Celebrity Death Match - Biodiesel vs Bioethanol (Part II)

When I first came up with the title "Celebrity Death Match" for this series, I was actually referring to a spat in the pages of Trends in Biotechnology, rather than biodiesel versus bioethanol. Specifically, I was speaking about the exchange between Lucas Reijnders and Yusuf Chisti, which I will cover in this blog entry. But hey, the shoe fits, so I'll take credit for the double entendre.

I love these sorts of exchanges. Perhaps the romantic in me believes this is how science discuss was handled in days long gone. Scientists would converge at their respective Academies of Science and debate the pertinent issues of the day. You don't really see that nowadays. Occasionally you'll see a jab or two in a manuscript, but you hardly ever see two scientists butting heads publically. Or, maybe I'm not reading enough of the literature. Given the topic however, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Everyone is trying to fill the much needed "new fuel source" niche, so people are going to enter their horse into the fray when they can.

After Yusuf Chisti published the opinion piece mentioned earlier, Lucas Reijnders shot back a letter entitled "Do biofuels from microalgae beat biofuels from terrestrial plants?" to Trends in Biotechnology, the conclusion of which said basically that Chisti was wrong (see Reference #1).

Why?

According to Reijnders, Chisti forgot to consider some "hidden expenses". Reijnders writes:

However, Chisti did not consider fossil fuel inputs during the biofuel life cycle. Fossil fuels are currently used for building the facilities (bioreactor, pond) and for operational activities such as supplying nutrients, maintenance, mixing, the collection of microalgae and biomass processing.

The letter goes on to say that while algae do produce more biomass, they take more fossil fuels to process ...

Empirical data show that, in practie, sugarcane and oil palm yield less biomass than the 100 Mg per hectare per year (dry weight) for Spirulina ... but these terrestrial plants are characterized by lower fossil fuel inputs into the biofuel life cycle for a specified amount of biofuel energy than in the case of the microalgal biofuels studies mentioned before.

Doubt is also raised as to whether reported yields of microalgal biomass will be achievable in practice, and a citation is provided to support the fact that when compared to current commercial facilities, the reported values are well over what has currently been achieved.

Not so fast buddy

To Reijnders comments, Chisti responds back in the same issue in the letter entitled "Response to Reijnders: Do biofuels from microalgae beat biofuels from terrestrial plants?" (see Reference #2).

Chisti takes issue with the two algal reports cited by Reijnders, saying ...

However, both these studies show little understanding of large-scale algae culture and grossly overestimate the fossil energy required in producing algal biofuels.

Chisti in the next couple of paragraphs cites a couple of instances of where the Hirano and Sawayama studies went wrong.

Chisti then takes a moment to point out that ~45% of the fossil energy input into algal biomass is linked to fertilizer. It is then pointed out that most of the added fertilizer re-emerges in the liquid effluent of the anaerobic digesters, which will be reused (remember the figure from Part I). This cuts down on the fertilizer costs by a third.

To close, if microalgal systems were in place, ~11% of cropping land would be needed to supply all US transport fuel needs. For bioethanol to do something similar, ~70% of all US cropping area will be needed.

While the discussion between Chisti and Reijnders may be over for now, this is probably not the end of the issue entirely. We still haven't picked another basket to put some, or all, of our eggs into. Meanwhile the price of food and fuel continue to rise.

References

1. REIJNDERS, L. (2008). Do biofuels from microalgae beat biofuels from terrestrial plants?. Trends in Biotechnology, 26(7), 349-350. DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2008.04.001

2. CHISTI, Y. (2008). Response to Reijnders: Do biofuels from microalgae beat biofuels from terrestrial plants?. Trends in Biotechnology, 26(7), 351-352. DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2008.04.002

Celebrity Death Match - Biodiesel vs. Bioethanol (Part I)

A fight for the ages, and it's being waged through the pages of Trends in Biotechnology!

In 2007, Yusuf Chisti published an opinion piece in Trends in Biotechnology with the title "Biodiesel from microalgae beats bioethanol" (see reference, below). In this article, Dr. Chisti laid out the rationale as to why we should seriously look at biodiesel from microalgae. In the abstract, Chisti states ...

Biodiesel from microalgae seems to be the only renewable biofuel that has the potential to completely displace petroleum-derived transport fuels without adversely affecting supply of food and other crop products.

Say it ain't so! You mean to say, that if we rely on food crops to develop ethanol ... we're going to adversely affect our supply of food? Who would've seen that coming?!?

Let's score it:
Yusuf Chisti: 1
Ethanol Lobby: 0

Figure 1 of the opinion piece lays out a conceptual system (see image below) for producing this microalgal oil for biodiesel. As you can see, not only does the algae have use as an oil source, the remaining byproducts can be used for anaerobic digestion. If you recall my earlier talks, anaerobic digestion produces methane. When this methane is cleansed of contaminants, it is indistinguishable from the natural gas (which is methane) which we use daily to heat our homes, produce electricity, cook our food ... and even some vehicles use as fuel.

And it doesn't stop there. If you use the methane/biogas for power generation (for sale on the grid, and to run the algae production process), you wind up with carbon dioxide. That carbon dioxide can be shuttled back to the algae biomass production area for re-use by the algae in photosynthesis. Very little carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere, and very little fossil fuel will be used to run the process. In essence making the system "carbon neutral, as Chisti states:

Ideally, the microalgal biodiesel can be carbon neutral, because all the power needed for producing and processing the algae could potentially come from biodiesel itself and from methane produced by anaerobic digestion of the biomass residue left behind after the oil has been extracted.

Biodiesel kicks bioethanols ass

This section of the opinion piece starts off looking at the algal biodiesel compared to sugarcane bioethanol because "sugarcane bioethanol can be produced at a price comparable to that of gasoline". Simply put, when considering similar levels of energy recovery, sugarcane ethanol produces less than half that recoverable from algal biodiesel (75 metric tons of biomass per hectare for sugarcane versus 158 tons per hectare for microalgal biomass).

So what's stopping us?

In short: economics. The technology, while there in part, is not there in force. However, if the demand were there for microalgal processing equipment, the costs in machinery would eventually come down. Another issue is that of drying technology. Drying (removal of water) is a huge energy cost and additional research into processes which can dry the algae cheaply are needed. Thirdly, further research into the genetics of algae is needed. Increases in production of algal oil metabolism would result in greater yields of oil, resulting in lower production costs per barrel of algal oil.

As Chisti explains:

At this price [$100/barrel], microalgal biomass with an oil content of 55% will need to be produced at less than ~$340/ton to be competitive with petroleum diesel. Literature suggests that, currently, microalgal biomass can be produced for around $3000/ton.

But don't lose heart! Chisti goes on to say:

This analysis disregards possible income from biomass residues. In addition, converting M tons of algal biomass to biodiesel is likely to prove less expensive than converting a barrel of crude petroleum to various fuels. Nevertheless, the assessment given here provides an indication of what needs to be achieved for making algal biodiesel competitive with petrodiesel. A high threshold is placed on competitiveness of microalgal biodiesel by comparing it with petrodiesel: none of the biodiesel being produced commercially from soybean oil in the US and canola oil in Europe can compete with petroleum-derived diesel without the tax credits, carbon credits and other similar subsidies that it receives.

