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The ironic thing is that the graffiti in question was a swastika. Swastikas were of course Hindu symbols long before Hitler got hold of it. Even though the Nazi symbol is a mirror image of the Hindu swastika, many Hindu temples in America use the Hindi letter for Om in order to avoid any misunderstanding.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If caught, a smart lawyer could probably plead the symbol was not meant in a harmful way and that the swastika was drawn on a wall where it was quite apt. Hope however that the graffiti artist was drawing in da Vinci code.</p>
Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-58525913880857596392015-02-03T03:24:00.004+00:002015-02-03T03:25:21.300+00:00Three-commute dayToday, I commuted to work twice. Huh?<br />
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My usual commute is to ride the bike (at 6.45 am) to a freeway station and catch an express bus to Seattle. At about 7.10am, I got a call from home. The wife could not find the car keys.<br />
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Turns out I had been even less sharp than usual this morning when I left for work. I had left home with both set of car keys, one in each jeans pocket. Mine and the wife's.<br />
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In the mornings, the express routes and the bus lines are all oriented towards getting to downtown. Coming back is another matter altogether. Luckily there was a bus at 7.25am that stopped somewhat in the vicinity of home. So, I took that bus, bicycled home, returned the car keys and caught the next bus back to the city. I was back at work at 8.40 am. Not bad for two roundtrips on public transit.<br />
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The funny thing? Because all my bus rides were within 2 hours of the start of my journey, the remaining 3 trips all counted as "transfers" and all four journeys together cost $3.00.<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-31018589816180575562015-01-17T18:46:00.001+00:002015-01-17T18:46:27.238+00:00Cranks make testable predictionsWorking in severe weather, I have gotten used to getting the occassional email from cranks, even ones with credentials that make you want to take them seriously. For example, a couple of years ago, I was pestered repeatedly by a professor of civil engineering at a well-known university. He claimed to be able to predict the path of tornadoes based on terrain, and it was all I could do to deter him from coming to Norman to talk to our group. <br />
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And of course, there was the infamous physics professor who <a href="http://time.com/17021/physicist-claims-giant-walls-could-stop-tornadoes-in-midwest/">wanted to build a wall</a> in the Great Plains forgetting that there are mountain ranges that high in the Midwest that do nothing to stop 'em twisters.<br />
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But the email I got today was a first. The crank makes a testable prediction:<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.1999988555908px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We , at Swami Hardas Foundation, India, have developed a super advanced calamity forecast technology, which is capable of forecasting calamities much ahead of other technologies. The following are our latest likely predictions :</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Severe storm at eastern Alabama likely around 26<sup>th</sup> January, 2015</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mount Fuji , Japan is likely to start spewing lava during the last week of March,2015. There may be emission of smoke, debris etc during the weeks prior to it.</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.1999988555908px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in;">
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Since when have cranks started making testable predictions? Since severe storms are more prevalent in Alabama starting in March, this is not a climatological prediction. And while there have been a few small earthquakes near Fuji, and the Japanese have evacuation plans in place, there is no heightened state of alarm.<br />
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<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-85821235336631059992015-01-02T18:34:00.001+00:002015-01-02T18:40:36.551+00:00Controlling her spiritThe kids and I are playing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W7JWUA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000W7JWUA&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20&linkId=KDJWG7QBI4DA2G4Q">The Settlers of Catan</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=notthatsane0d-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000W7JWUA" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
. The daughter is winning and has 9 points (10 to win), but the son is close behind and will probably get a longer road, thus reducing her to 7 points on the next turn.<br />
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She is about to pass the die off to me, when I suggest that she look again at her hand. "Why don't you use your 2:1 port to convert some of your cards," I ask her, "and upgrade one of your houses to a settlement?". She doesn't quite get it. "What does that mean?," she asks.<br />
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At which point, the son interjects: "Because she doesn't want to, Appa. Don't control her spirit."<br />
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p.s. You may have noticed that my blogging frequency has reduced. This appears to be a side-effect of working in the private sector -- I am reluctant to post anything that is even tangentially related to work, and that obviously cuts down on what I can post. The <a href="http://bridgemishaps.blogspot.com/">bridge blog</a> continues apace of course, because there is nothing there to self-censor.<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-1382106306795697022014-09-20T18:08:00.003+00:002014-09-20T18:24:51.640+00:00Cycling over the lakeUSA today came out with one of their lists of best places to live. Among all cities (without looking at slicing and dicing them into midsize cities, etc.) Newton, MA and Bellevue, WA took the top two spots. My experience with Newton has been limited to <a href="http://bridgemishaps.blogspot.com/2014/03/conventions-are-never-simple.html">playing bridge </a>at the Jewish community center there, so I don't know much about Newton, but having lived in Bellevue for three weeks, I consider myself an expert on what makes the area cool. <br />
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My work is in downtown Seattle but we chose to live in Bellevue after extensive research because it has both great schools and convenient public transport into the city. I'll talk about the schools another day; today, I'll talk about bicycling. Having lived and bicycled in Oklahoma, the difference is stark.<br />
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Most days, I bicycle to an express bus stop (5 minutes) and then take the bus into the city (20 minutes in the morning, 30 minutes on the way back). Had I taken a car, it would take 40 minutes to get there and an hour to get back. Not to mention ... I'd pay $11 for parking most days and up to $125/day when there are events going on .<br />
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On days when I can plan it out, I can bicycle all the way home, forgoing the bus altogether. The bicycle path runs along the interstate and over the lake. This is what my bicycle commute looks like:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftXxUHQmPRiYmfyvVJOK0AHMHHYwRl6RAGIzMtWFUyGqghK8DNaHQ83w0uOuFPfZal5yYSzaqfkmuEP6ER3Xta9Aj1CDOHFy-CYBAzCh1mdN2GSrxdRa9P6ZALOJsfRhhHZtcF44blqVZ/s1600/IMG_20140919_173557607_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftXxUHQmPRiYmfyvVJOK0AHMHHYwRl6RAGIzMtWFUyGqghK8DNaHQ83w0uOuFPfZal5yYSzaqfkmuEP6ER3Xta9Aj1CDOHFy-CYBAzCh1mdN2GSrxdRa9P6ZALOJsfRhhHZtcF44blqVZ/s1600/IMG_20140919_173557607_HDR.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Leaving work in downtown Seattle: notice that the line is marked for bicycles, and note the space that the car gives the bicyclists at the traffic signal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_FZ4gc3EfJe1UMfDfP74gKUtDqcSB6PfCdm2up8-mQxEG1yn1I5kpvF635d-P1c1idd-al1_EIs60zjKehuACNGytMrWlwtGXPqiAV_54Ea7tTQ0xerXbji3TsVq3tdaELG4kIyj8DNA/s1600/IMG_20140919_174421276_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_FZ4gc3EfJe1UMfDfP74gKUtDqcSB6PfCdm2up8-mQxEG1yn1I5kpvF635d-P1c1idd-al1_EIs60zjKehuACNGytMrWlwtGXPqiAV_54Ea7tTQ0xerXbji3TsVq3tdaELG4kIyj8DNA/s1600/IMG_20140919_174421276_HDR.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a> Near 12th and Jackson at the south edge of the city, just before getting on the Mountains-to-Sound trail.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrCvFzpkVCEQXI1f-0Fg2mTY62DpmRTmsArmNraRStIyQqZCDiU1up2m_MU-Ep6TZ9w2hwr49AeTHaEO7WUhRU62ieH0gQgEis3HqivwXBDh9afGtCIsvu5P2KGYfjF1waA0Pg1rogEOI/s1600/IMG_20140919_174553098_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrCvFzpkVCEQXI1f-0Fg2mTY62DpmRTmsArmNraRStIyQqZCDiU1up2m_MU-Ep6TZ9w2hwr49AeTHaEO7WUhRU62ieH0gQgEis3HqivwXBDh9afGtCIsvu5P2KGYfjF1waA0Pg1rogEOI/s1600/IMG_20140919_174553098_HDR.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>The start of the trail.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzrKgfraIuaAox2k_w5jf4q51HZ25rE6Y13d2kbZ7u7VT1mGfvUbn3e0XNmcNYJcBFp_3agOtEwb-v1ipfmDBhk2AmHuJ2NQlm2QunMtCWJ27onYc9V3c3i7wiyEn4bcMcbrOl4nQeZZJ/s1600/IMG_20140919_174747405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfzrKgfraIuaAox2k_w5jf4q51HZ25rE6Y13d2kbZ7u7VT1mGfvUbn3e0XNmcNYJcBFp_3agOtEwb-v1ipfmDBhk2AmHuJ2NQlm2QunMtCWJ27onYc9V3c3i7wiyEn4bcMcbrOl4nQeZZJ/s1600/IMG_20140919_174747405.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>The trail runs through a neighborhood that is a sister city to Daejeon, S. Korea</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_9itLBSLlV7t5DcD1hPCnuWW3NYKOEgGRq1HJFXc3uY5Eaq97celUjGG9CFjDegOqgKg9HmPe8_VLcEgSW4269q-2KB4RvoVQJ03NVctq6GQhyphenhyphen_AFrrL3pBunpmwx4HUCLsh2bzZWaMx/s1600/IMG_20140919_174931706_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_9itLBSLlV7t5DcD1hPCnuWW3NYKOEgGRq1HJFXc3uY5Eaq97celUjGG9CFjDegOqgKg9HmPe8_VLcEgSW4269q-2KB4RvoVQJ03NVctq6GQhyphenhyphen_AFrrL3pBunpmwx4HUCLsh2bzZWaMx/s1600/IMG_20140919_174931706_HDR.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>About to join I-90, the bike trail becomes fenced in on both sides.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BEHLy1Jh9Ry9dMlLucl4oifo1SZoWNTAr7ahJJNxJO04KjO7qwMnjuFDhcPMlcA0WX6-KzfjD13O-xixypWJZFvqw7Rf5zUHFOfL01lrOWQ_zFTZl16S_ly4u7NiEDRjJ1W2ux6biGq3/s1600/IMG_20140919_175104617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BEHLy1Jh9Ry9dMlLucl4oifo1SZoWNTAr7ahJJNxJO04KjO7qwMnjuFDhcPMlcA0WX6-KzfjD13O-xixypWJZFvqw7Rf5zUHFOfL01lrOWQ_zFTZl16S_ly4u7NiEDRjJ1W2ux6biGq3/s1600/IMG_20140919_175104617.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Joining I-90</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimJqxeACnwYbYtVS7x91suOSBEWI7QBB54YslPhSH4hbVamDtg9w_t_e7IKo0PFuLe9uUfe1o_2dWM3i7HBsaw62RfHh2NB33GhgAXEqI-el-1w8yJylRvIBJM-rWzZz94lIDEiixl7_3/s1600/IMG_20140919_175302093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimJqxeACnwYbYtVS7x91suOSBEWI7QBB54YslPhSH4hbVamDtg9w_t_e7IKo0PFuLe9uUfe1o_2dWM3i7HBsaw62RfHh2NB33GhgAXEqI-el-1w8yJylRvIBJM-rWzZz94lIDEiixl7_3/s1600/IMG_20140919_175302093.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>One bridge on I-90 wasn't wide enough to accomodate bicycles, so you you've got to wait at a traffic signal to cross the street</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ7ds4erhdxgrqJhqvxOiZ-rI4zxVL9gTnAAYgWA7QTTNrZDxm6eDWTAKuJ6AmJdoS-a8RQT5reZdpaYfsBsFl_df7xcTvdig55bHWuTImpdxJx-gsKhGpY9ie3JiedxDi2uRTBiAtpSZ/s1600/IMG_20140919_175449804_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZ7ds4erhdxgrqJhqvxOiZ-rI4zxVL9gTnAAYgWA7QTTNrZDxm6eDWTAKuJ6AmJdoS-a8RQT5reZdpaYfsBsFl_df7xcTvdig55bHWuTImpdxJx-gsKhGpY9ie3JiedxDi2uRTBiAtpSZ/s1600/IMG_20140919_175449804_HDR.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>To make up for that, though, the trail then runs through a park</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JAqAgL-ahUTT5abpQPhSAnctQbv-VeZSMiz1-hIKg12W5JGxxh_jRCQY1ixxEDM99ekmft9dCxJUfZeh_DnDBLPIwGm4YeZrGjwC0m6NveNkX0Ccn63Dla0nc2qF0T6zVsA56U99WYSq/s1600/IMG_20140919_175634156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JAqAgL-ahUTT5abpQPhSAnctQbv-VeZSMiz1-hIKg12W5JGxxh_jRCQY1ixxEDM99ekmft9dCxJUfZeh_DnDBLPIwGm4YeZrGjwC0m6NveNkX0Ccn63Dla0nc2qF0T6zVsA56U99WYSq/s1600/IMG_20140919_175634156.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Trail going through a tunnel under a particularly steep hill.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tCLz5T4lJa7iZ9igg9rrOlnmx2cg3oNfOUJzc3q7cqTc6BPzPS0XuOM9OlaiXmQhMUFplC7IHffZ3lNr9mTE_pnytNvqNDMQA-7aTbLtHZJv3uCJFvZ7jeKVszeD5gjahanghg7A-CTh/s1600/IMG_20140919_175923898_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tCLz5T4lJa7iZ9igg9rrOlnmx2cg3oNfOUJzc3q7cqTc6BPzPS0XuOM9OlaiXmQhMUFplC7IHffZ3lNr9mTE_pnytNvqNDMQA-7aTbLtHZJv3uCJFvZ7jeKVszeD5gjahanghg7A-CTh/s1600/IMG_20140919_175923898_HDR.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>View of Lake Washington and the I-90 bridge from other side of tunnel</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPPr8joOaojX-F9xhC30xrdbMz4XLuMD6bbrN0-n4S2moVbCAo0TuCcTume7zZHQy2yI5XClCGaeIn9zXd5MYzngM-TT2JpObidiYMhOJ3GHbMm7OQmQI_Zwc8-jHo9cZWFHwrw0EWiN3/s1600/IMG_20140919_180034395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPPr8joOaojX-F9xhC30xrdbMz4XLuMD6bbrN0-n4S2moVbCAo0TuCcTume7zZHQy2yI5XClCGaeIn9zXd5MYzngM-TT2JpObidiYMhOJ3GHbMm7OQmQI_Zwc8-jHo9cZWFHwrw0EWiN3/s1600/IMG_20140919_180034395.