So, we need to get the costs down. I don't think this is an obstacle that cannot be overcome. With the proper infrastructure put in place, to produce and then process large loads of algal biomass, the costs will come down. Further advances in technology will likewise increase oil yields and reduce costs even more. It's not as if the petroleum market dropped into our laps as a full-grown adult, did it? It didn't, and while it currently remains "cheap" and I say "cheap" in comparison to other technologies ... it won't always remain the most economically viable commodity. And that doesn't even begin to address the fact that oil is a matter of national security. The point is ... we need to get these other technologies online NOW, so when the petroleum bubble DOES burst, we have a suitable alternative. Chisti demonstrates that biodiesel from algal biomass can be a basket we can put our eggs into.

Or ... maybe not? [cliffhanger - See Part II)

References

CHISTI, Y. (2008). Biodiesel from microalgae beats bioethanol. Trends in Biotechnology, 26(3), 126-131. DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2007.12.002

Aerosols: Friend or Foe?

Cleaner skies equals rise in temperatures.

Since 1980, average air temperatures in Europe have risen 1 °C: much more than expected from greenhouse-gas warming alone.

Why?

"The decrease in aerosols probably accounts for at least half of the warming over Europe in the last 30 years," says Rolf Philipona, a co-author of the study at MeteoSwiss, Switzerland's national weather service.

The latest climate models are built on the assumption that aerosols have their biggest influence by seeding natural clouds, which reflect sunlight. However, the team found that radiation dropped only slightly on cloudy days, suggesting that the main impact of aerosols is to block sunlight directly.

Quote of the Day

I was never afraid of failure, for I would sooner fail than not be among the best. - John Keats

Pickens Picks Wind and Natural Gas

"The Pickens Plan."

"The Pickens Plan" calls for investing in domestic renewable resources such as wind, and switching from oil to natural gas as a transportation fuel.

On the wind side of things:

Pickens' company, Mesa Power, recently announced a $2 billion investment as the first step in a multibillion-dollar plan to build the world's largest wind farm in Pampa, Texas.

Pickens said Tuesday that if the United States takes advantage of the so-called "wind corridor," stretching from the Canadian border to West Texas, energy from wind turbines built there could supply 20 percent or more of the nation's power. He suggested the project could be funded by private investors.

And on the natural gas side of things:

Fueling these plants with wind power would then free up the natural gas historically used to power them, and would mean that natural gas could replace foreign oil as fuel for motor vehicles, he said.

Using natural gas for transportation needs could replace one-third of the United States' imported oil and would save more than $230 billion a year, Pickens said.

So how long until we can see the effect of these changes?

His energy plan could be implemented within 10 years if both Congress and the White House treat the current energy situation as a "national emergency and take immediate action," he predicted.

We better get started.

Clusterf**ked

Q. Of what use is FEMA?
A. None.

Last month, CNN revealed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had stored $85 million worth of household items in warehouses for two years. Instead of giving the supplies to victims of the 2005 hurricane, FEMA declared them surplus and gave them all away to federal agencies and 16 states in February.

Whiskey! Tango! Foxtrot!

This is, yet another display of the ineptitude of this Administration. They cannot leave soon enough. Literally anything, will be better than what we have now.

FEMA said it was costing more than $1 million a year to store the supplies, but officials have not been able to answer why the agency didn't get the supplies to Katrina victims. Both FEMA and the General Services Administration said the items originally were purchased or donated for victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In the wake of the CNN investigation, a FEMA official said the agency was launching an internal probe into the storage of the household supplies.

Will any heads roll? Probably a couple of low level folks, but no one major. And I think I'd be surprised to see even that scapegoat brought forth for public flogging.

Honestly, I think FEMA has well established that they're worthless. Perhaps it's time to deep six them, for deep sixing all the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

An interesting read ...

From Time magazine, entitled The Bright Side of the End of the World. I especially like the following quote ...

Even the worst-case scenarios say that climate change will happen gradually, at least on a human scale. (For climate history, it will occur in the blink of an eye.) Climate crusaders risk being seen as crying wolf should they forecast Armageddon, only to be met instead with a world that remains mostly the same in the short term, especially for the rich — but one that gets inexorably worse, especially for the poor.

How true.

ASM General Meeting

The 109th American Society of Microbiology General Meeting will be held in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. Dates: May 17th through the 21st, 2009. See some of you there!

The doctor ...

... delves yet again into the realm of things unscientific on his science blog.

I don't know what the fuss is though. Honestly, South Carolina has been offering a "religious themed" license plate for years. It's the "In God We Trust" license plate. You can see it here. Just search for "God".

You know you've hit rock bottom when ...

... your 12 year old child tells your radio audience to come out and watch you "drink like a pig". At least, I hope that's rock bottom.

I should have been ...

... a dental hygienist.

According to CareerBuilder.com their median annual wage is $64,740/year. Not bad for a two-year degree.

Ceftobiprole To The Rescue

Back when I was a Medical Technologist, and doing my microbiology clinical rotations, the lab director who was supervising me sat me down several times a week. During these sit downs, we went over various microbiological topics. One such topic was antibiotic resistance. I remember him quite clearly when he told me that if vancomycin-resistant organisms ever arose, we'd all be in deep poop. Well, there are organisms out there which are now vancomycin resistant. Why is this such a problem? Vancomycin is literally the last line of defense. It is the antibiotic which is given when no others are left to treat a bacterial infection. If this drug doesn't work ... there are no other alternatives.

Or at least there were no other options, until Ceftobiprole (BPR) came along. I honestly can't believe this hasn't made as big a splash in the science blogging community as it should have. Science Daily does have an article on it though. So far in lab tests, Ceftobiprole has an excellent kill-rate. More importantly, it is very effective against organisms which are multiple-drug resistant.

In an ominous new "move" in this chess game, S. aureus strains with resistance to vancomycin (VRSA), a different class of antibiotics, also began to appear in hospitals in the United States. Ceftobiprole was also able to kill these new resistant VRSA strains.

This is excellent news.

So how does it work? It binds to the penicillin-binding protein PBP2a, product of the antibiotic resistance gene mecA. Studies examining penicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus treated with non-lethal (for the bacteria) doses of BPR revealed that these organisms displayed profiles which were similar to non-penicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus which were treated with penicillin. Beta-lactams are a class of antibiotics which inhibit cell-wall synthesis.

Bacteria grown in the presence of sub-MIC concentrations of BPR produced an HPLC profile characteristic of β-lactam-treated staphylococci ...

At least for me, this is an exciting development. This potentially adds an additional drug into the arsenal of infectious disease doctors who have to treat multiple-drug resistance bacteria. It also opens up a whole new line of targets for future antibiotics.

References
Chung, M., Antignac, A., Kim, C., Tomasz, A. (2008). Comparative study of the susceptibility of major epidemic clones of MRSA to oxacillin and to the new broad spectrum cephalosporin ceftobiprole. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy DOI: 10.1128/AAC.00266-08

Introducing ...

... the Anaconda.

A wave hitting the end squeezes it and causes a 'bulge wave'* to form inside the tube. As the bulge wave runs through the tube, the initial sea wave that caused it runs along the outside of the tube at the same speed, squeezing the tube more and more and causing the bulge wave to get bigger and bigger. The bulge wave then turns a turbine fitted at the far end of the device and the power produced is fed to shore via a cable.