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>The bicycle path running beside I-90 over the lake</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZAzpBv7AuYkru-AFTNCB3h34P7mcXF3GOi9wddOiN_um8eY5r2Lu9zfPpLOis_EDSbwcN1rAkXJWwaja8kY04wq2BQtZgGo_7br8DfekLP78pjq3cJBTlVmpIxSbMnnOCvfsNnzIyg46/s1600/IMG_20140919_180037739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZAzpBv7AuYkru-AFTNCB3h34P7mcXF3GOi9wddOiN_um8eY5r2Lu9zfPpLOis_EDSbwcN1rAkXJWwaja8kY04wq2BQtZgGo_7br8DfekLP78pjq3cJBTlVmpIxSbMnnOCvfsNnzIyg46/s1600/IMG_20140919_180037739.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>The cars are backed up, but the cycles have no issue.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4qrcVlfKQaHYqeGDMdV5iUwv_VZ5c7AyH8ZMFdH76iu34Wa7X4xMmaxAwgjiLY5VWg5g-8I62_s9Lddnqf4ZAr5Mxu8JOATcwYlH0geeXzaEBeZXpgxvv3LCOWVPw_JzTU_XeX42VlBE/s1600/IMG_20140919_180732579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4qrcVlfKQaHYqeGDMdV5iUwv_VZ5c7AyH8ZMFdH76iu34Wa7X4xMmaxAwgjiLY5VWg5g-8I62_s9Lddnqf4ZAr5Mxu8JOATcwYlH0geeXzaEBeZXpgxvv3LCOWVPw_JzTU_XeX42VlBE/s1600/IMG_20140919_180732579.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Mercer Island</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Kqi5g94S_sr_B9AeqEuJJym9B_0r3Vj6EosCbDLZOhxWQUea_NXj72lakW4SxMDGo46PNXTz2ov4OGGCG1-WZi_TG9h-nF8_uFNOJBS1Dsl1UiG71zL3McAd-hYgXnseB6EbTYLfTHDj/s1600/IMG_20140919_181000943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Kqi5g94S_sr_B9AeqEuJJym9B_0r3Vj6EosCbDLZOhxWQUea_NXj72lakW4SxMDGo46PNXTz2ov4OGGCG1-WZi_TG9h-nF8_uFNOJBS1Dsl1UiG71zL3McAd-hYgXnseB6EbTYLfTHDj/s1600/IMG_20140919_181000943.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Trail in Mercer Island</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4pPoxvek62MJDibCRDsyOXBEtvuw7JwNLG7VXq2QzQ9mT_u3F4sOVLnKpjBqpHmz90Z0doyD37jR5oIkjLUj9Iaj1wAtlmb6fvntD3bIjC4looTudYD4VzZtn-czYqSwT1xNlVzppYwa/s1600/IMG_20140919_180846267_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4pPoxvek62MJDibCRDsyOXBEtvuw7JwNLG7VXq2QzQ9mT_u3F4sOVLnKpjBqpHmz90Z0doyD37jR5oIkjLUj9Iaj1wAtlmb6fvntD3bIjC4looTudYD4VzZtn-czYqSwT1xNlVzppYwa/s1600/IMG_20140919_180846267_HDR.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>The trail loops over the north end of Mercer Island</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGenItdMIqW6Lc8iPLm0OxlS39eRN6bsYkbXn7CupAv370Yk7VADZ5EpBS58Aa_S9Olu3DHvCcvMgsu2nmhQgufXJj9LPQPvnNatMzA1QPm7UfvaxQXFXRohZZ3w1-i_7ZwANJhcPBZoC/s1600/IMG_20140919_181705664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGenItdMIqW6Lc8iPLm0OxlS39eRN6bsYkbXn7CupAv370Yk7VADZ5EpBS58Aa_S9Olu3DHvCcvMgsu2nmhQgufXJj9LPQPvnNatMzA1QPm7UfvaxQXFXRohZZ3w1-i_7ZwANJhcPBZoC/s1600/IMG_20140919_181705664.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>But part of the trail is along a rather busy road. Still bicycles are fully separated from the road</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZ5G3zTqSC-6joQ7NSdSG5nA0H7YVZ6N7qvwWHWYLbdC5rtJnWhHa4iaSLwLGFoun25igs9r_tfKwFkbzYyK9WRyPa23At-zstFs8BxOXjZNw96siUfi85Qie_ZAlT-9iIraUsncWvnul/s1600/IMG_20140919_182227682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZ5G3zTqSC-6joQ7NSdSG5nA0H7YVZ6N7qvwWHWYLbdC5rtJnWhHa4iaSLwLGFoun25igs9r_tfKwFkbzYyK9WRyPa23At-zstFs8BxOXjZNw96siUfi85Qie_ZAlT-9iIraUsncWvnul/s1600/IMG_20140919_182227682.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>And at this point, we start going through a park again</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYksVCAXJfBBbOBVbxUUma7BzZ2oS65-7nuHDZLueUEKm-lopWN3l3_lVIaJ0YUq_gBG8HppoJvPjZiY89REirdqZSMU9FjwI7gOihZfZ6emti_mzV_yQxdOLNnC038CCX6n0eRCNqKW9/s1600/IMG_20140919_182801488_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYksVCAXJfBBbOBVbxUUma7BzZ2oS65-7nuHDZLueUEKm-lopWN3l3_lVIaJ0YUq_gBG8HppoJvPjZiY89REirdqZSMU9FjwI7gOihZfZ6emti_mzV_yQxdOLNnC038CCX6n0eRCNqKW9/s1600/IMG_20140919_182801488_HDR.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>local road on left, I-90 on right.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhXnxsS8i29vqeT1WWKwOcJn9RxCt2dmFC523u4zPGbyDgXkD6t5ga1ssRog5-rxuSTg2CmdRe-sF2m7hGdKFnReSLgN7zm6zp_47hB3A0UWEFkohEaiGgcBYzEdzeldkXDQEmmgk5_VS/s1600/IMG_20140919_182323121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhXnxsS8i29vqeT1WWKwOcJn9RxCt2dmFC523u4zPGbyDgXkD6t5ga1ssRog5-rxuSTg2CmdRe-sF2m7hGdKFnReSLgN7zm6zp_47hB3A0UWEFkohEaiGgcBYzEdzeldkXDQEmmgk5_VS/s1600/IMG_20140919_182323121.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Pecking order<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmRAdKkKthAvXyCznDH0ZRGe_k-5gGoIvb2qyMTnCFg7frPddbbxjuiVyW8gCY2UjhlWo1BatDsq2Me4IeSRB7uInvr92OwnaMgEXm6aN5dupk1z-PaqiTPT3XF9kiGfM7xBn_EGni7pS/s1600/IMG_20140919_203828761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmRAdKkKthAvXyCznDH0ZRGe_k-5gGoIvb2qyMTnCFg7frPddbbxjuiVyW8gCY2UjhlWo1BatDsq2Me4IeSRB7uInvr92OwnaMgEXm6aN5dupk1z-PaqiTPT3XF9kiGfM7xBn_EGni7pS/s1600/IMG_20140919_203828761.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>In Bellevue, the trail runs through a swamp called Mercer Slough</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39v3XME-t1nyik8gT1fjBXCAz6aHlfr3HHCV0hwBL4pHr_Xby098Ll8yGlZ42C4Regn3BFn52dunufiOSUVPDiZzUBqfTVMeQOyyAG49xAxUsLdqnIVlaafxl2hYzq0sJ06WihjlNDntO/s1600/IMG_20140919_203832544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39v3XME-t1nyik8gT1fjBXCAz6aHlfr3HHCV0hwBL4pHr_Xby098Ll8yGlZ42C4Regn3BFn52dunufiOSUVPDiZzUBqfTVMeQOyyAG49xAxUsLdqnIVlaafxl2hYzq0sJ06WihjlNDntO/s1600/IMG_20140919_203832544.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>This is the worst part of the trail in that it is a bunch of concrete slabs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9S6I350vG0G1Hue9cR01-Y5yxzfmExmoCRxufjIzT_FpznFEKumhme8gCkgaiFRUvh6HlrvJeBv0nH6FudjkgQhph8w7bMFo9HhUAQzgrQkLEv0KpS77KydJbCsBiWj1P7vh9NTsjQM1/s1600/IMG_20140919_204035016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9S6I350vG0G1Hue9cR01-Y5yxzfmExmoCRxufjIzT_FpznFEKumhme8gCkgaiFRUvh6HlrvJeBv0nH6FudjkgQhph8w7bMFo9HhUAQzgrQkLEv0KpS77KydJbCsBiWj1P7vh9NTsjQM1/s1600/IMG_20140919_204035016.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>In Bellevue, you get a dedicated bicycle lane</div>
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So, 11 miles through downtown, traffic signals, mountains, parks, tunnel, lake, island, swamp. And at no point unsafe. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what all of America needs to be like.Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-38850020543281307462014-09-14T06:29:00.002+00:002014-09-14T06:29:56.276+00:00Spectacular and crowdedHaving recently moved to the Seattle area, we are still like kids in a candy store.<br />
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I'm bicycling to a bus stop and taking an express bus to work. This combination is a little unlikely in the Midwest -- I am on the liberal, left coast alright.<br />
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Last weekend, we drove all of two hours and found ourselves in glacier country. Glaciers!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTw2UIm5ZYfvKNKcQSxlU7V4jv6Trxv69wzDxJbaF0X1n1aNECrP6aMg0AuI04LVAI7B4bF8N9fORNgfcTOZLs2LD75HPiWD8M6rCN0QVBt-oeMcWKoZF_uQJ8TomtGnj7L0OGwV7xgigS/s1600/2014-09-06+18.04.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTw2UIm5ZYfvKNKcQSxlU7V4jv6Trxv69wzDxJbaF0X1n1aNECrP6aMg0AuI04LVAI7B4bF8N9fORNgfcTOZLs2LD75HPiWD8M6rCN0QVBt-oeMcWKoZF_uQJ8TomtGnj7L0OGwV7xgigS/s1600/2014-09-06+18.04.13.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