Exciting, but don't expect it to come online anytime soon as ...

The Anaconda is, however, still at an early stage of development. The concept has only been proven at very small laboratory-scale, so important questions about its potential performance still need to be answered.

If their website is any indication (I do believe it's their website), they're really in the early stages of development.

They claim they may be able to start field trials by next year. Here's to hoping for their success.

Workout Motivation

Since the softball season is over, I'm trying to keep the workouts going so I don't gain several additional pounds. I've started playing racquetball with some friends, but it's only a couple of days a week. The rest of the time the motivation to workout has to come from me, and after 8 years of running XC and track in high school and college, my motivation is all but long gone.

So I lean heavily on music. Currently however, the only song I know I want on my MP3 player is my cool down song.

This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way) - DJ Shadow

Anyone have any ideas?

Uhhh ...

... after reading this article, I'm not so sure I'm as fond of my chimney swifts as I was prior to reading it.

Worried about Nuclear Power?

You shouldn't be ... or at least, you should be more worried about coal-burning power plants.

Seems as if the coal-burning process concentrates the radioactive elements naturally found in coal. In some places, the ash (the waste from coal-burning) contains up to 100x the amount of radioactivity than a similar amount of nuclear waste.

At issue is coal's content of uranium and thorium, both radioactive elements. They occur in such trace amounts in natural, or "whole," coal that they aren't a problem. But when coal is burned into fly ash, uranium and thorium are concentrated at up to 10 times their original levels.

It's not really much of an issue though. Researchers long ago figured out that being within close proximity of a coal-burning power plant raised your yearly exposure by about half a percentage point (0.5%).

McBride and his co-authors estimated that individuals living near coal-fired installations are exposed to a maximum of 1.9 millirems of fly ash radiation yearly. To put these numbers in perspective, the average person encounters 360 millirems of annual "background radiation" from natural and man-made sources, including substances in Earth's crust, cosmic rays, residue from nuclear tests and smoke detectors.

So, the moral of the story? Of all the things to worry about, nuclear and coal based energy aren't worth the effort.

Can Hydrogen Replace Gasoline?

Q&A at the Scientific American.

Teachers and Self-Esteem

A bit of background: My wife is currently attending a 4 year school, going for her B.S. in Nursing. This summer, she's in the process of taking Chemistry (101 and 102), as she finishes up her pre-req's before going into the Nursing program.

The Chem 101 professor was a total ass. To say he was a chauvinist pig, a bigot, and a racist would be putting it mildly. He constantly railed against the department secretary, calling her "worthless" and saying that a man could more adequately handle her job. He constantly belittled students in the classroom and the laboratory. He said that women should not be found in difficult and demanding jobs because they were not cut out for it. He told one woman of African-American descent that, after scolding her publicly, he could not tell if she was blushing or not. He made ghastly inappropriate racial stereotypic comments, such as "I don't know why the Asians in this class aren't doing better ... they usually excel in math and the sciences."

Whiskey! Tango! Foxtrot!

The complaints didn't stop there. The wife was furious. I went ballistic. All ready to march into the office of the President of the University, I deferred to my better half's wishes that neither one of us do anything until after the grades were posted for the semester (they post today). As my wife was turning in her lab key, the teacher pulled her aside and apologized for the rude comments he directed towards her. Being the epitome of grace that she is, she accepted his apology. She also noticed that his office was extremely barren. Reason? He was forced to resign due to years of horrible behavior.

My question is: Why did it take so long?

How many dreams did this man crush? How many people did he turn away from pursuing careers in the sciences because he was a total ass-hat? How many potential discoveries did he delay/destroy because people were turned off by his attitude and as a consequence didn't pursue a particular line of work? How many people spent years of their life working diligently, pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps, only to reach the summit (in this case a college education) and have him kick them down again with his racist remarks?

As a teacher in an introductory class, he is the first face these students saw of a particular subject/discipline. If this was his standard operating procedure, I can guarantee it was not a pleasant first impression, and as they say ... the first impression is always the most important.

*sigh*

These are the things that I think about now, especially as I'm becoming a member of a school board. How are teachers behaving with their students? Are they building them up? Or rather, are they knocking them down?

It reminds me of a situation I experienced as a child. In 3rd grade, I had a teacher who was extremely rude to me. She would make fun of me in front of the entire class. She would administer harsher penalties to me than other students, for similar acts. She showed me no encouragement, she offered no praise, she offered no consolation when things were tough. Her excuse when my parents confronted her? I reminded her of a sibling that she didn't get along with. What sort of excuse is that? I can honestly say her treatment of me was something I carried with me for a long time. I can still feel my face flush with anger when I think about her. She was a horrible teacher. People like her, should not be allowed to teach. Anyone. At all. Ever. There was a time when I would have considered her a waste product. Sometimes I still do. It's something I'm trying, very hard, to move past.

You know, we say the responsibility of teaching our youth lies first and foremost with the parents. That's true, and I believe it. But I also believe that despite the parents best efforts, they can be undermined by teachers who do a thoroughly crappy job. I don't know if Mrs. Vincent of P.S. 108 Capt Vincent G Fowler, in South Ozone Park, NY still teaches, but if she does (and hopefully she does not) I hope she reads this and realizes that her actions will impact children for years to come, and if she's still an ass-hat, she matures.

The same goes for the rest of us.

Do you think the Chinese ...

... will use all this algae for biodiesel production?

Desperate times ...

... call for desperate measures. Though, I don't think I'd go this particular route to cut down on my fuel expenses. (For those not wanting to click on the link, one woman in Kentucky was selling her body for gas cards).

I don't get this part of the article though:

Angela Eversole, 34, of Fort Wright is charged with prostitution and doing business without an occupational license.

As if, in Kentucky, they give prostitutes "occupational licenses"?

Another kicker is this comment:

Kenton County prosecutor Ken Easterling said it's sad when people are selling their bodies for gas.

I hope when he is talking about it being "sad" that he's referring to the pathetic economic position our current administration has put us into.

Oh noe!

Amy Winehouse hates Kanye West!

And who gives a rats patooie? *crickets chirp*

Conservation!

Conserve, damn it!

Want to help the country save a quick million barrels of oil a day? Drive 5% less. Slow down. Inflate your tires.

Those three steps would reduce U.S. oil consumption by 1.3 million barrels a day immediately, according to the Alliance to Save Energy, a conservation group running an efficiency campaign backed not only by environmental groups but also the auto and oil industries.

That's nearly twice the estimated daily oil production that could come from drilling in the Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to the government's Energy Information Administration.

Hilarious

Wear Science!

Hypothesis: Over 99% of prehistoric animal species are now extinct, many of which were no doubt delicious. By mastering advanced cloning techniques we can incorporate these long dead animal species into a unique and scrumptious BBQ experience.

Result: The T-Rex proved delectable, but our 'Kiss the Cloner' apron failed to deliver.

I know what I'm asking for on my birthday!

Elected Official-dom

About a month ago, my parish requested that interested individuals submit their name for consideration for a position on the parishes school board. I had been looking for ways to become more involved in my parish, and figured with all the recent ruckus about meddling with curricula and the like, that I'd throw my hat into the ring. I offered my services and it appears that I was nominated and then elected to the school board for a two year stint.