This was the view from Cascade pass. We reached it after a strenuous 2.5 hour hike. The trail head is at the end of 18 miles of unpaved road.<br />
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Surely, that means we'd have the place all to ourselves? Nope. The parking lot to the trail was crowded with at least 50 cars.<br />
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This weekend, Thursday's solar flares were to setup a huge geomagnetic storm. That, along with clear skies, meant that there was a good chance of seeing the aurora borealis. The question was where to go to escape the light pollution of the Puget Sound cities and still get a northern view.<br />
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A lot of internet searching led to <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/preview?ie=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=us&q=Rattlesnake+Lake&ei=VzUVVNnFEcTTiwLZ6IGQBQ&ved=0CKgBEPIBMA8">Rattlesnake Lake</a>, about 30 miles east of where live. So we went well after dusk to that secluded state park ... and found that cars were lined up outside the park entrance for at least a mile!<br />
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Rattlesnake Lake was unlighted and dark, but there were still low hills ringing it, meaning that we couldn't see the horizon. The light pollution was still there, though, because of aircraft lights atop the hills, and the situation was not helped by the hundreds of people packed by the lake and turning on their flashlights every so often.<br />
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This was the view from Rattlesnake Lake. Those are not northern lights.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiG2N2H_K-gRSceI9VQg1u5_sykamU-OEI7bMHi6yfXDap8YfKMmew8edyZgdyzaGuq-XcXg-CEnajJ3eo3G28sYcQwMQlvdewd8GpNfR5OEglsZA3l9oaP-BwGljBkNaVdE7QFi7S_dy/s1600/2014-09-12+23.19.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiG2N2H_K-gRSceI9VQg1u5_sykamU-OEI7bMHi6yfXDap8YfKMmew8edyZgdyzaGuq-XcXg-CEnajJ3eo3G28sYcQwMQlvdewd8GpNfR5OEglsZA3l9oaP-BwGljBkNaVdE7QFi7S_dy/s1600/2014-09-12+23.19.17.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-67564872977225849592014-07-07T14:33:00.000+00:002014-07-07T14:33:39.693+00:00Life of a scientistOne of the best books I've read this year was <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385531109/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385531109&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20&linkId=EDY7FJI2FZFVUXYF">How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=notthatsane0d-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0385531109" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, a book by Caltech astronmer Mike Brown. He discovered Eris, the Pluto-sized object in the Kuiper belt, that caused Pluto to get demoted.<br />
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If you liked <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393316041/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0393316041&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20&linkId=5KCJRZWIVMQEZ5LV">Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!</a>, you will also like "How I Killed Pluto". In both these books, you have a hugely successful scientist talking with a great degree of self-awareness and wit. These are people you would love to spend an afternoon listening to.<br />
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Here is Mike Brown at his wittiest. He is talking about why he was science-minded when he was growing up:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.09600067138672px;">I grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, a thoroughly dedicated rocket town. The father of everyone I knew—mine included—was some sort of engineer working to build the Apollo rockets to send men to the moon. For a while as a child, I thought that when you grew up you became a rocket engineer if you were a boy and you married a rocket engineer if you were a girl; few other options in the world appeared to exist.</span></blockquote>
But something happened. He happened to start observing and noting the positions of the planets. As it so happened, there was something interesting going on at just that time:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.09600067138672px;">Jupiter, closer to the sun, is comparatively fast; it takes only twelve years to go completely around the sky. When it gets to where it started, though, Saturn has moved on. It takes another eight years—twenty years in total—for Jupiter to finally catch up to Saturn once again so they come close together in a conjunction just like the one I noticed when I was fifteen. I’ve often wondered about the timing of this conjunction. If I had been born a few years earlier, I would have looked up at age fifteen, but Jupiter would not yet have caught up to Saturn’s position in the sky. I would have noticed only one bright planet moving a little below Orion instead of two. Would I have noticed their dance? Would I have become the person I am today, someone whose first instinct when walking outside at night is to always look up, check the stars, look for planets, locate the moon? It’s impossible to know, but it’s always hard not to feel that in some ways, for me at least, perhaps the early astrologers were right: Perhaps my fate actually was determined by the positions of the planets at the moment of my birth.</span></blockquote>
Something that would strike you, as it struck me, was that someone like that would have something else in the skies that caught his interest no matter when he was growing up. Still, this theme of happenstance also plays into how he got interested in finding new planets:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.09600067138672px;">What I didn’t immediately grasp when Jane Luu joined me on the roof overlooking the San Francisco Bay at the Berkeley astronomy department in 1992 was that the discovery of the Kuiper belt gave Pluto a context. It took me and most other astronomers a few more years to realize that Pluto is neither lonely nor an oddball, but rather part of this vast new population called the Kuiper belt. Just as the explosion of asteroid discoveries 150 years earlier had forced astronomers to reconsider the status of Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta and change them from full-fledged planets to simply the largest of the collection of asteroids, the new discovery of the Kuiper belt would certainly force astronomers to reconsider the status of Pluto.</span></blockquote>
And finally, something that all meteorologist friends can sympathize with:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.09600067138672px;">For someone looking for planets, I spent an awful lot of my time looking at computer code and numeric outputs instead. My nights were spent not outside staring at the sky but inside staring at numbers and computer programs and doing every test conceivable. I needed to make sure the software wasn’t going to make any mistakes. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t do anything stupid that made me miss planets that were right in front of me.</span></blockquote>