I didn't actually think that I'd be selected. I don't have a very high profile at my parish (though I do lector once a month at the Saturday Mass), and I don't have children, so I figured I'd get passed over. But I must admit that I think it's kind of cool. I don't believe I'll be shaping the minds of our youth, directly ... but it's a responsibility I plan on taking seriously. First order of business, as far as I imagine, is to get a feel for what the budgets and curricula look like, and see if anything patently absurd is present. I hope I don't see anything mentioning Intelligent Design.

Wish me luck!

Currently ...

Listening To

I'm baaacck!

After a few days away from the blogosphere I almost wondered if I should return. Of course, I couldn't let my faithful readers down, so here I am. It was a rather eventful few days, culminating in the wedding of my little sister (of which I'm still in denial, both of her not being so little anymore, and of her getting married). Anyways, the science blogging (or lack thereof) will now commence.

Buh Bai XP

Microsoft gets ready to deep six XP.

I'm not sure how I feel about Vista. Everything I have heard indicates that Vista is an unmitigated disaster. Maybe my new computer will be a Mac.

If I happen to attend Olberman's funeral ...

... I'll be sure to bring ketchup.

What a rube.

Maybe I'll travel first class to really stick it to him.

Why Japan didn't invade Iraq ...

... they were too busy sitting on the toilet.

Japan actually has the following two committees/councils:

1. Electric Toilet Seats Evaluation Standard Subcommittee
2. Warm-Water-Shower Toilet Seat Council

I guess their bum-washing toilets are a problem though ... they consume 4% of an average Japanese households energy. Holy crap! Talk about flushing energy down the drain! The top models go for $4k! Not cheap ... and it's altering male behavior ... with more men sitting down to urinate. Supposedly to cut down on "urine splash". Wouldn't want to dirty the porcelain throne ya know.

Hey, dude ...

... if you really think the world is coming to an end in 2012, why are you stocking up on emergency supplies?

Something to think about ...

... when considering all that flooding in the Mid-West over the past couple of weeks.

We may have brought this upon ourselves.

And no, I'm not talking about global warming. It may be attributable to overdevelopment.

About those digitial converter boxes ...

... that we've heard about ad nauseum for the last several months. Chances are, you don't need it. If you have cable, or digital television, save your money. Only if you're still using rabbit ears, will you need to get a converter box.

The following article explains that, as well as a recent scam you should avoid.

By now you know that TV is changing next year. Starting Feb. 17, 2009, local TV stations will turn off their analog transmitters and go all digital.

If you have cable or satellite you don’t need to do anything. But if you have an analog TV and get your signal with an antenna, you’ll need a digital converter box or your TV won’t work.

Bold emphasis mine.

GenBank is Broken

Meet GenBank. As NCBI explains GenBank, it is: the NIH genetic sequence database, an annotated collection of all publicly available DNA sequences.

GenBank might be annotated, but it certainly isn't curated. As I'm going to research blog, eventually, GenBank contains many incorrect sequences. One example is the multitude of chimeric 16S sequences found scattered amongst the sequences of the GenBank database.

The question is ... what to do with them? Sandra, over at DigitalBio has written several blog entries to this effect lately. As someone who is critical of GenBank (who have a non-redundant ("nr") library which they admit is no longer non-redundant), I offered my own solution.

Appointed editors.

Here is what I wrote (slightly edited to make my point clearer).

Does GenBank need to be fixed? Yes, at least in the sense that sequences which are clearly proven to be erroneous (such as chimeric 16S sequences) need to be marked as such. I wouldn't necessarily remove them, because they can still serve a useful purpose (such as being test samples for chimeric sequence detectors). However, they need to be re-annotated.

My recommendation? Have GenBank editors, members of the scientific community, who field reports on sequences from the scientific community and make determinations as to the "final call" on a particular reported sequence. This process should be non-anonymous, and it should be documented in the gene record (to avoid constant reporting of the same sequences). Someone spots a problem, they file a report. The report is handled by the editor who then contacts the individual who submitted the sequence (i.e., the submitter). The submitter can then defend their submission, or admit the error. If they defend their submission, the editor gets to make the final call, weighing all the evidence. This way it doesn't fall on the GenBank staff to handle everything, and also gives people in the community a chance to put something else on their CV.

Sandra (who liked the idea), described it as follows:

Temporary editor positions could be analogous to being a program officer at the NSF, or serving on a study section or being on committee for reviewing grant proposals.

Which is exactly what I had in mind. A large portion of the scientific community already volunteers their time in such fashions, this would be nothing extraordinary.

Animal Rescue

I'm an easy mark for dogs. Act all cute, look lost ... and I'll fawn all over you. A couple of days ago, this fellow (pictured above) showed up at my door. He had appeared once before, but he had gotten out of my backyard (the wife has seen his fence jumping skills in action). Well, approximately three weeks later, he showed up again. This time I was smart and placed him on my dog run. He hasn't gone anywhere since ... unless I've been with him and he's been on a leash, in a crate, or in my house.

I adore the guy. I do have people putting feelers out to see if anyone wants to adopt him, but honestly ... I want him to go to a great home, and I don't trust anyone but me to do the job properly. I already have two dogs, and it's not as if they're cheap to take care of ... if you plan to do it properly. So I don't know what I'm going to do. I do know I have plans to build a kennel in my backyard if we do keep him, but I also had plans to build a Chimney Swift tower ... and it's not as if my backyard is HUGE.

The one thing that was very distressing though was calling the dozen or so no-kill rescues in the area I live around (plus ~200 mile radius), only to hear they are all full. They said they've been making rescues from pounds/shelters at an alarm rate. It's a shame. These guys don't deserve to live a life of abandonment, not knowing the love of a family (their pack). They deserve forever homes. The only way to ensure that more of this doesn't happen ... spay/neuter your dog. This helps keep the populations down, and keeps strays to a minimum. The fewer dogs in the pound, the fewer that need to be put to sleep.

Please, spay/neuter your pets.

Remember when I said ...

... that we could look into the future? It seems as if bacteria can too.

Microbes may be smarter than we think. A new study by Princeton University researchers shows for the first time that bacteria don't just react to changes in their surroundings -- they anticipate and prepare for them. The findings, reported in the June 6 issue of Science, challenge the prevailing notion that only organisms with complex nervous systems have this ability.

I knew it!

Bad guys get all the girls.

Uhhh, she's 15 inches tall ...

Sony makes robot that can "act like a real girlfriend".

"She's very lovable and though she's not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend."

Did I already mention she's 15 inches tall? I'm sure most people have dated women who weren't exactly tall, but 15 inches would be a tad too short by just about everyone's standards.

Pet cloning

Over at Digital Bio, Sandra is writing about the phenomenon of pet cloning. My take on it? Waste. Of. Money. With the amount of cute, lovable, and totally perfect dogs and cats in shelters waiting for a forever home and loving owners ... cloning a pet is, as far as I am concerned, ethically reprehensible. It's a status symbol move, and while it could be borne out of grief, that doesn't make it acceptable. And boo to those who have sold out and provide these services. Jerks.

Here is the thing: The clone WILL NOT be your old pet. It won't look identical, it will not behave identically either. It certainly won't have the memories your old pet had, and it won't have the same likes/dislikes. It probably won't have the cute little mannerisms you came to love in your old pet either. People who clone their pets are bound to be disappointed when they find these things out ... the hard way. You should love your new pet because of who they are, not what your old pet was. That's the only fair way. Besides, your cloned pet will have a shorter lifespan, not to mention other problems. Remember Dolly? She lived to be six years old, only half of the average lifespan of a sheep. Thing is, she was cloned from a six year old sheep herself, so at one year of age ... genetically, she was seven. You want to pay for that?

Adopt. I did.

This is Casey, my GSD. She's adopted, and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

Fortunately ...

... I don't have children, so I don't have to worry about being a chaperone. Though this comment really irks me:

"If you're a good parent, you're not going to have problems," said Krueger, who has handled numerous cases of children injured while in the custody of someone other than their parents. "If you're a crappy parent, you are."

I call bull on that. This is funny, especially considering that Kreuger is the lawyer who represented the parents of the girl who died (due to alcohol consumption). So tell me, were the Crossan's good parents? Their 16 year old was the one drinking, and there is a good chance it probably wasn't the first time. If someone raises their child like crap, there is no way a chaperone (who isn't the parent) should feel as if they will "not have problems", even if they're a good parent. At least not on a short trip. Plus it's a lose/lose situation for the chaperone. If the child acts like a little snot, and the chaperone imposes a curfew or punishment, you know the child will call the parents and the parents (who probably spoil the little snot) will complain. If the chaperone doesn't do a thing and the child gets hurt, the parents will raise a stink. Nevermind that I can hear the "You're not my mom/dad!" screams when the little brat doesn't get their way.

I guess I'd rather hear someone complain than sue me, because frankly I could care less about people whining and moaning ... and I'd be safe legally. I think. Next thing we know people will sue because their "experience" was ruined.

Currently ...

Listening To

Colony Collapse Disorder? Yeah right ...

... not for these folks. Their walls oozed honey, due to having over 60,000 bees inside the walls of their house. Goodness gracious!

Chaetura pelagica

About a week and a half ago, as my wife and I were sitting in our living room reading, we heard some chittering and fluttering coming from the chimney. I figured a bird had flown into, and then gotten stuck in our chimney. Fortunately (for the birds), it was late in the evening and I couldn't call anyone to come take a look.

The following day, I decided to browse the internet to see how I could safely get the bird out of my chimney myself. I guess I'm too miserly to pay someone to do a job which , at first glance, appears rather easy to do. Of course that's gotten me in trouble in the past ... like the time I wanted to change the radiator in my car ... and probably will get me in trouble in the future. As I was checking things out, I noticed a few pages which talked about Chimney Swifts (Chaetura pelagica). I had never heard of them before. One of the links brought me to eNature, which has a series of pictures and audio for a variety of birds. I clicked on the audio for the Chimney swift. Lo and behold, that was what was in my chimney!

They're a very beautiful bird, IMO, and their call is nice as well. It's certainly much more melodious than the sqwak which comes from the Blue Jay.

Well, last night as my wife and I were arriving home from my parents I heard several Chimney Swifts in our tree and saw several birds with the characteristic swept back wings flying overhead. It was at that point that I saw one bird fly towards our house, make a ninety degree turn downwards and shoot straight down into our chimney! I was stunned, and it was an awesome sight.

So, I'm the proud supporter of at least one family of Chimney Swifts. You can click here to read more about them.

Also, if you feel that you might have Chimney Swifts in your chimney, you're stuck with them for the season. Chimney Swifts are protected by State Wildlife Codes and Federal law under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1916. If you don't want them to return the following year, simply place a cap on your chimney. As for my wife and I, I think we'll be happy to have them return year after year. After all, they eat 1/3rd of their weight in insects each and every night.

Keyword of the Day

Panties.

More specifically ones which come in wadded or micro form.I don't know how or why, but it seems to bringing in the traffic. So, I'll roll with it. I'm not even going to touch the platapuss one though.

h/t to Illusory Tenant for the keyword idea.

The pain ...

... it continues. So it's actually been, like, three whole days in a row! that I've biked into work. The morning commute, not so bad, especially after I bought a pair of bar ends, which allow me to achieve a more comfortable, forward-leaning position. The ride home, almost totally unbearable. The heat washes up from the asphalt, there is a dry, hot, stiff wind that blows in my face almost the entire time ... and all the loonies are out in full force. You'd think people have never seen a bicyclist before. Anyways, I also bought a rear light while I was at it, and not a moment too soon as I had to ride into work in some heavy fog this morning. The most difficult part is still dragging my ass out of bed at 5:30 am. Fortunately I've been making lunch the night before, so all I have to do is get dressed, pack up the bike, let the dogs out to pee, put them back in, and then head on down the road for my 35 minute ride.

Who knew reducing your carbon footprint would be such a pain in the ass?

Smile ...

... you're on camera.

Observing ovulation in humans is extremely rare, and previous images have been fuzzy. Donnez captured the event by accident while preparing to carry out a partial hysterectomy on a 45-year-old woman. The release of an egg was considered a sudden, explosive event, but his pictures, to be published in Fertility and Sterility, show it taking place over a period of at least 15 minutes.

Shortly before the egg is released, enzymes break down the tissue in the mature follicle, a fluid-filled sac on the surface of the ovary that contains the egg. This prompts the formation of a reddish protrusion, and after a while a hole appears, from which the egg emerges, surrounded by support cells. It then enters a Fallopian tube, which carries it to the uterus.

Not pink but, definitely ...

... a unicorn.

The 1-year-old Roe Deer — nicknamed "Unicorn" — was born in captivity in the research center's park in the Tuscan town of Prato, near Florence, Tozzi said.

To the car-bound ...

Listen, the road wasn't made JUST. FOR. YOU. A whole lot of people use it, some for the same purposes as you, some for others ... but it really makes no difference. Contrary to what you might think, you DO NOT own the road. I don't care if you're drive a Volkswagen or a F250, the road IS NOT yours. Capische?

Now that we have that settled, let me learn you on something else. Not every vehicle on the road has four (or more) wheels. Some have two. They go by the names motorcycle, moped, and bicycle. THEY TOO are allowed on the road. They have just as much a right to be there as you, whether you think so or not. Got it?

It would behoove you to give them wide berth. Not only is it the courteous thing to do, it's also very wise (something you wouldn't know about yet) and is a safe practice. You never know when a bike chain might break spilling the bicyclist onto the road. If that happens, and you're right on his/her ass, you're going to run them over. It'll probably kill them, and yes it'll probably inconvenience you too. It's definitely going to slow you down from your mad rush to wherever the hell you're going, oblivious to the rest of the road/world.

To the owners of big 2-ton trucks, especially those with trailer side mirrors ... you know the ones that hang out from your truck about two extra feet. IF I CAN SEE MY REFLECTION IN YOUR MIRROR AS SOON AS YOU PASS ME ... YOU'RE TOO DAMN CLOSE! And to those who seemingly refuse to give bicyclists any room when passing, and there is no traffic coming the other way ... you're just an asshole. Why can't you move your vehicle halfway into the other lane? Other than the fact that you're a lazy piece of crap? Well, there is no other reason. Piss off you wanker.