And all of us hard-science folks who have dealt with the seemingly unscientific medical profession can definitely see ourselves here:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.09600067138672px;">She had a July 11 due date, and though there was not much I could do to influence anything, I could nonetheless obsess about what, precisely, a due date means. I asked anyone who I thought might have some insight. I know, for example, that due dates are simply calculated by adding forty weeks to the start of the mother’s last menstrual cycle. But how effective is that? How many babies are born on their due dates? Our child-birthing class teacher: “Oh, only five percent of babies are actually born on their due dates.” Me: “So are half born before, half after?” Teacher: “Oh, you can’t know when the baby is going to come.” Me: “I get it. I just want to know the statistics.” Teacher: “The baby will come when it is ready.” I asked an obstetrician. Doctor: “The due date is just an estimate. There is no way of knowing when the baby will come.” Me: “But of your patients, what fraction delivers before, and what fraction delivers after the due date?” Doctor: “I try not to think of it that way.” I propose a simple experiment for anyone who works in the field of childbirth. Here’s all you have to do. Spend a month in a hospital. Every time a child is born, ask the mother what the original due date was. Determine how many days early or late each child is. Plot these dates on a piece of graph paper. Draw a straight line for the bottom horizontal axis. Label the middle of the axis zero. Each grid point to the left is then the number of days early. Each grid point to the right is the number of days late. Count how many children were born on their precise due dates. Count up that number of points on the vertical axis of your graph and mark the spot at zero. Do the same with the number of children born one day late. Two days late. Three. Four. Keep going. Now do the early kids. When you have finished plotting all of the due dates, label the top of the plot “The distribution of baby delivery dates compared to their due date.” Make a copy. Send it to me in the mail. My guess is that you will have something that looks like a standard bell curve. I would hope that the bell would be more or less centered at zero. It would either be tall and skinny (if most kids are born within a few days of their due dates) or short and fat (if there is quite a wide range around the due dates). One thing I know, though, is that the bell would have a dent on the right side. At least around here, no kids are born more than a week or two after their due dates. Everyone is induced by then. I am usually capable of allowing myself to give up on trying to get the world to see things in my scientific, statistical, mathematical way. But this mattered to me. If I was at a dinner party with Diane and the subject of due dates was broached, Diane would turn to me with a slightly mortified look in her eyes and whisper, “Please?” I would rant about doctors. About teachers. About lack of curiosity and dearth of scientific insight and fear of math. I would speculate on the bell curve and about how fat or skinny it would be and how much it might be modified by inductions and C-sections, and whether different hospitals had different distributions. Inevitably the people at the dinner party would be friends from Caltech. Most had kids. Most of the fathers were scientists. Most of the mothers were not. (Even today things remain frighteningly skewed, though interestingly, most of my graduate students in recent years have been female. Times have no choice but to change.) As soon as I started my rant, the fathers would all join in: “Yeah! I could never get that question answered, either,” and they would bring up obscure statistical points of their own. The mothers would all roll their eyes, lean in toward Diane, and whisper, “I am so sorry. I know just how you feel,” and inquire as to how she was feeling and sleeping.</span></blockquote>
Of course just because he plays down his successes doesn't mean that he isn't an obsessive, gifted genius. It's just that his wit and self-deprecation make this a highly readable book.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, it was a NPR interview by him soon after the vote that <a href="http://not-that-sane.blogspot.com/2007/06/eris-could-not-clear-out-its.html">triggered</a> a set of concepts that led to my <a href="http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2008JTECHA1153.1">paper on a new way to find storms</a> in images ("enhanced watershed"). So, I owe him more than just a good book review!<br />
<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-38213529488057988452014-07-07T13:44:00.001+00:002014-07-07T13:44:11.928+00:00Two approaches to spaceThere are few popular media articles that can explain why a poor country like India would invest in a space program, and why that space program could maintain bipartisan support through the decades. This article is worth reading:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-03/nasa-needs-an-indian-tutorial">http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-03/nasa-needs-an-indian-tutorial</a><br />
<br />
I don't agree with the conclusion in the article, though. There is room for both NASA's wide-ranging program centered around exploration and ISRO's pragmatic, technology-driven one.Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-67203569563426426272014-06-26T21:38:00.000+00:002014-06-26T21:38:03.796+00:00Invention of wingsWhen a book starts out saying:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.09600067138672px;">My mauma was shrewd. She didn’t get any reading and writing like me. Everything she knew came from living on the scarce side of mercy</span></blockquote>
I normally would simply discard the book. Writing that tries to capture the ungrammatical speech and slightly-off pronunciations of poor people is just plain obfuscating. Any writer who does this page after page doesn't deserve to be read. Even that phrase -- "scarce side of mercy" -- seems so powerful. But what exactly does it mean?<br />
<br />
I would moved on to another book if it hadn't been our book club's selection of the month. Muttering a bit, I continued to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=invention%20of%20wings&linkCode=ur2&tag=notthatsane0d-20&url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&linkId=6IXEPCDGRSLE3KSU" target="_blank">Invention of Wings</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=notthatsane0d-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. I'm glad I did. Fortunately, Sue Monk Kidd doesn't overdo the dialect bit, beyond insisting of giving the slaves cutesy pet names. The book turned out to be tightly written, with a gripping story and very sympathetic characters.<br />
<br />