Listen folks, bicycling to work isn't exactly my favorite thing to do at 6:00 in the morning, neither is bicycling home from work at 4:00 in the afternoon which is just about the hottest part of the day. So while I'd like to cut down on my fuel expenses ... I'd rather not lose my life in the process. I'm doing everything I can to make sure I do my part to make the life of myself and everyone else on the road safe and easy. If you think I'm too far over on your side of the white line, it's probably because I don't have anywhere else to go ... and rest assured, when I do have room to move over, I most certainly will. Don't ride my ass, or honk your horn ... I know you're there, I'm not deaf.

And then, when it comes time to talk to your local politicians ... tell them to make all our lives easier and invest in better public transportation and biking lanes on the roads. That way we're all safe and happy.

Fuel prices have people running for ...

... mass transit enmasse.

Problem is, mass transit can't keep up. Why? In part because our infrastructure sucks.

While many major cities cities have invested heavily in mass transit over the past 15 years, many more have not. Now that people are demanding service, there isn’t the infrastructure to provide it.

Get with it America. Oh, and while you're at it, put bike lanes on the roads, 'k? Thanks.

They're out there ...

... the question is, just how many are "they"?

Estimates range from 10,000 to over a 1,000,000 species of bacteria. At the moment, we really don't know. "A lot" often serves as a good answer.

WWMD?

What would macaques do?

But he said it showed a side of the monkeys that is well-known to researchers — an ability to adapt to the changing environment and shifting food sources.

"They are a survivor species, which has the knowledge to cope with difficult conditions," Meijaard said Tuesday. "This behavior potentially symbolizes that ecological flexibility."

I wonder how macaques would go about adapting to and/or solving our current energy and food crisis. They probably wouldn't have allowed it to get to this point though.

Currently ...

Listening To

Oceans To Go Acidic - Species Object

Coral not happy.

The notion that the oceans will become more acidic as CO2 concentrations rise is well understood. By the year 2100, ocean acidity is predicted to be 7.8 pH, compared to 8.2 pH in 1900.

Why is a pH of 7.8 significant?

At a pH of 7.8, the team noticed a marked change. Populations of coralline algae, which hold reefs together, suddenly crashed. Sea-urchins also disappeared.

Not good.

Tired of Your Milk Going Bad Before You Get to Drink It?

It's because of the way it's been processed.

The process that gives the milk a longer shelf life is called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) processing or treatment, in which milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 degrees Celsius) for two to four seconds, killing any bacteria in it.

Compare that to pasteurization, the standard preservation process. There are two types of pasteurization: "low temperature, long time," in which milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes, or the more common "high temperature, short time," in which milk is heated to roughly 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds.

... the difference between UHT and normal pasteurization comes down to ...

The different temperatures hint at why UHT-treated milk lasts longer: Pasteurization doesn’t kill all bacteria in the milk, just enough so that you don't get a disease with your milk mustache. UHT, on the other hand, kills everything.

So, with UHT milk, you can buy it and then store it for up to 6 months in some cases. So if you want to make a run on milk, UHT is probably the route to go. Now, be warned ... all bets are off once the milk is opened. As long as it is properly sealed it's sterile, but once you open it and expose it to the environment it's going to get contaminated. It may take longer than regular, pasteurized milk would to spoil, but it will go bad eventually ... so thinking that you can buy your UHT milk tomorrow, open it up, and then drink from it for the next 6 months isn't going to be feasible.

Dude, where's my parachute?

Not on your back, Dude.

That's going to leave a mark. It certainly did on the house he landed on top of.
ETA: It's been ruled a suicide.

RIP Caribbean Monk Seal

Extinct.

It also looks like a couple of related species are also on the ropes.

The federal agency says there are fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk seals remaining, and their populations are declining.

... and ...

Monk seals are particularly sensitive to human disturbance. And the sea creatures have been losing their food supply and beaches, officials say.

"Once Hawaii, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean were teeming with fish, but these are areas under severe fishing pressure," Cornish said. "They'll eat almost anything — shellfish or finned fish — but their food supply is waning and they're in competition with man."

Do people realize that, when an animal loses their food supply, the chances are extremely great that our food supply is going to be threatened as well?

Germany bombs England!

Of course, the German-made bomb was dropped a little over 65 years ago.

It's not uncommon for World War II-era bombs to be unearthed in Europe. In London, which suffered the aerial bombardment of the Blitz, bombs are uncovered two or three times a year, Saunders said.

Wow. The scars of war take a long time to fade, eh? Makes you wonder just how long the Iraqi's will have to deal with their scars long after we're gone.

Currently ...

Listening To

Stay away from Hartford, Conn

Especially if you love your life.

Pretty. Frickin. Cool.

Introducing, the Aptera.


I want one. Now. Currently estimated MPG, 120.

Cheney to scientists: Nyah, nyah, nyah!

I can't hear you!

Because this animal is an endangered marine mammal, NMFS, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is charged with designing a recovery plan for them.

More than four years of NOAA research showed that speed kills whales. Above a speed of about 10 knots, a right whale's encounter with a large ship would likely be fatal.

NOAA is in charge of the scientific aspects of these types of rules, the federal Office of Management and Budget must weigh in on their economic impact. The OMB was supposed to make a decision on the rule last year -- but there is still no indication when it might act on it.

... and ...

Whale experts say they are frustrated by the amount of time the proposal has languished without a "yea" or "nay" from the Office of Management and Budget.

Rep. Henry Waxman said the long, drawn-out process within OMB and Vice President Dick Cheney's office is demoralizing career government scientists.

"I think many of the scientists who work for the government are very frustrated, and scientists outside of government are astounded to see the scientific method so abused by this administration. There's been a politicization of science to either ignore the science, rewrite it, or to suppress it," said Waxman, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Waxman said the Bush administration thinks the "science shouldn't bind them. They're going to do what industry wants."

So, if it's not bullying government scientists into reporting/spinning things into a form that the administration deems acceptable (and in the best interests of the special interest groups they support and/or protect), they're burying scientist recommendations in red tape. This is, as far as I can tell, the most anti-intellectual administration I've ever seen. At least they were the best at something, right?

Ouchie

MSNBC blog blogs about PZ Myers. One of the commentators (Paul Lurquin) rips PZ Myers a new one (on page two of the comments).

You mention that PZ Myers is a well known evolutionary biologist. This is incorrect. In fact, Myers has not published any peer-reviewed work in over 10 years. He teaches at the very small branch campus of the University of Minnesota-Morris, which offers no graduate degrees in biology.

However, Myers is well known for his constant ravings against religion. This is what his so-called science blog "Pharyngula" is mostly about. While I share Myers' views about science and religion, I have nothing but contempt for his ruthless self-promotion and the vulgarity of some of his comments (and even more so, those of his storm troopers).

Let us not forget that Myers was paid to appear in "Excell." In my view, Myers is not an active scientist and he does not represent science in any way shape or form.

He said it. Not me.

The false dichotomy of the atheists who have hijacked Darwin also appears in this blog entry.

"I personally feel that religion itself is a lie and a danger," he said. In his view, even those who hold to religious faith at the same time that they hold to evolutionary theory are being "wishy-washy" in one way or another.

One questioner asked Myers whether that meant Brown University biologist Ken Miller, who has often said his passionate defense of evolution doesn't conflict with his religious beliefs, was being a wishy-washy scientist?

"No," Myers answered wryly, "I think Ken Miller is a wishy-washy Catholic."

Translation: If you believe evolution, you cannot possibly remain truly religious.

What a total load of horse crap. It's obvious that this is what Dr. Myers wants to believe, but that doesn't make it true. The Catholic Church has no problem accepting evolution as true. It does object to talk about the evolution of the soul, and it holds very strongly that Adam and Eve were actual individuals (i.e., it objects to polygenism [which I'll go into at some other time, and which can I believe be put into a proper scientific framework]), but other than that what's the fuss?

Before I head out to play softball ...

... I'll leave this for people to read. Biofuels: What do the experts think?

Some good comments in there. I might expand on this entry tomorrow as time permits.

I can see into the future ...

... and so can you. Of course it's only for 1/10th of a second, but ...

Scientists already knew about the lag, yet they have debated over exactly how we compensate, with one school of thought proposing our motor system somehow modifies our movements to offset the delay.

Changizi now says it's our visual system that has evolved to compensate for neural delays, generating images of what will occur one-tenth of a second into the future.

R.I.P. Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley dead, at age 79.

I've got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind, I'm just twenty-two and I don't mind dyin'

Who do you love?

Shrink your carbon footprint ...

... move to a large city.

"Large metropolitan areas give their inhabitants smaller carbon footprints," says energy policy expert Marilyn Brown of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta (ranked 67th), lead author of the study. "Footprints are the smallest in areas with high density and good rail transit."

"Faith" is a fine invention

"Faith" is a fine invention
When Gentlemen can see—
But Microscopes are prudent
In an Emergency.

by: Emily Dickinson

Life Down Deep

Another press release from Science News about the deep sea microbial diversity study that I blogged about last week.

I still intend on doing a blogging research entry on it soon. I promise.

Ladies, I Don't Want To Hear It

So, this weekend I earned from serious credits with the wife by attending the Sex and the City movie with her. I've never seen the show so I was a bit lost about all the relationships, but being the smart cookie I am, I managed to figure out enough to make sense of the movie.

But I don't want to talk about the movie. I want to talk about the women (the audience was about 90% female, the other 10% being husbands, boyfriends, or guys trying to impress a particular girl to become her bf) who came to see the movie. I have never, ever seen so many black dresses in my life. My better half informed me that such getups were no doubt a homage to the Season One DVD. My reply: Dorks. All. Of. Them. More then a few also smelled of alcohol, probably from all the Cosmopolitans they downed prior to driving their drunk asses to the movie theater. Still dorky.

At any rate, I never want to hear a woman mock the dweebs who attend Star Wars movies dressed as Stormtroopers, Darth Vader or C3PO. I don't want to hear them make fun of a guy who wears a comic book-themed t-shirt to his favorite comic book-inspired movie. Yes, those people are dorks too ... but now women don't have the moral authority to express that opinion.

Amazing how a single movie can level the playing field, eh?

In Vacuo

Won't be blogging today. Have to get this data I've just received, analyzed and merged with other data my lab has already acquired/assembled/analyzed for a manuscript I'm in the process of writing. Until later, toodles.

Currently ...

Listening To

Hey, you got your spaceship in my video ...

... no, you got your video on my space ship! Go to their Multimedia link and select RocketCam^TM. There is some neat video in there.

Exiles: The Rocks!

Oh, if Victor Hugo only knew. The ocean floor is teeming with microbial life.

While seafloor microbes have been detected before, this is the first time they have been quantified. Using genetic analysis, Edwards and colleagues found thousands of times more bacteria on the seafloor than in the water above.

... and ...

The scientists also found higher microbial diversity on the rocks compared with other vibrant systems, such as those found at hydrothermal vents.

Even compared with the microbial diversity of farm soil--viewed by many as the richest--diversity on the basalt is statistically equivalent.

Microbial diversity, which is one of my fields of work. The article should prove to be very interesting, and I'll blog on it once I get a chance to read it. Maybe tomorrow.

Rachael Ray is a Terrorist

Which is why Dunkin Donuts pulled an ad featuring her wearing a black and white scarf.

Critics, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, complained that the scarf looked similar to the black-and-white checkered kaffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf. Critics who fueled online complaints about the ad in blogs say such scarves have come to symbolize Muslim extremism and terrorism.

Here is a picture of the terrorist herself. What a bunch of damn fools, especially Bill O'Reilly's whore Michelle Malkin. The argument as presented by these fools: Something A "looks similar" to something B, and because something B is bad something A needs to go. Is beyond stupid. It's a friggin scarf for crying out loud. One of my favorite sweaters is a black/white/grey argyle sweater similar to the one seen below ... am I a terrorist? Am I giving a secret nod to Al-Qeada because I wear it?What total nonsense. I'm sure there are several items which Ms. Malkin herself probably reveres which could be linked back to something heinous. Almost sounds like a new game which we could call Six Degrees of Al-Qaeda. Let's try it out once.

1. Rachael Ray wore a black and white scarf in a Dunkin Donuts ad.
2. Some people in Palestine wear black and white scarves too.
3. Some of those people may be terrorists.
4. Some terrorists belong to Al-Qaeda.

So there you have it, we link Rachael Ray to Al-Qaeda in four steps. Now it's time to send her to Guantanamo, but not before she does another spread for FHM.

Paper or paper?

China sacks plastic bags. They use over 3 billion of them a day!

The Chinese government is banning production and distribution of the thinnest plastic bags in a bid to curb the white pollution that is taking over the countryside. The bags are also banned from all forms of public transportation and "scenic locations." The move may save as much as 37 million barrels of oil currently used to produce the plastic totes, according to China Trade News. Already, the nation's largest producer of such thin plastic bags, Huaqiang, has shut down its operations.

The effort comes amid growing environmental awareness among the Chinese people and mimics similar efforts in countries like Bangladesh and Ireland as well as the city of San Francisco, though efforts to replicate that ban in other U.S. municipalities have foundered in the face of opposition from plastic manufacturers.

I thought there might be a significant impact on petroleum, and there is ... to the tune of 37 million barrels. And why am I not surprised that US efforts have been curbed by plastic lobbyists. I don't want to see anyone lose their jobs, but surely you can redirect your efforts ... maybe biodegradeable plastics?

Here they come to snuff the rooster ...

... and the rooster is obviously pissed.

COPEMISH, Mich. — An 11-year-old boy has been injured when an eagle attacked him during a walk through the woods in Manistee County, Michigan.

I did it!

I biked into work today. Eight miles in a shade over 30 minutes. It wasn't too bad this morning, saw maybe a couple dozen cars on my ride in. I'm not sure what it's going to look like later this afternoon when I head home around 3:30 - 4:00. There are a couple of places where there is absolutely no shoulder whatsoever, so I have nowhere to go if someone doesn't give me enough room ... well, except down into a ditch. Hopefully drivers will be courteous and give me wide berth. Most of them did this morning, so here's to hoping the afternoon drivers are just as good.