The book captures the interweaving stories of women and African Americans trying to attain their freedoms in a world that is arranged to give them nothing easily. Throughout, it is a very moving book, but it was the afterword that brought me up short. Turns out the story of one of the two main characters in the book is true. And thinking back on it, no one can make this stuff up.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-83779531995351941292014-05-18T23:28:00.000+00:002014-05-18T23:28:46.816+00:00On Hinduism and XenophobiaI remember reading something set in ancient Persia and noting that the name of the chief god, Azura Mazda, was quite similar to the names of the demons ("asura") in Hindu myths. Reading Wendy Doniger's latest book, On Hinduism, brought the aha moment:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The great god in the Avesta ... is called Ahura Mazda, the great asura, a benevolent spirit. Even in the <i>Rig Veda</i>, several gods are still called <i>asuras </i>(Varuna in particular). And just as benevolent <i>asuras </i>became malevolent demons in later India, so too, benevolent Greek <i>daemons </i>(another sort of god) became malevolent <i>demons </i>in Christianity, and the <i>devas </i>of ancient India and Persia (gods, cognate with <i>deus </i>in Latin) became the <i>devils </i>of Christianity.</blockquote>
The change had, in other words, something to do with xenophobia. This habit of identifying other peoples' gods with devils has been happening a long, long time.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199360073/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0199360073&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20&linkId=YMJBQ64RVCBJAMOH">On Hinduism</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=notthatsane0d-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0199360073" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
is a collection of the essays that Doniger wrote over her lifetime. The essays are great -- the one on the representation of Shiva ("lingam") alone is worth the price of admission, but she tops even it in her essay on Saranyu (the Hindu equivalent of Eve). Even her throwaway asides are gems of insight. The essay on Saranyu, for example, ties the obscure tale of the the Ur-mother of Hindu myth that dates to the Rig Veda to the well-known story of Kunti and Karna. Once she points it out, it is amazing how many of the remnants of the Saranyu story -- an abandoning mother, a brilliant father, mortals and immortals, mutilation -- all make their way in slightly modified ways into the Karna myth. The essays are wonderful and I have been savoring the read, going back and rereading some of them (I can't think of a book that's ever made me do that). <br />
<br />
Doniger says that she has changed the essays to account for changes in her views over time. She also changed words, like dharma and Shiva, whose italicization and spelling conventions have changed since the time when she first wrote the essays. Finally, she says, she had an Indian reader read the text to point out areas where she might have inadvertently caused offense. She needn't have bothered. The right-wing blowhards who succeeded in getting Penguin to drop the book in India would have taken offense anything more real than a bowdlerized Amar Chitra Katha comic.<br />
<br />
Considering that it's precisely her droll, outsider's voice that I find refreshing, it is ironic how many of the criticisms of her work come down to her "otherness": she's a woman, a Jew, a non-Indian; who is she to write this stuff?<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-30598838878120025922014-05-09T16:15:00.000+00:002014-05-09T16:17:16.803+00:00Is Delhi really more polluted than Beijing?The WHO recently released a report where Delhi was fingered as the <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/indian-cities-have-dirtiest-air-delhi-at-the-top-says-who/">most polluted city</a> in the world.<br />
<br />
Having been to both Delhi and Beijing, this seems odd. Delhi is polluted, but Beijing seemed to be in a class all by itself. In Beijing, visibility was in the tens of meters. Delhi is bad, but it never seemed that bad -- you can always see what's on the other side of the street.<br />
<br />
Contrast these two pictures, both taken in summer in the city centers of the two cities:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wBTeKpMj8WQ/U2z7mCSmouI/AAAAAAAAUqs/nSWj6x9rAvE/s1600/img+171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wBTeKpMj8WQ/U2z7mCSmouI/AAAAAAAAUqs/nSWj6x9rAvE/s1600/img+171.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cm7xdNN57rQ/U2z86lmbMCI/AAAAAAAAUq4/jJ7gsl8V3S4/s1600/delhi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cm7xdNN57rQ/U2z86lmbMCI/AAAAAAAAUq4/jJ7gsl8V3S4/s1600/delhi.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Two possibilities that I can think of:<br />
(1) Perhaps the Beijing numbers reported to the WHO are "cooked"?<br />
(2) Perhaps the pollutant mix is different, and the Beijing pollutants are more visible and more likely to remain suspended in the atmosphere?<br />
<br />
And just to provide some contrast in terms of the distance one can see on a summer day in the center of the city: Kathmandu, Paris and New York:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yGSisg_W_eg/U2z9vHbMQfI/AAAAAAAAUrA/i4ExdFvI-1Q/s1600/durbar_square.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yGSisg_W_eg/U2z9vHbMQfI/AAAAAAAAUrA/i4ExdFvI-1Q/s1600/durbar_square.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bfhe0Wx7_m0/U2z903td39I/AAAAAAAAUrI/CeVV3V9SXJQ/s1600/IMG_4493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bfhe0Wx7_m0/U2z903td39I/AAAAAAAAUrI/CeVV3V9SXJQ/s1600/IMG_4493.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZZlL9Uxyyc/U2z97lMdRyI/AAAAAAAAUrQ/xujc8EY6DpE/s1600/new_york_high_contrast.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZZlL9Uxyyc/U2z97lMdRyI/AAAAAAAAUrQ/xujc8EY6DpE/s1600/new_york_high_contrast.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Of the three cities above, Kathmandu was the dirtiest. I found it dirtier than Delhi. Once you get out of the city, though, the Nepali countryside is gorgeous. But we are talking only about cities here.<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-61269536460693863142014-05-01T13:24:00.000+00:002014-05-01T20:42:48.516+00:00Net Neutrality is a terrible ideaMy view on net neutrality changed after reading <a href="http://theumlaut.com/2014/04/30/how-net-neutrality-hurts-the-poor/">this article</a>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You may think that walled-garden access to Facebook or Google is
inferior to neutral Internet access—and you’d be right. But if the
neutralistas got their way, people in developing countries wouldn’t have
better Internet access; many of them would have nothing. Wikimedia <a href="http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero">notes</a>
that in Kenya, mobile service costs can exceed 25 percent of monthly
income. “Additionally, nearly 1 in 5 have reported that they will forgo a
usual expenditure (such as food) in order to reload phone credit.”
Low-quality (free) Internet access, therefore, is part of the optimal
stock of Internet access. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As if it weren’t enough to connect the world’s poorest for the first
time, non-neutrality can also help to fund necessary network buildouts
on an ongoing basis. By giving access to Facebook, Google, and Wikipedia
away as a loss-leader, carriers are serving with their basic tier of
service those who can’t afford more, and habituating those who <em>can</em> afford
to click beyond the walled garden to using the mobile web. This price
discrimination not only increases access but also raises more revenue
than a neutral strategy would. Developing-world carriers <em>need</em> that
revenue if they ever intend to build the kinds of networks that will
support widespread Internet use. Net neutrality, in other words, would
not only keep the poorest offline, it would keep investment in
poor-country telecom infrastructure down for longer.</blockquote>
<br />
Read the whole thing. It is not often that a well-honed argument can change minds, but this one probably might.<br />
<br />
Turns out that when we argue for net neutrality, we are arguing from a position of privilege. And we need to check that privilege -- getting rid of net neutrality can be very beneficial to the poor everywhere and to everyone in developing countries.Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-81265488024763079502014-02-22T01:24:00.000+00:002014-02-22T01:25:43.348+00:00Why a limited roll out of a credit card security program does not workAmerican Express has apparently started a program called "<a href="https://network.americanexpress.com/uk/en/safekey/faq.aspx?parentPage=Home">SafeKey</a>". It's something like "Verified by Visa", except that instead of rolling it out worldwide, they decided to start out in the UK.<br />
<br />
What's the problem with a limited roll-out of something like this?<br />
<br />
It means that if you go, armed with your American Amex card, to British Airways's website, you can not pay for a ticket. This is the only card I have that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees (British Airways, in its infinite wisdom, wants to charge me for the tickets in Indian rupees), so I really wanted to use the Amex.<br />
<br />
British Airways says it is an Amex problem -- the card is getting declined by their verification system. Amex says it is a British Airways problem -- the transaction is declined by the common system that handles "Verified by Visa" and "SafeKey".<br />
<br />
The American Express support person got belligerent when I tried to explain the problem to him and asked how I could enroll my card in SafeKey. He had not heard of SafeKey, and kept insisting it was a merchant's custom program, and not anything to do with Amex. The British Airways rep essentially threw up his hands while maintaining his posh accent and polite voice. Sigh.<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-55838194008474708592014-02-19T21:36:00.003+00:002014-02-20T16:04:12.774+00:00The First MuslimIt took me a while to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594487286/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594487286&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20">The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=notthatsane0d-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1594487286" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> primarily because I didn't want to read it on airplanes (a sad commentary of the times we live in!).<br />
<br />
I'd heard bits and pieces of Muhammad's story before, but did not know much about his life because there are few non-pious biographies of the founder of Islam. This is in contrast, of course, to other historical-religious figures such as Jesus or Buddha whose lives and teachings have received the once-over multiple times (p.s. an excellent Manga telling of the Buddha's life is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193223456X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=193223456X&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20">Kapilavastu</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=notthatsane0d-20&l=as2&o=1&a=193223456X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />).<br />
<br />
I was surprised by how dichotomous Muhammad's life was. In Mecca, his story as an outsider, preaching non-violence and detachment, is similar to that of Jesus or Buddha. In many ways, it's the prototypical founder-of-religion story, and there is little there to offend anyone's sensibilities. But in Medina, however, his life turns into that of a strategic political figure. In some ways, it is as if Jesus, Paul and Constantine were rolled into one lifetime. Or Buddha, An Shigo and Ashoka rolled into one. So, you have Muhammad orchestrating a triple cross, divvying up resources from raids on caravans, ordering that an entire tribe be wiped out, etc. Pretty gruesome stuff. But during it all, you never lose total sympathy for the central figure.<br />
<br />
It is a wonderful biography and well worth the read. (Even if you have to hide the title of the book as you read it ...)<br />
<br />
Another sad commentary of the times we live in: I went to Amazon to see what the reader reviews were like. There were several reviews by Muslims hoping fervently that their compatriots would not be offended by the secular view of their prophet's life.Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-33447553692119348652014-01-04T03:46:00.000+00:002014-01-04T03:46:01.964+00:00Texas, the uber-AmericaThere is a famous quote, "As California goes, so goes the nation". An engrossing, witty book by Erica Grieder -- <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610391926/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1610391926&linkCode=as2&tag=notthatsane0d-20">Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right: What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=notthatsane0d-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1610391926" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
-- argues that it is Texas that epitomizes America.<br />
<br />
She reaches back to the history of the Republic of Texas (a short-lived stretch of time between when Anglo settlers declared Texas independent from Mexico and they successfully annexed themselves to the United States) to explain why Texas settled into the stable equilibrium of a low-tax, low-service government. As a bonus, this is her go-to-thesis to explain everything from why Texas is little law and a lot of order to why after the BP oil spill, Texans supported the oil companies over the federal government.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, she argues, Texas works because it is pro-Texas business (in other words, it is unashamedly protectionist, welcoming of entrepreneurs, pragmatic about which laws it enforces and it does whatever business wants). If America were smart, she says, it would look to Texas for how to run a successful economy in spite of having awful politicians and terrible leadership. The secret is to make government so small that it is ineffective and ensure what government there is will be in hock to business! She is not being tongue-in-cheek here. I am paraphrasing perhaps unfairly, but it is a very cogent argument.<br />
<br />
This is a book that is definitely worth reading and thinking about.
<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-41569693338002749442013-12-19T18:55:00.001+00:002013-12-19T18:56:19.866+00:00Traffic engineering search-and-replace<a href="http://www.udot.utah.gov/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Yellow-Arrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.udot.utah.gov/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Yellow-Arrow.jpg" width="194" /></a>A few months ago, Norman changed its traffic signals. At left turns, instead of a steady green light for "yield", we now have flashing yellow arrows. The first couple of times, the flashing yellow arrow was a surprise, but then I got used to it. It is better to distinguish between a green for go and a green for yield. Hurray for change.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, I found myself waiting for a light at a T-intersection. The light changed ... and I saw that we had a flashing yellow arrow for the left lane (to turn left) and a flashing yellow arrow for the right lane (to turn right). But wait a second, who are we yielding to? After all, at a T-intersection, there is no traffic coming from the other side ...<br />
<br />
Is this a simple case of search-and-replace where they changed all turn lane signals to flashing arrows without thinking through the scenarios?Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-3693710029774470322013-11-19T03:00:00.001+00:002013-11-19T04:31:11.452+00:00Why American universities excel at researchI was on an airplane in India a few years ago and got to talking to the fellow in the seat next to mine. When he heard what I did for a living, he said he had something to ask me.<br />
<br />
"What is it?," he wanted to know, "that makes American universities so good?" The universities are not all that much better than those anywhere else in the world, I told him, it's just that American universities luck out in getting extremely motivated students. This explanation made no sense to him. "When all the good students in America go into finance and law," he insisted, "how can the science and engineering departments be any good?" I tried to tell him that intelligence is over-rated and that enthusiasm and persistence are usually the deciding factors in terms of what someone accomplishes. But he could not grok that -- the bias in India towards "innate ability" is too deep-seated.<br />
<br />
The enthusiasm and motivation that the best students are capable of was on display this Saturday. We had been invited on a Nature Conservancy field trip to their newish preserve in Southern Oklahoma. Boehler Seeps and Sandhills Preserve is a marshland that is home to a surprisingly diverse set of animals.