I'd be doing somewhat better if I was feeling 100%. Spent part of the day at the beach on Monday and wound up with sunburn on the back of my knees, and then pulled my calf playing softball last night though it was a good night at the plate (3 for 5, 1 HR, 3 RBI) and in the field so I suppose I'll take it.

At any rate, I hope to keep this biking trend going. Not only does it help me reduce my carbon footprint, it allows me to give my wife my car which has better gas mileage than her beast. With gas hitting almost $4/gallon, we need to find a way to save some money ... and this is one of them. Of course, I guess I shouldn't complain. Watching the news this morning as I was eating breakfast ... diesel in England is (in US dollars) almost $9/gallon. Holy crap.

But does it come with batteries?

Something to think about when you're planning on buying that used hybrid. The battery might need replacement sooner than you might want.

Hanson says today's Prius batteries are designed to last "the life of the car," which Toyota defines as 180,000 miles.

... and ...

For those unlucky few who have to replace their own batteries, the cost is coming down. On June 1 Honda is slashing the cost of its batteries from $3,400 (excluding installation) to as low as $1,968 on an Insight or as high as $2,440 on an Accord hybrid. Toyota also plans to substantially cut battery prices, which now stand at $3,000 (excluding installation), down from $5,500 on the original Prius.

Installation runs around $900, so the total cost for the Honda will be about $4,500. Not insignificant.

This IS pretty cool

Best. Image. Ever.

My Metropolitans ...

... suck. Which makes Mr. Met sad. I don't like it when Mr. Met is sad.

Oops

I blogged a bit back on Le Grand Saut and Michel Fournier who planned on skydiving from 130,000 feet. There seems to have been a bit of a snag.

A French skydiver's hope to set a new free-fall record has been dealt another setback — his ride to the sky left without him.

The helium balloon Michel Fournier, 64, was going to use to soar to the stratosphere detached from the capsule he was going to use to jump from 130,000 feet (40,000 meters).

It happened as the balloon was being inflated on the ground at the airport in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

The balloon drifted away into the sky without the capsule.

This Memorial Day

Prayer of a Soldier in France

My shoulders ache beneath my pack
(Lie easier, Cross, upon His back).

I march with feet that burn and smart
(Tread, Holy Feet, upon my heart).

Men shout at me who may not speak
(They scourged Thy back and smote Thy cheek).

I may not lift a hand to clear
My eyes of salty drops that sear.

(Then shall my fickle soul forget
Thy agony of Bloody Sweat?)

My rifle hand is stiff and numb
(From Thy pierced palm red rivers come).

Lord, Thou didst suffer more for me
Than all the hosts of land and sea.

So let me render back again
This millionth of Thy gift. Amen.

About Joyce Kilmer (1886 - 1918).

When the United States entered the war, Kilmer went to an officers' training camp, but he soon enlisted as a private in the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard and later transferred to the 165th Regiment. (He began writing a historical account of his regiment in France, but it was unfinished when he was killed.) Unwilling to take time to undergo officer training, he was proud of his rise to the rank of sergeant. His letters show him to be an earnest and enthusiastic soldier, welcoming new experiences. There is sadness but also acceptance in the declamatory lines of "Rouge Bouquet":

There is on earth no worthier grave
To hold the bodies of the brave
Than this place of pain and pride
Where they nobly fought and nobly died.

His Catholicism and painful wartime experiences combined to produce some of his best verse in "Prayer of a Soldier in France," a poem through which the reader may painfully stagger with Kilmer and Christ along the via dolorosa of World War I:

My shoulders ache beneath my pack
(Lie easier, Cross, upon His back).
I march with feet that burn and smart
(Tread, Holy Feet, upon my heart).
Men shout at me who may not speak
(They scourged Thy back and smote Thy cheek).

Volunteering to take the place of a slain officer during an attack on the hills above the Ourcq, Kilmer went out to scout machine-gun nests. On 30 July 1918, he was found dead with an enemy bullet through his head. For his bravery he was buried beside officers, mentioned in dispatches, and posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre. He was survived by his wife, Aline (who became a minor poet), and four children.

For all those who have sacrificed their bodies, minds and souls for the ideals of this country, I thank you.

I thought you'd go to New Mexico ...

... to get away from your allergies. Guess that holds true only if you're not allergic to Wi-Fi.

A group in Santa Fe says the city is discriminating against them because they say that they're allergic to the wireless Internet signal. And now they want Wi-Fi banned from public buildings.

I dunno ... maybe they're onto something.

President Bush ...

... is obviously a fan of Ashleigh Brilliant. Why, just look at one of Mr. Brilliants famous epigrams.

Cheer up! The worst effects of what we're doing won't be felt until after we're all dead.

Yes?

Probably, but ...

... what happens when they read about the shirt on my blog?



BTW: Despair dot com rocks.

Fold It!

It's a video game (seriously). I received the following brief in my email today.

Seattle, WA, May 8—Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers at the University of Washington (UW) working in biochemist David Baker's laboratory launched a free online game called "foldit," in which players compete to design proteins. Scientists can then test the proteins to see if they could make viable candidate compounds for new drugs.

Because protein modeling requires trillions of calculations, over 200,000 volunteers have donated their computers' down-time to performing those calculations in a network, called Rosetta@home, developed by Baker's laboratory. The network uses the Monte Carlo technique to find the best fit for all of the parts of a given protein. The volunteers began to believe that if they could help guide their computers, the solutions could be expedited.

Click on the link to look at and/or play Foldit

Taken from their About Foldit page.

Foldit attempts to predict the structure of a protein by taking advantage of humans' puzzle-solving intuitions and having people play competitively to fold the best proteins.

Introducing the ...

... Telectroscope!


Ooooh. Ahhhh.



Note: It's a work of art.

101

101 Amazing Earth Facts

Seven Minutes of Terror ...

... no, not the seven, uncomfortable minutes you spend sitting with your parents-in-law when your spouse is getting something out of storage from their house. Rather, I'm talking about the landing of the Phoenix project on Mars this Sunday. A little over half (55%) of Mars missions have ended in disaster, so obviously the people at NASA are a bit on edge.

Well, here is to wishing them the best of luck and a successful mission (which includes the landing).

The Phoenix landing site is targeted for the far Northern plains of the Mars, near the northern polar ice cap. Data from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft indicate large quantities of ice in the area, likely in the form of permafrost, either on the surface or just barely underground.

Phoenix is equipped with a robotic arm that can dig down and scoop up some of that ice and dirt, to look for organic chemical evidence that life once existed there, or even still exists now.

"We are not going to be able to answer the final question of 'is there life on Mars,' " said Smith. "We will take the next important step. We'll find out if there's organic material associated with this ice in the polar regions. Ice is a preserver and if there ever were organics on Mars and they got into that ice they will still be there today."

I blog because ...

... it makes me feel good.

Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

Currently ...

Reading
Grizzly Maze - Nick Jans


Rocks of Ages - Stephen J Gould


Listening To
Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie

Another Metropolitan ...

... to eventually be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Former Mets catcher, Mike Piazza retired today.

But I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn’t have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful.

Bold emphasis mine, which means hopefully he'll go into the HoF as a Metropolitan, which will double the total number of Metropolitan representatives in the HoF. Especially since the HoF screwed Mets fans when they slapped an Expos cap on Gary Carter's plaque.

At any rate, thanks for the memories Mike.