We gathered in a community hall just outside the preserve to listen to talk by a graduate student who'd spent the last couple of years doing research there.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uSijI_lXa6Q/UorpOxGhzbI/AAAAAAAALoo/DiauatcUbIE/s1600/IMG_9553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uSijI_lXa6Q/UorpOxGhzbI/AAAAAAAALoo/DiauatcUbIE/s320/IMG_9553.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dam built by beavers in Boehler Seeps; home to chicken turtles</td></tr>
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The research involved doing a survey of the animals in the preserve and studying in detail the life-cycle of the chicken turtle, an almost-but-not-quite-endangered species that made its home in the two beaver dams on the preserve.
To do the survey, the student had to build the fences and the traps and check up on them several times a day. Every time he caught a turtle, he would drill a radio transmitter onto its shell, collect its feces (to see wha the turtles ate) and release them. He also talked to private land owners around the preserve so that he could monitor turtle movements into their ponds. He spent several weeks at a time camped out in the preserve so that he could build the fences, tag the animals and monitor them.<br />
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Notice the considerable range of skills needed here -- carpentry, electronics, field work, camping, neighborliness, statistics ... This sort of diverse skill set and can-do spirit is quite common on American campuses.<br />
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The result? This slide shows the amazing amount of data he had collected:
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Nearly 8000 captures of 53 different species, including 1814 captures of 7 species of turtles.<br />
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Well, okay. That's the mechanics of research. Did he understand the state of the science? Did he discover anything new?<br />
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Glad you asked. Turns out that there are three subspecies of chicken turtles. Two of them have bimodal estivation periods and it was assumed that this, relatively rare third subspecies of chicken turtles would too. He found that, on the contrary, they had a single estivation period. Other chicken turtles of the species are purely carnivorous. But the ones in this marsh had diets that included lots of plants. A subspecies or a new species? Turn into the News at 11! Very exciting. His advisor, sitting in the back, was beaming. Body language speaks volumes and these guys were onto something.<br />
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Talk over, we moseyed over to the preserve. He had an antenna and honed in on the frequency of the largest of his turtles which had burrowed onto land ("you don't want to see me wading into the marsh and catching a turtle") and quickly led us to where it ought to be.<br />
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And started digging. All of a sudden, there was a note of the frantic to the effort. We soon discovered why he'd gotten so worried. The transmitter was there, but no turtle. A raccoon had probably gotten the turtle. The heartbreak was palpable. He would download the data, correlate it with temperature data from the lake and figure out when it had happened. But this was sad. And this had been his favorite turtle.<br />
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So, I asked him, what he did plan to do after this? He was going to finish his MS soon and apply to several other schools for a PhD in tropical biology because the college he was currently studying in doesn't have a PhD program. Process that for a bit -- he was not in a big name college, or even a flagship university or a regional research college. He was doing a MS in a small, regional college with no PhD program. And yet, he was doing very high-quality work.<br />
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That is how deep the bench of American graduate schools extends -- all the way to teaching colleges that happen to have small research departments. The work done there is probably on par with "national universities" elsewhere in the world. And it all comes down to having great students. Of course, not all students are this good and this motivated. But enough of them are.<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-3262316201093817152013-10-24T05:15:00.001+00:002013-10-24T05:15:34.418+00:00Preserving figsWe've suddenly discovered the drawbacks of growing figs in Oklahoma -- by the time it's warm enough for figs to start appearing, it's end of summer and frosty nights are here.<div>
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What do you do with 5 pounds of unripe figs? The internet to the rescue ... figs in sugar syrup!</div>
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Fig preserves turn out to be quite easy to make. A little time-consuming, but easy. You start by almost quartering the figs and washing the milk off them:</div>
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And then you immerse it in water, boil it and drain.</div>
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Rinse and repeat.</div>
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The last time around, you boil it in sugar syrup that has lemon peel, lemon juice and cloves. Amounts are to taste. I used half the sugar of the recipes I found on the internet, and it is sweet enough.</div>
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Let it cool, and bottle it up:</div>
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I got three big bottles of fig preserves.</div>
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Something tells me the kids are going to be sick of fig preserves by next week.</div>
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Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-79706528136084488592013-09-30T20:16:00.002+00:002013-09-30T20:16:51.873+00:00Harmonic meanMath can be cruel.<br />
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So, let's say you have a strong wind. Oklahoma-strong.<br />
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On your bicycle, you ride a tailwind and zip along at 20 mph. Unfortunately, you have to come back home fighting a headwind all the way. You manage to grind back in at 10 mph.<br />
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What was your average speed?<br />
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15 mph? You wish.<br />
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Answer: the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_mean"> harmonic mean</a> of 10 and 20. This works out to 13.3 mph. Grrr.<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-42717728523994329092013-09-28T14:54:00.000+00:002013-09-28T14:54:12.369+00:00Rehabilitating Neville ChamberlainThe magazine Slate is infamous for their counter-intuitive arguments wherein they argue that every expert is wrong on something because of one minor detail. However, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/09/neville_chamberlain_was_right_to_cede_czechoslovakia_to_adolf_hitler_seventy.html">this </a>reads true:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #281b21; font-family: sl-ApresRegular; font-size: 15px; line-height: 27px;">Chamberlain's story is of a man who fought for peace as long as possible, and went to war only when it was the last available option.</span></blockquote>
Hitler was not Hitler before 1939. Before that, there was little to distinguish him from, say, Mussolini. And the world could have lived with another Mussolini. Britain declared war on Germany on Chamberlain's watch, not Churchill's.<br />
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Even as the war-mongers throw around "appeasement" and "peace for our time" as naive pronouncements, historians are coming around to a more balanced and sympathetic view of Neville Chamberlain.<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6497420390276831059.post-10716694259222077132013-09-25T18:45:00.001+00:002013-09-25T18:45:13.646+00:00A late fee for paying earlyCan you get charged a late fee for sending in your payment a month early?<br />
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Citibank seems to think so.<br />
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The wife said that her credit card got rejected yesterday. I looked up the account online and discovered that the payment was overdue. That seemed curious and sure enough, on checking my bank account records, I found that I'd paid the bill in full on Aug. 13.<br />
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Time for a call into Citibank.<br />
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The Aug. 13 payment was for the bill that was due Aug. 14, I was informed. I had missed the payment that was due Sep. 14. But what about my July 20th payment, I asked. That, too, was for the Aug. 14th date.<br />
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I started laughing at the logic involved here. So, I owed $176. I paid it on Aug. 13. The bank closed the billing cycle that day but credited the account for the period that ended before, charged me a $20 late fee for missing a payment on what should have been a zero balance, and then said that my account was $20 overdue ..."<br />
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But the phone representative didn't see the abuse of common sense. She kept going on and on about how I'd paid in the previous cycle. She's probably paid not to understand logical fallacies. Finally, I asked to speak to her supervisor who did agree to remove the charges.<br />
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A late fee for paying early. Who would have thought American banks could be this innovative?<br />
<br />Lakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16177723973206020679noreply@blogger.com0